The offer, it turned out, hadn’t been a room in Hugo’s place as Serena had believed, but instead the key to one of the houses nearby, perhaps a short walk from Hugo’s. Though it stood only a few feet away from the massive hole in the city’s walls, to hand over an entire house was a gesture that none of them had been expecting.

Until they learned where Hugo had gotten the key.

“Uhm, yes sir!” He said to Pavel as he led them over. “Took that right out their pockets! Uh, don’t uhm, really need it when you’re dead! Figured uhm, y’all could use it instead!”

“Ah…” Pavel slowly nodded. “I’m sure it was…hard doing something like that but –”

“Oh nah!” Hugo shook his head. “Uhm, didn’t care much for uh, for them! Always uh, sticking their nose in uh, places it don’t belong! Reckon this here place is uhm – better without ‘em!”

They walked in silence the rest of the way.

A dark interior greeted them when Hugo shoved open the door, wooden shutters drawn tight, though he took it upon himself to rush in and throw them all open. As the midday sun poured in, the darkness bled away to a room that looked almost identical to the first floor in Hugo’s house, save for the cooking pit that dominated the center of the room. A table stood on the far side of that pit, large enough for all of them, with a set of double doors built into the wall closet to it, no doubt leading to the larder. The doors seemed to match the legion of cabinets built into the wall closest to the front door, providing more counterspace than Serena knew what to do with.

She frowned as they filed in, moving against the cabinets with Werond as the others looked around. Aside from the pit, and that the stairs stood directly across from the front door, the house could have been a twin to Hugo’s, a thought that sent a shiver down her spine, though she didn’t understand why.

“Now, uhm, ya see,” Hugo said, shifting his weight from one foot to the other as everyone prowled about the room. “this here, uh, place, it’s got it all! Everything needed, uhm, it’s uh, got it all!”

“That so?” Doriyah grumbled, pulling out one of the chairs from the table and falling into it. Hugo cringed as the chair groaned under his weight but nodded all the same.

“Uhm, yes sir, place for cooking! Places for sleeping! And place for uh, washing too!”

Had she not known better, Serena would have sworn Werond had been struck by lightning, so quickly did she straighten up. The matter was only made worse by the glare she shot her when Serena failed to stifle a laugh.

“That so?” Jo asked, throwing open the larder doors, hands on her hips. “Place to wash but no food, huh?”

“Oh uhm, er…” Hugo gulped. “Took that uh…a while ago.”

“Can’t blame you.”

“But we can thank you.” Pavel said, turning towards the older man. “So…thank you Hugo, for this kindness. I’m sure we’ll find a way to repay it in full.”

By the stairs behind the now blushing Hugo, Cruck’aa shook his head, beak twisting. Pavel, however, didn’t seem to see it, as he walked over and shook Hugo’s hand, who now could only sputter.

“A-ah uhm, ah – of course!” He all but threw the key at Pavel as he made for the door. “N-now uh y’all don’t uhm, be strangers, ya hear?!”

And he was gone, shaking the walls as he slammed the door behind him. Pavel twirled the key around a finger as he shook his head, then stuffed it into a pocket as he flipped around.

“Well…” He said. “What’s next?”

Of course, he was looking at Jo.

Ned had said something about this, years ago. That leadership was a role best suited to those who wanted nothing to do with it. And from how long Jo’s sigh was as she leaned against the larder’s door frame, Serena knew it was the last thing she wanted.

“Check the place out,” She said. “look upstairs, see if we can find…anything. Take stock. Clean up, I guess.”

“Defensive positions, maybe?” Pavel suggested.

“Oh,” Doriyah grumbled, “against Hugo? Amazing idea. I’ll go make a fortified position to defend against a midget.”

“Can you not be an asshole for a few minutes?”

“Be easier if I wasn’t so fucking hungry.”

“Go catch something then, if you’re going to –”

Doriyah shot up from the table, hurling the chair backwards, the crash of it against the wall scaring everyone.

“Best idea you’ve had all day!” He yelled, smashing his hands together – a thunderclap this close. “Think I’ll do just that!”

Grin plastered across his face, Doriyah stomped around the table and made his way towards the door, the walls seeming to shake as he threw it open.

“I,” He declared, flipping around. “will find us something to eat! Let all the women clean the house, sounds like a job for them anyways!”

“What?!” Serena yelled as Werond threw up her hands.

“You heard me!” Doriyah jerked a finger at Cruck’aa, glaring at him from the stairs. “Now, pigeon! Find me an animal so I may kill it!”

