Raea struggled to keep her head above water. Her arms flailed wildly, legs kicking hard and fast, trying to keep afloat. Then her head dipped below, her vision blurred and water began to fill her lungs.

  A massive hand grabbed her by the shoulder, lifting her up and depositing her in the shallows. There she sat, water flowing around her, coughing up the liquid from her lungs.

  Raea’s vision began to clear and she looked up at Cian, standing waist deep in a stream, wearing only his leather pants. Without his shirt his large collection of scars were on display, covering his back, chest, and shoulders. Also visible was a detailed tattoo on the upper left of his chest. Cian had told her that it depicted the emblem of the Varathian Order, a sword pointing downward, piercing two rays of light. Or was the light piercing the sword? Raea couldn’t decide.

  “Are you sure you want to continue?” Cian asked as Raea recovered.

  Raea, herself naked from the waist up save for a few strips of cloth wrapped around her chest, replied between coughs with a “yes,” as she stood back up.

  Taking a deep breath, Raea began to wade back into the water. It had been two days since they had left Vera and on their journey north they had found a stream, just deep enough for Raea to swim in. Though Cian hadn’t wanted to take the time to stop, Raea was adamant that he help her learn how to swim.

  “Are you sure this is how you want to do this?” Cian asked. “I could do more than just stand here and pull you out when you start drowning.”

  “No, I’ll do it myself,” Raea answered. “I don’t want to owe anyone anything.” She would be dead if not for the elf Melos, Raea knew that and hated it. It wasn’t just swimming though, she knew that in the back of her mind. She would need to be better and stronger to stand on her own.

  She was just about ready to try again when she noticed Cian looking past her, at their belongings on the bank.

  “Hey,” he called out.

  Raea looked over her shoulder to see a teenage boy, probably three or four years older than Raea herself, kneeling over the pile they had left their possessions in when they started this swimming exercise. The boy looked up, realizing he had been spotted. Raea could see in his eyes that he was making a split-second decision, one that Raea herself had made many times before. He made his choice, snatching Cian’s sword from the top of the pile and sprinting towards the nearby road.

  “Get back here!” the Varathian yelled, bounding out of the water and after the thief. Raea shook her head, remembering what it was like to be chased by that man. That kid had made a mistake.

  She was caught up in watching Cian pursue the thief when she heard footsteps just out of sight. She glanced over her shoulder to see another boy, this one roughly of an age with her, kneeling over the pile of their belongings much as the first kid had.

  “Hey!” Raea yelled, wading out of the water. “Don’t think ye can get away with that just because the old man’s distracted!”

  The boy made the same split-second decision the other had, reaching into the pile and coming away with Raea’s ragged shirt.

  “Hey, that’s mine!” the girl yelled. The kid took off, Raea going in pursuit.

  It wasn’t much of a chase, the boy was a weak runner. In short order Raea caught up to him and tackled him to the ground.

  “That was real fucking stupid of ye,” Raea said, prying her shirt from the kid’s hands. “Why do ye even want this? It’s not worth anything.”

  “We had no choice!” the boy exclaimed. “And…and…” He tried to struggle against Raea’s grip to no avail. He looked thin, malnourished even. He wasn’t able to muster the strength to go up against even Raea.

  The young girl shook her head. “I think ye two just aren’t good thieves,” she commented. “If I were in your place I would of…” She paused, having to take time to consider what course of action she would take. She knew what her answer would have been back on Carsani, but she’d seen much over the past few weeks. “Actually, ye know what, I wouldn’t have done anything. Just leave the old man and find something else. He’s way out of yer league. Hell, he’s out of mine, and I was really good at thieving.”

  Raea the thief would never have admitted that, always believing that she could at the very least get away to live another day. By the time Cian arrived on her little island she had an unshakable belief in her own skills. But Raea the Varathian’s traveling companion had experienced danger she could not escape by her wits alone.

  “So there’s the other,” she heard Cian say behind her.

  Raea looked over her shoulder at the Varathian, who had his sword back and was wearing his personal effects. “Yeah, he tried to get away with my shirt, of all things,” she said, holding up the garment.

  “Well, you got it back, so let him go,” Cian said.

