Chapter Twenty-three

 

The area around the portal was empty of everyone but the guards. “Hoped the rest of you would be coming out,” the captain on duty said.

 

“Oh?” Trish asked.

 

“When just the one came out a little while ago, we were concerned he was the only one. Then, he came out,” the captain nodded toward Vulk, “so we were a bit confused.”

 

“Oh, you mean when Michael came out alone,” Trish snorted.

 

“Yeah, the dramatic mage,” the captain said. “He was pretty pissed. Nearly livid, in fact.”

 

“We should be with him,” Cammie said tightly. “He was nearly deadweight.”

 

The captain’s lips pursed. “Hmm, he was saying otherwise.” He glanced at Stern. “The mage said unflattering things about some of you.”

 

“I’m sure I’ve heard worse,” Stern shrugged.

 

“Thought you should know, as he’s had time to go spouting off ahead of you,” the captain said. “Have a good afternoon.”

 

“We will,” Cyra replied. “We hope your shift is peaceful.”

 

“From your lips to the Goddess’ ears.”

 

Trish spoke up as they walked away, “Drop off the quests and likely get another two to deliver the shards to the temple. After that, we can relax. We might have a bit of trouble waiting at the hall or inn, though.”

 

“You mean because of rumors Michael might spread?” Cammie asked.

 

“Exactly. Our reputation is surely getting some mud on it right now,” Trish nodded.

 

“But won’t us having brought out two shards help even that out?” Cyra asked.

 

“It might,” Stern exhaled, “but then again, with me as the leader of the crew…” He trailed off, worried about what might come.

 

“Fuck that,” Vulk said. “If that coward wants to start trouble, we’ll give it back to him. The fact that he cowered on the ground for the most dangerous parts of the dungeon should be known. Other groups should know so they don’t get saddled with him.”

 

“Vulk isn’t wrong,” Trish said. “I wasn’t going to shout it from the rooftops, but I was going to spread the word about him. If it had been a group other than us in that dungeon with him, people might have died.”

 

“It got bad at the end for us,” Cammie said, her knee still not right.

 

“Okay, but we don’t start it,” Stern said. “Trish can have a quiet word with the guild receptionist if there’s not any trouble.”

 

The others nodded, all wondering if it was really going to be quiet.

 

~*~*~

 

The room went silent when Stern entered the building. He did his best to ignore the hostility and curiosity from the crowd as he crossed toward the receptionist’s desk. Pawly let out a soft yowl, drawing eyes to her. Some of the hostility faded, replaced by fear and more curiosity.

 

“Excuse me,” Stern addressed the female weasel lykian, “we finished the quests.”

 

The woman blinked at him, then at the two shards he presented her. Taking them, she nodded slowly after checking them with her tablet. “Yes, these are the correct shards. I charge you to take them to the temple, Walker. You will be compensated for doing so.”

 

“Put the reward for that on our accounts for retrieval, please,” Stern said, his words oddly loud in the quiet room. “I’ll take the payment for collecting them, though.”

 

The receptionist was quick to count out his payment and pass it to Stern, along with the shards. “Here you go, Walker. Our thanks to Pawsitively Irregular for bringing the fractured back to life.”

 

“It’s the right thing to do,” Stern said. “Good afternoon.”

 

Stern put the money and shards into his pouch, then turned back to the room, which was staring at the crew. The hostility had faded to near nothing, and the curiosity had ratcheted through the roof. With a nod, he headed toward the door with his crew falling in behind him. Pawly led the way, floating a foot above the ground.

 

“Hey,” someone called out, “did you stiff your mage?”

 

Trish spun and answered before Stern could, “Michael panicked and cowered into a ball for most of the dungeon, but we didn’t stiff him. We even gave him extra points so he could afford a rune. He did help, but he’s afraid of being ambushed. I’m not sure what he’s said, but the truth is that he’ll be fine in a normal dungeon, but in any open dungeon, he’ll be a major liability.”

 

“He’s not a blighted?” someone else asked.

 

“Irregular, like our crew,” Trish grinned. “And you can see we’re pawsitively captivating, as well.”

 

Vulk winced at the pun, and people began to laugh.

 

“I heard the cat was called Pawly,” another voice called out.

 

Pawly turned to the crowd at the door. Sitting on the air, she raised her massive, extra-toed paw to them. After a second, more people laughed, and Pawly chuffed before following Stern out the door.

 

Stern exhaled when they were on the street. “Well, that went better than I’d feared.”

 

“Pawly has a way of breaking down their preconceptions,” Cyra said, giving the cat a smile.

 

“She does do that,” Cammie agreed.

 

“Michael did spread rumors,” Vulk grunted.

 

“Yeah, and now we’ve countered that,” Trish said.

 

“We have a quest to complete,” Stern said. “Trish, can you lead? I’ll get the coin split up.”

 

“Sure,” Trish said. “Pawly, are you going to float the rest of the way there?”

 

Pawly chuffed, clearly enjoying her ability to fly.

 

“Maybe this was for the best,” Cammie said. “Now I won’t have to worry about hitting her again.”

