Friends in a Foreign Land

Nindrol was their afternoon instructor for the next several weeks and taught them a basic overview of the various melee weapons and shields, urging each of them to find the right weapon for them but also making sure they could at least function with just about any weapon. Regina liked the larger, two-handed swords, while Ramiro and Eric went with lighter, faster blades. Mira and Alexis found themselves leaning more toward hammers and maces, with Alexis also practicing with the shield so that she could better protect her family. It was during this training that Alexis learned that she could use the runic tattoos on her arms to imbue magic into whatever she was holding without it harming her. Nindrol had her practicing encasing her shield with fire and then ice over and over. Initially she could only do it a few times before it drained her mana but as they trained, her skill increased and she became more efficient.

From there, they moved on to what Jandar called "ranger training" but Regina referred to as thief training, where they learned to blend with their surroundings, track a target through various environments, and live off the land should they be lost in the wilderness. To no one’s surprise, Ramiro was a natural at moving about unseen. And to everyone’s surprise, Eric was actually pretty amazing at tracking and survival.

The last lessons were how to use ranged weapons taught by Talindra, a rather striking high elven woman. In addition to learning how to use the long bow, short bow, and several types of crossbows, the party also got the opportunity to further practice dealing with emotions in Elven fashion when Regina went off on a rampage accusing Eric and Talindra of flirting with one another derailing the first training session. But by the end of the basic ranged weapons training, everyone was able to hit a stationary target eight times out of 10 with at least two ranged weapons. Some, like Ramiro, were hitting that or better with every ranged weapon they handed him, including throwing knives. And, to everyone's surprise, Regina and Eric both appeared to have made real progress in learning to flow with their emotions, which positively impacted the group as a whole.

The last few weeks of their training were spent fine-tuning their class abilities and teaching battle tactics. Mira and Reyna spent a great deal of time working with Zeno to improve their casting speed and focus, while Regina only practiced a couple days with her magic before returning to Nindrol to practice with a two-handed sword she had taken to that was nearly as big as she was. Alexis also spent time with Nindrol practicing with sword and shield, often sparing with her mom. Ramiro trained more in duel welding with Nym using various small blades. Eric worked with Talindra improving on his archery and with Jandar to improve his stealth and tracking. The five rescued children calling themselves The Hand, also joined in during this time and trained alongside the party.

Then, as suddenly as it started, the training was finished. The party went to meet their teachers one morning, and everyone was gone, save Khatar.

"Where is everyone?" Eric asked

"The job they were assigned to do has been completed. They have gone on to their next assignments, and it's time for you to meet the king again."

"They just left without saying goodbye?" Mira asked with a hurt tone

"That is a job they left to me," Khatar said with a smirk. "But not yet. Now, if you come with me, we're off to see the king."

⚶

This trip to the royal palace was infinitely more relaxed than the first one. The party took in the estate and other buildings on the property as their carriage rolled up to the entrance.

Khatar led them into the throne room, where the rest of their instructors awaited them, in addition to the king and queen. Once they all filed into the room, Khatar motioned to them and knelt. The party followed suit.

"Rise, my friends!" ordered the king with a smile. "Your instructors have shared your progress with me, and I must say that I am very impressed. It seems the gods knew what they were doing sending you to me. With the help of your friends in 'The Hand' we've been able to track several of the people behind this cult. I hope you were taught how to ride horseback, as you'll be traveling to some other towns to track down the remaining few. In addition to the gift of horse and tack for each of you, your instructors and they've convinced me that a little extra help wouldn’t be amiss. So, we have some enchanted rings for you."

At this point, Khatar pulled rings from a pouch at his hip and passed them out to the party. As he did so, the king continued, "Alexis, I've been told that you will be learning runic magic and enchanting. These rings were specifically chosen to meet two conditions. In addition to being useful, the runes on them are visible, making them easier for you to study and learn from them. Now, I believe my Royal Seer has some parting words for you."

“Hold up. You just want us to leave right now? Without any notice or warning?” Ramiro questioned.

The king stiffened momentarily, not used to being questioned, before answering, “No matter how careful we are, word of our recent arrests will spread. We would like you out of the city before you can be identified. After meeting with me you will be briefed on the tasks laid before you and provided a backstory to hide the fact that you’re Twiceborn and explain the questions you will be asking.

"And Reyna's not coming with us?" Alexis asked.

"No,” Reyna stepped in, “my place is here. But rest assured that I will be keeping up with your activities and passing on warnings to you. Which is why I have this for Mira," Reyna said as she pulled a necklace from her pocket. "It's just a sending stone set in a necklace. Keep it on you at all times so I can get in touch with you immediately should I need to."

