Callie's Heroes

PART VI: PEOPLE ALWAYS MATTER

Callie stopped at the bar, hoping to snag another bottle of wine or two to bring back to the table. The bartender was Grig, the Goblin that delivered the soup the night before, and on recognizing Callie, reached under the counter and handed her what he promised was “the good stuff’. Next to the bar, the small table had an assortment of finger-foods, and she put together a small plate of strange raw vegetables and large, sliced mushrooms. Thankfully, someone had the foresight to put steps in front of the table so she could get high enough to see what all there was.

By now, the music had actually become fairly lively. It was still completely lacking a beat, but the vague Celtic overtones had morphed and combined into something that seemed a little more akin to bluegrass. In addition to the lute, Callie could see a banjo-like instrument being picked by another Elf player, as well as this world’s analog for a fiddle being played by a Goblin. It still wasn’t her type of music, but the dance floor had picked up several couples and even a trio, all having a good time as they swung in circles, hand-in-hand and arm-in-arm.

“I return and I bring wine!” Callie announced as she rejoined her friends. The five from her house had been joined by Jesca and Koda, all seven laughing it up. Someone had already brought over a big plate of foods that had become community eating and made Callie’s small plate pale in comparison. Jesca slid aside to provide access to the booster steps and took the wine bottles. “Grig was tending bar, and he promised me that this is ‘the good stuff’.”

“Where is Juniper?” Vanis asked.

“Missing your dance partner?” Callie asked, raising an eyebrow.

“She was quite a charming person, Callie,” Vanis said. “Thank you for advising me to entertain her.”

“She was heading off with Master Healer Tasi to talk more about possibly giving her a Symbiote and training. I think they were going to find the Sylvan trainer.”

“Sylvan?” Xin asked, unfamiliar with the name.

“A Wizard specializing in plants,” Callie clarified. “That’s what class Juniper appears to be. Although the Scryer had problems fully reading her aura apparently. Something about Dryads being super magical and Juniper’s age.” Callie shrugged. “They’ll figure it all out.”

While Calllie was speaking, Lena had opened the new bottle of wine and tried a small amount. “This is really good,” she said. “I’m no wine expert, but it’s definitely better than the other bottles.”

Vanis poured for all, Xin being reluctant, but finally giving in and accepting a small amount, which she diluted with quite a bit of water to ‘make it much less evil’. Lena was right, it was amazing. Dark and bold with vague flavors of fruits and other mysterious undertones.

Pixyl was still managing to stay in her ‘happy-drunk’ sweet spot, sipping her own wine and alternating between listening to the chatter around the table, and turning around to people-watch for a while. A couple times, Callie caught her eye, but Pixyl would immediately blush and look away. Callie couldn’t help but notice once again how much Pixyl felt like the sister she never had.

Vanis interrupted Callie’s introspection. “Just so you know, Callie, we’ve been advised that the party will be ending in about one hour, so everyone is able to get a good night’s sleep before tomorrow. We’ve all been provided with anti-hangover potions to drink before we sleep.” He pointed to a small basket on the table with a dozen vials of pink liquid like what Tasi had provided for Pixyl.

“They taste awful,” Pixyl advised with a snarl. “Wash it d-d-down with something.”

“Good to know,” Callie replied, slightly wary of the impending awfulness.

As the final hour slowly ticked away, people came and went. Some just wanted to meet Pixyl or Vanis, others just being friendly in general and mingling. At some point, Jesca and Koda left to socialize on their own. The party was certainly helping everyone get introduced to each other, and the socially-lubricating effects of the drinks and being moved around at dinner to meet new people wasn’t hurting any either. Lhawni even came by the table, pulling Xin away to chat together with two other Goblins. Callie presumed they must be the other Shamans and she saw from a distance Xin’s demeanor brighten significantly as they chatted. Vanis was also pulled aside for a discussion with a young Lionkin named Fynisse, who he introduced briefly as one of his fellow Warlock recruits.

One interesting person that briefly came by was a race Callie hadn’t yet seen. She stood about as tall as the Fairies, about a head or so taller than Callie, or twice the height of Pixyl. She was quite petite, with pale skin and a small, adorably-freckled face. Her long, reddish-brown hair was braided in a single tail, and she brought it around to hang down her chest. The end was bound with a piece of green wrapping ribbon, much like Callie had done with her own hair. Bright green eyes caught your attention, as did the large, furry, pointed ears that occasionally wiggled.

