Away from scrutiny and eavesdroppers, the few tables that occupied the tavern's second floor were geared for ostentatious patrons and notable figures of the town.

The chatter was set to be warm, the stories narrated by Ronan entertaining the old Yak, who paid almost no attention to his food or even his pipe.

Skilled with his storytelling, Ronan recounted an event before running into Fynn and Yue in the Empire of Mordia.

"So, this wretch chased me with his group all along the dock. When I had my chance, I hid under the planks of the road," Ronan related while with his hands again recalling that feeling. "I was like that for what seemed like an eternity when the bastard stood underneath me."

"A horrible sight indeed," the old Yak added, guffawing in a raspy voice.

"The worst I've ever had," added Ronan with a laugh; "I was there, watching him when I noticed the boards were loose. So I kicked one of the boards, and a hole opened up where that sucker stuck his whole leg in. Once trapped, I stuck my arm between the boards and ripped the necklace I was after from his neck, but not before giving him a well-deserved blow. He didn't see it coming, and neither did his companions."

"To Ronan of Vilna, 'the man who keeps getting into trouble'" toasted Linara, wife of Yak, a steely-eyed half-elf.

"You always get into trouble," said Yue to his mentor.

"Heh, a half-truth," the marked man sincerely blushed with a guilty smile as he poured himself another glass of wine.

Linara watched the marked man, but soon her eyes fell on Idda and the marked children. The woman was direct, and in contrast to her husband, a good-natured, reveling old man, she was the calculating mind of her group.

"You, child," Linara pointed her long fingers at Idda.

"M-Madam," Idda nodded nervously. The girl was startled; her mind was abstracted by the smell of alcohol and the music flooding the tavern.

"According to what this trickster told us, you desire a place to hide. Is that true?"

Idda hesitated under that woman's steely gaze but could nod in response to that question.

"In that case, what can you offer us?" asked Linara.

"Offer?" asked Idda.

"You can't expect us to take you around without you being able to offer something to us, young lady," exclaimed the elf sharp to the young woman. "We travel far and wide, and everyone who accompanies us gives their talents to the caravan. Down there, you have three examples."

“I-Is that so?”

Then, Yak held out the end of his pipe, pointing to the peculiar trio that made the tavern crowds buzz.

"The boy is a good bodyguard, faithful and helpful, but of few words. His sword always protects us, and I trust him with my back. In return, I helped him escape because he was wanted for killing a nobleman of his former homeland. Then, the dancer, she is our greatest spectacle as the eyes of hundreds of men rest upon her and bathing her feet in gold. In return, we guard her because some people wish to harm her."

"Is she a marked one?" asked Fynn, turning his head attentively at the old man's words.

The man laughed at the boy's words.

"No. Lam is not as chased as you, but she always raises suspicion wherever she goes since she is a Faceshifter."

"Like Ronan?" asked Yue, turning his head as well.

"Mine are illusions. Hers, it's natural." explained the marked man.

"What about her?" asked Fynn again, pointing to the dark-skinned girl.

"Oh, she..." expressed the old man hesitantly, twirling his pipe in the air as he searched through his memories, "She is..."

"Marinna, a new one." Linara added, helping her husband to remember, for she was the one who kept track of everyone in the caravan. Thus, she explained, "She is the bastard daughter of a nobleman. Her mother came to us recently, offering us wealth to help her flee."

"And she keeps giving us more wealth as she plays her instruments," Yak added, pleased by the sound of money raining into their coffers.

"Now the question is: Why should you run away, and what can you offer us?"

The red-haired girl clutched her hands to her threadbare dress and fiddled with the hem of her sleeve. Then, hesitantly, she explained her situation.

"You see, I must run away from here because..." Idda suddenly lowered her voice and moved closer to them to whisper the reason. "I am accused of committing treason."

"Treason?" exclaimed Yak, who was astonished at that.

"It's not what it looks like!" said Fynn. Like Linara's steely gaze, Yak's one eye was now on the boy; Fynn swallowed saliva in her attempt to argue, "S-She helped me and my friend run away from people who wanted us dead. So, they accused her of treason..."

"Ah, that thing they have against 'demons'..." sighed the half-elf, soon understanding the situation.

Linara then looked at her husband, nodding to validate why she could enter. Yak brought the pipe again to his mouth with his wrinkled fingers and took a deep puff on it.

"You have a motive. Now, about your talent..."

Idda tried to look for some talent that could be useful to them, but she could hardly think of one with her nerves. She couldn't forget that she was surrounded by miznians, her brothers and sisters. She felt that anyone there could stand up, then point at her and accuse her of treason again.

"She's a good cook," Ronan expressed, causing Idda to startle.

"Very good! she gave me some cookies when she helped me that were amazing."

"Oh, guys, please..." Idda was embarrassed at their words, causing her round face to blush.

