Reunion

After two days of traveling

Tristan’s p.o.v.

It’s already noon, and I notice the horse is tied next to a tree and a spent fire with the pot still on. Arya was making camp as she arrived earlier, letting me meet my mother and doing all the explanations.

The pine trees welcome me back with their perfume, and the branches of the trees seem to wave at me, moving in the wind. I bow down and grab a fistful of earth from the ground, and rub it on my hands, a small gesture of appreciation for the land of my youth. This damn curse has made me more nostalgic than I already was.

The thick Silver forest surrounds the village itself. Even the village name is the Silver Village for lack of other characteristics and imagination. Some small farmlands are where people cut down trees and make a living through animal husbandry. But most of the village economy relies on the river mills placed alongside the fast river that cuts through the small settlement right in the middle. People come from all over the region to use them so our village has some income and a resemblance of an economy.

Our house is further away from the village and deep into the forest. My mother wanted to have fresh ingredients from the forest and settled there.

I take the paved road and enter the village, which is precisely the same as I left it three years ago. I hear the river as I get close to the stone bridge. The bakery is still in business, and many people have been waiting in line since its launch.

They look at me suspiciously and begin gossiping among themselves, probably trying to guess who I am. I nod at them and greet them as I recognize some of the faces, but they seem not to remember me.

I probably changed a lot. When I left, I was a 15-year-old skinny boy. Now, I am taller and more robust; the helmet and armor don't help them much. I won’t stop; I want to meet my mother and explain before Arya appears in my place.

There is still some traveling through the forest, and I kick the horse to pick up the pace when I see a makeshift barricade where the road to our house is, and standing before it are two small village boys.

“Why is this here? I need to go through,” I immediately demand.

“No, you can’t, mister. This leads to the monster house, “one of the kids tells me.

“What monster? That is the road to my house. The town healer, my mother, Sonya Silvered, lives there. Remove this thing immediately, “I shout to them, confused.

They look at each other, even more confused than I am.

“The witch and her mo.. monster daughter live that way, and they are very dangerous, “one of the kids stutters.

“And how are they dangerous? “ I am curious as to what made the townspeople change their opinion of my mother. She was appreciated and now this, that a barricade is needed.

“The redhead monster killed two villagers and burned their houses. She is evil and says that no one is allowed in her forest.” another boy says.

"Well, I am that monster brother, and if you don't remove this, I tell her to come after you tonight," I tell them.

“Nooo, the monster brother, “and they run away, shouting and running. Each in different directions.

I descend from the horse and push the barricade. Luckily, it isn’t well built and too heavy. I retake my road home. What the hell happened to Selena that made her kill two men? Did she finally lose it? Her heightened senses made her very antisocial, but she wouldn’t kill two men just because they smelled bad. And shouldn’t she be arrested if that was really the case?

The road has branches and fallen trees as if no one has walked around there for months. I guess nobody has to use it if my mother and sister are not welcome anymore in town. It seems that I am not the only one with problems.

I am finally at the house; it is as cozy and small as I remember it. The tiny house that my mother built had only two bedrooms, a living, and a kitchen. The bathroom was separate because it drew water from a small nearby river. I remember it was hard in winter to have a separate bathroom, but it was large enough with a sauna and a large bath. The main house also had a cellar, where my mother's alchemy laboratory was.

I shout, “Is anybody home? “. I don’t want to catch anybody by surprise, especially my sister. I might get an arrow instead of a warm welcome.

I enter the courtyard and see an old woman from the back, and I immediately recognize my mother's curly hair.

“Mom, it’s me, Tristan.” My mother turns around and looks at me, startled.

“Tristan?”

"Mom, you look great. You're finally out of bed, "I say as I approach her.

“Tristan, it’s really you,” a big smile appears on her face. “Look at you.”

“Who else? “and I give her a big hug.

“Surprising us like this. What has gotten into you? You could’ve said you were coming, “she scolds me.

“Yeah, I'll tell you about it later, but now I want to hear how you feel. “

"Ha-ha, strong as a bull," she says, smiling. "You know I recovered six months ago and have been feeling better ever since. Thank the goddess; I don't need those damn potions anymore.

“What about mana? Can you cast? “I ask, as I know it is a delicate subject.

“No honey, I ‘am afraid my mana pool is broken forever, “she says with a sad voice, “but it’s ok, I can still swing this old friend.” And she points at the long mace she is using now as a walking stick.

Her mace was a gift from a dwarven prince; as far as I know, it never left her side. It wasn't enchanted, but you could prolong the handle, making it shorter or longer depending on the enemies you were fighting.

“Ha-ha, so you will be adventuring with me from now on, “I joke with her.

"Yes, why not? I can still spank your ass if you misbehave," she says, laughing and coughing a little. " Look at you, you've got as tall as me, and your shoulders look like they can carry some weight. What rank are you now?

“You know I only just began adventuring and am E rank, but I took down a hobgoblin, “I say proudly.

“Wow, an entire hobgoblin all by yourself. I am sure the goblins already run in fear as soon as they see you.” She grins at me.

Mom was an A-rank cleric in her youth. I am not surprised I didn’t impress her.

"Yes, I am surprised news of my prowess hasn't reached these parts yet," I say, smiling again.

“You know I am joking honey, but you must be careful and choose your enemies wisely. It’s not cowardice to go back and fight an enemy when you are ready. It's strategy, “. She teaches me.

Again, she is fulfilling both roles, that of a mother and that of an adventure instructor. Although she never wanted to teach me how to fight, she always taught me strategy, how to position myself during a battle, and how to flank an enemy when to attack and retreat were taught to me by her. This also counts for something.

