“Aw hell, this is quite the mess I’ve just walked into.”

The man with an eyepatch ruffled his rugged hair and gave a long sigh. My mind whirled as I struggled to process why somebody else had shown up.

Another enemy? Somebody coming to help? A curious onlooker? Whatever the case, they’ve just walked in on the scene of what undoubtedly looks like a murder.

“You really don’t have much time to be spacing out.” The man’s gruff words snap me out of my thoughts. “Whatever you did during your little thing here is going to have the guards come running along pretty quick.”

What is he talking about? And then I realized. I had been so caught up in the heat of the moment I hadn’t even considered the fact that unleashing a firework in the middle of the city outside of the festival probably would have the guards come running. I’m sure from outside the alley it probably sounded like a small explosion had happened. Since that’s the case, it means we need to leave. Now.

I turn to go and grab Alice, who’s still unconscious when I felt the man take a single step in my direction. “I didn’t dismiss you.”

A chill runs through me and I freeze in my tracks. I don’t know why, but in that moment I get the feeling if I try to leave he’ll kill me. I turn back toward him, far more alert than I was before.

“Good. Now, I have some questions I would like answers to.”

“This man attacked us. I was just de-”

“I don’t care about that.”

What? I stood alone in an alley with the still corpse of a full grown man and the unconscious form of a young girl. And yet this man just… didn’t care?

“Where did you learn the sword style you practice?”

“...What?” The question is so far removed from what I expected I can’t help but voice my confusion.

“That sword style you use. Where did you learn it?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

The man visibly grows frustrated. “Two weeks ago I saw you fight another kid with half a broomstick. I know you used the Djudirian Flow sword style.”

“I really have no idea what that is. I just move in whatever way feels natural when I fight.”

“Don’t lie to me! As if anyone untrained could execute such flawless forms!”

It occurred to me that there had been several times when fighting everything just felt right and I naturally fell into an unfamiliar stance. Could that be what he was talking about? Did Arnstein have some measure of sword training before I went and took over, and some pieces of it keep coming up as muscle memory?

“I don’t know any sword style.” Before the man can respond I cut him off. “But you should know that some time about three weeks ago I was involved in some kind of accident and lost my memories.”

“You… amnesia? You’ve got to be kidding, do you really expect me to fall for such a convenient excuse?”

“I don’t care whether you believe it or not. That’s the truth.”

We stare each other down for a long moment before the sound of a commotion drifts into the alley from the street outside. It seems the guards are getting close and I still haven’t even dealt with this guy who’s blocking my way.

“Fine, we’ll go with amnesia for now. But tell me, do you really think you can get out of this situation in the state you’re in? I see you’re injured and that might not slow you down very much, but I highly doubt you’re fine with just leaving that girl here and running off. I doubt even more that you’d get very far carrying her with a wound like that. So what do you intend to do?”

The man’s words hit hard. I hadn’t even thought of all that, I had just planned on grabbing Alice and running. “I…”

“How about this, I’ll save you from this little predicament you’ve found yourself in and in return you’ll tell me exactly how it is you’ve managed to lose your memories.”

“What? Why?”

“You don’t have time to stand there gawking. Yes or no, tell me right now.”

He was right, I don’t even have time to make any kind of informed decision here. I just have to reach out for any help I can get. Even if it turns out to be a mistake later.

“Fine, help me.”

Without a response the man strides into the alley, walking past me and not even glancing at the obviously dead man on the ground. What does catch his eye though, is the book of magic that had been left lying on a crate. He grabs it up and shoves it in a satchel with a, “Wouldn’t want to leave something this nice behind.”

Walking up to Alice he gently picks her up in a princess carry, checking to make sure she’s still breathing in the process. With a motion of his head he beckons me to get closer to him.

“What? I thought we were leaving?” I ask in confusion.

“We are, come here and get close.” He stands next to the wall and waits for me

Without any better options I go to where he is, and lean up against the wall with him. Just as I’m about to ask what the plan is he uses his left hand peeking out from under the legs in his arms to make a motion, a single finger pointed straight up, and says a command word, “Platform.” The stones at our feet begin to rise, and I have to lean my weight against the wall trying not to lose balance, scraping my skin and clothing against the brick wall as we ascend.

