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A smile larger than any I’d felt in months pressed at my lips.
The last of the sun’s setting light painted the sky a flurry of deep purples and blues that fought for space over the dwindling oranges and reds that faded over the town around us.
Jason’s wide eyes flicked around, trying to get as good of a look at everything in town before the sun was swallowed up by the horizon. Myris slowed in front of us, an aggravated sound growing in his throat. His frustration, though, was only barely audible among the shouting and laughing swirling all around us.
Cold air entered my lungs, leaving the signature small tingles at the bottom. My smile wouldn’t have dropped for anything. I took a large, deep breath of the town’s light air, feeling the tiny tinge of magic that pervaded it all.
My eyes searched the scene, observing with resigned awe the dozens of houses and shops peppered the forest. The encroaching trees were ever-present, getting sparser and sparser the further we got into town, but definitely still there. The town gradually traded off with the forest, as if they had been growing apart over the years. I marveled at the basic wooden buildings, watching the old, split planks that were probably as old as the tree next to them bend in a strong gust of wind.
Walking down the traveled dirt path, I’d been begging for rest. Ever since it had gone past noon and the leaves on my leg had worn off, I’d been grumbly and upset. As soon as the pain had gotten bad enough for me to complain, Myris had made some frustrated comment about my ignorance and given me the rest of the leaves he had in his bag.
After that, we’d been out of saro leaves. But as soon as I’d bandaged the new batch over the dull, aching bruise, I hadn’t cared. The numb strength those damn magical leaves gave was worth it.
By the time we’d arrived in Farhar, I hadn’t even really noticed we’d done it. In the corner of my vision, I’d seen a wooden building in the trees, but I’d just shrugged it off as some cabin or lodge that was unimportant to our quest. But as more and more of the buildings showed up, following along with the twisting dirt path as the woods around us thinned, I’d done less and less shrugging.
Although, it wasn’t until our feet made contact with the lined, cobblestone road that I’d really accepted it.
We had arrived.
Myris grunted, quickening his pace again as he veered around two red-faced, relatively short men drinking from something I couldn’t discern while hollering their amusement into the night. The small wooden building they were walking behind lost part of a plank to a man falling into it before they’d gone out of sight.
Myris’ eyes danced around, searching and scanning around the winding, confusing town as he chose street after street on his quest to find the center of town. He seemed to be getting frustrated, and if I’d been in anything other than magic-tinged wonder, I probably would’ve been too.
But walking along with a silent Jason next to me, each of our eyes wide as dinner plates, being frustrated wasn’t really at the top of my list.
All around us, people were joyful, or at least appeared that way with the glasses and bottles in their hands. The shops were all well-built and cozy, each coming with a very distinctive name and sign that reminded me of the fancier shops I’d seen back in Credon’s capital.
And the houses, they were all similar, but none of them were completely alike.
The stone foundations and wooden frames were just about the only things they had in common. Some of them were simple, practical living spaces that took up the minimal amount of room next to the road and didn’t even catch my eye. These were the older ones, I decided after looking at the worn stone brick and split, rotting wooden beams.
Some of them were simple. Some. But others just looked like a failed imitation—like something that observed the styles of old and tried to mirror it while still incorporating over-the-top stonework and intricate wooden designs.
Myris slowed again, forcing Jason and me to nearly stop in our tracks or risk running right into him. The tall, grey-haired ranger looked around, his brows furrowed. His neck twisted, zipping from one side of the street to the other and then across the next as we came up onto a new intersection.
He looked… confused, as if the winding pattern of the roads literally wound up the fibers in his brain.
I squinted at Myris, his eyes starting to flare with idle magic energy as he whipped his head back and forth.
“Where are we even going?” I asked, becoming more and more aware of the convoluted nature of the town.
“I’m not exactly sure,” Myris said without even a trace condescension or antagonism in his tone. “Lorah said that we need to meet with Farhar’s guard at their town hall as soon as possible, but that we should make room arrangements first.”
I nodded, but Jason narrowed his eyes. “Why are we meeting with their guard? Shouldn’t we be meeting with the Lord first?”
