The End!
(Volume Four begins on Friday!)
Chapter Two Hundred and Six — Home Again, Home Again
Chapter Two Hundred and Six — Home Again, Home Again The first sign I saw that we were nearing Hopsalot, was the Beaver Cleaver’s bright balloon hovering over the little town.We huffed and puffed our way up a final hill, and in so doing, got to see the whole town out ahead of us. Tree-house homes and little burrows, open fields where neat little gardens were soaking up morning sunshine and the little gurgling river that swished and swashed through the village, never going in a straight line when it could instead meander around hills and through little creeks and under arched stone bridges with trellis-covered sides.I raised a hand and cupped it over my forehead to shield my eyes from the sun. I could make out buns, most with bright white shirts and with adorable little overalls on, some caring for their gardens while the little ones ran around and chased each other over hills, their long bunny ears bouncing with every step. The older buns were usually sitting on the porches before their burrow homes, rocking on finely crafted chairs and smoking from reed pipes.“We’re here!” I called back to the others.Behind me were my best friends. Awen still had bandages around her waist from where she’d gotten hurt the night before, and Amaryllis looked a bit miffed at having to walk through the forest so much. The branches and leaves tended to get caught in her feathers, much to her very loud annoyance.Bastion came up behind them, looking like a very small knight in shining armour. He smiled at me, relaxed as a sylph paladin could be. His wings fluttered behind him as he skipped off a boulder.Then there were the buns. Momma in her half-plate, and Carrot who’d removed her gauntlets and had them tied by her waist so that they clanged and banged with every step. Buster took up the very rear of the group, the huge bun stomping along with his big hammer slung onto his shoulder.Peter was... somewhere. He was the sneaky sort, so it wasn’t too surprising that I couldn’t spot him. He’d show up if anything needed our attention, I was sure.Carrot bounced up and came to a stop at the top of the hill, right next to me. Her ears wiggled with poorly suppressed excitement, and her grin was as wide as a grin could be. “Home!” she declared.“Home!” I said right back.Hopsalot wasn’t my home, of course, but the Beaver certainly was. I could only-just make out a few figures on the airship’s deck, some of them with long bun-ears.Momma caught up to us with the others and took in a deep breath. “Ah, there was a time, once, where I would leave for months on end. Wanderlust dragging me this way and that. Now I can hardly leave for more than a day or two without fearing that everything will crumble apart without me there.”I giggled. “I’m sure it’s not so bad,” I said.Some of the buns in Hopsalot spotted our party, because within moments a whole crowd of little buns had gathered by the edge of the village. They stared at us, some of them holding up their ears away from their eyes while others hesitated and only peeked our way from behind bushes and little picket fences.When we came over, their hesitation broke and soon we were swarmed by a whole gaggle of buns.Carrot darted ahead, picked one little bun up by the armpits, and spun her around a couple of times before squeezing them tight. “I’m back!” she said while the little bun tried really hard to return the hug, even though her arms were too short to wrap around Carrot’s sides.I felt Awen and Amaryllis shuffle up behind me, using me as an ablative layer against all the bouncing and smiling buns. “Hello!” I said.Their reply was a cacophony of questions that I couldn’t possibly answer all at once. From asking if we’d fought big monsters, to wondering if they could visit the airship again, to very generous offers to join them in playing extreme hopscotch.“Ah, I’m sorry everybun. But my friends and I need to follow Momma for a bit! We’ll have some time to play after that, I’m sure!”Momma was kneeling down, hugging buns that needed hugs, patting buns that needed pats, and sometimes pinching fat, chubby cheeks, much to the dismay of the buns whose faces she pinched.It took a bit for the sea of little buns to recede and for us to be able to head deeper into the town. Buster was entirely covered in buns, who seemed to have confused the big man for a jungle-gym of sorts. Peter, of course, was nowhere to be seen. He didn’t seem the sort to take kindly to being pestered by little buns.Momma shooed some of them along, and Carrot saved the day by sacrificing herself a moment later with a declaration of, “Who wants to play tag?”The screaming horde bounced after Carrot, a whole bunch of ears wobbling as they chased her.