No Class Found

Nearly two months had passed since Calen posted the escort contract.

He had been to the Adventurer’s Guild often enough that the receptionist looked up, saw him approaching, and reached beneath the counter before Calen said a word.

“The Novice Peak escort.”

Calen stopped in front of the desk.

“Yeah.”

Usually, that was followed by a shake of the head and a check back again in a few days.

Not this time.

The receptionist pulled out a folded sheet of parchment.

Calen straightened.

“There’s news?”

“Came in yesterday.” The receptionist unfolded the message and glanced over it. “An adventuring group coming up from the south passed your escort at the last village on the road.”

Calen leaned closer to the counter.

“And?”

“They’re safe." The receptionist folded the parchment again. “If the road stays clear, they should be here sometime today or tomorrow.”

Calen stared at her for a moment.

“That close?”

The receptionist nodded her head.

A smile started pulling at the corner of Calen’s mouth before he could stop it.

Every update had put them a little farther north. None of them had ever made it feel close.

Not anymore.

“Can I see the message?”

The receptionist slid the parchment across the counter.

There wasn’t much to it. The escort’s team name, the village, when they had been seen, and a short note saying the journey was going well.

Calen read it once, then again.

The last village.

He handed it back.

“Thanks.”

“You know I would have sent someone if anything important came in.”

“I know.”

The receptionist gave him a look.

Calen rubbed the back of his neck.

“I was nearby.”

“You were nearby three days ago too.”

Calen grimaced faintly.

The receptionist tucked the message away.

“They’ll get here.”

“Yeah.”

Calen shook his head and thanked the receptionist, then stepped away from the desk.

The Adventurer’s Guild was already busy despite the early hours. Several people stood around the contract board, reading the postings that had gone up that morning. A pair of hunters argued quietly near one corner over whether a monster-clearing contract was worth the offered pay. Someone farther back was having a cut along his forearm wrapped at the small infirmary.

Calen headed for the entrance.

A man coming through the door slowed when he saw him.

“Calen?”

Calen recognized him after a moment. One of the stoneworkers who had come through Ironha’s clinic a few weeks earlier.

“Morning.”

The man shifted a tool bag higher on his shoulder.

“You working at the clinic today?”

“Probably at some point.”

“Tell the elf healer my shoulder’s still good.”

Calen smiled.

“I’ll tell her.”

“And ask if she’s got any more of that muscle tonic.”

“You can ask her yourself.”

“I know.” The man grinned. “But you’re already going that way.”

Calen shook his head.

“I’ll tell her.”

“That’s why I like you.”

The man continued toward the contract board.

Calen stepped outside.

Splitstone Row was already awake.

Smoke rose from the blackstone kilns along the eastern edge, carrying heat into the narrow streets. Shop fronts stood open along the central lane. Workers moved between the guild halls and workshops while carts rattled through the street carrying tools, ore, and supplies.

Calen continued downhill toward the outer district.

His brother and sister could arrive today.

The thought kept returning no matter how much he tried to focus on everything else.

By the time the gate came into view, he found himself looking over every wagon coming in from the southern road.

Thornwick Rest was already busy when Calen reached the Outer Approach district.

He spotted the wagon before he reached the inn.

The yellow duck flag snapped above its curved roof, bright against the gray morning sky. Two Stonehorn goats stood harnessed at the front, their heavy coats dusted with frost while one scraped an obsidian-black hoof against the packed ground.

A pair of Foroughfore guards stood nearby with Magebolt rifles slung across their backs.

Calen smiled.

Home.

Or at least something from it.

The wagon had drawn attention.

That wasn't unusual anymore. Foroughfore wagons came through often enough that most people in the Outer Approach recognized the duck flag, but this one was loaded with food.

Sacks and wooden crates filled the rear bed.

A family sitting beside a nearby wagon watched as workers carried supplies toward Thornwick Rest. Farther down the path, smoke rose from several cooking fires between tents that had not been there the last time Calen really paid attention.

There seemed to be more of them every week.

Tents filled spaces between buildings. Some were little more than patched cloth tied against rock walls. Wagons stood off the road with blankets stretched over their sides, their wheels braced with stones.

The boarding houses had stopped hanging vacancy signs weeks ago.

Thornwick Rest wasn't much better.

The front door opened, and a woman Calen didn't recognize came out carrying an empty crate. She stepped aside for two men hauling a sack inside before hurrying around toward the wagon.

Elara had hired help.

One of the Foroughfore guards noticed Calen approaching.

“Calen.”

Calen raised a hand.

“Morning.”

The man nodded toward the wagon. “Good timing.”

“I was afraid you were going to say that.”

