Beyond the Mist

Ren stopped a few steps before him, and Sawe did the same. For a few seconds, no one spoke. Myrddin looked first at the backpacks, then at the extra bundles, then at Ren.

“Are you taking half the village with you, or merely pretending to?”

Sawe adjusted the backpack on his shoulders. “They insisted.”

“And you accepted everything?”

“I accepted what seemed useful.”

Myrddin looked at one of the bags. “Sweet bread?”

Sawe pointed at Ren. “That one is his.”

Ren tightened his grip on the backpack strap. “It was a gift.”

“I did not criticize it.”

“Your face did.”

Myrddin raised an eyebrow. “My face rarely needs to make an effort for that.”

A few people nearby laughed softly. Ren looked at the old man.

“Are you going to give a lecture now?”

“I considered it, but I doubt you would absorb anything this early in the morning.”

“Then better not.”

“We finally agree on something.”

Sawe looked from one to the other and let out a sigh. “You two can turn a farewell into an argument.”

Myrddin turned his attention to Sawe. “Do you know the way to Gor’sha?”

“I know enough not to fall off a cliff in the first hour. After the Initial Forest, I’ll follow the old hunting markers to the eastern descent. If the mist is too thick, we’ll wait for it to clear.”

“Do not wait too long,” Myrddin said. “The mist protects Adrossa, but it also disorients those who do not know how to listen to it. When it begins to open, move forward. When it closes too much, stop. And if you hear running water where there should be no water, change direction.”

Ren frowned. “Why?”

“Because perhaps it is water.”

“And if it is?”

“Then you will want to be far away.”

Ren looked at Sawe. Sawe seemed just as confused as he was, but simply nodded. “We’ll remember.”

Myrddin slipped a hand into his sleeve and took out a small leather pouch. He handed it to Sawe. “Coins. Not many. Do not spend everything in the first city.”

Sawe opened the pouch quickly, saw the contents, and closed it again. “This is more than I expected.”

“Then expect less next time. It will make it easier to impress you.”

After that, Myrddin handed another object to Ren. It was a small cylinder of dark wood, sealed at both ends with metal.

“Give this to Kragg along with the letter. Do not open it.”

Ren turned the cylinder in his hand. “What’s inside?”

“Something that should not be opened by you.”

“That didn’t answer.”

“That was the intention.”

Ren stared at the old man for a few seconds, but stored the cylinder away. Sawe watched the gesture.

“If that explodes inside his backpack, I’m going to complain.”

“If it explodes, you probably will not have time.”

“That doesn’t help.”

“Not everything needs to help.”

Ren crossed his arms. “You’re sending us to another country with a strange pass, a letter for an orc, and a cylinder we can’t open. Is there anything else you forgot to mention?”

Myrddin stayed silent for a moment. His expression did not change much, but his eyes became a little more serious. “Yes. Do not trust the first version of any story you hear outside this place. Different peoples tell different truths, and all of them swear their own is the only correct one.”

Ren waited, but the old man did not continue. “That was almost a lecture.”

“It was a warning.”

“It sounded like a lecture.”

“Then consider that I have grown old enough to mix the two.”

Sawe looked toward the trail beyond the markers. “Are you sure you can’t come?”

The question came out lower than before. Myrddin watched Sawe for a few seconds.

“I cannot.”

“I know someone needs to stay. I just wanted to hear it again.”

“Then hear it again. I cannot go.”

Sawe nodded. Ren noticed that he wanted to say something else, but did not. Myrddin noticed too.

“You will protect him better than I would on this journey.”

Sawe lifted his gaze. “Me?”

“Yes. Because you know when to speak, when to be silent, and when to pull him by the collar before he does something idiotic.”

Ren looked at the old man. “I’m right here.”

“I know. That is why I spoke clearly.”

Sawe smiled faintly. “I’ll do what I can.”

“Do not merely do what you can. Do what is necessary.”

Sawe’s smile faded a little. “Understood.”

Myrddin then turned his eyes to Ren. “And you. Listen to Sawe.”

Ren answered too quickly. “I listen.”

Sawe looked at him. “You hear. Listening is different.”

“I listen when it makes sense.”

“That is exactly the problem,” Myrddin said.

Ren let out a sigh. “Fine. I’ll try not to cause trouble.”

“I did not ask that.”

Ren frowned. “You didn’t?”

“No. Trouble will happen. You have a talent for attracting it even while standing still. What I ask is that you do not turn every problem into a fight.”

Sawe nodded slowly. “That request is more realistic.”

Ren looked at both of them. “Are you two enjoying this?”

“A little,” Sawe said.

“No,” Myrddin said at the same time.

The two stared at each other for a moment. Myrddin looked away first.

The village remained silent, but now it was not an empty silence. It was waiting. Everyone knew the moment was close. Mara tightened her grip on her daughter’s hand, Garret uncrossed his arms, and the children stopped whispering. Ren felt it without needing to look back.

Myrddin took a step forward and placed a hand on Ren’s shoulder. His touch was firm, but not heavy. For a moment, the old man said nothing. Then he spoke in a low voice, only for Ren to hear.

“You owe nothing to the world outside. Do not let it convince you otherwise.”

Ren stood still. That sentence did not sound like combat advice, nor an order. It sounded like something else. He did not know how to answer, so he answered in the only way he could.

“I’ll come back.”

Myrddin kept his hand on Ren’s shoulder for another moment. “I know.”

Sawe adjusted the bracelet on his wrist, took a deep breath, and looked at the trail. “It’s time.”

Ren looked at the village one last time. Adrossa stood before him as it always had: dark wooden houses, rough stone, mist between the streets, and people who had watched him grow, fall, stand back up, break things by accident, and pretend he did not care about anything. He did not know how to say goodbye to that place. So he simply lowered his head. A simple gesture, but everyone understood.

Some people waved. Others only smiled. Garret raised one hand. Mara wiped her face with her sleeve. The children tried to look strong and failed.

Ren turned toward the trail, and Sawe stood beside him. The two passed the stone markers. The mist received them immediately, cold and thick, wrapping around their legs and rising to their chests. The village behind them began to disappear little by little, as if it had never been there.

Ren did not look back again. If he did, it might take him longer to keep walking. Sawe noticed, but said nothing.

The trail descended the mountain in silence. Wet stones marked the path, roots rose from the earth, and the mist hid part of the ground only a few steps ahead. The air smelled of wet leaves, moss, and cold. For several minutes, neither of them spoke.

Then Sawe broke the silence. “You realize you forgot to fix the doorknob, the pen latch, and maybe half the marks you left on the ground, right?”

Ren kept looking forward. “I said someone would fix them.”

“Are you really going to leave that as your final legacy before the journey?”

“I also carried the barrels.”

“That doesn’t erase the doorknob.”

“It should.”

Sawe let out a low laugh. Ren walked in silence for a few more steps. Then, almost without realizing it, he brought his hand to the inner pocket of his clothes, where the pass was stored. The cold metal touched his fingers through the fabric.

The journey had begun. But the world beyond the mist had not shown its face yet. And for now, Ren kept walking.

©JAE-HOON