“No.” Cruck’aa said.

Doriyah grabbed the door frame and leaned forward, teeth bared in a horrible smile.

“Sounds like pussy talk to me, seagull!” He yelled.

Serena shoved off the cabinet, hands up, expecting Cruck’aa to fling himself at the fiery giant; Pavel seemed of the same mind, having turned around with one hand on the hammer at his belt. Yet Cruck’aa remained were he stood, beady eyes narrowed, regarding Doriyah with a look of utter disgust.

The wood creaked; Serena glanced to the side as Jo stepped beside her, arms crossed.

“Would you two,” She began. “relax for just a moment –”

“I,” Cruck’aa said evenly. “will not allow you to snuff out an innocent life just to quell your hunger.”

“Didn’t have any qualms in the swamp!” Doriyah said.

“That was different, this is now. You will –”

But Doriyah was gone, having flipped around, and bolted out the door.

“Stop me then bitch!” Came his fading voice.

Not an ounce of hesitation came from Cruck’aa as he leapt forward and darted after him. Within a moment, the flapping of wings could be heard, as Doriyah’s thudding bootsteps faded into the ruined city.

For a moment, no one spoke, Serena unable to find her signs as Werond shook her head. Pavel continued to stare at the door, eyes wide, before glancing at them, fingers drumming on the head of his hammer.

“I uh…” He pursed his lips. “I’ll make sure they don’t kill each other. Can you three get the place ready, in the meantime?”

Flames ignited in Serena’s hands before she could stop them, a flash of anger filling her chest within an instant. Beside her, Jo stepped forward, pointing a finger at Pavel, hand on her sword.

“Thin fucking ice there.” She growled.

“Wait,” Pavel threw up his hands; though his expression was one of surprise, a shadow of understanding seemed to fill his eyes – a first. “I don’t – listen we just need to get ready, and you three seem the most capable of –”

He yelped and shot out the door, just as a plate exploded where his head had been.

Serena jerked from the noise, flames blinking out; when she turned around, Werond had snatched another plate from the counter beside her, face contorted in rage, arm cocked, ready to throw at a target that was no longer there.

“Werond!” Serena yelled, just as Jo burst into laughter.

Werond jumped and immediately tossed the plate back onto the counter; though a hint of red blossomed in her cheeks, she held Serena’s stare all the same.

“Serves him right.” Jo chuckled.

Werond shrugged, the hint of a grin creeping up her lips. Serena couldn’t help but match it.

“Should have thrown it closer to the door.” She signed. “Could’ve thrown more when he dodged the other way.”

Werond nodded, glancing at the door. Her fingers twisted into signs, “N – E – X – T – 1.”

“Good…so uh,” Serena glanced around. “now what do we do?”

“Hate to admit it,” Jo sighed. “but we should case the place. Very least, we can get our spots ready. Let them deal with their own. Just…don’t know where to start.”

“Well…we can start with the common room and work our way up. Or one of us can start down here, and the others go upstairs.”

“Sure, but we’ll need to figure out –”

“Dust, first off,” Serena began counting with her hands, fingers blurring from signs to numbers and back to signs. “place looks like it hasn’t been used in forever. Second, check the cabinets, the larder, everything down here for anything useful…which I think one person can do. Third, then, we’ll head upstairs and look everything over, figure out sleeping spots, make the beds, fill the tub, because I think Hugo said there’d be one, then fourth, I assume you’ll want to look at security, but I’m not too versed on that, so you’ll have to help me, fifth –”

“Alright!” Jo threw up her hands. “Nine Hells, I get it, just tell me what to do!”

The grin crept up Serena’s face before she could stop it; though she’d needed to dredge the recesses of her mind, Mom would have been proud of how much she remembered.

“Clean down here then.” She signed. “Yell if you need help or anything.”

“Right.” Jo glanced around, hands on her hips, leveling a sigh. “Right…just me. Fine.”

“Is it fine?”

The older woman glanced about, eyes lingering on counters behind Serena. After a moment, she nodded, rubbing her chin.

“Sure…another lifetime for me though.”

“Right…” Serena turned to Werond. “Think you can help me upstairs then? If you make the beds, I can see about getting the tub ready.”

Werond’s eyes widened, and the slow nod she gave Serena inspired anything but confidence.

“What’s wrong?”

Werond raised her hands, paused, then flipped around, snatching up her parchment and charcoal from where she’d left it on the counter. As she wrote, the scratching sent a shiver down Serena’s spine, though it faded just as quick when Werond turned back and held up the parchment, her neat handwriting occupying the middle of the page.

