I open my eyes and look at my body. Jackson seems particularly happy about his kill. Looking at Tiene I find her as confused as I am, staring at her own duplicate. A hand tugs at my sleeve, and I see S standing there, waving for us to follow. After a moments consideration, we do.

Once outside the cave, we run into the tree line as we hear shouts coming from the cave. We keep going until my stamina runs out and we’re forced to slow down. S is leading us deeper into the forest, away from the Candrid farm. Tiene breaks the silence.

“What was that? I saw him kill Tee. I saw myself reacting to it! What did you do?”

S stops and listens for a moment, scanning our surroundings. Once she finds it safe, she turns to us.

“It’s a high level skill. Rare. They’re going to follow us, but they won’t be able to find us. I’m good at what I do.”

Tiene looks ready to start shouting, so I interpose myself.

“S, I don’t think…”

She stops me with a gesture.

“Selene. My name is Selene.”

My companion shifts into her polite mode.

“My name is Tiene Candrid. Pleased to meet you.”

She manages a curtsy before she realises what she’s doing. Turning around in a huff, she stands apart from us, sulking.

“Look, Selene, we’re not doubting your skills at mind manipulation or whatever that was, but what are we going to do about it all? Her family seem to be part of some sort of cult. Were they the ones who had me killed?”

Her eyes bore into me, searching my soul.

“I told you, they worship nature and darkness. All the hearts there were animals. The only human spirit was her aunt, who was a lovely woman by the way. They aren’t responsible for the death cult, but she gave me some good information as to where I can go to find out more. I don’t know if they were the ones to kill you. From what I understand it might have been an accident, using too much of the paralytic in a bad place.”

Tiene turns back to us when she hears this.

“Before today I wouldn’t say they were capable of killing anyone, but after what I just saw, it’s impossible to deny any longer. We use paralytic poison in the abattoir to keep the animals from panicking before they’re slaughtered. I doubt Sel would do it though. Poison isn’t his style.”

I consider her words while Selene looks at me expectantly.

“What about the little one, Johnny? He was pretty vicious with the bow, could he have done it?”

She looks worried.

“Before, I’d say no, but I guess. He idolises Sel, so if they worked together.”

I put a hand on her shoulder.

“It’s not your fault, you know that, right? If they decided to take things in their own hand, that’s on them. It was annoying, and a little scary, but us adventurers are hard to keep down.”

I nod towards Selene who shrugs in response.

“But I think you should stay close to me for now. I’m heading to the Barret farm to learn from Emmet now. Come with me, and we’ll lay low there until I’m ready to leave town. The mayor is going to introduce me to some people who need farmers. It’ll be a good place to hide.”

Your companions state has changed to Uncertain. - Tiene will listen to your commands with few objections. If you’re proven to work against her, the repercussions will be severe.

She puts her arms around me, hugging me.

“Thank you Tee. I’ll follow you wherever you want me to. You’re the only person I can trust anymore.”

Selene snorts slightly.

“If you two are done, I’d like to get on my way. I’ll show you to the farm first.”

As we move through the forest at a slower pace, I try not to think about sabotaging the pig.

***

The Barret farm is in a flatter area than Rognstad’s place. The house is larger, with an annex for housing seasonal workers. There’s nobody home when we arrive, so I ask Tiene to make herself at home in the barn for now. She says goodbye to Selene before heading over. The dark scout stares me down until we’re alone.

“You should be careful how you treat them.”

I raise an eyebrow.

“Treat who? The NPCs?”

She nods.

“I treat them well. I get along with most of them, apart from the really bad ones.”

She shakes her head.

“You did something to a friend of hers that she wouldn’t appreciate. That makes me think you have a tendency to play them against each other to gain benefit. That’s a players attitude. It’s not going to earn you a lot of friends.”

She looks serious. Not angry, more like concerned.

“I know. And I try to be good. I’ve fucked up a couple of times though.”

Her eyes finally leave me and I feel a profound sense of relief. I hadn’t realised the pressure she exerts.

“You can keep the coins I gave you. They should help out in a new life. I’d like the amulet back, however. They’re hard to make.”

I hand her the amulet she gave me.

“If you go back to town, you have to be careful. I won’t be able to save your ass again.”

Smiling at her, I nod.

“I understand. But if I could ask you a favour, could you keep an eye out for some people? There’s a man calling himself Captain Tubbins who stole something from me, a gift from my guide.”

At the mention of a guide, she flinches a little.

“If you see him, could you send me a letter or something? I’d really like to talk to him. Also, there are two friends of mine who go by the names Rainbringer and Stompsmash. They’re good people, so… you know, don’t kill them or anything.”

She turns to leave.

“Will we meet again?”

She doesn’t turn around.

“Doubt it, but you never know. Prime is an asshole. If he finds it funny, we’ll see each other again.”

“Hey kid! I didn’t expect you here already. Do you have something for me?”

Emmet's voice calls me, making me turn away from Selene. When I turn back, she’s gone. Emmet comes up besides me, following my gaze.

“What are we looking at?”

I absentmindedly grab his package from my backpack, handing it to him.

“A ghost, highly trained adventurer or something worse. I’m really not sure yet.”

