The next day, after Astatine checked out of the inn, he led his horse back to the spot where he had encountered the street musician the day before.  The lute player was nowhere to be found.  He sighed.

Probably long gone, he thought.  I guess I should just get going and head to the next city.

Suddenly, there was a flash in the distance.  A column of light shot upwards towards the clouds.  Lightning spiraled towards the sky.

“What the hell?” Astatine said.  He mounted his horse and pulled on the reins.  The horse galloped through the streets toward the column of light.  As they got closer, he saw a group of Southern Region soldiers pointing their weapons towards something in the middle of their circular formation.  He strained his eyes to get a better look and then gasped.

In the middle of the circle of soldiers was the street musician from yesterday.  He was sitting on the dusty ground with his lute strapped to his back, clutching a bag closely to his chest and shaking.  Streaks of lightning spiraled around him.  The soldiers stepped back to avoid being struck by the lighting.

“Who is he?” one soldier asked in Daksinabhasa.

“This is unfamiliar magic!” another shouted.

The musician clutched his bag even tighter.

“What is he holding?” a third soldier asked.

“He seems dangerous!” declared a fourth soldier.  “We should kill him immediately before he causes any trouble!”

Astatine’s eyes widened.

“Stop right there!” he shouted.  The soldiers turned to face him.

“Who the hell are you?” one of the soldiers demanded.

Astatine held up his token.  “I am the envoy of the Earth Priestess of the Southern Region!”

“The Earth Priestess?” another soldier asked.

“I’ve been dispatched to investigate all matters dealing with magic.  Stand down.  I will deal with this one myself!”

The soldiers looked at him skeptically.  Astatine held out his hand and dark waves started forming around him.  Small rocks began to levitate.  His cloak billowed, his hair flowed wildly behind him, and there was a menacing gleam in his hazel eyes.

The soldiers shuddered and began to shout nervously.

“Earth magic!”

“He really is sent by the priestess!”

Astatine’s expression was grim.  “You are not needed here.  Have I not made myself clear?”

“Yes, apologies, my lord!”  a soldier sputtered.  “We shall depart!”  They dispersed immediately, practically running over each other to get away as quickly as possible.

Astatine smirked.  My lord?  I like the sound of that.  He lowered his hand and the dark waves dissipated.  The small levitating rocks fell back to the ground.

He turned to the musician and addressed him in Sargeshi.  “Are you all right?”

The musician trembled and more lightning circled around him.

“It’s all right, I won’t harm you,” Astatine said.  “I just needed to scare them away.”

“W-who are you?” the musician asked.

Astatine flashed him a smile.  “Just a low-level mage.”

The musician stared at him blankly.

“We met yesterday, do you remember?  You were playing music on the street corner, and I gave you some coins.”

The musician’s expression softened a bit.  “Oh…I remember.  No one else gave me any money.”

“Oh?  That’s a pity.  You’re quite talented.”

The musician blinked.  “Thanks…?”

Astatine dismounted his horse and stepped forward.  Another stray lightning bolt shot up from the ground and he stepped back. “What is…this?  It’s not magic of any of the four elements.”

The musician gave him a confused look.

“What happened here anyway?  Why were the soldiers trying to attack you?”

The musician clutched his bag again.

Astatine frowned.  “There are many military checkpoints everywhere and the soldiers will stop anyone who looks suspicious.  You definitely don’t look like you’re from around here.  I’ve never seen anyone with silver hair like that before.  Were they trying to search your things?  You keep holding onto your bag as if you’re hiding something.”

“…”

“Look, I won’t ask you what you have in that bag, since that’s your own business.  Where are you headed?”

The musician hesitated.  “Nowhere in particular.  I just wander…”

“Ah, a fellow wanderer.”

“Hm?”

“There are going to be more military checkpoints if you keep traveling.  I can accompany you to your next destination if you don’t want the soldiers to bother you.  As the envoy of the Earth Priestess, they won’t give me any trouble.”

“What is…the Earth Priestess?”

“Huh?  You’ve never heard of-?  Have you heard of the goddesses of the four elements?

“No…”

“You’ve never heard of the four goddesses?”  

