“Oh, looks like it’s mornin’,” the familiar voice of Aralan remarked.

Leon sat up and stretched, looking over to the window through which sunlight and fresh air were streaming in. Aralan’s form was outlined in light as he looked out. It sounded alive in the village now, with chatter from outside leaking into the quiet room.

“Let’s go see if breakfast is ready, yeah?” Aralan said as he walked away from the window and to the door.

“I must ask, what exactly is your goal out here?” Leon questioned.

Aralan paused, glancing over his shoulder. “Wealth,” he stated bluntly. After a brief moment, he elaborated, “The richer I am, the stronger I get.”

An amused grin worked its way onto Leon’s face. “As it often is. Money could get you nearly anything in the world I used to live in, and I have no reason to believe it’s any different here.”

“Yep,” Aralan agreed. “I think we’ll get along.”

With that, Aralan opened the door and walked out into the hallway. “It’d be pretty neat to hear about where you came from. Could talk over breakfast,” he suggested as he waited for Leon to leave the room.

Leon sat up and turned so his legs hung off the edge of the bed. Leaning down, he put the boots back on and tied up the laces. “I’m sure it wouldn’t be that interesting,” he said in a dismissive tone. Hopping off the bed, he grabbed the backpack before leaving the room.

“I’ll see if Dolly’s awake, you can look for the dinin’ room,” Aralan said, then muttered, “wonder if she even sleeps at all.”

Following Aralan’s instructions, Leon walked down the hallway to find any sort of dining room. The building was made mostly of wood, with some stone. And considering the source of light they used here seemed to be candles only, he was rather worried about a fire. Simpletons. He wouldn’t be surprised if they were shocked by their entire village burning down.

“Oh, come in, come in! Breakfast is nearly ready, won’t be long,” a voice caught his attention and he looked to the doorway it came from. Inside was a room with a few tables and sets of chairs. The smell of eggs, meat, and potatoes wafted from within.

Upon entering the room, he saw a couple more people aside from the innkeeper. A man, possibly her husband, and a young woman, possibly her daughter. They looked similar enough. The young woman had the long, somewhat wavy blonde hair of the older woman, and the piercing violet eyes of the man.

“Oh, call me a cratered roc. Forgot to give you my name last night, I’m Briga,” the older woman introduced herself. “My husband there’s Jede, and my lovely daughter is Leva.”

Leon nodded in acknowledgement before walking over to a table with three chairs at it and sitting in one. “You may call me Leon, if you wish.”

“Leon? Huh, sounds familiar,” Briga thought aloud.

“Isn’t that one of those creatures from the north?” Jede piped up.

“Right, right. Lions, if I remember right,” Briga recalled.

“Bri, the eggs,” Jede reminded as a smell edging on burnt came from the kitchen area.

“Oh, blast.” She scraped frantically at the pan to try to salvage the eggs.

Leon watched this exchange, but his eyes quickly flicked to Leva as she approached. She sat down in one of the chairs across from him. “So, you a traveler?” she inquired, leaning toward him eagerly.

“In a sense,” he replied vaguely.

“Where’ve you been?” Leaning closer to him, her eyes locked on.

“Many places. I’d love to chat about them right now, but I’m sure my friends would appreciate it if they could hear about them as well,” he dismissed her. Speaking of which, what was taking Aralan and Annette so long?

Soon after the thought crossed his mind, Aralan walked in with a ‘mornin’’ to Briga. Annette followed with a polite greeting. Both sat at the table with Leon and Leva, but Aralan had to pull another chair over. Though it was subtle, Leon noticed that Aralan sat close to the edge of the seat.

“I’m assumin’ this young lady’s your daughter, miss...?” Aralan trailed off, looking at Briga expectantly.

“Briga. My husband there’s Jede, and my daughter’s Leva,” Briga replied. “Come over and help me serve up the food, honey.”

“Right.” On command, Jede got up from his seat to help Briga plate the food.

“Your friends are here, do you want to talk about the places you’ve been to?” Leva asked eagerly.

