A Peaceful Morning, A Cheaply Bought Horse

Before the first light of day touched the sky, Kael stirred awake. He sat up quietly, careful not to rouse the silence, and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. 

Instinct guided his body as he prepared for the Solrise Hymn—the morning rite every priest of Solvantar was meant to perform with the rising sun, whether before a crowd or in solitude. 

He reached for his sash and adjusted his robe. But when he turned his head, he noticed the other side of the bed was already empty. 

Kael blinked, startled. The pillow was cool, and the covers had long lost the imprint of a body. He glanced around the room, the dim light barely enough to outline shapes, and a flicker of worry crept into his chest. 

Had he left? Kael wondered. But then, his eyes fell on the corner. 

Eryn's sword leaned there, upright against the wall. He stared for a moment longer, then slowly let out a relieved sigh. Wherever the young man went, Kael told himself that he would likely come back for the sword. Thus, he didn't worry about it too much. 

He rose to his feet and resumed his preparations, beginning the familiar recitation of the morning prayer while facing the window. 

When the final words of the prayer left his lips, Kael folded his hands, then opened his eyes to the soft gray of approaching dawn. 

He took a moment of stillness, then reached for his basket and carefully lifted Eryn's sword from the corner, not quite at ease leaving either behind after his experience from the last inn they stayed at.

With the inn still quiet and most guests still asleep, Kael stepped into the corridor and made his way downstairs. Each creak of the wooden steps felt sharper in the silence of early morning. 

Just as he reached the last step, the main door of the inn creaked open. 

A breeze swept in with it, and Eryn sauntered, framed briefly by the pale light outside. He was dusting his sleeves of what seemed like embers as he walked in, and when he looked up, his eyes caught Kael's immediately. 

A grin spread across his face, bright and easy. He lifted one hand in a casual wave and said, "Good morning."

Kael exhaled softly, his shoulders relaxing. For a moment, he had worried that what happened last night might leave something unsettled between them. But seeing Eryn's expression now, open and carefree, seemingly forgotten what occurred, soothed that unease. 

He stepped forward, a warm smile on his face. "Where did you go?"

Eryn shrugged his shoulders. "Just strolled outside and bought something." His eyes sparkled with mischief as he asked, "Did you miss me?"

Kael was momentarily taken aback. They've only been traveling together for nearly two weeks, and yet the young man was this bold and carefree around him. Instead of feeling flustered, Kael found himself laughing at the shamelessness. 

He was about to answer when he noticed Eryn's gaze dipped, fleetingly, toward his neck. However, nothing changed in the young man's expression. His gaze held no tension, avoidance, or pity. It was just the normal warmth and light as before.

Hence, Kael felt no discomfort. He simply shook his head in his companion's playfulness and then held out the sword. "I brought this down for you."

Eryn reached for it with an amused grin. "Did you think someone might steal from us again?"

"It doesn't hurt to be careful, you know."

"That's true. But this sword doesn't really cost that much," Eryn said, strapping the blade to his waist with practiced ease. "Still, you saved me the time of going upstairs and getting it." He gestured toward the table with his chin. "Come on. Let's eat before we head out."

Kael agreed. With no other guests in the hall, he simply took a seat at the nearest table. 

Eryn went to the counter to ask for breakfast, and soon they were served soup and bread, which they ate while exchanging random and trivial chatter. 

* * *

As the two stepped out of the inn, Kael noticed Eryn abruptly veer off and vanish down the path without saying anything. But Kael didn't call after him. He didn't even take a step in pursuit. 

Instead, he simply remained beneath the inn's wooden canopy, one hand resting lightly atop his basket, the other gently clasping the money pouch dangling at his waist. 

A faint breeze tugged at the hem of his robe, but he remained still, his gaze lifted toward the pale morning sky, soft and expectant. There was no sign of worry on his face, only a serene patience, like one waiting for something to return. 

