It had been another bustling day at The Gray Patrons Inn, and as the sun started to set outside, more travelers and guild members would find their way in search of a hot meal and a clean bed for the night. Another dirty glass found its way to the counter for her to clean by some drunkard she had taken in. Even though he was drunk, he still had the sense to bring the glass to the bar for cleaning. She may have allowed any lowlife shelter for a night and a hot meal at her expense, but they knew she ran a tight ship and they wouldn’t have a bed for the night if they made a mess of the place.

“Thank you, dear.” She grabbed the glass and set a wash rag to it, turning her back to the inn.

A slurred “Yes, Miss Kairi.” could be heard behind her as the drunkard slipped away from the bar; hopefully to a bed to sleep in for the night and not out into the streets where trouble could be found.

The hum of chatter washed across the inn as she cleaned the glass. It wasn’t as cheerful as the melodies of a minstrel, but a noisy inn meant coins in her purse. Most of the inn was filled with members of the guild, but the other portion was filled with townsfolk. The shuffling of cards and rolling of dice could be heard by the gamblers who usually stuck to their corner. You could find the occasional maid seeking the company of a wealthy merchant hoping to find an early retirement. Many travelers frequented the inn as it was on a well-traveled merchant's road that nearly split Bexley in two leading to the capital city of Dranada.

She set the glass to dry only to find another in its wake. This one with a note underneath. She picked up the glass leaving the note in place and set to washing it, her back to the owner of the note with an audible sigh. "We don't take merc requests Bruno, you know that."

A burly man in silver plaid armor that gathered quite a few stairs stood at the bar seemingly unaware of the attention he brought. "Oh don't be like that darlin, I thought you gray beds helped all sorts of low life like myself."

She set the glass to dry forcefully, but carefully enough to not shatter it. "We Patrons, assist those who need it. We are not simple arms for hire to do others' dirty work such as yourself."

"Wo now, this ain't no dirty work. This here be honest man's.." He earned a stern glare from her. "..or ladies' work.” He held his hands up in defense. “Just a simple transport job."

"Why can't the Red Barons handle the job? Why bring it to us?"

"Well, the fact is, we done spread ourselves too thin, and the pays too good no merc could refuse. Just need a couple more bodies to handle the load is all." He slid a coin from his pocket and laid it atop the note sliding it forward with one finger. "Think about it." As he turned to leave a few lingering eyes watched him carefully as he made his way to the door.

As he left, another took his place. Though his face was dirty from a long trip, she could recognize that messy light brown hair and road-worn cloak anywhere. She watched as a bulky and particularly rough-looking man from a nearby table threw his cards down smacking the table before rising to greet the stranger.

“Aether help me you’re supposed to be dead.” They both clasped hands and the larger man pulled the newcomer into a tight embrace leaving the newcomer gasping, squished against the plates of his brigandine armor. He set him down and slapped a hand on his back, a plume of dust enveloping the both of them. “Ya sure do smell dead though, but that’s not gonna get my money back.” He bellowed out in laughter at his joke.

“It’s good to see you too, Dax,” the newcomer said.

“Lan!” Kairi interrupted both of them she shoved her way through the busy inn and nearly tackled him with her embrace. “We’ve missed you!” She held on tight not wanting to let go in fear of him leaving again, she relented though when the smell got to her.

“It’s good to be back,” Lan said. The butt of a spear tapped at his leg. “Rose, I didn’t forget about you.” When he looked in her direction he was greeted with a rude gesture and a deadpan stare.

A smirk slowly shifted on her face and she jumped up to embrace him as well. Maybe for just a little too long in Kairi’s opinion. “It’s good to see you,” Rose signed.

“Where are the others?” Lan asked.

“Out doing jobs in town, someone has to pick up all your slack since you’re never here,” Kairi said prodding him in the chest with a stiff finger. “Speaking of which, you must be starving, why don’t you go get washed up, and I’ll prepare us some food. We can meet in the dining hall, and then you can tell us about your trip.” Kairi shoved Lan off in the direction of his room. Though he wasn’t there often, he always had a room available for him. “You two better wash up as well. You’re all filthy.” Neither objected for fear of being the next under Kairi’s scrutiny.

By the time everyone had finished washing up, Kairi had prepared quite the banquet. The aroma filled the room as both Rose and Dax entered first. She had prepared fresh warm bread that she had set to rise earlier in the day. The next plate overheld a mix of buttered vegetables, followed by some beans & bacon. At the center of the table lay a pile of braised lamb shanks that set Dax’s mouth-watering. For dessert, a warm raspberry pie sat on the window sill. While carrying some cheese and fresh fruit to the table she noticed Dax reaching for one of the lamb shanks, which she immediately swatted away while balancing both plates in one hand effortlessly. “No one is eating until Lan arrives!”

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“Aww, but I was only going to smell it.” Dax pleaded with his big brown eyes.

Kairi gave him a look that insisted there would be no arguing on the subject, seemingly unaffected by his gaze. Another guest strolled in through the door and he greeted everyone with the usual big grin on his face. She watched as he took off his leather jacket and bow and laid them near the doorway before sauntering over and plucking an apple off the plate that was still balanced in her arms.

