"Clearly something weird is going on here. If I tell them the truth I doubt they would believe me anyways, after all even someone of Luca's age using magic "was unheard off." thought Arya as a wave of sadness pulsated from his heart at the memory of his brother.
"You're not wrong, but you're not entirely right either. Yes I am a mage, but I was not sent by the city lord. I'm actually on the run from him, you see I stole a very important magical book from his chambers and if I don't get out of here soon a whole brigade of city guards and mages will come to take my head. And of course you being close to me will make you all accomplices." lied Arya through his teeth hoping to bluff his way out of the situation.
"How can we be sure that you aren't saying all this just to be let free." blurted the young boy, the old man didn't stop him this time, he seemed to want some sort of proof as well.
"The book is inside my pants, isn't that proof enough." said Arya as he turned over to expose the book. The boy slowly came over and pulled the book out of Arya's pants quickly retreating back to his original position.
"This could be any old book. How can we be sure it's magical?" asked the boy as he looked at the book in disgust. "This little brat is getting on my nerves. As soon as I'm free I'm turning him into a popsicle." thought Arya.
"Try reading it if you can. It's written in an ancient text that only mages can understand." replied Arya hoping that no one present could read the book as well. "Gramps can you read this?" asked the boy as he handed the book over to the older gentleman.
The old man scratched his beard as he paged through the book. "It seems he isn't lying. Although I am no mage I can clearly tell that this is the text of a great and powerful magus." said the old man as he handed the book back to Arya and gestured for the others to untie him.
"What? We can't just let him go. Even if he isn't lying about not being sent by the city lord shouldn't we take the book and sell it instead. We would have more money and be able to get rid of the midget as well." said the young boy as he tried stopping the men from untying Arya.
"Gren stealing from a mage never ends well. He could've placed protective spells all over it and even if we did sell it, the people we sold it to would try to kill us as well to cut off any lose ends. The only reason we were able to open it now was probably because he allowed us to. If he wanted to he could've blown us asunder the moment we opened it." said the old man as he walked towards the group of women and children behind them.
"No need to worry, this man isn't a spy but a fellow runaway looking for freedom. We will rest here for a while and continue at night fall, so get as much sleep as you can before that." said the old man. From his demeanor Arya could tell that he was the leader, but Arya couldn't care less.
"I have to get Teressa and get out of here, I don't know what's going on here but I don't want to stay long enough to find out." thought Arya as the ropes that once bound him were removed.
Just as Arya was about to walk away the old man called out to him. "Didn't you have a companion?" said the old man as he gestured to some of the men to bring something out. Two of the men went into a nearby white tent and brought out a girl with blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes . "Arya!" shouted Teressa in joy as she ran towards Arya and picked him off the floor embracing him as if they were long lost friends.
"Do you think she is a midget as well or does that guy have a fetish for small girls since he's small himself." said Gren to the group of men, loud enough for Arya to hear.
"Put me down." whispered Arya in embarrassment as he pushed Teressa away. Teressa looked in a better state than Arya expected her to be in. Clearly the people here weren't of the evil or devious type, but Arya still wasn't prepared to associate himself with them.
"The only thing worse than evil people are people who are seemingly too good." thought Arya as he grabbed Teressa and began marching towards a group of trees.
"He seems very excited to leave with her. Maybe he wants to relieve all his pent up stress." mocked Gren prompting the group of men to burst out in laughter. "I didn't raise you to have such a vulgar tongue." scolded the old man as he smacked Gren across the head. "I was only joking gramps." replied Gren rubbing the side of his head that had been hit.
Arya ignored what they were saying and continued marching but Teressa quickly stopped him. "Arya you have to help these people." she said with a determination in her voice but she looked at the ground rubbing something with her feet.
"What do you mean? Have you gone crazy? Just a few days ago we weren't sure if we would get out of here ourselves and now you tell me you want to help these strangers. Do you have any idea how hard it is to move with such a large group, not to mention that the city lord is supposedly after them. We have no idea what kind of vile crimes they have committed to be chased down by the city lord himself." whispered Arya with as much spite as he could deliver without letting the group hear them.
"I know, but you don't understand. They just want to be free, Raghnall and his group freed them from their captors. But there are many dangers in the forest, they need you, they need your magic. Don't you want to use your magic for good?" plead Teressa as she looked into Arya's eyes hoping to convince him.
"Use my powers for good she says. I remember when I first came here, I might've had the same mind set. I wonder what happened to me." thought Arya as he realized the huge contrast in his character since he arrived on Merrum.
"Wait what? Are you saying they stole slaves? Isn't that suppose to be some kind of big crime? And who is Raghnall? Have these people been brain washing you with their revolutionary bull shit?" whispered Arya this time with more confusion than spite.
"No they haven't, one of the slaves told me when I was talking to them. And yes stealing slaves is punishable by death but they deserve a life too Arya, we can't just leave them here to die." continued Teressa this time with more determination.
"And what would they have done had I not come? You want me to risk my life to save people that not only poisoned and held me captive but that I also didn't know until just a moment ago?" argued Arya this time louder. He didn't care if the group heard them, to him Teressa wasn't thinking logically and was bound to get them killed.
"If you won't do it for them do it for me Arya. Please!" she said with hope in her eyes, she kind of reminded Arya of his best friend Michael from earth when they were younger, always trying to help even when it wasn't his place to.
"I'm sorry but you aren't that important either." Arya was about to say before the old man interrupted them. "We got off on the wrong foot, but allow us to make it up to you with some food? What do you say care to stay for lunch?" asked the old man as he held out his hand to shake Arya's.
Teressa looked at him nodding her head up and down vigorously for Arya to accept the offer. "Okay I suppose just lunch would be okay." said Arya shaking the man's hand. "My name is Raghnall and the boy with a vulgar tongue over there is my grandson Gren. The rest of the men are known as Silver-fox, a party of adventurers who help me on their free time." said Raghnall gesturing to everyone around him as the group came to introduce themselves as well.
"Ugh, this is so cringe. So is this the part where I introduce myself as well." thought Arya as he remembered cliché's like this from fantasy novels he had read back on earth.