Alex in Haremland 2 Chapter 7

We all took our seats, and I smiled around the table at both my people and the mole-people gathered around. I was pleased to see the spark of hope and the hint of awe in the eyes of Aman’s people, but I knew their faith would be well placed in me.

Aman clapped his hands twice, and mole-servants emerged to remove the lids from the dishes. A variety of food was spread out before us, and I noticed several species of insects grilled and covered in some sort of sauce. There were also what looked like vegetables, and a wide range of mushrooms.

It didn’t look as appetizing as it smelled, and I noticed several of my companions wrinkle their noses at the sight, but I eagerly filled my plate with a little bit of everything.

No reason to look a gift bug in the mouth, after all.

Aman and the mole-people waited until my friends and I were served before they began to help themselves to the spread of food, but their expressions were much more excited than those of my companions as they heaped bugs and root vegetables onto their plates.

All the dishes were made from clay, and I marveled at the craftsmanship as I picked up a colorful looking beetle and plopped it into my mouth. The crunch was oddly satisfying, and the flavor was without comparison. I filed away the information being sent to my brain from my tongue for later analysis, but the closest approximation I could come to were egg rolls. Crisp on the outside, and full of stringy goodness on the inside.

By the time I moved on to the vegetables and fungi, my appetite was in full force, and I shoved a little bit of everything into my mouth in one massive bite. It was more delicious than I’d expected, and I moaned with pleasure before I washed the meal down with the clay chalice of water placed beside my plate.

Then I tried the mushrooms on their own, and my mouth watered as I was inundated with the taste of a bacon cheeseburger. It tasted like it was fresh from the drive-thru, and my moans turned into groans as I devoured slice after slice of the scrumptious fungi.

My companions watched me with rapt fascination while I enjoyed the meal before they began to dig into their own food, and a short while later, the room was filled with the noises of eating. The mole-people seemed satisfied with watching us explore the new flavors presented to us, but a few of them picked at bites absently while they stared.

Aman sent reprimanding looks at the ones staring the most blatantly, and they were smart enough to blush and look down beneath the leader’s stern gaze. Then he flashed me an apologetic smile as he spread his hands in a placating gesture.

“Forgive my people’s rudeness,” he said. “We’ve never observed surface dwellers so intimately before.”

“All is forgiven,” I chuckled as I waved a dismissive hand. “The food is delicious, and we are all very grateful for your hospitality.”

“It is really the least I could do after the trial you endured to prove yourself to me,” Aman replied. He tossed a mushroom into his maw and chomped away for a moment before he spoke again, but the smile in his eyes was obvious. “They say the mushrooms mimic whatever taste the mind craves most.”

“Reminds me of the kitchen in Havenwood,” I said as my eyebrows rose in surprise.

Was that the secret to the magic of the kitchen?

Mushrooms?

I ate another cheeseburger-flavored-fungi as I thought this over, and the taste was unmistakably close to my memory of an Earth cheeseburger, but the resemblance to the magical kitchen was uncanny. I cast a sideways glance at Una and Mae to see if they’d made the same connection, but the two women were distracted by their meals and hadn’t heard my exchange with Aman.

I’d have to pose the possibility to Miss Maggie and see what her thoughts were on the subject, but it wouldn’t hurt to take some of the mushrooms with us to experiment with.

The only flaw in the thought process was how the food from the Havenwood kitchen had looked like what it tasted like while the mushrooms on my plate were normal looking.

Well, as normal looking as a mushroom could be, I supposed.

They were mostly white, but the conical caps had the faintest sprinkling of red fibers that created a flesh-colored hue. They were firm and obviously fresh, if the scattering of dirt remaining on the stems were any indication.

The rest of the meal passed without incident or event, but after a while of eating in silence, I pushed my nearly empty plate away from me with a sigh.

“Thank you for the delicious meal, Aman,” I said with a respectful dip of my head.

“You are most welcome, Dreamer,” the leader of the mole-people replied as he mirrored my gesture. “I hope it is the first gathering of many of its kind. Our people should work together to achieve peace and harmony.”

“I have many questions about your people,” I said as my curiosity rose to the forefront of my thoughts. “What your life down here must be like… Do you ever miss the sun?”

“Oh, yes!” Una wiggled with excitement as I asked the question she’d previously posed to me, but I kept my eyes on the leader.

Mae seemed absorbed by her meal still, but she leaned one side of her head ever so slightly in our direction.

