Without a Home...

In the town of Lunar, in the south of Orion Kingdom.

The rain had started late afternoon.

By the time the last customer stumbled out of the Rusted Lantern, it was hammering against the old timber roof hard enough to drown out the music that had filled the tavern only moments before.

Lisa sighed as she gathered empty mugs from the tables.

“What am I going to do with these idiots?" she muttered.

Every night was the same:

Spilled ale, broken chairs, bad singing, worse flirting—and someone who always forgot to pay. She stacked another mug onto the tray and looked to the far corner of the tavern.

One customer was left. He hadn't spoken much all evening. He sat alone beneath the window, a dark travelling cloak draped over his broad shoulders. Empty bottles surrounded him.

She frowned.

"Oi."

There was no answer.

She walked over and knocked on the table.

"We're closed."

Still nothing.

She leaned closer.

He was asleep.

"...Seriously?"

She folded her arms.

"You could've at least had the decency to pass out after paying."

Without opening his eyes, the man reached into his cloak and dropped a small leather pouch onto the table. The soft clink of coins echoed through the empty tavern.

Lisa blinked.

"...You were awake?"

"I am now." he muttered in a low and hoarse voice— the kind that showed how he spent far too many nights talking to no one.

Lisa untied the pouch and counted the silver coins inside. There was enough to pay for every bottle he'd emptied—and more.

She looked back at him.

"You know, most drunks try to leave without paying."

"I'm not most drunks, thank you very much."

"No," she said, tying the pouch shut again, letting out a laugh.

"You're most definitely not."

The man let out a tired sigh.

Lisa raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?"

She glanced at the sea of empty bottles.

"Where are you from?"

"Who knows."

Silence settled between them, broken only by the relentless rain beating against the windows.

For the first time, Lisa took a proper look at him. His cloak was soaked from hours of travel. His boots were caked in mud. Dark stubble covered his jaw, and his white hair looked as though it hadn't met a comb in weeks.

He looked like a man who had been walking for a very long time.

She had seen plenty of travellers pass through Lunar: Merchants, mercenaries, pilgrims and refugees.

None of them looked exhausted the way this man did.

"Where're you headed?" she asked.

He stared at the untouched rain outside the window.

"I don't know yet."

She frowned.

"What do you mean you don't know yet?"

"I’m just a wanderer, don’t mind me."

"What’s the story behind the Wanderer?"

He was quiet for so long she thought he hadn't heard her.

"I have no home to go back to."

Lisa looked down at the floor as a small smile tugged at one corner of her mouth.

"Huh..."

She picked up the tray again.

"Me too."

The next day...

Lisa wandered through Lunar’s market district, the morning crowd slowly grew as merchants organized their stalls.

She slowed down as she passed the town square.

Half the square had been rebuilt. Fresh stone walls stood beside blackened foundations that had yet to be cleared away. New timber framed buildings rose where old ones had once burned.

She stared at the construction in silence.

“The Six-Year War huh…” she murmured.

Even after two years, its scars refused to disappear.

She continued through the market until she stopped at an elderly woman’s bread stall.

“How many loaves would you like?” the old woman asked with a warm smile.

Lisa nodded.

“Three loaves please.”

“That’ll be five shekels.”

As Lisa reached into her coin pouch, a roar erupted from the town square. Cheers, applause, children shouting.

She looked over her shoulder.

The old woman smiled knowingly.

“It’s already been two years since the war ended.”

Lisa smiled faintly.

“Yes… it has.”

The old woman pointed towards the square.

“They’re unveiling Prince Elijah’s statue today.”

Lisa followed her finger.

A massive statue stood beneath a royal blue cloth, surrounded by Orion soldiers and dozens of cheering townsfolk.

“He’s the strongest mage in the Four Kingdoms, isn’t he?” Lisa asked.

The old woman nodded proudly.

“And the man who saved us from those dark days.”

She clasped her hands together in prayer.

“Wherever you may be, Prince Elijah… may the gods bless your journey.”

Lisa watched the old woman for a moment before returning her gaze to the covered monument.

“They say he disappeared after the war.”

“The day the King passed away,” the old woman replied. “Some say he couldn’t bear the grief. Others say he simply wished to travel.”

She shrugged.

“No one really knows.”

The old woman handed over the three loaves.

“The current king has done well these past two years.”

Lisa handed her five shekels.

“He has.”

“But…” the old woman continued with a wistful smile, “…he’s no Prince Elijah if you ask me.”

Lisa nodded politely before walking toward the gathering crowd.

