Huth and Bund

After sleeping and a few hours of travel, Dorin spotted a sturdy stream running along the road. He couldn't get close to it however because there was a small settlement built on either side. 

Dorin didn't want to be spotted, since so far there had been danger at every turn. He decided to leave the road, and ventured towards where he assumed was upstream. 

Dorin eventually had to turn back, because he found what could only be another city in that direction. He had heard of Liranel before, but he didn't think it was so close to Tur. 

'I can't survive for much longer without water.' He hadn't had any water since he swam across the lake two days prior, a final goodbye to his childhood. 

Dorin knew that he would have to take a risk. It was either condemn himself to another Spire, or take his chances with his new appearance that no one would recognize him.

Once he reached camp around the road, two men approached him. 

"Oi, who're you?"

"Relk." Dorin walked towards the stream.

"Hey, we're not done talking to you." The two of them blocked his way. Both of them were much larger than him, they seemed to be brothers since they looked very similar. 

"Can I take a drink first? I'll move on when I'm done."

"This water flows from Liranel. State which Spire you kneel to."

'This is . . . not good.' Dorin had a choice. He could say that he was part of Tur, but that wouldn't hold up for long. He could also lie and say he was a part of Liranel, but there was no way that the men would believe him. 

"I kneel to no one."

The two looked at each other for a second, and started howling with laughter. "Are you a Spire?"

"No- No, maybe the Spires kneel to him." 

Dorin was silent as the two of them started smacking each other's shoulders as they fell over each other. 

Eventually one of them lifted a tear from their eye and spoke. "Look, boy. My name is Huth, this is Bund."

"Oi." Dorin could only assume that was Bund.

"We'll let you take a drink, but you need to tell us where you're from so we can get one of those black coats."

"Deal." Dorin didn't know if they were sparks, but he was considering running once he drank his fill.

The two of them pulled on their clothes as Dorin put his hands in the water, as if imagining what they would look like with his coat.

Dorin greedily drank several handfuls of water from the stream before noticing that there were little fish surrounding him. They seemed interested in his left hand, and he left it in the water for them to approach. 

Most of the fish stayed where they were, but a few of the smaller ones had no fear of him. They laid in Dorin's hand, and he felt a connection with them for a moment before they rushed back upstream. 

"Alright, quit staring at your reflection." The two brothers walked up behind him with a smile.

"Okay- Okay." Dorin stood up to face them. "I'm from Tur, but I can't go back."

"Why not?"

Dorin hesitated, before revealing the mark on his hand.

"Oi, Oi." Bund pointed to it as he jumped back a step. 

"Relax, Bund. There's no way that's real."

"Can I go now?"

"Prove that you're a spark first."

Dorin didn't know if it would work, but he showed them the little bone ball that was his infantile ego. 

"Oi." Bund relaxed, as if unconvinced. "This little liar is trying to play us." 

"He may be a liar, but all he came for was a drink."

Dorin tapped his fingers behind his back. 'This could not have gone better.' He didn't think he could take the brothers head on, but if they underestimated him then he'd have a chance. 

"With the light watching me, I can't let a kid wander the world alone." Huth said. "Come back to Liranel with us, and we will send you back to Tur with an actual spark to keep you safe."

Dorin glanced around as Huth spoke, and he saw multiple people start watching them on both sides of the stream. 'Dark's sake.' 

Dorin ran down the road as fast as he could with his renewed vigor. The two brothers seemed stunned for a moment before they began to chase him.

"Oi."

"You can't survive out here alone, boy." 

After a few minutes of running, Dorin could no longer hear their voices. There was a bridge ahead of him where the stream cut through the road, and instead of crossing it Dorin decided to travel alongside the stream. He believed would eventually lead to a larger body of water where he could find food.