#arrya

It was a clear sunny day, perfect for customers to swing by and browse the apothecary and potion shop that Delilah Clearvale ran. Her shop was a little off the beaten path from the main thoroughfare in Pyra, but Delilah always found that the best way to get customers in her store wasn’t by making sure she had the prettiest storefront or had the loudest voice, but by word of mouth. At this point with being as established as she was, a majority of the sailors, monster hunters, and a few of the more adventurous wizards and clerics the school churned out, all knew that the Pressed Flower alchemy shop had the best for whatever was ailing you, or could possibly be ail you in the future.

At the moment though, the afternoon had been unusually quiet. Delilah didn’t mind as she kept herself busy with checking her herb stores in the back of the store. She ticked off jars of dried lavender, chamomile, sage, and echinacea while seated on a low stool on the floor behind the counter, small wooden boxes filled with glasses vials and jars surrounding her. It was pleasantly dim inside the shop to ward off any blanching some errant sunlight could cause to the herbs and potions carefully shelved behind her.

The bell above the door jingled, and she quickly looked up from her counting to see a large shadow enter the shop, humanoid in shape, and illuminated by the summer sun when they opened the door. Delilah stood up, brushing off her apron, and finally saw that the person who had entered was a rather large, tall man wearing black leather armor underneath a shabby cloak, along with a buckler and a large sword at his side. His long, black hair hung limply around his face as he paused at the door and looked around the shop, his weathered, tan face stern and serious as he took it all in.

Delilah gave a small bow.

“Good day,” she said, putting on her best welcoming voice. The rougher looking ones were usually pretty quiet though, so she didn’t expect much. But it never hurt to be friendly.

“Welcome to the Pressed Flower… Can I assist you in any way today?”

The man walked right up to the counter, his gray eyes looking over her face in a way that annoyed her instantly. Oh, lovely, he was one those adventurers. She inwardly sighed, and prepared for whatever terrible pick up line this one was going to try and lay on her. She was hoping with the faint lines that were starting to crease on her face, she wouldn’t be as subjected to flirting as she had been when she was younger, but it didn’t seem to stop the older ones.

“Well, my fair lady, I was hoping to have some of your strongest potions today,” the traveler said. He flashed a bright smile of even, white teeth that looked out of place in the middle of his worn appearance.

“Very well… What kind are you looking for?” Delilah said, resigning herself to whatever nonsense was going to come out of his mouth when he tried to talk her into letting go of half of her superior healing potions for a fifth of what they were worth. She bent down behind the counter, already pulling out the wooden boxes some of them were in.

“I need some of your most well crafted fire resistance potions,” he continued while she was looking. “I’m traveling far up north into dragon territory, where the Smoking Pillar is. I’ve heard there’s a great dragon there that has quite the hoard now.”

Delilah paused in digging around a box of mundane healing potions to get to the resistance boxes. “...There are many dragons around the Smoking Pillar,” she said, her voice muffled from speaking into the wooden cubby holes that were carved into her counter. “I’m assuming you’re going after a fire drake if you need fire resistance potions… Have you stopped at Mord’s Oddities for any armor or rings? I’ve heard she has a beautiful collection from her last shipment from Gyendolyn.”

Delilah scowled into the dark, narrowing her eyes. She swore she had an entire box of fire potions back here...

“Mmm… Maybe I’ll stop there next. But perhaps you’ve heard of this dragon? He’s made quite a name for themselves. Urreonth, they call him, the Red Wind of the North… They say he’s stolen entire libraries under his claws and keeps them inside a glittering, golden hall. Gigantic, strong, very clever… And extremely good looking.”

Delilah stopped what she was doing and straightened up, and looked right into the bright, white fanged grin of Urreonth as he leaned on the counter. His red and gold hair spilled over his shoulders in magnificent curls like a lion’s mane, and the ragged armor had changed into a long, flowing red robe etched with golden thread and way too many gemstones.

“Hello, darling!” they chirped, obviously delighted with his successful ruse.

Delilah swiped the box of potion vials off the counter, almost slamming it back where it came from so hard the glass threatened to crack. Her blue eyes smoldered like coals in her face. “Get out.”

