Chapter 212: Outliers 

The ship rocked back and forth, old wood creaking with every motion, and the smell of salt and half rotten goods stained the air. The darkness of the storage compartment was suffocating, as was the tightness in his chest. Roy coughed into his hand, and he could see the dark stain of blood from what little light was filtering into his hiding spot from the distant lantern. 

He scrambled around to find an unused sack, then wiped his hand clean. His sister couldn’t know, she would do something reckless to keep him alive. Something like sneaking them onto a ship bound for an institution so powerful it dwarfed their homeland. Roy fought down another cough as he returned to his little cubby, careful not to wake Lucia. 

The ship rocked once more, this time more violently. Maybe there was a storm, or perhaps a sea monster was attacking. The floor beneath his feet shook, and suddenly his eyes snapped open. Where was he? This wasn’t the ship, was it the old room with the stained blankets? The alley with the rats? 

“Hey, wake up!” Han said, shaking the bunk with his full weight. “There’s something going on outside, we should check it out.”

“W-what?” Roy said, blinking blearily. His mind spun, memories returning as he slowly awoke.

“Come look!” Han gestured, jumping to the ground and running over to the nearby window. He threw it open, and an orange glow bathed the room. “Wow, look at how red the sky is! That’s so cool!” 

Roy climbed down from the top bunk and stumbled over, he rubbed his eyes, then gasped. “Han, that’s fire! The town is burning!”

The younger boy stared for several seconds, then he ran out of their room, screaming for his brother and grandmother to wake up. Roy watched him go, then his gaze was wrenched back to the sight of the disaster. He couldn’t see the fire directly, it looked to be some distance away, and several homes were blocking his line of sight. If he had to guess, it was probably in the nearby valley.

A bell started ringing a moment later, and he saw in real time as Far-Reach came to life, people running out of homes half dressed, dogs barking and flocks of birds flying overhead, silhouetted against the smokey sky as they were startled from their roost. 

There was a loud bang from another room in the small home, and Roy flinched. But it wasn’t someone breaking in, just Han slamming a door open. There was yelling, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps. 

Roy gripped the frame of the window and watched the smoke rise above them. He hadn’t really thought of the domain tree as something that could possibly get destroyed, but surely fire was a real, genuine risk. If the flames burnt away everyone’s homes, would Leif’s tree be safe up on the bluff? He didn’t know, and that scared him. 

People could always rebuild, but Far-Reach wouldn’t survive if its reason for existence died. Was he about to lose another home? It didn’t seem fair, but… Was there anything he could do to help? Who was he kidding, he was only a kid, he had no class or skills, what-

“Hey! Cmon lets go!” Han said, his face suddenly appearing on the other side of the window. 

Roy screamed and fell backwards, landing on his ass and jarring his tailbone. Han leaned over the frame, his forearms supporting him as he strained for height to see into their room. “W-why are you outside?” Roy asked, wincing as he rolled to his feet.

“We gotta go help! Quickly, let's get out of here.”

“What could we possibly do?”

Han stared at him with a confused expression. “Go to the river and fill buckets? What else are we supposed to do?”

“Oh.” 

Han nodded. 

“Where are you, boy?” Kala yelled from inside the house. “Don’t you dare think of running off.”

“C’mon, quickly!” Han said again, gesturing for him to follow. 

Roy shot a nervous look over his shoulder, then awkwardly climbed out the window. 

They ran through the streets, the scent of smoke growing in intensity the closer they grew to the outskirts of their neighbourhood. A field of half grown crops separated the inner ring of buildings from the new part of the settlement, and as Roy and Han sprinted along the line of homes, they watched as the far edge of the field caught alight. 

People ran around, some creating fire breaks, others carrying buckets of water to strategic spots around the town. The river was congested, but one of the elders, he thought their name was Vuln, was shouting orders to organise people. Han and Roy joined the end of a line, with several more people coming to stand behind them. They weren’t the only children present, but they were likely the youngest. 

When the first bucket of water was passed down the line Han almost dropped it, the weight of so much liquid more than a struggle for the boy to carry on his own. Roy, still breathing hard from their run to the river, quickly stepped forward to help him with the load. Together they handed it off to the woman next in line, but they only had seconds to recover before the next bucket arrived. 

Roy strained, ice cold water splashing out of the container's rim to stain the sleeve of his shirt. He shivered, but maintained his focus, handing off the bucket just in time for them to get a third. For over twenty minutes they worked, but the two children flagged in strength quickly. 

Someone recognised Han, and they were both pulled from the line. They weren’t the only one’s, some of the older residents were likewise being swapped out. A folded letter was placed into Han’s hand, and after a moment of hesitation the boy ran off, leaving Roy alone. What was he supposed to do now? Go back home? It didn’t feel right. He looked around for something to do, and that was the only reason he spotted the flash of light atop the bluff. 

Oh no. He thought, and took off running towards the roots that lead up to the domain tree. 

===

Roy wasn’t fit, a year of malnutrition and muscle atrophy couldn’t be so easily healed, even if the worst of it had been restored by Leif personally, and then the boon of having spent three months living under the canopy of red-gold leaves. 

Because of this, by the time he reached the top of the staircase he was heaving for breath, his vision blurry and his legs trembling. A trio of hogs waddled over to where he had collapsed onto the ground, their agitated squealing as they sniffed around his clothes wrenching him back to the moment. Roy used the largest animal as a handhold to steady himself as he stood, then gave each a quick pet. Their hair was surprisingly smooth and soft, it made him feel guilty for having eaten pork in the past. 