In a moment the platform becomes even with the rooftop next to us, and we step out from the stones to the tile. “Come.” is the only sign I get we’re moving on as the man begins to walk from rooftop to rooftop where they connect and jump across the ones that don’t connect. I do my best to keep up but some of the jumps are extremely intimidating. I almost fall once, but the man reaches out and grabs the cuff of my shirt and viciously yanks me back onto the rooftop. It strikes me that this man must have a good deal of strength and coordination to have just effortlessly pulled me from almost falling while also carrying Alice in his arms.

After a while of traveling above the streets the man stops and says, “We drop here.” Without giving me time to even question how the man simply steps off the roof and plummets to the ground.

“Alice!” I shout as I look over the edge expecting to see the man laid out on his ass from the drop off a two story building. To my shock I see the man standing perfectly fine, staring back up at me with Alice still safely in his arms.

The hell? How did he do that?

As I look over the edge I see a drain pipe from the roof to the ground. Grabbing it I monkey climb my way down to street level. Halfway down my hand slips and I plummet the remaining distance. Luckily the street here is just made of packed dirt, and the worst injury I receive is the dull throbbing in my buttocks.

“You know magic but not reinforcement?” The man questions me from my side.

“Reinforcement? Is that what you did there?”

“Mmm.” With that as his only response the man turns away and begins walking down the street.

Getting up I begin to follow, and quickly realize I recognize the street. It’s the same street alongside that tavern I fought outside of before. The man makes his way toward an alleyway next to said tavern and as we pass I look at the sign hanging on the building.

The ‘Know Not Tavern’ huh?

Heading into the alley we quickly come upon a door that the man opens and steps into. I follow inside quickly and the man closes the door behind me.

Inside is a tiny room with a small desk with a bell on it, a door behind the desk and a staircase leading up to a second floor. Besides those things the room is absolutely barren. Walking up to the desk I see there’s writing in a dark color I hadn’t been able to make out before in the dimly lit room. It reads ‘Know Not Inn.’

The man walks up next to me and rings the bell. Shortly afterward a portly man comes bustling in and starts to say, “Welcome, what can I-”

The man holding Alice places some coins on the counter and cuts the owner off with, “I’m staying another night.” Before walking off up the stairs.

The owner tries to maintain his dignity with a, “Er, right. Very well then.” With a practiced motion he sweeps the coins off the counter and starts to turn to go back from where he came from but stops when he notices me still looking at him. Before he can ask what I want I hurry off after the man. The fact that the owner didn’t even bother looking concerned about what the man was doing with two children that clearly weren’t his was a dead giveaway to just how shady this establishment truly was.

The stairs lead up to a hallway with three doors, and the man stops at the one at the end. Producing a key from somewhere he unlocks the room and proceeds inside. I follow and he again closes the door behind me.

The room is almost as minimal as the lobby was, barren except for the bed, a table, and two chairs. The man walks over to the bed and gently lays Alice down on it. Then, without saying anything he leaves the room and disappears into the corridor.

As I watch him go I can’t help but ask myself if this is really alright. I, a 15 year old boy and my 12 year old sister have just been led by a complete stranger who is significantly older than us into an inn that clearly advertises itself as a place where nothing will be reported and nobody will care what goes on. No matter how one looks at this situation it is guaranteed to send up alarm bells.

And yet there's absolutely nothing I can do in this situation.

If I try and resist I’m sure to be overpowered. If I try to flee I know I won’t get far. What can I do?

I’ll just have to play it by ear and be ready to counter any shady moves he tries to make, though really I doubt I’ll be able to do much.

I go to the side of the bed and look down at Alice’s face. Fresh scrapes and dried blood mar her otherwise perfect image. While the man is gone I examine the rest of her body and find that there doesn't seem to be anything else wrong with her. Now that I have another moment to just breathe I find myself exhausted again.

The man returns with a box in his hands. “Sit,” He commands, pointing at a chair.

I tense up at being given commands from this man I still know nothing about. “Why?”

