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Chapter 6: Regaining Trust

"No! Mother, no!" Leofwine screamed as he woke up from another nightmare. Recently he had difficulties sleeping as the images of Durandt's shattered skull and the images of the bandit raid in which his parents died mixed together into a brutal phantasm. His body has also grown chubbier from before.

Aldric was still driving the cart further and glanced at the otter with a worried expression. "It will all be alright, Leofwine. Just give it some time."

The otter nodded and leaned against the wooden wall that the badger attached in the middle of the cart after what happened in Sùil Cascade three weeks ago. Leofwine was still not feeling well, despite the bruises having healed, not so much the emotional wounds. "The autumn winds are lovely, aren't they?"

"My favorite season," Aldric said as he hummed a little bit to the songs of the birds that were starting to fly down south. "I am actually using my magic to form a robe from the leaves every fall."

"Sounds lovely," Leofwine said casually as he got up and took a seat next to Aldric to take over the reins. And to hum with the badger a little till before they came to a hold in front of a massive mountain complex that was covered in fields of chestnut trees that all seemed to be ready for harvest.

Aldric got off the cart and waited for two men, a fox and another badger, to get up to them and drive their cart to the stalls. After that was done Aldric and Leofwine entered something that looked like a cave entrance and a while later they went through a rather big gate into a place that made Leofwine's jaws drop. "Welcome to Scathsolas, the Underground Polis!" Aldric proclaimed playfully as he grabbed Leofwine by his arm and pulled him towards the edge of the street.

The otter's jaw dropped as he looked at the massive structures of Scathsolas. Every layer of the city had shops, taverns, inns, and public services in close proximity, three rivers went through the city and exited into a lake that Leofwine could see somewhere past a small passage at the other end of the place. On top of it all stood the castle in which the royal family was residing in. "I am, this is just, as if someone took a fairy tale and made it real."

"Depends on the fairy tale," Aldric said with a chuckle. "Here they tell you stuff about monsters eating the children way more often."

Being a bit more used to the humor of Aldric Leofwine shared in with the laughter and pointed at the castle. "So, they cook children over there you say?"

The badger gave him a wink as he gestured him to follow and went down the pathway to the castle where they were now going to.

Meanwhile Vidar entered the city with a grumble as he fell off the cart after the two guards helped getting it to the stalls. In addition, he missed company as Aldric was giving him a silence treatment and Leofwine was still terrified. The frustration of his situation made him punch a nearby wooden pole and he went to the next best tavern and opened the door violently enough to squeeze in a poor weasel, that was about to leave the house, against the wall. The wolverine didn't care and just took a table for himself.

"What can I bring to you, sir," the waiter, a young and slender rat, was asking with a perky smile that was genuine enough for his incisor teeth to shine in a rather friendly manner.

"The strongest," Vidar grunted as he was not eager to talk right now and just wanted the friendly face of the rat to get out of his sight. A few minutes later a big mug of dark brewed beer was put on his table and he downed it into his throat in one go. "More!"

Being a bit unsure about the wolverine's demeanor the waiter immediately refilled the mug with more of the dark brew and went carefully away from Vidar.

The large mustelid demanded numbness for himself. Every bit of the beer was taking away from the feelings that plagued him for weeks now. He wanted to drown all the anger and sadness and soon enough was at his eleventh mug before he got up and stumbled over his feet. "Just screw this," he mumbled and remained in his position on the ground.

"It is alright," a calm voice said as someone was helping up Vidar back on his feet. A rather old looking mole was looking at the wolverine and examining the eyes to determine how present Vidar still was. "But you may should find a bed and sleep off the effects of that much alcohol."

"I don't need sleep," Vidar said as he pulled his arm away from the mole and just went out of the tavern on to the streets with the alcohol making him grin lustfully as he was posing with his body in a rather questionable manner.

"Aldric, this is amazing!" Leofwine said as he spun around a pillar that was made from a glowing crystal as they were found all over the city. They were a light source that illuminated the otherwise dark places enough to see people and buildings clearly. And their blue light was tranquilizing for the otter's mind and he wondered shortly just how amazing Diamond Lake must be.

The badger gave Leofwine a nod as he pointed at the gates of the palace. "Fionnbharr should be here any minute now, so I do hope you have heard about him," he voiced as he waited for Leofwine's answer.

"Um, not really, no. I actually never knew about Sùil Cascade either before I went there. But the innkeeper was a really nice man, as well as the owner of the tavern I visited later that day," Leofwine said as he delved in his memories. "So, what can you tell me about Fionnbharr?"

"Maybe that I am named like that because of my appearance," a voice said behind Leofwine and the otter turned around to glance at the white face of an albino badger that was dressed in a blue robe and standing at his height.

