Chapter 1: The Initiate

“Looking for money, excitement, the experience of a lifetime? Look no further than Koziol Adventurer’s Guild! Minimal dues, jobs always available, and plenty of great people to team up with! We’re always looking for new heroes!”

Seph stared at the doors to the guild. Her heart raced as she thought about the possibilities that lay ahead, the most likely one being death. She clutched the light metal symbol of her god to her chest and stepped inside. The lobby was fairly calm, with only a few groups making much noise as they walked in and out of the building, but every time the door to the back room opened a cacophony of sound flooded out and assailed her ears. She walked up to the huge polished oak front desk. The woman behind it was tall with thick, dark, straight hair, and skinny, much more so than Seph, and smiling. Seph was quite intimidated.

“Hi, my name is Sioda. How can I help you today?”

Her voice was like silk against Seph’s ears. She couldn’t help but feel something stirring inside her as the door to the back room opened and sent the deep rumble of many conversations into the room to shake her.

“Oh, um, I am here to sign up.” Seph said, pushing her short, curly, dishwater hair behind her right ear.

“That’s fantastic! I would love to assist you with that. Is this your first time joining a guild?”

“Yes.”

“That’s great. I’m going to need to ask you for some basic information, then, if you’d like, I can set you up with one of our agents to help you find the perfect first adventure.”

“Okay.”

“Great. Could I have your name please?

“Seph.”

“Last name?”

“Oh, um, Inkar.”

“Date of birth?”

“Autumn 57th, 423.”

“My little sister was born in Autumn of 423, too!”

“Oh, wow. Small kingdom.” Seph smiled, but internally wondered how much older this woman was and how she managed to look the same age, or even slightly younger.,

“Okay, just a few more questions. What’s your specialty?”

“My what?”

“Are you a fighter? Do you use swords? Are you good with projectile weapons? Can you use magic? Is it general, necromancy, healing, elemental? Something like that.”

“Oh, um, healing I guess.”

“Great! We can always use more healers. Final question: how many years of experience do you have?”

“None.”

“In that case, I’ll set you up with our best first-time agents. His name is Diodorus, but everyone calls him Dio. If you’ll just have a seat, I’ll give him your information and he’ll come and get you when he’s ready.” Sioda took the newly made file and walked down a hall to her left, past the large double doors.

“Thanks.” Seph looked around and sat down in one of the large cushioned chairs in the lobby, several seats away from the nearest person. People of all shapes and sizes entered the building and walked purposefully in different directions as she waited. She had briefly worried about fitting in if everyone looked like Sioda or a big, buff warrior, but the guild had every body type she could have imagined. She noticed a short, frumpy man with a bulbous nose and a receding hairline walking toward her. Casually, she pretended not to notice him until the last second so she wouldn’t have to maintain eye contact the whole time.

“Hi, are you Seph Inken?” He had a deep voice that may have been attractive in a man 20 years younger, but currently seemed out of place with his fairly large potbelly.

“Yes. Diodorus?”

“That’s me, but everyone calls me Dio and you’re welcome to as well. I was told you’re new to the guild and looking to start your first adventure. Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“Then why don’t you come on back to my office and we’ll see what we can do for you.”

Seph stood and together they walked back down the hallway from which he had emerged. It seemed to stretch on almost forever with many doors along the wall, a few of which were labeled “stairs” or “exit.”

“I didn’t realize how big this place was.”

“Oh yeah! We’re one of the few buildings in town with four floors and we own the entire block.”

“Wow. Most of the buildings in my home town were only one or two and none of them were close to this big.”

He stopped and opened the door to his left. “Right in here, please.”

It was a fairly large office for one person. Awards and trophies lined the walls and shelves. There was a very large comfortable looking leather chair behind an oak desk and one cushioned wood chair across from it with three more against the wall. Though it would have been cramped, she could imagine the four chairs fitting side by side across the room. She smiled at the thought of being a part of an adventuring group, a party, a team.

