Salem

"Do we really need to bring all this with us?" Aurelia asked, looking at the two horses attached to a large wagon. Where he'd gotten it from, Aurelia couldn't say, but when she opened her eyes come dawn, there it was. The three large chests they'd gotten from Sura were already packed and ready. 

"It's money. " Zariel told her as a matter of fact. "Of course, we'll need it. What a stupid question." 

"Big Sis Sura was right. You are a dick, " said Aurelia, glaring.

"I've been called worse. Now hurry up and get packed. I left a suitcase in your room. I'd like to leave before noon." He said, waving her off. 

Aurelia stomped off angrily and shuffled off to pack. She hadn't much clothes, a few furs, and undergarments for each day of the week. 

She ran back out, holding her hard leather suitcase off. "Aurelia did it." 

"Good for you," Zariel said derisively. "On you go, hurry up." 

"Don't make me hug you again, Dumb-Dumb. Last time, you threw up for hours." 

Zariel felt his heart dip, recalling that day Aurelia returned covered in mud and blood from a hunt. So joyful she was, she hugged him as he inspected the boar she caught. Catching him off guard.

"Aurelia remembers you foaming at the mouth!" She said, snorting as she made her way up onto the wagon. She dropped her suitcase beside one of the chests and made her way towards the reins with Zariel and plopped down with an evil grin.

Zariel was quiet until noon, still shivering remembering that accursed day. 

They took the Southern High Roads out from the Redwoods, heading south at a brisk pace, spying a few farms, some so large it appeared to hold generations of farmers. Aurelia felt a little bad for them now that the Redwoods were locked in an eternal winter. 

Zariel hadn't much interest in such things, though he was curious about a rancher's daily life. He knew it was a hard-living, especially when it came to work. Sun up to sun down, they slaved beneath the glare of the sun, herding cattle for hours a day, repairing fences, and protecting their stock from Wolves, bears, shadow cats, and more. It was a hard life, but Zariel envied the simplicity of it all. 

"I want a large piece of land like this one," Zariel mused almost wistfully. 

"Really?" Said Aurelia, finding it hard to believe. "You'd be a farmer." 

"You don't think I can." 

"I think you'd get bored." She said, and regrettably so. Zariel looked a little sad then. 

"maybe… but a little boredom isn't so bad." He said, pressing forward, stopping only when the horses needed rest or Aurelia wanted to eat, which occurred more often than Zariel could believe; what should have taken two weeks ended up taking a month, thanks to the little girl's ravenous hunger. 

He wondered if she had worms by the way she would scorch down an entire six-hundred-pound bear. 

Zariel had been studying her with the Weave, but even he needed time to unravel the mysteries hidden within this little girl. Aurelia was like a never-ending Weave of strings and nodes, all tangled and botched. The only thing he understood about her was that she was alive and she was indeed a girl. The rest would require extensive research to figure out what each string and node meant. 

The Crown City of Salem had been a tapestry of culture the likes Aurelia had never seen. Even from a distance, she could see a large stone of a cloaked woman, her expression masked, yet the faintest shadow of a smile seemed to come and go. At the same time, her arms were spread apart as if to bless the city and its people. 

"Wow~," said Aurelia dreamily. "Whose that?"

"Probably some old bitc—"

"Look, it's Sura! How ever did she make it before us?" Shouted Aurelia

Zariel looked at her with an expression that said,' If I could, I'd drown you in the toilet.'

Hopping down from the wagon, Aurelia ran forward, shouting for Sura. Zariel sighed helplessly, stirring the wagon through peddlers, sellswords, hunters, monks, farmers, artists, and travelers. There had been so many people outside the wall Zariel became mildly curious about Salem.

"Aurelia! My one month, and you've grown," Sura said, attended by Ser Quinn and Ser William Pierce. 

Quinn tsked, looking down at Aurelia as though she were the plague. He'd nothing against the girl per se. He merely hated kids. 

While Zariel was shooting him a similar look, he hated old people, 'Living fossils that have learned to walk and talk in their own shit' was how he often describes those of an older age. 

