This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/Derpin0ides on 2024-12-24 22:46:47+00:00.

Merry Christmas everyone!

We (me and u/Sticketoo_DaMan) are proud to announce another editor to bully me over my gramatical errors. Thank you Aured, for giving wonderful suggestions.

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Virria watched as her friends swarmed around her, making sure she was fine and taken care of. It took them only a couple of minutes to thrust a cup of fresh tea in her hands and a nice pillow behind her back. They talked over one another, joked, and generally milled about.

As the group calmed down, questions started to emerge to the surface.

“So, Virria?” Nhaerria spoke up. “What exactly happened with the Law? We know that you accepted a temporary contract, but nothing else.”

The air in the room buzzed with tension as every ear turned to Virria. She was surprised at the blunt question, but took a moment to reorganise her thoughts.

“I don’t know how much I can tell you guys… the Law didn’t really specify what I can or can’t say.” She thought out loud. “Also, I think the Guild Master will want to hear from me as well, so we should probably wait for her.”

“Oh come ooon!” Maeli whined. “Can’t you tell us anything? Do you know how many guesses we came up with?!”

It seemed that that was a secret, since everyone else in the room reached out to slap their party mage.

“Maeli!” Barteool yelled in mock offence as he reached for Maeli’s shoulder. “We had a verbal agreement that we would not pressure her!”

“Sorry, sorry. I just couldn’t help myself.” Maeli raised all four of his arms in the air. “It’s so rare to talk to someone who was in contact with a Law.”

“Well it won’t be so rare any more, will it?” Virria smiled at him mischievously. “Since Aragami was not only in contact with one, but is actively contracted to one.”

The revelation made everyone freeze on the spot. Maeli stared at her, his jaw agape, Nhaerria pressed her hands to her mouth and Moti had a spit-take of his tea.

Virria, confused by her friends’ reaction, asked the only thing that came to her mind. “What? Didn’t Barteool tell you?”

Every eye in the room turned to their group leader, who was obviously very uncomfortable being put on the spot like that.

“Well… ummm… Wait a second. I can explain…” He stammered as he did his best to catch Nhaerria’s arms raining down on his shoulders.

In the heat of the moment, no-one noticed the soft click of a lock, or the main doors to their holding cell opening on its well-oiled hinges. That is why they were all surprised when they heard the voice of their Guild Master from behind them.

“He did not tell any of you because I asked him not to tell you.” The group slightly jumped at the intrusion and, as one, turned to the door, where they saw Guild Master Zaanta, Battering Ram Ghanna, and Barrier Mage Tiina standing with smug looks on their faces.

“Guild Master!” yelled Nhaerria, being the first one to greet their unexpected guests. “We did not expect you! Would you like some tea? We have a delicious berry mix ready to be served.”

“That sounds wonderful, thank you.” Zaanta nodded to the sandy Raakteig.

“I’ll have some too, if I may?” Tiina raised her hand.

“Certainly! Please sit down. I’ll bring it right away.” Nhaerria nodded and turned to Ghanna. “And what can I bring to you, miss Ghanna?”

“No need to worry about me. I had some water before coming here.” Ghanna nodded and followed her boss to the sofa.

“Very well.” Nhaerria nodded and ran off to fetch a couple of teacups.

“Forgive our intrusion. We were informed that there was a commotion in here and we figured we’d stop by before heading out.” Zaanta said as she sat down in a corner.

“It’s your house, not ours.” Daente joked and sipped his tea. “We are lucky you are not making us pay for using the rooms.

“You know what? That’s a good idea.” Tiina muttered aloud, as she received a steaming cup from Nhaerria. “We should have them pay us rent. After all, all this wear on the furniture and floors, as well as you using up air…” She stopped when she saw the horrified expression on Daente’s face.

She basked in the horrified expressions that appeared on everyone’s faces before she couldn’t hold her laughter down anymore. “I’m just messing with you! We wouldn’t do that!” She laughed and sipped the tea. “This room is for information gathering, not for rent.”

“Please don’t scare us like that!” Nhaerria acted offended. “Next time you do that I won’t be offering any tea!”

“Oh my! We can’t have that!” Tiina yelled and grasped the cup with both hands. “I won’t let you take this away from me!”

“Why would she want that?! You already drank from it.” Ghanna murmured just loud enough for everyone to hear, receiving a couple of snickers from across the room.

