As usual, the first indication Lia and I got to alert us of our visitors was a series of loud, resounding barks. Silva had her pack well trained, making sure that nobody could sneak up on the brewery during the day-time and in return, I made sure to heal any injuries the dogs incurred and let them listen in to magic training, provide cold storage for any meat they didn’t immediately devour and even helped hunting. It was an excellent relationship with ample benefits on both sides, one that I nurtured carefully. I would have given them direct magic instruction but with the differences in mental architecture, I wasn’t sure how useful it would be, even if we could bridge the language gap.

Given that our visitors were mostly interested in me, I left Lia to her training, she was in the middle of revising one of the routines I had taught her, trying to adapt it to her attributes, size and claws, and went upstairs to find out who was coming for us.

Once I was out of our comfortable lair, a hiss escaped my lips. There was no helping it, even with the curtains drawn and shutters closed, the house was somewhat bright, meaning that the day outside must be completely cloudless, sunny and bright. Utterly repugnant but unless I gained a huge amount of power, there was nothing I could do about it. Maybe a repeat of my actions on Mundus would be a good idea after all, they had to have quite a long winter, with loads of clouded skies and very little sun for years. Not quite as nice as an endless night, but one couldn’t have everything.

Laughing at the idea, knowing how ridiculous it was, I moved to the door and pulled it open while almost jumping back to avoid the light from outside. Indirect sunlight wasn’t so bad, but it was still uncomfortable and I preferred to avoid it.

Outside, I could see two of the larger dogs escort a group of five people, three of whom I knew, though realising who was visiting caused my stomach to clench in worry. There was no reason why Mrs Wu, Wong Chehai, the guy responsible for organising the groups they sent out, and Mark, his counterpart at Apple Gate Farm, would move about for no reason. My anxiety truly manifested when I realised that the figure roughly my own height wasn’t just a stocky woman or anything along those lines but that she actually was a dwarf, just like I was now an elf. Where I was just as petite as I had always been, with pointy ears, pale, blue skin and long, black hair, now gleaming with power thanks to my magical hair, the dwarf was short, though still taller than me, and stocky, with wavy hair that looked almost like burnished bronze, tanned skin and an expression that screamed of vigilant caution.

Unless there were other reasons why people had their race changed, I was looking at another player of Road to Purgatory, so somebody who likely knew of Morgana’s deeds, who might hold animosity and had abilities I couldn’t even try to predict.

The last guy was cut from a similar cloth as Mark and Wong Chehai, though more on the bulky side, clearly a fighter of some sort, possibly in some sort of escort function or he was their counterpart from the YMCA, I couldn’t be sure. But he didn’t feel threatening, though I wasn’t about to fully trust my gut feeling. Staying vigilant meant staying alive.

Letting out a soft whistle, I called for Lia and Silva, just to make sure that they were nearby, in case this wasn’t a friendly visit. I didn’t think so, but I couldn’t be sure so prudence was warranted.

“Good afternoon,” I called out in greeting, “What brings you to my humble abode?”

“Good afternoon, Samantha,” Mrs Wu returned my greeting, a polite smile on her face, “We’d like to discuss a few things with you, ask your opinion, if that would be okay with you?”

“Certainly, you may enter,” I offered, taking a step back. However, the dwarven woman didn’t immediately follow her companions, looking at me as I awaited them in the shadows of the entryway.

“They told me you are Morgana,” she visibly swallowed, betraying her nerves, “I would like to ask you for hospitality, that we are covered under guest rights,” she told me, her words more a plea than a demand. But a reasonable one, especially as guest rights, at least as far as I remembered, covered them as well, giving me protection against them acting against me in my home.

“Certainly, though you have me at a disadvantage for I do not know you,” I nodded, raising a hand to give my promise, “Enter without malice, leave without hindrance. No harm shall befall you within my domain, as long as you do no harm yourself,” I pledged, feeling the world listen to my pledge, if only for a moment. While I wasn’t truly bound, many people had warned me of breaking my word, that things would turn out badly if you did.

