People who visited the little town of Norende often reported it to be the sort of place where nothing ever happened. It was quaint and quiet, an excellent retirement community and a wonderful place to vacation. There was little else to say about it. The folks there cared for information from the outside world about as much as their sheep did, so conversations with visitors could be stiff and awkward. Caldisla, itself a small town, was to them as busy and bustling a place as they ever wished to see. Save for traveling to sell their wares at the docks or the markets, the people of Norende saw and knew very little of the rest of the world.
Nor did they trust it. Whatever rumors were floating around about plagues or wars or political unrest in other countries did not affect them. They usually didn't give the tales much credit anyway. The only word they cared for was what the weather might be like in the next few days, and whether or not their neighbor's child had been born yet. As a result, they were a happy people. Nor would they have had it any other way.
But one day something very unusual happened. Something that they could have never foreseen or foretold. And the events that unfolded as a result triggered the birth of a new and previously unseen history.
It was a week before the tragedy. Til Arrior and his older brother Tiz were standing on the hillside overlooking their village. It was one of the best hills in the valley, and the ground was interchangeably used by Norende's shepherds for grazing. Today, it was their family's turn.
Til, himself being only nine, still found the job to be brutally boring at times. Although not often. For he was outside in the sun, running up and down the hills with his brother after all. But for today, it was boring.
Til lay in the long grass, watching as the clouds slowly creeped across the sky above the village. He sighed in frustration. Tomorrow, he and his brother were going fishing, one of his favorite things to do. But the day was dragging on, and tomorrow seemed reluctant to come.
"What time is it, Tiz?" He asked again.
"Still midday, Til." Came Tiz's reply. He was seated beneath an oak tree just a little ways away. "The day isn't going to end faster just because you want it to."
Til sat up and frowned at his brother. "But aren't you looking forward to tomorrow?"
Tiz glanced at him, and shrugged as if he didn't care. "Well, of course. It'll be fun. But there's nothing wrong with today."
"What's wrong with today is that it's not as fun as tomorrow!" Til said, throwing himself back onto the ground.
"But tomorrow hasn't come yet," Tiz laughed, "How do you know we won't catch a cold or if it will be too rainy to go anywhere? Tomorrow might be awful."
"Well… that would still be fun." Til said, obstinately.
"Silly." Tiz leaned forward and gave his brother a light push. Til gave a shout, tumbling down the hill a short ways until he eventually righted himself.
"Hey!" He cried, but he was grinning. "No fair!"
"Uh oh, I see a smile." Tiz shook his finger and tutted. "The day might just linger a little longer if you do that."
Til walked over to Tiz's tree and sat down next to the trunk, leaning his back up against it. He sighed. "It's not that the day is doing anything wrong, I just kind of want something new to happen."
Tiz nodded and said, "Like what?"
"Well, an adventure or something. Like in our storybooks."
Tiz chuckled. "Hey, we've had lots of adventures! But most of them weren't very fun. Remember when we had that big flood and got stuck on the roof of the barn?"
Til nodded, remembering the event. "Yeah, that was scary."
"And what about when our neighbor's house caught fire and we had to help them rebuild it afterwards?"
Til groaned, "That was hard! But…" He hesitated. "But I remember Mom saying that you wanted to be an adventurer when you were little."
"Well…" Tiz replied slowly, "Well, that was before I found out that adventures aren't always fun and games. I'm pretty happy right now."
Til leaned his head back and sighed, disappointed. It was hard not being able to relate to someone.
"Although I suppose… there is a part of me that wouldn't mind becoming a sailor."
Til sat up. "You wanted to be a sailor? Why?"
Tiz shrugged, "I don't know. I suppose it's just something I picked up from our uncle. He would always tell the best stories. But he's been missing since you were very little."
"Oh." Til wondered what could have happened to him.
Tiz's tactic worked well, and he had now completely forgotten to be impatient with the day. He sat for a while, thinking, and indeed thought nearly to the point of falling asleep in the midday sun.
A distant baa startled him from his thoughts, and he sat upright. The sheep had traveled a bit too far down the hill and were beginning to travel towards someone's backyard.
"Tiz," he said, shaking his brother's shoulder, "Tiz, the sheep!"
He stood and ran towards them, tripping as he did and falling face first into the ground. Pulling himself upright, he began to race after the sheep again but he stopped all of a sudden, for something was happening.
