As they finished their fire wine, Dur taps his cup, drawing their attention to him. "You're all welcome to stay here while we plan for travel and find information. For now, I need to sleep."

The group nodded a general consensus, spreading out through the house, finding places to sleep.

~

Zagthaan woke on the old, lumpy mattress, a lump in her back making her grumble to herself as she stretched, the soreness in her muscles making her cringe.

Waving to Stigr as she left her room, she told him that, towards the end of the day, she'd do what she could to get them both back to full fighting capabilities, as long as he was here.

"Stigr, Zagthaan," Dur called from the end of the hall. "If you give me your primary weapon, I am happy to upgrade it over the coming days."

Shrugging, Zagthaan handed over her dwarven made warhammer, while Stigr bared his teeth. "Yeah, I can't help you with those," Dur stated, taking the warhammer.

"I'm off to get my stuff," Zagthaan stated as she left.

"Right grumpy one," Dur stated flatly, once Zagthaan had left.

~

Abs wandered into a back alley shop, nodding to his contact as he dropped a small pouch with coins and gems in it onto the desk. The black dragonkin, scales edged with grey, grinned, handing over a pair of potions. The exchange done, Abs left without saying a word, the door closing behind him.

~

"Abs, you know a blacksmith, right?" Stigr asked the following morning.

"Yeah, why?"

"I need armour, duh."

"Point. Let's go."

"While we're out, do you know where I can get a wand of cure wounds?"

"I might know a guy."

~

Breathing out, Abs turned himself invisible and bolted from the gate, around the side of the Cents mansion and up a drainpipe, entering through a second story window. The invisibility faded as he moved through the guest bedroom and out into the hallway. He headed straight to his mother's room, opening the door and slipping through.

He heard a gasp of surprise from his mother as he closed the door. "Abs dear, I was worried for you." Lumineh stood and embraced him.

"I’ll be gone for a while now, you probably won't see me around for a long time, so don’t worry about it. And if you ever see my brother, or know anything about where my brother is, please tell him I’m still looking for him. He needs to be prepared.”

Abs' mother nodded. "Stay safe dear," she said, patting his cheek.

Nodding, Abs left as silently as he arrived.

~

Borrowing Stigr and his rickshaw, Zagthaan moved all her belongings from her apartment into Dur's home, making the room she'd picked more presentable before heading out to look for information.

After dragging a desk through the house and into the room, she sat at it and penned a letter to her adopted parents. After barely a minute of writing, she left with the letter, giving it to a delivery service, along with the few silvers for the postage.

Stopping by the nearest coffee shop to Bumble's lab, she enquired about on the road coffee, only to be told the best they could do would be a keg of cold coffee. It was only the sight of Bumble that cheered her up.

As the alchemist heard his door open, his head rotated around.

“Bumbles!”

“Ah, Zagthaan, welcome back.”

Not saying anything, Zagthaan walked around the desk, knelt on the floor next to the snowy owl tengu, face planted into his feathers and wrapped her arms around him

He chuckled and patted Zagthaan’s back. “What is it child?” he asked.

She sat back on her heels. “I’m going on a travel… You saw the monolith thing?”

“Yes, it’s very interesting.”

"Yeah, so… there were 13.. Uh… deity creatures thingies that have been influencing people, myself included. Um." Taking a quick breath, the rest spilt from her mouth in a rush. "And they’ve sent us on a divine quest to find 13 artifacts to try to restore the realms.”

“You and many others, I understand. I have had several people come and buy potions from me.”

“Doesn’t surprise me. You are amazing. Um, so, I just wanted to say bye for now, and we’ll be back.”

Bumble nods. “Give me a moment." He stands and brushes past Zag. “I know how fond you are of trinkets, so I made this for you.” Turning from a shelf, he hands over a puzzlebox, a cylindrical one with a few semi precious stones along its length.

“AH! You’re amazing!” Taking the puzzlebox, she stared at it for a moment before pocketing it.

He chuckles “Well, run along now.”

“Okay, see ya Bumbles.”

~

Zagthaan wandered around Dur's mansion, pulling on her magic to repair small patches of damage while flagging other, larger repairs, like the bookshelves in the library, for magic like Make Whole.