He laughs loudly as unwraps the underwear.

“You actually did it? You animal!”

Your relationship with Farmer Barret has increased to Mentor.

Slapping my back with a heavy hand, his laughter alerts Tiene who walks over from the barn.

“What’s happening? Oh, hi Mister Barret.”

The laughter catches in his throat when he sees her.

“Miss Candrid, what are you doing here? Is your father with you?”

He looks around worriedly as she shakes her head.

“No, he doesn’t know I’m here. We’re here to ask a favour.”

Visibly relaxing, Emmet's smile returns.

“Anything for my raider friend here.”

She looks between us in confusion and I try to disarm the situation.

“We need a place to lay low for a few days, until I’m done training. I have a lead on somewhere to go as soon as I have the farmer profession. Also, don’t tell anyone that we’re here.”

Hi smile drops again.

“Do you mean that nobody knows she’s here? Or you, for that matter?”

“Yeah. And we’d like to keep it that way for now. Can you help us?”

He frowns as he considers it, before reaching a conclusion.

“I will. You’ll stay upstairs in the barn. It smells of animals, but it’ll keep you warm and there are lots of places to hide up there.”

I put out my hand and he shakes it.

“Thank you Emmet. It makes our lives so much easier. We’ll work for our food.”

His grin tells me damn straight you will.

***

Tiene spends the next two days making improvements to the farm. She has an incredible engineering mind, considering the level of technology in this area. Between shifts working my ass off in the wheat fields, she shows me her prototypes of an archimedean screw. I praise her inventiveness, making Emmet mock us by making kissy sounds. I chase him away as we continue the training. Soon, he’s taught me about planting tougher crops, about soil and nutrition. After a long days work, we’re all sitting around a fire.

Through hard work and dedication you have progressed on the profession path Farmer. Consult with more farmers and learn their techniques to continue.

“Tomorrow morning I’m heading to Korroms farm to deliver some grains and pick up some goods. I’ll take you with me so you don’t have to show yourself in town. You’ll hide in the back with the barrels of grain.”

Emmet throws another log on the fire as Tiene looks up in alarm.

“Will there be enough space there for both of us?”

He shakes his head.

“No, you’ll stay here with me for now. I’ll keep you hidden until Tee comes back for you. Less risk that way.”

She eyes me anxiously.

It makes sense to leave her behind for now.

“I’ll come back for you as soon as I can. If I’m caught alone I’ll be able to escape one way or the other. If you’re caught, it all gets more complicated.”

She nods thoughtfully, not entirely convinced.

“But what if you never come back?”

I smile at her.

“If I never come back, Emmet will help you escape to the neighbouring town. From there you’ll be able to make your way to a city where your talents will be sought after. Here, take this for safe keeping.”

I hand her my pouch of coins. I won’t need them for a while, and if I really can’t make it back it’ll help her. Her eyes go wide when she realises what it is.

“Real coins. We never use real coins here, we only barter. They say it’s the kings taxes that make it hard to keep money circulating, but I think it’s a way to keep people stuck where they are. It’s hard to make a new life somewhere else when all you own is too large to carry with you.”

We sit and talk for a while longer until the fire dies down before retiring for the evening. We bed down on strewn hay, hidden in the barn. Tiene is asleep almost immediately, her breathing slow and rhythmic. I fade into sleep soon after.

***

Every bump in the road reinforces my feelings of regret. I’m stuffed into the back of a cart between a sack of grain and a barrel of some foul smelling liquid. The last time I heard voices was a while ago when Emmet stopped by the inn to pick up breakfast. I could feel a strange longing to the simple comfort of having something to and a reasonably safe place to do it.

Wait, no, I was constantly being watched and even killed once. Man, nostalgia sets in quick around here.

An hour after we continue our trip, he knocks on the cart to let me know it’s safe to get out. We’re in a different part of the forest now. There are clear signs of logging in the forest, with fresh growth filling in between the dead stumps.

“What’s going on here?”

I sit next to Emmet up front, with a heavy cloak to hide my features in case of observers.

“We’re getting close to the sawmill. This is one of their early logging operations. They rotate them around every few years to avoid decimating the stock. This place will be ready for harvest in another ten or so years. Earlier if they can get Father Houg to bless the growth regularly, but he’s a bit of a stickler for the rules.”

I smile at that.

“As opposed to Sheriff Houg the lawman, or Mr. Houg the town clerk?”

He chuckles.

“An industrious man our Houg. Rumour has it he was trained at the royal academy. Why he’s stuck here in the middle of nowhere is anybodies guess. If you look to the left now, you’ll see the lumber mill.”

A large building sits in the distance next to a river. Logs are fished out of the water and stacked along a platform to dry, before being hauled in on one side of the mill. On the other side there are people receiving the raw planks, preparing them for curing on a separate platform nearby. I’m impressed by the organisation of the site.

When we arrive at the Gennet farm, we’re met by the grumbly dwarfkin. Him and Emmet exchange some words before he departs, leaving me alone with Korrom. We look at each other for a moment before I break the silence.

“The pig is fed.”

He nods and turns away, and I scramble to follow.