Archives: Lost Humanity
Chapter 9: Back on the Road
“Brother,” the voice was soft and familiar. “Brother, it’s morning. Time to rise.” Al kept his eyes shut, his mind searching for the name to go with the voice. “Brother, it’s morning, you have things to do.” The melodious voice was broken with a hacking cough. Warm arms wrapped around Al’s shoulders and a mouth perched by his ear. “I love you Brother...”
Al’s eyes snapped open as his a horrid shriek escaped his lips. A barmaid dropped the platter she was carrying to the morning patrons.
“Margaret,” the innkeeper called to her. “Just clean it up.” The barmaid snapped out of the shock and began to clean up the mess she had made.
The innkeeper came out from behind the bar and put his hand on Al’s shoulder. “I don’t mind people who pay crashing out in the common room, but I’ll have to charge you with the broken dishes and for the wasted food.”
“That’s alright,” Al stated, a little embarrassed by his actions. He slipped a couple of coins into the innkeeper’s hands. The inn keeper backed off after being paid and redistributed the morning stew into bowls for compensation and let the barmaid bring the food to the hungry customers.Elainne woke up when she heard Al’s scream. She fell out of the bed and grabbed at her leggings. She thrust her legs into them and haphazardly strapped her sword at her side. Tripping over her boots her head hit the door with a loud thump. Determined to be at her master’s side she pushed past the pain and ran down the stairs to check on her master.
“I’m alright Elainne,” Al sighed.
“G-good,” Elainne said in between sharp breaths. “I wasn’t worried Master Al.”
He brushed her hair out of her face and traced his fingers over the goose egg forming on her forehead. “I’m sorry for startling you.”
* * *
Aroal woke to a blood-curdling shriek, then heard glass shatter in response. Something happened downstairs and her first instinct was to go investigate. The barbarian threw back her covers and leapt out of bed, wearing nothing but a pair of panties and a tank top. She took the first weapon in reach, which just happened to be the greatsword, then charged out the door.
In the hallway, she saw Elainne run out of her room and downstairs. Aroal followed, but she heard no more signs of a conflict and relaxed. Instead of running downstairs, she walked down the stairs after Elainne to see just what had happened, despite her state of undress. When she finally saw the scene in the common room, she saw there was nothing to worry about. Al was looking embarrassed and there was a spill on the floor. “What happened?” she asked from the stairwell.
Al’s eyes moved from Elainne’s face to Aroal, about to explain, his words caught in his throat. His eyes scoured over Aroal’s form in her lack of clothing. His cheeks burned with embarrassment as he looked away and explained. “I had a...dream,” he stated slowly. “It’s nothing out of the ordinary...” he shuddered at the memory of the dream. Brother, I love you. “The sword is playing with my mind.”
Elainne moved over to the innkeeper to begin ordering breakfast for herself and Al. She didn’t want to intrude on whatever Al had to say to Aroal.
Aroal frowned, though she was relieved to hear that nothing more had happened. Whatever cursed the sword was relentless in tormenting Al. She felt a tickling up her spine, and with a glance around the common room, she noticed that the few other men there were staring. Ugh...I hate that look, she thought, obviously not ashamed of how she was dressed, she only wished that she could get the same reaction a man would in such a state. That would never happen.
“Alright,” she said to Al. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.” The barbarian woman turned around and walked back upstairs to her room so she could dress.
* * *
Ar-Khôrahil was there, playing a soft melody in a quiet town. No one is there in this city, Myel-Elina thought, and she was somehow happy. But this delightful moment was not to last. Suddenly, a dark shadow swallowed her mentor, and his scream terrified the woman. The last thing she saw was Ar-Khôrahil shattering like glass...
Myel-Elina awoke suddenly, sweating and shivering. It took a few moments for her to remember where she was. She dried the tears rolling on her cheeks, and looked at Mieijha. The presence of the elf relieved her.
Being as quiet as she might be, the bard carefully dressed herself. She hoped she was able not to disturb the elf’s sleep. In the corridor, Myel-Elina crossed Aroal wearing nothing but her night clothes and a greatsword. She suddenly understood the noise in her dream were not only dreams. She rushed to the barbarian woman, speaking quickly.“Aroal, has something just happened? What was the scream? Is everyone safe?”