“I don’t remember how to make a bed.” It said.

Every coherent thought vanished within Serena’s mind as she took in the words, hands falling to her sides. Though she understood them, there remained a part of her that couldn’t reconcile the horrible idea that the woman she loved – as flawed as she could be – had no idea how to go about something as simple as putting together a bed. Perhaps Graham wasn’t as good as she thought him to be.

“Alright…” Serena slowly signed. “Maybe you can get the tub ready then…guess I’ll make the beds.”

She shook her head and turned towards the stairs, Werond on her heels as they made their way over. Regardless of what she couldn’t do, Serena was sure that, between the three of them, they could get the place in a state that would have made Mom proud.

…

Mom would have been furious.

Upon initial inspection, the task at hand didn’t seem difficult. The upstairs was almost identical to Hugo’s, a narrow landing in front an equally narrow hallway with a few doors set on either side. Three led to bedrooms, while the fourth contained a simple washroom – a metal tub had been placed in the center, and the room itself empty save for a few racks for towels. Oddly enough, a pipe jutted out from the bottom of it, disappearing into the wood beneath the tub, something that Werond had claimed only existed in the fanciest of houses in Waterdeep, like her own. But that remained the only oddity that stuck out from the house, meaning that cleaning and preparing would have been simple, and finished rather quickly.

What a pipe dream that turned out to be.

Serena noticed the problem first, from the way Werond struggled to drag the bucket of water up the stairs, and the hunch of Jo’s body as she peered into cabinets and swept away an ocean of dust, whenever Serena popped down to check on her. She felt it too, a weariness that settled into her bones, pulling her down as she struggled to get beds made from the meager quilts and blankets she’d found tucked away. Somehow, having a roof over their heads had inflicted upon them an exhaustion not felt in quite a while, made worse for Serena as she fought each of the bed’s siren calls. Multiple times was she forced to stop and sit down, rubbing her eyes as she willed herself awake. By the time she’d pulled the last blanket into place, back popping as she straightened up, the sun had almost reached the horizon, the last of its dying light filtering in through the window above the bed.

No, Mom wouldn’t have been mad at the condition of it all, but at how long it took them to reach it.

With a grunt, Serena flexed her back, digging a knuckle into a spot that ached. The window offered a beautiful view of the world beyond the massive hole in the city walls, cast in an orange glow as the day slowly came to an end. Further away, the forest looked as though aflame, each of the trees a glowing torch. It was almost enough to make her forget about the barbarians that lurked within their confines.

Supposedly.

The thought had crept into her mind as she worked the hours away, like an itch you couldn’t scratch. And try as she might, no amount scratching seemed to banish it, even if it seemed ridiculous in the first place. Afterall, they knew the forest was infested – Hugo said as much, they’d found the evidence on the road and in town, the signs were obvious. But the very fact that Cruck’aa had confirmed it, after supposedly seeing them in the trees, cast doubt on the whole situation. When had he ever just agreed with what was going on?

Serena sighed, digging a knuckle into the spot between her brows. It wasn’t fair to distrust him like that, despite everything that’d happened these past days. He meant well, even if he routinely came off like a massive asshole, something that always took her time to wrap her head around. There wasn’t a reason why he’d lie to them about something like this…but from everything he’d done, it felt right to doubt him, as though she wanted a reason to – a fact that didn’t sit right with her.

She flipped about, stifling a yawn; worst came to worst, she’d go and see for herself. No doubt Pavel and Doriyah would have things to report once they came back too.

Her eyes darted about the room, giving it one last glance over, before turning her attention to Werond, sprawled out on one of the beds, out like a snuffed candle. Her parchment and charcoal lay beside her, thrown haphazardly when she collapsed about half an hour ago. Despite the jealous twinge in her chest, Serena couldn’t blame her – lugging a water bucket up the stairs would have taken its toll on anyone, even Pavel or Doriyah.

With a grin, Serena crossed over and nudged Werond’s shoulder until she woke up. Frustration contorted her face as her eyes fluttered open, though it vanished as she realized who stood over her.

“Enjoy the nap?” Serena signed as Werond pushed herself up with a groan. “I made the rest of the beds by the way; we should be fine up here.”

Werond glanced around at the other three beds, shooting her a sheepish look. Serena waved it away.

“Don’t worry, it wasn’t hard. Just…tiring.” She yawned. “Not as bad as you though. Sorry I made you get the tub ready.”