“So, you’re from a small town and this is your first time in a big city and you’re looking for adventure?”

“When you say it like that, it makes me sound like a stereotypical small village girl.”

“Oh, no. I didn’t mean it like that at all,” he said as he escorted her to the wooden seat and sat in the leather one. “A lot of people have a similar story, but there are also a lot of people who were born in the city and feel like one of the faceless masses so they strike out for riches and glory.” He pulled out a large pad of paper with several pages missing and took notes as they spoke. “Honestly, you’re either born with the wanderlust or you aren’t. It’ll get you no matter where you grew up or where you are.”

“Oh.”

“I’m just trying to understand your motivation so I can help set you up with a good team.”

“Oh! Well, I did grow up in a small town. I studied medicine, like my parents, but they weren’t very religious and I always identified closely with Iasthai. I felt like she was always watching over me and guiding my efforts so I joined the temple.”

“And now it’s time for your pilgrimage?”

“Yes! Are you a follower too?”

“No, but we have had several over the years and there’s a temple not far from here so I know the process. He took out a handful of folders from a drawer in his desk and flipped through them.

“Oh, okay.”

“Now, I need to explain what membership in the guild means. There are dues. We take 25% of any payment for a mission your first year and 2% less each year until you retire, with a minimum of 1%. You can get traveling supplies at a discount at our shop and a reduced rate on food, drink, and rooms at Tavernside. You can retire in twelve years or 100 missions, whichever comes first. If you stick around for the full twelve years you’re eligible for a nice cushy job like mine. After retirement, you get a pension that depends on how many years and missions you worked.”

“Oh, I don’t know if I’ll be on my pilgrimage that long.”

“Have to let you know about all your options. We also have a deal with the local temples and a few around the land to assist our members if they need it, though I doubt you will. It also helps our members decide what kind of missions they want to take on.”

“Okay.”

“There are a few missions I think would suit you well. I’m going to set you up with a small experienced group to show you the ropes, but which group depends on how much you want to travel. Do you want to stay close to the city while you get your bearings? Does a few days travel work for you? Or do you want to get as far away from here as possible?” Dio laughed.

“I want to go where ever I am most needed.”

“I like hearing that.” He left a folder open and put the rest back in his drawer. “I have one here. They’re already a group of four, but they have a lot of experience among them. They have to go to the mountain of Or. The people of Solberg are being harassed by a group of raiders so it’s easy stuff, but the town needs help healing their wounded and it’s a three-week journey so the group’s gonna need a healer too.”

“I would be honored.”

“Great,” Dio smiled. “I’ll let them know you’re joining. They’re leaving in two days. Do you want to come with me? At least one of them is in Tavernside and I can introduce you now.”

“Oh, sure. Also, what’s Tavernside?”

Dio placed his notes in the folder and filed it away once more. “Come on. I’ll show you.” He stood up and gestured for her to follow. They walked out of the office and back down the long hallway to the double doors in the lobby. “While we do have dues, Tavernside is where we make the profits to support our retired members and pay agents like me,” Dio elaborated as he opened a door and noise washed over them.

There was a landing several feet wide and a set of stairs leading down to the largest tavern Seph had ever seen, though she hadn’t seen many. Dozens of tables filled the floor with bars on either end and the opposite wall from the entrance. Three sets of stairs visibly led to the wide balcony lining the second floor, with the fourth stairwell going somewhere she could only imagine. The room was packed with more people than she had ever seen in one space before, certainly more people than lived in her home village.

“We’re working on another set of sound proof doors,” Dio yelled and she could still hardly hear him. Seph’s mouth moved, but her words were lost entirely to the din around them. “What? You gotta speak up!”

“I said, ‘So that’s what those are.’”

“What are? The doors? We use magic!”

“Interesting!”

Dio smiled and Seph smiled back nervously.

“I see one of your teammates! Follow me!”

Dio weaved through the crowd with ease, always finding the best opening he could exploit to get his gut through. Given his considerable girth and Seph’s relatively small stature, she was able to follow him fairly well, squeezing through before the gaps closed back up. She saw Dio stop moving to talk to someone some ways ahead, but another stranger stepped between them.