The ground was shaking. Til steadied himself, his heart racing with excitement. Were they having an earthquake? Norende got them sometimes, but never were they this severe as far as he has known. Eyes raised, he looked out upon the village. Houses shook, their very foundations moving, and then swiftly they began to collapse.
But they were not merely collapsing. They were falling. The ground itself was disappearing into a dark abyss. Cracks spread and one by one the houses fell, bringing with them people and animals alike.
He struggled to comprehend what was going on. He could only stare in horror and disbelief as his home disappeared in one terrible moment.
And the cracks which swallowed that home were approaching him, too.
His heart racing, Til turned and began to run towards his brother, his only thought that the both of them had to get away somehow.
The ground disappeared from beneath him and he fell before he ever reached Tiz.
A shout, his brother's hand, and a moment of dangling on the edge of the precipice. He couldn't see. Tiz was holding his hand but… but he couldn't hold onto him any longer.
He fell, and the light swallowed him.
Til sat up, breathing heavily, his eyes wide in excitement. He looked around. Everything was the same. The sheep were grazing nearby, the sun had begun to sink towards the horizon, Tiz was slumped against the tree just beside him, peacefully asleep.
Nothing had happened.
Til began to calm down. It had merely been a dream. And yet it felt so real…
"T-Tiz?" He said, carefully reaching his hand out to touch his brother's arm. "Tiz, wake up."
Tiz stretched and sat upright, yawning. "Oh, sorry Til, I didn't mean to fall asleep too. Not supposed to-" He saw his brother's pale features and stopped. "What's wrong?"
Til shook his head and hugged his knees, looking out at the village, seeing again as the houses crumbled, falling into the great abyss below…
"Til," Tiz, concerned now, put a hand on his arm. "What happened, buddy? You… you're shaking."
Til shuddered and wrapped his arms around his brother, tears forming as he tried to recount what he had seen.
"I think I had a bad dream… there was an earthquake and the village fell down and… and I fell too."
"Oh, Til…" Tiz patted his back, "It's alright. Look, we're both here. Our home is just over there. Nothing is wrong."
"It was like it actually happened!" Til cried.
"But it didn't. We're all ok."
Tiz did his best to reassure his brother but It soon became clear that Til was thoroughly traumatized and needed rest. Together, they herded the sheep back towards their home. But as they approached the village, both sensed a change to the atmosphere of the town and knew that something must have happened. People were talking together in earnest and there was a general hubbub. Certainly something must have happened to inspire such activity in the sleepy town.
As they moved their sheep into the pens, an acquaintance of Tiz's passed by. Seeing her, Tiz hailed the woman.
"Has something happened?" He asked her, "We only just got back from the fields and the town seems upset about something."
"Oh it was a very odd thing!" She said, "We had a stranger in town you see, a stranger in a dark cap and muffler with worn clothes. Looked like a traveler, he did. And he started going on about the end of the world or some such nonsense!"
"That's unusual…" Tiz replied.
"Indeed!" The woman said, "And as if to prove his point he takes out this little item and tries some sorcery what gives us all a terrible shock." She shuddered, "Of course none of us took too kindly to that."
"Sorcery?" Til asked, climbing onto the fence in order to be higher up.
"Aye, and it showed us all an earthquake and our homes collapsing out from under us. Dreadful it was."
Tiz thanked the woman and finished his work in silence. Meanwhile Til's mind raced with ideas of what this all meant. Was it going to happen? Was the world really going to end like in his dream? Who could that stranger have been?
"Come on Til, let's get you home."
"But, Tiz, um… About what that lady said…" Til hesitated, "What do you think?"
Tiz did his best to smile, "I think you shouldn't worry about anything. Let's just get you some dinner and a bed."
Til was not reassured but he said nothing more. While he was in bed Tiz heard the story from his mother Tess, who hadn't been in town either but who had entertained a better account of the matter.
The mysterious traveler had claimed that the town was in danger and would, in seven days, be swallowed by a coming darkness, ending their lives forever. They would have only one opportunity to save themselves: now. Tiz asked what his mother thought of it, and she replied that while she didn't believe it true, it still worried her. Particularly when it came to the matter of her boys. Perhaps they would take a trip to Caldisla that weekend and stay there until the seven days were over.
Tiz did not sleep well that night. He could not shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong. He felt somehow that Egil 's dream and the mysterious traveler were connected, and that there was a terrible truth hanging over their heads.
In the middle of the night he awoke in a cold sweat, for he had dreamed the same dream that Egil had.
Incredibly shaken, he slipped on a coat and shoes and went for a walk, hoping to recover enough to think. He did not know that Til, awake as well, saw him leave.
