"Tea or Coffee."

Jarvus was in the kitchen while Umbren sat at the table in the main room.

It was late in the night, so late that Alyze had already gone to bed.

Once Umbren and her conversation ended, she left promising to come back. They knew that making the trip back would be dangerous for both of them. However, Umbren waited in the garden for much longer than he had anticipated.

He waited so long in fact that he began to worry that something had happened. To his surprise though, Jarvus had shown up instead of her.

Upon seeing Umbren, he looked at him with pity, and some type of worry. Before Umbren could say anything, Jarvus put a finger to his mouth and motioned for him to follow.

Umbren grew concerned, and immediately enveloped himself in darkness. With the same expression Jarvus simply nodded.

At that point Umbren could walk, but not without much effort. Jarvus had taken this into consideration and moved slowly. Umbren desperately wanted to ask the many questions that were swarming around in his head, but many were answered once they arrived at Lucel.

Guards were everywhere. Umbren even questioned if a city needed so many guards. Their presence made Umbren move more carefully, as to not create even the slightest sound.

The guards greeted Jarvus warmly, but also with urgency. Apparently Jarvus had insisted on going on a walk by himself, and the guards could do nothing to stop him. Umbren smiled to himself at the thought of the guard trying to stand up to the old man.

Even inside the house, Umbren was still very wary, "I'll take tea please."

Jarvus gave out a long sigh, "That will probably taste better with the Rena root anyway."

Umbren's eyes widened, but only a little. He was overcome with fatigue, "How did you get your hand on Rena root. They only grow in Skotous."

Jarvus gave a small smile, "It's really easy to get your hands on them. A ton are smuggled out of tenebrage country." His smile disappeared and what replaced it was a sense of nostalgia mixed with a deep sadness, "Don't worry this is from Alicia's stockpile. She brought as many as she could from your kind during that brief peace."

"I heard from Alyze that she was sick. Did she hope that they would somehow cure her."

Jarvus brought Umbren his tea, though he had himself a cup of coffee, "Ya, it lessened the severity of the symptoms a little. Though they could never come close to curing her."

Jarvus looked into his coffee, not touching it. Umbren thought he should say something to make him feel better, "At least you got to say goodbye. It could have been worse. At home dying in battle seemed the best way to go about it, but family members and friends appreciated that they got to say goodbye to those who died of sickness."

Jarvus hand started shaking as he clenched his mug, and his eyes had a violent look, "She didn't die of any sickness."

Umbren's eyes widened in panic, "I'm...I'm sorry. I didn't know..."

Jarvus went back to normal after a moment of tension, "It's alright. "

As Umbren watched him take a sip of his coffee, Jarvus eyed him, "Based on that I guess you've also lost someone close to you."

Umbren's body tensed, he took a sip of his tea, as a way to put it at ease.

He had never had Rena root before, but the tea tasted earthy in a good way, and he could almost taste a hint of jasmine.

"I'm one of the more fortunate ones, but...my sister one day disappeared. She used to send letters frequently, and visit whenever she could...but one day that all just stopped. Many say she's dead, like my dad and brother, butI still have a little hope."

Jarvus observed Umbren and noticed a hint of doubt in his eye, "Now we're even. Though I would think holding onto hope may be worse because then you can't properly mourn. It's the equivalent to pushing off an inevitable reality."

Umbren hands started to shake uncontrollably.

Jarvus coughed, "Sorry I didn't mean it. It's just an old man's rambling."

The two sat in silence, as they both took sips from their mugs.

Umbren couldn't shake the sight of all the guards out of his head, "The mayor seems to be really worried about something."

Jarvus gave a half-hearted laugh, "Ya, you really scared him with that act of yours. I haven't seen him like that...well I don't think I've ever seen him like that."

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

"Is Alyze all right?"

Umbren couldn't get that thought out of his head. Had he somehow endangered her? Had the mayor become suspicious of her? Umbren didn't know what he would do if he caused anything to happen to her.

Jarvus looked as if he was trying to read him, "No she's fine. The only reason she wasn't able to meet you is because of how cautious the mayor is, especially when it comes to her. He would never allow her to be at risk of being harmed."

Umbren still appeared anxious, and Jarvus gave another long sigh, "That man is like a brother to Alyze. He wouldn't do anything to hurt her. Even when she was going through that phase, he didn't even put a finger on her. He's always been like that. Well...he got more protective after Alicia died."

After a moment Umbren shook his head and became more serious, "Still things are getting dangerous."

"I know. With him as paranoid as he is now, it won't take him long to find you at this rate, and when he does..."

