Page 64 of Steel & Thunder
Each seat has an empty plate in front of it and the rest of the table is covered in food, most of it meat: fish, pork, some kind of bird. They pulled out all the stops to welcome their daughter home. It all smells great. Khazak reaches for a pitcher and pours us some water, but no one is eating yet.
“So,” Rurig starts, seated directly across from me. “How did you two meet?”
The men seated on either side of him groan, Orlun covering his face with his and Jarek turning his up to the ceiling. To my left, I hear Khazak choking on his water while I sit there wide eyed and slack jawed, unsure of what I’m supposed to say.
“I begged you not to make that joke,” Jarek pleads with the heavens, defeated.
Rurig is too busy laughing at himself to respond, and there are snorts of laughter from the rest of the table.
“What my husband means to say,” Orlun speaks to me directly, “is welcome to our home, David. We hope you enjoy the meal.”
“You laughed when I said it in the kitchen.” Rurig seems unbothered by his husbands’ exasperation. “Hope you boys are hungry because I have been cooking all day. Shit, forgot the gravy, hold on.” When Rurig stands from the table, I notice that one of his feet is missing, replaced by what looks like an upside-down cane handle in its place. Then I remember it’s rude to stare and go back to looking at my plate.
“I have to admit, I am curious,” Jarek starts next. “What brought you and your friends to this part of the world?”
“A boat?” I joke, desperately trying to lighten the mood. “I just wanted to get out and see the world, I guess.” And leave certain people and organizations behind. “I, uh, promise we didn’t mean to cause any trouble,” I tag on sheepishly.
A hand squeezes my thigh under the table. Thankfully Rurig returns before I have to go into any more detail, bowl of gravy in hand. Placing it down with the rest of the food, he looks around the table, smiling. He claps his hands together and I half expect him to start saying an orc version of grace, but all that comes out is, “Let’s eat!”
I’m used to big family dinners so it’s no surprise when arms shoot out and begin grabbing at plates. Everything gets passed around, but I’m still feeling a little more timid than usual so I’m happy when Khazak notices and makes a point of making sure I get a little of everything that comes his way. I don’t even know where to start; I just tuck a napkin into my shirt and dig in.
The number of times I hear a food-muffled “thank you” directed at Rurig tells me he’s the main cook here, which probably means he’s also the one who taught Khazak—which checks out because the food is amazing. I couldn’t tell you what half this stuff is, only that it tastes delicious. Everyone else seems to agree because all around me are the sounds of chewing and swallowing. I want to eat until my stomach hurts.
After the initial rush, things slow down and conversations pick up. I’m content to just sit and listen even though the fact they’re all speaking in Common is solely for my benefit. Jarek finishes saying something about work when I burp loudly, groaning happily as the pressure is released from my stomach. Then I realize what I did and quickly move to cover my mouth. “Excuse me.”
“Thank you,” Rurig takes it as a compliment. I notice everyone else seems to be winding down their food intake too. “That reminds me.” Rurig clasps Orlun on the shoulder. “Gonna grab that ale we were saving for a special occasion. Get the mugs.”
Orlun stands as his husband exits the room, walking to a cabinet and removing a set of carved wooden mugs that are passed around the table. When Ursza and Ignatz see that they aren’t being given their own, they roll their eyes and scoff, pushing back and leaving the table.
“Ungrateful little...” Orlun retakes his seat. “Ayla, you have not told us anything about your trip yet.”
“Aw, come on, Dad. No one really wants to hear about that,” she says with all the bravado of someone who has a story ready to go.
“It is literally the reason they are having this dinner,” Yogik deadpans from across the table.
Ayla huffs in response but doesn’t let that deter her. “I was gone for 14 months. Where would I even start?”
“Hopefully not at the beginning,” Khazak mumbles on my left.
“What was your favorite stop?” Jarek asks as Rurig re-enters the room carrying two large pitchers of amber liquid. Mugs are filled, but I notice Khazak eyeing his warily and not drinking. Great job, David. You made the man afraid of beer.
“Well, one of my first stops was to Shiveria,” Ayla begins her tale. “I wanted to climb through the mountains and see the crystal waterfalls. They were breathtaking.”
“Sounds cold,” Jarek gripes, taking a swig of his drink.
“Freezing. We had to use magical torches to keep warm. The magic kept them lit—even if we dropped them in the snow—and also kept our body temperature at a safe level as long as we stayed near enough.” That sounds dangerous…and kinda fun. “After that, I bounced around a little until I ended up on the Fangbei Plains. I took a job helping a team of researchers tracking the migration patterns of cyclosauri herds. I was sort of like their bodyguard. It was my responsibility to scout for places to set up camp, close enough to watch the herd but far enough away that we wouldn’t disturb them. I had to get pretty creative when there weren’t enough trees for cover. We were out there for over a month, but we never stayed in the same place for more than a couple of days. If anything went wrong, my only concern was getting everyone out safely.”
“You always were a resourceful child.” Jarek sips his ale, impressed with his daughter.
“That sounds like work, when you’re supposed to be traveling,” Jarek adds. “Please tell me you did some relaxing too.”
“Well, the last boat ride I took was also the longest, but we stopped at many different islands. A lot of beaches, fishing, and a surprising amount of alcohol. They all had their charm, but for two days we were docked at this one chain... During the day the water looked like any other, but at night, it would glow. Not just the water, the animals living in it too. You could look down and see schools of brightly colored fish swimming by. I loved watching the sea turtles float by with their shimmering green shells before bedtime.” I’m in awe at her descriptions. I’ve heard the names, read descriptions, but never so much as seen a picture. “Actually, that reminds me. One of the last islands we visited was run by these gnomes who were trying to start some sort of zoo, only all the animals would be mechanical. I only saw some prototypes but… that place is going to be crazy.”
“Waterfalls and gnomes are well and good, but where was the best food?” Rurig has his priorities in order.
“Oh, that’s easy. There was this halfling village in south Bhuvarsha. They called themselves the Yaksha.” Ayla sips her beer before she continues. “They had an outdoor food market with dozens of carts, each one serving something different. I ended up spending two extra days there just so I could try everything. They used spices I’d never heard of before. Their cooking was almost as good as yours, Ruda.”
“Almost, huh?” Rurig grins at the compliment as he downs more ale.
