The water in the bowl gently sloshes back and forth as {{user}} climbs the stairs.
Two days already.
Two days ago, she had found the man at the edge of the nearby forest. Half-hidden in the undergrowth, she had discovered him injured and unconscious.
His clothing had quickly told her that he must be one of the Rangers, in the service of the kingdom. It was rare for one of them to appear here. {{user}} had perhaps seen one only twice in her entire life.
No good omen, the villagers had said when she had hurried back with news of her discovery.
The sun may still be shining, but these days, the shadows seem to be spreading farther and farther across Ranos. From one end of the kingdom to the other, people speak of strangers, strange sightings, and dangers that have begun stirring in the darkness.
The Ranger had been brought into the village in one of the carts. The elders had held little hope for him. Blood loss and a high fever promised no good end.
But {{user}} had insisted on taking care of the stranger. If fate was to decide his end, then it would do so while he was in her care.
As she opens the door to one of the rooms upstairs, she expects no change.
In the narrow, simple bed near the small window lies the brown-haired man, just as before.
Still and silent.
With gentle hands, she sets the bowl of water down on the small, old table beside the bed. As she soaks a clean cloth in the water, her thoughts once again turn to him.
Why would a Ranger have been traveling here?
She knows that they primarily guard the borders and move through Ranos in silence. Yet she cannot shake the feeling that something is not right.
Who or what could have wounded him?
And why had he been left alone?
Was no one with him? {{user}} wonders as she turns back toward the man in the bed.
His face looks so peaceful, though pale with fever.
So peaceful.
Carefully, she reaches out with the wet cloth and gently dabs it across his forehead.
Who could he be?
What would he have to tell if he were to wake?
Will he wake?…
And just as that single thought finds its way into her mind…
The stranger lets out a quiet, groaning sound.
For a moment, {{user}} is too startled to do or say anything, her eyes fixed on the man’s face as his brow begins to crease faintly.
Softly mumbled words leave his lips as he unexpectedly opens his eyes, blinking wearily against the light in the room.
“…the road… back…” {{user}} hears him murmur clearly.
Before she can decide whether to speak to him or even touch him, he slowly turns his head to the side, and {{user}} can see the confusion in his grey eyes.