“Aww,” I said.“Thank the World,” Amaryllis said. “I can’t handle one child. That many is just a disaster in the making.”“Oh, we have little disasters all the time,” Momma said. “Buns who get caught between pickets, buns who get into fights over favourite dolls, little buns who discover some interesting insect, name it, start treating it as a favoured pet, and are then devastated when the insect passes away... usually on the same day they found it.”“Oh no,” I said. “That happened to me once. I had a pet praying mantis, but I didn't tell my mom that little Mem was a pet, and she smacked it with a fly-swatter. I was devastated.”“Awa, I never had a pet before,” Awen said.“I’ve always wanted a cat,” Amaryllis added. “They have very agreeable personalities.”“Is that why you get along so well with Orange?” I asked.“I suppose so. The spirit cat is obviously a grand and noble creature. I see a lot of myself in her,” Amaryllis said.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.Snorting, I turned to Awen. “What about you? We could probably get you a pet, if you wanted. Like a dog? Airships can have dogs, right?”“I don’t think that’s a great idea,” Awen said. “Dogs need room to move, and the Beaver is a little small for that.”I pouted. My plan, newly-created, to use Awen as an excuse to get a dog had been foiled. “Well, alright. Maybe a parrot, we are pirates after all.”“I would like to log my protest,” Bastion said. “I am not a pirate. Nor for that matter are any of you.”“Sky pirate, sorry,” I said.“No,” he said, with obvious exasperation. It turned into contrite resignation when I giggled. He has a knack for making strange faces whenever I catch him flat-footed.I was expecting Momma to lead us to her home, but instead she moved towards the little hill where the Beaver had set down his anchor. “I genuinely wish we could have you stay, if only for a little longer, but if my suspicions are correct, then the Insmouth dungeon is in as great a risk as the Newbinning’s dungeon was.”“We need to head over there and fix it as soon as we can, then?” I asked.Momma nodded. “I’m confident you can manage. In either case, I’ll send some of my better buns over, Carrot and perhaps Peter included, just to see if they need assistance in a day’s time.”“They could come with us,” I offered.Momma shook her head. “They need time with their families. And you need a bit of a break too, I imagine. Still, the World doesn’t always have as much concern for us as we’d wish.”I sighed. “Okay. We should probably get Awen back to bed anyway.”“Awa? I’m better now,” Awen said. She reached over and touched her side. “There’s just some scabbing now. I took potions.”“I’m still worried,” I said.“You were impaled once, and we didn’t do this much for you,” Awen said. “Remember? In that glass dungeon?”“Well, yeah, I was fine,” I said.Awen crossed her arms and levelled a very un-Awen look at me. “Don’t be a hypocrite, Broc. I can deal with a bit of pain.”Momma laughed, and Amaryllis seemed very proud of Awen while I pouted. “Fine, fine,” I said.We arrived in the shadow cast by the Beaver, and I saw Oda and Sally, the Scallywags, looking over the rails at us. There were a couple of the older little buns with them. Those that were around the Scallywags own ages. I waved, and they waved back.“Do you need anything for your return trip?” Momma asked.I considered it. “I don’t think so? Some supplies wouldn’t go amiss. Our voyage has already gone on for a lot longer than we expected.”“We didn’t get as much fuel in Needleford as we could have,” Awen said. “But I don’t think we can get any here.”"I’m afraid that Hopsalot doesn’t have much use for that sort of thing,” Momma agreed. “What about food and such?”“We’re fine there,” Amaryllis said. “Thank you.”Bastion bowed at the waist. “I wish to thank you as well, ma’am,” he said. “Your hospitality has been wonderful, and your prompt action has likely done much to keep your little town safe.”“That’s just a mother’s job,” Momma said. “Come, I’ll give you all a quick hug for the trip back.”I crashed into Momma, because really, her hugs were the best. Then it was the others’ turn, though Bastion politely declined, and Amaryllis made noises as if she wanted to decline while eagerly accepting the hug.