Til waited up for a long hour, growing increasingly worried about his brother. Where was he? Was he alright? Perhaps he should go and look for him. But just as Til had finally made up his mind to take a look around, there was a noise at the front door and Tiz returned.
Til sighed in relief. "Where did you go, Tiz? I was worried about you!"
Tiz appeared to notice him only then and there was a look of surprise on his face. "Til…?"
"Yeah it's me." Til replied, "Are you still asleep or- wah!"
Tiz embraced his brother tightly, and Til let out an exclamation of surprise. "What's wrong Tiz? Are you alright?"
Tiz didn't reply. He only hugged him tighter. Eventually, Til heard him say something just under his breath.
"I won't lose you… not this time."
The townsfolk did not believe the mysterious traveler in the slightest, but Tiz, the son of the late and well-respected Glen Arrior was another matter. Tiz and Til both told the townsfolk that the matter was serious and that they needed to evacuate. Prophecy not being a foreign concept it was relatively easy to convince them that this was for the best, especially being that it came from a trusted member of the community.
Even so, many remained skeptical, but when it became clear that the vast majority of the people were planning to leave town, the skeptical, too, made plans.
So it was that a great exodus took place unprecedentedly, with Tiz overseeing and leading the majority of folks away from the town.
Til wondered that his brother became so certain so fast, because even he was now uncertain of whether the dream had truly been a vision of what was to come. But Tiz said nothing on the matter, only stating that there was no doubt in his mind. It was going to happen, and they needed to leave right then and there.
By the next week the whole valley had been evacuated, save for a few stubborn ones and thieves which felt they were making a grand life for themselves. On that day, some tenacious townsfolk lined up on the edges of Norende valley seeking to see if what the stranger had prophesied was truly to happen.
The day wore on. The folks became skeptical. They began to say that perhaps they were safe after all and they chided themselves for having believed such nonsense.
Still, they did not enter the valley.
The sun was setting now, and the valley grew darker. Many had returned to their inns and beds for the night, but those who remained witnessed a truly terrible sight. Before their eyes, their homeland collapsed, falling into an abyss they never knew existed. The aftershocks shook the earth and some were injured as a result. But no longer did they regret their decision. Pale and shaking, they marveled at the hole which had been formed by the great light.
Tiz and Til heard the news, themselves safely tucked away in an Inn that night. It was quite horrifying. And when they went to see it for themselves it was even more terrible. Their home, vanished into darkness… and they could have gone with it.
"What do we do now?" Til asked his brother.
"I don't know." Tiz had replied, "But there's something I have to do. You'll stay at the inn with mom until this is fixed."
"But… but I want to help you!" Til had said, but the topic was not up for debate. And so, he returned to the Inn in Caldisla alone.
The innkeeper Karl and his son Owen had shown great hospitality to the family, themselves having been friends of their father. Thus Til and his mother continued to stay at his inn for the next few days.
The King had decreed a national emergency and Norende survivors were being given temporary shelter and food until new homes could be constructed for them. But when Til returned that night after speaking with his brother, Tess knew at once that he was unhappy. After a little coaxing, Til finally confessed to being frustrated that Tiz seemed intent to do everything alone, and that he felt useless as a result.
"I lost my home, too!" He said, "I should be able to help just as much as him, but he won't tell me anything."
His mother thought for a moment. "You know, I was just speaking to the Innkeep while you were gone and he mentioned how they were rounding up volunteers to pass out food and blankets to all the folks who don't have a home right now. I can't do anything about Tiz, that is between you and him to sort out, but maybe you could help out here in town?"
Til's eyes lit up, "Could I, mom?"
"If the soldiers are alright with it I don't see a problem." She said with a smile, "Owen is in charge of it so he ought to be able to find us something to do. I was thinking about us both doing that anyway, seeing as how we have a room to stay in at night and many others don't."
And so they did. For the next few days they helped with the displaced Norende folk in any way they could. They cooked, they cleaned and the people were grateful. Unfortunately, every day that passed seemed to bring bad news. The oceans were becoming putrid. There was no wind to sail. Fish were dying and the fishing boats came back emptier every day. It was as if the world was not content with merely harming Norende. It wished to harm everybody.
Still, Tiz did not seem interested in returning. He made camp at the chasm and spoke to no one. Til thought it very strange. He reason that the past few days must have really shaken him up. But when he tried to get his brother to talk about it and feel better, all Tiz would say was simply, "I'm just waiting for someone. It's ok."