After finding the training yard, with Ragnar training there, a few days into staying at the house, she set about making sure to keep her training going while repairing the mansion.

A week after coming into the mansion, she found the shrine, a small nook at the end of a corridor, barely large enough for a person to kneel in it. Various well made symbols and a few small, hand sized statues sat on a sagging shelf, mold growing on the side of the small, shoebox size altar. Huffing at it, she cleaned and repaired it, even adding a few hooks for some of the symbols so they were spread out and all on display.

Touching a few of the ones she carried, she felt no warmth from them and none in the shrine seemed to take her focus, though none also rejected it, other than the trickster god symbols. Those she avoided.

Ignoring Zagthaan as she repaired shelves around him, Stigr rummaged through the books in the library, avoiding the more damaged sections. After a few days of searching for Norse history, he gave up, finding nothing in the serviceable books.

Zagthaan, seeing Stigr exiting the library, slapped her forehead and ran off, going back to Bumble. “Bumbles, Bumbles, I forgot to ask when I was here, I need to know, do you know anything, anything at all, about the 13 artifacts.”

“There are many artifacts that have existed throughout time. Hrmm.”

“A set of 13?”

“We’re looking for something that hasn’t existed for more than 1500 years, anything older is just absurd. Anything newer than 500 years would also not work." Zagthaan stared blankly as Bumble continued. "Anything created after the shattering just could not work. If we’re looking to reforge the world, we’re looking at items of great power. I have a friend, who might be able to help you. I haven’t seen him for quite some time.”

Zagthaan focussed again as Bumble hands her a map. “If you can make it to this place, you can get here, then head west, then you should come across a beach. It’s a very small sliver of a shattered world, which is basically just a 5km stretch of beach that extends about 2km out, with a bungalow on it, where my friend is supposed to be living.”

“That is a very small piece of land. What is your friends name?”

“Dianthum.”

“Okay! Is there anything I should tell them when I get there? Or not tell them?”

“Oh, tell him to stop being such a misery guts." Zagthaan snorts in amusement. "He needs to get out of his little piece of the world.”

“I mean, traveling is fun.”

“In so far as it is safe, yes.”

“Ah, but sometimes the danger makes it more fun, Bumbles.”

“Maybe, maybe for some. Some of us aren't quite so lucky in our travels.”

“Mkay. Well, I promise to stay as safe as I can and come back and say hi, okay?”

“All right, get going, you’ve wasted enough time here.”

“Bye!"

~

Another week later, the group stood around the kitchen as Dur returned from the basement holding three weapons. Passing the gnome flick mace to Abs and the warhammer to Zagthaan, the weapons now had extra strengthening runes etched into them, giving the weapons a faint magical sheen.

Ragnar's warhammer now had a series of linked runes on the flat face of the head. "It'll bypass some armour," Dur stated. "We ready to go?"

Zagthaan retrieves and shows the map. “I got a map from Bumbles. I don’t know how accurate it’s going to be, but we’re going to see Dianthum. Anyone else find any information to go on? Stigr?”

“Unfortunately no, the library just didn’t have literally anything I was looking for.”

"We'll head off first light then," Dur stated.

~

Gathering at the nearest land bridge out of Nonhatten, the group double checked they had everything before stepping into the chaotic barrier between the shards of the realms.

Ragnar and Zagthaan stepped out, side by side into the open field on the other side, a well worn path lay ahead of them. Zagthaan's eyes widened in horror as she felt the caffeine leave her system and a headache come on as Stigr and Abs exited behind them, flames licking at Stigr's skin.

“I would rather have been on fire," Zagthaan grumbled.

Stigr yelped in pain. “Hey! Come on man!”

“I’m fire resistant at least,” Zagthaan stated as she stepped over to help Stigr, Dur stepping through the chaos, looking visibly drained. “Stop drop and roll man.” Kneeling next to the trollkin, she helped to pat out the flames with her bare hands. She pushed on her power, drawing on her healing magic, barely able to muster anything with the growing headache.

“Miracle worker," Stigr stated as he sat up.

“At least it stops the burning.”

Glancing at the other three, Zagthaan noted that Ragnar's scales were now a deeper red, almost crimson colour, Abs was rubbing his stomach and Dur looked ashen and exhausted.

