[Author's Notes: Two more Chapters before releases start to slow down, bwhahahahah! But hey, maybe that will be an excuse for me to actually start working on it more.]
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“Are you coming to dinner tonight?”

Her Mother had a bad habit of locking herself in the forge for extended periods of time, sometimes for days. Caroline thought for a moment and nodded her head in silence, then reached up and patted her Daughter on the shoulder, before she entered the forge and closed the door. Selah sagged her shoulders and gave a deep sigh, then quickly followed after the others. A short while later, they were piling back into the passenger carriage at the carriage station and moving on their way.

The next destination was the residential district to the east. They headed south first, then arrived at the main trade street that ran through the middle of the city, before turning northeast as it branched off from the main road. As they did, they passed a convoy of half a dozen wagons coming from the east. The Wagons were covered, but as they passed, Mark could see through the slit, large iron cages and dozens of people stuffed inside.

Mark furrowed his brow as he watched the wagons pass by, a scowl forming on his face. Selah looked out the window, curious as to what had caught Mark’s eye. As she saw the wagons driving off into the distance, frowned and spoke in a low voice, half to herself,

“…the Prisoner transports are becoming more frequent now these days. I’ve heard that a large bandit group has set up shop in the Relic Pass to the northeast.”

From the information Mark had gathered, it seemed that several countries of the Southern Continent practiced a form of debt bondage; instead of locking their criminals away in a jail cell, anything greater than some minor offenses such as drunkenness or petty theft could have you branded as a criminal and sold into servitude. The criminal would then be sold at a set price according to their crime and ability, once they’ve paid off their “debt”, the brand would disappear and they would be freed.

Of course, having criminals act as servants carried a certain risk, so the vast majority were either sold off to large companies to work in the mines or in logging and farm work. None the less, Mark couldn’t help but feel uneasy about the concept. He understood the reasoning behind it, but as a man with modern sensibilities, he felt that the cons outweighed the pros of the system.

The convoy soon passed them by and the carriage was once again quiet. Tsutsuji and Merry sat to one side reading the strange book Merry had picked up in the Vault, Tsutsuji pointing one thing or another out every so often, while Alex hummed to himself softly, wiping a small wax block and clean cloth on the bronze shield. Selah and Mark sat across from each other in awkward silence, not bothering to look at each other. Mark folded his arms and leaned back into his seat, again closing his eyes, attempting to make up for lost sleep. After a short while, Mark could feel his consciousness fade, and he dreamed.

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Mark ran through the dark alleyway, panting heavily as he stripped the large pack off his back and leaned against the wall. He slid down the wall as he tried to catch his breath, a bloody trail following him down. The sound of gunfire still sounded in the far distance. A moment later, two others entered the alleyway from the same direction he’d come, one was a short but densely build black man in his mid-30s, the other was a younger white man in his early-20s. Mark raised his sidearm, but let out a breath of relief as he caught sight of their uniforms. The two men seemed startled to see Mark but quickly approached.

The young man, seeing that Mark was injured, knelt down and opened the kit he carried at his side, moving to treat Mark’s bloody shoulder. The older man stood near the entranceway, his eyes giving off a sharp light as he watched the surroundings. He called out in a low voice,

“Good to see you made it out Mark.”

“Any idea what the hell is going on? This isn’t what we were told.”

Mark grunted a bit as the young man tied the bandages tight around his shoulder, as he spoke. The mission was supposed to be a simple one. A quick trek through the forest, secure the chemical factory and get out. Two full platoons had been dispatched to clear the area out, and Mark’s squad was one of the first to arrive. But almost as soon as they’d neared the compound, they were ambushed. The “small” factory they had been told about turned out to be the size of a small village with nearly 200 combatants in the area. Outnumbered 3 to 1, the squad was scattered instantly.

The black man shook his head, a dark look crossing his eyes,

“No, not a clue. When they split us up, they did something to jam communications as well, I’ve not been able to get ahold of anyone else. Other than you and Jacob, Ron and two of his are the only ones I’ve seen. We agreed to head towards the rendezvous point and request reinforcements.”