Leon tapped the table, then shrugged. “I might as well. I suppose I should start by talking about my home. The difference between this, ahem, lovely village and where I used to live is quite shocking.”

“Go on,” Aralan urged, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the table and his head on his hand. Moments after he did so, Briga and Jede came by to set plates and utensils on the table in front of the group. Afterward, they went to another table to presumably eat together.

Leon eyed the food, poking at it with the spoon for a moment before scooping some up to eat. It was fine. Bland, but fine. “Well, the buildings were very tall and made of metal. Millions of people lived in that city, but most of them lived in the lower buildings. I lived in this marvel of engineering known as a biosphere. You see, most of the surrounding landscape was very barren, so we had to create regulated areas where life could thrive.”

“So you lived in the desert? I guess that makes sense with your name,” Leva commented.

Leon noticed that Aralan’s eyes widened before he started to absolutely dig into the breakfast food. Did it really taste that good to the demon?

“Not exactly. Even deserts have some form of animal and plant life. The wastes outside of the city had no sign of it,” Leon explained. And then, with a silver tongue that he had used many times in the past, he lied, “Of course, no one from the current generation had anything to do with this disappearance. It was our predecessors who made conditions unlivable. A shame, really. I was quite fond of the more exotic predators.”

“You mean you were the one to destroy the world, right?” Chelsea quipped. Nothing but an intrusive thought to him.

“Well, that just sounds sad,” Leva remarked. Her eyes twinkled with something that was barely restrained, however. “Hey. You guys are travelers. Are you looking for more companions?” she asked.

“Leva,” came a stern voice from the other side of the room: Jede. “You know that we don’t like you botherin’ guests with that nonsense.”

Aralan set his spoon down, stopping only because he had finished his food. “We could bring you along, yeah. If you make it worth my time, at least,” he offered.

“Oh, don’t listen to her, miss. She’s just a starry-eyed lass who don’t know the world,” Briga dismissed.

“Mi-” Aralan’s brows furrowed before his expression settled into a scowl. He cleared his throat, drumming his fingers against the table.

Taking note of his change in mood, Annette reached over and placed a hand on his wrist. Her gaze was caught momentarily by some shutters creaking open a tad and casting more light into the room. A message only for her carried itself on the soft breeze. With a genial smile, she spoke in a disarming voice, “Leva seems like she’s old enough to make her own decisions. Wouldn’t you agree, ma’am? If you’d like, I could speak to you more in-depth about this matter.”

Briga’s eyebrows raised. “Hm? Alright. Good luck easing these worries of mine, though,” she stated as she scooted her seat back and stood up. “Come along, then.”

Annette stood up as well, following behind Briga as she left the room. The two of them walked the homely hallway of the inn until Briga opened a door, walking in and holding it open for Annette.

Within, Annette was met by the sight of a cozy bedroom. A double bed was the highlight of the room, but there was also a desk and chair set, as well as storage for personal items.

Briga grabbed the chair at the desk, turning it so she could face the bed as she sat. “I hope you don’t mind sitting on the bed, miss,” she lightheartedly commented.

“Oh, of course I do not mind,” Annette assured as she walked over and sat on the end of the bed. “Anyway, would you share some of your concerns?”

Briga’s gaze became soft, a heavy sigh escaping her. “Well, my biggest is Leva’s safety. She may be a grown woman, but she’s still but a wee lass in my heart. I don’t reckon I could ever let that go.”

Annette gave a knowing smile. “I understand. The world can be a dangerous place for the ill-prepared. She has never left this village, yes?” she confirmed.

Briga nodded, wiping her eyes with the end of her sleeve. “I don’t want to lose another child. Our first born, my son, would’ve been a young man with a family by now. He died by the claws of a beast in the woods. I don’t want Leva to suffer the same fate.”

Annette’s heart swum with sadness at this revelation. She reached forward, placing a reassuring hand on Briga’s shoulder. “I swear to you, my traveling companions and I will be able to protect your daughter’s life. She would be safe in our hands.”