“I’m going to miss Hopsalot,” I said. “And I was only here for less than a day.” I let my shoulders droop a bit, and my gaze wandered over the town. It was just so chaotically peaceful. The big homes built into trees, the doors stuck into the sides of hills, the little streets, paved in carefully laid cobbles. The river sang a gurgling song, accompanied by the wind whispering over grassy hills.Then a whole bunch of little ones appeared, all of them scrambling over Carrot who took a tumble and rolled down a hill to the tune of merry screams.“I would offer to let you stay,” Momma said when she looked away from the spectacle. None of the little buns looked to be hurt from the flop down the hill. “But I suspect that you’re at that point in your life where adventure has its hooks in you, and where you’d want nothing more than to meddle. It might be best for everyone here if you only came back when you’re a little older, and a little calmer.”“I’m not a meddler,” I defended myself.Amaryllis snorted.“Is this ‘mock Broccoli’ day?” I asked.“It’s always ‘mock Broccoli’ day,” Amaryllis said. She nodded to Momma. “We’ll probably fly back over here again, on the way North.“Then stop by for tea,” Momma said. “No matter the hour.”Amaryllis nodded, then moved over to a ladder that someone had left dangling off the Beaver’s side. “Come on, Broccoli, you’re holding us back!”“Oh, right, okay,” I said. I jumped to Momma, gave her a last hug, got my head rubbed for my troubles, then darted back to the Beaver.When we climbed aboard, we found a few curious buns on deck, with Clive sitting on one of the steps leading to the aft castle and explaining things. Howard the fishman was nearby too, wringing his webbed fingers as he approached.“I’ll make sure we don’t have any uninvited guests aboard,” Amaryllis said. “You deal with Howard here.”I nodded and skipped over to the fishman. “Heya,” I said.“Hello Captain Bunch,” he said. “How did it go?”“It went well enough,” I said. “We know how to fix your dungeon now, but I think we ought to hurry back. It gets harder and harder to fix things as time goes on. We don’t want to be too late,” I said.Howard’s shoulders loosened and he gave me a fishy smile. “Oh, thank the fathomless depths,” he said.“Don’t worry Howard, my friends and I will have everything back to how it ought to be in a jiffy!”
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Chapter Two Hundred and Seven — Reciprocation
Chapter Two Hundred and Seven — Reciprocation It would take, winds willing, a few hours to get back to Insmouth. By the time we arrived, I guesstimated that it would be an hour or two past noon. That meant that we’d need to have lunch aboard the Beaver Cleaver.I left Clive, the harpies and the Scallywags to do the complicated work of flying the airship while I headed down and into the kitchen to prepare lunch. The only hands that were free were Awen and Amaryllis and... neither was all that good at the whole cooking thing.I was humming while inspecting the ingredients we had available when Amaryllis moved out of her room and came to stand nearby. She leaned against the frame of the archway leading into the kitchen. “Do you need help?” she asked.I tapped my chin. “I could use a bit of help, sure,” I said. “I think I’ll be making a big lunch. We might need leftovers for later. A nice veggie salad, some fried fish, maybe some porridge?”“That sounds like a big meal,” Amaryllis said as she stood straighter and walked over. “How can I help?”I eyed her up and down. “You really want to help? With the cooking?”“What’s wrong with me wanting to help?” she asked.“Nothing,” I said. “Just, well, didn’t figure you for the cooking sort.”She huffed. “I can learn, can’t I?”“Yup! You sure can.” I nodded. "Do you want to start by chopping the veggies? I’ll need them cut up into little cubes to start with.”“Hmph, fine,” she said.I opened a sack of potatoes and another of turnips and then grabbed some purple-skinned carrots and set them all on the table where we could start cutting. A big cauldron came next, so that we had a place to toss all the cut veggies.I hummed as I found a pair of knives and started working.“How are you?” Amaryllis asked. The question sounded a bit strained.I blinked and looked up to her. “I’m alright?” I tried.She glared at me, huffed a huff that I wasn’t familiar with, and went back to chopping up potatoes in... vaguely cube-like shapes. She was trying her best, so I wouldn’t complain. They’d all be mashed up anyway.“You... urgh, this isn’t something I’m good at,” Amaryllis whined.“You’ll get better,” I said.“I’m not talking about the cooking, you dolt.”I tilted my head to the side. “Then what are you talking about?”Amaryllis continued to chop her veggies, she was quiet for a long bit, but it felt like she was working up to something, so I didn’t interrupt her silence. “Broccoli,” she began. “You’ve been through a lot.”