Perhaps the gods actually heard them this time.  Two, almost three long but uneventful days later, the group found themselves approaching the Farwell Crossroads which looked to be a semi-permanent establishment.  At first glance they saw the inn up front as usual and were able to make out a general store, what was likely an equipment shop and a large stable beside the inn.  Spreading around the permanent structures and to the other sides of the road as well were various tents of goods and performers, most of which seemed a bit lackluster.  The whole place felt like it should be livelier than it was but there was a pall over the general atmosphere that made the group nervous.  Unfortunately, they had to stop somewhere…and this was the only place any of them recalled on the map with everything they were likely to need.

           “Well.  Let’s see what we can do,” Leeteuk murmured as he drew the cloak around him further.  They hardly looked presentable but that was part of what they intended to fix and as they thankfully had daylight left, their first stop was actually the equipment shop to see about clothing and their weapons.

           Already awkward and self-conscious about having no proper shirt, neither Leeteuk nor Eunhyuk thought anything about the amulets they were wearing until they noticed the shopkeeper looking right at them as they perused the goods.  The older man didn’t say anything but the shirtless pair consciously pushed the amulets behind them so they hung down their backs instead, trying to pretend that they had never been there in the first place.

           As quickly as they could, the group grabbed what they needed, which included one additional set of clothes, beige shirts and brown pants, for everyone present and then a new shirt for both Leeteuk and Eleanara since she could just give Eunhyuk his shirt back later.

           Before they had finished, a young man about their age who strongly resembled the shopkeeper hobbled out on a crutch, one leg badly mangled and poorly wrapped.  Traces of additional scarring could be seen on his bare arms and face, remnants of some foul attack.  In his free limb he carried an armful of smaller pieces of gear and it was obvious he was going to set them out for display.

           The shopkeeper shifted his attention to the young man and he hurried over to his side.  “Yorin.  Here.  I can get those,” he offered, reaching around to try and retrieve the loose items.

           “It’s alright, dad,” Yorin exclaimed quietly, not quite looking at the guests as he pulled away.  “I want to help.”  There was a stubborn pride to him that would not be denied.

           With a grimace, the older man stepped back and watched carefully as his son moved to place the items out, carefully maneuvering around the tables, racks and additional customers.  For one so immobilized, he did remarkably well until his return trip where his crutch got caught on one of the legs of a display table and he crashed to the ground with a pained cry, knocking several pieces off the top when he attempted to catch himself.  “Yorin!” the shopkeeper exclaimed as he hurried over to help his son.

           Yorin had balled up over his bad leg as angry tears coursed down his face.  “I’m okay!” he bit, his voice shaking as he caught his father’s hand.  It was abundantly clear that he was not, but that same pride demanded he say otherwise.

           Leeteuk had to grab Eleanara’s hand as she started to move towards the fallen boy.  She looked back, confused, and he shook his head slightly.  Her face fell and she brought her free hand to her chest, upset.  Eunhyuk moved to retrieve the fallen crutch and the older man accepted it heavily, eyeing the spot on the stranger’s chest where he had seen the amulet earlier.

           “Come on son,” he simply stated, offering what support he could as Yorin snatched the crutch roughly from the older man.  With his father’s help, he limped back through the doorway he had emerged from.

           Hesitantly, the elementalists drifted to the counter, uncertain how to respond but eager to get out.  This whole endeavor was making them incredibly nervous.  At last, the older man returned, a haggard and worn expression on his aged face.  When he saw the customers at the counter, he picked his shoulders back up and put on a forced smile under a pair of speculative pale brown eyes.  “Did you find what you were lookin for?” he asked, regarding the group closely, taking careful note that they all had strings around their necks that dipped out of sight under their shirts, very similar to the ones that he had seen earlier.

           Leeteuk smiled as best he could and nodded.  “We did.  How much?” he inquired, reaching for his money pouch carefully.

