New friendships

Theodore opened his eyes with a terrible pain in his face and head. It seemed as if his brain had turned into a cannonball and had burst his whole head over and over again. He looked around and deduced that he was in a carriage, but instead of cheering him up, he felt that his life was about to come to an end, he thought that the fellow he had met in the forest had left him and that Alexander Gronbule's men had left him.

The man looked around again for a knife and took it once he found it, it seemed strange to him that this time they had not tied him up; despite that thought, he set out to approach the drivers to try to kill them to escape again. Opening the curtain he sees Fenrir and the strange girl looking at him already waiting for him to come out.

"I told you he was already awake." the girl said without any hint of surprise in her voice.

"I don't know how you do it, but I'm glad you didn't take the bet when I told you to." She motions for Theodore to put the knife down. "I know you must be confused waiting for various answers, but eat first. It's my way of settling that kicking thing I gave you."

"Lucky you." Kalishar averts his gaze in annoyance.

"Hey don't be upset, I told you we'll find better food!" replied Fenrir irritated by his companion's attitude. "You make me feel like I'm talking to a daughter in her early teens."

"Why? Why are you feeding me and driving me around in your carriage?"

"Maybe I want to know. Fenrir I don't understand you sometimes."

"Well, in simple terms, because maybe to start being a hero, I have to act like one." He notices the stares of his companions and blushes. "Screw it, it doesn't matter! I'm just saying I felt sorry for you and decided to do the right thing this time!"

"You sure make a lot of trouble," the girl reacted a little indifferently.

"Thank you very much, you were my saviour in the end."

"Don't get excited, this is only until we get to Mooncastle, then you'll have to fend for yourself and I'll be able to sleep without any trouble of conscience."

"I may be recaptured."

"I can help you no further than to place you in a city. You can seek the help of a gentleman, there are some excellent ones. Generally speaking, you will be better off with them."

"But it was a group of Mooncastle knights that kidnapped me!"

Fenrir stops his carriage's gait and falls silent. He asks if Theodore is sure, and the cartographer's reply confirms his suspicions. The girl asks Fenrir what he planned to do then, go to Mooncastle to enjoy his proposed rest or find somewhere else to take the poor wretch.

"We'll have to go to Fortfox, I know someone of good standing to help you there. I'll pay for his services, but in return, I need you to give me any interesting information about the routes you have. It doesn't matter if it's normal or uninteresting, I want any vital information that will help me get around without a problem. Agreed?"

"Is there another option?"

"Well, we could travel expecting an imminent end to your life and while Kalishar and I will manage to avoid death, we cannot say the same for you my dear friend."

"... It's alright."

A group of assassins specializing in stealth was checking the scene where the corpses of the hunters who went in pursuit of Theodore lay. They wondered how it happened, and who or what was responsible for such killings. Two well-dressed, burly-looking men exchanged weary glances over the next course of action.

One of their assassins, with a pale, scaly skin whose face was covered by a hood, remarked that he knew the tracks in the mud near the campfire. It was Fenrir's carriage, a good business partner of these brothers who did not hesitate to order his men to search Fenrir and interrogate him, he was prepared to use violence if necessary or if his partner had made the mistake of helping one of his toys out of danger.

"And then I told the prince that a golden horseshoe from Fixlostener was all he needed for his bad luck. He tried it for a week, finding a bag of gold doubloons which I secretly took out of his vault, so that in the end he gave me a thousand gold doubloons for something worth no more than ten. Ha ha ha ha. You should have seen him, he really believed that life was now his playground with that lie of mine!" exclaimed the swindler gleefully.

"Not bad, but I managed to take a bunch of pretty girls to the most relaxing hot springs. They thanked me, not knowing that these waters were not the second great wonder I had told them. I was able to charge five times what it was really worth and then leave before the owner of the place arrived," the cartographer commented proudly.

"Nah, anyone can do that, but fooling a prince is harder than a bunch of idiot tourists."

"We're talking about the prince of Moxhouse, even someone with no brains is capable of playing tricks on that spoiled child."

"But how much can you make by charging even with a cheating inflation for a hot spring, twenty, thirty; even if you charged them fifty, I made more than a thousand gold doubloons."

"Well, my dear, it looks like you won fair and square." He shakes Fenrir's hand as they continue to laugh and joke.

"Now I understand what Fenrir meant when he said my sisters' language drove him mad. I guess they too have their way of hurting others with their stupidity," the girl whispered under her breath as she was driven mad by the laughter and teasing of the two men.

