The Grand Weave

I had a relaxing evening spent with Arturous on the beach, using his big body as both cushioning and shade. It didn't take much to bribe the big lug. On my way out of the temple, I swung to the food side market street and found a stall selling meat.

Apparently, while fish was the primary food source for the village, enough traders came by every other week that other meat options were still in abundance. It may have been a tad pricier than I would have liked, but I was currently flush with coins, or at least what I thought was flush with them. My previous conversation with Teddy on proper gear pricing made me reconsider that statement.

From there, I bought a massive slab of what I thought was pork and carried it on my shoulder to where Arturous was resting. He woke up pretty quickly and tried to eat the hunk of pork, but I fended him off with a promise of cooking him something delicious. I wasn't entirely certain he cared, but I knew he liked cooked food more than raw food.

I spent way too long scouting the area and making sure a random crowd of people wasn't waiting to ambush me from beneath the waves like a swarm of battle crabs. It was a ridiculous thought, and I enjoyed it all the more for that very reason.

My brain needed a mental reset over what happened in the dungeon, and conjuring up silly and pointless scenarios was relaxing to my brain. And to make it all better, Arturous was an avid listener who never interrupted me when I vented my thoughts.

The meat was cut into three pieces of pork belly and a rack of ribs. My methods were simple, considering I was cooking over a campfire, but I made do. I even pulled out my secret weapon, which was a big hit with the giant grizzly.

It turns out, my Trickster's Bag of Sweet Treats could also produce some foreign candy that I, being a sheltered American, never got to try. The black licorice was depressing, but at least it came in the shape of cute tiny squids.

No, the real prize I won from that day's handouts was an entire bag of squishy gummy candy filled with liquid honey. Admittedly, I wasn't a big fan of honey, so I had the brilliant idea of squeezing out the liquid from the candy and collecting it in a jar. Arturous wasn't my first reason for wanting a small jar of honey, but I'm glad I had one.

I ended up coating the pork belly with as much honey as possible while I used my Chef's Mini Pouch of Seasoning to add lots of flavour to the meat. A couple of days ago, I found out that Arturous really liked the taste of garlic, so I liberally added some to the dry rub I was making with some paprika, salt, black pepper, and the closest thing to mustard I could find. As with most things in this world, it was reasonably similar to what I could find back on Earth, albeit slightly off. In this case, it was extra tangy.

I cooked the pork belly first, using a metal grill I bought in Helios to roast it over the campfire. The sun was setting by the time it was done, and I watched the sunset in silent tranquility. It was beautiful, and Fanalis was on its way up into the night sky. The pink moon fit right in amongst the waves of colours.

After feeding Teddy's companion two massive chunks of pork belly, I began cooking the ribs and sat back down, with my back leaning against the chewing bear. Surprisingly, he was willing to eat slowly and savour the meat. I've seen that bear inhale food like he was Chomperz, so it felt good to have him appreciate my food.

And when the ribs were wafting a delicious smell across the beach, I heard footsteps approaching from behind me. I looked over to Arturous, but he didn't react, so I relaxed my shoulders and waited for whoever was coming to say hello.

When Teddy's large frame came into view, I wasn't surprised, and as I expected, Celanae's lithe figure appeared a second later. Teddy sat beside Arturous's head and leaned over to scratch behind the bear's ears. Celanae simply conjured a chair to sit on next to the fire.

I eyed them but didn't talk, content to let the relative silence last as long as possible. The crackling of the fire and the sounds of water hitting the sand were loud enough to fill the air.

Evidently, Teddy wasn't quite willing to ask what he wanted to ask outright, so instead, he gestured to the ribs with his chin. "Smells delicious. The breeze carried it all the way over to the inn. More than a few villagers joked about having another feast. You have talent in cooking, Cyrus."

I cracked open an eye and scowled. "I swear if a horde of hungry villagers come out of those trees, I will actually run away this time."

He quickly waved his hands and laughed nervously. "No, no. I promise we kept our lips sealed."

I narrowed my eyes but nodded once before closing them again.

Celanae let out a sigh and spoke. "We wanted to check on you, Cyrus. You didn't look too good when you exited the dungeon. Did everything go alright during your delve?"

I debated joking around or telling them to piss off. However, I wasn't mad at them; I wasn't even mad at all. Mentally exhausted, yes; worried and concerned for Zharia, also yes. Being irrationally angry and lashing out at the people around me? No, that would be dumb as hell.

