"You don't have to do this, Kel," A man said, his husky voice tinged with sorrow.

"It's been pulling at me, Glenn, and I can't deny it this time," A young woman responded, her silvery tone just barely above a whisper.

An old key on a ring dangled from one slender finger off Kelari's outstretched hand in front of Glenn. He rubbed his bald head and shuffled in place, dark eyes flicking aimlessly about their modest home. A crackling fire in the hearth filled in the silent minute as he thought it over.

He pressed his lips together as he stared at the key, then suddenly let out a bitter laugh.

"You're as stubborn as you're mother," He said, shaking his head.

Kelari offered him a shrug and a short smile.

Glenn hesitated for a second, then took the key and pocketed it. A smile masked his disappointment, but he gave her a nod of understanding. "I know I'll never be able to convince you otherwise." 

Another brief intermission of crackling flames, accompanied by Kelari rhythmically tapping her fingers on her thigh.

"The parlor will be fine under your management," she assured him.

"Hah, I was hoping I wouldn't have to open the shop in the mornings anymore but, ah it's been a good many years." 

The two laughed along with each other for a little while, but it the awkward melancholy from the thought of possibly never seeing each other again hung thickly over the both of them.

"If you're really ready to leave this all behind," Glenn said, moving for a wooden lockbox settled against the wall, "You should... take this with you."

Kelari curiously shifted closer on her tip toes to get a look over Glenn's shoulder. Bear of a man as Glenn was, Kelari was tall enough to see over him even still. 

Using the same key Kelari gave him, he opened the lockbox and took out an object wrapped in a dark cloth. Carefully unwrapping it, he revealed a dagger in a leather scabbard. He regarded the supposed heirloom with a ghost of a smile, running a couple thick fingers along the rune-covered scabbard.

Kelari looked on with her mouth hanging slightly open and a breath caught in her throat. Those runes were familiar, somehow. Colors and shapes entered her mind, as if a dream long since gone tried to remind her from the oldest of memories, or jumbled words of a book she could barely recall reading.

"It was her's," he explained, "I think if you're going to go out looking for her, you should take it with you." The dagger laid flat over both Glenn's palms, and he offered it to Kelari.

After all this talk and posturing, Kelari actually hesitated. It became difficult to move as it settled in all at once that this may finally be when she finds what was missing in her life, but also that she might never return. She swallowed hard. The call to action was made by the king already, and there was never a better excuse to make for the surface than to find some mystical wish granting stone. With any luck, if she was anywhere near and still alive, Kelari would find her again. But, there were friends here. A comfortable home and living that could provide for the rest of her life.

Yet somehow... it didn't satisfy her.

Kelari's resolved hardened in her icy blue eyes, and she took the dagger without another moment's hesitation. She winced, clutching the scabbard in both hands, then stepped in and wrapped her arms tightly around her uncle's torso.

Glenn lifted his arms in surprise at first, then enveloped his niece in a powerful embrace. He could just barely feel her shaking as she dug in her nails. Stroking her hair gently, he whispered, "If she's out there, I know you'll find her somehow. Come back to us, you hear?"

[hr]

Once dawn came, Kelari had enough time to settle her heart and mind to where she could confidently join the others at the meeting spot. Now all rested and sated, with a brass-colored cloak wrapped around her for warmth in the chilly morning air and a well-stocked backpack given by one of the villagers, she felt a little more ready to tackle the unknown. 

Some familiar faces came to see her off, giving their best wishes to Kelari before she left for the surface world. The head librarian said he would certainly miss Kelari, but if she comes back that she better be adding her own stories to his library. Readers would be dying to know all about the surface world.

After seeing a few others for some extra odds and ends for the road, Kelari peeked over the crowds to find other faces she might've missed. Blin was going to be missed. She loved telling her outrageous stories to him, but maybe when she came back he'd be old enough to get that tattoo he pestered her about for so long.

Eli... known accomplice to Blin, and makes just as good of company. Always nice when people appreciate the work of an artist.

When the thought of Lee came around, Kelari absently clutched the necklace around her neck. A trillion cut aquamarine set with a pair of silver wings hanging on a leather cord. It was the best replication of that old necklace that Kelari could ever get, and Lee was the one to craft it for her. 

Kelari hopped up and looked around again. Maybe she could see a few more of her friends before leaving.