Faith and Sword

Onward to Northshire

The Sun was starting to set as the party entered the house. It was completely crammed, with furniture and rugs littering all of the empty space, and the kitchen was nothing more than a conglomeration of tables and chairs. Upstairs however, was a lot nicer, with individual rooms that were tidier than their downstairs counterpart. Each bedroom had two beds, along with furniture and candles that were all neatly organized. The home was huge, despite how worn it was, and it could comfortably house at least twenty people.

Cielo entered the first room on the left, leaving his backpack on the bed lined with the right-side wall, while Elena had left her pouch on the opposite one. She was downstairs, helping the little elf Cordelia prepare the contents of the cauldron outside. Some sort of stew, I suppose, Cielo thought to himself. He headed downstairs, seeing Wyatt and Sawyer preparing the large table with double the plates than everyone here.

"Why so many?" Cielo asks in confusion. He watched precariously, hoping that nothing stupid was about to happen.

"You'll see in just a moment," Sawyer calmly replies, grinning at himself. Cielo stood against the kitchen wall nervously. Sawyer ran outside, scaling the tree leaning up against the house, and whistled loudly. His whistle echoes against the woods, resonating with every plant and animal that heard his cry, and only a few minutes later, came children and teenagers coming from all directions. In total, there were at least 10 others approaching the house, all of them varying in age, from the youngest being nine years old to teenagers about the same age as Wyatt. Each one carried something different, whether it be water skins, pelts, flowers, baskets of berries, and more.

"WHO ARE ALL OF THESE KIDS?" Cielo cried, as he expected utter chaos to occur once they all reached the house. But when the children came into the house, each went to their little corner of the home, whether it be outside helping Elena and Cordelia with the cauldron, preparing the kitchen, or stocking their supplies away.

"They're our friends, helping us out here," Sawyer calmly replied, greeting all of the children individually.

"Are they your slaves?"

"Heavens no, I couldn't do that to some poor children!" Sawyer seemed briefly insulted, but regathered his composure.

"Some of these children are orphans, or people who ran away from their families for a better life. Life in the Castian Empire hasn't been easy for those in poverty." Sawyer looked down, and he seemed reminded of something troubling.

"I understand, Sawyer. My family was poor, as well, so I get where these kids come from. Really, I do." Cielo was very reassuring, putting his hand on Sawyer's shoulder. They met eyes, and shared a smile, before returning back to preparing dinner.

"Thanks man, I'm glad we can understand each other, as fellow men. It's hard sometimes being the eldest here, I don't feel like I can share how reality impacts us with the kids."

"I know, but we don't need to be so sentimental, Sawyer. Anyways I haven't forgotten about earlier today! You scared the devil out of me! One day, I'LL FIND WHAT YOU'RE SCARED OF!" Cielo jests, hoping to get a laugh out of the tired man. But Sawyer just smiled, continuing to work before one of the boys walked up to him.

"Mr. Sawyer, Miles won't be back for a few days. They contacted him," The boy whispers to Sawyer, but Cielo was able to hear, despite all of the rustle in the house.

"He'll be fine, don't worry!" Sawyer rubbed the boy's head and gave him a smile, and the boy smiled back before running outside.

Cielo couldn't help but stay on his toes and remain suspicious of the two new members, but tried to relax in the cozy environment. Something isn't right here, he did threaten to kill me earlier, but now he's acting like a normal man. How odd, he thought to himself.