  “Ye sure?” Raea asked. Cian nodded in response.

  “If ye say so,” the girl replied before releasing her grip on the little thief. The boy squirmed out from under her and ran off.

  “Why’d ye do that?” Raea asked. “Not that I don’t appreciate ye being forgiving to thieves and all,” she added, remembering her own history.

  “Caught the other one,” Cian explained. “He was quick enough to shed light on the situation once I…threatened to lighten the load he was carrying below his belt, shall we say?”

  “Don’t really get what that means,” Raea commented. “But whatever, go on.”

  “Turns out that he and the little one, his younger brother, have been press-ganged into working for a large group of bandits,” Cian said. “They steal from travelers on the roads south of the nearby town and give the loot to their bosses.”

  “Bandits?” Raea asked. “Never run into bandits before.”

  “Most bandit groups are small-time, at least in this part of the world. So long as the local lords are competent, that is,” Cian replied. “Sounds like the bandits here have grown large enough to have a full fledged clan going though, so whoever rules this land is either incompetent or corrupt. Whatever the case, I plan on heading to the nearby town for shelter.”

  “Shelter? Do we have to?” Raea questioned. “I’m sure ye could fight them off.”

  “I could, but I don’t want to fight and have to look out for you at the same time. Now let’s go,” Cian said.

  Raea frowned. She had learned much since leaving her island home, but the most pressing lesson was the one on the extent of her own weakness. She had never been as strong as she thought she was, and she hated that feeling. She hated even more that her weakness meant relying on the strength of Cian, but not just him, she had come to realize. Whether it was Melos in the prison, or even Father Paul back on Carsani, she had leaned on others, even when she didn’t realize it.

  “Come on,” Cian called out, beckoning to Raea as he began walking down the road.

  “Alright, alright!” Raea yelled back, putting her shirt back on and walking after the Varathian.

  ***

  “State yer…business,” an armored man said in slurred speech from a wooden watch tower.

  “We wish to shelter in the town for the night,” Cian answered from the road. It was a small town with an old, partially crumbled stone wall surrounding it. Cian and Raea stood on the road, trying to gain entrance to this town through its southern gate. Shield Bearer, Cian had called it, named for the nearby mountain range, the Shields, through which any land route in or out of the Holy Peninsula must go.

  The guard in the watchtower swayed silently as he stared down at the duo. He hiccuped, then responded, “I don’t believe ye.”

  “Well, that’s your problem, but you’ve got no right to keep us out.” Cian argued.

  The guard stared back down at them, then slowly and unsteadily turned to face back into the town.

  “Open…gates,” he yelled downward.

  With a tremendous groan the gates opened slowly outward, forcing Cian and Raea to take several steps back. The sight brought to Raea’s mind that of the great gate that she had entered Vera through, but only for a moment. Vera’s gate had stood open in a proud statement of past glory, but these left themselves vulnerable to a humiliating display of squalor.

  The town was small, enough so that one could clearly see one gate from the one opposite it. Yet there were more people there than it seemed able to support. Men sat and stood on the side of the road, staring and kicking at dirt. Children did not run and play, but were held tight by their mothers, feeding them what few handfuls of food they had. As she and Cian began walking down the main road she glanced down an alleyway, spotting a few men sitting around a rudimentary fire, roasting a dog.

  Cian walked down the street and, for the first time since Raea had started traveling with him, she noticed that people weren’t giving him more than a momentary glance. In fact, it was like these people weren’t thinking about anything other than themselves and what was directly in front of them. It was a mindset Raea could see herself in, when life had been at its worst and everything seemed to be against her.

  The Varathian paused more or less in the center of the town, where an inn stood across the road from a large wooden building that appeared to be the town hall. A pair of guards stood at the door, one of them leaning on his halberd for support as he slept.

  For the first time Cian seemed to take particular notice of his surroundings, glancing around before shaking his head. With a sigh he stepped over the outstretched leg of a man splayed out on the ground and went into the inn.

  Following the Varathian inside, Raea was surprised to find that there were yet more people looking much the same as those outside had. Downtrodden and lifeless, many of them had empty or half-empty glasses in their hands or in front of them. Not a single one of them said a word or made a sound, leaving only an eerie silence.

