Ch 4 - He arrives
Flashback of Nima and older brother
Nima is sitting on Joshua’s shoulders, pretending to be a bird. There is blinding light ahead of them, and the flashback ends.
Nima and Ashim are riding the albu when a herd of dear pass them. They gape in amazement.
Later on, a man is hiding in the snow. He is tired and panting, and he sees the two riding the albu. His stomach growls.
He pulls his bow.
Quivers.
Nima spots something with a sharp gaze.
Quivers.
He puts the bow down.
He runs over to the two.
‘Hey, hey, do you mind if I get on?’
‘Huh?’
‘Who are you?’
‘I’m a traveller.’
‘I’m lost. I need to find civilisation. *mouth waters*
‘Um,’ *whispers* ‘What do you say, Nima?’
*I don’t know if we can trust him*
*What if he robs us?*
*Hmmm….*
‘Tell me, what can you do for us?’
‘I’m strong, I can fend off a bear. I can hunt’.
‘I also have knowledge of the surrounding area, if that’s any help to you’.
Hmmm, hmmm.
*What do you say?*
*Alright*
You can join us, as long as you help us too.
Yippee! *jumps for joy*
*How old is he?*
They make their way across the snow.
At night time, they’re sitting next to a fire after each taking a bite of corneoryte.
‘I see, so you’re looking for the Lost Land. Hahaha, you’re crazy! You’ll never find something like that!’
‘Just watch us’, Nima grimaces.
‘What about you?’ says Ashim.
‘I don’t have a destination. I’m a wandering soul, looking for a new home’.
‘I’ll tag along with you while I’m searching for my own destination.
After a bit more talking, Nima draws a line.
‘This line here is as far as you can go. If you go over it, you’ll be kicked out of our group’.
Man: ‘Geez, ok.’
The next day.
They find themselves surrounded by snow lions.
‘This isn’t something albu can fend off by herself.’
Nima takes out boomerang and Ashim slingshot.
‘Don’t worry you two, leave this one to me.’
The man slays a snow lion and the rest of them run away.
‘Yum! This is just what I’ve been waiting for! This will last us a bit!’
After taking the meat from the lion they set off again.
They reach a village.
It’s very quiet.
I wonder if there’s a place we can stay?
It turns out to be a village of ghosts.
They hear things but see nothing. Then they find some skeletons.
‘Looks like this village has been abandoned.’
The man looks uncomfortable and twiddles his fingers.
Finally, they find a pub with people in it. It is lively and people are laughing and shouting. They’re delighted, but the man seems worried. They order drinks (the kids order juice) but just as they are about to drink, everything turns to dust.
‘Look out!’ The man pushes the kids out of the way.
They are attacked by the skeletons.
Then a woman appears in front of the skeletons. The man hesitates to fight her. She blows him away and he starts fighting, eventually defeating her. In doing so, he has freed her. She kisses him and then disappears.
‘Let me tell you a story. I’m from a village in this area. It used to be thriving until one day, disaster struck. A few children from the village were kidnapped by an ijiraq. We searched for them until my fiancee at the time found them. She pleaded to the ijiraq to let the children go, but it refused. Then it struck a deal that it would give the children back in exchange of her soul. Seeing the children’s lives of better value than her own, she accepted. But I was not happy. I wanted her back. So, I set of to see the ijiraq.
When I met him, he said we could play a betting game. But the lives of the village people was at stake.
Foolish me, I should have just accepted things as they were, but I was too desperate to see my fiancee again.
We would roll a dice. And depending on the result, I could get my fiancee back.
The rules were:
1-I get my fiancee back and the village goes untouched
2-I get my fiancee but the ijiraq gets the souls of all the villagers
3-I get my fiancee back at the cost of my soul
4-I don’t get my fiancee back but everything else goes untouched
5-I don’t get my fiancee back and it takes the souls of the villagers
6-I don’t get my fiancee back and it takes my soul
I took the risk, and I got 5.
Foolish, foolish, me.
This is the truth I have to live with now. I couldn’t save my fiancee, and I have no village left to go to. I am not deserving of a new fiancee or village. But I must do something. So I walk.
Nima sheds a tear. ‘I can’t believe it…’
‘Come now children, we’ve got a ways to go’.
‘I’ll help you do something noteworthy, before my time is up’.
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