“You've got two hands.”

“Unfortunately.”

The driver laughed from his seat.

Calen knew his face, though not well enough to remember his name. Marron had stopped making every trade run himself months ago. There were enough wagons moving between Foroughfore and Glasshold now that other people handled most of the regular routes.

Calen walked around to the back.

The wagon bed was loaded with sacks of Hearthgrain and crates of Ashroot, along with a few smaller boxes.

He reached for one of the sacks and threw it over his shoulder.

One of the workers pointed toward Thornwick Rest.

“That one goes inside.”

Calen nodded and headed for the door.

The common room looked different.

Every table near the front was occupied. A pair of travelers ate near the hearth with packs resting between their boots. Three children shared a bowl at another table while a tired-looking woman sat beside them with both hands wrapped around a cup.

Someone had added another narrow table along the far wall.

Calen carried the sack toward the kitchen.

Elara appeared through the doorway before he reached it.

“Not there.”

Calen stopped.

She pointed toward a storage room beside the kitchen.

“Grain in there. Root vegetables downstairs.”

“Got it.”

Elara gave him a small smile. “It’s good to see you, Calen.”

Calen smiled back. “You too.”

Then she turned toward the kitchen.

Something hissed in a pan, followed by Elara telling someone not to touch it yet.

Calen carried the sack into storage.

By the time he returned outside, another crate was waiting for him.

He took it without asking.

The next half hour disappeared that way.

Sacks came off the wagon.

Crates went inside.

Some stayed at Thornwick Rest. Others were stacked back near the front of the wagon to continue toward the depot.

Calen had just set down a crate of Moonbulb when someone called from the road.

“Calen?”

He turned.

A woman stood near one of the tents with a little boy beside her.

It took Calen a second to place her. She had brought the boy in last month with his chin split open.

“Morning.”

“Is Ironha working today?”

“She should be.”

The woman nodded toward the boy.

“He's fine. It's my husband this time. Hurt his hand yesterday.”

“Clinic should be open.”

“Thought so. Thank you.”

She started away, then stopped.

“Oh. Tell Ironha the boy hasn't picked at the bandage once.”

The little boy looked guilty.

His mother looked down at him.

Calen laughed.

“She'll want to hear that.”

The woman led the boy away.

The Foroughfore guard beside the wagon glanced toward Calen.

“You work at the clinic now too?”

“Sometimes.”

“And the depot.”

“Sometimes.”

The guard glanced at the sack in Calen’s arms.

“You ever stop working?”

Calen picked up another sack.

“Apparently not.”

“That sounds exhausting.”

“It is.”

He carried the sack inside.

When he came back out, someone was standing beside the wagon.

Calen almost walked past her.

Then he stopped.

“Mira?”

She turned.

Her Academy cloak was pulled tight around her shoulders, the dark fabric cleaner and better made than most of what people wore in the Outer Approach. Her hair had grown a little longer since Calen last saw her.

Mira's mouth pulled sideways.

“You sound surprised.”

“I haven't seen you in forever.”

“It has not been forever.”

“Feels like it.”

Mira rolled her eyes.

“I have classes.”

“So I've heard.”

“And examinations.”

Calen winced. “That explains it.”

Mira sighed. “Unfortunately.”

She then looked toward the wagon.

“Ma said a shipment was coming today.”

“You picked a good time.”

“Apparently.”

Calen reached for another crate.

“How's Cas?”

Mira glanced down for a moment.

“She's alright.”

“Still at the Academy?”

“Mostly.”

Calen frowned slightly.

“She doesn't leave much?”

“Not without guards.” Mira glanced toward Glasshold's walls. “Serin usually goes with her if she has to leave the grounds. Sometimes Mar.”

Calen nodded.

That made sense.

After everything that had happened, he doubted anyone was eager to let Cassira wander Glasshold alone.

“She hates it,” Mira added.

Calen smiled slightly. “I can imagine.”

“She’s doing alright, though.”

“Good.”

Mira glanced toward Thornwick Rest, then back at him.

“I’ve heard about the clinic.”

Calen raised a brow. “At the Academy?”

“More than once.” She adjusted the strap of the bag hanging from her shoulder. “Someone in my class said her uncle went there after hurting his back. Another student said Ironha treated one of their family’s workers.”

Calen nodded.

“That sounds about right.”

“So it’s really that busy?”

“Most days.”

“I thought people here didn’t trust healers much.”

“They trust Ironha now.”

That had taken time.

At first, people had come because the clinic was cheap. Some came because someone else had told them to. Others walked through the door looking like they expected Ironha to change the price halfway through treatment.

That happened less now.

Mira looked toward him.

