I wake up to Shia’s slight nudging, my eyes opening slowly. Matu is already awake, packing up his saddlebags and clearing the campsite.
“You’re awake?” At my nod, Matu smiles and hands me a small bag, “Good, there’s some rations in there that should keep you going until we stop for lunch.”
I eat the dried meat in the bag quietly, watching as Matu feeds the horses and readies them for our trip.
“These fillies are carrying a lot of weight already. Despite your size, I don’t think it’s a good idea to overwork them with your extra weight.” Matu says to me, still watching the horses. “So we’ll just walk with them for now, if that’s alright with you.”
“I prefer walking.” I answer.
What is in the bags tied to the saddles of the horses? Matu hasn’t opened them that I’ve seen.
Matu glances over at me, his expression thoughtful. “Are you ready? We should head out as soon as possible if we want to make it to the city in a timely manner.”
I nod, and we set off on a small path, almost a dear trail, leading through the woods.
An hour into the journey, Matu takes his cloak off, handing it to me. “We’ll reach the road soon, and you look unusual to say the least. I’d recommend that you hide your face if we encounter anyone.” He pauses, looking me over as I put his cloak on. “And don’t draw your sword if you can avoid it. I’d like to avoid spilling any blood.”
I ignore that last comment, instead closing my eyes as the foliage starts to clear above us. I walk with my eyes closed, feeling the sun on my face and listening to all the strange sounds that come from the trees around us. My spirit sense slowly expands, taking in all the life around me and the different forms of spirit that pass through it. It’s different from the spirit in the sect, or the spirit that came through the portal that sat in the middle of the sect. The difference is hard to describe and almost unnoticeable.
Shia moves her head slightly, surprising me. For the first time, I realize that my spirit sense doesn’t see her. I focus with all my intent, frowning. She shifts slightly, but I still can’t see her.
“What’s got you so deep in thought?” Matu asks, breaking my concentration.
I open my eyes, realizing that we’ve stepped onto a wider road, and that Matu is watching me curiously from where he is walking.
“I was trying to not think.” I answer softly.
His eyes shift away from me, back onto the road. He pats the horse who’s lead he is holding. “Don’t ignore thoughts because they hurt to think about.”
I open my mouth to retort.
“You won’t be safe when we reach the city. I’m sure that Doma has ways to get at you even there.” I close my mouth, considering his point. “There’s only one thing I can think of that will guarantee your safety.” He glances over at me, as if he’s making sure that I am listening. “You need to get the protection of one of the families.”
“Who are they?” I ask, my hand tightening on the pommel of my sword, before I forcefully relax it.
“The people in power.”
I shoot him a glare, and he shrugs.
“The families control most of the business that passes through their territories. I happen to know one of the heirs that live in the city. I can introduce you, but you’ll have to prove your own worth.”
As we travel, the road becomes more occupied by mortals. Houses and farms become more common and wagons take up the majority of the road as we pass our first village.
I keep the hood of Matu’s cloak up, taking note of the armed horsemen that would occasionally pass us by on the road, many of them wearing the same clothing as the men that ambushed the sect on the other side of the portal.
No one pays attention to me aside from the occasional curious glance coming from a person walking alongside us on the road.
Matu happily greets other travellers, discussing simple things like the weather or the crops.
Matu breathes a sigh of relief when we reach a village sitting on the edge of a river. “I’m honestly looking forward to a proper bed. I can only sleep on the ground for so many nights and the inn here has a nice atmosphere from what I remember.”
“How many days will it take to reach the city?” I ask Matu as he waves to a young guardsmen yawning and leaning on his pike.
The guardsmen waves back, perking up slightly.
“Another day on horseback, not sure how long it’ll take walking.” The villagers wave and smile as we walk towards the largest building in the village.
A young boy sitting in front of the building perks up as he sees us, running forward to bow and take the leads of the horses from Matu.
“Give them a treat if you can, they deserve it.” Matu says to the boy, flipping him a coin. The boy bows again, leading the horses to the stable next to the inn.
I look up at the two story building, realizing that even the buildings are made differently here.
Matu continues on into the building, and I quickly follow him.
Opening the door reveals a rowdy room of men and women drinking and eating.
My hand tightens on the sword at my waist, caught off guard by the atmosphere in the room.
Everyone is so loud and boisterous. It’s unnerving.
Matu casually walks through the room to the man who is cleaning a cup behind the bar.
I don’t hear what they’re talking about as I stand still near the door, trying to calm my heart and release my grip on my sword. Shia tightens slightly around my waist before loosening, her movements starting to emulate the nervousness I’m feeling.
