In a random Truce alley Kent was sleeping on his shield. He had gotten
into the habit of renting a room at a local inn, but judging by the
odor Kent had, he'd been drinking, and it was a wonder he caught any
sleep with the noise from last night's brawl at the fountain going on.

Ice cream! Thanks to a couple of coins found lying around on the
ground, Kimen found that she had enough on her now to buy a couple of
cones for herself now. She decided to take a shortcut through an
alleyway to get to the shop, humming lightly as she did.

Kent kicked his feet slightly in his sleep, similarly to how a dog
would. He suddenly tossed and turned to another side of his shield,
revealing his face covered with soot from the charred wood that made
up the tool. In his sleep he let out a rather disgusting belch.
*BUUURB* Yuck!

Kimen stopped, recognizing Kent's face as he was about to pass him
by... Barely. Between the stink coming off the guy, the messy face and
the loud belch; it was rather obvious the guy was a mess. Which is
exactly what the child stated, putting his hands on his hips. "You
look like a mess," In a rather flat tone while wrinkling his nose.

Kent rolled back over and opened his eyes barely, shading them from
the sun with his hand. The exile looked rather tired, not happy about
the daylight obviously. He sat upright and leaned against the wall,
rubbing his head. He was suffering from a hangover. "Uhh...hello?" He
asked, still disoriented, "What did you just say?"

"Hello, Mr. Kent. I said you look terrible," Kimen said as she waved
her hand over her face, " And you smell bad. Have you been drinking?"
He certainly seemed to have the smell of a drunk about him.

"I don't really recall...it's all blurry," Kent said, rubbing his
hurting forehead. "There was this fountain, I think it was in the
middle of town...and there was this girl..." Suddenly Kent's mood
changed; full of energy he furiously searched his pockets and look
around the alleyway. "you!" He said, "do you know anything about a
girl named Consiland?"

The child blinked down at the man, looking confused, had he been
robbed? Or had this girl he had been talking about given him
something? "Consiland? I've never heard that name before." Kimen
scratched the back of his head. There were certainly no Consilands in
his memory. Eventually he sighed, offering his hand to the older man,
"We should get you to the fountain so you can clean up. Can you get up
Mr. Kent or do you need help?"

Kent graciously accepted the help up, and looked down both ways to
remember where he was. It had been an odd night, whatever happened,
and he forgot how he got here, or why he fell asleep outside. "No
matter. And yes, I could use a wash." Kent strapped on his shield and
sword, and plopped a cigar in his mouth. The tobacco was probably
going to be his breakfast. The exile hadn't worked a day since he
arrived in the Cleft, and his foreign currency was usually
unacceptable.

Kimen helped the man up, wondering quietly to her self why adults
always seemed to cause so much trouble. "Now, I assume you have a bit
of a headache. While you are washing up, I'll head to the healers and
see if she'll give me some medicine for that." So much for ice cream
today, but the child was sure there would be other times for it. "You
really should figure out what to do with yourself while you are here
Mr. Kent. Getting into fights, getting drunk, and falling asleep in
alleys shouldn't be high on your list of priorities right now."

Kent nodded in agreement as he went to the fountain. It was another
one of the few times he's seen it empty. Kneeling down he splashed a
bit of water on his face and rubbed the soot off. He didn't like the
water in the fountain, personally. When he got here he climbed out of
it, in the middle of a fight with a demon. "Like it here, hunter?" A
reflection in the water seemed to speak. Kent splashed the water and
walked away from the reflection. He'd face the demons of his past
later. "No. I don't. And I'm going to kill you."

Just as Kent started making his way towards the fountain Kimen ran off
to the healer's which was a round building located just to the north.
When he returned, he was holding a small bottle with a note attached
to it detailing how much of the medicine should be taken as well as
how often. He offered it to the warrior, "She said take two with a
glass of water. Should clear it up after a while"

Kent took the bottle in his hands. He skimmed over the directions,
slightly confused by the unfamiliar container, but did what it said
none-the-less. After he took a pair of pills with a handful of water,
he sat down on the bench and drew he sword. Kent was using the sword
as a mirror, examining spots on his face he had missed. "Kimen...you
said I needed to do something with myself..." He sighed heavily, "What
can a man like me do here?"

"Well, you can fight, can't you? I bet you can find a job doing that.
Or you can find a normal job around here in truce. Like maybe work at
the grocer, or the inn, or help with constructing buildings. You might
even consider becoming one of the town guards." Kimen said taking a
seat on one of the benches and drawing up her legs; wrapping her arms
about them. "I am sure you'll figure out something Mr. Kent if you
have a look."

