A crumpled paper landed softly in the trash, the office dimly lit, the candlelight casting shades onto the wall, lighting up filled bookshelves and paintings in succession. The candlelight flickered every time the man leaned in, and every time he leaned back, he was disgruntled, it shouldn’t be that difficult to write a letter, it really shouldn’t.

. . . .

“So we can’t just leave for Brün?”

“No, as I said we cannot, we need to prepare”

“But are you sure though? It can’t be that far can it?”

“It is that far!” Bardo’s voice sounded out loudly in the Barman’s Bevy, his big hand shook the small wooden table making the other patrons give them some nasty stares, Bardo lowered his voice calming himself down “We’ve been over this four times today, we need to prepare a bit more, for two people to take the trip is too dangerous, the journey between Loktath and Brün is far, there aren’t many villages in-between either, you’re acting like some country boy from Siktath!” Bardo had met Edra joyously, they had gone to the Barman’s Bevy and gotten very drunk very early, after which they had gone on a drunken eating adventure in town. When evening finally came they returned tired and exhausted, they ordered some food and beer. During the day Edra had insisted several times that they should leave in the morning, Bardo had had to relay the facts over and over, that Brün was far away and unless they could join a caravan or they were stronger, it would be too risky to make the journey on their own.

Edra leaned back in his chair he could feel the alcohol still affecting him “So we join a caravan that’s leaving tomorrow?” his voice slightly shaky.

“Where’d we find a caravan now? We also don’t have any equipment or travel clothes, we need to do a few requests from the local adventurer’s guild, earn some Vestir and levels” Bardo was exasperated, it was obvious that his new friend was drunk, in a way he enjoyed that he could let his guard down and speak his mind, he was used to being told to shut up.

Edra lifted an eyebrow “Vestir? What is Vestir?”

“What is Vestir? What is Vestir he asks…” Bardo’s eyes were large as skillets, his shock incomprehensible “tell me friend just where you hail from?” A contemplative look painted Edra’s face, Bardo had asked partly in a joking manner, but also partly seriously; Edra never talked about his time before Loktath, he knew little of the customs in the area, and he didn’t even know that Brutsch currency was called Vestir.

His finger swiped the edge of his mug while he was looking at no one and nowhere, Bardo became even more intrigued at his reaction to his question. Then he dropped, his chair fell on the ground Edra with it, sleeping through the entire ordeal. Bardo quickly apologized and picked up Edra. He couldn’t help but smile after he had dropped of Edra and went to his own room, it had been a long time since he had been so carefree, it was as if a burden had been lifted, and he now saw a way forward.

. . . .

“We’re leaving the day after tomorrow” His face solemn as he looked at his wife “I know it is sudden, but this is a chance for us to have a better life, a brighter future for the kids” the emotions that was expressed across his face spoke volumes more than the words that left his mouth.

It had come as a shock to her, she knew he was coming back one of these days, but that he would’ve already gotten a job working as a guard for a noble was all very much an unexpected surprise, they would have to pack up everything, say goodbye to their families and go on a journey, that was sure to be tiring, she took a deep breath and smiled at her husband “Alright, we’ve always talked about moving to Brün, it was the plan anyway, it is just happening a little faster” the husband looked very relieved at his wife’s reaction “But Peter! You and that noble better not try something!”

Peter coughed out the water he had just drunk spraying it in the face of the now disgruntled wife “Are you nuts! She is almost half my age” he was fuming until he saw her sneaky grin “You!” he rushed over and hugged her tightly “I might not be the best man, I might not be the smartest man, but I’ll always be yours”

“And I yours” the wife said with a kiss on his forehead.

. . . .

Elisa sat in front of big fireplace, the room lavish with blue walls and large fur skins lying in front of the fire, her chair large and ordinate it too covered in furs. She was casually reading a book passing the time slowly and comfortably, it wouldn’t be long before she returned to the tumult of one of Brutsch’s two sub-capitals. She lightly turned the page, her outward appearance not at all hinting of the inward turmoil and worries that she held for her future, for her family and for her city.

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An elderly lady walked up to her and passed her a cup of tea “The servants are sleeping, and I’d rather not disturb them at this hour” she chuckled “dear, are you sure that you cannot stay any longer?”

