"Three. Two. One." Ambrose swung the stick he was holding, as it struck the rune placed carefully into the tree, the wood erupted into an explosion strong enough that both he and Trelen had to shield themselves from the debris. The tree jumped slightly and then toppled to the ground.

  "These don’t seem too bad?" Trelen said, lower their arms.

  "Gro-Lag has done a good job at making these runes less powerful. Trust me, if they were like the ones we used before, you would just still be deaf if you were lucky."

  The two dragged the log over to the others they had fell and using some large rocks, secured it in place.

  "So have you done this before?" Trelen asked.

  "No, I was hoping you or the others had but it can't be that difficult?" Ambrose had seen planks being made at the woodworker’s guild but they had used saw powered by running water.

  Trelen shook their head. "I have been a kiln worker since I came of age, it was Staren who-" They seemed to catch them self and a panic and pained expression struck their face as they cast their vision downwards.

  Ambrose waiting in the silence that followed for a short moment before speaking. "Who is Staren?" He asked, softly.

  Trelen swallowed hard and while they didn't raise their head, he thought he could see tears blossoming in the corners of their eyes.

  "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

  "They were my... sibling I think is what it's called in the common tongue."

  Ambrose took in what they had said. Trelen had mentioned they had a family but this was the first time they had mentioned any of them by name. "What happened to them? Where they taken with you?"

  Trelen was frozen to the spot, their whole body shaking slightly. "No."

  "Wha-?"

  "They're dead."

  The word came so sharply, like they just wanted to have them outside of themselves as quickly as they could.

  Ambrose wanted to say something, something kind and comforting but as he stood silent with only the sounds of the forest filling his ears, he couldn't think of anything.

  "The slavers killed them." Trelen said, finally. "They were older than me, and bigger and stronger. While metal work does make you strong, cutting down and moving trees is, well." They gestured to the log the two had moved with much difficulty. "When they came, we tried to fight them off, but their mages overpowered us."

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  "What about your parents?" The question came to him so suddenly that he had been unable to catch it before it left his mouth. "If you have parents?"

  Trelen looked at him, his sadness broken slightly by annoyance. "Of course I had parents, just because we don’t separate ourselves like your kind doesn't mean I didn't come from two people who loved me." Their voice cracked as they finished speaking. They took a deep breath to steady themselves. "They both died a few years ago. A sickness ran through our village and took both of them. Staren was all I had left."

  "How, how did Staren...?"

  "One of the last things I saw before they threw a sack over my head was their captain running his dagger into their back." Their tone had shifted from the annoyance they had a second ago, to one of pitiful defeat.

  Ambrose wasn't entirely sure what to say, what could he say. Trelen had lost everything they had; they had lost more than he had ever really had. "Trelen…" He walked over to them and placed his hand on their shoulder. "Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me about your family. I lost my parents when I was so young I can't even remember them but you, you still have your memories of them, of Staren and no one can take that from you." He wasn't sure if it was the right thing to say. He wasn't even sure if it was a smart thing to say, but it was the one thing he could think of that was true and might offer the Slovèi some comfort.

  Trelen looked at him blankly for a moment, before making a jerking motion that Ambrose at first thought was them starting to sob. After a few more followed he quickly realised they were laughing.

  "That was probably one of the sappiest things I have ever heard." They said through restrained chuckling.

  While not what he had been aiming for, the fact that Trelen at least seemed happier was a victory in Ambrose's eyes. "Well, I am glad you found it funny. Come on, we have some logs to cut." He started to walk back to camp to get some tools.

  "Ambrose."

  He turned and saw them walking up to him. Before he could answer the Slovèi wrapped their arms around him. An act that stunned him to silence.

  "I'm sorry about your parents." They said softly. "And, thank you."