  Cian moved through the room without any recognition from the people strewn about the room, much to Raea’s surprise. He found one of the few free spots in the inn, a table in the back corner, and sat there.

  “Looks like these bandits are a real problem,” Cian said as Raea sat down next to him.

  “I guess,” Raea replied, uncertain of what to make of the comment.

  A series of loud bangs rang out from the fair side of the inn, causing Raea to jump out of her seat in shock. A panicked moment was cut short by Cian placing a hand on her shoulder.

  “Sit down,” the old warrior grumbled. “Over there,” he added as Raea followed his directive, nodding in the direction of the bar.

  A tall, thin man stood on the other side of the bar, leaning against a doorframe. Lifting up his fist he banged the top of the doorframe once, twice, three times in all. “Get out here, girl!” he yelled.

  Out a girl came. She appeared to be in her early teens, which made her of an age with Raea, the little monster from Carsani noted with some interest. Her mousey brown hair and the collection of freckles on her cheeks and nose gave her a certain air of innocence. The tall, thin man placed a hand on the girl’s shoulder, leaned over, and whispered something in her ear.

  The girl nodded a few times as the man spoke to her before her body tensed up and her eyes turned to the Varathian, unblinking. Raea could imagine what the man was saying to her. “Go serve that monster before he kills all of us.” Something to that effect.

  Her back straight, shoulders back, carrying a tray close to her small chest, the girl stepped out from behind the counter and began approaching Cian and Raea’s table. She expertly stepped around the other people strewn about the inn, never once letting her gaze deviate from the Varathian.

  Raea glanced over at Cian, curious as to his reaction. As far she could tell, he had none. Instead he inspected his dagger, running his finger along the edge to test its sharpness.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Um…excuse me,” said the girl, now standing next to their table. “Can I…get anything for you? We don’t have much right now, b-but we do what we can.” She shuffled her feet nervously.

  “That’s all we ever do,” Cian mused to himself, sheathing his blade. “Some wine for me and water, bread, and soup for the girl.” He pulled some coin from his pouch and handed it to the serving girl.

  Counting it in her hand, she looked back up at Cian, staring at him in wide-eyed fear, drawing her hand towards her chest as if expecting him to strike her. “This is…um…not enough.”

  Cian looked back at the waitress, suspicious. “What do you mean not enough?”

  The girl cowered at the question, holding up her tray like a tiny shield. “Um, well,” she began before words came spilling out of her mouth. “The Bandits? They-they, they attack all the caravans before they can get to town! And the farmers! They can’t work the fields, because of the bandits!” Her eyes watched Cian from behind her little tray. “Without trade and the farms, we’re running out of stock.”

  “Huh,” Cian responded, leaning back. “I hope people understand your circumstances as well as you explain them.”

  “I try, sir,” the server replied. “But some people think that we’re trying to rip them off.”

  “Why doesn’t anybody do anything about it?” Raea asked.

  “Lord Aldo’s men can’t fight them outside the town,” the girl answered, relaxing and lowering her tray, “or so I hear.”

  “Is there a problem, sir?” a voice interrupted. The tall, thin man in the apron approached, placing a hand around the shoulder of young waitress.

  “Father?” the girl questioned.

  “You the innkeeper?” Cian asked.

  “Yes, sir,” the man replied, “name’s Jacob.”

  Cian nodded thoughtfully, scanning the inn around them. “You know, Jacob, I’m not fond of being denied my drink.”

  “I understand, sir,” the innkeep answered, visibly tensing up.

  “You know what I am,” Cian stated.

  “Correct,” Jacob confirmed, giving a stiff nod.

  “Then I might be willing and able to solve the issue,” the Varathian said.

  “Then,” Jacob began before going slack jawed as realization struck him. “Then you will help us? Save us from the bandits?”

  Cian crossed his arms across his chest before answering. “I could, but not for free.”

  “Oh…” The innkeeper voiced, the newfound hope in his eyes suddenly fading. “I’m afraid that I don’t have the kind of money you would ask for, not since this bandit situation started. Even people like myself who were pretty well off have had to burn through their savings to keep their heads above water. So no, no one will be able to pay your fees.”

