Rays of the rising sun landed on the face of a teenage boy, as they filtered in through the cracks and holes of the dilapidated wood of the barn. The boy groaned as his eyebrows furrowed and his body began to roll around in the pile of hay he was currently using as a make shift bed. One eye cracked open and immediately shut as he rolled over and attempted to shove his head into the hay. It took him a few minutes to realize that he was in fact sticking his head straight into a pile of straw, and not his feather down pillow. The manure like smell sifting through the floor boards, however, was what got him to realize that he was definitely not in his room. His eyes flew open and in a split second the boy jumped up, with arms in the air, standing in what was presumed to be a defensive stance. His heart had leapt into his throat and he held his breath as he tried to remember where he was. He stood there, frozen in place as his brain tried to catch up with his movements.

 It was another few minutes for him to realize that he was being an idiot. 

His heart eventually sank back into its rightful place in his chest, and the rest of the boy’s body slowly sagged into the hay as he rubbed his eyes. Right. They were in May Weed, where they were supposed to meet this ‘Rudolf VanKirtschein’ guy. The boy yawned loudly, looking around the old barn they had slept in. What time was it? 

His dark set of blue eyes glanced over at his companion who was still sleeping soundly, even as the light of the sun lit up her pale face. The boy crawled over to her, and grabbed her small shoulder, shaking her a bit. “Serie…Serie…Serna….Seeerrrrrrnnnnaaaaaaa!!!”

His shaking turned violent until the same dark blue eyes cracked open on his twin sister’s face. “Mmm?” She answered his voice with a mumble, and the boy grinned wide.

“C’mon Serna. It’s time to go. For a second I thought you weren’t going to wake up.” He laughed a bit, but it was tight and forceful. He pulled back from the girl, giving her space as he got to his feet and dusted hay off his clothes and hair. The teenage girl slowly sat up, with strands of hay stuck in her own long navy hair. She rubbed her eyes and winced as the sun hit her face. 

“Is it late, Setna?” Her soft voice was lulled with sleep and she stumbled a bit as she stood up. 

“No, but better early than late.” Setna answered her as he picked up his blade. He unsheathed it for a moment, staring at the clean metal. He rubbed his thumb over the engraved elvish words and quickly sheathed it into its scabbard with a clacking sound. 

“Are you sure it was right of you to take that Set? It was father’s…” Serna looked at him and then the blade as she combed through her hair with her fingers, picking out stray bits of straw. 

The boy shrugged as he attached the scabbard to the belt across his waist. “He was going to give it to me for our birthday. I just took it a bit early.”

He gave his sister a cheeky grin and grabbed his silver shield which he attached across his back. Next was his cloak, which he draped over his shoulders, beneath his armor plates. He rolled his shoulders a bit and stretched until a few pops were heard. “Aaahh...that’s more like it. Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!”

He walked over to the ladder, grabbed the side rails and slid all the way down from the loft to the ground floor of the barn. Serna just stood there for a moment before gently sighing. She rubbed her eyes as she chose to go down the safe way, one rung at a time. When she reached the bottom, Setna was already there, holding the reins to their horse Deetri. 

He gave her the same cheeky grin. “Ready? It’s probably best to walk him.” 

Setna handed her the reins, and Serna cooed a soft good morning to the black and white horse. She rubbed his muzzle with her free hand, and then gently pulled on the leather reins to lead him forward. Serna followed her brother as they exited the old abandoned barn and headed into the sunlight of the new morning. 

It didn’t take them long to find the main road and Setna pulled out a hand drawn map he had made on the back of the original advertisement. “It should just be beyond these hills. The last couple we ran in to said we couldn’t miss it, right? It was supposed to have the giant tree or something…” 

He grumbled a bit as he continued walking, turning the map this way and that, obviously unable to read his own handwriting. Serna watched his back as he walked. He had grown quite a bit in the four years she had been away. She hadn’t noticed it until now, and as she continued to follow him, her lips slowly shifted into a frown. This was her last chance to try and convince him to go home. 

Yesterday she had brought up their parents, how their mother would be worried about him. He had snapped at her then and would probably snap at her now, but there had to be some way she could convince him. He was going to get himself killed, and it would be her fault. Her small hand tightened its grip on Deetri’s reins and she bit her bottom lip. “Setna…”

The boy sighed in exasperation, knowing exactly what she was going to say and why. “Really Serie? Again?”

He looked back at her in annoyance, and Serna shifted her dark blue eyes away from his face. “But what if…What if the gods become angry at us?”

The teenage boy rolled his eyes. “Oh so now it’s the gods? Well, why don’t we ask them?”

He looked around wildly for his target and after finding the perfect tree he ambled up to the highest branch that could hold his weight. Serna flushed in embarrassment, looking around to make sure no one else was close by to witness the upcoming humiliating display. 