Myris’ face contorted and I could all but feel the condescension come right back. “Farhar’s lord is… different than you’re probably used to. He doesn’t deal much inside the town, so the guard is left in charge.”
One of my eyebrows shot up, but I just nodded and returned to his original statement. “So you’re just looking for an inn, then? I think I might’ve seen one back—”
“No,” Myris cut in, “not just any inn. Lorah specifically recommended one, and I have been trying to find it since we arrived.” Lines wrinkled onto his forehead. “I just didn’t remember how confusing this place was.”
“Especially in the dark,” Jason chimed in, not even looking at us. His eyes were once again trained on the town, looking at this building or that as the sunset light he apparently cherished so much finally faded away.
“Right,” was Myris’ only response.
“What’s the name of the inn?”
“It’s called the—”
Myris tried to speak, but his voice was drowned out. A large gust of frigid wind slapped us all in the face. Then, right after the frozen air had stolen his speech, it was once again split by high, boisterous laughter that sounded off behind us.
I twisted, my hand falling to the blade on my side out of instinct. Behind us, back only a few dozen paces, two laughing women were coming out of a shop, hugging what looked like new cloth cloaks around them.
I ground my teeth I turned back around, hugging my own arms in and wincing at the exhaustion I was just now noticing again.
“Sorry,” Jason finally said, breaking the spell of silence. “I didn’t get that. What is it called?”
A small twitch entered at the corner of Myris’ eye. “It’s called The Floundering Ferret.”
Jason and I both blinked.
I cleared my throat, ignoring the sting of cold air as it entered my light lungs. “Excuse me?”
Myris’ jaw tensed. “It’s called the Floundering Ferret.”
The name of the inn entered my thoughts and stewed. I blinked again, tilting my head to the side to see if Myris was joking. From the way his hand was curling into a fist, I decided he wasn’t. But that didn’t make it easier to process.
Jason gawked. “The Floundering Ferret?! What kind of name is that?” His voice boomed out, actually matching the enthusiasm the rest of town seemed to display.
I bit back a chuckle, keeping my gaze away from Jason’s reddening face. Looking back at Myris, I still couldn’t see any sign of misdirection. His expression was a rock. He was completely serious.
Suddenly, I found it much harder to keep the chuckle from slipping out of my mouth. I tilted backward and nodded to myself, trying to stop. It was harder than I thought. Each time I did, the name just popped back up in my mind and sent shivers of absurd amusement through my mind.
The Floundering Ferret wasn’t all that common of a name and it was reminiscent of some very stereotypical places I’d been to in the past. It sounded like a random name as if the owner just chose a noun and an adjective and squashed them together in some sort of confusingly familiar contraption of language meant only to make the people entering it laugh.
“You two done?” Myris asked suddenly, an edge in his voice.
I swallowed the last of my laughter in a second and nodded. Jason took much longer than that.
“Good,” the obviously more mature ranger said. “As as I was saying, Lorah recommended we go there for rooms. After we have our stay set, we’re supposed to go to the town hall and meet with the head of guard.”
With a smile still plastered on my face, I nodded as cold wind blew over me. “It’s already late. We should find the inn as quickly as we can.”
Myris’ eyes flared and he leaned toward me. “What do you think I’ve been doing this whole time?”
Jason chuckled and the tips of my ears burned. Although, I couldn’t really tell if that was because of embarrassment or because of the stinging cold.
“Well,” I countered, “we’re just going to have to make better time then. I’d rather not still be walking through these streets longer than we have to.”
“Great,” came a sarcastic reply. “What’s your bright idea to let us do that?”
More light, magic-tinged air fluttered in my lungs. My smile didn’t drop. “We just continue looking.”
The heavy wooden door swung open as Myris pushed ahead of me and right into the warm tavern. The corners of my lips stung with cold once more but still curled as I glanced back at the building’s front sign.
The Floundering Ferret
I chuckled again.
Only about ten minutes before, I’d suggested that we continue looking. And that was exactly what we’d done.
I caught the heavy door with my arm as I filed in after Myris. Pushing it back sent jolts of exhausted strain through my muscles.
