Day 38, 4:20 PM

  Apparently, Fred tried to blame me into talking him and his cousins into going to the dungeon, the little shit. Fortunately, Gila, Lucy, and Martin, who was supposed to be the fourth member of the team, outed him. Gila even said I saved him from the orb-weaver, so, fortunately, the older generation is well disposed towards me, Fred’s dad included.

  I’m still amazed by the name; Ed, dad of Fred, sounds like something straight out of folk songs and tongue-twisters. Della, Lucy’s mom, bustles about, providing me with snacks, tea, and company while I wait for her daughter. She calls me a strapping young man way too many times, her face marbled in red, her bosom pushed up, but I play oblivious and wait. She’s a fine woman, but I spent a lifetime surrounded by finer women. None of which drew my eyes from my beloved.

  “Mom! I’m home!” Lucy breaks the awkward atmosphere and chokes when she sees me sitting in a wooden chair, munching on honeygrubs unfit to carry Edna’s cooking’s shoes.

  Lucy’s face is priceless, but I wonder what’s passing through her head. Here I am, the man who promised to take her away, sitting in her home’s common room. The indoor purple drapes cover the wall behind me like a backdrop for a painting, the rickety stool makes a squeak as I turn to face her.

  “Hey, Lucy, long time no see!” The chair scrapes against the stone floor as I stand, saved from the mediocre, overly oily sweets. If Edna survives, I need to compliment her honeygrubs.

  “Griff!” I can see the terror in her face as she mentally checks whether she’s wearing anything too dirty or embarrassing in any other way. Like she can be any worse than the state we were in before leaving the dungeon.

  I expected her to say something else, but apparently that was it.

  “I was passing through the town and thought I could use a guide, and there’s your wish we need to discuss.”

  “What wish?” Panic tinges Della’s voice. “You’re not going back to the dungeon again, are you? Ed already explained how under-leveled and under-equipped you guys were. You would’ve died if not for Griff.”

  “I-we,” Lucy stutters, but I step in to rescue her from her own tongue.

  “I believe we both know dungeoneering isn’t Lucy’s wish, but even if it were, I have no intention of taking her to the dungeon.”

  Della lets out a relieved breath. “Thank heavens, I was afraid you’ve taken after your dad.”

  That comment, coupled with a couple other things, weaves a complete story in my head.

  “Wanna go out, Lucy? Show me around town? Maybe to a good blacksmith, or the place where Gila is going to open her shop?”

  Lucy gulps, glancing sideways. Something’s obviously wrong.

  “Yeah, let’s go out.” Her smile is fake and strained, and I follow her out without saying another word.

  “What’s a matter with Gila?” I ask as soon as we turn around the corner.

  “Her parents took her share of the loot. She sobbed, saying they were robbing her of her future, but they didn’t care. They said they needed the money to eat, to provide for Gila and her siblings, and to pay off their debt. Nobody said a word, since she’s their child, living under their roof.”

  I’d be livid if that happened to me. Just closing my eyes is enough to recall Gila’s brilliant smile when I told her she could have my share of the herbs. I can imagine just how devastated she was to have her parents crush her dreams when she was on the cusp of realizing them.

  I keep the thought in mind, but Edna’s crisis takes precedence.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  “Is there anything interesting happening in the town? Something we could do?”

  “There’s gonna be a witch-burning tonight, in the field outside the walls. I heard a bunch of inquisitors have caught someone extremely dangerous. Tod said thirteen went after her, but only ten returned.”

  Thanks Tod, whoever you are.

  “Lucy, I have a crazy idea. Do you want to hear it?” Her lips crack in an expectant smile. Gestures with her eyes for me to continue, and I do. “How about you and Gila run away? The witch-burning is a chance to leave the walls with a mass of people, and nobody asking questions, then we can sneak away and just leave. Gila can learn a respectable craft in another castle and lead a happy life there while we travel. Or you could stay with her.”

