Chapter 164 Halfway Home

The base camp that led into the forest had been fortified, and what appeared to be a few thousand soldiers rushed to and thro inside the now more sturdier gates. When Van looked up, he saw the flag of his house flying in the wind, but not only that, but about a half dozen others, some he realized were the flags of certain guilds, such as the druid and ranger guilds and many more.

As Yassan escorted them inside, Van couldn’t help but be amazed by all the different types of people working together for a single goal. Goblins rushing about carrying resources back and forth, harpies flying through the air in patrol patterns, some going out into the forest to scout. Druids talked to animals that fled from the forest, some as large as houses, others as small as a finger, interrogating them for information. Rangers worked over their equipment, making sure everything was in pristine condition while others looked over a map, adding new information practically every second as new news was brought in.

But what really brought home the severity of the situation, was the pressure he felt all around him. The looks of complete seriousness on all the faces he saw, all the way down to those who didn’t even need to fight. There was no slacking or taking it easy, it was as if the entire fort was ready to go to war at a moment's notice, or were expecting an attack to come any second, though that second stretched into the unknown…

Another thing that concerned Van, was how quickly they were coming down onto a large central cabin, two floors high, a miniature fort within the fort. He wanted to talk to Yassan a bit, and ask him how he became a ranger, but during their travel, there was never a good time, and the ranger in question seemed like the type not to want to be bothered by such things. Now he was heading to the place where no doubt his parents were and was going to miss his chance…

Which was a little sad… but more than anything, was the nervousness he was beginning to feel as they drew closer to the command center. Wondering what his parents were going to say if they were going to get in trouble, or something else.

And by the looks of things, Luna was also looking a little troubled as well… she had changed so much since entering the forest… she worried what her mother would think…

Alecto, Agnès, and the others looked either interested, nervous, or a mixture of both. But almost like they were trapped in a magnetic pull, no one in the group could turn back. For as they walked down the path, eyes would follow, slowly making them the center of attention…

Yassan walked to the door and knocked on it, he then waited and a maid answered. He then spoke to her and with a few quick words the maid returned back inside and he turned to the group.

“I have done my task of seeing you safely returned to your parents… they should be here any second now… I will take my leave so as not to get in the way of your reunion… please take care…” he said, with a slightly flat expression, or perhaps just a professional mask, before leading his rangers to move to the side and walk down another path deeper into the fort before disappearing.

Van and the group just stayed where they were, unsure if they should get down or wait for someone to come pick them up. Their unspoken question was answered when a woman came bursting out of the still-open door.

“MY BABY!!!” Thea shouted at the top of her lungs, skidding to a halt and looking wildly from side to side searching for Luna.

Luna looked nervously at her mother before deciding to get down from Rosy. Once she did, Thea wasted no time in giving her precious daughter the biggest hug of her lifetime.

“Oh, I'm so glad you are okay!” Thea gushed, practically smothering Luna.

“I’m okay mom, really, I’m okay…” Luna said as her mother really put the squeeze onto her.

“I was so worried when I heard what happened,” Thea said, refusing to let go of her daughter. “You're not hurt anywhere are you!?” only now taking a step back to give her daughter a closer look.

“Mom, I'm fine…” Luna replied, oddly embarrassed, at first she was worried her mother would not recognize her, considering how much she had changed. But it seemed no matter what, she would always be considered Thea’s little angel…

Thea looked her daughter up and down, analyzing her new more improved form. “Well… that’s clearly an understatement…” making Luna blush a little. Thea’s eyes softened a little and she held onto her daughter's shoulders, looking at Luna in the eyes. “I’m glad you're safe…” gently rubbing one of Luna’s cheeks. “My precious baby girl…”

Luna blushed a little in embarrassment at the treatment of still being considered a little girl with how much she changed. “Mom…” she complained.

“Come on here dear,” Thea said, giving her daughter another hug, let’s get you inside and you can explain all about it later. I’ll get you some nice hot chocolate and candy and you can sit on my lap and-”

“MOM!” Luna exclaimed, her cheeks really going red with embarrassment. “I’m not…” then becoming a little self-conscious about her body, decided to say it anyway… “I'm not a little girl anymore…” she finally said.

“You will always be my little girl…” Thea soundly proclaimed.