Trumpets sounded.

The blue cloth fell away.

Standing proudly in the centre of the square was a magnificent ceramic statue of Prince Elijah. He wore elegant royal robes. One hand rested upon an ornate staff. The other was raised towards the sky.

Rubies and sapphires decorated the base, while golden lettering declared:

ELIJAH OF ORION

THE STRONGEST MAGE OF THE FOUR KINGDOMS

HERO OF ORION

Lisa couldn’t help but smile.

“It’s beautiful.”

“It’s a waste of money.”

The voice came from directly behind her.

She turned and laughed.

“You again.”

The hooded traveller stood with his hands buried in his cloak, staring at the statue with complete indifference.

Lisa held up one of the loaves.

“You hungry?”

For the first time, he lifted his head enough for his hood to reveal a pair of tired blue eyes.

“They’ve spent more on that statue than they've spent rebuilding half the square.”

He looked at the bread.

“…I wouldn’t mind a piece.”

“Since you made me spend all my money at your tavern.”

Lisa smirked as she tore a loaf in half and handed him one piece.

He accepted it with a quiet nod.

“Thank you.”

They left the cheering crowd behind and walked through Lunar's rain-soaked streets.

A Few minutes later

The streets of Lunar were quieter now.

The rain had finally stopped. Lisa tore another piece from the loaf and handed it to the hooded traveller.

"So,” she said between bites. 

"Where are you staying tonight?"

"I hadn't thought that far ahead."

"You really don't plan much, do you?"

"Leave me be woman."

Lisa looked at him from the corner of her eye, as a soft laugh escaped her.

"Are you always this dreadful?"

"No."

"Wait, you used to be worse?"

"I used to smile once upon a time."

She couldn't tell whether he was joking.

"What about you? How long have you owned the tavern?"

"Two years."

She adjusted the loaves under her arm.

"I bought it after the war."

"My parents owned a farm in the Ceres kingdom."

"What happened?"

She stared ahead.

"Southern Federation soldiers."

The words came out flat.

"They raided our village during the war."

"My father tried to protect us."

She let out a slow breath.

"They all died."

The traveller didn't interrupt.

"My mother..." Lisa's voice faltered.

"...I watched her die in my arms."

Silence settled between them. Only the sound of their footsteps filled the empty street.

After a while, the traveller spoke.

"Does it ever get easier?"

Lisa looked at him.

"What?"

"Living after losing the people you love?"

Lisa noticed the way he asked. She looked up at the night sky where the clouds were slowly drifting apart, revealing a scattering of stars.

"I don't know if it gets easier."

A small smile appeared on her face.

"But I think we can change."

She pointed at the stars.

"When it first happened... every morning I wished I hadn't woken up."

She laughed softly.

"Now..."

"I enjoy baking bread."

"I like hearing drunk old men argue over card games."

"I like walking home after work."

"I even like the sound of rain."

She took a slow breath.

"I'm learning to enjoy life's mundane moments."

The traveller stopped walking.

Lisa hadn't noticed that he was watching her. She stood beneath the lantern light, her eyes fixed on the stars, completely lost in her own thoughts.

He slowly looked up as well.

The same sky. The same stars.

Yet somehow...

They looked completely different to her than they did to him.

"...That sounds nice." he said quietly.

Then he grabbed her and took a turn at the corner of the street.

“Don’t look.”

Lisa blinked.

“What?”

“There are six men following us.”

She turned to see six men pushing through the crowd.

Before Lisa could answer—

"There she is!"

The shout echoed through the street.

Both of them turned.

Six men wearing travelling armour pushed through the thinning crowd.

One of them pointed directly at Lisa.

"That's her!"

Lisa closed her eyes.

"Shit!”

The hooded traveller glanced between Lisa and the approaching men.

"Seems someone's in trouble with the army."

Lisa snorted.

"I wish."

She shifted the bread under her arm and rolled her shoulders.

"They're bounty hunters.”

"Why are they after you?"

Lisa grabbed the traveller.

"It's a long story."

One of the bounty hunters drew his sword.

"There'll be no running this time, Lisa!"

The traveller sighed.

"There goes my quiet evening."

He took one last bite of the bread before brushing the crumbs from his hands.

Lisa stared at him.

"What?"

He looked down at the half-eaten loaf.

"You owe me another one."

She blinked.

"That's your biggest concern right now?"

He looked past her at the six bounty hunters slowly closing in.

A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"Yes."

He adjusted his cloak.

"I have a big appetite,  you know."