The day after Ryoka\u2019s encounter with Persua and the day before everything else happened, a [Message] was sent to Celum addressed to Ryoka and Erin. Two spells, actually. They were duly recorded and when Ryoka remembered to stop by the Mage\u2019s Guild, they were delivered to both girls at the counter with no incident.<\/p>\n
Erin and Ryoka stared at the short piece of paper and the neat, clearly legible handwriting of the scribe. It was a short message, but hit all the points Erin had been privately worrying about.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Erin, Mrsha is with me and Olesm is keeping an eye on your inn. M is worried, but adjusting. All is well; do not get stabbed by Goblins. I have told Klbksctch and Relc. Stay safe,<\/em><\/p>\n –Selys.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Erin breathed a sigh of relief as she looked at the message while Ryoka looked at the short reply she\u2019d received from Krshia.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n We will await the delivery. The others will abide until then.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The other girl didn\u2019t exactly sigh in relief, but it put her mind at ease. Both young women left the Mage\u2019s Guild without sending a return message, and met with Ivolethe and Garia to go about the rest of their day. While the situation was not ideal, Erin and Ryoka agreed that things would keep a little while before they would need to return.<\/p>\n However, all those in both Celum and Liscor had omitted one person in their exchange of messages. Selys had completely forgotten about her while attempting to deal with a restless and upset Mrsha, and Krshia was too busy taking care of her nephew Brunkr, who was lying in bed moaning about his paw. Erin was too busy thinking about Toren to remember, and Ryoka didn\u2019t really care. Thus, no one had mentioned the last small detail left unresolved in Erin\u2019s inn.<\/p>\n They had all completely forgotten about Lyonette.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n —-<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lyonette sat in the empty inn that belonged to Erin Solstice and stared at the shuttered windows. It was dark. The room was empty and quiet and the falling snow outside did not disturb the suffocating stillness<\/em> of the building. Nevertheless, Lyonette stayed still, refusing to move. She was not crying, and she wasn\u2019t having hysterics. She was above such common reactions.<\/p>\n But she was afraid. She could see snow falling between one of the cracks in the shutters. It was the only one not fully covering the glass windows. She knew she should get up and close it fully, but she didn\u2019t want to. Fear held her down.<\/p>\n Lyonette, or Lyon as she now grudgingly answered to, watched the snow slowly build up outside. Flakes fell down from the overcast sky, disappearing into the blank landscape. She watched the snow fall and wondered when it would stop. Part of her wanted it never to stop, as if time was tied to the snow. So long as it fell, time wouldn\u2019t pass and she wouldn\u2019t have to confront the truth.<\/p>\n Erin Solstice was gone. She had left her inn one day and never come back. She was gone, and now so was the cute little Gnoll child named Mrsha. Ryoka Griffin, the surly Runner girl had left too, and all the guests had stopped arriving. Now the inn was deserted, save for Lyonette. And if the Goblins came back, she would just be a corpse. Or worse.<\/p>\n In the growing cold, Lyonette shivered. She hadn\u2019t dared light a fire, even though the winter chill meant she had bundled herself in every article of clothing Erin had given her. She had even dragged a blanket downstairs and she was shivering in it. She could see her breath sometimes in the air\u2014if she held her breath and then slowly breathed out, she could see it as a small vapor trail.<\/p>\n This was a new discovery for Lyonette. She had seldom been in any place where she was this cold for this long. She had always been taken care of by a bevy of servants; exposure to potentially lethal cold like this was unthinkable.<\/p>\n But her servants were on another continent and Lyonette was alone. And Erin, the only person who had taken care of her, was gone. She might have been killed by the Goblin army. They had gone north, hadn\u2019t they?<\/p>\n At that thought Lyonette shuddered uncontrollably and nearly fell out of her chair. The Goblin army. They had come through Liscor\u2019s path, a huge army of them, just like those led by the Goblin Lords of the past. She hadn\u2019t seen anything like a Goblin Lord, but the army had been enough to give her waking nightmares.<\/p>\n She remembered that night vividly. She had been sleeping in her bed the day after Selys had taken Mrsha. Lyonette hadn\u2019t been sleeping well; she\u2019d barely gotten to bed after the female drake had finally dragged the Gnoll forcibly out of the inn, ignoring the howls<\/em> and shrieks of distress the Gnoll cub had made. And then she had heard the high-pitched shouting, and woken from her slumber. A minute later Lyonette had realized it wasn\u2019t shouting she was hearing, but the Goblins.<\/p>\n An army had marched out of the darkness, through the falling snow, hundreds, thousands of them. Some had been holding torches, but the vast mass of their number had been mostly shadows, rapidly traversing the deep snow, laughing and shrieking<\/em> as the torchlight glinted off of metal.<\/p>\n A Goblin army. The bane of civilization. Lyonette had been too afraid to count and see if there were really hundreds of thousands of them like those that had marched in the last Goblin King\u2019s army. The instant she had realized the Goblins were moving towards Liscor, she had barricaded the door and fled upstairs to her room.<\/p>\n Lyon had hid in her room on the second floor of the inn, hiding under the bed with her heart hammering out of her chest as she heard the Goblin host marching past. Her first thought had been that the Goblins were attacking Liscor. But they hadn\u2019t. Instead, the Goblin army had moved around the city on the eastern side. They were headed north, to the Human lands, and that had forced them to bypass Liscor.<\/p>\n The Goblins had passed by the walls of the city in one mass, loosing arrows up at the defenders while the [Guardsmen] held their ground behind the battlements. A few volleys had been loosed in return, but the main deterrent had come in the form of a glowing orb of crackling lightning that had formed over the southern wall. It had sent bolts of lightning shooting down towards the Goblins, who had scattered and retreated to a safer distance.<\/p>\n Lyonette had recognized the wards of course. They were standard among most large cities that faced regular monster attacks. And they were a sufficient deterrent for the Goblin army, for the mass of monsters didn\u2019t stop to retaliate again and disappeared down the northern road. Lyonette had watched the dark shapes vanish and waited even longer until the last eerie howls had been covered up by silence. But she had hid in the inn until the morning, and many hours after that.<\/p>\n After that\u2014silence. Lyonette had stayed in the inn for two more days, only opening the door once when a strange Drake she vaguely recognized tried to enter. He hadn\u2019t said much\u2014his name was Okresm or something and he had left as soon as he realized Lyon was still living here. Rather, she had chased him out.<\/p>\n Now Lyonette was regretting that, however slightly. It had been days since the Goblin army had passed, and the young woman had heard nothing about Erin\u2019s whereabouts. For all intents and purposes, she had vanished.<\/p>\n What had happened? Ryoka had left with a few curt words saying she was going to look for Erin. Then Selys had decided to take Mrsha into the city and they\u2019d gone. And then\u2014<\/p>\n Nothing. Where was Erin? Had Ryoka found her, or was she still looking? Lyonette was in the dark about everything, and with only her fears to speak to her day after day, her paranoia had mounted.