Van was watching, a little touched by the scene when he heard his own name called. Looking up he saw his parents quickly making their way through the door. He got down from Rosy and was also hugged by his mother, who unexpectedly hugged him tightly. It was so surprising he didn’t know what to do until he finally returned the hug himself.

Alvaroz at first was going to join in but decided to wait instead for them to finish. After a while, Lillia finally let go and he addressed his son. “It’s good to see you returned safely Van…”

“It’s good to have returned dad…” Van replied, feeling oddly emotional. The two then shared a quick squeeze of their own before parting. It was only then that he started to feel a little weak in the knees. He had no idea how comforting it was now to be back in the safety of his parent's protection. The mere thought of them taking care of everything from now on made Van feel lazy and relaxed…

“Come… let's get you two inside…” Alvaroz said, then as if realizing there were others for the first time added. “And you friends as well…” taking notice of Alecto and Agnès and the rest of the group with a mix of new and familiar faces.

Van and Luna were then quickly ushered into the building, with a few of their friends in tow, though they were guided to their own rooms. The others didn’t complain though, it was clear that Van’s and Luna’s parents wanted some time alone with their kids to catch up, even if it was only for a little before getting back to work.

“Dad… I’m sorry…” Van said, as he was escorted to an empty room, though not even he was entirely sure why.

Alvaroz just squeezed his shoulder as they walked. “There’s nothing to apologize for, your back, and that is all that matters…”

Soon the family was reunited and back together again. Some maids were called and drinks were served before they excused themselves to give everyone some space. With them gone, everyone sat down, some taking chairs, and Van and Luna taking a couch that seemed to have been left behind by the previous occupants of this mini fort. Once everyone was comfortable, and all the pleasantries were had, things started to take a turn for the serious when the conversation finally came to what happened in the forest.

With a heavy heart, Van began to explain everything and his part he had to play in it all. Even if it wasn’t directly, or really even Lyn’s fault, he couldn’t help but feel like he held some accountability for everything that had transpired… taking a deep breath, he started to tell everything that happened from the very beginning, not stopping until several hours later and it was near morning. His parents were enraptured and in awe of everything he said. He held nothing back. And made sure that a soundproof barrier was put into place before he began his story, for good reason as his parents found out… by the end of it, Van felt exhausted, even with Luna helping explain a few things for the parts that he wasn’t there for. The two then fell into silence as their torrent of information finally drained itself dry, and they had nothing left for them to confess, making them feel oddly empty on the inside…

Alv, Lillia, and Thea had a hard time wrapping their head around everything they just heard. The war against the wasp horde and the fairy alliance, the stone-kin attack on Van’s camp, their awakening, the damage to his soul realm, their meeting of Alecto and Agnès, the taming of the great forest beasts, the marriage between Agnès and themselves, the unleashing of the red knives, another marriage, the growing of a religion, and so much more and everything in between…

In the end, they needed some time to process everything and ask a few questions directly of the people in question to get a better picture of what the several hells just happened…

But more importantly…

“Well… what matters most is that you two are okay…” Thea said, getting up and walking over to the couch, gently pulling them up and drawing them in for yet another hug, pressing their heads against her breasts.

“I just wish…” she began to sniffle, “that I was there for you…” sounding like she was on the verge of tears and was about to cry. “My precious babies… I'm so glad you two are okay…” hugging them even tighter now.

Alv and Lillia soon joined in, completely sandwiching Van and Luna on all sides.

Van felt a little embarrassed, but also very touched and warm inside. Getting a little emotional himself, he decided to return the hugs the best he could. Luna already trying to do so with a few sniffles of her own.

The group stayed like that for a long while until Alv had to convince Thea to let go of them so that they could get some rest, reminding her that they still had work to do for their sake and the sake of their domain.

With some effort, Thea pulled away, giving them both one finally kiss on the cheek each. “You two don’t go anywhere, understand? Momma is going to work for a bit, be right back…” then gave them each another kiss.

Van felt a little embarrassed but didn’t have the heart to move away, accepting the affection. He and Luna were then taken to a nearby bedroom where they could rest up. Only then did it really hit them how tired they were, and fell asleep practically as soon as they hit the sheets. Not waking up until near noon…

When they finally did wake up, they were still tired, but got up and out of bed to get brunch and talk to their parents about what the plans will be from here on out. Getting a little turned around, they were escorted to a dining room where food had already been placed out and kept warm by spells for their arrival.