“Well, yeah, I guess.”“And yet you’re still smiling, and you’re still worried for everyone, and you’re still doing your best,” she continued.“Uh, yeah, that’s what a good friend does.”“Even when I constantly call you an idiot? And when Awen constantly depends on you to be her... pillar, I suppose?”I blinked. I didn’t know exactly where she was going with all of that. “Yes?”She huffed, and this time it was a very plain, very frustrated sort of huff. “You’re a... you’re a pain to deal with sometimes, Broccoli Bunch,” she said. “Most people wouldn’t weather all the stuff you’ve been through as well as you have.”“Thanks!” I said.“No,” Amaryllis said. “It wasn’t a compliment. Well, I do suppose you could take it as one. What I mean is,” she paused, then rubbed a wing under her nose. “You know, I was not always as confident as I am now.”I felt like she was trying to say something important without saying it, and in moments like that the best thing a good friend could do was listen. Still, I continued working on our lunch, not that it took much attention.“When I was younger I was the most timid of my sisters. Clementine can be incredible, but she casts a long shadow, and Rosaline has always been Rosaline. Loud and confident and always getting herself into trouble, then flying out of it with a wink and a smile. So... I was the timid one. That started to change as I got a little older, as I tired of my role in the family and started to...” She squirmed a bit. “Dream. As I started to dream of a future where I was my own harpy. School helped, it gave me an environment out of my sisters’ shadows. It gave me harpies from other clans to bicker and fight with, and allowed me to spread my wings a little. I don't remember any instantaneous change, no stark turning point... but bit by bit, I must have been changing. Little victories, building on each other, until without quite realizing it, I'd become more... me. I left the family, took a class that I appreciate more, and set off for adventure.”“That’s when we met?” I asked.She nodded. “Yes. That was an experience.”“A good one,” I replied.She huffed, a very ambivalent, sarcastic huff. “Let’s go with that. My point with that rather trite story is to say that I understand if you’re having difficulty acting as confident as you have been.”“Uh,” I said. I don’t think I had any trouble being confident or anything. Still, Amaryllis seemed worried, which was weird. There wasn’t anything to worry about. Sure, the last dungeon had been tough, and we were all a bit tired by the end, but we had won, hadn’t we? “Did you want me to tell a story about when I was young too? To make us even.”“My goal wasn’t to make us even or anything,” Amaryllis said.“You once said that you could tell someone something private, and then expect them to return the favour. Remember? You called it reciprocation.”Amaryllis blinked. “You remember that?”“Of course I do,” I said. “Um, well, I remember you telling it to me. The details are a bit vague now. It was a while ago.”The floor creaked a bit, and when I looked over, it was to find Awen stepping in. She had her hands folded over her tummy and was looking a bit bashful. "Awa, sorry, I kind of ... kind of had my room's door opened and I, ah, might have... overheard. A little."Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.“That’s okay,” I said.Amaryllis harrumphed. “I suppose.”“Do you need help? Or I could go, if you two are having a, ah, moment,” Awen offered.I glanced at Amaryllis. Were we having a moment? Weren’t we always having moments?“We weren’t,” Amaryllis said. “Now come over here with those stupid human hands of yours and chop these. This knife is not made for a proper taloned hand. I’m going to develop a crick in my wrist at this rate.”“Oh, I didn’t realize you were having a hard time. I thought you were just really bad.”Amaryllis’s feathers poofed with indignation. “Not just dumb, but rude too,” she said. “Now get on with the story, I’m going to fill the pot with water.”“Just about a quarter full,” I said. “As for stories... I don’t know what to tell? My life was very boring, you know?”“I doubt that,” Amaryllis said.“I can tell one,” Awen said. “While you think, if you want.”“I’d love that!” I cheered.Awen smiled as she took her place on the table alongside me and started working. “I don’t have very interesting stories. Uncle Abraham’s visits were always the most exciting thing. Otherwise I’d just spend the day with lessons or practicing. I liked playing with different instruments, it was one of the only parts of being a lady that was nice. Not that I could just play anything.”