The Lost Ruins, Epilogue

A little over a week later, Elena and the others sat in the crowded main room of the Rosswind Inn. She was wearing her backup digger’s coat, which she had retrieved when the survivors had stopped to resupply at the site of the mist. She and the others were all talking happily, glad to finally be free of the Walder. From Kummerholt, it was only a short journey to the main cities and roads that would lead them back home. It would be several weeks more before they returned to the Glamour Isles, but the worst was behind them.   Her eyes traveled over the survivors of her group. Barely over a third of those who had set out on the journey with her had returned. The realization was a sobering one. It was enough to ensure that Elena would never undertake such a dangerous adventure without thinking long and hard about the consequences.   The others at the table with her were talking about their adventures. Not the one they had just survived, but others from the past. Elena smiled as Nic told Marcus of an adventure that he had been on to confront the mysterious Baroness Baderbaasch and free the lands under her control. She had never seen his rough features look so soft. It was obviously a happy time for him to recount. She wondered if he would someday share their own journey together with future traveling companions. She realized that she liked this new side of him far more than the side he showed the last time they were at the inn.   The innkeeper approached, passing their table before doing a double-take. He recovered from his shock admirably, though much of it was still on his face as his eyes fell on Elena. She grinned at him. She had made a point of wearing one of the Syrneth ear-rings for the occasion, unable to resist rubbing it in the innkeeper’s face a bit, despite the danger it may pose.   “Ah, you’re back,” Barkhaus stammered. “I… was not expecting you for some time.”   Elena flashed him her most winning smile. “Well, we did make good time on our way out, but let me tell you, I do not recommend it…”   Barkhaus cleared his throat. “Well, yes. I believe that I owe you all some drinks, then.” He scuttled off.   Marcus chuckled as he did. “You just had to prod him, didn’t you?”   “Of course,” Elena leaned back in her chair, affecting an exaggerated aristocratic pose. “I must keep him on his toes, after all.”   A few minutes later, the innkeeper and his wife returned, bearing drinks for Elena’s party. None of them refused. Nic was the only one who paid for his – this was not his first experience in the Walder.   When the innkeeper and his wife had retreated once more, Elena raised her tankard and drummed her knuckles on the tabletop to get the attention of those at her table. When she saw nine pairs of eyes on her, she spoke.   “A toast. A toast to our fallen comrades. May they rest with Theus.” Several heads bowed at the words. “And again,” Elena went on, “a toast to loyal friends and colleagues. May we all have many exciting adventures in the future.”   “Hear, hear!” Kataya bellowed, and everyone brought their tankards together with a loud clank.   As Elena drank, she allowed her mind to turn to Avalon and the interactions that she was likely to have the next time she visited Queen Elaine’s court. The thought of the looks that she would get from the other nobility made her smile into her drink. Unfortunately, once word of how badly this expedition had gone got out, she would probably have difficulty finding people willing to come on future outings with her.   Her eyes drifted across the table, meeting those of Nic. He raised his tankard to her, a faint inclination that anyone not looking directly at him would have missed. She returned the gesture, feeling a surge of something that might have been hope.   There’s one person I will always be able to go adventuring with. She was glad, now more than ever, to have a Rüken.   And that realization, more than any other result from the expedition, told Elena that it had all been worth it.  

End of Book 1