Llain raised his hand to knock on the door before pausing with his knuckles frozen a few inches from the wood. He briefly reconsidered at the thought of another argument, but knew that ultimately it wasn't a choice. Master Karyth was clear: Llain only got the afternoon off if Kalia came along.

He braced himself and rapped loudly on the wood, hoping it would be worth it.

He didn't mind Kalia's presence, really. As someone native to Farone she had helped him get used to the strange city after he'd arrived on a ship from up north. But between adjusting to a new culture and tip-toeing around the religious fervor of Farone that Kalia seemed to exemplify, his mental stamina had quickly been exhausted. Constant conversations about his eternal soul and the beauty of Izael's light were now tediously expected.

Interrupting her routine with a trip into the festival was equally likely to sour her mood or lead to a several-hour-long discussion about religion.

A few long moments left Llain wondering if Kalia might have already left— and how that might affect his deal with Karyth. He turned to leave, but the door opened with a creak of old wood to reveal Kalia. Her large frame filled the doorway, and she ducked under the lintel to avoid striking her head as she exited the room. Her long golden hair was woven into an ornate braid that disappeared under her gambeson, and a large burlap sack was slung over her shoulder— Kalia's mail clinking within as the strap shifted.

"Expecting trouble?" Llain asked with a smile. "Usually you wait to put on your armor til you leave the house."

Her lips twitched as she raised an eyebrow. "Maybe. You never know what The Maelstrom will bring."

"Speaking of—" Llain said. "I know you hate interrupting your routine, but I was wondering if— possibly— you could take a day off from churchly duties and enjoy some of the festival with me, maybe? I didn't get to go at all last year, and Karyth mentioned that—"

"Yes, Llain," she interrupted with a roll of her eyes. "Why do you think I was ready to go? Dad told me a few days ago about your deal."

"Riiiiiight," Llain responded skeptically as the rest of his argument died in his throat. "Honestly I was expecting more of a fight; are you feeling okay?"

"I was given a special assignment from the priests for today," she said, furrowing her brow.

"Guarding the fireworks display this evening. They didn't say I couldn't bring someone, so we can go together and enjoy some of the festival until I'm needed."

Llain shrugged and followed her out the front door of the shop, noting the halberd she grabbed on their way outside. The smithy Kalia's father owned was one of the most successful in Farone, and there were always more tasks to be accomplished.

The fear of some forgotten chore quickened Llain's steps as he latched the door behind them. The stench of burning coal and sweat still clung to his clothes, but it smelled like his home.

"The church expects an attack on the alchemists, then?" Llain asked. "Shouldn't we tell someone?"

Llain stopped himself as he saw the frown growing on Kalia's face. "Not to say you aren't enough to scare off some troublemakers, but you're not a fully trai— I mean I'm sure there's someone else more qualified to handle this. Did they even tell you—" Llain's voice rose with each thought that passed through his mind until finally Kalia reached out a gloved finger to shush him. He stopped abruptly as her finger rested on his lips, a blush racing up his cheeks as she leaned in close to him.

"It's my duty, Llain. If Our Holy Fifth needs me there, then nothing will happen that I'm not equipped to handle." She laughed and jostled the rapier that hung from Llain's waist. "Besides, I've got you to keep me safe from any troublemakers."

Llain tried to force a polite laugh back, but the jest about his sword just made the blush lingering on his cheeks worse. It was his journeyman's piece for Karyth, but he lacked any skill with the weapon. After the fifth time Kalia trounced him in the yard he gave up on practicing, although he still took to wearing it as a fashion piece.

"Back home they called me True Strike, I'll have you know," he joked. Llain swished an imaginary rapier at Kalia causing her to giggle. "I saved many a virgin maid from scoundrels and bandits before I took up the noble calling of being a blacksmith."

"Oh, of course," she laughed. "My mistake, 'True Strike'. I'm sure you were very skilled. Truly a loss for women everywhere that you were too noble to continue your errantry." She rolled her eyes at him with a snort as she began walking again.

