Though he could only laugh at her cheeky quips, knowing full-well that he'd really never know if bards would sing of their stories, nor if it was the best idea to carry all his possessions on his back... there was something rather sobering about the entire experience. For the second time that afternoon he looked back at Faith as an actual slave. A girl who'd never known freedom, never known a life outside of that under the boots and chains of another person. Physically stained forever with the brands and markings of the family that she belonged to, as one might engrave their initials into a chair or a table to claim it forever as their own and nobody elses. Knowing her story, he felt even worse than before. She had nobody. No family but the slaves around her and her own master, whoever that bastard might be. For one selfish moment, he realized that meant there really was nothing holding her back from the freedom she deserved. There wasn't anyone else around, just the two of them. Her chains could be broken. He could find a ship, he had enough money stashed away somewhere. Ideas raced, mental maps of the local area popping in and out of his mind's eye as he counted the figures. Only a few day's travel to the port. She could sleep in the wagon while they waited for the next boat to pull in, they'd aim for something like Ivorian, where she'd at least be moderately safe from potential bounty hunters trying to cash in on some easy money and drag back a young slave-girl. All it'd take is a few trials to set everything up, since she probably didn't have many belongings and she'd need a few forged documents to explain away the brands on her body, and she'd be free to go wherever she wished.
And then what?
She has no family. No friends. Just you, and you've barely spent a break together with her, Archailist interjected from the mental shadows. Nir'wei fought back and shut the voice out, forming a mental wall, but the spirit had said his piece and the words were left to linger, to replay over and over. No friends. Weren't they friends? You've barely spent a break together with her. As wonderful as his fantasies were to create and recreate in his head, reality was far crueller. There were so many things he didn't know, couldn't account for. Just one and it'd all end, for the both of them. He'd be jailed or killed. She'd be punished, or tortured, or killed, or all three together in that order. But that didn't matter, because he actually had a chance, this chance, to free her and let her see the world she'd missed out on. Do you? Yes he did! You do. But it's a chance. You know the stakes, but you don't know the odds. You're a poor gambler, Nir'wei, and you're smart enough to know when you're looking at a dive that's too deep. The squirrel-spirit materialized for just an instant, milky-white eyes staring deep into his own, just off to the side of Faith's head, far afield in the background. It's not right. But it's best. For everyone.
He sighed. Then gasped, cheeks brightening, as he realized he'd actually sighed, instead of just mentally. "Oh, right. Wait, you've really never heard of a turtle? They're like... big things that live in the sea. Green, with a shell, like a snail, but not a snail." Just thinking back over the poor excuse of an explanation was enough to bring the laughter back into his voice as he tightened the rope, wrapping it over and over around his own wrists to make sure he had a nice, tight grip that wouldn't slip through the jump. "They-- what? Oh shut up you!" he jokingly laughed. Honestly, she had a dangerous sense of humour. The sharp wit of her comebacks, the dry sarcasm, it all worked up a whole fit of barely-contained giggles that threatened to topple Nir'wei prematurely from the backside of the wagon. Then again, he'd apparently caught her off-guard with one of his previous comments. Well, when an opening appeared, best to squeeze in, make it as big as possible and use it fast before it closed down and disappeared again. You're disgusting. Shut up, he thought back.
"First off, I didn't bust it up, the road and the weather and all the other people who owned it before me did that. Second, I'm not making it worse. Third, if you think this is such a bad idea, and you want to do the hard parts, then why don't you come up with a better idea, that doesn't involve me intentionally falling out of a very tall tree?" Since the first jump didn't completely snap the branch, it looked like it was time for a second attempt.. but this time he wrapped the rope a second time around the base to make sure the rope had less of a chance of breaking apart. "You're really not gonna let go of that, are you." The second jump worked a charm. One hard jerk, a few heart-jarring moments hanging by the rope and nothing else in thin air, and then a harsh splintering noise echoed down the dirt road, followed by a hearty thunk as the branch splintered and ultimately broke away from the rest of the tree, landing down on the ground exactly where Nir'weis head would have been, if he'd not scrambled off to safety.
It wasn't a clean cut. The end of the branch was torn off rather than sawn away, but there was no doubting that they, or rather, Faith, now had more than enough to complete the repairs. The branch was nearly as long as Nir'wei and slightly thicker than both of his legs put together. "There. Happy now, huh?"
And then what?
She has no family. No friends. Just you, and you've barely spent a break together with her, Archailist interjected from the mental shadows. Nir'wei fought back and shut the voice out, forming a mental wall, but the spirit had said his piece and the words were left to linger, to replay over and over. No friends. Weren't they friends? You've barely spent a break together with her. As wonderful as his fantasies were to create and recreate in his head, reality was far crueller. There were so many things he didn't know, couldn't account for. Just one and it'd all end, for the both of them. He'd be jailed or killed. She'd be punished, or tortured, or killed, or all three together in that order. But that didn't matter, because he actually had a chance, this chance, to free her and let her see the world she'd missed out on. Do you? Yes he did! You do. But it's a chance. You know the stakes, but you don't know the odds. You're a poor gambler, Nir'wei, and you're smart enough to know when you're looking at a dive that's too deep. The squirrel-spirit materialized for just an instant, milky-white eyes staring deep into his own, just off to the side of Faith's head, far afield in the background. It's not right. But it's best. For everyone.
He sighed. Then gasped, cheeks brightening, as he realized he'd actually sighed, instead of just mentally. "Oh, right. Wait, you've really never heard of a turtle? They're like... big things that live in the sea. Green, with a shell, like a snail, but not a snail." Just thinking back over the poor excuse of an explanation was enough to bring the laughter back into his voice as he tightened the rope, wrapping it over and over around his own wrists to make sure he had a nice, tight grip that wouldn't slip through the jump. "They-- what? Oh shut up you!" he jokingly laughed. Honestly, she had a dangerous sense of humour. The sharp wit of her comebacks, the dry sarcasm, it all worked up a whole fit of barely-contained giggles that threatened to topple Nir'wei prematurely from the backside of the wagon. Then again, he'd apparently caught her off-guard with one of his previous comments. Well, when an opening appeared, best to squeeze in, make it as big as possible and use it fast before it closed down and disappeared again. You're disgusting. Shut up, he thought back.
"First off, I didn't bust it up, the road and the weather and all the other people who owned it before me did that. Second, I'm not making it worse. Third, if you think this is such a bad idea, and you want to do the hard parts, then why don't you come up with a better idea, that doesn't involve me intentionally falling out of a very tall tree?" Since the first jump didn't completely snap the branch, it looked like it was time for a second attempt.. but this time he wrapped the rope a second time around the base to make sure the rope had less of a chance of breaking apart. "You're really not gonna let go of that, are you." The second jump worked a charm. One hard jerk, a few heart-jarring moments hanging by the rope and nothing else in thin air, and then a harsh splintering noise echoed down the dirt road, followed by a hearty thunk as the branch splintered and ultimately broke away from the rest of the tree, landing down on the ground exactly where Nir'weis head would have been, if he'd not scrambled off to safety.
It wasn't a clean cut. The end of the branch was torn off rather than sawn away, but there was no doubting that they, or rather, Faith, now had more than enough to complete the repairs. The branch was nearly as long as Nir'wei and slightly thicker than both of his legs put together. "There. Happy now, huh?"
