Something to Live For 7th of Spring AV 511 Ronin was up early on the morning of the seventh. The night before had been a life changing experience, and it left him in a dazed and confused state. So many things that he had held onto for so long were now seen under a different light. Ronin was a changed man when it came to his view of his father and even of his own childhood. He had decided that he would have to find his father and figure this thing out face to face. If his dad had been able to find him then surely Ronin would be able to find his father. However, he didn't have a clue where to start. The letter had given him no clue of what his father was doing or where he lived. The only thing he knew about his father was that he had been married to Ronin's mother and that he was a tanner, but there were dozens of tanners in Wind Reach. Finding a single one would be nearly impossible and Ronin wasn't about to go to each of them and ask if they were his father. After several minutes of deliberation, Ronin decided that his best chance would be to try the library. If he was lucky, he might even run into Vala. This would benefit him threefold. For one, he would get to check on her ankle and see if she was managing to get around. Also, she was a skilled librarian and one that he wasn't intimidated by, at least, not too much. And finally, he had a strange feeling about this girl, like he was falling for her. Maybe if was just the fact that they had been through such a traumatic experience together, but Ronin felt very close to Vala and would be excited at any excuse he got to go see her. It took no more reasoning than that for him to be on his way. Ronin did not hurry about the warrens like usual. Instead, he took his time and used the extra moment to contemplate what exactly he would say if he did find his dad. Would he just want up and say 'Hey I'm the kid you abandoned when your wife died."? No, of course he could say that. But that isn't to say that the thought didn't cross his mind more than once. Ronin decided that he would have to be polite. After all, his father was of a higher class that he and could have Ronin punished if they didn't get along. However, his father had hurt him quite deeply in the past and that wasn't something Ronin would let go easily. It took him his entire walk, but he finally came to a conclusion. His father had found him, so presumably, he knew what Ronin looked like. Therefore, no introduction was needed. When Ronin reached the Enclave he was greeted by the smell of musky books and the still silence of scholars pouring over the next of countless manuscripts. Ronin considered himself relatively intelligent, but here, he felt outclassed by these people who spent the majority of their time learning for the huge tomes of the Enclave. An older woman approached Ronin and he already felt as though he had violated some rule that was unknown to him. To his relief, he had not. The woman was kind and gentle and politely asked him what he was looking for. "I was wondering if Vala was working today." He said in a quiet tone. "She is not here today." The woman said in an even softer voice, as if to tell Ronin to be quieter. The fact that Vala was not present worried Ronin. Perhaps she was injured worse than he had thought. Maybe she still couldn't walk and had been trapped in her room for days. He immediately felt the urge to run to her room, but he resisted it. He quelled the negative thoughts with rational ones, like, it was her day off. Once he had composed himself again, he returned to the conversation. "I am trying to find someone, a citizen of Wind Reach. However, I don't know his name or very much about him at all." The older woman nodded and led him by the arm to a table. She motioned for him to sit, and, as soon as he complied, she shuffled off behind a bookcase. Ronin was beginning to wonder if she had abandoned him, but as he was getting ready to get up and leave, she returned. In the hands of the librarian was a stack of dusty books. She placed them on the table in front of Ronin before picking up the top one and beginning to leaf through it. She explained that each one was a list of citizens organized in a different way. One was a list of all the Endals, another was of every master craftsman and their art. When she got to a list of everyone who had perished in Wind Reach over the past fifty years, she made a joke. "Unless you a looking for a ghost, I don't think you'll need this one." The woman chuckled at her own joke, but Ronin got a very serious look on his face. For some reason, an idea had sparked in his mind. He grabbed the book from the librarian and being searching through it. She looked at him strangely, but she let him do what he wanted. After a couple minutes of searching, Ronin found what he was looking for. It was his mother's name and a short list of information about her. This included the piece of information he wanted, he husband's name. Once Ronin had a name, the librarian was quickly able to find out where Ronin's father lived and worked. He now had all the information he need. Now, he just needed to find the courage. |