Mark nodded in agreement. They were far too outnumbered and had too little information to continue the operation. The combatant’s equipment wasn’t great, but they had somehow managed to jam their radio and other communication devices, preventing them from contacting the others or requesting assistance. The only thing they could do at this point was to head to the rendezvous point to the south and grab as many people as they could on the way.

After the young man finished his work, he helped Mark stand and the three nodded to each other, taking up their positions, the older black man leading the way, Mark in the middle and the younger white man in the back, before heading out of the alleyway and down the abandoned street.

They ran for a short while and neared a large concrete storage building, hugging its wall as they moved around the corner. As the older man passed one of the doorways, the door suddenly opened and two men with older style rifles rushed out, one aiming at the man’s back and the other at Mark. The combatant aiming at him moved to fire, but Mark was a second faster, and with consecutive bangs, put two rounds into his chest.

The older man in front, hearing Mark’s gunfire, dropped to one knee on instinct as a bullet flew just over his head. He quickly drew his sidearm and turned, firing at the second combatant, who crumbled on the spot. The older man breathed heavily for a moment, sweat on his forehead, then gave Mark a wide grin and held his thumb up. After searching the bodies, then moving them into the shadow of the doorway, a faint sound caught Mark’s ear. He looked over to the two, and seeing that they had heard it was well, they readied themselves and quietly entered the dark building.

As they walked further in, the sound became clearer, and Mark recognized it as the sound of several voices weeping. The voices were coming from a nearby room, locked on the outside with a heavy slide lock. The three approached and Mark gave them a look, before quickly sliding the bolt out and opening the door. The two other men rushed in, rifles at the ready, Mark following right behind. The room was dark as night, with no visible furniture or fixtures in place; the sound of weeping came from the shadows in the far back.

As they approached carefully, Mark raised his flashlight. A small group of huddled figures entered his sight, giving out shrieks of fright as the light landed on them. He could tell after looking closer than it was a small group of children, the youngest just a few years old with the oldest being roughly 10. As he watched the young group cower in the corner, Mark could feel his blood run cold. Every one of the children was pale as death as if they’d never seen daylight in their life. The pale grey clothes they wore were worn and stained with dried blood.

But what stood out most to the three, was the black ugly veins that ran under the children’s skin, seeming to crawl out along their limbs. Some of the children seemed almost normal, the dark veins barely visible under the pale skin, while others were as black as night, covering a large portion of their body. One child even had the darkness reaching up and covering one of her eyes, the white no longer visible as she stared lifelessly at the three.

Mark could feel his heart beating faster and he reached out instinctively, a mixture of confusion, fear, and anger raging in his mind,

“What the hell is this?”

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Mark awoke with a jump as the carriage hit a bump in the road. He yawned and stretched out as much as he could in the small space. He rubbed his temples trying to ease the slight pounding in his head, as he pushed away from the remnants of memory he thought long buried, lingering in his head. He looked out the window to see that they had just begun crossing over a large bridge. While the bridge wasn’t as ornate as the one connecting the central island, it was still a sight to behold, made of a combination of Whitewood timber and cold steel.

Selah began to chat away about the history and construction of the City’s bridges. They entered into the residential district shortly after crossing the bridge. The Residential district was surprisingly neat and clean, the streets were relatively free from the normal filth and grime that one would expect to see in another town. Selah explained that one of the first things her Sister had done after their Father’s retirement was to improve the city’s overall living conditions. Not that her Father had ignored it mind you, but he was much more carefree than his overly strict and orderly Daughter.

Mark could see a distinct pattern as they made their way through the district; those homes closer to the manufacturing district and farther away from the central island tended to look more run down and poor, while those close to the entertainment district and Central Island were obviously built with richer occupants in mind, and small parks and greenery were more common. It seemed that even in a different world, Money talked.