“Hey, you have beautiful eyes,” they said.

“Thanks,” Seph replied, not sure what else to say. She intentionally averted her eyes away from their face, hoping they would get the hint and walk away.

“I love green eyes.”

“Thanks.” Seph quickly brushed aside her own confusion at her response, more worried that by looking down they might think she was looking at their crotch so she turned her head to the right and scanned the crowd for Dio.

“I love curly hair, too.” They slid their hand into her hair, pulling it away from her ear and leaned in close to whisper, “Yours is just the perfect length to get my fingers tangled in while you blow me.”

Seph jerked back and twisted out of their grip, shrinking herself to the smallest size she could while still standing. Suddenly two more bodies entered the picture and pushed the creep away.

“Back off,” Dio said threateningly.

“What’s the problem, Big D?”

“The problem is you and if you don’t back, I will personally throw you out and I can’t promise that I won’t break something of yours,” a feminine voice said.

“Gods damn! Everyone is so sensitive these days. I flirted, she didn’t like it. I was gonna back off anyway. Why would I chase a girl that won’t fuck me?” The creep pushed through the crowd in a huff.

Dio turned to Seph. “I am so sorry about that. I’ll get the guild to comp your drinks tonight.”

“I don’t think I’ll be drinking tonight.”

“I completely understand. We’ll comp any equipment or anything you need for the trip.”

“Thank you, but –”

“My name’s Vera. Sorry about tonight. If you want, I can walk you home,” the other person said.

Seph looked up at Vera, who stood more than several inches taller than Seph at the moment. She wore a loose fitting white tunic, which contrasted nicely with her dark skin, and dark cloth pants, but her sharp features and stature showed her strength. Her raw power coupled with her beauty and the warm smile on her face had Seph thoroughly intimidated. She looked to Dio for guidance.

He nodded and said, “Don’t worry. Vera would get you home safely if you lived in the middle of a battlefield. We’ll get the whole group together tomorrow. We’ll meet in my office at noon.”

“You expect me to get Luc up that early on a day off?” Vera raised an eyebrow.

“I sure do.” Dio walked in front of Seph to clear a path and Vera followed behind her. When they exited into the lobby, Dio turned around and shook Seph’s hand. “It was a pleasure to meet you. Again, I’m sorry about all that back in Tavernside, but I hope to see you tomorrow.”

“I’ll be there,” Seph said though she wasn’t sure she meant it.

Dio smiled and walked back toward his office.

“So, where ya staying?” Vera asked.

“At the temple of Iasthai.” They stepped outside and Seph squinted and covered her eyes. “I thought it was later.”

“Tavernside has that effect on people.”

“I don’t know what to do with the rest of my day. I expected this process to take much longer.”

“You should probably think about if you want to do this.” Seph looked up at Vera, with her long black hair tied up in a ponytail and walking with confidence and purpose. “I’ll be honest, killing gargoyles and giant rats and people trying to kill you can be easier than standing up to assholes like Maurer, and you’ll be healing us most of the time, but you gotta be brave or find some courage fast. You could be great at the whole ‘adventuring’ thing, or you could die at the hands of a stranger ten minutes in ‘cause you freeze or shrink up instead of fighting back. You gotta decide if this is what you should be doing instead of staying with the church or working at a hospital.” Seph made up her mind already, but when Vera looked down at her with her dark brown eyes that was when she knew there was no going back. “Promise you’ll think about it or pray on it or whatever you got to do?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Good.” Vera started to walk away and that was when Seph realized they were already at the church. “I hope I’ll see you tomorrow though.”

Seph nodded even though Vera was no longer looking. That night she did pray. She prayed long and hard, partially about having the strength for the journey, partially to have the faith and ability to help her teammates and the people of Solberg, but largely she prayed for the courage to be like Vera.