He walks over to the table and sets his box down. “Unless you want to bleed to death from that wound on your shoulder, sit down in the chair before I have to tie you to it.”

Walking up next to him I see the box he grabbed in full of what look to be medical supplies. Without saying anything else I quickly strip my jacket and bloodstained shirt off and sit on the chair as instructed.

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“How good are you with pain?” He asks, brandishing a needle and thread.

“I’ll be fine.” I say, holding my arm in place.

The man pours a bit of alcohol in the cut and I grunt as I feel it burn. Then he wipes away all the blood he can with a wet washcloth and starts the process of stitching the cut closed. The prick of the needle irritates my skin less than the thread sliding through and pulling the cut closed.

“Alright, now talk while I work.”

“Can I at least get your name first?”

“If you’re going to ask for mine you had better go ahead and introduce yourselves as well. It’s Zeph.”

“I’m Stein, she’s Alice.”

“Great. Now that that’s out of the way, get to talking.”

Though his tone irritated me I nonetheless started telling my tale of the past two weeks. I didn’t bother skipping over much, there honestly didn’t seem like that much but the longer I talked the more there seemed to be, and I realized what a hectic two weeks it had been. I obviously didn’t mention the whole reincarnation thing. At some points during the story Zeph asked for more details or clarification, like when I stole the book or details on Zak the priest, but he mostly stayed silent through it.

At some point during my retelling of my time here Zeph finished stitching and bandaging my shoulder and moved on to cleaning and disinfecting the scrapes on Alice’s face. When I finished I just stopped talking and waited for him to say something.

“You say this girl, Alice, was sick?”

“Yeah, but it started getting better this morning.”

He pressed the back of his hand against her forehead, “Yes, if she’s lucky the fever will break completely tonight. Though considering what she went through today it wouldn’t be a surprise if it came back in force.” The man sighed and left Alice’s side, grabbing the other chair and taking a seat in it.

“Why did you help us and why didn’t you… care?” About the guy I killed I wanted to finish but somehow it all still didn’t feel that real to me and it felt like saying it would bring it more into reality. And for some reason I just didn’t feel like crossing that bridge yet.

“What exactly did you do to that guy? It was obvious his group was the aggressor so I can more or less understand what went down, and to be honest I’m not really in a position where I can judge somebody from a moral high ground. So I really just don’t care to be honest. But what did you do? Some sort of body modification spell? I find it hard to believe somebody who can’t even do reinforcement could pull something like that off.”

Surprised and a little annoyed he had just completely ignored one of my questions, I responded, “I just lowered the temperature of all the water between my hands below freezing.”

“Huh,” Was all the man said before he fell back into silence.

After waiting for almost a minute for him to say something my impatience got the better of me and I tried again, “Why did y-”

“I heard you the first time.” The man fell back into silence and I got the impression he was looking for the right words to say. When he did speak he once again surprised me with, “What matters most to you right now, at this moment?”

Of all the things I had been expecting him to say I most certainly wasn’t expecting another question to be thrown my way. But since the answer was easy I just went ahead and responded, “Alice’s safety is all that matters in my eyes.”

“If that’s how you feel then you and I may be able to talk business. I run an independent venture that answers the call of whoever offers coin for… services.”

I took a moment to try and decipher his words. “So… you’re a mercenary.”

“You’re sharp and that is very good. Yes, in simple terms I lead a band of warriors who answer the call of money. I came to this town looking for new blood and what do I see almost as soon as I get here but a boy of the streets somehow proficient in the Djudirian Flow sword style.” He takes a moment to pause before continuing. “I think I could count the number of warriors I know proficient in that style of sword on a single hand. The fact that you know any of it speaks to immense physical talent, you know. So I was curious, and wanted to seek you out to know what life you had led to get to this point.”

At this point in his monologue he stops and looks at me. “Stein, was it? I would very much like it if I could convince you to join me.”

His words are frankly a shock. I hadn’t expected to meet any kind of warrior let alone a mercenary. That and almost the first thing he said to me was that he wanted me, a 15 year old, to join him as a mercenary? The idea was almost absurd. But even before all that it didn’t matter because the fact was, “I can’t.”

Zeph nods, “Because of her.”

