Page 66 of Potions & Pints
He fervently hoped that they weren’t going to die on this mission. But at least they would be together. And sitting around and waiting for the world to implode around them was not an option.
“Ship will be ready soon enough,” Pili said. “The humans understand how important this is too. All hands-on deck in Gamlin Ait with whatever we need. I just want to get this lot integrated before we go.”
He indicated the captain and the last few survivors waiting on the beach.
“Integrated,” the captain said. “What in the Heaving Sea does that mean?”
Tan looked at Pili and grinned. He suspected the captain would like having gills, once he got used to them.
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“What do you think?” Tan asked.
Vir looked up to confirm there was no one in the nest, then gave the main-mast a thump. He grinned at Tan.
“Seems sturdy enough.”
“Hey,” Pili called.
Tan and Vir looked in the direction of the gangplank. Pili waved at them.
“What?” Tan yelled.
“We have to go. Time for the ceremony. Get Saru and the others.”
Tan found Goru in the cargo hold.
“Time to get back to the beach,” he said.
Goru nodded and put down the large crate he was holding.
“You guys keep going,” he said to his human helpers.
They nodded, but eyed the crate warily. As Tan and Goru went above deck, four of them were struggling to move it.
Ogen was waiting with Pili and Vir. Together they all started down the beach. At the spot where the ceremony was to take place they found the Librarian, the captain and all of his shipwrecked crew. Everyone had made a full recovery and had settled into Galmin Ait. Rumor was, however, that not everyone was enthusiastic about the integration.
“Finally,” the Librarian said.
Pili tried to apologize but the Librarian shushed him. He motioned for everyone to get into a circle.
“Vir, as we discussed,” the Librarian said.
Vir took his lyre from Luevie, the little girl who always took care of it for him when Tan and Vir were overseeing the repairs to the ship. Vir was even giving her lessons. He said she was quite good. As a surprise, for both Vir and Luevie, Tan had asked Pili to commission a lyre for the child.
Vir began his new song. Tan had heard snippets of it. It spoke of how when things seemed impossible, they could still get better. The last verse was about acceptance of what had happened and making peace with it.
Tan looked over at the captain. He was not thrilled about getting gills, just as Vir had most certainly been furious at turning into an orc. If anyone could explain how to still have the power to do something amazing with your life, even after something horrible had happened, that was Vir.
A calmness descended on the crowd. Tan was tempted to ask the Librarian if he had cast some spell, but he knew the Librarian was extremely judicious in his use of magic lately. Vir’s music and words, delivered in his powerful, but sensitive tone, had done a magic of their own.
“As we discussed,” the Librarian said. “Partners.”
Elves created an inner circle inside the humans, creating pairs. In the middle, Tan, Vir, Ogen, Saru and Gori partnered with the elves who had first rescued them from the sleeping sickness on the beach.
The Librarian wanted to complete the ceremony properly while — as he put it — he still could.
“Otherwise, the results could be disastrous,” he explained.
