The line at the front gates of Lidarion city seemed to
stretch on for miles. In the time since Brandon’s death the war had officially ended
and there were hundreds if not thousands of people looking to transition back
to their peacetime lives as quickly as possible. They had gotten in line
sometime in mid-morning and shared lunch together as they moved forward little
by little. They traded what news they had with the people ahead of and behind
them in line and none of them missed the large number of families and other
travelers leaving the city throughout the day.
It was late afternoon by the time they arrived at the front
gate. The guards looked each of them over, glancing in their saddlebags and one
of the guards took a nice long look at Trent deciding not to make anything of
it. The guards signaled for the gate to open and the giant doors opened letting
Trent and Lisa into the western most side of the central market district. Lisa
was immediately stunned by the level activity, the density of the buildings.
She couldn’t help but browse each of the road side carts piled high with fresh
fruits, sweet breads, low quality jewelry and trinkets that lined the
cobblestone street.
They walked by a bakery that smelled of countable flavors of
fresh bread. Lisa turned to Trent. “Hey, are you hungry?” She asked.
He nodded. “Yeah, but trust me, we’re going to have dinner
in the best restaurant in Lidarion.”
Lisa followed him as he snaked through the crowd. “If it’s
still open.” She replied.
Trent laughed. “If Lidarion is still here, Lisa’s Bar is
still here.” He took a turn off the central street and the crowd thinned
greatly.
“You really loved growing up here didn’t you?” She asked.
He nodded. “It’s the greatest city on the planet, why wouldn’t
I love it here?” He asked.
Lisa shrugged her shoulders. “Why haven’t you been back in
almost fifteen years?” She asked.
Trent turned down another street and Lisa followed him. “Remember
that whole war thing we just finished fighting?” He asked.
She shook her head. “You’ve had the same amount of time off
as we did, we were able to get married and would have made it here if we hadn’t
just gotten married. Not to mention I had to beg you to come with me even AFTER
the war ended…So what happened?” She finally asked.
Trent nearly runs up to a very large building, He stops in
front of the door, takes a deep breath and then opens the door to the Bar.
The restaurant is busy. There are more tables and chairs in
the room than would be casually comfortable to maneuver around and all but one
table are occupied by people eating, drinking, and socializing. A middle aged
woman is maneuvering in between the tables so efficiently they might as well
not even be there. She picks up empty glasses, drops of bread and fresh drinks,
all the while she holds conversations with multiple conversations.
The door closes behind Trent and Lisa which grabs the woman’s
attention. “Well I’ll be a red headed step child. Trent Coppersmith has finally
returned.”
The entire establishment seems to freeze. Alex weaves around
the tables toward Trent and Lisa. Trent smiles nervously. “Hey Alex, It’s been
a long time.” He says.
She clears the tables and stops in front of him. “Over a
decade.” She paused and stared him down as the entire establishment holds its
breath.