Linara approached her husband, explaining the situation, "When we cross again, Rulvir will be going on a trip in a month..."

"Ah, that's right!" promptly reminded Yak of that information, "We will be without a cook. Someone like him, who can feed dozens of people, is a terrible loss."

"I c-can cook for you!" said Idda briskly and determinedly.

Yak laughed at that sudden energy of the girl and held out his hand, full of rings. "Then, girl, welcome aboard."

The girl gasped with excitement, quickly shaking the old man's hand.

"Thank you, thank you! Thank you so much!" thanked Idda again and again to that man and her companions. She soon hugged Ronan and then Fynn and Yue.

--

Having closed the deal and considering that the wine in that tavern lacked flavor, Yak proceeded to get up, but not before inviting Ronan and his children to stay that night with the caravan.

As they descended the stairs, Linara called out to the members of the group who were there to leave with. Even if the caravan was Yak's property, Ronan knew very well that it was the half-elf who was managing the group.

Marinna and the faceshifter gathered coins in their sack by the bucketload, which Robin was forced to shoulder.

On that trip, where Ronan invited the group to ride in the cart with them, Fynn and Yue had time to get close to two people who really caught their attention.

When Marinna came out to the nearly deserted streets of Cansif, where all the townspeople were returning to their carved-wood homes at that hour. Fynn had a chance to approach her with good animosity once she got into the wagon.

However, with some embarrassment, the boy didn’t know how to engage her in conversation.

The girl turned to the boy as her pale, short white-haired companion pointed at the boy.

"Heh, Something wrong, boy?" the girl asked with a broad smile.

"W-Well," the boy hesitated but soon smiled back, "No, I don't think so. I mean, nothing bad." However, the boy was quickly embarrassed by her words, not knowing how to approach this woman, "It's just, you're the first person I've come across who looks like me..."

Even if he was nervous, Fynn's words had quickly caught the girl's attention. Marinna turned soon to her companion and then to her boss in front of her. She did so fast that her earrings quickly danced through her hair.

"Yak, why does this boy speak my language?" asked the girl, incredulous.

"What are you talking about?" asked the old man.

"The boy speaks my language. Why-?"

"He speaks any language. It's part of our innate talents," Ronan interrupted the girl as he drove the cart.

"Really?" the girl asked, even more incredulous.

"Your world is still small, sands princess," Robin's serene banter put into the talk his calm voice and a smiling line on her face.

"S-So, you're not a Talhari?" asked Fynn, still curious about this woman.

"Oh, my boy, I'm so sorry I'm not what you expected," the girl expressed, taking the boy by his cheek, "I have no idea who they are, but I'm sure my people are much farther away."

"W-Where are you from?" the boy asked curiously, for perhaps that way he would know that there were other places with people like him.

"My home is... much farther away," the girl tried to explain, "Across a huge desert, where only the brave and the mad dare to live, there are glory and gold assured."

"So, are you from Gasa?" interrupted Ronan, also curiously, "From what I have been told, it is a kingdom near the Talhari."

"I don't know that place either, sir," denied the girl again.

"That's strange..." added Ronan, intrigued but still smiling.

"Truly, the world is huge," added Idda, smiling and incredulous, next to Ronan.

In front of them, Yue tried to gather information about Linara. That pointy-eared woman was also someone she wanted to meet. However, while Fynn tried to be careful with her words, Yue was quite the opposite.

"Are you an Akajsi?" the elven girl asked without much beating around the bush.

"Aka...? Ah, no. I'm half-elf." The woman denied it and evaded the question quickly.

"Can you be half-Akajsi?" the girl asked, intrigued.

“Oh, I’m quite sure you can be that.”

"Ronan! Your children ask too many questions!" yelled Yak with a chuckle.

Ronan motioned for both of them to come towards him, so long as to get them away from them.

"Don't overwhelm them with questions. Just as we have secrets, so do they."

"I just wanted to know if she was a Tal-"

"You mean well, I know," Ronan interrupted Fynn. The marked man patted the boy's back and then spoke to them again, "No questions today. We'll eat with them, and early tomorrow morning, we'll hit the road again."

"Will you leave tomorrow?" suddenly asked Idda.

"Will we leave tomorrow?" asked Fynn.

"I..." Ronan looked at the children and also at Idda. "They need to get to Lastrel as soon as possible, and I need to get back on the roads. I'm sorry, but..."

The red-haired girl soon lowered her look in anguish. Perhaps she was feeling overly sensitive due to so many emotions in such a short time.

In such a short time, she had gone from loyal wife to being arrested for treason. Then released only to be caught up in a mess with monsters that had attacked them. It had been too much in either.

Ronan saw how Idda was crestfallen, he also saw how Fynn was like that, and even Yue, who barely expressed her emotions, had lowered her head in grief.

"Listen, tomorrow morning, before we leave, I'll try to teach you the Courier Spell. Then you can write whenever you like to Idda and vice versa."