The large, cozy wooden space of the inn was many things, but quiet was not one of them. Compared to either one of the two taverns in Sarin, or the one I’d slept in after I’d been betrayed by the beast, this one was deafening. But, compared to some of the commotion even out in the streets of Farhar, it was as serene as things could get.
Myris pushed past the entryway, kicking his metal boot on the rug as he marched past. He pushed past the tables and chairs, catching only a few odd glances from the people left sitting. He pushed past the fireplace, not even stopping to bask in its warmth. And he pushed his way right up to the smiling innkeep wiping down the bar.
The older ranger shot a look back at me, one full of frustration. “Are you coming?”
My eyebrows dropped, but my smile didn’t. Hearing Jason enter behind me, a yawn flying out of his mouth, I turned. His eyes met mine and he chuckled a bit.
I gestured across the room, over to where Myris was standing like an angry statue. Jason’s chuckle grew louder, and he nodded, pushing past me on his way across. I followed right behind.
By the time Jason and I approached the bar, Myris was already in a heated discussion with the barkeep.
“We’re rangers from Sarin,” Myris pressed. “We were called here to—”
“That doesn’t matter, sir,” the barkeep shot back. His lips were still pressed into a carefully cheerful smile, but his words held force. “I don’t operate an unlimited number of rooms. You will get the same as everybody else, and pay the same price.”
Myris grumbled, breaking the stoic and managed confidence that I’d always seen on him. He was hitting the peak of his frustration, it seemed. The brown bag strung over Myris’ shoulders whipped around and he grabbed a smaller jingling sack right out of it.
“Fine,” he said. “I’ve got the coin for it. It is no big deal.”
“What kind of rooms are these?”
My eyes flicked to the side to see Jason standing beside me, a smirk on his face as he leaned on the bar.
The barkeep’s smile wavered. “Standard single bedrooms. One window, one desk, one storage cabinet, and a half dresser.”
Jason’s eyebrows dropped and his smirk ticked downward. “That sounds rather cramped and uncomfortable.”
I rolled my eyes, already seeing where this was going.
Jason placed his hand very visibly on the grip of his sword. He shrugged off the gaze Myris was sending at him, refusing to be stabbed by the daggers. “Is there any way we could get higher quality rooms? We have been traveling for days, and your town did request our service.”
The innkeep dropped the smile in an instant. “No, sir. As I told your companion here, I will not be doing either of those things.” Jason’s grip tightened. “I run a large, stable establishment and I’m not going to be giving out cheap rooms to anyone who asks.” Jason opened his mouth but the barkeep continued on. “This place already probably is the most well-respected inn past the mountains anyway. Well, besides Sal’s place, of course.”
I blinked, my lips slipping apart at the mention of Sal’s place. The name brought up a memory from months ago as I was walking with Kye. Sal’s place was the same inn I’d gone too shortly after my second life had begun.
“It’s fine,” Myris cut in. “We’re quite adaptable, I’m sure you’ll find.” Myris put a few small stacks of silvery coins on the counter, watching the innkeep’s careful delight.
“Thank you. I can have three rooms ready for you tonight no problem.”
Myris ignored Jason’s glare. “Actually, can you also be of assistance in another way?”
The innkeep’s eyebrow shot up. “What would that entail?”
“I’d just like to know where Farhar’s town hall is located.” The experienced ranger smiled. “It’s been a while since I’ve been here.”
“Ah,” the inkeep responded, nodding without any malice at all. “The town hall is all the way in the center of town. Not far from here at all, actually.” Relief washed over me, feeling the strain in my leg and the dull pain still scarcely breaking through the numbness of the leaves.
“Could you offer directions?”
The innkeep nodded, squinting a little bit as if Myris’ last question didn’t really make sense. But he answered it anyway. “Out from here, if you take the street on the left, you’ll wind your way down almost to the center of town. Then, once you start seeing the shops with the waved roofs, you’re almost there. Continue past them until you get the Thorned Hammer. You know the one, the shop with the patio that’s way larger than it needs to fit all of the metalworking equipment.” We all nodded as if we knew what he meant. “And once you’re there, the town hall should be just down the street on the other side.”