I stood up and prodded the ribs some. It would be finished in another ten minutes, so I stayed standing. With the food still cooking, I turned to face the two and began explaining what happened during the delve.

While they looked concerned during the moments I described being injured, they kept their faces neutral. At several points, one of them would interject and ask questions or comment on what I could have done better. Their advice was enlightening, and I trusted their years of adventuring experience over my own.

It was when I described my decision to enter the side room that their neutral expression finally fell and was replaced with frowns. Celanae had a scowl, and Teddy looked almost sad. The sight made me pause, but I continued after they prompted me to continue.

It would have been a lie to say their reaction to me being stupid enough to challenge the school of ghostfish was mild. Up till the point where I mentioned getting impaled through the arm, they had remained calm and attentive. That calmness ended the moment I tried carrying on with my story and tried to brush past the collapsed lung. They did not take my antics kindly.

"Cyrus, you should have summoned your familiar! You could have died," Celanae shouted.

"But I didn't. And I did summon her before I passed out. I completed my challenge. Job done. It's not as bad as you think. I've been in similar situations before. It's fine," I replied, unable to stop the annoyance from bleeding into my voice.

"That's... That's ridiculous. You can't downplay nearly dying."

Teddy tried to butt in, but I didn't let him. "Actually, I can. You guys enter the dungeon just as much as I do. You guys went through the same bullshit that I just did. What's the difference? I may have bitten off more than I can chew, but so what? I achieved what I set out to achieve. That's what matters."

She stood up and balled her fists. Her journal she was writing in earlier slipped off her lap and fell onto the sand-covered ground. This time, there was genuine anger in her eyes. "There are so many things wrong with what you said. Your two months of experience do not compare to the years we spent training and preparing. And we delve because we have a team where we can work together to cover our weaknesses. You don't have that!" She began pacing next to her chair, uncaring of the sand that was kicked everywhere. "Uncle Brelten asked us personally to help you. At first, I didn't understand why, but after yesterday's reveal, I get it. Cyrus, if we had let you get killed, if we let a Re-"

"If you are implying that the only reason I'm worth keeping alive is because of what that line on my status says, then we're done. I'm not one of the characters from your story. You didn't seem to have an issue with me until yesterday. It seems I should have kept my mouth shut," I said in a near whisper. My voice was cold and filled with steel.

Celanae froze, and her eyes widened. I could see her cheeks pale as she realized what she was about to say. "I didn't... that's not what I..."

Teddy stood up and stepped in between us. "Enough. Both of you. Yes, Cyrus, you too." I was about to protest, but he shut me down before I could, his voice stern.

"Fine." It was all I said as I moved from my spot and sat beside Arturous.

"Listen, Celanae didn't mean to insult you. Right?" He pointedly looked to Celanae, who nodded slowly. "Good. Cyrus, we're not upset because of what your status sheet says. That's certainly a factor we have to consider now, but that's not the main reason."

There were so many things I wanted to say and argue about, but I swallowed my anger and began some deep breathing exercises. Teddy waited patiently, not speaking till I finished. After calming myself down, I unclenched my fists and slumped against the bear. "Fine. Why are you upset then?"

"Because we care about you. And don't give us that dragonshit of how we barely know each other. It's barely been a month, yes. However, that was a month spent with us constantly. Your evening talks with me, the conversations you have with Celanae, the small bouts of training with Eodyne, and the occasional bantering with Igas and Isaac- all of that was time spent getting to know you. If you think we'd accept your death so easily, then you'd be wrong, and frankly, that'd be an insult to our character."

Again, I wanted to argue and refute his statement. It had been only a month, and that felt too short to be considered important to them in any regard. Yet, I recognized a part of me was being petulant for argumentative sake, so I squashed that down and stared him in the eyes. "Fine, I'm sorry for worrying you both. That still doesn't excuse you guys suddenly treating me like an exotic beast you have to protect just because of what I am. You're going to need to explain that bit."

Behind Teddy, Celanae winced. Instead of speaking, he stepped to the side and motioned for her to speak. "I apologize. You're right. This isn't one of my fantasy novels; you're a real person. But Cyrus? You must understand that your kind is not just something that only appears in fantasy books. People like you are a real part of our history. And not just Solunaria's history. I mean Inoria's history. To completely disregard what your status says would be foolish, and you know that."