“Oh, my sweet treasure, don’t be like that,” Urreonth said, still grinning, and leaning forward on their elbows, chin propped up with a hand.

“Don’t call me that,” she said, turning back around to start working on checking over her stock again.

“Darling, please-” “Don’t call me that either!” Delilah snapped.

Urreonth sighed dramatically, rolling their eyes, and straightened up from leaning on the counter.

“For goodness’ sake, do we have to do this every time I come to visit?” he grumbled. There was a soft, hissing sound as something unseen swept across the stone floor. “It wouldn’t kill you to be a little excited to see me, you know. Most people would be thrilled by my presence.”

Delilah picked up her pencil and pad, her back towards Urreonth. “Maybe if you stopped visiting, I’d be much more enthusiastic about the whole thing,” she said, keeping her eyes glued to the bottles she was counting up. “What are you really doing here?” “To see you, my treasure, of course!”

“Liar.”

Urreonth’s smile finally fell as he dropped his arms from where he had raised them up in the hopes of Delilah finally turned around and seeing him opening them for her, the fabric of his robe making a quick, snapping sound, and he scowled at her back. The faintest smell of sulfur trickled into the room as they folded their arms petulantly.

“Ugh, fine,” he huffed. “...There’s supposed to be a treasure envoy coming to Pyra in the next few days from the library of Bullaria. I wanted to scope out the piers to see if I could get an idea of where they could be before I head out to grab it. Happy?”

Delilah wrote off how many jars of dried lavender she had left in stock. “And…?”

Urreonth tapped his foot, and she didn’t have to turn around to see what would be a monstrously stubborn pout on his face. It would have looked ridiculous on such a large man if it wasn’t for how sharp his teeth looked, and how close the expression danced on the edge of true rage at being denied something they wanted. He huffed again, a faint stream on smoke coming out of his nostrils.

“And, what else, Urreonth?” Delilah finally turned around to look up at him from where she sat, her dark blue eyes hardened in determination.

The pout turned into a grim scowl as the dragon folded their arms. “I want to see Arrya,” he said. “It’s been long enough! You haven’t let me see her since she was 6!”

Delilah couldn’t stop the bark of laughter that came out of her.

“And for good reason!”

She got up and stood at the counter again. She wasn’t afraid of going toe to toe with her former lover and captor when it came to her daughter; the red dragon didn’t frighten her nearly as much as they used to now that she had gotten used to how he operated.

“Urreonth, you’re a red dragon! You honestly think she wants to see you?!” she said. “You’re evil, and that’s all there is to it. She knows what you’ve done. She knows what you’re capable of.”

Urreonth stomped back up to the counter, gnashing his teeth, and smoke starting to spew from his mouth as he slammed his hands on the wood. Delilah tried not to flinch too obviously.

“She’s old enough to make her own decisions!!” they snarled. “You can’t keep her from me forever!!”

“Oh, so trying to break the wards on the house is letting her make her own decisions?!”

It was Urreonth’s turn to flinch as they glanced back guiltily, the smoke halting for a moment. Delilah leaned forward.

“Yeah, I know about that little trick you tried to pull,” she growled at him. “Thoridin knows more then enough magic to keep you out of places you don’t belong. You say you want her to make her own decisions, but then you try to break into the house?!”

“You always say no!! You do everything you can to keep her away from me!!” he shouted, banging his fists on the counter. A few splinters flew up from the wood. “How can you let her choose if you won’t let her?! I wasn’t breaking in to take her away, I just want to see her!”

“You can’t, and you won’t!”

“IT’S NOT FAIR!!!” Urreonth roared, stomping his feet.

Delilah took a step back, some of the color draining in her face as the smell of sulfur suddenly surged around her. Urreonth’s eyes had started to flash a dangerous color of red, and she wondered if she had gone too far this time. She didn’t want to risk him burning the shop, or her, down to the ground. But she wasn’t going to back down in the face of his temper tantrum; he had always done this when she had told them no too many times for their liking.

“She’s my daughter too!! You act like I don’t even care about her, that she’ll turn into something horrible if she’s sees me!! It’s not fair!!”

