The night was dark, only a slim crescent of moon bothering to lighten the inky blackness of its domain. Maybe it was in consideration for the revelry that most took part in during the day and would continue to indulge in well into the moon's silent vigil. Maybe it was for those few heavy hearts that wished only for a different plan from Mistress Fate, for this horrible day to end. Whatever the reason, two brothers camped around a small fire, uncaring about the shadows cloaking their small outpost of humanity. Instead, they were focused on more important matters.

“What? You went into the world abroad and never even thought about taking a weapon with you?" No matter how incredulous Alric attempted to be, Danny would only return that same embarrassed smile; he was putting on a show for Alric, and it infuriated him to no end.

"Why are you even bothering to fake your embarrassment?" Alric spat out, "I know you, Danny, you either figured 'oh Alric will handle it' or just plain didn't spare it a second thought, instead choosing to bring that blasted diary of yours."

"Oh that's a low blow and you know it," Danny cut him off, finally showing some actual emotion, "it's a scheming journal you dullard. Not that I'd expect you to understand, your head is probably just filled with more weights to lift. Besides, at least one of us bothered to pack a bag before setting out. Where're your clothes Alric?"

The arse had a point. Alric wasn't admittedly thinking long term when he set off, but he wouldn't let Danny hold this over his head for the next few weeks. Putting on his best lecturing voice stolen directly from Sis, Alric clicked his tongue and chided, "I couldn't in good conscience take from my family, Danny. Afterall a-"

"-a true man doesn't rely upon others to stand on his own two feet," Danny stole the words from Alric's mouth, giving him a pointed stare, "you say that but you're still wearing those clothes. That cloak probably cost more than three times anything I brought with me,” Danny now relaxed fully into a self-satisfied smirk, “care to explain that one away?”

No way under the high court would Alric let Danny attack his cloak, “you can’t reasonably expect me to not take the clothes on my back with me when I travel. What am I supposed to do, go off into the wilderness bare arsed?"

Danny snickered, "Imagine the look on the guard's face as you tried to get out of the city," dispelling the image with the shake of his head he continued, "but you could've changed to something that doesn't scream 'oh please come and rob me bandits. I am just a plump coin purse ripe for the plucking.'"

“I didn’t have the time to get changed,” Alric protested.

Danny looked properly dubious now, “yet you still had time to bring that,” he said while gesturing to the hammer looped in Alric’s belt.

“Look I needed some way to make coin, and I don’t want to cut ties with my family, just stand on my own to make them proud. So I took my cross peen to remind me of the good times, you know?”

Alric didn’t feel like continuing the conversation anymore, wrapping himself in the voluminous folds of his cloak to shut off the suddenly too bright reality of the campfire. He dreamt of the moon and darkness.

---

The morning was harsh to Alric, the once forgotten pains of sleeping on hard ground were suddenly reintroduced to his back and neck like an old lover. Groaning and stretching only helped so much. Alric spared a glance from his half-lidded eyes fighting off the sunlight to see Danny suffer much of the same fate.

“Morning Jov, where’d your brother go?” Alric called out with a yawn.

Danny must have thought himself the better man for not giving a response, instead of taking the time to straighten his hair as best he could and to pat out the dirt from his clothes. Alric felt a touch guilty for not initially bothering to handle his cloak with as much care as Danny seemed too. Danny was right, it was rather expensive after all, and it would be a long while before he could afford a new one if the cloak was ruined.

Hastily finishing his stretches, Alric gave a few quick pats to his cloak as Danny took it upon himself to scatter the ashes of the campfire. Well, attempted to, Alric had to admit it was a clever enough idea if not well executed. It would do well enough not to leave a painfully obvious trail for any ne'er do wells that wanted to follow after them. Taking the time to help Danny, they set about clearing camp as well they could, scattering the ashes and smoothing and tracks made with a sweep of their foot. Alric bet it wouldn’t hold up to serious tracking efforts but he felt proud enough of their combined efforts.

It was without any sort of breakfast and no small amount of bickering over the lack of breakfast that Alric and Danny set off. It seemed a cheerful day, filled with the burgeoning life of springtime. The sun was just beyond playing coy on the horizon, seemingly decided to add a vibrant hue to the day as it was infused with her magic. The rolling hills were losing their frost with the occasional grove dotting the landscape. They were too close to the coastline to approach anything resembling the boundary of Grendale. Even the sea was calmer this far away from Vigil Falls.

Even with a day as grand as this, Alric was finding no shortage of reasons to be gloomy. He would've thought that announcing his secret to the world would've helped ease the weight inside, inside it just seemed to feed it. All he did was embarrass his family name, now he was Alric Tides, a failure who couldn't even internalize the right domain. To make matters worse he ran away, and his family was sure to raise a stink in search of him. At least Danny stood by his side, though that only meant he was responsible for him as well now too. Just what did they have planned?

"Huh, what? What'd you say, Danny? Sorry wasn't paying attention," Alric said as he snapped out of his fugue.

