*
The room was dark and nearly silent. A slight, repetitive creaking of wood on wood was the only sound that Hal could hear as he listened raptly at the door to the apartments he shared with his mentor. A tiny gleam of flickering yellow light seeped under the door and shone lightly through the metallic keyhole. Beyond that, all evidence suggested that the tenants were all peacefully asleep.
Hal knew better.
It was perilously close to midnight. The air was chilled, a slight wind carried down the halls of the keep from outside. Hal hadn't been back to the apartments since he had left them that morning. He didn't want to take the chance of running into Aeros only to tell him that he was leaving. Consequently, he had stayed away, out in the woods surrounding the keep for most of the day. Spending his time trying to sort out his badly jumbled thoughts. In the end he had (as was typical) resolved absolutely nothing. But he felt better for the attempt.
Now, he had to move quickly. Tasha and the mage were waiting for him out in the courtyard as he stood in front of the door. Tasha was undoubtedly impatient to be gone while Garn would be serene and calm.
He had to hurry. Midnight was fast approaching and he had to meet his friends soon or they'd leave without him. Taking a deep breath and praying that Aeros actually was asleep, Hal opened the door and stepped through into the dimly lit room.
Aeros sat in his rocking chair, the angled wooden slats creating the slight squeaking noise against the hardwood floor. A single candle was lit in the candelabra beside him, burned down almost to the stump, a symbol of how long Aeros had been waiting for Hal to show up. The elder man's eyes were wide open and clear as he regarded his adopted protégé.
They spent many long moments just looking at each other, neither saying a word.
Hal tried to force out his prepared speech but was unable to even remember how it started. In accordance, he stood there mutely, his mouth flapping open and closed like a suffocating fish.
Aeros broke the silence, his voice was as soft as always. Undemanding and possibly even... understanding? "You've missed dinner," he said.
Hal grasped for something to say in response. "I know." That feeling somehow inadequate, he added a mumbled "Sorry," onto the end of it.
Aeros rose from his chair and walked over to the young man, the top of his gray head barely reaching his son's chin. His wise, aged eyes pierced deeply into Hal's gaze, urging him to go on. Hal stuttered aimlessly for a long while, knowing that he had to leave.
"I'm sorry," he said again, great tears welling in his eyes. He looked down at the man who had spent the last few years raising him as his own and found that he didn't want to go through with the whole ordeal. Forget the quest. Forget his friends and forget all else. He just wanted to go into his room, pull the covers up over his head like a small child and just stay there with Aeros watching over him protectively until morning came.
But he couldn't. He had given his word to protect the Lady Tasha with all of his heart, just as he had promised to not speak of their journey. And while he knew that he didn't know much, he did know one thing.
His word was his bond. Once given, never broken.
He forced his overcome voice to go on. "I have to go." With that Hal turned away from his mentor and stepped into the only room that he clearly remembered ever having called his own.
He quickly threw together his few meager possessions. His backpack. A water skin and trapping kit. A small hunting knife that he strapped to his bulging calf. He took up his half-moon shaped battle axe and whetstone and secured them along his belt, where they belonged. That done, he searched the room once, looking over everything there fondly, as if for the last time. After a moment’s hesitation he threw his favorite dress uniform into the backpack along with a pair of work gloves and a spare cloak. Then satisfied that he had everything he might possibly need, he left the room.
Aeros stood to the side of the main entrance and waited for Hal there, both hands behind his back. Before Hal could say anything, he spoke. "I know that you have to leave," he said. "And I know that you can't tell me where you're going, if you even know." Seeing Hal's astonished expression, Aeros almost smiled. "The mage, Garnthalisbain, spoke with me today about your journey though he spoke not of where you were headed or why. Only that you had to go."
Again, Hal didn't know what to say. There was nothing he could say.
Aeros reached up and place one hand on Hal's massive shoulder. "Good luck." he said. Hal, overcome with unbridled emotion, wrapped his arms around his surrogate father almost fiercely. The two held that pose for a few brief moments before Aeros pulled away. "You'd better hurry lad. It's almost midnight."
Hal nodded, not trusting his voice, and left the room.
"Hal!" called out Aeros from behind him. Turning back, the large man caught in mid-air the bundle his mentor had flung at him. It was roughly a meter long, solid and heavily wrapped in cloth.
Curious, Hal looked up at Aeros and made a motion to begin unwrapping it.
Aeros shook his head quickly. "No, lad. Take it with you! Unwrap it on the road, when you have time. Now go, before they try to leave without you and get caught." On that, Lord Aeros, Captain of the Guards hustled down the hall in the other direction.
Hal watched the man pass around a corner sadly for a moment before shaking all over like an animal and sprinting down the corridor to meet his friends.