It was Werond’s turn to wave her off, but Serena couldn’t blame her for collapsing as soon as she was done. Despite how close the house’s water pump was – around the back, surprisingly enough – lugging a full bucket up the stairs couldn’t have been easy. And the amount of times she’d heard Werond clamber up the stairs with it, well, she wasn’t jealous in the slightest.

Werond scooted off the bed, snatching up her things as she did and stood up, gesturing to the door as she yawned. Serena understood, and they moved towards it; it had been a bit since she’d last checked on Jo, perhaps an hour or so ago. Hopefully she hadn’t passed out like Werond had – Serena wasn’t sure she had the energy to help the older woman finish cleaning.

As they reached the door, however, she halted, the itch from before surfacing in her mind. She turned to Werond, who regarded her with half-lidded eyes, and a single brow raised.

“Hey…” Serena sighed. “This is weird but…do you believe what Cruck’aa said, about the barbarians?”

Werond cocked her head.

“About them being there, I mean.” She continued. “I just…I don’t know, it struck me when I was making the beds and I can’t let it go.”

Werond’s eyes darted to the side, head still cocked; it straightened as she pulled up the parchment and began writing, a shiver creeping up Serena’s spine as the charcoal scratched against the paper.

“Why don’t you believe him?” It read when she flipped it around.

“Because he’s been even more ridiculous lately. Like…he’s gotten worse, hasn’t he?”

Werond pursed her lips, nodded, and wrote, “So you don’t believe him because he’s himself?”

“Yeah, which…maybe I’m being stupid…” Serena sighed. “But the thought came to me, and I couldn’t let it go. I want to trust him, but with everything he’s doing…it’s been hard.”

“Fair.” Werond wrote. “Doesn’t gain anything from it though. And we saw the bodies.”

“I know, I know. Again, maybe I’m overreacting.”

“No. It’s fair. I feel the same, a bit.”

“Well, that’s good.” Serena shook her head. “Regardless, if we are in danger, just…make sure to stay by me, okay? I’ll keep you safe.”

Bahamut only knew how many times she’d said it, and she meant it every time. Yet the smile Werond gave her was the same she’d her given before, back on that ledge – a smile of understanding, filled with only the faintest bit of warmth, tinged with sadness.

“R-right, uh,” Serena suppressed a shiver. “Let’s go see how Jo’s doing.”

And she flipped on her heel and shoved out of the room.

Though it was a short walk down the hallway and to the stairs, Serena couldn’t stop her eyes from lingering about the place, if only to distract herself from Werond’s smile. It amazed her just how similar the place was to Hugo’s, down to the woodwork of the stairs, the boards creaking in almost the same way as they descended them. It seemed odd that they’d been built so similarly, but that probably was common in houses these days.

The downstairs looked far better than when they’d first arrived, the cabinets and shelves dusted, a pot – found tucked away in the larder – set up over the cooking pit, and the large table now pulled out, its sides filled with chairs. Much of the abandoned dishes and other cutlery had been tucked away, and the shattered remains of the plate Werond had thrown were no longer strewn about the floor. With the shutters open, and the orange light pouring in, it almost looked cozy.

Jo sat at the table, elbows propped on it, holding her head as she gazed into the void. Or at least, into one of the darkened corners of the room.

“Jo?” Serena signed as she walked into the room. “You alright?”

“No.” Jo said, without looking at her.

Serena shot a glance at Werond, who gave her a shrug in return.

“Did you manage fine?” She asked, pulling out a chair for Werond, and then herself.

“Went fine.” Jo said.

“Are you sure? Because you look a little upset.”

Her gaze shot from the nothing it stared at to Serena, sending a shiver down her spine.

“Very upset.” Jo said. “Should have left. Shouldn’t be here.”

“Oh…” Though she wasn’t surprised, she was sure that being alone down here with nothing but her thoughts probably hadn’t done Jo any good. “Well…maybe it’s for the best? We have a place to sleep now, and we’re doing the right thing by helping those people. Can’t be that bad, right?”

“Can be.”

“Why though?”

“Greater chance we root ourselves to one place.” Jo leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. “We stay here for a day, what’s another? Another after that? Another then? What if we get hurt beyond your healing? Stuck here even longer. Then there’s the family – think Pavel will just leave them? Think he’ll be okay with just walking out of here, if we get rid of those barbarians? Take them with us, I know he’ll offer that. Can’t take care of refugees like that, barely take care of ourselves. Place is a gods damned deathtrap.”