Leofwine knelt before Fionnbharr and waited for the prince to tell him to raise up. Instead he felt the gentle arms of the albino badger pull him up to look into a smiling face that would have made a wolf jealous. "My name is Leofwine your majesty. I have been traveling with Aldric on his journey back."

"Just call me Fionnbharr or Fionn. So, how about us," Fionnbharr glanced around and then back at Leofwine, "three go inside and have some talk, alright?"

The otter and other badger complied and once inside the castle Leofwine looked around himself and at the many pictures that were hit into the stone over centuries, showing warriors, scholars, and mages that once acted as kings to the city and expanded it into the powerful state it is today. He even was more impressed by what he saw coming once he followed Fionnbharr into the rather nicely lit pantry of the castle where he, Aldric, and Fionnbharr took a seat and were soon served plated filled with hot chestnuts, salmon, and hornflincher filets. "That smells delicious, Fionn."

"I already had an idea, so the steamed salmon was prepared an hour ago," Fionnbharr replied as he took a few chestnuts and ate from their insides. "So, as I see you and Aldric are in possession of gems belonging to the Old Ones. Hence, I already went into our libraries and researched to see what I could find out."

Leofwine raised an eyebrow as he slowly chewed on a piece of salmon and let the atmosphere of the calm and relaxing hall fill his mind. "So, what was it you could find out?"

"The gems are, an enigma to say the least. Their origin can be tracked down to the Old Ones, but I am wondering and thus," Fionnbharr now gestured the servants something that Leofwine couldn't understand and soon enough a beaver went in with a bottle of potion. "I may have to look into the gem to find out more, if that is alright."

Aldric took out the cyan gem they found in Argentflux and put it into the hands of Fionnbharr. "It might be rather stressful considering they are at least several thousand years old."

The albino badger nodded and closed his hands around the gem and closed his eyes. He was humming softly as he saw images in front of his inner eye, keeping constant for centuries till the image of a wolverine warrior breaking up with a lover and then time turning further backwards to the war where the gem was stolen from a city in Hela, where it remained at a temple. Then the images showed the destruction of Rayot where the gem was part of the crown of the kings. Eventually it returned all to the day when the Gray Star appeared.

A massive dragon, its body looking like gray metal, feathered wings in black and white sprouting from its back, eyes shining in all colors of the light. It only floated above the islands of Adamas where the Old Ones were panicking as strong winds blew their towers to the ground, floods drowned the people, and fire devoured countless lives.

Fionnbharrs visions turned further back and this time it was feeling like an eternity as centuries over centuries passed by in which the Old Ones started to look different with every few millennia, their technology reverting back to something even primitive to him till there was nothing and time was still reverting back till suddenly he found himself back to massive cities that grew ever smaller again and eventually stopped in a room full of metal. The creature standing in the room was working at a table, six jewels placed on it.

It was dressed in dark clothing, seemed to be male, and had blonde fur on top of his head while otherwise the pale skin was completely exposed. The man took the gems and the next moment they were floating around him. "I see, your name is Fionnbharr, correct?"

Fionnbharr was rather confused that someone in times long since passed could tell that he was observing them. His very presence was that of someone watching through a one-sided window, but this time things were oddly different.

"I have achieved something akin to god-like powers recently, so I noticed some fluctuations around me more easily," the man replied as he turned around to where Fionnbharr's inner eye could look him into his green eyes. "You can call me Yishai, that's the name I will be using once the time has come."

The inability to reply annoyed Fionnbharr as he found it rather strange to hold a conversation without being able to say anything or having a body to gesture something.

Yishai however only smiled and sat down on a chair. "The gems, as you see them, they should be handled carefully. Someone, let's say a sheep like Seleukos, might be foolish enough to use them for his own personal gain. Something I wouldn't recommend," Yishai now took a strange object from the table and touched it several times to turn it around for Fionnbharr to look at a picture that was highly confusing.

A creature looking like a flower, with a bud that was shaped like a bird embryo, and surrounded by the six gems that Yishai was in possession at the moment.

"Let us say, it wasn't easy to kill," Yishai explained as he put away the picture and looked into the inner eye of the badger. "Should the gems gain enough energy, they will result in another creature like this. It is recommended to avoid that, unless you are in possession of powers equal to it."

Fionnbharr was rather concerned about what Yishai told him. But eventually the image faded as he grew tired of his own magic and looked back at the bottle of potion in his own time. He put the gem on the table, removed the stopper, and drank the potion completely. "Alright, does anybody of you want to fight something right out of a nightmare?"

Aldric was now thinking for a moment and a realization struck him. "We forgot Vidar on the cart!" he exclaimed before his facial expression eased up again and he ate another chestnut. "Oh well, he will be fine."

"I do wonder what that had to do with my que," before Fionnbharr could finish his sentence two guards came into the pantry and dragged a drunken wolverine right in, who was in rather embarrassing state of undress. "Ah, I see."