“Yeah, Mom, I know, which brings me to my problem, but speaking of problems, what’s that about Selena killing two villagers.”

"Ooo goodness, you already heard about that. Your sister has disappointed me greatly. Tristan she left two families without a father, and then she didn't stop there. She burned their houses, also. I am afraid I don't recognize her anymore. Maybe I did something wrong when I gave her all those potions to drink. I don't know anymore." I am dumbfounded and trying to grasp what my mother revealed to me.

“C’ mon, Mom, she is Selena. She must have her reasons, and why isn’t she wanted, by the way?”

“She is friends with that damn region governor. She always brings him game and furs, and he lets her do whatever she wants. He is the one who appointed her ranger and protector of the Silver Forests. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want her arrested, but at least show some authority and lift her ranger position. The villagers hate her now because of this. They left her alone because of me. If not, they really wanted ****.

“ HEY, I EARNED THIS POSITION WHEN I SAVED HIS FAT ASS FROM WEREWOLVES, AND THOSE VILAGERS WERE POACHERS. VERY NICE MOM, LET’S OMIT SOME MINOR DETAILS.” A shout comes behind my back.

I turn around and expect to see Selena behind me, but she isn’t there. I know her tricks and immediately turn, but it is too late. She jumps in my arms, almost making me lose my balance.

"Got you, brother, you've gotten weaker, hahaha, "she laughs as I swing her in the air and then hug her.

"And you have gotten fatter ah my back," I laugh with her cherishing the moment of our reunion. The connection between us is still there, and we are again the same kids that were playing and having fun in the forest. For a moment, it seemed like I was taken back to that time when only the two of us were playing, carefree and innocent, protected by the world's ugliness by precisely these woods that Selena cared so much about.

'Brother brother, how come you're all alone? Didn't you say you said you have a girlfriend? Could it be that it’s one of those imaginary girlfriends that I hear men always brag about? Wait a minute, is that her over here? OO, please to meet you, Arya. "My sister's act is not that far from the truth.

“Yes, sister, and who are you dating recently, the old oak or the pine tree over there? “

"Ha-ha, fair enough, so what happened, brother? How come you didn't say you'll arrive."

"Well, it's better for the two of you to be seated for this. Let's get inside, and I will tell you," I say to both of them with a serious tone, trying to prepare them for the weird and long facts of the curse.

We enter the house and sit at the table, and I begin recounting what happened to me and Arya. My mother looks concerned, but Selena makes some jokes along the way.

“So let me get this straight: even if we sell your armor, it will still appear on you after 6 hours. Ha-ha, we could make a lot of money with this.” My sister laughs.

“Selena, for once in your life, be serious, but she’s right, Tristan. Where does the armor go? “My mother asks.

“Well, it will disappear from where I put it and reappear on me in the ether realm.”

“Yeah, and making the buyer very angry, “Selena jokes again.

“This is most concerning, Tristan. You can’t fool around with chaos magic. You don’t know the conditions of the curse. You only know the effects. I really need to talk with this girlfriend of yours”. Mom already figured out the gravity of the situation.

“Mom, please go easy on her. She’s not yet used to all our customs, “I tell my mother, trying to divert her attention, and I hope she will not interrogate Arya too much.

“Like I haven’t met elves before, I know how to handle them, and what’s her solution for this curse?” my mother raises her eyebrows.

“We don’t know yet. We are still waiting for experts and placed a bounty, “and I look at Selena, trying to control my heartbeats. I learned how to lie when I was a kid when Selena was around. All you have to do is not let your heart rate go faster. She seems not to have picked up anything and looks bored.

“You don’t know yet. Well, this is reassuring. She‘s a mage, no? Surely, she has some ideas.

“We are still waiting for a solution. Mom is nothing to be concerned about. It is just a stupid curse. Okay, I forgot I have presents for you two,” and I get up, trying to defuse the situation and let the whole curse thing sink in.

“Yay, presents gib me, gib me,” Selena says excitedly and follows behind me outside the house where I left the horse. She still loves to act like a spoiled brat.

“Look at this sister. What do you think? And show her the three bows. “

"Holy crap, these are well made." My sister grabs one of the bows from my hand and is already examining it. Balancing it and pulling the string.

“Now sister, say wotan,” which is the chant for water

"WOTAN Selena shouts, and the two bows disappear for my hand, and only the one she's holding remains." What the hell"? She looks more carefully at me, thinking that I was hiding them.

"Shot something with it," I tell her, and she takes an arrow from her quiver and shoots it at a nearby tree, creating a splash of water when it hits the tree.

"Wow, it's enchanted. This is great. “She again examines the bow.

“You didn’t see the half of it now, say vayan and shoot again.” This time, a current of air seemed to hit the tree, making the leaves fall.

"Now ,say agnis," and this time, the tree catches fire and is a very big one. "

"Say wotan again," I shout at her," before we burn the tree," "and the fire recedes and disappears.

“Wow, great, Tristan, like she wasn’t dangerous enough,” I hear my mother coming behind me.” Don’t be surprised if she burns down the whole forest. “She adds.

“I have something for you too, Mom,” and I bring her a gift, which is an alchemist apron.

"Thank you, honey, but you shouldn't have"

"C'mon, Mom, you’ll look more professional in this. “I smile at her. “And I almost forgot I have sweets, too. “Selena appears next to me as soon as I say it, demanding her share.

The whole day passes like this. Reminiscing with Selena and Mom, who give me updates on the village and the forest. I tell them about my adventures and city life. Six hours passed, and I remembered them to make Arya feel at home and not bully her, especially my sister. Then, under the confused eyes of my mother and sister, I began to glow.