Birds chirped from somewhere above. There was a buzzing, but it wasn’t clear where it was coming from. As Rajhu’s eyes slowly fluttered open, bright light suffused his vision. He tried to move, but thought better of it when pain the likes of which he had never known spiked through his body. Groaning, he resigned himself to shifting slightly instead.

What had happened? Why was he so broken down? And why was everything moving past him, if he was lying still? The world rattled, and he rolled over, looking ahead of himself. As he did, the unwelcome sight of a horse’s backside came into view.

He clicked his tongue. ‘This is what I wake up to, now?’

Beside him, Rajhu could hear Will stirring. He rolled again, taking a look at his young friend, who lay beside him, bandages wrapping his shoulder and left arm.

‘You two boys are mighty lucky to be alive, you know…’

A hand settled on his shoulder and Raj saw a man walking beside the cart. He had a thick frame, and though he was an elder, his aged body was still corded with muscle. Grey eyes observed Rajhu from a weather-lined face. The man scratched at a brushing of white stubble on his strong chin and smiled. ‘But perhaps… it’s less luck than I thought…’

Raj knit his brow together, struggling up into a seated position. ‘Who are you, uncle?’

‘Me?’ the man laughed. ‘I’m Buri.’

Rajhu started, giving the man a second look. He was old. Perhaps in his seventieth year. Though age was relative, Rajhu wasn’t able to reconcile the age of this man with his name.

‘B— Buri?’ He questioned. Not taking his eyes off the man, Rajhu groped around with his free hand, slapping at Will. He heard his friend wince, cursing lightly under his breath.

‘Raj… I swear, I’m going to gut you! I-’ Will scrambled up, pulling his fist back as he struck out for Rajhu.

‘Will, look, it’s Buri!’ Rajhu barked.

Will faltered, stumbling onto Rajhu as he stared at the old man walking beside the creaking cart.

‘B-Buri?’ Will stuttered.

Rajhu tilted his head. ‘That’s what I said…’

Will crawled over Rajhu, sending a knee into his stomach. Raj groaned, pushing Will forward, almost sending him tumbling out of the cart.

‘Buri, like… I mean, as in Fredrik Dorzen Buri?’

The old man smiled, giving Will the smallest nod. ‘Yes. Though… I haven’t heard my whole name since I was in swaddling.’

Will laughed, throwing a hand back and slapping Rajhu in the chest.

‘Raj, it’s Buri! You know, the greatest swordsman to ever have lived? He’s that Buri!’

Rajhu wheezed as he repositioned himself. ‘I thought you’d be pleased…’

The old man raised an eyebrow. ‘You’re not a swordsman, are you my boy?’

‘Who, me?’ Will laughed. ‘Ah, no… I don’t know. I wouldn’t call myself a swordsman. I dabble…’

‘Dabble…’ The man smirked. ‘Son, we all dabble. It’s a hell of a lot easier to say that, than to announce to the whole world your craft. If you only dabble, well… You don’t get into as much trouble, do you?’

‘You would be surprised at how much trouble he gets into, sir Buri…’ Rajhu insisted.

Will gave him a look, and Rajhu rolled his eyes. It was to be like this, he supposed. Will had talked of this Buri many times over the years. As he’d said, it was widely accepted that he was the greatest swordsman to ever have lived - a claim that had caused the man countless battles, and countless riches as he was sought by kingdoms to fight in their wars and tournaments. That didn’t even begin to delve into the kind of gold the man made in training…

Will cleared his throat. ‘What are you doing in these parts? I mean, the last anyone heard of you… It was thirty years ago, and you were near the sea of Constantine. Most everyone thinks you’re dead, sir…’

‘Oh, please…’ the man scoffed. ‘Me? Sir? No, no… That won’t do at all. My name’s Buri. It was given to me for a reason. People might as well call me by it.’

Will giggled. Rajhu glared at the boy, which did no more than cause him to repeat the action.

‘What are you doing, Will?’

‘I’m sorry, Raj. But I mean, the greatest swordsman who ever lived or fought just asked me to call him by his name.’

‘Don’t mind the boy, sir Buri. He’s a little dazzled by you.’

‘Hmm, so it seems…’

‘My name is Rajhu… The giggling boy is Will. We’re simple travellers… Down on our luck.’

Buri nodded. ‘Now that I can understand. But never fear. All travellers are welcome here. And any boy who dabbles in swordsmanship is a friend of mine…’

Will’s smile grew past what Rajhu thought was physically proper, and again, he giggled.

Rajhu sighed, letting his eyes droop. He supposed such was the way of young people. They were easily influenced by the sight of their heroes. Even Rajhu had to admit some excitement at being in the presence of a legend. There was a thing called decorum, however. He didn’t see why Will was incapable of exercising a little of it at the moment.

‘You boys have a reason for being this far up the mountainside?’ Buri asked, a knowing twinkle gleaming through his glance.

‘We…’

‘Yeah. Raj… How did we get up here? The last thing I remember is that Djinn coming at me…’

‘Djinn?’

Rajhu waved Wills comment aside with a flippant gesture as he smiled at Buri. It took a good deal of his remaining energy to conjure up the expression. Even so, he was confident it held little substance. ‘It turned out it was a Magi, honestly. No big thing, I assure you.’

‘Uh-huh…’ the old man nodded, the twinkle returning to his eyes. ‘And yet, I found the two of you at the base of a crater. If I were a younger man, susceptible to fantastic ideas, I’d have bet you fell from the sky, crushing that gouge into the stone.’ He paused, raising a hand in a placating gesture. ‘Ah… If I where a younger man, you understand…’

Rajhu held his smile, letting his head bobble side to side. ‘Sir Buri. We… don’t want any trouble. It… simply has a way of finding us.’

‘Say no more, Rajhu… I may be on in years, but I can still figure out a thing or two on my own. Don’t take this the wrong way, but… I think I have you all figured out.’