Arrival in Ahawai
“Saved my life? What is that supposed to mean?” The man gasped at the sight of his belongings scattered on the road. “My things! You better not have stolen anything. I’ll have you know I possess quite the prodigious memory—I’ll know if you did.”
“There was an Underworlder, right over there,” I said. “I sent it home.”
“An Enemy, here?” He snorted, not even deigning to glance towards the corpse. “So far from the front? Am I to believe such a tall tale? Well, what? I suppose you want some kind of reward.”
“Nothing of the sort. But had I known you were such an ingrate, perhaps I shouldn’t have intervened at all.”
“Not too late to cut out his heart,” suggested Vyxtarion.
“Pardon me for being suspicious,” grunted the man as he finished restuffing his pack, “when I awake to a stranger kicking me, and my precious belongings in disarray out on the dirt.” He drew himself up to his full height, just a touch taller than me, and his close-set brown eyes narrowed slightly as he studied me. “You’re not from around here, are you? Who are you?”
“I already told you that my name is Yohei. I thought you said you had a good memory?”
“No, I mean—” His mouth twitched between a scowl and a smirk before breaking out into a toothy grin. “That’s right, Yohei. And all my things are accounted for as well. Then I shall apologize for my brusque behavior. But you claim to have felled one of the Enemy, so may I ask: where’s the body?”
I presented the skeleton draped in black with a flourish.
The man’s mouth dropped open. “Well, fuck me! You weren’t kidding. Is it completely dead?” He edged closer to the body, holding his breath, and reached out with a foot, poking the black cloth before leaping back and watching for any movement. “A hundred blessings! You really did kill it!”
I thought for a moment. “I sent it home, yes. But it’s rather difficult to actually kill—”
“Yohei, I owe you my life!” He grabbed me by the shoulders and started laughing. “What a glorious day! And here I was, ignorant to my own potential demise. What a fool I am. Thank you, thank you!”
Ithreniya, disturbed from her resting position, fluttered around the two of us, but the man gave no notice to the golden butterfly, nor Vyxtarion drifting nearby for that matter. His spiritual sensitivity was probably too low for him to perceive past their natural glimmer, which rendered them invisible to unwanted eyes.
“That’s enough.” My body felt hot and awkward as I pushed his arms off me. “It was no trouble, really.”
“I must offer you a reward. Please, anything! I’m a well-made man, you know. Anything you desire!”
“Well, to tell you the truth, we’re a bit lost. Would you happen to know where the nearest town is?”
The man gave a quick look around, as if expecting to see someone else. He shrugged. “So you’re lost, then. Well, where are you trying to go? Ahawai Town? Kekowaki? Mountainpass Keep?”
I looked at the ground. “Ah, where are we trying to go?”
“Anywhere!” glittered Ithreniya.
“Wherever we can find fresh corpses,” Vyxtarion suggested. “Ask for the nearest battlefield or orphanage.”
“No, no, I’ve got it. We’re trying to go to the coast. We’re near the ocean, aren’t we?”
“Yes we are, that is totally right. If you would like to see the ocean, why don’t I take you to Ahawai? It’s right along this road, just a straight shot. I have business there myself, as it happens.”
I nodded. “Let’s head there, friend.”
“Rorian. Rorian Holt.” We shook hands. “It would be my pleasure to escort you to Ahawai. It’s truly a beautiful little town filled with beautiful people. Now, are you… are you travelling with anyone else, by chance?”
“No, it’s just me,” I lied. “Why do you ask?”
“Oh, no reason. You’re just a fan of the royal we, I suppose. Then let’s be on our way. But not before I just—” Rorian turned and spat on the slain Underworlder. “There! Good riddance. You know, I’m not much of a fighter. Don’t have it in me. It’s part of the reason why I don’t mind the Unincorporated Regions of the world. Far away from the war! You don’t have to deal much with the Enemy out here!”
“You mean the Free Nations of the world.”
Rorian tugged at his collar. “Ah, yes, of course. It’s an excellent thing, isn’t it? To be a proud member of a free country. Where are you from, if I may ask?”
“I lived in Cretton for some time. And Ossius before that. What about you? You’re Rennian, I assume.”
He held up his hands. “Guilty as charged! But you know, I’ve visited Cretton and Ossius myself, beautiful countries, just beautiful, and the cuisine is to die for. Mmm! I have deep, deep respect for—”
“You’re far from home, then. What brings you out here? Not the food, surely.”
“Excellent question.” He motioned for us to walk, and we began our way towards Ahawai. It was pleasant, as it had been before I’d encountered the Underworlder and a sleeping Rorian. Warm, a slight wind, a touch of mist. I could tell Vyxtarion and Ithreniya were in high spirits: Ithreniya flitted between the purple orchids along the way, while Vyxtarion coasted between Rorian and I, judging the quality of the conversation.
