#bergen_county

Vali's phone rings.

The phone picks up "Gardener's Mortuary ,you stab em we slab em, how can I help you?"

Is it Vali's voice? Or that damn p- That fine Thane's?

Vali's

"It's Symon. Listen, can you do me a solid? I need to know the destination for the first piece of the map. Or the clue, or the riddle, or whatever it is, for Dagmar's and my quest. Please." Symon sounds tired. and was that actually a please?

Sobered ""Well, yeah... but you're not going without Dagmar are you? SHe's not said it but I think she's getting a bit stir crazy."

"Oh, no. Just... I just had a hell of a time, and if I go home now, I don't think I could leave my basement for a month. I'm also in the doghouse... I'm sure you'll get the story. Let's just say, I better show up at the Barn with a quest guide in hand to help keep my foot out of my mouth."

"I have to make a pit stop at Earthrunes, but after that...."

"Tell you what... go to my House first when you get to Bergen, I'll put it behind the flower pot on the porch. the first clue. Okay? Better to have it to hand over. And, well, she's a Gwydion, but you tell her anything you think you can get away with and I'll back it. I don't know much, but you're one of the few who doesn't act like French class is a the plague, and you and she ARE helping me so if it helps. More to you"

"I don't lie to Dagmar." He says. And by gosh, it actually sounds like he means it. "Thanks, Vali. Uh, Merci." (click)

ANd vali gets the first paper and puts it in the flower pot

*********

By the time Symon gets back on the trio’s paths from EarthRunes, picks up the quest paperwork and manages to get a KH cab to the barn, he’s exhausted. But he’s not stopping until he gets this done. please be home, he thinks, as he knocks at the Ironhawk/ King family abode.

"I GOT IT"

Yup, Dag's home. Tromp tromp tromp tromp.

She opens the door. "Hey, Sy." Grin.

Symon was lurking, hood up, but he slumps as though a weight is gone at her reaction. “Thank Azathoth and friends. I thought you’d be pissed at me.” He pauses and looks up at her, squinting through his shiner. “You aren’t, are you? You can be if you want. You’re allowed. It’s just been a really long couple of days.”

"Pissed? Why? Come on in, I think we got Mountain Dew..."

"I know we got Dr. Pepper..."

A beat. "Who the fuck gave you that shiner?"

She sounds ready to roll up her sleeves.

“Oh. I thought you’d got... never mind. I guess it was too vague. I tried to get a message to you.” Stepping inside. “I got railroaded onto a quest.” He gives her a guilty look. “we were supposed to Quest together and I went alone. I didn’t INTEND to, but by the time I figured it out, I was sworn to secrecy and...”

Odin bats some paper down the steps. Pat pat pat

"A quest?"

"..was it that Siv thing? With the sluagh?'

“Yeah, quest accomplished. It was worth a few knocks for. The sluagh.. and everyone else is free, Siv’s a big hero again, and I got to see a Balor get stabbed through the eye and then fall off a cliff. Pretty much everyone won.”

Glancing at the cat. “I hope that’s not important. If it was Lovecraft, she’s wait until you noticed, then drop it down the air vent.”

“I can still GET to that stuff, but it’s a pain.”

Pat pat...

"Whatcha got?" She crouches to pick it up.

"Well, I'm glad it's accomplished. Wish I coulda helped."

"Balor douchebag is no more? That's a win. You're back safe, that's a win."

A note... with childish drawings...

“There actually wasn’t much you could have done. Well, except talk me out of the stupidest idea I’ve had. See, my plan for finding my way into the Freehold dungeons to talk to Wenceslas involved getting caught and thrown in...”

"Okay, that is a pretty dumb plan." She looks it over.

"Rolled a one on it, right?" She tries a joke! A D&D one!

“I wanted to find where they were keeping that chain that works on sluagh. I figured if I could make them use it on me, then when someone scried to see where I was, they’d find me AND the treasure...”

the drawings of Symon... looking health yand strong flexing a bicep... but getting papers from a table that says 'sekret'... and a sign says "Shhhh" nearby...

and a picture of Dagmar's 'angry face' xed out

“Except instead I got sucker punched, tossed into a sack, and then whacked around until I stopped making fun squishy noises.... uh, what’re you looking at? You’re making a weird face.”

"Well, you got Lily on your side." She offers him the note.

To her credit, she didn't laugh!

"I still wouldn't mind beating up the jerks that bagged you, but I'm guessing I'm late."

Symon stares, and then covers his face. His shoulders shake a bit. A wheezing sound.

A little chuff from the big troll. "Right?"

“I don’t know if I should destroy the evidence, or show it to her first wilder motley someday.” He wheezes, trying to catch his breath.

"Oh god, yes. Save it for blackmail!"

(Test?)

( )

He pockets it, and grins. But then the other folded piece of paper is shoved at her impatiently. “But here, open it! It’s the first step in the quest. OUR quest. I didn’t even look yet. Hell, I didn’t even go home. I came straight here.”