Aroal raised her hand, gesturing for Myel-Elina to calm down. “Don’t worry, Al just had a bad dream again,” she assured the bard. “I suppose that we should get used to being awoken by screaming while we’re traveling with him,” Aroal added dryly.
Myel-Elina felt ashamed for her reaction. She had never been able to restrain her natural anxiety, even when she had to. But there was nothing more than a bad dream here, and the calm of the barbarian woman reminded her of how ridiculous she might look.
“A...alright,” the bard said while blushing. “I just... Euh... I was just going to have a breakfast,” she rushed to the common room. “Good morning,” she said to Al and Elainne.
* * *
Aroal parted with Myel-Elina and returned to her own room to dress. It seemed that the scream hadn’t disturbed Sara, but it was probably a good idea to wake her so they could get on with whatever Al had planned for today. Aroal let the girl sleep just a little longer while she dressed in her leather armor.
Sara slept through the scream but heard Aroal getting dressed and began to do the same. She didn’t say much, but she was ready to face the new day with new spirits.
“Morning,” Aroal greeted Sara as the girl woke. She was pulling on her boots now, almost ready to go downstairs. Hopefully Sara would let the others know of her affliction before the next moon, at least, if they had to travel together that much longer.
Sara gathered her bow and quiver then looked over at Aroal who was ready to go. “Right then, shall we?” she said with a great smile. She wondered what the journey would bring them next as she glanced at the massive sword by Aroal’s side. She then opened the door, took a deep breath, and stepped out.
* * *
With all the noise and the scuffling, Mieijha sat up, whacking her forehead on the bottom of the bed. Within her sleep she had managed to roll off and under the bed. Grumbling, the shamaness rolled out from underneath the bed and dressed quickly. Dignity and grace, dignity and grace. A woman is composed of dignity and grace, she chanted her mantra inwardly, hoping it would quell the pain in her head. She opened the door and walked down to the common room, taking up a seat near Al and Myel. “Good morning,” she muttered softly, rubbing her fingers over the sore spot on her forehead. “I trust everyone else slept well.”
Al noted when Myel and Mieijha came down for breakfast. “Good morning you two,” he announced. To Mieijha he smiled but shook his head. “A good sleep is a fleeting memory to me.”
Elainne returned to the table with Al’s and Elainne’s meal. Seeing the addition of two more of their company, Elainne put her hands on her hips and asked: “And what do you two want for breakfast?”
As Al was talking about his nightmare, Myel-Elina felt sad for the knight. Her dreams were not exactly peaceful, but her sleep was not disturbed by nightmares every night. Not to accentuate Al’s feeling, Myel-Elina answered Mieijha with a soft voice, “Well, not too bad, at least I don’t fell tired. But I hope I didn’t wake you last night. My paces are not as light as I want them to be...”
Then, she turned to answer to Elainne, “I would just have some tea, please. I can’t take food that early. Thank you.” It may be too early for food, but not for talk. I don’t like that silence, and Al doesn’t seem in the mood for talking. Is he ever? Elainne and Mieijha surely seem more talkative, but Al really need to have his mind relieved from his concerns. A bit if discussion would surely help him. The bard waited for the squire to come back to the table, and asked: “Well, what’s the plan for today?”
Elainne brought a tea pot to the table and set down cups for Al, Mieijha and Myel. Elainne wasn’t one for tea first thing in the morning, but she kept a cup out for the inevitability of Zylan’s emergence from his room. Myel seemed to want to talk, thus spurring Al to discuss plans about what he planned for next. Although she too was a little concerned about what they were going to do next, she wasn’t about to voice her opinion just yet.
Al thanked Elainne for bringing the tea, and poured himself and the two women some tea. “I have to run some errands in town, and gather some information on a sorcerer. We’ll probably stay here one more night and then head south. I have family to meet in the capitol, and then there’s the matter of the quest.” To rid myself of this curse.
