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Kasper took Weylyn in for several tense moments before a slow smile spread across his face, making him seem friendly. “Alright, alright. Come, let’s talk.” He waved for us to go into his tent and looked at his guard. “Send out more patrols. Others might reach us over the next few days.” He turned back to our group. “You’re the first to arrive from House Natas, but I was informed by one of my spies yesterday of what happened. Very impressive taking out Tarquin and Mircea Natas.” Florin flinched at Tarquin’s name, but I didn’t think Kasper noticed—I hoped anyway. Kasper continued, “Word is that many of your fellow slaves escaped the city, so I expect more to show up. At least those who are with us in this fight. Well, come on. Come in.”
Nica popped his head into the tent, then came back out, saying, “There’s no one else inside. Go ahead in.” He put himself between Kasper and the rest of us, and Kasper grinned at the move from behind Nica.
I was the last one to the tent door, and Kasper slowly lifted his head to meet my eyes and whistled. “A mage, a human, a gargoyle, and a half-orc. You do keep interesting company, Nicabar.”
I tensed, expecting some slur to be thrown at me or maybe even to be asked to leave.
Nica turned to the Resistance leader and quietly, so no one else could hear, said, “These men are my family.” The way he said it sounded like a threat, and I internally winced even if I appreciated the sentiment.
Kasper simply smiled at him. “I understand, Nicabar.”
Nica huffed. “It’s Nica… just Nica.”
Kasper nodded, and Nica turned around and nudged me into the very large tent.
We kept Florin, Theon, and Cedric in the center of us again, and Kasper stood across from us behind a desk. Seeming unable to hold it in any longer, Kasper turned to Weylyn and asked, “What’s your name, youngling?”
Weylyn’s eyebrows rose a tad at the youngling comment—being in his thirties, he was hardly a child—but he answered, “Weylyn.”
Kasper nodded and stared at his desk for a moment before he sat down. “The rest of you?” Once introductions were made, he said, “Alright. Walk me through what happened the night you escaped, and we’ll get you set up in some tents and get some food in you. Escaped slaves are always welcome here, and I’m sure you’re starving after your long journey. How many tents will you need? Three? Four?”
Nica glanced at Sephiran, who nodded at him, before Nica answered, “Only two. Sephiran and Cedric would like to stay together, and the five of us would like to as well… if you have a tent big enough for us all.”
Kasper pursed his lips. “I’m sure we can arrange something.” He called one of the guards outside and told him to get two tents ready.
This entire situation was making me uncomfortable because I didn’t know what to expect, and I honestly didn’t know if we could trust these people. I wanted to, and I had a sense that Kasper was a good person, but we didn’t know them. I wanted to help with whatever we could, but everything was out of sorts. It had been at least fourteen years since I’d been sold to Lord Natas, and I hadn’t had a lick of freedom in all of that time.
It was overwhelming.
The meeting with Kasper lasted so long that Theon ended up sitting on the ground. I suspected he only sat down because he was as concerned for Florin as I was, and he wanted to get the tiny human to sit as well, which he did.
By the time we were led to our own tents, I was starved and exhausted, but no less on edge. Seph and Cedric were in the tent right beside ours, which was a small comfort.
“Are we safe?” Theon whispered to Nica as soon as everyone was inside.
Nica nodded. “Yes. There’s no way they would’ve allowed us to keep our weapons if they were worried about our loyalty. They might be suspicious, but they’re giving us their trust, so I think we should do the same.”
Weylyn said, “I’ll take the first watch.”
Nica nodded. “Wake me up when you’re done.” He looked at me. “You get third shift.”
I nodded in agreement, then pulled Theon into a hug because it had been far too long since I’d held him. I’d wanted to hold and comfort him the entire time we were in Kasper’s tent, but I’d been afraid to let my guard down. Theon wrapped his arms around me, and his body sagged into me as he gave me a bruising kiss. I wasn’t the only one who was feeling the tension, it seemed.
We kissed for a few minutes before someone brought us some trays of food. Everyone sat on the strange array of beds to eat, and after a few quiet minutes of everyone shoveling food into their mouths, Theon turned to Nica and said, “Nicabar? Really?”
“What?” Nica leaned into Weylyn’s side on the bed they’d claimed, and the gargoyle absently kissed his head.
“Why didn’t you tell me your real name is Nicabar?”
“Literally no one has ever called me that, not even my parents.” Nica shrugged and somehow pushed more of his person on top of Weylyn’s lap. The gargoyle didn’t seem to notice, quietly eating while Nica rubbed up all over his chest, side, and legs. Or maybe he did notice, but like me, he knew Nica was stressed and needed the comfort, so he wasn’t making a big deal about it.
“But I should know these things,Nicabar!” Theon hissed, and the water in the cup he was holding exploded out in a blast of magic and landed all over Nica, and a little on Weylyn.
Everyone stared with wide eyes for a moment before Theon whispered, “Sorry.”
We’d learned over the past week that it was better for Theon if we didn’t make a huge deal out of his magical mishaps. But Nica being Nica, he laughed, dipped his fingers in his own cup, and flicked some water on Theon, making our mage smile as Nica said, “Don’t you dare start calling me that. I won’t even answer you if you do. Watch it, or I’ll dump my whole cup on you.”
“You wouldn’t,” Theon said.
