[over the palisade]

chapter nine

It was most certainly a nice change, waking up in a proper bed. Phil had almost forgotten how nice it was really; being able to wake up, walk out of his room, then grab some already prepared food and coffee without a second thought or fear. But however nice it might be, he knew they had to leave soon enough.

Like most mornings, Techno was already up and sitting around the fire, a book in one hand and a cup of warm tea in the other. Reading the gilded words on the spine, Phil saw the book to be a compilation of tales written about the Old Company with whom they were staying with. Phil inwardly laughed about the sheer narcissism that the book's presence held.

One thing that did surprise Phil that refreshing morning was the fact that Tommy and Tubbo were also already up and bouncing off the walls, eagerly buzzing around Schlatt and Big Q. They happily waved over to Phil as Tommy skittered over to him.

"Phil! Phil, Phil, Phil, Schlatt's gonna show us around town before we leave and he's gonna tell us stuff and-" Tommy rambled.

"That's great Tommy, just be back before noon, you've got a few hours," Phil told him with a wave. Maybe he would finally get some quiet time or time to look at some more maps to get a better idea of what the future might hold.

Soon enough, Tommy and Tubbo were bouncing out the door after the old adventurers and Phil meandered back over to his oldest son, still engaged in a book by the fire. He prepared himself a warm cup of coffee and a plate, then sat in the armchair adjacent to Techno.

"It's good to see everyone so well-rested, and I guess Will and Deo are still asleep?" Phil asked.

Techno shrugged, "I assume Wilbur is, I don't know about Deo. I believe I hear him leaving pretty early this morning, maybe he had some of that business to finish up on."

"How long have you been up, Techno?"

His son looked down at the pocket watch he kept with him, "Two hours," he responded bluntly.

Phil chuckled, "You just can't sleep past eight, can you?"

"Ahh, that would be wasting precious time Phil, precious time."

Phil rolled his eyes and smiled. He missed spending time with his kids like this; short but pleasant passing-by conversations. He always felt the weight of his responsibilities back home, and of course, while traveling they were always in a rush. It was very pleasant to simply be able to sit down and chat.

Not long after comfortable silence fell between Phil and Techno, the soft clanging of the bell that hung above the entrance to the tavern rang out. Through the door, Deo slipped in, followed by two unknown people.

At first, Phil was a little alarmed; Deo had disappeared early in the morning and returned with two new bodies, but soon the warm sound of laughter filled the little foyer as Deo led them towards Phil.

"Phil'Za," Deo greeted, quickly bowing his head without much thought and pulled a chair away from the large dining table towards him and Techno.

"Who have you brought to us?" Phil asked, looking between the two people standing behind Deo.

One of them, the shorter one, stood a little shorter than Deo with a long blue coat with nice golden detailing and a cream shirt. Over his eyes sat a pair of glasses that, like Deo's, could not be seen through, but one lens was blue and the other red.

The other one stood the same height as Deo, if not a little bit taller. He had glasses almost identical to Deo and wore a frilly white shirt with a mid-calf length shirt and a long overcoat, similar to the other stranger's, but red.

"This is Jack and Eret, my brothers," Deo informed, motioning between the two. "I fear what the future might hold for our little party, sir, and I think my brothers might provide two more pairs of capable hands for the journey if you will let them join us."