 

“There is that,” Trish agreed.

 

~*~*~

 

It wasn’t as far to the temple— only a couple of blocks from the Walkers’ hall. Everyone they passed stared at Pawly in shock, awe, and, in some cases, fear. No one seemed to notice Stern, which was a little jarring to him.

 

When they got to the temple, Stern pulled out the shards, intending to hand them to Trish. She shook her head. “You’re our leader. You should take them in.”

 

Stern grimaced, knowing that the inside of the temple would be difficult for him. “Okay. Stay beside me, please? You, too, Cyra?”

 

Pawly chuffed as she drifted to the ground.

 

“Not like that,” Stern said. A second later, Pawly was back to her normal size, minus the tentacles and static electricity, but Stern left her flying alone. “There.” Taking another deep breath, he entered the temple.

 

There were a half-dozen people being tended to by the sisters of the temple. Their black and red outfits were distinctive as they comforted and spoke with the families of the people being healed.

 

A little girl, maybe six years of age, saw Pawly and gasped in wonder. “Momma, the kitty flies!”

 

Her mother had been speaking to one of the priestesses while holding the hand of the man on the stone table. She frowned at her daughter, then looked to where the child was pointing. Her mouth opened as she stared at Pawly walking on air ahead of the group. “Goddess…”

 

The entire room looked their way, but the attention was on Pawly, who floated proudly as if all the attention was her just due. One of the sisters left the patient she’d been checking and headed their way, her wonder dimming when she saw Stern. There was no hatred or fear in her, just curiosity.

 

“How can we help you?” the priestess asked when she got closer.

 

“We have the final shards for two people,” Stern replied, using the love from Cyra and Trish to help keep the pain the injured felt at bay.

 

“Two?”

 

“Yes, Sister. Louis Adecer and Amelia Haman are the two Walkers.”

 

“Oh? We’ve been waiting years to be able to bring them back,” the sister said with happiness.

 

Stern held out the two shards. “Here they are.”

 

“We will bring them back as soon as we can. Who brought them out?”

 

“The last shards were brought out by us, Sister,” Stern said, wincing as he finished his sentence, “Pawsitively Irregular.”

 

The priestess stood with the shards in hand, blinking at him, before she stifled a laugh. “That is the name of your crew?”

 

“It is,” Stern said. “Because of Pawly and I.” He pointed to Pawly above them.

 

“Well, bless you and your crew,” the priestess smiled broadly. “I do hope you come back tomorrow and the day after to see the rebirths.”

 

“We’ll be here,” Cyra said. “It takes a full day, correct?”

 

“It does.”

 

“We’ll return at this time tomorrow, then,” Stern said. “May the Goddess smile down on your temple.”

 

“May she shower you in blessings,” the sister replied, bowing to them.

 

Stern turned to leave, feeling the gazes on the crew as he went. He glanced back to see Pawly going to the little girl. Slowing his pace, he watched as the cat floated around the ecstatic child. Pawly chuffed and let the little girl pet her for a few moments before she flew away. Stern smiled at the child, who was beaming as she watched Pawly go.

 

“We’re coming back to see them both?” Vulk asked as they walked away.

 

“It’s a tradition,” Trish said, “and it helps the person being reborn, in case no one else shows up for them.”

 

“Grandma was there for me,” Cyra said softly. “Stern was, too, but he left before I was fully aware of everything.”

 

“Old friends were there for me,” Trish said. Her tone was light even though Stern knew the real story. “I’ve also been there for others who weren’t as fortunate. Knowing that someone is there for them means a lot. Trust me.”

 

Vulk nodded mutely.

 

Stern wondered at the hints of tightly held sorrow he caught from Vulk.

 

“I’ll be happy to welcome them back,” Cammie said in a subdued tone. “I can’t imagine how hard it would be to have no one there. Even the man who retired was happy to see us.”

 

“We’ll always be there to welcome them back, if we can,” Stern said. “We’ll take breaks from training to make sure we’re here.”

 

“Agreed,” Trish said.

 

“Trish, Cammie and I are going to swing by a weaponsmith,” Stern said. “We’ll meet you all at the inn.”

 

“Should I go, too?” Cyra asked.

 

“No. Cammie and I need to grab them. We’ll be the extras who add into the melee, if needed,” Stern explained. “That will never be you.”

 

“Oh, that’s a good point.”

 

“If they get to you, just do what you did to the wolf— kick and stab.”

 

“Okay.”

 

“We’ll see you at the inn,” Trish said. “Pawly, you coming with us or going with them?”

 

Pawly hesitated, then went to Trish.

 

“Heh... you’re just hoping you’ll get a snack before dinner,” Stern laughed. “Trish, please get her something? If not for her, we’d have been in a worse place.”

 

“I was already planning on it,” Trish grinned.

 

“We’ll need to test and see how effective her shocking ability is,” Vulk said as he went with Trish and Cyra.

 

“We should be able to do it tomorrow,” Trish said.

 

“Which way to the weaponsmith?” Cammie asked Stern.

 

“Good question,” Stern said, already waving to a patrolling guard. “Let’s ask him.”