Year 23-7

Arwen needed time to recover, and I needed time to reevaluate who I so quickly had invited into plans of treason. Three days were hardly enough to build trust, but Tucker seemed incapable of anything short of demolishing our chances. We needed strong bonds to face a nation.

Thanks to my actions, there was a lack of witnesses to Nestle’s jailing tower having been compromised. Tucker and I were free to walk without the heavy burden of worry. After Penn had single-handedly eaten through the last rations of food The Cottage had to offer, the mage and I went to the market.

“Your sister will need more than a week to heal from what she’s been through. I want you to know she’s safe to stay with me,” I said while we perused meats and fruits.

In the past, Nestle was a gold standard. It was disappointing how low it sank. It was disappointing how poor it became. Merchants pedaled rotten apples and maggot-infested chops, but other villages had harsher conditions.

“Thank you,” Tucker said while he picked up selections of food without taking the time to inspect their conditions.

“You, on the other hand,” I said before returning what the mage had picked up.

He glanced at me like I was an unreasonable, though he was the one childishly ignoring my instruction and refusing to walk without picking things up.

“Nothing has changed between us. We agreed to be partners,” I added. “You surprise me,” he said.

“I want honesty between us from now on. No more withholding, no more lies,” I argued while holding back my inner wolf.

“Will you do the same?” he questioned while using his magic to summon the bounty I had only just returned to the tables around us.

How had my implied thoughts not been received? I wondered until I took a breath and closer inspection. Everything Tucker had gathered again was in good condition. His selection of vegetables and cutlets were of fresh and notable quality considering what they must have been hidden amongst. Perhaps being a Seer made him a better skeptic of freshness and decay.

“It would only be right,” I said before reluctantly paying for his choices out of my pocket.

My funds were low. After paying for a week’s worth of food, my coins were nearly depleted. Hunter’s work was never done, but I had taken myself out of rotation. I paid taxes on The Cottage and its dead land. My savings were all I had left, and they were little.

Still, if we went forward with our partnership, coin wouldn’t matter for long.

On our way back to The Cottage, I carried our load while Tucker walked empty-handed.

“We need a plan to take on the next jail tower,” I said.

“Will we free the humans next?” Tucker asked.

“No. I know this town. No one would dare fight with us after what’s been done here.”

The season was growing cold. With orange leaves and bare trees everywhere, I should have seen what was coming.

“We need to move on to the next town, to the next city,” I added until Tucker put out his arm, blocking me from stepping further.

“What?” I asked.

“We’re being followed,” he answered.

“By who?”

I dropped everything held up in my arms to draw my sword, but something came flying from a distance too quickly to defend against. I was hit in the head by a rock and knocked off-center.

“Do something!” I yelled while I tried to spot our enemies.

“There aren’t enough threads,” Tucker said, standing still.

We weren’t far from town. Our steps had only just entered the forest. If we could have turned around, there may have been a viable escape. But I couldn’t see who or what meant to harm, much less where they were hidden while blood had begun to run down my face into my eye. However, their attacks were strictly aimed at me. Another rock hit my side, nearly breaking a rib, and another hit my knee. Tucker watched as I was picked apart and made bloody until, finally, I fell over.