“Sometime’s Mint, I wish you weren’t so human,” uncle Buth said with a whisper.

The man who was approaching us was my last appointment for the day, and I was thankful for it. My uncle was here, but he both stunk and was being very crass.

“Your kind’s supposed to be stoic. Calculating. You have way too many emotions, maybe you were dropped as a baby,” Buth spoke lowly while we watched the man walk towards us.

I chose not to respond to my uncle’s grumbling, mostly because there was no point. No matter what I said or did, after this meeting he would run off. So why try?

Plus I was long used to his attitude. It had been fine during the trip, but now that he’s found the bottle again he’s returned to his old self.

It was my fault, anyway. I had yelled at him a little too harshly this morning. But what was I to do? I had found him lying in the small alley next to our inn… which was why he stunk so badly.

Buth sniffed as the owner of this small building got closer. The dozen people he had been speaking to were now in a heated debate with one another, a few of them looking angry by the way they waved their arms.

“That him?” my uncle asked.

“Yes,” was all I said.

“Mintmorency, is it? Judged of Judge Transit, how do you do?” the shorter man spoke before even getting close. His snarky smile told me he found the two of us funny looking.

“Doing well, so far. Thank you for meeting me,” I said as he got closer. Maybe he was in a hurry… his pace was a little odd.

“Miss Lena is one of my best customers, always will be!” Judged said with a wave. He came to a stop a few feet from me and my uncle, and gestured back to the crowd he just left. “I apologize, but I’m currently in heated negotiations with the mining firms. So please forgive me for not meeting you in my office,” he added.

“It’s fine. We’ll not take too much of your time,” my uncle said.

“Think nothing of it. So, I’m told you are seeking transit through the Rift?” Judged asked. I noted his tone, and the way he smiled. He really didn’t want to be talking to us… Lena must be someone he wasn’t willing to risk the ire of. She’d only given me a letter of recommendation, and it had been a rather short one…

“We do. I’ve come to ask what you would charge, the requirements, and when your next venture sets forth,” I said.

“The next door for us is going to be to the Rift Mines. They’ll come straight back, so it won’t be a proper transit. The door after would be, however. I’ll guarantee slots for the both of you and the price will be half fare… Lena’s customers are ours, after all,” Judged said quickly. He glanced behind him at the crowd, who were getting louder.

“So the door after this one,” my uncle said. Judged noticed how Buth slurred.

“Indeed. It could be days, or a month. There’s no telling. For the requirements, all you need is the clothes on your back. We’ll provide food, and shelter when needed,” Judged said.

“And how many people are there normally per group?” I asked.

“We try to take a hundred. Sometimes it’s more, sometimes less.”

“And how many survive the trip?” Buth asked.

Judged smiled, a rehearsed one. “There are deaths. This is the Rift we’re talking about, after all. Our best transit had only seven deaths,” he said.

“And the worst?” I asked.

The man looked me in the eye and his smile disappeared. “The Rift is dangerous, young lady. There’s not a single guide or transit group that hasn’t had entire groups disappear. Even the RiftBorn has lost people in the Rift,” he said calmly.

“I see. Thank you for your honesty,” I said.

He waved my comment off, seemingly unworried. “This is the Rift. One doesn’t survive here without being a realist. The Rift is too powerful to be anything but towards, honestly,” he said.

My uncle scoffed a little, but both Judged and I ignored him. “If I may ask… how many times has your company gone through the Rift?” I asked.

“You mean true Rift ventures? Well… I’d say the next one will be the thirty third, if I remember correctly. But I have teams going into the Rift on nearly a daily basis, so I’d like to think our company is one of the more experienced,” the man said.

Hearing him say such a number was both interesting, and worrisome. After all, it was the highest number I’ve heard from anyone so far. The lowest being the guide me and my uncle had just recently spoken to. They had only done a single full trip. It had been why I had so readily decided not to choose them. They seemed as unsure as I.

Although thirty was far more than most, it was still such a… small number. The Rift has been around for over fifty years. Why did it seem so many supposed guides and transport companies that dealt with the Rift seem so…

“It’s that dangerous, young lady. It takes time. You have to prepare. And most of all, you need competent people,” Judged said, most likely reading my thoughts on my face.

“I wasn’t disappointed, just…” I said, unsure of what to say.

“Expected my number to be much higher. I know. And believe me, I wish it were too. But good guides are near impossible to find. Most who are half decent go into work for themselves… then you got the ones who think they’re like the RiftBorn,” he said with a snarky tone.

“Like the RiftBorn?” my uncle asked.

Judged nodded. “They’re cocky. Uncontrollable. More risk than they’re worth. Don’t get me wrong, I’d hire the RiftBorn without question, but that’s only because he’s earned that respect…” Judged spoke in a way that told me he was annoyed. Not at us, but something else. Maybe something had recently happened.