She didn’t respond, only staring back at the fuming dragon as they panted in rage and let the quiet of the shop settle in between them. Urreonth didn’t move as his breathing slowly returned to a normal pace, and the scales that had started to sprout out of their hands and face receded back into them.

She waited another minute, continuing to stare him down, and then spoke again.

“...Are you done?” she asked coldly.

Urreonth only glowered above her, their still red eyes smoldering like coals in their face. He folded his arms like he had before, and huffed, smoke puffing out of their nose in a brief cloud. She resisted rolling her eyes. It was likely dealing with a child. A very dangerous, fire breathing, rage-blind child, but a child nonetheless.

The glower on his face turned into another milder pout as he glanced away, the guilt flashing there again for a moment.

“...I brought her some things,” he said. “I found some old rings I don’t use, and some gemstones. I wanted to give them to her myself… But I suppose I’ll have to just give them to you so you can lie about where they come from, won’t I? Like always.”

She knew the last sentence was meant to prick her. And it did, but for other reasons besides Urreonth trying to guilt her into doing what he wanted. She always gave Arrya the things Urreonth left for her. She usually told her it was from trades with adventurers, and her dragon father had given her plenty to create her own small stash of treasure over the years.

But Arrya wasn’t here. She wasn’t even on the same continent. She had no idea when her daughter would even be back in Pyra, or when she could give her the new presents Urreonth intended for her. She usually saved them for her birthday, but she didn’t even know if Arrya was going to be home in for her next birthday. She was somewhere so far and foreign that she hadn’t even heard of the continent, and Thorodin couldn’t find it in any of his books.

Delilah took a deep breath. “Yes, I’ll… Make sure she gets them all,” she said.

Urreonth watched her for a moment, and then started rummaging around in his robes. They plucked a brown leather pouch with golden thread woven in intricate designs from an inside pocket, and then dropped it onto the counter. He paused to brush away some of the splinters their large fists had broken up from the wood when they had slammed them down earlier. A few golden sparks fluttered from their fingertips as the gouges he had made with his fingers mended themselves. He paused again, watching Delilah and waiting for her to pick the pouch up.

“When will you give it to her?” he asked. His voice had lost the animation it had had before, and had become low and dejected.

Delilah glanced down. “...I’ll give it to her as soon as I can,” she said, not meeting his gaze.

Urreonth drummed his fingers on the wood.

“How soon?”

“I just said as soon as I’m able.”

“So, when you get home today?”

Delilah hesitated. She couldn’t stop her worry from jumping to front of her mind. She tried to push it all back; she needed to put on an impeccable facade if she was going to get Urreonth out and away from her now. She could usually summon up whatever mask she needed in front of them, but it was hard when all she could think about was the unknown.

She took a breath. “...Yes,” she said, and she went to pick up the pouch.

Urreonth’s massive hand caught hers, clutching it along with the pouch in his grip. He leaned in close to her, narrowing their golden eyes while a snarl started to curl on their lips.

“You’re lying to me,” he growled. “What are you really doing with my gifts for her? Are you keeping them for yourself?!”

Delilah’s mouth dropped open at the accusation. “Wha- No!!”

She tried to tug her hand back, her heart beating a hundred miles a minute, but he only held on tighter. The smell of sulfur intensified around her again.

“Then when are you giving it to her?!” Urreonth demanded, smoke puffing out his mouth.

“Urreonth, let go, you’re hurting me!!”

“WHEN?!”

“I don’t know!!” Delilah finally shouted, still trying to yank her hand back from Urreonth’s iron hold. Not only were they squeezing her, but the heat was starting to slowly creep up into a temperature she knew would shortly be dangerous.

His anger seemed to flicker at her shout, and they looked down at his grip on her arm. Urreonth quickly let go, and Delilah shrunk back a foot, clutching her arm to her chest and turning away from them. He reached out a hand, the rage fizzling out at the same time, but he quickly set his fists on the counter instead, keeping their hands to themselves.

“...What do you mean, you don’t know?” he said, trying to dial back the intensity.

