- Barhden

"Ugh, why am I the one who has to carry all this?"

"Would you really force all that on such a small, sweet, small, innocent, small girl? Did I mention I'm small?"

"Roxy, we're basically the same height."

"Yeah, but what's the point in your strong body if you don't use it?"

"I do use it. I just killed those wolves with my bare hands, didn't you see?"

"Ah, you know what I mean," she sighed, wrapping herself around his free left arm.

Over his right shoulder he held five wolf carcasses. Using his air element, he supported the weight with updrafts.

'And I could have carried them back like this, but no, Roxy has to see me carry them.'

They greeted people as they returned to the village, heading directly to Gerald's.

Seven months had passed since the incident at Yar. The four of them had wordlessly left their organisations and struck out alone.

The two of them walked into the store, and dropped the wolves onto the counter.

"Five wolves, just like the request said."

"Good job, you two. Clean kills too, these will fetch a fine price. Here as promised, your payment." He passed Marcus five gold coins.

"Thanks Gerald. Let us know if anything else comes up," Marcus said as he and Roxy left the store.

Gerald owned the local hunter's store. A former hunter himself, he sold would-be adventurers weapons, armour and potions. He also sold valuable items that came from creatures, such as the pelts of wolves.

A leg injury made it difficult for him to continue his hunting profession, so he retired over a decade ago and opened the store. He was an old man, with little hair on his face and none on his head. His dark eye emanated experience and knowledge. Where his right eye should have been a scar lay instead.

The store was conveniently the nearest to the gate, and served as an entrance to the market street, meaning Marcus never had to drag carcasses through the village.

Since arriving at the village of Barhden, a small village found in the south-east, two months ago they had ran different jobs for him. Each time, they were handsomely rewarded.

"Marcus," Roxy began as they walked through the market of the village, "do you ever think what we're doing here is a mistake?"

"A mistake? How so?"

"Well, we're involving the people in our business here. If the guard come looking for us, they could get hurt."

"They only know that they might come looking for us, and to tell us if that happens. They don't know enough to be a threat. Plus, I doubt they will be able to spin the narrative of slaughtering a village in their favour."

"Marcus!" a voice called as they walked through the market.

Looking over at the origin of the voice, they saw it was Arrhen.

He was a merchant who lived in the village, trading in various valuables such as jewellery and ornaments. He towered over the pair, and gave the appearance of a monster with the combination of his bushy black beard and unkempt black hair.

"What's up?" Marcus asked as they approached.

"Some people came through, trading some things. Let word slip of some stuff happening down on the coast."

"Stuff? What kind of stuff?"

"Something to do with that outlawed cult. Figured they were a part of your mission."

"Thanks, Arrhen." Marcus's face lit up at the news.

"You know the old coastal fort of Maniah? You'd best start there."

"Maniah? Wasn't she the first Queen of the nation?"

"Yeah, so the fort's like three-hundred years old. But it's still the best place to look."

"Great, thanks," Marcus said as they turned to leave.

"No worries. HEY!" he shouted enthusiastically, "before you go, why not treat your lady friend there to one of my wares?"

"Lady friend?"

"Her of course," he said with a gesture to Roxy. "Why else would she cling to you like that?"

"Because she exists to annoy me. You should know by now, pulling tricks like that makes me less likely to buy from you."

"Ah, can't blame a guy for trying!" he said with a laugh. "Give the others my regards. Good luck with the lead."

"Thanks, give ours to your family," Marcus said as the pair left.

"Do I really annoy you?" Roxy asked, feigning innocence and obliviousness.

Marcus flicked her head.

"OW!" she yelled, releasing him and grabbing her head.

They arrived at the inn they were staying at to find Tess and Elanor waiting downstairs for them.

The inn was located at the top end of the market street. Conveniently, this meant they never risked getting lost on a journey through the village and could just travel directly there from the entrance.

"Hey," Elanor said with a smile. "We've come up with something we can do to improve our chances of finding something. Instead of s-"

"Let me stop you. Tomorrow we'll go and check out a lead we've got."

"Wait, we've got something?" she said excitedly.

"About time," Tess complained.

"You don't have to be here, you know."

"And leave my self-declared protégé alone? Never!"

"Anyway, what is it," Elanor said, steering the conversation back on track.

"Apparently there's some cultists down at the coast, in an abandoned fort."

"Better than nothing."

"That it is," Marcus agreed. "Anyway, what about here? Any progress?"

Elanor shook her head. "Despite training, she still isn't learning anything new."

"It's probably because I'm too old to learn now. And anyway, I can create water from nothing, that's new. Just need a drink beforehand," Tess objected.

Elanor grimaced at her vulgar attempt at humour. "I'm serious. Magic isn't just about learning spells. It's about taking the elements you have under your control and harnessing them in any way you can imagine. Don't tell me twenty-four is too old to imagine."

"You wouldn't get it, you're too young to understand."

'Jeez, hopefully tomorrow will bring her back to her usual self.'

"Okay. Tess, see how you feel after tomorrow," Marcus reasoned with her.

"Yeah, maybe I just need to get back into the swing of things."

"Atta girl."

"You know I'm a decade older than you right?"

"Wait, tomorrow? Doesn't the festival start tonight?" Roxy asked.

"Do you really care about the Unity festival?" Elanor asked her.

"You do care about frighteningly little," Marcus agreed.

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The opening night of the festival was always the same.

Across the nation, people would gather to witness the play that showed the most important event of the world: the signing of the Unity Pact of the Three Nations; a peace agreement signed almost two hundred years ago.

Following that, the night was filled with different attractions, such as food and drink stalls, gambling and other creative ways for merchants to make money. The market street was neatly adorned with various decorations befitting a festival, a process that had occurred without being seen by any of the group.

After spending some time, and some money, the four returned to the inn early to prepare for the journey tomorrow.

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Marcus heard a knock on his door.

Swinging his legs out of the bed, he walked over to it and opened it.

He found Elanor's blue eyes staring back at him.

"Sorry, I know it's late. Can I come in?"

"Sure," he said, turning to let her into the room.

"So, what's up?" he asked, pulling the door closed as he spoke.

"Do you mind if I stay in with you tonight? I haven't slept well recently."

"Uhm, sure. Is everything alright?"

She nodded. "I just haven't been sleeping well, and you're pretty much my comfort thing, and I know-"

"It's fine. You know I'll be there for you whenever."

"Thanks."

"Oh, Lox?"

"Yeah?"

"It's a new day. Happy Birthday."

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The next morning, Elanor awoke alone.

Going downstairs, she found Roxanne and Tess waiting for her.

"He's gone to get a carriage, he'll be back in a moment," Tess said, answering her unspoken question.

As if summoned, Marcus opened the door.

"Come on, let's go."