Mariel woke up, feeling even more tired than before she went to sleep. The dreams had kept her awake. Every night she had a nightmare in which she re-visited every death she had and more than once she woke to find everyone standing over her with varying degrees of concern on their faces. Despite their insistence, she had gently refused to talk about it, and waved it all off as a passing bad dream.

Saya and Casindire had gotten over the long awkward hours as each of them tried to adapt to each other. Towards Tizare, Casindire remained cautious, and at times Mariel had found them sitting in opposite corners of the common room. Eventually, with Saya’s help, Casindire had warmed up to them a little and begun to relax in their presence.

All four had decided to get together for a bit of a special treat on Tizare’s bill. Thanks to the free time, he and Saya had been busying themselves with helping after the storm, and had a fair amount of coin gathered. Casindire had also managed to bring in some coins through her skill with remedies. They had sat down outside a small inn where Tizare had helped restore the roof tiles.

As soon as they were seated, silence fell between them.

“I’m the unluckiest man in the world… I have three beautiful ladies around me, and not one of them has even made a move on me yet.” He sighed, poking the tankard in front of him.

“Your own fault.” Saya replied bluntly.

“Anyway… The reason I brought you here, we need to decide on where we will go next.” He retrieved a map from his pack and rolled it out over the table.

“We’re here… Now the next city is this one… Adriested… To get there we have two options… The first one is going by land, which will take us through this forest, over these plains here…” He traced the route across the map, passing by a pair of villages and across a series of rivers. “The problem here, is that the demon hunters are still out there…” He paused briefly while he slid his finger back to the starting point, and began tracing along the sea.

“Our other option is to board a ship, and sail there… It’ll cost us fare and we’ll have to buy supplies for the journey, but it’ll be overall much safer to…”

“The boat.” The other three replied in unison before he could finish his sentence.

“Well, that settles it… Once we arrive in Adriested, we’ll decide on our next path.”

The innkeeper appeared in the doorway carrying a big tray. Tizare quickly swept the map away to make space. The tray was heavily laden with four big bowls filled to the brim with a rich stew and an extra pot with more servings. His assistant also appeared with a set of mugs and refilled their empty tankards.

“Once again Tizare, thanks a lot for your help… I swear I couldn’t see myself thanking a human in my lifetime, but you’ve certainly earned it! I’m sorry I was so sceptical at first…”

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

“Don’t mention it, I know you are well within your right to feel suspicious about us… My kind has done some pretty horrible things…”

“So have we… So please accept this meal as a sort of peace offering.” The innkeeper grinned and went back inside.

Mariel put her spoon into the stew. As it broke the surface, she took in the rich smell, before popping the first spoonful into her mouth.

“Owwh!” She said with a muffled voice as the hot stew burnt her tongue.

“Yeah you should be careful with that.” Tizare laughed.

“This really is something different to the daily meal…” Casindire appeared in bliss as she continued to stuff her mouth.

“It’s amazing.” Saya too had let her expression soften a little.

The four ate in relative silence following their culinary bliss.

The good weather had continued ever since the storm. The temperature was still good, and the ground had eventually dried up enough to no longer be a muddy hole. The town had also managed to recover from the storm and was back to a splendour Mariel had thought impossible outside of her own home.

“I’ve never been on a boat before…” Casindire commented off-hand while nibbling a piece of bread.

“It’s an experience… Rough seas, strong winds, sea monsters below and you are surrounded by unwashed, hungry predators that devour any prey they find in the night…”

“The only predator bound to be on the ship, is you.” Saya snarled.

The shiver running down Casindire’s spine was clear for all to see.

“Last time I was on a boat, I couldn’t even sleep because the ship rocked so much, and sprang a leak right above me… Ouch!” His exaggeration was interrupted by Mariel whom landed a savage kick to his shin.

“What he’s trying to say, is that it’s not nearly as bad as all that… I’ve visited a few ships before, they’re all pretty solidly built and safe.”

“I’ll trust your word Mariel…” Despite her smile, her uneasiness was plain to see.

“Well, so the ship leaves tomorrow. If you got anything to do, get it done… Also, Mariel can I have a word with you?”

She and Tizare stood up and left under the curious glances of the others, they stopped close to the plaza’s well and Tizare dumped the bucket into it.

“What is it?” Mariel asked the inevitable question.

“Well that’s what I was about to ask you… I can tell you’re not sleeping well, and all that midnight screaming could raise the de… No that’s the reason, isn’t it? The dead?”

Mariel nodded and tried to put into words the feeling of dread and sorrow she felt whenever they stumbled across a corpse, and the feeling of her incredibly bad luck which lead to the deaths of so many refugees.

“Right, you feel responsible for them… It wasn’t even your fault.” Tizare whom had hoisted the bucket back up dunked his head into the cold water.

“No… I know but still… A lot of people died because I made a stupid mistake.”

“Look. I’m not a genius or anything, but I suggest you stop and think before acting. This isn’t the last time you’ll have to make a choice Mariel, and next time it just might be really important.” He shook his head violently, spraying droplets of water in every direction, many of which hit her, much to her dismay.

“I know… I’ll try. But I also have another request. Since we’ll be on that boat for a while, will you teach me how to swing a sword and draw a bow?”

Tizare looked at her for a long while, his eyes appraising her like an expensive item at a market.

“Sure, but there’s a condition.”

“Which is?”

“You have to come to terms with the fact you may have to kill others, without hesitation. No doubt this journey will have danger… But if you want to fight, I must be able to rely on you, trust you to do what it takes. We’ll fight as a group. I’ll cover your back, and you must cover mine… I can tell it’s difficult for you, just decide by the time we are underway.”