Dispute
After a short boat trip to Selbing Rock Island, our friends explored it extensively. Last time they found the lair of the Pale Ones and cleared it out in their typical manner. While Kel and Löwenzahn load the stolen treasures from Selbingen into the small boats of the Pale Ones, Theo discovers some alchemy ingredients. But much more exciting for him is the potion recipe ‘Erblassen’. He also finds a few vials of the finished potion, which quickly disappear into his pockets.
Meanwhile, Aldric is already working his way through his second bottle of rum, which is slowly but surely making itself felt. Shouting and laughing, he sits on the beach and watches Kel and Löwenzahn at work. A little hiccup here and there confirms his absolute drunken state. While they clear out the pale one’s hiding place, Kel and Löwenzahn are still able to ignore Aldric sufficiently, but slowly but surely it’s time to head home. Together with Theo, they discuss their plan for Aldric and whether they can get him safely across the lake without capsizing. As they have no real alternative but to leave their archer behind, they tie him up just as tightly as they did with the treasures from the hiding place and throw him into one of the boats. This reminds Aldric a little of a wrapped Christmas tree, and he complains loudly accordingly. But his three friends skilfully ignore this and tie the other wooden boats together. They sit down in the first one and carefully paddle their improvised transport vehicle towards Selbingen.
But it takes less than two minutes for Theo, Löwenzahn and Kel Tuh Las to realise that their transporter is quite heavy and their only means of propulsion is their muscle power. The paddling is correspondingly strenuous, and the next three hours pass with loud grumbling. At least this time they don’t have to worry about their friend with water phobia, as Aldric has fallen into a comatose state after his first waterfall and is happily sleeping in his little wooden boat.
So they chug leisurely towards Selbingen and finally reach the shore, exhausted. Here they are scrutinised by some interested villagers who enquire about them and ask whether their mission was successful. But discreet as our friends are, they don’t say anything, of course, and point out that they first have to talk to Siegfried, their employer. They temporarily stow away the various treasures in their little house and then decide to tell Siegfried about their success. The only small problem they have is Aldric, who is sitting on a chair with three per mille while he stares around with glassy eyes. However, as Aldric has already played a relevant part in their success, they are reluctant to leave him behind and decide to explain his condition with his phobia of water.
The mayor greets our four with cautious optimism, as he has of course already heard about all the valuable objects our heroes have just dragged through the village. He listens attentively to the stories that Theo, Kel and Löwenzahn are taking over today, and with every sentence his eyes widen a little more. Tears well up in his eyes and Siegfried asks cautiously: ‘So, the haunting is finally over?’ Satisfied with themselves, the four answer in the affirmative and explain that the stolen valuables can be collected from their house. However, Siegfried interrupts them here and explains that they cannot use the house permanently. However, he would like to offer them the village’s small beach hut as thanks for their services to the village. Of course, he doesn’t need to advertise this any further, as all four of our friends are thrilled at the prospect of owning their own little cottage.
So it’s no wonder that the four of them immediately persuade Siegfried to show off the little hut. The mayor quickly throws on a thin coat and marches ahead. After a few minutes, they reach a small hut with a wooden footbridge, situated on the edge of Selbingen right by the water. The interior is not that big, but there is enough room for everyone to sleep and there is even a small kitchenette in the hut. Siegfried hands Löwenzahn the keys and says goodbye to the group. They eagerly begin to think of a name for their new property, but remain uncreative as usual, and so they decide to call the hut ‘Bleichenpreis’.
They sit down at the small wooden table and, for the first time in days, everyone calms down a little. However, this also gives them some time to process what they have experienced and think about it. And instead of being proud of themselves and reflecting on how close friends they have become in just a few weeks, they decide to argue. This is basically about Löwenzahn, Theo and Kel thinking that Aldric always has a bit too much of an opinion and just gets his own way, even when the group actually wants to do something else. Despite the two bottles of rum he’s had, Aldric realises the implications of this conversation and assures us that he wants to work more as a team in future. Once this has been clarified, our friends are still in a celebratory mood and end the evening happily in their new home before collapsing exhausted into their beds. Find out what the next day brings and whether they are now little heroes of Selbingen in a fortnight’ time in the next Arkanthia Pen and Paper blog.
