The Sharah’hin? I hadn’t heard anything of them yet. Mayer seemed to smell the question on me as he pre-emptively answered.

“The Sharah’hin are an old race that are quite secretive and closed off from outsiders. It is rare to encounter a Sharah’hin away from home when you are not directly engaging in a war with them.” Mayer chuckled and took a sip of tea.

“So, the Sharah is their big thing?” Mayer laughed at that.

“Definitely. They teach it to all of the Sharah’hin, but very, very few outsiders. I just so happen to be one of those outsiders.” Mayer shrugged.

“So why am I so blasphemous then?” Changing around some of the moves can’t be that bad right?

“The Sharah is effectively their religion, though they hate it being referred to as that. They like to say it is a way of life, or the only correct way of living and such, so I just count it as a religion. If you change around the moves to the Sharah, you are obstructing the correct pattern that it is to be performed in, and thus obstructing the proper course of life.” Mayer shifted in his seat and took a sip of tea, “Always thought they were full of it, but just complied with them.”

“You don’t believe in all that?”

“No not really, I went along with it because they wouldn’t teach me otherwise. But I don’t know if they care all too much if you actually believe, and more if you practice the Sharah in a way that they approve of.” He looked thoughtful for a moment, sipping his tea, “It’s not like they are spewing bullshit, they have their own wisdom that they usually try to communicate through the Sharah, but I don’t really subscribe to it being the optimal way to life or anything.”

“So then why do they hate Champions?” I asked. Mayer just looked at me, eyebrows raised.

“Everyone hates Champions.” He scoffed slightly, then quickly amended, “Anyone old enough to remember hates them.” I nodded slowly.

I was about to ask further, but there was a sound from the hallway, and a few plodding steps. I turned to see Rethi standing there, his eyes a bit red but doing better than I would have thought. I was expecting to not see the kid for a few hours at least.

“What’s up?” I asked. Rethi looked awkward for a moment but seemed to find something within himself and stood up straight addressed me head on.

“I need to go get someone to take care of my mother. I can’t be gone for a long period of time again.” I nodded, suddenly aware that I had kept him from his mother for three odd days when he had been helping me work on the Jothian’s farm.

“Are you going to go hire someone?” I asked. Rethi nodded, but with a little unsurety.

“I’m not quite sure where I should even go, really. What do I even look for?”

“I guess being a nurse wouldn’t exactly be a common profession around here would it?” I said, looking towards Mayer, and he raised an eyebrow with an amused look on his face, electing not to answer.

“Well, how about we go see Master Gram and see if he can help you out?” I said placatingly, and Rethi thought on that for a moment. I couldn’t really guess what he was thinking. In the end he nodded, and I laughed slightly, relieved that the boy would let me help him with this at least. I was slightly afraid that he might try and clam up on me, but it seems my worry was unfounded.

“Alright then! Let’s get this show on the road!” I said, raising myself from my seat, but Mayer stopped me. He brought out his pouch of coins and started digging around in it, a slight clinking of coins rubbing against each other as his fingers pushed them around within the small, corded bag.

“I owe you boys two smah each for the work on the Jothian’s farm.” I saw Rethi wanting to argue, but Mayer give him a glare that stopped him dead. He shut his mouth with a slight click, and the coins were given to us without any argument. He sent us on our way shortly after, returning to his comfortable chair and tea.

That was something that I had grown to respect about Mayer. He might seem like it, but he wasn’t always no nonsense. We have had our share of emotional or semantical conversations over the past days, in quiet moments between anything important happening. But when he decided that he didn’t care for an argument, then he was quick to let you know.

So, we were walking through town head held high. Everyone that we passed gave us a wide berth, not out of fear, but maybe because they were uncomfortable—unsure about our exact spot in the little town’s social hierarchy. I wasn’t too concerned about it, but Rethi might feel different.

We made quick work of the distance between Mayer’s home and Master Gram’s shop. I was getting pretty good at walking long distances now, which was handy because before this would have left me puffing, but now I still felt fine.

We approached the windowed storefront of Master Gram’s medicine and surgery shop, and I brazenly walked up the steps and swung open the door.

A little bell jingled and Rethi quickly walked in behind me as I strode through the open doorway.

“Good day! I’ll be with you in just a moment!” I heard Gram’s distinctive nasally voice from behind the door into his surgery room. There was a minute or so of mad shuffling until he bustled through the door, being extra careful to not reveal the contents of the room to us.

“Oh! I haven’t seen you boys in what, a week?” Gram laughed jovially, and quickly came out from behind the counter, grabbing a hold of my shoulders, “You seem to have gotten a bit of a name for yourself around here all of a sudden! Mayer’s nephew is a big title to receive around town.” Gram took note of Rethi as well, “And you too, young man. You’ve really gotten up there with the big players haven’t you!” He walked over to the young boy and patted him roughly on the shoulders. Rethi was adorned with a massive grin, a confirmation of Gram’s earlier statement. I guess I felt pretty lucky to have met Mayer as well, let alone be associated with him.

