Adrian knocked on the little front door while the others stood behind him with the donkeys.

Tulipe recognized her home immediately and roamed around the front yard happily, stopping to nibble at a patch of dried grass. It’d taken two and a half days exactly to reach Boden’s since the first night they camped, almost exactly as Jacques had predicted.

The door swung open, and the king found himself grinning broadly. “Bo—”

He was pulled into a bone crushing hug. “Oh, Ian,” his mentor said warmly. “It’s so good to see you, Lad.”

Adrian wrapped his arms around him in response, holding the shorter man tightly. “Thought I’d stop by and visit while I’m here.”

“You can visit whenever you want. Did you find what you were looking for in Elden Town?”

“Sort of.”

Boden pulled away and spotted the silent crew in the back. “Who’s all this?”

“These are my traveling companions,” Adrian said proudly, gesturing to each of them as he spoke. “That’s Zuri, Andre, and Jacques.”

“Hello there!” Zuri called while Andre only nodded in acknowledgment.

“Ian’s told us a lot about you,” Jacques said, his arms folded in an unsure manner.

Boden smiled at all of them, walking up and giving each of them a hug. Despite Jacques’s reluctance, he opted to hug the older man back, his expression aloof.

“I’m sure you’re all great folk if Ian considers you his companions. Well, come on in. We’re just starting dinner. I can’t have you visit without feeding you.”

“Are you sure?” Adrian questioned. “There’s not too many of us?”

He waved his hand dismissively. “Of course, not. You all need a place to stay too, don’t you? I can’t guarantee a bed for everyone, but we have at least two.”

“Bo, you don’t have to—”

“But I want to. It’s the least I can do. I’ve thought a lot about you since you left, and you were always such a great help.” After patting him warmly on the shoulder, he glanced at the others. “I lock the gate at night, so you can tie your donkeys to the fence or just let them roam around—Oh, I see you brought Tulipe back safe and healthy!” At the mention of the donkey’s name, the irritable creature perked her head up, then scampered over to her master. Andre tied the other two donkeys and removed the heavy barrels from their backs with Zuri’s help.

Tulipe nuzzled against Boden’s hand gently.

Jacques let out a huff. “She’s nice to you too? She won’t let any of us near her except Ian.”

The older man laughed. “She’s an odd one. I think she saw Ian with me enough times while he was here that she associates him with me. Tulipe hates my wife though. Bit her real good one time.”

“Yeah, her and me both.” He absentmindedly rubbed the top of his hand.

“Sorry about that. I’ve tried everything to get her to be more polite, but she’s very stubborn.”

“Hm,” came Zuri’s voice as they came to stand by him, “sounds like someone we know.”

Jacques scowled at them.

“Why don’t you all come in,” Boden said warmly, gesturing inside as he turned to walk through the door.

They followed, and as soon as Adrian entered the kitchen, he was getting a bone crushing hug from a towering blonde woman.

“I thought that was you, Ian! How have you been, Dear?”

“Great, Avril,” he wheezed. “What about you?”

“Woah, you’re tall,” Zuri said, staring up at the woman who stood nearly at Andre’s height.

Adrian was released and his lungs filled with air again.

“Who are your friends?”

He introduced them and Avril gave each of them hugs. When it came to Andre’s turn, the large man couldn’t contain the blush in his cheeks as he greeted the tall woman.

“S’nice to meet you, M’lady,” he said as they pulled out of the hug, a completely smitten look on his face.

Jacques thwacked his brother on the arm. “Pull it together,” he hissed.

“I was just telling them, Avril,” Boden’s voice cut in as he began chopping several onions at the kitchen counter, “that we for sure have two beds to offer if we have Chloe sleep with us tonight. One of you can sleep on the couch as well—”

“Andre and I can share a bed,” Jacques interrupted.

Boden blinked between the shorter man and his massive brother. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, we’re used to it.”

“I call the other bed,” Zuri shouted.

