Old Derwa’s tree was looming over the horizon. It was some mark of comfort for Pyra, it was the only sign that they were in fact headed towards it. She knew that it was one of the last, if not the last, old growth trees left in the region. It towered over everything. The emerald crown that glistened in the morning light offering the guidance that they would have needed in any other time. Now, with the angry blaze turning the skies red and keeping the air veiled in smoke gave its own guiding point: Anywhere but there.

Lillian was, thankfully, well enough to sit up now. She was riding at the front guiding the caravan. She’d yet to put her armor back on though Pyra knew that was only a matter of time. If her companions wouldn’t help then maybe someone else would, or their hand would be forced and she’d need to suit up. They weren’t considered out of it till they were in Sencad. The caravan would drop off there and then Lillian’s group would have fullfilled their contract.

Pyra looked up at Lorne, who was idly widdling a stick he’d found. She could hear Calisto playing his jaw harp, and faintly Lillian was tapping against something keeping time. To call it a jovial tune would be a disservice, a tune it was but it was more because the man was bored and wanted to fill the silence with something that wasn’t them talking. Funny, one would think that the one from the renowned people who valued silence would be able to take it. But today was different. No one could take the silence but no one could bear its weight. No one except Pyra. As she watched the trio she wondered who would be the first to break.

“So have you given thought to my offer?” Lillian called back, evidently the first would be her.

Pyra blinked, taking a moment to register that someone was in fact talking to her, and looked over at the woman. “Me?”

“Yes you.”

“O-oh,” She resisted the urge to bury her face in her knees. “I… I don’t know. I’m no warrior.”

“That much is obvious young miss.” Lorne said not even looking up from his widdling.

“Don’t be a prick.” Lillian snapped. “Not all of us can be.” Her harsh stare blessedly leveled at Lorne instead of her like she initially feared.

“What would I even do for you?” Pyra asked, working her fingers over the hem of her skirt.

“Could hang back in town,” Lillian started. “Doin’ things for us we just don’t got time to. The shoppin’, the cookin’, all the logistics that needs doin’ but we gotta be out there killin’ threats and findin’ lost drunks and fools.” When Pyra didn’t answer, Calisto’s music being all that filled the air. “You’d be paid, and a signed member of the team. We’ll help you with the paperwork and everything.”

“What position would that even be?” Pyra scoffed. “I’m not an adventurer.”

“No, you’re not.” The woman nodded, relaxing a little as the walls of Old Derwa came into view. “On-paper you’d be more akin to a logistics officer. As far as the guild is concerned you make sure we got food, potions, and medical supplies. All that good stuff, as well as anything else a part of the team’s kit that we need.”

Lorne let out a deep heaving sigh and finally looked up at Pyra. “And don’t think we’re droppin’ all of our bitch work onto you young lady. Equal shares get equal work, we have to keep track o’ our things. We ain’t bringin’ ye on to be our mother, but our partner.”

As Pyra stared at him she realized that this must of been a conversation that three had already had, maybe even before they’d come to Aeson. She thought about it for a moment or two, it would give her a means to start to rebuild. Maybe if she worked with them long enough then she could have her cottage again, rebuild her homestead and go back to the blessed isolation that had kept her safe for so long.

“What’s my share?”

“Thought you’d never ask,” Lorne sat up properly, getting into a more tripod like position as he got ready to explain. “There’s a bit o’ fiddlin that we’ll have to do because our current is split even. Twenty-five percent to each and to the Guild’s team account. We’ll get to what that account is for later when we get to Sencad.” He waved off the question he could already see forming in her expression. “Now, twenty-five percent to the account is non-negotiable. Now given that you’ll be in a support role, a key and critical one yes, but not on the battlefield if we can help it. We’re willin to give you fifteen percent. Lillian, Calisto, and I all get twenty.”

“And the account gets twenty-five.” She finished. Trying to do the math in her head to find a better deal for herself.

“Eyup that’s right.” Lorne nodded.

The more unsettling part of it all for Pyra was the way that he simply stared at her. Waiting. Surely he was waiting for her to debate, to demand more. But no matter what she did, she couldn’t think of a single argument for them to get less than her. All for doing what she already was? No, she couldn’t. The fact that they were willing to give her fifteen at all was a blessing in of itself. Generosity that both felt foreign to her and that she didn’t deserve. She will have to take what she can get, and who knows? If it turns out that they can’t function without her… maybe she could demand more. Lorne clearly wasn’t going to be the one that spoke first, was he waiting for her to give him her counter offer?

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“You have a deal.” Pyra said with false confidence, the same tone she’d use with out of town merchants the rare times they’d come.

He looked, almost disappointed. She realized belatedly that he might have been looking forward to the back and forth that she saw with some of the townsfolk, barter and haggling may not be steel and blade but some were able to wield it like the finest of daggers.

“Then when we get to Sencad we’ll get you set up with the guild.”

And that was that. The rest of the ride there Pyra had to keep reminding herself that it was in fact for real, it was happening. Every now and again she looked over at the other three. Waiting for that other shoe to drop. Waiting for one of them to laugh and call the whole thing off, but it never came. She watched them as Lillan swapped out driving with Lorne. Even as the day faded into night she couldn’t see any sign that they were going to pull the rug out from under her. She nestled into her space, simply watching the road ahead now. The giant tree that marked Derwa loomed in the distance, beckoning. A small hope started to blossom in her breast, the slightest flickering flame that caressed her heart. That things were going to get better.