Seph arrived at Dio’s office long before noon. At first she sat outside his door, but his clients found that uncomfortable so he asked her to move out to the lobby until he came to get her. She sat, leg shaking, fidgeting with the hem of her best robe, going over a list of supplies in her hand over and over again. Every so often she would scan the room for Vera.

“You seem more excited than yesterday.” Dio’s voice came from several feet away in the corridor to her right.

Seph jumped up, grabbing her pack, and shot over to him. “I am,” she said, grinning from ear to ear. As she followed him back to his office.

“What changed?”

“I prayed.”

“If prayer makes you that happy, maybe I should find religion.”

“I also came up with a list of supplies I think I’ll need, if we could go over it.”

“Sure.”

They spent the next half hour in his office negotiating what the guild would or would not cover and with how much she could get away. They were discussing potions when Vera entered with what she presumed was the rest of the party. There were three men with her. One was close to Seph’s height, though she couldn’t tell how close while seated and possibly nearing 35, though the scar on his cheek and his dirty blonde patchy beard might have just made him look older. The second man stood shoulder to shoulder with Vera and was leaning on her slightly. His dark skin stood out against Vera’s white tunic and immediately drew Seph’s eye because of his proximity. She did her best to control her expression and seem merely curious as she looked over his worn leather armor, which seemed as if it could barely resist a stab from a fork let alone a real weapon, though her dress robe wasn’t made for battle either. Seph tried to take comfort in the smile on Vera’s face and the glow of her tawny skin, but couldn’t stop glancing at the man beside her. The last man let out a loud yawn, which drew Seph’s attention. He was several inches taller than Vera and had several days of brown scruff on his face and was generally unkempt.

“Glad to see you again,” Vera said.

“Me too,” Seph forced herself to smile as she questioned if her response made sense.

“Hey, I’m Cesario.” The darker man removed his arm from Vera’s shoulder and held it out for her. Seph shook it tentatively. “These two are Richard and Luc.” He titled his head towards the shorter man and then the taller one. “So, you’re Seph. Vera didn’t mention how cute you are.”

Seph blushed, but was not happy. She glanced at Vera, who was rolling her eyes.

“Come on, Cesario,” Vera said. He leaned in and whispered something in her ear that warranted an elbow to the ribs. “Get off it, man.”

“Sorry.”

Seph looked back to Dio.

“Good luck, kid.”

She smiled and looked back down at her scribbled on list of supplies and began bouncing her leg slightly and silently. The tallest one grabbed a seat from the wall and sat down to her right. Vera followed suit and put her chair right next to Seph. When she sat down, their legs touched and Seph stopped hers. She could feel her leg fighting against being suspended and motionless, but Seph fought back so she could stay long enough to feel Vera’s body heat spread to her. Richard and Cesario stayed standing in the back of the room on either side of the door.

“What were you guys talking about before we got here?” Vera asked.

“Supplies,” Dio responded.

“Oh, yeah. We heard about the arrangement,” Cesario started, smiling.

Vera turned around sharply, moving her leg out of place, letting Seph rest hers. Seph watched as Vera brought her hand across her neck sharply and glared at Cesario.

“And we’re very sorry about the circumstances that brought it about,” he finished, solemnly. “Is there anything we can do to assist? Do you need help with figuring out what to bring with you for your first adventure? I suggest at least 200 rations.”

“That enough food to last five people 6 weeks.” Dio looked at Cesario suspiciously.

“Is it?” the young man questioned. “Hm, well, we don’t know how much she’s traveled or how much she eats. I know I-I, personally, could go through even more than that in six weeks.”

Vera rubbed her forehead with her hand and sighed. Seph put an arm around her waist and looked down at the outline of her thick thighs.

“It’s not happening,” Dio glared. “I was just telling Seph that we don’t cover potions, especially not when the group has a cleric.”

“And I was saying that that’s ridiculous because potions can be used for so much more than healing,” Seph retorted.

“Come back to me when there are about a thousand more alchemists and prices go down.”

“Fair.”