“Guess that means I’m on the couch,” Adrian said flatly, though after sleeping on the ground the last three days, the couch actually sounded wonderful.

“Why don’t you all make yourselves comfortable in the living room while we take care of dinner?” Avril said.

Adrian shook his head. “I’ll help. I insist.”

“I’ll help too,” Andre said quickly, the blush still in his cheeks, and they all looked over at him.

“Andre,” Jacques said, placing a hand on his brother’s arm and patting it, “why don’t you bring our stuff in? I’ll help you with that.” He tugged on his arm until they were both making their way out the door again.

“I’ll prepare the bedding for the rooms then,” Avril said, taking her apron off and handing it to her husband before walking out of the room.

“I’m no good in the kitchen,” Zuri said, sneaking over to a stool in the corner and sitting on it, “but I offer great moral support.”

Boden laughed. “That’s perfectly fine too. Thanks for helping, Ian.” He nudged the taller man next to him. “It’s just like old times, huh?”

Adrian grinned. “Yeah, it is.” He took over the onion cutting while Boden lit a fire under the pot on the stove as Zuri happily swung their legs from atop the stool.

“So, tell me more about your quest,” Boden said. “How’d you meet your companions?”

“Oh, that’s a wild story actually,” Zuri answered before Adrian could. “Jacques got into a spat with Ian after breaking his shit then we got arrested by this fucking crazy assassin lady, but then Ian convinced her to let us go, and then he joined our group and we went on this life-threatening heist, and oh, Ian almost passed out when he saw blood and—”

“Zuri,” Adrian interrupted, slightly flustered, and they slapped a hand over their mouth.

“Sorry, you tell the rest. I’ll shut up now.”

Boden chuckled, filling the pot with water from a pitcher. “Sounds like quite the adventure. Why’d you come back to New Minoka? Are you gonna head home?”

Adrian shook his head. “I found the next piece to my quest, and it lies in Mermortiva.”

“Mermortiva?”

“That’s what we said,” Zuri chimed in, “but that’s where we’re going.”

“What’s out there?” He scooped cups of rice into the pot as he talked. “That’s the middle of nowhere on the other side of Venwick.”

“There’s something there that might tell me more about my mother and her research,” Adrian said. “It’s…” he rubbed the back of his head, “kind of a long story.”

“You don’t have to give details,” Boden said, always seeming to sense when he shouldn’t pry. “I’m glad you’ve found a group to travel with that supports you. It’s hard being out there alone, and companionship is really quite special, isn’t it?”

“Oh, we all love Ian,” Zuri said, beaming over at him. “He’s great.”

Adrian blinked, then grinned shyly, his heart swelling.

Companionship really did feel amazing. He wasn’t sure where he’d go after his quest, but a part of him never wanted to leave this little group. The thought of just traveling around with them forever, moving on to the next adventure and never staying in one place was exhilarating.

He smiled down at the cutting board as he finished slicing the onions.

🗲🗲🗲

Everyone was seated around the dining table now, eating the meal Adrian and Boden had prepared. Chloe had at one point come out of her room and was thrilled by the company, now sitting in a chair to the right of Adrian’s.

The little girl that couldn’t be older than five, gripped onto him with small fingers. “Missed you, Ian,” she said, burrowing her nose into his upper arm. “Are you going to live with us again?” She looked up at him with bright green eyes.

He gave a friendly smile. “We’re just staying the night, but it’s great to see you, Chloe.”

“I want to have beautiful blond children with you one day.”

Zuri snorted.

“That’s enough, Chloe,” Avril said, and the child let go of him to fold her arms into a pout. “I don’t know what her obsession is with having blond children.” She rolled her eyes as she said it.

Adrian laughed good naturedly. “I think it must be because blond hair reminds her of you, Avril.”

“I think you’re right.”

“Blonde hair is so beautiful,” came Andre’s voice, and Adrian looked over to see the larger man with a hand under his chin, a small sigh escaping his mouth. Jacques smacked his arm scoldingly again.

