57. Settling in

The city of Afeerbah had an a bubbling pleasantness to it. Most people moved around with smiles and peddlers sold glimmering jewelry and objects of interest near the entrance of the town. Uvolia showed off her local knowledge and swiftly navigated the winding paths that snaked their was around houses and shops. The city was vibrant shades of red and blue.

The group of three stared constantly at the ever evolving architecture and attractive shops. Twice Uvolia had to back track to drag them with her. Eventually they made it to a rather large red warehouse. On the door read Kresek warehouse and product storage.

Uvolia stopped in front of it. Taking in a breath. "This is my mother and fathers warehouse. I'm sure they will allow you to work here until you can get a proper job here. It won't be much but it will keep you fed and dry." She pushed the door open. The three entered but Uvolia stopped outside.

"Uvolia are you not coming?" Rys asked.

"I'm not ready to meet my parents again Rys. I…I'll come back later. I'll see you all then." Uvolia smiled. A tear forming in her right eye. Then she left.

The three of them looked at each other curiously. Whatever was going on with Uvolia could wait though. Tragic as the hero's death had been it bought them the distraction they needed to prevent discovery.

The group looked around the reception area of the warehouse. It was made of a red wood and blue wooden furniture was placed around. Alyssa found a bell and rang it. A voice chimmed in from deeper in the building. "One second please. I'm on my way."

Entering the room was a tall and handsome man. His age betrayed him but the wear of time had not diminished his looks. "Oh, children. How may I help you?" Rys dug around and produced the note.

"We met your daughter Uvolia and she said you could help us with getting a job until we are a little older or until we can afford passage." Rys explained.

The man smiled and looked at the note. He read it for a second then placed it down. "Indeed we could use some hands around here. I suppose your Rys then?" The man looked down at Rys' missing leg. Rys gave an awkward smile at the obvious characteristic.

The man looked to the two girls. "So you two are Cerone and Alyssa then. My name is Palru and my wife is Uvol. I'll introduce you later. Would it be alright for me to ask if Uvolia is doing well. After she left we weren't sure if she would be alright." Palru spoke with concern.

"She's doing quite well." Cerone spoke up, omitting that Uvolia was in the city currently.

Palru smiled knowing his daughter was doing well. "I'm glad. Now come with me. We have two spare rooms you can use and after you drop your stuff off I can introduce my wife and tell you three what you will be doing."

Palru showed them two small, but quaint rooms. They were nothing special but compared to sleeping in the wilds it would do just fine. He then introduced Uvol. Uvol was a grumpy nagging woman. Constantly shouting explicits at every mishap, but her mood flipped when she saw the kids. She gave a warm hug and a sugary treat to all three of them. Palru then showed them what they would be doing.

For the most part it was taking inventory. Ships would drop off cargo to be stored and distributed by traders later. They would be confirming what was in the cargo, how much of it, and where it was stored. Rys would handle writing it all down and the two girls would be the ones to clamber up the boxes and inspect the goods. It wasn't hard work, but Palru and Uvol were getting older and couldn't move as well.

Once they learned what to do they started to settle into a bit of a routine. Every morning they would come down from their rooms and be greeted by a cursing Uvol cooking breakfast. Once she spotted them her mood would shift wildly. After they ate they would take inventory of the new shipments for the day. After Palru would pay them each 1 silver. Then they would spend their evenings talking to each other, trying to develop their skills or just goofing off.

This continued for a week when one morning Cerone remembered something. "Shit, guys the mail!" They tried to keep a more childish persona, but when they were alone working in the warehouse they would often revert to their old personalities.

Alyssa's eyes widened in surprise. "We should go check this evening. I'll ask Palru for directions after we finish."

They finished off the rest of the inventory especially fast that day. Rushing back they found Palru and asked for directions. He smiled and pointed them in the right direction. The group ran to the mail office. Many of the locals giving the sprinting group of kids and the quickly hobbling child a cautious side eye.

Arriving in front of the mail shop they entered. An extremely chubby man in an ill fitting uniform sat smoking what looked like a green cigar.

"Mail ain't free kids so unless your gonna pay scram." The man spoke after a cursory glance at the trio.

"We are here to check for mail!" Alyssa spoke up with a beaming smile.

The man looked at them strangely. "What the name?"

"Celeste Bond." Cerone spoke brazenly. The man's eyes flashed a golden color for a second then stood. "One second." He walked out of the room and into the back.

Alyssa listened in for a bit and could hear some riffling noises. The man returned shortly after and handed the letter to them. "One letter for a Celeste Bond." The three took the letter excitedly and the man went back to his cigar.

Rys took the letter and read through it swiftly. He frowned. Turning back to the girls he explained. "Castus and Shi won't be able to catch up for probably a few years. He wants to know if that's alright or if he should abandon his sisters." Rys spoke seriously.

The girls looked at each other and back to Rys. "No he should make sure they are ok before catching up to us. We are still so young we can wait." Cerone spoke.

"He also said we should go ahead and leave a message of where we are headed and leave if we can." Rys continued reading.

Cerone and Alyssa frowned. "We actually still don't know how expensive it is to book that passage." They scratched their heads. "Let's asked Palru when we get back."

"First let's send a letter back." Rys wrote a letter detailing what happened to them from the struggles of the road, to meeting the hero and his eventual demise and finally to their current jobs. They also told him they would look to leave when they found out more and that he should stay and make sure his sisters were safe. It costed them 10 silver to send. A steep price for their current jobs.

They returned to the warehouse and found Palru. "Palru, how much is it to get passage on one of the boats?" Rys asked.

The man sat in a chair rocking back and forth. "Well last I heard it's about 100 gold per person. Though with the hero dying and everyone panicking I suppose it's higher now. Never was a fan of that Nort fellow."

The three of them looked at each other and then thought of their current stash of money. After buying a new set of cloths and the occasional purchase they currently only had 2 silver. Since 100 copper made a silver and a 100 silver made a gold they would need to save for almost 30 years assuming they bought nothing else.

"Palru why is it so expensive?" Rys asked. They were desperate just thinking about the amount of time it would take to get the money they needed.

"It's because the body of water they cross is one of the most dangerous in the world. It's more famous name is the sea of blades. Most boats have to be specially rigged and manned to cross." Palru nodded his head.

Alyssa picked up on something else though. "Why didn't you like the hero Palru?" She asked. As far as the three of them were aware most people universally praised those with the hero's blessing.

Palru spit when Alyssa said hero. "Cause he lured my Uvolia to go on his godforsaken death wish of a conquest to slay the villain. I swear I'd be out there right now if you kids didn't tell me she was alright." Palru grumbled. He stood leaving the room. His emotions were in turmoil. The three of them looked to each other and shrugged.

"I guess even hero's can't always be liked." Rys joked.

On the other side of things.

Castus has been cooped up in the estates with Shi for ten days now. He didn't know how long it would take for the letter to be read by his companions, but he hoped it would be soon. Since they hadn't agreed to Fulsin's deal yet, they were placed on pseudo house arrest. For fear that their identity would be revealed Fulsin strictly forbade them from leaving the property or house.

Castus and Shi quickly ran out of conversation topics and while they had grown close they were also incredibly bored. Castus made some playing cards and experimented a lot but he still didn't have much of an idea for how to best utilize his abilities. He had thought of going for a more tank approach, but his limited physical traits prevented that.

Today though the butler came knocking with a letter. Castus ripped through the flimsy packaging and read the contents. He told the butler to he was ready to accept and then told Shi all the details of what happened to their companions.