<\/p>\n Erin was never coming back. She might be, but she could be hurt, or wounded. What if a monster had killed her, or her skeleton? Maybe it had shown its true colors and stabbed her when her back was turned, or simply abandoned Erin in the middle of nowhere. She could be dead! Or eaten! Or\u2014<\/p>\n Lyonette imagined Goblins doing all the horrible things her [Governess] had told her about, or what she\u2019d heard when eavesdropping on the palace staff. Erin might have run into the Goblin army. She could be dying right this instant.<\/p>\n That didn\u2019t inspire Lyon to go out searching for Erin like that rude Ryoka had done of course. She wouldn\u2019t know where to begin, and the Goblins had probably eaten her. Besides, Lyon didn\u2019t owe her anything. Erin Solstice was a rude peasant who treated no one with respect and was too trusting for her own good. Anything that befell her was probably her own fault.<\/p>\n But Lyonette had to admit, the inn had never seemed so dark when Erin Solstice was around. And it had never been quite so\u2026<\/p>\n Empty.<\/p>\n It was as if the life of the inn itself had gone with Erin. The day after she\u2019d left, all the guests had stopped arriving. That may have had to do with the Goblins and the lack of any lights in the windows\u2014Lyonette had stopped lighting the fire in the common room of the inn\u2014but in an instant, the bustle of the building had ceased completely.<\/p>\n At first Lyonette had been impatient, waiting for Erin\u2019s return. Then she had been afraid. Now, after many days, she was just\u2026quiet. Lyonette sat in the inn day after day, only leaving now and then to fetch some water to drink or use the outhouse. But the longer she sat in the dead building, the more she knew something had to change.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t a quick realization. If anything, it was a thought born out of several nights of sleeping with her back to the door, wide-eyed, flinching at any random sound in the night. It was finding Erin\u2019s little money stash and realizing most of her gold coins had been given away to the Horns of Hammerad or on Erin\u2019s person when she disappeared. It was staring at the empty pantry and feeling the small hole in her stomach where food should and always had been.<\/p>\n Lyonette had cried herself to sleep the first night she\u2019d gone to sleep with her belly writhing with hunger; the next she\u2019d just slept, too exhausted to even weep. Six days after Erin had vanished, Lyonette knew what had to be done. She looked up and watched another wisp of warmth vanish into the dark room of The Wandering Inn. She knew.<\/p>\n Erin Solstice wasn\u2019t coming back. Or if she was, it might be tomorrow, a week from now, or months. Either way, if she was gone for even a little while longer, it would be too late. So. Lyonette knew what had to be done while Erin was gone.<\/p>\n She had to work. Or she would starve.<\/p>\n It was a foreign concept to Lyon in many ways, a hateful one. Demeaning. But it didn\u2019t change the facts. She was running out of Erin\u2019s coin, and she had even less food in the building. She had to work. Erin\u2019s inn had sustained itself by selling food to customers; she had to continue that.<\/p>\n There were no other options Lyonette could think of. She couldn\u2019t envision herself making her way north through the snow, and the Goblins\u2014no. And she was banned from the city, so that left only the inn.<\/p>\n Again, this wasn\u2019t a conclusion Lyonette came to willingly, but after two days of eating the last crumbs of frozen cheese and equally hard bread that was the last of the food in the pantry, Lyonette was desperate. That was how she found herself waiting at the door when Olesm, the Drake, cautiously broke his way through the snow to her inn.<\/p>\n \u201cYou! You there, Drake!\u201d<\/p>\n He nearly jumped out of his scales when Lyonette threw the door open. She had seen the Drake come by the inn every day, or every other day at the latest. He usually just peered hopefully through one of the windows for a few minutes before leaving, usually quicker if he saw her face.<\/p>\n \u201cOh. It\u2019s you. Um, Lyon, wasn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n Lyonette gave the Drake a big smile and deliberately refrained from correcting him on her proper name.<\/p>\n \u201cThat is right. And you are\u2026Olesm, correct?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s right.\u201d<\/p>\n The Drake coughed and looked into the dark inn hopefully.<\/p>\n \u201cIs uh, Erin not back yet?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo. She hasn\u2019t returned.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAh. I see.\u201d<\/p>\n The Drake hesitated.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, I won\u2019t be getting in your way. I\u2019ll ah, drop by tomorrow, then.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo! Don\u2019t do that! I mean\u2014why don\u2019t you stay here?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n Lyonette opened the door a bit wider. The Drake blinked into the dark room, and Lyonette realized that he probably couldn\u2019t even see inside.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a bit dark, but I\u2019ll start the fire. You can stay and\u2014and order something!\u201d<\/p>\n The Drake looked doubtfully at Lyonette as she smiled desperately at him.<\/p>\n \u201cBut Erin isn\u2019t here right now. She\u2019s the innkeeper.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, but I\u2019m<\/em> still here, aren\u2019t I?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI guess you are.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell then. Why not come in? Erin\u2019s inn\u2014is still her inn even without her, isn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat might be true?\u201d<\/p>\n Olesm frowned. He looked backwards towards the city as if he was considering leaving, then he reluctantly shrugged.<\/p>\n \u201cI guess I could stay for a bit\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGood!\u201d<\/p>\n Lyonette nearly gasped with relief. She opened the door and the Drake stepped in. He shivered; the inside of the inn was scarcely warmer than the outside.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s freezing <\/em>in here! Why isn\u2019t the fire on?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2026forgot.\u201d<\/p>\n Lyonette pretended to fuss with some kindling in the fireplace. Then she struck some sparks with the flint and steel and the fire flickered into life. Olesm watched the small flames consume the shaved wood and begin to eat away at the larger sticks Lyonette had arranged in the fireplace as he stared around the empty building.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s so dark. And gloomy. Uh, not that that\u2019s a bad thing. I guess when Erin\u2019s not here\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n He cleared his throat.<\/p>\n \u201cDid\u2014did you say you had something to eat? I wouldn\u2019t mind a snack.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFood? Oh, now that you mention it\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n Lyonette turned as casually as possible and gave Olesm her best contrite expression.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sorry, but I forgot\u2014there\u2019s nothing left in the pantry. With Erin gone, there\u2019s no one to go shopping.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot you?\u201d<\/p>\n The Drake frowned at Lyon. She hesitated.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t go into the city. I\u2019m banned.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh yeah. Right. You\u2019re the thief.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n Lyonette hesitated. Then she slowly closed her mouth. She was the thief, even if she didn\u2019t have the [Thief] class. She hadn\u2019t seen herself as one, but the Drakes and Gnolls thought of her that way. She had to humor him.<\/p>\n \u201cI am. That is right.\u201d<\/p>\n She tried to look apologetic as possible.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s all my fault, of course. I would go shopping, but I can\u2019t. So there\u2019s nothing to eat here.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAh.\u201d<\/p>\n The Drake just stared at Lyonette. She cleared her throat again.