Keziah had more trouble collecting simple pieces of wood than he had imagined. The cause of his frustration was that it was still morning, and all the sticks and other wood-like elements lying around were damp with morning dew. The climate of these parts, especially the place where they have been camping, was rather dry. Some shrubbery and grass were still around though, despite the hard ground mixed with dirt that was common for the coastal terrains of the east of Midarior. What greenery there was must have been blessed with rain recently as the water condensed around the little leaves, even with the dryness of the ground.

Keziah was left with one option; climb the slim trees and break some branches off of them. He didn't have an ax, because it would be pointless. He just needed some firewood for breakfast. Chopping a whole tree down would be wasteful, not to mention tiring. The branches would be what he would have to do with. They looked dry up there and not with many leaves. Spring hadn't come to them yet, apparently. He rolled up the sleeves of his shirt — his coat laying near the campfire — and he started climbing.

He used to love it when he was a kid. He and his little brother would go to the forest near their family residence and climb trees all day. Well, it was mostly Keziah. His brother was too little and too scared to climb too high. Instead, he would always cheer him on. He still remembered his laugh as he made it to the top of one particularly high pine. The day that lightning struck him in the morning, and left his core and magical potential shattered. It was a miracle he had even survived. No one was able to explain why lightning could affect his core — his soul. Not his parents, not any doctor, and not any other specialist his parents brought.

No one was even sure why lightning would strike when there were no dark clouds for tens of miles around them. A conjured or manipulated lightning couldn't affect his core either, so the mystery of how and why that happened was never solved. In the end, it didn't matter much, as the next year all of his family would die in a fire that claimed their home and lives. Keziah was the only one that managed to slip through the cracks of the flaming ruins and run. The only thing he did was grab Augustus from the cabinet that used to hang on a wall and not look back. Guided by Augustus and his instinct, he never went back. Instead, he spent his late teens in a forest, going from village to village and either stealing or working for food and a roof above his head.

He heard his parents' and uncle's screams and he heard the silence when they stopped. The building was falling apart, but at that moment, he could swear the world was silent. The doors to his brother's room were locked, but no sound ever came out of them. Keziah was glad that at least his little brother died in his sleep and didn't have to suffer what his parents went through.

He never went back to that place. There was no fortune to reclaim, no house to call home after that. Ever since he had become an adventurer at 18, he had lived as a commoner, despite his heritage being that of a noble clan of Summanus. He never cared about that stuff anyway, so strangely, it didn't bother him as much as it perhaps should. Technically, house Summanus still lived on as long as he lives, but in the public eye, it's dead. He is also declared dead. Trying to claim that he is the lost son of house Summanus now would be met with doubt and, frankly, disdain from all the nobles of Grenica — the country where he is from.

It all seemed so long ago to him now. He had gotten over his fear of climbing some years back and was working on his fire phobia. He had managed to keep it only to the massive ones. Campfires and candles he could handle now.

Keziah didn’t have to climb long. The first branches were about 10 feet from the ground. He bear-hugged it, locking his legs and arms around it tightly. It was the only way to do it, since no branches were so low to offer support for his legs. After a few minutes of snaking his way up, he had managed to break the first branch, which he supposed could be enough for a quick fire, with all the smaller branches extending off of it. Just in case, he grabbed another and jumped down. A light breeze smelling somewhat of the sea, and a morning sun hit him in the face as he made his way back to the camp.

He arrived to see a woken up Annette conversing with Lucia. She was sitting under a blanket and hugging herself, which was weird since Keziah thought that it wasn’t that cold. Maybe she just isn’t used to it, was what he thought. He said hello to her and started breaking the branches into smaller pieces to put throw into the fire. Lucia also started preparing some food and their morning went by as the latter half of his night did — quiet and uneventful. They were on the road not an hour later.

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The road to Sylio was well kept, as was most of the Rim. The areas nearer cities and trading centers were especially guarded and often cleared of any blockages and just general dirt, dust, and puddles of dirty rainwater. A few soldiers wearing the colors of Aldunis — red and blue. Keziah tried not to look away too much from them so as to not appear suspicious, but from their behavior, he guessed that they weren’t instructed to look for anyone yet. If his guesses continue to be right, then they would have one more day to board a ship — on which they would not be bothered by any authorities — and sail to Nardan. Hopefully, Annie’s friend was still there.

They arrived in Sylio a few hours after noon. A big part of the day was still ahead of them. The area was a lot more swampy here, despite their campsite also being close to the sea. The difference was, their campsite was situated quite high, on a sort of cliff, while this was a port town that saw a lot of visitors. Mud collected on the road that seemed to be the central focal point of the town. A few houses were gathered around it, as well as simple shops and some inns and taverns. Quite a few inns and taverns, actually. They surely weren't meant for all the locals, as Keziah doubted they could even fill all of them. They must have been for all the sailors and merchants that had to spend the night there. It spoke to the rather bizarre nature of this town that there were more passersby than residents. Keziah couldn't complain though, more choices for them as to where to spend the night. They had to spend the night there, as he doubted any ships would set sail this late. This suspicion was also confirmed by Lucia.

She recommended to them an inn that was mostly visited by locals and was supposed to be tamer than the rest. Keziah appreciated it, as that was exactly what they needed.

"This is where we must part ways, my little Fools," said Lucia, as Keziah and Annette hopped off her wagon. "I will come see you off in the morning so you don't have to cry yet," she reassured them sarcastically.

"You don't have to. You've done enough for us already, Lucia," replied Keziah.

"Yeah, you helped us so much," added Annette.

"I said you don't have to cry yet." Lucia laughed. "It's a simple courtesy. It would be unbecoming of me to not see you off after helping you out so far. Besides, it's not like me and my group are leaving soon or anything."

"Thank you," said Keziah. "See you in the morning then."

"Yeah, see you soon, you two." She rode off to where her group was and waved goodbye at Keziah and Annette.

Keziah turned to Annie and said, "Let's get a room first, then I will look for someone willing to take us to Nardan tomorrow. By the look of this port, I gather there will be a lot of options." He pointed at the port that was, frankly, bigger than the town itself. Big warehouses were a part of that port, situated close to the water. Keziah wasn't an expert, but he thought they were where the engineers would fix the ships. Others were probably used to store whatever goods the ships brought to Sylio. Couldn't sell everything in one day, apparently, thought Keziah.

He and Annette went into the tavern as the sun was still in the sky, but slowly making its way down beyond the Midarior. The inn was what Lucia said it would be — not many drunkards, no one was picking any fights and there was even a stage for bards or some other artists to perform. They went up to the bar and Keziah asked to barkeep for a room with two beds, which he was given without problems.

They went upstairs to unpack their humble bags and packs. There was even a wooden tub filled with water and some soap next to it. Another, smaller tub filled with what was most likely filled with lye or something similar to soak their dirty clothes in. All in all, it was a rather well equipped room, and not that expensive either.

Keziah tossed his bag on the ground and said, "Alright, you have free time. You can wash if you want —" He made an exaggerated smelling gesture with his nose. "Scratch that. You have to have a bath. In the meantime, I will look for a captain to take us to Nardan. Try not to leave this inn."

Annette, getting used to his personality, just informed him and proceeded to unpack her things. At the same time, Keziah had already left the room, headed to search for a passage to the biggest port of Minyth.