They ran into Melas in the village outskirts.

To his credit, the man didn't look surprised. Rather, he wore a bright smile as he dropped the reins in his hands and rushed forward to pull the protesting Isidor into a firm hug. The teen cursed and squirmed, before managing to get his hands between them and shove Melas back with a flaming face. The black hippogriff at his back huffed and rustled its wings as the former general laughed.

"Fucking fates, you act like it's been years," Isidor grumbled. "You might be fine, but I need to breathe."

What?

Melas laughed as he smoothed a hand through his hair. "Whatever you say, Isi. Excuse this old man for being worried about his kid."

Isidor's eyes narrowed, turning Melas' expression sheepish. Seeming to remember them then--or perhaps wanting to escape an impending argument--the soldier spun to face their group as a whole. Kain reflexively tensed, only to loosen as his horse whinnied and stamped in protest. Last thing he needed to do was piss off the horse he could barely ride.

He'd perish from the embarrassment before any injuries being tossed earned.

"Pleasure to see all of you again. I figured this would be the best shop to move towards to find you all again, but I wasn't certain. Do you have a moment to come back for tea? Aretha has some gifts for the lot of you."

Kain hesitated. "I..."

How did he explain that no, they didn't, because he had a knight that would likely want to escort him back to the king in order to take over the throne staying in his house, something Kain didn't have time for at this moment?

"That idiot is at your house," Isidor complained without any of Kain's hesitation apparently. "You have to know why."

Melas sighed, eyes flicking to Kain. "Aretha warned me about your situation...and I'll admit I already had my guesses." He paused. "I knew--know your father."

The horse stamped its feet again, a sudden swing of its head having Kain scrambling to keep a hold of his reins. "You...what?"

"It's a long story. One we shouldn't hold here," Melas said. His brow pinched as his voice turned musing. "Ah, did you see Aretha? Is that why you knew Oren was here?"

Kain nodded his confirmation, which led to Melas' expression lighting up. "Oh, perfect. She likely dealt with him herself, then. Follow me back and I'll check before taking you in, but he's probably out cold."

It only took him a moment to guess why that would be the case. Kain's eyes shot to Isidor in disbelief. The teen shrugged. "I never said I got my methods from my parents."

Right. Of course. Aretha had been the one to teach him to drug people. Perfect. That wasn't concerning at all directly after they were invited to have tea with her.

Melas led them back towards the smithy. They stopped by the inn on their way, hitching their horses now that the urgency to leave had been...dealt with. As predicted, upon their arrival at the house behind the smithy, Aretha was hauling an unconscious Oren towards the couple's couch.

The woman paused as they entered, eyes shooting to their group as she dropped the knight. His head thumped on the ground as she placed her hands on her hips, breath slightly labored. "Well? Don't just stand there. Help me."

He instinctively moved forward at the request and with Callias' aid managed to easily situate the stranger where Aretha indicated. Afterwards, she ushered all of them to various seats around the room. Kain declined her following offer of tea, as did Callias. Rather than seeming insulted, Aretha merely appeared amused as she prepared something for the rest of them.

"You said you know my father," Kain began. His eyes refused to budge from Oren, studying the knight. "Why didn't you mention it before?"

Melas shrugged. "I wasn't certain until Aretha told me about your sword. Sure, there aren't many halfling kids like you running around, but stranger coincidences have happened when the gods are playing games."

Kain tensed as the meaning behind those words settled in his mind. His eyes shot to Isidor in disbelief. The fact that Melas could see the power of gods seemed to be a pretty large detail to leave out of his explanation. The witch shrugged, forcing Kain's attention back to Melas.

"You're not human."

It explained a lot--such as how a Nubellan general made it out of the country alive after it collapsed. He didn't.

The man's expression turned wry. "You could try sounding a bit less insulted. The majority of your party isn't human. It isn't as if I was hiding it."

He had a point. Gods' children were able to sense one another. Out of everyone present, only Kain, Mara, and perhaps Natia lacked the skill to recognize someone for what they were. As he looked to the others, Rhode and Callias mainly, the first shook her head.

"It's considered rude to out someone else," she said. "He didn't seem to be a danger. His kind rarely are. So, I didn't think it was important."

Kain's eyes flicked back to Melas, then, studying him as if he could figure out what the man was from just those details alone. He was a gods' child, obviously, given they were made from the dead and nightmares rarely held status amongst nobility. It was easy enough to rule out half of them--most of the children races came with obvious physical signs. In fact, the only one that didn't--

"You're a Hero."

Melas looked impressed. "I am."

Heroes, the immortal creations of Eiyuuk, were the most human-like of the children races. They didn't gain magic, instincts, or responsibilities through their revivals. Instead, they became the ultimate warriors with bodies that could always be revived as long as their deaths were in service of another. They were whom the gods' cup was truly meant for, not sickly newborns with desperate mothers. One sip and no matter what they'd suffered, their form returned to the same state it was in when they initially died.

They were also what the Eolian court had implied Artemios to be.

"Did you--do you know Artemios?" Kain pressed.

Melas' brow rose. "That's a bit of an assumption, isn't it? Thinking that all Heroes know each other?"

It was true, then.