“Yeah, I can’t just abandon her and I certainly won’t bring her onto a battlefield.”

“So you’ll return to the streets, scavenging for food and clothing and anything even faintly resembling shelter?”

I had no response to that. The words hit all the harder after the encounter we had just barely gotten through.

“This is why I said you and I could do business. You want something I can provide, and I want you to work for me. Here’s the offer. If you join me as a mercenary I will guarantee a safer life for the girl.”

“How on earth could you possibly guarantee that? Even if you could somehow, why should I trust you with our lives?”

“I won’t ask you to. We’ll use an intermediary to establish a contract. I have an idea on a favor I can call in to secure that girl the chance to have a real childhood. And even if that doesn’t work out, trailing along with a mercenary company would still be a lot better than fending for yourselves on the streets. She’s too young to be of any use on the field, so she could take a noncombatant role, like chef or something.”

“What kind of favor are you trying to call in here? I want more details.”

“Tomorrow. That favor is merely an idea that needs looking into, so tomorrow I’ll bring you along and we can talk more about it then.”

I try and voice more protests but I get cut off.

“For the remainder of today just rest. I don’t think you realize it but with the amount of blood you lost you’re in a lot worse shape than that girl is, fever or no.”

“But-”

“Kid, if I wanted to do something to you, I wouldn’t bother being subtle about it. Rest.”

From the bed I heard Alice start to stir, “Mmm… where…?”

I get up from the chair and walk over to the bed. Taking a seat on the bed's edge I ruffle Alice’s hair.

“Mmmm… comfy… Ah, hello Stein. Where are we? I was-” with a jolt she shoots up and looks around frantically. “There was a strange man looking for you, Stein. I tried to make him go away but he was too fast. Where did he go? Where are we? Who’s that?”

I conk her on the head and she utters a, “Ouch!” “Calm down, Alice. We’re safe, that man is gone. This man Zeph helped me get rid of him and let us use this room for now.”

“Oh. Okay.” She looked at Zeph with a suspicious glare then leaned in closer to me and whispered, “Stein, I thought we weren’t supposed to trust strangers!” She gasped suddenly, “Oh that's right you forgot! Stein, we’re not supposed to trust strangers! Mom and dad always said it was super important we not accept anything from people we don’t know.” At this point she’s forgotten completely that she was trying to whisper and is just telling me this in a lecturing voice.

I conk her again, “Owie!” “I know that of course, Alice. But this man seriously helped us deal with that bad man and even helped patch us up.”

Alice noticed for the first time the cut on my face and my bandages. “Stein, what happened? Are you hurt?”

“You should look in a mirror Alice, you’ve got a big bruise where he hit you. Don’t worry, he got you worse than he got me.” I lie.

She reaches up to her face and touches her bruise, flinching when she puts a little too much pressure on it. “Okay, if you say so Stein. So who’s our new friend?”

“Like I said, Alice, his name is Zeph. He says he’s… a mercenary.”

At this Alice’s face scrunches up in a look of displeasure. “Dad always said mercenaries are scum.”

“Alice!” I try and chastise her for flat out insulting the man across the room when I hear him burst out in a boisterous laugh. “Your father had more sense than most, young lady. It’s true many see us as thrill seekers or explorers of the unknown but the truth is we’re just a rough lot who can’t fit in with the normal folk of the world.”

“Then why do you do it mister Zeph? If you’re kind enough to us why don’t you extend that kindness to others as well and live normally?”

His smile took on a bitter look and he said, “Every merc has a story, little one, and none of them come freely.”

“What does that mean?”

I conk her a third time, “Guh!” “It means he’d rather not talk about it, Alice. Try and be a little considerate for once.”

“Sorry mister Zeph.”

“It’s no trouble. I would let your brother get some sleep, I don’t think he has much energy to look after you after all the running around we did earlier.”

“I’m fine.” I lie.

“Stein! If you’re tired you should say so! Come here, I’ll give you my spot on the nice fluffy, comfy, warm, soft, and amazing bed!”

I think she’s gone a little insane after so long spent sleeping on crates.

“No way, Alice! You still need rest as well. Your fever hasn’t completely broken.”

