Ward was able to snag them a small table at the back of the crowded room, tucked far enough away from the loud chatter that they should be able to hear each other clearly. While he went and fetched their lunch, she pulled out her notebook and tried to organize her thoughts before he returned. Truthfully, she did have a million and one questions for him but she needed to gather information, not just satisfy her curiosity about every last little thing that she'd seen so far.

By the time he returned balancing two bowls of stew and a basket of crusty rolls, she had it narrowed down to a dozen questions. He laughed when he saw her notebook lying open on the table and the gleam in her eyes. Sliding into the seat across from her, he carefully set her bowl in front of her where it wouldn't interfere with her note writing. "I see that you've used the time productively."

She gave a rueful laugh. "I can't help it. There was so much to see and I have soooo many questions. But I did my best to pick the most important ones. After all, you need to eat as well, you can't spend the whole meal just answering my questions."

He teased, "Very thoughtful of you."

At her pout, he relented, "Really, it's fine. I wouldn't have offered to answer your questions if I didn't want to. It will be interesting to view that market through how you see it. You have a very different way of viewing things than the people of Audrilandre and even other star travelers. When I first came here, I did not look at things like you do, that's for sure."

She startled at that, pausing where she was buttering a roll. "I'd forgotten that you and your family were star travelers as well. Is it common for whole families to transmigrate?"

He stirred his stew thoughtfully, "Transmigrate?"

She discarded half a dozen explanations before simply going with, "Traveling from one world to another. I thought that star travelers were only brought over singly, which is why only I was selected instead of my whole family. But if your whole family came over at once, then there goes that theory."

He sighed, "Your case is an anomaly, from start to finish. To start with, twice a year, every six months, there is a large drop of star travelers. Anywhere between fifty and three hundred per sector. Roughly sixty-five percent of those star travelers are single travelers, twenty-five percent are paired travelers, and only the remaining ten percent contain families or groups of three or more. My family was selected to transmigrate at once, although there have been cases of families arriving in different drops or in different sectors. That's why there's a registry after every drop that is accessible from all sectors so that families can be reunited if they wish. It also permits star travelers to search past drops for any family or friends that might have disappeared 'mysteriously'. You can access the registry if you wish, but I doubt that it will be helpful in your case."

She nodded, the registry would be essentially useless for her because Ward would've told her if any of her family had arrived, even if they'd been in a different sector. One of the first things that she'd done once she'd settled in and started thinking straight was tell him their names and he'd promised to flag them in case they were discovered. "What do you mean that I'm an anomaly?" She took a bite of the stew. "Oh, this is really good!"

"It's a local specialty and one they make specifically on market days because people travel here just for this stew. They refuse to share the recipe although Mother has been working on recreating it for years now. She's really close too."

She took another bite, allowing the flavors to bloom across her tongue. "It's incredibly nuanced but Faye's cooking is second to none. What she's probably missing is the time factor." She gestured at the full room. "There's no way that they're managing to cook to order with the size of this crowd, especially if people are traveling specifically for this recipe. So they probably prep it a day or two beforehand, which allows the flavors to meld a bit more than just making the stew would."

He gaped at her before laughing. "I would've never thought of that! Mother's going to be delighted when I tell her that she most likely just needs to let it sit for a little while and she'll have it down." He calmed himself before continuing, "Now, in answer to your question, everything about your arrival is an anomaly. You arrived four months after the last drop, so there shouldn't be another drop for two more months. There has never been a single drop in the recorded history of Audrilandre, not that we can find anyway. Even more odd is that there are five single drops across five different regions, all of them women and all alone, none of them remembering accepting an invitation to transmigrate. We're all searching for answers but haven't been able to find anything yet."

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

She offered him a wistful smile, "Somehow, I don't think the answers will be as easy to find as either of us wish. If they were, we would've found them already."

Before he could answer, another man plopped down next to him and grabbed a roll, looking her over. He said teasingly, "Well, aren't you a pretty little thing? Where has Ward been hiding you, hmm?"

