"I see you're well! Then, I'm heading back home. Careful not to trip into the river again, aye? See ya around, boy."

The woman grabbed her fishing rod and her bucket full of fish from the ground. Thom stood up still soaked in water and out of breath, and stumbled towards the woman trying to speak. As she was turning her back to leave into the forest behind her, he called for her.

"Wait!" He yelled.

"Hmm?" The woman didn't turn, but stood still. Thom noticed he had lifted his voice, and took a step back.

"I'm sorry."

He lifted his shoulders and combed his wet hair back with one hand.

"You're a farmer, right? I know what it's like to be one, you know? Yeah. I've been there. Did farmer stuff... Tended to the cattle, sowed and harvested. The seasons weren't always good to us and being on the coast meant the salty air damaged some of the crops too. And, gods, the insects. I, I also had a few chickens. They weren't good chickens tho. Dicks, actually. I got a few scars from them on my hands and... And all that..."

He said it with a smile on his face, but he didn't get any reaction from the middle-aged woman leaving his sight. He wasn't being his usual self with how nervous he was. Acting and performing to convince people was routine for him, but not under the peril of losing his life.

"... Okay. I know it's too sudden and you've already helped me this much. But I really need a place to stay. Could you... Perhaps, lend me a room in your farm? Please?"

The woman turned around to look at the young man's face. There was a certain worry in her eyes.

"Oh my. You're a criminal, aren't ya?"

"Ah." Thom froze in place.

He looked to the left and to the right, and then sheepishly smiled at her while moving closer. The woman was already rolling her eyes before he started talking.

"Maybe? I mean, it depends on how you look at it, really. I could be a criminal. In most places they would label me a criminal. I'm sure of that much. But hey, I don't know about this specific place. Maybe they take kind to... You know what, it doesn't matter. I don't think I'm actually a criminal... Er... It's certainly more complicated than that."

"Look, boy, I don't want any trouble. My husband and I are already having enough problems getting to the end of the month as it is, and we can't feed another mouth. Oh, but what am I think about. That isn't the problem! We can't house a criminal, by Teus' grace. No, no. Forget about it. If the guards ask me I'll say I didn't see anything, so please, turn around and leave."

Before she could turn away, Thom interrupted her again.

"You can't reach ends meet? I've been there too! Listen, I can pay. I can help you with your expenses if you just let me stay. Those guys are probably already coming, it's not too far from here. And if I get caught, I'll be beheaded right in front of you! Help me out, please—"

"Oh, you shameless scoundrel!"

The woman dropped her bucket and fishing rod and rolled up her sleeves as if to start a brawl with him. Thom backed away. Since she had lifted him up from the river with one hand even while wearing chain mail, she probably wouldn't have much trouble to knock him cold.

"No need to get violent!" Thom said with a very convincing look and pointed at her. "Violence is never the solution!" Shamelessly, he ignored the blood on his hands.

"I don't need any more loans, boy! And I don't have room on my farm for criminals! If you don't leave in this instant, I'm gonna turn you to the guards myself!"

"Loans?" Thom immediately picked a subject and smiled. "Wait, you're being intimidated, aren't you? It's strange that a farmer has to fish their own food like this. If you don't get it at the market, then you get it from the portion you earn in your field. Who is it? The landlord? The tax collectors?"

"Oh, my, nosey kid! There are no landlords, we owe our farm!"

Thom shook his head in disbelief. He squinted his eyes, and tried to search for the words to express his confusion. He felt as if he had been suddenly explained where babies came from after having been taught about the stork his whole life. Then, he came up with an earnest and honest response.

"You do?" He twisted his mouth. "The f*ck?"

"A foreigner on top of all." The woman sighed. "No wonder your Kuulkiam sounded so artificial! Magic item and all on your ankle, look at mister richman! If you wanna fool me telling me you're a farm boy, then go and shove it! I'm heading back home."

The woman signaled to a small blue stone tied up to Thom's ankle, and a memory flashed by. It wasn't the time for memories, he needed to convince this woman to help him.

"This—!"

Tuk tukutuk tukutuk

Thom felt a chill run down his spine as he heard the familiar sound of hooves hitting the grass. The woman also stopped in her tracks. She turned around with deep worry in her face, and ran towards Thom while letting go once more of her fishing tools.