“Oh great Gods of Creation and Destruction!” Setna shouted up to the sky, his arms spread wide. “I have taken your precious sacrifice and intend to make sure that she lives into old age! Until she is so old and wrinkly that no one will come visit her because she’s so ugly! If this displeases you, please… smite me where I stand!”

Serna hid her face in Deetri’s side, completely embarrassed, as Setna continued to hold his arms up to the sky. 

“EH? EH?” He looked around, completely inviting the gods’ wrath to strike him down, but nothing came. 

Instead he jumped down and brushed himself off. “Well then, glad that’s settled, right? Complete rubbish…”

He took the reins from Serna and continued walking, leading Deetri himself. The teenage girl pursed her lips in embarrassment and sadness. She knew he was doing this for her sake. She knew that. But couldn’t he see that she was just trying to help him too? He didn’t have to be so overdramatic… Serna quietly followed after her brother, staring at the ground. 

After a good walk, they finally caught sight of May Weed Village. What first caught them by surprise was the giant tree in the center of the small town, which stretched all the way up to the sky above. As they came closer to the village, they realized its trunk was gigantic, and the townspeople had incorporated their homes within the roots of the tree itself. Flowers were growing everywhere, along the road they traveled, across the roots of the tree and even out of the houses along the way. 

Setna slowed down until Serna was beside him and he gently took her hand into his. He looked at her and smiled. “This is the start.”

Serna did her best to smile back. “R-Right…”

Setna’s grin grew wider and he looked up at the sky. “We still got time, want to poke around a bit?”

He didn’t give her much of an option as he immediately led her and Deetri into the middle of town. There was a trade bazar going on with different merchants opening up booths to display their products. Setna dragged his sister around until he came across one booth selling fabric, clothing items and boots. Letting go of Serna’s hand, he grabbed a cloak and held it up to the girl’s small frame.

Serna flushed a bit as she hissed at her brother. “Set… We don’t have money…”

The boy’s lips quirked into a sly grin. “Doesn’t mean we can’t make a trade.” He turned his head to the merchant of the booth. “Excuse me?” 

He rummaged around a bit, his hands fiddling with his belts. Finally he held up a sheathed dagger. “Any way we can make a trade for a cloak?”

He set the dagger down and the merchant looked at him, then the dagger, then back to him. He lifted the knife and unsheathed it. He held it up to the morning sun, watching the light glimmer off the steel. Setna waited eyes anxious until finally the merchant smiled. “Deal.”

Setna smiled back and grabbed the cloak. He returned to his sister, and wrapped the fabric around her shoulders. “This will keep you warm and protected. I’d get you another dress if I could, but this will have to do.”

Serna felt her eyes water as she held the cloak over her simple white dress, used by all the women of the Syndarean religious sect. The fabric was warm and soft, and the girl pulled it closer around her body. “Thank you…and I’m sorry.”

Setna rubbed her cheeks, squishing them together until Serna made a fish face. “Enough of that. I’m here because I want to be. Now, take this too, it’s my last one.”

The boy held out another sheathed dagger, and Serna took it with cautious hands. She held it tightly, and looked at it with somber eyes. Setna knew what she was thinking and patted her head. “I’m not saying you’ll have to use it. But it’s good to have… Now come on, let’s head to that inn.”

Serna nodded and took the reins of Deetri, leading the horse along as she followed her brother. They walked around aimlessly for a while until they stumbled upon the Flower Gin Inn. They were both surprised they had missed it in the first place, seeing as the sign took up more than half of the front of the building. “Stay here.” Setna mumbled to his sister as he stepped into the inn. 

The front room was being used as a bar and a few men were already huddled around their beers, hunched at their tables. Setna probably would have found them a bit more intimidating, if it wasn’t for their mugs of beer that were covered in hand painted flowers. 

He approached the counter where a giant man was standing, cleaning old mugs with a cloth. Setna cleared his throat, making his voice deep as he asked. “I’m looking for Rudolf VanKirtschein.”

The bartender raised an eyebrow. “Out back.”

Setna looked confused, his voice becoming boyish again as he answered, “What?”

The bartender pointed to the back door and then continued to ignore him. Setna stared at him for a moment, before cautiously venturing over to the wooden door. He opened it slowly to reveal the back side of the inn where caravans of five or so oxen were hooked up to their own carts. The carts were covered by some type of canvas, keeping their items concealed. 

Setna stepped outside, placing a hand on the hilt of his blade as he called out, “Hello?”

A thunderous and deep voice echoed out from one of the carts. “Coming! I’m coming, hold on.”