One day a ship arrived at the port of Caldisla, itself barely making it and nearly sunk as it's wood decayed from the putrid waters. From this ship came a girl, hooded and quiet. She asked questions, particularly about the chasm at Norende, and said little about herself. After a while it became clear to he townsfolk that she would travel to the chasm to see it with her own eyes, but when offered directions she claimed to be without need, for she already had a guide to help her.
Til caught sight of her briefly, taking special note of her because of her foreign garb. But he thought nothing of it at the time. It was only later on in his life that he would learn who she was, and what led her there that day.
The next few days were fairly uneventful. Nothing much happened beyond what had now become normal. Til wondered if he ought to visit his brother again, but his mother had told him to give him some space. Perhaps he needed it.
One can imagine the surprise Til got when he saw Tiz arrive in town unexpectedly one morning. In tow with him were two women, one the hooded stranger and another who was clearly some sort of foreign soldier. They were heading for the harbor, and Til waved to them.
"Tiz! You're back!" He ran to his brother and hugged him, "Did you find the person you were waiting for?"
"Oh, Til…" Tiz hugged him back, "Yeah, yeah I think I did. But listen, um…. I've got to go and do something else now. Something important. I…" He hesitated, "I won't be back for a while."
Til's face fell. "Huh? I thought you were done."
Tiz looked away muttering to himself, "I thought I was done, too…"
"It's alright. It won't be very long this time, I hope." Tiz patted his brother's head, "I just need to get stronger first."
Til nodded, consenting but not approving, and not even trying to ask if he could come too, or why all this was happening. He knew what the answer would be.
After a tearful goodbye and one last hug Tiz left the town, heading inland. But he had already explained that they had an airship. They were going to fly out of there. Fly? Til wished he could come yet again.
Many days passed. Til did not see his brother again for quite some time. It was difficult to adjust to but he fared as well as he could. The innkeep and Owen became best friends to him and they often laughed together. His mother, too, was a constant reminder that his home was safe and secure, even if Tiz wasn't there.
It had been a month since Tiz left when he suddenly showed up again. Til spotted him outside almost immediately and ran to him again. It was over! His brother's adventure was finally over! Now things would go back to the way it used to be, and they could repair the village perhaps.
But standing just behind Tiz was someone else. Another kid. Who was he, and why did Tiz have him along?
"Til! I missed you." Tiz said, smiling and hugging his brother.
"Tiz, is your adventure over? Are we going to fix the village? And, who's that?"
Tiz's smile faded a little, turning to an expression of pain. "No, no I'm not done with my, um, adventure. I'm just stopping in to see you. I brought someone with me though. This is Egil."
The boy behind him said nothing, looking around at the scenery he found himself in with wide open eyes.
Til turned red. His brother hadn't wanted to bring him along, but he was ok with bringing another boy along on his journey? No, he was being silly. Tiz wouldn't do that. There had to be another reason.
"Egil," Tiz said to the other kid, catching his attention. "This is my brother, Til. The one I've been talking about."
"Oh." Egil looked at him warily. "Do you want me to say hi or something?"
Tiz chuckled nervously, "Yeah, yeah that would be the polite thing to do."
"Ok." Egil shrugged. "Hi I guess."
Til blinked. "H-hello…"
That night the family reunited. Til and Tess related their difficulties in adjusting to city life and the events of the past month, and Tiz related to them some of his adventures, including how he had found Egil. He was a canary boy who had been working in the mines of Eisen, and whom he had rescued. Likewise, he told how the kid has assisted them in finding the hidden path through the volcano which ultimately helped saved their quest.
"But he isn't happy with the Goodman's." Tiz finished, "And I thought he might be, well, safer here. Karl should like him, I think."
Til looked up in surprise.
"You're an orphan, then?" Tess asked him.
"Mhm." Egil replied. He swung his feet nonchalantly under the table and reclined in a comfortable but not very respectful manner.
"Would you like to try staying here then?"
"Well…" Egil shrugged. "I guess. Seems nice enough. Maybe I'll like it. Is there ever any fighting going on?"
"No, why?" Their mother asked.
"Cause I want to be a knight like my parents were."
"Oh!" Tess snapped her fingers, "Tiz, you weren't around so you wouldn't know, but they've started recruiting trainees up at the castle. Perhaps Egil could get involved there. I believe they would accept anyone willing. I have been trying to convince Til to go but he wasn't interested."