“I do believe you, but some proof would be better,” Briga stated. She sniffled and dropped her hand, standing up. “I’m not sure what could convince me; I’d have to talk with Jede about it.”

Annette took this cue to stand up as well, offering a suggestion afterward, “Perhaps a spar? Surely you have capable warriors in this village.”

Briga walked over to the door, opening it and leaving into the hallway. “A spar seems like a good idea. Lottie might be up to it. Oh, right. Captain Lottie. You’d never guess her position with how she acts. Have you met her?” she questioned with a grin. Her eyes were still misty, though.

“Does she patrol late at night?” Annette asked as she followed. “If so, we might have. A guardswoman recommended us to your inn.”

“Must’ve been Lottie, then. She patrols at night because that’s when all the nasty beasts come out. Doesn’t want to put the greenhorns at risk,” Briga explained. “She really is sweet. I think she’s part of the reason Leva’s so keen on this whole adventuring thing. Nearly every boy and girl in the village wants to be like Lottie.”

They re-entered the dining hall, catching the back end of a conversation between Leva, Leon, and Aralan.

“No, we didn’t have any horses. They were pretty much obsolete, considering that we had other ways to power transportation,” Leon explained.

“Ooh, I’ve heard of them having mechanical horses in the capital of Kentrus. We once had a traveler pass through who was from there. He talked all about the technology they had there, and it all sounds so amazing!” Leva exclaimed.

“It’s Centris, Leva,” Jede corrected, “though I can’t really blame you for forgettin’, you were barely above my knees when he visited. Anyway, did she convince you, Briga?”

Briga pursed her lips and cast a glance at Annette, then to Aralan and Leon. “She was close. I told her I needed proof that they could defend Leva, and she offered the idea of a spar,” she summarized.

“Oh? A spar? With who?” Aralan eyed Briga, an amused spark lighting his expression.

“Lottie, the guardswoman you likely met last night. She’s the captain of the guard, and if you manage to beat her, I’ll know that you’ll be able to protect Leva,” Briga explained.

“That sounds like it’ll be fun. Yeah, I’ll spar with her,” he agreed. “Where’s she usually at?”

“Hold your horses there, Lottie would be gettin’ ready to sleep around now. She patrols all night and has to post orders in the mornin’. Best you find somethin’ else to do until afternoon,” Jede suggested.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

“Could look around town, I guess,” Aralan grumbled. “Should be buyin’ supplies, anyway.”

“Now there’s a smart idea! I could take you guys around since you’re new here,” Leva offered.

"That's very kind of you!" Annette beamed. "Surely we would end up lost if we just wandered without guidance."

“Plus, it’d give me some time to get to know you. Very important if we’re gonna be traveling together,” Leva added on.

“Indeed! I’m glad that you have full faith that Lan will emerge victorious in the spar, Leva,” Annette said as she neatened her dress. “Shall we head out now?”

Briga glanced down at Annette’s plate. “But you’ve barely eaten anything,” she pointed out.

A bashful grin came to the doll’s face. “Oh, it’s quite embarrassing to do more than nibble in front of company. I prefer to eat in private.”

“Annette has a noble upbringing, you see. Her sense of etiquette is quite strict,” Leon lied. “She doesn’t bring it up often, though, as she wishes to experience her travels just as anyone else would.”

Annette nodded. “And your inn is the most comfortable one I’ve stayed in so far, your hospitality is excellent,” she complimented.

“Oh! Um, thank you,” Briga responded hesitantly, a nervous smile present on her face.

“Let’s head out, then,” Aralan stated as he stood up, nodding to Leon to do the same.

“Could you let Gar know that we’ll need more eggs soon while you’re out, Leva?” Briga requested.

“Sure, I’ll make sure to do that,” Leva replied as she followed Annette, Aralan, and Leon out.

“So, what’s on the shoppin’ list?” Aralan asked with a pointed glance at Leon.

“Hm? Oh, you’re asking me. I’d say we should stock up on rations and get a couple waterskins,” Leon suggested.

