It must have been sometime between four and five in the morning. Normally Lukas and apparently Cale would be long asleep by this time, having been awake for almost 24 hours now, but tonight was a special night. The day Cale had been waiting for over the past few years.

After doing their shopping for the day this morning, they had gone out into the woods to train together one last time. The training, however, was more for Lukas to be able to defend himself in the future. The reason Cale had started living with them in the first place was a big fight in the tavern, which Lukas was too powerless to stop. After Cale solved the dispute by force, he had already crept inconspicuously into the hearts of the three family members and thus checked off another point of his plan.

In the afternoon, the two young men had returned home, Marv and Tasha were always asleep at this time. Usually the couple was awake until early in the morning, as they were graced with another hour or so of cleaning up after the nights drinking. When Lukas and Cale weren't busy chasing groceries and other daily business, they too would help with the cleaning up.The tavern stays closed until evening where Lukas would then open it before his parents once again closed it the next morning. A well coordinated cycle. Only Marv frequently is out and about during daytime hours since the tavern is like a child to him.

"Lukas!"

His mother called after him. The young man had spent the whole evening serving travelers and collecting money, while politely inquiring about the intentions of the next few days. The fact that he was awake longer today was only because of the promise. But the result was very sobering: the Anuxers would not go to the mountains because of the coming storm front, but would linger here in Bellator.

Cale watched his friend flit between the last guests to get to his mother. He breathed a quiet sigh of relief as he dangled his feet from the second floor area and leaned his head against the perimeter. Since he was leaving tomorrow, he was condemned to go to sleep early, but just like Lukas, Cale was restless today. Except for the fact that he never slept very much.

Every time the doors opened, Cale's nervousness rose to 200%, only to drop back to 0 seconds later. He had spent his evening packing his things and mentally preparing for the trip. That resulted in a long, hot bath, which left his skin with a buttery soft feeling. Neatly dressed in dark pants and blue shirt, he now sat on the ledge, wide awake and watching the people like an eagle watches its prey. Most of them noticed him as he entered, but forgot about his existence within the next few minutes.

"Wuahahaha"

Drunken, loud laughter drowned out the background noise. A tall, bearded man, who sat centered at one of the tables, seemed to be getting along well with his new friends.

Cale's gaze automatically wandered back to the door, but at the same moment he sensed another presence. Immediately he spotted Lukas, who was in the process of collecting money and had his eyes on Cale. Embarrassed to have been discovered, he therefore disappeared relatively quickly into the kitchen.

Cale gave up. He didn't have the nerve to stay seated anymore and went down the stairs to the counter with Tasha behind it.

"Cale?", the older woman asked in wonder, before her wonderment changed to delight. "What can I possibly offer the helpful traveller?"

Cale couldn't help but chuckle.

"Surprise me."

They both grinned at each other for a moment before Tasha got moving and mixed him a special drink.

That was how they had first met back then. After the scuffle, Cale had sat down at the bar in an acting capacity, inevitably prompting Tasha to strike up a conversation in gratitude. They had talked a bit afterwards and Cale had told the innkeeper that he was currently looking for a place to stay and a job. However, Cale had never told her the whole backstory. He deliberately concealed the fact that he had been working for the Magistrat for several years and had a small fortune. So none of the family knew who he was and why he had actually visited the tavern.

"Here you go. A speciality of our house."

Tasha placed a clear drink in front of him, in which floated some bluish leaves as well as ice cubes. The people sitting next to him at the counter looked at the strange drink with interest for a moment before Cale took it in his hand. Slowly, Cale held the glass against the light of the counter, recognizing the thousand bluish shards of ice that broke the light and looked like huge, blue mountains through the leaves. Satisfied, he smiled, raised the glass to his mouth and took a sip as the door opened at the same moment. Instantly, he felt the mana of the four newcomers, which is why his heart started racing and spun away backwards.

He watched unobtrusively as the four familiar faces took their seats at a table on the outskirts of the establishment and shortly after Lukas came running up to them. Cale couldn't help but recall his past while holding the glass with one hand and watching the group. Nostalgia spread through him.

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

"Cale?"

The black-haired man flinched in surprise. The voice was coming from the counter, but it was a mans voice. He could sense someone standing behind him, but hadn't noticed the owner approach from his kitchen. Surprised, he turned back and recognized Marvs wide grin.

"You're going to miss us, aren't you?"

Cale didn't answer the question. He was pretty good friends with the family and knew them well, partly because of events they didn't even remember, but sometimes they still surprised him. Which was mostly due to the fact that Cale found himself in an unfamiliar situation over the last two years.

"It's okay, you don't have to say anything. It shows on your face", the old cook added, starting to laugh and patting him energetically on the shoulder. "We'll be fine without you. Come see us when you get back to town, will you?"

The laughter might be somewhat forced, but he understood what the man was getting at. Cale took another big gulp and turned around 180° once. He could sense someone approaching them. As suspected, it was Lukas.

"You've figured me out...", Cale merely replied. The two adults would miss Cale, too, but most of all they knew that Lukas would mourn his newfound big brother.

