According to Boulden, she is apparently terrified of fighting, but she would much rather die with her comrades than receive news of their deaths. She is strong in both mind and body, but her heart is weak.
Though her words were unnecessary, Claire nodded and laid back against the wagon we were all in.
I didn’t really ask her to defend me, in fact, I didn’t feel insulted. My old age has never bothered me during battle or forging, so I have never given it a second thought.
But, I didn’t dare comment since the unneeded storm had been quelled.
It was getting dark rather quickly, and out of nowhere, Boulden pulled out an instrument.
“Without the warmth of a fire, man is left with no choice but to utilize his instruments.” He said. I didn’t know what to say or do, so I just watched him string what looked like a violin.
Strey noticed my glances and pointed at him.
“He’s a good fiddler, despite his unruly size.” She said with a slight laugh at her own joke.
What she said was an understatement. Boulden wasn’t simply ‘proficient’ with that fiddle, he was talented. I expected him to sing some sort of hearty travel song, yet he played a famous lullaby called the ‘New Seasons’. A rather simple tune, that if played correctly, triggers familiar reactions. It is said that during the song, you could smell the flowers in the spring, feel the heat of the summer, watch the falling leaves in the fall, and touch the falling snow in winter.
It is sort of similar to how certain shells may ‘convey’ the melody of the ocean when winds blow through them.
Well, regardless of whether it was true or not, the wonderful lullaby he played did the trick. Even the child in the basket was asleep. The only ones left awake were Aaron, Lander, Boulden, and I. However, Boulden quickly packed his fiddle, laid down, and closed his eyes.
“He’s always been like that.” Said Aaron, as he watched me.
“I see,” I replied, and then we just sat there in silence as the wagons moved. The air was only getting colder by the second and the sounds got louder the farther we moved into the forest.
“Could you take over for a bit, Aaron?” Said Lander, as he motioned for his brother to sit beside him. He did as he was told, and they switched places. Lander laid down, and after a handful of minutes, he was out of it as well. The air kept getting colder and colder, forcing them to wiggle about in their sleep, just to get some sort of temporary warmness.
I watched them before looking at the shaking child in the basket. I sighed and strengthened my body with a little bit of mana. I felt every single cell warm up slowly, and once I had felt completely warm, I picked the child up and tucked him inside my loose vest. Eventually, his breathing calmed down and he stopped moving about like them.
I, however, felt nothing at all. In fact, I passed the time by watching the others wiggle about like worms. It was oddly satisfying.
“Master Ashen, do you mind keeping me company? I highly doubt any of them will wake up anytime soon. They had a pretty rough couple of weeks thanks to us…” Said, Aaron. I shrugged, picked up the basket, and stealthily made my way to the front of the long wagon. I tried my best not to step on anyone, but it was dark, and they might still be feeling the aftereffects of intoxication so they could probably handle it.
“ We were supposed to arrive a while ago in Dains. Like I told you, the master of the caravan we rode with tended to listen to money, so it delayed us by a week or so. When we went missing for those few weeks, they were sent to look for us. They spent many sleepless days and nights looking for any traces of us, but they found nothing. Then, they met you at the Adventurers Guild, and that led them to us. They were dead tired, and they finally got the chance to loosen up.” Said, Aaron. I feigned surprise since I already heard this from Boulden.
“I, however, don’t really feel tired at all. In fact, I simply want to get to Dains as fast as possible to repay you in any way that I can.” He said, not looking at me.
“There’s no need for that,” I said, lying. It would be nice if I could get more information about the workings of Dains from Aaron. Boulden was certainly a great help, but Aaron would understand the economical and political atmosphere better.
“No, I have already resolved to spend my lifetime repaying you. My family matters more to me than my own life does, and by saving them, you technically deserve more than my life’s worth, so this is nothing.” He said. I guess it wouldn’t hurt to have an acquaintance in Dains during my mission. I sighed, and then something that had been bothering me resurfaced, so I asked him a question.
“Earlier, one of them said that they, as a band, have never been to the Kingdom of Great Marsh. How is that possible if they have to travel in and out of Dains frequently?” I asked, completely perplexed by their logic.
“Oh, I see. Dains has a very specific safe route to the Domains and other kingdoms. Usually, you would follow that path back and forth, and that’s the one we were on with the Caravan, but as I said, they found nothing about us on that path and so they decided to look everywhere. Great Marsh is not usually near the road, and the only reason we are taking it today is to shorten the trip by a few days or so. Thankfully, it’s the only kingdom on our path. It will also be the Winter Solstice Festival soon, so everyone will want to come home and the usual road will be cramped.” He said matter-of-factly.
I nodded. In fact, this would certainly benefit me since we are going to get there faster.
“I see. That makes sense.” I added and our conversation lulled into a comfortable silence as we both watched our surroundings change. Soon we would see the lights of the Kingdom Great Marsh and hear the sounds of the clamoring people.
However, what happened was not something we were expecting.
Only Aaron and I were awake as he rounded the bend and caught sight of quite a few lights. Too many, really. I motioned for him to hurry through the forest and get closer to the kingdom, but that was a mistake. We could clearly see everything now…
The entire Kingdom was up in flames. Everything was burning. The land, buildings, and what looked like people from far away. We were too far to hear any sounds, but Aaron knew better than to get closer. He forcibly moved the horses off the path leading us to the kingdom’s borders so we could cross through.
“We have no choice Master Ashen. We need to move around this hellish landscape!” He said as he yanked harder on the horses. They obeyed him and now, the burning kingdom was to our left.
Although it was indeed being destroyed, it stood true to its name to the very end. It looked like an army straight out of hell was marching. I felt shivers run up my spine at the sight. Eventually, we managed to pass the official southern borders of the kingdom. I looked back one last time before resting my back against the wagon and closing my eyes.
Today, the Kingdom Great Marsh had officially been swallowed by history. It was nothing new to me. Just like people die, so do kingdoms, and it would be a waste of time to dwell on such things.
I erased it from my mind and opened my eyes once to look at Aaron. He looked like he was shaking violently, yet he tried to force himself to stay still.
He was terrified.
“Aaron. We were never here. We saw nothing and did nothing. In fact, since it’s just me and you who were awake, we might as well consider ourselves lucky. Now, remove that sight from your mind and focus on the road ahead.” I said, my tone hard.
He looked at me and took a deep breath. No, he took a few deep breaths before he finally calmed down, but I could still see the fear in him.
It’s fine. He will get accustomed to this feeling. We all eventually do.
“Well, it might just be for the best if we remain on well-known paths on any trip from now on. Thankfully, there is one nearby and there are no more kingdoms on it, save for Dains, now.” He said with an awkward smile. I just nodded and closed my eyes once again.
That’s a good way of thinking. Gabriel always said that nothing but great pain awaits those who tread the paths least taken.
Eventually, Aaron was fidgeting far too much, so I took the reins and a map and ordered him to sleep. He didn’t really fight back at all.
Despite this rather ‘memorable’ first day on the road, the rest of the trip took six days and was terribly uncomfortable since we took a 'few' long breaks. I got closer to the members of the Tipsy Penguin, albeit grudgingly, and learned valuable things about Dains. We also got lucky and encountered nothing remotely dangerous at all, so it was only a matter of time before we made it to our final destination safely.
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