“I really missed your unique way of speaking, Ian,” Avril continued. “It hasn’t been the same without you.”

Boden nodded in agreement. “It must have been a bit of a surprise when you all first heard Ian talk.”

Jacques swallowed his bite before speaking. “Yeah, it took some getting used to.”

“We could tell right away he wasn’t from Venwick,” Zuri said.

“We tried everything,” Boden said with a grin, “and we worked so long and hard to get him to talk like a Venwickin, but wherever he learned to speak Venish, it’s ingrained too deep.”

Adrian’s face was bright red by now.

“You taught him?” Jacques asked.

“Tried anyway.”

“And you taught him sword fighting and cooking too, right?” The leader had that probing tone in his voice. The tone that usually caught Adrian in his lies.

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“That’s right. Taught him everything he’d need to know to survive in Elden Town. He would have been eaten alive if he went the way he was when I first met him.”

Adrian breathed out a laugh. “Yeah, there’s no doubt about that.”

“Wow,” Jacques said calmly, which Adrian found increasingly suspicious. “He really was new to everything when he first got here.”

“It’s true, but after a while,” Boden said between bites, “Ian really came into his own. He’s helped us out a lot too. Got us free water one time even. Can you believe that?”

“Free?”

“Yeah. I don’t know what he did, but he left those guards trembling in their boots by the end. They were giving us the royal treatment letting us cut in line and filling all my barrels.” He exhaled quickly. “Such an interesting day.”

Adrian was squirming in his chair at this point, not sure why his mentor decided to share this particular story of all things in front of everyone.

“He scared the guards?” Jacques questioned, and Adrian eyed him warily.

“Oh, they were positively terrified of him. Be glad Ian’s on your team and not against you. He’s a force to be reckoned with, I tell you.” He took a big swig of the ale that was in front of him as Jacques’s eyes traveled over to meet Adrian’s.

He gave him a look while cocking his head to the side, and Adrian glanced away quickly.

“And what about you three?” Boden asked after a pause in the conversation. “Where are you all from?”

“Not really sure who my parents were,” Zuri went first, “but I’m pretty sure either they or my grandparents were Andveltican. I grew up in Elden Town.”

“Andre and I grew up in Surtrum,” Jacques said, “before we moved out of my parent’s house. We’re brothers.”

“Brothers?” Boden asked curiously.

“Adopted.”

“Ah.”

“We don’t really belong anywhere though. Always moving around.”

“Oh? Why’s that?”

Jacques stiffened slightly.

“It’s ‘cause Jacques always has a target on his back,” Zuri said, “no matter where we are.”

“Zuri!”

They placed a hand over their mouth. “Oh…” was all they said after that.

“It’s alright,” Boden said. “It’s none of my business anyway. I can tell you three are capable fighters. Are each of you a weapons specialist?”

As the conversation drifted away from whatever Jacques had been trying to hide to a discussion about battle strategies, Adrian couldn’t help but watch him inquisitively.

Carnadine’s words floated into his mind. Why was Jacques dangerous and why was she so obsessed with killing him? What was so special about Jacques that his group couldn’t stay in one place for too long?

His questions went unanswered as the night carried on and dinner finished.

🗲🗲🗲

Adrian and the others were all standing in Chloe’s room, talking lightly as they got ready for bed.

The men already had their night shirts on, and Zuri was sitting on the edge of one of the beds fully clothed while tinkering with something with their goggles over their head.

“Boden is a really cool guy,” the inventor said, and there was a small flash of light accompanied with sparks as they placed two wires together.

“Zuri, can’t you do that somewhere less flammable?” Jacques asked, flinching as more sparks flew.

They brushed him off. “It’s fine, Jacques. It’s not enough to start a fire.”

“You said that last time.”

“Don’t worry. I just connected the wires, so I’m done with the sparks.” They pulled the goggles down, so they now hung around their neck. “So dramatic.”

“He is really cool, isn’t he,” Adrian said from where he stood in the room, a grin on his face.

“Who?” Jacques asked.

“Boden.”

