Chapter 29

Sitting around the dinner table, Yaeth on his right and Yaeth’s father, Edward Baran on his left and Yaeth’s sister and mother next to them, Raiel felt extremely uncomfortable. Somehow, he could not think of a single thing to say to any of them, Yaeth included, whom he usually found it quite easy to converse with. Judging by the expressions painted on their faces, both Yaeth and his mother found Raiel’s predicament both pitiful and amusing, revealing Yaeth’s likeness to his mother.

Throughout the dinner, Firma Baran, Yaeth’s mother had done her best to initiate small talk about this and that. Raiel’s life, favorite subjects in school, part-time job, general well-being on campus and personal history were all brought up. Even Raiel could see that the short and vague sentences he offered her in return were sorely lacking any substance.

When it came to the subject of his past, living on his own in the wilderness, she had glided smoothly past any sensitive details and seamlessly moved onto another topic as soon as she sensed a reluctance to touch on the subject. The look she sent Yaeth promised a scolding for not informing her of his new friend’s peculiar situation in his letter before coming. Her son could only shiver in quiet dread, his mouth full of homecooked food.

Firma Baran was a woman with a kind, yet mischievous smile plastered on her face, seemingly at all times. In many ways she reminded Raiel of Yaeth and his very observant nature, a talent for careful attention to detail. She had brunette hair, cut to about the middle of her back, relatively plain but completely stainless clothes a sign of their self-made wealth and their avoidance of the apparent vanity of nobles that Yaeth had described so sourly to him. According to Yaeth, she was a shrewd business woman, who was equally responsible for his father’s success. Raiel enjoyed her company and was relieved that she seemed to spare his questionable past no second glances.

“So, Raiel,” Firma said, a warm smile on her lips as she poured more apple cider into his half-empty glass. “what are your plans for the coming break?”

He blinked for a second before answering. “Oh, erh… I haven’t really decided yet.” That was certainly the truth. Ever since Yaeth had first posed that same question on their way to the city, Raiel had stubbornly convinced himself, that it was not a good idea to do something drastic, like seeking out families on the list that could still be active. That it was definitely a bad idea to go after them, and that they were likely many times more powerful than him in every sense of the word. They were better fighters than him, more knowledgeable about the world, probably had more money than he could even imagine and had influence that far outweighed his zero influence. Overall, there was no discernable upside to doing that kind of thing.

And yet…

The desire was there. There was a chance, however slight, that the answers he wanted could be found with those nobles, ripe for the taking if only he was willing to walk that path. Was he willing? He could not quite make up his mind. His gut told him to just go for it. What was the worst that could happen, right? Besides a torturous death at the hands of vicious killers. On the other hand, his rational mind said that the odds of anything good coming out of such a risky venture were so low that they might as well be zero.

He sighed, a little louder than he had expected and noticed them all looking at him. He hurriedly pierced his fork through the deliciously tender piece of meat on his plate, cutting a sizable piece off with his knife and stuffing it into his mouth as he chewed.

“The food tastes very good.” he commented woodenly, his eyes seeking Firma, who smiled widely at his praise.

“Thank you. It makes me so happy that you think so. I made it because my meatloaf is one of Yaeth’s favorites.” she said warmly. “Isn’t Raiel such a nice boy, Ed?” she asked her husband, who had been enjoying his food in relative silence, safe for a few words here and there.

“Aye, a respectable lad, it seems.” he agreed, nodding his heads solemnly as he reached for his wine glass.

Edward Baran, like his wife, was a person whom Raiel could only like. With salt and pepper hair, his jaw and chin sported neat stubble. He wore a leather vest, even at the dinner table, Firma commenting with a chuckle that apparently, he sometimes missed his military days and wearing part of the uniform set his mind at ease.

Leaving most of the talking to his wife, one could tell simply by being in their house that he cared deeply for his family. Raiel had seen him drape a blanket over his wife’s shoulders as he passed by, without a thought. Even the casual and relaxed way they all spoke to each other seemed so… full of trust.

Looking around, Raiel could not help but be impressed with the Baran family’s home. It was incredibly spacious and cozy, a fire burning energetically in the hearth in the living room, visible through the wide trabeation between the living room and dining room. They had so many… things. It was incredible to imagine that one single family could afford so many things.

Here he was, barely able to afford his own clothes, and they literally had a wooden carving of a snake displayed on one of the tables in the living room. It was so realistically made that Raiel had almost smashed it to the floor in surprise when he first walked in. Only a laughing Yaeth had managed to restrain him long enough to get a good look at it, seeing it for what it was.