“Can I see?” Luc held out his hand and Seph handed him the list. “What do you fight with?”

“Staff.”

“Hm. She could use a few more rations since this is her first time. I like to ease the greens into starvation.”

Seph looked to Dio nervously and he laughed. “Sure,” he said as he wrote it down on his own list. “Anything else?”

“Nah, you did a good job on this, kid.” He passed the list back to her.

“Thanks.”

“If that’s all, then I’ll put the request in and they’ll be ready by the time you head out tomorrow. Just stop by the front desk and Sioda will give you your bag.”

“Oh, I already have a bag.”

“Trust me,” Richard spoke up, “you want one of their bags. It has their logo on it, but it’s good quality.”

“Oh, okay.”

“That all?” Luc asked.

“Yep,” Dio replied. “Just wanted to introduce you all.”

“’Kay. I gotta head back home. Nice to meet you.” Luc stood, put his chair back, and walked out the door.

Richard followed him out the door with Cesario and Vera close behind.

“Are you coming?” Vera asked.

“Oh, sure!” Seph looked to Dio who waved her away. She picked up her bag and followed the group out the door.

“What now?” Cesario asked.

“Well, I had some more shopping to do. I wanna see if there’s anything new at the armorer’s,” Vera responded.

“You got enough money for that?”

“I think I can make it work.”

“You just want me there for insurance don’t you?”

“Nah, I just love your company.”

“See ya, kids,” Richard said as they exit through the front doors.

All three of them waved at him briefly as he walked off. Cesario and Vera discussed their plans for the day for a few more minutes before she turned to Seph and asked, “What were you planning on doing?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Probably just go back to the temple and prepare.”

“You don’t have any shopping to do?”

“I, um, don’t really have money, since the temple provides everything.”

“You’re not gonna wear any armor?”

“I mean, you said I was going to mostly be healing you guys and I wasn’t planning on fighting too much.”

“Suit yourself. Just make sure you stay safe out there.”

“Okay.”

Cesario and Vera walked off talking. Seph quickly looked around for any sign of if she should follow them, but no guidance was to be found. She headed down the road back to the temple of Iasthai. “I guess I’ll see everyone tomorrow then.”

The next morning Seph woke up bright and early. In her own travel bag, she packed several sets of robes of Iasthai and two books she hoped to finish by the time they returned. The bag weighed down heavily on her shoulder with her thick winter robes inside, but the season would be upon them by the time they reached Solberg and the town was three weeks travel almost directly north.

She took the time to have breakfast at the temple, but rushed to the guild immediately after so she wouldn’t hold up the group. Sioda had her guild traveling bag ready to go, but no one from the team was there. Seph sat down in one of the chair in the lobby and waited. When staring at nothing became too boring she inspected the bag the guild had given her. It was definitely a higher quality than her own, which was falling apart after long years of use. She resisted the urge to see everything they packed for her because it looked so carefully placed. She put the bag down and sighed. She shook her leg as she looked around for any sign of the group. Finally, she pulled out of her books and began to read, but she looked up every page turn to see if any of them had entered. She worried that they had left her or forgot her. It was noon before Richard stuck his head in the door and waved her over. She angrily wondered if they always start their days this late.

“Hey! Ready to go?” Vera asked.

“Yes,” Seph said enthusiastically, though she was still mildly annoyed.

Luc and Richard lead the way out of town, with Vera and Cesario chatting close behind and Seph trailing after them until they reached the open road then the group walked roughly side by side down the road, with Seph trailing behind them listening to them talk about what they did with their pay from the last job or during the few days they took off. Seph smiled as she listened to them, but stayed silent. They walked in this manner for several hours before, during a lull, Luc turned around and gestured for Seph to come closer. He made space between himself and Richard for her to walk with them.

“You okay?”

“Yes, why do you ask?”

“You’re just quiet.”

“I’m just listening.”

Luc made an affirming noise and there was a moment of silence before Cesario piped up with, “How are the kids, Luc?”