  “Hm, unfortunate,” Cian replied.

  “Perhaps…” Jacob started. “No, that would never work.”

  “Yes?” Cian voiced.

  “Well,” Jacob said, “I think Lord Aegis still has the money to pay you. You could see him in the town hall across the road, if you’d like.”

  Cian shot the innkeeper a questioning glance. “He’s in town? Shouldn’t he be at his castle?”

  Jacob shook his head. “He moved his court here some years ago, kicked the mayor out of town and just took over. Never learned why he left his castle, though. I will warn you that he is rather famous for being miserly, and for his…dislike of your kind. Non-humans, I mean.”

  “I see,” the Varathian said. Standing up, Cian silently pushed past the innkeeper and walked out of the building. At first confused, Raea watched him go. It was only once her traveling companion had exited out onto the street that the thought occurred to her that she might want to follow him. With haste she got up to do so.

  Raea was surprised to see Cian just standing out in the middle of the street, and looking beyond him, even more surprised to see that one of the guards that had stood outside the town hall was now gone, leaving only the sleeping one.

  A slight whimper on the edge of hearing caught Raea’s attention and she turned her head right, towards the sound. The missing guard was dragging a young woman by the arm into a nearby alley. She gave token resistance but seemed resigned to whatever this soldier had in mind for her.

  “Ugh,” Cian grunted in disgust. With a burst of motion he swung open the doors to the town hall and stomped in, his steps heavy with anger. The sleeping guard at the door jumped in surprise, instinctively going to attention before looking around in utter confusion.

  Raea ghosted past the guard, passing under his notice as he looked around. Inside there was a single large hall, with two staircases on either side leading to an upper floor, plainly adorned save for a large, empty throne on the far end of the hall. Hanging from the ceiling above were two gigantic blue banners embroidered with the image of a great roaring bear holding a shield in one of its paws.

  Entering from one of the staircases was an older man, his face wielding a scornful frown, his arms held behind his back as he walked down the steps. He wore gold plated armor, intricately inlaid with a variety of precious metals and stones forming an image of a bear matching the one on the banners. A cloak of purple was draped around his shoulders. Close cut grey hair and a clean shaven face exuded an air of stubborn pride.

  This man’s face turned red and contorted in rage, his mouth opening as if to say something only to close it again when no words came out. “Wh-wha…What is the meaning of this?!” He finally managed to yell.

  Cian came to stop in the middle of the hall and stood there. The guard at the door finally got his bearings and ran into the building, brushing past Raea. He bared his halberd at Cian, standing several feet away. The man in the armor did not look at the guard, instead his attention was focused solely on the Varathian.

  “You have a bandit problem,” Cian said, “and you’re going to hire me to fix it for you.”

  “And why would I do that?” the reply came.

  “Because your people are suffering.” Cian glanced over his shoulder at the guard. “And your men are woefully unprepared to deal with it.”

  The man’s lips began to quiver in anger and he stamped his foot several times. “Who are you to question the honor of my men?! I am Lord Aldo of the great and noble House Aegis! What would you, you beast in a man’s skin, know of duty and honor?!”

  Cian paced back and forth a few times. “In the short time I’ve been in your village I have seen three guards,” he said, blatantly ignoring the question the nobleman had posed. “One was drinking on duty, another was sleeping on duty, and the third left his post for some…quality time with a young and unwilling lady. They’re not soldiers, they’re ill disciplined thugs in armor.”

  Lord Aldo, his face turning redder, his body more rigid, pointed at the entrance to the hall. “Out!” he yelled. “Out!”

  Two more guards finally came in as their master shouted and pointed their halberds at Cian. The old warrior turned to look at them, sighing as he walked past them on his way to the door. Raea scanned the room one final time as the Varathian left. A pair of figures on the second floor caught her eye, looking down on the proceedings in the hall. A young man with long blonde hair and wearing fine silks was with a small girl standing behind him, gripping his leg as she peered down. Raea took a moment, watching them, before she followed Cian out of the building.

  The Varathian crossed the street with powerful strides, entering the inn without uttering a word. Raea struggled to keep up with his quick pace.