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know what I\u2019ll do without food. If I can\u2019t serve people, how will I keep the inn open until Erin gets back?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou? You\u2019re going to keep The Wandering Inn open?\u201d<\/p>\n The look Olesm gave Lyon was full of disbelief. She gritted her teeth, but nodded.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s my job. I am <\/em>a [Barmaid] after all. And I\u2019m Erin Solstice\u2019s employee. She said so herself. And what sort of\u2026help would I be if I didn\u2019t keep her inn open and earn her money while she was gone?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI suppose that makes sense.\u201d<\/p>\n Olesm frowned as he scratched at his chin. Lyonette nodded, the desperate smile still fixed on her face.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I need someone to help deliver food to the inn while Erin\u2019s gone. I\u2019ll pay of course\u2014and you can eat here as well!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWait, what? You want me<\/em> to bring you food?\u201d<\/p>\n The Drake sat up in his chair and frowned hard at Lyonette. She nodded, keeping her eyes on him.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have to. Not cooked food; I\u2019ll sell food here like Erin did. But you have to bring the supplies here so I can cook it. Or else I\u2019ll starve. And you wouldn\u2019t want that, would you?\u201d<\/p>\n The Drake gave Lyonette a look that wasn\u2019t quite as reassuring as she\u2019d hoped. But he eventually agreed to find a way to get Lyonette more food.<\/p>\n \u201cI guess I can make a few trips\u2014but how will you keep the inn open? Without Erin, doesn\u2019t this place lose a lot of its ah, attraction? Why would anyone come this far?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy, because I\u2019ll cook fine food of course, and serve people with grace and decorum!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cReally? You?\u201d<\/p>\n Olesm looked completely unconvinced. Lyonette ground her teeth, but she smiled at him.<\/p>\n \u201cI do<\/em> have a Skill in cooking.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou do?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAbsolutely. And I\u2019ve waited tables for nearly a month. You just bring the ingredients, and I\u2019ll cook it. In fact, why don\u2019t you bring some right now? I have money and a list right here\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, it\u2019s sort of cold out\u2014you mean now? What about\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n Olesm blinked as Lyonette thrust a sheet of parchment and some coins into his claws and practically pushed him out the door. She stared anxiously at him in the snow as he stared at the inn, and then watched him trudge slowly down towards the city, heart pounding all the while.<\/p>\n She\u2019d done it! But the real test would be if he came back. Lyonette stared out the window at the faint shape of Olesm as he walked into the city, and then she sat at the window as the air in the room slowly warmed, staring fixedly at the gates.<\/p>\n It felt like forever and a half before she saw a burdened figure leave the city and start walking her way. It felt like even longer before the Drake struggled up the hill and exhaustedly dropped the packs full of ingredients on the doorstep as Lyonette flung open the door.<\/p>\n \u201cThank you so much for bringing everything here!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat? It was nothing. I mean, it was a bit heavy\u2014I don\u2019t suppose you have anything to drink?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI have to cook first.\u201d<\/p>\n Lyonette was already busy opening the ties on the pack. Olesm nodded as he sagged into a chair.<\/p>\n \u201cIn that case, I could definitely use a bite to eat. Something hot.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh. Now?\u201d<\/p>\n The Human girl stared at the Drake. He stared back.<\/p>\n \u201cYes. I mean, you are <\/em>going to make food, right?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOf course. But\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n Lyonette hesitated.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2014I have to work on a few recipes first. Why don\u2019t you come back two days from now? Then I\u2019ll probably need some more ingredients. Or\u2014you could return tonight if you want to buy something.\u201d<\/p>\n The Drake looked indignantly at the bulging pack of supplies he\u2019d brought.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat? My meal\u2019s not on the house?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo!\u201d<\/p>\n Lyon glared at him. The Drake glared back.<\/p>\n \u201cOkay, I guess I\u2019ll come back later. I mean, if you\u2019re not busy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou do that. And remember, I\u2019ll need more food soon! And tell your\u2026friends. The Wandering Inn is open again!\u201d<\/p>\n Lyon barely heard the door slam as Olesm walked out. She was too busy staring at the wonderful contents of the pack. Eggs, carefully wrapped to avoid breaking, fresh cheese\u2014flour\u2014her stomach growled uncontrollably and Lyonette\u2019s hands shook.<\/p>\n Half of her wanted to scarf down everything raw, but she made herself drag everything into the kitchen and put all the ingredients away first. She had to do this right.<\/p>\n Almost mechanically, the girl pulled out ingredients and set them on the counter as the fire she\u2019d started in the kitchen began to warm the air here too. She blew on her hands, ignoring her empty stomach as she prepared herself. She was going to cook. She, Lyonette du Marquis, was about to make a meal.<\/p>\n Hot shame and burning desire stole over her in waves, but the emptiness in her stomach quashed all other feelings. Lyonette stared at the ingredients and imagined something basic. Pasta. She remembered the lovely, buttery noodles Erin had served to her and the other guests in the inn one night. She could do that, surely?<\/p>\n Lyon had [Basic Cooking] as a Skill now, a fact that filled her with shame and privately elated her. It was the skill of a peasant, yes, but it was her<\/em> Skill. It was hers.<\/p>\n That was how she found herself cooking with the flour, salt, eggs, and some water in the kitchen. Lyonette first mixed flour and salt together, and then made a divot in the mound of powder to add a beaten egg. Then she mixed in a beaten egg and squished the sticky mess together until it began to congeal. As if by magic, the disgusting mess of egg and flour became a different substance. Dough!<\/p>\n It was dough, the very thing Lyonette had seen bakers turn into golden loaves of bread! She stared at the small ball sitting on the counter of the kitchen and stared at her flour-covered hands in amazement.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s <\/em>how it\u2019s done? It\u2019s so\u2026easy!\u201d<\/p>\n She\u2019d expected there to be some laborious process required, or a convoluted mix of ingredients. But this? Barely a few minutes of effort and she was nearly finished with her cooking! Part of Lyon was elated, the rest indignant that people paid [Bakers] and [Cooks] so much. There was nothing to it!<\/p>\n But Lyonette quickly realized she wasn\u2019t done as her Skill prompted her to keep going. She had to knead the dough for several minutes, until Lyonette\u2019s weak hands were cramping up a bit from the effort. Then, she had to find the rolling pin in one of the drawers and smooth out the dough. And then Lyon had to cut the dough into long strips, and then boil water.<\/p>\n That was actually the hardest part. Lyonette had of course gone to fetch water many times in the past for Erin, but she\u2019d hated the duty and had done it as slowly as possible. Since she was making food for herself and she was alone, Lyonette had no excuse. She had to make two trips for water, and she was exhausted by the time she watched the water boil over the fire.<\/p>\n Then, Lyonette added the pasta and a bit of salt and watched the noodles swirl around as she stirred the pot anxiously. After only two minutes the pasta was done. Lyonette dumped the water outside and scooped the rest out of the pot, shaking it to dry the last of the water. Then she put it in one heaping mound on her plate and dug in.