“You promised to stay.” 

Archil scowled, feeling bad for breaking his promise. “Mother, I know but-” 

“Oh, don’t give me any butts,” Esha dismissed her eldest, raising the ground to stand on the pedestal so she could pinch the nose of Archil. “You know I have to leave for Kutha, and you promised me you would stay here. What are we supposed to do now?” 

Being the person this was all about, Kiur quietly shut–off their whole conversation and focused solely on fixing Archil’s outfit. 

More and more ships had arrived at the mountain port of Nippur: Transport vessels with the order to investigate strange activities in the northwest. 

It was nothing unusual that they needed help. People like Archil could usually choose to reject it but not this time. Apparently, it was too urgent to refuse, and they needed all tracking and scout specialists on-site. 

Kiur’s hands began to tremble at the prospect of his brother leaving. 

“A bit too tight.” 

“Ah, sorry,” Kiur apologised for drifting away in thought, not realising that he wasn’t paying attention.  

“Mother, Kiur is old enough to be left on his own for a while.” 

“For a while…” Esha rubbed her temples. “We’re speaking of at least two months. You know we can’t leave him for that long; it’s still too soon.” 

“It has been over two years; he’s doing fine so far. Even the priests say he is adjusting well,” Archil turned to face his brother who had just finished tying up the shawl around Archil’s torso. “Kiur, it’s up to you, what do you say? We know you’re still recovering physically and… mentally… but do you think you can handle two months on your own?” 

Silently Kiur’s gaze remained on the ground, unable to answer the question. He thought about it while finishing Archil’s outfit but couldn’t come to a conclusion. 

So he turned around and picked up Archil’s weapons. Two sickle swords, one on each side of the hip and an akinakai short sword behind him. Kiur repeated the names in a trance as he strapped the weapons on Archil. 

“Kiur, please,” his mother said as she walked up to him, taking his hands in hers. Esha was around 80 and looked like a middle-aged but small and frail woman. Dwarves aged slower but the greying strands of her otherwise brown hair showed how much she had worried over the years. “We need to know you’ll be alright when we’re gone.”

Kiur wasn’t physically or mentally ill. not as much anymore but a couple of years ago Kiur had a mental breakdown. 

It wasn’t pretty; no one could recognize him anymore. An accident that scarred him so badly, he needed a lot of time and care to pick himself back up.

Work, reading and occasionally visiting the temple made it bearable. He needed something, anything to keep the cries and screams out of his head. A routine to follow every day.

Kiur mustered a meek smile and squeezed his mother’s hand. “Two months will be nothing. I can ask the priests to keep me occupied with work. It will be alright, I promise.” 

By the exchange of looks, they were not fully convinced and Kiur couldn’t blame them. After all, he couldn’t convince himself either, but it was enough to put some of their worries at ease. 

“I will be off then,” Archil said as they silently walked him to the port. He was halfway over the bridge of the ship before he stopped to walk back. 

“Did you forget something?” asked Kiur with an attempt of a grin. He was surprised when his brother suddenly hugged him. 

“See you later, little brother.” Their foreheads touched and Archil ruffled Kiur’s golden hair. “Don’t worry, everything will be alright,” Archil said one last time before he went off with the ship for who knows how long.