They were very lucky with the timing of their arrival to the tiny town Aidan had told about. A few people were just about to leave to take some more supplies to Ansel and upon seeing the pendant were more than happy to let them come along.

However, they didn't go straight to meet her. Instead the supplies were left to an agreed-upon clearing at the end of a narrow dirt road snaking deep into a forest. The townspeople assured Rolan that she always came to fetch them from here, so in the end they decided to wait. After all, this was their only clue, so there weren't really any other options.

It was quite a long wait too. Kress opted for taking a nap in the car while Lucas dared Mrei to climb one of the trees. With the kids fooling around, Rolan was left to keep an eye on their surroundings.

Nonetheless, it was Kress who noticed someone approaching. Or rather...something. He quickly left the car and hurried to Rolan's side. "Someone carrying a pendant is coming."

Lucas and Mrei also came down from the trees, right on time as a young woman covered by very non-descript green cape entered the clearing.

"What do you want?" she demanded to know, her hand on a solar gun holster at her hip.

"Take it easy," Rolan assured her. "We're not here to harm you. Are you a keeper?"

That only made her more suspicious.

"I'm a keeper too," Lucas hurried to add. "Well...sort of."

"You?" she eyed him skeptically. "You're just a child."

"It was really my father's pendant. But I was keeping it safe."

"What do you mean 'was'? What happened?"

Kress pulled the cord tied around the pendant - they couldn't fit a metal fastener on it with four pieces melded together anymore - over his head and held the item on his palm to show the young woman. But he remained ready to pull it out of her reach any moment.

"...Who are you all?" she slowly asked. One man and three children was a strange group indeed. Yet she couldn't deny that the pendant entrusted to her care, now resting against her heart, was resonating with the one the boy held.

"I'm Rolan, warden of the shrine of the Sky spirits," Rolan introduced himself. "Lucas here is my nephew, and son of two keepers. We're helping Kress fulfill his task as the messenger."

"I'm helping too," Mrei added. "My name is Mrei."

"I'm Ansel," she replied. "And yes, I am a keeper." She nodded towards the cover of the trees. "Let's continue this discussion at my house. I don't like being in the open like this."

They helped her load the supplies into a small cart and push it through the forest until they reached a small cottage. Right on time, too, as the first heavy raindrops fell just as they got to the front door and quickly carried the packages inside before they'd get wet.

Ansel removed her cape and hung it on a hook at the wall. She really was young, not much older than 20. She had fiery red hair held out of her face with a headband and green eyes. Judging by the earrings she wore, Rolan guessed she was not originally from this area. All clans had their own patterns for jewelry, after all.

"I'm sorry for the cold treatment," she said. "I've been hiding for a better part of a year, ever since the king's soldiers came to my hometown to look for me."

"You're far from home, aren't you?" Rolan asked.

She nodded. "Yes, and I'm fortunate to have found people willing to help me here. But it's alright as long as I can protect the key and our people's futures." Then she turned to Kress and bowed. "It's an honor to meet you, messenger of the Sky spirits."

Kress returned the gesture with a nod of his head.

"Oh, right." She quickly held out her pendant to the boy. "Please take it. I've been keeping it safe."

"Thank you."

She seemed genuinely relieved that Kress had taken it. "Is it...alright for me to go home now? I had to leave my fiancé behind..."

So that was it. She hadn't really wanted to be a keeper any more than he had wanted to be the messenger. "I would lay low for a while longer," Kress said. "What if it was you and not the pendant they were after?"

"But...why? Why would they want me?"

"I don't know. But how would they have known about the pendant?"

"Oh..." That thought had never occurred to her before. Her grandfather, the previous keeper, had always emphasized how important it was to keep this trinket, this...key, safe, so it had seemed natural that was what the soldiers would have wanted.

"Kress may be right," Rolan commented. "You should be careful. But I don't think you should stay hiding here any longer. Go see how the situation is in your hometown. I'd say that after all this time those soldiers have long given up."

Ansel smiled. "Thank you very much. I will."

"Wow, the rain's really coming down hard," Lucas called out from beside the window, where he had piled most of the packages so they wouldn't be on anyone's way. "Hey, look! Lightning!"

"Really?" Rolan moved next to him. "It looks like we have to wait for it to blow out."

"Of course, you're welcome to stay," Ansel quickly said. "I can't offer much, but..."

"It's fine," Kress cut her off. He really didn't want another 'savior' episode. "Just a roof above our heads is enough."

The cottage had only two small solar panels, barely enough for the lights and the stove. For heating Ansel had an old-fashioned fireplace. Other than warmth, Lucas quickly came up with another use for the firewood - or more specifically the small branches used as tinder.

"How do you play this game?" Mrei asked as she stared at the small pile of sticks on the floor.

"It's really simple," Lucas explained. "When it's your turn, you pick sticks out of the pile. But if any other stick is moved than the one you're holding, your turn ends. The one with the most sticks wins."

"Simple enough," Kress stated.

The concept really was simple, but picking out sticks without moving the others was actually harder than he would have thought. And Lucas was far too good in it.

After five straight losses he had by some stroke of luck managed to almost tie with the other boy - probably mostly because Mrei had also managed to bridge the gap between her and Lucas. Three sticks remained, and it was his turn. If he could get them, this round would be his.

There was no way he could get them with honest means, though. Not with that arrangement. But if he could keep one of them from moving...

"Kress? They're not going to move by staring at them," Lucas pointed out.

Kress shook his head slightly. What had he been thinking? Not feeling it didn't mean that using his "powers" wouldn't hurt him. And he had still considered it even for a minute just to win a silly game. He abruptly stood up. "I give up. I can't beat you in this."

"But isn't it fun just to play?" Lucas asked.

"It's not fun to always lose. Let me know if you come up with a game that relies on wits and not hand coordination."

Well...maybe he should have toned it down a little since Kress and Mrei had never played before. He had played this game almost all his life, after all.

Rolan watched the children's interactions, wondering if he should step in. They seemed to be doing okay, though. And there was nowhere here for Kress to march off to sulk. The messenger or not - or being fatally ill for that matter -, deep inside he was still just a teenager.

Ansel watched too, but her gaze had a more far-away look. Before she'd had to run, she and her fiancé had talked about having children. At least one girl and one boy. All that seemed so distant now.

"Can I borrow that?"

Rolan's question surprised her. "What? Borrow what?"

"That flute over there."

She followed his gaze. "Oh, that. By all means. I brought it along as a memento of my home, but I have no musical talent at all."

Rolan walked to the shelf where the little wooden flute rested and picked it up. It looked hand-made, of rough craftsmanship, but lovingly polished. Experimentally he played a few notes.

It seemed to be quite accurate. Satisfied with the results, he played a short, lively tune.

That got the attention of at least Lucas and Mrei. Kress feigned disinterest, but he was also watching what would happen next.

"How about some music to liven up the evening, kids?" Rolan asked with a grin. "There was a time before television, you know, when people would gather together to play and sing."

Mrei raised her hand instantly. "Can you play 'the ballad of the winds'?"

"I'm not quite sure I know that one, lass..." Of course he knew the song. Skyfall territory wasn't so backwater that they wouldn't have heard recordings of the most popular hits in the kingdom. "How about you sing a few verses for me first?"

After two songs Kress sat back down without any fuss. He wasn't about to embarrass himself by singing, but it wasn't that bad to listen to the others try their best.