She saw her own reflection in the tea, blurred, it was funny how her great aunt was so much more noble than herself, would she have cared for the servant’s sleep? She prided herself as being above the other nobles in the capital, that she cared, but when she went to visit Loktath and her great aunt, she learned a lesson in humility “Yes aunt, we’ll be leaving on the appointed day” she was reluctant to leave, in a way she wanted to stay, Loktath was simple, there might be crime and scheming, but it amounted to little more than a molehill, whereas Brün, Brün now that was a mountain.  She closed her eyes and savored the warm tea flowing down her throat.

. . . .     

Was headache the right word, maybe? something worse, migraine? Or something caught between the two? Edra wasn’t entirely sure, and he couldn’t think straight enough to figure it out, he had been certain that his strong vitality and stamina would allow him not to get drunk, when he did get drunk, after the first beer even, he had been certain that his strong vitality and stamina would cause him not to have a hangover or pass out, how wrong he had been! He slowly moved out of bed, wobbling his way to the bathroom, there might not be hot water in the taps, but they did have taps with cold water, which was just what he needed! Every second under the cold water brought him new life and memories of the previous day. What a fool he had been, of course they needed to prepare before they went to Brün.

After getting dressed he went downstairs to meet up with Bardo, the stairs certainly was a challenge for him, there must be something other than just alcohol in those beers, he was convinced of it!

Arriving downstairs with an apologizing grin he gave Bardo a clap on the shoulder, they got their breakfast while they chatted about the previous day. The food barely stayed within its borders as they made their way outside into the cloudy Loktath weather.

It was his first time at the adventurers guild, it was a large building build out of birch tree logs, the inside was spacious and functioned partly as a tavern and a place of requests, it was loud it was rowdy, and it was everything that Edra had in mind when he thought of this type of establishment. Bardo led him to the G-rank adventurer’s noticeboard, there were many simple requests of all types, and they picked a simple one of culling some wolves on a nearby farm.

They walked up towards the personnel desk casually, when Bardo noticed a man conversing with one of the employees.

“Hey Lüdwig” Bardo greeted the elderly man warmly giving him a good firm handshake, Lüdwig seemed a bit taken aback, but he gave a firm handshake in return.

“What are you doing here instructor?” Edra asked quizzed.

Lüdwig pulled out a letter from his chest-pocket “Not instructor anymore, simply Lüdwig will do, and I’m here on official business, I have a letter that I need delivered to Brün, so I was going to make it an official request here at the guild” he looked at the two new warrior’s in front of him “It isn’t urgent or anything, so how about you take the request, a journey like that is a good way to grow, although I’m not sure you are quite ready to leave yet, but what do you say lads?”

Bardo and Edra looked at each other, it was obvious, and there was no need to hesitate.

Edra had signed up as a G-rank adventurer and they had officially accepted Lüdwig’s request with the guild. They were now walking around the marketplace to find some cheap armor and weapons.

Bardo nudged Edra in his ribs “Hey isn’t that Peter and Elisa over there, you know them right?”

“Well I’ll be…” He and Bardo went over to greet them.

The bustle was noisy and loud, so the group of four found a small tavern where they could converse.

“So you’re going back to Brün tomorrow already?” Edra said surprised “No offense to Peter here, but I’m not sure he is quite ready to guard someone on such a long trip back” For some this may have been offensive, but they had risked each other’s lives to save one another, although not close friends, there was a deep bond of trust between the three.

“Of course not!” Peter said proudly “Elisa is a noble, she has her own guards escorting her, I’m her first personal guard however” Bardo couldn’t help but chuckle at his lack of shamelessness, the rest noticed and began laughing even Peter did.

It was the second time that Bardo and Edra had looked at each other at the same time, well wasn’t it obvious, what an opportunity to miss, of course there was no need to hesitate.

The following day a small caravan of people were leaving behind Loktath from the north entrance, there were a few guards on horses, two carriages and some foot-folk, Edra and Bardo were walking together with the group. The sun rising from the east casting scintillating rays of warm light on the caravan, as if welcoming their journey to Brün.