When Aiden, Jax, and Liora crested the hill and reached Aiden's house, they turned to look back down the trail.
Their new priestly friend, Kaelen, was practically crawling at this point, gasping and wheezing but still slowly coming.
"And you're sure you're okay?"
Jax asked, looking at Liora and Aiden with an expression that asked whether they should help him.
Liora turned to walk into the house while Jax went back down the trail a bit to help Kaelen. Aiden followed Liora back into his home.
"I'm not used to having guests, so you might just need to find a spot to sleep on the floor."
Aiden said this while walking in, but Liora was already sprawled out on his bed and starting to tuck herself in.
"Now hold on. First of all, don't just go stealing someone's bed, especially if you're staying over. Second of all, at least take a bath. We just hiked for like four hours, and I'm not cleaning my bed tomorrow morning because you felt lazy!"
Aiden yelled as Jax entered, dragging the Panting and pale looking Kaelen inside by the back of his robes.
Liora sat up in his bed and propped herself up on her elbow.
"That's rude, you know. In a room full of guys, shouldn't the girl be the one with the bed? Where has chivalry gone in this day and age?"
Liora asked, making a dramatic gesture like she was fainting.
"Then you can have the bed, but at least take a bath!"
Aiden yelled in annoyance as he grabbed the flint and steel from his shelf to start the fire in the fireplace.
"Fine, fine. You humans have the weirdest customs."
Liora said this as she bounced up as if she was no heavier than a feather.
"Sleeping in a bed sweaty and dirty is a beastfolk custom?"
Kaelen asked Jax as he sat down, opening the top two buttons on his robes to ventilate.
"It's not, but I think she is trying to use cultural diversity to get away with being lazy."
Jax said with a shrug.
Aiden kept striking and striking with the flint and steel until, after a few minutes, he finally got the fire started.
He sat down in a huff.
He was tired. He was sweaty. He wanted to sleep right away, but he could not scold someone else for something and then do it himself.
So he sat with the others as the warmth of the growing fire washed over them after the cold hike up.
Once everyone gathered around, they all looked at each other for a moment before Jax turned to Aiden and asked,
"Sooo, should we strategize for tomorrow, or should we wait until morning?"
"We might as well do it while the fire heats up the bath water."
Aiden said this while grabbing some firewood from the pile Jax had helped him cut. He took it outside and started to set up the fire under the marked copper tank.
When Aiden came back inside, he could see that Kaelen seemed to know what he was doing, and Jax had seen him use the tank system before. His parents had made it before leaving. Liora, however, gave him a confused look.
"Aren't you going to hang your water pot over the fire to heat?"
She asked, confused.
Jax turned, eager to explain, so Aiden nodded for him to continue. Aiden walked over near the fire, grabbed the small soot shovel, and used it to carry a chunk of burning wood outside to ignite the log pile he had made.
"As it turns out, Aiden's parents are inventors. One of the things they made is this system where you have two tanks of water collected and purified by some process. He explained it, but it went over my head. One tank is designed to have a fire under it to heat the water, and the steam is used to build pressure. That makes it so you can turn a lever and the water comes out easily. You can even change the temperature based on how much cold water you mix in."
Jax finished explaining as Aiden came back inside.
"It's quite incredible that your parents invented such a thing, Aiden. They must be making quite a bit of money from such an invention. Nobles who have visited the monastery have been talking about controllable bath installations."
Kaelen said this as he started to pick little bits of things out of his hair from the hike up.
A pang of frustration toward Aiden's mom and dad hit him, but he tried not to let it show.
Liora jumped in and asked,
"So, strategy-wise, what exactly are we up against here?"
"Well, to be frank, we're not 100% sure. Part of the reason I was looking for a mage is because there is some magic stuff we don't know anything about, and we're hoping it can answer some questions."
Jax said this partially with his mouth full as he pulled off his pack with his mouth and let it fall to his side.
"If I am recalling our time at the library correctly, the enemy we will be dealing with is an Ash Spirit, right?"
Kaelen asked as Aiden started to rummage through his cabinets, grabbing blankets and pillows for everyone.
"That's right. They are a type of undead created occasionally when someone burns to death, often exhibiting the last wills they had in life through their new forms."
"Well, from what Jax said, these guys are burning a circle around one untouched old traveler's shrine with an old magic circle in it. So what kind of last will could these Ash Spirits be enacting?"
Liora asked as she looked out the window towards the tanks outside, fascination apparent on her face.
"Maybe they worked at that shrine and wished to have it remain untouched and preserved. That could explain why animals won't go near it and why trees can't fall on it."
Kaelen suggested.
