Chapter 733: The Streets of the Sanctuary
[The City of Sanctuary – POV of a Kid from the Streets.]
"Ely, are you done yet?" Riky asked.
"Just a minute.." came the answer from the open window of the tavern.
Riky and Luca were waiting outside. They had finished their own work and were about to go buy something good to eat since today was Sunday — the one day in the week they tried to eat well.
Things weren’t always nice for them.
Riky and Ely were siblings. They used to live with their parents in the border village of Sanctuary called Oakenby. But that was before everything turned into a mess. They had once been subjects of the Ashenvale King, but then the king died, wars happened — somehow they survived all that. But when the Faerunians came attacking, many of their villagers died, including their mother. They were imprisoned with their father, but soon Lady Evrin came charging in with the forces of Sanctuary and fought a brutal battle against the Faerunians — saving them.
They arrived at the city of Sanctuary along with the other refugees. For a while, everything was good enough. They missed their mother, but having each other, they struggled through — their father took on odd jobs to earn just enough money to keep them from starving.
But when the demon came attacking the Empire, the Keeper of Sanctuary asked for help from the people.
Riky hated himself for not being strong enough to join the battle. Despite their father’s hesitation at leaving them behind, Ely and Riky encouraged him to go. Someone had to fight the demons — it was a battle that all kingdoms were fighting together.
After all, their father was a warrior. They had seen the way he looked at all the armored men walking the streets of the city, with an untold desire to join them. Ely was twelve years old then. Riky himself was ten. They could both find odd jobs and feed themselves. They already had a small hut of sorts to live in — one their father had made for them.
"Where are we going?" Ely asked brightly after stepping out of the tavern, having finished washing all the dishes.
"Laughing Lantern? That should still be open," Riky suggested.