The teenager swallowed hard, expecting a monster of a man to suddenly appear out of nowhere. Instead, he got the opposite…

Rudolf VanKirtschein barely came up to Setna’s midsection. His white hair was thinning on the top of his head, and his chin was covered by a massive beard that reached all the way down to his potbelly. His stubby arms crossed as he looked up at the teenager with dark squinty eyes. “Why, you’re nothing more than a boy!”

Setna couldn’t help but look down at the man with a slacked jaw, completely awestruck. How could someone actually be that short? Was this a joke? Was this the gods’ way of smiting him? Here and now?

Rudolf walked around the boy, mumbling to himself and poking different spots on Setna’s body. Eventually he reached up and grabbed onto Setna’s face, forcing him down to eye level. They stared at each other in silence, with Setna wondering what in the gods’ names was happening. Finally Rudolf let go, and stood in front of the boy once more. He made his final judgment. “You won’t do. Go back to your mother child.”

The boy was immediately forced out of his thoughts with those words. His eyes widened as he said. “What? Surely you can’t be serious… I’ve traveled all this way… I’ve trained with a sword my entire life, I’m more than capable to do this. Besides my sister—.”

“Sister!?” The short man perked up completely, his dark eyes lighting up. “Why didn’t you say so earlier my boy! Have her come around! Hurry now!”

Setna turned silent, dark eyes looking down at the little man with clear suspicion. “Ok…”

He slowly backed off, a stern gaze on his face as he continued to watch the old man. Finally, he walked around the inn and beckoned for Serna to come around. Once she did, she was immediately accosted by Rudolf who took her hand in his and kissed it. “My, what a lovely lass. Come, come, sit, sit!”

He led her to a barrel where she sat down slowly, and looked at her brother with a mixture of confusion and fright. Rudolf was completely unabashed as he said, “You two strangers are the first to arrive! Tell me lass, what’s your lovely name?”

Rudolf seemed to bat his eyelashes at Serna, who swallowed uncomfortably. “Um…” She looked at her brother again before her gaze roamed back to the old man. “M-My name is Serna Roan…and this is my twin brother… Setna.”

The old man looked from one twin to the other. “How remarkable! A set of twins! Why you have the same eyes, hair and even the same face. Although your face, my dear, is soft and feminine, full of youth! Whereas your brother’s…” Rudolf looked at Setna with squinty eyes. “Is fat.”

Setna had had just about enough of this old lecher as he walked up to him and picked Rudolf up by the collar, rage in his voice. “Listen here! You shriveled up old midget—.”

“Midget!? How dare you! I will have you know that I am a dwarf! The tallest of my family!” Rudolf shouted back and before Serna could even understand what was happening, the two were having a screaming match.

“Lecherous old fat pig!”

“Ignorant dribbling child!”

Serna held her hands up. “P-Please…stop fighting…” Her voice was too soft though, as the two stubborn men continued their insults.

------

“Thank the gods that you arrived Miss Aaerynn! What would we have done without you?”

An elf exited a small May Weed home, holding a bag of gold coins in one hand and brushing herself off with the other. “Oh I know. It was truly the work of the gods that led me here today. It was likely your little girl would have passed on if it weren’t for my medicine.” 

The elf turned to watch as a human woman came out of the house sobbing. “We’re blessed this day! Oh thank you miss…thank you!”

The she-elf gave a sickly sweet smile, her voice like wind chimes as she said. “But of course. Thank you for your generous donation to my studies. Give the girl a day or two and she’ll be able to eat some solid foods once more.”

She then turned on her heel, leaving the blubbering woman by herself. Flicking some strands of her blonde hair behind her pointed ear, she opened the small bag and counted the coins inside. “Mmm…not as much as I wanted, but good enough.”

Aaerynn Lightweld turned the corner to where her horse was tied to an old fence post. The brown and white speckled mare gave a stomp of her feet and snorted loudly in disapproval. Aaerynn frowned, as she untied the horse’s reins. “Don’t give me that Baineth. It’s how I afford those apples you like, or would you rather continue eating dead grass?”

The horse flicked her ears back and Aaerynn gave a smirk. “That’s what I thought. Besides it’s their own stupidity… She should have just waited a few days, the little girl would have been fine on her own.”

She began leading the horse to the middle of town. “Ugh the disgusting woman got snot on me.” The elf rubbed viciously at the leather of her tunic, ice blue eyes turning cold. “Sickening...”

Aaerynn looked up at the sky with a disgruntled face. The sun had already reached its highest; if she didn’t hurry she’d be late. She’d have to deal with the revolting stain later on. The elf mounted her horse and urged her on with a pat on her side. “Let’s go Baineth.” 

Baineth stamped her hooves before entering into a gallop. “That a girl.” Aaerynn grinned, as they headed for the Flower Gin Inn.