News of the leveling of Dherma spread throughout the entire county. Within days an envoy of Count Harlow came to the village to mark the event. A celebration never before seen in the village was held, bestowing the title of vice-knight on the village chief. According to the new status, the village was allowed to become an official trading post where caravans could stop.

The people responsible for the area improvement were declared heroes, as well as given ten coins of silver, a travel emblem, and permission to enter any of the count’s cities. The reward was enough to make any person happy, but Kraisten wasn’t content. Despite Aspion’s best efforts, the only thing his friend wanted was to leave the village.

“Why are you being so stubborn?” Kierra asked. “It’s not like it’s the end of the world. Kraisten only wants to go to the city for a few weeks. After that he’ll be back.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Aspion grumbled. “It’s not like I’m stopping him.”

“That’s a lot of crap and you know it.” His sister crossed her arms. “He won’t go without you. And I know you well enough to see that you want to go as well, but are refusing just because we’re asking you.”

That wasn’t true at all. The only reason Aspion didn’t want to go was because he knew that if they went, Kierra would come along. Two emblems and three people. Walking through the world would be dangerous, even if Kierra had awakened. Besides that, wasn’t the only reason. The people from the cities scared Aspion. He had only seen them a few times—only three outsiders had ever visited Dherma, each of them with a terrifying air around them.

“I’ll think about it.”

“When you say that you really mean no.”

“I don’t want to spend my life there, okay?!” Aspion snapped. “If Kraisten wants to spend the rest of his life there, he can do so without my help.”

“No one’s talking about living there! It’s just a visit. A few weeks at the most.”

“You don’t know him as well as I do. He doesn’t want to go there to visit. He wants to go there to stay.”

The argument continued for several more hours. The more Aspion tried to convince his sister to drop the topic, the more insistent she became. If there was a way to use his awakening powers to make her to shut up, he would have done so. In the end, Aspion gave up. The very next morning the three of them left the village.

No one saw them when they left. As much as Kraisten liked to be in the spotlight, he also wanted to be sure no one would try to stop him. Aspion and his sister did the same, taking clothes, food, and a few essentials before sneaking out of their home and joining him.

It was said that only the lucky and those with protection could wonder the world without harm. Beasts, monsters, and dangerous cultists serving the Crippled Star roamed the land between areas. Only the Order of the Seven Moons, and the travelling emblems were able to provide protection. It was decided between Aspion and Kraisten that they would let Kierra have one of the emblems, while they would take turns wearing the other.

The first few days passed slowly. Aspion would jump at every sound, fearing a monster from the wilderness. After a week, the fear had given way to boredom. Everything they could have said between themselves was said, and as much as Kierra wanted to ditch her brother to spend some alone time with Kraisten, all of them knew they couldn’t afford the risk.

Eleven days were needed for them to reach the first town—Nerosal. By any imperial standard it was small, barely worth the mention. To Aspion and his sister, though, it seemed enormous. Just looking at it there had to be thousands of buildings continuing as far as the eye could see, all surrounded by a wall thicker than the village chief’s mansion. For once, Aspion thought that there might be some truth in Kraisten’s words.

Just as the city was majestic, so were its prices. A silver coin was only enough to last them a week in a second-rate tavern. Even when pulling all their funds together, it was clear that they wouldn’t last over a month. In a way Aspion was glad, that means that they might have to leave in a few weeks after all. However, even he had to admit falling under the town’s spell.

Everything was so much better than in Dherma. The shops alone had more than any travelling merchant he had seen. The food was better, the clothes didn’t feel like sawdust, and everyone seemed free to do anything they wished.

Finding work had turned out surprisingly easy. After learning that Kraisten had forging skills, he was quickly snatched by the town’s blacksmith guild. Aspion had to spend a few days asking about, but ultimately he too was hired by a mending shop. The work wasn’t the most interesting—ten hours of mending per day—but at least it paid well, and he had gotten a proper weapon to do it with. All in all, things were looking well.

“You know,” Aspion said, sitting at the town’s main fountain. “This place isn’t that bad.”

“Told you,” Kierra whispered to Kraisten.

“Shut up,” Aspion mock grumbled. “Okay, you were right. It was worth it coming here. Not that I ever saw myself as a full-time mender.”

“It’s just temporary. There are better things in store.”

“Easy for you to say. I heard you were promoted to journeyman. The whole neighborhood was making a big fuss about it. Guess that head of yours isn’t only for show.”

“Shows what they know.” Kraisten smirked. “They made the offer, but I turned them down. There’s a faster way to get noticed.” The man paused for a few moments. “There’s talk of a war going on. Count Harlow has joined Count Priscord in supporting the claim of the Archduke’s second son. If they are successful, they’ll become the most important nobles in the realm.”

“The war won’t bother us. Nerosal is far too insignificant to get involved, thank the Seven.”

“Yeah…” Kraisten paused. “Thing is, I went to the local barracks and asked to join the Count’s army. And they accepted.”