Delilah glanced back at him, rubbing her wrist. “...She’s not here,” she said, tired and relenting. “She left a half year ago to… To try and have an adventure.”

Urreonth stared at her for a moment, the shock clear on his face. And then they roared with laughter, holding onto the counter.

“AHAHA-!! Ah, see, I told you!!” they said triumphantly, shaking a finger at her. Delilah barely acknowledged it. “They always run off at some point! Oh, she’ll have so much fun out there, I guarantee it!”

He leaned forward. “Ooh, where’d she go?! Bullaria? Down south to Ravenwood? Oh, oh-!! What about Waterdeep, I’ve heard that place is full of stuff to find!!”

Delilah was silent as she clutched her hands to her chest, still not looking at him. Urreonth’s enthusiasm deflated as he suddenly looked worried.

“She didn’t… Run away, did she?” they asked.

Delilah looked up, glancing back at them.

“What? Oh, no, she… She didn’t run away,” she said, shaking her head.

“Alright, so, then where is she? Or where was she headed?” Urreonth asked, starting to look increasingly confused. Something wasn’t adding up.

Delilah hesitated again, opening her mouth, and then shutting it. The anxiety she had been trying to push down was starting to claw its way up her throat. She didn’t know what to tell him since she almost had no information herself. Arrya had been able to talk to her with the crystal ball she had, but there were holes and things she knew her daughter wasn’t telling her. She had tried to ask Thorodin what he knew, but the dwarf had looked guilty and said he had promised Arrya not to tell her what was going on, but assured her that she was safe and with good friends. He had also reassured her that Arrya had promised to talk to her herself soon, but that had almost been two weeks ago.  

It wasn’t enough to fend off the fear that ate at her. She wanted to know what was going on, to at least know about where she was and if she was safe.

Urreonth watched from where he was, debating whether or not to zip around the counter so they could look into Delilah’s face. Something was wrong, they could smell it, but she didn’t like him getting too close sometimes. Especially after losing his temper like he just had, he should keep his distance. But something was wrong, so very wrong that it was eating up the inside of his precious treasure, and to make it worse, it was something about his little ruby.

“Delly?” Urreonth said, their voice strained with a touch of fear. “Where’s our little girl…?”

Delilah squeezed her clutched hands to her chest, and took a shaky breath.

“She’s in a place called Pytt,” she said, her voice cracking despite herself. “I… I don’t know where it is.”

She glanced over at Urreonth, who hadn’t moved from where he stood, but the concern on his face made her chest tighten even more. Delilah looked away, blinking back tears.

“I don’t know where it is! I-I don’t know where she is-!”

She covered her face with her hands, and Urreonth was rushing around the counter in an instant, his robes billowing up around them in their haste. He was about to put his hands on her shoulders to comfort her, but stopped short of doing so. They anxiously opened and closed their hands, unsure what to do with them, as Urreonth leaned down to look into her face.

Delilah shook her head, and looked up at him, her dark, blue eyes shining. She didn’t like crying very much, especially in front of Urreonth. It had always made him nervous, and try to help by dumping piles of gems in her lap to make her feel better.

“I don’t know where she is!” she said, her voice shaking. “I’ve looked in all of Thorodin’s books, I’ve looked at all the maps I can find, but I can’t find anything about this place!!”

Delilah stopped to wipe at her eyes.

“You said she’s in a place called Pytt?” Urreonth asked, trying to understand where her fear was coming from.

She nodded. “It’s some continent… That’s all I know,”

“If you don’t know where she is though, how do you know she’s in a continent called Pytt?” He was even more confused now then before. They knew Delilah was distressed, but they needed more answers then what they had.

“She has a crystal ball,” she explained. “She got a hold of me and Thorodin around last week to let me know she was okay… But she couldn’t tell me where she was. All she said was that the mining party she was with got lost, and she wound up there!”

Urreonth nodded, finally connecting the dots.

“...But at least you have a name, and that’s something,” he said, trying to be helpful. “We’re just not sure where exactly this place is, but it could be worse, darling! She has a way to talk to you and everythin- W-what’s the matter?”