"I said, 'Just what did you have planned?'" Danny reiterated, shooting Alric a look that hinted at knowing exactly what he had just been thinking. How did he do that?

“Oh...well I,” Alric stuttered out as his brain scrambled for answers that weren’t there, “I need to get someone to fix this whole thing. The only person I know to be more knowledgeable about the earth domain than Pa is Grandpa, he’ll definitely sort this out.”

Danny nodded to himself, mumbling something Alric didn’t quite catch as they continued along in companionable silence. It was nearing midday when they finally reached the edge of town. The nicest thing about Respite was its name. The roads were at least no longer dirt, but instead roughly cobbled. The road lead towards an amorphous town center that was marked by a grand estate and circled by various stores of daily needs. It seemed strangely prosperous for what Alric knew of the northern coast, with people meandering through the center, darting between the few remaining stalls from yesterday that had yet to tear themselves down.

A tap on his shoulder jolted Alric to the present. Turns out as he was busy taking in the sights, Danny stopped a passing villager and found out there was an inn in the town center. Cutting across the crowd they arrived at the Tilted Toadstool. Surprisingly, it was right next to the mayor’s estate. It was a squat two-story building that looked a touch lopsided like it too was melting under the spring sun with the snow. The roof was of vibrant green groad, doming just like a mushroom cap, making Alric have to admit it was a rather fitting name.

The interior was rather generic with a dimly lit common room, seeming to still be smoky despite the lack of people inside. Alric guessed it must be a type of magic all innkeepers learned during their apprenticeship. The floor was scattered with a few empty tankards and several stains that were currently unidentifiable to Alric. Cleaning one of the stains with a mop was a matronly woman that exuded the charm of everyone’s good-spirited aunt; her sleeves were currently rolled up with her auburn hair pulled back by a kerchief that looked stained with sweat from many long hours of work. Her kirtle was of a rich butter in shade, covered by a stained apron.

Seeing their entrance she paused in her work to fix them with a welcoming gaze with a booming voice that echoed in the building she announced, “Why hello lads, welcome to the Tilted Toadstool. What can I do you for?”

Before Alric got a chance Danny spoke with strange formality, “I assure you ma’am the honor is all mine. We were here to inquire about a room for the next two nights for me and my companion, and maybe dine on some food if you have it.”

“Ay, we got both for you, but why you be talking like that? You making fun of me?” the woman cocked a suspicious eyebrow at him.

Danny scratched the back of his head with a chuckle, “No ma’am, my mom was a serving wench and would beat me over the head if she found I was even the slightly discourteous towards a woman of the profession.”

The woman gave a hearty laugh, “Ay lad, she taught you right. Well, take a seat and I’ll see about getting you some food,” with that she disappeared back into the kitchen.

Not caring too much about where they sat in an empty tavern, they chose the nearest table where Alric fixed Danny with a questioning glance.

“What?” Danny asked, suddenly defensive.

“Care to explain what was that?” Alric retorted unblinking with his gaze.

Danny shrugged, “It was just like I said, Mom would kill me if I wasn’t polite to someone in the same shoes as her. Besides, it pays to be on the good side of the woman who gives you bed and food, but that’s unimportant right now. I’ve figured out what we’re doing.”

Alric rolled his eyes, “Is that what you were doing this whole morning? Alright, oh elevated one, please bestow me with the secrets of your grand wisdom.”

“Oh shove off, you and I both know if I didn’t figure this out we’d get nothing done. What we need to do is get to the Triblse,” Danny decided.

Alric jumped in, “Why do we need to go that far south? I thought I told you I need to go to my grandpa in Baymuth!”

Danny held out his hands as he placated, “Yes we do need to go there, but there is a water domain Academy down there right?”

Alric nodded.

“Exactly,” Danny agreed, “So it would make sense that there would be experts on all things water. Experts that would probably be able to help you considering you are currently of the water domain. If not then we could always hitch a ride of Norun into Baymuth and ask your grandpa then.”

Alric began to protest, but the words died in the sudden commotion. The front door burst open as it splintered apart with a great big crack. In marched half a dozen guards studded for battle, each holding a grim countenance under their helms.

Before Alric could recover his wits, a guard stood in front of them and announced, “Citizen, do not be alarmed. We are capturing the heretic and dispensing with the justice of the high court, all will be well soon.”

As if to punctuate his statement, two guards dragged out the innkeeper kicking and screaming, a deranged look in her eyes. Frantic, she cried at Alric and Danny, “You have to help me! Please, Help me!”

Her voice trailed outside as she kept up her pleas before a meaty thump silenced her into sobs. The rest of the soldiers followed right behind her into the town center, leaving just Alric and Danny. Rattled the two shared a horrified look before Alric bolted to the open doorway.

“What are you going to do?” Danny called out right behind him.

“Figure out what the name of the Lords above is going on!” Alric shouted over his shoulder. There had to be a good explanation for why a nice woman was dragged from her place of work midday. There was no way this is what passed for justice outside of Northrend.