She bristled at that and Ward facepalmed. He turned to Ward, "This is the new star traveler that everyone has been talking about, right? Why's she upset? She can't understand what I'm saying."

Ria's voice was borderline icy as she replied, her words bearing only a faint accent, "I can understand you just fine and I find your whole demeanor quite rude and off-putting. Who are you anyway, to interrupt what is clearly a private conversation?"

Shock covered his face as he raised his hands apologetically. Ward added, irritation lacing his words, "Even if she didn't understand, you seem to forget about the translator for the first few weeks. I've told you this before and if I have to tell you this again, you will be running laps for eternity. For the love of all that is holy, think things through thrice before speaking, and then, just don't."

He turned to Ria, his expression apologetic. "This idiot is Ivan, he's the local guardian of this village. And although he's brash and rather rude, he's harmless, I promise."

Ivan seemed to unfreeze at that and offered her a shallow bow. "Ward is right, I don't think before I speak. My apologies, I meant no offense."

Seeing the way that his ears burned from embarrassment and the sincerity in his words, Ria sighed, allowing her anger to dissipate. "Very well, I will forgive you this time. Is there something that you needed Guardian Kiftan for?"

He shook his head, his expression sheepish. "No, I just heard him laugh and came over to say hi. I didn't mean to interrupt."

Something occurred to her and she asked Ward, "I thought that you were the guardian for this section?"

He nodded and moved the basket of rolls away from Ivan. "I am the head guardian for this section. However, I can't be everywhere at once so each town or village usually has a least one guardian and up to five depending on size and/or number of incidents. For example, a small village that is in a place with high monster attacks might have more guardians than a larger village in a more peaceful location. Since Airtaeg is a peaceful village, Ivan is the only guardian."

She bit her tongue to keep from commenting that Airtaeg must be an exceedingly peaceful village if he had enough time on his hands to go around interrupting conversations. However, she merely said, "That is an important position then."

He preened under her words and Ward rolled his eyes. "Yes, it is and he's still settling into the role. Hopefully, it happens sooner rather than later."

He turned his attention to Ivan. "Speaking of which, since you're here, does that mean that you've finished sweeping the archives for the records I requested?"

He nodded, making another grab for a roll and this time Ward permitted him to take one. "Yep, took me three days. Sorry boss, there was nothing matching what you needed. Not even something that could be considered parallel to the info that you needed. I double-checked, it's what took me so long."

Ward sighed, "That's what I was afraid of. Thanks anyway, I knew that it was a long shot but better safe than sorry." He ran his hand roughly through his hair before telling Ria, "Maybe I'll be able to find something when I go back on circuit in a few days."

A pit opened in her stomach and she studied her half-empty bowl for a moment before asking quietly. "You're leaving?"

He shrugged, "I have to, I have some leeway but the section needs my oversight and I can't leave it untended for as long as it is most likely going to take to unravel this mystery."

Ria understood that, she really did. Why then, did she feel like she was being deserted? Pushing the issue aside for the moment, she focused back on the pair watching her carefully. "Well, if that's the case, I'd better get the answers to all the questions that I have."

She turned her attention to Ivan with a mischievous expression, nearly laughing at the alarm in his eyes. "Since you decided to invite yourself to our meal, you can answer a few questions as well. Such as what a local guardian's duties are and how one obtains such a position."

He gulped and looked between her and Ward, "Um, I have some stuff that I..."

Ward clapped him lightly on the shoulder, "Oh no, I insist. One of the key skills for any guardian is dealing with star travelers and any questions that they might have. Consider this extra training as a bonus for your excellent work dealing with the matter I asked you to look into."

He drooped for a moment before perking up and grinning at her. "Well, as long as it keeps me out of the dusty archives, I'm your guy. Ask away."

Opening her notebook, she picked up the pencil she had set aside. Now, what to ask?