“Same old, same old. Exhausting, amazing, frustrating, and the best thing that happened to me. Natalia is taller than her mother and apparently starting to date. Jakob decided to throw mud at some kid a week ago so now they can’t play together anymore and Veronika started school and is apparently doing really well.”

“’Bout time for you to have another one, ain’t it?” Richard asked.

“Ha! Don’t tell my wife that. She would kill me if I got her pregnant again.”

“It’s been five years since the last one.”

“Three is more than enough, especially since she’s the one mostly taking care of them. Her girlfriend helps, but I know she can’t wait until I retire so I can stay home and just collect.”

“Can I be Uncle Cesario to the next one?” Cesario added.

“Seriously, cool it with that. You’re making me anxious. I don’t want to come back and find out she missed her bleeding.”

Cesario and Vera broke into a chorus of ‘Ooh!’s while Richard chuckled.

“Luc got some!” Vera shouted, laughing.

“I have three kids-”

“The old man’s still got the magic,” Cesario cheered.

“Hey! I’m only 31. I got some time left.”

“Can you tell me what a midlife crisis is like?”

“Look, smartass. You’re gonna have one soon enough. Why don’t you ask Vera? Her’s should be coming up anytime now.”

“Hey, I still got at least five years, since women live longer.” She smiled.

“How old are you, Seph,” Cesario asked from the end of the line.

“Oh, um, 19.”

“You’re just a baby,” Richard gawked.

Seph looked down at the ground, embarrassed.

“Hey, don’t worry about him. Richard is the oldest of us.” Luc put a hand on her shoulder and whispered, “He’s almost 40.”

“Aren’t you kind of young to be going on your pilgrimage? It takes at least five years of training at a temple of Iasthai before you’re eligible,” Cesario asked.

“How do you know that?” Vera looked at him incredulously.

“Um, yes. I’m one of the youngest to go on my pilgrimage, but not by much. I left home to join them when I was fourteen.”

“That’s also kind of young to be joining a religious order.”

“It’s a long story.”

“It’s three-week journey to Solberg, if you’re willing to share,” Richard said.

“I don’t know. There really isn’t too much to say. It just felt like the right time to leave. I had pretty much finished school and my parents were just training me to be a doctor like them, but I always felt a connection to Iasthai so I decided to leave and train there instead. They finished my schooling for me and taught me how to make myself a vessel for Iasthai’s immense, nurturing power, so, yeah. It’s really not a long story, just kind of boring and people usually stop me if I say it’s long.”

“What was temple life like,” Luc asked.

“Um, structured is probably the best way to describe it.” Seph let out a nervous laugh. “We would have breakfast first thing in the morning, pray, train for three hours, work on patients – supervised of course! – train and discuss what happened, pray, have dinner, then we had about an hour or so of free time at the end of the day.”

“And you were that disciplined at fourteen,” Cesario asked.

“If there’s one thing you learned in my house, it was discipline,” Seph laughed, hoping they wouldn’t ask more questions.

“Fourteen-year-old me was getting into fights at school,” Vera said.

Cesario smirked. “Fourteen-year-old me had two girlfriends.”

“Oh, please. At fourteen, all you and your girlfriends were doing were holding hands and shit,” Luc scoffed.

“Is that what you hope your daughter is doing?”

“She’s only fifteen!”

“Didn’t you get your wife pregnant at sixteen?”

The realization struck Luc like a slap and he stopped in his tracks. He looked back toward the city, but they had already been walking for a few hours.

“Come on, Luc. Your daughter won’t be pregnant when you get back,” Richard said, trying to calm him.

“A baby every five years,” Cesario chimed in.

Luc turned on Cesario. “If I get home and find out…” He trailed off, wagging his finger at the young man. “I will kill you. I will find you and I will murder you.”

“Why? It wouldn’t be my kid! Eighteen is my minimum,” he said, casting a quick glance at Seph and giving her a slight sly smile.

Seph looked around, wondering if anyone else caught the smile as well, but Richard and Vera stared at Luc and Luc seemingly didn’t care.

