Maybe Tomorrow - Marto and Rae

Rae gets into New Hillborrow a little ways into the evening, as the sun starts to set. They take their pack to their room before heading back out again to enjoy the cool breeze, sitting by the riverside once again.

“Thanks for all your help today,” they hear a familiar voice say.

Responses range from, “Our pleasure,” to “Same time tomorrow?”

“Yeah, let’s do that. Should be another warm day so make sure you’ve got your waterskins. Lookin’ at you, Perric.”

Recognition filters in. That’s Marto speaking.

They look over their shoulder and see the stocky halfling waving to a group of five halflings and gnomes from the doorway of the Hearth and Road, probably making their way to their various homes or farms. Marto is about to turn and head inside, when he spots them. His face light’s up under messy, golden hair.

“Rae, didn’t see you get back. Have you had dinner yet?”

Rae manages a little wave and smile, clearly looking a little worn out. “No, I just got back. How’s progress on the house?”

“It’s the barest of bare bones at the moment,” the halfling says, pushing his sleeves up. He goes to take a step out, pauses, then holds up a finger. “Give me a sec. I need to grab something.”

He is barely gone a minute before coming back out with a plate held high in one hand and a flask under the other arm, carrying two mugs. Fionn trails after him, nose pointed up towards the plate, sniffing intently.

“As I was saying, it’s bare bones at the moment. Most of the day was me chopping the massive tree into more moveable pieces. It’s good wood, magical and all that, but normal axes won’t cut it. Heh, literally. Fionn, sit,” Marto says the last bit in halfling. The golden retriever obediently plops his rump down and sits at perfect attention. Marto nods, turns back to Rae, and holds out the plate towards them. “Here.”

On it is a large slice of the flakiest, jammiest, and thickest apple pie they have ever seen. The smell alone instantly sets their mouth to watering.

Rae’s eyes widen at the pie, and they set to trying it straight away, positively melting from the taste. “Did I tell you apples are my favourite flavour? Or is it just a specialty here?”

“I did not know that, but I’m delighted to have found that out,” Marto says, sitting down beside them. “It is apple picking season. You’ll be able to get your fill of apple pie at the Hearth, for a time at least. So don’t feel you need to hold back.”

“That’s good to hear… I want to make up for lost time with food.” They quietly pick at a large slice and sigh contentedly. “The job in Port Ffirst turned out quite intense. An avatar of a powerful creature of the deep.”

“Oh?” Marto intones as he pours himself something hot from the flask. An aroma of spices wafts over to Rae and Fionn whines. Marto mutters something in halfling and the dog lays down, resting his head with a humph on his carefully crossed paws. “What kind of creature?” he asks.

“Based on the avatar… Crustacean in appearance? We didn’t get a lot of answers with how quickly we had to start fighting. It was summoned by some tidecaller who was driven mad by visions and nightmares. Along with a whole lot of tentacled sorts.”

Marto makes a face. “Yondalla’s left foot, that sounds… well, like it wasn’t easy. Are you okay, though?” he asks. His blue eyes do a quick scan of Rae, but his body language remains casual.

Rae appears to be in no pain. Just a few healed marks along their pink skin, but otherwise, they seem to be in fine health. However Marto knows there’s more to things that could be hurt beyond the body. The telltale signs of burnt out, of sheer tiredness, weigh them down, and it’s not just from the journey.

“I’m fine,” they say. “Quite spooky stuff, but we handled it.”

Marto nods, lightly blowing on the cup in his hands, letting the steam warm his face, choosing to keep his thoughts to himself for now. “Who all was with ya?” he asks.

“Digs, Sterling, Vox and Leonida…” Rae’s face falls a little. “Though Leonida hasn’t really forgiven me for Kundar.”

“What happened in Kundar?”

He sees Rae’s face fall further and Marto’s mouth presses into a thin line behind the rim of his cup.

For their part, Rae realises not everyone knows everything that happens… which may be a blessing or a curse of this little village. Their voice gets a little shaky as they begin to respond.