Aralan nodded. “Good idea. We’re gonna have a new person joinin’ us, after all. ‘Ey, Leva. Hope you know that we expect you to carry your own stuff.”

Leva nodded, grinning. “Don’t worry, I’m plenty strong to carry what I’ll need.”

Aralan opened the front door to the inn, walking out. “Good to know. Where to first?”

“Well, we could check out Gar’s store. He sells a lot of things,” Leva answered.

“Sounds good, lead the way.”

…

The group left Gar’s store, Aralan having a visible scowl on his face.

“What an annoyin’ haggler, guy really got on my nerves,” Aralan grumbled after the door had fully closed. “Really feel like I gotta blow off some steam, now.”

“Aw, c’mon, don’t be so harsh on him. Not often travelers come through town, so he has to squeeze out every drop possible,” Leva playfully remarked.

“Well, when you put it that way,” Aralan half-heartedly muttered.

“I know! Why don’t you have some practice spars to kill some time? Warm you up for the big one,” Annette suggested.

Leon shifted the backpack. “An excellent idea. It might also give you some idea of Lottie’s fighting style if you spar one of the guards. Assuming, of course, she presides personally over training them.”

“Pft. Not much technique to fightin’ with a spear. Any idiot could pick one up and hurt someone. Guess you kinda do have a point, though. Might give me an idea of how she fights.” Aralan crossed his arms.

“Wanna head to the barracks, then?” Leva asked.

“Guess so. Not much else to do for now,” Aralan stated with a shrug.

The four of them headed along to the barracks, a building composed out of weathered stone bricks rather than the wood and stone of the rest of the village. The door appeared much sturdier than the others. A couple guards in gambesons were practicing against some dummies just outside.

“Oh, hey there! Been a while, Kolson!” Leva called as she approached.

The shorter of the two guards looked over and smiled. “Leva! Sorry I haven’t checked in for a while, been busier than usual. Captain’s havin’ me train for the night patrol,” Kolson explained.

“Ooh, the night patrol? Didn’t think she’d be adding another so soon after that happened.” Leva then turned to the others. “This is Annette, Lan, and Leon. They’re travelers!”

“Travelers, huh? Lot- I mean, Captain did mention that,” Kolson remarked as he eyed over the group. His gaze lingered over Aralan and Annette, only a quick glance spared at Leon. “Nice to meet ya! Hope you’ve been enjoyin’ your stay in Stornvil.”

“I had a favor to ask. Wanna spar? I need to kill some time until Lottie wakes up,” Aralan bluntly stated.

Kolson whistled. “Pretty and you fight? Shame you’re not stayin’. Sure, I’ll spar with you.” He turned to walk to an empty area by the training yard. A couple baskets were set there, containing practice weapons. He took out a practice spear, walking to the center of the empty area. Aralan followed along shortly after, checking through the practice weapons until he found one similar to a glaive.

“Leon, are you listening?” came Mutae’s voice.

“Yes, why?” he mentally replied.

“I believe that watching the demon fight first-hand would be a useful experience for Rayan. Find a convenient place to relinquish your control to him,” she ordered.

Leon’s shoulders lowered, his mouth drawing into a grimace. “Very well.”

“I’ll be back in a moment,” he told Annette and Leva as he walked to the side of the barracks.

Once out of sight, he glanced around to make sure nobody was watching and took the backpack off. “Come on, Rayan. Mutae wanted you to watch the spar,” he mentally called.

There wasn’t much warning before Leon’s consciousness sank and was replaced by Rayan’s. Shimmering particles appeared over his face and back, the mask and cloak reappearing. He released a quiet sigh and took both off to stow them in the backpack before he put it on. That done, he walked back to the others.

“So, are you two sisters?” Leva asked Annette.

“Sisters? Oh, goodness, no. That would be strange, considering that Lan is a man,” Annette gently corrected. “We’re not related in any way.”

Leva’s expression betrayed her shock. “A man? Is one of his grandparents an elf, or something?”

Annette tilted her head, tapping a finger to her chin in thought. “I’m not quite sure. He’s never spoken much of himself. I just know that he has great martial skill, which is why my family hired him to guard me.”