"You turned out to be a different kind of person in the end, I mean. I thought you were someone annoying and stiff like other normal people, but I can tell you're a smart guy like me taking advantage of every loophole for our benefits."

"Hey, with corrupt officials and lies as the only way to fairly earn your bread, what can I tell you. I mean, I'm not at your level of stealing or lying so blatantly, I'm just looking for others to enjoy the world, but after giving me what I deserve with so much effort."

"At least we're in better confidence now, in the end nothing like a good chat, with an equal to lighten the mood."

"I just hope you don't kick me again when I need your help."

"Again, I apologise, and at the same time, don't give me reason to do it again."

Fenrir toasts his new guest with a glass of a fine alcoholic beverage he usually reserves to celebrate a good victory. Even Kalishar had a cup with a substance that had a curious smell to it, but she did not complain because as long as she could eat, she would be happy, and even more so if what she ingested tasted good.

The girl's great surprise was that she had found something to dislike. Even the rotting flesh of a sister zerbarix tasted ten times better than the rare beverage Fenrir enjoyed with his companion.

"Wow, Baloux cider, strong and bitter at first, but the best for sealing alliances."

"And even more if it comes from a rich mansion, you know, this bottle has a nice story, one day if you like I'll tell you about it. It has love, drama, suspense and a touch of fantasy." He looks at Kalishar wanting to vomit. "Don't tell me the glutton found something she doesn't want to eat or drink."

"How can they enjoy poison! Even blood tastes more delicious." He realizes what he said. "You know, when you find blood in the meat, when you prepare it!"

"Alcohol is not for everyone, maybe you're still a child." He grins mischievously.

"What are you trying to tell me?

"Nothing special, don't worry Kalishar." He pulls out a canteen. "Fresh water for immature tongues."

"I don't understand half of what you're saying, but there's no doubt you're trying to belittle me, just because you're an alpha, that doesn't mean I can't outdo you."

Fenrir looked with amusement at the girl as she challenged him with her gaze. She would prove to him that there was nothing, that she could not eat or drink. Within three rounds, Kalishar was on the floor shaking in pain from being unable to withstand the drink's taste and sting. She thought she was going to die at any moment, but what hurt her most was that the human still taking another drink was looking at her with pride at her ability to withstand alcohol better than the girl.

"Will she be alright?"

"Don't worry, I've known people who can't hold their liquor, but they've never died on the fifth round; besides, we only use small cups. Still, I think we'll save the rematch for another day, we're passing through Zangu's route and we'll need all the eyes available to avoid the monsters and any wild animals that see us appetizing."

"What could be worse than the zerbarbix you faced in the Ringhood nest?"

"That's in the past, today's achievements or threats will overshadow yesterday's. And to be honest with you, only an idiot doesn't take every danger seriously no matter if it pales in comparison to others."

"Right, you talk as if I always know the meaning of danger."

"When you're an eight year old babysitting your younger brother in the cold and sad streets, you learn that the day is very changeable. You won't live tomorrow the same way you did yesterday even if you try to do the same thing day in and day out."

The hustler looked up at the sky, remembering what the starry sky looked like in Levilliam's alley, starving and aching from the bruises all over his body. Fenrir had been lucky the night before to get into the back door of a restaurant to get a good amount of food for himself and his younger brother. While Lion slept like a baby in the pathetic attempt at a bed under the rubble of an old house, Fenrir as a good older brother tried to find valuable resources for the health and life of both of them.

Despite his doubts, the night Fenrir first raided the restaurant had allowed him to get more than he needed. For a boy like him, the word restraint did not exist in his thoughts, leaving a mess and several marks that a common thief had entered to steal the kitchen. For two days and nights, both brothers were able to enjoy the best food without having to share it with others. On the third night, however, Fenrir had to return, repeating the same steps, to be greeted by three older men and a scarred blonde woman with an annoyed expression.

He had stumbled upon the new guards at the restaurant to deal with idiot thieves like Fenrir who begged for mercy. For three hours Fenrir was beaten, insulted, and humiliated so that he would always remember the terrible punishment he had received that night. The woman allowed the boy to sleep in the rubbish to regain his strength, but if he saw him in the morning, they would be much worse with their punishment. Fenrir looked up at the sky with his stomach growling and his heart breaking for not being able to get more food for himself and his brother, he felt worse for that feeling than for the bruises because as an older brother, he was always supposed to take care of his family and he had failed in the process.