You have unlocked the Class: [Hawker]

I waved the notification away as I drizzled the steaming venison meatball kebab in a white sauce and handed it to the waiting woman. She quickly handed it to her impatient 5 year old and gave me the money with a friendly smile. I smiled back, cheeks aching a bit from all the forced smiling I’d been doing “Enjoy your food” I said as she left and turned to the next customer.

Nodding along I passed the next order to Hitch who was frantically trying to keep up as Jak churned out order after order. The delicious smell of cooking meat wafted from our stall and luckily handing out most of our food on sticks meant there was almost no washing up involved.

We’d been at this for a while and from the corner of my eye I could see Aron’s leg was shaking up and down as he took orders. Occasionally he discretely slipped Bandu some scraps though I knew for a fact Jak had seen him do it but was ignoring it. Her wet nose kept gently nudging his thigh as she sat hunched under the stall table.

I was impressed with how patient he’d been considering how desperately he seemed to want to get this over with to try out his lute.

“Alright, you can go, we can handle it from here” a rough voice grumbled from behind us and I twisted to see Jak watching us over the grill “Its midsummer, you should go have fun and you clearly have places to be” he grunted and waved us off. Aron’s face split into a smile and he tore off his apron “Thanks grandpa” he hugged Jak around the waist while Jak grumbled and patted him on the head before Aron ran out of the stall.

“Thanks Jak” I said nodding and following Aron without looking back.

Aron stopped and spun around looking determined as he pointed at me “It’s your first midsummer here so as your big brother I’m going to show you around”

I looked at him a bit surprised “Don’t you want to try out your lute?” I asked cautiously, tail swishing in confusion.

The determination in his eyes flickered but he stayed on course “I can do that anytime but I can only show my little sister around her first midsummer festival once” he said proudly, before adding “But we don’t have to stay for the whole thing yeah?” slight hopefulness in his voice made me grin and I nodded “Sure, lead the way and we can leave early"

He beamed and turned “Ok first thing, we need is flags” he strode to one of the stalls selling numerous miniature flags on little sticks that you could wave. Curiously I followed and he lifted up a small pair, close up I could see the first one was divided vertically with what looked like a griffin in the middle, the front half was gold on a red background and the back half was red on a gold background.

“Here you can have Valensir’s flag” he handed me the red and gold one “And I’ll take the Trostin’s flag” he kept the other one which had a symmetrical blue and white flower on a stripy blue and white background.

Together the flags cost 2 coppers so we paid for one each. Clutching them we ran past colourful stalls, darting between people, pointing out anything interesting and stopping to look at anything cool.

“Hey guys!” a voice called and I looked up to see Daniel waving at us, smiling as he made his way to us. Aron scowled and tugged my wrist “Come on, before he catches up”

Letting myself get dragged into a gap between 2 large ale barrels infront of a stall I whispered, “He’s not that bad you know” as we crouched down, ducking our heads down to the stall table level.

Aron made a face at me “He’s annoying and I don’t like him. Besides he shot you and almost drowned me” he did have a point there.

“It was a misunderstanding” I said a bit weakly “Besides I bit his fingers off so we’re even now,” I rebutted.

“Even with you maybe” he glowered “I still don’t like him, you should have bitten off all his fingers,” he muttered.

I rolled my eyes and bumped his shoulder knocking him off balance a bit. He lost his serious expression looking a bit flustered before grinning shamelessly.

He looked up and lost his smile “Damn it, he’s still coming this way, no don’t look, your blue head stands out too much” he shoved my head down as I started lifting it and I felt mild outrage at that comment but let it slide as he pushed me under a stall table “Go go go, before he gets here” he hissed and crawled under the stall table to hide behind the long blanket handing over the side.

“Can I help you two?” An irritated, overly polite voice sounded from behind us and we turned to see a very annoyed looking stall owner glare down at us hiding under his stall table.

“Ah sorry we were just going, sorry” I squeaked, god this was embarrassing. Daniel was near the stall now calling our names. Mentally swearing I crawled forwards under the table still clutching my flag in one hand, ducking under the blanket of the next stall as Aron followed me. Coming out now would make us look stupid and mean, both of which we kind of were.