That seemed to break the remaining tension in the room as everyone relaxed.

Virria looked over at her comrades, finally relaxing in their chairs. 'Good old banter. Never fails to make us relax.’ She sipped some of her tea and let the warm feeling spread through her body.

“This tea is delicious, Nhaerria! You have to tell me how to make it!”

“That is my family recipe, miss Zaanta. I am willing to sell you some actual tea, but not the information about the mixture.”

“As stubborn as ever. I guess I’ll have to take you up on that offer then.” The Guild Master took another sip before setting the teacup onto the desk in front of her.

“Now, to the main reason for our visit.” She said in a serious tone, her eyes locking onto Virria. “I believe there is no need to tell you why I came here personally, correct?”

“Yes, Guild Master.” Virria nodded and took another sip. “Although, I would appreciate any pointers to the main information you would like to know.”

“Anything you could tell us about the Law, as well as the deal you accepted.” Zaanta said bluntly.

“I see. I am afraid I will not be able to tell you a lot about the Law. I did not see any figure when it interacted with me, I couldn’t sense any element it might have possessed, and I am not sure if I am allowed to share the name it told me to address it with.”

Her words drew the attention of everyone in the room. Maeli and Tiina pulled out notepads and writing utensils to record her words, while the rest of the group just listened intently.

“When I touched the crystal, I could hear its voice and feel its presence emanating from Aragami, but it was faint, as if just a small portion of its consciousness was focused onto me.”

“How did the voice sound?” Tiina asked and Virria realised she was staring a hole into the opposite wall.

“I would say it sounded really… old. Almost ancient. A deep, melodic voice with a ring of residual power.”

“So, a male voice then.” Maeli muttered and she nodded.

“Yes, that’s probably how I would describe it.”

“How did you feel in its presence? Did you feel anything when it used its Mana?” Tiina questioned.

“I felt overwhelmed. Like it could crush me at any second if it wanted to, but…it pulled itself back to just barely reach me.”

“Probably an Elder Law then.” Tiina concluded.

“Possibly an Ancient?” Maeli countered.

“Will you two shut the fuck up?!” Zaanta snapped. “You are free to take notes and compare them afterwards, but stop interrupting!”

“We are very sorry.” Tiina immediately bowed her head without stopping her note writing. Maeli smacked one hand across his mouth and hid on the other side of the sofa.

After glaring for a second, Zaanta turned back to Virria with a slight smile. “Please continue. Anything you can remember is fine.”

Virria nodded and tried to determine where she left off. All the while, their words tugged on her mind. ‘An Elder Law? Weren’t those just myths? And if not, what could be classified as Ancient?’

“Alright. So, when I touched the crystal, The Law started talking to me in a casual tone, dismissing my attempts at formality as a hassle. Instead, it proposed a deal.” Virria paused to collect her thoughts.

“It wanted to talk with You.” She looked Zaanta in the eyes and felt like she saw a hint of surprise. She could understand it. The thought of a Law, of all things, focused directly on her was disturbing.“But, since it didn’t know our languages very well, it requested my knowledge of customs and language you would find… comfortable.”

“Holy fucking shit.” Ghanna whispered.

“Yeah.” Virria smiled. “Not how you expected a Law to think, is it?”

“Highly irregular,” the Guild Master nodded, sipping her tea. “Is there anything else you are willing to tell us?”

“Nothing in particular…” Virria thought out loud. “The Law read my surface thoughts and used my knowledge of the common language. It didn’t teach me any new languages or talk to me about Aragami…”

“Would you say it didn’t fulfill its part of the deal you’ve made?” Zaanta asked, leaning forward.

“Hardly.” Virria laughed and sipped her tea. “You have no idea what… No… The Law did for me. The knowledge I gained…” Virria stared off into the distance. “The knowledge I gained was… out of this world.”

The room went quiet as she said that. Maeli and Tiina both stiffened and looked up from their notes for what seemed like the first time. Nhaerria sat straighter, and The Guild Master furrowed her brows.

“Do you mean that literally, or just figuratively?” She asked, breaking the quiet of the room.

“I…” Vi…

Content cut off. Read original on https://old.reddit.com/r/HFY/comments/1hloczm/sooo_im_a_familiar_now_34_the_reunion/