"Fionnbharr, this crude fellow has been caught how he skipped out on the tab, attacked several civilians, destroyed a statue, undressed in public, and then also proceeded to pass his water on the streets," one of the guards, a female badger, said as she kicked Vidar to the ground. "He also tried to flirt himself out of this and suggested I and my colleague," she now gestured towards her partner, a male mole that was looking rather calm about the situation, "should have a good time with him, which is not exactly how he phrased it."

Aldric now put his head on his arms on the table and began to scream loud enough that even in his muffled state it was rather ear tearing. "Alright, I am feeling better now. Whom am I kidding? This is exactly why my subconscious told me to let him in the cart."

Fionnbharr was chuckling in amusement as he was looking at Vidar and remembered the last time he saw him in a similar state. "Bring him to a bedroom with a bath. And provide him the green robe the tailor made for just such an occasion."

The two guards gestured that they understood the prince and dragged Vidar out of the pantry towards the bed chambers.

"Well, that was embarrassing," Aldric said as he now turned back to Fionnbharr. "In any case, could you evaluate what you were saying before we got interrupted?"

"Surely," Fionnbharr replied as he took the gem and held it towards Aldric. "Those gems, something that called itself Yishai explained it to me. He seemed to be aware of me watching him in the past and showed me the image of a creature that would be reborn if the gems gained enough power."

"Hence the creature obviously is dangerous if he warns about it," Aldric concluded as he took two chestnuts at once and devoured their contents whole. "So, why would someone want those gems then?"

Fionnbharr shook his head. "Maybe because he thinks he could control it and then use it for his own personal gains," he assumed and scratched his muzzle. "I just saw enough centuries of hubris pass me by, so it is obvious that we may need to locate the other gems to prevent something bad from happening."

"Obviously, but right now I and Leofwine would like to take some rest, if that's okay," Aldric said as he looked at Leofwine. "My home is down the street, so how about we go there?"

"Actually, I would offer him a chamber for himself as well," Fionnbharr interrupted as he stood up from his chair and gestured the two to follow him. After a few minutes, they were on the other side of the castle where several doors were leading to the bed chambers guests would usually reside in. "Pick one you like, they are all empty, save for the one with Vidar in it."

Leofwine shrugged as he took the door that went furthest away from the smell that he once admitted to actually like, but now wanted to avoid for as long as he could. "Thank you for your offer, Fionn," he said to the prince and went into the room.

Fionnbharr now glanced at Aldric. "Can it be that you two and Vidar had some issues with each other?"

The look Aldric gave him was telling exactly that. "He lost his temper and attacked Leofwine. Poor guy had nightmares since that day."

"Vidar is rather emotional," Fionnbharr said as they went back into the entrance hall. "And ever since Kjeld, his older brother, died from sickness he has been put under a lot of pressure by his father."

"There is no excuse in that however," Aldric replied as he sat down on a set of stairs. "We all have our own struggles in life without turning on our loved ones. Leofwine had bruises all over his face and couldn't open his left eye for days. Since otter fur is a bit different I had to make a special paste. But, I think the worst was that Leofwine seemed to have developed feelings for him."

"Sounds horrible," was all that Fionnbharr could say before he sat down on the ground and looked at the reliefs that were placed around them. "And impractical considering that you three are stuck together with all this."

Aldric now chuckled. "I considered letting Leofwine stay at my house and continue the journey with Vidar alone, so he may have some time to recover."

The prince was giving the shaman a funny glance. "So, you want to deal with the big toddler all by yourself?"

"As long as it takes to have him back where he belongs," Aldric said as he stood up from the staircase and went down.

"Actually, recently we got the message from Kärmave that Vidar was presumably killed in Argentflux," Fionnbharr said before Aldric could open the door. "The message was devastating to King Bjartr, so I considered sending a bird to tell him that Vidar was still alive. However, I wanted to make sure that you had Vidar with you and not just someone claiming it."

"Would be easier if the future was set in stone rather than being like a fog," Aldric said as he now opened the door of the exit. "I am returning later. Take good care of the moron and Leofwine."

Several hours passed till Vidar could think clear enough to realize where he was. A massive bed chamber filled with furniture, a bathroom right around the corner, and the rather present note of expensive cinnamon in the air. He was in the castle of Scathsolas and considerably smelled worse than usual. Eventually he decided to get to the bathing basin and use his fire magic to heat it up to take a hot bath after the long journey. A bottle of bathing oil specially designed for species with hydrophobic for was put at the side and he poured half of it into the hot water before he slowly went in and felt how his muscles could finally relax. He sat just there for several more minutes till the water started to cool off again and got out to dry himself and put on the green robe that was put neatly on a table next to his bed. Wondering how Fionnbharr was doing, he exited his room and followed the trail of cinnamons and apple scented oils to the library of the castle where he found the albino badger with a book in his hands.