* * *
Al’s scream sent a streak of pain shooting through Scythed’s head. He sat up and opened his eyes, and instantly closed them as the morning light sent another shot of pain through his head. “The hell are you yelling about?” he yelled and threw the closest object he could find—a pillow—in the general direction of Al’s cry—the floor. This of course had no effect whatsoever except to hit Zylan who sleeping space just so happened to coincide with the forceful landing of said object. “... Why in Falaris are you in my room old man?” he said, noticing what he’d hit “... Wait...” he continued opening his left eye to a squint “I wasn’t that drunk was I?”
“Oof...” groaned Zylan as the pillow roughly awakened him from a calm slumber. Ludwig was quick to jump up, grab the pillow from the old man, and biting a gaping hole in it within the passage of a few seconds. Wolfgang rose only to push Ludwig to the side and stick his nose into the material inside the pillow, then snap at him in jest for his jumpiness.
“Good morning to you too... Where’s my cane?” he muttered, feeling about. Wolfgang made quick work of nosing it over to his hand and providing something to hold onto while he rose. The difference between the two men rising, however, was that Zylanthian Baratoice had slept naked that night. Being the unashamed old man he was, he saw it as no problem.
Scythed now noticed the old man’s state of nakedness, and shuddered. “I think I’ll just keep my eyes closed for now,” he said, and walked to leave the room, though he ran into the wall on the way. Swearing loudly, he followed the wall till he found the door. “And put some clothes on, old man!” he called back to Zylan. “No one should ever have to wake up to that,” he grumbled to himself as he walked downstairs.
Scythed walked out, though Zylanthian wasn’t sure why. “Why, isn’t he as cranky as an old man sleeping on a wooden floor?” the old sage asked Wolfgang with a hearty laugh. In reply, the wolves howled quietly back. At least wolves understood irony. As he dressed, he could feel the dryness in his mouth, calling out for tea. “Well, its back to being blind, I suppose,” the old man muttered. “Is it not unwise to spend all of your hours of blessed sight in a state where it is useless? Hah, the old philosophers back in the universities would laugh if they saw me this way. Ahh, well, so much for what they know. I get more intellectual argument out of you two!” he declared as he finished putting on his clothes.
Ludwig glared at him, if it was possible for a wolf to do so.
“Now now, I wasn’t insulting you.”
Still that stare!
“Nor your mother. Now come along. I’m just saying that you two don’t talk, so you aren’t expected to maintain a discourse on a proper subject.” Zylanthian began as his cane began tapping in front of him to find the door. “You can’t seriously expect any human to agree with someone they can’t even understand.” The door opened to his wandering hand as he continued.
* * *
Aroal and Sara came downstairs together. The barbarian woman still had the attention of several male patrons as she entered the room, but she ignored them. Quietly, she took a seat at the table while Al talked. She was hoping they would move on today, but it seemed she had forgotten why they came to the city after all the excitement with Thrighan. She wanted to leave the city far behind her after last night.
“Good morning all!” Sara shouted when she reached the bottom of the stairs. “I trust we all had a good sleep?” she said in a childlike fashion. Then, she pondered on how to tell the group of her affliction.
“Good morning,” Mieijha responded to the three newcomers: Aroal, Sara and Scythed. She assumed that the Zylan was still sleeping above. She sipped at her tea and raised her arm suddenly as her hawk swooped in and perched on her outstretched arm. “Shisoughc, good morning to you too.” Her hawk replied by dropping a dead rat on the table. Mieijha blanched and pushed her food away. “Suddenly I don’t feel that hungry. Diet. Diet sounds good. A non meat diet.”
“Besides, what do wolves really know about existentialism or the last war?” Patrons stared at him as they would a raving lunatic as he found the steps, still conversing. “Why do you think universities don’t allow anyone with tails?” With one hand on Wolfgang’s back, the blind man worked his way down the stairs slowly. “After all, your noses get in the way of the words on the page!” Zylan found himself on the bottom of the stairs. “Where are the others? And no, I am not discriminating! I’m just saying there are logistical issues with wolves becoming professors! You can’t simply put on a pair of glasses and throw a shiny blanket on you and call yourself an intellectual!” Wolfgang obediently made a beeline for the rest of the group gathered there, but Zylan’s attention was at Ludwig, who seemed to actually be listening very intently to Zylanthian, though not pleased at the words. “It requires years of study! More than your entire life! Especially considering how poor you did in the mathematics!” Zylan paused. “Oh no that was not a diploma! That was me telling you that your subtraction was wonderful, but your multiplication exam failed! You are a remedial student! Do you know what that means? It means you need more help because you aren’t smart!” Ludwig’s ears perked up, as if he was hurt, then hung his head low in shame. “Oh don’t start that. You wanted the truth!”
