Runaway Lordling

Originally, Haalfrin had been planning on going back to his clan, but he no longer needs to do that; there's nothing and no one to go back to.

So, with nowhere else to go, Haalfrin remains in Greenstone.

With nothing but his pocket change, and being too old for anyone to hire, he keeps to the streets and makes one of the back alleys his new home.

After spending about a month sleeping under a dripping roof and living off the pocket money he kept on himself, he jingles his money bag - realizing that its getting pretty light. 'Hmm… How am I going to feed myself in another month…?'

The old beggar thinks about his dilemma and… he can't find a reason to care. 'I'm too old to care about surviving just a bit longer. I'll just go when I go, I guess.'

'Kind of laughable, really. My Clan brothers always said I was the bravest of the lot, but here I am, giving up on everything and waiting to die. Pathetic.'

Out of depression, Haalfrin staggers his way to the nearest tavern and spends the rest of his funds on hard drink - only to find himself waking up as a blubbering mess in another alley the next morning.

Despite feeling hungry, Haalfrin just lays there - not even bothering to go search for more food or beg for pity change from the commoners around him.

Here lies a man who'd risked his life in countless battles, yet he doesn't even have the courage to kill himself.

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Around that time, we see a young boy in clean clothes who's riding away on a horse. He looks behind him every now at the guards chasing him.

His face is plastered with the sort of guilty excitement a teenager has when doing something they're not supposed to, yet clearly knowing the consequences won't be worse than a scolding.

One of the guards gets just close enough to be heard, and he yells at the 14-year-old boy, "Get back here, young master! The baron ordered you to stay home! It's too dangerous outside!"

The boy sneers in his heart, 'My father is so worried about my safety that he won't even let me go hunting in the woods! If I told him I wanted to do something exciting like join the war and fight the nasty northern barbarians, he'd lock me up in my room for sure!'

The boy looks up and thinks of all the descriptions he's heard from the servants about his grandfather.

Everyone knows that his great-grandfather Fiso is a mage, but the servants also talk about how gallant he looks in full armor, as well as his heroic, selfless exploits on the battlefield.

'How bad could it be out there anyway? The barbarians don't stand a chance with men like great-grandpa around!'

Thinking of his successful escape, the boy scratches the bottom of his nose - feeling a little clever about himself.

Just when he's out of sight of the pursuing guards, he swings his leg over the horse and hops off the saddle. His mare tries stopping after finding her rider gone, but the boy smacks the mare's butt, which sends it galloping off without him.

Hearing the guards' horses rapidly approaching, the young master jumps off a barrel and vaults over a flimsy stone fence between two buildings.

Once he gets over the wall, he looks dow, just in time to see a sleeping beggar right below his feet… and it's too late to change his trajectory.

Despite the boy's best efforts to move his feet before he drop-kicks a frail old man, he still trips and falls on the elder's torso. *Oof*

"Oi! BRAT!" the old man shrieks in a blubbering rage, "WATCH WHERE 'UR GOING!"

Haalfrin looked over at the boy with livid eyes… In fact, he's too angry to think of something else to say after that. After losing everything and wallowing in depression for several days, rage is the only response he's had to anything lately.

Feeling guilty, the young master pulls out his pouch of coins and tosses a few at Haalfrin.

Haalfrin casually bats all the coins away with an open palm, "Oi! Little boy! I'm not a beggar! Get those coins away from me. I want an apology!"

The boy pauses, then suddenly goes starry eyed. "Old man, that was cool!"

Haalfrin's mind blanks out. "What was cool?"

"The way you swatted the coins out of the air! You've got good eyes!" the young master exclaims.

He looks to the side and sees the sword at Haalfrin's feet. "Were you a soldier, sir?"

Haalfrin just looks down at his short sword with nostalgia. "...Sure..."

Technically, Haalfrin WAS a soldier in his teenage years... back before he deserted and joined the Kareen Raiders.

The boy seems to forget about his escape from his father. Or, perhaps he thinks he's safe in this alley, so he puts it in the back of his mind

The teenager leans against the wall and asks, "What kind of wars did you fight in?"

Before Haalfrin can think of an excuse to shoo the annoying boy away, the boy leaps in fright when he hears some guards on the other side of the wall shout , "Hey you! The young sir is missing now! Split up and find him!"

One of the guards protests, "But sir, I'm new to this town… I've never seen his face. How am I supposed to find him?"

Haalfrin and the teenage boy hear the guard captain sigh; they're that close to each other, with only a thin wall separating them.