  “Sir?” Jacob asked, greeting the Varathian at the door.

  Cian pulled a fistful of coins out of his purse and pushed it into the innkeeper’s hand, his angry eyes never turning to look at the man. “I want a room for the night, we’re leaving in the morning.”

  “I-I…understand…sir,” Jacob replied. “Up the stairs, first door on the right.” He pulled a ring of keys from his belt, carefully selecting one and pulling it off for the Varathian.

  Taking the key in hand, Cian marched off to the second floor of the inn with the same forceful strides that he left Lord Aldo’s hall with. Raea stood at the inn’s front door for several moments, eyes narrowed as she contemplated her traveling companion’s actions. With a sigh she decided to leave the matter behind her and go up to the room.

  Raea stretched her arms over her head as she walked through the inn, the unsettling quiet reasserting itself after all the commotion. She continued on to the stairs until she was stopped by the innkeeper’s daughter, standing on the bottom step.

  “Are you traveling with him?” the serving girl asked, hands behind her as she rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet.

  “Yeah,” Raea answered.

  “You must be so lucky,” the girl replied, staring wistfully at the ceiling.

  Raea sighed at the comment. “Ye were scared shitless of him earlier.”

  “Yeah, but, did you not see the way he stood up to Lord Aegis?” the other teen retorted. “No one in this place has that kind of bravery or strength. How I would like to be whisked away from here by someone like that.” She looked at the ceiling again, wonder in her eyes.

  Raea’s lip curled in disgust as she processed that comment, picking up what she thought were romantic subtexts. “Ew.”

  “What?” the serving girl asked, hesitating for a moment before understanding dawned on her face. “No, I meant as a mentor sort of thing, not a…” she pinched her lips shut as a blush backlit her freckles.

  “Ye don’t say,” Raea commented, not really believing the other girl’s protestations

  “Whatever,” the other teen continued, releasing her mouth and regaining her composure. “It’s clear you don’t realize how lucky you are.” She stepped off the stairs.

  “Don’t talk like ye know me,” Raea said. “I’ve never been lucky.”

  “Maybe you aren’t,” the serving girl admitted. “But if there’s one thing I’ve learned working in my father’s inn and listening to the ramblings of the people here, it’s that everyone has problems. Some have more, some have less, but each is different. Just because you aren’t lucky in some ways doesn’t mean that you weren’t lucky in others.”

  “Maybe yer right,” Raea admitted. “But I’ve had nothing but problems my whole life, and I don’t think anyone has had them like I do.”

  The serving girl shook her head and stepped past Raea. “Maybe you do have unique problems,” she said as their paths crossed. “But do you really think you’ve experienced everything the world has to offer? Because I certainly haven’t.”

  Raea briefly considered the other girl’s words before pushing them from her mind and continuing on to the room upstairs.

  ***

  It was later that night and Raea was lying in the room’s one bed, half asleep. Cian sat in one of the room’s two chairs, looking out the window at the town hall across the road. Part of that was normal behavior for the Varathian, who habitually slept less than Raea. Now, however, he seemed preoccupied by the events of the day.

  The moment was split by a loud knock banging on the door.

  “Ah, fuck off!” Raea half-yelled, half-slurred as she grabbed a pillow and threw it in the general direction of the door. Cian stood up and picked it up from the floor.

  “Don’t be like that,” the Varathian cautioned. “For all you know that is opportunity literally knocking on the door.”

  Cian opened the door, swinging inward, revealing two people standing in the hall outside. As Raea sat up in the bed and rubbed the tiredness from the eyes, she recognized them as the pair she had seen in the town hall earlier, watching from the upstairs balcony.

  “Hello, Sir Varathian,” the young blonde man said, uncertainty obvious in his facial expression, his tone, his body language, his very being. The little girl stood behind him, clinging to his leg, his aura of uncertainty magnified in her countenance. Raea frowned upon seeing the two.

  “May I come in?” the young man continued, glancing around the room.

  “Um, sure,” Cian responded.