He beamed at us, going back to wiping down the bar.
“Right,” Myris said. I could see the resistance in his expression—in the way words seemed to be just caged by his own hesitance. “Thank you.”
Myris turned toward Jason and I. We blinked in return. Jason opened his mouth and furrowed his brow, ready to—
“Hey! Pirmin, sit the hell down!”
I snapped my gaze up, twisting my neck at the same time. Across the room, over by one of the tables, a round, darker-skinned, and seemingly drunken man wore a dejected frown as he stepped off of the table he was standing on. The two men behind him burst out into turbulent laughter.
The barkeep threw the rag he was using to wipe the bar down on the wood and straightened himself up, scanning the room for trouble again. Without even looking, he took the stacks of silver coins Myris had placed on the counter.
“Your rooms will be reserved and ready for when you return,” he said.
Myris nodded. Then I nodded. Then Jason nodded.
After a few more seconds of silence pushed on us by the activity in the tavern, we shuffled away from the bar and back toward the door.
“So, where are we going?” I asked.
Myris glared at the floor. “You heard the innkeep. It’s not too far from here.”
I nodded, clicking my tongue softly. “Right. But it’s already so late. How are we going to find it in time.”
“Stop complaining, Agil,” came Jason’s voice from behind me. He slapped his hand on my shoulder and smirked. “We’ll just find it. It can’t be that hard.”
I veered sideways, stepping as swiftly as I could out of the way of some determined person walking past. They seemed cold and broody, mirroring almost exactly the atmosphere of the night around us.
The blast of warmth from inside the town hall dissipated through the thin air and I winced again. The sudden cold reminded me of the pain, and my leg took advantage of that.
My teeth clattered together as I half-walked and half-dragged my leg up the shallow steps toward the town hall’s front door.
Only about an entire half hour before, Jason had said that finding the town hall wouldn’t have been hard. And now, standing in front of the large, ancient-looking building, I couldn’t entirely disagree. Retracing the correct path in my mind, the innkeep’s directions had been exactly accurate.
“Hurry the hell up,” Jason said. He pushed past me with none of the enthusiasm he’d had back at the tavern and swung open one of the two wide, iron-enforced wooden doors. Another blast of warm air took leave into the night.
I ignored Jason’s grumbling and caught the closing door myself, walking into the high-ceilinged room warmed with brilliant torchlight.
My footsteps echoed off the wooden walls, the sounds swerving between stone pillars on the way to bounce off the large, metal-lined windows. As I looked around the space, I was met with a myriad of things that all felt just a little off from the rest of the town.
Firstly, my ears twitched at the silence. From the first instant we’d stepped foot in Farhar, it had been sound after sound—even in the middle of the night. The people here seemed never to sleep, and they were always active. But here, standing among tall, carved stone pillars that split the room into thirds, it was almost completely silent.
The deafening silence almost drowned out all of the other irregularities in the room. The fact that the light from the torches in their sconces was tinged a light golden color didn’t even matter in comparison.
What did matter, however, were the people in the town hall.
A grunt slipped through my teeth as I made my way toward where Myris and Jason were standing—just off to the side. Myris’ eyes were focused again, contrasting with Jason’s frustrated and lazy ones.
“So who exactly are we supposed to speak with?” I found myself asking as I came up to them. I thanked myself for keeping the assignment in mind even through the increasing pain.
“The head of guard,” Myris said. He stretched his arm and pointed, gesturing to the people standing throughout the space. Some of them were actively on guard—with some even guarding a door near the back that I could only assume led to an office—and the rest of them were just sitting and chatting.
“And which one would that be?” I asked, lines spawning on my forehead as I scanned the room also. Normally, I was confident in my ability to distinguish between the importance of people. But staring out at the guards in well-fashioned brown cloth lined in a sharp, deep green, I couldn’t differentiate them very well.
