Welt walked free of the Guards' Barrack seventeen Silvers poorer than he'd been an hour ago, and sat on a nearby bench with a sigh. Leaning on the wall beside him, Ira lazily extended a meat skewer his way.
Welt glanced at the cold, charred meat but batted it away, choosing to stare absently at the crowd bustling in the street before him. Shrugging, Ira took a large bite from the skewer. She spoke through her mouthful:
"Sorry, I dont have any money on me. I promise I'll pay you back though."
"You'd better. And, not in meat skewers. I want my fifteen Silvers back."
"Yeah, yeah, you'll get coins. But, isn't it crazy?"
"What?"
"They claim that table is worth ten Silvers! I've seen tables worth ten Silvers before... one that breaks so easily certainly isn't."
"You break a lot of tables worth that much?"
"You'd be surprised."
...
Ira's outfit was surprisng for Welt. She dressed in tight, thick materials that didn't shy away her curves and pronounced musculature, all obscured by a sleeveless cloak and hood that wrapped around her neck with a golden sigil tieing its sides together.
Most women in the Harvestlands dressed in simple frocks and dresses made of wool, with homemade string and adornments for personalization. Ira stood out far more than she cared to notice, though. She ignored the gazes of many that walked past her, guards included.
Catching himself similarly looking at her, Welt shook his head, and refocused his attention on the crowd.
"Sorry for staring. Earlier."
Ira continued eating, not sparing any glance to Welt as she replied.
"Yeah, well, I don't blame you. I look pretty unique, right?"
...
"I was reading about the Old Kingdom's Military. Their tactics seem so... backwards! Compared to what is common in Dwyra and Bulwark forces, at least."
"Ah, that's probably to do with the opponents."
From the corner of his eye, Welt noticed Ira's gaze shift a little in his direction.
"What do you mean?"
Welt continued to parse the crowd of sellers and buyers before him. Watching a heated exchange between two men over some jewellery, he elaborated.
"It's not well documented, but a lot of the Old Kingdom's Battles were waged against overwhelming foes. Ones that were more powerful, but also more intelligent than them."
He pointed out the arguing men as he continued.
"We think of the kingdom's wars like them, the men openly fighting over the best price for the goods they are buying or selling. They're both large, strong, and can fend for themselves. The outcome of their exchange is the difference of, maybe, a few Silvers."
Welt looked at the crowd closer, expecting to find a good explanation in a few moments.
"In truth, the Old Kingdom was not strong, or large, and the outcome of such an open exchange would have left them wiped from history. They were more like... those two."
Welt pointed to a pair of young, thin children who shifted back and forth near a baker's stand. Their intent was obvious to anyone paying attention.
"Humanity was very desperate, for a time. But, its that desperation that let us survive through the times of the Old Kingdom."
The pair of starving children took a chance when the baker looked away to watch the heated debate by the two boisterous men, taking just a single loaf and disappearing into the crowd.
"Allegedy."
"And how would you, allegedly, know this?"
"My father... he told me."
"Hmph. Not exactly a credible source."
"You'd be surprised."
...
"Instead of marching large forces, they focused their military into scouting parties, and ambushed groups as they went. Me and my father actually mimic their tactics, albeit on a much smaller scale, when we go hunting."
At some point in his explanation, Ira had begun walking through the street, and he had followed her lead. She walked with her hands clasped behind her head, cushioning her golden hair from behind. She turned her head to the side, speaking to him.
"Hmmmm, a hunter, ey? Is that where all those scars are from?"
"Most."
"So you're good with a bow? They've got these new things called Crossbows out in Dwyra now, you should try your hand at one!"
"No, no. Well, I'm okay with a bow, but I often just throw my sword at whatever is too far from me."
Welt brought his Lucky Longsword from its sheath to demonstrate. Catching the eye of one of the guards who'd taken him and Ira to the Barrack earlier, he decided to put it away instead.
"...Not much of a sword, is it? More of a dagger."
"I guess. My father gave it to me."
Ira turned and stopped on a point. One hand on her hip, and the other pointed straight at Welt.
"Yeah, yeah. My father this, my father that. Do you ever exist outside of him?"
Welt's wide-eyed stare looked away, trying to escape the sudden accusation.
"..."
Sighing slightly, Ira turned back and began walking after murmuring a soft-spoken apology.
"Sorry."
"No, it's okay. He's missing, so I've found myself talking about him a lot. That's embarassing of me-"
Ira pulled Welt by his tunic into a side alley, pressing him into the wall with a strong thud. Her face was close, the touch of her arms pinnned against his chest was...
He wasn't sure. It was something? He felt embarassed, for some reason.
"Don't worry. At least you have a father worth missing."
She spoke somewhat carelessly, but in a hushed tone, clearly not feeling the same embarassment as him.
The sound of a bustling group of people blew past, casting a brief shadow on the two of them in the already shaded alley.
Welt took a second to recompose himself.
"What's your father like?"
Ira turned to a shop in the alley, regarding the simple wooden carvings it displayed in an open window. She answered.
"A failure."
...
She walked into the dark shop with her back straight, and began scowering the wares with an attentive eye. Crouching down to the bottom shelf, she spoke again while inspecting a carved soldier figure.
"So, what's up with you?"
"I'm not sure what you mean."
"You walk like you've got the weight of the world on your back."
Welt reflexsively clung to the tightly wrapped bandage covering The Burden laying on his arm.
"Uhm- I'm... tired. I'm tired."
"Uh-huh. That's why the bench from earlier almost screamed from you sitting on it?"
"Excuse me? I didn't hear it creaking."
"It was really angry, you know? Even the cobbles on the floor seem to be whining about you."
"You... can hear them?"
"...I'm kidding, buddy."
"...Sorry, I am bad with jokes. I've only ever been told that I have a sense of humor once."
"You didn't think pissing me off in the Library was funny, then?"
Welt couldn't bring himself to answer aloud.
Very funny.
She purchased the solider figure from the craftsman's store and strutted back onto the street. The sun had almost completely set, and the two walked side-by-side in the lantern-lit streets of Endsham at a leisurely pace.
Welt was mimicking leisure, though. The Burden still weighed heavily down on him, after all. He'd been walking around with what felt like a pile of stones bound on his body during the whole evening.
The exchange with Ira had been, admittedly, pretty fun for Welt. Talking absently with another person near his age was something he'd rarely experienced.
Maybe, I should get arrested more often? It seems like a good ice-breaker.
It had been a nice change of pace for him, getting to talk to someone again. Like how he'd talked with Gahan on their travels.
Gahan...
There was still work to be done in Endsham.
"Still... you're strange."
"I'm just tired, can we please move on from this topic?"
"No... You... there's something off about you. I've thrown many men around in my time, and you simply weigh more than you should. It's unnatural."
"You must be mistaken."
"I am rarely incorrect in matters of combat. Sizing up my opponent is an element of my expertise."
She stared at Welt closely. Closer, and closer. Gripping his wrist tightly.
Her theorizing, suspicious eyes reflected a gold-tinted vision of Welt's own nervousness, his white eyes swimming in fear and anticipation, but still unable to look away from her.
"You..."
He closed his eyes tight as she started, wincing and preparing to hear the poorly-kept secret of his Annointment.
"You're wearing training weights, right?!"
...
...
...
"You got me!"