Milo Greyson

Regardless of how happy it made me to see the kid doing well I was still in quite a bit of pain, and the healer we'd been using was either dead or now running. There were a number of problems right now, problems that we'd have to deal with in short order or things might well get worse.

“Kid, we need to move,” I said after letting her take a few minutes to play in the rain, long enough for me to catch my breath.

“Okay, where to?” she asked.

“I need to get patched up, and we need to figure out what's going on. The Corians are still running through the city, doing who knows what, and eventually the army will show up to oust them. We need to be scarce before that happens.”

“So a doctor or something? Do you know where one is?” she said, concerned as she looked at the wounds. My mail had taken the brunt of it, but I was still pretty roughed up.

“No, anyone good will have been taken by one of the armies. I know somebody though, but we need to make a stop first.”

After taking a quick look out on the street to check for any patrols I led her out again. Things were quiet, which meant that most of the fighting had settled over the last day or two. I suspected that the Corians had taken the city, but until I got hold of someone who knew more there was no way to tell.

We didn't have to go far to come upon the small stairwell leading up to a second floor room. I didn't have keys with me, but at this point it didn't matter. The door was easy enough to force, and we slipped in.

“Should we really be breaking into people's homes?” Thana asked as she pressed the door shut.

I winced as I laughed. “After everything you're worried about that? Don't though, it's my place. There's food over in the kitchen, grab a bite while I pack.”

A couple of makeshift bags were easy to throw together. Any man worth his salt had some cordage on hand at all times, and my military days had long taught me the things I needed for a trip. A change of clothes, a few tools of the trade, and the chain shirt I'd taken all got rapped up into one of the blankets and tied into a stiff bag.

My uniform and the sword I'd taken had to be abandoned, they bore marks of our home The Theocracy of Liria, and in no way did we want to be mistaken for part of their military right now. It was a shame, since the material was thick on the clothing and the blade was well made, but that was how it was. Instead I put on a fresh set of clothing and pulled from under my bed a trunk I thought I'd never open again.

The lid was covered in thick dust, the hinges scraped, the thinnest layer of rust on them keeping them from opening as cleanly and easily as they should. On the inside though, all was as it should be. My armor, weapon, and shield sat there as I unfolded the fabric, looking as if it had been only yesterday that they'd been placed inside.

I'd never had the money for a proper suit of full plate, but over the years had managed to save up for bits and pieces and cobbled together a respecable set of banded mail. My shield was plain, the livery of my unit having been stripped away after retirement when I briefly considered a career as a mercenary. It would protect us now, even if it pained me to think about how it should have looked. The sword gave off the faintest light, a gift from an old friend who I might soon be seeing once more.

My hands still remembered every strap and clasp, every tightening and movement. Years had gone by but still I could put it on, through the pain and the exhaustion I could become like I once was. It didn't fit quite perfectly anymore, small adjustments were needed here and there, but it reminded me of the old days.

“There's not much to eat here...” Thana said as she came over to my room, and froze in the door. “Are you leaving?” Her eyes rested on the pack, and the armor.

“Yeah, and I'm hoping you're coming along kid. We need to get out of the city, the country too. Word of us might have gotten out, even if the authorities aren't coming for you today, they will soon. Me too, since I helped in the revolt, sooner or later. I'm not risking the thought that maybe nobody who knew who were were didn't make it out, or will conveniently forget our presence,” I explained.

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“Oh, I was worried for a second you might...” she seemed afraid to even give word to her thoughts.

“Leave you? I won't lie kid, you worry me, and the higher ups at The Tower seemed terrified that you would become a force to be reckoned with. You also don't know shit about shit. So what do you say? I'll do all I can to keep you safe and from becoming a monster, and you lend me a bit of strength, and promise to learn what I can teach,” I offered her a hand.

“Deal,” she said with a smile, taking it. “Do you think I will become a monster though?”

“Kid, I can say this, the big difference between monsters and heroes is how they act. It won't be power that makes you bad, but allowing that power to corrupt. We'll worry about that later though, for now let's get things packed.”

She would be carrying most of our food and water, and a lot of the odds and ends. By the end of it her pack was larger than mine, though not really heavier. With that and a couple of old cloaks we moved out.

“Where to next?” Thana asked, looking up and down the streets like I'd told her.

“My sister lives a few blocks away, no priest, but she worked as a nurse, still does sometimes. She'll know how to bandage me up so I heal quicker,” I explained. “Also a good chance to tell my family where I'm heading.”

“Okay,”

It wasn't quite dark by the time we got there, and I was relieved when my brother-in-law answered the door. He was around the same age as me, and sadly balding badly, but he smiled when he saw us and rushed us in.