Fionnbharr glanced up as he could smell Vidar rather well. But he immediately returned to the book without caring too much about the wolverine.

"Hey Fionn," Vidar said as he got closer to the young badger and sat down next to him. "Sorry for, well, you know."

"Nothing that can't be fixed as long as it only concerns me," the albino said coldly as he turned a page and read further. "You are a cad, you know that?"

Vidar looked at his feet and lowered his head as he knew what Fionnbharr was referring to. "That wolf, I and her had a great time together, but after I woke up she was gone and Leofwine stood there angrily as he pointed out that his sword was stolen. In the heat of the moment he told me that there was a reason my father doesn't love me. And, I lost myself."

"Yeah, you two seem to have done that," Fionnbharr said as he finished another page. "Still, if you would have remained calm and let it die down, you and Leofwine would be at better terms. Now you have to see for yourself."

Vidar remained silent for a few moments before he finally got up to say something. "I know I fucked up. It was a lucky coincidence that Aldric noticed it, else I might have," he couldn't finish the sentence before he went out of the library, leaving Fionnbharr to continue his book undisturbed, and ran to the door of the bed chamber where he could smell Leofwine in. Carefully he knocked at the door, waiting for a response. "Leofwine?"

Nobody answered, only the noise of someone turning in his blankets was heard from behind the door and that was it.

"Leofwine, I," Vidar knocked against the door another time, this time with more force behind his arm. "I want to talk."

And again, the otter wasn't replying and only turning in his bed to ignore the wolverine.

"Leofwine, please!" Vidar was close to tears as he hit one last time against the door before he gave up and went out of the corridor and past the entrance hall and pantry to the wine cellar. He wanted to just kill off the feelings he had as fast as he could and took a mug to fill it with wine over and over again. Eventually however after his third mug he remembered when he was in Leofwine's hut and almost killed himself with his drinking habits. He broke out in tears and threw the mug into the corner, its contents spilling all over the room. It didn't matter anymore for Vidar as he was sick of holding back the tears.

"Vidar? I didn't know would be visiting. Or breathing for that matter," a rough voice said and Vidar could identify it as Tighearnach's older son, Prince Ninniaw. "Is there a specific reason why you are crying in the wine cellar of our castle? Did everybody see through your attempts for some, well you know?"

"You have no idea," Vidar replied weakly as he tried to stop himself but couldn't as the older badger was in fact somewhere close to the reason of his emotional distress. "I met someone and I deeply care about him. But, I did something horrible and don't know if he will ever forgive me."

"What exactly?" Ninniaw asked as he sat down next to Vidar to console him a little bit. "You don't need to tell me, if you don't want to."

Vidar wiped tears from his eyes he leaned back against the wall. "You probably know Aldric, right? Well, coincidentally we met a few weeks ago, when my squad was annihilated and I also got to know several people, for example an otter named Leofwine who was with Aldric when he found me."

"I see, so you survived the ambush," Ninniaw now glanced aside as he remembered something. "We got a notice of your father about this, so in fact not many know you are alive right now. In any case, what is with Leofwine?"

"I almost, I almost," Vidar had difficulties finishing that sentence as grabbed Ninniaw and cried into his shoulder. "I don't know what to do."

"Maybe trying to make up for it?" Ninniaw suggested as he slowly helped up Vidar and lead him out of the wine cellar. "Think a little bit about what you could do and then just do it."

Vidar was still sobbing a little bit, but eventually he found himself able to think clearer about what the badger just said and he brightened up as he got an idea. "Thanks Ninniaw, I know exactly what I have to do to fix this all."

Aldric was just waking up as he could finally rest privately in his own walls after having to deal with Leofwine and Vidar for several weeks now. He went into a bathing basin next to his bed room and used a red magical gem to heat it up while he went to the kitchen to eat some apples he bought earlier. Then he went to the bath and washed off the exhaustion of several weeks on the road before he went out and looked for a pair of finely made trousers and a cloak in all colors of autumn to put on. Eventually he looked at himself and was smiling about how his autumn dress was looking.

Just then someone was knocking on his door and Aldric put on the belt he previously used for his loincloth and went outside to see who was knocking. He regretted it as soon as he saw Vidar and smashed the door shut.

"Aldric, could you lend me some money?" the wolverine pleaded from the other side of the door that was made from a thin layer of rock and those resisted the wolverine much better. "Please, I know I am a dirty scumbag that should be kicked in the balls till they are mashed, but I want to make things right."

The badger thought about this a little bit and then opened the door. "You forgot to say that you are a moron who thinks with his groin."

