It was mid evening, 30 miles south of Trevias in a small settlement that didn’t have a proper name. It was made up of one inn, one trading post, and two homes, and a farm a mile away. It was of such little note that you wouldn’t even find it on a map, the only way to know it existed is to visit it yourself.

The young man walked in the door of the inn. He had a mop of wet, sandy blond hair. He had a folding spear on his belt and a thin layer of leather armor. He had spent the better part of the day just trying to reach this place, and until a few minutes ago it was raining like the world was getting ready to wash itself clean.

He stepped inside and patted his hair out to try and avoid dripping on the carpet, but the innkeeper ran up to him with a blanket. She was a little old woman in a smock and she had a look about her like someone was dying in her front door.

“Oh dear, come on, let’s get you warmed up.” The woman said. He was led into the main room and sat down in a chair next to the roaring fire. A similarly old man was sitting by it eh mantle and poking the fire to life.

“Damn son, did ya jump in the river ‘fore you come in?” The man said. He was bald and had the wrinkles of a man who worked in the sun his whole life. His voice sounded as though a shingle beach had taken up speaking.

“Just a bit of rain on the way in.” The young man said.

“Oi, the man is shivering, get ‘im some tea.” The old man.

“I’m moving as fast as my old bones will let me, I don’t see you stokking that flame!” The old woman said.

The old couple bickered over him and it felt strangely nostalgic. How long had it been since he saw his parents? A few months at least. Maybe two. That felt like a strange and distant thought.

“I’ve gotta go do something in the back, you holler if you need anything.” The old man said.

“Got it.” The young man said.

He sat back in his seat. This is the second time he had pity taken on him by an innkeeper. He was getting a lot of reminders of how he used to live back then. It felt like he was in a dream. His mind had been cast in a slight fog for so long that anything before it felt off. As if he was trying to peer through a distant mist. It faded when he was up and about, but when he sat still and tried to think it was hard to keep a train of thought.

“Here you go dear.” The old woman said. She handed him a warm cup of tea. He thanked her and she went back to whatever she was doing in the back room.

Every once and a while, he had to stop and force himself to think more clearly. If he didn’t he might forget what he was doing, or other more important things.

Eli.

Eli whispered his name under his breath. It had been so long since he heard it outloud that the feeling on his tongue felt foreign. His group didn’t deal with names, too much ego they say. They used titles, or if you're notable enough, a nickname. The only name he knew for months was boy or recruit.

He didn’t regret working with them, he was learning to use a weapon, making some money, and it was better than being shipped over the Eastern strait to fight in the war. It was still hard, he woke up every day for weeks and had to train all day, and then every night he had to do the chores and housework with the rest of the recruits. His current situation was less than ideal, but it was the mission he had. If he didn’t plan on carrying it through then there was no reason to go back.

Eli sighed and cleared his head, thinking hard was difficult and he wanted to relax his mind. He looked around the room, it was a cozy little place, besides the fireplace in the corner it housed a few chairs, a couch, a few cots in the corner, and a table. The walls were bare wood, but covered in pictures of a young couple. Probably related to the inn staff if nothing else.

Then there was the elephant in the room. The other person he hadn’t noticed until he looked directly at them.

At least, he was fairly sure it was a person. They were wearing white robes with red trim that covered their whole body and looked entirely too warm for the room. It might be better in the rain, but that didn’t explain why they were wearing it inside. What was also strange was the polished white mask. There were no holes or markings, just a solid white surface. If they could see, then he wasn’t sure how. Judging by the robes, probably magic.

It made sense if it was a mage, he could feel the shockwaves miles away when whatever happened in Trevias happened. He was too far to turn around and help for one thing, but he had a job to do and making the client wait longer wouldn’t be a good idea.

As for that job, it was his first one. He was supposed to meet the client south of Trevias, then escort them to Aeroae. The job was a simple back and forth, just make sure the client makes it then come back.

He had come a fair way south of Trevias and this was the only place for miles that someone would reasonably come to, either be passed his client or they meant somewhere farther south.

The only reason the guild master even accepted the offer was because of a small detail he noticed. While there were no identifying markings besides the job details and reward, the stationary was very distinct. It belonged to Cylas College.

Suspecting it was a covert operation, or that it was a trap, they elected to send Eli. He was still fresh blood and as heartless as it was, losing a rookie was better than losing a whole detachment. They at least had the decency to explain their position to Eli.

Eli himself didn’t have any reason to complain, it was solid reasoning. He wasn’t thrilled about how casually they were asking him to risk his life, but it's not like they were being malicious about it.

Eli shook his head. Keeping the fog out of his mind was hard, if he wasn’t careful he’d exhaust himself before finding the client. He didn’t have anything to lose, so he turned to the robed figure to ask them a question.

“Hey, I don’t suppose you could ask you something, could I?” Eli asked. The figure turned to look at him. That was good, they were at least some kind of aware being.

“Maybe.” The figure said. It was a woman’s voice. Though it was muffled through the mask it sounded familiar.

