Fin and Brando sat in rapid silence while they ate their first bowl of stew. They had no desire to speak until they had consolidated their thoughts or finished their free meal or whichever came last. Brando was the first to set down his second bowl, breaking the stillness by standing up.

Surprised to feel full after finishing his meal, Fin spoke first. “Good job getting that woman out of there. I kind of froze up back there.”

“Are you kidding me? Good job scaring the ever-loving senses out of everyone around! I had my ears plugged, and I was still too scared to breathe. I can’t imagine how it affected the others.” Brando spoke rapidly, abandoning his lookout position to face Fin. “That’s how we’re getting out of here! But you’ll need to give me a secret signal before you do that again. You can’t just say, ‘Cover your ears!’ because everyone else will too. You have to say something like…”

“Incoming?” Fin interjected.

“Yeah, say ‘incoming.’ Just give me a second to get situated first,” Before Brando could continue, a group of miners came around the corner.

Fin gestured at the people approaching. “Incom… I mean, people are coming.”

Brando turned to see two men and two women cautiously moving toward them. “Hello.”

“Greetings,” The man at the front waved his hand. “We don’t know what you did back there, but we have come to thank you for your brave and heroic actions.”

“He really s-” Brando was shocked into silence when the man took his forearm and bowed his head.

The next man, taller and thinner than the first, touched his forehead and bowed, hand over heart, toward Brando.

If Brando was astonished at the unexpected handshake, he was more so when the women hugged him both at once, complimenting and thanking him. “Guys, I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I’m not the one to thank,” He pulled himself away from the group of embraces.

Before his friend could sell him out for his abilities, Fin spoke up, “He’s right. As a Vicar’s apprentice, Brother Brando means for you to thank Frome. He is too humble to take the credit for himself.”

“It is fitting that you serve the one who causes the tree to grow out of season,” The thin man bowed again. “I am a servant of the life that lives in that tree.”

By the look on Brando’s face, Fin could tell he had never heard of Frome or Deshon. It didn’t surprise him; Brando had mentioned how he wasn’t religious. Fin, on the other hand, was a seventh-generation farmer. It was difficult to be a farmer and not be a follower of the literal lord of farming, or Deshon, the lord of the harvest.

Fin spoke up for Brando, “You’ll have to forgive him; his work in the orchards is unfinished. He wasn’t expecting the unity of Deshon in the middle of his season. This comes as a shock to us all.”

“Could this mean that Ruqa has fled the barren desert?” The thin man asked.

This one was lost on Fin. He had no idea who Ruqa was or what barren desert she would be fleeing. He was also growing tired of the theatrics. “We are humble farmers. What Ruqa does is beyond us. Anyway, I’m Fin, and this is Brother Brando.”

“You are right, of course, and it is a pleasure meeting you Fin, and Brother Brando. I shall make introductions,” The thin man gestured to himself and then to the rest of his group in turn. “I am Ethon. This is Garret, Cassidy, and Brenna.”

“I am sorry we have been…” Garret searched for the word “unwelcoming before. Sometimes people decide it is easier to rob gems from others rather than mine them out of the ground like everyone else. We also didn’t know you were servants of Frome.”

“It’s okay,” Fin replied. “It’s good to finally have some allies down here.”

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“It’s hard recognizing who you can trust. But I’m glad to have met you two.” Cassidy gathered the four bowls on the ground.

Ethon held out his hands and received the bowls from her. “I will return these. You two have much to pray about.”

Cassidy pointed in the direction Ethon had disappeared, “he’s a little much at times, but he’s a good person to have on your team. If there’s anything we can do, just let us know.”

“Do you know how we can get a rope or a bag?” Fin asked.

Brenna’s eyes widened, “If you’re breaking out of here, I want out too.”

“The lord of all the plants has given us a secret orchard to water,” Brando blurted out, trying to keep their covert plans covert. “When the garden needs rain, we will return on the clouds.”

Trying not to slap his or Brando’s face at the wildly inappropriate use of religious jargon, Fin interjected, “What Brother Brando is trying to say is that we don’t want to put your lives in danger over our reckless plans for a potential escape. But we feel obligated to return with an army to free you if we leave here alive.

Brenna’s shoulders slumped slightly as the hope she had cultivated drained from her eyes.

Garret nodded and looked up at the holy man, “I don’t know about a rope, but I can try to get you a bag. Frome is obviously with you, so I will help as much as I can. It’s getting late. I’ll look into it and discuss more with you tomorrow.”

As everyone went in different directions, Brando finally said, “Brother Brando? Really?”

“I’m not trying to announce my abilities to the whole world,” Fin protested. “How was I supposed to know that in all your years as the vicar’s best friend, you didn’t attend a single service?”

“I mostly only went over there for the meals,” Brando smiled as he thought of the tables overflowing with food. “The village always gave him way too much to eat, so I mostly went to help him eat it all. It was me and the other kids without parents. All the vicar wanted to talk about was his antidotes to poisonous plants. I may have never heard of Desmos, but I know that if you get an ivy rash, you should rub the yellow loom flower over the affected area. If you get stung by a nettle, you should apply fir scepter. I also know that fir scepter isn’t its actual name, but it roughly translates into that from old common.”

“It’s Deshon,” Fin said flatly. “But thanks for covering for me. I don’t know about the part where you return on the rain clouds to water your secret orchard, though.”

Brando laid down on his spot of dirt. “Frome will reveal all to you in time, my son.”

Fin laughed. “Are you sure you haven’t been to a service? You’re starting to sound like the real thing.”

Brando’s eyes fell shut, “Maybe one or two.” With that, he fell asleep.

The following morning, Fin woke up to Brando shaking him. “Wake up. It looks like your secret rain clouds came early.”

Fin opened his eyes in time to feel a raindrop on his face, “You mean ‘your’ secret rain clouds?”

“Whoever’s rain clouds they are, they’re coming for us,” Brando helped Fin to his feet. “We should get somewhere dry until the sun comes out.”

The morning was still dark and cold. They warmed up their joints as they searched for shelter. By the time they found an indent deep enough in the side of the ravine to keep the rain off, it began pouring. The two scrambled just outside the reach of the tumult and waited for the rain storm to dry up.

“I’m not going to be able to go back to sleep like this. Why don’t you read me your dragon list?” Brando suggested. “It might help pass the time.”

Fin pulled up his status sheet and read out loud.