“And you’re helping there?”

“When they need me.”

“What do you do?"

“Whatever Ironha tells me to."

Calen reached into the wagon.

"Mostly I help at the front desk, carry things, fetch supplies. Sometimes Ironha needs someone to keep people from crowding the treatment room."

“And the depot?”

“I help there too.”

Mira watched him lift the sack onto his shoulder.

“You’ve been busy.”

Calen shrugged.

“There’s always something that needs doing.”

Calen started toward the inn.

Mira stayed near the wagon while he stepped around two workers carrying an empty crate outside. The common room door opened, letting out a burst of voices and the smell of something cooking.

Calen carried the sack inside, left it where Elara had directed, then returned.

Mira looked toward him.

“So what have you been doing besides the clinic and the depot?”

Calen hesitated.

“Waiting, mostly.”

Mira frowned. “For what?”

“My brother and sister.”

“You have siblings?”

“Yeah. They’ve been coming up from Novice Peak with an escort.”

Mira’s expression softened. “Are they close?”

“The Guild got word yesterday. They should be here today or tomorrow.”

Mira's eyebrows went up.

“That soon?”

“Yeah.”

He reached for another crate.

Mira watched him lift it.

“So you’re going to spend the rest of the day pretending you’re not watching the road?”

Calen looked at her.

“There's a wagon to unload.”

“That wasn’t a no.”

Calen shook his head, but a smile slipped through anyway.

“Are you helping or not?”

Mira glanced at the remaining crates.

“I just got back from classes.”

“Then I guess you can watch.”

“I was already doing that.”

Calen carried the crate toward the inn.

“Very helpful.”

“You’re welcome.”

By early afternoon, Calen was back at the depot.

He found Kipp behind the main building with Rald, both of them crouched beside a section of wooden railing that had been pulled loose from its post.

Rald held the replacement board in place while Kipp bored a hole through the wood.

“You’re crooked,” Rald said.

Kipp stopped.

“The board?”

“You.”

Kipp looked down at himself, shifted his knees, then tried again.

Calen smiled as he approached.

Kipp looked up.

“You’re back.”

Rald glanced toward Calen, then nodded at the other end of the board.

“Hold that.”

Calen stepped over and braced it with both hands.

Kipp adjusted his grip and continued working the hole through the wood.

The depot yard stayed busy around them. Two workers moved crates through the rear doors while someone inside argued about where a shipment of lamp oil had been recorded. From the neighboring building came the quieter movement of the clinic: the opening and closing of the front door, footsteps crossing the common room, Ironha’s voice somewhere inside.

Kipp finished the first hole.

Rald checked it.

“Better.”

Kipp shifted to the next spot along the board.

Calen kept it steady.

A few minutes later, voices came from the front of the property.

“Excuse me?”

Calen looked over.

A man and woman stood near the low wall separating the road from the depot grounds. Calen didn’t recognize either of them. Their clothes were travel-worn, and the man still had a bedroll strapped across his back.

The woman looked between the depot and the neighboring building.

“We were told there was a healer around here.”

Calen pointed next door.

“Yellow duck over the door.”

The woman followed his gesture.

The clinic sign hung above the entrance.

Foroughfore Clinic.

All Welcome.

“Oh.”

Calen smiled slightly. “Hard to miss once you know what you’re looking for.”

“Do we need an appointment?”

“No.”

The two exchanged a look.

“And the price?”

“You’ll have to ask Ironha. Depends on what you need.”

The man hesitated.

“We were told it was cheap.”

“It is.”

The woman thanked him, and the two crossed toward the clinic.

Kipp watched them go.

“More new people.”

“Yeah.”

Calen turned back to the railing.

Rald tapped the board.

“Still holding this.”

“Right.”

They finished the repair a short while later.

Kipp stood and stretched both arms over his head.

“What’s next?”

Rald looked around the yard.

Calen waited.

Kipp’s expression slowly changed.

“There’s always a next thing, isn’t there?”

“There is if you keep asking.”

Kipp lowered his arms.

“I’m going inside.”

Rald laughed.

Kipp headed toward the depot before anyone could give him another job.

Calen brushed sawdust from his hands.

“I’m going to check the clinic.”

Rald nodded and started gathering the tools.

“We’re done here anyway.”

Calen glanced toward the road once before heading next door.

The clinic was busy, though nowhere near the crowd from opening day.

A few people waited near the front. The couple Calen had sent over were among them, speaking quietly while they watched Maris move between the supply cabinet and one of the treatment beds.

Ironha stood with an older man near the back of the room, checking the bandage wrapped around his forearm.

Calen stayed out of the way until she finished.