After finishing their meal, they set out to search for their parents, finding out that they were in talks with the friends and allies they had brought back with them, and oddly not allowed to enter the room where such talks were being placed. The guards refused them, which shocked both Van and Luna, since they never were refused such things. It only went to show how serious their parents were, and made them worry about their friends and now extended family…

With not much else they could do, they stuck around for an hour in the hopes that whatever was happening inside would end soon… but it didn’t and they left to walk outside for a bit and get some fresh air, worry still in their hearts about what kind of conversations might be happening behind the locked doors of that room. Concerned that their parents might be treating their friends as enemies and not the allies that they were…

As they did a lap around the large fort-like cabin, they realized just how much more active and larger the encampment truly was. It was mid-afternoon now and the streets were packed with soldiers and couriers moving every which way. Women and even a few men and shining armor walking around with purpose, smith's sharpening swords, mages enchanting armor, and goblins running with packs on their backs carrying material and goods from one place to another. There even was a growing battalion of skeletons being formed by a few necromancers and brought in by the cartload by teamsters from the city.

They also made sure to come around and check up on Rosy in the stables to see how she was doing and were glad to see she was being well taken care of with her own section to herself due to her size.

After walking around for a while longer, they realized without any purpose, their mere presence could be getting in the way of everyone else, so they decided to go back in hope that their parents were done interrogating their friends and that nothing bad had happened while they were gone.

Once they were back, they were escorted to a room where they were able to meet their friends once more. Though they looked a little haggard, they were at least treated well, given refreshments and snacks, though they were hardly touched.

Alecto and Agnès seemed to have gotten off pretty lightly, as they didn’t seem to have taken the brunt of their parents' questioning. The one who looked like she was about to have a migraine soon was Amie, who had been outside of Van’s soul realm while they traveled with them to this fort and now was being grilled by their parents for several hours. It was only now that Van and Luna were allowed back, now that they were mostly done with all the talks they will be having for the moment.

Van inwardly apologized to Amie, who looked deeply tired by their parents' questioning, though he couldn’t fault them for it since Amie was a queen and seemed to have played a major role in this war that caused what was effectively the end of the entire forest…

Though, funnily enough, once the little interrogation was done, Thea was the first one to welcome them into the family…

Either way… now that they were done, Van had a few questions of his own he would like answered. Such as… what they were going to do now?

Van and Luna took the awkward position of being in between and to the side of both his parents and his friends/other family.

“So… it seems everyone already introduced themselves…” Van said awkwardly. “Umm… are there any other questions you might have before we move on?” turning to look at his parents, looking a little worried at what else they might ask of him.

“Yes… in fact… Can you bring out everyone else you married? Such as this… Xenith? I would very much like to know all those my son decided to bind to himself very much…” Alv said in a very protective and peeved manner. Going full dad mode and clearly angry that his precious son married a bunch of people he didn’t approve of, and what’s worse, was that they had much to do with the issues that they were dealing with right now…

Van tried to play it off as they had more important things to do. But his father wasn’t having any of it… and he was forced to bring out Xenith, making sure to warn her ahead of time that his father was asking for her and to prepare for the worst.

Xenith, being raised in an entirely female dominant household, didn’t know what to expect, so she came out in full armor, ready for battle. She really wished she didn’t…

“So, you're the other that my son married? Why are you wearing armor? Do you think you can impress me with a show of force? Hiding your face? Are you ugly or do you really think this is how you show your best side to Van’s parents? I hear you are a queen of some sort, but what can a queen without any territory do? How are you going to provide for my son? How could you put Van in so much danger by allowing this war of yours to escalate like it did? How many children are you expecting to have with him? Which is more important? My son? Or your queenship? If you were to lose everything, would you still be able to provide for my son and any children you might have? What is your fallback job should things go south? Do you have insurance? What can you give that others can’t? Why didn't you ask us for our son’s hand in marriage before deciding to marry him, were we just not important enough for your consideration? and-”

And on and on it went, poor Xenith taking off her helmet, then slouching and straightening out her back on command, her eyes filled with fear and confusion at this sudden turn of events.

Van looked confusedly at Amie.

“It’s going to take a few hours…” Amie replied subdued, gently taking a sip of her tea.

Suffice to say… this was not the interrogation that Van was expecting to happen…