"Just don't tell him. It'll only complicate things otherwise", Cale quickly remarked. The comment was punctuated with a slight mocking undertone, causing Marv to laugh out loud again. Noticing his sons confused look, he grinned from ear to ear, gave his wife a kiss on the cheek and disappeared into the kitchen.

"Mother..."

Lucas had joined them now, deliberately ignoring Cale's devilish grin. Sometimes when he saw that face, he got scared. Mostly because he put it on when they were training together and he had another lesson in store for him.

"Do you think it would be okay if we put up four Anuxers for one night? They would pay for food, drink and lodging, of course."

The time had come. This was the opportunity Cale had been waiting for since his arrival two years ago. The tingle spread throughout his body before he deliberately spoke up thoughtfully.

"Do you think this is a good idea?"

Surprised, Lukas turned to the black-haired man, who propped one hand on the counter and eyed him challengingly with his dark eyes.

"Aren't you the one who is basically always in favour of helping others...?"

Lukas suddenly paused as he noticed his friends penetrating dark eyes. His first suspicion seemed to be confirmed, because Cale quite rarely became as serious as he was right now. At least, that was the impression Lukas had got over the years.

"Lukas. I'll give you one last lesson today. One that can only be gained through experience", Cale began. The statement sent chills down Lukas' spine and his mother continued to listen intently as she poured beer for the guests. "Take a good look at these four."

Unintentionally, Lukas followed Cale's head movement. To his surprise, he recognized how one of the four people, the black-haired sword-bearer with the bright blue eyes, returned his gaze. The boy had to be a little older than himself, maybe Cale's age. But something about him abruptly gave him goosebumps. You could tell right away that the stranger was no ordinary Anuxer. He seemed a hell of a lot brighter than any other swordsman he had encountered to date.

"Is he... strong?"

Lukas swallowed. He hadn't been in a fight since the action two years ago; Cale had thrown most of the problem cases out - without exception. By his intuition, Cale's warning could only mean one thing. The group in front of them was to be faced only with caution.

"For his age, yes", Cale finally confirmed, which made Lukas visibly more nervous. "It's not just him. See the other three? The big man with the scar on his chin, for example. He looks like he could carry our entire cart, including loads, with one hand."

Lukas realized what Cale meant. The short-haired man, who also carried a sword, was a good six feet tall and definitely had well-built muscles under his light armor. His face looked somehow familiar to Lukas, but what bothered him more was the way he handled the surrounding objects. It was as if he had to constantly watch out that he didn't accidentally break something.

"What do you think what about the two women?"

Cale's gaze turned away from the group of four and back toward Lukas.

"Um, the blonde-haired girl looks like a priestess. Does she have healer skills?", Lukas hesitantly replied, clutching the empty tray in his hand tighter. It was like one of the lessons he had had with Cale over the past few months. They taught him how to recognize people who could be a potential danger to him.

"Correct. She is a healer. The young girl is a priestess from Frignez and - see the robe under her cloak? - she belongs to the inner circle of the second head."

"What if it's just a cover?", Lukas challengingly interjected.

"A cover for what? Why would you deliberately disguise yourself more conspicuously if you wanted to hide?"

Silence reigned between the two for a moment.

"But the thing that makes me so sure of their origin is their appearance and charisma. That is unmistakably that of a Frignezer", clarified Cale. The young girl with the white-blond hair and bright eyes had lived an interesting life, that much Cale already knew. He picked up his alcoholic drink and drank the rest in one go. That it was Holy Mana, which Cale felt clearly from her, he kept to himself. Whereas it must have been difficult even for mages to distinguish Holy Mana from Igrikum.

"And the dark-haired woman with the brown eyes and the bow? Who is she?"

Tasha had joined in the discussion and was now propping herself lightly on the counter to better whisper to the two boys. Lukas' gaze wandered to the serpentine, tall woman accompanying the group.

"She's not from around here either, is she? The way she's sitting and the way she's braided her long hair, she must be from the woods."

"That's right. She's from one of the nomadic peoples in Winstest. With her long clothes, she's probably covering up a tattoo on her upper arm, which would definitely confirm that she belongs to the Three-Gods-Faith people."

All three were silent.

The black-haired swordsman had not even averted his eyes for several minutes. The hand of the young man twitched unintentionally toward his sword as his gaze crossed with Cale's again. To him, Cale seemed strange, which is why the stranger became nervous and thoughtful. Ever since he was a child, he was taught to be cautious in the presence of strangers. Especially if those strangers seemed to have an eye on him. So he wondered who the young man was. The older son of the family? But then he wouldn't be drinking, that much was certain. Probably a regular customer or acquaintance? From their behaviour, they must trust each other. Quite possibly they were related, even if they didn't look alike.

"So you're more opposed to this request?", Tasha quickly chimed in. Her question was directed to Cale rather than her own son. But his answer surprised them both.

"Nah, I didn't say that", Cale declared almost condescendingly, starting to laugh, straightening up and patting out his wrinkled clothes as if dust were on him. He wiped his long, loose hair from his face and merely turned his head back. "I'm stronger than those four put together."