“Oh, yeah. He seems nice.”

“That’s quite the compliment coming from Jacques,” Zuri snickered, now twisting something into the device with a mini screwdriver.

“Glad we could stay here and everything,” Jacques said, not meeting Adrian’s eyes.

“Guys, I need to sleep,” came Andre’s voice from the other bed. “When I don’t sleep, I get unattractive bags under my eyes.”

All heads turned to him.

“Andre, you just want to look good for that tall woman,” Zuri said, shaking their head. “She’s married, remember?”

He turned on his side away from them. “It’s not ‘cause of her,” he mumbled, and they all knew that was a lie.

“Well, I’ll be in the other room,” Adrian said, turning to leave. “Good night.”

They all said goodnight and he was out into the hallway, making his way to the living room.

Grabbing his bag of things, Adrian sat on the couch which had been laid out with blankets and pillows. He was about to pull out the Alchemist journal when he noticed someone had followed him.

“Did you need something, Jacques?” he asked, tucking the book back inside and standing up.

The leader had a hardened look on his face as he stood there with his arms folded. His hair was out of the usual ponytail, the tight black curls trailing over his shoulders, the length ending at his upper arm. “Was Boden telling the truth about what happened with those water guards?”

He blinked. “Huh?”

“Whatever you did to those guards in New Minoka, you did to Carnadine and her men too, didn’t you?”

Adrian hesitated. “Where is this coming from all of a sudden?”

He took a step forward. “You were looking awfully guilty at dinner when he said it. Don’t deny it.”

“I uh…”

He rolled his eyes. “I know when you’re hiding something, Sweetheart. There’s something special about you. Something that doesn’t quite add up, and I want to know what it is.” He took another step, and Adrian found himself backed up into the arm of the couch. “You scared them with just your words. At Carnadine’s holding cell, you threatened the guards, telling them something about how they’d end up like their friend or whatever. How do you have such a reputation that random guards all over Venwick are terrified of you and do whatever you ask?”

Adrian gripped the couch arm behind him as Jacques stood only a few inches away from him. The blood draining from his face, he swallowed as brown eyes skeptically scanned blue. He knew he wouldn’t be able to deny anything, so instead he decided to ask his own questions.

“Tell me what’s special about you first.”

“What?”

He regained some of his confidence, frowning down at him. “There’s a reason you and your team have to always be moving around, why Carnadine was chasing you, why you keep everything about the Alchemists all hush hush.” It was his turn to take a step forward and Jacques retreated slightly. “You know something about the Alchemists; more than you let on. Andre and Zuri know too. Don’t think I don’t notice how they cover up for you or when you have to shut Zuri up.” Jacques couldn’t meet his eye. “Carnadine told me there’s something dangerous about you, and you know, maybe I want to know what that is.” He folded his arms. “It’s like you said when we first met. Don’t expect me to answer all your questions when you also hide behind a wall of secrets.”

There was silence. Jacques looked subdued; his face frozen into a frown.

After a moment, he brushed past Adrian’s shoulder to walk away. “Don’t read too much into it,” he mumbled before leaving.

Adrian watched him disappear into the bedroom, his chest heaving slightly. After sitting on the couch, he exhaled while running a hand through his hair. Jacques was hiding something alright. Something big, but Adrian was no closer to finding out whatever that was.

🗲🗲🗲

Jacques and his team walked in silence with their donkeys down the dirt path.

They were making their way to the next town, Chaudel. Boden had warned them to be extra careful while traveling through this area. Since the water port in New Minoka had significantly lowered its prices, more people from out of town had begun buying their water there and this included more ruffians who took advantage of travelers.

Adrian only hoped things would go smoothly for his group, since so far, they’d been less than successful in avoiding trouble.

“Let’s make camp here,” Jacques said as he pulled a leather water pouch off one of the donkey’s backs and began downing it. He capped it before adding, “We’ll make it to Chaudel by tomorrow afternoon.”

