Page 65 of Storms & Sacrifice
“You were really young. Being forced to deal with all that at any age would be pretty tough.” I’m not sure my dad would have been much better if he had to go out and fight like that, but at least mom would have been home. Not that that mattered for Nylan. “I’m trying to think of something nice to say, but Jarek was right. That was really,reallymessed up of your dads.” I put my hand on top of his and squeeze.
“Thank you.” He huffs a small laugh. “The fighting lasted another week. Warhunter refused to surrender even as he continued to lose ground. Commander Grandtooth was just a simple ranger then led the final charge against him and was the one to land the final blow. Something which helped with his promotion to ranger captain after my father’s retirement a few years later.”
“Is he someone we need to watch along with Murbank?” I don’t trust anyone in a position of power aside from Khazak and Ragnarright now.
“Possibly, at least out of caution.” He nods his head. “After that, things slowly went back to normal, as much as they could. Nylan and his father moved back into their home, though he was still frequently at either mine or Ragnar’s. I remember Ruda preparing a lot of food to send Nylan home with when he visited. Jarek of course stayed around, and it was because of him that my family became involved with the Temple of the Three. He was not religious, but High Priest Bhok had counseled his parents, and he thought he might be able to do the same for my family. It helped me come to terms with how I felt about being left alone under all that pressure and seemingly gave my fathers a much needed ‘kick in the ass,’ as you like to say. It took time, but things improved after that.”
“You all seem like a pretty happy family to me, now at least.” Jarek sounds like a cool guy. “That’s when you started to volunteer at the church?”
“It gave me an outlet for all my energy that was not dependent on my family.” He gives my leg another squeeze. “Come. Dinner will be ready soon.”
Dinner is quieter than usual. Current events have kind of pulled focus from anything else that might be going on. The room is filled with the sounds of chewing, cutlery, and a little awkward small talk. It’s a very different vibe. I’m actually kinda glad when Orlun finally brings it up, asking about the apartment building and the people who lived there.
“All of the residents have been moved to temporary housing while the building is inspected. Not that it makes things much better for any of them,” Khazak answers unhappily. “Between the explosion and the fire, we are unsure if the damage is extensive enough to require tearing the whole building down. “
“There was a woman who lived there with two kids.” I’m only just now remembering the family. “She was hurt when a wall collapsed on her, and I had to help her out. Is shealright?”
“Yes, I believe her injuries were treated, and she and her children are together,” he reassures me.
“I am sure you cannot wait to leave all this behind you, David,” Rurig tells me from across the table. “You have, what, less than three weeks left at this point?”
“Uh, yeah.” I nod. “Just about three weeks.” Then my friends are out, and I guess I’m “free.”
“Any idea where you’ll be headed next?” Ayla asks me.
“I need to talk to my friends about that, I guess.” I twiddle with my fork, only just realizing my complete lack of preparation.
“Better hurry,” she tells me next. “You want to have enough time to plan before it is time to go.”
I know I probably should have been thinking about what happens when I leave for a while now—I just haven’t really wanted to. I’ve been putting it off because I guess I’m gonna miss this place. And maybe some of the people in it. It hasn’t been nearly as bad as I would have thought. I’ve learned a lot of stuff here—about the world and myself. It’s going to be hard to put all of it behind me in afew weeks.
There’s a part of me that doesn’t want to leave. I don’t mean I want to move here—just that with everything going on, with the attacks and Murbank’s murky dealings, I think I should stick around until we find the people responsible. It feels wrong to leave with that unfinished.
Ayla’s right, though. I do need to plan for the next leg of our journey. I should probably start with figuring out where that journey is going to take us. I can ask Adam and Nate this weekend when I visit, but there’s a few things I can do before then. Like getting some equipmenttogether.
To do that, I need to talk to Khazak about a couple of things. The first is that I’m not actually sure where my old equipment is. I’m pretty sure the rangers, or maybe the guards at the labor camp, are holding onto my friend’s stuff, but I don’t know what happened to mine. I haven’t exactly needed it. The weapon and armor provided by the rangers are even better than my own, but I don’t imagine I’ll be allowed to take them with me. I also don’t know if my old armor is even going to fit me anymore, so if I have to buy a new set, I wanna know now. I just bought it a month before we arrived here when my previous set was too loose after getting offthe boat.
Which brings us to the second reason I need to talk to Khazak: money. I know when we first settled on our “arrangement,” we talked a little about me getting a job to earn some, but then I started working with him at the ranger station. I’m not actually sure if I’ve been getting paid or not. It’s not like I’ve needed money for anything, which itself has been a little weird, but I’m kind of scared to find out. If I’m still broke, I might have to find something else to do these last three weeks. Something that hopefully pays alot.
I don’t work up the nerve to ask Khazak until we’re walking home later that night, feeling too weird to ask about money around his family. Our arms are once again filled with leftovers from dinner, which has me wondering how long these would last out in the forest. The food is another thing I’m gonna miss from this place. And not having to pay for it.
“Can I ask you something?” I’m a bundle of nerves the second the words leavemy mouth.
“Besides thatquestion?”
I groan at his response. “Do you know where my stuff is?” I press forward. He’s been hitting the dad jokeshardlately. “Like my bag and my equipment, the stuff I had before all of...” Itrail off.
“I was wondering if you were ever going to ask about that,” he answers with a smirk. “Your belongings are in one of the storage units in the old cell yard. We can retrieve them in the morning if you would like.”
“Thanks. That would be great.” That’s one thing down. “I need to see if my old armor still fits.”
“If it does not, we may be able to take it to an armorer and have it adjusted.” For some reason, hearing him help plan my departure stings a little. “Unless of course you would prefer new armor. I am not sure your old set was particularly useful the last time you were wearing it.”
“Or maybe I just need to start wearing a helmet, too.” He’s not wrong, but even better armor wouldn’t have helped with a blow to the head. “But I’m glad you said that because I also needed to ask... Have I been getting paid? I know we talked about it, but then things sorta happened differently, and I didn’t wanna make it seem like I was trying to be greedy since I know I’ve been eating your food and living in your house. I just need to get some new stuff for when me and my friends lea—”
“Yes, David, you have been getting paid,” he cuts off my nervous rambling with a bump to the shoulder. “I was given a stipend once you started your position. I have been putting it to the side to give to you when you leave. I would have given it to you sooner had you askedabout it.”
“I didn’t know I could,” is the excuse I go with. It’s not at all that I just didn’t want to think about leaving. “Isit a lot?”