Cheeks burning I whispered apologies to the stall owners when they noticed us. A few stalls down, there was a gap between the stalls large enough to fit through. I wriggled between them, trying to draw minimum attention to us before popping out the other side. It was quieter and more shadowed there, an empty space between the backside of the stalls and the edge of the square.

Aron squeezed through behind me “Great I think we lost him” he said turning to peer through the gap we came through. I glared at the back of his head and punched him in the shoulder “That was so unnecessary, if you really don’t want to hang out with him you could have just told him we were busy or had to work or something”

He rubbed his shoulder in exaggerated movements and then shrugged “Didn’t think of that”

“You- idiot” I tried punching him again in exasperation but he dodged back almost tripping on some unused wooden planks on the floor before catching himself “You’re the idiot” he shot back.

I rolled my eyes “That doesn’t even make sense idiot”

He grinned unabashed walking passed me to look through the gap again. Losing his smile I stood on tiptoes to look over his shoulder, Carston and his whole crew were there buying snacks laughing and jostling each other. Somehow Daniel had attached himself to their group and was talking to Kaid. I pulled back watching Aron who stiffly glowered through the gap.

“Come up, let’s go, it doesn’t matter” I walked a few meters along the square edge, stopping at the opening of an alley and looking back at Aron who hadn’t moved. He already didn’t like Daniel and watching him get cozy with Kaid wasn’t going to help that.

Hearing muted voices I peered around the edge of the alley to see the chief and the soldier guy from the stage with bleak expressions along with a bunch of other uniformed people and guards standing in the alley talking quietly. I ducked back around the corner nervously and pressed against the wall, straining my ears to try to hear what they were saying.

“-happened last night, we only just got the message, but apparently they’ve been in contact for the last few days” the deeper rolling male voice said.

“How soon will the army be here?” a grim feminine voice responded and my heart rate quickened, probably the chief.

“Not for a few days-“ I strained but missed some parts due to a loud commotion in the square “-uke Rostrik doesn’t like it, he doesn’t want to move and give up Renyn but he doesn’t want Duchess Korsin’s army here either, he’s in a bad situation”

“Doesn’t matter, Sefir’s army is weak anyway and they can’t fight on multiple fronts” a younger arrogant male voice chimed in.

“Idiot, their army might not be as big as ours, but slave trade has made them rich and they have a lot of backers. They’ll buy mercenary armies to bolster any gaps in their defence and they have the coin for good equipment. I hate to say it but one on one we’re probably outmatched, just be glad Feldorn also declared war on them” the older voice retorted harshly.

“But we won’t lose right?” the younger male voice sounded more hesitant.

“Of course not, Valensir hasn’t lost a war in several hundred years, but we don’t have to be stupid about it, overconfidence will get you killed” the deeper voice was grim but unyielding. I breathing through my mouth I held still in shock, it sounded like war had been declared “We're heading back to Lady Trostin within the hour. It only happened last night so chances are Sefir won’t move yet, besides this is only a small village, they’re far more likely to strike a city if they can even manage to mobilise for an attack before our army gets here” he tried to sound optimistic but I caught the underlying truth; if Sefir did strike first, our village was screwed. Backup wasn’t coming for a few days so we could only pray we were insignificant enough to fly under their radar.

“I’ll make an announcement later, we’ll prepare for evacuation and ready supplies for when the army gets here” the chief responded somberly. Our tiny village was on the land bordering the republic of Sefir, but the border was long so hopefully we would be fine. I swallowed stiffly as I heard receding footsteps in the alley, shortly after I dared peer around the corner, but it was empty, nothing to prove what I’d just heard.

Leaning against the wall I sank to the floor. We were at war. Why? No idea, something had happened with a massive mana wave that Sefir wanted keep hush hush and apparently our Queen and some other country called Feldorn saw that as a threat, but the republic of Sefir would rather go to war than explain. Then again that’s what I could surmise from what the grunts in a tiny village had been told. Chances were there were other things going on behind the scenes.