When the caravan arrived to the town it was quiet, no it wasn’t quiet, it was silent. Aeson was quiet, there was always the slight buzz of conversation somewhere. The hammering of some smith or someone playing some tune. Birds sang and dogs barked. Old Derwa was silent. No matter how much Pyra strained her ears she couldn’t hear anything but the plodding of horses and creaking of the wagons, the thought terrified her. Even her own home hadn’t been so. The wind would rustle or the hawks would cry, now in their absence Pyra found herself running through a checklist of every possible sound that should be here but simply wasn’t.

She wasn’t alone in her tension. Lorne had stiffened noticeably. Calisto hovered behind him, hidden behind some cover with his bow drawn and arrow knocked. He’d not pulled the string back yet, was he saving his strength or was it simple caution? Pyra crawled further back into the wagon, Lillian didn’t seem to notice. Her expression stoney as she held a hand on her sword. Pyra couldn’t believe that she’d want to try to fight, so soon? There’s no way she could have recovered all her strength by now, but as the gates approached she realized that there very well may be no other choice.

They stopped. The gates didn’t open. Pyra’s heart crawled into her throat and found comfort there, leaving her to make due with the feeling of hiding a frog in her mouth. After a few heartbeats Calisto made a noise and vanished from the wagon. She blinked, he was there one second and simply gone the next. Though her eyes caught a flash of motion and glanced over just in time to see bits of his cloak as he scampered up the wall like some kind of elven salamander. Maybe it was the anxiety getting to her but the image of him doing that caused a nervous chuckle to burble out of her chest. No sooner had it happened though it was gone. They sat there as the silence reclaimed its territory. The mid-morning chill hadn’t quite let go, it was far more comforting to blame it on the spring dew than it was to confront the fact that even Lillian seemed alarmed.

“Where is everyone?” Lillian asked softly. “We went through here, it was fine when we left.”

“Maybe they evacuated?” Pyra whispered, shrinking into her hiding place. “It took us a while to get here.”

“There would still be someone though, anyone.” She insisted, not looking away from where Calisto had scurried over the wall. “There’s always someone who stays behind.”

“That’s not true, everyone came with us.” Pyra pointed out, flinching when Lillian had glanced over at her.

Lorne’s voice was soft, more akin to sand falling down a dune than its usual gruffness. “No, they didn’t.” His heavy voice threatened to pull him down, he wouldn’t look her in the eye as he spoke, having hidden his heart somewhere. “Many wouldn’t come with us when they learned that you were coming with us.”

“That’s not true.” Pyra said sharply, a little more sharply than she had intended. “That can’t be true.”

“Darling.” He finally met her gaze. “How many wagons are there?”

Pyra hesitated. “Maybe a little over a dozen. What does that matter?”

“Aside from ours, all them wagons are filled to capacity. There were over a thousand people who lived there.” He let it hang in the air, letting the silence reclaim the space. He seemed like he wanted to say more, but couldn’t bring himself to.

When the gates had opened both Lillian and Lorne had readied themselves for a fight, the echos of aether flickering off of the man as he readied a spell. Only for him to release it with a slightly exasperated breath. They waited for Calisto to get closer before calling out to him.

“Did you find anything?” Lillian moved to drop out of the wagon, brushing herself off as she spoke. “More importantly is it safe enough to go inside?”

“Thing is, I don’t know.” He looked lost for words. “T’weren’t nothin’ there. No people no animals, Lils not even any critters.” Calisto pulled his cloak around him, maybe trying to hide in plain sight? “Its like everything that held a pulse just up and vanished. I don’t like it.”

Lillian looked into the town, trying to see if there was anything contrary to what Calisto had said. If she found anything she wasn’t saying. After a moment she let out a deep sigh.

“Alright.” It was a voice that Pyra hadn’t heard from her, authoritative and firm. “Regardless of if there are anyone there right now, I don’t think we have the luxury of staying out here. Get the wagons inside and we’ll start unloading folks when we’ve confirmed there’s no danger.” Calisto clearly didn’t like this plan, as he started to protest but Lillian cut him off before he got the chance to. “We don’t have options. We’ve too many people and not enough who know what they’re down. Cali most of these folks were homebodies. Half of ‘em are catatonic.”

“We should keep going.” He said sternly.

“And we will, but we have to stop, if only for the animals and to refill the water barrels.”

That seemed to placate him, at least for the moment, and he turned to start walking back in the town. A sense of forboading hung at Pyra’s back, which didn’t lessen when Lillian turned her gaze on her.

“Stay there until further notice.” Lillian’s voice brooked no argument. Pyra nodded emphatically to her when she used that tone on her, she knew far better than to put up a fight. “If you see me, Lorne, or Calisto come back. Ask them what the team’s pass phrase is.”

“… What is the team pass phrase?”

Lillian smiled playfully, and made a shushing motion. Helpful, Pyra thought. Her next one was ‘We’re all going to die down here’.