“Oh, you poor thing! Are you alright there?” One of the women that had been serving drinks walks over to me, smiling. “You should move out of the door or one of these idiots will trip right over you.”
“Oy! Who are you calling idiots, Asa?!” One of the men calls out, his voice aggressive.
“Shut up. Can’t ya see you’re scaring the little lass?” She yells right back at him, startling the man twice her size.
The other men at his table break into laughter.
“You’re all so expressive.” I say quietly. “I thought it was just Matu.”
“What was that? I can’t hear you over the noise these knuckleheads are making.” She gently rests her hand on my shoulder, startling me. I hurriedly reach up to stop my hood from falling down. “Come on, let’s get you something to eat while your companion gets you two a room.”
“Knuckleheads? That’s a lot nicer than what you usually call us Asa. Are ya maybe warming up to us?”
She leads me to an empty table towards the back of the room, having me sit down. “Ignore them, I’ll be right back with some soup.”
I watch her walk away, surprised by the lithe and easy way she makes her way through the crowd.
The second requiem, the Requiem of Remembrance, surprisingly makes its way to my mind. When I first played it two years ago, it showed me an image much like this tavern. Maybe one of Teng Zhu’s disciples found themselves in this world many years ago.
Matu sits down next to me, resting his chin on his arm. “Haaaaa. They’re surprisingly full. The summer festival is bringing everyone in from the countryside. The innkeeper practically fleeced me for all the money I’m worth.”
“Are you low on money?” I ask, watching as the woman, Asa, walks back to where we are sitting.
“I’ll be fine when we reach the city. I’m cutting it close until then.” He starts as Asa sets a bowl of soup in front of me, “Um, I’m afraid I can’t afford-” he pauses before sighing and pulling out a coin. “Get me one too.”
“Of course.” Asa says, grabbing the coin and making it disappear up her sleeve.
I use the wooden spoon she gave me to move the soup around, small chunks of meat float to the surface, but I can’t identify anything else. Using my hand, I pull out one of the chunks and sneak it to Shia. She doesn’t speak, but she eats it quickly.
Shia has been strangely quiet lately.
I take a bite of it for myself. I frown at a strange taste, but take another bite anyway.
“Hey.” Matu sits up as a thought occurs to him, “You don’t happen to be skilled with that flute of yours, do you? Everyone loves a song or two.”
I pause in my eating, reaching into my robes to rest my hand on my flute. “I am skilled with my instrument, but it might be… different from what you’re expecting.”
“You can’t hurt my ears worse than the minstrel back in Lotras. Play a happy tune for me and we’ll see how they like it.” Matu smiles at me encouragingly.
I carefully bring my flute out, looking over the boisterous and happy patrons of the inn.
It’s hard to bring my mind into a happy mood, my thoughts still weigh so heavily from what happened to me barely a day ago.
I don’t need to match the mood, do I?
I bring my flute to my lips, wondering what I should play.
What do I want to play? Everything still hurts, the wound in my shoulder isn’t healed.
I start out soft, each note coming to life on its own.
It’s a flickering light, barely stil aglow.
A breath of wind blows through the room, but the light refuses to go out.
It gathers itself together, slowly growing bright as my notes gain strength.
This time wind blows through the room, looking to crush the light.
It glows even brighter, a high note of defiance against the wind.
Slowly the light shrinks down, returning to its smaller form as the music winds down. But the notes are no longer fleeting, and the light is no longer weak. It moves, and dances with the notes I play. Showing that in spite of all the wind, it refuses to sputter out.
Another light joins it, dancing with it to the music of my flute.
A third light joins and each of them glow with each other, dancing.
This time when the wind comes, the lights flow with it, using it as a catalyst to show their dancing to the room.
No longer is it a flickering light, almost blown out by the slightest gust.
Instead, it is one light amongst many, dancing in the wind.
I laugh to myself as I end the music. Something about the dancing lights struck me as funny and I can’t help but giggle until I notice the complete silence of the room.
Everyone stares at me, Matu included. Matu’s mouth hangs open wide, his eyes flickering to where the lights had danced in front of us all.
A strange sense of confidence fills me as I turn to the silent crowd, their eyes wide in amazement. “Would you like to hear another song?” I ask, my voice carrying through the silence.
My gaze lands on Asa, who holds a bowl in her hands, her gaze still on the spot where my illusion had been shown to all.
She looks at me and nods.
I smile, strangely elated.
I put my flute to my lips, closing my eyes as I imagine the soft smile of my mother. Her face is clear to me, unforgotten despite the years that have passed.
I play a playful tune, one taught to me by her long ago. It’s melody travels through the air, calling on everyone to smile and laugh as I did.