Til frowned, embarrassed that this was said in front of his brother. He was trying to show he could be a good adventurer too anyway. "Hey, I was, I just didn't think it was that big of a deal that's all."
Egil's eyes lit up. "Really? They wouldn't care that I didn't have any parents or that I'm a foreigner?"
"We could put in a good word for you even if they did." Tess smiled, "The trainer is supposed to be a friend of ours."
Egil grinned and sat upright. "Well alright! I like this place!"
So it was decided. The new kid would be sent to the trainee academy the next morning to see how he would do. Til said nothing, merely looking forward to the point of time where he could talk to Tiz alone and spend time with him. Tiz, unfortunately, could not stay the night.
"What do you mean you have to go so soon?" Til asked, tears forming in his eyes.
"I've…" Tiz sighed, "I'm sorry Til. I'll be back soon. I'll finish fixing this. I promise."
Til hugged him again, not letting go for a long time. Finally they had to part, and Til watched him walk away with a heavy heart. But as soon as he was out of sight, there was a sound behind him.
"HAHA clingy crybaby!"
Til whirled around, red from embarrassment. Egil was making faces at him.
"Go away." He said angrily.
Egil just laughed and made another face. Til began to walk, hoping to leave, but the other boy followed him.
"So, it's Til right?"
"..."
"So why are you so worried about him? He's pretty cool. He knew exactly where to find me when I ran away. Of course I covered my tracks really well so he must be an expert tracker." He sighed, "Is it really that awful when siblings have to part?"
"It's really hard." Til admitted, uncertain about what the boys intentions were.
"I knew a bunch of siblings and they hated each other! I'm glad I don't have any, otherwise I'd cry like a little baby." Egil laughed and made a fake crying face. "Anyway, where are you sleeping?"
"..."
"I'll just go back to the Inn if you don't answer. Mrs Arrior said I'm going to share your bunk bed tonight."
Til stopped short. "But… that's Tiz's bed for when he comes back."
"Oh, he can have It." Egil replied, and then grinned. "...When he comes back."
He ran off laughing. Til kicked a rock, frustrated. How had this day turned out so badly? He hadn't even had a moment to talk to Tiz, and he had halfway made up his mind to tell him how hard it had been standing by without knowing anything. Perhaps he would be told something if he talked about how hard everything was.
By the time Til found his way into his room, Egil was already there, casually lying atop the top bunk.
Til didn't protest. The top bunk was his, but he'd let the boy have it. Then no one would take his brother's bed.
"I got the top bunk!" Egil called in a singsong voice.
"Shush!" Said Tess, "Others are trying to sleep right now."
"Sorry ma'am." Egil said, suddenly polite.
"Mom." Til said, "Do we have to share our room? Can't he sleep somewhere else?"
"Til, I'm surprised at you." His mother said, looking up from tending the fire. "I would have thought you'd be glad to be able to help someone who needed it."
Til glanced back at Egil, dangling lazily on the edge of the bed. He grinned. Til shrugged his shoulders. "I guess so."
"We'll find him a home soon, and hopefully so will we." Tess said, "The construction has been proceeding well, and we will soon have another village in the plains. It won't be Norende, but it will be more of a home than we've had in a while."
Til nodded understandingly, feeling sorry for the way he was acting. It wasn't anyone's fault that this was happening, not even Egil's.
He realized that a lot of his frustration simply came from not knowing anything. He had stopped asking Tiz for explanations because he didn't expect any, and so he was drawing conclusions that were inaccurate.
No, he would talk to Tiz the next time he saw him. He would tell him that being left in the dark was terrible and how he didn't understand why he couldn't be told anything that was going on. Even if he didn't get an answer at least he would be able to show how frustrated he was. Surely Tiz would listen.
The next morning the three of them paid a visit to the king. Tess presented herself and her son, and then in turn, Egil.
"He is an orphan you say?" The King asked after a summary of his story had been told.
"So my son says, your majesty." Tess replied.
The King thought for a moment and turned to his captain. "Owen, what do you say?"
"He has determination, that much I can tell." Owen said, "I don't think it would do any harm. But it is your call, my King."
The King chuckled. "Is that so? I will not be training them! But if you are willing to take the lad under your wing you will hear no protest from me." He looked back at the three and said, "And as for your son, Tess, is he interested in the training as well? Owen has spoken of him often to me."
"Well-" Tess began to explain how Til wasn't interested but she was interrupted before she could.
"I am, your majesty."
Tess glanced at Til in surprise, and the king looked pleased. "Wonderful! I will be very happy to have you among my new soldiers. And even if such a life does not agree with you, I hope that the things you have learned here will serve you in the future."