“There,” Ironha said. “Keep it clean. Come back if the swelling gets worse.”

The man thanked her and headed toward the front.

Ironha looked up and noticed Calen.

“How did the Guild go?”

Calen walked closer.

“They heard something.”

Ironha stopped putting away the bandages.

“Good something?”

“They should be here today or tomorrow.”

Ironha smiled.

“Finally.”

Calen nodded.

He looked toward the clinic window.

The road was visible through it.

Ironha noticed.

“Have you been doing that all day?”

“Doing what?”

“Looking at every wagon.”

Calen looked back at her.

“No.”

Ironha waited.

Calen sighed.

“Maybe.”

She laughed and returned the bandages to the cabinet.

“You could go wait for them.”

“I have things to do.”

“You’ve been helping everyone else for months. I think the depot will survive if you disappear for an afternoon.”

Calen glanced through the window again.

Nothing.

“I don’t even know if they’re coming today.”

“Then you can spend an afternoon being disappointed.”

“That sounds terrible.”

“It probably would be.”

Calen smiled.

Before he could answer, Maris appeared beside Ironha with the bio-scanner in her hands.

“I need you.”

Ironha looked toward the treatment beds.

“What happened?”

“The woman who just came in. Her ankle.”

Ironha was already moving.

Calen stepped aside.

He left the clinic and returned to the depot.

The afternoon continued.

A shipment needed counting. Someone had stacked two crates in the wrong storage area. Kipp reappeared long enough to help carry a broken table outside before disappearing again when Rald mentioned sanding it.

Calen helped where he could.

A merchant wagon came through first. Calen looked up, then went back to what he was doing.

A cart carrying three workers toward the gate. He looked up.

Later, a family with most of their belongings tied beneath a canvas cover. He barely lifted his head.

The light had begun to change by the time the yard finally quieted.

Calen sat on the low stone wall outside the depot with a cup of something Bran had handed him and told him to drink before it got cold.

He had forgotten what Bran called it.

It tasted mostly like herbs.

Fish lay nearby, stretched across the ground with her head between her paws.

Doc had returned from the Academy less than an hour earlier and disappeared inside with another stack of books.

Calen took another drink.

Maybe tomorrow.

That was fine.

He knew they were close now.

Tomorrow was nothing compared to the months before it.

A wagon appeared farther down the road.

Calen looked up automatically.

At first, he almost dismissed it as another arrival. Then someone walking beside it raised an arm.

Calen narrowed his eyes.

The wagon continued closer.

One adventurer walked near the front beside the driver. Another sat at the rear with a pack across his knees.

And between them—

Calen stood so quickly he nearly dropped the cup.

Fish looked up at him.

He stayed where he was."

The wagon rolled closer.

A woman sat near the rear, bundled in a heavy cloak with a pack beside her.

Her hair was longer than he remembered.

Beside her sat a young man staring toward the buildings of the Outer Approach.

Calen’s chest tightened.

“Talia.”

She turned.

Even from that distance, he saw her freeze.

Then she stood.

“Calen?”

Ren looked around.

His eyes found Calen a moment later.

The wagon had not even stopped when Talia started climbing down.

One of the adventurers caught her arm.

“Wait until—”

She ignored him.

The wagon slowed.

Talia jumped the last step and hit the ground running.

Calen moved.

He barely remembered crossing the distance between them.

Talia reached him first.

Her arms wrapped around him hard enough to knock him back a step.

Calen caught her.

For a moment, neither of them said anything.

He had seen her through the communication crystal.

He had heard her voice.

It had not been the same.

Talia was here.

Actually here.

Calen tightened his arms around her.

“You took forever.”

Talia laughed against his shoulder.

“You try crossing half the North.”

Calen laughed too.

He pulled back enough to look at her.

She looked tired.

Older somehow.

But she was there.

His eyes moved past her.

Ren had climbed down from the wagon.

He stood a few steps away with his pack over one shoulder.

Calen looked at him.

Ren looked back.

Then Ren dropped the pack.

Calen barely had time to open one arm before his brother stepped into him.

Calen pulled them both close.

Talia started laughing again.

Ren said something Calen couldn’t hear because his face was pressed against Calen’s shoulder.

It didn’t matter.

They were here.

All the waiting was over.

For the first time in years, both of them were in front of him.

Behind them, the wagon driver called something to the escort.

Someone near the depot opened a door.

Calen heard footsteps approaching from behind.

He didn’t turn around.

There would be introductions.

He would show them the depot.

The clinic.

Foroughfore, eventually.

There was plenty of time for all of that.

Calen held onto his brother and sister a little longer.

They had made it.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!