Carciem had not lied when he said he would make Ewan and Pavas sleep in the barracks of the Ylesse military headquarters.
But at least they had been able to have a comfortable night's sleep, safe from the cold and the wild beasts.
This was quite an improvement, compared to the daily life of the young hunter these last months.
But it also reminded him of the time when he had been a student at the military academy with Carciem.
At that time, he had preferred to become a hunter, rather than continue a career in the army like his friend. This had earned him several remarks mixed with incomprehension, in view of his very good grades, and his ability to appraise and recognize the quality of any weapon.
Still lying on his bed, he thought about the strange sword that Wynblow had given him.
He had never seen one like it before, and even the famous Sarmawyn was dull in comparison.
Sarmawyn, however, was a legendary enchanted sword, one of the weapons lent to the top brass of the army.
It had been enchanted generation after generation with several different elements; but the one that came up most often was the one about lightning. Perhaps the alchemists thought this element was appropriate for a sword that was supposed to have struck down countless monsters and had once belonged to one of the very first kings of the human kingdom. Or perhaps it was out of respect for their predecessors?
However, Wynblow's sword was truly strange, for not only was there no trace of magic - proof that it had never been enchanted, even in the very distant past - but also its construction technique eluded Ewan. He had a hard time understanding and picturing what processes had gone into its making. Yet another mystery to add to his list of things to discover.
There was a knock at the door, which made the young hunter sit up.
And without him even having time to invite the person in, the door had already opened, revealing Carciem.
"Hey, I hope you slept well!" he exclaimed, waving his hand.
"It was okay," Ewan simply replied, while glancing at the bed next to his, in which Pavas was still sleeping.
Something told him that if the Quartermaster General was coming to see him first thing in the morning, it was because he wanted to ask him something.
"I don't know if you're going to take the opportunity to go sightseeing, but when you come back tonight, can you come to the amphitheater?"
'When', not 'if'. Carciem was sure that his former classmate would be back in the evening, and took it for granted that he could talk to him then. But Ewan had planned something else. Like, for example, leaving as soon as possible from this city that was starting to make him uncomfortable.
"What do you want from me, Carciem?" Ewan asked, suspiciously.
Immediately, the man with the blond hair raised his two hands in front of him.
"Ah, rest assured, it will be an official request!" He rushed to say. "I'm not stupid enough to ask you to help us for free!"
"An official request?" Ewan repeated with confusion.
Carciem nodded, before starting to walk towards the still wide open door of the room.
"I'll tell you a little more tonight, with the remainder of the garrison!" he exclaimed, waving his arm. "But nothing fishy, I promise! So enjoy the city until then!"
As quickly as he had burst into the room, the officer had already disappeared again, but not without slamming the wooden door loudly behind him.
'An official request, eh?' sighed Ewan mentally.
He had been more than forced into this. And he didn't even know if he'd have the choice to say no. Probably not, since it was Carciem, after all.
And obviously, that jerk had made so much noise closing the door, that Pavas had woken up, looking with tired eyes all around her.
RIght. There was still the matter of what to do about the little girl.
He had said he would bring her to town to leave her in the company of people who could take care of her. But the young man doubted she had any family left alive, or even acquaintances within Ylesse.
'That only leaves one place, right?' he thought bitterly.
He then turned to the little girl, and smiled - admittedly, awkwardly - before saying:
"What do you say we go sightseeing for a while?"
She nodded silently, and fifteen minutes later, they were in the streets of the great city, visiting the iconic places nearby.
The statue of the first king of humans, covered in gold leaf.
Pavas was surprised to see so much gold in one place, which made Ewan laugh. In the end, he had to drag her by the hand to get her off the spot from which she was staring intently at the statue.
The white marble cathedral towered over the entire city - including the military headquarters - and its colored stained glass windows projected vibrant and intense lights on the ground.
Ewan took the opportunity to buy an enchanted tablet with a formula to keep the water clean, while the little girl enjoyed jumping on the bright, multicolored shapes spread across the black marble floor. She probably found it very pretty.
And the forum, a huge square where every day the stalls of the street vendors set up to sell their products.
"I bet you've never seen so many stalls together in one place before, right?" Ewan asked while lowering his head towards the little girl whose hand he was holding.
Pavas nodded silently, while chewing on a meat skewer that the young man had bought for her.
"There's definitely a lot of traffic here, and you'll probably run into a lot of different people," Ewan continued as he finished eating his own skewer. "And life is peaceful here, with no attacks from monsters, or bandits."
Once again, the little girl remained silent. This made Ewan stop walking and turn to crouch down in front of her.
"Say Pavas, you remember I told you I would leave you here, right?" He asked while feeling a lump form in his throat.
She nodded, while looking him straight in the eye.
"I'm a hunter, so I almost never go home, and what I do for a living is dangerous," he explained. "So I'm going to put you in the care of some nice people who will take good care of you, okay?"
Pavas then began to stare at the ground, with a morose expression. She still seemed to be hesitating.
"That's what we agreed, right?" Ewan replied.
But seeing that the little girl was wearing a sad expression, he hastened to add despite himself:
"But that doesn't mean we won't meet again."
Immediately, Pavas looked up at him, her eyes shining, and gave a tiny smile.
He should have known that the separation would be so difficult. Especially taking into account that the little girl had become attached to him, in the meantime.
But it was for her own good, and the best decision to make. He couldn't possibly take care of a small child in his situation, and even less since he had made a deal with a troublesome dragon.
He'd probably be lying to himself, too, if he said he didn't regret leaving her behind. But he mentally chastised himself.
'Act logically, Ewan. With logic.' Said an inner voice that he recognized as his own.
He smiled awkwardly at Pavas, and rising to his feet, dragged the little girl behind him through the crowd.