“Damn Milo, I was afraid you were dead, things being like they are,” he spoke for only a few moments before his eyes went to my companion, then wide as he looked over her.

“Amy here? Things didn't go to plan and I need someone to bandage me up.” I winced as I hugged him in greeting and he must have noticed.

He quickly led us to their living room, their own house quite a bit larger than mine, and disappreared while I pulled off the armor I needed to for my sister to get to the needed spots. She appeared moments later in a rush, a small bag at her side. She too took a look at Thana and frowned, reaching out to check her first.

“Are you hurt dear? That dress...” There were in fact a few cuts in the otherwise new outfit, places where she'd been struck with arrows or swords, and faded stains from the blood.

“I'm fine, Milo got hurt after the healer got separated from us,” she explained, as vaugely as possible.

“You're soaked child. SAMIRA!” she said, before yelling up the nearby stairs.

My niece quickly made her way down, black hair trailing behind. She and Thana could've been sisters.

“Mom?” She said, looking a bit confused. “Uncle Milo-oh,” hesitating as he saw the cuts and blackening bruies covering my ribs and stomach.

“He'll be fine, take our guest and see if you can find her something to wear while her clothes dry off will you? And set her up a place to sleep in your room,” my sister rattled off, hardly looking as the two left.

“Thanks,” I said as she started to clean me up.

“Spill it,”

“Hmm?”

“Did you think I wouldn't notice? She's in brand new clothes that look like they belong at a damn banquet. You were supposed to be at The Tower, where in the world did you find some noble's daughter, and why did you bring her here?” she asked quickly, angry gaze not brooking any disagreement.

“It's complicated, but I ended up saving the kid. She hasn't got anyone, so I'm going to try and get her to safety. A lot of it you don't need to know, in case someone asks you under truth magic. Needless to say though, we're leaving town as quick as possible.” I didn't want her dragged down if someone did decide to come after us, even if it pained me to hide things from her.

“You're a mess little brother,” she sighed. “Fine, where's the family estate you're taking her to then?”

“Not one, we're headed to The Free Cities. There's a mercenary troupe there named Rolond's Rangers, if you can get a message to them, it should find me.” I reached down, laying a hand on her shoulder. “Look, with things like they are, you might want to leave the city too. Lloyd has family out in the countryside right? Go stay with them, because when the army shows up, it's going to be ugly.”

“We talked about that last night, we're leaving in the morning. If you're heading to the cities we could travel together for the next few days. My Lloyd is brave, but he's no soldier, so,”

“No worries Amy, we'll come.”

Thana Mourningjay

“Wow, these are nice,” Samira said as we hung up my outfit in a corner of her room.

“Thank you, yours is more comfy though,” I said, pointing to the light house dress she'd let me borrow.

“We should go check on mom, she's pretty stressed right now,” she observed, and at my nod we did just that.

This house was cozy. If my memories were serving me right it was a bit nicer than the one I'd grown up in, but it felt warm, like a home. We rejoined Milo and his sister and she promptly pulled me off to the kitchen while sending her daughter to make sure all her things were stored.

“Here, you can do the carrots,” she said while handing me a basket of the vegetables and a knife I knew I would struggle to use.

Cooking was something I'd once helped with at home, but that had been years ago. The prison didn't exactly want to hand us over potential weapons, particularly not once I'd been sent to the top floor, so I was very out of practice with all of my housekeeping abilities. It showed, and the look my poorly shaved and chopped carrots were given confirmed it.

“So, Thana right? How exactly did you and my brother meet?” she asked sweetly.

“A man was trying to kill me and he stopped him,” I said, not caring to go more into it than that.

“That must have been horrible; I'm glad the two of you made it out safely.”

“I suppose it was, been a bit busy to think about it,” I stopped and looked off, seeing some of the dead we'd been exposed to over the last few days. Flint's death didn't even breach the top five of horrible experiences.

“Ah, right, right, Thana, I hate to ask, but he's not been... inappropriate with you has he?” At my raised eyebrow she continued. “Not touched you any way you wouldn't want to be? Nothing like that right?”

I was more than a bit taken aback by that. Did she not trust her own brother? Also, “Gross, he's like, as old as my dad.” My expression must have said it all. “No, nothing like that, not even close. All he's done is try to get me out of a bad situation.”

“Oh I'm so glad, not, well, you know. Men are sometimes not as they should be,” she finally said.

“Often not great, yeah, but Milo seems okay.”

“I was just a bit worried, a young girl in this kind of a bad time, an older man,” she began.

“Please stop,” I said flatly.

“Right, right. Do you like stew?” she asked, changing the subject as quickly as possible.

“Yes, stew is good.” It was one of the foods in The Tower that was heavier in meat, and well beloved for it.