07
Orias

There wasn’t much in the southern region of the Trigala, consisting mainly of arid steppes and the occasional mesa. But at the of edge the region, where the land met the sea, there was a little town named Maramagia where Orias called home.

The late morning sun beat down on the wrangler’s canvas top as it hummed across the dirt road, taking them past the bluff where the strait divided the region from its neighbor, Nicaea. Orias sat in the passenger seat as Briar drove, gazing out the window and over the quiet waters. When he looked up into the rear-view mirror, he could see their new companion doing the same, only being able to see the lower half of Vinnie’s face grinning.

“It’s been years since I’ve seen the strait,” Vinnie said. “Still as pretty as I remember it being.”

“Have you been out this way before?” Briar asked, casting her eyes up briefly to the mirror before focusing on the road again.

“Sort of,” he said. “I grew up in Nicaea, so the strait is something I used to see all the time as a kid.” Vinnie settled back into his seat, and now Orias could see his eyes. He had a wistful sort of look.

Soon Orias’ home came into view, a pink sandstone house looking over the cliffside. It was two stories with a set of stairs leading up to the front entrance and a porch covered in plants. Near the house was another staircase, wooden and rickety with age, that led down to the shore. It was a dreamier home than one might have expected from Orias, but he was much more of a dreamer when he had built it.

Briar parked the wrangler in front of the house, and they began to unpack the few things they had brought. Orias grabbed his luggage and briefcase then headed up to the entrance. He passed the porch where a rocking chair and craftsman table sat. The table had been taken over by the clutter of potted plants and botany books, so much so that it began to invade the walkable space. He fished for his keys and opened the door.

Inside was an entry hall with a staircase leading downward and a room to the left where his study resided. A growing pile of books was stacked up against the archway and spilled out into the hall. He had to sidestep around it as he entered, cautious as to not tip it over and make the mess worse. Despite the size of the room, the study was packed tightly with shelves, furniture, and medicinal plants. There was a little bit of everything contained in a library of things, from history books and medical journals to even a few sigil tomes that Briar had given him. It was a carefully curated collection he had spent years maintaining. He set his briefcase down on his desk that was hidden behind one of the shelves, taking care not to knock over the stack of things also growing there.

Briar and Vinnie entered the house soon after. While Vinnie looked impressed by the study, Briar merely looked at the stacks of books accumulating on the floor and furniture, then at Orias with disappointment.

“I thought you said you cleaned before we left,” she said.

“I did,” Orias replied. There were less stacks than there had been before, and all things considered, those stacks were organized by immediate importance. He had been in the middle of research when Briar dragged him to Janahad; if he had put them back on the shelf, he’d never be able find his notes again.

Briar just sighed. “Well, at least you tried.” Then she turned to Vinnie. “C’mon, kid, I’ll show you where you can stay while you’re here.”

He followed them downstairs and into the living space. It was an open layout, with the kitchen and dining table against the opposite wall, a floral living room set on the wall closest to the stairs. A folding divider separated the space from the bedroom doors.

“You can take my room while you’re here,” said Briar.

“Then where will you sleep?” Vinnie asked.

“The couch—It’s comfy enough.”

While they were settling in, Orias decided he would make some tea for all of them. He learned very quickly that Vinnie did not like coffee— Or perhaps he doesn’t enjoy the coffee I make.

Briar made her way back up the stairs.

“I’m heading into town for a bit,” she said.

“But we just got back. Don’t you want to rest?” Orias asked.

“I will, but we don’t have anything to cook up for three people, so I’m going to grab something for tonight.”

Without much else to say, she was up the stairs and out the door. He sighed as he started to heat the kettle. Briar had always been a busybody for as long as he’d known her; he remembered how hard it had been to keep her attention when he was first teaching her. Even now, when they had just gotten back home, she would be leaving for Dearthain in just a few days. He envied her for it, just a little bit. He wished he was able to travel as much as Briar did, but at the same time, he preferred the safety and familiarity of his home. He searched around the cabinets for the right blend of tea leaves.

A moment later, Vinnie emerged from the bedroom. He had taken off his goggles and poncho, now wearing a sandy colored button down with the sleeves rolled up and a pair of pink chinos.

“I’m making tea,” Orias said. “Would you like some?”

There was a moment of hesitation before Vinnie said, “Sure.” Orias needed to assure him that his tea was better than his coffee.

Vinnie took a seat at the dining table as Orias brought over two tea cups. “I wanted to thank you guys again for letting me come with you,” Vinnie said. “It’s been forever since I’ve been outside of Janahad.”

“Did you not like it in the city?” Orias asked. He was waiting for the tea leaves to finish steeping.

“I mean, the city is fine. It’s more the stuff I had to deal with.”

Orias took the infuser out from the pot, then poured tea for the two of them. “Like what?”

“Oh, uhm. Y’know… Stuff.”

Orias waited for Vinnie to take a sip before he did so himself. When the younger man didn’t grimace at the taste, Orias considered it a success.

He began to tap his finger against the side of the cup, waiting for Vinnie to say something again. But their conversation dwindled as neither of them spoke up. Briar was always better at talking; she could easily carry conversation for hours once she figured out what she had in common with someone. She would only be gone for a little while, but Orias was beginning to wish she hadn’t left at all.

“So,” he began, “what are your plans now?”

Vinnie thought about it for a moment. “I thought about looking around Maramagia while I’m here, but I’ll likely take the next ship heading to Nicaea.”

“You mentioned growing up in the region?”

He nodded. “Born and raised.”

“What was it like? I’ve never been outside the Trigala, so I’ve only ever read about it in travel journals.”

“Gorgeous. I lived pretty close to the strait growing up so I was always near the water, but the further inland you get, the fields start to turn gold from all the wheat growing.” Then something sad appeared in his eyes as he spoke. “It was just me and my godmother for the most part growing up. My father was around, but his duties required him to always be traveling so we only ever kept in touch through letters and phone calls. It’ll be nice to finally be able to go home. I don’t think I’ve seen my godmother since my father died—” Vinnie stopped. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring the mood down.”

Oh no, now he’s upset. Had he known it was such a delicate topic, Orias wouldn’t have asked about it at all.

He cleared his throat. “Well, uhm—we don’t have wheat fields or the like here,” Orias began, “but there is the shoreline, and there’s uhm… a rock…”

Vinnie raised an eyebrow. “…A rock?”

“Y-yes, though it’s more of a boulder really.” He had no idea where he was going with this. “It has a mural painted on it and it’s a popular spot with younger folks.”

“Ah,” Vinnie said. He was smiling, but he still looked confused. “It sounds like a cute spot to check out.”

Orias desperately wanted to dig a hole in the sand and bury himself in it.