The trip through the residential district took about two hours, including a short stop at a small Park that was apparently a favorite of Merry’s while in town. The group moved on to the entertainment district shortly before noon and stopped at another carriage station near the middle of the district. From here, Selah switched to her tour guide mode and led the group through the streets, pointing out to the various theaters or music halls. Mark smirked a little as he watched the young woman chatter on; for someone who was so against it at first, she seemed to be rather enjoying herself now.

After walking for a short while, they turned onto a busy street filled with various food stalls and displays. It reminded Mark of those street fairs you see every so often in smaller towns. The atmosphere was light as cheerful, more so now that the Western trade route had reopened. The People walking around were a mix of residents and travelers, with the odd Adventurer type mixed in every so often.

Merry’s eyes lit up at the sight; she swiftly grabbed onto Mark’s hand and dragged him into the crowd, Tsutsuji following quickly behind. Selah frowned slightly, then ran after then, leaving Alex behind on the side of the road. The young man simply dropped his shoulders and sighed, then followed them before he lost sight. He didn’t like crowds.

The group spent the next hour moving between stalls, Mark pulled out a few bronze weights every now and again and handing them to Merry as the girl enjoyed the few game stalls scattered around. After a while, Merry caught a scent in the air and she looked over to see a food stall selling what appeared to be some kind of fried dough on a stick. The little girl looked up at Mark with pleading eyes, but he shook his head,

“No. We’ll be eating soon. You’ll just make yourself full.”

Merry turned her eyes down, a sad look on her face. A small silver weight was suddenly placed in her hand as she pouted. She looked up to see Selah kneeling down, a bright smile on her face. Merry gripped the coin and smiled, before running off to the stall. Mark watched her back with a frown. Selah stood up and gave Mark an angry look, then spoke in a low voice

“What the hell is your problem? If you’ve got to walk around with a Rain cloud over your head all the time, then don’t let it rain on Merry as well.”

Mark looked at the angry woman and furrowed his brow, speaking in a calm voice,

“That girl’s smarter than you give her credit for. If you keep treating her like a child…”

“She IS a child! With what she’s been through, why can’t you just let her be one for a while?”

“She needs support, but you can’t just hold her up and never let her learn to walk on her own.”

“You don’t think I already know that?”

Selah clinched her shaking hands as she spoke the last line, her eyes wandering off with a sad look. When she looked back at Mark, they were cold, her voice calm and distant,

“Besides. She’s not your Kid. You’re just a passerby, the matter doesn’t involve you.”

She then turned around and walked toward the returning Merry, the small girl holding several sticks of fried dough in her hands. Merry smiled up at the woman before passing her one of the sticks. Selah smiled and gently petted the little girl as she took it. Merry saw Mark standing by the side and quickly walked over, though her bright smile dimmed slightly as she noticed the strange atmosphere. Mark looked down at the girl as she shyly held out one of the sticks; Selah was right if truth be told, he was just a passerby, a stranger who happened along at the right time. He didn’t have a real relationship with the little girl in the end, and soon they would part ways and go about their lives.

Mark gave a deep sigh, before grabbing the stick and turning around, walking back towards the street exit. The little girl simply smiled and followed in his shadow. A little while later they decided to stop at one of the many restaurants lining the main road for lunch.

The one they had decided on was an open-air Café style restaurant near the district center. It wasn’t top quality, but it was decent and there was no need to wait for a table. As the group ordered, they chatted lightly about the day. When the food came, the group quickly ate. Mark looked at Merry sitting across from him with a frown. The girl had barely touched the food on her plate and feeling Mark’s glare, her face went red in embarrassment. Selah glared back at Mark as though it were his fault.

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After lunch, the group moved on, visiting several famous shops and venues in the district. By the time they decided to head back to the carriage station, the sun was close to setting. The group walked through the thinning streets at a leisurely pace, Merry skipped cheerfully along as she held Selah’s hand, humming one of the songs they’d heard during an outdoor performance earlier. Mark and Alex walked towards the back, carrying several large packages while Tsutsuji napped on Mark’s shoulder.

