Those Left Behind: Part Five

     "I was bummed out about it for a while," he began, "but then I realized. It was an opportunity, see? I wasn't going anywhere with my life, I was just tied down with all these obligations. And then boom, those obligations get smashed to bits right before my eyes. So I took what money I had saved up, and left. Met Hephen and his gang as I was hiking over to Altador, and I've been tagging along with them ever since."

     "What about the children?" I asked.

     "Oh, the brats? Displaced by wars, or some of them just abandoned. Hephen's got a soft spot for 'em. We keep 'em around until they're old enough to fend for themselves."

     "And Hephen, what is his story?" I wondered.

     Torpin shrugged. "Dunno, I've never heard him talk about it. All I know is, he's been a--a traveler for a long time."

     I tried to talk to Hephen himself, but he was usually busy. It seemed like there was always someone speaking with him, taking orders or asking for advice or arguing about what to do next. A few times, they abruptly stopped talking when they caught sight of me. While it seems suspicious looking back, I didn't think anything of it at the time. Growing up around nobility, I was used to seeing hushed conversations that pause whenever someone walks by.

     I finally caught him alone when we were almost within sight of the capital city.

     "You've wanted to talk to me for a while, haven't you?" he asked upon seeing me approach. "Sorry, I've been busy."

     "I--yes, I have."

     "So, what did you want to say?" he asked. I inhaled, before realizing I wasn't quite sure.

     "I guess." I swallowed. "Where have you been to?"

     A dreamy expression came over Hephen's face. "Oh, around. I think I've been to most of the lands by now. I skipped Brightvale, it never appealed to me. I spend most of my time around Shenkuu and Altador, but I've hiked across most of the major landmass. Spent quite a bit of time on the sea, too."

     "What was your favorite place that you've traveled to?" This wasn't what I wanted to ask; I realized this, and I think he did as well. But I still didn't know what I was hoping to find out, and wanted to keep him talking until I could get to it.

     "Aside from here and Altador? Krawk Island suits me really well. The locals are full of this... jovially perverse opposition." I furrowed my eyebrows as I tried to figure out what this meant. "They'll insult your mother, buy you a few drinks at the Golden Dubloon, make a toast in your honor, and then pick your pocket on the way out." I laughed a bit at this, and he grinned broadly. The way he had first described himself and his group, they had sounded like a pack of hobos. After talking to them, they seemed more like cowboy poets.

     "Why did you pick me up?" I finally asked.

     Hephen's grin faded. "You looked tired and hungry, and lost. I figured you could use some companionship, if nothing else. I decided a long time ago that I'd never pass up an opportunity to help people."

     "Well..." I began, taken aback by the sudden shift in mood. "I'm very grateful for your kindness."

     He smiled with just one side of his beak. "Don't thank me just yet." I wondered briefly what he meant, but soon put it out of my mind.

     That evening, we arrived at the outskirts of the capital. We made camp in a secluded grove in a forest several miles away from the city walls. When I asked why we didn't just find an inn to stay at, I was told that it would be too expensive for forty-some people and half a dozen wagons.

     The next morning, I set out to the city. About a quarter of the group came as well, in order to stock up on food and supplies. When we got inside the city, they all vanished into the crowd like a drop of water in a full glass. During the week spent traveling to the capital, I had a lot of time to think about why I wanted to travel to the capital. I had finally decided that going to the police would be my best course of action.

     News of the uprising had already reached them. They told me they were investigating, but had no information about my parents.

     "Is there anything you can do to help me?" I finally asked, desperate to find some reason for going there.

     "Like I said," the Kiko behind the desk responded, "we're investigating what happened. Until then, I'm afraid we can't offer you any assistance. But we will let you know as soon as we hear any news about your parents."

     After going around in circles like this for several minutes, I finally left, and made my way back to the camp. That night, I told the events of my day around the campfire. It seemed as though everyone was listening to me. Even if none of them could do anything to help, I was still glad to know that they cared.

     After I finished, there was a long silence. Finally, Hephen spoke up. "We're going to Altador in a few days. You can come with us if you want."

     I decided that I would.

     The trip to Altador was longer. We hiked on foot for some of the way, until we came to a number of rafts, which had apparently been there since the last time they had come this way. Finding the rafts was a bit tricky, since apparently everyone remembered their location differently. Loading them up and rigging them with sails took a whole day; even the wagons got dismantled and taken along. We traveled along the coastline, mooring ourselves on the beaches at night, then poled up a river.

     Traveling on those rafts was surreal. While still struggling to accept that I might never see my parents again, I found myself on one of a dozen floating wooden floors, shouting jokes and singing loudly to keep in contact with the neighboring rafts. I jumped from one raft to another over the days, and got to know many of my new companions better.

     After it eventually came out that I had been trained in self-defense, the evenings began to include wrestling and sparring matches, as a way to let off steam. Some of the group members even began betting on the outcomes. I performed rather well; better than I would have expected, anyway. I was curious about sparring against Hephen, but he refused, and I didn't want to push the issue.

