Deilan sat at a table with his new coworkers, struggling to hear over the roar of the tavern around him. In retrospect, maybe a tavern wasn’t the best place to get to know new people. He had originally suggested that they go to one he knew near his home, one that had a damn fine stew and a mead he quite enjoyed. The entire group, except Arelia, had scoffed at the idea, however. Eleth had gone so far as to suggest that such a ‘stuffy place put on airs’ ruining the ability to get to know people. Arelia had seemed to hesitate at that, but with Tomen’s nod, hadn’t spoken up to defend his choice.

That was how they had ended up down at this riverside establishment. The place was a ramshackle affair, the boards of the building were already a strange throwback, and they were swollen with the damp in the air. In contrast, the furniture appeared to be very durable and was suspiciously dented. Torches burned around the room, a choice that had surprised him considering the ready availability of runelight. I wonder if it’s for ambiance here as well? When he had asked for a menu, he was given a strange look and offered the choice of dinner with his drinks or just the drinks. Overall, he was feeling very out of his element.

In contrast, Eleth looked relaxed for the first time since he had met her. She had quickly ordered a round of drinks for the table and was chatting with the bartender amicably while waiting for the drinks. At the table, Tomen was talking about their day, struggling to be heard over the noise.

“No, the whole fighting thing is new to me. It may be hard to believe, but I’ve never really had to defend myself.” Arelia scoffed at that, eyeing him up and down.

“Well, you could have fooled me. Do you do anything but exercise? You do know you don’t have to do all of your construction by hand, right?”

Tomen laughed goodnaturedly, his genuine smile helping Deilan relax. “No, not all of it, but there is a fair amount you need to manually. Fractals are great for the heavy lifting, but they drain your concentration quick. A lot of what we do just requires tedious labor. Plus, I’ve always been big, I’m not sure I can blame this all on my work.”

Yeah yeah, rub it in. Deilan rubbed self-consciously on his still sore muscles. He looked around and saw Eleth returning to the table with their drinks. That’s odd, why does she have 8 of them?

Eleth sat the tray down and disbursed the mugs around the table, one large and one small. The larger one was what he expected, a dark ale with a nice head of foam. The smell was a touch more bitter than he had expected, but he could deal with it. The smaller mug was some amber liquid, without any of the bubbles he had expected. Eleth raised the smaller mug, and the rest followed along. Deilan recognized a toast coming, and quickly raised his glass.

“A toast to our first day on the job,” Eleth started, beaming at them each in turn. He was happy to see that she didn’t hesitate to include him in the motion. “May the shifts be short and the tales tall!”

“Cheers!” They all called in unison, before tilting the mugs back, downing them, and slamming them on the table. Deilan managed to drink it all down just before the coughing began. Gods that burns! What was in that? He quickly took a pull of his ale to clear his throat, disgruntled to find that it was much more watery than he was expecting. They all turned to look at him, laughing uproariously. He gave Arelia a side-eye, as her eyes were still watering and the stuttering laughs gave away the small coughs she was attempting to hide. Not as worldly as she’d like the others to believe. He wasn’t willing to call her out on it, as the bonding of the group seemed to be going well.

Tomen reached over and patted him on the back. “I remember the first time I had whiskey, I did the same thing. It was with my parents and their friends though, so I got to be the little kid who couldn’t hold their drink.”

Eleth punched him on the side, giving him a wink. “I doubt anyone called you the little kid anywhere you went. For me, it was after training. The other trainees I went out drinking with insisted we only drink whiskey all night. I don’t think I’ve ever been that sick before or again. The whiskey as a celebration stuck though, even if I’m not cruel enough to do more than one. Unless someone else wants to buy the next round of it?”

Deilan quickly shook his head, and Tomen followed suit. Arelia seemed to consider it for a moment, but after a terrifying pause shook her head as well. With that issue settled, they all dropped to their seats. Arelia tilted her head to him, a look of curiosity on her face.

“So Deilan, what did you get up to after you left? You missed a wonderful weapons practice, they showed us which end of a sword is the pointy one. The answer might surprise you. Probably not though.”

Deilan shuddered at the reminder of the second half of the day. “It was portraits. Trentis had me memorizing portraits and names all day. He said the first duty of a courier was to be able to recognize the proper recipient of a letter, so I had to know every single noble in the district. Not just the heads of houses, but every minor member as well. Do you know how many branches the families have? I still don’t even after trying to untangle those trees for hours today.”

