{-Llewel-}

They found they could split the quest item, so Zetai kept half to give to Haksima and let Llewel have the oher for Fininri. They parted ways early that morning, promising that they’d probably be able to meet at the inn by the end of the day.

They walked most of the way, aside from when they got closer to Nafrius and could ride a train into the city. And despite the time it took them to get there, they hardly said anything to each other. Myr tried by wondering aloud how Fininri and Duuzlo were doing; it wasn’t a conversation that lasted much longer than “we’ll know when we get there.”

Llewel was only half surprised to note that, when they were right in front of Nafrius’s shop, Casrane took a step back.

“I’ve got to be somewhere else,” she mumbled. “I won’t bother you two and Fininri. I meant what I said—you all deserve some time to talk to each other.”

Then she walked off again.

Both of them might’ve been put off guard by the departure, but Myr shook it off easier—or at least, she seemed to. She turned and pushed open the door to the inn, saying cheerfully, “Good morning, Fininri!”

There was something inexplicably comforting by the greeting, “Welcome to the Nafrius Shop, how might I help you today?” And Llewel found himself grinning, too, to see Fininri’s wide smile at seeing the two of them. “Well, if it isn’t my favorite pair of twins! I didn’t think you’d be around yet. If I knew you’d be coming over, I would’ve sat out a loaf of bread for you.”

“It’s been a while!” Myr said brightly. “What have you been doing? Oh, have you talked with Duuzlo at all? Maybe we could find him, too, it’s been a while…”

“I bet I haven’t done anything as exciting as the two of you!” Fininri remarked. “The others have told me bits and pieces, but I’m interested in hearing it all from you, too. Here, let me take care of these players—then we can have the opportunity to talk.”

“That won’t be disrupting anything..?” Llewel asked. “I don’t want us to be in anyone’s way…”

Fininri gained a serious frown for all of a minute when he said, “Llewel, listen carefully. The two of you are never disrupting anything, and you’re never in anyone’s way. Understood?”

Though momentarily taken aback, Llewel nodded and mumbled, “Yeah…”

“Great! So let me get these players out of here, then you can tell me what you’ve been up to.” Fininri regained and maintained a smile as he talked with all the other players. Llewel couldn’t quite hear whatever he’d said to them to get them to leave, but they left without too much hesitance. With the players gone, Fininri flipped the sign to read Closed, and walked back over to the twins. “Alright, everything’s set! Have you two been having fun? Meet anyone else new?”

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Myr nodded enthusiastically, and started to tell him of what they’ve done so far. She mentioned their meeting of Tinath again—what she’d done originally, but also her reasons for doing it, and how she was willing to make up for it. Myr talked about the other stuff they did with Kaerio, then how they’d met Esaphi and the other things they’d learned while they were in Ilataesi. Finally, she recounted all of the events leading up to this moment, including Casrane and the quest from Ucadra. Llewel was almost surprised that Myr only hesitated for a moment; how, otherwise, she told Fininri with the same level of energy as she would’ve otherwise. He really didn’t know if he wanted to consider it a good thing, though.

“And I think that’s it!” Myr finished. “What about you? Have there been any events or something you’ve been a part of?”

He shrugged. “Nothing out of the ordinary for me! Ruzlue came by a couple of times—even asked if I could be a little nicer to him. I had to pity him. Some higher-leveled players decided to mess with him, and having them beat him up that disproportionately was enough of a punishment.” He started to walk back towards his counter. “Trust me, I wouldn’t mind having you two around all day—turns out I’ve been missing you!—but I’m sure you’ve got other things to do. You said you were here because of Ucadra, right?”

“Mhm.” Llewel stepped up to the counter and presented the box.

When Fininri took it, the quest completion menu appeared. So the players had talked with Haksima. They were probably back in Nafrius, then, which meant there wasn’t any reason to keep them waiting…

Yet Llewel still dared to ask, “Do you know about what Casrane’s been doing? It seems like all the other shopkeepers we’ve talked to have. I’d feel slightly better if someone explained it…”

“Well, was I the one Casrane got what she needed from?” Fininri asked in response. “That’s not a trick question, by the way. I mean that genuinely.”

“It doesn’t seem like it…”

“So I don’t know any more than the two of you.”

“I’m conditioned to believe you’re not being honest…”

“Llewel, do you really think I’m going to lie to you?”

“No.”

“Then you know that I’m telling the truth. Trust me, if I knew more of the answers than you, I’d tell you. We’re past the point where any of the secrets are going to make a difference. But I’m not a part of what Casrane’s doing. The people who do know might not even be able to keep the secret—it’s only going to put her plans in even more risk if she tells people who aren’t involved.”

Llewel nodded absently. “Alright. I’d say I’d try asking her, but… I did, and that didn’t get me anywhere…”

“Patience is a virtue,” Fininri remarked. “You’ll find the answers you’re looking for soon enough.” Then he once again returned to having a smile and a casual tone. “Thank you both for visiting, no matter what the other circumstances were. It was nice being able to talk to you two again. Be sure to come by again sometime, alright? You know I’ll always be here when you need me.”

“Mhm!” Myr gave an enthusiastic nod and a wide smile. “Depending on how long we stay in Nafrius, maybe we can help you out a little before we have to leave. Either way, we’ll try to keep in touch!”

They all waved goodbye and the twins walked out of the shop.

While they were headed to the inn, Llewel prompted, “Is something else bothering you?”

Myr let out a nervous chuckle. “I… know we don’t have a lot of information either way, but… Doesn’t this feel more important than what anyone’s told us? Like, without being told what, we’re doing something that we can’t come back from..?”

“I kind of feel the same. But there’s no use trying to figure it out on our own. We’re just going to have to wait for Casrane.”