Zylan found a seat and sat down with an unceremonious plop. “Hmph, wolves! They think they know everything,” he declared indignantly to Sara. “If it makes you feel better, I’ll let you take the class again!” Zylan said to Ludwig again in frustration. He turned back to Sara. “You’d think the noble and strong wolf wouldn’t whine so much about academics! Lazy university students, all of them!” Finally, he broke a smile through his beard and nudged her, signifying the end of his joking tirade. Conversely, Ludwig sighed and laid down with his head on the ground, as if to roll his eyes.
Sara smiled at the old man’s ranting, and figured this was a perfect in for her to reveal a little more about herself. “You know some of us could find your joke slightly insulting, but seeing as you didn’t know that I’m part wolf, I’ll let it slide this time,” she smiled and nudged him back. She made light of her situation and felt pretty good about how they might react…if they caught on. She then sat down with the pups and brushed their fur with her hands.
Aroal sat quietly and stoically, even through Zylan’s humorous ranting. The previous night still disturbed her a bit, not that she was ever one to laugh easily. She heard Sara make a mention of being part wolf and her eyes lifted to look at the reactions of the group gathered around the table.
“My mother always assumed I was half-bear,” Al said with a smirk. He poured Zylanthian a cup of tea. “I’m pretty sure that by the way that Elainne eats, she’s half-cow or something, having multiple stomachs and all.”
Elainne kicked her master under the table and shot him a glare. “Food and liquid have different compartments,” she muttered, her ears as red as the rest of her face. “Besides, I think that Sara was being more serious than you or your mother were. Were you raised by wolves?” Elainne asked with honest concern. “No...wait, you said you were raised by elves.” Since Elainne had never heard of a werewolf the idea never crossed her mind.
Mieijha lifted Zylan’s cup and set it in one of his hands. “Careful, it’s hot,” she spoke softly. Sara had made a joke, if it could be called that, about being part wolf. Although she didn’t seem serious, Aroal’s sudden attention to the phrase made Mieijha uncomfortable, even more so than the dead rat on the table. She brushed the rat to the floor with an unoccupied hand and looked at Al. Elainne didn’t seem to know what Sara was talking about, and Al had cracked a joke. A werewolf? she spoke inwardly, her mind mulling over that one particular thought. It’s not impossible, nor difficult to fathom. But for her to be so open about it. I’m not sure whether she’s being open, or disguising something with humor as Al does.
Half-wolf? Scythed thought. What does she mean by that? The thought that she might mean she was a werewolf never crossed his mind “So... you’re saying your mother was a bitch?” he asked, coming to the wrong conclusion as usual.
Aroal sat by silently as people questioned Sara, but after Scythed’s comment, she stifled a chuckle.
“Well, I said nothing about hybrids, my dear, simply the full bred. And if you had seen his scores in the maths, you would understand!” Zylan declared, taking up his tea. “Thank you, my dear. You are getting good at this,” he replied, inferring about how quick she was about getting him what he liked. “My dear, if you are as you say you are, then it would only be logical that you would do twice as well as Ludwig here in the Maths. You know, I used to teach long long ago. However, my students have gone downhill over the years...” Ludwig looked up and snorted with displeasure, but Zylan ignored him. “Besides, how could I insult kin, my child? After all, if my family are wolves, and you share their blood in a sense, then, I am sort of like a second uncle.” Wolfgang barked instantly. “Perhaps you’re right. More like grandfather once removed. You should see our family reunions!”
Sara watched the random faces and listened to all the comments. She felt a little hot under the collar about Scythed’s remark but chose not to waste her breath. She smiled at Zylan’s comment as the old man’s wisdom seemed never ending. “Well if you didn’t understand the comment yes, I’m a werewolf. I have never tried to change form at will, so I don’t know if I can only during a full moon or in a spite of rage,” she replied in a low tone to avoid drawing a morning crowd, seeing as how things from the night before didn’t go so quietly.
