After waiting for a few minutes Marsha came out with a whole buffet of food. Arya had never seen so much food being given to one person ever since he got to Merrum. It was almost as if he were being treated like a lord.
"Marsha, are you trying to empty out the kitchen? What do you think you are do-" Leroy tried saying but was quickly cut off by a stern look from Marsha.
"Eat up. Look at you, you barely have any fat on your body. It's almost as if you're being overworked you." said Marsha as she looked at Arya's lean body.
Arya had very well developed muscles for someone his age, however under his Ryen pelt and clothes it just seemed as if he was not eating enough.
After Arya was done eating Marsha quickly took the dishes and washed them.
"How about I bathe you before you sleep? Also your clothes look rather dirty. What is that thing you are wearing?" asked Marsha as she looked over Arya's body like a mother would look at her son.
"You mean my pelt?" asked Arya confused by Marsha's question. He thought that people would think a Ryen pelt was a sign of power, however, he was mistaken.
Most people further inland had never heard of Ryen's. And even those that did wouldn't expect such a magnificent beast's pelt to be on a five-year-old.
"Yes. It's dirty and its giving off a weird odour. You should just throw it away." said Marsha as she attempted to pull it off.
"W-what's going on?" thought Marsha as a strange pressure petrified her body. She couldn't seem to move and her innate instincts were telling her to run away.
"It was a gift from my father I could never part with it," said Arya innocently as he controlled his killing intent.
Arya had very few items he could truly call his in this world. And one of them had been stolen by Arcem, so it was understandable that he would be so attached to his pelt. He also released the killing intent to scare Marsha a bit, he was becoming a bit annoyed by her antics but couldn't say anything openly as he was being given free accommodation.
"Oh, that's okay. The bath is on the second floor to the right. I need to go use the restroom." said Marsha as she slowly walked to the bathroom like she had seen a ghost.
"Darling whats wrong?" asked Leroy as he passed by Marsha, but did not get a response.
Arya quickly took his bath and once he had finished he looked at himself in the mirror. "I see. I haven't seen myself in such a long time." thought Arya as he realized why Marsha was acting the way she was.
Arya was about to use his Ryen dagger to cut his hair before he stopped himself. "Actually, this pretty face might just come in handy." thought Arya as a sinister smile appeared on his face shaking him out of his day-dreaming.
"Is this really how my smile looks?" thought Arya as he realized how psychopathic he looked.
Arya then looked at the other parts of his body in the mirror. He was lean with quite an athletic build for a five-year-old. However in contrast to his pretty face, his body looked rather scary. It had loads of scars from the time he was in the forest and if anyone saw them they would believe he was being tortured.
"These might come in handy too." thought Arya as he walked to Marsha and Leroy's room and found them sleeping. Arya went to bed as well, planning on how he would kill those who had slaughtered his family as he closed his eyes.
***
The following morning Arya woke up early and left without saying anything to Marsha or Leroy. He was afraid Arcem would try leaving without him so he decided to wait for him by the horses.
"You were waiting?" asked Arcem but only got a nasty eye in reply.
The two continued on their journey like usual. They hardly spoke to each other, and if any words were exchanged they were brief and only when absolutely necessary.
"There aren't any towns within a days reach from here," said Arcem as the sun began to set.
"So we will have to camp out tonight. You do know how to set up camp right?" asked Arcem as he looked over the supplies that the stable hands had packed.
"Isn't it rather dangerous?" asked Arya, a bit hesitant to sleep outside, what with all the rumors about demons in the plains.
"Are you scared? Pathetic. A mage like you afraid of mere mindless beasts?" asked Arcem as he gave a smug look.
"Easy for you to say. You don't have to fight them face to face. One light spell and the beasts die instantly." thought Arya, but he didn't say it because he knew it would just sound like an excuse.
When the sun finally came down Arya and Arcem had already set up their tents. Arcem chanted a fire spell to make a campfire and began roasting some food that he had collected in the previous town.
The two sat in silence as they ate their meals. "Can you perhaps tell me about some of the magic you are able to practice at your level of sorcery? I wonder what sort of powerful spells someone like you can cast," said Arya breaking the silence.
"Finally acknowledging me huh?" thought Arcem as he cleared his throat.
"I guess I could educate you a little. After all the strong should always take care of the weak. And I'm sure your higher-ups will be pleased to know that I helped you a lot during our journey." replied Arcem with a smug condescending expression.
"Sucker. Humans are too easy." thought Arya as he hid his smile behind the fish he was eating. Manipulating people was becoming as second nature to him as lying was.