Seia sat at a table in the Forsaken Inn, poring over a map of the mountains to the south and all of the valley trails through them. The map was so big that it spilled over the edge of the table. Every so often he glanced at the entrance to the ratty old inn, or inked a mark onto the goat-hide map with his little finger.
He had grown leaner in the time he had spent away from Bree. A half-finished plate of food to one side showing testament to how much he was eating. His eyes were sunken and his cheeks gaunt, and his once proud posture was now slouched and dour. Whenever anyone walked past his table, he stared at them with all the expression of a stump, his eyes dead. Until they left him be.
He drew yet another mark on his map.
Priya pushed open the old crooked door of the inn, her gaze directed down at her cupped palm. She took a few steps inside, absent-mindedly poking the coins in her hand, mumbling quietly while spreading the silvers.
"One...Two..Three..Four..Umm..Six...Eight..Eleven..."
In her distracted state, she shouldered into a stranger leaving the inn, the clash sending her fragile form into a clumsy whirl and a stumble, her fingers quickly sealing the coins inside her fist. The man in his drunken state didn't even notice the impact, simply continuing his desperate swaying toward the door. She turned to look after him with a quiet, "I'm..I'm sorry. Are you alright sir?" The man didn’t reply, he yanked the door open and wobbled outside.
She blinked nervously at the door for a moment, before looking down at her palm again. Her teeth dug into her lower lip while she turned toward the main room, pondering if she could afford a room with her petty silvers. She eventually raised her gaze to take a quick look around.
Suddenly she saw a man that looked awfully lot like Seia. She blinked many times in disbelief, her slender form freezing entirely, her eyes growing wide and startled. She had not seen him for a year.
For a moment she forgot to breathe.
Seia had watched her enter and after noting her looking at him, he hurriedly pulled the silk scarf wrapped around his neck up and over his mouth and nose. Only his eyes could be seen between the silk and the large cloth and dome cap covering his hair.
Though he knew he didn't make it in time. He dropped his gaze down at the map.
Priya snapped out of her frozen state, turning nervously and heading quickly back toward the door. While she walked her fingers squeezed the silvers in her palm so hard that her knuckles turned white. Tears built up in her eyes with every step. She slipped outside through the doorway, circling quickly to the Tavern’s side and slumping sideways against the wall with a ragged sigh. She stared at the dead grass wide-eyed for a long while.
Suddenly she smiled. ”He is alive”.
