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17

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Murder? There was no way this was possible. He knew Ven, and he wouldn’t do something like this. Rylir was sure of it.

He tore the parchment down from the tree and ran over to where Essie was turning under the soil for the new growth. He fumbled over some root wads, nearly twisting his ankle in the process, as he brought the parchment along.

“Essie!” he called once he was within earshot. Essie glanced over, perceiving Rylir’s panic, and transferred her attention to him instead of the moist tangle of plants in her hand.

“Something wrong? You sound alarmed. Have we been spotted by the townsfolk?” asked Essie. Rylir shook his head and held up the piece of parchment.

“We’re alright, but I don’t think my friend is,” said Rylir. Essie squinted at the yellowed paper and sighed.

“So small. I can’t read that. At any rate, this is the perfect opportunity for you to employ those skills you’ve been enhancing so diligently these past few months. Shouldn’t you be practicing your lett-”

“Essie, it’s Ven. He’s my friend, and I think he’s in trouble. I… I can’t read all of the words or letters on this, but… I… I think it says murder. Please… Please, Essie, help me with this,” pleaded Rylir. He knew this was definitely not Essie’s way, but he had to know for sure what this paper said without error.

Essie sighed and glanced from the parchment to Rylir’s face.

“You are asking me to willingly enable you?” she asked, staring Rylir long and hard in the eye before lowering her hand and holding out her fingers. “Very well. No sense in making you struggle when you are obviously distressed.”

Essie gingerly pinched the note between her thumb and forefinger before holding it up to her eyes. She muttered her incantation, “diovi,” and a spark illuminated in her eyes as she began to read.

“Nomad Found! Trial today! For crimes of theft, assault, and murder. A nomad know as Ven Rethfi was apprehended by local authorities after he was identified by the victim, Lady Teressa Leonte, and her family. There will be a public trial where sentencing of the perpetrator of these horrendous crimes will be convicted.”

Rylir could not believe his ears. Ven? There was no way.

“That’s insane!” he growled. “Ven wouldn’t do something – anything – to get him in trouble like this. He’s had his… not so great judgment moments, but he’s a good person. The worst crime I’ve ever known about is him sabotaging the morning bread cart so the loaves would fall on the ground.”

“That is still technically a punishable offence,” mentioned Essie as she tucked the parchment into her side pouch with her components.

“You are not helping by saying stuff like that!” scolded Rylir.

“Apologies for tainting your perception of your friend, but evidently he is being tried by a jury of his peers with the irrefutable evidence of multiple eye-witnesses,” Essie countered.

“It’s not possible!” disputed Rylir. “First, this so called ‘lady’ is the same one they said I attacked. They are just looking for someone to drag under the cart, and they are choosing Ven. I did speak to her once, and she doesn’t seem like the kind of person to just randomly accuse someone, so this has to be her family. Second, Ven wasn’t in town when this happened three months ago. I know because he was in another town when this happened. Plus, I would have seen him while I was in town, right?”

“Really?” inquired Essie. Rylir nodded in reply. “Then, naturally, this is a false conviction.”

“It has to be,” Rylir muttered. He leaned up against a nearby tree and slumped. Something was different about him now. Something had lit a fire and was burning a raging inferno inside him. Was it because of his curios mind? Was it because he felt like he had the knowledge to back up his argument? Whatever the case, Rylir suddenly felt like he had a clear, undeniable objective.

“I… have to do something about this.”

Essie’s eyes widened for a fragmented moment.

“Excuse me?” she asked. “Rylir, may I remind you that a large group of, in the vernacular, thugs nearly bludgeoned you to death for this particular accusation. It could be that your friend will be subjected to the same punishment, regardless of the evidence presented in his favor.”

“I know, and that’s why I can’t let the same thing happen to him. Just showing up will throw them off because they were originally after me,” said Rylir, his chest feeling heavy with the decision he was wrestling with.

“You have little to no assurance that you will not be, as you said, drug under the cart for this same crime. Both you and your friend could be accused of this crime and then where will you be? Convicted and sentenced, trapped in some cage to rot until the end of your days,” countered Essie firmly. “No. You are not taking the fall for this crime. I won’t allow it.”

“I’m not looking to take the fall. I just… I want to talk to the lady. Maybe… maybe I can convince her that it wasn’t my friend,” said Rylir, folding his arms across his chest as his brain scrambled to find some way to go about this plan of his.

“Again, you intend to redirect their focus from your friend onto you, which statistically does not bode well for you. I can’t condone this course of action,” replied Essie. She sat down and placed her fingertips on the very edge of Rylir’s shoes. “Rylir, you need to think about this rationally.”

“I know. There’s just this feeling that I have that I can’t shake. I think that if I can maybe talk to her, I can get her to tell the truth,” said Rylir.

“And how long do you think this will take?” asked Essie.

“I don’t know, but I’d stay as long as I need to save my friend,” said Rylir firmly.

Essie felt her body go rigid.

As long as he needed to?

Her mind interpreted that one phrase in many ways, but two rose to the surface. The first being exactly what he meant. He would stay as long as he needed to.

The other way to understand his statement, however, was that he wanted to go back to the village – to people like him. Did he want to go back? He had the chance once and decided to stay, but now they were within a few hours’ walk of a civilization. Was his answer different now?

Only one way to find out.

“You’re… asking to stay? Stay with them? Not…” asked Essie after several moments of still silence. She felt a pang in her chest as she said it. A pang she wasn’t expecting.

Rylir, hit instantly with a pang of guilt, just started shaking his head.

“No. That’s not what I want. I just… can we stay here? Just for the rest of the day? So I can get this sorted out?” asked Rylir. Essie felt some unknown pressure release from her chest as she heard Rylir’s words.

Still… it was a bit of a risk.

Being down here would only inspire the villagers to take up their pitchforks and torches to come drive her out. It happened once before when Essie first left Kaven to find her own way.

It wasn’t a good feeling.

At the same time, Rylir asked for so little. His friend was in danger, and he said he didn’t want to stay with the townsfolk, meaning he still wanted to stay with her, which somehow made her heart swell with warmth.

“Very well Just for the remainder of the day. I’ll be here in the area. Approaching the town would be ill-advised,” agreed Essie.

The elation in Rylir’s smile was all Essie needed to know she was doing the right thing.

“Thank you, Essie. I swear I’ll be back in no time,” said Rylir. He pushed himself up to leave, but Essie’s fingertips suddenly grasped him from behind.

“You mean you’ll be back in no time after I cast this on you. Returning will be more time-consuming, but I can help you get there,” said Essie as she muttered the same phrase she had said so many times before to give her the speed necessary to descend the mountainside with ease.

“Thank you. I’ll be back soon. I promise.”

Rylir concentrated and, as Essie had done, he stepped and practically flew over the land. Step after step accelerated him back to a civilization he once lived every day.

He didn’t hear Essie’s soft call of, “be careful,” and instead heard the blood roaring in his ears.

Was he ready to do this?