Put back together

9. Incomplete puzzles

Local author wants to write something they have planned but due to their own planning,  pacing and world building are forced to wait for probably like ten more chapters.
They suffer.

Roman woke up to the sound of voices. He tensed and listened.

"Like this, Papa?", a child's voice asked.

"Yeah, exactly! Very good, Edd!", a man laughed.

The farmer and his son, Roman guessed. He peered over the barrels he and Patton had decided to use as cover for the night.

The farmer was a tall man, skin dark from working in the sun for days on end, clothes dirty and worn.
The boy, Edd, was maybe eight years old, with freckles dusting his cheeks and his big eyes shining with pride at the praise.

Roman ducked again. For a moment he considered to wake Patton up and hide somewhere else, but whatever the farmer and Edd were doing, they were doing it by the front of the barn and he figured Patton deserved a little rest.

After about an hour the farmer and his son left.

Roman found a bucket full of rain water standing under a hole in the roof and took the opportunity to wash himself. Afterwards he felt a lot better and decided that it was time to wake Patton.
He shook the other man's shoulder.

"Hey, Pat, wake up!"

Patton groaned and turned to get away from his hands.

"Come on! We have to go before they find us!"

"Wha-? Who?", Patton mumbled still sleepy.

"The farmers."

"The... Oh!", Patton quickly sat up.

"Calm down, padre. We are save for now. Still, we should get going if we want to reach Natica tomorrow," he flashed a smile. "There is some clean water over there, perfect for washing. I'll go check on the horses and get some bread for breakfast."

"Okay!", Patton beamed at him and went to get himself cleaned up.

Elysian and Amity still stood by the pole Roman had tied them to the night before. He gave them some more grass and found another bucket for them to drink from.
Apparently these people really needed to fix their barn's roof.

Patton came back, a lot more awake now, and they ate in comfortable silence.

Roman liked being around Patton even after only knowing the other for about four days. Somehow it felt familiar and - in a weird way - right to spend time with the baker.
Just having the other around made him feel better, more comfortable and more whole.

Maybe this is what puzzle pieces feel like when you put them together?

The thought made him stop for a moment.

What is a puzzle piece?

He frowned at the dry bread in his hands like it had personally offended him.
It hadn't but he broke it anyway.
He hated having thoughts that couldn't be his own.

If Patton noticed his odd behaviour he didn't say anything.

They snuck out a little later and managed to get to the near woods without being seen. There, in the shelter of the trees, they sat up again.

Roman didn't feel like being left alone with his thoughts so he decided to strike up a conversation: "So, you mentioned you're from Avlon. Are you from Corinn* or...?"
He trailed off.

"I was born in Corinn but grew up in a village near the Pondé mountains. I only moved to Corinn a few years ago."

Roman hummed in acknowledgement: "The Pondé mountains are beautiful, aren't they?"

An enthusiastic smile spread over Patton's face.

"Yes! Especially during Fall when everything becomes colourful and the harvest comes to an end! It's also really pretty in Spring with all the flowers and the birds and animals that come back!"

The smile dropped a little.

"What if we can't find that artefact in time?"

Roman had thought about that question. He just hadn't come to a real conclusion. At least not one that wouldn't completely destroy him.

If it was needed 'to save the kingdom' that could only mean that without it... they wouldn't have a place to return to..

"We will. Don't worry," he was surprised by how certain his voice sounded. He smiled at Patton and the other smiled back.

For a moment neither of them spoke.

Roman noticed someone standing at the crossroad they were headed to.
He subtly let his right hand wander towards the grip of his sword, ready to pull it out, should the need arise.

"Where are you going, strangers?", the person asked when they reached the crossing.

"Why do you ask?", Roman shot back and narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"A few of the bridges broke during a bad storm a few nights ago. Just want to keep people from taking the wrong routes," they shrugged. "And maybe also keep them from staying longer than necessary."

"Why that?", Patton tilted his head to the side a bit. He seemed to always do that when he was confused or curious about something.

"Because my brother is on the hunt for travelers he can rob and whenever he manages to do so he becomes incredibly full off himself and annoying. Think's he's better than me and that kind of stuff. Also he stole my favourite knive and I want pay him back for that."

"So you are helping people because you are angry?", Roman raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, I do. Is it a good deed, is it a bad deed? Who knows, I'm doing it anyway!", they grinned. "So, where do you want to go?"

"Natica."

"Well, good thing you met me then! You were going to take the northern bridge, because it's a bit closer, weren't you? It's broken. You have to take the one further south. It's not that big of a difference though. Only, like, half a day."

"Thank you, then," Roman said. The stranger was confusing him. Their motives, their attitude. It was strange.

They smiled at him, revealing that three of their teeth were missing: "No problem! Have a safe journey!"

Roman lead Elysian onto the path towards the bridge the stranger had recommended.
Behind him Patton thanked them again and followed him.

"They were nice," the baker said after a few minutes.

"Weird, if you ask me. Shouldn't they try to get along with their brother?"

Patton shrugged: "Maybe they just need to be angry for a while. They aren't doing anything bad, so I think it's okay."

"I guess. Still a bit weird, though."

The conversation carried on from there. They talked about weird people they had met, strange experiences and stories of their childhoods.

Soon Roman wasn't thinking about doom, danger and strange, foreign thoughts anymore but focused on the story Patton was telling him, about an old monch, a smart pig and almost a ton of honey.

*Corinn is the capital where the royal family lives and the story begins

I wanted the boys to talk a bit more. They mostly monologue, don't they? But they need to become friends before I can introduce the next main character into the story...

Also, can you tell where my music switched to something sad?

Have a nice (gay) day!