Trying to get back to the farm

These past weeks have been the hardest. More and more scary people come to West Themar, with marks on their faces. They look mean and do mean things. Daddy told me that people with a mark did bad stuff to get those marks, but I don’t know much about it. Dunkin and I, we try to stay away from them, hiding a lot.
 
I keep thinking about Daddy's sword and dagger, the ones he said belonged to Mommy. They're still at the farm, he told me he'd give them to me when I was bigger. I'm not much bigger now, but things are getting so scary, I wish I had them. They would help keep Dunkin and me safe, I think.
 
The money I got from making straw dolls is already gone and I had to steal again a few times. I got in trouble for it the last time the people are more looking out for that now wit all these bad people around. Buying a sword or a dagger here in the city is too much money, and I'm scared to steal one. Stealing bread to not starve is one thing, but stealing a sword feels different, scarier.
 
So, I've been thinking a lot about going back to the farm. It's just outside the city but the guards still won't let anyone out. Maybe I can slip through somehow like on the market when the people do not see me, I could make it there and get the sword and dagger. It’s a big risk, but I feel like it’s the only way to stay safe with all these new dangers around.
 
Dunkin looks at me with his little eyes, and I think he understands. He's brave for a little rat, braver than me most days. So, we're going to try. We’ll take it slow and be super careful. Maybe at the farm, it'll be like it was, a little bit like before the blackening.
 
Tomorrow, we start early. I will look if I can find a way to pass by the guards without being seen. Maybe Dunkin can distract them so that I can pass through.