Wet Fire

The Outlander (E13)

Petronel

Thunder shook the ground.

Petra stumbled through the mud, draping her fur shawl over her head for at least some protection from the rain. The effort was hardly fruitful—water had leaked clean through the hide and was now dripping down her face in cold streams. She felt like she needed to be doing something to keep herself from giving in to the storm. She wouldn't give up now, despite being completely exhausted.

Everything Petra had gone through in the past month, from slaying the arsi, to leaving the flats, to dreaming about a man from a distant kingdom, was leaving her weighed down.

Life had once been so simple. Back in the encampment, her single goal had been to be as successful a thief as her father. Had she achieved that goal? Petra didn't just take one or two scales; she had killed the arsi. She'd taken hundreds of scales, which was probably more than the most famous scalers had won in their entire life. It felt strange not to have that particular goal sitting in the back of her mind, though, she had replaced it with several more. Getting to Aura and selling the scales was the main one, one she found, at the moment, to be very real, and also very risky.

There was something else there too. She hoped that one day she would be able to lead her family and friends out of the Flats for good. There was so much beauty in the world that they were missing out on, it would feel like a betrayal if she didn't show them how much better their lives could be. She would marry Jelen, and her children and her grandchildren would never have to breathe in ash or smoke. They wouldn't die in Scaling missions or from falling into pits of wet fire.

Another crack of thunder brought Petra's mind back to the present. She jumped slightly at the loud noise and looked upwards into the dark heavens, blinking away droplets of rain. Clouds swirled and shifted high above her, and for just a moment she forgot where she was. For a moment, she was back in the Flats, hiking with Vynce in the lead to the arsi's chasm.

Petra shook her head and looked down. I can't keep my mind straight these days. She thought. I need to focus on finding shelter and some decent food.

The night wore on, and the rain fell in a constant downpour, never letting up for a moment of relief for her. Petra found the trunk of a nearby tree and collapsed onto it, letting herself go limp among the twisted roots. Breathing hard, she closed her eyes, trying to imagine she was somewhere far off and warm, seeing the clear blue sky. She felt her face grow hot and her body grow cold, and she shivered.

She thought of dropping all of the heavy arsi scales right there by the tree and just leaving her sack behind. What was I thinking, trying to travel alone to Aura? Petra wondered, desperately. I should have just brought the scales back to the encampment. I should have never wanted to avenge Vynce. Why should she care about Vynce anyway? He was a changed man, what had he ever done to help her...to make her life better? Nothing. Vynce would have kept pestering me for the rest of my life.

You chose this, Petra. She thought to herself. Everything that has happened was your choice. You chose to become a thief in the first place. You wanted that life for yourself. You chose to hunt down the arsi that killed Vynce. You willingly chose to help him.

But, why? What would killing the arsi have done for him...he was already dead. Why sacrifice yourself for another in such a futile way?

Because I believed that there was something greater out there. I needed to discover it for myself.

With that, Petra took in a deep breath and stood herself up straight, fighting down a bout of nausea. As far as she could see through the rain, the landscape continued as it was. These cold, wet marshlands did not bring her much hope, but, at least it was better than the Flats.