“Well. That was unpleasant,” Dur stated.

Stigr glared at him. “Really? I couldn’t tell from all the burning.”

“Shake it off.”

A wide plain, level and almost featureless landscape lay ahead of them. No significant trees, rocks, forests, anything. Markers, parts of what look like humanoid structures sat around the edges of the expansive field, as if passing through the void at those locations should lead to civilized places.

“I don’t quite know where we’re going," Zagthaan stated, looking at the map. "I usually just go."

Stigr held his hand out. “Show me." Gently taking the map in his claws, he turned it the right way around. "Let’s go this way. Just don’t let me hold the map, I might spontaneously combust again.”

~

Some days later, after passing through several fluxuations of chaos and a couple of podunk villages, the group finds themselves at the last chaos barrier, between them and where they need to be. The chaos had been up and down for everyone, thankfully resulting in no injuries or mutations.

Ragnar, leading, turned his head over his shoulder. “Let’s not be on fire this time, hey guys?”

As they stepped through and onto the beach, the group seemed unaffected, except Abs, who the chaos clung to. As Abs stepped forward, it tried to pull him back as he pulled it out. Hearing the gnome struggle, the group exploded into action, all doing different things. Ragnar retrieved a rope and passed it to Abs as Dur took a grip of the gnome's armour and pulled. As Stigr started up a yodel of encouragement, filling their limbs with vigor, Zagthaan retrieved her battle axe and brought it down on the stretching chaos.

As the axe connected, Dur and Ragnar heaved, the gnome slipping out with a loud 'pop', combat rolling to his feat as the severed blob of chaos collapsed to the ground behind him.

Zagthaan stared at it for a second before poking it with the tip of her weapon. Ripples spread out from the impact, growing with intensity over a few seconds before the blob started lashing out, spikes protruding a foot. “Back up, back up, back up!”

Abs turned to face it. “Shouldn’t have touched that, that thing nearly swallowed me!”

The chaos exploded, emerging from it, like it was a cocoon, a twisted bipedal form of flesh, no face, one arm a twisted, giant clawed hand, the other a serrated blade from the elbow down. It immediately lurched towards Abs.

Shifting his shield, Ragnar stepped between the creature and Abs, swinging his warhammer into the chaos spawns middle, making it stumble back a step. Taking the opening, Dur threw one of his spears past Ragnar. It glanced off an armoured piece landing just past Zagthaan on the beach.

Magic flowed over the dwarf as Stigr cast a healing spell, his deep green-grey aura bolstering the dwarf, who gave a nod of appreciation as he gripped his glaive in both hands.

Throwing caution to the wind, Abs moved up beside Ragnar and into flanking position with Zagthaan, using her presence as enough of a distraction to lash out, his rapier piercing near the creature's 'head', making it stumble again as it became dazzled from the strike.

The creature lashed out, its claw scraping off Ragnar's shield while its blade narrowly missed a seam in Zagthaan's plate armour. As it pulled its limbs back, the body split from top to bottom before lurching forward, capturing Abs inside it.

Seeing the creature engulf Abs, Zagthaan shifted into flanking with Ragnar, dropping her axe and drawing her warhammer. She could feel the chaos at her back, less than ten foot behind her as she shouted a rapid incantation, barely two words. Her pale grey aura, tinged with red similar to her skin, sprang to life around her shield as she brought her warhammer down. Hearing the spell go off, the creature twisted, the hammer missing by a few inches.

As Ragnar swung with his warhammer, Dur stepped behind, the glaive blade following, both connecting, the impact of the hammer passing into Abs inside the creature.

Drawing a deep breath, Stigr infused it with magic, bellowing a scream at the creature. The creature turned as if to look at the bard, but seemed unaffected by the spell.

From the inside of the creature, Abs retrieved a dagger from his belt and, spotting light through the wound Dur had made, stuck his weapon into the gap, dragging and sawing down as acid inside the creature started trying to dissolve him.

As the creature swung its limbs at Ragnar and Zagthaan again, the blade arm was brushed away by Zagthaan while the claw bashed into Ragnar's side.

Stepping behind its bladed arm, Zagthaan swung her hammer, impacting the creature and Abs inside.