Llain sighed in dismay. "Unfortunately the world needs more smiths than it does noble adventurers. Let's go see what the merchant quarter has set up this year."

Taking in the festival first hand reinforced how odd the concept was to Llain. An annual ship race was the opposite of a spectator sport, in his opinion. He'd considered signing on the previous year as a deckhand to experience it himself— there were always open positions for extras at the docks. Unfortunately, his apprenticeship at Karyth's smithy didn't allow him much freedom for extended absences and the smith had laughed in his face when he worked up the courage to ask.

But to the Faronians it was the biggest holiday of the year. Thronging crowds clogged the streets as he and Kalia made their way toward the city center, a large market circled by restaurants that were normally far outside of Llain's price range. Fortunately, The Maelstrom Race— and accompanying festival— drew enough visitors to require food stalls and wandering vendors that prowled the streets constantly throughout the day. Vendors that catered to the cheap tourists who wanted food that was quick and easy to grab while they shopped.

Llain smiled at a passing man with a display box of food hung from his neck, quickly fishing out the change to buy two juicy chunks of beef speared through with sticks as they passed by.

He passed back through the crowd before handing one of them to Kalia. They paused for a minute to eat and Llain smiled as he watched the crowd silently part around her. At over six and a half feet tall she was already imposing. Adding on the stiff gambeson, long halberd resting over her shoulder, and the buff physique that came from military training only served to accentuate the point; Kalia was a boulder in the stream of people flowing around her as naturally as the clouds flowed around the mountains.

The temple of Izael loomed over them as they reached the market square. The seven towers that surrounded the main hall soared impossibly high as they worked to collect every vestige of daylight with their mirrors, reflecting all of it onto the polished edifice that dominated the temple grounds. The sparkling white surface reflected it all onto the square, dazzling rainbows of splitting light dancing through the market air in celebration.

Shouts of merchants and the clamor of the crowd mixed with the jingle of jongleurs in motley and bells to create a pleasant din that buzzed around Llain and dazzled his senses for a moment as he stopped to take it in.

"Careful!" Kalia pulled him roughly aside as a cart roared through the street, narrowly avoiding him as he tripped backward into Kalia's arms. A crash of broken wood and distressed cries followed as Kalia's momentum took them through the side of a booth into a group of shopping noblewomen. Luckily the women seemed more intent on clearing the area than stopping to berate them.

The old gnomish man who owned the booth seemed to have different ideas. "No thieves!" he cried in a thick accent as he brandished a broom to beat Kalia away from the spill of wares that had fallen to the ground. "I call guards! Leave now before you arrested!"

Kalia held her hands out calmly as the gnome quickly tired, finally managing to explain their accident. He still seemed upset, but Kalia and Llain bent to help clean up their mess and he finally put aside the broom to join them in gathering the fallen merchandise.

Llain grabbed a sign that had fallen over and moved to put it back in front of the booth, but his gaze caught on the words. Kalia tugged at his sleeve as she turned to leave— still apologizing profusely to the old man— but Llain stayed in place.

"Walk the rope, take home a prize," Llain murmured as he struggled through the fanciful calligraphy. "Wonder what rope they mean, though." He glanced up at Kalia as she groaned. "It could be fun though, I'll win you something pretty!"

"Llain we can't even afford to be in here," Kalia pointed out as she gestured to the display case the gnome was adjusting. "Let's leave before he calls the guards."

The precious metals and gemstones arrayed across the fine wood cases sparkled in the afternoon light and Llain gulped as he realized how lucky they were that nothing had been broken. Karyth paid him fair wages for his apprenticeship, but it would be a year of saving before Llain could afford to purchase even something small from a place like this.

"Well it doesn't say there's an entry fee," Llain pouted. "But you're probably right, let's just go." He blew out a sigh and began following Kalia away.

