Hiding In Plain Sight

I wasn't sure if the setting sun and the shadows it cast made our surroundings as dark and dreary as they were, or if they were simply just like that.

My descent into the bowels of Athelens continued. Nia had not let go of my hand since first taking it on that road outside the capital, and I could feel the sweat beginning to pool uncomfortably between us. It was uncomfortable, to me - to Nia, she couldn't care less.

Nia navigated the inner city with a skill I could hardly believe. She moved down alleys, across rickety structures, and down staircases that I wouldn't have even known were traversable - probably, because, by all appearances, they weren't. But through some experience or another, Nia knew what was (mostly) safe and what wasn't, and it made our progress nearly impossible to internalize.

All the while, the demi-human girl continued to chat. I learned a bit about the place we were headed, and the group she described - that it was more or less a refugee area, tucked away in the bowels of the city, and that 'her group' were the other residents there, who had banded together out of convenience. Other children lived there too, apparently, and from what I could extrapolate from her stories were, in all likelihood, orphans like her.

As darkness set in, Nia, at last, came to a stop outside of what looked like a partially destroyed wall.

"Here!" she cried, pushing aside a slab of stone with an ease that surprised me. Was the stone that light, or Nia that strong...?

Moving the stone aside revealed a small opening, leading into what looked like a courtyard beyond. Nia darted inside the moment the stone was moved, while I hesitated outside for several moments. Nia was friendly and all, but I wasn't sure how the rest of her group would take the sudden arrival of an outsider to their far-and-away community.

The place seemed like it valued secrecy, probably because their living here was off the books. The more people that knew about it, the more likely they were to get found out.

"C'mon! It's ok!" Nia called after me, and I could vaguely see her waiting on the other side of the wall. I guess I had come too far to turn back now.

Ducking inside, I found the chamber beyond to be surprisingly spacious...but also, mostly empty. A number of fires burned, scattered throughout, and from their light I could see a number of makeshift structures, made from whatever the owner could find at the time. Above, I could still see patches of starry sky, meaning the hideaway was not completely protected from the elements. Naturally, the position of the various camps made sure none of them were directly exposed, should the elements come knocking.

"Objective fulfilled: Discover a hidden location."

"This way, this way!" Nia broke me out of my thoughts with her words and, again, with her actions, as she grabbed onto my arm and began pulling me along again.

We made a beeline for a particular group of tents, not far from the entrance, which Nia had re-sealed without my notice. I could only presume this was where she was staying.

"Nia, you're back!" came another voice, one that sounded similarly young. Rising up from his position by one of the fires was a young boy, human, by all appearances, who wore a tattered cloth outfit similar to Nia's. He seemed relieved to see her, but was immediately put on guard when he noticed she was not alone.

"Who's that?" the boy questioned immediately, unflinching, his distrust clear.

"This is Rhys! He helped me!" Nia responded without missing a beat, bringing me forcibly over to the fire with her.

"Oh yeah, how?" the boy shot back.

"We shared a pie!" Nia explained, finally releasing me from her grasp. She seemed unfazed and not able to understand the boy's distrust.

"And?"

"I wanted to introduce him to everyone."

"You're too easily won over by food, Nia!" the boy let into her. His words were harsh, but, honestly, he made a valid point.

"You're probably right, but honestly I'm just glad I could do something for her. Her situation seemed...rough," I said to the boy, in the hopes I could ease his concerns even a little.

"I was really hungry!" Nia confirmed enthusiastically.

"Oh, Nia, you're back! I was getting worried."

A new voice came from one of the tents, no doubt stirred by the commotion happening outside. Pushing through a flap at the entrance of the tent, a demi-human man, standing even taller than I, emerged. At first, I thought perhaps I had been mistaken about Nia's situation and this was her father, given his similarly bestial nature, but I quickly noticed key differences between the two - most notably, just how bestial he was.

His 'demi' tendencies seemed similar to that of a wolf or other wild canine, and while Nia only possessed the tail, ears, and few spots of fur, this demi-human was covered head to toe in fur, and possessed a long snout and sharp features. Had I not been exposed to demi-humans and their varied appearances sooner, I'd have thought I was standing before a werewolf.