“Why not?” I asked.“Some instruments aren’t lady-like.” Awen said. “A flute is, a piano is, but a lute or a banjo aren’t. They leave you with unseemly calluses and things like a cello require that the lady put herself in a compromising position to play.”“Huh?” I asked. “That’s stupid.”Awen giggled. “Yes, a little,” she agreed. “But that’s how it is. When I became a mechanic, my parents were very disappointed, but I was a little too sickly to bring to a dungeon to change my class, and all the good, lady-like classes are in dungeons that are somewhat dangerous now, most of them near the capital and, well, whenever I heard them talking of moving me over, I’d play sick for a bit.”Amaryllis snorted. “Well done, there.”Awen looked down. “Ah, thanks. I always wanted to practice my mechanical skills, but it’s hard to do that when you’re not allowed. So I tended to be very clumsy. I’d break things, then put them back together. Some of the maids and servants were very helpful! They’d bring me some tools and sometimes give me things that needed to be fixed. Like mechanical clocks and some devices in the kitchens. That’s why I was able to keep up a little, and I was always a bit better the next time Uncle Abraham would come around.”I placed my knife on the table, stepped towards Awen, and engulfed her in a big, rib-creaking hug.“Awa?”“You can do as much mechanical stuff as you want when you’re with us. Or none. Or if you get some other hobby, you can do that as much as you want, alright?” I asked.Awen laughed and returned the hug with a good squeeze. “You’re being silly, Broc. I know all that.”“Oh,” I said as I loosened the hug. “Well good.” I nodded. “My turn?”“Certainly,” Amaryllis said. “Do we put any spices in this?”“No, but put it on the stove. We need to set it to a boil so the veggies get mushy. Here, let’s put the rest in too.”While the veggies boiled, I started to prepare a bit of salad for the side. Nothing much. Tiny tomatoes, some leafy greens, a few slices of carrot and some oil that I mixed with a few spices and herbs that we had drying on a rack in the little pantry.“I think... so, you girls know that I like adventure, right?”“We noticed,” Amaryllis said. She was sitting up on a bench built into the wall under one of the portholes, a bird enjoying the sun.“Right, well I wasn’t always a huge fantasy fan. When I was really young, my parents moved often. I don’t really remember all the places I’ve lived in. Sometimes we were only in a town for half a year, other times it was a bit longer.”“Were your parents traders?” Awen asked. “We had a lot of people like that in Greenshade.”“Nah, my dad couldn’t keep a job, nor could my mom, and they both liked moving a lot. We lived in mobile homes and apartments and all sorts of places. We’d change provinces every so often too. Anyway, when I was.... Ah, I think I was in grade seven? So I must have been about fourteen, or maybe I was still thirteen? Around that age.”“A teenager, barely a juvenile, but not quite,” Amaryllis said. “Old enough to lay eggs.”“Uh,” I said. I shook my head. “Something like that. So, I’d just moved to this new school. First year of secondary school, so all the students were new too, even though I’d come in half-way into the year, it wasn’t so bad. At least, I’d hoped.”“Did you make lots of friends?” Awen asked.“Nope. Just one. It was this boy who didn’t have any friends. He had a stutter, and wasn’t good at sports and stuff. We were in the same classes, and he always sat by the front, which is where I like to sit. We talked a bit and became buddies.”“Your first friend?” Amaryllis asked.“One of them. He really, really liked books. Fantasy stories, with magic and wizards and all sorts of cool stuff. So I started reading those too, and we always had something to talk about.” I felt a little sad as I set the salad aside. “We should start on the fish. Awen, can you mash the veggies for me?”“Ah, sure.”I got a pan out and oiled it, then fetched the fish from a rune-powered fridge. “Anyway, we moved again that summer. Never saw him again. But I still remember some of those stories. They kept me company for a long time. I guess I learned that from him.”I hummed as the fish fizzled on the snapping and crackling oil.“Is... that the whole story?” Amaryllis asked.“I guess so?”Amaryllis stood up and walked right up next to me. “I’m going to hug you now. Don’t go thinking anything about it. This is your one hug this week, so enjoy it.”“Huh?” I asked.But then my protests were drowned in a fluffy, feathery hug.
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