"He's a little tall for his age," the captain replies, "but he's 14, has brown hair, and is cleaner than everyone else you'd meet. Nobles are always clean, so it shouldn't be hard to spot him."

Hearing this, Haalfrin turns to the boy in front of him. "The guards're looking for you?"

The boy nods without saying a word.

Haalfrin then looks down the alley and sees a single guard standing on the other end, looking back at them.

The runaway lordling jumps in fright and tries vaulting back over the wall… but this time, he has no barrel to boost his height anymore, and his efforts are futile.

The guard points down the alley. "There! He's over there!" he yells.

The old "beggar's" eyes narrow when he sees that hateful insignia on the guard's shield. As the guard is rushing up, his face is actually close enough for Haalfrin to see.

As the boy is trying now to hide behind Haalfrin, the guard slowly advances.

The guard didn't see the person's face as they tried vaulting over the fence, so the man is squinting his eyes and concentrating on the boy's face…

'It could be his young master…,' the guard thinks as he gets closer, 'or it could be a dangerous criminal trying to escape at the sight of the guards. Either way, this child is acting suspiciously.'

While the guard is advancing, Haalfrin sees the boy hiding behind him and asks, "Why're the guards chasing you?"

The boy remains tight-lipped. Haalfrin then looks down at the boy's full wallet, and he offers, "For 100 copper coins, I'll beat up this guard."

The boy looks at Haalfrin with doubt clearly written on his forehead, and he ignores Haalfrin's offer – a silent refusal.

Seeing the boy didn't exactly say "No," Haalfrin gets a little cheeky and grins. "It's a deal then!" Something about this situation made the old man forget his woes for a moment, and for the first time in several days, he feels motivated to do something.

…Maybe it's because an opportunity to mess with the local guards has presented itself so cleanly to him, or maybe it's because he feels like he could be useful to somebody.

'Either way,' Haalfrin thinks, 'I believe destiny has landed right on top of me when that boy descended from the sky. I've seen gods before, so I probably have a keen nose for destiny. It's best to see where this leads me.'

Haalfrin steps forward and walks down the alley to meet the guard. After getting close enough to see the guard's face, he notices it's the same guard he humiliated during the raid - the one who could hardly even hold their sword properly.

The guard outstretches his sword and says, 'There's a suspected criminal behind you. Step aside… please.'

Haalfrin ignores him, and instead just waves sarcastically. "Hello there!" he sneers.

The guard lowers his weapon in confusion. "Who?" Of course, Haalfrin's beard is unkempt now, and he's far too filthy to be recognizable. However, the guard feels confused because at least that irritating voice sounds familiar.

Almost immediately, the guard shakes away this familiar feeling he has, and he rushes after the noble boy… only for Haalfrin's short sword to intercept the man – cutting him right behind the left knee.

Once the guard falls to the ground "graciously", Haalfrin leans over and says, "Recognize me? No? That's sad. I thought old people were the ones with bad memories."

"Y-You!?" Before the guard can say more, Haalfrin grabs a loose brick from the ground and dropped it on the guard's head – knocking him out.

Haalfrin stands over the unconscious body and lifts his sword to take the final strike. The boy rushes up and holds Haalfrin back. "No! He's fine! He can't chase anymore. No reason to kill him, right?"

The old man lowers his sword slowly. "…Sure."

As the old man and the young boy waltz out of the alley, the boy asks his senior, "How good at fighting were you when you were younger?"

While they disappeared down the street, we hear Haalfrin's reply, "There's a reason I was one of the only people I knew who survived into old age…"

Haalfrin suddenly stops. "Wait, kid, why are you following me? Run along now."

The boy rolls his eyes, "You just beat up a guard. You'd better stick with me, or you'll be in big trouble." Of course, the boy figured that when…no… IF the guards find them, the boy can vouch for this "clearly" retired soldier.

In the boy's mind, Haalfrin must be a "heroic" soldier, like his great-grandfather. Seeing how such an "admirable" man is living such a miserable old age, the boy can't help but feel sorry for him.

So, the boy answers Haalfrin, "You just beat up some guards, so you'll get in trouble too. Follow me."

Haalfrin rolls his eyes and lets the boy lead him along.

They run into an abandoned house, and the boy gets frustrated that he had to stop several times to wait for the old man, who breathing painfully and lagging behind…

"But after thinking about it, I feel kinda' bad about getting the geezer into trouble," he thinks. So, the young one waits for Haalfrin as he shuffles on after him.