The reception was a large room, with several tables laid out across the floor and a wide stone counter by the far wall, behind which was a stairway leading up. The room was sparsely populated, each person sitting in the room wearing gaunt faces as they glanced over before turning back to their meals and vacantly staring at their food. Or the walls.

  An odd atmosphere.

  A man behind the counter waved. He reminded Firnix of a walrus; he was blubbery, had big front teeth, and had bushy brown hair all over. He was cooking something in a pan over the counter which sizzled and hissed as it gave off peals of white smoke.

  “Now there’s two faces I haven’t seen,” the man said. “And they look like they’ve been dragged through the worst of it.” He wrinkled his nose as the two neared. “Smells like it too, sorry to say. The name’s Gan, manager of the inn at Cestod’s village.”

  Firnix bowed to his waist with folded hands. “Greetings to the venerable innkeeper Gan. We have indeed come to this esteemed village from a harrowing journey.”

  He tried not to sweat. He didn’t know what would happen if the man found out his Umbra was deactivated, but he could only assume it would only end in his capture by Elkah again. If it came down to outright lie after outright lie, he wouldn’t hesitate. He hoped Syra understood what was at stake, too.

  Gan raised a bushy eyebrow. “This ain’t the sunniest spot on the island. You sure you wanted to be here of all places?”

  “This was the first village we could find after we had our mishap,” Firnix said. “We would like to humbly request a meal and lodging at the inn.”

  “Humbly request?” He let out a rumbling sound that Firnix could only assume was a laugh. “I like the sound of that.”

  He shook the contents of his pan a few times before dipping it into two plates. There were a lot of greens, some sliced vegetables and fruits, and some black, unidentifiable things as well.

  Gan stepped around the counter and laid the plates at a table. “Take a seat with me,” he said. “I would love to hear your story.”

  Syra joined him, and Firnix followed reluctantly. Was Gan merely curious? Or suspicious, too?

  Then he realized he had no money. Syra couldn’t have any either, since she didn’t have any packs or pockets, just the blue-silver blouse wore.

  “Amends, venerable innkeeper Gan, but we lost any monetary compensation we could’ve provided in our mishap. May we provide our labor as compensation instead?”

  “Monetary compensation?” Gan repeated, sounding confused. “What do you mean? That doesn’t exist anymore.”

  Syra smiled. “He was Gifted his Umbra after arriving on the island just yesterday. He’s not fully aware of how things work here,” she said.

  “We have been tasked by Elkah to ride a drake from here to a village in the east,” she added, which was not the truth, thankfully.

  Firnix silently ate. He didn’t know enough about Elkah’s society to not blow their cover. He wasn’t sure if deciding to stick with her would be the right decision in the end, but in that moment, he was thankful to have not come alone.

  Gan’s shoulders slumped. “Elkah sent you two? To ride a drake? Really?”

  Syra smiled innocently. “When she gave us the order in her house, we set out to make the trip fast as lightning.”

  Gan looked suddenly distraught. Firnix stiffened, expecting the worst — that they hadn’t fooled the man with their story — but as he spoke, the issue proved to be something else entirely. “If Elkah doesn’t know, then we truly are doomed. I will do my duty and provide you two with a roof over your heads and meals to fill your stomachs, but you must leave before the morning after the next.”

  “Why’s that?” she asked.

  “The drakes are coming at that time, for their meat. But we won’t have nearly as much as they’ll expect.” His voice dropped to almost a whisper. “Cestod, our Reeve, booked too many of the reptiles. Trying to get more power and wealth to his name, but it’s not been sustainable. Not anymore.” He smiled wistfully. “None of us villagers can leave by law, but the two of you can.”

  Firnix felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. It was a shock to him that drakes could even be ‘met’ with at all without some blood spilled. If they didn’t even get what they’d been promised…

  “Is that why everyone looks depressed?” Syra asked, peering around the room.

  Gan nodded. “I’m trying to stay strong for my family. I’d join the hunters, but most animals around this village have been over hunted, so all the deer and boars are hours-long journeys away. The hunters’ve been overworked to the bone looking for any meat they can.” He pointed to his forehead. To the mark of his Umbra. “But I have to stay here in the inn all day, even though we rarely get any visitors nowadays.”

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  That must be why we couldn’t find any animals earlier! Firnix realized. For overhunting to be responsible for something so drastic. These villagers must’ve been pushed to the brink. No wonder everyone in this room looks so glum.

  “So at this rate…” Syra began.

  “...Everyone in the village will die two days from now,” Gan finished solemnly.

  A sudden bang near Firnix caused him to jump. It was Syra; she’d slammed the table with a palm.