“I’m a… Well, I’m a mercenary I guess. I’m looking for someone traveling down south. Have ya seen anyone heading down that way? They might have been in a hurry.” Eli said.

The masked woman sat silently for a moment. It was hard to get a read on them with the mask. For a moment he wasn’t sure if she didn’t hear him or not, but then she cleared her throat.

“I have not.” She said quietly. Then she turned her attention elsewhere.

“Ah, sorry, I’ll leave you alone then” Eli said.

Then a strange thing happened, when he said that the masked woman seemed to jump in her seat. Not drastically, there was just the slightest movement like something had spooked her. Eli shook his head at his behavior. It seemed that he was never going to get any better at socializing no matter how much he tried.

Not wanting to be a bother any further he finished his tea quickly and stood up. The elderly couple were still bickering in the back so he left some gold on the front counter and sat the blanket down next to it. It felt like the right thing to do despite it just being a few minutes.

Eli walked outside and looked up at the foghat gray sky above him. The clouds looked ominous and dark, it was probably going to rain again.

The only thing he had on him besides his equipment was an old map he was given before he left. It only had major landmarks and roads on it, but this place wasn’t on the map. If he was braver he’d head back inside and ask for directions, but he was afraid of somehow stepping on someone’s toes again and making a fool of himself.

…

A branch behind him broke, Eli swung around to see the robed woman from before standing a few yards behind him. The robes on her person were faintly glowing with green light. He had seen magic a few times since he joined the guild and knew he was seeing it now. He just wasn’t experienced to know what it was. The way she stood there without moving was unnerving. He was sure that she wasn’t here peacefully. He didn’t need to be a veteran to see that.

“Did you need something?” Eli asked. Even if he was sure that she wasn’t here to talk, it was never a bad idea to leave that path open.

“You said that you’re a mercenary?” The woman said. Her voice was muffled as it was before, but hearing her speak more clearly in the open made him pause. If he thought hard about it her voice almost sounded familiar.

“It’s a strong word, but that is what I said.” Eli said.

“What are your intentions?” She asked.

Eli thought back to his early training. One of the first things he learned was that oversharing would never end well. Even if nothing came of it that could lead to loose ends. If pressed he needed to be vague. There was nothing more pressing than an intimidating likely mage questioning him when he’s a novice.

“I was hired for a job, nothing more. I can't say anything more than that.” Eli said.

The masked woman didn’t move, but from her silence he could tell that she wasn’t pleased hearing that. Sensing where this was going, he slowly reached his hand down to the spear on his folding spear. It wasn’t very strong as far as spears go, but it was great for throwing.

“Look, I don’t want to start anything with you. I’m just trying to do my job.” Eli said. There was a pit in his stomach that wouldn’t go away. He wanted to run, but turning his back to a mage was not smart. In fact it might actually be more dangerous than taking them head on.

The masked woman didn’t wait for him to make the first move. She reached her hand up and toward him. He reflexively reached for his folding spear, but when he gripped it he felt his fingers press into the wooden frame, he looked down to see the length of the shaft was not waterlogged and rotten. The metal hinge that connected the two pieces was rusted and barely moved. He couldn’t even get it off his belt before it slumped and dripped to the ground like sludge.

Then, the dripping remains of his spear shuddered and faded before his eyes. He turned back to the masked woman and saw that in her hand was a spear of her own, but not just any spear, he recognized the scratches and marks from repeated use. It was his spear.

This was bad. Not only had this mage disarmed him, she had his weapon. He still had a dagger in his boot, but that wasn’t something he would risk losing too. He needed to stall, if only to prolong his life a bit longer.

“Who are you?” Eli asked. It was cliche, but it was his best chance.

“A bit cliche asking that.” The masked woman said.

Damn, all those story books he read as a kid failed him.

“Yeah, a bit, but it’s not like I have a whole lot to lose by asking right?” Eli asked.

“Look, I just want to know who you are, and what you want.” The masked woman asked.

“I asked first.” Eli said.

“You’re not in a position to be making assertions.” The masked woman said. She held the spear up at him as if to mock him.

“Fine, I’ll tell you, it's not worth dying over.” Eli said. On the chance this worked out poorly, at least he’ll have put his best foot forward.

“Then go on.” The masked woman said.

“Right, I was hired by a client to escort them to Aeroae. I don’t know their name, just that they would be south of Trevias. Are you happy?” Eli said.

“Almost, but not quite. What’s your name?” She said.

“Elias, friends call me Eli.” Eli said. The woman sat there for a moment, then something happened that he didn’t expect. She started to laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Eli asked. Instead of an answer, the woman folded his spear back up and tossed it to him.

“Nothing, how about we start over?” She said, Then she reached up with both hands, one on the mask, and the other on her faded white hood and pulled them both down.

Eli’s jaw dropped when he saw the head of bright red hair fall from the hood and over her shoulders.

“My name’s Andromeda, funny you’re heading my way. Small world.” She said.