Session 43

Seknafret stepped through the portal and found Alustriel, Tiny, Malaina, Quintus, Naxa, and Vaeve waiting. Anxiety etched into every face.

Tiny stared, one hand pressed to his mouth, as Xalen emerged. When Brabara stepped through after him, tears spilled freely down his cheeks. The momentary pause before Ebyn appeared stretched unbearably long; the silence was so thick with unspoken questions it felt like a physical weight.

Then the tip of Ebyn’s staff broke the threshold, and he stepped through behind Brabara. The dam burst, voices rising all at once, relief and fear and disbelief tumbling over each other.

“Is it done?” Alustriel asked, barely daring to breathe.

Seknafret nodded. “It’s over. Vecna is imprisoned, and the ritual unravelled.”

A wave of chatter followed. Concerns voiced, questions fired, gratitude expressed, but Brabara said nothing. There was only one thing she wanted to say, and this was not the place for it.

Tiny sensed it. He stood at the back of the crowd, watching her. Their eyes met, and the world seemed to narrow to just the two of them.

Brabara dropped her weapon. Let her shield fall. She took a step toward him, then another, unfastening her armour piece by piece as she walked. Each buckle, each strap, each clatter of metal on stone felt like shedding a layer of weight she’d carried for too long.

Tiny waited, still and steady, knowing that look in her eyes.

She stopped before him wearing only a stained undershirt, dark blotches on her arms and legs revealing the wounds she’d taken. She reached up, tore a necklace from her throat, and tossed it onto the pile of discarded gear. She glanced back at Ebyn as she did so, a silent acknowledgement.

Then she folded herself into Tiny’s arms.

“We need to talk,” she whispered.

Ebyn watched them leave the chamber. He understood. Brabara had tried to hide it, but he knew exactly what she was about to tell Tiny.

He crossed to the necklace she’d thrown aside and picked it up. The small cylinder was light in his hand. Inside was the letter she’d written for them, the words she wanted read only if they survived.

He tucked it into his pouch and turned back to the others, ready to recount what had happened.

---

Ebyn folded Brabara’s letter and slid it back into the small cylinder. He would give it to Xalen and Seknafret in the morning, but there was something he needed to do first.

With Quintus following, he stepped into what remained of Alustriel’s library. Shelves lay cracked and half‑collapsed, but many books still clung stubbornly to their places. Ebyn began scanning the spines.

“What are we looking for?” Quintus asked.

“I’m not sure she still has it,” Ebyn murmured. “But see if you can find anything discussing the interaction between conjuration magic and an unborn child.”

Quintus gasped. “What are you planning?”

Ebyn explained his idea in a low voice. Quintus listened intently, asking precise questions whenever he needed clarification.

“It is possible this plan might work,” Quintus said at last. “But there is risk. Why not let me be the one to cast it?”

“Thank you, Quintus,” Ebyn said softly. “I appreciate the offer. And yes, logically, it should be you. But Brabara is my friend. I want to be the one to do this for her.”

Quintus nodded. “I understand. That is very noble of you. I’m sure she will be pleased when you tell her.”

Ebyn shook his head. “She cannot know. Not unless it succeeds. I won’t break her heart if anything goes wrong.”

---

“You read it?” Brabara asked, stepping up beside Ebyn as the group ate breakfast.

“I did,” he said. His voice sounded paper‑thin. “I’ve passed it along to Xalen.”

Brabara’s eyes narrowed. “You look like shit. Is everything okay?”

Ebyn coughed into his sleeve. “Yes. Just… everything seems to have caught up with me now that… you know.”

Brabara nodded, glancing toward Tiny. “I know.”

“Hey,” Ebyn said gently. “I’ll be returning to the Shadowfell with Naxa and Vaeve today. I’ve been away far too long, and there are things there I need to tend to.”

“Oh.” Brabara’s shoulders sagged. “I kinda hoped we’d all go back to Neverwinter together. Guess that was silly.”

“Not silly,” Ebyn said, placing a weak hand on her forearm. “Just unlikely. Seknafret still has the Veil to deal with, she’s staying here with Alustriel to finish the ritual. Xalen is going to Oerth to be with his sister. And you…” He looked at Tiny. “You and Tiny need time to reconnect before you become parents.”

“About that,” Brabara said, her voice shifting into something serious. “We talked last night. Really talked. We’re heading to the temple of Shiallia for a check‑up. Will you still be here when we get back?”

Ebyn pushed himself to his feet. His limbs trembled, barely holding him upright.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Brabara asked, concern sharpening her tone.

“I will be,” he said. “I just need a few days’ rest. Being home will help. I’m sure of it.”

Brabara eyed him sceptically. “If you say so.”

“We’ll be leaving in an hour,” Ebyn said. “We should probably say our goodbyes now.”

---

“That can’t be right,” Trystal murmured as she lifted her hands from Brabara’s swollen belly.

Tiny sucked in a horrified breath. Brabara’s heart hammered against her ribs, every terrible possibility flashing through her mind. The wounds from Kas, the ritual, the fight with Vecna, the near‑death she’d endured.

“What is it?” she asked, voice tight.

Trystal shook her head quickly. “It’s not that, Brabara.” The priestess’s expression softened into something warm and reassuring. “Everything is fine. In fact, it’s better than fine.”

“What do you mean?” Brabara asked, gripping Tiny’s hand as though it were the only solid thing in the world.

“I must have been mistaken last time,” Trystal said. “Both your children seem to be doing just fine.”

“Both?” Brabara whispered. “You mean…”

Trystal shrugged helplessly. “I can’t explain it. Perhaps your injuries interfered with the earlier reading. But right now, you have two perfectly healthy babies in there.”

 

The End