The two of us were walking together through the cool, quiet woods, as we talked softly, and enjoyed the beautiful night that was all around us.
“I wanted to thank you again, William, for everything that you did these last few days,” the old man said. “I knew that the two children would have water, and that I would be able to return before their lives were in danger. But they might still have been captured on the way here… and even if they had made it home safely, I knew that they were going to be alone, and hungry, and frightened.”
“That is the worst part about this whole line of work, I think… having to make those sorts of choices, and to allow a few to suffer, in order to help out each of the rest. It is a very awful thing, and it has given me many, many regrets over the years. So...”
“… well. So, I can hardly express my gladness at what you managed to achieve, and how you helped to make each of them so so content in these last few days. Thank you, my friend, once again, for what you did for the two of them, and for how you managed to keep them safe, and secure.”
I didn’t really know how to respond, so I only nodded my head, and expressed my sincere gratitude for his kind words.
After a brief, warm pause, the old man continued to speak.
“I know that you have already done a great deal for them, and that you are certain to have all sorts of business of your own. But… well. It seems clear that each of them like you, and that they trust you, as well, and would be happy to be around you. So… what I mean to ask you, is...”
“… well, we don’t know of any surviving family for either of them, and we don’t have anyone who had committed to provide for them, either. So… would you be interested in becoming their legal guardian, and in looking after them for now, at least?”
“Of course,” I said. “I would be glad to.”
I hadn’t expected those words to come so easily out of my lips.
When I had been younger, the thought of having children had seemed frightening to me. Even now, I still didn’t know how I felt about starting up a family, or setting aside 17 or 18 years of my life to raise a child.
But, even so…
There wasn’t really any way that I was going to leave Aaron and Lily to themselves.
And so, I ended up agreeing to the man’s request, and giving my word that I would help to protect them, and to look after them, at least for the next few months of their life.
Roger at once gave me a warm smile, and shook my hand, as his face beamed with gratitude and contentment.
“I’m so glad to hear you say that,” he said. “It’s obvious how well the three of you get along. I know that it may be hard at first, but I have no doubt that you will do well, no matter what may come your way. And, if you ever need any help, then you can always call on me, or on any of my friends, and each of us will do whatever we can to assist you – financially, of course, or in any other way at all.”
“Well,” I said, “I actually would like to ask something of you. A lot has happened today, and I would really appreciate having someone like you to help me to figure out what I should do next.”
Then, I began to tell him about what had been happening in the town of Westfall, and how dangerous everything was likely to become.
“I see,” he said. “I knew that things were getting bad… but I hadn’t expected it to get that bad quite so quickly.”
“I am sure that you already suspect this by now,” he continued, “but all of those accusations are true. The town of Westfall provided us with their direct aid, and they have been encouraging our efforts for several months now. And I am sure that, after so many of our younger members were interrogated, there will be plenty of evidence to condemn us, and to prove that Westfall has engaged in aggressive and warlike behavior towards the City of the Red Tower. From what you have said, there is no doubt that they will press charges.”
“That means that all four of us will need to move away from this place in one or two more weeks, at the latest. There is no way that the students here would be able to hold out against the armies of the Red Tower, and I doubt that they would even think to try.”
“And do you think that a Great War is coming,” I asked, “and that it will be likely to come soon?”
“I do,” he said. “I wish that it wouldn’t, of course. But with how tense everything is becoming, it seems just about impossible to imagine how any of this can end without violence. The Red Tower is only doubling down on their support of slavery. As of right now, it is only a matter of time, I think, and I can’t imagine that another year will pass without the first of the battles being fought – and with many more to come after that.”
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“Where is a safe place to go to, then,” I asked, “where I might be able to keep the children out of harm’s way, if that war does come? Is there anywhere like that?”
“Well,” he said, “apart from the Blue Tower, I doubt that there is any place that is likely to be perfectly safe. But… if you would like, I would invite you to come with me, out towards my second home, in the town of Riverdale - the center of the Free Folk, and a lovely place just out towards the East, on the other side of the Great Lake.”
I recognized that place as being the same city that Torver had told me about a few days before – the place that he had been fleeing towards, the last time that I had seen him.
I was excited by the thought of being able to meet him again, and to tell him a little bit about everything that had happened to me in these last few days.