"I suppose. I just haven't had a job in awhile. Hadn't really lived in
a town in awhile either. After my exile I went from town to town and
solved their...infestation problems." Kent wet a bit of his cloak and
began cleaning his armor for the first time since he arrived in Truce.

"You have to start some where. Maybe when you get yourself more
established you can do the same for other places. There are plenty
aggressive beasts running about. It can't be very safe for travelers
sometimes. I'm just good at sneaking past them I guess." Kimen
grinned, almost proudly as he said this. From his understanding of
things, traveling from Viorar to here had been quite a great feat for
a child like himself.
Kent was amused by the kid's smile. Kimen seemed like he knew around
the place, which was more than Kent could say for himself. "I suppose
I could slay beasts, if I learn the laws of these places." As he got
to his arm with his cleaning he noticed a cut. Kent frowned at the
pierced iron. It took a lot of force or a saw to cut through metal
usually. His head started to clear up as well. "Oh. So that's why I
was drinking."

Kimen nodded to the older man, leaning her head against her arms as
she watched him clean his armor. "Once you get yourself on better
footing, then you can do something about trying to get back to your
own world. You're going to get nowhere otherwise."

"Nowhere is a lot of places kid," Kent said pessimistically, "and I
learned that a lot of times, nowhere is a great place when you're not
wanted." Kent cleaned the scratch, spat, and began to polish the other
arm.

Kimen rolled his eyes and hopped off of the bench he was sitting on,
"Then I guess this is your new home now. Still doesn't change the fact
that you need to find something to do with yourself. Even if you do
end up just being some bum in the alley. I can't tell you what to do
from here. You need to figure that out on your own." He said with a
yawn. This felt like serious adult talk. And serious adult talk was
boring.

When Kent was satisfied with his polish he stood up and stretched. It
wasn't very early, but it was far from late in the day. He paced a
little to get back on his feet, and then his foot got caught on a
vine. "Gah!" Kent said in surprise as he stumbled. He looked closer at
the vine in the sidewalk. It it wasn't supposed to grow through. "Wait
you...yesterday...I was in a fight and..." Kent backed away, almost
intimidated by the child all of a sudden. "You! What did you do?!"

Kimen tilted her head to the side, not sure what Kent was talking
about at first. Then he noticed what he had stumbled over. The left
over vine from the other day had apparently decided to continue to
make its home here for a little longer than the others. "Oh. I made a
net of vines to stop you all from fighting and killing one another,
remember?" Kimen said casually.

Kent backed up further. "A...a child?" Kent's feet hit a bench as he
fell down backwards onto it. "But...a child is innocence and
purity..." Kent's lip was quivering, scared of the unlikelihood of
this situation. He drew his sword, making sure Kimen didn't approach.
"Are you a witch or a demon? Are you a fea of the wild? SPEAK!"

Kimen’s eyes fell upon the drawn blade, staring at its edge with
uneasiness. "I told you, just because magic was abused by the wicked
in your world doesn't mean it is so here." She said slowly and
calmly. Realizing just how serious this situation was about to become
if she didn't choose her words carefully, "I am none of which you
speak. I am Kimen. No more witch or demon that I ever was since my
birth." It was a fight to keep her self from running, but she knew if
she did the swordsman might chase her down. And while she knew magic
couldn't bring about her end, simple steel could. "Where I am from,
certain people are permitted to familiarize it. In fact, even
encouraged to at least learn a little."

Kent looked shocked. What he saw as the tool of the damned and the
wicked, an innocent child saw as an accepted way off life. "I...I..."
Kent was at a loss for words. All of the previous day raced through
his head. Few options are available for a man of this much confusion
“I...think I need a drink."

"No you don't Mr. Kent!" Kimen snapped said folding his arms, "Look at
the reality before you and at least allow me a chance to prove to you
magic can be used for good, before you pass any judgment on the matter
rather than drown yourself in drink to cloud your head." The child
was holding the man in a stern gaze; Not exactly threatening, but more
in a challenging manner.

Kent stood up and sheathed his sword. The situation was weird, but
Kent had to accept the fact that in this place, Kimen knew better than
him. "Very well, child," He said, "the inn isn't fond of my tab at the
moment anyway. What do you want to show me?"

"First..." There was a small twitch of a smile on Kimen's face. This
was certainly bringing her back to her very first lessons and the
rules repeated over and over from concerned teachers who didn't want
the children they were teaching to over use their abilities. Many of
these lectures were met with eye rolls and often ignored when the
opportunity and inspiration arose. "First I am going to show you that
magic doesn't need to be flung around needlessly. If there comes a
moment when I need to use it, I will."

