<html> <body> So somehow despite surgery, a two-year old daughter, and a full schedule, I managed to write another Metamor Keep story! And marvel as I keep it under 10,000 words! I want to thank Ryx for proof-reading this for me and for the use of his characters. Part 1 of 2. Metamor Keep: Asleep, Awake, Adream by Charles Matthias May 13, 708 CR Charles could not sleep. He tried several positions, snuggled beneath the warm quilts with his wife, but none could silence the mix of euphoria and dread filling his thoughts. Even before the rise of the waning crescent moon the rat slipped from those quilts, draped his fur and tail in a cloak, and left his wife to her slumber with only a parting kiss blown from his cleft lips and hurried along on its way with a cupped hand resting atop his heart. Kimberly had taken to leaving a single witchlight in a hooded lantern hanging on the wall outside the door to their bedroom to give them just enough light to see by should they arise before morning twilight. Only a sliver of the lantern was open, and though it was enough for a rat's eyes to find their way, Charles never had need of it. He covered the slit with one hand as the other lowered the thick forested tapestry lest any light spill into their bedchamber. With one last smiling twitch of whiskers towards his beloved, Charles turned and crossed the barely lit main room of their home. He climbed the stairs up to the second floor and paused. Another hooded lantern revealed the wooden and cloth toys, all in the guise of various animals, strewn across the floor where his children had left them; most of the wooden toys showed signs of gnawing. His scalloped ears lifted to the sound of four little rats all asleep and snoring in their high-pitched voices. His heart swelled and his steps carried him into the room, careful not to trod upon any toy, until he peered through the curtain on his sleeping children. Not enough light shown within for him to make out details but he still watched them. None of his four children stirred, each laying curled on their sides tail to nose. A smile stretched his snout and his chest swelled with warmth as he gazed. How little they were and how dear to him. Two eager boys and two darling girls. His children. Charles lingered in their doorway for several minutes before letting the curtain fall. He walked back to the stairs and continued to climb through the darkness. After a minute of taking each step one at a time, the claws of his toes touching but not nicking the wood, light blossomed above. He came around the final curve to the balcony overlooking the Glen and rested his elbows on the railing. Though it was Spring, the air at so early an hour was very cool and he pulled the cloak tighter about his chest. He drew the tip of his tail around one leg to keep it warm. The trees were too thick to see what sliver of moon had risen in the southeast, but he could see the glimmering stars in patches. Through one he found the milky band of midnight light crossing the sky and stared into its depths. The rich scent of pine filled his nostrils even more than the scent of rat clinging to his cloak. He could not help but ponder what he'd endured and witnessed but a few hours before. So much horror and anguish, and yet a single glimpse of beauty was greater still. Would he ever truly understand what it all meant? He'd seen the edge of glory his youngest Ladero enjoyed, and now knew a daunting secret about his eldest. Did his little Charles scamper about the dreams of his littermates? Or did he enjoy one of his own? Would his father ever know? The starry depths had no answers. A southern breeze stirred the branches, obscuring the numinous light, but the rat did not turn. He watched as they stilled, listening to the first cries of birds eager to welcome the morning. He idly wished he had taken up a pipe habit, for such heady thoughts as his seemed best with a bit of burl in his fingers and a trail of smoke teasing his nose. Today was the first day in thousands of years without the shadow of Marzac. Yet the stars shone as they always had. And, Charles thought with a smile and a twitch of his whiskers, it was always so no matter the danger. The gift he'd received had lasted for the barest of moments, but the love and grace she'd given were always there. Everything good, even his own love, was an opening for it to pour through. “Thank you, Eli,” he whispered. “I love you.” And though he continued to speak until the sky brightened and those stars faded to blue, long tongue brushing against long teeth with each word, heart and mind lifted so he never felt the wood beneath him, he remembered not a word. ---------- Malger could not sleep. After leaving the rats, he returned to the Mountain Hearth Inn with Misanthe. The vixen was quiet and other than prepare him a small chaser of wine, honored his unstated desire for privacy. The marten sipped the chaser while standing on the balcony, one claw touching the crescent moon hanging about his neck. Too much had happened for him to return to slumber and the Dream. The deal, bartered and broken, to hear more of it, to even have his goddess try and explain the barest whisper of it, would be too much. So he stood in the cool night air of Spring listening to the susurrus of the forest breeze and the occasional stirring of the sleeping village. In his home of Sutthaivasse there was boisterous activity throughout the night; from some noble or wealthy merchant enjoying a decadent party, to the dockworkers loading and unloading cargo, something was always happening. Even in Metamor Keep for most hours of the night one could hear some strain of music or laughter and always the shifting of the guards along the walls wary of an attack. Not so in