"The horses are coming! Hide, I'll cover you!"

"No use, those guys can sense energy... Something, I don't know! They'll find me, take this!"

Thom immediately took his bag off and handed it to the woman. She was extremely confused at first, as she saw Thom psychologically preparing himself for something, slapping his cheeks, and jumping in place.

"Hurry!" She yelled.

Then, a sound like a vacuum forming and then sucking up the world came to her ears.

"What?!"

Thom opened the bag with his hand, and then stuck his head inside without thinking it for a second longer. The woman thought the man had gone crazy, until suddenly, the bag started to suck the young lad's body inside of it as if it was a violent whirlwind, and he disappeared after leaving a small cloud of air behind.

"W... Wha..."

The woman stayed in place completely petrified, and trembling by the sudden scene that had just unfolded in front of her eyes.

The horses soon came by and stopped in front of the woman. It was a small squadron with only eight people mounted on light horses, and at their head, the unmistakable Chief of Guards, Chamgue Tothemharf. They surrounded her in an instant, and the hulking man in command of the group was the one to direct his voice to her.

"Lady, good evening." He nodded at her with chivalrous respect. "Have you seen a young man with black hair running in this direction? We believe he ran through the outer wall and landed on the river. He was wearing stolen chain mail with Goldblack's crest on it's back. And... That bag you're carrying..."

"... Hm? Ah!" The woman seemed to snap out of her stupor as she looked down at the bag on her hands, and then looked to the right at the river than ended in a small waterfall to the valley.

"Lady?"

"Yes, I believe I saw him." She nodded. "He was swimming down the river and fell off the waterfall. It's a steep fall... He should be dead if he hit the rocks. But, well, if he's not, he may have walked his way to Riverside! Is it a criminal you're searchin' for?"

"Indeed. If he fell off the waterfall there's little to no chance of survival, but if he lived after that first fall at the hill to begin with, it's not something impossible. Why do you hold that bag, lady?"

"Ah..." She looked down with anxious eyes, but quickly shook her worry off and smiled. "I found it on the edge of the river, all soaked and worn. But it was such a pretty bag... I couldn't help myself. I don't have money to buy one, you see." She chuckled as she held the bag closer to herself.

Chamgue looked at the woman with eyes full of pity, and sighed as he scratched his forehead. He was in deep thought, or so it seemed. He ended up sighing while he picked something from his pockets, and held it tightly with his hand.

"Riverside will take us one hour to reach from here if we go by horse. If he hasn't escaped by then, we'll take him away from the public and decapitate him."

He flicked his thumb, and the middle-aged woman jumped to catch what he had thrown at her. She opened her palms, revealing what there was inside, and her eyes turned round as plates. On her hand rested a singular silver coin, with the face of the queen on one side.

"Teus! Thank you very much, chief Chamgue! How... How can I repay this kindness?"

"Stay safe." He pulled from the reigns of his horse. "And buy yourself a bag less worn than that, lady! Let's go, lads, we ain't got all day! Hyeah!"

The horses trailed off in the distance while neighing and slamming their hooves on the grass.

After five minutes had passed, the woman finally laid against a tree with her legs still trembling, and fell to the grass while letting go of a needed sigh. She then remembered everything that had happened, and opened the bag to check for the young man.

It was empty.

"Hmm... It must be magic of some sorts. Magic is truly a wonderful thing, isn't it? Ha... I wonder what—"

Her words were cut off by the sudden raging vacuum sound coming from her side.

A second whirlwind appeared out of the bag's whole, and the man was propelled outside and crashed against the ground. He rolled on the floor to end face-up, trying to catch some air. The woman gasped in surprise as if she had seen a ghost.

"Cough... Huff... Cough! N... Note to self.." He said with a face that looked like he hadn't eaten or slept in several days- "Don't put anything with life... Into the bag."

He said something that sounded like common sense.

•••

When they arrived at the farm, Thom was led towards a disheveled barn at the end of their territory. The woman—who he discovered was named Merry— opened the doors of the barn for him, and gathered some piles of hay for him to sleep on.

