On the Way

On the Way

Zio finished pulling the cart to the side of the road.

Light footsteps approached through the heavier rhythm of the street.

“Hey.”

The soft voice caught his attention.

Zio turned.

An elf girl in a uniform stood in front of him.

“Where are you heading?” she asked.

Zio did not answer immediately.

His eyes rested briefly on her face.

For a moment, the name Sylvaen surfaced in his mind.

Then his attention shifted past her, drawn by the movement of the crowd.

“Nyssa!”

Another voice called from behind her.

A girl in the same uniform approached at a quick pace.

“What is it?”

“Nothing,” Nyssa said. “I think he’s lost.”

The girl glanced at the cart.

“Oh. So, a courier.”

Her eyes moved back to Nyssa.

“Since when do you get involved in things like this?”

“I noticed him earlier,” Nyssa replied. “He kept looking around. Like he didn’t know where he was going.”

Her friend narrowed her eyes at Zio for a moment.

“Hm.”

She glanced down the street.

“Oh, right. I’m stopping by the clothing shop for a moment. If I’m late, don’t wait for me.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Nyssa waved her off.

The girl jogged away and soon disappeared into the moving crowd.

A light breeze passed through the street, stirring the young leaves along the roadside.

Zio remained where he was, one hand still resting on the cart’s handle.

Nyssa turned back toward him.

“Sorry,” she said. “Where are you delivering to?”

“Solcarys Academy.”

“Oh.”

Nyssa looked toward the road ahead.

“Alright. I’ll take you there.”

“No need.” Zio’s hand tightened slightly around the handle. “Just tell me the directions. How many times straight, how many turns.”

Nyssa looked at him for a moment.

“I live there too.”

“Let’s go together.”

Zio glanced down the road. A quiet breath left him. Then he nodded.

Nyssa started along the sidewalk.

Zio followed, pulling the cart behind him.

***

Daylight slipped through the inn window, soft and warm.

A thin curtain stirred whenever the breeze passed through.

Teodor stood in the middle of the room.

The bandages were already gone from his leg.

He rolled his ankle slowly.

Then he bent his knee and lifted the leg slightly before making a small hop in place.

His foot landed firmly.

Teodor let out a quiet breath.

He walked toward the window.

The scent of whole-grain bread drifted in as the door opened.

Leon and Rask entered quietly.

The door closed behind them.

They sat down.

“Well,” Leon said. “Back to work tomorrow, huh?”

“Yes.”

Teodor glanced toward the window.

From outside came the sound of footsteps and the soft creak of wood.

***

Nyssa slowed as they approached a narrow alley.

“This way,” she said, turning into it. “It’s faster.”

Zio followed, pulling the cart more carefully behind her.

The space was barely wide enough for the cart. He kept his eyes on the wheels, making sure they did not scrape against the walls or catch on the stones jutting from the ground.

They continued deeper into the alley.

Zio briefly lifted his eyes toward the strip of sky above them.

The sun had shifted farther than he expected.

He drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly.

Nyssa’s pace suddenly slowed.

She glanced back.

Zio’s steps faltered.

The cart rolled forward and bumped lightly against his back before he brought it to a stop.

Nyssa let out a long breath.

“Why are you walking right behind me like that?”

Zio said nothing.

A breeze slipped through the alley from ahead, carrying a faint scent he did not recognize.

“Here.”

Nyssa stepped aside.

“Walk beside me.”

She glanced toward the end of the alley.

“This is the last one anyway.”

Zio moved around the cart and walked beside her.

They continued.

The alley was quieter than the streets outside. The voices of the city faded behind the walls, leaving only the soft creak of wooden wheels and their footsteps against the stone.

Nyssa glanced sideways at Zio.

His black hair caught little of the fading light. His sea-blue eyes remained calm, fixed on the road ahead. Dust from the grain clung to his clothes, and a silver pendant rested against his chest.

“Where are you from?” she asked.

“The north.”

Nyssa looked at him.

“I know Ravenhold’s in the north.” Her voice lifted slightly. “I mean before Ravenhold.”

“The north.”

Zio did not turn.

