Perfect. The fast-moving creek was exactly where the villagers said it was. Along the western edge of town, it cut across making a natural border. A few bridges hung over the water and were a natural gathering place for fishermen hoping to add more to their diets.
At the edge of the water, Kuro had his pants rolled up and shoes tossed along the bank. He was knee-deep in the water and the chilling touch was oddly comforting after another day of pedaling. Wading in the water, Kuro had to find just the right place for the fanlike blades in the device to spin with the water's flow. A small gathering of rocks lurked just right for it to hold the device from being swept away, but he took the metal cables with him for good measure. He pulled it with him ashore and attached it to a few heavy stones to weigh them down. From there, a single yellow wire was attached to a box sitting along the water's edge. A single yellowish-green flicker told Kuro he had completed his task and he was able to return to the tavern for a hot meal.
There wasn't too much going on in Northfield. Peace and quiet were only disturbed by the occasional greeting from the villagers. Walking down the road gave Kuro a sense of nostalgia interwoven with homesickness despite the rocky way he left. In towns like these, the tavern was more of a place for people to gather after a tough day in the fields. As soon as Kuro swung the door open, laughter and chatter boomed in his face shaking him a bit. Near the far corner of the room, Milly was busy biting into a skewered fish in one hand and had a drink in the other. Each bite was followed by a gulp of her drink and created an endless loop of satisfaction.
“I got the one in the river going, any luck with finding a place to sleep for the night?” Kuro asked as he pulled out a chair.
“No…” Milly answered between gulps. “Not exactly?”
“What do you mean? Don’t tell me you’ve been eating the entire time?”
“Who do you think I am? Of course, I asked if there was a place to stay! It’s just that it doesn’t sound good.”
“How so?”
“There aren’t exactly rooms to stay in, well they have one room in the back, but it’s for people too lazy to make it home after partying so late. I don’t want to sleep there. There were also so many bugs!” Milly shivered. “They did say we could camp out anywhere near the outside of town.”
“I guess that’s better than nothing,” Kuro sighed. “At least we can grab some supplies before we head to Evanstone.”
“Yeah, let’s order more fish! It’s really good!”
WHAM!
Kuro was about to reach over for one of the fish Milly had on her plate when the door swung open and slammed into the wall behind it. The whole room went silent and watched the emerald shadow cross the threshold. Whatever liveliness was there was replaced with a tense stare as they walked across the room to two familiar faces.
“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!” Karen cried out. “Th- th- there’s no church here!”
Relief hit the room knowing they were not the target of a sermon in a place of relaxation. Although, Kuro and Milly were much less at ease.
“Come to think of it, I guess I didn’t see one,” Kuro reasoned, holding his chin.
“Th-they said that de-demons attacked a l-long time ago and th-the priest ran away.”
“That would explain it, why would they have faith in the church if they were abandoned?”
Karen slammed the table with her hand, “You’re right! If there isn’t any faith in the town all I need to do is renew it!”
“Good luck with that,” Kuro wished with no life in his voice.
“There’s no need for luck when I have some wonderful helpers right here."
Kuro and Milly looked around to see who Karen waved her hand to. As if directing the room, everybody had their eyes looking away or in their drinks as the hand moved along their path. Her hand finally settled right on Milly and Kuro much to their dismay.
"No way, definitely not, we agreed to take you to the next town and we did that. We have to continue on our journey as soon as we can," rejected Milly.
"I can compensate you generously for your time, how does 500 gold sound for helping me find followers tomorrow?"
Milly's face stiffened seriously, " We'd be glad to help."
"Milly! Team meeting! Now!" Kuro jumped in between pulling Milly away.
Karen sat down at their table and began helping herself to one of their fish skewers while Kuro and Milly emerged into the cooling evening air. Kuro ruffled his hair in agony as Milly averted her eyes trying to look innocent.
"What did you mean by 'we'd be glad to help'? Haven't we suffered enough of her craziness?" Kuro stomped on the ground.
"We could use the money…" Milly nodded with her eyes avoiding Kuro. "The rich didn't become rich by turning away an easy job with a big payout."
"What happened to the coin we got from, need I remind you, the armed robbery we accidentally committed?"
"It's almost all gone…" mumbled Milly.
Kuro’s ears perked up at the last word from Milly’s lips, "There was so much gold. How could it be almost all gone already?"