Each one was wearing the same plated shoulders and pants, all adorned with the same shining, dark green symbol of a tree. After staring at it for far longer than I needed to, the symbol almost looked like the insignia Sarin used. But Farhar’s emblem was more… dynamic. The branches of the trees were curved with intricate beauty, and it just felt like something that would’ve taken ages to replicate.
“I cannot tell,” Myris stated bluntly.
Jason leaned back on one of the tall stone pillars. “They might not even be here.”
I tilted my head. “It is late.” My eyes narrowed on one of the guards’ emblems. “But all of the rest of them are here.”
Jason shot back with full snark. “Sure, but the head of guard is important. Like us. He’s going to—”
As if on cue, the door near the back of the room swung open and a tired-looking woman stepped out, flanked by another woman with an unreadable expression and her head held high. Paradoxically, I knew in an instant that the woman who’d walked out first was the one we wanted to talk to.
“Rangers,” she said with a smile before she’d even made it across the room. Her voice echoed off the hall’s walls and cut through the silence that had prevailed it before. The poised woman with short brown hair behind her nodded.
“Yes. We were expecting their arrival at some point this week.”
“Good,” the tired woman said, her youthful gaze melting the uncertainty that I’d been feeling.
The closer she got, the more used to her I got. In the space of only a few seconds, I already felt that she was likable—likable in a way that kept people in check.
“You must be the head of guard,” Myris said, taking a step forward and the lead at the same time.
The woman nodded, her light brown hair falling down her face. She brushed it off without another thought and smiled. I smiled too.
Her blue eyes sparkled a little bit, displaying her enthusiasm for the whole world to see. But also, I noticed with a squint, there was an edge in it. Behind the joy, there was a complete and utter capability that I didn’t want to find myself testing.
“Miss Nesrin,” the woman behind her commented. All three of us—even Jason, who I could see from the corner of my vision had straightened up and pushed off of the pillar—put on a smile.
“Lorah finally sent you down to help, didn’t she?” the woman named Nesrin asked.
“Of course,” Myris said, putting on his most appreciative and cheerful tone. “Farhar has been having issues with terrors?”
Nesrin’s expression darkened in an instant. “Yes. We requested your assistance specifically for that. I have been hearing that over there in Sarin, you rangers have been keeping on top of this issue.”
Myris smirked. “Yes, we have. We know this forest like the back of our hand, and we think we can even identify the source already.”
Nesrin nodded. “Good. It is always nice to know that the rangers have enough respect to come to our aid. If you think you can identify the source, that solves our problem rather quickly. The terrors have been rather… aggressive this cycle.”
“Aggressive?” I asked.
Nesrin nodded yet again. “We have had multiple instances of them finding their way into town. And our guard is good, but it is still winter, and we do not prepare for them this early.”
“Of course,” Myris chimed back in. “None of us do. But if you think we can solve the issue quickly…”
“We’ve been considering a strike force that would hunt terrors in mass.” The bags under Nesrin’s eyes seemed to have no effect on her ability to talk business as with as much smooth care as she needed. “If you know about the source, we can organize something even larger and—with your help—end the cycle early this year.”
Nesrin’s face broke out into a smile, one only a little bit darker than before. Myris smiled too, the hint of a crazed glimmer shining out from his eye.
“Good. We can prepare ourselves for that. Organize it within the next few days, then.”
The tall woman standing behind Nesrin tilted her head slightly. “I’m sorry, but Miss Nesrin does not take—”
Nesrin’s smile grew. “That is a good idea. Accelerate the timeline so that we can get it done. I’ll see to it.”
With another communal nod and a surprised look on the face of the previously expressionless woman, Nesrin filed right past us and toward the door of the hall.
The image of a bed flashed in my mind and my body slumped all at once. I felt the inexorable need to rest. Stepping forward and following Farhar’s head of guard toward the door, my leg reminded me of something instead.
A sharp bolt of pain cut through the numb bandaging of the leaves and a question instantly rose to my lips.
Just as Nesrin was opening one of the large wooden doors, I took another step forward and raised my arm.
“Actually,” I said, trying to keep the pain from my voice. Nesrin turned around. “Before you go, can you point us in the direction of a healer in town?”
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