Rorian explained he was a professor from Noros University, the premier academic institution of the Rennian Empire, in his estimation. A youth of Renne could either enlist in the army, perform civil service, or obtain an exemption through exemplary achievement in certain fields. As Rorian had always been top of his class, he was able to attend university, where he studied economics, psychology, sociology, and neuroscience.
“Sounds boring,” I said.
He laughed. “At times, it was! But you can’t get anywhere without a bit of tedium along the way, right? Are there any subjects you find interesting?”
“History.” The true history. Not Rennian lies.
He continued on about his travels around the world, the cities he’d visited, the restaurants he’d eaten in, and some paper he was writing. “Systems of Trade in the Unincorp—” He cleared his throat. “In the Free Nations. Yes, that’s it: Systems of Trade in the Free Nations. I’ve been working on it for about a year now. My contact in Ahawai, an old friend, Manaha Palea, is a businessman. My plan was to interview him, maybe ask to go over some of his records and books. Renne has a deep interest in the well-being of the Free Nations, you know, and my work is a reflection of that.”
Rorian said it with such pride that I held my tongue and resisted a biting remark.
We drifted in and out of conversation as we walked, following the road. I shared my nuts and dried fruit while he gave me his caramel chocolates, which I found indulgent but delectable. He was in remarkable spirits for a man whose soul was nearly going to be stolen.
Short trees with broad canopies shaded our journey, roots cracking the dilapidated black pavement of the road, reclaiming territory from land no longer trafficked by an excess of automobiles; there were a few rusted car frames abandoned on the shoulder, valuables and parts long since looted. A sputtering truck driven by an acne-ridden teen passed us by, passenger side occupied by a sleeping woman and the truck bed overstuffed with tired, unsmiling children. On occasion, we passed some farmland where several workers were out tending to the fields. They watched us pass in silence, still as a scarecrow even after Rorian waved in greeting.
“Friendly people,” he said. “You’ll see. I always get a king’s welcome whenever I visit my old friend.”
Ahawai was perched upon a hill overlooking the Jentic Ocean, flanked on both the south and east by water. We arrived on the north side of town, near the apex of the hill, where an inoperative fountain pierced the center of a large square park, while rows of small apartments and detached houses spilled down from the hill and towards the flat of the beachside. Ramshackle wooden and carboard homes filled spaces wherever they could, creeping onto or entirely blocking some roads, yet near the peak of the hill an eerie emptiness juxtaposed with the disordered layout of the residential neighborhood: there wasn’t a soul in sight near us, not outside the domed governmental building, the empty cafe, the movie theater, or anywhere within the flat green lawns of the park itself.
“That’s odd,” commented Rorian. “Usually this park is full of life.”
Hanging over the ocean and creeping towards Ahawai was a fat, white shelf of fog. What should have been a vision of blue waves and endless horizon was instead a colorless wall.
It had been nagging me for a while, but I felt it more acutely now as I beheld the looming fog: the sharp tugging in my gut.
“Is it normally this foggy here? This late in the day?” I asked.
Rorian shrugged. “Maybe? I’m not familiar with the local weather.”
“Careful, Yohei,” warned Ithreniya.
“She’s right,” Vyxtarion agreed. “That fog is not a natural phenomenon. We just encountered it. It’s the same as what was pouring out of the Underworlder’s censer. No… the aftertaste is different. Magic from the same tree but a different branch. We should exercise caution here. Someone or something of considerable power lurks in this town.”
“Well, this is Ahawai!” Rorian clapped his hands. “I must say, it feels a bit dour. Truthfully, I just don’t quite feel as if I’ve repaid my debt to you. Why don’t I invite you to join me on my visit? At least for dinner, if you wouldn’t mind. I’m sure my old friend could put out another chair. Perhaps he might have a spare room, if you’re in need of a place to stay the night.”
“Yes, a safe spot to hideout. That should suit our needs.”
He raised an eyebrow. “To hideout? Tell me, Yohei, are you in trouble?”
“Oh, I meant… from the fog. We can hide from the fog.”
“I see.” Rorian puzzled for a moment, furrowing his brow. “To be quite frank, that makes no sense to me at all. But let’s not delay. The sooner we can hide from this fog the better, I suppose! This way, my friend lives down this side of the hill.”
“Well done, Yohei, well done,” teased Vyxtarion. “This human likely considers you to be an airheaded dunce. And who’s to say he’s wrong?”
His cackling reverberated in my mind as echoes from within a deep underground chamber. He trailed after Rorian, and after a pitying beat, Ithreniya followed as well.
I took one last good look at the fog as it crept forward, now beginning to swallow the wooden docks poking out into the Jentic Ocean—covering a huge freighter ship and a multitude of smaller fishing vessels—before turning and catching up with the others. The back of my neck shivered. I couldn’t assuage the feeling of hundreds of eyes watching us, hidden within the thick depths of the fog.