"You want try the rope, boy?" the gnome piped up as they turned away. "Is good. Maybe fix poor business after ruffians jumble all my jewelry. You get ready while I fix ropes; draw crowd and I give you something for no stealing."

Llain looked around with a confused smile, "I'm ready now, just tell me where the rope is."Kalia jostled his elbow with a smirk and pointed up and behind the booth where Llain could see a long rope tied between two elevated wooden posts. He had mistaken it as part of the structures supporting all the tents and booths arrayed haphazardly throughout the city, but these posts were standing free, wobbling gently in the wind and stray sunbeams that filtered through the buildings around the market. The shopkeeper went to give one of the posts a shake, seemingly satisfied with the amount of wobbliness it showed.

"That's barely wide enough to stand on!" Llain protested. "And there's not even a net to catch me if I fall."

Kalia met his protests with a silent shake of her head as the gnome came back with a smile on his face. Two amazingly long eyebrows peeked out from behind a large set of spectacles that framed his otherwise bald, green-skinned face.

"Simple fix, I recommend not to fall. Rules are also simple: you go up one post, come down the other," the gnome prattled on as he led Llain toward one of the posts. He looked back to Kalia for luck, but she was distracted by something and wasn't looking at him any longer, a furrow in her brow the only mark on her otherwise perfect face.

"Only touch rope, yes?," the shop keeper continued, not noticing or caring at Llain's distraction. "If you make it with no falling you get a prize. If you draw big crowd before you fall I give you prize anyway as apology for hitting big lady with broom. Also no use magic, cheating I will see with glasses." He gestured at the spectacles on his face, drawing Llain's eye to the obviously arcane marking inscribed all around the lenses. Llain couldn't decipher the symbols, but could guess their purpose easily enough.

"Yeah sure, no magic," Llain chuckled as they reached the post. "Like I could afford to do magic even if I knew how."

"I see you on other side. Remember, no falling!" the gnome finished as he walked toward the front of the booth, a small crowd already forming to watch.

Llain saw a crude semblance of a ladder in the form of pegs hammered in alternating sides spiraling all the way up to the tiny platform some twenty feet above him. He realized belatedly that it seemed much taller from this angle; with a grimace and a sigh at what his mouth could get him into, he began climbing.

A few seconds later he crested the top and managed to perch haphazardly on the small, wobbly platform. He stared across the gap to an equally rickety platform at the other end of the rope. The entire structure swayed gently in the wind and goosebumps rose on his arms as he stole a glance at the ground. It wasn't even taut enough to support a sprint, he realized with a frown, he would have to take his time.

He glanced down again just long enough to find Kalia— her golden hair shining like a beacon in the sunlight— and saw her standing with her arms crossed as she stared up at him with a single raised eyebrow. He shook his head to clear it, "I don't need to be distracted right now." He placed his left foot out onto the rope and breathed in deeply.

As he did, time seemed to slow. He could feel the world moving around him at a glacial pace, a gentle rhythm pounding in time with his breath. The rope shifted beneath his feet, the dizzying height causing sweat to break out across his skin. As his right foot left the platform he closed his eyes, overwhelmed by the sensory input they were providing. He reached his hands out to the sides to counteract the shifting rope as it seemed to writhe beneath his feet in the wind. He took another step.

Step.

The world ceased to exist past Llain's fingertips, his foot reaching out for the rope beneath it.

Step.

He could feel tiny disturbances in the wind and the gentle swaying of the rope below him as he struggled to continue moving. He forced his jaw shut to stop the chattering of his teeth.

Step.

Gentle gusts assisted him whenever his balance faltered, and he simply focused on the rhythm of his breathing and the steady beat of his heart.

Step.

Llain became so engrossed in the rhythm and sway that his eyes darted open in shock and confusion as a foot stepped down onto solid wood. He flailed his arms for a second before managing to stabilize himself on the second platform.

