Rebirth of the Nephilim

Flying from Thracina to Eldingholt did not take quite as long as the trip to the Verdant Sea, but it was a close comparison. The flight was slightly lengthened, since Jadis was careful to avoid going over Kastoria or to get within range of any draconic territories, but regardless of such cautions it was a long trip. She wasn’t happy about the distance, but all of those thousands of miles were ultimately a boon. Hope needed to be kept far away from where Desire and her minions could reach her, and Eldingholt was the best option to do so.

It wasn’t that Jadis and the others didn’t trust Soteria; truly, the Dryads had proven to be wonderful allies thus far. But the fact of the matter was that Soteria’s grove was not prepared for war. If Desire were to send the Erinyes and other cultists and Demons again, Soteria and her grove would be hard pressed to defend against their attack. So, even though it meant being away from their daughter, Jadis, Alex, and all the others agreed that sending Hope back to the compound was the best course of action.

Along with Hope, Jadis also carried Alex with her, just so that she would be able to spend as much time with their baby as possible before leaving her in the care of others, along with one other passenger. Wilhelm had requested to join them on the trip back to the empire’s capital, so that he could personally give his report on everything that had occurred in Volto thus far to the emperor. Jadis had also planned on keeping Somerulf directly informed on the situation, and having Wilhelm fulfill that duty for her was something she was happy to take advantage of. With Aila’s help, she had written a detailed account of the weeks they had spent in Volto, and the Hero promised to deliver the letter to the emperor while he made his own report.

Arriving in Eldingholt after being gone for so long gave Jadis a surge of mixed feelings. On the one hand, it was nice to return to a place that she thought of as a home, and it was even nicer to see people she viewed as friends and family. On the other hand, seeing the patrols of imperial guards walking the streets surrounding Fortune’s Favored headquarters was a bad reminder of the trouble that had occurred in her absence.

“When will you be back?” Vera asked, her sweet disposition tinged with the concern of a worried mother. “Will everyone be returning soon?”

Jay stood with Thea’s mother in the main hall, slightly apart from the rest of the crowd who were gathered with Alex and Hope. Bridget’s mother had taken hold of the baby and she, along with the rest of the pseudo-grandparents, were discussing how much Hope had grown, and what her needs were for the future. Despite their many differences and the difficulties that came with so many moving to a new place, the various families were getting along well. It helped that the compound gave them all plenty of space to make their own, but Jadis figured that a big part of why they were handling the situation so well was because they were all good people at heart. They had to have a lot of goodness in them, to have raised such wonderful daughters.

“We’re going to be setting up a rotation,” Jay explained in answer to Vera’s question. “The Leviathan and the Roc will be ferrying supplies from here to the front lines. Guards will be needed for the flights, and pilots of course, so there will be opportunities for the girls to visit. I also plan on making a trip here at least once a week. But I can’t promise who can come with me, or even an exact schedule. It’ll all depend on how bad the fighting is, and where I’m needed.”

Jay could see that her answer worried Vera but being honest with the kindhearted woman was the right thing to do. There was no sense in trying to placate her or any of the rest of her in-laws with pretty little white lies. Besides, they were natives of Oros. They knew what was at stake when it came to a Demon invasion.

“I understand,” the brunette smiled up at her. “I know you will take good care of our girls, too.”

“Thea takes care of me,” Jay replied with a small laugh. “She always has my back.”

“I’m certain of that,” Vera smiled more warmly. “I’m glad you have each other.”

“Oh, that reminds me.”

Reaching into one of her belt pouches, Jay withdrew a small scroll that had been tied up with a bit of vine that had a blue flower growing on it. Vera’s eyes lit up as she took the letter from her hand.

“Tegwyn says he’ll be back to see you soon,” Jay passed along her friend’s message. “He really misses you.”

“Thank you,” Vera said, holding the note close against her chest. “Please, don’t leave until I give you my return letter! I will write one immediately!”

“No rush,” Jay grinned at her lover’s excited mother. “I’ll make sure I get everyone’s correspondence.”

While her Jay self was in the main hall, her other two bodies were busy elsewhere. Her Dys self had the unenviable duty of attending to the massive amount of paperwork and letters that had built up in her office during her time away. Gunnar, thankfully, had weeded out a lot of the extraneous messages that had been sent by profit-seeking merchants and advancement-chasing nobles, but even so there was a mountain of paper that required her personal attention to sort through. Most of the letters she would take back to Volto so that Aila and the others could help her review, but her muscular elven administrator was able to point out the most time-sensitive notes so she could respond while she was still in Eldingholt.

Her Syd self had the less onerous but still unpleasant task of discussing the attack made against the compound with the guards. More specifically, she had to talk with the man she had set in charge of the compound’s security force, due to his experience and wisdom. Unfortunately, a cooperative personality was not one of Morley’s traits.

“Ridiculous fools,” the old orc huffed as he scowled at the stack of testimonies that had been gathered from the witnesses of the attack. “What did they think would happen, barging into a compound like this? The daft bloody idiots had no sense in them. Fools with heads of rock and balls of moldy cheese! That elf woman you’ve got hanging off you should have strung them all up to hang from the bridges! Ridiculous!”

