Val lay in her bed, looking at the unfamiliar ceiling of the roadside inn.
The group had broken off earlier. The plan now was for Gatyn to stay behind at the inn to arrange for a courier to be sent to Cain's Point to request backup. Staying behind would also allow for the fighting man to rest and recover from the wound he had suffered from the crossbow bolt.
"If we're facing off against Markus, one more person won't make a difference," Strema had argued when Gatyn had protested staying behind. "We need to get into the city tomorrow, find the claim as quickly as possible and get to work. No matter how many people we have, it won't matter if Markus moves in first."
Val had been somewhat surprised when Gatyn had relented. She did notice though that he would wince and grit his teeth sometimes when he moved. Perhaps the wound was more serious that what had been portrayed?
Regardless, heading into Ulareg down a person did not increase Val's mood in the slightest.
"I should have stayed in Cain's Point," Val ultimately decided.
She thought back to her first impressions of Terry at the bridge. At the time, she thought the merchant to be confident, jovial, and friendly. Val remembered Mand giving a sour look on her face when he had first introduced himself. Had her sister picked up on something that Val had not?
Val felt like she was becoming a different person and this upset her. She knew she was more suspicious of things now, more cynical. She enjoyed being the impish little sister and she wanted more than anything to have that back. If anything she felt herself becoming more like her older, more responsible sibling. Would Mand even recognize her at the end of all of this? Or would Mand be staring at a mirror - reflected copy of herself.
It struck Val that it had been two years since their escape from Ulareg, and now she was the very same age that Mand had been when they escaped the city. Mand had seemed so much older then, so much more mature.
"She kept us alive for those two years, and I acted like an ungrateful brat," Val reflected. "Forever whining about having to move from place to place."
Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a soft knocking at the door.
"Val?" she heard Keth's voice drift through the door. It wasn't quite a whisper, but it was soft enough that Val believed he was trying not to be overheard.
"One sec," Val said, sliding off the bed. She moved over to the door and opened it, revealing Keth shuffling around nervously on the other side.
Right, I messed something up with him somehow.
"Listen, I'm sorry if I somehow insulted your honor or whatever during lunch..." Val began.
Before she could say anymore, or even invite him into her room, the boy barged in and closed the door behind him.
"Hey," she started to hiss in protest.
He held up a finger for silence, and then placed an ear to the door, listening to the hallway.
Val moved beside him. The two waited in silence for what felt like an eternity, but was actually more like half a minute. After a period, Keth nodded in satisfaction and stepped away from the door.
"That's not why I'm here," Keth returned.
"What?" Val questioned.
"The thing about lunch, forget about it."
"Well," Val crossed her arms. "Why are you here then?"
"I thought you would want to talk," he paused a moment before continuing. "About Terry."
Val felt her face flush and she uncrossed her arms. She had done it again and slipped into being suspicious and standoffish. Indeed, she had wanted to speak to Keth more about Terry and about the whole situation. Hells, it had been him that had tried to warn her in the first place. And now.. now he had come to her, she was on the defense. A few months ago she would have been completely appalled by how she was acting.
She felt her features soften and motioned towards a chair in the room.
"I'm sorry, I've had a lot on my mind lately," she said and she sat heavily down on the edge of her bed. "It's great you came, I've wanted to talk to you too."
Keth brought the chair over and sat it down so he was facing her. The two looked at each other for a couple of moments.
Keth looked nervous, he blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. "I really don't know where to start, apart from what I've told you already." Val smiled on the inside, she felt the action.... cute?
"That Terry's a bit of a manipulative dick? Yeah, I've been getting that. Kinda wish that you had told me before we left Cain's Point," Val said.
Keth looked down, cheeks red. "I'm sorry. You're right. I should have."
She felt herself flush, she hadn't meant to come across as accusatory.
"No, I'm the one that's sorry. I let myself get caught up in all this. I was so upset that I had lost my sister that I latched on to the first thing that looked like it could help."
"He's not really a "bad" person," The boy paused. "I think in some part of his mind he thinks he's helping. He just gets really focused."
Val raised an eyebrow, "Didn't think I'd hear you defending him."
Keth rubbed the back of his neck again, "I think what I'm trying to say is, look out for yourself when you are dealing with him. He likes being in control, and is used to getting his own way."
"I just want to know something," Val said. "You work for him, why let me know about this at all?"
Keth looked down, "I honestly don't know. I think maybe when I heard about your sister and his plans - I thought he might sweep you up in all this. Just... just don't let him make you lose focus on what's important OK?"
She looked into his eyes. Although Val could see the honesty in them, she knew that there was something that Keth wasn't telling her and it was probably the thing that drove him to speak to her in the first place. She let it slide - for now.
"OK," she said. "Let's just move forward. First off, I don't wanna die. So, before we head into Ulareg, I need some info. Before we go any further, tell me about Markus."