They stammered to a halt as Delilah had started sniffling again, and wiping at her eyes. Urreonth kept trying to remember that grabbing lots of objects around them, and stuffing them into Delilah’s hands didn’t usually help her feel better. The situation was more serious then usual as well, and for once, they felt like they didn’t have any answers to comfort her with.

“Something’s wrong!” she croaked, trying not to burst into full tears. “Thorodin said that she got a hold of him again to ask him to do some research, but he wouldn’t tell me what. I know he’s keeping something from me about her, he looked so pale when I asked what they talked about! But he won’t tell me, no matter how much I ask!!”

Delilah jumped as Urreonth put his hands on her shoulders and rubbed them.

“Okay, easy, easy… Let’s think about this, shall we?” Urreonth said, trying to reassure her.

He was starting to become almost as alarmed as she was, but he was better at not showing it. It wouldn’t have been the first time one of his children had gotten themselves into a pile of trouble, but, just like Arrya herself, it had never been this unique. He almost wanted to laugh at the situation; of course she would run off and find the strangest trouble she could without even trying. She was rather strange herself, after all.

Urreonth watched Delilah carefully as they kept their hands on her, trying to see if she wanted him to let go. When she didn’t make any signs, he continued to rub her upper arms.

“We have a name, at least. That’s a start,” he said. “And I have many more books to look through then that dwarf could ever hope to have. I can take a look through, and see if I can find anything myself.”

He paused, and Delilah thought she saw a flash of real fear in his eyes for a moment.

“...Is she by herself?” they asked, their face shifting in a way she didn’t think she’d seen before.

Delilah shook her head. “No, thank goodness,” she said. A very tiny smile made its way onto her face. “She’s, ah, made some friends there… She made sure they all said hi when I last saw her.”

Urreonth lifted her chin the slightest, gently putting their hand on her face.

“There, you see! It’s not all bad! She’s with friends!” they said. She couldn’t tell if he was saying that for her sake or his. “What were they like, could you tell? Any cute boys she can take home?”

Urreonth waggled their eyebrows for her at the last question, and Delilah finally laughed, ducking away as she did. He smiled triumphantly when she wasn’t looking, puffing their chest up just the slightest.

She shook her head. “No, no, I’m fairly certain they’re all just friends,” she said. “Ah, one was a goliath in some very heavy and odd looking armor, if I remember right… I think there was a half orc and a little halfling. I know for sure there were at least two kobolds, the little albino one seemed quite friendly. Although Thorodin tried to shoot him through the crystal ball.”

Urreonth gasped when she mentioned the kobolds, clapping his hands together with glee. Delilah took half a step back from him.

“A kobold?! She has her first servant!! Oh, I’m so proud!!” they said, nearly jumping up and down.

Delilah grimaced. “I’m fairly certain they’re just her friends, she introduced them as such...” she said, unable to hide her distaste.

Urreonth laughed. “Don’t be silly, darling!” he said with a roll of their eyes and a wave of their hand. “Kobolds don’t have friends, they have masters.”

She folded her arms at him, and raised an eyebrow. He didn’t even seem to notice as he kept talking, obviously happy with what he had been told.

“That’s a good start though, I think,” they said. “If she has a goliath and a half orc with her, that must mean they’re strong, at least. I can’t possibly think what on earth a teeny hobbit could do, but more bodies are good. And those two kobolds will take care of her for sure, I can guarantee it.”

Urreonth put his hands back on her shoulders, and smiled down at her, his expression genuine in its kindness and warmth. Delilah blinked; she’d almost forgotten what he looked like when he did that.

“We may not know where exactly she is, but if she’s with friends, I’m sure she’s being looked after,” he said. “There’s still the possibility of all sorts of trouble and danger, but she’s not alone, and that’s good.”

Delilah sighed, looking down at her feet. He had a point; at least she wasn’t alone. But Thorodin’s expression after she had asked what he and Arrya had talked about still disturbed her. Her employer never looked that worried over nothing, and it made her wish she could get a hold of Arrya herself to talk to her. She would have to continue to wait on her daughter though…

“I just wish I knew what was going on, really,” she said. “I’ve got that terrible, sinking feeling that she’s dealing with something awful, and I hate not being able to help.”

