{-Evelina-}

“What could he possibly need a bag for?” she mumbled. She trusted Koyana to be the one to pay attention to where they were going. She was far too busy trying to overanalyze Aither’s request.

“Maybe he needs something to hold all the stuff we’re bringing with us in,” Koyana offered brightly. It sounded like she was only half paying attention; the way she fleeted from one side of the street to the other, greeting everyone she saw, seemed to confirm it.

Evelina wasn’t sure what she thought about it. Was she annoyed, envious? Or was she simply happy that one of them, at least, could be that happy?

“Olle brought travel bags with us for that exact reason. Aither knows that.”

“What’s he keeping in the other one? It might’ve gotten a tear or something.”

“That’s the only thing I can think of, but it doesn’t make any sense. That bag should be fine with what he uses it for, he shouldn’t need something else. Unless he thinks he’ll need a lot more of what he brings…”

“Is it really that important that you know what he needs it for?”

“There’s a lot of different types of bags. It’ll be easier to pick one if I know what he plans on using it for.”

Koyana shrugged. “I was just going to go with whatever the shopkeeper recommended. We can ask him about it when we go back.”

“I suppose.” Evelina glanced around town. Now for the next question: “Where would something like that be?”

“I don’t think any of our usual shops would sell something like that,” Koyana said thoughtfully. “We don’t get a lot of travelers that would be looking for something fancy. But I think there’s one merchant who comes by pretty often that might have something.”

“Where are the town’s traveling merchants found, then? It looks like we’re in the market now…”

There were, at least, dozens of signs promoting all kinds of wares. A rather varied amount of wares, for what seemed to be a smaller town. Perhaps they saw a lot of other travelers aside from merchants—a lot more than Olle and Evelina’s home did, anyway.

“The traveling merchants usually stay near the edge of town. Not a lot of them think that they have something one of us needs that another can’t make themselves.” Koyana glanced back at her. “You’re going to have to make sure you stay behind me. It’s not hard to figure out where to go, but you might end up getting lost.”

Evelina nodded. She had no intention of getting separated from the one person in the crowd she could rely on. Or, she hoped to rely on. Aither trusted Demery and Koyana, so they couldn’t be that bad. Could they?

Her thoughts were promptly interrupted when she accidentally walked into Koyana. At first she thought they must’ve gotten to the merchant, were it not for the fact Koyana’s bright expression faded.

“Is something wrong..?” Evelina dared to ask, though she didn’t get a response.

It wasn’t too hard to guess once she realized the conversation happening in front of them.

They were two merchants, from the looks of it—and honestly, she didn’t find anything particularly off about their conversation.

“I ended up declining the offer. I didn’t want to spend all that time traveling around or through the mountains. There’s barely any other towns along the way to make it worth it.”

“You know, I believe Lord Solaris made an announcement about reopening the entirety of Adiávatos to merchants. You could’ve accepted the offer and just gone that way.”

“Yeah, right. I don’t intend on dying out there. Every time they reopen that place, they close it down again the moment there’s an accident. Which, need I remind you, is always a merchant caravan within the first week of its reopening.”

“I don’t know, I feel like they might have actually solved the problem this time. Or at least some of them. I believe he mentioned something about caravans being escorted.”

“Being escorted means nothing to Skiá, nor Maildrul! There’s a reason Queen Zofie hasn’t mentioned a word about it. I wouldn’t be surprised if she stops him the moment she hears about it.”

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“No matter what, you’ve got to realize that it’s the quickest way to the other side of the mountains. Ask that person if their offer’s still up—I’ll willingly accept it, whether it means heading through Adiávatos or not.”

Most surprisingly to Evelina, Koyana actually said something. “I… really don’t think you should. It’s probably not worth it.”

They both looked at her; the confident one didn’t seem to think her input meant anything, but the wary one smiled.

“This is Koyana,” he said to his confident companion. “If you think there’s any reward that’ll make it worth going through Adiávatos, then just talk to her! She’ll prove me right.”

Evelina recognized Koyana’s expression. Something dredged up unfortunate memories and she wasn’t particularly keen on talking about them… if not just because of the person standing beside her, in fear that something might be said that would change something between them.

Of course, the confident one couldn’t see it. “What’s a girl like her going to know about a merchant’s life? I bet she hasn’t even left this town.”