“For now,” Roger continued, “that town is as safe as any place in the world. Almost no one knows that it exists, and its location has been protected by magic for quite a few years now. Even if our town were to be discovered, there would be plenty of time for everyone there to flee… and once the Great War begins, I doubt that anyone will be too eager to bother about us Free Folk.”
“Besides, that city has been designated as something of a safe haven. We don’t launch any attacks out of it, ever – it would draw too much attention – and it is far out of the way of any of the major trading paths, or any of the routes that the coming armies might be likely to march on. We are also very careful to hide our tracks when we come and go, and since we always go there by boat, no one can really follow our trail, or chase after our footsteps.”
“Of course, I can’t guarantee that the three of you will be safe, as much as I wish that I could. But… if a Great War does come, then that town is likely to be as safe as any. And the three of you would certainly be welcome to come out there, and to join us, if you would like to.”
I was deeply soothed by those words. I knew that there was no way to be sure that I would survive out there, and I knew that in a world this dangerous, there wasn’t any way to guarantee my safety, or the safety of those who I cared about. But this sounded like about as good of an option as any, and it seemed like my best chance to give a stable home to each of the two children, and to protect them from what was coming. And so, after talking with Roger for a while longer, the two of us agreed that we would head out there quite soon, in about two weeks from the present day.
That time seemed to be just about perfect for each of us. It would give me some more time to work on the Beginner’s Dungeon, and to get as strong as I could for now. And, it also gave Roger plenty of time to take care of some of his own business, that he had only postponed in order to rush back to secure the children. And so, after talking it over for a while longer, we agreed to meet up outside of his house in a little under two weeks’ time, and to travel from there together on towards the town of Riverdale.
Afterwards, the two of us began to make our way back towards the old man’s home. He had already invited me to stay with him until he had returned, and so there was nothing awkward about that moment. Instead, we talked a little about the future, and about Aaron and Lily, as we made our way through the soft, quiet woods. He had offered to pay for their food for the next few weeks, which I had eventually accepted, after some resistance, and he had also promised to help me set up some of their education, once we had made our way out to the town of Riverdale. I really appreciated that, but at the same time, it made me realize just how much I was going to have to figure out in the future, and how much I would want to do in order to make sure that each of them had the best chance that they possibly could to be happy.
I had started to think about those sorts of things, when Roger and I stepped in through the door to his home, and looked inside.
The children were both fast asleep by now, and were curled up together in the little white bed in the corner of the room. Lily had placed her head on Aaron’s chest, and the young boy had wrapped his arm around her, as the two of them nuzzled against one another, and kept each other warm. Both of them had a look of deep peace and happiness that I had never seen on their faces before, and there was a sense of such profound tranquility and calm in that room that it seemed almost as if we had stepped outside of the flow of time, and into a place that lay beyond all of the strife and the motions of the greater world.
At that instant, I wanted nothing more than to protect them, and to allow them to feel that same sort of tranquility and joy for the rest of their lives.
I didn’t know how I would do that, exactly. But I knew that I was going to do everything that I possibly could in order to make sure that they would be okay.
For now, at least, the worst was over. I knew where I was going to go, and how I was going to get there.
I didn’t know what would happen after we made it to Riverdale, exactly. But I knew that we would get there… and with Roger to help us – and an entire town working together to provide us with shelter – I hoped that we would be alright.
In three weeks, we would meet up again with Roger, and head out together across the Great Lake.
That thought kept playing through my head, over and over again… and it filled me with a great degree of excitement, and of joy.
The only part that bothered me at all was leaving behind the town of Westfall, and the question of what would happen between me and Praxa before I had to depart. But I hoped that – if we continued to get along as well as we had these last few days – that she might be interested in coming with me on my travels… even if that idea seemed crazy for me to even think of suggesting, much less for her to actually accept.
After a few moments, however, the excitement of all of those fresh thoughts began to wear off, and I felt myself suddenly becoming quite weary, and very tired. So, after stretching out a little, I said goodnight to Roger, and I made my way over towards one of the beds along the floor, as I pulled myself in tightly, and began to fall asleep.
That night, I slept more happily, and more contentedly than I had slept in a very long time.
I felt a thousand different things swimming around in my head as I lay there. But my last image before I drifted off to rest was of that huge, barren canyon, that I had seen in my dreams… and the vault that must still have been waiting for me there within.
It was a tremendously beautiful place… and something about the sight of it seemed so serene, and so inviting.
And then, I felt myself drifting off to sleep, as the last flickers of my awareness gradually faded softly out of being.