"I guess that is true," Vidar said slightly relieved that Aldric was giving him a chance. "But, I want to replace the sword Leofwine got from his father. And maybe also my axe, I feel naked without it."

"Does that mean anything, if you went streaking today?" Aldric wondered before he grabbed a bag of coins and closed the door to his house. "If you want a good replacement, we should use alchemy to enhance the blade further and if you pay me back, we can get the best thing one could wish for."

"I actually want to, well, do it myself? Alchemy isn't my thing, but crafting a weapon is not too difficult," the wolverine said as he followed Aldric a few streets further down to the lowest layer of the city where a forge with two moles, an old couple that run the place for decades, was filling up the area close to the river. Vidar got up to them and nervously asked, "Excuse me, but may I use your forge. I want to craft a gift for a friend of mine."

The male mole glanced at Vidar and gave him a nod. "You want something practical or more for show?"

"Practical," Vidar replied as he was suddenly dragged towards the forge and given several ores of iron as well as some coals and a few bottles filled with essences. Seeing that Aldric was already paying for this Vidar carefully took the ores and placed them in the bloomery pit. He carefully made sure that the iron was getting softer and regulated the airflow in a rather slow but experienced manner before he added the charcoal and waited some more before he took out the soft iron blooms from the pit and placed them on the anvil to hit on them with the hammer in order to get the slag out of the bloom and form a blade from the wrought iron that resulted from it.

Aldric now went closer and took one of the essence bottles to let its content drop carefully on the hot metal to distribute it equally before Vidar hammered more on the metal and put it into the water as soon as he was done.

Having finished a sufficient blade now Vidar looked at his work. Due to the essence that Aldric used the blade had an emerald green coloration and was even reflecting the glow of the crystals of the city like a green tinted mirror. "So, did the essence have some additional effect?"

"Apart from basically increasing the potency for any enchantment you might want to put onto it, it is also a pretty nice feature," Aldric explained as he was secretly mourning the gold he just paid for it. "Now, the handle is still missing, so I recommend using the other essence bottle as well."

Vidar now took a leftover bloom and hammered carefully on it to form the handle from it into a shape that he could then manipulate carefully to shape an otter head on the end of the handle before he let Aldric put the essence on it and let it fall into the water where it came out in a black coloration. "Perfect, I think he will love this," he told to himself as he took the blade and attached the handle onto it to then put it aside to take some raw leather for the scabbard. It took several hours till he was finished, but eventually Vidar was rather proud of himself to have finished the weapon for Leofwine. Almost at least as he spend another two hours to sharpen the blade on the whetstone till he was sure that it could cut through flesh and bone.

"Okay, I am going back home now, you may see if Leofwine will accept this gesture," he said before he turned around and walked back to his house to let things unfold without his further involvement.

Having clutched the newly forged sword onto his chest, Vidar now run towards the castle and to the door of Leofwine's bed chamber before he realized that at the time being the otter would probably only ignore him.

"Hey, nice blade," Ninniaw mentioned as he walked into the corridor and looked at the door that Leofwine was behind. "Are you going to propose?"

Vidar blushed a little at that statement. "Uh, it's just a small gift for him. Nothing that is, well a proposal on something."

"Well, in that case it's a small gift then," Ninniaw said as went to the door and knocked three times against the door. "Hey buddy, I am Fionn's brother. Can you come out pretty please?"

It took a few moments but eventually the door opened and Leofwine was stepping out as he wore a blue robe similar to that of Fionnbharr, only darker. "I am not going to accept this gift."

Vidar felt heartbroken as he slowly went closer to Leofwine. "You don't need to forgive me, just take the sword."

"As I said, I won't. Take it and leave me alone," Leofwine said in a now much angrier tone as he exposed his teeth. "The only reason you made this blade is because you wanted to feel better, but it is not about an item I lost because of you. It is that I cannot trust you anymore."

Those words were crushing to the wolverine's determination as he stretched his arms out to present the sword's green blade to the otter for one last time. "See, it's a rather special sword."

"Vidar, at first I thought that we two might be," Leofwine now was holding himself back from crying, and much more successful than the wolverine, "friends. And eventually, no never mind. I was an idiot. Someone like you is only thinking about one thing!"

Vidar was hurt by every single word that was now unleashed upon him and dropped the sword on the ground. "If that's your final answer then I will respect your wish. We should never have met, because everyone I care about just gets hurt. And it's always my fault. I should just disappear and leave everyone happy."

Leofwine remained silent as he took the sword and looked at its craftsmanship. He would have found it as a nice gesture, but at the moment his heart was frozen. "I also wish we never met. Because with every passing day I feel how the blood on my hands bothers me less and less."

The memory of Leofwine desperately shaking in his arms came to Vidar's mind and he could feel how tears were trickling from his face. He couldn't even think if anything to say anymore as he rushed into his room and closed it shut to cry his heart out.