The mole-warriors listened closely to the exchange, but they didn’t even bother to hide their eavesdropping. I assumed that if they were present at the feast then they were people Aman trusted and probably held important roles within the mole-people society.

“I have never seen the surface, Dreamer,” Aman informed me in an almost wistful tone. “It is something my people fear and revere. The sunlight is the opposite of the darkness, but we are more comfortable with our enemies nearby than we are with them afar.”

“You mean nightmares,” I clarified.

“Indeed.” Aman nodded. “They plague us constantly, but we have learned to adapt. They smell fear, and my warriors and scouts are among the bravest in All-the-land.”

“Do you mind if I ask how many forces you have under your command?” I asked, and I held my breath as Aman narrowed his eyes for a moment.

“Not as many as there used to be,” the leader sighed, and he rubbed the back of his scoop-like claw against his temple. “Many of my warriors and scouts have disappeared when sent to the upper levels.”

“What could cause such a loss?” I asked as my brow furrowed with concern.

“Most likely the minions of the Dark King,” Aman explained in a bitter tone. “His nightmares roam further and further south with each passing moon, and many have been in our territory for a season. We avoid them as much as we can, but the ash remains of my people have been found more times than I care to remember. Plus, there have been… attacks near the surface that end with my people missing, and I blame the Dark King.”

The mole-warriors in wooden armor on the left side of the table grunted in agreement with their leader’s words, and sad expressions flashed across their faces. The losses were felt by all, but the people of New Haven understood that feeling all to well themselves. It was easy to sympathize with their plight, but I wasn’t sure exactly what to do about it, so I fell silent and drifted into thought.

“How do you tell what day it is without the sun?” Una asked with a curious tilt of her head. “I don’t even know how long we’ve been below ground. How many days have passed since we arrived?”

Aman carefully placed the half-eaten worm back on his plate, and he cleared his throat as he thought over Una’s question as if searching for the right words, but then his face brightened as he smiled.

“You have been in our territory for one and a half days,” Aman informed my cat-girl lover. “And you are welcome to stay as long as you wish.”

“We should return to New Haven after we get a good night’s rest,” I said with a shake of my head. “I wouldn’t want to wear out your generous hospitality by staying beyond our welcome.”

“The welcome will never expire for the Dreamer,” Aman argued. “But, please, tell me about this New Haven place above the surface.”

“Well, it’s not exactly above the surface,” I said in a vague tone, and the leader of the mole-people’s eyes lit up with curiosity. “New Haven is located inside a hollow mountain peak. We have to go beneath the rock to access the town.”

“That sounds amazing,” a nearby mole-warrior breathed with plate-sized eyes. “You would be safe from the sun.”

“Not exactly.” I shook my head again. “The top of the mountain peak has a hole that allows sunlight to stream into the forest inside. You are more than welcome to see it for yourself, though. Just as you made us welcome, I would share the same hospitality with you in return.”

“My people have a need for many things,” Aman chuckled. “But anything above the surface is not among them. We dwell beneath the ground, Dreamer, your mountain village is no place for us.”

“You would deny your warriors and scouts the chance to see it for themselves?” I raised my eyebrows in surprise. “I’d think you’d want them to see as much of the world above as possible so you aren’t disconnected from the world around you.”

“We wish to remain disconnected, Dreamer,” Aman explained in a patient tone. “There is a good reason your people did not know of our existence. We are a private people, and content to remain where we belong. In the dirt.”

“Fair enough.” I shrugged. “I’m not here to tell you how to lead. I only wanted to return your generosity in kind. Is there anything I can do for you to show my appreciation?”

“Being able to relieve some of the burden of leadership onto the shoulders of one who understands has already helped me more than words can say,” Aman said, and a wry smirk twisted the corners of his lips. “But there are many more issues we must face on our own.”

“Like what?” I grinned. “I’m sure there’s nothing you’re facing that wouldn’t be easier with some help. Go ahead, lay it on me, and I’ll see if I can do anything to fix it.”

“Well…” Aman eyed me from his peripheral vision as he tried to decide whether or not to share more information with me, but in the end, talking won out over secrecy. “As you know, the cave-ins occurring on the upper levels are becoming a more frequent issue. While the rumors blame it on increased activity on the surface, me and my most trusted advisors know the true source of our pain.”

“And what is that?” I pressed, and I leaned forward to cradle my chin in my hands.

Aman lowered his voice as he leaned closer to me. “There’s a giant in All-the-land.”

