Ducky and Dominic soon walked into the edges of a small village that was placed among the trees. The little Dominic could see gave him the impression of a village that had built itself around the nature that was already in place, instead of clearing a space. Ducky narrated as she walked with him through the village.

“To our left, you’ll see the Hunter’s cabin, and next to it is where our Stores are kept, and then our Kitchen and the Cook’s quarters. To the right is the Tailor, Smithy, Elder’s hut, and then to my humble abode!.”

The rest of the group walked along, eyeing up the village and the few inhabitants as they walked after the Seer and her charge. The entire group fit into Ducky’s home, and she turned to them.

“Alright, everyone take a seat! Time for some quick explanations and then dear Dominic here must make a choice.” Ducky sat Dominic down next to her, and a cat jumped onto Dominic’s lap.

“Well Hello sweetie! What’s your name?” Dominic thought-coo’d at the cat, and Ducky answered, seeming to read his mind “His name is ‘Alawg’” after my great-great-Grandfather.”

Dominic sat there a second, then started silently laughing. The entire group, sans Ducky, looked at him, and Svelt whispered to Hob, “I think Pinky has finally snapped. When I say go, we run!”, but Tadeo and Manon just smacked the two over the head and they all waited for Dominic to calm down.

He finally had enough control to write on the parchment, handing it off to Ducky and she read it out loud.

“‘Let me get this straight… your cat’s name is Alawg… so he’s the Seer’s cat Alwag?!?!?” -- “Yes, I did not stutter my little chickadee” she replied, and he promptly began to shake with silent laughter again, all the while petting the cat on his lap.

“Are ye okay lad? Did you get a knocked noggin’ out there in the woods?” Tadeo asked with concern in his voice, looking at Dominic.

Dominic waved off their concern, writing on the parchment again that it was something funny from his world, and to continue on.

“Can we get on with it already? Some of us have better things to do than sit here while a human has a breakdown in a Seer’s Hut” Boris growled out, his voice dripping with disdain.

“For once, I agree with he-with-a-stick-up-his-butt Boris,” Svelt spoke. “While I’ve grown attached to little Pinky, most of the day has now passed and I know we all would like answers”

“Who are you and what have you done with Svelt?” Manon asked. “You never agree with Boris, so either something is very wrong with you, or you’re an imposter!”

He grumbled, “It’s no fun around a Seer. She won’t let me get away with anything, so let’s get a move on!!”

Ducky, who now inexplicably had a cup of tea in her hands, handed another to Dominic and said “Yes, let’s get on to answers. Please help yourselves to tea and snacks while I explain.”

She turned to Dominic, and spoke again. “Now Dominic, I know that you have had a very trying time, but please try to keep calm and listen very carefully.” He nodded, and she continued. “What I say MUST stay here, do you all understand?” she asked, looking at the Adventurers one by one, who nodded their assent.

“Dominic, you were brought here by Cultists devoted to DuPeagre”, Ducky explained, and everyone took in a hissed breathe. “They all understand how bad that is, so I’ll explain. DuPeagre is… not a nice God. He’s a Dark God of Hidden Desires, and he preys on those we are weak of spirit and mind, corrupting them to do awful, horrible things in his name. He was banished from the Major Pantheon ages ago because his followers committed such atrocities that entire civilizations were wiped out time and time again. And now, he wants to return to the Major Pantheon by force.”

She took a sip of her tea, and continued explaining. “DuPeagre’s banishment was given by the full Major Pantheon, and he would need all Nine Major Gods and Goddesses to allow him back onto the Major Pantheon. That will never happen, so he’s been biding his time for centuries to figure out how to accomplish his goals. It appears that he has stumbled upon a ritual, the catalyst for spreading his influence here again. I do not know all the details my little chickadee, but it seems that he needed his basic followers to create a vessel for his power…” She trailed off, and looked at the others.

“Please, save your questions until I’m done. And be kind, because this next part is a doozy.” She looked back at Dominic. “He needed his followers to sacrifice a Rover, but not kill them. This would corrupt the Rover, and allow him to manipulate them for his own, for lack of a better phrase, nefarious deeds. Rover’s are not a dime a dozen here, but rather quite rare, so his cultists found a way to split open the way between worlds to grab someone weak and full of a potential for darkness in them”

Her eyes met Dominic’s eyes, and she took his hand in hers. “Please do not fret, we all have the potential for Light and Darkness in us, and some like to live in the gray area in between both sides. The world needs duality in order to function properly, and usually those with the most potential for one side, have an equal potential for the other side in the beginning. So while he needed someone that has great potential for Darkness, you also have potential for the Light.”

She took a sip, and Svelt took that opportunity to pipe up and ask questions. “So what do we do about his not being Awakened? He will be weak forever if he can’t be Awakened.. Or is it Awoke?” He paused, and Tadeo took the moment to clamp a big hand over his mouth, going so far to drag Svelt onto his lap like a small child.

Manon then spoke up. “And what is wrong with his voice? Will it come back? Do we have to feed him the potion every time?”

Ducky sighed, patting Dominic’s knee as he pet Alawg, and she opened her mouth. “To answer your questions first Manon, I do not know what is wrong with his voice. None of the Nine have chosen to show me what is wrong, but they did say that if he choses to go through the Awakening and… survives” Dominic winced at that. “Then that will help the situation.”

“You heard me right my little chickadee, you may not survive the Awakening, but if you do, it will help with your voice, among other things.” She scratched her chin, then added. “But, you do not have to try the Awakening. You can carry on like you have, but I get the feeling that there will be more complications from whatever they poured down your throat, including an early death.”

Dominic scribbled on the parchment when he heard that and passed it to Ducky. “I would say within the year my little chickadee, not much longer than that. Maybe even earlier, so we need to make a decision.”

Dominic’s face blanched, and Svelt said what he’d been thinking. “What kind of choice is that? Awakening and possibly dying in the process, and or dying within a year?” Svelt danced away from Tadeo and put his arm around Dominic. “Shit Pinky, that’s really tough luck.”

“How long does he have to make his choice?” Father Abraham asked quietly, as the others sat in silence. “And, can we do anything to help his chances?”

“He needs to choose today, the sooner the better.” Ducky replied. “Whatever they put in his system is not good, and it will be harder to fix if we wait too much longer. And the feeling I get from the Nine is that he needs to go into this without any help from spells or items, just like any other teen would.”

“Shit,” the whole Adventurer team chorused.

Dominic felt in shock, but as he pet Alawg, he realized that it was a no brainer. He would definitely die if he didn’t try the Awakening, and there was a chance he would survive the Awakening, which would fix his voice. He scribbled on the parchment “It’ll do it,” and handed it to Ducky.

“Perfect! Nice and decisive, just like I knew you would be my little chickadee! Father, you help Dominic get ready, and the rest of you standby to help with the Awakening as I go grab two more people for the ceremony. As soon as Dominic is prepared, we will get it underway!” And with that, she left her cottage.

“This is not what we signed up for Father! Tadeo, there must be another way for them to pull this off without our help!” Boris complained, and Dominic could just feel the resentment in the Half Dwarf/Half Elf’s voice as Father Abraham led him to another room.

“Don’t worry Dominic. He’s just being an asshole per usual,” Svelt explained as he followed the two men. “In most places, it’s custom that those who help with your Awakening ceremony help you grow your Skills and Abilities until you can fend for yourself and/or reach Level 5, when you can choose your class! So he’s just salty because that means we get to stick around here a little longer if you survive!”