Despite his nervousness, he thoroughly enjoyed the visit, the non-judgmental attitude and willingness to welcome him into their home making him inexplicably happy.

“Misdas, how did your test go today, by the way?” Firma asked her daughter, serving herself another two potatoes and a small gobbet of butter to go with it, “Did they include those difficult equations, after all?”

Yaeth’s sister Misdas let out a content breath as she leaned against the back of her chair, wiping her mouth with a sleeve, to which her mother instantly reprimanded her, reminding her that Misdas was not the one who did the laundry in this house. To be fair, they did have a maid who had been serving their food, so Raiel could only assume that Firma did not take care of chores like those either.

“No, so there’s a chance I might have passed.” Misdas answered uncertainly.

Misdas was, if Raiel remembered correctly, eleven years old and studying to enter the same institution he and Yaeth attended. She had not said much during dinner, so Raiel found it difficult to read her, but she seemed like the carefree sort.

Firma and Misdas continued their conversation, while Yaeth and his father discussed something that seemed to be about politics. Raiel was entirely content to sit and eat the incredibly delicious food on his plate as he listened to their conversations.

He wondered if this would be how his life would have been if everything had gone differently. For now, he could only guess at what their house had been like, where they had lived, in the country or in the city. Had they, as Yaeth thought, been nobles, hunted down by a clandestine group for going against a primitive and disgusting belief?

Would they also have been sitting around their own dinner table this evening, Raiel feasting on his mother’s or father’s homecooked meal? Perhaps together with a sibling or two?

The burning desire for answers to his questions welled up in him once more, tying a knot in his throat and in his stomach, tears coming to his eyes suddenly. Before anyone noticed, he excused himself from the table, asking for directions to the bathroom with his back turned as he walked away. He sat on the cool toilet seat, taking deep steady breaths to calm himself down, and soon he went back out.

On his way back, Raiel heard a rustling from the doorway and when he entered the dining room, a tall youth came through the doorway from the living room, clad in full military garb, complaining to his family about his day. “Dad, you won’t believe what that damn captain made me do today. I know it’s just because he doesn’t want to do it himself-…”

The newcomer stopped in his tracks when their eyes met and Raiel was certain that he had seen the man before, he just couldn’t quite recall where. With none of the same recognition in his eyes, the man walked briskly around the dining table and stopped in front of Raiel, offering his hand to shake, a confident smile on his face.

“You must be Yaeth’s friend from school! I’m so happy that he finally found someone who can put up with him.” he grinned, the corners of his mouth practically stretching to his ears as Raiel shook his waiting hand, a firm grasp. “Next step: a girl.” The poorly concealed snort of laughter from Firma only made his grin even wider.

“Shut up, Jos!” Yaeth hissed, his face about as red as the tomatoes Professor Graven had given them when they visited his office.

“Sorry, sorry. Anyway, I’m Jos, Yaeth’s older brother. Real good to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Raiel. And Yaeth might be the one putting up with me.” Raiel replied eliciting a laugh from Jos and his parents.

Jos… Jos… Where had he meet him before? Trying to seem nonchalant, Raiel studied the man’s face, looking for any hint as to where he might know him from, only to quickly realize that the face was not the clue, but rather the uniform he wore.

That was it! It was that unlucky guy, who had been sent to fetch Battle Chief Tali when he and Maldr had been attacked by a bear. So, Yaeth’s brother had arrested Raiel before, but the man himself did not seem to realize it, maybe because of the new hair. Well, probably best to not mention that little detail in any case. He seemed nice and cool, so ruining that relationship was the last thing he wanted.

The remainder of the dinner was spent playing card games and telling funny anecdotes in their cozy living room while tea and delicious cakes were served. The cake was a new culinary frontier for Raiel, who had never tasted this so called ‘layered cake’ before. It consisted of stacked flat, round sponge cakes with a variety of deliciously sweet creams mashed in between each layer. There was something called custard, which was a yellow substance with a thick, creamy taste to it, as well as whipped cream mixed with crushed dark chocolate and chopped milk chocolate. They came together in a heavenly union, making up the essence of the cake while the layers of sponge cake made the foundation of the six-stacked giant. He was in paradise.

He was given an entire huge guest room to sleep in for the night, equipped with the softest sheets and duvets he had ever felt. He was not sure if he liked the immense weight of the duvet, feeling smothered and trapped under it and he ended up throwing it off and sleeping on top of it instead.

