First, I suppose I should apologize, especially given what happened. I didn’t intend to be away until so late in the morning—I didn’t even expect to be gone all night—but, I actually found what I was looking for. Or rather, who. And along with that came a mystery, though in the end…well. I am getting ahead of myself.

I only lived here for about four or five years, but it felt more like home than anywhere else, and it was probably the only real family I have had. My parents…let’s just say that some people should not have children. I know that sounds strange coming from me, but it’s true.

Anyway, I ran away from Korvosa—I just can’t think of that city as home even though I spent most of my life there—when it got really bad. I am sure you heard the stories. It took me nearly a year to get to Magnimar. And it turns out I wasn’t the only one who had that idea. If you look close enough, this city is littered with runaways. Most are Varisian but there are all ethnicities and races here. There’s something about this city. Teens flock to it. Maybe because it’s safer than the alternatives.

Most live on the streets. If you’re lucky, you find a way to get by in Ordellia or Dockway. If not…you end up in the Underbridge. Or worse, in Rag’s End, which is like if your slums have slums. I spent some time there, and it was enough to have me longing for the safety and security of the Shingles. And I knew I had to get out or…well…let’s just say you don’t want to know what happens to teens who get stuck there.

I didn’t just get lucky. I got really lucky. Though Chadali would say that you make your own luck, or rather that it’s not luck at all, but the ability to see opportunity when it shows itself. I found a home of sorts for runaways more or less like myself, run by runaways. Kids who had banded together to keep each other safe.

Calling it a “home” might be generous. It was an abandoned building on Kyver’s island. Maybe “condemned” would be a better word. But it was a roof and walls, which is more than most find. They called it Tineri House, which is a Varisian word. Put together, it roughly translates to “youth hostel”. They only had three rules for anyone who lived there: you helped cook and clean, there was no violence, and there were no drugs.

When the Isle of Xin rose four years later, the building collapsed and a lot of kids died. It could have been worse; the earthquake struck mid-day so not everyone was home, but still…

I left Magnimar shortly after that. It was just too hard to stay. But, I always wondered whether Tineri House—the idea of it—had lived on. So when we came here yesterday…I just had to find out.

You can spot runaways from a mile away if you know what to look for, and of course i know what to look for. But I’m no longer in that world, so I couldn’t just walk up to one and essentially interrogate them. There’s not a lot of trust for the outside world. Most of the youth who end up here? They are here because of it. Still, Chadali had led me there once before, and I trusted her to do it again.

It took a while. A few cautious inquiries here and there, and a lot of patience, and I found that  Tineri House had not merely survived in spirit: it had risen from the ashes, and it have been given the same name.

What I was not expecting were the circumstances. The original Tineri House, the one I lived in, was not much different from organized squatting. When I think about it now, I am amazed it survived as long as it had. Youth are not known for their discipline and discretion. But I think we were more or less tolerated, as the people in Ordellia knew the alternatives, too. It helped that we kept a low profile, and the rules were designed to keep it that way.

But the new Tineri House…it has a benefactor. Oh, it’s still an abandoned building, but someone bought it at auction for that purpose. And that’s why I was gone for so long. I needed to know who, and why.

Why did I need to know? Well, the original Tineri House…it was just a stone’s throw from the Seven’s Sawmill. And so is the new one.

Of course, I didn’t know that was significant back then. None of us did. But Droste has Takkad’s Journal, and it’s at the very beginning that he talks about the malfeasance that took place there. And then Audrahni told us her story that involved, of all people, Justice Ironbriar. And I got scared. Because nothing is free in life, not honestly anyway, and I had to know if they were under someone’s thumb.

So I did some digging. Because I needed to know.

Turns out there was nothing to know. The owner…they had lived in the original Tineri House. They were a little before my time so I didn’t recognize them, but I asked and their story checked out. They had managed to do well for themselves over the years, and they had some money, and some connections, and when the opportunity came along to buy an abandoned building for coppers on the gold piece? They acted.

So as I said, in the end, it was nothing. But I am still glad that I looked.