“Like I said!”

All three of us turned to look at the group that had grown in noise. One of the men was shouting at another.

“Bloody miners…” Judged sighed, then turned and gave me a smile. “I’ll have one of my assistants take your information. I won’t request a deposit, since Lena sent you, but like I said… our next transit is to the mines. You’ll have to wait until our next venture for the Lands of Powers,” Judged said, then stepped away to flag down one of the younger workers nearby.

“There you have it, Mint. There’s no guarantee. No safety. A fool’s errand,” my uncle said, watching the man go.

“Nothing’s guaranteed, uncle. The plague’s said to have taken only three per family. Yet it took all of ours. Such is life,” I said.

“What a horrible comparison,” Buth complained, walking away.

For a moment I debated trying to stop him, but I let it be. He had accompanied me for the entire day. Three meetings with guides, one of which was the actual guide himself, and then the owner of this Transit Company.

Only Judged had been recommended by Lena… mostly because I had asked her for someone she knew who dealt with large groups.

I hadn’t been able to actually speak with Lena, and had only gotten a pair of letters from her. The young boy who had delivered them had knocked on my door at the inn before the sun was up.

Such an early delivery told me she didn’t want people knowing who she was sending letters to, and how early she arose to do her work.

“Miss Mintmorency?”

A young man at a nearby desk got my attention with a wave. He was holding a small clipboard in one of his hands, and a feathery pen was dancing in the air as he gestured for me to join him. Judged was walking away from the one waving at me, telling me this was the supposed assistant.

With a glance I saw my uncle near the door. He was leaving, and I knew where he was going.

Hurrying to the assistant, I gave the young man my name and my uncle’s. He asked a few basic questions, like if we planned on returning immediately from the Lands of Powers, or if we planned on staying there for an extended time.

“How much will it be? If we choose the door after this one?” I asked.

“Master Judged said half fare. So around thirty or forty coins per person a trip,” the young man said as he scribbled something else on his little clipboard.

“A trip,” I furthered.

He nodded. “The price is per trip. You’ll have to pay for the return trip as well, both ways. You’re allowed to schedule a return trip at a later time, however, and the price is locked in. It won’t change,” he said, as if that was somehow a positive.

“I see. Thank you,” I said.

“There are rooms here that you’ll stay in before the door opens. So that you’ll be here and ready,” he said quickly, before I walked away.

“Rooms?” I asked, stopping.

“It’s included in the price. The doors when they open are random, and don’t last long. So being here, or… Outside RiftWarren are also buildings for such things, but I’d not recommend them. They’re not as safe,” he said, giving a sad smile.

“If you miss the door? What happens?” I asked. I had already heard of the risks of staying in the outside slums of the city.

“You don’t lose your money. You just get moved to the next one. But you’ll lose any deposit placed, and will have to place another,” he said.

“I see. I’ll check in occasionally, then,” I said, though I knew odds were I’d not be utilizing their service.

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Alright,” the young man said, and turned away and headed for the desk. His job done.

For a small moment I waited, looking to and fro. Judged was back to talking with the small crowd nearby. Every so often I could hear a raised voice, though I knew not if it was in anger. A few dozen people walked here and there, performing other odd tasks. Every so often I noticed someone with one of those small clipboards in their hands. A few were talking to people, maybe other customers like myself.

This building was far from the size of Lena’s… and nowhere near as fancy. The walls were bare, and this floor was the same level as the entrance. There were floors above this one, but if the owner was down here negotiating with people, I wondered if they were even a part of this Judged Transit Company.

Lena had indeed recommended them, however. And honestly her opinion was the most valuable to me at the moment. It wasn’t like I really knew which company provided quality service and which didn’t.

And so far it seemed this company was probably the best choice to make. Especially since all of the supposed guides I’ve inquired to so far have been inexperienced and costly…

Heading out of the building, I looked around for my uncle. I wasn’t too surprised to find him missing, but I was somewhat startled to see the darkening sky above me. Had we waited that long to meet that man? When we had entered it had still been midday.

We had indeed waited, but it hadn’t seemed that long.

“Mint, are you coming?”

I startled at my name being said, and was both relieved and shocked to find my uncle waving me over. He was a few buildings down, waving me into one of them.

“That’s not a bar is it…?” I asked myself as I hurried to see what he was doing.

The Red Inn, and Lena’s building, weren’t too far away. They were two streets over, and I now had a somewhat better bearing here. I didn’t fear getting lost in this area, nor now did I worry over the coming night with my uncle here.

Reaching the building that my uncle had disappeared into, I glanced up at the little sign hanging awkwardly on misshapen posts.

“Rift Meals and Drinks,” I read, and wondered if they were serious.