The ceiling was full of holes from where one could see the sky, and the weed at the ground and walls was long overgrown. There were no horses or cows, not even a handful of pigs. Since Thom could assume the farm's state from this barn alone, he wasn't rude enough to ask if they had chickens.

He gladly accepted the pile of hay with a smile, and looked back at the troubled Merry who seemed to be regretting her decision in bringing him along. He couldn't blame her, though, since he wouldn't have done for a stranger what she did for him.

"Hey, I really appreciate it. I know how anxious you must be feeling. But I will be gone soon, and you will forget all about me too. I guess you'll have a talk with your husband about this tonight... So, forgive me in advance."

She shook her shoulders in dejection. She didn't seem to have much hope for what would happen next.

"Lunch is at noon, dinner is at dusk. You can go to our farmhouse, but if the guards come around you'll have to hide. And... You can only stay for one week! I don't mean to be harsh, but.."

Harsh? One week seems unreasonably forgiving for the situation I'm putting her in.

"Yeah, about that, I did say I would pay you."

Thom started to look for something in his bag, and the woman stared at him with a questionable gaze. She quietly observed the young man's arm move a lot and bury way too deep into the bag for what was physically possible, until she finally gave up, and said:

"Boy, you don't have to pay me. Having saved a life and all, the gods will surely give me a reward for it someday, so I'll patiently wait for it. You can stop looking for it. I've been living my whole life like a proud farmer, and... Such won't change now. And, well, you'll be gone soon, son. If you're gonna be out there, you'll need it more than— Is that a gold coin?!"

The woman seemed to lose all composure as she was handed a golden coin on her hand. She looked up and down in disbelief after Thom had handed it happily to her with a smile.

"Yeah. I know I'll be staying here at most a week, but if I stay for more than fifteen days for any reason, I'll give you another one. Does that sound good?" Thom talked as if he was completely oblivious to the value of what he had handed, but he knew how much gold was worth. Even back at his village, it was worth killing for.

"This..."

Tears started to rain down Merry's eyes, as she covered her mouth with her hand.

"This is enough for my family to eat for a year."

Her voice sounded extremely breathy as she spoke. She couldn't believe what she had just received— it wasn't just a way of speaking. She had felt the difference in weight with the silver coin she had received from Chamgue before, and well, copper coins, she had held many in her life. If she hadn't, she would have thought it was a fake coin.

"Then don't waste any time. Go tell your husband about it, he may be more lenient to keep me here with this, right?" Thom chuckled. "I could also give it to you in silver if you don't wanna raise any suspicion at the market. We lunch nicely tomorrow, aye?"

The woman made a deep bow towards Thom, and slowly turned to walk towards the door. She closed one of the doors, and before she had finished closing the second, she said:

"It seems the gods were quick to repay me. Thank you... Sincerely."

Slam

She closed the doors to the barn.

As soon as he noticed he was alone, Thom let out a deep sigh that came from the bottom of his heart. All the welled up exhaustion had finally started to take its toll on him.

He checked that there weren't any piercing items on the pile of hay he had been given, and then resorted to let his body fall on it without a care. The strands of hay flew around him and slowly descended back into the pile they were sent off from as he sunk into the pile.

Thom lost himself while gazing at the sky through the massive holes in the ceiling. There was something about that clear sky that filled him with a sense of comfort he couldn't get anywhere else. The gradient around the moon, the light of the stars that came and went away. It wasn't just beautiful, it was nostalgic.

"Runa..."

He muttered.

"I wonder if you're doing well."

He looked at the small blue stone hanging from his ankle, and that memory from before flushed into his head once more. With the voice of that star-struck girl, those words resonated in his ears in the midst of silence.

"Here. I would say it fits you well. Are you content with this? Now we can speak without me having to cast a spell each time we want to have a lovely talk. Fancy, is it not? It's a precious item, but it is worth it if we can talk freely like this... Yes. It might be the best investment I have ever made. Well, not like I have done many before, but surely the ones to come will hardly surpass this. Hey, do not laugh at me! You will invoke the wrath of the sky, you know? Wha- don't touch my head!"

He smiled lightly and with warmth in his chest. Before long, he had already fallen asleep.