“So you’re sayin’ that my goat is some kinda… super special goat?” Jeremiah asked. He scritched Penelope at the base of her horns where she really liked and she bleated contentedly.

He was just like I remembered. Still a head taller than any other dwarf save Richter. Same big beefy arms, same braided golden braided beard. Same giant mohawk and resting murder face.

Beside him, John looked practically angelic, with a balding blonde pate and a beard starting to show signs of greying. Huh, the grey was new.

He wore comfortable but traditional leather armour, and had a bookish air. It was hard to imagine that he was the flamboyant Johnsson’s father.

“That’s the long and short of it.” I nodded, both at Jeremiah and Penelope. “She’s been using [Nothingness] to get places she doesn’t belong, apparently.”

Penelope turned a wary glare on me. *Baaahhhhh* [?ACTUALLY? Translated from Prima Donna Goat] “Foul accuser! How dare you besmirch mine name!”

“Oooh! She just called you out for telling on her, was that what everyone else got!” Aqua asked excitedly.

*Meeehhh* [Actually Translated from Prima Donna Goat] “Of course I’m complaining! Why has everyone been treating me with such disrespect?”

“They were sayin’ you’ve been a bad goat, Pen.” Jeremiah grunted.

Penelope’s face somehow showed indignant shock. *Baaaahhh!?* [Actually Translated from Prima Donna Goat] “How could a princess be anything but proper!?”

“HAH!” Aqua squeaked, burying her face in her beard. Tears of laughter leaked at the edge of her eyes.

“You’re having far too much fun with this.” Annie muttered darkly. She hadn’t been able to pull her eyes off Jermiah since he’d arrived.

“Oh, come off it Annie.” Aqua gasped. “Just because you’re blacker than a coal vein over seeing your daddy again, doesn’t mean the rest of us have to. Do you have any idea how exciting this is? An animal! With a Title!”

“Aye, Annie. This could change… well, everyt’ing we know about de world.” Richter nodded excitedly. “Is it just Penelope? Have ‘dere been other animals in ‘de past?”

I considered the roast goat we’d eaten the other night and gulped. I certainly hoped not!

“Any chance it has anything to do with, um…” Aqua glanced my way and everyone else followed suit. I vigorously shook my head no.

“Why’s everyone lookin’ at Pete, Penelope’s my bloody goat!” Jeremiah protested. “At least you’re keepin’ her well fed. Too well fed, methinks!” He patted her belly.

*Baahhhh!* [Actually Translated from Prima Donna Goat] “Are you calling me fat, sire!”

“Why does he get sire, and I’m still stuck at peasant?” I muttered.

“Anyone else with you, Master Jeremiah?” Johnsson asked, looking back at the door for the umpteenth time.

Jeremiah nodded. “Aye. Georgie’s here. He's droppin’ all our luggage off with ‘yer giant’s help.”

Georgie was the Goldstone family golem, a rust colored crab-bot with a low slung boxy body and two pincer arms. He was kinda cute, in his own nightmare inducing way.

“What about mom and dad?” Aqua asked hopefully. “Did they make it?”

Jeremiah rubbed the back of his neck abashedly. “‘Yer mum and pop didn’t come, Aqua. They said sorry, and they love you. We’ll keep sending them gold though, don’t you worry. Tom’s gonna be in charge of distribution of our beer in Minnova.”

Aqua’s face fell, but quickly firmed. “Makes sense. It would be too hard on da to move. I’m glad they’re well.”

“Why didn’t you say you’d be here today?” Annie complained suddenly. “You said you were coming, and then nothing.”

Jeremiah looked up at his daughter, a mix of affection, and pain on his face. “We wanted to surprise you lot. And you’ve all been working hard, so we figured adding more to yer plate wouldn’t do any good.”

“Ugh.” Annie crossed her arms.

Aqua stood and clasped her best friend from behind. “Annie’s super happy to see you. She’s just under a lot of stress what with everything. Did you hear about Pete and Balin?”

Jeremiah gave Balin and appreciative nod. “Aye. Was right proud I was. To know that my daughter is getting married to a bona fida hero. Good job, lad. I’m proud that yer wanting to become a Goldstone.”

“As though that means anything,” Annie snorted, and swept out the door. Balin looked back and forth for a moment, then excused himself and followed after.

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“She’s still mad.” Jeremiah said, his eyes full of sorrow. “Makes sense. Dunno if I’d ever be able to forgive me, and she is my daughter.”

“That she is.” Aqua agreed. “We’re still glad to have you Jeremiah. Even with the help of the old Herder clan, it’s getting hard to meet demand. Pete’s been workin’ with Richter to automate more of it, but we’re running on fumes. Some extra hands will be very helpful. And Annie does love you.”

“Aye. I know.” Jeremiah said, rubbing Penelope’s flank some more. The unigoat sighed and lay her head on his lap, closing her eyes contentedly. “But as fer you.”