“My mother died during an attack and so would have I if it wasn’t for my guardian angel…” she said with a pause then continued, “...Finrod the elven ranger saved my life and raised me as his own. To him I am forever in debuted. Now you know and I feel it best that you understand, so if you have any question, please be quick I care not to dwell on the thought,” she said with haste in her voice. Sara stood up and looked to the door; she was ready to go so that the attention wouldn’t dwell on her.
“They don’t,” Zylanthian replied swiftly in between sips of tea. If the girl wasn’t interested in being asked questions of, why allow anyone else to do so? It was obvious that she had been hurt enough. Let the poor thing be. “Well, miss Sara, you are welcome in our pack. There’s only three of us, but we don’t discriminate based on blood content. Not to mention the free provisions for the blind, if you happen to be me.”
“Hehe.” Scythed looked a bit embarrassed “Sorry.” ‘werewolf, werewolf...’ his half functioning brain thought, What in hell’s name is a werewolf again? He tried to remember, but his headache flared up once more. Meh, it’s probably insignificant, and he discarded the thought.
“So, where are we headed next?” Scythed asked. He had found it odd that this group had been so accepting of him, he had barely met them last night after he had already been under the influence of several drinks—though he tended to act similarly even when he was sober—yet Zylan had slept in the same room as him. Here he was sitting with them again, as if he had been with them forever, and no one seemed to be bothered by it. Might as well go with them, he thought to himself, slightly bemused at the situation. Nothing better to do. And who know? It might be fun.
Al sighed. “I assume everyone wants to leave now.” So much for gathering information on a sorcerer. The knight rose to his feet and nodded. “Very well then, we’ll make tracks to Dragon Eye.” That brings me closer to family, at least for a little while. I’ll search for information there, if they’ll let me. “Elainne, pack up and get ready to go. The rest of you as well. And, Scythed, welcome to the group.” Al left on those words to get his gear from upstairs.
Elainne watched her master head upstairs, presumably to retrieve his armor and such. “...I guess he doesn’t want to stay here any longer,” she said in a low voice. “Are we not looking for a sorcerer any longer?” The young squire shook her head and paid for the meals from her purse. She gave a glancing look back to the stairs where Al disappeared to and then went to the stables to see to the horses.
The natural curiosity of Myel-Elina was awaken by Sara’s first allusion, but the bard kept quiet and listened to the others’ reaction. When finally Sara confessed her lycanthropy, Myel-Elina almost dropped her cup of tea. But the reactions of the others astonished her even more. Zylan’s answer was predicable (if any of the old man’s could be), but everyone else seemed to take it so easily! And why did Al say he wanted to leave? Weren’t they to gather information about a sorcerer? The young woman didn’t know how to feel. Sara doesn’t seem sad or worried about her affliction, but did she consider it like a curse or a blessing? The bard wonder whether she could help, and how she could. At least I should not insist on it. Let’s make her think of something else.
“I was lucky when I met you all,” Myel-Elina said as she stood up and smiled softly to Sara. “I’d never thought I’d have so many extraordinary stories to sing in my whole life. Whenever you want, I’ll like to have a bit of discussion with you Sara. I hope you’ll pardon a young bard’s curiosity! But, Master Al is right once again, that’s enough for breakfast. Let me pack my belongings and I’ll be ready to leave.” Why did Al change our destination in such a hurry? What does he seek in Dragon Eye? she wondered as she went back to her room and prepared herself to the journey.
* * *
Aroal eyed Al curiously as he walked off. Even though she was eager to leave, she didn’t want to interfere with his plans. “I need to go get my things. Sara, I’ll bring yours down as well,” the barbarian said as she stood. She made her way upstairs after Al, but paused before going to her room. She stepped into his room as he packed up his gear. “Why the sudden change in plans?” she asked him.
Al looked back at Aroal whilst packing and sighed. “I figured everyone was so eager to leave, I don’t mind putting off searching here until things calm down in this town. Also, I didn’t expect Sara to announce her affliction so candidly.” He shrugged a little. “Part of my little quest is to also connect with my mother’s family here in Moss. I don’t mind putting off the search to deal with more happier tidings. Besides, you didn’t look to eager to stay here any longer either.”
