The inn had not been what Rava expected, empty aside from an innkeeper that was human, a middle-aged-looking fellow with a warm smile and warmer greetings. 233Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNy7IZUSVOV
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“Welcome to the Halfway, named so because it’s halfway to Honul Pass and halfway to nowhere! I am Ohm,” he belted out with a laugh. “My first customers in eighty-some-odd years! What can I do for you?”233Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJLEyBRdCkk
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“I see business is good then,” Lowan said to the innkeeper, whose smile grew wider “Booming!” came the reply. Rava raised an eyebrow and looked at Lowan. “Who is this man, and what has he done with Lowan?” He then realized, “How on earth can this innkeeper be above eighty?”
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“We would like a hot meal, two rooms, two washings, and two baths.” Lowan replied to Ohm’s earlier question. Ohm nodded. “That will be sixteen silvers each, have a seat at a table while I get things in order,” he said, and his hand pointed to a table, open-handed and with a flourish. 233Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkflyIMCni4
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Lowan and Rava sat down by the table, resting their weary feet. “How is it that the innkeeper is over eighty?” Rava asked once the innkeeper had disappeared to some back room behind the bar. Lowan quirked an eyebrow and then let out an “Ah, he is not human, that one. Did you not notice that he didn’t breathe?” he said, and Rava backtraced in his memory, his eyes widening. 233Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbXHqFW15u6
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“Homunculus or Lich?” Rava asked, and Lowan nodded. “A bit of both, a necromancer's experiment to put a human soul under its service. The soul never lost sight of itself, and this particular soul dreamed of owning an inn. The necromancer let Ohm go, not wanting to be reminded of his failure, I guess, and as fate would have it, he now owns an inn”. 233Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY7JTMvdRqX
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Rava let out a small smile as Ohm came back with two plates, setting them down in front of each of them, then produced a key from his pocket. “I am afraid I only have one room available, but it has two beds.” He said and looked at Rava’s incredulous expression, scanning the inn for any activity. “I jest! You should have seen your face,” Ohm said with a laugh, producing another key, this one emblazoned with the dwarven numeral for two. 233Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHCRAX8GUFV
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Rava smiled as he took the key. Joking had not been a part of his everyday life, other than in some of the books Lowan had procured to further Rava’s education. He liked it. “We’re lucky to find two whole rooms available in this buzzing metropolis,” He said back. Ohm’s smile and subsequent cackle lit up the empty room. “Yes, lucky indeed.” Ohm replied as he walked away to stand behind the bar again, wiping down a glass. Lowan gave Rava an approving nod.
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Rava and Lowan ate their meal in silence, a hearty and meaty stew that was a balm to the soul.233Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRwaQLT88wG
After they finished the meal, they moved on to the baths, the hot water even more comforting than the meal and Rava’s first experience with hot water since he could remember. Rava lazed in the bathtub until the water turned to room temperature.
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Once out of the tub, he looked at the big bruise that covered his side. Gingerly touching it with his fingertips, feeling for any breaks. Luckily finding the bones intact, probably cracked and fractured, though.233Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFWl8UxOtVf
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Lowan had already left for his room, instructing Rava to put his clothes in a basket and put on a robe that hung on a wall near the bathtub. Rava did as instructed and left for his room, unlocking the door and looking over the room. The bed was unlike anything he had ever seen before. He walked up to it and gave it a cursory poke with his finger, eyes widening at the depth it sunk into the mattress. This was nothing like the cot he had braided himself. 233Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdnK8EFS21h
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It didn’t take him long to throw off his robe. His packing and weapons dropped unceremoniously on the floor as he dove into the bed. Down pillows a sort of spell in and of themselves. “School of healing, I reckon,” Rava said to himself with a smile. 233Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡufGETLXq6p
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He slept some of the best sleep he had ever slept then. He had been slightly disappointed when his training didn’t let him ignore his packing and weapons. Wiping everything down, sorting everything, and unstringing his bow before rejoining his bed. 233Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeslDBCZTEv
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Outside the door to his room was the basket, his clothes neatly folded and clean. He put his shirt to his nose and took a deep whiff. “A monster could smell you a mile away with this scent,” he thought as he put the clothes on. They felt softer than they ever had before though. 233Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz2ZAgARo8p
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After re-strapping his armor and all his pouches, his musk had evened out a bit, smelling part forest and part, civil, he guessed, and moved down into the common room where Lowan was waiting, eating a sandwich with some toppings Rava hadn’t seen before. 233Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzpPNcNTgFj
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“Good morning, dear customer!” Ohm's voice boomed, and Rava nodded to him, “Good morning.” “Breakfast?” Ohm said with a quirked eyebrow. “Yes, please.” Rava replied and sat down in front of Lowan, regarding him. He looked more alive than he ever had. Rava reckoned that he, too, looked more alive than he had previously. 233Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSqSXpd9MXB
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“Today we will seek council, you will follow my lead, bow when I bow, but you will only speak when spoken to and you will always address Heradrum with his full title until he tells you not to.” Lowan instructed between bites. Soon after, Rava received his sandwich and bit into it. Bread was also pure bliss. 233Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6sRBdmYrPa
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After they had finished, Lowan paid the innkeeper, and they moved out after giving their goodbyes. It was another three-hour walk through the lit-up tunnel before they reached a gate, two dwarves stationed outside it, dressed in the same armor the two other dwarves had been wearing. “Two?” Was all he asked, and Lowan nodded in response.