  “I’ll fix this problem! For you, and your family, and everyone else in the village. Umbras are meant to protect the people, not abuse them!” she declared, pointing a finger at herself. Then she blinked rapidly. “After sleeping!”

  Gan stared, dumbfounded. “Um. Thanks.”

  ***

  Syra and Firnix followed Gan to a room on the second floor of the inn. There were two beds, if hard rectangles stuffed with straw could be considered as such. To Syra, who felt tired enough to sleep a season away, they could.

  The rest of the room was sparse; a cupboard, a mirror, and some extra straw squatted in the corner. A window overlooked the flowing river and the buildings on the other side.

  As Gan’s footfalls receded down the stairway, she turned to see how Firnix was taking the news.

  “Appears we can’t get a drake from here,” she said.

  He nodded, seemingly lost in thought as he stared out the window. Then he looked sharply at her. “What exactly is a Reeve?”

  “They’re a village’s leader. Every village has one, besides Sylvanshade. They can make any Umbra laws for the villagers, as long as it doesn’t interfere with any of Elkah’s laws.”

  He pointed to a building through the window. It was perched on a thick branch, with a ladder against the tree trunk leading down to the ground. It looked clean from the outside, which made it stand out from the others like a shiny pebble atop a puddle of mud.

  Not only that, but a man and a woman stood outside the house in shining metal armor. She almost never saw metal; it was rare to find on the island. They had long spears and stood with backs straight, giving the impression they were guards. She couldn’t imagine why guards would be needed when everyone had an Umbra to prevent crime and violence; perhaps they were meant for drakes?

  “That might be the Reeve’s residence, isn’t it so?” Firnix asked. “Cestod’s.”

  That was likely. She could guess what he was thinking. She trusted in the society Elkah had built with Umbras — after all, how many places in the world were there where two weary strangers could walk into a village and receive free food and shelter? But this Reeve was abusing his power.

  “Let’s sleep and think about it,” she said, eyeing the extra straw in the corner.

  Firnix hesitated.

  “What is it?” Syra asked.

  “Can Elkah find us here? What if the Redcloaks come while we’re asleep?”

  “Oh, don’t worry about that. There’s no way they know we’re in this village.”

  “Suppose that Umbras could somehow transmit information telepathically to her. She’d have found out we’re in this village as soon as we arrived.”

  “But that’s not possible. I’m sure.”

  “Suppose it was. Like, ah, theoretically.”

  Wow, this boy is paranoid. Even as tired as he looked, he probably wouldn’t get any sleep unless she reassured him.

  Syra flopped onto her bed and thought for a moment. She wouldn’t have to lie to assuage his worries; there really wasn’t anything to keep awake about, not from Sylvanshade at least. “Elkah would just send a Redcloak to fetch us back. Not Jeol or Moth, they’re busy, and definitely not Da, she never lets him out of her sight. It would probably be Duri, since he’s really fast too. She also knows he’s stronger than me, since I… you know.”

  “Bleed and scar yourself whenever you use lightning.”

  Syra stuffed her face into the rock-hard pillow to cover her pout. “Yes,” she said, her voice coming through muffled. “That. But whether he’s stronger or not doesn’t matter, since even as fast as he is, he can’t reach us before the morning the drakes come.”

  She lifted her head. “Not that he’s even coming, since like I said—”

  Firnix was already asleep.

  She watched him for a while. Ever since he’d arrived, she’d gone through excitement after excitement, but now that the initial rush had died down, she wondered if it was for the best. If that ship hadn’t come, she’d be home in Sylvanshade, like nearly every night she could remember, lying alone on that scratchy cot and wondering what existed outside the little world she knew.

  Right. Firnix had given her more than just danger and thrill; he’d given her a glimpse of what lay beyond. What lay ahead. Here, away from home, she could move forward. With her Soulcasting, with helping Da, with her dreams. Finally.

  But that wasn’t it. There was something more to his presence that she was drawn to. He was a person. With his own goals, ambitions, likes, dislikes. Unaffected by Elkah’s preferences and laws. Elkah would call that safe, or unpredictable, but it was something different to Syra. When she saw him, she didn’t feel alone anymore. It was strange. A new feeling, almost uncomfortable. Would he remain on this island after finding Mistbound Lake? Her heart almost ached at the thought, but she shook her head and dispelled the thought. She didn’t have time to wonder about the future.

  His blanket rose, and fell, rose, and fell. A steady rhythm. A calmness she hadn’t felt for what felt like forever. But it was temporary.

  Syra shifted her attention out the window. One way or another, she needed to save these villagers from the abuse of the system that should’ve protected them. And they needed her help now.