Lys stared at the paper in his hand. The drawings of the blue-leaf herbs, along with his skill's description, matched exactly what the woman had described.
The reward for completing this quest at the bottom of the paper was the same, too. Fifty copper pieces. This was definitely her quest. The one she had placed because her daughter was sick. The same quest Vessa had just handed him a few minutes ago.
He felt a twist in his stomach. The excitement he had felt back at the guild now sat heavy and wrong. He had been so happy about his first real quest. Now it turned out he was taking a chance at something in which this woman bet her whole livelihood to just save her child.
The woman watched him. Her thin fingers stayed wrapped around the gate post. Hope and fear moved across her face at the same time.
Lys folded the paper once more and looked at her. "Uhh, you don't have to worry," he said. His voice came out steady. "Your quest is in good hands."
She looked at him with confused eyes.
He opened the paper fully and held it out so she could see the drawings and the words. "This is the one you placed, right?"
She looked at the paper. Her eyes went wide. She brought both hands up to cover her mouth. For a second, she could not speak. Then the words came out in a whisper. "So you're the one… who is doing my quest…"
Lys nodded. "Yes. I'm the one doing it."
She kept staring at the paper like she still could not believe it. Her hands shook a little as she lowered them. Hope won out on her face for a moment, but fear stayed right behind it.
Joren finally turned his head toward them. His voice sounded bored and impatient. "Look, boy, I don't have all day. Either go do your business or get out of the way. Don't crowd in front of the gate."
Lys turned to face him. "She placed a quest at the guild. That should be enough for her to come in and collect her herbs from the guild. Then why are you stopping her here?"
Joren's eyes flicked to Lys for the first time. They were cold. "A quest doesn't get her through the gate. The document does. That's the law."
Lys kept his voice even. "The law, or just the way you choose to enforce it?"
Something shifted in Joren's face for a second. His eyes narrowed like he was measuring Lys. Then the look disappeared, and his face went blank again. "Rules are rules. You want to argue, take it up with the council."
He turned his back on them. His shoulders stayed square against the gatepost. For him, the conversation was over.
Lys looked at the woman again. Her arms were thin. Her cheeks looked hollow. She held onto the post like it was the only thing keeping her standing. He looked down at the paper in his hand.
This was supposed to be his first quest. Something simple and exciting. But now that he knew the truth behind it, all of it felt way different from what he thought it would be.
He felt anger rise in his chest at how Joren was acting. The guard had not even listened. But Lys kept his mouth shut. He did not want to make things worse for the woman.
He turned back to her. "Uhh, Miss, You don't have to worry about it," he said. "I'll do the job as fast as I can. When I finish I'll go straight to the guild and tell them about your situation. About how you can't enter the village even though you placed the quest. I'm sure they'll do something about it."
The woman shook her head quickly. "No, no no. You don't need to do all of that for me. I'm just… I'm just happy someone is really doing the quest I placed. That is enough. Thank you. Truly."
Lys gave her a small nod. "I'll bring the herbs back today. I promise."
She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand again. "Thank you, good sir. May the gods watch over you."
Lys did not know what to say to that. He just nodded once more.
They said nothing else to each other after that. The woman let go of the gatepost and stepped back. Lys turned toward the forest path but stopped beside Joren.
The guard hadn't moved. His back was still to them, arms crossed, pretending neither of them existed.
Lys didn't raise his voice. Didn't threaten. He just stood there for a second, close enough that Joren couldn't pretend not to hear.
"I know what you did that night," Lys said quietly. "The night I went out to save Lady Elowen. You weren't at your post. The gate was unguarded for the whole night."
Joren's shoulders went still.
"I could have reported you then. I didn't." Lys kept his voice even. "But I'm not the same person I was that night. And if I find out you're doing more than just following orders, if you're making up your own rules to hurt people who can't fight back, people like her, then I won't stay quiet next time."
He let the words sit there for a moment.
"You understand what I'm saying?"
Joren didn't turn around. He didn't speak. But his jaw tightened. A small movement. But it was enough to show he understood the meaning behind every word of Lys.
Lys didn't wait for an answer. He just turned and walked toward the forest path, leaving Joren standing there with his back to the road and his shoulders just a little less relaxed than before.
As he walked, his boots kicked up small puffs of dust on the road. The forest edge was not far.
While moving he kept thinking about the woman. How thin she looked. How desperate her voice had been. Inside the village, people had their own troubles, but outside the walls, things seemed much worse. People struggled just to live one more day.
He wondered if there was something he could do to help more people like her. The thought sat there for a moment.
But then, after thinking about it for a minute, he pushed it away. He could not even take care of himself and his family properly yet. How could he start thinking about fixing things for everyone else?
He shook his head and kept walking.
Even so, when he finally stepped on the road toward the forest, the guilt stayed with him. It gnawed quietly inside his chest and did not go away, however much he wanted.