Chapter 13: Conviction

Mike POV:

Making wheat grow was actually more fun than it sounds. We had two bags of flour, and Jean said he would make us bread. The problem was, that I didn't have an oven, so, we just went back with our bounty to the meeting point.

Night had fallen, almost no one dared to be outside now. It was not always so. I remember that when I was still young, I played in the streets until the stars would show themselves, and the moon could light my way home.

Dad always said, that if I allow myself to fear the darkness, I could never grow strong. He was the only parent I ever knew. No one, not even my grandparents, may they rest in peace, could tell me anything about my mother.

I looked around, and as I saw Nate and Lars on a bench, I waved to them. They were snuggled together like two peas in a pod. Man, I just hoped I got picked as the best man!

"We bring food!" I always loved saying this sentence. I didn't get to say it very often. As ashamed I was to admit, I couldn't help all the hungry people in Lergo. I wanted to, but I needed to fill my stomach as well. When I got paid for dock work, or the arena, then I could afford to give out money.

That didn't happen very often. The perils of being just fifteen, I guess.

"Mike, Jean! I want to speak with you both!" Lars was not always the first to take the initiative, but this time his eyes burned with an unspoken promise. I grinned, and kept on walking. A small stone bounced off my shoe, and I had to fight with the impulse to sigh.

The roads were in disrepair, and that made food deliveries hard. No wonder most handlers wanted to export their good. Just the ones who still remembered a better Lergo could forgive the fact that they would break more than a wagon wheel while trying to provide the townsfolk with food.

As soon as we reached them, Lars stood up.

"Let us all live together!" I had expected much from him, but not that. We weren't even in a party, and he wanted to share his home with people he didn't know?

"That is nice of you to offer, but..." I began, but he just shook his head.

"I have a big house, and it is no problem. Also, I would sleep better, when I know that we can watch each other's backs," which was smart, when I thought about it. We were no longer jobless, which meant that the most people knew by now, that we were prime for robbing.

"Just hear him out, please. He really wants to help," Nate piped in, as he laid an arm over Lars shoulders. I nodded, but honestly, I was already prepared to let Lars go down gently.

"It is just that, Nate lives under a bridge," if Nate felt uneasy about Lars saying something like that, he didn't show it. "And I don't want to presume that your living situation is bad, Mike, honest. But Jean has no home either. So... why not?"

I looked at Jean, who was staring intently at Lars.

"And why would you offer something like that?" Asked Jean. It was a good question. Lars blinked a couple of times, as if he didn't understand. Maybe his reaction would have been spot on ten years ago, when the people would still over their couches or guest rooms to someone in need, but now it was simply odd.

"We are a party," Lars scratched himself on the nose, didn't add anything to that.

"And you think that we will be a party forever?" I asked him. I had no official party. Sure, I did the test against the guild master with Jean, Lars and Nate, but in my contract, there are no parties listed.

Didn't he know that?

Maybe he took my question the wrong way because he lowered his gaze.

"I know that I am not fit," it must have taken a lot out of him to admit to that. "And, honestly, I need a lot more work, so I can make something of myself, but..."

He inhaled sharply, but didn't look me in the eyes.

"But...," what was he going to promise us? Could we accept it from him? Nate pressed him closer to himself, and then whispered something in his ear. Lars gaze finally met mine. 

"But I can change!"

He practically shouted it out. His hands were balled, and his lips were now pressed in a thin line. As if he dared me to continue to doubt him.

At that moment, I saw a glimpse of the man he would one day become. A glimpse of his soul.

Maybe I would have been able to answer him, but then we heard footsteps. Light, but sounding so, as if their owner had metal elements on the soles of their boots.

Only one type of person wore such things in Mirstone. The back of this city, or, better said, the stinking back of this city. I whipped around, laid a hand on my ax.

Come what may, I was not giving up the food! It could feed us for at least a week. No way was I ever going to starve because of robbers!

"Hey, Rowan, look, elves," a chirpy and melodic voice made itself known. My brows furrowed. I looked around, the sound of clinking boots still rebounded in my ears. 

"And one nature spirit, Basil. A Halfling," this voice was a bit more reserved, but no less amused.

"Mike, look down," I heard Jean say.

As my gaze finally met the two Halflings, I relaxed. Thinking, like the self-assured teenager that I was, that the two presented no danger to us.

Both were short, but then again, all Halflings were short. One wore boots meant for kicking in teeth, so the metallic sound must have come from him. Purple eyes met mine, then a grin tugged at the Halfling's lips.

"Rowan, I think the giant thinks he is in the clear," the purple-eyed Halfling, who must be Basil, said.

"They always do," said the red-head. He had an adorable face, dimples and all. It said a lot about Lergo, that such a person would earn their living with robbery. "Fools, the lot of them."

Before I could do anything, I got a kick in the family jewels.