After stripping the other Templars down and laying them down in Greta's beds, Jorn found a sofa, and Tristan and I cuddled up on top of some blankets in front of the fireplace and promptly fell asleep. I had no idea about the others, but I slept like the dead. The only time I woke up was when we got back to Goodfield. When we reached the village center, the chickenhouse screeched to a halt, wiggled for a good minute, then settled down into the dirt. Once the house stopped moving, I was out like a light again.

When we finally came around, the sky was bright, and the other Templars were just starting to wake up. More importantly, we woke up to the smell of bacon and eggs. Greta's house had been cooking a massive feast for us as we slept. Tristan and I made it to the table first and started wolfing down the food without a single ounce of hesitation. The others wandered in one at a time, and before long, we were all laughing and joking while eating a feast prepared for us by a magical house.

For whatever reason, the Templars had healed much faster than they should have. We concluded that the witch's house must have all kinds of magical effects we didn't know about. Even Nel, who had been badly injured, was mostly healed and only had the slightest limp when she made her way to the table.

"So, what are you all going to do?" I asked the group.

Silan, an older templar with dark hair and brown skin, swallowed a forkful of sausages and spoke first. "Figure we might as well do patrols. If our limbs are working, so are we. Right, lads?"

The other Templars, sans Nel, agreed through their mouthfuls of food.

"No, you will not." Tristan glared at them all in turn. "You may feel better, but you aren't actually better. You'll be staying here and resting whether you want to or not. Healer's orders."

In response, the house shuddered, and the front door's locks, of which there were five, all latched at once.

"Looks like the house agrees." I grinned at the Templars. Looks like we're stuck."

Jorn laughed. "I could use the vacation, anyway."

So, that's where we stayed for four days. The house always seemed to have what we needed whenever we needed it. There were playing cards, board games, and endless meals that magically appeared on the stove whenever someone was hungry. The house even tried to lock Tristan and me in one of the rooms, but we were definitely not comfortable doing anything with what felt like our giant family just one wall away. That didn't stop us from making out and groping one another like teenagers every time we were alone, though.

On the fifth morning, the five latches unlatched, the front door swung open, and Greta tumbled into the house, holding her hat so it didn't fly off into the starry sky behind her. When she stumbled in, the door shut again, and she was left looking down at the seven of us eating breakfast.

"Well, hi there!" She said with a bright smile. "Mind if I join in? Kasimir eats like a bird. I'm starved."

I waved the witch over. "There's plenty. Sit down with us."

Coincidentally, the seat next to Jorn was open. The woman's hat, cloak, and staff vanished in a puff of purple smoke, and she sat down next to her... whatever he was to her. "Hi. Come here often?"

Jorn's goofy grin immediately split his face. "With company as fine as you, I'll have to make it a point to come here more often." He winked at her. "What's your name?"

In that moment, I realized that Jorn was actually a pretty handsome guy. He might be a little older, and he hadn't taken the best care of himself, but when he smiled for real, I could see why someone could fall for him. It was like his smile was a window into his soul, and his soul was good. He was genuinely a great guy.

"Mom, Dad, can you not flirt during breakfast? It's awkward." Tristan gave them both a playful smirk. "At least do it somewhere we can't see. Or hear."

"Oh, you're such a prude." Greta picked up her fork, speared a sausage off Jorn's plate, popped it into her mouth, and chewed it like it owed her money.

I looked at her, and a thought occurred to me. If Jorn forgot her as quickly as he did, wouldn't we eventually get there, too? And how soon would it happen? I hated the idea that I'd forget her one day. "How long until Tristan and I... you know?" I looked at Jorn and pointed at my head.

She frowned. I could tell she got my meaning. "As long as we keep our meetings short, maybe a day or two at a time, and we keep them low-key, we can interact like this dozens of times. If it's done remotely like we did a few days ago, even more." She looked at Jorn. "Unfortunately, I found out the particulars through trial and error. Mostly error." That same sad look crossed her face again. "But, it is what it is. And, I love the chase, so it's fine. Really."

She didn't sound convincing, but I wasn't about to challenge her. "How can you spend time with Faye, then?"

Greta rolled her eyes. "She's basically immune to everything due to the Goddess's blessings. Kasimir is immune, too, but he won't tell us why or how."

