{-Farrar-}
He woke up likely an hour before sunrise; the town, it seemed, was just starting to wake up as well. Knowing Rhenei probably wouldn’t be up for a little while longer—even from the next room over he could hear her mumbling in the middle of the night—it gave him the perfect opportunity to ask around. He left a note in his room and told the innkeeper what to do if he took too long or if she asked about him. Then he just made sure anything valuable of his was out of sight and wandered into the streets.
He always liked to pretend that he was a rather good judge of character. And, well, if it turns out he wasn’t, he was confident enough in his abilities to get back out of the situation.
Farrar walked up to a group waiting for the nearby shop to open. They looked like travelers, too; the kind that never liked to stay in a place for long. He could tell by one look that they weren’t from around here.“I want to know if you’ve seen a place that matches a description.”
“Scram, kid,” one of them grumbled. “Do you think we’d help a runaway like you?”
“Maybe there’s something good on him,” another observed. “Looks like the fancy city type. Probably doesn’t know what he’s getting into.”
“If you’re thinking of underestimating me, you might want to think again,” Farrar advised.
They all laughed.
“And what’s a kid like you gonna do?”
“A couple of Seothians with nothing but their empty skulls,” Farrar muttered with a smirk. His tone turned mocking as he continued, “Oh no, I’m so scared!”
“You don’t want to mess with us, kid,” one warned.
“Me? Worried about messing with you? No, I think it should be the other way around. You should not mess with me.” He snapped his finger to show off the flame—an unnecessary step but one he knew would give much more of an impression. “There’s a reason you call the children of Fleyw Bresh monsters—we’ve got something you don’t. If you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m not in a very good mood. I know the power I have and I’m not afraid to use it. So you’re gonna tell me what I want to know.”
They nervously glanced at each other before one of them, without much confidence, asked, “Why should you believe you?”
“That’s an expensive-looking jacket you got there,” Farrar remarked. He let the fire dance around his hand. “Looks pretty flammable, too. You want to test that theory?”
“Alright! Damn, what’s wrong with you people…” The man in front shook his head. “What do you want to know?”
“You’ve traveled a while through the area, right? Do you know any places that’ll have a lot of ikretta and wildflowers together?”
“What, are you gonna go pick a bunch of flowers for your—” The glare made him stop and give the correct answer. “Yeah, there should be somewhere like that just east of here. It’s not too far, depending on how long you want to spend traveling.”
“I’d be careful, though, if I were you,” another, previously quiet one mumbled. “There’s an abandoned town around there. They say the Skiá destroyed the place a couple of decades ago. Some claim it’s haunted, but there’s at least a lot of Skiá around there—we came across a pack of them when we went over there.”
“If people like you can handle them, I’m sure I’ll be fine.” Farrar let the flame die and turned to walk away. “Oh, and I’d advise being careful going forward. If you didn’t like how I was just now, you really don’t want to come across one of those overzealous types. We don’t think very highly of people like you, you know, with your genocide and capital-burning.” He waved and walked away without a care to what they said about him.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
After all, the point where they were supposed to start caring about each other was still years off.
He came back to the inn with all intentions of just making sure they had everything and possibly getting something to eat. Then the innkeeper handed him a letter he cursed to see the author of.
Farrar took a seat in the corner and prepared himself for whatever he might read.
‘Dear Farrar:
What the hell do you think you are doing?
Do not give me the same reason you stated in that letter. I know you were lying to me then. There is no person or customer you could be helping that you cannot help from inside the city. I demand a response as soon as you see this. If I do not receive anything by tomorrow, I AM going to find you. If you have any sense left in you, you will come right back home before I make you.
With love and concern, your father,
Aureus.’
All the letter did was make Farrar more confident in his decision. Still, that didn’t keep him from jumping a little when Rhenei walked up to him.
“What’s that for?” she asked, tilting her head and not-so-subtly trying to read it.
More instinct than intention yet welcomed all the same, he let a small flame burn the letter. “Nothing important.”
“I dunno, that looked kinda important to me…”
“Trust me, if it was anything you needed to think about, I would’ve told you.” Farrar got up and went to collect his things. “I was able to get a better idea of where we’re going. We’ve got plenty of time and the sun’s just up, so let’s get moving.”
…
“Pay attention to where you’re going!” he called, unwilling to go any faster to stop her. “Straying from the path isn’t going to keep you from being found, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
Rhenei didn’t even make a sign of hearing him. She was mumbling again, seemingly having a joyful conversation with Kalleira. He still wasn’t any closer to understanding that.
“Hey, Rhenei!” That was able to catch her attention. “Stop running off!”
She paused, nodded, and walked back beside him. “Kalleira thought she was beginning to recognize more of this place. We may have gotten a little distracted.”
“It’s getting darker so make sure you stay closer to me.”
“Are we going to go to another town?”
“No, there’s a safe place around here meant for traveling caravans. They’re not going to care if a couple of teens are with them.” Noting her silence, he added, “Trust me, no one there is going to care who you are and they’re not going to ask questions. If there’s anyone there at all, they’ve probably got an idea of why you might’ve left.”
It didn’t take them much longer to get there. There was one other group; merchants who stayed on the other side of the area. Farrar guided Rhenei to one of the spots, took a bit of wood from an already-collected pile, and started a fire.
“You made it sound like it was dangerous to stay out at night,” she pointed out.
“I did,” he said with a shrug.
“Why’s this any different?”
“There’s a charm at the center of the place—it’s enchanted with light magic. There’s a bunch of places like these around Qizar, but they’re all managed by the queen or bishops. It takes an exceptionally powerful magic user to get something that covers this much ground, so no one really has a ‘personal’ one.”
“You always sound like you know a lot about what’s outside the city.”
“Isn’t that why I’m helping you?”
She stared at the fire for a moment before asking, “Can you tell me a story? I don’t know a lot, but I’ve always wanted to.”
She must not have thought anything of the couple minutes he just stared at the fire in silence. He had plenty of tales to tell—tales which, sooner or later, she was going to find out on her own. But he glanced back at her to see the way she eagerly awaited something. She really didn’t know anything about the outside world.
And he decided he didn’t want to be the one to tell her.
“I was always told stories of a young woman named Reseda—I never knew her myself. She was bright, funny, and kind, but things never quite seemed to go her way.” Somehow he was able to form a small smile as he recounted it. “When someone thought of success, she definitely wasn’t what came to mind. She was always late for one reason or another and given the tasks no one else wanted. But she wasn’t ignored—Talmi helped her find love. It was a calm guy the same age as her, though he was much more successful. They didn’t need much to prove that they were each other’s true love. They got married… and had a kid.”
His smile faded. “She worked for a noble that really didn’t care for her or anyone else working for him. Eventually she was able to leave, after a couple of years of being pushed past her limits…”
“That sounds good,” Rhenei remarked. “I hope she’s doing well.”
“I’m sure she is—she’s somewhere where no one can hurt or take advantage of her again.”