Aiden woke up in the night, his body soaked in sweat, feeling a sadness stabbing at his heart, a sense of loss. A faint smile surfaced in his mind, only to be covered by flames. And then there was nothing, an emptiness blackening everything. As it passed, tears trickled down his face, making him wonder just what it was that he forgot. But all that was left was the sadness.

When his tears dried, he looked around. Faint moonlight lit up the unknown room just enough to enable him to see. It was a small room, just enough to fit two beds and a nightstand between them. Upon it laid a sword, Sam’s sword. He grasped it, his finger tracing the ornament on the pommel.

If Sam were here, he could have told me.

He put the sword back and stood up. Sweat and tears made his body a sticky mess in combination with the grime and dirt from the last days. Thoughts of a quick wash filled his mind, a small stream, a well or even just a large bowl, as he opened the door. The corridor was dark, making him feel his way down it before his step found no even ground. He stumbled forward before his foot crashed into a step of the staircase, but the sudden momentum pulled him further. Tumbling down the stairs he landed on the floor, a loud noise accompanying his arrival. He shook his head, trying to clear his mind that was sent spinning, when a door at the side opened.

Out came the girl from earlier, wearing a nightgown, in one hand a candle, lightening the surrounding, in the other a sharp knife.

“Don’t move.” She said as she stepped forward, looking around the room. Finally, she found the boy, lying on the ground, looking confused at her.

“What the hell are you doing?” She sworn at him, her daytime friendly demeanor still asleep. “I thought you were a burglar!”

As she came over to him, she saw his state. Bruises covered his arm from when he shielded himself against the fall. But his foot took the worst brunt as it showed into a wrong direction and slowly changed into a dark blue color.

“We need to get you treated! Quickly!” She told the boy, who sat there silently, while putting the candle and knife on a nearby table.

Aiden looked at her, feeling a little sting from the fall. Then he followed her line of sight noticing his ankle. He prepared for the pain following the disappearance from the shook, but the sting down there just grew shaper, not painful.

“Snap out of it!” She shouted as she shook him.

“Shit, just let me sleep here.” Brute groaned as he made his way down the stairs.

The girl was startled but quickly clung at Brute as she pulled him to the boy.

“Help him, please.” Worry took her over.

Brute looked over Aiden and sighed. “He should be fine.” He crouched before the boy, grasping his foot. “Can’t believe I’d to stand up for this. Close your mouth boy.” He yanked the foot, pulling it into a more natural stance, its bones cracking along the way. Seeing the boy still sitting there silently he slapped him at the head. “Still asleep boy? Wake up and remember your power.” Brute stood up and walked back up the stairs.

“What?” The girl stood there silently, shocked at the disinterest of the man into the safety of the boy. “Wait here. I’ll go get my father to help.”

As she spun around Aiden spoke to her. “Stop.”

She twisted her head to him. “What do you…” She looked at him, holding his ankle. The swelling reduced visibly while the color returned to normal.

Shocked she looked at him, standing up although his leg was seriously hurt.

“Thank you for worrying about me. I’m fine now.”

“Yeah…”

“Is there some place I can wash myself here?”

The girl pointed her finger at a door in the back.

“There is a… well back there.”

“Thanks.” Aiden walked through the door, coming out into a courtyard enclosed from the nearby houses with a few gaps here and there to let other people gather through. He let the bucket down the well until it landed in the water with a splash. He began to pull it upwards when the door opened behind him.

“Wait a minute.” The girl came out, in her hand a small bucket and a sponge. Her nightgown sparkling under the moon. “Use this here. The people gather their drinking water here, so you can’t just use that bucket.” She sat the bucket down near the well.

“Can you tell me what happened in there?” As the worry left her mind curiosity took over. She stared at the boy filling water from one bucket to another.

Seeing how the girl didn’t have any intention to leave him alone he started to speak. “It’s nothing grand. I can heal wounds.”

“Magic!” The girl’s eyes twinkled at the unexpected finding as she grasped the boy.

He smiled bitterly. “It’s not like I can heal others with it, it just let me survive when others died.”

“If you survived it just means that your time hasn’t come yet, that there are still things left to do.” She smiled at him, caressing his head. “And you know, maybe as your magic grows you will be able to heal others too.”

She tilted her head to the site, looking at him. Then she took his hand. “I’m Tia. What’s your name?”

“Aiden.”

“Do you want to be a mercenary Aiden? You sat with those three earlier. The big man, the dwarf and the elf” As she spoke, she mimicked the appearance of the three, stretching high for Brute, crouching for Durak and pulling her ears for Al.

Aiden smiled at the curious girl. Her spirit made him forget his problems for a while.

“That’s the plan for now.”

She continued questioning him as he started to wash himself, making him answer her questions as best as he could.

As the excitement passed fatigue took over making the girl yawn. Seeing her turn red as she quickly tried to cover her mouth made Aiden chuckle.