He had lost count of how many times some old man had approached him in the past to give wisdom. Wisdom he didn't need nor want.

From the moment Quinn's and Zariel's eyes met, sparks flew in a sort of spiritual clash. There hadn't been killing intent but rather a mutual disdain for the other. 

"I see you made it," Sura mused, not in the least bit taken back. Commander Quinn was a unique person, in her opinion. One with a short fuse for nonsense, though she did find some amusement in seeing he had met someone as stubborn as he was. 

"We would have been here earlier, but someone ate nearly twenty brown bears and thirty deers. I can literally start a business with all the hide I collected." Zariel said, glaring at Aurelia. 

The little girl flashed her pearly white teeth. "Aurelia can still eat. Hehe~"

"Seriously… how are you not a whale yet? Keep that up, and I might have to start rolling you're ass through the door." Zariel said, grumbling something about a fifty-pound girl eating a six-hundred-pound bear. 

Aurelia had the grace to blush. "oh, shut up, Dumb-Dumb!" She said childishly, puffing her cheeks, feeling he was more deserving of the name Dumb-Dumb than ever. 

"I wonder where I can buy a harpoon?" Said Altair, grinning.

The young girl felt her face turn hot. 

"I—" 

Catching the young girl up, Sura nibbled at her cheeks. " You are perfect the way you are." She said, "Don't listen to that dick." 

"Hear that Dumb-Dumb! You're a dick!" Said Aurelia happily, nudged between Sura's bosom, defended by a glaring lioness. 

Zariel paid them no mind. He looked up at the stone wall line of Watchmen armed with bows. Below lay a small garrison of spearmen guarding the entrance, collecting entrance taxes from all who wish to enter Salem. 

The lines weren't long, but Quinn had not been too keen on waiting in line like a commoner. He still held it in, allowing the guards to salute as they welcomed him in, while Zariel had to pay Fifty Rels from him and Aurelia to be allowed in. Zariel still hadn't much understanding of how much that was, but based on the ugly grimace of a few farmers and travelers alike. He was sure it was a lot. 

Salem had been a large port city flooded with people of all kinds: Elves, Orcs, Goblins, Trento, Beastkins, and more, in a city reminiscent of the Victorian Era. Even the people wore similar style clothing, of top hats, canes, Monocles, and various ties. 

Through the cobblestone streets, they traveled from the main road headed west away from the port to the Artesian District in search of a manner with a decent amount of land in the countryside. 

Aurelia just marveled at the various estates that seemed to house entire forests within their depths that seemed to go on for miles. She had never seen such large structures in all her life. It truly made what they had in the Redwoods seem like a hobble. 

For four hours, they toured Artesian Street until Zariel found a manor that matched his taste. Large with sixteen rooms, each housing a bathroom with flowing water and an underground facility the size of the house. Outside laid a large silver lake with a gazebo at its center, surrounded by endless forest. 

"My lord," said the realtor peculiarly, staring at the children not even in their first decade. "This Manner was owned by—"

"It's irrelevant. 750,000 Rels, correct? I'll give you a million if you handle all the paperwork and fit the name Malos Blackwater on the deed. I'll need an ID, which I don't have. I'm sure you'll not find any of that too difficult." 

Lindon Fray held a crooked smile. "Why, of course not, my Lord. I'll have it done within the hour." He paused. " And will you keep the staff on hand?" 

"Some. Terminate all the maid's contracts. I'll need only one. I've no use for strangers in my personal space." 

"Right away," said Lindon, bowing so low he was parallel with the ground; he left, returning exactly an hour later with an ID and the deed to the house. 

Zariel nodded, handing him his dues, and allowed him on his way. Aurelia could hardly believe it was so simple: A few coins spent, and this abhorrently large manner was theirs. 

"Woow~," said Aurelia dreamily, spinning about the great halls where they'd been eating. She whirled, turning to Zariel, looking around coldly. He passed a finger across the desk; his calm expression twisted to disgust at the spec of dust barely visible on his finger.

"I'd have killed those pesky maids. How dare they allow dusk to exist beneath my roof?!" 

"... I think there is something seriously wrong with you, Dumb-Dumb."