The15thSpycrab said
Flin had finished his drink and was heading back towards the fires when he saw the young lad from before coming out of a nearby alley. The boy look embarrassed and a little shocked, and was dressed only in his underwear. Flin approached the boy, smiling to reassure him, and offered his cloak."Bundle up, lad. It's going to get mighty cold when the sun goes down. What happened to your friend, the little girl?"
Berdagon said
Leaving his tent, Lod noticed a small box with a note on it. He read it, opened the box looked in it. It was a beautiful carved statue of a whale, but nothing more. Odd, he thought to himself. He put it in his bag and went on his way. Lod’s mind went to his sacrifice. What would he want to give to the gods? It had to be something special, so he couldn’t buy it. Even if Lod wanted to, he was broke. Maybe it had to be something he made. But making things wasn’t Lod’s strong side. He was a blacksmiths apprentice for a while, but he was rubbish at it. He also didn’t have the hands for woodworking or weaving. No, making wasn’t an option. It can also be something he carried. Like his clothes, or something only he held of value. However, Lod didn’t have much, and what he had he wanted to keep. What a mess, this way I’ll never have a good sacrifice. Lod was so deep in thought that he bumped into a man. When he looked up, he saw it was the well-known Flin. He went hunting with him once, for the old lord of this province. Lod didn’t do much of the hunting, he was just there to carry the dead bear home. “Sorry thare, Flin. Almoast didn’t see yer there. How’s life?”Only then Lod noticed the shaking little boy beside Flin. He stood there awkwardly, he wasn’t that good with children. “Heeyy… How ‘r you doin’?”
Ron looked up, in his eyes there was still the fear and embarrassment that had been there a moment ago, but as he slowly took the cloak from the man he smiled lightly, as if trying to show him some thankfulness. He didn't know who this man was, and he sure didn't know if he could trust him, but he small act of kindness showed that the man's intentions weren't inherently bad... as far as Ron knew. "Thank you sir..." He mumbled softly, and he wrapped the coat around himself. The shivering slowly stopped, and his teeth weren't clattering that much anymore.
"The girl..." He hesitated. Would he want to betray her? Of course he didn't owe her anything, and she had just threatened his life. While he did feel bad for the girl a moment ago, he couldn't come up with some kind of excuse, so he decided to tell the truth, or at least half of it. "She tricked me. She took my clothes and ran off. I don't know who she was, and I don't know where she went..." After explaining his situation, he looked up at the other man who had just approached and awkwardly asked him how he was doing. "Not too well sir... My clothes have just been stolen." He looked down to the ground and sighed. "Grampa is going to be so angry with me."
Then a roar of noise and music blasted through the street. The silence that came afterwards was almost as deafening. Ron could feel the sudden tension in the atmosphere. It was as if the world had suddenly fallen silent. For a moment, Ron wondered if he had gone deaf, but then the voice of Āwhātama sounded, and as he brought his message Ron's concerns about this evening realized. "Champions? Tests? Did you hear that as well?" He said loudly, almost completely forgetting the situation he had been in a moment ago. This was huge, and even though Ron was young he knew it. Gods, speaking openly to the mortals like this? It was legendary, and utterly terrifying to Ron.