“Oh, I know,” I laughed.

That was his big secret?

“The beast is stomping about and causing our tunnels to implode,” Aman lamented with a pained expression. “No matter how many troops I could rally, there still wouldn’t be enough to put a dent in the giant’s strength. I’d be sending my people to their deaths.”

“That’s terrible.” I frowned.

The giant had been a small obstacle for me while Una and I had been gathering the ingredients for the “heal other” potion we were attempting to make once the Potion Maker was sane again, but I could only imagine how intimidating the massive man would be to the smaller mole-people.

Brave as they were, it would seem like a suicide mission, and I couldn’t blame Aman for keeping the secret from the majority of his people. They would rush headlong into their deaths without a second thought, but he knew better than to waste their lives.

An idea struck me, and I inhaled sharply as I considered all my options. I wanted to offer my assistance to the mole-people, but I didn’t want it to be a one way exchange, so I thought over things I could request in return for my help. The only thing I really wanted from them was an alliance so I could swell the ranks of my army with volunteers, but even though we seemed to be on good terms, I still didn’t entirely trust Aman to ally himself with me. It was entirely plausible that he was merely biding his time until we left, and then he would continue to live out their below ground lives as if we’d never met.

“What are your plans for dealing with the giant?” I asked, and I made sure to keep my voice as neutral as possible so as not to give away the direction of my thoughts too soon.

Aman frowned as he thought this over. “I don’t have anything detailed. Why?”

“Well, I am the Dreamer,” I said with a sheepish smile. “I could probably do something to help you out, but it would cost you.”

“How would a man cease the giant’s stomping feet?” Aman chuckled. “As I said, my army wouldn’t be able to face one so great as he.”

“I’m more than just one man, and you know it,” I pointed out. “I am the Dreamer, and it would be a simple matter for me to drink some kind of potion to get an advantage over the giant, but like I said, it would cost you.”

“I am listening.” Aman steepled his claws and leaned against them.

“First, you have to agree to form an alliance with me,” I said, and I flashed the leader of the mole-people a broad grin. “To battle together when needed, and to come to the other’s aide when called upon.”

“Such a thing is unprecedented,” Aman argued. “Even with the Dreamer being real, and present, it would be difficult to convince my people to agree to such a thing.”

“Who leads the mole-people?” I countered. “I thought it was you, Aman.”

“It is,” the leader huffed.

“Oh, well, then it shouldn’t matter what the other mole-people say.” I shrugged. “If they are loyal and obedient, then they will obey without question.”

“My people’s loyalty is not in question,” Aman said in a low voice.

I glanced around the table, and I noticed everyone had ceased their eating to listen with rapt fascination to the conversation between me and Aman. I chuckled as I watched the exchange of glances between the leader and the mole-people, but no one brokered another argument against the alliance.

“I will ask one more time,” I said in a calm tone. “Will you ally your people with mine, and work with me to defeat the plague of darkness destroying All-the-land?”

Aman considered me for a long moment, and he ignored the urgent whispers of his generals and lieutenants, but he never dropped his gaze from my face. The silence stretched on for several moments, and the only sounds were the clinking of silverware against the ceramic dishes, but then the leader inclined his head ever so slightly.

“Very well, Alex the Dreamer, leader of the rebels of All-the-land,” Aman intoned in a formal voice, and his people’s eyes widened as they realized what their leader was about to say. “We will forge an alliance, the first of its kind, and the Dark King will turn a cowardly tail when faced with our combined might.”

“That’s what I’m fucking talking about!” I whooped with joy, wiped the food from my hand, and struck out my palm toward Aman. “Come on, shake on it?”

“Shake on it?” Aman eyed my hand in confusion, but then one of the mole-warriors cleared his throat, and I met the eyes of Tu.

I couldn’t believe I hadn’t noticed him sitting there before, but the gray-haired mole-warrior had sat quietly the entire time.

“Take his hand in yours and squeeze it,” the warrior-mole instructed his leader in a cautious manner. “It is a sign of greeting and good faith on the surface.”

“Nay,” Mae interjected with a shake of her head. “The gesture is something the Dreamer brought with him from the strange place called Earth where he comes from.”

“Fascinating,” Aman breathed as he accepted my hand.

We shook for longer than was necessary, but I smiled patiently while Aman accustomed himself to the up and down movement. The leader’s blue-green glassy eyes lit up as he figured it out, and he shook my hand enthusiastically as a bright smile stretched across his face.