I shuddered and rested my head against the cool stone rolling the stem of the tiny flag between my fingers. In a world with monsters like Orcs, why would people still fight each other; we should band together and protect each other. Looking up at the blue sky, I calmed down, I suppose in all worlds people would find a reason to fight each other.

“Hey you ok?” Aron crouched in front of me looking at me with big brown eyes; I hadn’t heard him come closer. Should I tell him? I shook my head and met his gaze, the chief was making an announcement later anyway and I wanted him to play the lute once without it being marred by the knowledge of war hanging over our heads.

“Yeah I’m fine, what happened out there?” I nodded towards the stalls distracting Aron who readily burst into explanation “Daniel got into a fight with Carston, don’t know why but he got punched in the face and has a massive black eye” he said enthusiastically and I rolled my eyes, of course he’d be happy at Daniel’s misfortune even if it was at Carston’s hands.

“So in a fight between them you’d pick Carston’s side?” I asked experimentally.

“Of course not” he exclaimed looking at me a bit outraged “Daniel is annoying and I don’t like him but Carston is just horrible” he paused “Doesn’t mean I didn’t like seeing Daniel get knocked down” he grinned a teeny bit chagrined. Made sense I suppose.

I stood up dusting my butt off “Come on, I think we’re done with the midsummer events, it’s a bit loud here so lets go find somewhere quieter for you to play your lute”

A broad smile split his face and he bounced up immediately “Yes yes, lets go, I know a place no one will be now” and he trotted forward, urging me to speed up as he stopped every few meters to turn back and jump on the balls of his feet.

“Yeah yeah I’m coming already” I said amused as I jogged after him as he tore down the alley previously occupied by the guards and soldiers.

Stopping at a large double door halfway down the alley he hefted the large iron handles and pushed the door open. I stopped cautiously in surprise and looking up to take in the old stone building with a large tower attached to it “Are you sure we can go in there?” I asked hesitantly.

“Of course, it’s an Olde Church, anyone is allowed to go in” he slipped through the gap in the heavy doors and I darted through after him not wanting to be left alone in front of the ominous doors. A thin shaft of sunlight trickled in through the slowly closing gap but otherwise it was shickinlgy dark inside, before my eyes adjusted to the dim light let through the large windows covered in dust and cobwebs. It was a lot quieter inside, the hustle and bustle of the square seemed muted and far away suddenly. The tall ceiling rising hauntingly above us was only interrupted by thick stone columns holding it aloft and casting long shadows across the room.

Aron confidently strode forwards throwing up small clouds of dust and I could see a worn path down the middle of the aisles where a few people had recently walked. I nervously hurried after him; sometimes I was impressed by his lack of fear when at other times he seemed so weak and fragile. I didn’t like the large dark and empty aura of this place, it felt wrong and desolate.

Jogging a bit to catch up with Aron I whispered “Why are we here?” I winced, as my voice seemed to project through the large open space.

He shrugged “No one comes here” he looked at me intensely flushing slightly “I like to go to the bell tower sometimes when I want to be alone, but don’t tell anyone”

“I won’t tell anyone,” I promised and he nodded, the tension in his neck relaxing a bit. He ducked under some faded red ropes and pushed open a wooden door carefully peering through.

I frowned “I thought you said we were allowed to be here?” I whispered.

“Yeah, just not up the bell tower since its still occasionally used for announcements. Besides, uncle Rudy usually gives bell tower shifts out as punishment because it’s so boring so the guards are usually sleeping” true to his word I could see a man in guard armour slouching in a chair in the room, 2 long ropes dangled down near him from far over head.

“Come on, just be quiet” Aron whispered and snuck forward to the circular stone stairs next to the door. Softly stepping up them he disappeared around the corner and I quietly followed him. The guard didn’t move and inch and I relaxed a bit once he was out of sight. Aron grinned at me conspiratorially and I returned the look, some elation at breaking rules washing through me.

Silently we made our way up and I started getting frustrated with the amount of steps. Every few meters slitted open windows with small alcoves appeared giving us some indication of how high we were getting. Breathing hard, we broke into a room with a single large polished bell hanging from the ceiling. 2 thick ropes hung from inside it and dropped down the hole under the bell. Edging forward I leaned over to look down; it was more than large enough to fall through and I could make out the small form of the sleeping guard sitting in the room on the ground floor.