Owen wrote both of their names upon their list of recruits and sent them on their way, also letting them know when and where to arrive for their first day.
On the way back home, Tess turned to Til and asked, "What made you change your mind so suddenly?"
Til glanced ahead at Egil, to make sure he wasn't listening. "I just want to be stronger so I can help Tiz someday." He whispered.
But Tess was smarter than that and caught on right away. "Are you sure that's the only reason? Why all of a sudden right now?"
Til looked away and muttered, "I just don't want Tiz to think Egil's better than me…"
"Oh, Til." Tess stopped him and gave him a hug, "Tiz hasn't replaced you and he's never going to. Before he left he asked me all kinds of questions about how you were doing, and whether or not you needed anything."
"Oh…" Til sighed, "Well, he could've asked me. I would have told him."
"Perhaps he should have." Tess acknowledged. "And perhaps you can talk to him about that the next time we see him."
"Hey Til?" Egil called, jogging over. "I bet I can beat you back to the Inn."
"What?"
"Ready steady go!"
Egil took off running with a laugh. Til stared and then frowned angrily. "Hey! That's not fair!" He took off running too, trying to catch up, but Egil was a good distance ahead by now. Til stopped and sighed in frustration. Then he noticed…
"Hey uh, Egil? You're going the wrong way!"
Egil skidded to a stop and glanced back. "Isn't the Inn over there?" He called.
Til shook his head. "No, it's back this way. That road leads down to the harbor."
Egil's shoulders slumped and he came back, mildly annoyed and a tad embarrassed. But as soon as he got back to where Til and Tess were waiting…
"I'm still in the lead! HA!" And he took off running again.
"Hey, come on!"
Til ran after him once more, but this time with a bit more of an advantage. They ended up reaching the door at the same time, but Egil insisted that he won. Til disagreed, and they got into a bit of an argument. Karl happened to be returning himself and caught wind of the discourse.
"Woah now," he said as he entered the room. "Is that any way for Caldislan royal guard trainees to behave? I heard the news from my son. You will have to carry yourselves well if you wish to be respected by the community. It is a great honor after all."
"I'm sorry but it wasn't my fault." Said Egil
Til said nothing but looked down, ashamed of himself.
"Hmm." Karl glanced at Egil. "You will learn in time. Owen will not go easy on you. He was a rather rambunctious child himself."
Egil shrugged. "C'mon Til, let's go to bed."
"Sorry, Karl." Til said and then turned to enter his room.
In a few days, their training began. With no prior experience they were the greenest recruits in the class, but Owen taught them slowly. It was difficult, but they kept up with everyone as well as could be expected. After the day was finished, both were tired and worn out. Owen warned them that they would be stiff and sore the next morning, and Egil joked that he was sure he wouldn't feel a thing.
On the way back home, Egil talked and talked, but Til said nothing. At last, he realized that something must be done and he stopped.
"Egil. I have something to say."
Egil stopped and turned around. "What?"
Til took a deep breath. "I'd like to be friends with you, I would, but you keep making fun of me. I don't like it."
"Aw c'mon, I'm just kidding." Egil waves his concerns away. "and I thought we were friends anyway."
"You don't make friends by making fun of them!"
Egil raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Sure you do." He thought for a minute. "Oh, maybe you guys do it differently here. That's how everyone interacted in the mines. You were either beaten or you joked."
That statement concerned Til, especially how nonchalantly it was spoken. What did he mean by 'beaten' anyway? "Well… here you make friends by being kind to each other and by having fun."
"I've been having fun." Egil replied.
Til sighed and pinched his nose. "Alright. So you don't actually mean all those mean things you say about me and everyone else?"
Egil shook his head, but a cheeky grin spread across his face. "Course not! Well, not all of the time anyway."
He glanced behind him, looking at the road which led to the Inn. They were at the crossroads that Egil had gotten lost at a few days ago. Til saw what he was thinking and said, "Hey, we can race but let's just have it…"
"Ready steady go!"
Egil took off. Til shouted and ran after him, better prepared this time.
It was certainly not the last time Egil would do that, but Til at least acknowledged that they had grown up in completely different lifestyles and that the discord must be a natural result of that. Still, he would not put up with everything. He would just have to choose what he was ok with and not ok with and set his boundaries when the time came. Aside from that, it wasn't like he'd be around Egil for a long time. They would just have to get along until the time came for them to go their separate ways.