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He's just supposed to go to market, purchase some food, and bring it back to his father so they can eat. It shouldn't be especially difficult. He's done it a hundred times before with no difficulty.
He gets to the market, reaches for the purse of coins his father gave him, and it's not there.
...He looks around for a guard. He's not really sure if a guard will be able to do anything, but this is the sort of thing you're supposed to tell a guard about.
"Excuse me? Sir, someone stole my money and I don't know what to do..."
It's almost certainly too late to catch whoever did it but he looks around the crowd anyways, just in case.
It's pretty busy at this time of day.
There's a boy at the edge of the crowd, about nine years old, making a poor attempt of sneaking towards a booth and throwing nervous glances in the guard's direction.
"Look, someone stole this kid's money, and I think it was you. If you just turn it over now, we'll let you off easy."
He didn't take it. But this guard is a lot bigger than him, and maybe if he hands over his money the guard will go away...? He won't be able to eat if he does that, but it might beat the alternative.
He starts crying.
"I want my money back! I don't want some random kid's money back!"
"Look, even if he didn't take your money, he's clearly up to no good -- you saw him sneaking around--"
"Sneaking around isn't a crime." He closes his eyes for a moment, trying to put his words in order. "Unless you have evidence that he's broken the law, you should let him go."
"It's not right for him to go after you for no reason! People shouldn't break the law, but--" (he closes his eyes again for a moment) "--it's important to give people the benefit of the doubt, and not go after them unless you have evidence."
"Okay.
"Um, do you want me to buy you some food? I have two copper, and that's s'posed to be for me and my mom but I bet I can get you something too. Probably."
He does not look entirely certain of this.
"You don't have to do that. I can explain what happened to my father. ...Do you want to come home and meet my father?"
"I should tell my mom where I'm going. But. Sure."
"...Thank you."
He meets Gregorien. Gregorien offers to teach him how to read. He starts spending nearly every day at Milites and Gregorien's house. Eventually he starts bringing one of his friends.
Gregorien and Milites are Sarenrites. He starts sporadically attending services at one of her temples. It's much newer than most of the temples he's been to; apparently it used to be illegal to worship her?
Milites wants to be a court-assistant like his father. Drakon is sure he'll be good at it.
One day, when Drakon goes to meet Milites at his house, he's not there.
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