The group winced in sympathy, raising their mugs to his suffering. Arelia gave him a small knowing smile as she lowered her mug.

“I think I can offer some company for that misery, I had to go through something similar. My family makes it a point that I know not only our customers, but their families and interests. They have a saying. ‘People will pay more to a friend than a stranger.’ I’ll be honest, I prefer being hit with a practice sword to asking a woman how her nephews are doing. At least the swordblow is over quickly.”

Another round of chuckles went around the table at that, as well as another round of raised glasses. Deilan felt himself loosening more at the friendly banter, and the cacophony around him seemed more muted as well. This is a fun change. I don’t think I’ve made new friends since I left the academy, and definitely not as many from such different backgrounds. He cleared his throat slightly before changing the subject.

“So, what academies did all of you go to?”

The strange glances he got from Tomen and Eleth at that immediately made him regret the question. Arelia answered first, seemingly unaware of the reactions of the other two.

“I went to Pyrivel Academy myself, which my parents might regret. They had all of the normal coursework of course. Runes and math, reading and history. I think my parents were hoping that I’d focus on the basics there, and make connections that would help grow the business. Instead, I got caught up in extracurriculars. There was a sailing club that I had a blast with, and a survival group that really called to me. We spent an entire week one break in the foothills to the west, living only on what we caught. The one that really won my heart though was…”

She stopped at that, turning bright red. During the story, Tomen and especially Eleth had become enthralled by the story and expressed their displeasure with the cessation immediately.

“You can’t cut off at the good part,” Eleth exclaimed, “this is a bonding ritual. You have to tell us.”

Arelia shook her head at the prodding, but finally relented. “Okay, it was dance. I loved the feeling of moving and acting in time to the pattern of the music. It’s what made me realize I couldn’t sit still and quietly sell things in a shop. I need to be out there moving and doing things. Anything else feels like I’m wasting away.”

Deilan nodded along with the story, although he couldn’t quite relate. From the look Eleth was giving her though, she had found a kindred spirit. Eleth raised her mug for another quick round, and then began telling her own tale.

“The academies weren’t really an option for me. Most of the basics are covered by being brought up as part of a noble’s household, even if your parents are guards. With my wanting to follow in their footsteps, they mostly had me training in the manor. The other staff was always happy to answer my questions and show me something new. I may not have all of your fancy runic theorycrafting,” She laughed and gave him a smile to reinforce the good-natured ribbing, “but I bet I could run circles around you with the practical stuff. As well as running actual circles.”

He shook his head, getting into the groove of friendly jabs going around. She was a bit coarser than he was used to, but it seemed to be coming from a good place. She’d probably get on well with Bertral, although I wouldn’t want to be there when the snarking started.

The rest of the group turned to Tomen, who seemed reluctant to respond. Deilan wracked his brain, trying to think of a way to change the subject when he heard a mug clack against the table to his left. Surprised, he turned his head to find Malia smiling down at the lot of them.

“Lethel told me the lot of you were heading down here, I thought I’d come and congratulate you on the successful first day. Interesting choice of taverns. A little more rowdy than I would’ve chosen, but a good atmosphere. Good choice to sit near the door, in case a fight breaks out. Makes it easier to slide out without getting dragged in. Wouldn’t do to have a house guard mixed in with that kind of business. Anyways, I’ll grab the next round.”

As she walked away, Deilan glanced around the room with a look of horror. Bar fights? What kind of place is this? He looked to the group, and was surprised to see that they mostly had looks of confusion; they all turned to him, but Tomen asked the question on their minds.

“Who was that?”

Deilan thought he heard a note of relief mixed with the confusion in Tomen’s voice. Thank you Malia for inadvertently fixing my social blunder there. “That’s Malia, I guess you guys haven’t met her yet? She’s a guard at the manor, and pretty nice. Demaric mentioned that she’d be taking shifts with our training.”

Eleth nodded at this, but Tomen and Arelia still seemed confused.

“But why did she track us down?” Tomen continued, a baffled look on his face. “Did we screw up?”

Eleth opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted by the sound of a tray hitting the table. Malia smiled down at them while passing out a fresh set of mugs around the table. That done, she took a seat to his left and answered Tomen’s question.

“Nope, relax there big guy. You’re not doing anything wrong, I just wanted to get a chance to meet the people I’ll be working with, and nothing says welcome like a drink. We might get stuck guarding the same door at some point in the future, and wouldn’t it be nicer if we actually liked each other when that happened?”

