Kage adjusted the clasp of her new cloak. It wasn't the thickest material, but it did provide some extra coverage, and according to the merchant, the material was water-resistant, a material and made from a type of sea creature specific to the Naughtilis area.
The three of them had spent the morning in the marketplace stocking up for the journey. The two of them made a good team, Shole being the organized one who knew exactly what they needed, and Artlem being the one to haggle and argue with the shopkeepers.
On Shole’s suggestion, Kage had bought a new cloak for herself, and she knew he was right. She was by far the least prepared of the group, but there had never been any reason for her, as a Mythsian to wear armor, when they could just fade into their ghost form.
Kage had picked her current outfit of plain black shirt and slacks a few years ago, after- well, after she decided she didn’t want to look like a Mythsian.
“Kage! You still with us?” Artlem said.
“Huh? Yeah,” she said, breaking out of her daydream.
“Did you get any sleep? You look tired,” Shole noted.
“Well, yeah, I mean, not so much. You know, weird dreams.” Weird was the word she used only because she didn’t want to say ‘nightmares’.
“Oh, that’s too bad. Hey, did you want something to read before bed? I couldn't take much with me, but I still have some good ones! There’s this one you should read, about Calligriphics their history. I go back to that one when I need a refresher, but it’s a little dry.” Shole said.
Artlem rolled his eyes at Kage, but she could tell he was used to it, as he had the good grace not to cut Shole off.
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“…and that’s why it’s marvelously written. It takes you up like you’re in a dream, before it becomes a nightmare. Though, I guess that might not be something you’d want to read to prevent strange dreams.” Shole continued as they made through the streets towards the rendezvous with Bard. “Oh, there it is!”
The three of them had been pondering the map as they wandered the streets of the South Residential District. Kage’s eyes shot up to see where Shole was pointing, a hanging sign on an at first unassuming building, but as she looked, she could see that behind the cozy wooden front, it extended far back, taking the space of several buildings.
“Baker’s guild,” Kage read the sign aloud.
“Well, we made it!” Artlem exclaimed. “And looks like we're right on time.” He plopped down his bag and leaned against the side of a nearby building.
“Well, I guess we wait,” Shole said, following Artlem’s example. Kage followed, sitting on the stoop of the building’s entry.
They didn’t have to wait too long before Bard appeared. He came from the street opposite them, but he did look disappointed, like he had been hoping they wouldn’t actually show up. He wore the same thick cloak as the night before, broadsword strapped to his back.
Artlem waved cheerfully as he approached, Bard did not return the gesture.
“Well?” he said. “Let’s get this over with.”
“Right.” Artlem grinned. “We’ve got everything we need, back to the ships it is!” He paused. “The smaller ships.”
“I know the area, I’ll lead the way,” Bard said curtly, walking ahead.
Artlem and Shole picked up their bags and set off after him. Kage followed, but caught a glimpse of something from a building on the opposite side of the street. A small girl was peering around the corner of one of the wooden houses. Not at her, but at the group, or more likely, at Bard. Kage started to follow the group, and then stopped. She had a weird feeling in her gut.
“Bard,” she called out.
He stopped and turned around. Kage glanced over to the child, and back. The girl hid when he turned around, but Bard saw her, and his expression changed to something Kage couldn’t quite pinpoint.
“Huh? What’s going on?” Artlem asked.
“Give me a minute,” Bard said softly, and made his way back where he’d come.
The three of them watched quietly as Bard reached the corner, and got down on one knee, when the little girl appeared from behind the corner, throwing herself into his arms.
Bard held her close for a moment, before another figure rushed down from the same street, a plump, tall woman with short cropped hair. She took the girl’s hand as Bard said something to her. He kissed the woman before embracing the two of them again, and turned back to Kage and the group.
Artlem didn’t say anything when Bard reached them, but his expression wasn’t as carefree as before.
Bard scowled. “I got out of this business for a reason. So I’m going to come talk to your old man, but that’s it. Understood?”
Artlem simply nodded, and Bard took the lead once again as the others followed. Kage took one last glance back at the mother leading her daughter back into the city. It made her remember something she had tried to forget: the memory of her own parents fading into the distance.
She shook it out of her head and faced forward, following Bard, Artlem, and Shole to the edge of the city.
Kage disembarked the ship, relaxing as her body felt steady for the first time since they’d left Duurchelm.
She’d spent the return journey much like the first, studying Calligriphics in the hold with Shole. She had a better understanding of the alphabet now, how several small patterns combined to make the full character, but often the hard part was keeping the complex patterns in one single stroke.
“Move it, shorty.” Artlem pushed past her onto the docks.
“You’re not one to talk,” she muttered, but Artlem was already moving ahead into the city.
“That visit was much shorter than I would have liked,” Shole said as he emerged from the gangplank behind her, “but I’m sure I’ll be back someday.”
“I’m a bit jealous,” she said. “I’m so used to seeing somewhere and never going back,” she finished in her head.
“There’s no reason why you can’t!” Shole said as they followed Artlem into the city, Bard trailing behind. “You’re on the road now, who knows where it’ll take you!”
“Right.” She smiled. Maybe he was right, since this time was actually different. But that thought made her feel…mortal, and that was somehow both terrifying and comforting.
While Mythsians are not technically immortal, they typically live for a couple thousand years. Even then, they don’t exactly die. It’s said that when they reach a certain level of fulfilment, they simply vanish, passing on to oblivion or their own form of afterlife. Either way, no one knew which, except perhaps their creator.
“So where are we headed now?” she asked.
“To pick up our horses. Artlem and I have our own, they’re being looked after at a stable in the city. You and Bard will need your own though.”
Kage winced. “Won’t that be expensive?”
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“So is he…like a prince?”
“No nothing all stuck-up and formal like that,” Artlem chimed in.
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“But it does give you some special privileges, like a prince.” Shole said.
“I s’pose,” Artlem conceded, “but still, not the same.”
“But your clan isn’t under Rhoringdall?” Kage asked.
“Yes and no,” Shole said.
“We’re under their rule, but just because we’re such a small clan. We weren’t around when the contract was made so we aren’t a part of it.” Artlem finished.
“Got it,” Kage said.
Not long after, the four of them were on their way out of Duurchelm, horses and baggage included.
Artlem had insisted on Kage having a black horse, “to match her aesthetic”, so she had ended up with one named Briar. Bard’s was a larger horse, a cocoa brown animal with white spots named Pattern.
She turned to see Duurchelm slowly getting smaller and thought about what Shole had said. She actually had the option now, if she wanted to come back. Not just to come back, but to go somewhere else, somewhere new. The thought stuck in her head as she followed Artlem and Shole, Bard trailing behind.
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