Leofwine simply remained cold as he already suffered enough in the last few weeks. He just let the sword drop to the ground and grabbed his bag as he went past Ninniaw. "Sorry for that. I, Aldric, and Fionn might be doing something together," he said and went to the pantry to meet up with Fionnbharr and Aldric, of whom the first was already present and reading through a book and eating more chestnuts.

"Ah, Leofwine," the albino badger now looked up and smiled at the otter before he put his book aside and gestured Leofwine to sit next to him. "I did look up a few documents of our own territory and found a possible location of one of the gems."

"And that would be?" Leofwine asked curiously as he was taking a chestnut for himself and swallowed it rather quickly with a twisted face as he hated the taste of it and wished for some stout instead.

Fionnbharr looked amused at the otter before he replied, "It's in a temple at Jokulldal. A part of the altar and only identifiable as what we are looking for by the characteristics we got written down."

"In that case, I may would like to stay here, if that is okay," Leofwine said as he leaned back in his chair. "And you know why."

Fionnbharr gave him a nod. "Aldric considered to let you stay at his house and I would like to have a guest over here for a while."

Leofwine smiled at that premise and got up again. "Well, how about we go to Aldric and see if he wants to do something with us. Anything you might want to suggest?"

"Well, I did see something that woke my interest when I found that funny dice in the ground, so I prepared something," Fionnbharr said as he went with Leofwine behind him to Aldric's house.

Aldric was now finished with his household and started cooking a hornflincher loin steak in an iron pan to then devour it once it was well done. He was slightly annoyed as someone was knocking at his door, but as he opened it and saw it were Leofwine and Fionnbharr he welcomed them in and didn't smash the door this time. "Alright, you two seem up to something."

Fionnbharr now chuckled as he pulled something out of his robe that looked like a book and five dices that had twenty sides each. "Let's say that you might get nice ideas from other realities."

A smile came over the shaman's face as he stopped the heating crystal of his stove and took some wax boards with appropriate pencils to write on. "Well then, explain the game and we can get started."

The prince happily explained how the game worked to the two and after a while they all created avatars to play in the rather strange game that Fionnbharr conceived. Much to their joy as it was a lot of fun for Aldric to cooperate with Leofwine in a phantasmal realm created specifically for their enjoyment. He played as a female bear warrior while Leofwine made a fox archer and as far as it went, Leofwine was lucky with his throws, granting the two victory over their foes.

"Alright, that has been a lot of fun," Aldric stated as he put his board away and let Leofwine have his for the time being. "Honestly, why hasn't something like that be done before? It's way more fun than sports."

Leofwine and Fionnbharr nodded in sync to that statement and laughed as they now saw Aldric dicing the loin steak he had and adding more fat, but also fruits and vegetables to the pan as he was considering to make something for everyone. Soon enough they all ate and happily went to the castle in order to discuss their further actions in regards of the gems.

"So, Kärmave is our next goal then," Aldric said as he took a deep breath. "Okay, Leofwine you can stay at my place or the palace, if you don't want to go with me. I will be alright."

Leofwine smiled as Aldric finally mentioned that offer. "Thanks, I am going to take good care of your home, Aldric."

Before the conversation could go any further Ninniaw rushed into the hall and straight to Fionnbharr. "Brother, I think you need to help me out. Vidar is in a horrible condition!"

"You sure that he is not feigning anything?" Fionnbharr replied as he was rather suspicious about the situation, but still open to his brother's opinion.

"Well, just look for yourself," Ninniaw said as he grabbed his brother's arm and dragged him towards the bed chambers.

"Considering Ninniaw is the more emotional of the two, we may not need to worry too much," Aldric said as he walked up towards the door. "But we are talking about Vidar, so I am going to look anyway."

Leofwine was standing there as everyone went to see what was going on with Vidar, but he was still not eager to see the wolverine and just told himself to walk past the door. He reconsidered this as he could hear the painful scream of the wolverine and he glanced through the open door to see what was going on.

Vidar was lying on the ground and his arms, shoulders, and robe looked as if they have been previously on fire. The burns looked rather painful and the robe was completely ruined. It was a pathetic display as the warrior was just crying while Fionnbharr trickled some healing tincture on his burnt arms and back. The liquid recovered the skin, but left the skin exposed without the fur.

Fionnbharr now went out of the room and to the pantry to get some additional potions from the alchemist desk.

Leofwine slowly went inside as he looked at the hurt Vidar. Despite all he said and what a part of him felt, there was still some empathy left in him to feel for the wolverine. "What happened to him?"

Ninniaw glanced up and pointed at the sword that was lying right next to Vidar. "He wanted to enchant the blade, so you may at least take it for its value. Unfortunately, he isn't very good at that."