He nailed me in a steely glare. “I’ve been hearing a bit too much about you. I think it’s time you owe me an explanation. What’s really going on?”

—

So I started at the beginning, and continued to the end. It took a solid couple hours. The rest of the crew had heard it all before, and begged out, but Jeremiah and John stayed rapt to every word.

John broke out his pipe and threw literal daggers at me, forming them out of smoke as he dragged on his pipeweed. “So you had our money situation fully handled for months, and didn’t tell anyone. You absolute bastard.”

I shrugged apologetically. “Things were still up in the air. And I was worried that you’d kick me out.”

Johnsson hesitated and looked askance at Jeremiah. “Mmm… you weren’t exactly Jeremiah’s favourite dwarf.”

“Still isn’t.” Jeremiah grouched. “But Pete and I already had our heart to heart back in Minnova. We understand each other. Even if I didn’t know… all of this.” He gestured my way. “I know he’ll do anything for his family, and that’s what matters. Dwarf or human or whatever inside, we’ve all been somethin’ else one time or another. What matters is who we are today. And Pete’s a good dwarf.”

I smiled at Jeremiah and he scowled back.

“But I thank all tha Gods I didn’t raise a moustachio foolish enough ta fall fer ‘im,” he finished.

I shrugged. “Balin’s twice the dwarf I’ll ever be.”

“On that we agree.” Jeremiah grumphed. He looked around the room. “You’ve done well by my clan though. Was that really a painting of me Annie that I saw in the dining hall.”

I snickered. “Yep. Made by Barck himself.”

Jeremiah frowned. “Dunno if I like that he knows my daughter so well.”

I nodded. “Creeper God.”

Jeremiah and John both gave me twin incredulous stares. I gave a wide grin back.

“Aaaanyways,” John said, “I think we’ll need a day or two to rest and acclimatize, and then we’ll be happy to work where you need us.”

“Paperwork,” I said immediately. “Annie’s swamped. Normally I helped with it, but my ambassadorial duties make it impossible to find the time.”

“That’s right. You’re some fancy pants Sacred Brew ambassador now!” John twirled his moustache at me. “Well done.”

“Shucks. Tweren’t nothin’.”

Jeremiah’s face turned wistful as he continued to robotically pet Penelope. “I don’t know if she’ll want my help..”

“You did

utterly betray us to our direst enemies.”

Jeremiah scoffed. “Ya can’t tell me that some Chosen whatever of a God counts some old curmudgeon brewers as his direstenemies.”

“Um…” I didn’t really have a good comeback for that. After all the events with Harmsson, and now the Stampede… old Master Brewer Browning was practically an afterthought.

We moved on to happier matters, like their rooms, the state of our finances, and Jeremiah’s new brand of boots, which had handily survived the trip here from Minnova.

Hey, you get old enough and a good brand of boots becomes a very serious topic of conversation.

“You know,” I said, thinking ahead. “I have a meeting scheduled with Kirk at a hitball game in Kinshasa later this week. Want to come with? It’d be you, me, and Balin. We could have some dad and future son in-law bonding.”

“You’re not my son in law,” Jeremiah muttered. “But that does sound nice.”

“Sounds good. I’ll check that it’s okay with Kirk, but it should be fine.” I smiled.

Jeremiah nodded, then glanced down at his still-scritching hand. “And now about my Penelope. I think I’ll take over caring for her for a while. I raised her from when she was a kid. Maybe it’s best she has her old dad to keep her in line while she learns what she can and can’t do with her new Abilities.”

“That’s fine,” I sighed. “We haven’t been able to keep her under control for, well, at least a year or two. Makes sense, now that we know what we know.”

“No different than raising a precocious young dwarfess.” Jeremiah chuckled. “I’ll be fine.”

I stood and stretched. “Alrighty, that does it fer me. Don’t want a blood clot y’know. I’ll leave you two ta settle in. We won’t be usin’ this space fer the rest of the day, so don’t feel tha’ need to rush on out.”

John quipped, “Oh, bring us some of that cider first, if you would. We heard about it on the trip here, but haven’t had a chance to try it. Imagine! Thirsty Goat cider! Exciting!”

“You, uh, heard about tha’ side effects?” I asked.

John laughed. “Yes, those too! Besides if we’re green, there won’t be any time to be so blue, right Jeremiah!”

“I’m not drinking yer weird apple juice.” Jeremiah grumbled. “Sacred Brew is good enough for me.”

“He absolutely loves your Assblaster.” John said behind his hand. “Why, on the trip here, he – “

“I can hear you John!” Jeremiah roared.

“So could everyone in that poor town!”

I laughed as the two fell to tussling, just like Annie and Aqua always did.

These two were definitely Goldstones. And maybe one day we’d be able to fully accept Jeremiah back into the fold.

All we needed was time.

And trust.