As had been routine when he lived in the forest, as soon as his body began to cool down, the energetic substance spread throughout his body, somehow insulating him to a perfect degree.

Strange, really, that something like this happened so naturally and instinctively, when altering his limbs or strengthening his body was so difficult and blocked. Perhaps the necessity for warmth and protection from the elements had pushed his body beyond its capabilities, just to survive. Indeed, that had happened before, but at that time it had brought dire consequences with it. It would be feasible that physical strain on the body from strengthening beyond one’s limits would be far greater than circulating substance to insulate.

Does that mean that practicing and frequently using specific aspects of infusion doesn’t affect proficiency with all aspects of infusion? He had thought that the ability to control the substance was universal across the board, but maybe different effects required different methods of control. It was not just about supplying the energy, but about applying it correctly.

The next morning Raiel wanted to go somewhere on his own. There was a certain someone he had been looking forward to seeing again, but quickly realized that the jail would not be an easy thing to find again. It was likely that there was more than one jail, and Raiel did not know in which one Komren, his favorite warden and oldest friend, worked.

As a questionable solution, Yaeth gave Raiel a map of the city, while Edward circled the locations of the three jails. In the middle of the city lay the noble’s district, an apparently lavish area, where the richest of the rich in the city had their residences, safely away from the lowborn commoners.

Yaeth’s family’s home was built quite close to the wall between the noble’s district and the rest of the city, but they also had a smaller house on the countryside, where they went during some vacations or when city life became a little too hectic. Within the noble’s district, a castle for the royals marked the center of the city and was thus, according to Yaeth, an excellent landmark for orientation within the city.

Three grand spires stretched from the castle, far above the city, constructed so that each spire made up a corner of a perfectly formed triangle. Those three spires of slightly varying height could always be used to navigate the complicated cityscape and would always tell you where you were in relation to them. With the map and the spires, clearly drawn on the map, all Raiel had to do was to visit the jails until he found the one where he had been held.

With that, Raiel set out to find Komren. All he wanted was to see the man again, and maybe tell him that he was grateful for what he did in those three months.

The first jail he found was not the right place, clear just from looking at it, so he did not bother going inside. The next one he remembered well, the marketplace next to it only making him more certain.

Nervously, he set foot inside the building, this part of the jail being strangely unfamiliar. He had almost exclusively been in the same cell, and only seen the entry briefly. Behind a counter sat a man Raiel could not recognize, his head buried in a book. He looked up, his eyes devoid of interest.

“What do ye need?”

Raiel was momentarily at a loss for words, unsure of how to proceed. Somehow, he had expected to be recognized immediately. “Oh, erh… I’m looking for a man who works here. His name is Komren.”

“That old dog? He quit recently. Said he wanted to do somin’ more ‘peaceful’,” the man said, his fingers doing air quotes while he spoke. “Ye ask me, there ain’ nothin’ more peaceful that this ‘ere place. Nothin’ ever happens ‘ere. Easiest money I ever made!” he laughed, a raspy and unhealthy sound accompanied by a wet grinding in the back of his throat.

“Okay, so where does he work now?” Raiel asked, the task of finding Komren beginning to seem slightly more difficult than he had expected.

“Hell if I know, boy! We don’ keep tabs on that kind o’ stuff ‘ere, ye see.” the man said dismissively. “It ain’ always easy getting’ a job in this town. Run along, now. Can’t ye see I’m a busy man?” He waved Raiel away with a small hand gesture as he returned his gaze and full attention to his book.

Raiel did his best to resist the urge to punch the book straight into that annoying man’s face, displaying a tight-lipped smile as he walked out without another word.

He sat down, his back against the wall of the jail, fishing the small wooden coin out from his backpack, his fingers idly playing with the tiny disc. So, Komren had quit his job as a jailer. Raiel never thought that kind of work suited the man anyway, his demeanor far too warm and his heart far too kind. But, that was only a good thing and why Raiel felt such gratitude towards him. That Komren would show a suspicious stranger such kindness was something Raiel would never forget for as long as he lived.

Had he quit because of Raiel? He had very clearly not agreed with the way Tali had done things but had been powerless to stop her. Perhaps he had then decided that the best course of action was to eject himself completely from that environment. That only left one problem.

How would Raiel locate him if the only connection was a dead end?

Sighing, Raiel stood up and brushed the dirt off his pants and began the journey back to Yaeth’s house, his nails growing to claws and then back again in his pocket while his teeth grew in his mouth, again and again in repetition.