"I see," Leofwine said as he took the sword and looked at the blade. "You are an idiot, Vidar. If you want an enchanted blade there are countless people in this city that could actually do that for you."

"I-I didn't want anyone else's help," Vidar said as he cowered to hide his shame from the otter. The entire situation was just embarrassing to him as he felt weak and exposed in his current state. "It was supposed to be personal."

"Personal my tail," Leofwine said as he sheathed the sword and put it at the side. "I already told you I am not going to accept it and then you pull off something stupid like trying to enchant a sword as someone who only can use fire magic and has no experience in the process."

"I know, it was just stupid and desperate of me," Vidar replied as he slowly got up and sat down on his bed to cover himself with the blanket.

Fionnbharr meanwhile returned with a bottle and a soft brush and pulled away the blanket from Vidar to apply the tincture on the arms and back of the wolverine. "Okay, in an hour your pelt will be just like new. In the meantime, I am upstairs in my room and take a nap."

Vidar nodded as he saw Fionnbharr leaving the room with Aldric following him outside. "I am really looking hilarious, aren't I? A joke of a prince and warrior that is supposed to be the king of Kärmave one day."

"Ah, missteps happen," Ninniaw said as he went closer and hugged Vidar to cheer him up a little. "Eventually we all do mistakes and pay the price for them, but in the end, it is important to remain true with yourself and others."

"True, you say?" Vidar now chuckled weakly as he looked at Leofwine, who was still in the room for a reason he couldn't tell. "Leofwine, I really wish that I could undo what I did to you back in Sùil Cascade. But no apology can be made that truly can make up for it, so I think we should just walk separate ways and forget about each other."

The otter remained silent as he looked at Vidar and then went outside of the room as well, not sure what to think at the moment.

"It is better that way," Vidar said quietly as he got up and closed the door to his room before he went back to his bed and turned to Ninniaw. "You mentioned earlier that seeing me breathing was a surprise," was all the wolverine could say before he started to leak tears again. Eventually he was crying his heart and soul out on the blanket he was lying on and in the time, he took to calm down his burnt fur regrow partially thanks to the tincture Fionnbharr put on the skin. "There is something I haven't told anyone, when those two people from Urbulchem attacked, they could only take down three men by themselves. The other five however, they died because I tried to use magic and lost control."

Ninniaw remained calm as he heard those words and sat down next to Vidar to let him cry out on his shoulder. "It's alright. It was an accident."

"That's not the point. Everyone I care about ends up dead or hating me," Vidar replied as he hugged Ninniaw and calmed down himself to put around the blanket to lie down on the bed. "If you don't mind, I want to sleep a little bit and wish to be freed of all this pain."

"Relax a little bit. I will ask the cooks to prepare something for you," the older prince said before he left the room as well and left Vidar to himself.

At the end, Vidar was completely sick of the entire situation he was in. What he did in Sùil Cascade was unforgivable, he knew of that, but he was trying to forget about his other sins as well and now he was no longer able to. Eventually after his fur was finally grown back Vidar got up and grabbed his loincloth. He walked out of his room and the castle to slowly wander the streets of Scathsolas to the exit of the cave structure. Since Scathsolas was the same at night and day he couldn't tell that the sun already had set and a cold wind was blowing through the surrounding woods and hills. He was glad that his fur was back to normal again, as he walked up the hill to the top and sat down on the earthy ground. "It would all be better, if I was just dead as everyone at homes now believes. It would at least make things easier for everyone," he whispered to himself as he just sunk down into a pathetic pile and let the silence engulf him. At least he would have, if he didn't hear a faint singing in the distance.

"Long lost, hidden in the night, I cowered away from you,"

"The bitter frost, my endless fight, I can't see it through,"

"Stained in blood, all innocence has died,"

"The lips of a cruel god, give me an evil grin so wide,"

"A hero's lament, a golden heart turned to dust,

"I gave it all to you, and you shattered it all you damn cad,"

"Nothing could be done, I did the things I must,"

"The sunlight carries me through, and I regain what I had."

Leofwine was sitting down at one of the many patches of grass where piles of leaves have been put together. He was singing something that may have lacked an actual structure, but was still nice with his voice.

Vidar stepped closer as if he was carried by another's hand and sat down next to Leofwine with an averted gaze. "Your voice is, beautiful."

The otter remained silent, safe for a sigh that escaped his muzzle as he looked up to Vidar with eyes that were filled with his own insecurity about the situation.

"I have decided to say my goodbyes. It would be for the best, if you never had to worry about me again," the wolverine said as he remained otherwise motionless.