"Why me?" Mira asked.

"You've said you plan to be in the back casting healing spells rather than fighting, so you'll likely be more able to talk in a crisis than everyone else."

"She has a point," Eric piped up.

"One more thing before you go," Reyna said, making eye contact with each of her family in turn. "Wolves in a pack are hunters. Wolves, on their own, are prey. Watch for a man in shades of blue, for he will try to separate you."

Hearing Reyna's words, the party looked at one another, the heaviness of the situation settling on them. No one wanted to be the first to speak. Finally, Regina stepped up to Reyna and hugged her. "Stay safe. We'll see you when we return."

"Khatar, can you check in on the people at the inn while we're gone," Alexis asked.

"They will be taken care of. Please come with me. We must complete your briefing and get you on the road if you’re to sleep in Arimel tonight rather than camping on the side of the road."

⚶

Khatar lead the group into a conference room where two bearded dwarves were sitting. Immediately everyone’s hopes shot up thinking it was some of their family but after they all fired off [Identify] they saw they were wrong.

Khatar took the seat at the head of the table before rushing the group, “Please come in and have a seat. I’d like to introduce you all to Joaquin and his wife Isidora from the clan Livingstone.

At the name of the clan several members of the party perked up.

“Our friends joined your clan recently,” said Alexis with a smile.

Isidora nodded her head, “That they did. And they got permission for all of you to join as well. If you wish to, that is.”

“So here’s the plan,” said Khatar. “We know your group doesn’t posses any spy or covert skills. As such, we want to keep things simple. Assuming you’re willing to join clan Livingstone, then your backstory is simply that you all grew up on the clan’s island to west and this is your first time on the continent. That will hide much of your behavior issues, everyone will assume that it’s simply due to you growing up in a dwarven hold.”

“This seems too simple. What if they ask someone from the island and they say they’ve never heard of us.”

“That’s easy,” answered Joaquin. “My family are the only people from the clan in the city and, as far as we know, in the country. So if questions are going to be asked, we’ll be the ones answering them.”

Khatar picked up the conversation, “Now, the businesses that you ‘inherited’ will be managed by your clan per their usual policies. And all the people that you saved will be looked after by both the clan and by some of the King’s people. The Hand, specifically will be looked over by my fellow instructors and I.”

“What are the usual policies for the clan looking over our businesses?” asked Ramiro with suspicion in his voice.

“Our clan typically will split profit so that half is reinvested in the business and half is paid out. 10% will come to my family for running your businesses. 5% goes to the clan. That will leave you with 35% of the profit with out you having to do any of the work,” answered Isidora. “If, at any point, you decide you wish to stay in the area and run these businesses yourself, we’ll immediately turn everything over to you and we will no longer take 10% of your profits.”

“I don’t like it,” said Eric.

“Yeah, it doesn’t seem fair they only get 10% even though they’re doing all the work,” added Mira.

“No,” replied Eric, “I don’t want to give them 10%. These are our businesses. I finally own a business. I don’t want to just give it away to someone else.”

Totally ignoring Eric, Regina cuts in, “All in favor of giving Isidora and family 25% of the profits.” Everyone save Eric immediately agreed.

“That’s bullshit!” snapped Eric. “Instead of discussing it you’re just going to shut me down and ignore me. I should have expected as much since y’all are all her friends and not mine.”

Ramiro made eye contact with Eric before speaking, “Everyone knows you like to be the center of attention and think life is all about you. And usually we humor you since you married into the family. But we have shit to do today, so yeah we’re going to shut you down and move on.”

Mira, not liking the tension in the air, jumped into the conversation, “Great, so you all get 25%. Please take care of the people we rescued. They’ve had it rough.”

Isidora and Joaquin both looked more than a bit surprised but Isidora was able to get back on track. “We thank you for this generosity. Moving on to the next topic, we have had these papers drawn up.” With that she slid some papers over to the party. “These show that Clan Livingstone now owns each of your businesses that are in the outlying towns that you’ll be traveling to.”

Khatar cut in, “Part of your cover there will be to visit each of these and let the employees know that the clan now owns the business and to determine if those employees are loyal members of the kingdom or if they should be replaced. If it’s the later, please find and hire someone before you leave the town.

“Now, you’ll see on those papers that they were witnessed by the king’s own people. This is unusual and some are likely to remark on that. Your response should be that because this is the first time a dwarven clan has owned businesses in the kingdom there was pressure on both sides to make sure everything was done correctly. The truth is, we expect some of the locals to resist acknowledging this new ownership and that royal seal should carry weight with the local magistrates should they become involved.”