"Sorry to wake you up, Damien!" Nia apologized, though she seemed more than happy to see him. The werewolf - 'Damien,' apparently - waved her off.

"Never you mind that. So, you brought a friend with you, eh?"

"I didn't mean to intrude!" I immediately bowed my head in apology. I didn't get a bad feeling from this one, but I felt incredibly rude for having waltzed right in when they were trying to sleep.

"No, no, you've done us a great service by keeping the wild one alive! Sounds like she was about to keel over when you found her."

"Finding stuff was really hard today," Nia offered her excuse, looking a little downtrodden.

"Damien, he-" the boy attempted to interject, only for Damien to hold up a hand, silencing him.

"I get it, Leo. You don't have to trust him. But I owe him at least a chat or two."

The boy - Leo - was clearly not happy with this outcome, but also clearly held Damien in considerably high regard, because he made no further attempt to argue.

"I appreciate that much, at least. And I don't mean to stay long." The second part I added more for the boy's sake.

Damien joined us at the fire and we all took a seat, Leo included. He and Nia disappeared into their own little world, talking about nonsensical things, and goofing around with what they had available to them.

I spoke with Damien as candidly as I could, leaving out only the things I suspected would cause him or others confusion. I spoke of my arrival in Troph, and then the capital, and how I was mistakenly suspected for being involved with a cult, when I was clearly just a humble chef.

At this, Damien laughed.

"Well, I can't say you feel like the cultish type, but the guard are always on the lookout for these things. Hell, they find you all the way out here, they might have a stronger case!" He laughed again, as I grimaced.

"Are there really cults out here?"

"Don't look so scared, lad. Alls I'm saying is that if there are any cults operating in the shadows, it's definitely gonna be out here where the sun don't shine so bright."

That did put me at ease a little - that Damien had no concrete information, either. Maybe the capital guard were just being cautious.

"So, you were staying out of trouble so they didn't put you in chains. Did ya ever find the Guild?"

I looked to the ground, defeated. Damien laughed, again.

"Fine, fine, we'll show you where it's at tomorrow! I know, Athelens is confusing until you get used to it. Or, until you learn to ask questions!"

I really should've just gone with the tavern idea...

"Rhys, you wanna be an adventurer?!" Nia interjected into our conversation, much to the chagrin of Leo. Though, even the boy's interest was piqued at the mention of the word 'adventurer.'

"Ah ha, yeah, kind've..." I replied sheepishly. Under normal circumstances, I would've been able to respond with gusto, but given my current classification as 'chef'...

Nia seemed to get even more excited at my confirmation.

"Is it difficult to become an adventurer?" I wondered aloud. Although I'm sure the nature of the job appealed to many, especially the youth, Nia's reaction made it seem almost mythical.

"To become one? No," answered Damien. "But to keep at it, is another story. Adventurers are thrown the jobs that are too messy or too much for the kingdom to deal with, short of sending in an entire army. That makes it tough, unforgiving work, but work that'll make ya rich, should ya succeed."

It sounded pretty much like I'd imagined. Though, I had been expecting a gradual escalation of jobs - this sounded like even the level 1 adventurers were thrown into the deep end.

"That's the part of the job that everyone talks about, anyway," Damien explained with a shrug. "The other stuff, the busy work? Collecting rare plants? Escorting merchant caravans? Culling wildlife? Doesn't invoke the same kind of image as the high level stuff."

Ah, there it was.

"I'm just glad there's something to ease you into it," I replied with a nervous smile.

"You'll find most adventurers have a 'love it or hate it' relationship with the stuff. Some never even try to go for the crazy offers, since it has a habit of taking people down a peg. Not uncommon for adventurers to live a mundane life just off the more mundane work."

"That doesn't sound so bad to me."

"Heh, as I said, you either love it, or hate it, depending on how practically you like to think, I guess."

I suppose those going into the 'adventuring profession' with ideas of grand, world-changing challenges would be a little sour at the idea its all flower picking and vermin killing.

"You sound like you speak from experience, Damien."

"Hah! That I do, lad, that I do."