Chapter 24 - Fate’s Strange Offer
The three of them sat together, the table crowded now with tankards and plates. Elarion’s meal finally arrived, steam curling from a thick pie set before him. He muttered a word of thanks to the server, picked up his fork, and had just taken his first bite when Finn leaned back in his chair and fixed him with a look.
“So,” Finn drawled, voice carrying a rough lilt, “what brings a lythari like you out of hiding?”
Elarion paused, fork halfway to his mouth. His eyes lifted, surprise flickering across his face. “You… you know what I am?”
Finn snorted. “Of course I do. Otherwise I should quit my job as Professor of Natural History and Ancient Lore at Blackstaff Academy in Waterdeep.”
This time Elarion almost choked on his food. He coughed into his fist, eyes wide. “You’re a scholar?”
Finn grinned, the kind of grin that said he enjoyed the disbelief. “What, do I not look the part?” He tilted his head, the lamplight catching the silver and bronze studs climbing his ears, at least three in one, more on the other. “Too many holes in my face for your idea of a proper academic?”
Elarion blinked, then gave a small, almost sheepish laugh. “The scholars I’ve known… they’re different. Rigid. Not dressed like you.”
Finn smirked, tapping one of the studs along his ear. “That’s because most of them care too much about looking the part. I don’t. Makes some of the other academics grumble, but I’m good at my job and the dean knows it. So they can keep their robes and frowns. I’ll keep my piercings.”
Elarion studied him for a moment, his surprise giving way to something warmer. There was no hesitation in Finn’s voice, no flicker of shame or doubt. He simply was who he was, unbothered by judgment, unafraid of disapproval. Elarion found himself quietly admiring that. To live so freely, without apology… it was the sort of confidence he had only begun to chase for himself.
Finn took another drink, then leaned back in his chair. “Anyway. I’m on sabbatical now, which means I finally get to chase the things I care about instead of whatever some stiff in the ivory tower tells me to. My research focus is on the interplay of magic and wilderness. How ancient civilizations shaped landscapes with enchantments and rituals, and how those old scars still linger in ecosystems today.” He tilted his tankard toward Elarion. “I’ve read about the elusive lythari of Evermeet too.”
Elarion’s fork stilled. His eyes widened, wonder sparking like a flame behind them. “Truly? You’ve studied us?”
“Studied, researched, chased scraps of mentions through half-rotted tomes,” Finn said with a grin. “You lot are rare enough to be called myth. To me, you’re proof the world is always bigger than the books make it out to be.”
Elarion leaned forward, his meal forgotten, drawn in by the ease and certainty with which Finn spoke. The admiration he’d felt a moment ago deepened into genuine fascination. Here was someone who lived boldly and still chased knowledge with fire in his chest. It stirred something in Elarion, made him want to ask everything he had never dared to ask.
The two of them soon fell into conversation, trading thoughts about lythari traditions, shapeshifting, and the natural order. Elarion’s words tumbled out with a rare kind of eagerness, and Finn listened with the patience of a man who had all the time in the world for such wonders.
It was only when Elarion finally paused to catch his breath that he noticed something. He frowned, scanning the table. “Where did she…”
His eyes landed on the bar. The tiefling woman was already there again, leaning with casual grace, a fresh tankard in her hand. Her horns gleamed in the lamplight as she threw her head back in laughter at something the bartender had said, her tail flicking lazily behind her as if to punctuate the joke. The sight of her was like a sharp reminder of how out of place she looked among the elves, yet how easily she commanded the room all the same.
Elarion glanced back at Finn, then back at her. Finn caught the look and smirked knowingly.
“I met her at an adventurer’s guild,” Finn said, tilting his tankard toward the bar. “We both took the same quest. I didn’t think much of her at first. Too small, too flashy. But when the fighting started she dropped men twice her size without breaking a sweat. After that I asked if she wanted to tag along with me. My research drags me to some pretty dangerous places, and having her around makes the work a lot less suicidal.”
Elarion raised his brows, quietly impressed.
Finn leaned back in his chair. “Of course, she only agreed on her terms. I cover food and lodges, no direct payment. Said she has her own coin. The only thing she really insisted on was that I never get in the way of her way of life. Especially her bed partners.” His smirk widened. “And when she can’t find a good one, she sometimes comes to me. Most nights I tell her to stay on her side of the room, but there have been times when… y’know.” He gave a shrug, grin widening. “And there will probably be more.”
Elarion nearly choked on his ale, heat flooding his face.
As if on cue, the tiefling reappeared, slipping back into the chair she had claimed earlier. She set her tankard down with a cheerful slam, foam spilling onto the table. Her eyes sparkled with mischief as she glanced between the two men.
“You boys gossiping about me, huh?”
Elarion froze under her gaze, his mouth opening before his mind could catch up. “Yes. I mean— no. Not really.”
Finn burst out laughing, slapping the table with his hand. “Gods, lad, you’re hopeless.” He tipped his tankard toward Jordan, still chuckling. “We were just talking about how we ended up working together. And your… let’s call them unique terms.”
Elarion bit his lower lip, worried he had said too much. He ducked his head slightly, hoping he hadn’t just offended her. Jordan only laughed, the sound rich and of pure amusement, rolling out as easily as the grin she shot him. “Relax, handsome. If I minded, you’d already know.” She leaned back in her chair, tipping her tankard before taking a long drink. “And since you’re curious, why not tell you myself?”
She set the drink down and rested her elbow on the table, eyes dancing as she studied him. “I’m a monk of Sharess. You know her? Goddess of lust, indulgence, all the pleasures of life. She teaches that nothing we enjoy is shameful, not food, not drink, not flesh. It’s all sacred, if you treat it like the gift it is. I live by that. No shame, no denial. You want something, you take it, and you thank her for putting it in your path.”
