Challenge #04628-L244: The Better Choice

They force their friend to sleep, because its that, or the friend is going to end up getting very sick and for all their grousing, the group love him as a brother. Then they agree to help find the adventurer, and find out a darker truth. That wasn't an adventurer, but their true parental. And baby brother wasn't dead. Nor was the one he thought was his father.

-- Anon Guest

It took a potion, three spells, and Valorie actively sitting on him to get Bors to sleep. The innkeeper swore it was her herbal tea that finally tipped the scale to his peaceful rest.

Melody and Betterment took turns with Valorie to make sure he actually got a full rest.

Those who weren't on watch were asking around to find out a solution to Bors' conclusions. Which lead to a lot of potential leads, but primarily to the seers of Paron. A little Barony in Whitekeep that was mostly tunnels and quarries. They sheltered from the threats to the realm in a ravine cutting into the mountain, and came up with a powerful potion from the mushrooms they farmed. Well. Mostly mushrooms.

It was green. It was in a small bottle, and served in very very small glasses. For some, the servings are delivered with a dropper. It's powerful stuff. Horrifying stories are told about the people who imbibed an entire bottle in one sitting[1]. Most of them were horseshit. Shockingly effective horseshit, as the bottles were handled with care and the seers who used them took the instructions with deadly seriousness.

They found the best seer, and purchased the best quality of the brew for them. And, once Bors was finally well-rested, took a trip to see the seer.

They had a silver mirror, through which the clients could see what they saw. Bors re-told his story, and held the seer's hands after they took a single drop of the green potion.

It would be nice to say that the shadows swirled, or that the room filled with eldritch light or strange figures. Such things are the fantasies of bards. It was, when you got down to it, rather boring. The silver dish filled with shadows and occasional highlights of greenish light. Forming figures. The ideas of buildings, lacking many details.

It showed a father mourning his wife. It showed a man angry at the world, angry at the two mouths to feed with none to care for them when he was busy. It showed a man pointing the accusing finger at everything but himself.

It showed rat poison being added to milk. Milk then given to children. It showed an Adventurer, stealing a baby in the middle of the night. Unable to carry the older brother.

It showed a father digging a grave in anticipation, but the poison ran out, and the solitary son rallied. And in the end, it showed the Adventurer, teaching his adopted son everything he knew.

It showed... a grown boy, not yet a man, following the Adventurer. Making friends. Learning how to Adventure in relative safety.

It showed a hamlet, not far from Whitekeep, where they would find a brother and the one who saved him.

"Revenge or re-union," said the seer. "Choose one and miss the other. Which is more important to you?"

Bors, who had lived his life with the goal of revenge, chose his brother.

[1] One of them happens in A Devil's Tale: Death's Delay. Coming whenever to a publisher who actually wants to buy the series.

[Photo by Gary Walker-Jones on Unsplash]

If you like my stories, please

. Or share them with your friends! Or visit my to see what else I'm up to.

[23 remaining prompts!]

Support me on Patreon / Buy me a Ko-fi