Fireside Story

The fire crackled gently in the hearth, painting the log walls of the cabin with molten gold. Outside, Cardinal Peaks lay under fresh snow, every drift smoothing rock and timber into hushed contours. The world seemed to breathe through muffled lungs.

Inside, the scent of pine sap and venison stew wrapped the room like a blanket. Kaiden Stagin, barely three winters old but bright-eyed as if he'd lived ten, sat on a braided rug, a wool cloak puddled around him. The cloak's hem touched his ankles, but he wore it with the solemn pride of a half-sized knight.

Across from him, Niklaus Stagin, war veteran of countless wars, reclined in the same battered leather chair he'd owned since his soldier days. Age had weathered the chair's hide and the man alike, but both still held their shape. One boot rested on a low ash-wood stool; a pipe glowed between his fingers.

Nik always marveled at how much older the boy seemed when the firelight caught his eyes.

[ Kaiden ]

"Tell me one."

"The big one."

"The best one they did."

Nik tapped out his pipe, sparks dancing like fireflies into the tin tray. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth—equal parts fondness and ache.

[ Niklaus ]

"One of their adventures?"

"Hmm..."

"You want the best?"

Kaiden bobbed his head so fiercely, the cloak slipped from his shoulders. Nik leaned in, elbows on his knees.

"Then let me tell you about the 'Hult Spir'."

Kaiden inhaled, holding the breath as though it might escape with the tale.

[ Niklaus ]

"Far to the west, past the Verdant Teeth..."

"Stands a ruin that juts from the ground like a broken fang."

"No scholar mapped its bottom."

"They say it was a temple to the old gods…"

"But when your parents reached it..."

He lowered his voice to a hush.

"It was quiet..."

"Too quiet."

From a pouch at his belt, Nik drew a shard no larger than a thumbnail — metallic crimson, glowing from within like a banked ember. Kaiden's little gasp cut the hush.

[ Kaiden ]

"What is that, Pops?"

[ Niklaus ]

"Æsther ore..."

"A red æsther ore, to be precise — fire-touched."

"Your parents found this sitting in a crater where a wall ought to be."

[ Kaiden ]

"Is it hot?"

[ Niklaus ]

"You can make it hot."

"If you know how..."

[ Kaiden ]

"How hot?"

[ Niklaus ]

"Hot enough to burn a man's greed clean off."

"Now where was I..."

Nik paused, trying to recall the next line of his story.

"Ah, yes."

"The ruin groaned when the wind slipped through its cracks..."

"And shadows moved where no man stood."

"But it wasn't unguarded."

Kaiden's blanket slipped again as he leaned closer.

[ Kaiden ]

"Who was guarding it?"

Nik's eyes darkened, reflecting ghost flames.

[ Niklaus ]

"It wasn't someone..."

"It was something."

"Something old."

"Something twisted."

"A Spine Wraith..."

[ Kaiden ]

"A wraith...?"

"What does it look like?"

"Did it chase them?"

[ Niklaus ]

"Bones black as starless sky, thin as thread, moving like smoke."

"Didn't bleed."

"Didn't breathe."

"But it could feel the heat."

He cast the æsther ore into the hearth. Flames vaulted up, turning from orange to deep volcanic red before settling.

[ Niklaus ]

"Your father..."

"He lured it into moonlight."

"Your mother — sharp as mountain wind — cut it down the instant it dared leave shadow."

"And when it died, Kaiden…"

"It didn't scream."

"It shattered."

"Like glass meeting frost."

Kaiden's brows knit in solemn wonder.

[ Kaiden ]

"Were they scared?"

Nik laughed once — a low, knowing thing.

[ Niklaus ]

"Everyone's scared."

"But bravery isn't about being fearless."

"It's deciding the fear isn't the loudest voice in the room."

Kaiden nodded, struggling to understand as he watched the fire calm, the red æsther ore's glow fading to a steady heartbeat.