“Vraekae isn’t hanging off of me,” Syd suppressed another sigh as she tried to keep Bridget’s grandfather focused on her questions. “And I’m sure she’s leveraging the law against them to the best of her ability. But was the warning spell helpful? Did it dissuade the intruders at all?”

“Dissuade? No,” Morley shook his head, causing his mustache to flap like a flag in the wind. “They came barging in, pain or no pain. They felt it, though. Jessi says it here,” he slapped his hand on the stack of papers. “Somewhere in here, blast it all. You find it! Point I make is that she could see the pain hit them, made them flinch, maybe even think twice. But the fools came on anyway, glowing like some mage had soaked them in cave moss. At least they were easy to spot. Ridiculous to attack a compound like that… Ridiculous! Pure folly! They had no armor! No weapons but what they brought with them from the docks! One fool swung at me with a stool he must have carried from whatever cesspit he had pickled himself in that morning.”

“He went after you?” Syd asked, surprised to hear that the elderly orc had been involved in the actual fighting. “Where did—”

“By the kitchen!” Morley cut her off as he waved a hand in the general direction of the main building. “Some of those fools tried to chase after the women who ran into the kitchen for safety. I thumped that idiot’s skull with his own stool, sent him to sleep. He was lucky! That cook of yours with the respectable mustache broke both arms on the man who tried to grab the purple girl! Would have done worse to him if he’d been given half the chance, I wager. Damn fools, attacking like that. Ridiculous!”

Morley’s account of the attack, while somewhat disjointed, at least showed that their security had not been entirely ineffectual. Certainly, there were some improvements to be made, but considering the suddenness of the unexpected attack by a mob of drunken agitators, they had come out well. Since Morley was already talking about ways to improve security around the compound, she gave her blessing and let the old orc do as he pleased. She trusted him to keep the family safe, even if he was a grumpy old fart.

Reading the reports on the attack, Syd got a much better idea of specific details of what had occurred. Considering the way the mob had pushed into the compound through the service gate, right when a delivery of lumber had arrived, and at a time when most of the higher-level people who worked in the compound were away, Jadis was certain that the attack had been a coordinated effort. Someone had set up the mob to attack at that specific time, for maximum effect. At any other point, it was unlikely that they would have even made it past the walls. Still, the men who had made the actual attack didn’t seem to be in the know. Severina had told Jadis that Vraekae’s investigation was still ongoing, but also that she did not suspect any local nobles were involved. Vraekae’s summarized report, supported by the witness testimony that Syd read herself, told her that most of the men were displaced workers and sailors who had come to the capital from distant corners of the empire, having lost their homes due to the Demon invasion. It would be easy to assume that they had simply drunk far too much and had sought an easy target to vent their frustrations upon.

But the timing…

Jadis would speak with Vraekae later, before leaving the capital. First, however, Jadis had to focus on the compound. She knew that Vraekae was safe, with countless guards and her own great personal power to protect her. There was no need to rush to the elf’s side. In fact, Jadis suspected Vraekae would be disappointed in her if she did prioritize her over the Fortune’s Favored compound. After all, Jadis was the leader of a company, one that had just been attacked. It was her duty to make sure that everyone was alright, and that her holdings were in order.

It was a little bit like being a noble, Jadis mused to herself as she went about the compound, talking with the various people who were responsible for the many different day-to-day operations of Fortune’s Favored and Ahlstrom Aviation. She had people she was responsible for, and while they worked for her and did as she instructed, it was her imperative that they were protected. The responsibility felt heavy when she thought about it, but the idea of picking up and running away from the duty wasn’t even a consideration.

Jadis had claimed this place and these people as her own. She would not abandon them.

Ever.

Eventually, after Syd finished with Morley and had taken a tour of the construction yard and workshop, she made her way inside the main building to reconvene with her other two selves. When she did so, Syd went through the kitchen door, as was her usual habit. The sight that greeted her upon entry caused her to freeze in place, head still bent under the lintel.

Hans stood at his usual spot on one side of the kitchen. A variety of ingredients intended for his staple meat pies were laid out before him, but his hands hung still at his sides. The big man’s head was turned away from Syd, so she could not see his face, but she could see the small, wooden counter on wheels standing next to him. There were bowls for flower, sugar, and yeast set on top of the counter, and the impressions of tentacles could still be seen in the powdered surface of the kneading board.

“Hey,” Syd called out softly after a few moments.

Hans didn’t startle, not exactly, but he immediately turned his attention back to the food before him, strong hands working the ingredients as usual. He didn’t look up at her, though, and Syd could see him blinking the far-away look in his eyes.

“You doing okay?”

Hans replied with a grunt before chopping up some vegetables and tossing them into a metal pot.

Taking in a deep breath, Syd smiled as she walked forward. As she passed the taciturn man, she paused to pat him on the shoulder and speak a simple reassurance.

“Oats misses you, too.”