Nyssa stared at him for another moment.

Then she let out a quiet breath through her nose.

“Alright. Fine.”

She faced forward again and stopped asking.

The iron fence of Solcarys Academy came into view as they emerged from the alley.

Tall stone pillars supported a long stretch of iron bars, enclosing the grounds beyond.

Nyssa stopped.

“That’s it,” she said. “This gate’s for the girls’ dormitory.”

She pointed farther down the road.

“The main gate is in the middle. That one’s for general access.”

Zio gave a small nod.

Nyssa glanced at the cart.

“Who’s the grain delivery for?”

“Solcarys Academy.”

Nyssa’s brow creased slightly.

“There are three food halls here.”

Zio looked at her.

“I was only told Solcarys Academy.”

Nyssa sighed.

“Then try the main gate. Ask the guard there.”

Zio nodded.

“Thank you.”

He shifted his grip on the cart’s handle.

“Sorry for the trouble.”

He pulled the cart forward and continued down the road.

Nyssa remained there for a moment, watching him go.

***

Nyssa passed through the dormitory gate.

The attendant gave her a brief glance before letting her through.

She crossed the courtyard, following the path toward the dormitory building tucked behind the trees.

Halfway there, she stretched her arms above her head and drew in a deep breath.

A woman sitting on a bench nearby turned toward her.

“Out again?”

“Just getting some air.”

Nyssa kept walking.

“This isn’t the time to be fooling around,” the woman called after her. “Graduation exams are coming up.”

“Yeah.”

Nyssa did not stop.

“I just hope I can get out of here soon.”

She stepped inside. The door closed behind her with a soft creak.

***

The central gate stood slightly larger than the others.

Two guards looked up as Zio approached. He brought the cart to a stop, and one of them walked over.

Zio glanced at him. Their uniforms were different from those of the city gatekeepers. No armor, only thick green uniforms kept neatly in place. A sword hung at the guard’s left hip, while the academy’s emblem was pinned to his chest.

The guard looked over the cart.

“Which food hall is this delivery for?”

Zio paused.

“I forgot to ask.”

The guard studied him for a moment before turning toward the guard post.

“Wait here.”

Zio remained beside the cart, one hand resting on its handle. He lifted his eyes toward the sky. The sun had shifted farther west.

He waited.

A few people passed through the gate. A cart rolled by in the opposite direction. The sounds of the street continued around him until, after some time, the guard stepped out again.

“Go back toward the girls’ dormitory gate.”

He pointed down the road Zio had come from.

Zio looked in that direction, then at the cart. A quiet breath left him before he turned it around.

The wheels creaked as he started back along the road. The same stone buildings passed by, followed by the long fence he had seen earlier. He followed it until the girls’ dormitory gate came into view.

By the time he reached the girls’ dormitory gate, a middle-aged woman was already standing there.

She looked toward the cart.

“From Albert’s Logistics Shop?”

“Yes.”

Her eyes moved over the sacks before she turned toward the gate.

“Bring it in. This way.”

The gate opened, and Zio pulled the cart inside.

The woman led him along a path beside the dormitory grounds toward a food storage building tucked behind the main structure.

“Put them over there.”

Zio stopped the cart and began unloading.

One sack after another was carried inside while the woman waited nearby, checking each one as it came down. It did not take long.

When the last sack was placed inside, Zio straightened.

The woman nodded.

“That’s all of it.”

Zio took hold of the cart’s handle again.

“Thank you.”

He turned toward the gate.

As he started walking, a window above the courtyard opened.

Nyssa stood behind it. Her eyes went to the empty cart first, then to the boy pulling it.

She stared for a moment. The corner of her mouth lifted slightly.

***

Zio stepped back onto the street and pulled the empty cart behind him.

The streets of Solcarys had grown quieter. Shops were beginning to close, and the light between the buildings had turned softer as the sun sank farther west.

He looked up.

Dusk had settled over the city.

Zio lowered his gaze and kept walking.

The cart rolled behind him, its wooden wheels creaking softly against the stone.

His pace remained the same.

Nothing had changed.

Yet the day felt shorter than it should have.