"The mobile transport we made cost a lot… It required plenty of custom-made parts. The prison break was also pricey since I had to buy some expensive chemicals. I even had to take some of your share."
"Just tell me, I promise I won't get mad, how much do we have left exactly?
"Around 30 gold? No wait, about 28 gold after the fish."
Kuro’s eyes bulged out as the whites of it almost fully took over. He grabbed Milly’s once more bursting into the room and toward the girl who nearly finished the entire plate. He was too desperate to be annoyed stopping right in front of her.
"We'll be glad to help!" Kuro shouted, bowing his head a bit.
"Excellent! Tomorrow, we'll try to gather as many followers as we can! Tonight, the food is on me!" Karen said while joyfully clapping her hands together.
Karen called over for more skewers for the group as she began to talk strategy. From some reasonable methods of handing out more fliers to downright cringeworthy scam-like methods to get people to sign up. She bragged about being one of the top recruiters while Kuro and Milly did their best to fill their stomachs as fast as possible to excuse themselves. Karen was still rattling off stories when her two guests stood up and waved to her goodbye and continued out the door wordlessly to avoid encouraging more of her tales.
Relief returned to Kuro and Milly in the relative silence of the evening air. They walked amongst the sounds of crickets beginning their songs while fireflies danced along the fields. Camping was far better than staying in a musty old stable. Bedrolls simply beat haystacks any day and Kuro longed for his. Earlier in the day, they had parked in an empty plot of land that the villagers designated as the "inn" when in reality it was just an open field that the children used for play.
Sunlight was starting to hide away around the horizon, but there was no rush that night to set up camp. On nights out, Milly would pull the canvas top that made the cart resemble a covered wagon over the storage area and tuck herself amongst their cargo. At first, she slept in a tent similar to Kuro’s near the wagon, but the dread of sharing her space with creeping crawlers kept her restless through the night. Looking at their improved setup compared to their first night together, Kuro could feel the coin spent even more. It became routine for them to relax before a campfire before turning in for the night, but since they were in the safety of the village, no watch had to be taken. Nothing beats a full stomach and a peaceful night's sleep.
Grrrrrr
A disharmonious rustling jolted Kuro awake and whatever made that sound wasn't Milly’s usual snoring that went uninterrupted. Along the canvas walls of his tent, an inhuman shadow darkened the amber glow of the fire. Kuro reached into his pocket and held the weapon in his hand waiting for the right time to catch it off guard. A large snout followed by rows of glistening teeth pushed through the canvas flap above Kuro’s head. Saliva rained down on his face, disgusting Kuro. He fought with himself not to retch at the smell of it on his skin. The intruder turned and smelled the air before it pulled out to Kuro’s surprise.
Not passing up the chance, Kuro jumped out of the tent taking the initiative to strike first. With weapon in hand, he raised it to the air ready to pull it down onto the unsuspecting creature. In one swoop, Kuro brought the weapon on his target only for a shadow to push it away from him and made him slam the tip of it on the ground. His hands stung from the vibrations as a large dog was on what looked like a human-shaped canine.
“Stop! Stop! That tickles!” cried the pinned-down creature.
Chomper was beside himself at the sight of a potential new friend, but what was play for him was a tense situation for the stranger. Kuro took one of the lights Milly gave him before and shined it on the intruder. With each lick of Chomper’s tongue, the wolf-like features faded with laughter until a person popped out of a swirl of magic.
“Please! Get your dog off of me! I can’t- I can’t- take it anymore!” the girl hollered.
Kuro wiped his face on his sleeve before patting Chomper on the back to signal him to let him take charge. He spun and sat with a thump next to Kuro for more petting for a job well done. The girl wheezed at last getting a chance to catch her breath now freed from the torturous ticklings.
“Now that I have you at the mercy of my ferocious guard dog, care to explain yourself?” Kuro interrogated.
“Ne-never! You’re not getting anything from me!” said the girl leaping up.
“Suit yourself! Chomper, go play!”
There wasn’t a second thought. Chomper leaped through the air with tongue flapping in the wind before pinning the girl once more. Screams and laughter filled the area to awaken a sleepy Milly who popped her head out.
“What are you doing, Kuro?” Milly yawned.
“Uh, you know, just trying to loosen someone’s tongue.” Kuro joked.
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