Chapter 7.11 - Chimaeras in the Mist

There were four families that survived the night of ash in Ston. Only four mothers with child that were given immediate access to Haven. Of these families, three requested emmigration, while the other did not. They thanked Haven for its offer, but did not want to relinquish their previous citizenship.

For this reason, Haven became home to its first permanent resident without citizenship, a human named Agatha. Agatha and the changeling child she had with her were a welcomed member of their community. Since Agatha was a guest of the nation and not a member, Haven's merit system did not apply, and Agatha was given access to a rather spacious four bedroom apartment in the middle of downtown, overlooking the grand cathedral. She was also given a small stipend, since her job of being a trash collector and manning the street sweeping autocart was something automated by Jorvik's homunculi in Haven.

Today was Agatha's day to run errands. The first thing that she did was take Hayden, the changeling child, with her to the market. Grabbing up the groceries she would need for the week, Agatha would meet with a few of the townsfolk she had become friends with. Agatha was well known for her Frost Kingdom home cooking so she made an effort to join a weekly dinner party, where each person took a turn hosting for the rest of the group. News, gossip, the latest trends, and various domestic struggles were shared between those who participated. Tonight was Agatha's turn to host, which would mean she had a full day ahead of her.

"Good morning Brie!" Agatha smiled at the butcher. Brie was a stout Lybringer who nodded "Good morning Agatha, the usual today?" Agatha shook her head. "Yes, but I will need a chuck roast as well. I am hosting a few friends tonight. Also if you have any small samplings of something new for Hayden I would be appreciative, if it's not too much trouble." Brie smiled, "Of course. That little rascal of yours deserves the best. Has he had Pekin yet?" Agatha shook her head. Brie handed the baby Hayden a small piece of meat, which he gladly took and ate. "He must be teething because he won't stop biting. I have had to stop by the clinic a few times, but thankfully it was minor injuries."

Brie smiled, "Children of any race are a handful in their own way. I commend you for doing such a good job with little Hayden."

Agatha smiled. Brie totaled Agatha's purchase and bagged it, which Agatha took straight home and started the pot roast to simmer to cook. It would need to cook all day with vegetables. 'Low and Slow' was the secret to a good pot roast.

Agatha then took Hayden out while the stew cooked. It would be several hours until she had to return home to prepare for guests. Today she visited one of Ephraim's shops, this one specializing in plateware and body armor. They both required the same specialized tools, so it made sense to combine the shops until a second set of the tools was fabricated. Agatha had saved up and wanted to purchase a new set of flatware. She came into the workshop and watched as she waited for an available merchant. She drew more than one wandering eye. Agatha was fairly attractive and presented herself well, and with a child in hand was family oriented. More than one of the Demis merchants was probably considering inviting her to the Spring Rut date. Agatha smiled and pretended not to notice. But girls always notice.

Finally when it was her turn, she explained her serving size of 8, the purpose, and her available budget. Demis were not the bartering kind and believed in honest pricing in honest work, so she was shown to a few options within her price range.

"8 is quite the set for you. A large family?" the merchant made small talk. Agatha shook her head. "I am part of a couples' dinner party. It includes 3 other couples and myself. I wanted to have a matching set to serve with." the merchant looked confused, "Three couples and yourself is 7, why buy 8?" Agatha laughed and said "well hopefully I will have a partner eventually. I would hate for them to have a mismatched set, and I am not the type of person to buy a whole other set just because of 1 new member."

The merchant blushed. Single and looking made her a catch for the Demis. And not carrying a weapon or armor around town it was assumed she was of low level, since all members of the protectorate were required to carry weapons.

Agatha smiled, made her purchase, and headed to the next shop. Just as the tools for armor and plateware were the same, the same tools were used in the creation of melee weapons and silverware.

***

"And then that was when he woke up in the morning and found out the 'super hot skygge' was just a changeling!"

The table laughed. Agatha was listening to the group. Agatha was relatively quiet at these events. Most of her guests were of various races and backgrounds, but she was just a human and did not own any weapons, or spell slinger implements, or crafting tools. Agatha led a simple life.

Right now it was a Lybrinnger named Djon and his wife Fran. He was talking about when he was a bit younger before he was married. It was not the first time Agatha had heard the 'morning after changeling' story. It seemed to be a common occurrence in Haven. Agatha, having a changeling child with her, seemed to be ok with the story. Djon's wife Fran just playfully hit him. "Like you didn't have that happen to you! I would be shocked if there weren't little changeling Djons running round at the Academy."

"Probably, but what happens during the Harvest Festival stays during the harvest festival." Fran gave him a sidelong glance and Djon backtracked, "among single people. I am married now." Fran smiled.

The other couples laughed. They knew Djon as a respected and strong Lybringer member of the Protectorate, and assigned as a guard when Haven's representatives gathered for their weekly meeting. A job he liked to brag about to his friends.

Agatha enjoyed the healthy banter. She smiled at her guests as they commented on the deliciousness of her stew.

***

The guests had departed, the dishes were done, and Hayden was asleep. From underneath her bed, Agatha pulled out a bowl, a knife, a paper, and a very special pen. Agatha took the knife and cut her finger, draining the blood into the bowl. She then wrapped it up and would take care of it in the morning.

Agatha then dipped her pen into the bowl, and used the blood on the end to begin to write on the paper. The writing glowed and burned into the page. She wrote and wrote, feeling weak from the effort. When she concluded the report, agatha relaxed and the page burned into flames.

Elsewhere on the continent of Terra, the pen's sister wrote and wrote on a page, the pen guiding itself without a hand of its own, copying the message the Agatha wrote.

In this room there were twelve desks with such pens, but only eleven pens were moving. The twelfth desk had the final report written on it.

[We have been discovered in Ston. Ending communications.

Suffer Not the Alien]