I nodded once with bitter acceptance. Brelten explained briefly during one of our nightly bouts of training why he put so much personal effort into helping us. I knew what she meant, at least to some degree.

"People talk about your kind as alarm horns to the world. Your arrival brings turbulent times or grand sweeping changes. Some scholars speculate on whether those changes are because of you or merely that you're a warning flare of what's to come. That's something we're taught as children, Cyrus. Asking us to ignore that is hard, even if we can separate fact from fiction."

A montage of scenes played inside my head. The world fell away for a moment, and I felt something twinge in my soul, followed by what felt like a tightening of threads. Every painful or bloody event that happened during my time in Edolus flashed across my mind. The guard's injuries and the increased number of beast attacks were because of me. Warren's burns, Yenna and the rest of her team's injuries were all because of me.

And then, unbidden, came a series of scenes from my time in the rift. The meeting with Arz'odral played on repeat, followed by the error messages in the system.

Scene after scene, pained and screaming faces, blood everywhere; I couldn't stop it no matter how much I railed against it in my mind. And when Sam's face, afraid and shocked, overpowered my thoughts, I yelled as a voice screamed in my head.

"CYYYYRUUUSS!"

I came to my senses and felt two hands on my shoulder, shaking me vigorously. The motion rocked my body back and forth, and I felt my neck starting to hurt from the whiplash.

Knocking the hands aside, I blinked my eyes rapidly and stared at Teddy's face, only a couple of inches away. "Woah there! I'm fine, I'm fine."

Teddy leaned back slowly before glancing over to Celanae with a worried look. "Are you sure? You went dead silent and started turning pale. Here, take this." He handed me a small towel, and I took it with confusion. He then pointed to my face while continuing to stare. " You're, uh, crying. It happened about fifteen seconds after you went silent."

I summoned a hand mirror from my inventory and noticed a single stream of tears running down my left cheek. It was a jarring sight as I didn't feel any sadness or pain.

After thanking the man, I rubbed my face with the towel and set it on my lap. I quickly checked and looked inside my soulspace but found it completely fine. After the twinge I felt before, I apparently went catatonic. I half expect my soulspace to be a cracked and shattered mess. Thankfully, it wasn't, especially with the girls taking a rest.

"Cyrus?" Celanae asked gently.

"Hmm?" I said as I looked up with confusion on my face.

"What happened? And are you alright?"

I cocked my head and gave a half-hearted smile. "I think I'm alright. I don't feel any different. And I'm not entirely sure. When Teddy mentioned the whole my kind being a problem thing, I kind of had some traumatic thoughts run through my head. It's fine, everything's good. Most likely some remnant P.T.S.D. issues, that's all."

I knew I was being flippant, but I really did feel fine. If anything, their over-concerned reactions and faces made me want to laugh. Instead, I smiled widely and tossed Teddy's towel back to him.

"So, now that things have calmed down let me say this. I understand why you were upset, and I apologize. Not saying I won't do it again or continue to challenge myself in such crazy ways, buuuut I can take the time to listen to your advice. You guys are right. This past month has been great, and you have all gone out of your way to help me. Well, maybe not Isaac, but even he helped with figuring out my new skill." I stood up and gave a light bow before going over to the ribs and taking them off the grill. "Thank you, guys. Want some food as an apology? I'm afraid most of it is for Arturous, though."

I deliberately ignored the looks the two kept giving each other as I pulled out a couple of wooden plates and used my bare hands to tear apart the smoking-hot ribs. The heat was a little too warm, but it didn't hurt. And damn, the food smelled divine as I plated the meat.

As the others were served their plates of ribs, the giant bear got the rest of the rack. I took the opportunity to explain what happened during the rest of my delve. Everyone looked concerned, and Celanae even asked if I needed a hug after I shared what had happened to Zharia.

It felt good to know they cared about my spirits. The fact that Teddy went out of his way to call my familiars by name was a massive plus to his likeability.

Eventually, after the food was done and my story was told, I showed them the loot I acquired, and they were interested in the ghostgoop since I always sold them to Travis before I got to show them.

"Oh, that reminds me. Erebus looted this during the delve. I'm not sure what's in it, but I'm going to head to the guild tomorrow when I sell the latest batch of ectoplasm. Khrem should be able to identify it. Who knows, I might have a new familiar to add to my roster," I said as I summoned the dark-blue crystal and held it up to the campfire's light.

Hopefully, the skill is worth it. It'd be a shame to sell it.