Charlie Farmer brooded as he finished his chores as quickly as possible. Papa was in a terrible rage all the time now. Charlie couldn't understand it, but he didn't dare ask anyone for help. The times he wandered into town, he could see lots of people getting upset, especially the guards. Nobody was going to listen to a kid complaining about his dad.

Papa got mad sometimes, but now he's...scary. Charlie felt his cheek, which was still swollen and tender from the last time he'd asked Papa a question. Mama didn't look happy, but she didn't seem to know what to do either. Charlie felt sick at the thought of Papa hurting Mama. But there was nothing he could do.

He got away from the farm as soon as he could each day, now. Sometimes, he walked in the woods, but more often he walked into town. He was in town now, carefully staying away from the people who looked mad. Why is everybody so angry all of a sudden? He walked up Market Street, looking around at everything.

Mrs. Baker occasionally made a loaf of bread that didn't turn out quite right, and sometimes she gave those away, so he headed to her shop. She smiled at him when he walked up, and Charlie felt relieved. At least she's still nice. "Hi, Mrs. Baker!"

"Hello, Charlie! What are you up to today?"

"Nothing much. Do you have any funny-shaped loaves today?"

"You know what, Charlie? I don't, and it's the strangest thing. The Temple sent an acolyte around to buy all the bread we make today! All of it!"

"What? What do they need so much bread for?" Charlie wondered.

"Apparently the High Priest has declared some sort of celebration, and they're giving out free food in the Temple all day today."

"Really?"

"You should take a look!"

"I will! Thanks!" Charlie walked to the corner and turned onto Temple Street. He puffed a bit at the climb; it was the steepest road in town. But the lure of free food drew him onward, and soon he was at the top of the polished wooden steps leading to the main entrance of the Temple.

Charlie had only been inside a few times. Each spring his mother brought him on Vongi's Day, but those were the only times he had to go. Mama encouraged him to stop by and pray if he felt the urge, but he never did. He wondered what it felt like to have a god talk to you.

This time, when he got to the entry there was a Temple person welcoming everyone, encouraging them to come have the free food. Charlie felt her eyes on him, and wondered whether he was extra dirty or did something else wrong. But as soon as he got inside, the woman gave him an approving smile and turned to watch for the next visitor.

Three different Temple people were all rushing around setting things up. SOMEbody forgot to get READy, he sang in his head. The idea of Temple people screwing up and getting in trouble just like other people was funny. Charlie grinned as he got in line for some food.

There was fresh bread, and stew, and apples, and soup, and cheese. He saw that there were already a few crumbs and spills on the floor, and wondered why they weren't serving everyone in the plaza out front. He eagerly took enough food to completely stuff himself, then looked for a place to sit down and eat.

There really weren't any seats available. The few benches that were there normally were already filled with people eating, so Charlie took a free spot on the floor next to one wall. There were already other people there.

The person to his left was a kid about his age. Charlie couldn't actually tell if they were a girl or a boy. He was pretty sure he had seen them around, but had never spoken to them. They had dirty blond hair and they were filthy. They hunched over their food as if they thought someone was going to take it away from them, and ate quickly.

He dug in, and soon realized that the stew was more filling than he had thought. I'm never going to finish all this. He looked out of the corner of his eye at the blond kid, who was finishing up and staring at the tables loaded with food. He sighed, and held out one of the two rolls he had left.

"Here. I took too much."

The kid peeked at him warily from behind a tangle of blond hair. Charlie shook the roll impatiently. "I'm not a tree. Take it already."

Slowly, the kid reached out and took the roll, pulling it close to their chest and lowering their head again. After a beat or two, they mumbled, "thanks." Charlie nodded. He reached for his bowl and bumped it, sending his spoon flying and half his remaining stew sloshing onto the floor with a splat.

"Demon...dung," Charlie grumbled, catching himself. A moment later he flinched as a rag was thrown in his face.

"Clean up after yourself!" an acolyte demanded, marching on past.

"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir," Charlie said quickly. He started mopping up the stew.

The blond kid started helping with another rag. He saw them lick stew off their fingers, too. Wow. That kid is even hungrier than Rillik was. A minute later, the acolyte walked past again, stopped, looked at the partially cleaned up mess and sighed.

"Fine. O Calamesh, grant me the kindness of your bounty and the blessing of order: Cleanse."

Charlie felt the tingle of magic on his skin. The blond kid sneezed, and the acolyte grit his teeth. "Cleanse..." he said again, sounding like someone holding a heavy pack for too long. The kid sneezed again, and the acolyte huffed in annoyance.

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"Sorry. It tickles." The kid explained.

"Blessings do not tickle!" the spellcaster declared in irritation.

"Do too!"

"No, they do not."

"Do too!"

"No, they d—" The cleric clamped his mouth shut. Charlie thought he heard one of the adults snorting a quiet laugh. The cleric snapped, "Are you two finished eating? There are lots of other people waiting for space to sit."

"Yes, sir." Charlie clambered to his feet. The other kid jumped up and pressed back against the wall, like they were afraid of getting hit. Charlie was uncomfortably reminded of the last couple of times he had to talk to his dad. As the two of them were leaving, he noticed another acolyte walk quickly up to the first one and hiss, "Warren! No frivolous casting! You're the only one available for healing today!"

"Why? What's everyone else doing?"

"Just...it's important. The High Priest has his reasons."

"But..."

Charlie stepped around a corner and didn't hear the rest. A few moments later he was outside. He looked at the blond kid. "Hey."

"What?"

"Are you a boy or a girl?"

"What's THAT supposed to mean!?"

Charlie hesitated. "A girl?"

"Of COURSE I'm a girl, you piece of demon dung!"

Charlie felt stupid, so he yelled back, "You're the demon dung!"