Umbren nodded knowingly, "I understand. I won't be here for too much longer now that attoka can walk around without a problem now. It won't be too long until he's fully recovered."

Jarvus stroked his long grey beard, "What about you. The mayor nearly killed you earlier today."

Umbren waved his hand, " I should be fine by the time the attoka is ready to go."

He wasn't actually too sure about that, but he would push himself if he had to. Though with the Rena root he should be able to be back to normal in no time. The only problem was the guilt. Umbren didn't like how he was taking this family's valuable possessions. He had already used a healer's elixir, and that was more than enough.

Jarvus leaned back in his chair and raised a finger, "In that case I have one request."

"Hmm."

"I want you to leave quietly. The whole village doesn't need another one of the stunts you just pulled."

Umbren grinned, "Honestly I don't even know if I can survive another one of those."

Jarvus furrowed his eyebrows, "There's also the case with Alyze. She definitely will try to get you to stay. Unfortunately you're the most exciting and interesting thing that girl has seen in a long time. She won't let you go so easily."

"I don't know about that. I think if I want to go she'll let me go."

"Oh! She'll definitely let you go, but she'll try to make you stay a little longer first. If you leave quietly she won't have a chance to do that. Really, leaving without saying goodbye is the best option."

Umbren smiled wryly, "How could you put it in terms of ‘saying goodbye’, after we just talked about such an occasion."

Jarvus looked as if he had just seen it on the back of the head, "I don't need to say anything else, you understand."

Umbren nodded and went back to drinking his tea. When he got down to the last drops, he swirled them around the bottom of the mug. Watching them put him in some type of trance.

For some reason the rings from the market came to mind.

He really did need to get her a gift. Telling her about his home wasn't good enough. After she put herself at risk for his sake. He couldn't live with himself if he didn't pay her back.

"Hey, Jarvus I also have a request. I know you've done a lot for me, but I need you to do one more thing."

Jarvus shrugged, "Why not. What is it?

"I need you to make me rings."

Irritation and confusion broke out on his face all at once, "You want me to make rings?? What for."

"A gift for Alyze. I feel like I need to get her something after all she's done for me."

"Still why rings?? Also I've also done a lot for you!"

Umbren rested his face on his hand, "You almost didn't even bother helping me."

Jarvus chuckled a bit.

"Besides it could really be anything, but a ring seems the hardest to lose."

Jarvus raised two fingers, "But why more than one. I don't know if that's in style nowadays, but surely just one will do."

"The other ones for me."

Jarvus stared blankly at Umbren, "Pardon?"

It was the reaction that Umbren had expected, "I want to continue to help her even after I leave this place."

"I get that but what does having matching rings have to do with that?"

"No matter how much she changes I will be able to recognize her and help her."

Jarvus coughed, "Okay, but can't you just tell it's her by talking."

Umbren's expression darkened, "Sometimes there's no time for that."

Understanding spread through Jarvus's face.

"Besides, even if we don't see each other again, it will still be a nice gift...maybe to remember me by?"

Jarvus held his hand up, "You don't have to say anything else, I'll do it. You just have to focus on getting better as quickly as possible. I don't want any more trouble."

"Thank you, and don't worry I'll make sure nothing like what happened today happens again. From now until I leave, Lucel will be the most peaceful place in Anknown."

"It better be with how much our mayor raised security. You should know that it will be harder for you to move about. Especially if you want to go to that garden."

"Don't worry I'll try to stick with the pantry. I think I should be able to sneak past any of the guards easily, but I don't feel that the risk is worth the award."

Jarvus got up out of his chair, "You got that right. I'm gonna try and go get some rest, you put these cups away. It's the least you could do for one of your saviors."

Umbren bowed his head, "Of course, goodnight."

Umbren relaxed in his chair. A part of him didn't think that Jarvus would accept, but he did so the other possibility didn't matter anymore. He wondered how long it would take for him to finish, A day at least. Jarvus would have to sacrifice other work to get it done that soon, no doubt.

Umbren guessed the speed at which he made them would determine how much he cared about Umbren's feelings. However, it could also mean the opposite, with Jarvus just wanting him to leave as soon as possible.

Umbren hoped this was the right call. The gift's value would be based on if the two ever saw each other again, and that wasn't likely. Though taking Alyze's dream into consideration it was possible.

What if she didn't accept the gift? That was also a possibility. He probably had to use his abundant amount of down time to come up with a way to give it to her in a way she wouldn't refuse.

He thought about these things as he put the cups away and headed back to the pantry. He even kept thinking about them as a smile came to his face as he heard the hammer of the forge ring throughout the night.