Kent raised an eyebrow "And how do you plan to show me your not using
magic?" Kent attempted to explain his standpoint. "Where I come from,
witches gain abilities through pacts with unholy spirits. If they do
not use their craft, they're punished." His gaze met Kimen’s. "People
like me kept those who confessed safe from these spirits as they
repented."

Kimen shook her head, " I am showing you right now by not doing
anything. This is restraint. Magic is no more a toy to play with than
your weapon. Besides, I never said I was going to show you anything
right now. I made no deal with anything. The magic I use was dreamed
up by old rambling men with far too much free time who wouldn't know
how to write a good interesting book if one bit them in their
behinds!" Kimen smiled lightly, but that smile faded to a frown, "It
is still pretty fertile territory for use humans. The people of my
world have only scratched the surface. I wouldn't be surprised if
there was SOME form of magic like that. But it isn't any I use.
Doesn't sound like it would make for a very satisfying deal in the end
either. Especially when there are other options."

"If what you say is true, child, you are not anything like the
wielders of magic from where I come from. The power would not have
followed you." Kent sighed, trying to think of his past experiences
with the craft. "Did you say something about...books? For magic? Who
would put unholy-" He cut himself off. He was in Truce now. Magic was
different. "Your people sounded very wise." he said instead with
respect.

"Wise? Try boring and foolish." Kimen said with a soft sigh. "Every
being good, bad or neutral magic was long ago driven to the corner of
one continent all for fear of what they were capable of and given a
country of their own separated from the rest of the world. Very few
humans reside there and only those few ever learn any magic
themselves. If my people were wise, we would have tried to have a
better understanding of those beings and as such, would have
progressed much further than we have on our own. But that is just my
opinion on the matter."

Kent shook his head in confusing. Was Kimen trying to defend magic, or
damn it? The only 'magic' the warrior had used was the occasional
blessing of a priest or a traveling holy man. His order stated that
the creator's gift was his body, and he should perfect that as a tool
rather than magic. "If your people feared magic so much, why did you
learn it and read these tombs?"

Kimen folded her arms and looked down at the ground, lightly kicking
at a stone on the ground, "They didn't all fear it. But most did. It’s
easy to fear what you don't understand. The decedents of the heroes
who drove magic out of the lands are given an opportunity to learn
magic. You see, having such a high concentration of magical beings in
one area is especially dangerous. But with that danger came many
rewards too for anyone brave enough to seek out the treasures made and
held within it. Its helpful for these people to have someone familiar
with magic accompany them. And since those elderly men are too busy
with their books, terrible with terrain and have a tendency to die on
these ventures due to age, magic is taught to children so that when
they are old enough, they can help in these endeavors. Not all people
do this though, mind you.”

Kent stood back up, finally understanding. "You poor child." He said,
not knowing if the kid needed sympathy. "When I was peon, I too knew
what too look forward to in life. Fighting with my blade in hand,
glory for my god...I didn't have a childhood. I hade an
apprenticeship."

Kimen shrugged, not seeing the need for any sympathy. That chapter of
his life had ended, and he doubted Kent would like or needed to hear
what he had been up to prior to coming to this world. He would
probably end up drawing that sword and killing him outright. "Anyway
Mr. Kent. What my world was like and what your world was like doesn't
mean a thing. What matters is what this world is like. You should
observe people and judge them by their actions rather than their magic
use." Kimen said, rocking back and forth on his heels and waving a
finger.

Kent realized the conversation had ended about magic. He was getting
confused anyhow. Such a world was near out of his comprehension.
Kent's head had cleared up anyhow, and there were more pressing
matters. "Alright then, Kimen. Though, on an unrelated note" Kent
looked ridiculous as he raised his hand from the ground, trying to
demonstrate something. "You sure that you don't know a girl named
Consiland? She's about this tall and dresses like a thief..."

Kimens shook her head again. "Is she important? I've met a whole bunch
of people but that name isn't familiar at all to me." The child hadn't
been in Truce that long, so it was possible it was just another person
she hadn't met yet.

"It's just that I...think that I got a date with her for some party
when I was...intoxicated..." Kent said, almost as confused as Kimen.
Kent shook his head, he was hungry. "It's a hot day outside, and
tobacco and alcohol left a bad taste in my mouth." Kent began, "You
know if there's a place near here that I could get something cold?" He
sighed. "I'm afraid I haven't taken as good of care of myself as I
should of."

"Congratulations, Mr. Kent." Kimen said with a small giggle and a
grin. His expression lighting up when Kent asked for a place to get
something cold. Something cold was ice cream! Maybe he if Kent has a
few extra coins he wouldn't have to skip it after all. "And Yeah, I
know a great place!"