As it swung back towards Ragnar, the dragonkin, thrown by the hit, attacked, but missed with his hammer and shield.

Seeing Abs arm and dagger trying to cut their way out, Dur drew his own dagger and started to help cut the creature open.

Stigr let out a yodel as he began an aggressive beat on his drum. The air around him pulsed with energy, inspiring the group.

Abs shoved down hard, the force dumping him out onto the grassy beach, purple and green ichor covering him, the creature sapping behind him as it split open again, lunging for Ragnar.

Ragnar swatted the gaping maw aside while the malformed arms lashed out again, the blade at Zagthaan again, the claw at Dur. The blade scraped against Zagthaan's armour while the claw hit the ground in front of Dur. Taking the opportunity, Dur struck it with his dagger.

The claw retracted and barely a breath later, Zagthaan swung, her pale grey aura, now tinged with red and deep green, wrapped around the warhammer as she impacted the creature, causing it to explode over her four friends, purple and green gunk spreading out before her. She snorted in amusement at the state the others were in.

“It’s on me again, IT’S ON ME AGAIN!” Abs cried out, a particularly large chunk of creature on his back.

Sheathing his dagger, Dur scooped a hand under Abs's arm, dragging him the short distance to the ocean.

“AH! It’s taking me somewhere!” Splash! “Ah!”

The dwarf and troll followed Abs into the water and begin to wash off the gunk while Ragnar just shook himself, the majority splattering across the beach a third time.

Pulling out her spiralling symbol, Zagthaan cast a pair of healing spells, closing over the smaller scratch and acid wounds covering Abs.

Finishing shaking off, Ragnar looked around, surveying the area. The beach was little more than a long strip of sand, the areas closest to the chaos riddled with dunes grasses. The waves from the blue-green ocean lapping calmly up the beach. Looking south, he finally took note of the cabin, roughly made, but in decent condition. As he looked over it, the blinds shifted. "We're probably being watched," he called to the others."

Walking out of the water ahead of the others, Zagthaan retrieved her axe then wandered towards the cabin, the others in tow. “Hi, Dianthum?” she called as she got closer to the cabin.

The sound of crashing pots and pans reached their ears as Zagthaan stepped closer to the door. "Hello? Bumbles sent us. Heeeellllooooooo?”

The door latch clicked open, the door swinging open a couple of inches. Pushing on it, Zagthaan entered slowly, looking around. The small shack was barely large enough to accommodate the entire group. A bed sat in one corner, table and chair next to it. A small kitchenette had only a stove, a sink and a small bench. Pots and pans lay on the floor in the kitchenette.

Looking over the rooms, Zagthaan spotted a vibrant red cat sitting on the bed, humanoid eyes watching the group. “Are you Dianthum? Bumbles sent us.”

The cat's ears twitched before it jumped from bed to floor to chair to table. “Yes, I am Dianthum.”

“Oh my god, can I hug you?” Zagthaan exclaimed.

“No! How terribly inappropriate of you.”

“But kitty,” she said dejectedly.

“I am NOT a cat, despite my current appearance.”

“Sorry.”

“Since the terrible experience we’ve just gone through," Stigr said, speaking up, "with almost being eaten alive and almost digested, it would be very kind of you to act as a sort of therapy animal for a few minutes.”

Dianthum snorted. “As if I would lower myself to such a thing. I am Dianthum, one the greatest wizards to have lived in the last couple of centuries.”

“You’re also a fluffy kitty, so what’s the point?”

“I like the cut of this guy’s jib," Ragnar stated.

“What made you into a cat?” Abs asked.

“The Chaos, what do you think.”

“How did it change you into a cat?”

“How did it set me on fire randomly?" Stigr asked. "What’s your point?”

“Ah, fair enough,” Abs replied.

“Or how it accelerated the Kobold evolution,” Ragnar added.

A loud rumble came from Abs's stomach. “I need a latrine.”

"There’s an ocean,” Zagthaan suggested.

“Before I was turned into this cat," Dianthum sighed, "I had a latrine on the side of the bungalow.” He pointed with paw.

“I’m going to use it,” Abs stated, stepping out.

