Vannie gnced back at Edur, who was falling behind.

  He seemed to be suffering more from the journey itself than the chilling cold, which got worse over the course of the days. his small figure painstakingly trying to keep up.

  ‘To each their own burdens, I guess…’ she noted.

  They had been walking for three days now, and although the weather wasn’t getting worse, the snow, arduous and uneven terrain and the chilling temperature was more than enough to make this journey into a perilous one for the unusual duo.

  “Are you not cold?” The secretary asked. Apart from his usual clothes, the young man only wore a hooded woolen cloak.

  Edur gritted his teeth, breathing heavily as each step was harder than the precedent. The thick snow, added to his bag, which seemed light in the beginning of their venture but became more and more cumbersome, made each second challenging to his untrained body.

  “Are you not tired?” he shot back between two breaths with his own question, struggling to keep up.

  Vannie shook her head but slowed down nonetheless, matching her pace with Edur’s.

  His feet ached and his joints throbbed, his body’s temperature was boiling hot and sweat made his clothes clung to his skin uncomfortably. He rubbed his wrists absently, forcing his eyes up to take in the winter-veiled ndscape. At least it was a new scenery.

  ‘Not that I minded the inn’s routine… At least I didn’t have to walk all day with an elephant on my back and glue to my feet..’ the tired boy mused.

  He wondered how Albus was faring, he must have been notified of his sudden leave, seeing how Vannie was carrying a bunch of traveling supplies. The only person other than Edur who had the key to the storage room was Albus.

  Where else would she get all this food from, apart from the inn? He didn’t see her there, when had she found the time to retrieve all the food? He had headed to the inn as soon as he left the city hall…

  In the end, the young man decided to push those thoughts aside- it wasn’t that big of an issue anyway, and he was too tired to dwell on such details anyway.

  They stopped in the shade of a lonesome pine tree on the side of the road.

  Edur colpsed on the snow, not even bothering to y a t beforehand. Thankfully, Vannie had the mercy of letting him rest for a few minutes before setting camp.

  “One thing’s for sure," Vannie said, unbothered as she dropped her pack, “even a grandma has better endurance than you.”

  Edur shot her a gre but didn’t respond. Even arguing was too tiring…

  What frustrated him though was the fact that she was right, his endurance was really bad.

  Another thing was certain: he hated walking. Whatever he did in his past life certainly did not involve that…

  Eventually, Edur forced himself up with a groan and shuffled over to help Vannie set up camp.

  Their movements were getting repetitive by now—ying down the ground sheets, clearing snow, setting up the windbreak. The same old and cold routine.

  When they were done, they ate in silence. Supplies were running low. The journey was taking longer than expected.

  Edur nibbled on the st bits of rye and root vegetables, still processing everything Vannie had told him the nights before, where he relentlessly bombarded her with questions each night.

  and Vannie… lost in whatever thoughts grown-ups usually had.

  ‘Wait a minute…I’m a grown up too!’ rebutted sharply to himself. Their coddling was slowly getting into his mind.

  Stopping a childish pout from forming, Edur quickly finished the roots and rye. The bread had already run out since long, and they had to eat the fruits and greenies before they spoiled, which would leave them with dried meat and seeds for the rest of the journey.

  It was then, when Edur was looking around in boredom, that something odd caught his gaze.

  It was Vannie’s traveling bag, which was ying at her feet.

  Upon closer inspection, he could see near the top fp what seemed to be a strange patch stitched into the fabric.

  The symbol was that of a small boat, crudely knit, with on its ram a bleached-white skull. The skull was skewed oddly, like it was tilting its head to stare at him. And inside one empty eye socket... was a clock.

  Edur shivered.

  He’d never noticed the eerie crest before, and frankly, it gave him chills… As if this badge was meant to instill fear within you. Something that didn’t seem… natural

  “Vannie, what’s that symbol?” asked Edur, looking away from the image with mild difficulty. Something about it made his skin crawl.

  The secretary zily gnced at what he was pointing at, leaning over to perceive it too.

  “Oh this?” she said as she picked up her back, and casually tossed it at Edur, who caught the bag awkwardly and turned it over in his p, careful not to meet the stitched skull’s gaze.. “That’s the Ferrymistress’ emblem. I got this one sewn long ago… Road charm.”

  “The Ferrymistress?” echoed Edur in curiosity. It was a name he recalled hearing a few times, “It’s a goddess, right?”

  The resting dy nodded, her back against the tree trunk as she stretched her legs with a long sigh.

  “She’s Inusa, the goddess of time, death and travelers… oh, and sailing too.”

  Vannie took a surprisingly ripe apple and took a big bite of it. Gone was her reserved grace she always had as a secretary, as if she was truly into her role of a traveler.

  “Although, try not to speak their name casually, so use her title instead.” She continued, making quick work of the apple before throwing away its core,

  “It might offend some… The charm is to guarantee her protection on the road and kind of thank her for it? Something like that, at least.”

  She closed her eyes, adding with a smirk, “Honestly, I’ve forgotten the proper meaning behind the emblem. Bought this pack decades ago. Figured it’d keep me from falling into a ravine… or fall for the tricks of a spirit of the forest when marching through one.”

  The curious young man nodded along her words, intrigued to hear more about the customs of this world, especially its gods. To Vannie’s sadness, he didn’t pick up on the joke, though.

  His thoughts were more focused on the information regarding the gods. Who wouldn’t? They were the rulers of this world, each one of them revered and worshipped, no matter the races.

  The gods… they fascinated him. Everyone spoke of them with reverence, even fear. He wanted to know more.