“Well then, I should go back to sleep.” She walked back towards the door where she turned back to Aiden. “Leave the bucket here when you’re done. And don’t fall down again!” She twirled around, like a fairy dancing in the moonlight, before disappearing in the darkness of the house.

 

 

The sun had already set when Aiden woke up. The room was empty, leaving him and the sword alone there. He took it, tugging it into his belt, before he went out of the room and down the stairs.

“Hey kid, down here.” Durak called out to him, making him look over to the corner of the room, where the three sat.

After he sat down Tia came up to them.

“Morning Aiden, what can I get you?”

He looked over at Durak, as he just ordered something for him the day before. Seeing the dwarf grinning at him without saying anything he took this as his sign to just order anything.

“Just a little breakfast and a cup of water.”

“Okay, I’ll be right back!”

She spun around and disappeared into the kitchen.

“Seems like the kid got his way around women already.”

“And I thought Aiden was a gentle boy.” Al sighed, crestfallen. “It feels like yesterday when he peeked at me from behind and now, he’s already on to another girl.”

“I didn’t do anything.” Aiden said, holding out his hands. Then he continued. “What’s the plan for now anyway?”

“And here he tries to change the subject. When did he become such a bad kid?” She pouted.

Durak burst out laughing seeing the troubled look of Aiden. “Cut it out women, he’s still naïve.”

“Don’t try to cover for him gramps.” Al said, stifling her laughter.

As they started to bicker with each other Tia came back, hands full with a big plate and a cup of juice.

“You need to eat much if you want to be a mercenary! Come on, eat up, it’s on me.”

She sat down beside him, showering him with questions that she thought about since the morning.

“Look at that. The kid might just be a natural.” Durak mused to himself.

 

 

As they left the inn Al finally told the boy of their plans.

“For now, we’re going to stay here today. When the guild hears about what happened to Ramur we’re going to be questioned once again, this time much more seriously than before. After that we should get out of here fast. These monsters have overrun the capital and after they are finished there they will split up and cover the area around it, most likely this city too.”

“But isn’t it the job of mercenaries to kill these monsters?” Aiden wondered why they had to leave instead of fighting against them.

“Can you kill all of the monsters?” Al asked, gesturing at the direction they came from. “There were hundreds of them, if not thousands.”

At this point Brute continued. “Listen boy, if it was one of them you could simply cut it down, if there are ten then you bait them into some small alley so they can only come one or two at a time. But if there are even more just run. While we are here to kill monsters, our priority is to survive.”

Aiden pondered over Brute’s words, looking around the bustling town. Children played on the street while adults went to work. The thought that this town could end up like Ramur scared him.

“Isn’t there anything we can do?”

“It’s not like we are just going to let them die kid, after today the guild is going to fight off groups of monsters inside the forest to stop their advance. These people will also be evacuated to the next bigger city, one with walls instead of this flimsy wooden palisade.

But do you think you are ready to fight monsters yet kid. I saw you scratched all over when I first met you. And don’t think your regeneration is going to help you when you get stabbed in the head or the heart.”

The thought of death made the boy step back, allowing Al to continue.

“That’s why we are going to Lyris next, Aiden. It’s about two weeks from here, up north, at the border to the great forest, kingdom of the elves. There’s news about a new goblin settlement, perfect for beginner adventures to hone their skills. Although you shouldn’t think of them as harmless creatures as they are capable of setting traps and using weapons, ending the carrier of many foolish kids early.”

Aiden thought back to his first encounter two days ago. He remembered the pain he felt as the goblin bit and scratched him, his helplessness as he was pinned down by it. In retrospective he felt stupid for believing that he could easily kill a creature that didn’t do anything else for a living other than killing. His face turned from hesitancy to fear, visibly for the other three.

“You already met some, didn’t you kid?”

Aiden nodded.

“Then we don’t have to explain much. Also, you shouldn’t think that your next encounter is going to be the same as your last. You will get trained by us, mostly this big fella here, as your magic seems to be inclined to close combat.”

He slapped Brute on the back while he started to laugh.

“I told you you’ll get hit boy.” Brute smirked. “Don’t worry though, your regeneration will keep you up for training. We’ll start tomorrow at sunrise. But first we need to do something about that outfit of yours.”

Aiden looked down on himself, his shirt torn, fluttering in the wind, baring his chest. His trousers only held by a belt, which now also had a sword hanging at it. Clearly, he didn’t look like he was ready for a journey. In contrast the other three were equipped in metal, guarding the vital points, a robe under which a chainmail clattered and tight fit leather armor.

“I asked the girl earlier where we would find a story. Given your physique, and the fact that we are going to pay for it, we should by a chest plate, armguards and boots, also some clothing, don’t want you to look like a beggar, do we? And don’t worry about the money, we’ll deduct it from the remuneration of the assignments.”

He walked forward, leading them to the store.

Finally, I don’t have to pay for the booze anymore. Unseen to the three behind them a big smile was on his face.