Albrecht stared at his tankard. For the last thirty minutes, the messenger tried to drown his fear in booze. He muttered to himself: “It was no accident…it was no accident! Someone tried to murder us! This must be the king’s doing!” Albrecht’s hands were shaking. The man’s head attempted to put some sense into this. The king would not just simply have Albrecht murdered, would he? Yet, here he was. Also, why was his own ruler, king Leopold II sending a messenger with such a lore? Why did he not deliver it himself? Cutting of the crystal supply was a big deal. Then again, Albrecht had to admit, Leopold II had recently changed. He, as well, disappeared from the public. No audiences, no speeches, nothing. Albrecht did not notice any messages being sent out as well, until his king called for him. Leopold II handed Albrecht this sodding scroll and sent him to Solaria with an escort. Did Leopold II want him dead? Or was the escort sent along to prevent Albrecht’s demise in the first place, for he predicted king Elsurion’s actions? Or…worst of all…was the escort to murder Albrecht after the message was delivered anyways? The thought led Albrecht to slug the rest of his beer in one go. He was afraid to go to sleep. He was afraid to go home. What should he…

“Is this seat taken?”, a voice asked.

The messenger flinched and looked up.

“What do you want? Who are you?”, Albrecht’s eyes shot bolts of animosity towards the stranger.

“I am looking for a bit of company. May I sit here?”

“Tell me who you are! Or are you one of the king’s men sent to kill me?”

A few heads turned in Albrecht’s direction. He did not care in the slightest. His eyes rested on the man standing at his table. The man gave him a curious look.

“My name is Marius. Erm…I am not here to…kill you?”, the stranger answered, one eyebrow risen. The man’s tone revealed that he was not taking Albrecht seriously.

“Well…pardon me for bothering you. I think I ask someone less…hostile. Perhaps they have a spare seat for me.” The stranger turned around. “Have a nice…”

“Sit.”, Albrecht cut off the man’s sentence.

“Huh?”

“Sit down.”

“Having a change of heart?”, Marius asked him.

Not in the slightest. The messenger still did not trust a single soul in this inn, this ‘Marius’ included. But, he wanted to be alone no more.

“We need another tankard here!”, Albrecht yelled in the counter’s direction.

“Coming right up!”, the innkeeper cried back over the crowd, who’d returned to their meaningless conversations.

A moment of silence passed between the two. All Albrecht heard, was the chatter, laughter and the nudge of tankards around them.

Eventually, Marius broke the silence: “So…I think I will proceed to murder you now?”

Albrecht’s fist hit the table. “Do not make fun of me, you heard me?”

“Dear me, take a joke…ehm…what is your name?”

Albrecht hesitated. “My name is…Cornelius.” Damn, the answer came with too much hesitation. Surely, for his vis-à-vis, it had lie written all over it already.

Marius rose an eyebrow again. “Please to make your acquaintance, Cornelius.”

Another moment of long silence. The Innkeeper brought the second tankard. Marius took a sip, then asked: “Want to spill your guts to me perhaps?”

Below his sarcastic surface, this man seemed nice. Too nice actually. Was he just one of the king’s spies who followed the messenger here? Albrecht weighted his options. Should he tell Marius (if that was his real name) what occurred in Solaria? Whatever the case, Albrecht was convinced he would not survive the night anyways. A killer would wait for him in his room, they would stab or garrotte him in his sleep. So, did it really matter at this point? No, it did not, Albrecht concluded.

“Do you know the kingdom of Solaria?”, Albrecht asked.

“I grew up there, actually.”, Marius answered. It sounded honest.

“You did?”

“Yes. However, originally, my family stemmed from Halvoria.”

“Is that so? My roots lie there as well.”, Albrecht admitted.

“Hence the name, ‘Cornelius’.”

“Dead giveaway, hm?”, was Marius buying into it now? Albrecht wasn’t sure. Nonetheless, Marius chuckled. Another pause emerged between them.

“While we are at it”, Marius started, “How was Halvoria? I’ve never been there before the war. How was it before the city was partially torn by skirmishes?”

“Did you never visit Halvoria?”

“Not before long after the war was over. My parents resettled before I was born and never looked back.”

Albrecht took a moment to sort his thoughts, which, considering his alcohol level, wasn’t the easiest thing in the world. It seemed odd, but Albrecht started to relax around Marius. The man seemed like an open book. Meaning, it doesn’t seem he had something to hide. The messenger’s thoughts started to drift away from the horrifying events of today.

“I see.”, Albrecht simply stated. The messenger took a moment to think, then continued:

“It was a good place to live before everything broke down. I used to visit the market with my mother and sister when I was younger. My sister and I always competed who would find a nice-looking stone or another shiny object among the countless stands. We always urged our mother to buy one of them.” A nostalgic sigh escaped Albrecht’s mouth. Marius was simply listening.

“I was about fifteen, I think, when the war started. We managed to get away from Halvoria before the fighting got too bad and emigrated to Ayumir.”

“Then? But was Ayumir not standing against Halvoria?”

“Indeed, they were. But Ayumir, at least in the beginning, welcomed refugees from Halvoria.”

“Pretty noble. Contrary to what Solaria was doing. Or did Ayumir arm every civilian they could find and send them headfirst into the battlefield?”

Albrecht’s expression became sad. “Not that I know of. They say Solaria was short on military forces at the time.”

“Yes. I lost my parents this way.”

Albrecht let out a heavy sigh. His eyes failed to withstand Marius’ gaze. The messenger felt true empathy for him in this moment.

“I’m very sorry.” Albrecht finally said.

“It’s okay. It’s been more than ten years. The war robbed many children of their parents.”

“What did you do? All alone?”

“In response to the war, king Elias built orphanages. I grew up in one of those.”

“Good for you.”

“True. The orphanages sadly never had the capacity to squeeze all the children in.”

“I take you were pretty lucky then.”

“A lot of them became strays, forming up in street gangs, becoming criminals, it was a hard time.”

Albrecht curled his lips. “Apropos…”

“What?”

“The strays.”

“Yes? What about them?”

“My purse was snatched away by one.”

“Where? In Solaria?”

“Yes.”

“Today?”

“Or yesterday, doesn’t matter.”

“And that is why you waste yourself here?”

Marius thought for a moment. Then continued: “How are you planning to pay for your drink anyways?”

“I haven’t thought of that actually.”

A pause emerged again. Marius observed him closely, the messenger could tell.

“That is not the reason, by the way.”

“I cut you a deal: I’ll pay for your drink, if you finally spill.”

Albrecht looked afraid.

“You weren’t kidding. Do you have a bounty on you?”

Either this man was a master in playing dumb or he really spoke true. But as Albrecht already decided: It didn’t matter anymore, so he finally told Marius what happened.