  “So… She watches over the roads? Isn’t it strange, what has travelers got to do with time and death?” questioned the confused innkeeper.

  “Who knows? it isn’t up to us to judge what the gods govern”

  “How many gods are there? Does each race worship a specific god?” inquired Edur, very curious to learn more about them.

  The question had barely left his lips when a realization struck him— if someone was to know about his current predicament, it would be the gods! Who else had the mysteries of the world at their grasp? maybe they held the answers. If anyone knew what he was… it would be them.

  Weren’t they the ones who created everything? Surely they could unravel the mystery of a boy with no past.

  Vannie opened her mouth to reply—

  —then froze.

  Her eyes narrowed, staring over Edur’s shoulder. Her posture tensed as she stood up.

  The boy turned, his heartbeat quickening as he followed her gaze to find two silhouettes that were slowly coming closer, the strangers covered by rge hooded cloaks that hid any potential weapon and their faces.

  ***

  I quickly stood up, stepping between Edur and the two strangers. My instincts were telling me that these two newcomers were up to no good, my heartbeat increasing and my senses alert.

  As they got closer, I realized their footsteps made no sound whatsoever.

  Bad news, the only people I’ve seen do something simir back in the day were usually fierce warriors.

  Bandits? They were only two, so it wasn’t that…

  Deserters? That’s probably it. It wasn’t uncommon to find people who fled the battle - dishonoring as it may be-

  They were now only a few meters away, I furtively reached for the dagger hidden on my waist, ready to protect Edur at all costs.

  However, what I didn’t expect was for him to come out to the strangers,

  “Brielle, Narvia?” he called hesitantly.

  …What?

  Does he know these two? Since when? How?

  The looming figures stopped a few feet away when Edur called their names.

  “Do you know them?” I asked, highly cautious, the tension palpable.

  “Kind of? They were travelers who rested at our inn the day before we left… What a coincidence to meet them here! Right?” replied Edur, tentatively motioning closer to stand beside me.

  I frowned. Two travelers coming this far? For what purpose? There were no towers or dungeons here in multiple horizones radius.

  “What is your business?” I inquired, not lowering my guard.

  They did not answer, instead, they removed the hood, revealing two scar faced women, their blemishes a testament of the many battles they were a part of.

  A deserter wouldn’t have gone through so much just to quit after it. They were veterans, I’m sure of that.

  “State your purpose right this instant” I pressed further, feeling a sense of danger coming from years of experience looming over us.

  Could we run should the need arise? Edur was exhausted, and the two reeked of vigor and strength.

  What about fighting them? Not a chance. Fighting wasn’t my strong suit, while Edur… he couldn’t hurt a fly even if it would cost him his life. That’s how low he thinks of his worth, although he has yet to realize it.

  He was borderline suicidal.

  The one on our left raised her hands as she fshed a grin,

  “Hey hey, no need to be so nervous! We’re just travelers, you know?” she said, taking another step.

  The two were now barely half a Dvos away.

  The other one stayed quiet, their cloaks didn’t allow me to see if they were armed.

  “You know, it’s dangerous to travel by yourselves? Let’s finish the journey together. In numbers comes strength, am I right?” the left one resumed, her gaze bouncing between Edur and me.

  It was then that I noticed the one on the right slowly pulling something from her pouch.

  “That’s a good idea, Narvia! Where were you guys headin-”

  “Edur, stay quiet” I shushed him before bringing my attention back to them

  they shortened the distance by another meter

  “We’re not interested, thanks.” I said, slowly pulling Edur behind me

  It was when the sun reflected on the object the woman on the right- named Brielle apparently- was holding that I realized what it was.

  It was a coin.

  “You two look lost. Perhaps you would be interested in some help, then?” said Narvia, her grin widening.

  Fuck, are they…?

  Before I could react, she tossed the gold coin into Edur’s direction, who instinctively caught it.

  A fatal mistake.

  “EDUR, DROP IT!!” I yelled

  Only now did I realize who they were and what they were after.

  Edur, startled by my sudden shout, quickly let go of the coin, which dropped on the snow.

  I could see the familiar engraved symbol of a rose, whose stem being shackled in chains.

  “Shit!” I cursed as I pulled out the dagger from my belt.

  ***

  (I genuinely have no idea on how I’m gonna write the next part…) - 22 avril 2025

  Edur stood frozen, more than puzzled by the events unfolding.

  He saw Vannie pulling a dagger from underneath her cloak. She had a dagger on her? Since when?

  The air shifted. Edur could feel it. Something in Vannie’s stance had changed—her body coiled, not like a cornered rabbit, but a mother wolf ready to bare her fangs.

  He saw Narvia’s grin widen as she turned to her sister

  “He took the coin? Right? We definitely saw it.” she oozed with false enthusiasm.

  Vannie interjected, her voice sharp and fring,

  “You tricked him, and he is unaware of the custom. Now fuck off before I jam this knife in your eye.”

  Edur blinked.

  It was the first time he heard her curse.

  Gone was the calm, sarcastic secretary who handled paperwork and vilgers with a tired smile. This was someone else entirely. Someone dangerous.

  The quiet fire she usually carried was now an open bze.

  Now she was more like a threat, the aura around her airing menace. Like a cornered beast.

  “You’re going for the wrong people.” The former mercenary growled. “Go back to whatever pit you slithered from- Otherwise, one of you won’t be leaving.”

  The state of spectre seeping from her was akin to a red panda trying to make itself look more intimidating.

  For a second, there was but silence. The calm before the storm.

  Edur just stood there, behind her, not knowing whether to feel protected or terrified.

  One thing was certain;

  There was a misunderstanding… And the two sisters were not travelers.