     When we approached Altador, we set up camp some distance away from the city, as before. The morning after arriving, Hephen approached me during breakfast.

     "Haldan," he began. I couldn't recall him using my name after our first introduction. "I want you to come on a walk with me today." Rather than a request, it sounded more like how I'd heard him give out orders. "There's something I need to tell you, and something you need to see."

     This second part made me uncomfortable, which wasn't helped when I saw the nervous glances of the other people eating. I nodded, and finished my meal.

     After breakfast, we walked in silence through the forest for some time. Finally, we came in view of the city walls.

     "Do you see that tall, round building poking up above the walls?" Hephen asked. I followed the direction he was pointing. "That's the Colosseum," he continued. "Gladiators duel here. It's quite a popular spectacle, and they're very well paid." I listened silently. I wasn't sure where this was going, but it felt as though a bug was creeping up my spine from the inside. He reached one large paw into a pocket, removed something, and held it out to me. When he dropped it into my hoof, I saw what it was: my small pouch of gold.

     "Wait, how did you get this?" I asked.

     "If I tell you, you've got to agree to let me finish the story before saying anything. Can you do that?" Making a demand like that felt a bit demeaning, but I'd never seen him look this serious before. I nodded.

     "All right," he continued, taking a deep breath. "We're a group of thieves. Frankly, if you hadn't figured that out by now, you're either naïve or far too trusting." I opened my mouth to respond to this insult, but he held up a paw, and I stifled myself. "About five months ago, we arrived at a village in Shenkuu and began working as farmhands for a local noble family. Our aim was to spread dissent among the workers. It was easy, they already weren't very happy with their bosses. Eventually, we managed to stage a peasant revolt. It was all a guise to rob the nobles' mansion of its valuables. But things went overboard, and someone set the place on fire--I swear on my life that it wasn't one of our group.

     "We got in, took what we could, and got back out again. Nobody was supposed to get hurt, it was just meant to be a bit of yelling and maybe a few broken windows, and all of the valuables suddenly gone. With all that land, they'd earn it back again soon enough. Didn't find out what happened to the nobles, but once I saw the place in flames, I realized it had all been a mistake.

     "A few days later, we were heading on out of there. One of the advance scouts came back carrying a bag of gold, said he'd lifted it from someone sleeping off the side of the road. I won't say who took it. Once I saw it was you that they stole the pouch from, all the pieces fell together and I knew we'd have to take you with us if you wanted to come along. Far as I can see, we destroyed your house, cost you your family, and left you with nothing but that cloak you had; you needed the help, regardless of where it came from.

     "But that lie could only hold out for so long. I had to tell you the truth eventually, so here it is. I don't expect you to forgive me--or any of the others, for that matter. You can still come with us if you want to, but you probably don't."

     It took several moments for me to realize Hephen had stopped speaking. While I heard all that he had said, I could barely process it. For the second time, I found myself having a conversation with him but had no idea what I wanted to say.

     "...Why did you want to rob us?" was all I could come up with.

     "Only take what you need, and only what other people don't. That's my fourth rule. Your family had a lot of things it didn't need."

     There was something deeply wrong with this, I was certain of it. "But you took the things I did need. You took my family and you took my home!"

     He clasped his face in one paw. "And there's no way I can apologize enough for that. We can't do anything to make up for it."

     "You can at least try!" My voice became shrill. "You can give back the things you stole, and turn yourself in to the police, and--and--"

     "We already sold or traded a lot of the stolen goods, and the rest is buried in caches. Besides, how much of that do you really need?"

     "THAT'S NOT THE POINT!" A flock of birds erupted from the trees, and I coughed several times from yelling so hard.

     "I took you in because I knew we had messed up, and needed to atone somehow. And see that bag of gold? That should be all you need to get back on your feet. Look, you were born into nobility; a good life was already made for you. Now you have the chance to build a great life for yourself with your own effort. Isn't that more worthwhile?"

     "But I already had a good life." It took all of my effort not to start yelling again. "Why did I need to lose that?"

     "Because that's the only way your life will be worth anything."

     That was when I charged. I lowered my head and dashed, with every intention of skewering him on the end of my horn.

     Before I knew what had happened, I was on my back, struggling to breathe, and Hephen was looking down at me. "You're a good fighter. You could be an excellent one with more practice. Try the Colosseum, you'd do well there."

     I saw him turn and walk away. By the time I had caught my breath and stood up, he was gone.

     ***

     "The two things in the world that I least wanted to do were to return to the group I had just learned to trust, or take his advice. But I knew that I had to do one of those things, so I decided on the one that at least had the chance of never seeing Hephen's face again. I entered Altador and signed up to fight in the Colosseum. He was right, I did do well. After enough successful fights, they began marketing me as Shenkuu's exotic warrior princess. I hated it, but it brought in money.

     "It also brought me fame. Which I didn't want, but I thought that being as visible as possible would help me find my parents. It--it worked. They had gone into hiding and were looking for me. When they found out where I was, they moved to Altador as well and opening an exotic food stall."

     It was the first time I had seen her smile.

To be continued...