The following day, Tyros followed his mother in Lord Grudal's office. Once the introduction was done, they went straight to the point and started discussing their new life in Hillshire. Toman Grudal explained that they would have a full year paid for their lodging and they would try to get her employed. It seemed very generous and even if Cierra had no reason to refuse she was a bit suspicious about that tempting offer. There were two downsides: the first one was that when Tyros was twelve he would have to try studying martial arts for at least a year and the second one was that they would have to become citizens of Hillshire and not migrate to another province of Waedor. Tyros didn’t see any issue with the conditions and so he simply let his eyes wander in the room while his mom was negotiating the last condition. It’s not that she wanted to leave the province, but she needed insurances that they would be able to leave without issue if they had proper reasons. The attack on Sunhaven was still fresh in her memory. After a few more back and forth between the two they both seemed satisfied.
Once the discussion died down, Toman called for Aldwin and the mother and son duo were invited to leave the office as Aldwin would guide them through the details. Obviously as Cierra was still incapacitated because of her broken arm she wouldn’t be able to be at her peak. Hence Cierra was offered to work for the castle blacksmith. Shafts for spears and wooden weapons were always in need and less precision and skills was required. Cierra was happy with the arrangement as being unable to work for a few months would make the situation difficult, even with the lodging taken care of.
They made their way toward a forge, in a carriage. Their destination was still in the noble district but closer to the gate leading to the commoner’s district. The shop wasn’t exactly blending in the area, there was space around it protected by a wall. Smoke elevated from the building chimneys and you could hear the sound of hammering from outside. Once they entered the shop, they were welcomed by a woman, around 18 years old who recognized Aldwin immediately. She went to fetch Oron, the blacksmith and owner of the shop. The butler explained the situation to the tall man, his biceps were twice the size of Tyros thighs, he was bald with a well kept beard. When the butler was done, Oron looked at Cierra with some hesitation, even if the work he could give her wasn’t hard for an experienced wood sculptor the fact that she could only use one arm was problematic. Tyros was quick on the uptake and offered his help freely to compensate for his mother's health issue. This way she would have three arms to work even if two of them were from a kid. After a few seconds of consideration the blacksmith agreed to let her work for a few months in his shop. It’s not like he really had a choice anyway, a direct request from the Lord wasn’t something you would simply refuse. Moreover it was only for a couple months, the time that Cierra regained full use of her broken arm. After a quick tour of the facilities Oron gave them an appointment the next morning, to be shown how they work in here and start her new job.
They went out and Aldwin gave another direction to the driver, this time they would be heading to their new home. They made their way with idle chat as they left the noble district. Their new house was situated in the commoner district. It wasn’t far from the gate separating the districts, the distance between the little house they would live in and the blacksmith’s shop was doable afoot. The plot of land was surrounded by a stone wall the size of a man, you could access it from a little porch sheltering a wooden door. There were a few flowers emerging from the ground, above it was a window offering a view of the kitchen. They went inside and found themselves in a little corridor. On the right was the kitchen, on the left was the living room. Ahead the corridor led to a bathroom, and parallel to the corridor were stairs, leading to two bedrooms upstairs. Aldwin gave each of them a badge with the crest of Lord Grudal on it. The badge was in bronze and would be useful to pass through the gate separating the two districts, but also to leave and enter back into the city.
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After a few more pleasant words Aldwin finally left the duo alone, but not without giving them a few coins to be able to live in the coming days.
The duo spent the rest of their day wandering in the neighborhood, shopping for some of what they needed, a few sets of clothes, some food, and enjoying some peace of mind. They were set for the coming days, thanks to the Lord and his men they were finally at peace and they could slowly rebuild themselves.
“Next time you see the lord of one of his men, you need to be respectful toward them, they really helped us out today.
- I know mom, they were really nice to me when I was looking for you.
- And I don’t know if we will be able to repay their kindness one day. Nevertheless, you know how special you are. You, Nici, Niror and Elery. The four of you represent an investment and opportunities for anyone looking to get your favors. It's not like they would have, but they didn’t help all of the villagers the same way they helped us. They probably helped Nici and his dad the same way but that’s it. When you’ll be old enough, usually around fourteen, you will probably obtain an ability. All progenitors, like you, have one. Some abilities are almost useless, at least for a Lord. For example one of the progenitors could levitate a few inches above the ground. There is no benefit for a Lord to have someone like this in his retinue or army. But you and the three others have unknown abilities. Your ability could be useful for a noble, that's why you are an investment for them. They want to curry your favor because you might have powerful abilities. It might be powerful in a martial way, but also in an economical way. That’s why they were so nice to us. Your ability will be a gift from the weaver, but also a burden, because you will never know if someone approaches you because they want to gain something from you or not. You have to be careful, especially with nobles. They play games with the life of commoners, we are nothing but figures and pawns for them. “
Tyros nodded pensively, it seemed logical for him, they all acted differently when noticing his amber eyes, and it was a physical manifestation that couldn’t easily be hidden. He would need to be more careful now that he knew this, but it didn’t mean he had to distrust anyone outright. He was in a city now, rich people and nobles had a status, he knew that it wouldn’t be the same as in the village, where everyone was friendly. Almost friendly, but at least in the village you knew everyone.
He simply couldn’t conceive that he was that special, maybe when his ability unlocked he would feel different. Tyros spent the rest of his evening thinking about what ability he would like to have. Maybe he could influence destiny if he thought hard enough !
The next morning, he was woken up by his mother, calling him for breakfast. He was full of energy, things would almost go back to normal, at least they would both be safe. He wolfed down his breakfast. It wasn’t some professional cook from a fancy castle that made it, but for the boy, it was even better.
Once they were done, his mother helped him get ready, and they both walked peacefully in the direction of their new job, a new life began for both of them !