“I enjoy this gesture of greeting and good faith from the Place-Called-Earth,” the leader of the mole-people informed me.

“You’re a fast learner,” I complimented. “I’m glad we reached an agreement between us. I’d hate to have you on the opposite side.”

“I would never stand against the Dreamer’s great work,” Aman argued. “Your cause is a righteous one, and I will aid it in any way I can, even if I have to alter the very fabric of our society to do so.”

“Awesome.” I grinned. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’m completely exhausted. I could use a few hours of sleep somewhere flat and cool. I will look into this giant problem as soon as I return home.”

“Thank you, Dreamer, you shall have everything you require and more,” Aman assured me, and he clapped his hands to summon the mole-servants again.

“No dessert?” Una asked as we rose from the table, but judging from the look of confusion on Aman’s face, the mole-people weren’t a fan of sweets.

“I don’t think they do that here, babe,” I murmured with a smile. “We’ll get something sweet when we get back home.”

“Oh, I am so anxious to return to New Haven,” Una agreed with an enthusiastic nod.

Aman waved us off as we followed the mole-servants to our chambers, and I had to hide my disappointment when they took Mae and Una to their own rooms before leading me to mine. Inside the dirt walled space was a low bed covered in gray blankets. It resembled a jail cell more than a bedroom, but I was too tired to complain.

The mole-servant bowed before he left me alone in the space, but I wasted no time in getting horizontal. I sighed as I stretched out on the firm bed, and I was asleep by the time my head rested upon the pillow. I slept peacefully for a while, but I awoke with a start to find myself in complete darkness.

It was hard to tell how long I’d slept, but I felt more rested than I had since we’d entered the mole-people’s territory, so I assumed I’d gotten enough sleep. I rubbed the fabric of the blanket between my fingers as I decided whether or not I was ready to get out of bed yet, and I wondered briefly how the fabrics were made.

The mole-people didn’t go to the surface often enough to harvest plant fibers, and I didn’t think they had any sheep or a similar type of livestock hidden away in the tunnels. I made a mental note to ask one of the mole-people about it before we returned to New Haven, and then I pushed myself out of the bed.

I missed Una and Mae, so I went out in search of my lady friends. The torchlight in the tunnel outside my room was a welcome sight, and I grabbed one of the torches as I retraced our steps from the night before. Una and Mae had rooms close to mine, and I reached the cat-girl’s space first.

I knocked softly on the door, and I worried she was still asleep for a moment, but Una’s voice beckoned me inside almost instantly. The cat-girl lounged on the bed, but she’d taken a torch herself, and the flames easily illuminated the small space.

“Oh, hi, Alex.” Una grinned up at me before she patted the bed beside her. “Want to cuddle for a little while before we have to move around and do stuff?”

“Absolutely.” I returned her smile, and I propped my torch up in the hallway before I let the door fall closed behind me. Then I climbed onto the small bed next to my cat-girl lover, and I wrapped my arms around her petite frame with a contented sigh. “Fuck, I missed having you in my arms last night.”

“Isn’t it still night?” Una tilted her head to the side. “It is hard to tell day from night without the sun.”

“You’re right about that,” I agreed. “I just assume it was night time because of how tired I was, but it’s been a long adventure. I’ve lost track of how long we’ve been gone from New Haven, and I’m sure Miss Maggie and Doctor Kria are out of their minds with worry over us.”

“They know you wouldn’t let anything happen to us,” Una assured me in a confident tone. “You’re the Dreamer, Alex. We trust you to lead us in the right direction.”

“I know.” I squeezed her tightly against me, and I drew more comfort from her presence than from her words.

A knock sounded on the door, and we exchanged a questioning glance.

“Are you expecting anyone else?” I asked with an amused smile.

“I wasn’t even expecting you,” Una replied with a shake of her head, but then she raised her voice so the person on the other side of the portal could hear. “Come on in!”

The door opened to reveal the same mole-servant who’d lead us to our rooms the night before, and he bowed so low his snout nearly brushed against the floor.

“Dreamer, mistress, your presence is requested in the Great Cavern.” The mole-man then turned to leave.

“Wait,” I said, and I jumped up from the low bed to cross the distance to the door. “I have a question for you first.”

“Oh?” The mole-servant’s lip quivered, and his glassy eyes filled with fear. “How may I be of assistance, Dreamer?”