“So, while he’s all gone and doing that, Bumbles sent us because we’ve been given a quest to go find information and get some artifacts to try and help repair the world.”

“Hrmm. Artifacts you say." A paw touched his chin. "I may know the location of one.”

“We don’t even know what we’re looking for, other than ‘artifacts’.”

“Oh, I dare say they will make themselves fairly obvious once you find them. They will be artifacts of enormous power. The ones that were used to seal the 3 hells.”

“That sounds concerning," Stigr stated.

"Yes. The breaking of this world. Admittedly, this is just a theory. By my estimation, it seems that the 3 hells were sealed. But, they were sealed together. I estimate that the forces of the three hells have joined together and they have combined their power in such a way that has caused this plane to shatter in their attempt to escape their confinement.”

~

Grunting with the effort, Abs felt immediate relief as a 2 once wide, perfectly spherical diamond jettisoned from his arse. Wincing in pain, he retrieved it and washed it off, looking it over before tucking it away in his bag.

~

Dianthum nudged a scroll on the table open with a paw. “The 13 artifacts that were used to seal the hells need to be brought together to reunify the world, but will likely unlock the hells, again.”

“That’s not good," Stigr stated.

Zagthaan stared at the scroll as Stigr looked over it. “The problem is then…”

The scroll, preserved with minor magic, dating from before the shattering, outlined a theory that 13 artifacts were created and used as part of an enormous spell to seal away the 3 hells.

“Theory is sound," Stigr stated. "The scroll looks reasonably sound too."

As Zagthaan glances over the group, she noted Dur, lost in thought a moment before Ragnar cleared his throat.

"Got any food?" Ragnar asked.

Dianthum turned his head towards Ragnar. “I don’t really eat much in this form. I just sort of catch a fish every now and then.”

“Got a fishing rod or something? Imma go do that, I’m starving.”

“But, I am a wizard and even though my powers are diminished by the lack of FINGERS.” Dianthum dropped to the floor then jumped onto the kitchen bench, touching a rune etched into the counter. With a sparkle of energy, a fish appeared, flopping on the counter.

"Neat, worrying, but neat," Ragnar said. "Imma cook it.”

Pushing the door open, Abs wandered back in, waddling. “Hey guys, what’d I miss?”

“You okay there?” Stigr asked.

"Um, yeah, everything is fine. It was just, really big.”

“You look like you shat out a precious metal or something.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Want to come with us Dianthum?” Abs asked.

“Bumbles did tell me to tell you that you need to get out of the house…” Zagthaan added.

"Well, Bumble can suck my dick. I am NOT going back out into that chaos until I figure out how to undo this ungodly curse on my body.”

“Can I bring up the point that the chaos might undo it?” Stigr pointed out.

“I’m not taking that chance.”

“Aw, don’t worry, at worst it’ll turn you into a chaos spawn.”

“THAT is EXACTLY what I’m worried about.”

“Well, if you travel in a group with capable warriors like us,” Abs said, pointing at Ragnar, “you’ll be fine.”

Zagthaan looked indignantly at Abs. “Hey hey, who got the killing blow, thank you.”

Ragnar raiseed hand. “That was me.”

“No you didn’t.”

“What’re you going to do about it?”

Zagthaan poked her tongue out at Ragnar.

Abs pointed at Dur. “See those scars, they speak of experience.”

Snapping out of his thoughts, Dur blinked. “What? What’s going on? I didn’t say anything.”

Ragnar finished cooking, the smell wafting through the small bungalow. “So what’re you guys having?” Opening his mouth wide, he gulped down the fish.

“No, uh, yeah, so, it’s safer to travel with us," Abs said to dianthum. "How are you going to undo the curse by yourself, here, on this beach? What are you going to find?”

“Wouldn’t Bumbles be a good person to help you out?” Zagthaan added.

“No, you don’t understand." Disnthum replied, shaking his head. "The chaos, some people, for whatever reason, are more resistant to its effects than others. I am not one of those people.”

“What was your original race?” Ragnar asked.

“I was a kobold, like yourself, but I was a beautiful blue. Radiant.”

“Eh. Eh, filthy blue kobolds.”

“So the chaos turned you into a red feline," Abs said, "almost to mock you.”