“I don’t care. If it happens it’s your fault. I will find you and I will kill you.”

“Great, Luc. I’ll help you. Can we go now,” Vera asked, smiling but sounding exasperated.

Luc cast another angry glare are Cesario, but rejoined the group and they kept moving.

As night neared, the group pulled off to the side of the road and went far enough into the woods to still be able to see the road, but not be in the way of any travelers or prime targets for raiders attacking the roads. They started to unload their packs and set up a small campfire.

“Who wants first?” Richard asked.

“Dibs,” Cesario and Vera said in unison.

“How about I get first and you get second,” he suggested.

“You’re joking right? If you’re getting first, then I want last.”

“Okay.”

“First what?” Seph asked.

“First watch,” Luc clarified. “Since you’re new you can rest tonight, tend to your feet. I’ll do your shift with you for a few nights, then you’ll have your own.”

“Okay.” Seph still didn’t understand what was happening, but she didn’t want to keep asking questions. She unrolled her bedroll from her bag and took off her shoes. She had walked from the main temple of Iasthai to the city, so her feet were already toughened slightly, but that journey had only taken a few days and that was the longest she’d travelled since she ran away from home.

“I’ll take third,” Luc volunteered as he turned over and went to sleep.

Vera and Richard each pulled out an open ration pack from their bags and finished them off quickly before laying down to sleep as well.

“Are you going to be up for a bit?”

Seph looked up at Cesario. “I suppose. I’m not really tired.”

He smiled. “You’ll get there. After a while, every second of sleep is precious. I’m gonna grab some firewood.”

“Okay.”

Seph yawned, finally resting made her more tired. She looked closely at her feet to make sure they hadn’t blistered. When Cesario still hadn’t returned, she took the opportunity to remove her robes of Iasthai. She still had a mid-shin length slip to cover her.

“You might want to put that back on. Nights are cold out here,” Cesario said as he put the firewood down where they set up the pit. He sat down against a tree across from Seph.

“I’ve traveled by foot before. I’ll be okay tonight.”

“If you say so.”

“So, um, how do you know so much about Iasthai?”

“My older brother is a cleric. He left after he finished school at 16. He went to a small town clinic for his pilgrimage.”

“Was his name Santelmo?”

“Yes,” he responded, stretching out the ‘es’ while he eyed her.

“I met him. He didn’t come to my town, but he was in Rivlind, which was two villages over. I prayed to Iasthai before I met him, but he gave me the push to join. I think he meant for me to join at 16 though.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah.”

“Wow. Small kingdom.”

“Mhm.” Seph yawned again. “I think I’m more tired than I thought.”

“Good night.” Cesario looked away from her and scanned the trees around them.

“Aren’t you going to sleep?”

He looked at her and chuckled. “I have first watch. We take turns staying up for a few hours each so we don’t get ambushed.”

“Oh!”

“Haven’t you ever had someone on watch while you’ve traveled?”

“I’ve only ever gone by myself.”

“You went from your village, wherever that is, to the temple and from the temple to the city by yourself without knowing how to fight?”

“Um, yeah.”

“How did you not get attacked? The roads really aren’t safe. That’s the whole reason we have the guild. There are groups that just do escort and protection work.”

“Oh, I don’t know. Just lucky, I guess.”

“Seriously. I traveled to the city with three friends and we still got mugged.”

“Oh! I’m so sorry.”

“No worries. I got them back, but still.”

“What happened?”

“Let’s just say that I learned a trick or two and beat them at their own game.”

Seph looked him up and down. He had a small sword, flimsy leather armor, and a large pack of tools on his belt, which lay beside his bed. “Do you…”

“Shh.” He smiled. “Sleep well, Seph.”

Seph went under her blanket, but kept her eyes on him. He had gone back to scanning the area for threats. He turned his foot, exposing his ankle, and she could have sworn she saw a hidden weapon. She looked up at his face and he was staring at her. He winked at her and went back to his watch.