Morning rays of light coaxed Corwin from his slumber. Blinking a little to recover his bearings, his stomach asserted the need for a quality meal.

Due to it being the Solar Months, there was plenty of animals to hunt in the forest. This did, unfortunately, mean that there had no salted provisions for him to take. However, Ennis’ training hadn't merely been limited to the martial kind- surviving off the land and hunting had been a significant staple as well.

Plus, when you lived in the forest, it was expected that you at least knew how to forage for food- even if it was just plants.

Sleep, or at least comfortable sleep, was a luxury that he had sorely missed over the past few days. His bedding had been made in trees and above ground places. Although the forest was practically free from predators, poisonous bugs and arachnids still patrolled the undergrowth of the forest.

Not only was sleeping in tree branches incredibly painful, but it was also front row seats to the many nocturnal animals who made it their job to keep him from a restful sleep.

He knew he was close now. The trees were thinning- a result of logging. The port town of Etton was clearly only a short distance away.

Unfortunately, Corwin didn't have much of a plan for when he actually arrived in town. The basic idea was that he would find a boat, board it, and then make the crossing to Animar.

How and where he was going to find said boat was very much still in the planning phase.

***

At around midday, Corwin reached the outskirts of Etton. In comparison to his own town, Etton had a significantly more secure perimeter. A single guardsman stood at the only entrance to the doubleman tall brick wall that surrounded the town.

Although it was mostly for show- there were occasionally minor dignitaries that visited the town- it still posed a significant obstacle for Corwin.

The guard wasn’t the issue. He was apparently some villager who had just been appointed to the position- the only armour he wore was a ragged leather shirt with a small shortsword at his hip.

He might not have been strong enough to overpower an adult yet, but he was reasonably confident in his ability to incapacitate an obviously untrained man with a surprise attack.

No, the real problem laid in getting into the town without causing a commotion, and then somehow getting into the boat yards without causing the same issue.

Deciding that a sort of bribery was the easiest route, Corwin removed one of the 3 silvers from his coin pouch. Sticking his finger into his waterskin, he also dabbed a little of the water under both his eyes.

Approaching the man, he hoped it would be enough. Just in case, he checked the positioning of his thigh sheath, making sure it was in comfortable access range.

“Um... Sir,”

Surprised, the guard snapped to attention to find a dishevelled teen cowering in front of him.

“Who are you, and what are you doing here son?” the guard asked suspiciously.

No-one had entered or left during his post- and he certainly would've remembered if a child had left during his shift.

“No-one sir- I’m jus’ lookin’ for me father. ‘E told me that e’d be at the boats.”

Corwin had heard the accent from one of the children from a mercantile caravan that had passed through Weston only 2 years ago. He raised his face to look the guard in the eye.

“But I can’t find ‘im. Please, sir- could ye kindly point me in the direction of the boats? I

‘ave a coin fer ye if ye could ‘elp me out.”

The child offered a silver in his outstretched palms and bowed his head again.

The poor boy had obviously been crying. There wouldn’t be any harm in letting him in- not especially with the added bonus of the coinage. A silver would be more than he’d make at this post for the entire day’s work! Plus, currying favour with a merchant was never a bad thing.

The guard gave Corwin a friendly smile as he took the silver from his palms and stepped aside.

“The docks you be looking for would be down the main street then immediately to the left. Just get to the end of the main street, and you’ll see the water. I hope your father doesn’t punish you too bad for staying out late!”

Still keeping is head down, Corwin nodded his thanks and quickly brushed past the guard. He didn't think that the guard would run his mouth, but if the recruiters did return to this town searching for a deserter, it wouldn't take long for him to come forward.

Job commitment aside, the guard was certainly right about the docks. As he cleared the main street, the sparkling blue of the sea greeted him. Weston was also a seaside town; however, the sea surrounding the town had some particularly nasty rocks and other natural barriers. Thus, taking a quick dip in the sea wasn’t a possibility unless one possessed the ability to harden their skin against the sharp rocks and structures in the water.

So the simple dock with only a few boats was a marvellous sight to Corwin. Villagers were swimming nearby, and others were simply relaxing on the beach- each of them with baskets full to the brim of treats he’d never seen before.

Here was the hard part. His ragged clothing might've helped him enter the town, but there was no way that he could convince the ship guards that he was a merchant child without some identification.

He had 2 silvers left- hopefully he could convince a guard with one of the coins, leaving the other for something to bargain with when he reached the mainland.

Staying as out of sight as he could, he approached a lone guard blocking the way to a plank leading its way onto one of the vessels; the ‘Lady of Redemption’.

This guard clearly belonged to the merchants, as indicated by the sparkles that shined off his chainmail vest and iron helmet. Unlike the previous guard, this man looked like he knew how to use that weapon.

“Excuse me, sir?”

The man looked down at Corwin without any kindness in his eyes, and simply grunted, which he took for a sign to go on.

Not knowing the proper way to bribe someone, he decided to be frank.

“I need to leave this island. And I wouldn’t exactly like people to know that I have. Would you perhaps know of a way to get me on this boat?”

Hearing this, the guard smirked. Giving a pointed look at the pouch hanging of Corwin’s belt, he beckoned slowly with his hand.

Withdrawing one of the silvers from his pouch, he glanced up to see the guard’s smirk widen- and realised he’d made a stupid mistake. The man had heard the clink of the other coin.

Sure enough, when he placed the silver into the man’s outstretched hand, the man shook his head and beckoned again.

Cursing himself for being so obvious, he tipped his pouch upside-down onto the guard’s palm. He was lucky he’d hidden the pouch containing his father’s tal under his clothes.

Finally, the man spoke.

“Get going. I didn’t see you, and you didn’t see me.”

Nodding, Corwin quickly made his way past the guard, up the plank, and onto the ship.

It was time to leave Solum.

* * *

Reliqua, Western Realm, Animar.

Temple of Viggar

The High Priest barely grunted as he pierced his eardrums. His followers were watching- It would be improper. And signs of weakness, under Viggar, were something to be persecuted.

Removing the knife splashed drops of blood over the tiled floor. Everyone watching held their breath- this was the last moment that the high priest could reverse his decision.

Triumphantly, the High Priest raised the knife proudly above his head and roared.

Blood was spilt. The crusade would begin. The crowd whipped themselves into a frenzy with chants of the goddess’ name echoing around the room.

The man leaning against the temple wall smiled to himself and left the believers to their festivities. Although it hadn’t been in the way they had planned, he had accomplished his goal.

Blood would be spilt either way.