“I don’t, but I agreed to come on your quest, not run it,” Aroal replied. She leaned against the door frame casually. “Don’t worry about Sara too much. She told me last night, but she neglected to mention downstairs that the necklace she wears allows her to retain her sanity when in wolf form.”
Al smiled at Aroal as he completed packing. “Well, as much as it pains me to say, I’m a man. If I say at one moment that we’re moving out and change my mind the next people will assume I’m not a very competent leader.” He shook his head. “Maybe it’s stupid to try to save face, but with a knight, honor, face, credibility—these are our backbone. What kind of master would I be to young Elainne if I didn’t teach her properly?”
Aroal smirked. “Alright, have it your way,” she chuckled. She left him to his packing, then went to gather her own belongings and Sara’s.
* * *
Sara felt more at ease, now that her burden had been lifted. She could see that her crew of misfits would accept her. She smiled and chased after Myel-Elina, throwing her arm around the bard. “Myel-Elina… For a good song I would gladly feed your curiosity,” Sara then looked at both Ludwig and Wolfgang. “Well then, I suppose I shall now be free to call you kin, right brothers?” she said, then let out a low toned howl.
Myel-Elina was very moved by Sara’s behavior. No one ever acted so friendly since her master died, and no one ever embraced her. She blushed and babbled something that sounded like a “thank you”. Then went to pack her belongings, taking great care of her lute. She polished quickly the wood, making the symbol of lion and fire shiny. Whatever this might represent, her mentor seemed to revere it, and that was enough for the bard to consider the sign with great respect.
Old Zylan never carried much on him, so everything he owned came down the stairs with him already. Part of it was convenience. His body wouldn’t take much weight. But another part was blindness. No one thinks about how much trouble it is to find something once you put it down. “Hmm... Our pack’s first female.” Wolfgang perked up, quirking his head to the side. “Oh come now. Girl! Lady friend!” Somehow, it wasn’t helping. “Well, at least they’re not philanderers,” the old man laughed, tapping his cane.
Mieijha excused herself from the table silently and went upstairs to repack her things, Shisoughc still perched on her arm. Moving, moving... she sighed inwardly. Like a leaf tumbling and fumbling in the subtle breeze, I am dragged along to the beat of a song that none may hear. Following, following I fall into darkness and come forth into the light. A knight with a curse so foul to spark a hatred of life so deep, and an orphaned child that deep within her chest beats the heart of a beast in sleep. “We’re caught in a whirlpool, Shisoughc,” Mieijha told her companion. “A whirlpool of destiny and darkness.”
* * *
Aroal returned downstairs and set Sara’s belongings down beside her, then went to the bar. “Could I get a bit of breakfast?” she asked the innkeeper. Once he brought her out a plate of the meal currently on the stove, she began to eat quickly at the bar.
Mieijha returned downstairs after completing her packing. She waited for Al and Elainne to be ready to head out, as she had already eaten and any more and she’d have to make an unscheduled stop on the way. “Well, on the road again,” she sighed. I am not used to all this moving around.
Al came down with his and Elainne’s things and, with a slight nod to the innkeeper, announced to his party that they were leaving now. Elainne waited outside with their horses, helping Zylan up onto Al’s horse, and Mieijha up onto her own horse with her. The group began their sojourn south towards Dragon Eye with Al in the lead.
* * *
They left the city quickly and quietly, which Aroal was grateful for. After the fight with Thrighan, the last thing she wanted was some guard recognizing her. As they left Dragon Scale’s north gates, Aroal picked up a quick, even pace, putting some distance between herself and the city. She was keeping pace with the horses, though they were ambling along at a lazy pace for the sake of all their companions on foot. Sara kept her pace as always, although she would stop every now and again to look at pretty rocks of interesting trees.
For more than anyone else, the lazy pace was kept for old Zylanthian Baratoice. The poor, opaque-eyed bearer of quirky wisdom didn’t have the long legs or young body of his companions, after all. Not only that, but he was unable to predict the temperament of the ground before him. He relied heavily on his companions, of which he always had a hand on one of them.
Myel-Elina was used to walking during her journeys, but not to keep pace with horses. She was glad Zylan was here to slow down the speed and Sara to stop here and again. She liked seeing the young woman filled with wonder at each rock or tree, and, somehow, shared her admiration.
