Gerhart stretched toward the sky and embraced his freedom for a few moments.

“Didn’t you say we need to hurry? Slowpoke.”

“Yeah, yeah. What’s with all the stuff?”

Gerhart gestured toward the bags in Ritzy’s hand as he went toward Talia so that he could pick her up and carry her.

“Eh… This is Maya, I think? This bag has my necromancer stuff, and this bag has some of your stuff and a set of clothes for Talia. I dropped a bag and your bow in the woods on my way back. Man, you were so slow I almost thought you had gotten caught.”

“We were caught. By the tunnel, kind of.”

“Oh, right! I also brought a roll of gauze so we can bandage the worst wounds on Talia.”

“Hold up. Why are you so well prepared?”

Gerhart realized something was off when Ritzy, who was usually a little more erratic, had prepared and brought along basically all the essentials they would need. And he had done it in the short time he had after setting the fire.

Ritzy’s shifty eyes flickered from side to side as he avoided meeting Gerhart’s gaze.

“What do you mean, Gerry? If anything, it’s you who is underprepared. Yeah, that’s it! You suck-! No, wait! Ehm….”

Ritzy trailed off as Gerhart’s stare intensified.

“We should get going now. Here take this.”

Ritzy forcibly changed the topic and handed over the bag that didn’t have his things in it.

Gerhart took the bag and rummaged through it until he found the bandage, all the while staring at Ritzy. He didn’t even let go of Ritzy when he started wrapping the wound on Talia’s abdomen.

The only time Gerhart’s gaze was obstructed was when he lifted Talia and laid her on his back with her arms slung over his shoulder and her legs wrapped around his waist.

When he had done that, Ritzy began walking in an attempt to get away from Gerhart’s glare.

“Rit. Be honest with me here. Did you plan this?”

“Whaaat? Ahem. What do you mean? Wasn’t this an accident? A completely unfortunate chain of events no one could have brought about?”

Ritzy’s voice cracked, and he cleared his throat before pretending like he didn’t have anything to do with what had happened in Vestor today.

Gerhart scoffed at how surprisingly bad at lying Ritzy sometimes was.

“So you didn’t decide to torch the town where we grew up on a whim to make an escape for us. You planned it. Why, Ritzy?”

Gerhart’s stare turned into a frown as he tried to drill a hole in the back of Ritzy’s head with his eyes.

Ritzy’s awkwardness was evident from how rickety his walk and posture had become. He coughed and cleared his throat a little as if he was about to say something but didn’t know how.

Stolen novel; please report.

Eventually, Ritzy turned around right before they entered the forest. He glanced at Gerhart and Talia on Gerhart’s back before directing his gaze toward the orange inferno blanketing the remains of Vestor.

Gerhart also turned around when he caught up to Ritzy and looked as their childhood town burned to the ground.

“Are you happy now, Ritzy? Is this what you wanted?”

Gerhart looked at Ritzy with seething anger that he barely managed to subdue. He knew now wasn’t the time for an outburst, but he couldn’t just let Ritzy burn the town down to the ground and not question him about it.

“...yeah.”

But the indiscernible light in Ritzy’s eyes stumped Gerhart. Gerhart didn’t know how to respond to Ritzy’s admittance. Together, the two just looked on as the orange flames raged on inside the stone walls of Vestor. If the houses had been made of stone instead of wood, maybe the fire wouldn’t have devoured the town like a wildfire eating through dry grass.

“Fuck me… I guess it wasn’t a dream, after all.”

Gerhart glanced at Talia’s head resting on his shoulder. Her eyes were opened wide and locked on the orange light waving at them from the town.

That brought him back to the fact that Ritzy had planned this, at least the arson, since some time ago.

“Talia, did you know Ritzy had been planning to set fire to the town for a while? He even prepared bags with necessities for our escape.”

Talia noticed the poorly veiled anger, frustration, and sadness in Gerhart’s voice and expression.

“Good job, I say. Ritzy, if you hadn’t done it, I would have, sooner or later.”

“Talia, you can’t be serious!”

Gerhart looked at Talia in shock.

“No, you’re the one who can’t be serious. What kind of sentiment can you hold toward that town other than hatred? Not a single day went by without the townspeople scorning us, without the kids throwing rocks, rotten tomatoes, and sticks at us! And that’s only the things I want to talk about! The only times things were different were when we fought back! And that only led to the fucking arrest! That place was a shithole, and if it weren’t for the fact that it’s impossible to get away from here without strength, money, or connections, I would have never stayed a day longer than absolutely necessary!”

“R-right… S-sorry.”

Gerhart didn’t know how to handle the volatile Talia clinging to his back like a chimp, but he knew that she was bleeding profusely since he could feel the clammy wetness seeping through his shirt.

“L-let’s get going-”

“I’m proud of you, Ritzy. But what about-”

“Old Man Kelps? He was in on it. He took off this morning as soon as he got the money for my beginner’s necromancer kit.”

Ritzy seemed to be in a cheery mood after Talia’s strongly voiced support for his actions, and at the fact that the town was razed to the ground.

“Good. That’s good.”

Talia nodded and twisted Gerhart’s head toward the forest to make him walk. Gerhart obliged, even if he felt a little displeased with Talia’s treatment. After they walked a few steps into the woods, Gerhart glanced at Ritzy.

“What about Lenny?”

Ritzy stopped looking where he put his feet and glanced at Gerhart. But before he could answer, Talia, who was still in a fiery mood, took charge.

“Lenny? Fucking Lenny? You’re worried about that wannabe ranger who took you under his wing only because the director pleaded and handed him a fat sack of gold? The motherfucker who decided you were the only one who had to pay a stupid sum for a ranger apprenticeship that the other kids got for free or in exchange for lip service and bread? You’re worried about the bastard who increased that amount as soon as the director died under the pretense of needing to repair his house?”

“I-I just meant that it would be nice to get my certificate-”

“Fuck off. Don’t forget who helped you pay for that stupid shit. You can just get a new one as soon as we reach wherever we’re going. If we even get that far.”

The trio sank into silence as Talia finished her rant.

Gerhart, carrying Talia and a leather bag, and Ritzy, carrying his bone club and two leather bags, trudged through the forest, the orange light of the burning city fading behind them. Only the smell of smoke didn’t leave them.

“Right! Here it is!”

Ritzy stopped abruptly and bent down.