Urreonth frowned, rubbing his thumbs on her arms while he continued to hold her.

“My dear, we can’t always help with all of her problems.”

They gave Delilah a gentle squeeze. “Besides, our little ruby’s a smart one from what you’ve told me! Quick, sharp, tough!” they said, shaking a fist. He gestured it towards Delilah, grinning. “Like you!”

They jerked a thumb a himself, squaring his shoulders and looking taller then they already were. “Like me!”

He bent back down to look into her face, trying their best to be considerate of her feelings. He couldn’t entirely understand Delilah’s worry since red dragons usually cut their offspring loose fairly young. If the mother didn’t shove them out of her territory after a certain time, they had an awful habit of trying to murder her later, and he’d had a few whipper snappers of his own try to muscle their way into his hoard. Humans were different though, and Arrya was more different still. But she was going to leave the nest eventually, and if she was anything like his other, strange children, she’d find something exciting and worth her time out there, that was for sure.

“I know it’s hard, but she had to leave at some point,” he said. “She couldn’t stay near you forever, my treasure, and I’m sorry. She had to learn about how to do things by herself, eventually.”

He paused, thinking. A continent he had never heard of was extremely concerning though.

“...But if it helps, I’ll do what I can to find out where she is,” they said. “Would you like me to do that? I could even look in on her myself, if you want. I have plenty of scrying balls I could use.”

Delilah hesitated. Part of her wanted to say yes, but there were other parts that were asking her to forestall her anxiety. Urreonth, even if he seemed genuine in the moment, would most likely ask for something in return at a later time if she said yes. She would like to try and keep whatever repayment he asked for later to be as small as possible. She was also sure that if Arrya knew her dragon father was looking for her via magical means, she wouldn’t be very happy about it.

She sighed, and carefully slid Urreonth’s hands off of her shoulder.

“...I appreciate the offer, but, no, you don’t have to do that,” she said, taking a step back. She looked down, thinking for a moment. “But… If you want to take a look through your books, I won’t stop you. I doubt I could talk you out of doing anything yourself, but you don’t need to do it for me.”

She looked back up at him, tilting her head the slightest. The worry on their face almost made her feel bad for putting her defenses back up, but she knew it was for the best.

“Besides, I don’t think you peeking in on her and reporting back to me would really be letting her do this on her own,” she said. “I’ll just have to have faith that she’ll get a hold of me when she can.”

The worry on Urreonth’s face flickered, and then he was grinning at her again, throwing his arms open in excitement.

“There you go!! That’s my flower!” they said triumphantly.

Delilah scowled up at him. “I’m not your flower.”

Urreonth only roared with laughter again, and stepped closer to her, taking over the distance she had put between them by stepping back. He loomed over her, still smiling.

“I love it when you fight me,” he said. “It always makes everything so much more interesting instead of how everyone else just rolls over and begs for mercy.”

They reached to tuck a lock of hair behind her head, but Delilah walked past him back over to the counter. Urreonth paused where he was, and turned around to see her leaning back on it with her arms folded, her expression back to the blank, chilly slate it had been before she had started crying.

“Do you want still want to leave what you brought Arrya with me, or do you want to wait until she comes back?” she asked them, gesturing towards the small leather pouch that sat where they’d left it.

They chuckled, and took the cue, walking around the counter and back to where they had been before. Urreonth drummed their fingers on the wood, and then sighed.

“...I think it would be best if you kept it,” he said. They fidgeted with adjusting a sleeve on their robe. “I think you’ve made it very clear that you wouldn’t appreciate my dropping by every month or so to see if Arrya had made it back yet just to deliver a few jewels...”

“I think I’d ask Thorodin to sew wards into all of my dresses if you did,”

Urreonth actually recoiled, putting their hands up as he made a noise of disgust.

“Please. Don’t.”

Delilah laughed, and Urreonth huffed the slightest, pouting as they folded their arms and glanced away from her. She smiled at him from across the counter.

