Regarding Mearn

“Is your family name really ‘Solace,’” Tienne asked. “Because that’s not a name. It’s just a word.”

“It’s a word from the name of whatever orphanage she grew up in. Something of a tradition for those who never knew their families, as I understand it,” Solenia said. As Tienne evidently did not feel like responding the conversation, such as it was, ended. Just as well, as far Ash was concerned. Although she would never be able to forget the Home of Solace and Care, she did not wish to spend one second more than she had to remembering.

The previous twenty minutes or so had passed in similar fashion. Despite the excitement with which their relationship had begun, the two Valkyries had said little to their newfound guide. Mostly, they had been content to trail behind Ash as they walked through the cramped streets of Mearn, talking amongst themselves. Tienne usually spoke first, some manner of bold assertion or fervent apology that could only have been intended to redeem herself in the eyes of her teacher. Solenia’s responses, on the other hand, had been much more difficult to parse. She never said much at once, primarily deflecting whatever Tienne had said with a generally pleasant comment that could have been meant as comfort just as easily as disappointment. The elder Valkyrie was especially quick to put a stop to any conversation that had anything to do with their actual mission, presumably to keep Tienne from divulging any more secret information.

Neither had felt the need to bring Ash in on any of this, which suited the girl just fine; the sooner the Valkyries found what they were looking for, the sooner they would be gone. They had certainly caused enough trouble already. It was going to take some time to calm everyone back home down, and it was likely that some people had already decided that Ash couldn’t keep them safe anymore. If they had, Ash could only hope that they had learned enough to actually take care of themselves.

And so they walked on in silence, interrupted only by aborted conversations.

“My lady, are you sure we can trust her?” Tienne asked after another lull. “I do not see why a thief would have a better chance of finding…it…than we would.”

“This thief at least knows not to go around asking thugs for valuables,” Ash snapped back, and regretted it immediately. She could have sworn she heard Solenia chuckle. Ash sighed in place of an apology. “Look, you’re trying to find something, right? Well, if it isn’t anywhere two Valkyries could easily find it, then that means it’s somewhere you wouldn’t think of, or somewhere you couldn’t go. And that most likely means it’s somewhere less than pleasant. I know less than pleasant places. I’m taking you to a guy who deals in, uh, ‘lost’ goods.”

Ash could practically hear Tienne bristling, but Solenia spoke first.

“It’s a fair theory, Tienne. We may as well test it. Besides, after your stunt back there, I don’t think any of the locals will be bothering us.”

Ash wasn’t so sure about that. True, the handful of people who had directly witnessed Carvus getting flung about would be unlikely to risk the Valkyrie’s anger. But beyond them, desperation and fear could make people do foolish things, and the place Ash was leading the Valkyries was among the most desperate and fearful in all of Mearn.

The city state of Mearn was, quite literally, in an interesting place. As one of the very few truly independent cities to have existed since the collapse of the Old Queendom, it had borne witness to hundreds of years of changing fortunes, the rise and falls of great empires, and the vast movements of people the tides of history produced. As a result, Mearn often appeared to exist in multiple times at once, with centuries-old fashions adorning cutting edge philosophies, and vice-versa. One could reasonably expect to find any sort of person within the city’s walls and, most relevantly, any sort of thing. Some likened Mearn to the bottom of a continent-spanning funnel owing to the fact that the last reminders of conquerors and kings alike tended to wind up there. Ash preferred to think of it in terms of the opportunities such an environment presented, but either way the fundamental point remained: if anyone in Mearn had the Valkyries’ keystone, or at least knew where it was, it would be Garred Ochre-Clan.

They had to get there first, though, and Ash didn’t like the number of watching, hungry eyes that were drawn by the plainly out-of-place Valkyries. There was little chance the two were in any serious danger, unless any would be attackers were sturdier than the entire side of a building, but the last thing Ash’s slice of Mearn needed was kind of attention getting into fights with Valkyries would receive. Or the aftermath of such a fight, at least.

“I didn’t know you were so popular, Ashreida,” Solenia said. Her voice was just as calm as it had been, but Ash was somehow sure that she was aware of every single person currently following them. “I don’t suppose these friends of yours are any more polite than the ones Tienne met?”

“First, these guys are absolutely not my ‘friends,’ and second, don’t assume they’re out to hurt you,” Ash said, suddenly defensive. She paused and turned to look at the elf woman. “Most of the people here are just scared. Not of you, I mean, just…in general. Hard not to assume anything different is going to be a problem when you’re barely making it by. And you two are…pretty different. No offense.”

“None taken.” Solenia just smiled, inscrutable as ever. On the other hand, based on her scowl, Tienne did not share her teacher’s benevolence.

“That said, it would probably be for the best if you weren’t too, well, Valkyrie-y about everything. I mean, you guys are all about justice and order, right?” Ash had lowered her voice to the point where it probably drew more attention than if she had just spoken normally.

“A gross simplification, but close enough.” Even as Solenia said this, Tienne was nodding vigorously.

“Well people here certainly think you are, and people here tend to get jumpy when official-looking people start poking around. The guy we’re going to see certainly will, and he’s hard to find when he gets spooked.”

“How fortunate, then, that you seem to know this man so well. I’m sure you will be able to handle any potential misunderstandings.”

Throughout the whole exchange, Solenia hadn’t stopped smiling. Ash simply swallowed, and kept quiet. She wondered how much trouble could have been avoided by doing that from the start.

“Now, shall we get back to it?” Solenia asked.

On the whole, Ash thought that was an excellent idea.