“Thank you, Miss Kairi,” He said and then wandered over toward the window sill and leaned against the wall next to the raspberry pie. He pressed his thumb against a small tattoo that resembled a small ornate dagger on the side of his index finger. Blue light glowed taking the shape of a full-sized dagger that materialized in the palm of his hand; which he then used for slicing and eating the apple.

Dax huffed raising his arms in response. “Why does Elliot get to eat?”

“Because he’s eating healthy apples and not trying to steal some of the main course while we wait for Lan,” Kairi said.

“Wait Lan’s here? And here I thought this was all for me.” Elliot said. He caught a silent giggle from Rose and gave her a little wink causing her to flush slightly while fidgeting with the braid in her hair.

Kairi gazed upon him with the eyes of a mother bear protecting her cub, and he went back to eating his apple in silence. Her face lit up though when Lan walked through the door. He dawned a fresh pair of clothes, but his hair was still a scraggly mess just hanging over his green eyes. At least it was clean now.

“Can we eat now?” Dax attempted to plead to her again with his big eyes and sad face.

“Yes, now that Lan is here we may all eat,” Kairi said. They all sat and passed the food around filling their plates. There was plenty of food for all of them, but per usual Dax stacked his plate three times as high as everyone else, though Elliot kept stealing the plates before Dax could grab them and gave them to Rose first before passing them on.

“Well I see that much hasn’t changed in my absence,” Lan said.

Dax mumbled a reply but it was unintelligible due to the food stuffed in his mouth.

“So how was your trip to Balo? I heard the mountains there are breathtaking.” Elliot said.

“The view was amazing, but I wish it weren’t as cold there. Even in the summer, snow covers most of the mountainside. Thankfully once you get to the city the taverns are nice and warm.” Lan said.

Kairi playfully elbowed Lan in the side. “So, did you bring us any gifts?” It had become a tradition that he would bring back colorful rocks from his travels, and both Kairi and Rose looked at him expectantly.

“I’d rather he brought back some of the food from Balo,” Dax said after he gulped his mouthful down, Elliot nodding in agreement.

“I would if I could Dax.” Lan laughed and reached into his pocket. “I have these, but I wouldn’t recommend eating them if I were you.” He laid some beautiful stones that shined with iridescent colors of blue, green, and yellow, depending on the angle you looked at them from. Both Kairi and Rose sorted through the rocks on which ones they wanted to keep. Dax and Elliot just waited to take whatever the girls had decided to leave for them.

“So, did you find her?” Elliot said. He promptly received a punch to his shoulder from Rose. “Ow! What was that for?”

“Respect” Rose signed.

Lan let out a breath of air. “It’s fine Rose. No. I didn’t find her.” He smirked. “I did find the orphanage where she lived though.”

“What?!” The whole table burst with sudden excitement. They had grown accustomed to him coming back with no information.

Kairi shook Lan. “That’s so amazing!

“That’s awesome Lan,” Elliot said. “Do they know where she is?”

Lan shook his head. “Only that she left for Vura looking for work a year ago.”

Kairi’s excitement faltered for a second at the last statement. Vura was on a whole other continent and had finally returned after being gone for so long. She regained her composure as Lan continued.

“Jaylen requested they write the other orphanages in search of me but after little success, they told her it was best to move on.” Kairi rested a reassuring hand on his arm. “Thanks, I mean it makes sense considering I spent my time at the guild instead of an orphanage. They were shocked when I showed up. Anyways, at least I know she’s still alive.”

“How many years have you been searching?” Elliot asked.

“It’s been 10 years now since we were separated,” Lan said.

“Wow, has it really been 10 years since we picked you up?” Dax said. “You were such a small lad then.” He held out his hand in measurement.

“Well, we all aren’t giants like you Dax,” Elliot said with a chuckle. The rest of the table laughed and they continued to banter with Dax about his old age for most of the night.

Everyone left for bed after helping clean up except for Lan who was still at the window sill staring off into the distance. Kairi approached Lan to stare out along with him. It was a beautiful site. The two moons above shined across the open fields covered in wildflowers that glowed from the ambient aether they absorbed. It was a sea of green, spotted with a rainbow of flowers like stars in the sky. They stood in silence for a while before Kairi spoke.

“So when do you leave?” Kairi said.

“I’m not sure. I wish I could stay, but this is the closest I’ve ever been to finding my sister. Catching a ship to Vura isn’t cheap though, and I used a good amount of what I had saved up for the trip to Balo. I looked at the job board earlier, but I didn’t see anything significant. So it doesn’t look like I’ll be leaving anytime soon.” Lan said.

Kairi fiddled with the folded-up paper in her pocket before reluctantly handing it over to Lan. “Here.”

Lan took the note and read over it. “What’s this?”

“It’s not official but we got a new request in from the Red Barons today,” Kairi said.

“I thought we didn’t take requests from the Red Barons?” Lan said.

“We don’t.” Kairi huffed.”But It’s a supposed caravan transport. The route should be heading to the coast, and I hear the pay is quite large. Should be enough for a ship to Elari.”

Lan wrapped his arms around her. “Thanks, Kairi.”

“Just don’t forget to come back home okay,” Kairi said.

“Yes Miss Kairi,” Lan replied.

Kairi kissed him on the cheek and left him by the window sill to retire for the night.