Adrian hadn’t spoken to the leader since the night before, and even the others had begun to pick up on the tension between them as the two had been traveling in silence all day. He didn’t want to be interrogated again, and he hated the fact that he was the only one in the group who was out of the loop on everything. Since meeting them all, they’d grilled him with so many questions about himself, often forcing information out of him simply because he was a terrible liar, but Jacques had yet to reveal anything terribly important about himself. It was so frustrating. He wanted answers. Wasn’t that why he was all the way out here in the first place?

“I’ll start on dinner,” Andre said, and Adrian blinked into the present. The large man started taking his cooking things off the nearest donkey.

“I’ll set up the—” Zuri began, but Adrian interrupted them.

“I’ll set up the fire pit.” He moved past them to go collect rocks, not bothering to look at Jacques as he walked right past.

Jacques folded his arms. “You and I are setting up tents then, Zuri.”

They blinked. “But you and Ian always set up the tents and I always do the fire pit. What’s going on between you two?”

Adrian hated that he could still hear every word of their conversation as he worked on the fire pit.

“Nothing,” Jacques growled. “Just leave it, Zuri.”

Wanting some space, Adrian traveled further than he needed to for his next rocks, distracted as he did. He let out a sigh. Should he really be this upset? It seemed pointless out here where they were supposed to work as a team, but at that moment, he didn’t really feel part one. They were closer to each other than they were to him. It didn’t take a genius to see that.

But he was keeping secrets too, wasn’t he. He didn’t see himself ever divulging his identity to any of them. They were still his friends despite all the mystery between them, and maybe that was all that mattered.

He let out another sigh. After leaning down to grab another rock, he stood up and something hot and wet splattered over him. He blinked, caught completely off guard. In front of him was a ruffian with a raised sword, but something was missing from his stomach. Oh. It was his stomach that was missing.

Andre stood behind the assaulter, his bloodied hammer at his side as the corpse collapsed to the ground. Adrian stood frozen, still unsure what had just happened as his teammates easily picked off the remaining assailants who had attempted and failed to sabotage their camp.

“That’s the last of them, Jacques,” he heard Zuri say. “That was a pathetic ambush if I do say so myself.”

Something hot and gooey oozed down Adrian’s face and that’s when he made the mistake of looking down.

There was more than just blood covering his face, hands, and torso. Everything that’d been taken from that ruffian’s innards was now falling off or still stuck to Adrian’s body. He gawked down at himself, at a loss for words, trying desperately to control his breathing. He dropped the rocks, falling hard onto his backside unable to look away from the horror.

That’s when the smell hit him, and he was full on hyperventilating now. He didn’t even have room for queasiness as pure panic and shock overtook him. He squeezed his eyes shut as he tried and failed to gulp air. His arms were over his knees now, his head bowed down between his legs.

He felt hands on him then and something like a cloth wiping the blood and guts off him. Jacques’s calming voice was right next to him then, and someone’s hands grabbed his shoulders.

“Hey, you’re okay,” he said, and Adrian couldn’t bring himself to look up. His only option right now was breathing rapidly with raspy half breaths, the horrible smell never leaving his nose. “Stay with me, Ian. Breathe.” Jacques coached him through several minutes of breathing until Adrian was finally taking normal breaths, his chest rising and falling slower and more easily.

He heard a soft sigh in front of him as the hands slid from his shoulders. “You told me you could handle this,” Jacques said sternly, but not unkindly.

Adrian kept his head down, ashamed to look up. “I can, I can. I was just caught off guard. Just give me some time and I’ll adjust.”

“No,” he chided. “You clearly can’t handle it. Next time we plan some kind of heist or attack, I’m putting you in the back with Zuri so you don’t lose your shit, and as for unexpected events like this one, we’ll just have to be mindful that you could be out of the fight when things get bloody.”

Adrian breathed out in frustration lifting his head up and leaning it back against the rock he’d apparently been propped up against at some point during his panic attack. He kept his eyes closed. “Shit,” he whispered, coming to terms with the fact that he might never get used to this.