Eleth nodded to that as if it were natural. The others, Deilan included, nodded thoughtfully at that. I suppose it makes sense. I’m thinking of her as an authority figure, but ultimately we’ll all be working together. He raised his new mug to take a swig, and sputtered slightly at the taste. Water? Did I get the wrong mug? He looked to her and began to open his mouth, but she shot him a quick warning glare. Okay, maybe she is an authority figure. My mistake. The others drank from their mugs, but none of them seemed to react. Why am I being singled out here?

“So,” Malia started, “why don’t you guys tell me about yourselves, and what brought you to our happy little manor?”

The night ran on and the drinks flowed freely from there, Malia’s questions turning to anecdotes that put the group at ease. By the time they left, the tavern was half empty and their group drunkenly congregated outside of the door. All but Deilan, who had long since sobered up, feeling slightly disgruntled at being left out of the process.

Malia smiled at the group, swaying slightly. “Everyone okay to get home? I don’t need to carry any of you do I?”

A round of chuckles followed that, Eleth and Arelia propping each other up and Tomen leaning against the wall.

“We’ll be fine,” Eleth slurred. “I’m walking Arelia home, then heading back to the manor. I’ve already moved my stuff into the barracks.”

Tomen nodded to that, a glazed look in his eyes. “My house isn’t too far from here, I can make it back okay.”

Malia turned to him, and while she still swayed slightly her gaze was steady. She raised an eyebrow at him, as if expecting something.

“I should be fine to get home, even if it’ll be a bit of a walk.”

Malia frowned at him, shaking her head in exasperation. “I think I better show you the way. From what I’ve seen, you’re prone to getting lost and this isn’t exactly your area of town.” The rest laughed at that, and he felt himself heat at the reminder of their meeting. What is she doing?

With another round of goodbyes, the others set off on their ways while she began walking him towards his home. As soon as the others were out of sight, she straightened up and her swaying walk ceased.

“Gods kid, you need to learn to take a hint. I was hoping you got it with the water, but I guess not. I wanted you sober so we could talk.”

Oh, damn it. How was I supposed to guess that? Although I guess it makes sense in retrospect. “In my defense, this is all new to me. What’s up? I didn’t expect to see you until we actually started training together.”

She shook her head at that, muttering under her breath. He thought he caught the words ‘amateur’ and ‘oblivious’, but he wasn’t sure. After her small tirade, she turned again to look him in the eye.

“Situation has changed slightly, and you’re going to need to move into the barracks early. Tomorrow would be best.”

He froze at that, and she stopped as well. She waited patiently as he gathered his thoughts, trying to process that request. Finally, he managed to put together a simple question.

“What’s going on?”

She waved a hand dismissively in the air, before answering casually. “Nothing really, it’s just going to be easier going forward if you’re close at hand.”

He shook his head, a feeling of frustration welling up in his chest. “I get that I’m way out of my depth here, but I’m trying. If I’m going to do this, I need to know what I’m getting into. You wouldn’t have done all this if everything was okay, so I’ll ask again. What’s going on?”

She gave him an inscrutable look, before nodding once to herself. “Not so oblivious after all. Good. Listen, the situation is complicated, and I still don’t know all of it. Trying to fill you in before I understand isn’t going to help, and will just scare you. Please just trust me when I say that the situation is complex, and minimizing the time you’re on the streets alone will make everything a lot safer going forward. I promise you, I’m only asking you to do this because I believe it’s the best way to keep you safe.”

The frustration he was feeling died down at her non-explanation, replaced by a kernel of fear. She’s holding something back, but do I push it? I think I believe that she’s just trying to keep me safe. After a long moment of indecision, he finally looked her in the eye and gave her a nod of agreement. “Okay, I trust you.”

She sighed in relief, and they began walking again. “Good, I’ll walk you home tonight and send Demaric over tomorrow morning to help you pick what you’ll need to move in. He seems to like you, despite the bruises you gave him, so I think he’ll be happy to help.”

Deilan listened absently, trying to adjust mentally to the sudden shift in his life. He wasn’t sure he was ready to leave his family behind, but it didn’t sound like he had a choice. He could feel the weight of the decision bearing down on him, threatening to make him crack. He did his best to put on a brave face, and convince himself that it would be alright. Well, I knew I was starting a new path. I guess I just have to accept that there will be a few changes along the way.