[ Kaiden ]

"…Can I be like them?"

Nik studied the boy, a silhouette haloed by firelight, eyes too earnest for their size. His answering smile was small, but unshakable.

[ Niklaus ]

"What do you mean... can?"

"You've already taken the first step, boy."

"And by the looks of it..."

"The apple didn't fall far from the tree."

Silence drifted in like snowflakes. Then Kaiden scooted forward until his toes warmed by the hearth-stones.

[ Kaiden ]

"One more?"

"A fun one."

"Not a scary one."

Pipe smoke curled between them.

[ Niklaus ]

"Greedy pup."

"Very well…"

"Let me tell you about the Stone Titan of Grask."

Kaiden hugged his knees.

[ Niklaus ]

"Your parents were escorting a merchant too cheap to hire a proper map."

"He dragged them through an abandoned quarry."

"Turns out the quarry wasn't abandoned..."

"Just... asleep."

[ Kaiden ]

"A sleeping rock?"

[ Niklaus ]

"Worse..."

"A quarry golem the size of a barn."

"Covered in moss, birds nesting in its clavicle."

"When it woke, the birds fled, and the air turned heavy."

[ Kaiden ]

"What did Dad do?"

[ Niklaus ]

"Your Dad?"

"Your Dad tried to talk to it."

[ Kaiden ]

"And Mom?"

[ Niklaus ]

"She threw a pebble at its eye."

"Haha..."

"The look on its face was worth every mile they ran."

Kaiden burst into giggles, clapping a hand over his mouth.

[ Kaiden ]

"Did that work?"

[ Niklaus ]

"Well..."

"It worked too well."

"The titan chased them the length of two hills."

"They led it onto brittle shale, looped enough rope to snare a whale, and brought the cliff down on its crown."

"Stones don't scream, boy, but misers do..."

"It took the merchant a week to stop trembling."

Tears gleamed at Nik's lash line — memory's ache, swiftly blinked away. He poked the fire, coaxing gentle sparks.

[ Kaiden ]

"Hahaha..."

"What happened next?"

[ Niklaus ]

"Well..."

"The remains of the titan were stones of the highest quality..."

"Attracted a lot of miners back to the quarry."

"The town revived after that..."

"And your parents are legends there."

Kaiden wiped the tears from his eyes before being curious again.

[ Kaiden ]

"Were they the best, Pops?"

[ Niklaus ]

"Were they the best?"

"Well..."

"Some say yes, some say no."

"But I say this..."

"They were yours."

"And that is better than best."

Kaiden's chest puffed with private pride. Outside, a gust rattled the shutters; inside, the flames danced more softly.

[ Kaiden ]

"One day…"

"I want to go where they went."

"I want to be a dungeoneer."

"Just like Mom and Dad."

For a heartbeat, Nik's smile faltered — old grief, the phantom warmth of two souls long gone. Then he set the pipe aside and tapped two fingers against Kaiden's blanket-cloaked shoulder.

[ Niklaus ]

"When that day comes, the stories will wait for you to finish them."

[ Kaiden ]

"Promise?"

[ Niklaus ]

"On the name Stagin."

Soon, the stew cooled in bowls, and Kaiden slumped against Nik's chair, his eyelids heavy. Nik draped the oversized cloak over the boy, tucking it beneath his chin. Before the child fully drifted off, he whispered:

[ Kaiden ]

"Pops…"

"Does æsther ever run out of magic?"

[ Niklaus ]

"Only if the world stops dreaming, boy."

[ Kaiden ]

"Then I will never stop dreaming..."

"I will be the best dungeoneer ever!"

Kaiden slept with a smile, his small fingers curled as if holding the hilt of a sword. Outside, the snow thickened; the hearth dimmed to glowing coals.

And far to the west, in a ruin long abandoned, something old stirred in the dark.

But here in a cabin of coals and stories, a new path had begun...