Friendship formed

The day’s travel is uneventful, despite passing another emptied village. No one wants to remark on it, though it’s yet another mark against the demon lord. As if he needed more.

In the evening, you gather around the fire with your girls, chatting over dinner. You’re surprised to see the man from the meeting, Greg, approaching. Beside him is Helja, the blonde dwarf who commands the artillery, and another dwarf you don’t recognize, a buxom redhead. Actually, on second glance, they’re both quite well endowed. You smile as they walk up. “Greg, right? What can I do for you?”

The man nods. “That’s right, your majesty…”

You stop him. “Please, Josh is fine. I’m not some aloof royal or anything. Honestly, until not to long ago, I was just a spoiled rich kid with a weird power, and unusual luck with women, apparently.”

Greg laughs. “Fair enough! I know your story, already, you’re pretty famous at this point. I’m a traveler from the new world myself, actually. But I’m here on behalf of these two. Helja you know already, and this is Hayley, another member of the team.”

You note how close the two dwarves stand to him, and you chuckle. “Pardon me if I’m being too personal, but are the three of you…together?”

Greg smiles. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that someone with your kind of family would recognize it. Yes, we are, along with two other members of the siege workshop. And a few others as well. I’ve had my own run of luck as well.”

You laugh. “Well, as long as everyone is happy, right? So what brings you here?”

Hayley steps forward, the redhead clearly a bit nervous. “W-well, Helja and I were hoping to get a chance to meet the Daughter of the Forge…”

You smile. “Ahh, Clarissa, of course. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind talking for a while. We don’t have any big plans for tonight, and I wouldn’t mind chatting with Greg for a while.”

Both dwarves light up with smiles. Hayley giggles. “Thank you!”

You laugh. “I only ask that you treat her like any other dwarf. She doesn’t like being treated like she’s different.”

Helja nods. “I understand. We will, thank you.”

With that they walk over to where Clarissa is chatting with Kali and Samara. You don’t eavesdrop, but the snatches of conversation you catch are encouraging. Meanwhile, you turn to Greg. “So, you came through the portal as a traveler?”

He nods. “Life wasn’t so great for me, and I figured why not! It honestly couldn’t have gone any better for me. Within a week I had a pair of raptor girls as companions, and it only got better from there.”

You and Greg share your stories, and by the end of the evening you’ve become fast friends. You make a point of inviting him to bring his family to meet yours, should you survive the coming battle. He agrees, and offers to return the favor, should you find yourself in the dwarven city again.

After a few hours, everyone says their goodbyes, and heads to bed. You are surprised to find something laying on your bedroll when you enter your tent. A letter, in an envelope which simply has ‘To Josh; I’m sorry’ written on it. Opening the envelope, you read the letter.