His heart was beating erratically as he caught his breath and time snapped back to a normal pace. Confused senses wanted nothing more than to be on solid ground and Llain gently lowered himself. Looking down he could see Kalia staring up at him open-mouthed from below, almost as shocked as the little jeweler next to her.

He considered taking a bow as the final rung came, but decided that modesty would probably impress the audience more. He waved his thanks at the scattered applause from the already departing crowd, shooting a smile at a group of pretty girls that were giggling at each other while keeping their eyes locked on him.

"Llain, what in all the planes was that?" Kalia grabbed him from behind in a hug that threatened to squeeze out all his breath. He attempted to reply but only a squeak of strangled noise came out of his mouth, causing both of them to start laughing as the shopkeeper approached with a bemused smile.

"I look most intently, but no magic to be found on you," the gnome said with a raised eyebrow. Llain nervously chuckled in response as the tiny man thrust forward a clenched fist, unfolding his fingers to reveal a shiny ring that he thrust toward Llain. "A bauble for you. Or the girl," he said in a whisper with a glance toward Kalia. "Good ring for marriage, yes? And you draw fine crowd. Maybe Haddad's business will not suffer too much for ruffians who toss my jewelry on the ground."

The gnome winked at him, sweeping his long eyebrows behind his ears as he returned to work. He wore a pleasant smile as he returned to his counter and greeted the first of a line of customers that Llain had attracted to the man's stall. "And how may Haddad help you today?"

As the two of them began walking away through the crowd Llain saw a vagrant staring at them from a few feet away. Greasy hair fell over the man's face, and a wave of liquor vapors washed over Llain as they drew closer. But the man had eyes only for Kalia, staring at her with an intensity that concerned Llain. He noted a rusty sword at the homeless man's waist, and a lump formed in Llain's throat.

Kalia's earlier words of assuredness meant nothing. Llain carefully steered them further into the crowds of people and away from danger before she could notice. Finally they passed out of view and Llain let out a breath of relief. His heart was racing, and luckily Kalia had missed the exchange. Instead she continued to exclaim about his success.

She turned to Llain to question him, "Honestly, Llain. What was that? I've never seen you move so... gracefully! And you even closed your eyes! Were you just trying to kill yourself or have you been moonlighting in some traveling circus on your days off?"

"Oh, it's just something I picked up. Just because I'm no good with a sword doesn't mean I don't have a few tricks up my sleeve. You don't need armor if they can't hit you in the first place," Llain chuckled. "A strong hand and a big sword can't solve every problem," he joked with a gesture to Kalia's halberd. "But I guess running away can't solve anything either—" His fingers scratched at the scars on his neck, permanent proof that it was true.

Kalia glanced over at him, silently asking him to continue, but unwilling to pester him about it further. He considered for a moment. He'd lived with Kalia and her father for a year or so now and they had never pried into his past. But although he was treated as part of the family, it still didn't quite feel like home. He couldn't think of a good reason to hide anything from Kalia, but the thought of revisiting his own past brought back the goosebumps.

Llain smiled, shaking his head in an unspoken refusal to continue. "So, my intrepid paladin friend. What do you think of my shiny spoils of war?" Llain held the ring out to Kalia. She widened her eyes in appreciation.

A fine gold band supported a dull green stone carved to look like a beetle in flight. "The jeweler said it would be a good ring for marriage," Llain mentioned offhandedly, laughing at the shocked look Kalia gave him. "Too bad I'm hopelessly single at the moment or some lucky girl might be receiving a gift soon."

"Fifth save the girl who you end up giving this to," Kalia snorted as she tossed it back to him.

"And may she help us all deal with your negative attitude." Llain stuck out his tongue at Kalia before moving on. "Now where should we go next? Food? Games? Pretty girls?" Llain chuckled as he began moving off again, scouting out areas of possible interest on the busy street.

"Sure. Whatever you say." Kalia followed along a few seconds behind him, a sense of watching eyes causing goosebumps to crawl down her spine.