<\/p>\n In the lukewarm inn, by the flickering fire, the young [Princess] used a slightly-bent fork to lever the first mount of noodles into her mouth with a shaking hand. She bit, chewed, and swallowed, scarfing down the food almost too quickly to taste it. But she tasted the second bite, and the third, and her face fell with each new forkful of her pasta.<\/p>\n It couldn\u2019t be. But it was. As the aching feeling in her stomach subsided, Lyonette slowly chewed the slightly watery noodles and knew the truth. Her food wasn\u2019t great. It wasn\u2019t even good. It was bland. No, worse, it was simply mediocre. True, she\u2019d made noodles thanks to her skill, but they were a far cry from what Erin could now do.<\/p>\n Lyonette had been famished, but even she couldn\u2019t finish the huge mound on her plate. After about two thirds of it she just sat back and stared at the pale mass of noodles, disgusted and disappointed in equal parts.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t the same at all. She could remember the wonderful noodles Erin had made not so long ago\u2014buttery and hot, and delightfully fragrant thanks to some herb. It had been delicious even without the meatballs. Lyonette\u2019s mouth watered just remembering.<\/p>\n But this? This was just pasta, barely serviceable. It was a disgrace to any inn, and worse, it had come from a Skill. Lyonette\u2019s Skill. Was this all she could do, even with [Basic Cooking]?<\/p>\n Lyonette wanted to cry again. This wasn\u2019t fair. <\/em>Why was her cooking this bad? She\u2019d remembered ordering one of her [Maids] who had [Basic Cooking] to make her a snack, and while it hadn\u2019t been great, it hadn\u2019t been\u2026this. What had she done wrong?<\/p>\n Then she remembered what one of her tutors had said on the rare days she\u2019d been paying attention. Skills could improve one\u2019s ability greatly and even give them the means to do things they would never be able to do normally, like fish, work metal, or even fight. But a Skill improved on what was already there.<\/p>\n If two [Warriors] with the same Skills fought, the one who had trained longer and had more actual combat experience would inevitably prevail. Similarly, even with [Basic Cooking], if Lyonette had never made food, all her cooking would be just that: basic.<\/p>\n For two minutes Lyonette just stared at the cold plate of noodles, and then she heard a knock at the door. Instantly her body went rigid with fear and apprehension, but Goblins wouldn\u2019t knock, would they? This wasn\u2019t a monster, this was a guest. A guest!<\/p>\n She scrambled to her feet and flung the door open. Her mind was racing\u2014was it too cold inside? She should have opened the windows to let everyone know the inn was open tonight! What about cooking? She couldn\u2019t serve food to\u2014what should she say? What was that Erin had always told her to say to new customers? \u2018Welcome, please have a seat?\u2019 or was it, \u2018let me take your coat\u2019?<\/p>\n The person standing in the doorway as Lyonette yanked the door open had no coat to take. A massive drake\u2014far bigger than Olesm\u2014blinked down at Lyonette as she stared up at him. After a moment, he coughed.<\/p>\n \u201cHey\u2026you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUm, welc\u2014do you have a seat for your coat?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n Lyonette turned red. The Drake scratched awkwardly at the spines on the back of his head and looked past the young woman into the inn. His eyes noted the single plate and dim fire before they returned to her.<\/p>\n \u201cIs Erin back yet?\u201d<\/p>\n Lyonette gulped. She vaguely recognized the Drake; he was Relc, the one Erin had thrown out of the inn earlier. But he was also a guest, wasn\u2019t he? She tried to smile as welcomingly as possible as she opened the door a bit wider.<\/p>\n \u201cNot yet. But would you like to stay and have something to ea\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNope. See ya.\u201d<\/p>\n The Drake turned before Lyonette had even finished her sentence. Desperately, she threw the door open to call out to him, but her breath caught in her chest when she saw the black Antinium standing next to the Drake in the snow. He\u2019d been so still, so silent, she hadn\u2019t even seen him at first.<\/p>\n Klbkch stared at Lyonette for a second and then turned to walk away with the Drake. Lyonette stood in the doorway, staring at the two [Guardsmen]\u2019s backs. They waited until they were a few paces away from the inn to start speaking, but the wind blew their voices up the hill towards her.<\/p>\n \u201cLooks like Erin\u2019s not back yet.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIndeed.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut who was that Human? I\u2019ve never seen her before, have you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI believe it was the thief that Erin Solstice employed.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe one who burned down Miss Krshia\u2019s shop, I believe. The one exiled from the city.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Human girl.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere are a lot of\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe one who called you \u2018scaley oaf\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh! Her.<\/em> Hey, can I go back inside and beat her up a bit?\u201d<\/p>\n Lyonette shrank back in the doorway, but the other voice stopped the first.<\/p>\n \u201cThat would not be wise. If Erin Solstice comes back and finds you have attacked her staff, she will most likely ban you for life.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDamn. Are you sure?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cVery. You will have to give her your apology gift later. Although, you will first have to buy her a gift.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHrgh. I know, I know. But what do Human females like, anyways? Should I get her some meat? Jewels? I don\u2019t have that much money on me, you know.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI recommend we ask about. There are Humans in the city. Let us ask them.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSure, I guess. If we have to. Hey, where should we eat tonight\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n The voices trailed off as the wind changed directions. Lyonette shivered as she stood in the open doorway a moment longer, staring out into the dark snow. Then she closed the door. She felt\u2026bad, even though she didn\u2019t know why. But the inn was full of light, especially when she opened the windows and added more fuel to the fire. It was warm and bright and it almost felt like before, even if dinner had been bland. But it wasn\u2019t the same.<\/p>\n It really wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n —-<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Someone else came by that night. Lyonette was in the kitchen, trying to work out what would make the pasta taste better when she heard the door open. She hurried into the common room and saw a man wearing a worn, serviceable dark cloak shaking snow off of it as he looked around. A dagger at his side was his only weapon, but he walked as if he only needed his piercing glare to kill anything that might accost him.<\/p>\n Lyon recognized him as well. The man looked as annoyed as ever, and perhaps even more so today. His expression was grim, and he reminded Lyon of the oldest and grumpiest of the kingdom\u2019s soldiers. She knew who he was\u2014a Gold-rank adventurer. That made her defer to him slightly, even though she was royalty. It was certainly not because she was afraid of him. Well, maybe a little.<\/p>\n \u201cW-welcome sir! Miss Solstice isn\u2019t back yet, but if you\u2019d like to stay, I could make you some pasta\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n Halrac\u2019s piercing gaze froze Lyon in place. He looked at her, and then around the inn. He shook his head and grunted irritably.<\/p>\n \u201cHmph.