Liam returned to Anatalia through the Glessican border. He never went the same way twice. In the seven years he’d been wandering, he’d become so familiar with Glessic, Salatia, and Anatalia that he could navigate them in his sleep. He put his hand to his growling stomach as he walked; he would have to stop soon to find food. Game had been uncommonly sparse the last few days as it grew colder, and his supplies were running low.
Liam approached a small town he had been to a few times before. Silvica was nice enough, but it was starting to look old and worn. It had severely changed in the years since he had last been here. Many of the buildings that he saw had warped planks of wood, and the paint was starting to shatter and flake off.
Liam went around the town. There were cottages and shacks where he could stop and no one would take notice of his presence. He did not want to draw attention to himself by knocking on every door in the small town. There had been more than one occasion where someone had recognized him and Liam had had to flee from whatever place he had stopped. He did not want to bring the soldiers’ wrath down on him or the town he was begging in. Liam had seen some of the king’s soldiers outside of Silvica a few hours ago, stopping for lunch.
He walked through a field of purple and pink flowers he couldn’t identify. They were pretty enough and added to the charm of the cottage he could see in the distance. Liam waited as long as his growling stomach would allow him to ensure there were no soldiers near the cottage he approached.
The large cottage had a well-kept garden, holding herbs and crops that would be useful to the inhabitants. It would be a shame in a matter of weeks that would all be lost to the cold. Liam went to the front door, running his fingers through his hair in an attempt to make it look neat, and he straightened his tunic. He had not bathed for quite some time, but he could at least try not to look slovenly. Liam looked around to make sure there were no soldiers in the area and inhaled deeply before knocking on the door.