"The chaos is unpredictable and wild, anything can come of it. And for those who are more susceptible to its changes, any trip through the chaos could be their last.”

"Nah, I could bluff the chaos.” Stigr stated.

“Why did you go into the chaos in the first place?” Abs asked.

“Curiosity.”

“Curiosity killed the cat," Abs and Ragnar stated together.

"But satisfaction brings it back," Zagthaan added.

“Yeah, finish the quote man," Stigr added.

“Satisfaction will come in the form of my own intellect overcoming this curious obstacle.”

Stigr patted the air hurriedly. “Dude, dude, we don’t need to know what your kinks are. Someone just got swallowed earlier.”

"Yes, I saw that, unpleasant.”

“Okay, well, if you’re not coming with us," Zagthaan interjected, "can you please at least point us in the direction of one of these artifacts.”

“Oh, of course. The name of the town you want is Hushed Mountain Estates.”

“Sounds rapey," Stigr said flatly.

“Sounds secretive,” Abs added.

“Before the shattering, I understand, it was a nice little retreat. A place where people could go to just, well, be together. Now, now the place is, oh, I say, for lack of a better word, haunted. You may find one of these 13 artifacts of power there.”

“But why are there 13?” Stigr asked.

“13 is a number that, in all cultures, nearly all cultures I should say, has some significance to it.”

“But it’s sooo many."

Dianthum shrugged.

“Okay, well, let’s go to Hushed town," Abs said.

“Hushed Mountain Estates," Zagthaan corrected.

"Thank you for all the help," Abs said, ignoring Zagthaan.

“Would you like us to visit from time to time?” Zagthaan asked.

"So long and thanks for all the fish,” Ragnar said as he finished cleaning what he used.

“Seriously though Dianthum," Zagthaan said, ignoring Ragnar. "Would you like visitors from time to time, or would you just like us to never return and bother you again.”

“Oh, if you’re going to visit, at least bring something with you.”

“Um, okay.”

“When I say something, I mean something useful.”

Stigr asked, “Magic items?”

“Books of academia. I have not nearly enough resources here to do what I need. I’m merely having to make do with experiments.”

“I’ll see if I can find anything specifically on transfiguration for you.”

“Ah, that would be wonderful sir troll.”

Zagthaan tapped her fingers together. “So, just, if we have happened to have come across a pre-shattering study that had quite a few books and experiment notes and things like that in it, would you potentially be interested in those kinds of books?”

“Once I regain my form, I would certainly be interested in them.”

So, they’re in Bumbles care currently.”

Dianthum bristled. “With that fool? He wouldn’t know what to do with them.”

“He asked to have a look at them.”

“Yes, look indeed,” Dianthum snorted.

“Okay, well, I’ll go retrieve them, on the condition that you let me pat you.”

“It would benefit you in the long run for just a few short moments of something you don’t like,” Stigr added.

Dianthum thought a moment before nodding. “You get thirty seconds. Any more and you lose a finger.”

“That's okay, I can regrow it,” Zagthaan stated confidently. “I’ll hold off patting for now.”

“What, not going to take it now?”

“No, when I come back with the books.”

“Hrmm.”

“Oh, so you’re making a fair deal immediately,” Stigr stated, catching on.

“Exactly,” Zagthaan replied with a nod.

“Rather than possible deal you might accidentally back out of later.”

“Well, that, and what if we don’t return?”

“That does make it a fair deal.”

Dur cleared his throat. “Let’s spend the night here to recover.”

Zagthaan grinned. “Agreed. Beach party!”

I’m going for a swim,” Dur stated. “See if I can rustle up some more fish. Ragnar, mind cooking when I bring something back?”

Ragnar shrugged. “I’ll cook fish, no problem.”

Dur headed for the water, taking off his outer clothing, disrobing down to underwear. Tattoos and scars criss-crossed his chest and back, a large, visible scar where he had been stabbed through by the mutant rat. The tattoos were angular, dwarven runes. He scooped up his glaive and walked straight into the surf, heading under the water.

“Zagthaan, what do those mean?” Stigr asked.

“They’re names.”

“Any idea why he's got them on his body? Is it a dwarven thing or is it just specifically him?”

“Not a thing from the area I come from, old dwarvish names, pre-shattering dwarvish.”

