"Alright, so do we have a plan?" Flynn asked.

"Yeah. You go to the Kingdom of Bayangor, steal something expensive, I quit my job at the bar, you pick me up, and we leave without a word. Also, let me add that you steal a couple horses on your way back, will you? That will make the trip back a thousand times easier," Varian added.

Flynn chuckled. "Sounds good to me. Also, we know the drill. If we don't come back in two months, you can assume the worst. You can either search for us or go your own way."

"Right. And let's say, something happened to me. You return and I'm no longer here. If it's after two months, you know what to assume. If it's before, something has gone terribly wrong. You either go on and leave with your treasure, or you can hunt me down," Varian added.

"Not that anything will happen," Lance cut in.

"Exactly," Flynn agreed.

Varian gave a weak smile. "I wouldn't mind if you came back sooner. You both were gone so long last time and you just got back."

Flynn ruffled the boy's hair. "Hey, we'll get that money, and we'll fix your leg up. Then you can come with us on all our trips!"

"I hope it works out this time. At this rate. I'll earn enough by working at that stupid bar," Varian joked.

Rider and Lance laughed. They both grabbed their bags and Flynn put the map in his. "We'll be back before you know it, hair stripe."

"Yep! Soon we'll be on our way to a grand adventure together!" Lance exclaimed.

"Right. See ya later," Varian replied.

Flynn nodded. "See ya later."

With that, the partners in crime ran out into the dark, leaving Varian alone in the old shack. Once again. Sighing, the boy sat on his bed (if it was even worth calling it that) and felt the loneliness sink in. For some reason, he had a bad feeling about them leaving. Why? Well, maybe he was being stupid and just attached, not wanting them to leave. Or maybe, something bad was going to happen. To whom? Well, he guessed he'd have to wait and see.


Varian walked into the pub, tying his apron behind his back. He stopped when his boss called him.

"Hey, kid! You don't work here today. The Baron is having a big guest over and apparently, he's low on servers, or at least good ones. He's borrowing you today. You get a holiday raise for it, so I wouldn't turn it down."

"Oh. Ok? I just go to his main place?" Varian asked, trying to mask his growing fear.

"Yeah. No doubt Anthony will fill you in from there. Now git, before you're late or something. I don't care..." he muttered.

Varian nodded and left. Doing as he was bidden, he went straight to the mansion. Once there, he was met by Anthony as the bartender had suggested. The man snarled at him. "What?"

"The Baron requested my skill for the day?" Varian began slowly. He knew when snark and sass was appropriate and when it would just earn him something he didn't want. He was usually a pretty judge in that. Like now. It would earn him probably a slap to the face and a muddied reputation if he snarled Weasel at that very moment. He was grumpier than usual.

"Right. Whatever. Follow me. Don't know why he picked you. You don't look like you could stand against a breeze and you limp," Weasel muttered under his breath.

Varian typically hated it when people underestimated him, which happened basically every day. It used to be satisfying to prove them wrong and the look on their faces when he did. However, now it was just annoying, and if that's what they wanted to think, then fine. It wasn't his problem. It's theirs.

"Here we are. The cook will give you more information," Weasel said. He immediately left, not wanting to give Varian another second of his time.

The boy walked into the kitchen. "Excuse me? I'm working as a server for the day?"

The cook grunted. "Great. Well, you won't last more than a day. Servers usually quit within a week."

Varian rolled his eyes. Why did they quit? Probably the cook's sour temper if he were guessing. He could already see it bubbling out of her.

"You look like you're dressed to serve the pub, change into the clothes on the chair. They're going to be way too big, but you'd rather them big on you than too tight. You'll be way too restricted if they were too small. You can make do."

Without a word, Varian did as he was told. Sure enough, his clothes were too big. He had to roll up the sleeves and pant legs. Luckily, there was a belt to tighten the pants around his waist. It didn't look half bad. Maybe the pants were a little too baggy, but other than that, he made it work.

Now all he'd have to do is make it through the day and everything will be fine and back to normal.