Rayan tuned out their conversation, having lost interest. Instead, he walked closer to the empty area to watch the spar. It was what he was taking a break for, after all. But in all honesty, he was getting sick of fighting as a whole. His perception of time was messed up from being in that ethereal other-world. It felt like it had been a year or more since Mutae had declared that he would be the one to fight Aralan. So, admittedly, he found himself appreciating the scenery out here more than he thought he would.

The trees were sparse past the logged area right next to the village. Sunlight peeked through the canopy to dance on the ground below. It was a breezy day, so the forest was probably alive with the sound of wind through the leaves. Cumulus clouds could be seen in the distance, bright against the blue sky.

Right. The spar. He turned his attention away from the trees and clouds. Kolson and Aralan had already begun. The former was scowling while the latter had a neutral expression with a hint of a grin.

Aralan shifted his grip so that his left hand was near the rear of the wooden glaive while his right held closer to the middle, holding it somewhat high up in an upright position. He stepped closer, swinging harshly down at Kolson when he was within range.

Kolson raised his practice spear, held in a similar grip, to a horizontal position to block. He took a couple steps back, grunting in surprise at the force Aralan had used. “By the Roc, you hit hard,” he commented. Taking the initiative, he stepped forward again to jab at Aralan’s chest.

Aralan redirected the predictable strike, catching the wings of the spear on the pole of his glaive and forcing the weapon to go downward diagonally instead. He quickly followed up with a sweep in the same direction, just barely missing Kolson’s head.

“Holy- don’t hit me in the head!” Kolson protested as he backed off.

“You’re wearin’ a helmet, you’d’ve been fine,” Aralan pointed out.

Rayan was trying his best to not zone out as he was watching the “friendly” spar. Aralan likely had centuries of experience as a fighter, so it was no surprise that he had the upper hand without breaking a sweat. From what Rayan could tell, he was drawing the spar out for some reason and letting Kolson tire himself out. A sense of dread was building in the back of his mind as he continued watching. He was going to have to fight Aralan eventually, after all.

After many more bouts, Kolson dropped down into a sitting position on the dirt, panting heavily. “Fuck, that’s it. No more, I’m tired. What’d you need with the captain, anyway?”

Aralan rested the practice glaive against his shoulder, smirking. “I’m gonna spar her, of course. She’s pro’lly the best fighter here, and she’ll be the proof I need that I’ll be able to protect Leva.”

“Protect Leva?” Kolson questioned, his brows furrowed in confusion. Then the realization dawned on him. “Oh. I see. She’s talked you into lettin’ her tag along in your travels. Well, I’m pretty sure you’re up to the task.”

“Better be, I knocked your ass to the ground,” Aralan retorted, his smirk growing as he turned and saw Rayan. Approaching, he leaned down to whisper, “Bet you enjoyed watchin’ me.”

Rayan recoiled, grimacing as he held onto his own arm subconsciously. “Only for learning purposes.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Aralan dropped his practice glaive back in the basket and walked past Rayan to rejoin the others.

Leva glanced up at Aralan as he stepped closer, a grin forming on her face. She quickly turned her head away to hide it, though. “I see what you mean now, Annette,” she said.

“You wouldn’t guess it from how slim he is, right?” Annette asked with a quiet laugh.

Aralan shook his head disapprovingly. “Of course you two were chattin’ away the entire time. And there’s a reason I wear loose-fittin’ clothes.”

“Rayan, the spar has concluded. It’s time to return,” Mutae ordered.

He flinched, though dropped his shoulders in a resigned gesture. Nothing he could do about that. Guess he’d let Leon take over again.

“You don’t usually reach out to me, Christopher,” Chelsea remarked, lounging back as she twirled a strand of her ashy brown hair.

They were alone in this part of the ethereal landscape.

“Well, I got something I need to ask you. It’s about Rayan,” Christopher began.

“Oh?” Chelsea dropped her hand, turning her gaze up to him. “I’m surprised that you’re interested in that kid.”