“It’s not a big deal,” I laughed and raked a hand through my hair. “I was just curious about how the fabric around here is made. Do you mole-people have sheep or something else you use to weave?”

“The fabrics are woven from many webs,” the mole-servant explained in a surprised tone. “Do you not do the same on the surface?”

“We use plant fibers or animal hair to make blankets and textiles,” I said. “When you say web, do you mean spider web?”

“Yes, Dreamer.” The mole-servant bowed again. “We harvest them from the upper levels.”

“That sounds dangerous,” Una observed.

“It can be deadly if one goes while the spiders are still asleep,” the mole-servant confirmed. “Our gatherers are brave, though, and they have mastered the art of web removal.”

“It sounds like a fine skill to have down here,” I said, and then I inclined my head toward the corridor beyond Una’s room. “Alright, you can lead the way back to the throne room now.”

“Very well, Dreamer.” The mole-servant seemed pleased with this, and he turned to leave without another word, so Una and I had to scramble to catch up to him.

Mae and the others were already inside the Great Cavern when Una and I arrived, and I quickly hugged my companions before I moved to greet Aman. The leader of the mole-people stood at the foot of the dais, and he wore an easy smile on his face as he clasped his hands behind his back.

“It is sad to see you go, my new friend,” Aman greeted, and he stuck out his hand for me to shake.

“It shall not be the last you see of me,” I assured him as I returned his shake with a warm grasp. “It was a pleasure to meet you and to learn more about your people.”

“It is a relief to know the Dreamer has finally awakened,” Aman laughed, and he clapped me on the shoulder before he led me toward a pile of packages stacked against the wall. “I’ve taken the liberty of gathering some supplies to send with you as a gesture of our good will. Your people used up the reserves of their food supplies while trapped on the upper level, and I do not wish for you to reach home on an empty stomach.”

“That’s very kind of you.” My eyebrows rose up in surprise. “Any chance you threw some of those mushrooms in there?”

“Everything you enjoyed at last night’s feast is included in the fare,” Aman confirmed, but there was a pleased twinkle in his eyes. “I’m happy to hear you enjoyed them so much.”

“I think there is something special about them,” I confessed. “But my chef will love to have something new to experiment with.”

I thought about how Miss Maggie might actually react, and I suppressed the chuckle that rose unbidden up my throat. The pig-lady would likely throw a fit over receiving bugs and fungi as a present from the mole-people, but I saw the gift as the act of generosity it was.

“Travel safely, my friend,” Aman requested. “The worms will take you to the Edge of the World near your home, but it will be up to you to travel the remainder of the way to the giant’s lair.”

“I will send word when the giant is taken care of. One of these days you’ll have to come visit me on the surface,” I said, and I flashed the leader of the mole-people one last smile before I rejoined my companions.

The warriors who’d first surrounded Una, Mae, and me trotted into the Great Cavern, but they greeted us with smiles instead of spears, and for that I was grateful. Tu called them to a halt a few paces away from me, and the gray-haired mole-warrior thumped his fist against his chest.

“It would be our honor to chaperone your journey to the surface,” Tu declared. “If you will allow us to accompany you.”

“I’d like that.” I grinned at the older mole-man. “As long as it means we get to ride the worms.”

“There is no faster way to the surface,” Tu agreed with a smirk.

“What about the friesians?” I asked as I realized the horse-like creatures were still absent.

“They are being brought to the Great Cavern as we speak,” a mole-servant spoke up from behind me.

I nodded my thanks and settled in to wait for them, but we didn’t have to wait for very long. The friesians nickered when they saw me, and they rushed across the Great Cavern to nuzzle me with their noses. I took it to mean they were happy to see me, but I still wished I had a way to talk to them. How I was going to get a bunch of horse-like creatures onto a giant earthworm’s back was beyond me, but that would be a problem for the mole-people to help me with when we arrived at the mounts.

It only took us a short while to reach a stable courtyard similar to the one closer to the upper levels, and I scrutinized the earthworms as they were brought out, but I couldn’t tell if they were the same one’s we’d ridden before or not. A worm looked like a worm to me.

“How do you tell them apart?” I asked Tu as we approached the massive creatures.

“It is not obvious?” Tu chuckled when I shook my head, and he pointed to a mark painted on the belly of the beast closest to us. “It’s not obvious to us either, which is why we label them. This is number twenty-seven.”

“You have twenty-seven worm mounts?” I had a flash of my army riding into battle against the Clover Queen on the backs of the massive worms.