They arrived at the carriage station and packed everything away, before heading back towards the Fortress. As they rode back, Mark’s thoughts returned to Selah’s words from earlier. He didn’t really know what had been wrong with him the past few days; He’d been unable to sleep and felt irritated at the slightest thing, his body felt weight down and sluggish. Maybe…Maybe it was time he thought about moving on. The girl was safe, he had no connection to Alex, and no real goal or responsibilities in this new world. He could travel around, see what was out there.

As he thought about his future, the carriage rolled to a stop in the Fortress courtyard. Matthew was once again there to meet them, though he’d changed out of his plain clothes and now wore a more elegant suit. Barring the extra fat around the waist, Mark had to admit that the Man gave off a certain noble air went he wanted to. Matthew approached the group and lifted up the small Merry into a hug, meeting her bright smile with his own wide grin,

“It looks like you had fun today Little One, I’m glad. Now come, come, we’ve prepared a meal to welcome you and thank our new friends.”

Matthew ushered the group into the Fortress, beaming the whole way as he carried the little girl in. Selah stayed behind for a moment and ordered the servants to unload the packages. As they walked through the hallway, Matthew turned to Mark and asked in a cheerful voice,

“So, how did you like the city? Whitewood has always been a place where the West and East meet. Grace especially has worked tirelessly to make the city a beacon of not only Trade but culture; I dare to say we’d not lose out to any capital on the southern continent!”

“It's impressive, I’ll give you that. Even some of the larger cities of my old world can’t compare.”

“Hoho! Thank you for the honor; to say that our city is even as great as those of another world, I can rub it in the noses of some of those old foxes at court.”

Matthew stroked the head of the small girl in his arms, then asked in a serious tone after a short pause.

“So Mark. What now? Have you decided what you are going to do in this new world of yours?”

“... No. Not really. I don’t have any end goals in mind, so I’ve thought about doing some traveling.”

“Have you thought about settling in town for a little while? It will take some time to prepare for a long journey and Whitewood would welcome you with open arms. It’s the least we can do.”

Mark thought for a bit, and Merry stared at him, her eyes sparkling. He finally shook his head with a sigh, before answering,

“No, I think its best if I move on as soon as I can. I’ve never been comfortable in one place. I'm used to traveling quickly, so I don’t need to prepare much.”

“… I see. When do you plan on leaving?”

“Tomorrow, if possible. The day after at the latest.”

“…....”

As he gave his answer, Merry’s eyes seemed to dull, and she turned her face away, leading her small head up against Matthew’s chest. The large man gave the girl a sad smile and gently patted her head, then spoke out once more in a cheerful voice,

“Well then, we need to make tonight one to remember, don’t we?! Dinner will begin shortly, take this time to clean up.”

Matthew parted with the men near their rooms and walked away with the small girl still clinging to him. He watched from his doorway for a moment until they were out of sight, before sighing and turning around. Mark’s heart gave a jump as he did, almost bumping into Tsutsuji as she flew at eye level only a few inches from his face. The little Guide just stared at Mark, not saying a word; though her face was blank, Mark could feel a mixture of disappointment, frustration and a little sadness flow through their link. After a long moment of silence, Tsutsuji flew away down the hall, following after Matthew. Mark just gave a sigh and walked into his room, closing the door softly.

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Mark walked out about two hours later, hair still slightly wet, though combed back neatly, his beard trimmed short and the clothes he first wore clean and fresh for the first time in a long time. He met Alex in the Hallway, the young man wearing some form of ceremonial military uniform. It was not as gaudy as some he’d seen, but it was obviously designed to impress. If he’d not known better, he'd never suspected that the nervous, green young man he’d spent the last week and a half with, to be this sharply dress and confident officer type in front of him. The two gave a quick nod to each other and followed after the nearby servant.