The musician shook his head.

Did he grow up in a remote area?  Even in our isolated valley when I was a child, we knew about the four goddesses…”Where are you from…originally?”

The musician hesitated. “Very far away…”

“Which region?”

“Region?  I don’t understand…”

Huh? Astatine thought.  “The world has four regions - North, East, South, and West.  We’re currently in the Western Region.”

“Oh…I wasn’t aware…”

“What?”

“I’ve just been wandering for a long time.  I don’t really know where I am…”

“Um…okay…how long have you been wandering?”

“Mmm…a very long time.  I lost track.  All the days blend into each other…”

Astatine took a closer look at him.  He looks a bit gaunt… “When was the last time you’ve eaten?”

“Um…”

Astatine reached into the bundle strapped to his back and fished out a piece of flatbread.

“Here,” he said, holding it out.

The musician’s bluish gray eyes widened but he hesitated and remained where he was.

“It’s safe to eat.  Here, I’ll eat a small part first.”  Astatine tore off a piece and placed it in his mouth.  He stepped forward and handed over the rest.  

The musician took the flatbread and bit into it.  He chewed slowly.  “Thank you…”

“When we get to the next city, I’ll buy you some more food.”

The musician looked at him incredulously.  “Why?”

Astatine was taken aback.  “Why?  You seem like you haven’t eaten in days.”

“That’s true…but why would you just do that?”

Astatine smiled.  “Maybe I just feel like being generous.”

The musician gasped and retreated backwards.

Astatine blinked, confused by the musician’s reaction.

“People aren’t generous for no reason,” said the musician.  “Usually they want something in return.”

Astatine’s hazel eyes widened.  What has this person been through to make him so wary?  “Don’t worry, I won’t ask anything of you.”

“…”

“If you want, we could just part ways here,” Astatine offered.  Although I don’t want to just leave him to fend for himself.  Maybe I can just have the raven monitor him…

The musician stood up slowly and thought for a while.  “I-...You can come with me…at least until the next city…”

Astatine smiled.

***

Astatine held the reins of his horse as he walked alongside the musician down the country road.  They had been on this dirt path for at least an hour.  Fields with yellowed blades of grass surrounded them on both sides and ominous gray clouds dangled overhead.  The musician said nothing and just looked downward or off to the side as they walked on.

“You know, we can get to the next city faster if we ride the horse,” Astatine offered.

“Mm,” The musician glanced over at Astatine.  “There is only one horse…”

“You can sit  behind me…just as long as you don’t stab me in the back.”

The musician gasped and took a step away.

“I’m joking…”

“…”

Droplets of water began to descend from the clouds.  Astatine held out his hand to catch the raindrops.  “It’ll take hours if we just walk, and we’ll be drenched.”

He mounted his horse and held out his hand.  The musician looked up at him.  More raindrops descended.  The musician hesitated but extended his hand and Astatine pulled him up.  The musician sat behind him.

“Just hold on tightly,” said Astatine.  The musician slowly put his arms around Astatine’s back and clasped his fingers together.  Astatine pulled on reins and the horse lurched forward.  The musician gasped, squeezed his eyes shut, and tightened his arms around Astatine.  Astatine smiled.

The horse galloped forward and Astatine turned his head.  “By the way, what is your name?”

The musician opened his eyes and looked at him.  “Eskil…”

“Es…kil…?  That’s an interesting sounding name.  Never heard it before.”

“It’s short for Asketill…”

Astatine looked at him quizzically.  “Definitely never heard of that one before.  Does it mean anything?”

“Mm…it means ‘divine cauldron.’”

“Eh?  Divine cauldron?  Was your mother a witch?”

Eskil’s face turned red.

“Sorry…I shouldn’t joke like that…it’s a nice name…My name is Astatine.”

“Astatine?  That sounds interesting too…does it mean anything?”

“Eh…I think my parents were not in their right mind when they named me.  It comes from astatos (ἄστατος), which means ‘unstable.’”  Astatine laughed bitterly.  “They probably thought it just sounded nice.”

Eskil looked worried  “Oh…”

Astatine smiled back at him.  “Don’t worry, it’s just a name…”