"No," Leofwine now shook his head and slapped Vidar across the face. "I had a hard time after you attacked me in Sùil Cascade. Your very presence terrified me to my bones. But, you pretty much endangered yourself for some handmade present," he now got closer to the wolverine and his expression got friendlier as he put his hand on Vidar's chest. "You really cared so much about it, it should be genuine enough to cast my fears aside and give you one last chance," and before he gave Vidar time to reply he already got his arms around the wolverine and put his head on the soft chest.

Vidar was shortly paralyzed for a moment, but eventually he pulled Leofwine closer to him and embraced him fully as they laid down on the pile of leaves and just shared the moments with each other. "I promise you, I will never hurt you again."

The otter was still somewhat shaking, but eventually felt less and less frightened by the wolverine the more he kept his face buried in the chest of him. And he was glancing up as he felt something. "Can it be that you are hitting on me a little bit?"

Vidar was chuckling nervously. "Please don't take it the wrong way, it's not that I, ugh, shit anything I would say is going to make this more awkward," he said as he got off from Leofwine and turned around. "Sorry."

Now Leofwine got closer to Vidar and put his arm around the rather sizable belly of the wolverine. "To be honest, I was scared of you after I saw you killing two men, but after we had a talk at the lake I found that you are a nice guy, even though rather clumsy. But, the fear I initially had was nothing against the terror that came after what happened in Sùil Cascade. I was unable to see for several days because of the swellings."

Shame crept back up into Vidar's mind as he was now pulling off from Leofwine and clutching his hands to his face as he started sobbing. "I shouldn't have come to you. You deserve a life of happiness and all I did was pushing you further down the abyss."

Leofwine now went back on putting an arm over Vidar. "No, I only drove myself further downward. I was scared and run away every day. Not just from blood, I also run away from my problems at home," he said as he now got up and laid down on the other side to face Vidar. "I still suffer from nightmares after that night, but I am no longer going to let myself be defeated by fear."

Vidar was still sobbing a little but, he forced himself to smile as he slowly went to hug the otter with his strong arms.

The next morning was rather strange to Aldric as he saw Vidar carrying Leofwine in his arms to the bed chamber that the otter slept in. "I take it that your efforts paid off. A bit more than expected even."

Vidar laughed as he knew what Aldric meant be the last sentence. "It was rather nice with him. Never knew he was actually in love with me."

The badger shrugged as he walked with Vidar into Leofwine's bed chamber. "You aren't the brightest guy, really. He already hinted at it before we reached Sùil Cascade."

With a mix of embarrassment and amusement Vidar looked over the sleeping Leofwine and put him down on his bed. "To be honest, I thought that I loved him as a friend, but I think I do want to be more than that for once."

"Surely," Aldric said with a chuckle and pulled out a letter from his robe. "I assume you remember Bébinn, the waitress in Sùil Cascade? She knows of at least five bed stories of yours, of which one was her brother Calum and three people you told him about."

Now Vidar shrugged. "I mean, they probably were all nice people, but I never felt the same as with Leofwine."

"Okay then. Have a joyful evening you two," Aldric said as he turned around and closed the door behind him to wander to the library of the castle.

"Aldric, I assume?" a voice called from the entrance hall as Aldric was about to go up the stairs. As the shaman turned around he was looking in the face of a polar fox in his winter fur, much to his own surprise, dressed in a blue-white robe that covered his slender body. "It is nice to see that things go well, isn't it?"

"Surely, if you could explain who you are and what you want from me," the badger replied as he carefully stepped closer to the fox.

"I am just an observer of things. And to be honest, just a little bit interested in your quest, that's all," the fox said as he now went close up to Aldric with an unnatural glow in his eyes. "And I do think that the path your two friends are on is rather interesting. At a chance of twenty percent Vidar would have been killed in his own fire because Ninniaw was pondering about either going to him or to get a drink from the pantry."

Aldric was looking slightly confused about that statement. "Those are odd assumptions. What makes you say this and giving me even percentages?"

The fox chuckled softly. "Fionnbharr might have seen it as well, the potential for alternative worlds, or outcomes for a specific event. Or doesn't a certain wolf ring a bell?"

The badger now raised an eyebrow as he remembered Fionnbharr telling him about an alternative reality in which he fell in love with someone he hasn't even met in this reality. "So, you have the same ability, I assume?"

"Not exactly, but it is similar," the polar fox said as he now held up a finger and looked at the walls. "The future is only a set of probabilities till it becomes the present. At that point for your reality one out of many options will come true. Fionnbharr can only see part of it all as he is bound to his own reality and time. I however have long since passed such limits."

"I see," Aldric replied as he took a closer look into the fox's eyes. "Tell me, what is your name?"

Now the fox was laughing softly into himself. "I am Yishai, he who guides mortals on their paths," he said before his body dissolved into a white mist and left nothing but a surprised Aldric.

Eventually the badger shook it off and went up into the library to meet with Fionnbharr to talk about this rather strange occurrence.