Ed's head was pounding. Golliad's little visit gave him some comfort but not as much as he would have preferred. The divine never came straight out and gave normal human answers. He could guess it was because they all lived just slightly in and out of this world that it changed how they did things. Maybe the rules were different.
Ed, against his better judgment, decided that sleep was going to have to wait. He knew he needed to rest. His body was screaming at him in all the ways it could that he was facing the effects of deep exhaustion.
He left the hotel and wandered the streets. His cloak masked his face and most people ignored him. The cloak had an interesting side effect that most people thought he looked like an old uncle or family friend. It provided enough similarity that no one really bothered him but that they really didn't want to bother him because it was THAT relative.
Ed purchased some sort of meat on a stick from a street hawker. It was smoked and delicious with a spicy-sweet glaze. He licked his fingers clean and walked from shop to shop looking like someone who was waiting for a missing wife or girlfriend.
And in a way he was. He would have rather done this with Ashra. They had no formal courtship and things like this were something he craved. He wanted to walk hand in hand and share food. He wanted to tell those fond stories of their childhoods that the other wasn't there to be part of.
He sighed and stopped at a small clearing near the south end of the big circle that went around all the major business districts and government buildings. The center building was huge and the glass reflected its light everywhere. The glass was partially impure so the reflections weren't really even. You might get a glint of light reflected on a bench here or a square of light reflected onto the street someplace else.
It gave the appearance of spirits pointing out interesting things.
Ed found a bench that was semi-secluded. He wanted so badly to close his eyes and sleep but his brain was running around thoughts like squirrels chasing acorns falling from old oak trees. He couldn't stop on one thought before his brain popped something else up. He put his hands up in his hood and rubbed his temples, hoping that the small massage would correct the pain behind his eyes.
"You okay there?" A voice said to him. His hood was down so all he could see was well-worn shoes. Small well-worn shoes at that. The voice was female and concerned but also asking as if it was expecting a dismissive reply.
"Oh, yes I'm fine just got a bit of a headache from not eating," Ed said trying to steer the conversation away. He looked up to see who was talking to him and make sure it wasn't another town guard or something. This face definitely wasn't one of those. The woman in front of him had bright blond hair and a thin gaunt face. Her face used to be tan from the freckles on it but was pale. What was visible of her arms showed sinewy tight muscles from manual labor. It was a familiar face but not one he could put his finger on.
The woman sat down on the bench sideways to look at his face. The cloak made him oddly familiar to her but she couldn't put her finger on the reason why. "Did you get something to eat at least?"
"Yes, some kind of meat on a stick," Ed muttered and put his head down. "I'm just killing time away from the noise."
She looked around, this part of town was quieter than most. The shops did their business inside and the city officials rarely sat outside. "Well, this place will do that. If this is loud you must have been on the road. Staying long?"
Ed looked up again. "No, I plan on leaving tonight."
The woman rotated around to look straight forward, it was obvious the man was either avoiding conversation or in legitimate pain. "Well here," she reached into a pocket in her jacket and pulled out a root. "This is some bark that will help with the pain. Chew on a small pinch and the pain will subside. I hope that you get some rest before your trip. Are you heading back north merchant?"
"No, farther south," Ed said taking the small piece of bark and biting off a small portion.
"Oh well. One day I hope to travel home. Back to my family, well be at peace and I hope your head gets better." She smiled and for a split second Ed thought about how familiar that face looked.
Before he could wrap his brain around what was going on he put his hand out to shake, "Thank you, you as well. My name's Ed. Maybe we will meet on the road somewhere else."
Ed's whole body did a full shiver. Like he was doused with cold water and the shake happened before he knew what happened. The shiver was strong enough to knock the cloak from his face. It exposed the face of Ed to the world for the first time in 5 years.
"Everyone here calls me El, I haven't heard anyone use my real name in forever," El said standing up and taking his outstretched hand.
Ed realized his face was exposed and nearly panicked. He forgot if his cover was lost forever. He hadn't used his real name in public for so long that he thought he had forgotten how. He was lost in thought when the young woman continued.
"If you hear of any merchants heading north tell them to send a courier to the Jorgensen house."
The name is what shocked him back to his senses. "The where?"
"The dwarven hall for the Jorgensen clan." She said to him as if he was a slightly slow child.
"Oh there okay. I thought you said something else. Just out of curiosity, why are you talking to me?"
"You can't figure that out?" She pointed to everyone around. "You are the only human on the street. The only other human I have met is one government official who was raised in the south."
Ed blinked. The answer is so simple it had eluded him. He had been thinking like a divine to outsmart the divine and simple solutions were harder to see now. He laughed at how the cosmos was playing more tricks on him.
"Thank you for the reminder. I get so used to being around all the southern peoples that I forget I look different."
El smiled. "Well at least that's something then isn't it? My mom always said that laughter cures the soul."
"Smart woman." Ed smiled wiping a tear from his eye. The laughter had really done him good.
Ed stretched his back and used his hands to clean some grass from his cloak. "Thank you, El for cheering me up. I hope we meet again some time. You remind me of a person I met, well that would be a long time ago now."
She smiled and faked a curtsy. She had no dress on so the edge of her shirt had to suffice. "Pleased to be of service. Enjoy your trip and may the goddess Linist guide you to better harvests."
It was odd to hear the god's names this far south. Ed looked at her and thought 'No it couldn't be.'
"And may you find your way home. Where are you headed if you don't mind me asking?"
"A small town in the blessed valley of the north. You wouldn't know it, it's only known for root vegetables and hard liquor. My parent's farm only stands out because of my father's bizarre thing for numbers."
Ed forced a smile and extricated himself quickly. "You know I may know that place, but I really need to get back to my hotel and wait for my colleagues. I hope you find your way home. I will send anyone I can to you to help you get back."
If that was Priya she had grown up, but how had she ended up here. His heart had skipped at the thought of the farm. To him, it was only a few months ago, not even a year really. Here she was grown up, half-starved and waiting for a way home.