Great Spirits

∆ Sixteen ∆

"Over here! Over here!" Shouts of young giggling children passed through Wren's ears as they weaved their way through the throngs of people preparing for a celebration being held in the city. Was it The Great Giving or was it the Rites of Passage? They both were seen as pagan festivals,  but the mainlanders took part in it by changing a few things here and there. The major aspects of them always remained unchanged which left a sour feeling in the pits of his stomach. For Silas, he would swallow it down and participate. To Silas everything was different from how it once was. This would bring him some semblance of normalcy again, he hoped.

Wren sucked on his teeth, unhappy with the crowd he now has to fight to get across to the nearest tavern. He looked beside him for Silas and found him with a wide smile plastered on his face. Perhaps, it reminded him of a time long since passed. 

"Oh, no you don't." Seti grabbed Wren by the collar of his shirt and pulled him back like a child. "We have business here. Do not run off and do as you please. Not this time. Captain," she admonished.  

"He is a grown man and a slave no longer. Leave him be." 

Already Silas was lost in the crowd. Wren hid the glare in his eyes. Nothing seemed to be going right for him. Silas would find trouble for himself and he would not be there to help undo it. It was gnawing away at him, but what could he do? 

Seti brought him close and smooshed his shoulders against her side. "Why are you so attached to him, anyway, Enele? I thought he was nothing more than a nuisance to you."

"Well, for one, he possibly has some knowledge of the treasure. If he makes a wrong turn or choice, it could be devastating to us."

"Mhm. Akash will keep a tail on him. You're needed elsewhere."

Wren sucked in his cheek and let out a heavy sigh full of discontentment. Whatever she was thinking had already been decided long ago. There was no talking her out of it. She screwed something up and needed him to fix it.

"What did you do?" Wren asked not really wanting to know.  

The strength of her grip tightened on him as she said, "the question should be what I did not do." 

"Damnit," Wren hissed.

"Tyvis is your debtor and Rsan is mine." 

"I thought you handled that debt long ago! He is dangerous!"

Seti swatted Wren away as she would a fly making Wren's mood go from bad to worse. "As if Tyvis isn't. He almost had you quartered by horses. Do you remember that?"

Wren glared at her. Seti crossed arms as her nostrils flared. 

"I did not pay him because I gave you the relis to pay off your debt first." Wren covered his face with both hands and let them slide down it after a couple of seconds. He kept his eyes closed drowning out whatever words drizzled from her mouth. No more, he thought. He was becoming overwhelmed. Overwhelmed by the bitterness he felt in his heart, the disgusting display of his demonized culture—his very existence—, the gods, and the carnage that will soon follow. He had no time for this. 

"How much do you owe him?" Wren said. 

"Fifteen hundred relis."

"Interest?"

"Four thousand."

"We have five thousand relis to spare after we buy the food we need here. Pay off the interest with what we have left. I'll manage to secure more funds somehow." The crew would be expecting to be paid and Wren could not put that off any longer. 

"If it were that easy then I would not need you to come," Seti huffed. 

Wren's eyes narrowed. "You need me to come for what purpose?"