  Lucy stops and stares at me. The good news is she isn’t saying no, the bad news is the way she’s staring at me. I think she’s wondering whether I’m a human trafficker or something.

  “Do you really mean that?” Her voice is tinged with disbelief.

  “Yes, sure, I want to give you two a chance.” For a moment, I wonder whether I’m making a wrong move, trusting these two. What if they don’t want to be mages? What if they prove to be a liability? Do I have any right to involve myself in Gila’s family matters?

  “Do you think Gila would be interested?”

  Lucy nods. “All Gila wants is a life of luxury. When we talked about it, she said she’d like to seclude herself in her shop, make beautiful dresses and live a carefree life. I just don’t know whether anything’s changed now that her parents took her money.”

  “Let’s go talk to her, nightfall is less than three hours away, so we have plenty of time.”

  Lucy weaves a path through the maze of streets, coming to a halt before another door, identical to that of her own home. The plaque is a bit different, ‘Riven’ written in a rougher hand, but otherwise, it’s impossible to differentiate the houses.

  Lucy knocks on the door and takes a step back. A short stick-of-a-woman opens the door, holding a whimpering baby in her arm. Behind her I can see a messy household, the smell of some foul cooking spreading into the street, along with the noise of what must be anything between three and ten dozen children.

  “Lucy, dear, what brings you ‘ere?” She eyes me suspiciously, and I put on a light, friendly smile, one designed to reassure parents of troublemaker kids whose friends are all troublemakers themselves.

  It didn’t work.

  “And ‘ho’s ‘e?” She squints at me.

  “Hello, aunty, this is Griff, he helped Gila and me, and I was gonna show him around town, and I think Gila might want to go with us, to say thanks and all.” Lucy fires the words in a single hurried breath, like a chain reaction crash with half the words mangled.

  Aunty, however, just eyes me again from head to toe. She clearly suspects some ploy, I don’t know which, but her scrutiny clearly informs me I’m a suspect.

  “Alright.” She turns her head around, shouting with no regard for the baby. “Gila, come ‘ere. Lucy and your friend are waitin’!”

  I don’t know how, but Gila apparently picks out her shout in the ungodly din, and comes over. She looks like a kicked puppy, then brightens up when she sees me.

  “Griff!” She’s excited, but a moment later her depression strikes back with a vengeance and she looks like someone poured a bucket of water on her head. “Hi.”

  “Hello Gila. Nice to see you again.” I smile and speak like I’ve noticed nothing odd. “I just got into town, and Lucy offered to show me around, would you like to join us?”

  She starts stuttering, but her mother just pushes her out.

  “Get married,” she whispers into Gila’s ear, probably thinking I can’t hear her. And to be honest, one needed at least twenty physique to catch her words. On the other hand, even a blind man could see Gila’s pale face turn a marbled red.

  She trips, and I catch her, her mother grinning like all is going according to plan before she shuts the door.

  We move down the street in an awkward silence before I speak.

  “So, Gila, how do you like this place? What would you say if I offered you a way out of here?”

  The girl snaps her head towards me, her interest obvious.

  “There’s going to be a witch-burning tonight, and we can use it to slip away. You won’t get the kind of life of comfort you wanted, and while I can’t guarantee your safety, for obvious reasons, I won’t force you into dungeons, or make you do anything you don’t want to do.”

  She’s considering the offer, which is good, so I turn towards Lucy. It’s time to set some proper boundaries.

  “The same goes for you. I can’t guarantee your safety, but I will try to keep you safe, and I won’t abuse you in any way without your permission. That said, I’m not selfless, I do have a goal and you two could help me reach that goal. Personally, I don’t think my offer is detrimental to you, and I would certainly accept it if I received it.”

  I pause, giving them the time to process what I’m saying before I continue. “That said, accepting my offer comes with danger. What I offer is a life of freedom and dignity, but it comes at the cost of having those who would rather kill you than let you live such a life. What do you say?”