“Sorry, did you just curse?” Jacques asked incredulously, and Adrian finally opened his eyes. The smaller man was crouched right in front of him, a hint of humor in his face.

“Yeah so? You three swear all the time.”

He snorted. “Yeah, but we’re glorified street rats. You on the other hand are the son of some kind of nobleman or some shit, and that’s the first time I’ve ever heard something unclean come out of that righteous mouth.”

Adrian made a face and shoved Jacques’s shoulder. “Shut up.”

Jacques laughed at that, and Adrian looked at him in relief, grateful for the break in tension between them.

He reached out and placed his hand on the shoulder he’d just shoved. “Uh, hey,” he said softly, and Jacques’s smile melted instantly as he looked him over.

“Huh? What is it?”

He glanced away for a second. “Sorry for prying so much last night. I wasn’t quite sure how to respond to any of your questions, so I—”

“Why are you apologizing?” he demanded, lightly brushing off the hand. “I was the one who launched a full interrogation out of nowhere. If anything, I should apologize for pushing so hard for answers.”

He breathed out a chuckle. “Yeah, you were pretty intense,” he admitted, meeting those brown eyes again.

“See, there you go. So, don’t apologize again for something stupid.” He stood, offering his hand.

Adrian took it and put weight on slightly shaky knees. “Only if you stop constantly jumping me with questions about myself.”

Jacques frowned. “I guess I could consider it.” Adrian folded his arms and gave him a look. “Tsk! Fine, I’ll stop prying so much, but I won’t stop being curious.”

“I can live with that.”

🗲🗲🗲

Adrian tossed and turned, then lay on his back, sighing into the silent air.

Even though he’d gotten all the blood and guts off him and changed into a fresh nightshirt, he could still imagine that awful, pungent stench and feel the hot blood oozing down his skin. He shivered, gripping himself around the arms, trying to get the image of the gutless man out of his mind. It was to no avail.

Defeated, he sat up, running hands through his hair. He felt the length of one of the strands and was temporarily distracted by how long his hair had gotten. When pulled into a half ponytail, only a few stubbornly short bangs were left out, the rest beginning to trail over his shoulders.

Even though time had passed, it still felt like he was fresh out of Nebrasia, completely new to this world he’d never experienced before. He was so tired of feeling out of place and confused all the time, but there wasn’t much he could do about it.

He reached over for his bag, taking out the only usable outfit he had at the moment. He pulled the green crossover shirt over his body along with his stockings, pants, sash, and finally boots before leaving the tent.

He chose a direction and began walking around aimlessly, the chill of the night air barely affecting him. It felt better to be outside, his mind able to wander a little more. He didn’t know how long it was that he walked, but after feeling that he’d put quite a bit of distance between himself and the camp, he decided to head back.

That is, he made to turn back, when something caught his eye.

There was a massive pile of boulders ahead, and behind them, soft flashes of green light came and went. He rubbed his eyes then blinked ahead. There was no doubt about it. They were the same flashes of light he thought he’d been seeing the last few weeks since joining Jacques’s team.

Making as little noise as possible, he crept around the rocks, making his way to the source of the light. When he finally got a view of where it was coming from, his jaw dropped. All discretion melted as he stood in plain view staring wide eyed ahead.

Jacques stood with his back to Adrian, his right arm extended, palm out as a stream of what almost looked like green electricity but more fluid and lingering, shot out of his hand into the night air in a burst of light. The soft, electric humming sound that the magic made caused the hairs on the back of Adrian’s neck to stand up.

The light dimmed and Jacques had his hands on his knees as he breathed out in exhaustion. “Fuck,” he whispered in frustration. “Didn’t charge enough.”

Hearing the voice, a wave of panic filled Adrian’s chest and he took a quick step back, his foot crunching over a dried shrub.

Jacques whipped around, both hands out, his palms pulsating with emerald light. A terrified expression covered his face. Adrian was frozen in shock as he stared back at pupilless, glowing eyes.