Vertigo made me step back and looked at Aron who motioned for me to be quiet as he walked over to another wooden door. He opened it to reveal another set of stairs and I made a face at him while he rolled his eyes motioning for me to come closer.

Quietly walking across the dusty room I walked up the first steps and Aron closed the door behind us. Jogging up the remaining steps we came out onto the roof of the bell tower. I squinted in the bright sunlight before inhaled sharply as I adjusted to see the sunny blue sky spread out above me. Almost dropping my flag I ran to the edge of the stone bannister surrounding the flat roof. This had to be the tallest point in the village and you could see everything from here. The grasslands spread in every direction and I could make out tilled fields south of the village.

Looking down I could see the small colourful figures of people moving around the square looking at stalls and the gentle breeze brought up the sounds of life from below. The almost looked like ants from up here and I felt no fear or vertigo in this open space unlike with the bell shaft. I leaned over the edge, breathing in the clean fresh air and part of me wanted to jump and spread my wings, taking to the sky, but rational thought dragged me back. I couldn’t fly and a fall from here could kill me.

I turned and jumped down from the bannister and looked at Aron who’d already taken out his lute and was strumming it with utmost concentration. I couldn’t help but smile as I watched him “Need any help?”

“Nah I’ve got this” he said jerking the lute away from me protectively as I came closer.

“Fine fine” I held my hands up in surrender and left him to figure it out. I walked back over to the bannister, looking out across the rolling hills and swaying grasslands, but I focused on the sounds coming from behind me. I tried not to wince at the out of tune twangs as he tried to adjust and tune the old lute. Slightly bored I rested my head on my hands eyes tracking random people and i could make out uniformed riders leaving the west gate before I sighed and dropped down a bit bored.

Thoughtfully I straightened and took out the empty journal. Reflexively looking through its empty pages I asked, “Hey do you have something to write with?”

Aron looked up “Sure, got a quill, why?”

“Can I have it?”

“Why?” he asked he stubbornly.

“I want to draw the village, now give it here” I held out my hand demandingly in irritation and he pulled out a quill and inkpot from his inventory, holding it up high “What’s the magic word?”

Glowering at him I lunged and snatched it from him, luckily the inkpot was corked and didn’t spill. He looked at me sourly but made no move to take it back “Spoil sport”

I huffed annoyed, refusing to give him the satisfaction of winning and stalked back to overlook the village. Sitting down I looked through the slats of the bannister and started to map out the village. I calculated that there were roughly 300 buildings, but I couldn’t be bothered to draw all of them so only drew about 100, but I labelled all the main things I could identify.

It was only a rough map, but I worked on it in deep concentration for a few hours, trying to get the proportions right.

You have unlocked the Class: [Artist]

Wouldn't [Cartographer] have made more sense? Ignoring the notification I looked at the map spanning 2 pages in my journal. Kind of satisfied I leaned back to examine the finished product, it was a first draft and needed some work, but I’d gotten in most of the places I knew and though the scale was a rough estimate, I knew the height of the nearest hill for a fact from geography at school. The other height lines I’d added were honestly just guesses and I probably got them wrong.

A shout came from behind me and I spun to see Aron standing grinning so broadly it must have hurt his cheeks. Eyes sparkling he looked at me “I did it, I unlocked [Musician]!” he jumped up and down and I stood up tucking my journal into my inventory.

“Awesome, what Skills did you get?” I asked excitedly running over as he calmed down and focused on something in the air in front of him.

“Not sure, let me check”

Waiting for him to finish reading through the options, I briefly scanned the horizon and froze, a sick feeling rising in my stomach. An enormous mass of riders was galloping towards the village. They were using the hills as cover and must have been out of sight of the few guards on the walls.

I could hear Aron saying something but I couldn’t focus on the words as I saw them break out from behind a hill and charge towards the east gate. They would be here within minutes.

I jolted out of my daze as the sounds of their screaming battlecries in the distance became audible. Turning to Aron I could see his numb lax expression as he gaped at the oncoming horde.