“So! What can I do for you two today? Got some issues you want fixing?” He said, putting on a bit of a salesman voice, almost in jest. I laughed, playing along.

“In a way, Master Gram.” Gram’s eyebrows flickered up slightly, “Rethi is currently busy working for me, and because of that he is unable to properly take care of his Mother.”

“I see.” Gram said thoughtfully, “So you wish to find a person who can take care of her?” Rethi nodded enthusiastically, it seems that Rethi was about to launch into a spiel of some sort, but Gram held up a hand.

“I’m sorry lad, but I don’t really have the time to be running around. I can’t really be away from the store that long, too many flesh wounds to mend or infections to take care of.” Rethi looked a little defeated, but I quickly cut in. I wasn’t about to just give up that easily.

“Do you think there would be anyone in town that was capable of taking care of Rethi’s mother? We are in dire need of a carer at the moment. They don’t necessarily need to be learned in the medical sphere, just capable of taking care of a sick woman.” The doctor looked just about ready to say no when he paused—just for a moment. I jumped on the chance.

“You know someone?” I asked, not letting him weasel out of telling us. Gram was still for a moment, then scrunched up his face in an expression of distaste before sighing.

“Alright, alright. I know a person that could probably help you take care of your mother,” he said looking towards Rethi, “But she’s not all that active nowadays. I wouldn’t want to disturb her more than she already has been. Plus, I can’t say that I like actively driving business away from my own store.” Master Gram sighed heavily. But that tune quickly changed when I started digging around in my pocket. I pulled out one of the iron smah that Mayer had given me not ten minutes ago.

“You can have this iron smah if you tell me the name and place.” I said plainly.

“Well then, how gracious of you. The name is Arren Smithe. She lives not too far from here. I’d imagine that Rethi would know her house, actually.” I looked to Rethi and saw his face fall slightly.

“Thank you very much, Master Gram. We better get going.” I took the man’s hand and placed the iron smah into his palm and walked out the door with Rethi in tow.

Rethi started automatically walking, presumably in the direction of this Arren Smithe, but he looked markedly more dejected now.

“Rethi?” I prompted, but I was met with silence for a long while. I could see the boy mulling the thoughts over in his brain, and I was desperate to know what it was that he was thinking. But I left it.

It took two whole minutes for the boy to speak again.

“Mrs Smithe’s husband died from the same thing that my mother is sick with. Rhy disease.” Rethi looked down at the dirt under her feet. “They say that she is so heartbroken that her soul died along with him, leaving her body as a soulless husk.” I raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment. Rethi didn’t continue to speak, just walking in the direction of this person’s home.

It wasn’t long before we were there.

It was obvious which one it was. It was a total mess of a home. One of those houses that you would walk by on the streets, its large size and structure made from what were once nice materials indicating that it was a good house. Now though, it was shabby, dirty, and just downright falling apart. It was similar to a few houses next to it, though those houses were well taken care of, giving just a hit as to how the house ahead of us used to look.

“This is it?” I asked, knowing the answer.

“Well. It’s our best bet.” I said. Rethi nodded dejectedly, but I ignored him. I walked towards the door, head held high and standing straight. I rapped on the door and waited.

The sound of my knock seemed to echo throughout the house, signifying the complete emptiness inside. For some reason it sounded like it would be cold inside the house, despite it being relatively warm outside.

It was a few minutes before anything showed a sign of coming to answer the door, but I held steadfast. My knock was easily hearable, and even a person sleeping lightly would be able to hear it. I didn’t look back at Rethi, imagining him to be either waiting nervously or totally unenthusiastically.

But after those minutes had passed I heard a slight shuffle against the wood flooring and before I knew it, the door swung open almost violently, revealing a young woman who looked like she hadn’t slept in a year. She was tall, probably around six foot, but looked malnourished and extremely, extremely depressed. You could just about feel it radiating off of her in waves. That could possibly be her smell as well. It seemed that bathing wasn’t necessarily in the list of her priorities.

Her hair was long and on the verge of being matted, unruly and unwashed, bright blue eyes striking against her darker brown hair. Her hair framed her long face, which only seemed to be made longer by the sunken cheeks and sallow features.

She looked up at me, eyes squinted and then lazily moved her gaze to Rethi.

She stood still for a moment, her eyes looking Rethi and I up and down, over and over again.

“Hello, I-” I began, but she turned around, and abruptly banged the door behind her, leaving me and Rethi standing outside like fools.