After a little while, she offered to guide Zylan. The presence of the wolves still made her uneasy, but at least her voice could be useful to someone. She softly sang, hoping it would help the old man finding his way. Remembering of her lute and dagger, she finished her music and asked the old man: “Tell me, master Zylan. You seem to have gathered great knowledge. Have you ever heard of a sign with a lion surrounded by flames?”
Sara’s feet began to feel sore, and the walk began to seem long with each passing stone and tree. Although she enjoyed seeing the sights she refocused on the journey. “A lion with flames…” she couldn’t help but to eavesdrop; with such big ears who could blame her? “…that seems rather powerful. With two very strong iconic symbols, it could mean or represent all kinds of stuff.” Sara truly had no clue what she was talking about but she felt like she bestowed wisdom to the bard.
Shortly after her rambles, Sara managed to trip over a small stone. She had never tripped while on a trail before, of course she normally would stick to the trees. She picked herself up. “Bad stone! Don’t you ever jump out at me like that again!” she said with a smile, trying to playoff the embarrassment.
“A lion surrounded by flames?” Zylan repeated to himself, stroking his beard gently. “Asking the blind what they have seen is a question that requires guts, Ms Elina. What does this symbol matter to you?”
Mieijha rolled her eyes and hugged in close into Elainne. She was too tired to bother contributing even a small word, even if she had anything important to add. Waking up under the bed this morning was not a start to a lovely day and the smell of sweat-worn leather wasn’t pretty to her nose either. Above head, Shisoughc flew as majestically as possible, keeping an eye on his mistress and her companions.
“It...” Myel-Elina suddenly hesitated. If she began to talk about her lute, she should explain a lot about her mentor. And it might endanger herself and her friends. She remembered just too well Khôrahil’s assassins, and the latter’s complete silence about the symbols. She had since wondered a thousand times whether the symbols had a link with the murder, and she feared the answer. But she felt somehow like she could trust Sara and the old man. Just a feeling, but... Anyway, she had already told too much. There was no way she could just keep mute.
“Well... When I fled from home, I was accepted as a disciple by an errant bard. He told me everything I know about playing lute, singing songs, writing, traveling and so on. When he thought I had finished my learning, he gave me his dagger and his lute. Both of them are items of great value, as he told me, and they display the symbol of Lion and Flames.” Myel-Elina then took her lute and showed it to Sara. She was sad the old man could not see it too, but this could not be helped. “And... That is... Well, my mentor refused to explain me anything about this symbol. That’s why I’m asking you. I hoped you had heard something about it somewhere.”
“I might have, but I can confirm nothing now. Show me this tonight and I will see what an old mind has kept of such a thing.” Zylan gave her a toothy grin, then stumbled over a rock. With surprising grace, his hand landed on Wolfgang, who supported him quickly with spring-loaded legs. And the old man was moving again. “Hmph... The impudence of rocks...”
Aroal had overheard the conversation behind her, and offered what she could to Myel-Elina, “I know that Valis flies lions on their banners.” She of course, couldn’t see the symbols Myel-Elina was talking about, but she knew of at least one lion symbol. “Perhaps it belongs to some society in Valis?”
“The Flaming Lion society,” Al muttered. “I can see it now, setting poor lions on fire and making them battle petty nobles.” Al bit his lip to keep from bursting out in laughter, despite the image of flaming lions mauling pretty courtiers. “We’ll break for camp soon,” Al called back.
Myel-Elina felt a strange mix of comfort and embarrassment. She was comforted by everyone’s concern, but she also felt like she had just betrayed a part of herself and of her past. She couldn’t help it, anyway. Somehow, she were right to ask about it, but there was still a feeling of being guilty deep inside.
The evocation of Valis darkened the bard suddenly. All she remembered of her childhood in Valis was the sorrow of her mother when her father went to war, never to come back. Since her mother’s death, Myel-Elina had always hated everything having a link with the Holy Kingdom. She couldn’t imagine her mentor as a Valisian... Hopefully, Al answered with derision, and that relieved slightly the bard. “Hmm... Thank you all for your concern. I... I will show you the symbol that night, Zylan. And I... Well, just thank you everyone.”