“So, brave adventurer, were you actually going to buy anything today?” she teased him, leaning on the counter again. She wouldn’t touch the pouch of jewels before he left though; she knew better now.

Urreonth drew themselves up, straightening their robes and shaking out wrinkles that would have never formed in the first place. He was much too vain to let anything like that happen to their clothes. That’s what magic was for, anyway.

“Unfortunately, no, my dear treasure.” he said, brushing their massive curls away from their face. “I believe I have a boat to catch.”

“Well, don’t let me stop you,”

He chuckled, and snapped a finger, their form rippling with gold dust. Urreonth’s massive form, filled with reds, golds, tailored clothes, and jewels shrunk back down into the smaller and much less impressive looking weathered adventurer with their tattered cloak and greasy looking black hair. They turned to head for the door, and, against the small voice in her head, Delilah followed him to it. Urreonth almost jumped when she quickly walked ahead of him, and pulled the door open for him. He paused for a second, and then carefully walked through.

Delilah leaned through the door as he stepped out onto the street. “If you do find something in your books… I wouldn’t mind hearing about it,” she said, her heart beating a million miles a minute in fear at what she was saying. She felt like she was inviting the devil back into her house, but if it was for Arrya, she’d do anything. “Please.”

Urreonth stared at her with strangely dark, gray eyes, and then nodded his head. “I will,” he said.

And then with another whirl of golden dust and sparks, the weathered adventurer disappeared from the sidewalk. Delilah ducked behind the door, the bright light uncomfortable with how dim the inside of the shop had been, and then looked around.

There was no sign of him at all on the street, only a few piles of golden dust left on the cobblestones. She was grateful that her shop was definitely off the beaten path, or else he would have caused a huge fuss, disappearing at her door like that. The silent murmur of the city suddenly picked up, and she looked up, hearing a few people gasp loudly the next street over and shouting about the sky.

A streak of fire, large and red, and leaving a faint trail of sparks behind it, could be seen zooming across the sky. It was headed out towards the ocean as it broke up the lovely, white clouds that had been happily floating along that afternoon. Delilah shook her head.

“Show off,” she muttered, and then headed back inside of the shop.

Once inside, she opened up one of the curtained windows to air the shop out; Urreonth had a bad habit of making the entire place reek of charcoal. She tied the curtain back, and then wandered back over to the counter, trailing her fingers over the recovered gash marks he had put into it. At least they always cleaned up after themselves whenever they had a temper tantrum.

She stopped once behind the counter again, and stared at the leather pouch, still untouched. She reached out, stopped for a second, and then carefully picked it up. She turned it over in her hands, feeling the soft leather and the designs of the golden thread, the weight of it surprisingly heavy despite the size. She almost didn’t want to open it, an echoing fear of turning around and seeing Urreonth suddenly there again to snatch it from her hands.

But she did like to try and look over what Urreonth liked to leave for Arrya to make sure he wasn’t giving her anything ridiculous, or enchanted to do something dangerous. She always had Thorodin give it all a look over to be sure.

Delilah opened the pouch up, peeked inside, and nearly dropped it in shock. There were two cut rubies, each about the size of her fist, a handful of tumbled lapis lazuli, and a few gold rings encrusted with sapphires and moonstones. She tied the pouch up again, and sighed, leaning on the counter as she stared at it.

“For goodness’ sake, Urreonth...” Rubies for his ruby. Of course.

She ran her hands through her hair, pushing her wispy bangs out of her face. At least she would have a really great welcome home present for her when her daughter finally returned. If she returned… Delilah shook her head, and turned back to her little stool and collection of dried herbs. That kind of thinking wouldn’t do her any good.

She hated it, but Urreonth had a point. Arrya couldn’t have stayed with her forever, safely hidden from a world that had been threatening to rip her to pieces for as long as she could remember. Thorodin most likely would have tossed her out to toughen her up, but to wind up in a place so remote that it wasn’t in any of the books frightened her. If she was lucky, or unlucky enough depending on whether they demanded payment for doing this ‘favor’ for her, maybe Urreonth would be able to dig something up out of that mountain of books he lorded over. He’d stolen enough libraries that there had to be something…