The wary merchant frowned. “She was very close—“

“Excuse me, sirs, but we’re both rather busy,” Evelina cut in. “We really should be going.”

That didn’t sway the confident merchant. “No, I’m sure you can wait. I’m quite curious to know.”

Evelina sighed, gently ushering Koyana around them. “Well, I don’t know what she’s done, but I’ve had my fair bit of traveling. Sokratas gifted you with common sense for a reason, I’d advise you to use it. Life is a precious thing—worth more than any amount of money you could possibly get for risking it.” She shot them both a fake smile before walking a little faster.

After a stunned moment, Koyana took the lead again. “Where did all that come from?”

“Being the rumor mill that I am, I’ve learned to stand my ground,” Evelina answered simply. She glanced back just to make sure both the merchants took the hint. “Mention something from the Commandments, hurt their ego, then run away before they have the chance to think of something to say back.”

Never mind the fact that she was almost always anxious in those moments and their words stayed with her long after the encounter.

If Koyana realized there was something more to Evelina’s thoughts on the matter, she didn’t mention it. “Well, thank you. I… guess I kind of got myself into that one, but…”

Evelina managed a true, comforting smile. “You don’t have to explain yourself to me. I just saw you weren’t comfortable and I did what I knew I could.”

A kind of warmth bubbled inside her upon seeing Koyana’s grateful expression.

For better or worse, they said nothing else to each other until they reached the spot.

“Good morning!” Koyana greeted, once again cheerful, as she walked up to one of the merchants there. This must’ve been the one she was talking about; behind him, there were plenty of wares any kind of traveler would need.

In fact, he almost looked familiar. The smile he gave when his eyes went from Koyana to Evelina proved it.

“Ah, that looks like a familiar face! You wouldn’t happen to be Evelina Feldr, would you?” he prompted.

She tried to remember if he had been a friendly merchant or an aggressive one. When trying to recall their encounter, however, it was just a blur. So, to answer his question, she just gave a cautious nod.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you! How’ve you and your cousin been? Found somewhere to settle in yet? Looks like you’re doing better!”

That was it: they’d traveled with his caravan for a little while after she got sick. Her memories were fuzzy because she hadn’t quite been “there” the entire time and they left on their own as soon as she was better.

“We’ve both been well,” she finally replied. “We actually found a place to stay four years ago.”

He laughed. “Has it really been that long? It must not have been long after you left that you found the place, then!” He paused and looked at Koyana. “Koyana, how long have you known her?”

“A couple of hours,” she responded with a shrug. “Do you two know each other?”

“Barely,” was Evelina’s quick answer.

“Come on, now! That’s no way to treat someone who helped—” Evelina’s quick glare made him stop and let out a nervous chuckle. “Rather keep that part of the story to yourself, then? Alright, I get it. Koyana, all you need to know is that those two traveled with my group for a few weeks. Hey, Evelina, is Olle here, too?”

“He’s with Demery,” Evelina said. Before he could say anything else, she added, “They’re on a mission just like we are. We’re looking for a bag specifically made for traveling.”

“Possibly enchanted,” Koyana continued, likely trying to remember what else Aither had told them, “and kind of big. But still light enough for a kid to carry.”

“That seems like an odd mix of rather specific things,” the merchant remarked. He turned around to look through his wares. “The only thing you didn’t tell me was what you planned on using it for. But luckily, I’ve got something that could work pretty well for just about everything.”

He showed them the bag he pulled out. “This is one of the best travel bags you’re going to be able to find around here. High quality, super durable, with two different enchantments—it’s light, no matter how much you put in it, and it keeps food and things nice and fresh.”

“I think that’ll work…” Evelina mumbled. She went to pull out the pouch of coins. “How much would it cost..?”

“Usually, stuff like this is premium travel material,” he said casually with a smirk. “But for the two of you? I’ll cut it down to a single silver coin.”

She couldn’t hide her surprise. “You really don’t need to do that.”

“Please, I’m not losing that much! Go on and take it. My wife’s been worried about you two, you know. She wonders if you’re alright every now and again. I’m sure she’d be grateful to know that you’re both doing good and found somewhere to stay.”

Realizing there was no point in arguing, Evelina nodded and handed him a silver coin. He gave her the bag and, with the exchange done, they all waved goodbye before heading back to Aither.