Serena grimanced as Werond began to write. As much as she wanted to disagree, she couldn’t find the signs to. And with the look in Jo’s eyes, disagreeing seemed like an unhealthy choice at the moment.

Werond put the parchment down and flipped it around, pushing it towards Jo; Serena could just make out the upside-down words:

“That’s a lot of assumptions. You don’t know what’ll happen.”

“Think so?” Jo’s eyes snapped up to Werond. “No offense, but I’ve been here Werond, in these situations. Happens every time. And with Pavel being how he is right now, it’ll only get worse.

“How he is?” Serena sighed. “What does that mean?”

“Noticed anything odd about him lately?”

“I…I don’t know…” Serena said. Truth be told, she’d been so focused on Werond, she hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary with Pavel…or anyone else, for that matter.

“Messed up still from last time. Talked to him once about it, back in the swamp, and I didn’t like what I heard.”

“What did you hear?”

“Thinks he failed,” Jo leaned back. “at protecting us at Werond’s, at protecting the caravan, at doing his job. Trying to overcompensate for it and help the first person he meets. Thinks it’s what he’s supposed to do, but all it’ll accomplish is screwing us.” She raised her finger. “Hasn’t failed at anything, mind you. Sure he won’t see it like that though. Sure he’ll push for us to take care of these damned people, and that will fuck us.”

“I…” Serena frowned; that all made sense, and even reminded her of how he’d acted back for the tournament. “I get all that, and…gods, I hate that Pavel’s feeling like that. I really haven’t noticed. But I don’t think staying here is going to –”

Jo smashed a fist into the table, scaring both Serena and Werond as she leaned in, face utterly devoid of emotion.

“Came down to it, who’d you’d save – any of Hugo’s family, or Werond?”

Serena jerked as though she’d been slapped, fingers curling into her palms; beside her, Werond blinked and leaned back, regarding Jo with narrowed eyes.

“All know the answer.” She pointed a finger at Serena. “Save Werond every time. And Werond, you’d do the same for her. Both know each other, you owe each other, you both love each other still, regardless of whatever is between you two. These people though? Can’t say the same, and that’s for all of us. Get ourselves into this situation and when it goes to hell, we’ll save ourselves over them, because like it or not, we are a family. Dysfunctional, but we remain together, and none of us are going to forsake that over people we’ve just met. When something happens, and mark me, something will happen, we’ll do the logical thing, and send Pavel into a damned spiral.” She leaned back. “And if we do the illogical thing, and save them over one of us, I’m sure that’s just going to make it all worse. Don’t come out of this place with anything but a cloud over his head, and he just…doesn’t understand that.”

Her chair grated against the wood as she shoved herself away from the table and stood up, dusting off her pants.

“No use in complaining,” Jo said. “done is done, and we’ll make the best of it as we can. Just need to be there to support him when it all comes crashing down.”

“I…” Serena’s fingers curled in for a moment. “I guess. I just…hadn’t thought of it like that.”

“Wouldn’t think you to. Have your own problems to deal with.” Her eyes darted to Werond, before flicking back to her. “By the way, something I’ve been meaning to ask you.”

“What?” Serena signed, still processing Jo’s words; from the way Werond stared at the door, she seemed to be in the same boat.

“You were the last one standing, back at Werond’s house, right?”

Werond’s head snapped to Serena, just as those awful memories, ones she thought she’d shoved down, came roaring back.

“Uh…” Serena nodded, heart pounding. “Yeah, I was.”

“What happened back there? I woke up strapped to a griffon, and the whole sky lit up for a second after, and –”

The rest of her words died against the slamming of the door, an explosion of wood against wood that sent all three of them into the ceiling. Cruck’aa stepped in a moment later, the streams of orange light framing his disgusted look as he surmounted the stairs. Doriyah and Pavel followed soon after, hauling with them the massive body of a boar – beaten, bloody, and very much dead.

“Where in the Nine Hells did you find that?!” Jo yelled.

The two men ignored her as they dropped it to the floor, splattering the wood with blood. Doriyah yanked out his Warhammer from where it had been stuck into the poor animal and waved it about, splattering blood as he did.

“Pigeon did something for once.” Doriyah said. “Now, how the fuck are we going to skin this.”

“Pointy end,” Pavel said, pulling out his own hammer. “Here, let me, I’ve done this before.”

“Not in the fucking house!” Jo bolted towards them as they loomed over the carcass like cavemen, hammers at the ready. “Not in the fucking house!”