“I… was heavily cursed at the time. Not just by the Diary but by Something Hungry, which was spreading its influence through a portal under the Kundar Adventurer’s Guild. The curse gave me insatiable hunger, as you can guess, and that was interfering with my research into the Diary’s theories…” They shake their head at how silly it all sounds on the other end of the curse, and they sigh deeply.

“We were… given a powerful magic item to sever the connection. But something went wrong. My connection was severed, my curse lifted, but Something Hungry ran rampant through a sinkhole which… destroyed so much. Killed so many… And the only thing I could feel was… relief. I could finally resume my work. I was so ecstatic it made me laugh-… I-…”

Rae realises this is the first time they’ve spoken all of this out loud, and they start to look ill.

“I caused the deaths of so many… and I laughed. I was happy.”

The river bubbles at their feet, moving slow and steady. It fills the silence after Rae speaks with its own words, though neither can understand what advice or truth it speaks.

“The weight of that moment cannot be easy to carry,” Marto says, his voice low and gentle. “It sounds like you did not know events would happen that way.” There is no judgement to his tone, nor pity. Just someone who is present and listening, patiently waiting to hear more if Rae wishes to speak.

“That was the moment that drew a line in the sand,” Rae continues. “Leonida has never seen me the same, though I’m not sure she had a high opinion of me in the first place. Keros came to understand the curse but… that day changed everything. I didn’t know it would be that way but I also couldn’t consider any negative possibilities. Returning to my work was the only thing I could think of.” Rae slowly clutches their belly and leans forward. “I know that’s not all me. The curse made me worse but… my mind keeps coming back to the idea that it couldn’t have manifested that personality in me from nothing. Some part of that truly was me, so focused on my work that nothing else mattered.”

A feeling of warmth in the shape of a hand manifests on their back as a low sound of assent, possibly of understanding, vibrates deep in Marto’s chest. He doesn’t say anything but lets his hand be a grounding point for Rae.

They breathe deep and quietly process their feelings. After some time they steady their breathing and start to sit up again. Their voice peeks out, small and weak.

“Thank you.”

Marto inclines his head, keeping his hand on their back. “Said I’d listen whenever you needed it, and you needed it — and I’ll continue to be here for that.” He rubs a few small but warm circles, before taking his hand back. With that same hand, he gestures to the half eaten pie, a little sparkle of magic manifesting. Curls of steam begin to rise from the half eaten piece of pie. “Might not taste the same, but warmed apple pie is still better than cold. And here, have some of this.” He pours some of the hot, spiced drink into a second cup and offers it to Rae.

They nod a silent thank you before picking up another slice of pie and taking a bite, then washing it down with the contents of the cup after a little look at it. They sigh with content as the spiced chai latte goes down easy. Taking a breath, Rae centres themselves again.

“It’s nice to be able to feel everything again. The breeze. The grass. The way the moon lights it all. I couldn’t process any of this while I was cursed.”

“There’s plenty of beauty to be found in the simple things,” Marto says, agreeing. “With the full moon coming, and the Autumn Equinox just around the corner, you’ll see just how lovely this place can get. The partying goes well into the night.”

“Maybe that’s what I need. A party. Something simple, take my mind off everything. It could be nice.”

Marto seems to ponder something for a moment before saying, “There’s a bobbing for apples competition. Think you’ll be able to beat me?" There’s a goodhearted grin on his face.

“I mean… almost definitely.” They manage a little smile.

“That’s the spirit,” Marto says, encouragingly. He divides up the rest of the spiced chai latte between Rae’s and his own cup, then looks out at the glittering river under twilight sky. “If you manage to get enough apples, I’ll even make my family’s secret apple pie recipe, if you’d like.”

“Apple pie sounds… just right, I think.” Rae nods and looks up at the almost full moon hanging high in the night sky. A melancholy feeling passes over them. But maybe tomorrow will feel better.