It sounded reasonable enough, but the magic circle still confused Aiden.
Before he could say anything else, the small steam whistle blew, telling him the water was ready.
Liora jumped up and headed for the door, bringing her pack with her. She turned back at the door and said,
"Also, boys, if I catch so much as one of you peeping, I will overinflate your lungs until you pop."
With that terrifying final warning, she went bouncing over near the tanks while the others sat in stunned silence.
After a moment, Jax asked,
"Can she really do that?"
"By the power of Draconian, do you want to find out the hard way?"
Kaelen said this while shaking his head and crossing his arms.
They waited for a solid 20 minutes before Liora came back inside, wearing what looked to be night clothes and a towel around her head. She shrugged and said,
"Not as warm as I thought it would be."
She walked quietly over to Aiden's bed and sat on the edge before pulling out what looked to be a familiar book.
The ninth book in the 7 Stars series.
For a brief moment, Aiden was tempted to spoil that one of the characters died by the end. It seemed fitting considering her attitude all night.
He restrained himself.
Kaelen, Jax, and Aiden all headed outside to the bath. Kaelen was the most excited. He stripped and practically dove in.
Aiden was about to follow when he heard Kaelen scream. The elf quickly floundered out and landed on the stones around the tub with a thud.
"By the Hammer of Gundenclang, it's boiling!"
Kaelen screamed, trying to shake the water off himself. He looked as red as a tomato from the brief moment he had stepped in.
Aiden poked a finger in and ripped his hand out.
It was unbearably hot.
They all turned toward the door, where they could just barely see the edge of the book Liora was reading.
Whether it was the collective telepathy of guys when a nut tap occurred or collective amazement, they all said the same thing in unison.
"She thinks this isn't hot enough?"
They ended up waiting and shivering for a while as the water cooled before hopping in. It still felt a bit too warm, but compared to the cold outside the tub, it was much better.
They soaked for a good 10 minutes before draining the tub and heading back inside.
When they returned, Liora was already asleep, cozied up in Aiden's blankets and Aiden's bed.
Kaelen, Jax, and Aiden started to curl up on the wooden floor. Jax turned to Kaelen and asked,
"I grew up in a naturalist clan of fullbloods, so I never really got to learn anything about the gods. You worship Freyungen, right? What is she the god of?"
Kaelen chuckled as he pulled up his left sleeve, revealing that his wrist had a special tattoo of a fireplace. There was a space that looked like it could hold flames, but there were none.
"Her name is Freyungen, goddess of love, home, family, comfort, and compassion. She witnesses things like marriage, brings soulmates together, allows families to get through adversity and remain together, and serves as the patron god of Balwuk. She has guided me through many aspects of my 185 years of life and even granted me her blessing, The Spark of Kindness."
Jax and Aiden turned to each other.
Beastkin were the shortest-lived race, living only 60 to 80 years on average. Humans were only slightly better at 80 to 100, while dwarves could live several hundred years.
Aiden had no idea about elves.
"Is that considered a long time, or are you still young for an elf?"
Jax asked as he picked his head up.
"It's exactly 18.5% of my time in this world, but for elves, there isn't really such a thing as a young elf unless you're under 30."
Kaelen said, chuckling as he shifted part of his blanket under himself to wrap up like a cocoon.
"You say 18.5 like you know exactly when you're going to die."
"Well, I do. Down to the second, as all elves do."
Kaelen said matter-of-factly.
Jax sat upright, now very interested.
"You mean to tell me that all elves know exactly when they are going to die?"
"Yeah. All elves live exactly 1000 years to the second before they die of old age. Did you not know that?"
"Not until now. So you have a literal timer until you die spontaneously, and unless you die earlier, you have no way to change it? Wouldn't that make death a big fear for elves?"
Aiden asked, sitting up on his elbows.
"We are literally fighting monsters that inherit the wills, personalities, and more of those who die. Death is almost never the end of the line. What reason would an elf have to fear it any more than anyone else? Humans don't start running around when they turn 90 begging for a way to extend their lives. Sure, there are exceptions in rare cases, but there are tales of some humans seeking immortality as well."
Jax and Aiden turned to each other and blinked a few times.
Kaelen lay down and, after a few minutes, fell asleep. Jax followed shortly after.
While Aiden lay awake, he heard the familiar chirping of Misty as she flew over from where she had been asleep in her bed. From the way her liquid body drooped, she was clearly sleepy, but she still chirped at him in a tired tone.
"Get some sleep. We're going to need your help tomorrow."
Aiden said this while scratching Misty on the head the way she liked.
She nodded and drifted back to her little bowl.
Aiden turned over and tried to get some sleep.