Not too guilty though, bacon was delicious, and most pigs or pig adjacent creatures were nowhere near as friendly or intelligent as those that called the overgrown bluff home. He stumbled forward, climbing over a moss covered rock and scooting between two flowering bushes. 

He quickly reached the clearing where elder Kala hosted her daily lessons, but the source of the light was nowhere to be seen. 

“Bam!” He called, cupping his hands before his mouth. “Lani! Where are you?”

Something massive moved in the darkness to his right, and Roy’s heart caught in his throat. He froze, eyes wide as a towering shape emerged into the clearing. For a horrifying moment he thought it was a bear, or one of the drakes that lived in the more northern parts of Pherin. Thankfully it was neither. A hog twice again the size of a cart lumbered towards him, the ground shaking with every step it took.

It chuffed, then jerked its head, something falling out of its mouth to splat with a wet thud into the dirt. Roy tore his eyes away from the beast’s own, and he glanced down. The hog chuffed again, then turned and trotted away. 

“Uh, Bam? Is that you?” It was hard to see, but he thought he saw four twitching legs. 

“It’s her.” Lani’s exasperated voice said into his mind, the tone of her mental projection making it sound as if she had just let out a deep sigh. “We caught her trying to escape.” She appeared, partially wreathed in silver light, and he was relieved to see her.

“Oh… alright then. I thought I saw a flash of light, so I came running to check it out.”

“I don’t think she started this fire.” Lani said, nudging Bam’s still twitching body with a hoof. “Which is good, I’m pretty sure the humans would cook and eat her if she had.”

“I- I thought Ram forbids people from harming any of you.”

“I think he would do it himself.”

“I see.”

“Indeed.” Lani sent, sighing into his mind. “Sometimes I can’t fathom how we’re related.”

“Me and my sister are pretty different.” Roy said with a shrug.

“I can imagine. But technically she’s my mother. Maybe it's brain damage?”

Bam spasmed, then teleported half a dozen feet in a flash of light. She let out a half scream, half bleating sound, leaped to her feet, then tripped over a root that was partially emerged from the ground, only to fall over into a tangle of flailing limbs. 

Roy didn’t want to think ill of anyone close to the one who had saved his life, but he was beginning to suspect Lani was right. “So… so she definitely didn’t start the fire?”

“No, Bam was still hanging upside down when the fire began in the valley.”

“So how did it start?”

“I don’t know. But I think it's too large to be naturally occurring. For better or for worse, we more or less know how quickly fires can spread in Far-Reach.” She shot a look at Bam that Roy found hard to discern. 

“Do you think this was started deliberately? By someone else, I mean.”

“It’s a possibility. The fire started there in the valley, but then quickly moved further up the hill, to there.” As she spoke into his mind, small balls of silver light appeared to guide his vision. “And then somehow a third began over there.”

Roy chewed on that information, a sense of dread building in his chest. “It’s not just one fire. Multiple were started at the same time, or close enough.”

The deer nodded solemnly.

“We have to tell someone! It could be an attack!”

“Us animals are instructed to stay up on the bluff in case of an emergency. I’m sorry, you’ll have to go alone.”

Roy swallowed. “Where is Ram?”

“He left yesterday.”

I need to find Kala. He thought, already running back towards the staircase. Or anyone who’ll know what to do. He waved goodbye, and Lani dipped her head in his direction. 

Roy took the steps two at a time. He almost fell, but managed to keep his balance as he rapidly descended. The town was still in chaos, and with all the smoke in the air he had to take a moment to reorientate himself. He ran for one of the main roads, then cut down a side street.

Kala’s home was one of the larger structures, the elderly healer having cemented a spot for herself and her two grandsons early on into Far-Reach’s development. She had offered to let him stay after he had arrived, and for that he was eternally grateful. Sure, he’d needed to share a room with Han, but the two of them had become fast friends. Though that was more due to the younger boy’s dogged insistence than any initial spark of chemistry between them. 

Roy was… well. He was Roy, and being Roy meant he was awkward and shy and didn’t know how to talk to people who weren’t his older sister. Still, he had learnt, he had needed to. 

He skidded to a stop outside the home he had lived in for the past three months and burst through the front door. Exhaustion weighed down his steps, but fear spurred him onwards. It took him a full minute to check every room, but nobody was inside. Roy made for the entrance when a wave of fatigue crashed over him. He slumped, falling against the wall where he sagged, heaving in lungfuls of smokey air. 

One coughing fit later, he stumbled outside, only for a pair of strong arms to grab him by the shoulders and haul him upright.

“Roy, are you okay?”

He had to blink tears out of his eyes before he could see who it was. Olav, one of Ram’s descendants, a sword hanging at his hip, and a concerned frown on his face. 

“I… I need…” Roy wheezed. 

“Slow down kid, one word at a time. Hey, you lot, get over here!”

Roy coughed again, then looked up. Samil and Liv were jogging over, both looking harried, a defiant looking Han trailing after them with an annoyed expression. 

"I… I was up on the bluff. Lani said she thought the fires were spreading too quickly, that they were probably started deliberately."

Samil stopped abruptly, making his little brother run into his back. He and Liv shared a look, then Olav cursed. “Not this shit again. Gods dammit! If it's those Republic bastards I’ll burn down one of their cities in retaliation!”