Her smile turned sharper, more playful. “Some monks sit in temples and starve themselves of joy. I train so I can enjoy more of it. Stronger body, sharper reflexes, a better fighter. Martial arts are my way of worship. Every strike, every kick, every dance of movement is a prayer. I can break a man’s nose in three moves, but I can also lift a drink in celebration and know it’s holy too.”
She stretched her arms behind her head, her grin widening. “I also train because I value the body Sharess gave me. If I keep it in shape, I get to enjoy more of the indulgences this world has to offer. There are two things I’ll never give up, though — alcohol and sex.”
Elarion nearly choked on his ale, his ears burning red, but Jordan carried on without missing a beat.
“People like to act as if either is dirty or shameful. I don’t see it that way. Both are gifts from Sharess, and the ability to feel that kind of pleasure is one of the greatest blessings we’ve been given. Why deny it? Alcohol warms the spirit, sex sets it on fire. And to be honest, I probably like it more when the two come together, so in a strange way it’s a win-win for me.”
She laughed, loud and unbothered, drawing a few curious glances from nearby tables. “What irony it would be if indulgence in drink ended up being the death of me. But at least I’ll kick the bucket having done everything I wanted.”
Elarion sat there, watching them both with a mixture of awe and bewilderment. Finn with his rowdy laugh and scholar’s mind, Jordan with her shameless grin and fearless words. They were so unlike anyone he had known, so unlike the careful, measured people of Selathryn.
They were unapologetically themselves, chasing the lives they wanted without hesitation, with no concern for what anyone else thought. It would be easy to dismiss them as unrefined, as reckless even. Yet the truth was clear enough: it was far harder to live freely as they did than to bind oneself in restraint.
A memory of Iris surfaced, soft as sunlight. He had thought she was free too, bright and untouchable, carrying herself with a confidence that seemed unshakable. And yet he had seen the walls she built, the silences she kept. It made him wonder if these two across from him had their own stories tucked behind their laughter, things they would much rather leave unspoken.
Perhaps that was what freedom truly was. Not the absence of wounds, but the choice to live as if they did not chain you anymore. He found himself staring into the foam of his ale, caught in the spiral of his thoughts, when Finn’s voice cut through.
“Oi. Pretty boy.”
Elarion blinked and looked up to see Finn smirking at him over the rim of his tankard. Jordan tilted her head, eyes gleaming with interest. “Now what about you?” Finn asked. “What’s your story?”
Both of them leaned back in their chairs, drinks in hand, waiting.
Elarion hesitated, weighing how much to share. He thought of his siblings, of their graves in Selathryn, and felt the words tighten in his throat. Some things were not for strangers, not yet. He took a slow sip of ale, then set his tankard down.
“I finally chose to leave the grove,” he said. “The safety, the comfort, all of it. I’ve always dreamed of seeing the world, and I decided I couldn’t keep making excuses.” He pauses for a bit, “Also, there’s a woman. We met in Taltempla and spent some time together at the grove, but now she’s in Leuthilspar. We— I never got to say goodbye. I mean, I didn’t expect that I ever needed to. But there she went, and so here I am. Hoping to be with her again.”
Jordan squealed, nearly spilling her drink as she leaned across the table. “Oh, you’re a romantic! I knew it. Look at you, all serious and broody on the outside, but soft on the inside.”
Elarion’s face burned. “No, it’s not like that. I mean, yes, but… I don’t even know if she wants anything to do with me. I’m basically running on hope and a good dose of delusion.”
Jordan wagged her finger at him, “Honey, if you are going to sit there and be such a pessimist, you might as well give up right here, right now. A woman like that deserves a man who knows what he wants and will do what it takes to get her.”
Finn snorted. “Careful. That kind of talk can veer into red-flag territory. But as long as you are not chasing her after she has made it clear she is not interested, then a little reckless, optimistic romance will not hurt. In fact, it might even work in your favour.” He tipped his tankard toward Elarion. “What you do need is confidence. You are already so fuckin’ blessed in the looks department. Stop wasting it.”
Elarion blinked, caught between shock and laughter. Support from two strangers, delivered as tough love, was unexpected. Yet it warmed him more than the ale. He chuckled softly, shaking his head. “I don’t even know where to start,” he admitted. “Building confidence, learning to live freely, learning to be unapologetically myself the way you two are.”
Jordan and Finn exchanged a look, then turned back to him.
“Then start with us,” Jordan said.
Elarion tilted his head. “What do you mean?”
“Join us,” Finn said. “In our little adventure. No strict timeline, no particular end goal. We take each day as it comes. And if you want, we will go with you to Leuthilspar. That way you get to live the adventurer’s life, and we get another fighter in our ranks to keep us alive a little longer.”
Elarion raised a brow. “So you want me to be your third wheel? Are you serious?”
Finn barked a laugh. “Third wheel? Lad, we are not dating, nor are we in an open relationship. Gods save me, can you imagine?”
Jordan threw her head back in laughter, her tail flicking. “Don’t you worry, sweetheart. I will never ask you to sleep with me. I am a girls’ girl, and I know you have someone waiting on you.”
Elarion studied them both, confusion still written across his face, but in his heart the answer rose easily and without hesitation. Fuck it, I have nothing to lose.
He nodded. “All right. I’ll join you.”
The three of them clinked tankards, their laughter rising above the din of the Gull and Lantern. They drank until the room spun, celebrating the beginning of their strange new adventuring party.