Glen Avery. There were always scouts watching the forest and the road, but what little noise they made was obscured by the breeze and the rustle of needles and fresh-grown leaves. It seemed to the marten there had been more to listen to while on the road with Murikeer and Elvmere than greeted him in the Glen. If not for the occasional bird there would have been nothing to listen to at all. In the silence his ears filled with the voice of his goddess. “All found the paths upon which to take their journey, my dear.” He could not blame himself for the turmoil of hours past. “Tell only one, Malger, who awaits with you. He has prepared, and knows what to do.” And now, exhausted from so much use of magic, the skunk mage Murikeer had retired to enjoy a well-earned sleep. Many other words she'd offered came to him, but her final rang in his ears loudest. Still the massive crow, ice-blue eyes touching the rat child as he lay sleeping on the cold stone alter, the echo of Malger's question of his fate ringing, her black beak open. “The child remains his. But,” her wing stretched and the sharp talons brushed across the boy's fur with a caress incongruously tender and warm from those wicked black edges, “one day he will have no choice and must let the boy come.” Her voice filled with delight, so odd from her frightful visage and in such a forbidding place, “He Dreams, Malger. And with strength. You will need to help him; his father and mother as well.” He'd risen from the dream to inform Murikeer, and then slipped back down to find altar and child gone. From the vantage of Nocturna's realm he watched in the way the gods watch, two shadowy figures passing through realms he could not glimpse or understand, just as he'd watched the defeat of Marzac nearly six months before. Though he did not know what it was Charles had endured, he had recognized the moment when the corruption was finally broken And when he reached the end, his mind turned back to the moment Charles entered the prepared cellar to begin the dream anew. Malger took a deep breath and pushed it aside. After four reminisces he could stand it no longer. There was a little rat child, only a year old, who could Dream! He brought to mind what he had seen a few days past, the tree rising up over a vast black pit – the corruption he now understood. There had been something else watching, something small; it had fled the moment Malger turned his gaze toward it. The rat child perhaps, trying to see into his father's dreams unknowing of the dangers? He welcomed the distant pounding of horses hooves from the road. Even though it took a full three minutes before the riders became visible at the far end of the Glen commons, the sound was enough to distract his thoughts. A trio of riders burst into the Glen at full gallop and only slowed as they neared the rocky hillside in which both brewery and inn made their home. A quartet of large witchlights trailed them, illuminating the road before them and making it easy to see who they were. Malger sighed in relief and waved his arm once, before cupping his hands over his snout and shouting toward them. “Rickkter, Kayla, Kozaithy! Up here! The Inn!” ---------- He wasn't surprised to find a feral fox tucked under his chair watching as they all gathered in the inn's empty commons. Misanthe had said little since they returned to the inn but she had ever kept a watch on the marten. Now, as a sour-looking raccoon and cheerful but exhausted pair of skunks settled down at the end of their long ride, he realized how glad he was she had not said anything to him just yet. Malger needed those moments of silence. Rickkter scratched the oaken table with one claw as if punishing it for not having a mazer of ale ready for him. “So I'm told we aren't needed here after all.” Kayla's tail swung behind her, and though weary, her voice was filled with delight. “I felt it when it happened. It was like I could breathe again. I never understood how deeply Marzac had touched us and was still touching us. Now it's gone. Charles defeated it. We're all free!” The white-furred skunk Kozaithy looked about the room for somebody who was not there. “I'm sorry I couldn't find you both in time. At least now everyone we love is well.” The last was a question for Malger. “Murikeer was a great help in this fight. Without him aiding Lady Kimberly and helping her reach out to Charles, we might not have won. Once all was done he went to his rooms here to sleep, for the effort had sorely taxed him.” He gestured at the ceiling and rooms beyond with one arm. “Charles returned to his family to do the same.” Kozaithy relaxed. Rickkter snorted and scowled. “Well, since there's nothing for us to do, I'm going to go raid the innkeeper's larder for something to drink and then find a room with a bed to sleep in.” Kayla lashed her tail. “Rick!” Rickkter stood up from the table and stretched out his back, striped tail flat against his legs. “I'll pay him back in the morning. The innkeeper should have come out to greet us when we arrived so it's only fair.” Malger tapped his thumbs together and narrowed his eyes. “What's wrong, Rick? Aren't you glad Marzac is gone?” “I just rode as fast as I could for four or five hard hours, if I read the stars right, to come rescue the rat and we were too late. Marzac stripped my soul from my body for six months, it made me an invalid, humiliated me, and has made me feel useless in all sorts of ways while people I love suffer. And not once have I been able to even so much as give it a punch in the nose. And now it's gone and I'll never get the chance.” He shook his head and took a step toward the door to the innkeeper's stores. “Yes, I am glad Marzac is gone and no mistake, but I'm just too damn tired to feel