“Old, you mean, like his fire wine?” Abs asked.

Zagthaan gasped. “He may be undead!”

“It would explain how he survived,” Stigr agreed.

Zagthaan poked her head back into the bungalow. “Hey Dianthum, is there anything really dangerous in the water?”

“Oh, yes, of course, why do you think I fish like this?” Dianthum touched the rune and another fish flopped onto the counter.

“Because you’re lazy and I would do that too?”

“That’s a fair point, but occasionally, I mean, yes, I mean, the chaos is not far away and the oceans are still connected. Natural life still flows both ways. And, just like any other beach, we get things like jellyfish, sharks, giant tortoises and bunyips.”

Abs, overhearing the conversation, ran back towards the ocean, shouting and waving his hands. “Dur come back!”

The waves lapped the shore at Abs feet with no sign of Dur.

“He’s probably immortal,” Zagthaan stated.

“You think he’s undead?” Stigr asked.

“Undead, immortal, there’s not much of a difference.”

“I mean the difference between the two is that holy magic has a different effect on them.”

“Yeah, probably.”

“There’s an easy way to tell if he’s undead, try to heal him.”

“I already have. So have you.”

“Then he’s probably not undead. If he was undead, wouldn’t that do damage to him instead?”

“Typically.”

“So he’s not likely undead, just likely something else.”

“Immortal then,” Zagthaan stated with a nod.

“Hey, what if he’s one of the 13 artifacts?”

“Well then we only have to find 12.”

“Just an old grumpy dwarf you have to sit down and talk to.”

“Okay Dur, we have to sit down and talk to you, it’s a very important talk we need to have.”

Abs tapped Zagthaan’s hip to draw her attention. “Dur’s still fishing.”

Zagthaan poked out her tongue at Abs for ruining her fun before she went to set up her tent on the beach.

“Dianthum, got a furnace I can use?” Abs asked through the door.

“I haven’t I’m afraid.”

“Do you have a cymbal I can take?” Stigr asked

“I got a pot lid I don’t use.”

“It’ll do!” Stigr went about attaching it to his drums, giving it a few experimental taps.

Abs, pulling some clay out of his pack, started to make some thin plates and utensils on his portable wheel. As Zagthaan poked her head out of her tent, she squinted at the gnome, ducked back inside and returned with a handful of metal cutlery and plates, giving him a quizzical look. He huffed at her before mushing the clay back together and putting it away. Spotting Ragnar sunbathing in the warmth on a dune, Zagthaan backed into her tent one more time, coming out a minute later wearing flowing beach clothing and a sun hat. She trotted over to near Ragnar, plopping down in the sand a few meters from him, sticking her warhammer handle first into the sand nearby.

Tapping away at the drums and pot lid, Stigr starts playing a slow, relaxing beat, the pot lid giving an okay sound, but nothing as nice as a real cymbal.

A few minutes later, a big fish appeared above the waves as Dur reappeared, holding the glaive straight up, a large fish on the end of the weapon, dripping water and blood.

“Hey there our immortal dwarf friend,” Stigr called, maintaining his beat.

Dur coughed up seawater, spitting it onto the beach. “Buh, seawater. Ragnar, I got the fish.”

“Could you have caught a bigger one?” Ragnar asked, getting up from the dune.

“Probably.”

“Sarcasm doesn’t work on dwarves, dude,” Stigr stated.

Dur walked over to Ragnar before pushing the fish off the glaive. “I’m going to go dry off somewhere.”

“How did you do that?” Zagthaan asked, following with a small towel. “How did you stay underwater for so long?”

“Thanks for the towel,” Dur replied, rubbing it through his hair.

“He’s a mermaid!” Stigr called out in the distance. The rhythm changed and he started yodeling ‘Under The Sea.’

Zagthaan wandered back to Stigr, leaving the dwarf be. “Stigr, I don’t think he’s immortal.”

“What is he?”

“He’s not undead.”

“Is he just like, really old?”

“Maybe. Maybe he’s just so old that he’s forgotten how to breathe.”

“Maybe it’s free healthcare.”

