>>95807055In the coming days, Eadric and his allies helped in cleaning up the city, and had even been invited to personally attend the Lord's funeral. It took some time, but while away, Eadric and his companions were found by an emissary of Wachia who invited them back to Gorven for a party to be held in their honour by Lady Anasia.
They returned to the city, finding themselves lauded with praise and applause wherever they went. The taverns wouldn't charge them a single copper piece, and the merchants gave generous discounts. They heard stories of loss and tragedy scattered amongst their praises, but ultimately, everyone was thankful that Eadric and his friends had intervened when they did to prevent further damage.
Come the night of the gala, Eadric and his allies found themselves in fanciful, but unfamiliar and uncomfortable clothes. During their mingling a silence was called, and Lady Anasia was seen slowly descending the grand staircase that stood in the centre of the room. The band played a triumphant song as she entered, before she called for their silence. She gave a speech, thanking the adventurers personally by name but saving Eadric for last, making sure to meet his eyes when she did.
When she joined the main floor to participate in the mingling, Eadric found her by his side with no apparent intention to leave. The way she spoke to him, the way she looked at him, the way she seemed filled with disappointment when she had to leave his side even just for a moment - Eadric recognized the signs. Despite that, he couldn't help but wonder if he had found a sincere love, or the trauma of the situation gave her a strange attachment to him.
After the party, Eadric sought out Maragon, knowing he would know Anasia much better than he could hope to speculate. Maragon confirmed that since Eadric and his party had left, Lady Anasia couldn't stop speaking about them. She had gone as far as considering to commission a statue of Eadric - and when reminded