#bergen_county

She nods. "It'd be like stripping my strength, yeah?"

He thinks about that, and nods. "They say if a Troll breaks an oath, they lose their strength and become weak as kittens. I bet that would feel like your own body betrayed you. Yeah... it was like that." Dagmar understands.

She nods. "Sounds awful. I get why the sluagh wanted it back."

"I'm glad Nadeen let you go.. but... but..." She frowns.

He looks up, waiting patiently as she works it out.

"It bothers me, her trying to get something like that."

"She said it was her heritage... her house history." A frown. "I might have made a nasty comparison." He admits.

Frown.

"I'll have to ask her about it. I mean, things are weird right now... but... like.. maybe she's got reasons?"

"I don't think I was wrong. But it just... it reminds me such much of those videos you see about Southern kids crying about losing their heritage when confederate war monuments are pulled down."

"I want her to have a reason..." She grimaces at the comparison. "Yeah."

"I... feel bad." He grimaces. "She did help. And it felt like we had a moment of... understanding. And then it all broke down."

"I don't feel bad about what I said. But I regret that it seemed to hurt her."

"Over some stupid fucking treasure."

He winces and droops his shoulders a bit.

"Why can't she... ARGH."

"Why does she think she has to do all this stuff? They've nover done anything for her."

"I had an idea... it's just a thought, but..." He tells Dagmar about what he had discussed with the Librarian at EarthRunes. "Maybe if she could find something else to focus on about her heritage, then she could be happy with that."

"Something to impress the House? Yeah, yeah, she'd like that."

"I don't give a shit if it impresses her house... but it sounds like she does. But if she thinks she needs a tie to her heritage, if that's really that important to her to find a bit of lost history... I mean, that sounds like a legit quest." And maybe if she focuses on that, she'll forget about slugs for a while.

"Can't hurt..."

"But first - our quest."

"Yeah!"

"And I guess Thanksgiving. I'll spend most of THAT in the crawlspace. Hey, did I tell you I found a crawl space under the lodge?"

"Nooo..."

"I think I might even be able to dig out a tunnel between places if I reinforce it well enough... then again, it could collapse and I'd suffocate to never be found...." Cheerful thoughts. Well, Symon seems amused at the prospect.

And such cheerful thoughts follow them back to the Lee home. Where Dagmar may either come in for cocoa, or hear Ann Marie exclaim at the sight of Symon's black eye and make a hasty retreat home!

fade

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Symon is being babied. His favorite (Seasoned) food brought into his bed. His temp checked. It's a damn black eye! but Anne Marie seems to have snapped

"Well, this won't be happening again I can tell you that much" She chatters "bad enough the lodge has you doing odd things dangerous things but now I'm hearing you're going across the country to get in danger. Your asthma"

"So glad you're all quested out" She mutters

“I’m fine, really. It all worked out in the end, and I made it home for Thanksgiving.” He reassures her.

“There is this field trip coming up that Sir Vali wants us to go on...”

"Sir Vali? Oh goodness, what crazy train is he wanting you to be in the caboose on this time?"

“It’s a learning adventure. Uh, about cartography.”

“Dagmar is going with me.”

"Oh.. she is?" A pause

"mm I.. do worry but she does look after you." A frown "Is this for some sort of school credit?"

He pauses, then shakes his head. “It’s a quest, but knowing Vali- sorry, Sir Vali- he intends for us to learn along the way.”

A small grimace!

"You need to learn to bargain better dear. Now I think learning is good for you, but he is a teacher at two schools. So ...if I were you I'd haggle for extra credit at least in his class"

He grins. “I’ll remember that. I bet you’d go to bat for me even if he said no. Thanks, Ann Marie.”

She hugs him "I don't know if I like this, but you're welcome. Just..remember your inhaler, and the right clothes" A pause "And do you need some money for ubers or buses?"

“Vali said he’d take care of it, so you save yours for Yule gifts.” A smirk. “We’re covering Dickens next month, so be prepared for Dirk to demand a Christmas goose. Those don’t go cheap.”

"Oh dear. I do wish I could cook as well as some. but well, I guess with him it's quantity more than quality"

It would appear Anne Marie is okay with it, atl east since he has a troll to protect him

And now, he just needs to suffer through a few day of family and feasting. Then, to the quest!

Dirk is unaware that Symon is having fun without him. Possibly violent fun