Borrowing more seasoning from Dianthum’s bungalow, Ragnar set to work, gutting and seasoning the fish, roasting strips of flesh over the small fire. As the fish was being dished up to everyone, Dur came back, fully dressed and dry, he passed the damp towel back to Zagthaan.

“So is it true that free healthcare is really good for you?” Stigr asked with a mouthful of fish.

“What’s free healthcare?” Dur asked.

“I can’t tell if you’re lying or just dodging the truth in a really obtuse way.”

“You all should look after yourselves.”

“I do, I heal myself on a regular occurance,” Zagthaan replied, indignantly.

“My own body heals me,” Stigr added.

“What do the names on your chest mean?” Abs asked.

Stigr nodded. “Are you comfortable sharing the reason behind the names?”

Dur glared at them. “Ain’t none of your business and if you know what’s good for you, you won't ask again.”

“Yeah, dwarves are private, don’t ask,” Zagthaan added.

“All right.”

As the night slowed down and the group ate their fill, the night settled over the beach, giving them all a chance to relax for a moment, even with the chaos rift nearby. After finishing the food and washing up, Zagthaan dragged Abs to the side. After sitting him down, she tended to his wounds, drawing on the last of her reserves to do so.

~

Morning broke and Zagthaan grumbled in her tent as the headache from the caffeine withdrawals kicked in hard, making her morning meditations difficult.

Dianthum wandered over as they packed up their camp. “Before you go, do be careful at the Hushed Mountain Estates. It would be a shame for people of your calibre to perish there. And say ‘hi’ to Bumble for me, and tell him that, once you put the world together, I will come and see him.”

“Okay,” Zagthaan mumbled.

“Quick question,” Stirg said. “Is Bumble’s second name Brutus?”

Dianthum laughed. “No, it is not.”

“You reckon there’s undead there, right?” Zagthaan asked.

“Oh, there’s... There’s definitely something there.”

“Good thing you’re here then Zagthaan,” Stigr said buoyantly.

“Mhmm,” she replied noncommittally.

“Otherwise I’d just try to heal everyone to death.”

“I mean, that would work,” Zagthaan replied.

“Yeah, but I don’t have many spells.”

“Then make them count.”

~

As they started travelling, Zagthaan pulled out a pair of platinum rings, handing one to Abs. “Here, put this on.”

“Huh?” Abs replied.

“Just put it on.”

“What’s this, an engagement ring?”

“No, I’m not interested in you, you’re too short.”

“And you’re too scaly.”

“I’m not even dragonkin, it’s red skin buddy!”

“No, I mean your personality.”

“Boom,” Stigr said cheerfully as Zagthaan glared at them both.

“If anything, she’s horny all the time,” Ragnar stated.

“Only because I have horns.”

Stigr tapped both drums then the pot lid. ‘Bu-dum-tiss’.

“The ring is a spell component, for the spell 'shield other',” Zagthaan stated to Abs. “Shush and wear it, it’ll probably save your life.”

Stepping through the first chaos fluctuation between them and their current destination, Abs started scratching at his left arm. Pulling up the chain shirt, the gnome’s arm was now scaled from shoulder to elbow. “Why is my arm like that, right after I made that remark?”

Ragnar’s scales faded a little, back to their original colouring, while Zagthaan’s eye teeth grew a little, poking into her lip, causing a small trickle of blood to appear from the corner of her mouth. Grumbling and growling under her breath, she looked over the group, spotting Stigr holding a hand to his chest.

“I have a second heart,” he stated bluntly.

Passing through the last warp, they came to a nice, picturesque area, mountain range to one side and down the slope on the other, a forest, a thick fog amongst the lower branches. A paved road lead between them, heading for a small town nearby, nestled at the base of the nearest mountain. On the side of the road leading into town, a big sign sat, the words; ‘Welcome to Hushed Mountain Estate’ painted in worn, flowing letters on it.

An unnatural quiet lay over the area, that of no wildlife, or life in general. A chill breeze pushed gently past the group from behind, seemingly drawing the fog from the trees towards the road and the group.

Zagthaan, putting on the matching platinum ring, intoned her spell, her red-grey aura linking the bands Abs and herself wore. As she finished casting, almost as if in response to the casting of the spell, a sound, almost like an air raid siren, started up from the town ahead.

☆~☆