After a short walk, they entered a dining hall. Though it was more of a private venue than a large hall designed to entertain a large number of people, the room was elegantly arranged and the gentle light from the candles and strange lighting devices gave it a refined and welcoming atmosphere. Matthew sat at one side of a large round table, speaking to a beautiful young lady in a sky blue one-piece dress sitting by his side. Mark questioned who it was as first, but when she turned to look at him, he realized that it was Caroline; even though the feeling she gave off was completely different, there was no mistaking that icy glare.

Mark and Alex swiftly took their seats and gave a greeting to the pair, lightly chatting as they waited on the others to arrive. Some time passed, and the large double doors to one side of the room opened and a group walked in. Grace walked in the front, caring a refined air as she glided along the ground in a pure white party gown. Her gentle smile and the golden light that bounced off her hair as she moved to sit next to her Mother gave the illusion of a holy aura surrounding her.

Selah followed in behind her wearing a dark green high-low dress, her blood red hair pulled up into a short bun, giving her the appearance of a budding rose. Mark found his eyes glued to the sight as she gracefully approached, not losing out to her sister at all. Though as if she felt his eyes on her, the wild rose showed her thorns, giving Mark a scowl before sitting down next to the Duchess. From her shadow, a small girl stepped out and quickly sat down beside her.

Merry’s hair had been trimmed and combed straight, the chestnut brown hair hanging slightly past her shoulders, several fresh red Whitewood flowers woven in. Mark found the dark blue one piece the girl wore a little to mature for her age, but he shoved the thought to the back of his mind; it was a different world, after all, he didn’t know the customs for such things. In place of the bandages, the left side of her head was covered by a neat dark leather eyepatch, embroidered with gold leaf and the image of sprawling vines and blooming flowers like the ones in her hair. As Merry caught sight of Mark’s gaze, she quickly lowered her eyes, blushing slightly.

Feeling like he was forgetting something, a black shadow suddenly shot through the doorway. Tsutsuji swiftly flew through the air, gasping for breath as she stood on the edge of the table, her hair slightly messy from the wind. After a moment to catch her breath, she coughed and straightened up, attempting to give off an air of refinement as she walked across the table towards her prepared space near Merry. As she passed Mark, she gave a haughty laugh and asked,

“Well now, are you surprised at This Lady’s elegance yet? Have you finally understood?”

“I understand that ‘This Lady’ may wish to re-pin her dress…”

Mark didn’t know where she’d gotten the small black slit dress, but somewhere along the line, the front had become tangled in a very unladylike manner. Tsutsuji looked down and went beet red, before quickly fixing her dress. Mark simply smirked in amusement, causing the little Guide to reach down and throw one of her small stilettos at him, then walked off towards her seat. Matthew gave a nervous laugh before standing and speaking in a loud voice,

“Now that we are all here, I think it is time we get started! Please enjoy, and let’s make this a night we all remember.”

The surrounding people gave a light cheer and the servants began to move, placing food and drink in front of each person around the table. As the night went on, the group made light talk. Alex spoke of his travels so far, though he’d begun not too long ago. Matthew talked loudly about various trade deals and gossip from around the west and south continents. Caroline amused herself by telling Mark and Alex embarrassing stories about her Daughters, sparking a small war of words with the youngest. Grace never lost her refined air as she quietly listened to the banter around her, giving a short reply every so often.

Tsutsuji sat next to Merry, chatting her ear off about something or another, though the small girl kept her eyes down most of the time, only ever nodding or shaking her head when someone addressed her. The Dinner went on like this for a while, and Mark was surprised at how warm and welcoming the atmosphere was, a lot different than how many ‘noble’ gatherings were portrayed in the stories of his world. Instead, it was nothing more than a small family gathered around the dinner table with a few friends, happily chatting about their day.

Matthew’s eye caught something in the middle of one of his stories and he grinned, waving someone forward from the doorway. Mark turned to see a group of servants carrying in several earthen jugs. They placed one and a small shot glass like cup down in front of each of the Adults, minus Selah, and walked away.