"I see." Must be nice, being the Hero.

"By the way, where is the Hero?" Tristan asked. "I was hoping..."

I reached out and grabbed her hand. I knew she wanted to meet her.

"The Hero?" Nel asked beside her. The young blonde Templar had been warming up to us over the last week, but she was still quiet. I'd taken her distance personally back at the temple, but I realized over the past few days that she was just super introverted.

I answered for Tristan. "Long story. We'll explain it later."

Greta chimed in. "She's with her brother. They're going to the Library of Xosh to look for more information about the early Fourth Era. That mace head might be from around the Dark Lord's time, if not older. They're trying to learn more about it."

"And what about B?"

"We went to Galden to rain down some hell, but he's already gone. His manor in Galden is empty, and most of his servants are either missing or have been found in the Galden mines. My guess is he took off after you fought that witch."

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I shivered. "That makes sense."

She looked at us. "Are you two certain you want to get involved further?"

I nodded, and so did Tristan. "Yeah. We wanted to do the adventurer thing anyway, and this is as good a start as any."

Tristan added, "We can't stay holed up in the temple forever. We'll grow more this way."

Greta nodded. "You're so much like we were." A smile spread across her face. "Since you've decided, I'll give your fortune, free of charge." She held up two fingers. "The third will find you. The fourth will be found by you. Don't hold resentment, and always help those in need." Her eyes visibly sparkled as she spoke.

"What does that mean?" I asked.

She shrugged. "No idea." Pointing at her eyes, she added, "I can see the threads of fate with these things, but I don't get the particulars. Just some funny words and strong feelings." She looked at Tristan. "And for you: first of three, trust and love without resistance. Only then will you once again have what you lost."

Tristan nodded. "Okay."

I shook my head. "You got something from that?"

She looked at me and gave me a soft smile. "I guess you'll find out, won't you?"

"Ugh... No spoilers, right?"

"Right."

Looking back at the witch, I saw that her attention had been pulled away. One of the younger Templars, Nivan, was asking about his future love life. I didn't know if I'd like something like that. Seemed like a burden.

The witch wolfed down the rest of Jorn's food and looped her arm through his. Batting her eyes at him, she asked, "Care to see the village with me?"

He grinned. "How could I turn a woman like you down?"

The pair stood up, and Greta swept her arm out. "The rest of your people will be back by the evening. Until then, you are welcome to remain here, or you have permission to explore the town. One of our contacts who lives in this region took care of those pesky undead that attacked you all, so you'll be perfectly safe, so enjoy yourselves." With a snap of her fingers, the latches unlocked, and she led Jorn outside.

Looking at Tristan, I smirked. "Want to see how Bertram and Bethany are doing?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I'd like that."

***

After a lovely afternoon with the elderly couple, the two of us made our way back to the village square. When we got there, we found Ro-Saleh, Na-Ya, and the other Templars talking to Greta and Jorn outside of her house. Sitting on the front porch, Voss and Ilan were both seated and eating. Both of them looked like they were halfway to becoming zombies from the number of bandages draping them.

"Voss! Ilan!" Tristan sprinted to them. Before he could stop her, she'd wrapped them both in a giant hug.

"Careful, Tris!" Voss lightly wrapped his arm around her. "I'm very broken, and you jostling me won't help me heal any faster."

"Ow, ow, ow..." Ilan's freckled face was screwed up in pain.

"Sorry!" She held out her hands.

[Healing Light]

White light floated from her hands and sank into their skin.

"Hey! You finally did it, did you?"

She puffed up with pride. "Sure did." She looked back at me. "It helps when someone has faith in you."

The older man smiled at her. "It does, it does." Looking at me, he said, "I hear you went through it while we were gone." He held his hand out. "I also hear we'd probably be carved up and dead if you and Tristan hadn't done what you'd done. So, from one warrior to another, thank you."

I stepped up to him and shook his hand. Despite his injuries and obvious fatigue, his grip was like iron.

Ilan spoke up. "Thank you, Alex. Really." The man, who was maybe a year or two younger than I was, met my gaze. "I thought I was a goner. Ro and Na-Ya saved us from the mine, but I'm grateful you went after that mage. She said she was coming back for us, but she never did. I know I have you two to thank."