\u201d<\/p>\n He turned and left without another word. Lyonette watched him leave through one of the windows as the adventurer stomped back towards the city through the snow. She didn\u2019t know what to think about that, but she imagined how much money a Gold-rank adventurer might have spent and felt even worse.<\/p>\n All in all, it was almost a relief when Olesm dropped by. The Drake was still irritable, but he came by for dinner by himself. He grew much more cheerful when Lyonette served him pasta and told him he wouldn\u2019t have to pay for it; his expression immediately changed when he bit into the over-salted batch she\u2019d made this time. He ate four bites and then pushed his plate away and didn\u2019t touch it for the remainder of the time he spent in the inn.<\/p>\n Not that he took that long anyways. Olesm only stayed long enough to tell Lyonette about the Goblin army\u2019s sacking of Esthelm, the news that Erin was alive in Celum, and that she wasn\u2019t coming back any time soon. She badgered him with questions, but the Drake had no answers.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know when she can come back, okay?\u201d<\/p>\n He snapped at her as he drank some of the hot water she\u2019d boiled and grimaced at the taste. It was the same water she\u2019d used for the noodles, and he pushed that back on the table as well after another sip.<\/p>\n \u201cBut\u2014when will she return? Can she?\u201d<\/p>\n Lyonette wrung her hands. Olesm just shrugged, looking unhappy.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s dangerous on the roads, and frankly, it might be safer where she is. After everyone\u2019s [Dangersense] got triggered in the city, Zevara\u2019s put the entrance to the dungeon on permanent watch with every spare [Guardsman] she can muster.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe dungeon?\u201d<\/p>\n Lyonette had no [Dangersense]; she hadn\u2019t even realized the entrance to the dungeon had been uncovered. Olesm nodded as he exclaimed.<\/p>\n \u201cNone of the adventurers want to go in. Griffon Hunt hasn\u2019t even gone through the entrance yet, and all the other groups are staying put. No one\u2019s sure what will come out\u2014if anything. Someone\u2019s got to go in, but until one of the groups works up the nerve, it\u2019s another threat along with those Goblins that the city has to be wary of.\u201d<\/p>\n He sighed and stood up. Lyonette watched him anxiously. Olesm looked at the food and water and shook his head briefly before digging in his pocket.<\/p>\n \u201cHere.\u201d<\/p>\n He put a few bronze coins on the table and nodded to them.<\/p>\n \u201cFor the food. I\u2019m not that hungry, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re going? Already?\u201d<\/p>\n Lyonette was surprised at the tone of her own voice. Normally she would have welcomed silence, but Olesm was the first person to even enter the inn since Erin had left. The Drake nodded, looking tired.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve got to plan some stuff out with Zevara and\u2014well, I\u2019m busy. I\u2019ll stop by tomorrow, though.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut why not stay here? For a little while longer, I mean?\u201d<\/p>\n Olesm paused, looking awkward.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve really got to be going. I still need to ea\u2014I mean, I\u2019ve got a lot\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n He stopped and stared at something in the corner of the room. Lyonette\u2019s eyes were drawn to the ghostly chessboard on one of the tables. None of the pieces had moved since Erin had left, but the Drake\u2019s eyes fixed on them for a few seconds. He looked back at Lyonette.<\/p>\n \u201cYou wouldn\u2019t happen to play chess, would you?\u201d<\/p>\n Lyon shook her head reluctantly. She remembered it being the latest trend in court, but she\u2019d never picked up the game. Olesm looked disappointed.<\/p>\n \u201cOh.\u201d<\/p>\n He left soon after, despite Lyonette\u2019s attempts to entice him to stay. Afterwards, Lyonette stared at the bad pasta and hurled it into the fire along with the plate. It made a horrible mess and stunk terribly as the fire consumed the pasta. Then Lyon just stood in the center of the room as the smell of burnt food filled the inn.<\/p>\n She was lost. For a few minutes Lyonette desperately tried to suppress her tears, but then they came forth and she just stood in the empty inn, letting them roll down her cheeks and drip onto the floor.<\/p>\n It was all over. She couldn\u2019t do it. She couldn\u2019t cook, and no one liked her. Lyonette had known that\u2014she\u2019d even relished the knowledge before. But now, she knew it would be her death. No one would buy any food. She\u2019d starve to death and Erin would find her bones in the inn when she came back.<\/p>\n She was a failure. That\u2019s all she was and would ever be. The pitiful third daughter of a small kingdom, dying alone in an inn that wasn\u2019t hers. She was nothing.<\/p>\n The girl curled up on the floor as the embers of the fire glowed and faded. She stopped crying because even that was no use, and lay there, waiting to die. She grew still as she rolled herself up into a ball of misery. Then the door opened, and the Antinium walked in.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n —-<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Pawn didn\u2019t know why he went to The Wandering Inn. It was just where his feet carried him. The Antinium had no idea what to do or where do go; he just knew that he might find the answers he sought if he could listen to a certain young woman for a while.<\/p>\n It had been a long time since he\u2019d gone there. In fact, this morning he\u2019d intended nothing of the kind. Pawn had woken up sitting in his small sleeping spot and believed today would be like all the rest. Empty and uncertain.<\/p>\n The Antinium do not lie down to sleep. It\u2019s not that they can\u2019t, but their backs do not curve like mammals. Pawn\u2019s own back resembled a beetle\u2019s in many ways, and he disliked the rocking that occurred when he tried to lie down. Thus, both Workers and Soldiers alike slept while sitting. It was the most economic use of space, and in the huge barrack-like sleeping area that held five hundred Workers, Pawn had had an adequate six hours of rest.<\/p>\n That was how Pawn\u2019s day began. He would pull himself out of his small cubicle of dirt with his four arms and file into line with the other Workers as they left the room at the same time to receive their morning nutrition.<\/p>\n It was easier for Pawn to do this today than it had a few weeks ago. He had regrown all but a few digits on his hands, and his severed limbs had nearly fully regenerated thanks to the unique healing substances the Antinium used. As he stood behind a Worker, Pawn flexed his digits and marveled a bit at how the simplicity of that action alone made him feel so much better.<\/p>\n The Workers ahead and behind Pawn did not look at their hands, or even move except when they walked forwards. They were not like Pawn. They kept their gazes straight and did not talk. And they gave Pawn more room than strictly necessary.<\/p>\n He was the odd one out. Pawn knew that, but he tried not to take advantage of his position. When he stood in line the Worker gave him the same amount of brown-grey paste as the other Workers. Perhaps if he\u2019d asked for more, he would have received it, but the calculated ration was enough to sustain him throughout the day. Besides, no one would ever ask <\/em>for more of the Worker\u2019s food than normal.<\/p>\n Pawn stood in the food consumption area and slowly ingested the muck he had been given. There were no seats for the Antinium to eat at; they simply collected their rations on earthenware bowls and ate as efficiently as possible before depositing the bowls to be used again by more Workers filing into the room.<\/p>\n Workers and Soldiers ate separately. This wasn\u2019t because one group ate better quality food than the other\u2014they all ate the same highly-caloric mush, but Soldiers just ate three times as much as Workers, and thus used different containers, necessitating a separate room to feed in. Pawn stared at the brown clump of mushed up\u2026something\u2026as he put it between his mandibles and chewed. The food went down easily, but the taste\u2014<\/p>\n He had grown used to it. Even so, it was never what one would call easy. The Workers ate the food quickly, showing no signs of disgust, even though Pawn knew they had to be tasting exactly what he did. If they had gag reflexes\u2014or an alternative food source, it might have been a different matter.