But all that was normal compared to the rest of her features. From the waist down, she had legs that more-closely resembled a goat or deer or other two-toed hoofed creature. She wore her pant legs undone at mid-thigh like Xin, everything below the makeshift shorts covered in short, red-brown hair the same color as that on her head. She had a long, thin tail that ended with a tuft of hair that was a slightly lighter color than the rest. To complete the motif, the top of her head sported two small deer-like antlers, each with four points.

She’d tapped on Pixyl’s shoulder hesitantly to get her attention.

Pixyl turned and suddenly got a shocked expression on her face. “Hello.”

“Hi,” the girl said nervously. “Um … I just wanted to come by and meet you. I’m Ambria.”

“Pixyl. And this is Callie.”

“Hi,” Callie said, mostly resisting the urge to stare too hard.

“I just wanted to say I was really scared to come here,” Ambria said, looking sheepishly down at the ground. “Here to the camp, that is,” she amended. “I was worried everyone was going to be so big or mean to me. But seeing you get your medal and watching you win against that Dwarf a little while ago, it just made me feel a little better about being here. I’m still a little scared because I don’t know anything about fighting, but at least seeing that I’m not the only Fae helps.”

“Where did you c-c-come from and how did you end up here?” Pixyl asked.

“My family still lives deep in the Fae Woods where we have a mushroom farm. I’m only here because I decided to go with my great-grandfather to trade in the city, and then got picked by the lottery. It’s funny, if we hadn’t made such good time getting there, I would have missed the choosing. I hate that he had to go home alone and explain to my family why I didn’t come back with him. My mother must be so angry.”

Callie was a little confused. She had assumed Ambria was a Beastkin of some kind; a deer-based one. Apparently, though, she was another Fae like Pixyl. She wracked her brain trying to think through all the tales of the Fae she could, to try and figure out what she was.

Before she could ask anyone, Lena entered into the conversation.

“Hello! You’re a long way from home, aren’t you?”

Ambria looked up at Lena, who was speaking a little louder than she should be, and slurring her way through the words, obviously quite drunk. “Uh … hello.”

“That’s, Lena. Don’t mind her,” Callie said. “She’s hammered.”

“I am not!” Lena said, obviously not believing it herself.

Ambria smiled weakly. “It’s okay. The wine was good tonight.”

“What class are you that made you end up here?” Callie asked.

“Combat Healer. I was a newling Healer back home, apprenticed to our village Healer, so I was still learning.”

“Healer?” Lena said. She turned to look across the table. “Hey Tazrok! I found another Healer for you to meet.”

The Ogre, standing off to the side, broke from his conversation with an Elf Callie didn’t recognize, leaned over the table, and looked down on Ambria, who suddenly shrank back nervously. Tazrok’s smile brightened even more as he said “Hello little Faun.”

“A Faun! That’s what she is!” Callie thought to herself, putting all the pieces together.

Ambria swallowed hard, and her voice barely cracked out a weak “Hello.”

“D-D-Don’t worry. He is very n-n-nice,” Pixyl said.

“He’s a Druid, so another Healer class like you,” Callie added. “Or at least part Healer-class.”

Ambria’s expression brightened and relaxed at the mention of Tazrok’s class. “Oh! I knew a Druid back home. She could turn into a cat, and a raven, too.”

“Yes. Am Druid. Learn to heal today,” Tazrok said very proudly. “Healed dying Blue Pixie. Still not know animals, yet.”

“I heard about your fight with the Demon earlier this afternoon, before dinner,” Ambria said to Pixyl. “But I wasn’t there to see it. Seeing you get your medal is amazing, though. Makes me feel less like I don’t matter here.”

“People always matter,” Tazrok said encouragingly, pointing at the little Fae.

Ambria stayed to chat for a little longer before taking her leave to rejoin her housemates at another table. At this point Callie turned back to her own table as Xin returned from the conversation with her fellow Shamans. “Something occurred to me while talking to Ambria. Lena is completely drunk. That means, it’s time for her to tell us all about her secret past.”

Lena gasped. “I am not drunk!” She then noticed the two empty bottles of Fantasy Jack, and the half-dozen wine bottles, and her body sunk. “I am, aren’t I?”

“You are,” Callie, Xin and Pixly confirmed in unison.