"I'm just glad you two are okay." I held my hand out to him, but his hand was fully mummified, so I switched to a fist and pounded his makeshift mitt.

"My edán!" Na-Ya's voice sounded from behind us. Turning, I watched as the elf shot past and nearly tackled Tristan.

"And the man of the hour." Ro-Saleh walked up next to me. "I heard about you taking on that mage and saving our people. Good work." He clapped me on the back. "I will be proud to call you my edán one day."

I grinned at him. "You know, I could get used to all this praise. It's not half bad."

He playfully smacked my head. "No getting a big head now. When we get back to the temple, it'll be all training from here on out. I heard you didn't put a dent in that mage."

Shuffling, I mumbled, "Yeah, but I stood up to her. That counts for something, right?"

His golden eyes sparkled. "It does. But we need to toughen you up. Word is, you'll be leaving on a quest from the Hero herself. Renard won't let you go until you're stronger."

I groaned. Training was going to be intense moving forward.

"And you!" Na-Ya rushed up to me and wrapped me in a hug. "You kept her safe, did you?" She stepped back, smiled, and slapped me. "That's for putting her in danger in the first place!"

Rubbing my cheek, I said, "Well, that escalated quickly."

The elf hugged me again. "Good job, my future edán. We are proud of you."

I shook my head. "What does that mean?"

She smiled up at me. "Family."

Ahhhhh. That made sense. I grinned at the thought, though a part of me, the most anxious part, wondered if that was what Tristan wanted. Looking over to her, I saw her sapphire eyes were sparkling as she gazed at me. Yeah, she might want that, too. One day. Hopefully.

"It's settled then." Greta's sing-song voice filled the air around us.

Our collective attention turned to the witch, who'd stepped up on her porch and was holding her staff in the air.

"If you're all soooo eager to see some real magic, feast your eyes on Reial's foremost witch casting a fifth circle spell." She lifted her hand into the air, rapped it against her staff, and grinned. "Don't blink; otherwise, you'll miss it." She kept her hands up, and her smile never budged... but nothing happened.

"Uh, GretaaahhhHHH!" The entire world shifted under my feet, then fell away, opening up into a sea of stars. One of the stars grew brighter and brighter until it was almost blinding, then it moved closer and encompassed us all. The world turned into an inside-out bubble, as did my stomach, and the stars began swirling faster and faster and faster until—

I fell to my knees on soft grass and immediately threw up.

"And there you have it! One of the Witch of the Stars' patented spells. Go on. Praise me. It'll get you everything."

Every single one of us groaned.

"What?" She snapped. "Don't act so dramatic. You'll all survive."

Lifting my gaze up to glare at the woman, I immediately forgot my nausea when I saw that we were on the front lawn of Light's Hope Temple.

We were home.

***

I had a towel wrapped around my waist and a cloak thrown over my shoulders. I'd fallen asleep in the baths, and it was quite nippy out. Luckily, I'd brought a cloak, otherwise I'd be miserable.

Opening one of the temple's front doors a crack, I slipped into the temple and shut the door behind me. Giving up prayers to the Goddess's statue for granting me the luck of finding the door unbolted, I softly padded my way to my bedroom, eager for some rest after everything that had happened. When I made it to my hallway, I looked to the left, toward Tristan's room. Since we'd gotten back the day before, we'd both been busy and hadn't seen one another. I'd found myself missing her. But, there was no way she was still awake. Was she?

Shaking my head, I turned to the right and walked to the end of the hallway. Fumbling with my keyring, I finally found the familiar shape of my bedroom key, and after a good minute of looking for the keyhole, I finally heard the comforting sound of my lock unlatching. Reaching for the handle, I turned, opened the door, and slipped inside. Before I could shut the door again, something soft and warm and smelling clean and feminine collided with me.

Soft, familiar lips pressed to mine. I kicked the door shut as slender hands reached for my waist. My towel fell away, and a nude body perfectly shaped to fit mine pressed to me. Hands wrapped around my neck and pulled me forward. Stepping across the room in the darkness, the back of her knees hit my bed, and the beautiful woman collapsed backward onto the mattress, the moon illuminating her gorgeous naked body.

Her hands found mine, she pulled me on top of her, and her legs wrapped around me as our lips found one another once again.

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