She had until the next evening to figure out who she would choose for her companions. For a moment, she thought about going herself. It would be somewhat easier, on some senses. Asking the villagers to give up their lives in order to go on a quest with her was foolish, especially after they had given her shelter without questioning anything.

She turned to Helja after her practice with the bow and arrow, although her frustration with her lack of permission to hunt felt like an oversight. She did not, however, share her thoughts with Helja. Instead, she remembered a discussion she had with Verina, where she had questioned the woman and nearly wound up expelled from Verina’s apprenticeship opportunity. She would not question Helja–not when her past had become present in her mind to that degree.

“I think I should ask Jarl to join me on the quest,” Emerys mused as she cleaned up the practice area. “Listen. This might be our opportunity to try and learn more about the situation, and then I might be able to find a way to try and discover more information about your son.”

Helja gave a long pause. “Who else are you thinking of asking to join you.”

“Either Ingrid or Gudrun,” Emerys said softly. “I hope that’s alright.”

“No, it’s not that. I just want to ask, though,” Helja said. “How do you intend to help us find our son?”

“I mean, if anyone is likely to give or take answers, it might be me,” Emerys said. She looked Helja in the eye, noting the skepticism within the woman’s brow. “Also, that’s what you wanted from me.”

“No, I know that,” Helja said. “What I am saying is that you need to plan things.”

Emerys turned to the nearby window. The water had a silvery quality in the sunset light, with the water appearing like a shimmering, longform crystal in the glow. “As of right now, I don’t know. Also, his methods for teaching the language are helpful.”

“Of course they are,” Helja said. “You’ve once again improved rather quickly. I suppose it comes with only speaking or language for a little over three weeks.”

“I do write in my own language,” Emerys said.

“Listen,” Helja said. “You may go ask Jarl to join you on your adventures. Just promise me, to your face, that you will keep your end of the bargain in trying to find our son.”

“Yes,” Emerys said. “Of course. So long as I am able to.”

She found Jarl tending to a bush outside, his shears taking off unnecessary parts. Jarl continued to whistle as he clipped the bushes. The moment he saw Emerys, his gaze narrowed.

“I’m sorry,” Emerys said. “Listen, I know things are complicated here, and I am sorry to pull you away. But if you help me on my quest, I will help you find your son.”

Jarl turned back to Emerys, giving her a skeptical expression. “What are your plans?”

“If we go and see the king, we might be able to try and find more information on that,” Emerys said. “I know it isn’t a lot, but hopefully it will be enough of a start.”

He sighed. “I will go talk to my wife about the opportunity.”

Emerys nodded. “I should go talk to Gudrun and Ingrid. I’ll come back when I am done.”

When she left their hut, she began to notice how tense her body had been. She released her shoulders, taking a long, deep breath. Upon knocking on the hovel, Emerys realized Gudrun wasn’t home yet. 

When she found the shop, two young men appeared, talking rather quickly. Emerys didn’t bother to spend time paying attention to their words. Rather, she looked up at Gudrun, her heart racing.

“Listen,” Emerys said. “I have asked Jarl to go with me on the quest, and I would love to ask you as well. I don’t have a lot, but I do have the remaining six coins from my home town. Would one of you be willing to help me on my quest?”

Gudrun turned to her, inspecting the coins. “And why are you giving away your money, when you are the one who will need it more?”

“I feel wrong–.”

“No,” Gudrun said. “People have lost their loved ones to the event. What do you call it?”

“I call it the catalyst,” Emerys said. “It took the stars out of the sky for a long minute, and then the next I was in this world. Trust me, I want to find the answers as well.”

“I will join you,” Gudrun said. “But we can save the costs for when we finish our journey. But I need you to promise me something.”

Emerys released a long breath. “Go for it.”

“Do not give away any of your money unless it’s needed,” Gudrun said. “Believe it or not, despite the fact that we chose to start working with you out of curiosity, we have found you to be an asset to this village. And in order for you to stay in the long run, you will need your own money.”

Emerys’ entire body tensed even more. “But what do you want out of this situation?”

“I do not need to disclose that yet,” Gudrun said. “Let me talk to my wife about the prospect, and I will get back to you. Are we clear?”

When she left the situation, Emerys could have felt as though she’d been slapped. Not out of disrespect, but out of surprise. Her best friend, Lydia, may have defended her in court that day, but there had been a clear expectation that one day, Emerys would pay Lydia back. The fact that these people–all of whom had known Emerys for barely a month–would have gone on a quest with Emerys felt stranger than the world she’d randomly shifted into.

Jarl and Helja had been waiting for Emerys when she returned to their hut. As soon as she sat down across from them at the small table, Jarl spoke.

“We have cleared the situation,” Jarl said.

“Gudrun should catch up with us,” Emerys said. “I tried to offer her money, but she refused.”

“I knew she would,” Jarl said. “I mean, it’s more than our son. She received news the other day, via ship, that one of her cousins has also vanished mysteriously. Besides. Even if she herself was an immigrant once, it is tradition for the city to take care of their foreigners until they are found to be guilty. Which, to both of our knowledge, you’re nowhere near being guilty.”

The idea of going on a quest in a strange world left Emerys both excited and nervous. Excited because she had wanted to see the rest of this world. Nervous because she still had a lot to learn about their village. Her language skills, which had made better strides than she would have hoped, would also need more studies before she would feel comfortable talking to a king.

When Gudrun appeared, she gave Helja a polite nod before turning to Jarl. The two of them exchanged a brief word with each other, which at this point, Emerys almost felt too tired to catch, despite her better judgment. Gudrun then turned to Emerys.

"How well can you shoot a bow and arrow?"

"I can shoot one," Emerys said.

"Show me," Gudrun said. "The three of us will need to make plans together, and some of those might involve going into some dangerous spaces."

Once outside, Emerys grabbed a bow, an arrow, and made her way to the training field. She kept a careful aim, once again imagining she were shooting at Jakob's head. Although this time, the comparison felt almost stale. She released the arrow, which landed in the first ring of the target.

"Eh, it's decent enough," Gudrun said. "We will have to continue to train it. I must warn you, Emerys, that there will be people who will try to end you whilst we are on our quest."

Gudrun's comments left Emerys wanting to shrink away. Both Gudrun and Jarl would continue to pack their necessities for the trip. At this point, Emerys had her leather satchel, but she would likely need to buy better clothing.

I will be embarking on my quest tomorrow, and I haven’t needed to pay. It seems as though there are more people who have gone missing. People like myself, if you will. The homesickness seems to have intensified quite a bit. There is also the suspicion that there are greater political issues at play, of which I am unaware of at this time.