“There are over a hundred mounts within our territory,” Tu explained with a proud puff of his chest. “I trained three of them personally before I transferred to the warrior’s guild.”

“One more question.” I gave the gray-haired warrior a cheeky grin. “How are we going to get the friesians onto the platforms?”

“This is a question my men asked me before we were sent on this mission,” Tu informed me with a knowing nod. “We have designed a rope harness to use to pull them up onto the platforms.”

“At least you’ve thought of a solution,” I chuckled. “This I have to see.”

One of the friesians nickered from behind me, and I turned to see the horse-like creature staring at the worm with terror in its multiple eyes. I quickly crossed the distance to the beast, and I stroked its neck as I murmured comforting noises into its ear. The young friesian calmed after a moment, and it leaned its head against my chest as though trying to say thank you.

The stories we’d all have to share once we returned home would likely sound unbelievable to our friends’ ears, but those of us who’d been through it together would know the truth of the tale. I imagined the citizens of New Haven would have it wrapped up into a song before the week was over, and the thought brought a smile to my lips.

The mole-warriors and other mole-people went about the arduous task of raising the friesians onto the worms’ platforms, and it took a while to get everyone divided up between the mounts. Then we were off, and the worms zoomed through the tunnels at breakneck speeds.

I settled into a cross-legged position on the floor of the platform with the rail pressed against my back, and I stared absently at the blur of the tunnel walls as we passed by. The torches flashed through my vision like the blinking lights of an ambulance, but I closed my eyes to the stimulus and focused on my breathing.

It was going to be a long ride.

The trip passed by uneventfully, and I was certain I dozed off a time or two during the journey to the surface because I was brought out of a sexy dream starring Una when the worm’s head broke through the top layer of dirt.

I blinked my eyes in the blinding light of day, and I looked around at the foothills of the Sunrise Mountains in surprise. It had seemed like only a couple of hours had passed since we’d left the Great Cavern, and already we were a short hike from our home.

The worms buried their heads just below ground level, but they left their bodies above the surface until we all climbed down the rope ladders. Then the mole-warriors reversed the system of getting the friesians onto the worms’ back, and a short while later, all my companions were on solid ground beside me.

“It was an honor to meet you,” I called up to Tu as I waved my arm over my head.

“It was the greatest honor of my life to meet the eyes of the Dreamer with my own,” Tu responded in a reverent tone. “Keep your spear close, fellow warrior, and pray for the end of the long dark night.”

“We shall fight the night together some day,” I promised.

Tu thumped his fist against his chest, and then he signaled for the mole-people to return to the dirt. The worms rushed back down the holes they’d created on the surface, and the mole-people were out of sight an instant later.

“Did that really just happen?” Shelli asked in a disbelieving tone. “No one is going to believe us.”

“We have enough witnesses.” I shrugged, and then I flashed the bear-woman a wink. “Besides, it’s better if we can elaborate the details a little, anyway.”

It took us a couple of hours to escort the still limping friesians back to the mountain valley, but the sounds of joyous nickering emanating from the herd was like music to my ears. The young, recently rescued friesians stampeded into the valley, and they ignored their injuries in light of the reunion with their herd.

It was a heartwarming sight, and I filed it away in my memory.

This is what being the Dreamer was all about. Bringing hope back to the people of All-the-land.

“I’ll be back with Ziti to translate any of your questions!” I said even though I knew the horse-like creatures probably didn’t understand my words, but I couldn’t just leave without saying something.

“You’re a good man,” Mae complimented as we made the final trek to New Haven. “We are lucky to have you, Alex.”

“I’m lucky to have you by my side, Mae,” I countered, and I flashed the Dodo-woman a broad smile. “I can’t imagine it any other way now.”

“Let it remain in such a fashion,” the Dodo-woman replied, but I could see the blush darkening her cheeks.

The sound of cheering was audible before the entrance to New Haven became visible, and by the time we arrived at the opening to the hollow peak, the entire population of the mountain village had come out to greet us. The scouts were doing a good job of alerting the residents to anyone in the area, and my chest filled with pride to see all the happy faces waiting for our return.

It was good to be home.

“Come see me when you’re done saying hello to everyone,” Mae suddenly whispered in my ear, and then the Dodo-woman did the last thing I expected her to do.

Mae wrapped her arms around my neck and planted her lips on mine with a decisive kiss.

“I have waited long enough to share my nest with you,” the Dodo-woman said in answer to the question in my eyes.