When Aiden woke, the first thing he saw was Lyra's worried face.
"You're awake!" Lyra said, her voice brimming with excitement.
Aiden sat up slowly, realizing that while he'd been out, his head had been resting on Lyra's soft thighs.
"You're a pretty heavy sleeper," Lyra teased. "The sun's already up."
"Where are we?" Aiden asked, still groggy.
"Same forest. I was worried those thieves might wake up, so I moved us a good distance away."
"You carried me all the way here?"
"Yup. Gotta say, you're more ripped than you look—not exactly a light load."
Aiden would've liked to bask in Lyra's compliment, but the questions swirling in his head kept him from enjoying it.
'Why didn't the fairy show up when I squeezed the orb?'
'Why did my magic power kick in so suddenly?'
'Why did I pass out?'
"Hey, you okay?" Lyra asked, snapping him back to reality.
"Yeah… just a bit wiped out. But that doesn't matter. Now that I dealt with those goons, we should take advantage of the clear weather and get moving."
"About that…" Lyra gave a nervous laugh and pointed to the ground, where half of what used to be her bag lay in ruins.
"What happened to it?"
"Those guys' flames got to it. Pretty much everything inside burned up."
"Anything important?"
"Besides my clothes… my map."
"Oh… damn. So we're lost?"
"Let's not get dramatic. Before we entered this forest, I spotted a town from the air—not too far off. I'm sure we can buy a new map there."
"Alright, let's move then. I don't have the energy to take on another pack of thieves."
Aiden grabbed his sword, which Lyra had kept safe, slung it across his back, and they set off to leave the forest.
. . .
After a short flight on Icara's back, Aiden and Lyra landed just outside a town, its entrance marked with the name FARORE.
Lyra made her eagle vanish, and they stepped into the bustling place.
"This place is packed," Aiden said.
"Not used to seeing so many people?" Lyra asked.
"Honestly, no. The town I grew up in was way smaller. Plus, it didn't have nearly as many shops as this place seems to."
"Well, if you don't want to get lost in the crowd, stick close to me."
"Wasn't planning on straying," Aiden replied.
They exchanged a knowing smile and continued through the town.
. . .
After checking out several shops, Aiden and Lyra found a merchant selling the map they needed.
"How much for that map?" Aiden asked the vendor.
"Thirty gold coins, kid."
Aiden opened the pouches hooked to his pants and was hit with a sinking feeling when he saw how much he had.
"What's wrong?" Lyra asked.
"I've only got fifty copper coins and seven silver."
"That's nowhere near enough! Now what?"
"If you're that strapped for cash, you've got a couple of options," the vendor said with a wide grin.
"Like what?" Aiden asked.
"First, this lovely blonde could pay me in… other ways."
"Not a chance!" Aiden and Lyra snapped in unison.
"Worth a shot," the vendor chuckled. "The other option is taking on a job to earn some coin."
"What kind of job?" Aiden asked.
"Could be anything. Rescuing a lost pet, slaying a beast… Needless to say, the riskier the job, the better the pay."
Lyra met Aiden's gaze and saw a familiar spark of determination in his eyes—the same one he'd had when he faced those thieves.