good about it.” “Rick!” Kayla stretched out her arm, but the raccoon stalked toward the larder anyway. She sighed and shook her head after he was gone. “He wasted no time in coming here; he really did want to help.” “You do not have to apologize for my sake. I know he wanted to help. But maybe he's right. We'll all feel better after some sleep. And, Kayla, if our good innkeeper Jurmas should complain I will set the matter straight. He has two young daughters; he needs his sleep too! So go be with him and then take your rest. Kozi, Muri readied a room for you when you returned; you'll know which one. I'm glad to see you safely returned and I know he'll be glad to have you back. For now, Rick is right, it is time all of us get our sleep.” Neither skunk chose to argue. Nor did he press his suggestion with either, standing up to leave them to whatever they decided. And with a little fox trailing his feet Malger climbed the stairs back to his room to see what sleep and dream would hold for him. ---------- Kimberly found him still on the balcony not long after the sun's rays pierced the forest gloom. She carried a steaming cup of tea and he blew across it several times before risking a sip. “Thank you, my love. How did you sleep?” “Better than you I guess. How long have you been up here?” She gestured at the balcony and trees around them but did not leave the doorway. “A few hours; I'm not sure. We will sleep much better tonight. Are the children awake?” “Not yet,” she lifted her cup and lapped at the acerbic tea. “This needs more honey. I don't know how you can enjoy it like this.” Charles chuckled and then lapped it with his tongue, sprinkling a few drops on his whiskers. “I grew up with it, I suppose I just learned to enjoy it.” He stepped to her side as he flicked the tea drops off with a twitch of his jowls. “It is Sunday, and even after we say our prayers, I will stay here with you and the children. I expect our friends will stop and visit to see how we are doing.” Kimberly nodded and smiled. Charles gazed at her in the dawn light and felt his heart beat faster. She had donned a thick robe to guard against the cool Spring air, but beneath she was already attired in one of the comfortable blue dresses he had bought for her. Nestled in her bosom was the amethyst stone she had taken to wearing a few days ago. Though she had refused to tell him anything of it, he knew it had played some role in his rescue. He resolved never to ask. He reached over and cupped his fingers behind her ear, touching the soft flesh with tender strokes. “My Lady, I love you.” Her dark eyes filled him and were filled by him. “I love you, my knight!” Charles squeaked a laugh and nearly spilled his tea. “I love it when you call me knight.” She leaned her head against his chest. “I love calling you knight!” He slid his arm down her back and held her close as the cry of birds and the movement of Glenners below welcomed the new day. When they remembered the tea it was already cold. ---------- James and Baerle were the first guests to arrive; they did so not long after the children were awake. The opossum helped Kimberly keep the excitable rat children attentive while James assisted Charles in leading them in Sunday prayers. Once complete they enjoyed a breakfast of oats and honey and then the children were allowed to play inside. Other than a brief visit to the stables to tend his pony Malicon – in his taur form so he could give both of his sons a short ride – Charles never left his home. While he and James discussed ideas for the Narrows as little rats scampered about their legs the next set of guests arrived. “Kayla!” Charles shouted with delight at seeing the skunk whom he had journeyed to Marzac stand at his threshold. “Come in! Come in! Rick, Muri, Kozaithy, please, all of you come in and make yourselves comfortable. Is there anything we could offer you?” “I can have a fresh pot of tea steeping if you'd like,” Kimberly offered before turning to the children. “Now why don't you all say hello to our guests and show them where they can sit.” Both Kayla and Kozaithy gladly let Charles's boys show them to the long couch facing the unlit hearth; the pair of skunks complimented the boys on their chivalry and made their whiskers stand on end with delight by calling them 'sirs'. Muri was well-known in the Matthias home and so Charles's second daughter Baerle rushed to grasp his hand and lead him to a chair where his tail could swing free. Rickkter was a stranger to their home, and so his first daughter stared up at him and he back at her for a few seconds before the raccoon held out his paw and allowed the girl to lead him within. “Tea would be lovely,” Kayla replied and then patted little Charles on the head before turning to the raccoon. “Aren't they so adorable?” The raccoon shrugged. “I suppose.” Kimberly returned from the kitchen a minute later and smiled to the one-eyed skunk. “Are you well, Master Muri?” Murikeer rubbed his forehead with one hand and offered a smile in return. “I am a little sore still, but knowing we, you both, triumphed last night makes it seem as nothing.” “It is... we... I... ” Kimberly stammered for a moment before falling into the surprised skunk's arms, her eyes brimming. “Oh, Muri, thank you! Thank you! Without you we... we...” His surprise lasted only a moment before the skunk wrapped his arms about the lady rat's back and held her gently, his churring voice soothing and compassionate. “My Lady, nothing I did would have helped if not for your deep love for Sir Charles, your husband. You won him back. You.” Kimberly caught her breath and stood up, brushing the tears from her eyes, her expression grateful and embarrassed. “Oh look at me, I'm going to get your tunic all