The small building had only two floors, and although was as colorful as the rest of the town… it looked rundown. Older than most. Or rather, it looked as if it not as often received upkeep as the others. Maybe all it needed was a new coat of paint.

“Mint,” my uncle waved at me over a small balcony. He was on the second floor already, sitting at a table.

“Welcome,” an older woman greeted me, and seemed to notice I was being waved over. Her kind smile seemed genuine, and I noticed her colorful dress wasn’t as worn down as the rest of the place. Either it was new, or she took good care of it.

I found the stairs, ascended, and sat across from my uncle at a small table in the corner. The tables near us were empty, but one of them had a bunch of dirty plates and cups on it.

“Figure after working so hard today you could feed me, at least,” my uncle said as I sat.

Usually I’d have been annoyed by his comment, but instead I found myself smiling. “Sure,” I said.

My uncle gave me a smile, and I saw his brother in him. Somehow that made me upset.

“So? Did you choose who you’re going to use?” he asked.

“No. That Transit Company is slightly cheaper than the guides, but I don’t like the sound of how many people… disappear, each trip,” I said.

“What about that first guide? The one this morning. She seemed nice,” Buth said.

Nice because she flirted with you, maybe? “They travel with twenty people. And only one guide. The other groups have multiple guides, and less people. Something tells me there’s a reason for that,” I said.

“I don’t know if I like you traveling with such a small group by yourself, Mint. Most will be men, and won’t be…” Uncle Buth went quiet as the older woman from earlier appeared.

Staying silent as my uncle ordered a dish I didn’t recognize, I wondered how he somehow already knew their menu. Or was it just something common found here in RiftWarren? “I’ll have the same,” I said when she asked what I wanted.

“Drinks?” she asked.

“Several,” my uncle said with a smile, and the old woman laughed. It took her a moment to realize he was serious.

“Something without alcohol for me,” I said to her when she looked at me.

“Rift made or no?” she asked.

“What’s the difference?”

“Some like them and some don’t. The fruits and flowers in the Rift can make some odd flavors,” she said.

“I’ll try one. Bring the one you think is the best, please,” I said to her.

She gave a smile and walked off, stopping a few tables away to take someone else’s order.

“Not going to yell at me for ordering booze?” Buth asked.

“Should I?” I asked back.

“It’d not stop me,” he said.

“You’ve made that clear,” I agreed.

He stared at me for a moment, and I knew in his mind I was being a brat. Maybe I was. But I believed I had a right to be annoyed and upset with him.

Did he not just bring up how he didn’t like the idea of me traveling alone? Because I was a woman? Then why would he leave me alone in this city then? To my own defenses? Just so he could drink?

Don’t pretend to actually worry for me when your actions said otherwise.

“The Rift drinks aren’t that good. I tried one of the supposed brews and I couldn’t even finish it,” Buth then said, changing the topic.

Too bad all alcohol wasn’t made from the Rift, then. “She did say not everyone liked them,” I said.

“Some do, it seems. The dish we’re going to get has seasonings from the Rift. Reminds of me salt,” he said.

“Rift salt… Is it expensive?” I asked.

“A little,” he said honestly.

Of course it was.

“So… what are you going to do then, Mint?” he asked.

“Lena has an avenue for me. She asked me not to commit to anything until I talk to her about it,” I said.

Her letter was still tucked firmly in my back pocket. I didn’t want to leave it in my room, since the inn had people come into the room and clean it when you were gone. The letter that told me not to commit elsewhere, also asked me to not tell anyone she was helping me. An odd request, since she also included a reference to that Transit Company.

She didn’t want others knowing she was helping me, yet referred me all the same. Though maybe in the eyes of those who do business a referral wasn’t as direct as actual assistance.

“I see… if it’s real, are you going to go then? Through the Rift?” he asked.

“That’s the entire point of us being here, Uncle,” I said.

“I know… it’s just…” he stopped talking for a moment, and a few seconds later I realized why. The sound of the old woman’s footsteps on the old wood started getting louder.

A few seconds later she was placing cups in front of me and my uncle, two for him and one for me.

“Thank you,” I said as she left, and I watched my uncle smile at the cups before him.

Although hungry, and a little thirsty, I refrained from grabbing my own cup. Instead I watched my uncle’s eyes, and how they lingered on the liquids.

“What’s it like, Uncle?” I asked him.

“Hm?”

“Wanting it. That badly. I don’t think I want anything that badly.”

Uncle Buth hesitated for a moment, grabbing one of the cups but not lifting it. Had I insulted him? I had been genuine in my question… I really couldn’t comprehend it.

“Don’t you desire to find your family? Your real one, I mean?” he asked me.