  The man nodded and stepped inside, taking a seat in the other chair as Cian returned to the window. The little girl scurried behind the blonde man, gripping the hem of his silk shirt, staring frightfully at Cian all the while. Once he was seated the young man placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

  “My name is Alphonse Aegis, son and heir to Lord Aldo Aegis, and this is my little sister, Anise,” the young man said. “I must apologize for the way my father treated you today.”

  Cian crossed his arms and stared back at the young nobleman. “Is there a reason you’re here?”

  Alphonse let out a short, nervous laugh before responding. “Straight to business, I see. Very well, I, uh, I wish to hire you to take care of our bandit problem.”

  “Oh?” Cian questioned, an eyebrow raised in curiosity.

  “Yes, I’ll pay 500 Imperial Crowns to see it done,” Alphonse replied.

  Cian's eyes widened as he stared back at the young nobleman.

  “Is there…something wrong?” Alphonse asked awkwardly. “Perhaps the payment isn’t enough.”

  Cian shook his head. “No, no, it’s…fine.” He uncrossed his arms, leaning forward and placing one hand on his knee and holding the other to his chin. “I was just wondering why you would go against your father’s word.” The blonde man sighed deeply. “Because I…you must understand, I love my father, but he is a…terrible ruler. Our people have suffered terribly under his rule for nearly two decades and I…I feel for them, but there is little I can do given my current position.”

  “Then what are you doing now?” Cian asked.

  “I…” Alphonse began before glancing over at his little sister. “We stole this money from our father’s vault to pay you. This has gone on long enough, our honor as members of House Aegis demands that we act or…or…or give up claims to the lordship!”

  “Your honor is worth that much?” Cian asked, a skeptical eyebrow raised.

  “The Aegis family has held the Shields since the days of the ancient Empire of Vera,” the young nobleman said, holding his hand across his chest with a proud look in his eyes. “We have defended it faithfully and ably for centuries, so much so that our name is synonymous with an impenetrable defense. I wish only to honor that legacy and serve as a guardian to my people.”

  The pride in Alphonse’s expression faded as he continued speaking. “However, my father believes that our family’s legacy justifies any action he takes rather than informs what he should do. Our people starve and our land falls into ruin because of the heavy taxes he levies. The forts we once manned throughout the mountain range lie empty or worse because he refuses to pay for upkeep, even though our coffers have been filled to the brim. Our family castle is in such a state of disrepair that we had to abandon it years ago and take the town hall across the street as our new seat. Anise has never even seen our ancestral home. Now this town is falling apart and I’m certain that the bandits could take it if they wanted to. They’ve already set themselves up as petty kings.”

  “Hm,” Cian said thoughtfully. “why haven’t any nearby lords or the High Father stepped in? Surely they’re also being harassed.”

  “That’s the thing, these bandits, they’re smart, or at least the leader is,” Alphonse said, leaning forward. “They stay on Aegis lands and pay off the nearby lords who could stand up to them. And the High Father? He doesn’t care about the people who live here, and there hasn’t been a major war in these parts for decades. He’s not too worried about protecting the mountain passes.”

  “Well then, who’s the leader of these bandits?” Cian asked

  “Never met the man myself, though I would think that a blessing,” Alphonse replied, “I hear that he’s a man named Griever, not because he has cause to mourn, but because he makes others grieve for lost love ones.”

  “Hm, a punk with a pretentious name, got to love those,” Cian said, sarcasm thinly veiled.

  Alphonse looked at Cian expectedly, leading to a moment of awkward silence as Cian merely stared back at him.

  “So…” Alphonse began, “will you do it?”

  “I’ll head out in the morning,” Cian answered.

  The young nobleman smiled and laughed happily, almost hysterically, as he stood up. “Thank you, Sir,” he said, standing up. “Thank you so much!”

  Cian rolled his eyes in mild annoyance. “Alright, just…get out of here.”

  “Right!” Alphonse exclaimed, grabbing his sister by the shoulder and holding on to her as they left the room, closing the door behind them.

  “What do ye think?” Raea asked after a moment’s silence.

  “I think I’m being overpaid,” Cian answered with a chuckle. “Get some rest, child,” he added, reaching for his sword. That night Raea went to sleep to the sound of sharpening blades.