           Unable to help herself, Eleanara asked around him, “What happened to your son?”  Immediately, she cringed when the others turned annoyed looks upon her and Kyuhyun rolled his eyes with a heavy sigh.

           The shopkeeper did not miss it.  “Enrhyll,” he stated simply, watching to see their reaction.  “Or rather, his war.”  Collectively, they winced and their eyes traveled to the back door.  “He wanted to fight and they broke him,” he sighed heavily as he rubbed his face with worn hands.  “If his mother was still here she might have been able to convince him otherwise, but she passed away last year.”  A grimace as if from an old wound crossed his features and then he put the smile back up.

           Slightly shaken, Leeteuk asked again after a pause, “How much?”  He felt Eleanara tugging on his cloak and he had to try very hard to ignore her.

           The old man saw the exchange and appeared to think it over.  When Leeteuk placed his arm on the counter, slightly impatient, the shopkeeper reached out and clasped a surprisingly strong hand over his arm, startling the young man.  “I will trade you,” he murmured quietly, his eyes meeting theirs quickly, almost desperate.  “The clothes for your services,” he explained.

           Uncomfortably, the rest of the group shifted, looking everywhere but the old man.  Leeteuk swallowed and shook his head, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.  We’re just passing through.  We have nothing to offer you.”  Even as he said it, the words felt hollow to him and he only just managed to keep from wincing.

           Unperturbed, the older man persisted, “But you’re the Elementalists right?”  He saw the surprised look in their eyes and he pressed on, “I saw the amulets.  You have to be!”  The symbols of the Elementalists were well known; even better now for Enrhyll’s blatant use of all six as his own personal symbol.

           Leeteuk fumbled for words as he tried to edge away slowly but the grip on his arm was firm, unyielding.  “We’re just…  We can’t…” he began, finally looking back at the others for assistance and they were just as lost as he was.

           “But you can heal, Yorin,” he whispered fiercely, desperate now.  In his eyes, they saw the same helpless anger that they themselves had dealt with…were still dealing with, because of the hurt that Enrhyll had caused.  Tears that he refused to shed shimmered on his eyelids and he fixed them with an almost reverent gaze.  “You can…” he whispered weakly.

           They had lost to this man and they knew it; if for no other reason than because they knew exactly how he felt…  At last, the older man released Leeteuk’s arm and the earth elementalist sighed, a heavy and capitulating sound.  He turned around and placed an apologetic hand on Eleanara’s arm.  The light elementalist opened her tightly shut eyes slowly and removed her hands from her ears.  The look she gave Leeteuk was uncertain and torn.  “It’s okay,” he nodded, his voice quiet.  “Go ahead.”

           Slowly, she moved around from Leeteuk and headed for the back, her feet whispering quietly over the floor.  As she disappeared into the back, the shopkeeper gestured to a small changing room off to the side.  “Please,” he offered, a strange mixture of anxiety and relief flashing across his face.

           Nervously, the group shifted throughout the store.  While Leeteuk and Eunhyuk moved to get changed, the other four drifted, examining the remaining wares and keeping an eye on the back door and the front for that matter.  The shop had been quiet except for them, but that was likely to change at any moment.

           By the time the pair were finished changing, a very bewildered but happy Yorin stepped out from the back, followed by a pensive Eleanara.  The shopkeeper was positively beaming as the young man stepped out and he rushed to him joyfully, “Yorin!”

           “Dad!” the young man responded as he embraced the older man enthusiastically, all traces of pain gone.  “I’m…I’m healed,” he murmured quietly, still in awe of what had just happened.

           The older man pushed Yorin back and held him at arm’s length, looking him up and down in amazement.  “They did it.”  Still grinning, he stepped around Yorin and went to take Eleanara’s hands appreciatively.  “Thank you,” he sighed.  “Thank you thank you thank you,” he stated again as he fell to his knees and held her hands to his forehead in praise.