A few minutes passed, and the rhythmic clop of hooves and steady footfalls approached from the street. 

Kael turned, just in time to see Eryn walking confidently toward him, reins in hand, leading a gentle-looking horse with a glossy mane. 

Eryn's face bore a smug grin, pride glinting in his eyes. He stopped in front of Kael and gave the reins a dramatic tug. The horse shifted its head slightly toward Kael, as if greeting his owner's companion.

"Well?" the young man said, patting the saddle. "Need a lift, your eminence?"

Kael was stumped for a moment. His gaze lingered on Eryn's face for a few seconds before shifting to the polite-looking horse. "...you—what?" 

The question 'what' wasn't about the horse. It was about the way Eryn had addressed him. Back when he served as a palace priest, people used to call him 'your eminence'. Hearing that again from the young mercenary's lips brought back some old memories. 

"I got us a horse," Eryn replied, as if that explained everything. He took the basket from Kael and tied it to the side of the saddle, securing it with a tight knot."

Kael took a step closer, eyeing the horse's calm demeanor. "Where did you even…?"

"I bought it." Eryn's expression softened slightly as he rested a hand on the horse's neck. "We'll need it to cross the plains faster." 

He glanced toward the open stretch of the grasslands beyond the town, and his tone grew a touch more serious. 

"Sleeping out there isn't exactly wise. There's no cover, nowhere to hide if beasts come sniffing around, and they do, especially at night. Wind bites harder than you'd expect, and if a fire gets spotted, it might draw more than warmth. Bandits, too. They like easy targets on flat land."

He clicked his tongue and gave the horse's side a light pat. "Better to ride through while there's daylight and sleep somewhere with walls." He turned to Kael and joked, "Don't worry. I won't charge you for it."

Kael exhaled a laugh under his breath, somewhere between disbelief and quiet gratitude. He nodded slowly, one corner of his lips lifting. 

He had once bought a horse during his first few weeks of traveling. He figured the road would be dangerous if he moved alone and too slowly. But ironically, it was the horse that got him into trouble. He had bought it at a suspiciously cheap price and had even leapt for joy, thinking he'd gotten a bargain. However, it turned out to be quite literally a steal—a stolen horse. When the rightful owner eventually tracked it down, he had no choice but to give it up. Naturally, the seller had vanished by then, and his money was never refunded. 

When he finally earned enough to buy another, he settled for a donkey instead. But due to the nature of his journey—crossing desolate, haunted paths and demon-infested mountains—the donkey fled and never came back. 

"Thank you," Kael said, his tone was light and sincere. He stepped forward and gently caressed the horse's mane. The horse seemed to like him, since it lowered its head as if asking for more. "So, how much did you get it for?"

Eryn patted the horse's neck like a proud merchant, "It was cheap."

"..." 

Kael stiffened. His smile faltered ever so slightly. The word 'cheap' dragged up old memories—something that involved him getting scammed by a thief. 

He laughed nervously and asked with a careful tone, "Are you sure…it's not a stolen horse?" 

As soon as the words left his mouth, Kael realized how it sounded. He immediately flailed his hands. "I meant to say, the seller! The seller isn't a thief, right?"

Kael looked at the horse. The horse blinked innocently at him. Kael swallowed and waited for the young man's answer. 

However, Eryn just gave him a smile that was somewhere between reassuring and suspiciously amused. "It's not stolen," he said after a minute. "I made sure of it."

Kael squinted at him. "...how sure is sure?"

Eryn simply chuckled and looked away like a man with secrets and no intention of confessing them. That only made Kael squint harder. 

He muttered something under his breath that sounded a lot like, "Last time I heard 'cheap', I had to return a stolen horse and got cursed out by a farmer's wife."

Still, he sighed, letting it go. He followed the man as he guided him toward the dwarven kingdom through the easiest and shortest path. Though he had been suspicious of him at first, after spending nearly two weeks together on the road, he had chosen to trust him.