“Well… I do. But I’m also not rushing straight through the Rift. I figure if I desired it as much as you desire the contents of those cups… That’s what I’d do. Rush straight in, without care or reason,” I said.

It was the closest thing in my head I could imagine doing, after all.

“I see… Well you’re right and wrong. I desire drinking, but I wouldn’t die for it. It’s…” Buth stared at the cup in his hand, and then smiled softly. “When I drink, it’s like I’m sitting next to old friends. Like they’re all around me, and everything is just… right,” he explained.

He finally took a small drink, and sniffed after doing so. Was he going to cry over it?

For a long moment we sat in silence, and I found myself forgiving this man. Even if I couldn’t understand, or agree, I realized that he was… living to the best he could. In his own way.

He got me here. I shouldn’t ask any more from him.

“There’s about a hundred and ninety coins left, uncle. I’ll need roughly seventy or so, based off what I’ve been hearing, to travel through the Rift. So whatever we spend until then… what’s left, once I go, is yours. As promised,” I said to him.

My uncle stopped mid-drink, and looked at me. “That’s it?” he asked.

For a brief moment I hesitated, but calmed myself. “We started this journey with two hundred and twenty. We actually did well, considering we’ve been on the road for a year,” I said.

“Two… two hundred? Lena you sold the entire farm! Half a city!” Uncle Buth said, his voice rising.

“Yes… yes but we owed money on it. Our whole family had debts, and those had to be paid too,” I started to say, but was cut off when uncle slammed his cup down. The liquid didn’t splash out, but the froth did. It went all over his arm and the table.

“That means… a hundred and twenty? At best? That’s all I get?” Uncle Buth’s voice had lowered, but his eye’s had gotten cold.

My first instinct was to bring up the debt his brother, and even he, had accrued over the last ten years. It had been an enormous sum, almost as much as the debt left on the land itself. But I knew from the way my uncle’s eyes had hardened, that it was best not to say anything.

“It’s still a fortune, uncle. You’ll be able to go anywhere and do whatever you want. It’s more than enough to buy a home on a large piece of land, in any city,” I said softly.

Any city but those along the Rift, at least.

Instead of saying anything, my uncle’s grip tightened on the cup. I heard the wood creak as it was squeezed, complaining and straining.

For a long moment he just glared at me, and I wondered what I was to say. How could I calm him? Did I want to?

He should have known we had debts. He himself had debts. Part of our agreement was my paying of them…

“Your blood was always cursed,” Uncle Buth said, and my heart began to hurt.

Of course he’d say such a thing, here and now.

“I told everyone to stay away from your mother and you. They hadn’t seen your kind like I had. The things your kind did…” I noticed he didn’t slur a single word as he spoke, and I wondered if his anger had sobered him. If so maybe… Maybe I could reason with him and…

“I want the money now,” he then said, before I could find my voice.

“N… now? Uncle that wasn’t the agreement, we said that once we,” I started to argue, but he tossed the cup at me.

I flinched, but not because the cup hit me in the head. It hadn’t hurt. I flinched because of how he stood from his chair, and the look he gave me. The alcohol that had splashed me smelled, but luckily most of it missed me.

A few chairs noticeably creaked along the floorboards, and I knew we now had an audience. Even with this place not being that busy, there were now far too many eyes on me.

“I want it now. I’m leaving,” he said, a little too loudly.

“I’ll have to subtract expected expenses, then, it won’t be accurate,” I said softly.

“Now,” he furthered through clenched teeth.

For a long moment, I stared at the man who had promised to guide and protect me. Out of reverence to my late father. Out of desire for the inheritance I had received and not him.

I had always known his hatred had stemmed from me and my mother’s lineage… but I hadn’t realized how deep it was. Now a lot of things made sense. The war that he had been conscripted to in his youth had done more than traumatize him.

Odds were… this was how my mother felt most of my life. Being glared at with such… disgusted hatred, by those which we called family.

Such a thought was almost as disheartening as my uncle’s next words. “I want my coins now, Mint. I’ll not let you do to me what your mother did to my brother.”

“Alright,” I quickly said, I knew it was pointless to argue with him. It was pointless to spare another thought to him and his anger.

Standing with a small sigh, I dug out a coin to leave on the table. Far more than a few drinks were worth, but at least it was one less coin my uncle would get.

Tossing the heavy coin to the table, it rolled and hit my cup before coming to a stop. The sound the cup had made brought it back to my attention. Grabbing the cup, I barely got half a gulp of the nasty stuff down before heaving.

My uncle didn’t even flinch when I coughed, spitting on him as much as myself.

“Tastes like water from a fish barrel,” I groaned, wishing I had ignored the cup.

“My coins, Mint,” my uncle said, annoyed at me.

“After I get something to wash that out. That was nasty,” I said, waving down the waitress.