           Distinctly uncomfortable, Eleanara plastered a smile to her face and tried to step back.  “You’re welcome,” she said quietly.  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Leeteuk, Kharin and Siwon start to move in her direction immediately.  “It’s okay now,” she tried again to remove her hands from his.  “It’s okay.”

           “Dad,” Yorin stated quietly, coming up at the same time that the other three did, seeing Eunhyuk moving not that far behind them.

           Recognizing that he may have gotten a little carried away, the shopkeeper smiled and apologized. “Forgive me.  I’m just so happy,” he explained, allowing Yorin and Siwon to help him to his feet as he finally let go of Eleanara’s hands.  She fled to Leeteuk immediately and hid behind him, shaken by the intensity of his reaction.

           “We’re glad we could help,” Siwon assured him, patting the shopkeeper on the shoulder and guiding him back around the counter where Yorin was already trying to lead him.

           “See,” Yorin’s father murmured exuberantly to his son.  “I told you there was hope.  The Elementalists healed my son,” he grinned.

           “Thank you for the trade,” Kharin bowed slightly, subtly gesturing for the others to start moving for the door.

           With many more profuse thanks following them out the door, the group fled as quickly as possible, a sense of unease following them.  They had betrayed themselves but it had been impossible not to.  Faced with such desperation, they were nigh on helpless themselves.  With Eleanara’s hand protectively closed in his, Leeteuk led them to the general store.  “Well…let’s make this quick.”

           Seeing as they had their amulets considerably more covered than the last shop and they knew specifically what they wanted, replacing the lost travel goods was simple enough.  In a hurry to depart, Leeteuk did not bargain as well as he could have and figured he had probably been overcharged but he was more than happy to get out without being further discovered.  The weapons they would have to address at a later time as they had almost gratefully run out of daylight and needed to find a place to rest.  The inn was the obvious location and they headed there quickly, taking note of one oddity being that the majority of the persons they could see were women, children and a handful of older couples.  After hearing Yorin’s story, it wasn’t hard to figure what had happened…

           As they had figured, the Traveler’s Rest was a bit quiet and they preferred it that way.  Leeteuk got them one room to share, earning a curious look from the innkeeper, determined to keep everyone together tonight.  He was not the only one nervous about their exposure earlier and only Kyuhyun made a token protest of having to share the bed or sleeping on the floor.

           Even more so than their usual stops in the inns in the past, bathing, while glorious after their days on the road, was very abbreviated and they took the food to their room.  As a precaution, they pushed the one bed up against the door and shoved the other to the far side of the room to make more floor space.  The sleeping rolls came out, layered to provide more cushioning from the hardwood floor and there was a brief discussion as to who would sleep on the floor and who would take the bed.  Eventually they decided that Kharin and Summer would take the bed against the door as a precautionary measure and that Kyuhyun and Eunhyuk would take the one at the window, now barred for a similar reason.  Leeteuk and Siwon flanked Eleanara protectively as she nestled between them on the floor.

           The sounds of the inn and their own nervous tension kept them awake longer than they wanted.  At last though, they all drifted to sleep and the morning came early for them.  The same thing that had kept them awoke woke them before their normal time…nerves.  There were none of the normal morning antics as they picked themselves up and prepared to face the day.

           “Are we going to eat here or on the road?” Kharin asked as she pulled the bed back from the doorway and retrieved her pack.

           “The road,” Leeteuk answered immediately.  “I don’t want to linger here any longer than we need to,” he stated seriously.

           The others nodded at the statement.  They made one last check of the room before Kharin opened the door and abruptly shut it again, a surprised expression on her face.  “What happened?” Eunhyuk asked as he climbed over the bed to get beside her.

           Carefully, Kharin peeked out a tiny crack, with Eunhyuk looking over her shoulder and noticed at least five seemingly injured persons sleeping in the hallway outside their door, propped against the walls or just laying out on the floor.  Uncertainly, she closed the door again, quietly, and regarded the others.  “Well…it looks like word got out…”