Was that why Artemios hadn't shown himself on the island? It felt like years ago that the siblings told him that the merfolk had collected the bodies of those who perished on the ship. If Artemios was alive--if the fact he had a goddess as a lover kept him safe--he might not have been initially. Not if he was a Hero. Someone would have to fetch the gods' cup or bring Artemios to it.

It was possible, though.

Kain breathed easier as his mind shifted to the original topic. "You said you know my father."

"Ah, is that why you thought I might know Artemios?" Melas mused. "It's unrelated, I'm afraid. Nubella was prized by Umae. Your father, Arius, has always been Umae's favorite. It's inevitable that he would spend time in such a land, no?"

It was a frustrating simple answer.

"You said you had something to give us," Isidor interrupted. "We shouldn't linger long. Hand it over so we can go."

Kain pinched the bridge of his nose as Melas laughed. "You're not wrong. Aretha?"

The woman didn't say anything, merely disappeared into a back room. Melas sighed and heaved himself from his seat as he followed after her. Curiosity sparked, then, as Kain realized what such gifts might mean. The answer hung from his hip. Venomore.

His thoughts were confirmed a moment later when Aretha returned with Melas at her side. He held a large crate, which at Aretha's gesture, he sat atop their kitchen table. Kain drew closer as the woman heaved the cover off. Before he could question what laid inside, she drew out the top-most item--an oiled, canvas bag--and handed it off to Rhode.

"This will do you better than that thing you're carrying. I can't take credit for making it, but I figured better ammunition is pointless if the weapon is shit."

Anticipation lit the siren's face as she laid the bag out next to the crate. Kain watched over her shoulder as she flipped it open to reveal a pristine longbow. He couldn't easily place what wood it was made out of, but Rhode appeared impressed as she ran her fingers over first the wood itself, then the string coiled into a pouch in the bag.

"Is this--"

"The thread of a widowcrawler?" Aretha cut in. "It is. Had to buy that before we crossed the border. You don't find materials that good outside of Eol's markets."

As Rhode dissolved into mumbled praise for the bow, before proceeding to begin stringing it, Aretha pulled a bundle of arrows from the crate. \

"This is the real gift, here. Again, I can't take full credit. The arrowheads are mine, but the rest came from a fletcher. Should down nightmares and demons alike. Use them sparingly, though, the man wasn't willing to craft more than twenty."

They were lucky he'd been willing to work with venomore at all given the rumors about what it did to your health.

The next item to come out of the case was a sword for Callias, followed by another blade that Aretha paused, before handing over to Dalphie. The woman studied it with a frown, testing out the weight as Kain watched Aretha curiously. How had she known to forge something for her? It wasn't as if she was with them when they met before.

It wasn't until he caught the complicated, tight frown that Callias wore that he realized his mistake. It was for Melitta.

Natia was offered a small dagger, which she stared at for a long moment, before passing it off to Mara. When Kain questioned her on it, the girl shrugged and bared her teeth.

He hadn't thought her kind were venomous, but perhaps he'd been wrong.

Next came a leather-bound collection of vials that Aretha handed off to Isidor with a smile. He held them up to the light for a moment, before raising a brow and tucking them away.

Kain wasn't sure he wanted to know.

The final item in the box was the most surprising one.

"I'm not all that good with making these," Aretha warned them initially, before she heaved a box out. Melas grabbed the crate and dropped it on the floor, giving Aretha room to settle the newly revealed case atop her table. "Too many gears and complicated bits for my liking. Better job for an artificer and their like. I consulted a few contacts while we were waiting for you, though, and commissioned half the pieces. It's functional at least."

The top flipped open, revealing a gleaming, blue-tinged revolver. Hesitancy had Kain staying where he was as she pulled the gun out of the case and held it up for their viewing.

"Despite the color, there's very little poison in the thing itself. Most of that was saved for the ammunition," she explained, before grabbing a box from the case and giving it a shake. The bullets clinked together. "Should work well enough for whomever knows how to handle these things."

"I don't," Kain admitted. "Bullets are expensive and limited. Sailors don't tend to keep guns."

Mara mumbled agreement. When he looked at Rhode, she merely shook her head. It was, surprisingly, Callias who stepped forward. Kain could have sworn the man's hand was shaking as he took the gun from Aretha and held it up experimentally.

"You know how to shoot?" Kain asked.

Callias pursed his lips. "It's been a long time...but, I do." He hesitated. "The m--Ayo. He thought it was amusing to go hunting together."

And just like that, their gifts were handled. They might have lingered, but a loud snort from Oren had Kain eyeing him warily.

It was better to confirm it, he realized.

"Was he looking for me?"

"Not just you," Aretha said, shaking her head. "He's looking for any of yours, really. He's a royal knight, sworn to the imperial family. He came out towards the mountains hoping to find you or the missing members of Prince Del's party. His father was amongst them. It was just a coincidence he ended up staying with us after we encountered one another in town."

So it had been a bit egotistical of him to be wary.

"We should move before he wakes up," Isidor repeated.

He was right.

"Thank you, again," Kain told them. "These gifts--"

Aretha waved him off. "Get moving before they're pointless. No thanks needed. The better equipped you are, the more likely that kid comes back to us in one piece."

They didn't linger.

The moment they had their horses collected once again, they set out for the next series of mountains.

And beyond that, Reotak.