"We don't know how to write," Yue exclaimed to her mentor.

"Oh, right..." clicked his tongue at the man, who only sunk it further in his attempt to improve the situation.

"It's okay, Mr. Ronan, don't worry about it...'' expressed with a soft smile the red-haired girl.

"But, we can learn to write," Fynn quickly added, along with a smile, "We could learn to write, and we would send letters to you and Samson, Erna, and her family."

"That will be great!" exclaimed Idda, again cheerful.

"Yes! That's right, you can do that. All speak Miznian, so I should just teach you just one language," Ronan took advantage of the boy's mood to evade the sorrows of the moment, and somehow, that worked.

After that moment of questions, sorrows, and joys, Ronan drove the cart to the other end of town. Away from the place, in the middle of a treeless wasteland and far away from the sleepy village that was preparing to go to sleep, at least a dozen wagons were outside the town.

As they arrived, Fynn, Yue, and Idda looked at the wagons in awe; the extravagance seemed to be a carbon copy of their owners' personalities. The wood of the wagons was carved with symbols and runes and each one had multi-colored curtains and lights on its windows, and they could see and hear a variety of people inside each one. Likewise, their inhabitants outside chatted with each other, and each was more unique than the last.

Robin was the first one to get off, and after shrieking at a group of them at the start of the wagons, they ran off to find the others. In a few moments, more than two dozen people appeared from inside the wagons and the surrounding area.

Yak went down first and then helped his wife down to approach his people.

"Ladies! Gentlemen! Boys and girls! We have a new member among us," Yak, effusive, pointed his hand at the young red-haired girl, whom he soon helped off the cart, "Say hello to..."

A brief silence formed; Yak's memory for names was terrible.

"I am, I am... Idda?" exclaimed the young woman shyly to the group. Men and women, human and humanoid, watched her, some curious, some indifferent.

"Idda! That’s right! I hope you will be kind to her, as well as to our guests. But, of course, you know Ronan, who has brought a couple of children with him."

Fynn mimicked Idda, shyly greeting the group. Yue even slipped her hands out of her cloak.

Amidst the awkwardness of the greeting, a thick, animated voice called out to the group.

"Where have you fellas been?!"

Soon, people let a dwarf pass who seemed to be lashing out at the caravan's leader.

"Rulvir, my friend!" Yak exclaimed with a smile. "We're just in time for dinner. I hope nothing was burned."

"Burn? My food?!" energetically exclaimed that dwarf with long sideburns and bushy eyebrows.

He, who in his stained apron was shown to be the group's cook, was offended, then he exclaimed.

"I've never had a single ingredient burned in decades behind a pot!"

“I know my good friend, I know. Listen, she will be your assistant," Linara quickly interrupted the offended dwarf, pointing to Idda.

"Ah! A new apprentice?" The dwarf went from offense to joy in a very short time.and quickly walked over to the girl to shake her hand.

Idda shyly took the dwarf's hand, which was sweaty from work and was riddled with cuts and cooking burns. The strenght of that gesture seemed almost to dislocate Idda's arm, for the dwarf shook her a too friendly greeting.

"Ugh, n-nice to meet you, sir..."

"Oh! Sir was my father. I should be angry for that, but there are still things to do, so I'll show you your work."

“W-What--?”

The dwarf didn't hesitate to tug on the arm, who excitedly, quickly commented on what he was preparing for the girl.

Fynn and Yue remained seated on some logs, listening to the things that the caravan members were talking about. Sometimes they spoke of them, sometimes about Idda or Ronan. Sure it was that even as quirky as they were, the pair of marked children felt disconnected.

Ronan approached them when the meal was ready, setting each down a plate of vegetables.

"I told the dwarf you can’t eat meat. You're lucky since you're not the only one here who can't eat it," Ronan exclaimed, winking at the akajsi girl.

They both took their plates in hand, still keeping their silence.

"What's wrong?" asked Ronan to the pair of children.

"I... I think I'm going to miss Idda," the boy exclaimed.

"Yeah, I think I am too," said the girl, crestfallen.

"I know, me too. She cooks really well," the marked man expressed with a smirk.

Ronan took a seat in the middle of the pair of children, hugging each with each arm.

"Just think, thanks to you guys, she's safe. That was the best gesture we could have done for her. I guess if we did something similar with everyone at Aeton, maybe things would change."

The children watched as Idda helped the dwarf prepare the plates; it was exhausting, for just when she thought she had finished filling them, someone would appear to refill their plate. The diners were many and varied, from humans of such various features to akajsis. Fynn and Yue had doubts about some of them, and Ronan tried to convince them not to ask too many questions in that place. Nevertheless, the atmosphere was warm, and everyone seemed to get along well. Idda especially seemed like she would get along with them.

Fynn watched Idda, who soon returned his gaze and a smile along with it. The boy then smiled at her, knowing that all would be well.