<\/p>\n But food was food, and there were no alternatives. Except at Erin\u2019s inn. Pawn could remember having delicious meals there, and he had to force himself to eat the rest of the mush. He crunched <\/em>down on something on his last bite. Something hadn\u2019t been fully processed? He swallowed it anyways. It was a nice interlude from the rest of the mush. Perhaps it had been a bone fragment.<\/p>\n Then, as soon as they had finished eating, the Workers moved as one out of the large cavern used for food preparation and into the tunnels to begin their daily duties. Pawn followed them, not pausing to duck even though the ceiling of the tunnel was barely a foot over his head.<\/p>\n That was another feature of the Antinium Hive in Liscor. While some of the cavernous rooms were indeed quite large, designed to hold large numbers of the Antinium, many parts of the Hive had been optimized for space. Thus, the tunnels used solely by Workers were barely large enough to accommodate them. They had only a foot of height as they marched through the cramped corridors built to accommodate exactly two Workers at a time. And such was the flow of Workers going to their daily duties\u2014<\/p>\n Well, any creature with a hint of claustrophobia would have suffered greatly. Pawn didn\u2019t mind; it was what he was used to. He walked with hundreds of other Workers as they walked through the tunnels and around each other in a perfect, synchronized flow of traffic that never halted or wasted time. Hundreds of Workers moved in every direction, going aboveground to work for the city, or below to dig or shore up collapsed tunnel walls, fulfill other tasks around the Hive, and so on.<\/p>\n This was only one of the shifts of Workers that worked throughout the day. Pawn was one of the Workers who slept from just before midnight to around dawn, so he considered himself close to a \u2018normal\u2019 sleeping habit. But there were other Workers who would sleep in the middle of the day. It didn\u2019t matter; all time was the same in the Hive.<\/p>\n Pawn walked down the narrow Worker corridors until he came to a main intersection in the Hive. Here, traffic diverged and more bodies entered the ceaseless cascade of motion. Larger Soldiers marched in huge columns down the massive highway of bodies, going to reinforce weak spots in the Hive, to eat, or just to rest until they were called on again. Here the Workers joined other flows, moving deeper into the Hive, or up above.<\/p>\n Pawn walked forwards, following the Worker ahead of him until he came to the split in the traffic. There he paused, uncertain. The Worker behind him paused, and so did the Worker behind him, and behind him and so on. In an instant, thousands of bodies stopped for one crucial second until the Worker behind Pawn awkwardly walked around him. The Worker behind him followed the motion and so did the Worker behind him and behind him\u2026<\/p>\n Instantly, the flow of traffic resumed. Unlike traffic in Erin\u2019s world, the Workers did not hesitate. They moved in perfect synchronization, so that after the initial pause, traffic flow resumed without any pileups as it were. Even so, the incident had cost all the Workers following Pawn a precious second of inactivity. Pawn knew he should feel guilty, but he didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n He stared at the bodies walking around him. Here were Workers, going to their duties. Across from him, another stream of Soldiers was rapidly advancing down the hallway, nearly running. They might be off to fight monsters.<\/p>\n Part of Pawn wondered what would happen if he walked in front of them. Would the Soldiers just trample him? They did that to other Workers who accidentally got in their way. But would his status as an Individual mean they\u2019d avoid him?<\/p>\n He decided not to test this theory. Instead, Pawn resumed walking, resulting in a micro-second of delay as he rejoined the flow of Workers. He walked upwards, up towards a special room built near the surface of the Hive.<\/p>\n A large room had been sectioned off and given a new purpose. Instead of acting as another feeding room, the low-ceilinged area had been filled with cushions, small rectangular wooden boards filled with pieces, and even the odd chair. Antinium, all Workers, sat around these boards, playing chess.<\/p>\n They all paused when Pawn entered the room. The Workers looked up at Pawn, and then resumed playing. He stared around the room, looking at all the seated Antinium playing chess.<\/p>\n In truth, the dirt ceiling was too low to really allow any Workers to sit on the chairs. They sat around the chess boards on the dirt instead, completely ignoring the cushions that had been piled neatly in one corner of the room and never been used.<\/p>\n There were around sixty Workers in the room at the moment, all engaged in a board game. None of them looked up from their games, and they moved at very regular intervals. The rhythmic click<\/em> of wooden pieces gently tapping on the board soothed Pawn. But he did not sit down at an empty board as he usually did. If he had, he would have had an opponent in seconds. But Pawn didn\u2019t want that today.<\/p>\n Instead, he sat with his back to one of the dirt walls. Pawn stared ahead, not really at the chess players. They were all new Individuals, the few that had survived and not become Aberrations like the rest. They had chosen names, and they were all learning to play chess, as per the recommendations Pawn had made to Klbkch.<\/p>\n But they were not\u2026like him. Pawn knew that. These new Individuals were not like he was. Nor were they like the original Individuals, the original Workers that had chosen names.<\/p>\n \u201cHah.\u201d<\/p>\n Pawn chuckled out loud at the ridiculousness of that <\/em>thought. Instantly, every Worker in the room paused in their chess playing and looked up at him as one. He froze in place, unsure of what to do. After a second the Workers returned to playing as if nothing had happened.<\/p>\n That was it. Pawn closed his mandibles and made sure not to make another sound as the sounds of chess resumed. These new Individuals had names, but they didn\u2019t have what he and the others had. They still obeyed orders like any other Worker, and they didn\u2019t express their opinions. They hadn\u2019t developed personality like he, Bird, Belgrade, Anand, and Garry, the only surviving original Individuals had. It wasn\u2019t these new Individuals\u2019 fault, of course. They had been forced into the choice, they hadn\u2019t made it themselves. They didn\u2019t have\u2026Erin.<\/p>\n Things had been simpler a few months ago. Back then, the Hive had made sense to Pawn. There were Workers and Soldiers, the Prognugator, and the Queen. That was how it had been. But now there were Workers and Soldiers yes, and the Queen, but they had a Revalantor who also acted as a Prognugator in the form of Klbkch. He had kicked the former Prognugator who was also the new Prognugator, Ksmvr, out of<\/em> the Hive. And there was a new group of Antinium.<\/p>\n The Individuals. Over a hundred Workers who had chosen names and been tested for individuality without becoming Aberration. But in that group of Individuals, there were five\u2026leaders.<\/p>\n No, not leaders. Five exceptions. Five of the original<\/em> Individuals who had become so of their own volition, to save a Human named Erin Solstice. They had been the chess club, her chess club, the Workers who had played at her inn every few days. And they had given their lives, almost all of them, to protect her from the undead.<\/p>\n That was the real change in the Hive. Five Antinium had chosen and become Individual, taking classes and names and true personalities. They had begun to level up rapidly like any other species, and they had become\u2026<\/p>\n Unique. And it had to be said, of the five, one in particular stood out.<\/p>\n Pawn.