He clicked his tongue in annoyance. “I know that you talked with him after that training session. The one where he freaked out. Did he tell you why?”

She grinned, looking off to the side. “Why do you think he would’ve told me of all people?”

“Well,” he hesitated, releasing a breath. Why did he always get this uneasy feeling around her? “He doesn’t seem to trust men very much. And I doubt that he’d open up to Maria or Mutae at all.”

“Heh. You’re pretty sharp, I’ll give you that,” she remarked. “I’ll even reward you for it.”

Christopher watched apprehensively as Chelsea stood, his shoulders tensing up.

“Oh, come on. Don’t need to be so nervous around me. You’ve done worse than I have, after all. Now, I’ll let you in on a secret,” she murmured.

Stepping closer, she leaned up close to his ear to whisper to him. They were words that barely stirred the air in the other world. Not even a ripple in its fabric.

Christopher jolted away from her, inhaling sharply. “He- he told you that?” he stammered out.

Chelsea nodded, a pleased smile crossing her face. “He did. It didn’t even take much to have him admit it. Do what you want with that information. Just don’t let him know that you know. Wouldn’t want to break his trust; he didn’t want me to tell anyone else.”

“Then why did you-” Christopher watched her walk away, gritting his teeth. Hell, he felt betrayed by that. Rayan put his trust in her, told her something that was no doubt one of the most painful things that he held onto. And she just gave it away when asked nicely.

Breathe. Christopher inhaled slowly, releasing the breath. He had to think. If he told Rayan that Chelsea had already given away his secret, it would definitely cause him grief. Make it even harder to open up. Christopher knew the pain of being unable to open up to anybody. And a kid who had gone through that? He definitely needed to know he could trust the people around him.

Fuck, it made him mad, but the best course of action would probably be to keep his knowledge a secret. Just like Chelsea wanted. Maybe he could tell him once he’d gained Rayan’s trust himself. Couldn’t force it, though. Or he could pretend that it was the first time he was hearing it if Rayan ended up telling him.

“You look even more broody than usual,” came Maria’s voice out of nowhere.

“Holy fuck!” he exclaimed in surprise as he turned around to see her.

She brought her hand up to her mouth, stifling laughs at his surprise. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you that badly.”

He crossed his arms, a scowl betraying his bewilderment. “Did you need something? You usually don’t talk to me at all,” he pointed out.

“Yeah, I wanted to ask if anything, like, happened between you and Chelsie. She’s got this weird vibe to her right now. Don’t know why, just call it intuition,” she explained.

He pursed his lips. Something had definitely changed in the air. “She, uh, told me something sensitive about Rayan,” he vaguely answered.

“That bratty kid? Why?”

“He’s got some issues. I thought that I might be able to help him, but he refused to open up about them. So, I asked Chelsea because they seem pretty close,” he elaborated.

Maria furrowed her brows, staring at him for a solid couple seconds with a dumbfounded expression. Before she spoke, she let out a long sigh. “So, like, what you’re telling me is that instead of taking a different approach to like, get him to open up, or, y’know, giving him time to get to know you, you asked Chelsie to disclose some sensitive information. You’re worse at socializing than I thought you were.”

“Fuck, when you say it like that,” Christopher muttered, grimacing. Yeah, this was something he’d keep his mouth shut about knowing.

“Well, there’s no taking it back now. You, like, know it, so you can’t really just forget. Are you gonna, like, tell him, or...?”

He shook his head. “He trusts Chelsea, and I don’t want to take that away from him. We’re adults, he’s just a damn kid. He needs to be able to trust us.”

“Even though you’re, like, planning on keeping this from him. That’s like the most immature mature thing I’ve ever heard you say,” she said disapprovingly.

“Why did Chelsea tell me, though? According to her, he told her that he didn’t want anyone else to know. The fuck was she thinking?” he questioned.

“No clue, but I’ll definitely be keeping my eye on her from now on,” Maria stated.

Christopher nodded in agreement. “I’ll be doing the same. Makes me wonder what else we can’t trust her with.”