"What's going on?" Hal asked,d Rubbing his bleary eyes. "Why am I down herAAHHH?" Hal Asked, his question turning into a yawn. Hal lay on the bed in the stone room. His teachers and The Old Man standing by the door, all wearing severe expressions.

None of the adults moved to answer, each only continuing to look on with looks containing almost melting pots of emotion. Distress, frustration, anger, fear, sorrow, all of these and more were present in the three adults' faces. Hal noticed this and once again asked, "What's going on?" His voice was more concerned than before.

The Old Man nodded to Fairgarth, who took that as a sign to move over to one of the walls and begin doing something. Hal didn't get much time to observe what he was doing before The Old Man stepped in front of the bed and crouched down to eye level with Hal. "What happened?" Hal asked, the concern now heavy in his voice.

The Old Man sighed, casting his face down before looking Hal directly in the eyes. "I'm sorry." The Old Man's first words were not an explanation but an apology. For what, Hal did not know. Before Hal could questin this, The Old Man continued speaking. "I've done all I can to stop this day from coming. My philosophy is that every child should be given a chance, but even I am not strong enough to make that a reality." The Old Man's voice contained a sadness Hal couldn't begin to understand. "Hal, how old are those who leave my care?" The Old Man asked a question that confused Hal.

"sixteen, I believe," Hal answered, his tone showing his confusion.

The Old Man nodded in response to the answer. "And, how old are you?" The Old Man asked a question that both were guaranteed to know the answer to.

"Ten," Hal answered, his confusion growing.

The Old Man nodded once more, a sad smile creeping onto his face. "You weren't even two when you were brought to me. You are one of the youngest that was ever put under my care. When I first saw you, I thought you would die. You were emaciated, barely clinging to life, but clinging none the less." The Old Man took a moment to look over at what Fairgarh was doing, confirming something before turning back to Hal. "You should have had another six years before you left. Six years for me to help you, train you, prepare you for everything the world would throw at you." The Old Man sighed once more, the smile slipping from his face to be replaced by an expression of resignation. "Unfortunately, the winds don't always blow the way we want them to."

A slight movement by Fairgarth drew Hals eye for a moment. The wall had moved, or vanished, to reveal a passage leading off into the distance. The tunnel was dark, but not pitch black, containing just enough light for Hal to see that it continued long past where he expected the edge of the city to be.

"Hal, Instinct, I am sorry, but for your own safety, I must send you out into the world today." The Old Man continued, his voice trembling ever so slightly. "Take this" The Old Man pushed a sack towards Hal. "It has just enough supplies to get you a little past the end of the tunnel." The Old Man stood, gesturing for Hal to follow to the now open wall.

"Follow it; it will take you beyond their eyes, for now." The Old Man set a hand on Hal's shoulder and looked him in the eyes once again. "When you reach the end, you will find another package, with a note. Read the message before anything else." The Old Man pushed Hal toward the tunnel opening slightly. "You will be in the dark for quite some time, and I am sorry for that. Don't worry about getting turned around. The walls are rigged to collapse as you pass specific points." The Old Man stopped talking for a second, and with a voice, Hal couldn't understand. "I am sorry I couldn't protect you, my sons." While Hal had not heard this, Instinct had, just barely. But, before he could dwell on it, The Old Man raised his voice to an audible volume once more. "Go, flee from this place. We will do our best to give you time to get away." With this, The Old Man pushed Hal past the opening of the tunnel.

Before Hal could turn to ask or say anything, a rumble behind him told him that the opening had closed. So, he ran, as fast as his legs would carry him, He ran.

"I don't know precisely how long that tunnel was. It wasn't straight, nor did it remain level. I know that my brothers slept many times, ate several meals from the rations The Old Man provided, and walked so far their feet grew new callouses. But, I'll spare you the journey and instead tell you about what happened with The Old Man after I left." I stoked the fire, unwilling to look at those across from me right now. "I didn't come to know about it until much much later, so keep in mind my brothers are entirely unaware of these events."

"I didn't know you'd raised him for that long," Torren said, clearly shaken by what he'd just witnessed. "I was only here for seven years, and I still felt like it was home when I left." He continued. "what about you, Fairgarth." Torren Inquired.

"I was here for ten years. Longer than Hal, but I still remember my parents; it's doubtful he can say the same." Fairgarths voice was grave, lacking his usual ostentatious posturing.

"Both Hal and Instinct remember their mother, but not as a parental figure." The Old Man said, his gaze cast downward, away from the two younger men.

"What makes you think so?" Torren asked, his tone dour.

"Hal used to have nightmares about her." The Old Man said with a somewhat lost tone. "His first memory, and it was traumatizing, imagine that." The Old Man looked up as if remembering something.

"Was she, perhaps, abusive?" Fairgarth asked. Likely curious about the relationship between a mother and a half-goblin child.

"No." The Old Man said softly. "If that had been the case, I doubt her husband would have brought Hal to me." The Old Man responded, still facing the closed entrance of the tunnel.

The Old Man didn't say anything else for some time. And, despite curiosity wafting off both Torren and Fairgarth, they did not ask him to, choosing to stay silent instead. But, after some time, The Old Man did open his mouth with further explanation.

"The Only memory they have of her is a corpse, sitting in the corner of a cellar. Rotted away, a self-inflicted wound exposing her entrails an almost perfect circle of untouched blood surrounding her position." The Old Man explained what he knew of the situation Hal was found in. "Her husband returned from his draft to find her like that, with a simple note. While I cannot bear to see my own skin for even another second, I do not wish death upon this child. Please, my dear, find it in yourself to do him no harm. That is my final wish." The Old Man recited the note from memory. "That man is stronger than most." The Old Man said, with a hint of respect in his voice.

The Old Man rested his hand against the stone wall in front of him. " He chose to honor his wife's final wish by bringing Hal to me. He's the one who named Hal, and I regretted letting him do it so much." The Old Man chuckled slightly. "Not that Hal cared about the context of his full name."

The other side of the walls rumbled loudly, indicating that the boys had made it past the first checkpoint. "Guess that means we should go upstairs,' Torren said.

"Indeed," Farigarth agreed.

The Old Man stood silently for a second. Continuing to face the wall that now obscured a pile of fine rubble. After a few moments like this, just before the younger men resigned to leave without him, He turned and walked silently to the door. Neither of the other men in the room saw his face as he passed, but they assumed he was hiding some form of tears.