"I am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"AM NOT!" the girl shrieked.

"Fine!"

"FINE!"

The two of them started walking down the stairs again, then glared at each other. "Stop going my way!"

"YOU stop going MY way!"

"FINE!"

"FINE!"

They turned in opposite directions and stomped away from the Temple.

∘ ⛥ ⛯ ⛥ ∘

Charlie walked down Crafter's Row and turned onto Merchant Street. The singer who had been on the corner for the past few days was missing. He walked over to the fruit stand, and when Mr. Smithson didn't look angry, he asked about it. "Where did Harry go? I thought he was going to be singing until Oneday. Did he leave town already?"

"The guard sent him packing early," Mr. Smithson explained, shaking his head. "I don't know what's gotten into those boys lately. They're supposed to stop trouble, not rile it up. They've roughed up a few shopkeepers for no reason, beat that poor elf half to death, and the Keep isn't doing anything about it."

"What?" Charlie took a breath and tried not to shout. "Did they catch...an elf? What happened to him?"

"I hear a man showed up and claimed him yesterday."

"Do you know where they went?"

"The master rented a house from Anna Houser, I think. Why?"

"Thanks, Mr. Smithson!" Charlie shouted, and ran to Houser's shop.

Houser's shop had a lot of household items, and there was an adult couple buying rope and a couple more things. Charlie hopped impatiently from one foot to the other, waiting for them to finish buying. Miss Houser saw him, but she frowned, then ignored him, and she didn't hurry the grownups along at all. It took ages, but the customers eventually finished and walked out.

"Yes, Charlie? What is it that has you so excited?" Miss Houser finally asked.

"Do you know what happened to the elf?"

"What do you mean?"

"Mr. Smithson said that a man claimed him and rented a place from you. Is that true?"

"Yes, it is. Why do you want to know?"

"I..." He stopped. He was worried about Rillik, but he couldn't say that he was friends with an elf without getting asked lots of questions, and the way Papa was lately, Charlie really didn't want word to get back to him. "I wanted to see an elf," he finished lamely.

"Are you going to be causing trouble, young man?"

"No!"

Miss Houser sort of squinted at him in a way that made him squirm, like she could see what he was thinking, or something. Mama did it too, but it felt weird seeing it from someone else. Then she sighed. "If you behave yourself, I'll tell you which house they're renting."

"Yes, please! I will!"

The woman frowned. "I rented them the house with the red door across the street from the toymaker's shop. If you were to go looking around there, I expect you'd see an elf at some point. But I had better not hear that you were rude to them!"

"You won't! I mean, I won't! Thanks, Miss Houser!" He bolted out the door.

"Why are you in such a hurry?" she demanded, but Charlie outran the question.

It only took him a minute to reach the toy shop, and from there, he looked at the building that probably had Rillik in it. All right, now what? Charlie wasn't sure what he could do, but he was worried about his elf friend. He walked up to the house and stared at it, at a loss. He would have walked around the place to peek in windows, but it touched other buildings on both sides.

Maybe I can look in the back?

Charlie made his way to the end of the block of houses, and found the alley that ran behind all of the buildings. The buildings all looked the same from behind, so he went back in front and counted houses to make sure he knew which one it was. Then, he circled around back and made his way up the alley, trying to stick to the cleanest spots.

When he got to the right house, though, there was someone partly hidden in the shadows, climbing up the back of the building. A thief! Charlie thought about shouting for a guard, but fortunately remembered in time that he didn't want to get the attention of any guards these days. He tried to sneak up on the sneak a little, getting closer so that he could see.

When he got a good look, he blinked and stared. He recognized the magically-untangled mop of yellow hair. It was the girl from the Temple!

What by the gods is she doing here!? He hurried closer. She had been peeking in a window, and apparently didn't see what she was looking for, because she started making her way across towards the other window on that level.

"Hey!" he hissed, and the girl almost fell from the surprise. "What are you doing up there?"

"Me? What are you doing here?" she hissed back.

"I'm looking for my friend!"

For just a moment, the blonde looked shocked, then shook her head in comprehension. "Well, I'm looking for my friend!"

"You are not! You're breaking in to steal things!"

"I am not!"

"You are!"

"I am not!"

"You are too!"

"I—!" The girl almost started shouting, then lowered her voice. "I am not!" she hissed vehemently. "There's an elf in here, and he might be in trouble!"

"Wait, you know about the elf?" Charlie asked, having trouble keeping his voice down.

"Of course I know about the elf! What do you think I'm doing up here?"

"You're breaking in!"

"I am not! I'm just...I want to see if he's all right and if he needs help."

Charlie felt unexpected sympathy for the annoying girl. "Can you see Rillik?"

"Can I see what?"

"Rillik! That's his name!"

"Oh! No, not yet." She started to creep her way along the wall, then paused and looked down at him. "Wait, how do you know that?"

"I..." Charlie was hesitant to share what he knew, but this girl thought she knew more than he did about Rillik! "I'm his friend! We met a couple of times, and I learned some Elfish," he finished proudly.

"Well...I taught him some Western!" the girl shot back. "So there!" She looked away from him as if she'd won the argument or something, and climbed closer to the next window.

"Can I help you?" A woman's voice asked suddenly.

The girl shrieked in surprise and lost her grip. Charlie bolted forward instinctively. He didn't think he was going to get there in time to catch her, but somehow he reached the wall before she hit the ground. He looked up, and felt his eyes widen.

The woman was now hanging dangerously out of the window, gripping the blonde girl's wrist as she swung back and forth. She was dressed completely in gray, even wearing a gray veil and gray gloves. "Arven!" the woman shouted. She slid farther out the window, her face almost against the wall. "Ashal to!"

Then her veil fell off.

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