Avryn checked up with Haley and Stink Eye Samuels, they were all waiting on the result for Rags’s health. She opened up the conversation by praising Avryn’s strength.

  “That was a wicket punch you got,” she nursed her bruises.

  “Should be after training all this time,” Avryn thanked her.

  The doctor came out, and explained Rags will be in walking condition by tomorrow. Avryn volunteered to watch over him until then. Haley wondered why. Avryn explained his situation, he had no home to return to so he was willing to stay here. She was about to speak up but let it go. Avryn slept on a chair that night. He woke up to Rags on the side of the bed, he was contemplating.

  “Well, good morning to you too,” Avryn greeted.

  “Did we fail?” Rags turned to face him.

  Avryn caught him up to speed with everything. The King had ran away after Avryn’s lesson. The mercenaries serving him decided to ditch him. Haley was fine, which earned a sigh of relief from Rags.

  Rags stood up but still had difficulties in moving. Avryn helped him move back to his home. Several slum dwellers saw this and gave him their silent approval. Their respect for him grew. Avryn hung around the common area, trading stories with its people. Turned out the slums was more than he thought out to be. It was a slightly nicer version of his old home. Smelled just a little better too.

  The people here were close-knit, unlike the ones back in Middsborough. This was a strong community. Kids were playing games at the park. Even strays were treated like family. Avryn loved it, the whole of it.

  “Man, if the soldier thing doesn’t work out, I could just retire here,” he told himself.

  He opened up his Scribe and saw he received a text from Rinna.

  “You doing okay?” it said.

  “I’m alright, made some new friends. Finding a place to stay,” he replied.

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  His thoughts swung back to Rinna. He felt he had gotten closer to her despite their rough first impressions. He wondered what she thought of him. His thoughts were interrupted when he realized Haley was looking over him. He was jolted from his daydreaming and stood up.

  “You said you were fighting a place to stay, right? Come with me.”

  They went to talk with the village elder. He commended Avryn’s participation in helping get rid of the King and offered him a room at the inn. It was just above Haley’s.

  “It seems like I’m not the only one who wishes to give thanks,” he gestured behind them.

  Some of the slum dweller’s offered their collective money to Avryn. It would have gone to the King but now that he’s gone, they deemed it appropriate as a thank you gift to the boy. Avryn politely declined and stated they needed it more than him. All he wanted was a place to stay and he had earned it.

  “I’ll go check on Rags, then I want to talk to you for a bit, if that’s alright?” Haley asked.

  Avryn nodded. He went inside his room and inspected the place. Not too shabby, he thought. It was a league ahead of his old room. At least the bed was comfortable, despite a weird looking mark on the top left corner. It also had a decent bathroom. He checked himself out with the mirror above the sink. He washed away whatever dirt had accumulated.

  He rested on the bed and checked his messages. He had one from Harver, and it was a picture of a fish he caught. He replied,

  “Impressive catch.”

  He swiped and saw Jenilah had a message for him,

  “Don’t be afraid to call on me for help in anything!” she ended it with a smiley face.

  “Thanks, I’ll be counting on you,” he replied.

  He swiped again and saw a message of sorts from Valoche,

  “A  aa ee ooo aaaa caaa” it read out.

  Avryn was befuddled by it and swiped down as it had more.

  “Sorry, my sister was trying to use the message function,” Valoche said.

  “No problem, hope it goes well,” he replied.

  That was all the messages. Avryn was alone with his thoughts again, this time reflecting on the Battle Festival. It was a momentous achievement that he and Harver shared of being the first freshmen in a long time to reach that far. Only one person held the title of being the only freshman to win it: Carolus Sviro. He was currently the strongest soldier on the front lines. Best known for his dual sword fighting style. If Leandros was hard, how much of a blowout would it be if he fought Carolus? The very prospect of it made it all the more interesting to Avryn.

  A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. Avryn opened it to see it was Haley. They both had a talk.

  “I’ve just visited Rags, and he’s alright. I want to thank you for everything,” she bowed her head.

  “No problem, anything to help,” he replied.

  “I was surprised to hear you didn’t have a home, how so?” she asked.

  Avryn leaned back and explained his upbringing to her. He was raised in Kuldrin and only came to Ordellia nearly a year ago. He was training in the Academy since then so he never had a chance to look for a place to stay until now.

  She asked what was Kuldrin like. She had never known any other place other than Ordellia all her life. It would be nice to hear what other places had to offer. Avryn was pretty blunt about it. He compared it to the slums but quieter, and more boring. He never had hated such a place. He attributed to how the people treat him like some kind of curse.

  The answer shocked Haley but she understood it. Being an outcast among your own people would make for a terrible childhood.

  “I left as soon as I could. And now this journey had brought me here,” Avryn looked down on himself. “I’d have gone crazy if I stayed, or worse.”

  He caught himself,

  “Maybe you’d like it. It’s quite a big space. Just stick to the mainland,” he advised.

  “If I ever come around, I’ll keep that in mind,” she replied.

  She stood up and thanked him for his time. Now that she understood him a little, her heart could rest easy.