The wizard and his companion reach the house as the sun and the horizon collide. Soren looks up at the two of them as they enter, puffing away on his pipe and setting a log on the pile in the fireplace. "Welcome back."

"Welcome home, dears. Did you find what you were looking for?" Ruby pokes her head out of the kitchen and eyes each of them separately. Hope looks away while Amadeo nods.

"I managed to contact Rhys. He's going to talk with Valora, and they'll think about coming. No promises yet, but it's better than nothing." The wizard tosses a spherical flame into the logs, watching them spark to life. He sits down on the day bed, looking out the window before closing the curtains.

Hope relaxes on the couch, staring into the fire. "You alright, Red? You're looking a little down." Tyrion hops up to sit beside her.

The devilkin nods. "I'm alright, little man. Just doing some thinking."

"We didn't give you too hard a time, I hope?" His question tears her gaze from the flames, coming to rest on the halfling's concerned face.

Hope merely smiles softly. "Not at all. If anything, it helped me realize something about myself." Her hand closes around his own, and Tyrion returns her smile.

"That's good...It is good, isn't it?" His eyes drift beyond her to Amadeo, who sits quietly on the bed with his back to the wall, eyes closed as though in deep thought.

Following his gaze, her hand tightens a little. "Yes, Tyrion. Yes it is."

The halfling sighs. "Good. At least one of you-" He's surprised when she turns back to him and leans down to wrap his chubby cheeks in her warm embrace.

"Thank you, you giant ginger baby." He's further surprised and confused when the devilkin plants a kiss on his forehead before sitting back, hands in her lap and a smile on her face.

Tyrion just nods slowly and scoots off the couch, going into the kitchen to help Ruby with dinner. It's then that Anna and Kira come in with extra wood, Anna laughing. "And he just asked you that?" They set the logs down by the fireplace, Kira shrugging with a chuckle of her own.

"Yeah. No joke, completely serious, 'So if you're a half orc and your dad's an orc, how'd he have you?' What a moron!" Kira shakes her head, flopping down next to Amadeo. "You remember, right? That time William Rierdon found out how half orcs are made?"

Amadeo snorts. "That boy was a complete idiot. I still can't believe your response."

"What did you tell him?" Anna sits next to Hope, leaning her head against her and shivering a bit. Hope wraps an arm around the elf to help her warm up.

Kira smirks. "I told him 'Well, when a daddy orc wants a half-blood kid, he goes and raids the local village for damsels to fu-"

"Kira!" Ruby sticks her head out again, pointing a wooden spoon covered in sauce at the half-orc. "Not in this house, missy."

For a moment, it's as if the physically much broader Kira shrinks in size, nodding. "O-Ok Mom! Got it!" As Ruby turns the corner, Kira looks back to Amadeo, who is laughing so hard that he has to hold his stomach. "Shaddup, you!"

She pushes him off the bed and he lays on the floor, still cackling for nearly half a minute before pushing himself up to his feet. "Oooh my, I needed that. It's been a day."

"I am curious. How exactly..." Hope struggles to think of the words, before clearing her throat. "How did you wind up with a human and half orc pair of children?"

"The same way one usually does." Soren answers, smiling and sitting back as he puffs a smoke ring into the air. "Different starts. I had Kira before I met Ruby, and Ruby had Amadeo before she met me. The first day I met them was a momentous event I cherish to this moment. This toddler hiding behind the tough young woman barely old enough to have bore him...But that's a story for another time." He turns to face Ruby as she brings him a bowl of steaming hot stew.

The woman smiles, planting a kiss on his lips and sitting down in another chair. "Yes, a story I may share one day." The siblings both look away as Ruby speaks, though she gives them each a reassuring smile. "Now it's time for dinner. Please, help yourselves, dears."

"No need!" Tyrion steps in, carefully balancing six bowls on his arms. He passes them out gingerly, then sits on Anna's opposite side.

"Rather dextrous, aren't you?" Ruby laughs, digging into the piping hot stew of potatoes, carrots, and onions with a smattering of cubed beef chunks.

"I've had my moments." Tyrion chuckles as he eats, sighing contentedly. "This is fantastically delicious. I regret not coming to Misery prior!"

"Oh, it's just a recipe my mother taught me when I was a girl. The secret is the spices."

Soren sits up some, clearing his throat and bowing his head. "By the grace of the Harbinger of Seasons above are we able to sit with family and friends to enjoy this meal. Praise be to the Path Maker for returning our son to us, world wearied but unharmed. May we take this moment to appreciate our good fortune in these trying times."

Ruby also bows her head, as does Amadeo and Kira. The rest of the party looks around before following suit. The light of the fireplace seems to fill the space and light the room up ever more, even as the sun outside crosses the threshold of the horizon. With the lack of light comes the howling in the fog once more.