“Then here I’ll scoot over and we can rest together.”

“But I…” I try and resist the pull of Alice and the bed, but after so many events and losing a not insignificant amount of blood I slowly get pulled in. I try and stay awake to watch over Zeph because I still find him highly suspicious, but before I knew it I fell into the void, and sleep took me.

******

When awareness returned to me all I could perceive was darkness and silence. Panic overtook me as I quickly examined my surroundings. We were still in the room at the inn and Alice was softly breathing next to me on the bed. After breathing a sigh of relief I looked around the room to see if anything had changed.

The room was still just as barren as I remembered it, but now starlight dimly lit the room through the window. Against the far wall I saw the unmoving form of Zeph, still sitting in the chair in the same position he had been in when I went to sleep.

As my awareness returned so did the needs of my body and I felt the piled up needs of my body that had accumulated while I slept. As slowly and carefully as I could, trying to make as little noise as possible, I crept out from under the covers and off the bed. I started making my way toward the door when I heard, “Where are you going?”

My blood feels like it freezes over and I jump a little in surprise at Zeph, who I had thought to be asleep, interrupting my stealthy departure.

Oh shit. What if he doesn’t let me leave.

“I’m just going to relieve myself and get some water.” I say, trying to keep my voice steady.

He remains silent for a moment before saying, “Through the door behind the desk then the first door on the right is a restroom. I already acquired food and water here on the table.”

I looked over and saw there was indeed a pitcher and several scraps of food laid out on the table. However, with my suspicions still not entirely dissuaded I couldn’t help but think of anything he offered to be potentially dangerous.

What if he poisoned either the water or the food. What if he’s just waiting to make off with us after we’re drugged and helpless. Can’t take the chance.

“I’d rather get my own food and water.”

Zeph shrugs, “Very well, you’re free to do as you wish. I’m not holding you captive. The door across from the restroom is the kitchen.”

“Okay.” Is all I say before leaving the room.

After relieving myself I sneak into the kitchen and find some drinking water and a somewhat stale loaf of bread and help myself. I’m sure the innkeep would demand payment if he knew, but I wasn’t about to go ask permission.

Returning to the room I immediately check on Alice’s condition. To my relief it seems her fever has broken completely. I sit next to her for a bit eating my bread wondering whether I should go back to sleep or not.

“If you were worried about me poisoning the food or something you should know your sister already had her fill of it earlier.” Zeph’s voice breaks the silence.

“She was active without me?”

“Yeah, we talked for a while.”

“About what?”

“You’re a real skittish one, aren’t you? Not that that’s a bad thing. I know full well you can never be too cautious. She wanted to know more about me so I told her some tales about my travels, various adventures, places I’ve seen. That sort of talk.”

“Trying to butter her up before you launch your big pitch to her?”

“Relax kid. I just figured it would be a good way to pass the time. Children love tales of romance and adventure. I just indulged her for a bit is all.”

Silence fell over us again for a bit. “She’s a good one, that girl. It’s easy to see why you treasure her so much. My siblings certainly were never so kind.”

“You have siblings? What are they like?” I don’t miss my first chance to actually learn something about the man who would be my potential employer.

“Had. A brother and a sister. Looking back it feels like we fought constantly. There was never enough affection to go around from our parents so we ended up competing over every little thing.” He lapsed into silence. “Doesn’t matter now though, they’re gone.”

“What happened?”

He took a long time to answer and when he did it was just, “I told you earlier kiddo. Every merc has a story, and none of them are free. I’d wager you have a heck of one yourself, even if you don’t know it.”

He had a point. Arnstein was a 15 year old kid with literacy and sword skills tucked neatly under the belt. Both he and Alice had known magic before they were even teenagers. And somehow he was subjected to soul devastation, a malady that was supposed to be extremely uncommon.

“Anyway, get some more rest. You should savor that bed. No matter what way tomorrow goes I highly doubt you’ll get the luxury of sleeping on a bed again any time soon.”

He’s right I suppose.

There was nothing to do but wait until tomorrow, and it wasn’t like staying awake helped much of anything. With that though I climbed back under the covers with Alice and almost instantly fell asleep.