wet.” Two little rats, her girls, gathered at her legs and grabbed her skirt as they looked up curious why their mother would be crying. She smiled at them and cupped their snouts in her hands. “Oh, your mother is fine. Just a little something in the eye.” Murikeer smiled at the little girls and then snapped his fingers; a bright flame danced at the tip of his claws. Their eyes went from worried to excited, and they squeaked as they tried to snatch at the flame which danced around their little fingers. “Well,” Rickkter grunted as he stretched his toes and looked around the Matthias home, noting the tree rings on the floor and ceiling as if trying to count them, “I guess we won't need to meet every week now. I was tired of hanging around the Keep waiting for Marzac mischief anyway.” Charles carried his little boys over to admire Murikeer's dancing flame while his wife returned to the kitchen to prepare the tea. “I suppose not. I have the Narrows to tend now. What of you, Rick?” Kayla slid a little closer to the raccoon and favored him with wide eyes. “Aye, Rick, what of you?” “Honestly? I want to get away from Metamor and find some brigands or Lutins or something I can kill. I've been cooped up too long. After we return to Metamor I'll talk to Misha and George and see if there is anything promising I can help with.” He turned his head toward the skunk at his side and offered her a faint smile. “I am sorry but I am not spending another week on my tail.” Kayla walked her fingers up his chest as she leaned into him. “I expect you to bring your tail back home safe.” Rickkter offered a roguish grin. “Just my tail?” She poked his nose with a claw. “It's a start!” Baerle and Kimberly returned from the kitchen bearing trays with a steaming teapot and a dozen cups, not all of them the same size. All four children came rushing over, squeaking for whatever it was their Mommy brought. Kimberly shushed them as she did her best to hold her tray level. “Quiet, quiet, you four! There's enough for all of you.” Charles and James picked up two little rats each and despite some squirming kept them still long enough for Kimberly and Baerle to begin serving tea to their guests. Murikeer passed his cup to Kozaithy before accepting one for himself. As he did so he glanced at Charles and asked, “What will you be doing with Marzac gone?” “Tending the Narrows,” Charles replied as he positioned his daughters on either knee. “I would like to build a Keep there so we have another fortified defense in the north of the valley. But it will take many years and much planning. For now it will be enough if I can keep Glenners and Lakelanders from fighting over it. I suppose you'll continue work on the villa?” The skunk nodded. “With visits around the valley as time and need permit. I would enjoy showing any of you the home Baron Avery has gifted me if you wish.” “We'll be returning to Metamor after we've had one more bite to eat,” Kayla noted with a grimace; but her snout then opened into a warm smile. “But I know we will return to the Glen in Summer. For now I have my duties for Andwyn to resume; I cannot tell you how grateful I am he has been so understanding of all things Marzac.” “Don't let him overwork you,” Kimberly suggested as she finished pouring tea for her children. “Baerle, please don't spill your cup!” As the little child squeaked an objection, Kayla laughed and waved one hand. “Oh, I look forward to it. Organizing reports of Lutin movements will be comforting after all of this. All I expect to see is any last reports on the refugees coming to Metamor.” Kozaithy lifted her snout, eyes fill with delight and concern. “I should head south to visit those living in Iron Mine. There are more of my people there than the town can take. I want them to know the cities in the north of the valley will welcome them too.” “I could use some to come and help cultivate the Narrows,” Charles said after taking a long sip of tea. It was not the acerbic blend he preferred but had a light sweetness palatable to most beastly Keepers. “We can discuss our land after you have visited them, milady.” The appellation made her blush in the ears. The rat looked into his tea cup and for a moment pondered the eddying ripples. Cascades of reflection and refraction through the dark drink settled into a distorted image of his friends sitting across from him, until his boy Erick nudged his elbow and stirred the tea again. He patted the boy between his ears and then lifted the tea high. “I would prefer wine for this, but you, my friends, are here now and this is what we have. I know you must return to Metamor soon and do not wish to delay you any further. But, I want to thank each of you for coming to my aid both last night and in the days before. I could ask for no finer friends. I am honored to call you friends, as well as many others who cannot be with us today. Thank you. Eli's blessing be on each of you. If you call on me, I will be there for you. I will be there for you!” His friends lifted the tea high, as did his children after a moment; they did not understand but it seemed right to do so. Rickkter offered the rat a bemused grimace as he lifted his cup. “Even me, Charles?” The rat tilted his head and met the raccoon's gaze. A part of him wanted to dredge forth the animosity he had long felt for the Kankoran, but there was no strength to it. Instead his whiskers twitched as a smile stretched his snout and cheeks. “Aye, Rick, even you. Especially you. Thank you. May many happy days killing brigands afar and homecomings sweet with skunk await you!” Kayla hugged her perplexed raccoon tight, neither caring as they spilled their tea. ---------- May He bless you and keep you in His grace and love, Charles Matthias </body> </html>