<\/p>\n He was the first. Pawn knew that. He had been the first to choose a name, the first to choose. Because of that everyone treated him as if he were special. Klbkch, the Queen\u2014they gave him no duties, no responsibilities. They just watched him to see what he would do. And Pawn had no idea what to do, so most days he just walked up to the chess room and either played games or sat like this.<\/p>\n He didn\u2019t do much. Pawn just sat here, day after day. Thinking, really. That was all he could do. He was no gifted warrior like Bird, and nor was he particularly interested in other classes like Garry, Belgrade and Anand. Already the other four had begun to specialize in their roles just as his Queen had hoped. Bird had begun using a bow to harvest a large number of his namesakes even in the wintery climate, and Garry had learned to fry them and make a palatable snack out of their carcasses.<\/p>\n Belgrade and Anand had continued to improve in their [Tactician] class. They had already fought numerous engagements against the dungeon monsters in the tunnels below. They were all becoming assets to the Hive. But Pawn was different.<\/p>\n All the Workers knew it. Pawn knew it. He was different. He was the Worker that Erin had first spoken to, the first Worker to choose his name. Even the other four treated him differently. Because he was first. He was special. He hadn\u2019t just chosen, he had been chosen<\/em> by Erin.<\/p>\n He was unique. But Pawn had no idea what that meant.<\/p>\n He knew what his Queen wanted, what Klbkch wanted. They wanted him to become a useful warrior, or an asset to the Hive. They wanted him to specialize, to level up in a class and surpass normal Antinium in that way. But Pawn hadn\u2019t done that.<\/p>\n Yes, he had the [Tactician] class. But he wasn\u2019t that high-level in it. In fact, he\u2019d stagnated his growth weeks ago. Pawn still loved to play chess, and he was the best player among the Workers by far. But like Erin, he had ceased to level.<\/p>\n And he had no interest in using a bow like Bird. He didn\u2019t like to cook, only to eat, and he had no burning desire to do anything else in the Hive. Pawn was sure that if he walked anywhere in the Hive\u2014save perhaps the Queen\u2019s room\u2014he could find something to do.<\/p>\n There was always work to do in the Hive. Since he had been allowed aboveground, Pawn had learned something of the customs of other species. Apparently boredom was something their peoples had to fight against. It was an alien concept in the Hive.<\/p>\n Were you done with your assigned duties? In that case, there was always time to be spent processing the nutritional paste the Antinium ate, chewing food up and regurgitating it into a vat to be mixed up with long poles. Or you could be sent to guard against monsters attacking from the dungeon underneath Liscor, supporting the Soldiers in their tireless battle.<\/p>\n And if neither of those two options were viable, you could be assigned to monitor the larvae, or maybe dig. There was always time to dig. You could dig out a collapsed tunnel, dig a new tunnel, dig a deeper tunnel, widen a tunnel, dig out a room, dig into a promising mine shaft, dig out a hole for excrement\u2026<\/p>\n Occasionally, the Workers would build something. That was a refreshing change of pace. They would make wooden load-bearing supports to hold up the titanic weight of the dirt overhead, or fashion crude arrows out of wood. But even that grew tiring after hours of monotonous work blended together.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t for Pawn. He knew that. He knew he wanted something different. And perhaps he had found it. Perhaps.<\/p>\n But he was no longer sure. The certainty, the faith that had filled him weeks ago had long since departed, and now Pawn could only rely on uncertain memory to fill the hole in his heart. Had it really happened? Was it true?<\/p>\n Was he really an [Acolyte]? What did it mean?<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n Another pause, and the Workers looked up. This time Pawn stared back, just to see what would happen. They looked down as one, and he went back to thinking.<\/p>\n Once upon a time, an Antinium had been questioned. He had been asked who he was, and he had no answers. He had wondered why his\u2026friends\u2026had all died, whether it was all for nothing. And he had been given an answer. A ray of hope.<\/p>\n \u201cFaith.\u201d<\/p>\n So the girl had told him. She had reached down into his despair and offered him something to hold onto. She had spoken to him of something beyond his understanding. A God. And a place\u2026a place where the dead might go to rest. A wonderful place.<\/p>\n \u201cHeaven.\u201d<\/p>\n Pawn sighed, and clenched his still-healing fist. He stared at it. Yes, that night he had believed. And his belief had become reality! He had gained a Skill, and a class. [Acolyte], and the Skill, [Prayer]. It had meant something to him at the time, he had been sure.<\/p>\n There was a God. There was something to believe in. But in the days since, Pawn\u2019s faith had wavered. He had not leveled again, and neither had he prayed. Because\u2026because he was afraid.<\/p>\n There was a God. Erin had told him that. Not just a God, though. Gods. She had talked about a God who was born and died in her world, but apparently that God wasn\u2019t the only one. Other people believed in a God who was the same, but different, but who had never said certain things.<\/p>\n \u201cAre you even there? Will you answer me? Am I worthy of asking you such things?\u201d<\/p>\n No response. The Workers looked up at Pawn and down at their chessboards. He looked up at the ceiling, in the direction Erin had told him heaven probably lay. He saw only dirt.<\/p>\n Heaven. Faith and Gods were all confusing to Pawn, but the idea of Heaven, the idea of forgiveness and a place to be happy was what he had clung to. He had believed in that, and so been rewarded. But if he was to pray, as his Skill seemed to indicate, then to who? To Erin\u2019s God? Only\u2026he wasn\u2019t her God. That\u2019s what she had said. So then, who did he pray to?<\/p>\n And for what? Why? What would it do? And would anyone answer? Would anyone care, or would his words go unheard?<\/p>\n Pawn didn\u2019t know. He hadn\u2019t known for the last week, and he was no closer sitting in the corner of the chess room. Part of him didn\u2019t want to know. Another part told him to talk to Klbkch and his Queen, tell them of his new class. But the last part wanted to believe. It wanted to know of this God, and to put his self into believing in that God. To reach that place called \u2018Heaven\u2019.<\/p>\n But he was afraid. Afraid of knowing the truth. So Pawn sat in the chess room instead, wondering what would happen if he prayed. Would nothing happen? Or would something, someone answer? Which would be worse?<\/p>\n Pawn didn\u2019t want to know. But he wanted to, desperately. He was afraid that if he went back to Erin, she would tell him he was wrong. That his class was a mistake. That God only existed in her world. Or\u2014<\/p>\n Or that there was a God, but not one for him.<\/p>\n That was his greatest fear. There was a God. Probably. The class he\u2019d received seemed to indicate that. And Pawn wanted to believe in a God. But what if God didn\u2019t want him? Pawn was too afraid to ask.<\/p>\n So as the day passed, he sat quietly in the chess room, thinking. His mind spun in the same circles, over and over again. Workers walked into the room, played chess, walked out. They had their duties. But Pawn had nothing. Not a thing. He only had a question, and an answer he was too afraid to face.<\/p>\n And then, just as soon as he\u2019d woken up, it was nightfall. Pawn knew this because of the clock in his head and the Workers on duty, not from any change in the ambient light. He stood up, stretched; the other Workers waited for him to do or say something. But Pawn just walked out of the room.<\/p>\n This time he went up. Up, to the city above. It wasn\u2019t his choice; Pawn just felt his feet carrying him that direction. He went up, out of the tunnel that was one of the entrances to his Hive. He walked out into the streets of Liscor, around Drakes and Gnolls and Humans who gave him a wide berth in any case. He walked out of the gates of Liscor, and through the snow, up towards the small inn whose windows shone with inviting warm light.