The sun had barely begun to crest the tiled rooftops of Silverhaven when Red walked the southern perimeter, boots splattered in dried mud, the scent of wild beast blood still clinging to his cloak.
The quest had been routine: track a rogue Smokie pack that had attacked grain carts near the trade road. The kind of work most bronze adventurers took in groups of three. Red had handled it alone, as always.
Now, he stood at the Adventurer's Guild, expression unreadable, as he waited in front of the wooden counter where Sophia scribbled something behind a stack of reports.
"You're back already," she muttered without looking up.
Sophia: "Third quest this week. If you keep this up, we're going to have to rename the request board the 'Redboard.'"
He placed a sack of furs and tagged proof of completion onto the counter. "Smokie pack cleared. Five confirmed."
Sophia glanced up briefly, inspecting the contents before sliding over a handful of copper coins and a bronze voucher.
Sophia: "Your reward. Thirty copper. Basic extermination pay. You know the drill."
Red accepted the pouch silently. He turned, coat swaying as he made for the exit.
But he paused.
Out the guild's front windows, near the stone path leading toward the lower wards, a small commotion had gathered.
"Help! Someone stop them!"
"Oi! You little rat!"
Red narrowed his eyes.
A barefoot boy darted across the path, no older than sixteen, clutching a stolen loaf of bread. But he wasn't running for himself, his gaze kept shifting back, toward a filthy alley where a tattered blanket fluttered over a broken cart.
The boy came to a stop not far from the guild, panting, then knelt down beside two small figures wrapped in thin rags. Twin girls, no older than seven. One was coughing uncontrollably.
"Lia… Lana… I got something," the boy whispered desperately, tearing the bread into pieces and offering it to them.
The girls were too weak to chew. They stared at him with hollow eyes.
Red watched in silence.
The shopkeeper reached the boy moments later, red-faced and cursing. "You filthy brat! Give it back!"
The boy stood in front of the girls, shielding them with his body. "They haven't eaten in two days. I'll work it off! Please!"
Red stepped forward.
"Take this," he said simply, holding out a single bronze coin.
The shopkeeper blinked. "Wha?"
"For the bread. And the trouble." Red's tone remained level.
The man took the coin and left with a grunt, leaving the boy confused and tense.
Red turned to him. "What's your name?"
The boy hesitated. "...Lio."
Red: "You're protecting them alone?"
Lio nodded. "They're my sisters. I'm all they've got."
Red crouched down, glancing at the girls. Their faces were pale, lips cracked. Their bodies shivered despite the heat.
"The slums won't keep them alive," Red said. "Come with me. All of you."
Lio narrowed his eyes. "Why?"
Red: "I'm offering you a better life."
By dusk, Red had led them all to a familiar inn in the merchant quarter. It was plain, cheap, but clean, with solid walls and warm water.
The same one where Selena had remained, recovering.
The innkeeper recognized Red with a nervous nod and prepared a second room.
Inside, Lio gently laid his sisters on the fresh bedding, whispering to them to rest. He didn't look away until they had both drifted into sleep, clutching his arms.
Then, he turned to find Red standing with arms crossed, and someone else beside him.
Selena.
She had stepped out from the room next door, drawn by the sound of coughing. Her long silver hair was brushed now, though still matted in places, her thin frame cloaked in a borrowed inn tunic. Her silver eyes widened slightly at the sight of the boy and his sisters.
Lio stared at her. "You're… one of them? His?"
"I'm not owned," Selena said, voice cool. "If that's what you mean."
"Sorry," Lio mumbled quickly, lowering his eyes. "I didn't mean it that way."
There was an awkward silence.
Selena spoke again. "...You came from the slums?"
He nodded. "Yeah. I've lived there all my life. We barely get by."
Selena studied him, eyes lingering on the dried cuts on his arms, the mud on his knees. She didn't smile, but her voice softened.
Selena: "You're like me then. Broken things… trying to survive."
Lio blinked. "You too?"
She nodded slowly.
They didn't speak further. But the distance between them, though filled with silence, seemed a little less wide.
Red watched the exchange without comment.
Later, as the girls slept in their room and Lio cleaned himself for the first time in weeks, Red stood by the window.
Selena approached him, arms crossed.
"Why him?" she asked quietly. "You don't seem the type to collect strays."
Red didn't look away from the night view. "He fought back. Even when he couldn't win."
Selena: "Is that all it takes?"
"No." His voice was quiet. "But it's a start."
Selena looked at the floor. "You saved me. Now him. Who's next?"
Red: "I don't know yet."
She hesitated. "You're not just helping us, are you? You're… building something."
Red didn't answer. But the way his gaze drifted toward the horizon said everything.
Outside, the streets of Silverhaven buzzed with noise, carriages, laughter, the flicker of torchlight.
But within the old inn, a fragile new beginning had formed.
A Slave girl and a slum-born boy. Two strangers clinging to survival.
And a man with black swords, who saw something in them even they hadn't yet seen.