Celeste ended up sleeping in the first bedroom she found. The door didn't lock, but she had slid a small nightstand in front of it. It wouldn’t have prevented anyone from coming in, but the noise would be enough to wake her. She hadn’t trusted Malatar's guarantee that she wouldn’t be disturbed.

For once, he told the truth. She woke up the next morning with the nightstand where she left it. Celeste rolled out of bed and grabbed her things. Her stomach growled, but she wanted to put some distance between her and this place.

As she left the room and headed to the door, Tundar and Seraque appeared. Tundra said something about breakfast, but she promptly ignored him. Seraque didn't say anything but opened the door for her. She left without another word. Hopefully, she could remember her way to the graveyard. There was no telling what happened to Buttercup after they had left her there.

As she made her way there, a sudden snap of a twig behind her made Celeste turn around. She whipped out her dagger.

"You'll not be robbing me to...day…"

Buttercup held her hands up in surrender, even though the dagger was nowhere near her. Celeste had been expecting someone human-sized after all. She sighed and put it up.

"Don't scare me like that. Are you all right?"

The young goblin nodded before answering. Celeste caught the word sleep and long, but nothing else. A couple of words in Goblinese was better than none. But Buttercup didn't appear to be hurt. She put up her dagger.

"Come on, let's go."

Fortunately for the two of them, it wasn’t too hard to find the main road again. Barring any more interruptions, Celeste figured that they could make it back to Rusty's without having to camp out. But she wasn’t holding her breath. All of the trips she took ended up getting derailed in some way.

They took a short break to have some breakfast. Celeste ate some jerky while Buttercup found some bugs. While goblins preferred things like fish, frogs, or waterfowl, they weren't too opposed to the occasional lizard or insect. Buttercup offered her a beetle, which Celeste declined.

As they were finishing up breakfast, Buttercup suddenly sat up and tugged Celeste behind a nearby rock. It was large enough to hide the goblin, but not her. It wasn't long before Celeste could hear a wagon. Whoever was on the wagon was whistling. It came to a stop not too far from them.

"You know, if you're trying to ambush someone, it helps if you're hidden."

Celeste stood up and turned around. It was a wagon with a woman at the reins. In the back of the wagon were large barrels. There was also a teenager in the back along with someone who couldn't be older than five. They all shared similar features.

"My friend heard you coming and tried to hide us." Celeste indicated the goblin, who was hiding behind her. "We mean you no harm."

The woman smiled. "I was just teasing. You're the one staying with Rusty, right? I saw you come in the tavern with him once."

"Yes, that's me. Do you work there, ma'am?" The barrels made sense. They had to get their drink from somewhere.

"I'm the tavern keeper's wife, Vivian. These are our children, Mira and Collin." The children didn't say anything. They didn't trust Celeste. She’d probe the same way if she were them. "You’re quite a ways from Rusty's. Need a lift? His place is on the way."

Celeste accepted the offer. It would help make up for the lost time. Buttercup seemed less sure but hopped in the back while Celeste sat next to Vivian. She had the mules go again.

"Did you come from the Revivers camp?" That was the only thing she knew in that direction.

"Yes. While we brew some recipes at our place, we have a partner in Fort Invar that brews something for us. Same thing with the Renewers."

"And both camps are okay with that?"

"I don't know if okay is the right word, but they don't bother us about it."

It must be nice to travel to both camps without too much hassle. While Celeste had no plans to be in either camp often, it would be nice not to be hassled if she had to go to either one. That is if she found a way around Davik's demand.

Every time she thought about it, she realized she had no desire to currently join anyone or leave Feon for another country. Feon was her home, even in this state. She couldn't start in another place, not when all her memories were here. And it wasn’t like she didn't have any allies. The list wasn't long, but it was still a list. And if Davik didn't accept her answer… she'd figure it out if it came to that. But she knew that being neutral wouldn't be easy, especially given her past relationship with the two leaders.

"Ms. Vivian, how does your husband do it?"

"You'll have to be a bit more specific." She remarked as the mules plodded along. "But I have a feeling that you're talking about the fact that we're not tied to any particular camp and are somehow still standing. Thinking about your future, huh?"

Celeste sighed. Was there anyone who didn't know who she was or the crisis she was currently facing?

"How much do you know?"

"I can’t say I know anything, but people talk, especially Inquisitors. No, my husband never received a formal demand such as that, but there was a lot of pressure for him to have the tavern only available to Revivers."

Vivian had a far-off look on her face as if she were digging up an almost forgotten memory.

"It wasn't easy. I was pregnant with Mira at the time and Daryl had just gotten the place built. A Reviver/Renewer fight nearly wrecked it the first day it was open. That's when Malatar suggested that we go exclusive to the Revivers and other third parties like elves and dwarves. He argued that since we were closer to Reviver territory, it made sense. Daryl refused."

"I can’t imagine Malatar was too happy about that."

"I suppose not. The next several months were followed by constant fights, vandalism, and even a couple of burglaries. Then Malatar came back and made the same offer. Daryl doubled down instead of backing down."

"Then what happened?"

"He got tougher on his no-fighting policy and wouldn't back down when challenged. Eventually, they got the message and backed off, especially when something more important came up. I think it was a coup or something."

Celeste couldn't help but wonder if Malatar had anything to do with that one too.

"So if you don't back down, they will?"

"In our case, yes. There's no guarantee it'll work for you, but I imagine Davik has better things to do than hassle a single person for too long. Something else will come along that requires his full attention.”

Vivian spent the rest of the ride advising Celeste about the general lay of the land and what individual families she could trust. Vivian stopped the cart to let them out. Buttercup hopped out of the back, waving goodbye to the kids. They waved back to the goblin. Once Vivian started on her way again, Celeste and Buttercup made their way back toward Rusty's place.

When they arrived, Rusty was chopping up some wood. He placed his ax down and wiped the sweat off his brow. He smiled as they approached, relief clear on his face.

"How’d it go?" He asked. "You two look none the worse for the wear."

"It went fine until Malatar showed up."

As she told Rusty what happened, leaving out certain parts, Buttercup rushed off. She came back with her mother around the time that Celeste was finished.

"Daryl and Vivian are good people." He remarked as he finished with the last piece of wood. "You know, they'd probably give you a job if you asked. They’re always looking for help.”

"Somehow I don't think I'm cut out for tavern work." And the idea of dealing with both Renwers and Revivers daily gave her a headache.

Buttercup tugged on her pants leg, demanding her attention. She looked down. Buttercup's mother held out the cloak. Celeste had almost forgotten about it.

"Oh, thank you."

Celeste examined the back of it. The stitching on the symbol of the Clan Mossdeep was good and it was on a corner of the cloak, so it didn't take up the whole thing. It was a very tasteful picture of moss on a perfectly oval rock.

"You’re an honorary goblin now. There are worse things." Rusty commented. "Don't be surprised if goblins start approaching you now that they can see that you've been recognized. They might even be willing to do you favors.

Then an idea hit her. Now she knew what answer she was going to give Davik.