<\/p>\n He had to know. He had to ask, at least. Pawn had felt the certainty in his body. He had gained a class and Skill and that meant something. There was a God. But would God accept Pawn? He had to know, and so he had to ask Erin. She would know what to do. She always did.<\/p>\n But Erin wasn\u2019t there. Pawn knocked at the door and then opened it, and saw the girl lying on the ground. She looked up at him, and she was not Erin.<\/p>\n \u201cExcuse me? Is Erin Solstice here?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cErin?\u201d<\/p>\n The girl had been curled up into a ball. Now she sprang to her feet and wiped at her face. Her cheeks were wet, and her eyes were red.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat are you\u2014you\u2019re that Antinium, aren\u2019t you? Pawn?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat is so. Is Erin here? I would like to speak with her.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cErin? You haven\u2019t heard?\u201d<\/p>\n The girl laughed almost hysterically. Pawn would have frowned if he were able.<\/p>\n \u201cHeard what? Has something happened to Erin Solstice?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s\u2014gone.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGone?\u201d<\/p>\n Pawn listened incredulously as the young woman explained what had happened. Erin had vanished? How could this have happened? How could anyone have allowed<\/em> this?<\/p>\n Part of him longed to run out the door, to gather Bird and Garry and the others and immediately search for Erin. But she was safe? In another city?<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s safe. But she\u2019s not coming back yet. I don\u2019t think she can with all the Goblins around.\u201d<\/p>\n The Antinium\u2019s mind raced as he considered the implications. Goblin armies. Of course Erin\u2019s safety came first, but if she couldn\u2019t come back\u2014should someone send an escort? Did Klbkch know? He must, but would he send the Soldiers out to guard her? What if\u2014<\/p>\n \u201cSo\u2026are you here for something?\u201d<\/p>\n Pawn looked back at the young woman in surprise. Yes, she had stayed here, hadn\u2019t she? Who was she? Someone new?<\/p>\n Lyonette. That was her name. He vaguely remembered Erin hiring her, but hadn\u2019t she been a bad employee? Now the young woman was alone. She wiped at her nose as she pointed at the kitchen.<\/p>\n \u201cDo you want\u2026something to eat?\u201d<\/p>\n Pawn\u2019s first instinct was to refuse, but that would have meant he had to leave the inn. And he wasn\u2019t ready to go back down into the Hive. Not yet. So he nodded, and told Lyonette he could not digest gluten. That threw her for a loop, but she eventually offered him eggs and bacon.<\/p>\n Pawn was under the impression such food was reserved for breakfasts, at least according to Erin, but he accepted. He still had the coins Klbkch had given him to spend. Enough for many meals.<\/p>\n The Worker sat at an empty table as Lyonette rushed into the kitchen and began to bang things about. He stared at the wooden grain, trying to think. Everything was chaos in his mind now.<\/p>\n \u201cErin is gone.\u201d<\/p>\n There was no one to answer his question. Pawn felt immediately relieved, and then horrible at once. He was no closer to his answer, and the question was tearing him apart. If Erin could not answer him, then\u2014<\/p>\n \u201cHere\u2019s your food!\u201d<\/p>\n A plate was shoved in front of Pawn\u2019s face. He stared at it, and the hand holding it. Lyonette looked anxiously at Pawn as she put it on the table in front of him.<\/p>\n \u201cSorry. It\u2019s a bit\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n The bacon was slightly burnt. The eggs hadn\u2019t been fully cooked and they ran a bit. Pawn poked at the food with a fork once Lyonette remembered to give him one. He cautiously took a bite of the greasy bacon and chewed.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t like the paste the Workers ate at all. It had been so long that Pawn had nearly forgotten the taste of hot food. And salt! <\/em>Pawn finished the plate and a second helping when Lyonette offered.<\/p>\n Then he sat in the inn, watching the fire fade. It was funny. He had come here searching for answers, and found none. But even without them, he had found an answer of sorts.<\/p>\n Erin was gone. She might be in trouble, but there was no way Pawn could help her. Not as he was. He was useless, a Worker alone. But if there was a God\u2014<\/p>\n There was no Erin. So there was only one person he could ask. One person who might know what this all meant. Klbkch. He had been assigned to watch over Pawn, and it was Pawn\u2019s duty to inform him of any new classes he obtained. He had not done so before, because he was unsure. But now? Now was the time.<\/p>\n He would tell Revalantor Klbkch about his class and ask him what it meant. Perhaps Klbkch would know of Gods. Pawn dug at the belt on his waist and left what he thought was close to an appropriate amount. Usually Erin told him the meal was on the house.<\/p>\n Slowly, Pawn walked out of the door and into the snow. He was no less lost than before, but at least there was something warm inside him. He stared up at the clouded sky. He couldn\u2019t sense heaven up there. Nor could he tell if there was a God.<\/p>\n But maybe there was one. And if there was, Pawn would find him. Slowly, he began to walk through the snow, back into the city, to his Hive.<\/p>\n Gods. Heaven. He tried to believe. This time, Pawn thought he might have succeeded.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n —-<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lyonette watched Pawn go, silent, walking into the snow as he stared upwards. The Antinium had said barely a few words to her all night. He had sat, staring at the fire. But he had also eaten two of her plates and left\u2014<\/p>\n She stared down at the pile of coins on the table. Silver and bronze coins glinted in the moonlight. Trembling, Lyonette scooped up the pile of coins. She counted them. Once, twice, again.<\/p>\n It was enough. More than enough. With this, she could feed herself for several more days. And if he came back\u2014<\/p>\n Lyonette\u2019s heart skipped. Part of her wanted to shout in revulsion at even touching something the Antinium had touched. She still remembered stories about what they had done, what horrible atrocities they had committed. But this one\u2014Pawn\u2014he had paid her.<\/p>\n Maybe it was just one time. But Lyon remembered the Antinium coming into Erin\u2019s inn like clockwork. And they weren\u2019t picky; they\u2019d even loved the bees, disgusting as they\u2019d been. They were a stable, profitable source of income. If she could stomach serving them, maybe, just maybe, she\u2019d survive.<\/p>\n The [Princess] stared out the window at the Antinium\u2019s lonely form as he walked back to the city. She could do it. She could live until Erin got back. She would<\/em> do it, and she would show Erin she was capable. She would run this inn, and it would be her castle, her sanctuary until Erin came back.<\/p>\n All would be well. Lyonette had to believe in that.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Previous Chapter<\/a> Next Chapter<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The day after Ryoka\u2019s encounter with Persua and the day before everything else happened, a [Message] was sent to Celum addressed to Ryoka and Erin. Two spells, actually. They were duly recorded and when Ryoka remembered to stop by the Mage\u2019s Guild, they were delivered to both girls at the counter with no incident. Erin […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52856846,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"patreon-level":0,"patreon_level":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11693083,349],"tags":[7224,250708,4330244,4472517,11693079],"twi_volume":[11693132],"twi_collection":[],"class_list":["post-2561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-volume-3","category-writing","tag-fantasy","tag-inn","tag-web-novel","tag-web-serial","tag-writing"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\n