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The other dwarf hefted a hammer and swung it onto a huge log that was suspended with chains. The other end of it was wrapped in cloth. As the strike sent it forward, the clothed end hit a huge iron bell. It swung once. Letting out a deafening clang. Then one more. Rava had wondered then if the dwarf used just enough strength for the bell to only ring out twice. Impressed. 233Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ20r9Z218Jz
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The gate then started opening, soundless and much smoother than Rava had expected. As he saw it open, he noticed it must have been two meters thick and pure stone. Rava was thoroughly impressed by the city and light coming into view. The gate had been nothing compared to this. 233Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNc4yMtafVn
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Dwarven architecture was on proud display now, and Rava looked around in wonder. “Did they hollow out the whole mountain range?” He asked Lowan. “More or less” was all he said. 233Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSIeNMSHm7E
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Square buildings rose to different heights everywhere, made of pure stone. A large contraption hung from the inverted peak of the mountain they were in, casting a light over the whole city like it was daylight. Rava could only begin to imagine how big the crystal inside would have to be. Perfectly straight roads also made from stone ran in every cardinal direction. Bridges connected particularly tall buildings. 233Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSnEobPcOjJ
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Under the light in the center was an enormous castle. Big enough to probably house all the residents and then some. “That’s where we’re going.” Lowan said and pointed it out to Rava, who could only nod, still stuck in wondrous staring.
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They made their way over a perfectly straight road, with no unevenness to be found. “Where does one stone end and one begin?” Rava asked, and Lowan shook his head. “Dwarven industrialism is beyond even me. They strive for efficiency and perfection in the mundane, as a human or elf does with the extravagant or artistic”.
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Once at the gate to the castle, Rava had to crane his neck to see the top of the walls. A dwarven soldier stationed between almost every dip in the battlements, stoic, still, and silent. “Purpose?” A dwarf standing by the gate called out. “Heradrums council to an old friend,” came the response. The dwarf stared at Lowan for a short while. He then rapped an armored knuckle on one of the bolts that held the hinges for the gate. 233Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHhyGc7F9kO
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Soundlessly as the gate they had passed earlier, this one opened. Revealing a retinue of dwarven soldiers lined up on each side of a passage that led to the inner part of the castle. “Follow me,” Another dwarf said. These ones all business compared to the ones at the entrance to the mountain. 233Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYRZVl3caZS
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They were led by dwarves surrounding them and taken into the castle. The inside was as lavish as it would allow itself to be with efficiency in mind, a few of the most finely hewn statues ever to be seen stood strategically placed where they wouldn’t be in the way. 233Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTEaNCdoWk8
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“Wait here,” the leading dwarf said and opened a door, disappearing inside. Rava made sure to copy Lowans posture, staring straight ahead with an equally straight back, chest slightly puffed out. It didn’t take long for another dwarf to come out with the guard that had escorted them. This one was bespectacled, unarmored, and with a beard slung over his shoulder. 233Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0bOL6KEx2t
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“Who seeks Heradrums council?” He asked, another enormous iron-bound tome splayed open in one hand and a quill in the other. His eyes regarding the pair with his eyes over the rim of his glasses. 233Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb6Jn3ocBJz
“Lowan Holder, accompanied by grandchild Rava Holder” Lowan said. 233Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbrrramgpbl
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The bespectacled dwarf started writing into the tome. It took much longer than it would normally take to just write their names. “Last visit?” The dwarf then asked. “Heradrum visited Holder dukedom 29 years ago, and I visited here 27 years ago.” Lowan replied. 233Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjfTMFZd3Df
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“We will verify. Wait here”. The dwarf said and moved back inside. They stood perfectly still for two hours until the dwarf came back out. “A discrepancy has been found in the tomes, it is said a man claiming to be Lowan Holder visited 27 years ago, but he was auburn of hair while you are gray of hair. Explain”. The dwarf demanded. 233Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCyCNoDqFuA
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“While not much changes in the lifespan of a dwarf in 27 years, up to a fourth of a human’s will have passed, I have aged.” Lowan said and Rava sucked in the smallest of breaths. Lowan gave him a momentary stare, and Rava kept his eyes forward. 233Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3NWgJeFhFh
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“Very well, passphrase?” The dwarf said and opened the door, leaving it slightly ajar. Lowan gritted his teeth. “May it be known that I, Lowan Holder, recognize Heradrum Ironwrought as my better in alewhack and romancing the ladyfolk, never to be questioned.” He said. 233Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡco9bbpFYTP
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It took almost all of Rava’s discipline instilled over years of gruesome painful training to remain stoic. A bellowing laugh erupted from the throne room.
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“Heradrum will see you, Lowan Holder.”
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