“Thank you. May Frigg bless your home and hearth,” the dwarf offered in response and I could smell a faint magical scent from her, a very minor blessing taking hold. I couldn’t be sure of the actual effect but by the tiny amount of power I could feel, I was confident it wouldn’t do much. Maybe improve the taste of food a bit, or help people get better rest, but it was the nice thing about this kind of magic, it could never be harmful. A blessing was, by its very nature, beneficial and a blessing of the Goddess of the Hearth would never, ever, harm those in the blessed home. It would be against its very nature, against the very nature of the deity and not something any sane being would want to mess around with.

With assurances in place for both sides, I led the five people into the kitchen and went through the same tea-making spiel I had done before, quickly and efficiently preparing the brew using nothing but my magic. It was a bit of a powerplay, especially with somebody who knew about the Legacy of Morgana there, because if the former Travellers were asked what Morgana stood for, Fire and domesticity would never make the list. So, showing that I could wield fire magic, that I could use my magic in a benign setting, would hopefully unbalance her from worrying about things turning out as they had on Mundus. Or maybe it would make her more worried, at the end of the day, Fire wasn’t the most benign element one could wield and the difference between a world frozen over and a world on fire was… rather irrelevant for those living in that world.

“Now, why don’t we get introductions out of the way? You may call me Jade, for simplicities sake. May I have your names?” I asked, grinning as I remembered a story about fae I had read a while ago. It was a simple, small misdirection but seeding false assumptions and misinformation into a conversation could never be done too early.

“My name is Wu Chunhua, as you know. Sam… Jade, I wanted to thank you for warning us, without the preparations things would have been bad,” Mrs Wu took up the ball, before nodding to Wong Chehai next to her. He, too introduced himself, adding his role in their community and Mark did the same.

“You can call me Cassie, though on Mundus, I was called Cassandra Forgeheart. Some call me the Denmother, as I am a Cleric of Frigg,” the dwarf introduced herself, her voice betraying her nervousness. I was tempted to Observe her, though I managed to stop myself, it would be rather rude. And with a cleric, one could never know if their deity had given them some nifty trick that might allow them to notice the Observe, even if I concealed it.

“I’m Arlan, it’s nice to meet you in better circumstances,” the last guy greeted me, his words catching me off-guard.

“Excuse me?” I looked at him, trying to figure out what he meant.

“When we met the first time, you weren’t really in the mood to chat, just took your giant hound and left. Though, thanks for letting us take shelter in the place you made secure,” he explained. I remembered meeting a group of people at the first shelter I had taken, so he most likely had been part of that group, but I wasn’t sure. I hadn’t bothered to remember their faces, or names if they ever had given them.

Shaking my head, I waved him off, before focusing on the other people present.

“Now, what brings you by? I’m sure it’s not just my delicious tea, nor do I think you are here for a discussion on magic, as my usual visitors are. So, what gives?” I asked, briefly glancing at the tea to make sure it was coming along well.

“Oh, just your tea would make the trip worthwhile, but alas, you are correct,” Mrs Wu grinned, after taking a deep breath as if to sample the aroma coming from the tea. “No, we are here because the five of us represent the people now all gathered at Apple Gate Farm, their leadership, if you will. We’d love to count you amongst that number, but you made it obvious you aren’t interested.”

“But your help was invaluable, so we’d like to give you as much information on the goings on as possible,” Wong Chehai continued, leaving the implication that I might be willing to help more if I was informed of the circumstances unsaid.

“More information is always useful,” I nodded, “And it’s not so much that I don’t want to be part of your community,” I fibbed, as I didn’t have an interest, “But that my nature simply makes it more comfortable for me and everyone involved if there’s a certain distance. On Mundus, the homes of powerful spellcasters were always apart from the rest for a reason. If you research magic, especially powerful magic, you never know when something goes wrong. Thus, you make your home somewhere away from people you might accidentally injure, on some mountain or deep in some swamp. Makes it easier for everyone involved,” I assured them, the looks travelling between them highly amusing.

“I’ve heard of that, yes,” Cassie nodded, before shaking her head, “But it doesn’t really matter. We’re just here to talk and maybe get your opinion on the present circumstances.”

Nodding, I poured everyone a cup of tea and set back, curious about what they had to say.