Chapter 9:
These Fated Threads
They talked late into the evening, Rune was eager to answer all the questions she had not simply to avoid future miscommunication but so that she could make more informed decisions going forward.
Moana Mau’u was a land of separate tribes that had united in order to combat the outside threat which loomed over them all, the kingdom of Luvall. For over a hundred years the kingdom had tried to form a beachhead from which they could launch a more profound invasion, and for over a hundred years they had been beaten back.
“So what do you think’s different this time?” Midori asked while sipping at a rather delicious soup Rune had made for them out of some fish he’d caught and greens she’d manage to forage; he had praised her foraging skills, and even still the thought caused a faint warmth in her chest.
“I’m not sure, probably some new kind of weapon.” He slurped up the rest of the soup in his bowl with the zeal of a happy child. “I’ve heard we have spies in the kingdom, so if anyone knows they probably do. With any luck we’ll meet one of them before arriving in Nythe.”
“Okay, and what exactly are we going to do against something that can destroy a whole town?”
“We don’t know it’s destroyed.”
Midori looked at him curiously.
“It could be a situation with the nixies, maybe there’s some kind of outside force affecting things.” Rune’s brow was furrowed in a way Midori could not help but find cute. “If that is the case things could get really dangerous, I barely beat that hag. It might be smarter if you head toward the capital, you could probably find your friends faster that way.”
The idea was definitely tempting as the knot of anxiety for her friends was still tight in her gut. She worried what might have happened to them given how inhospitable this world had been to her on the outset, without Rune she would have died and so she hoped they had found their own allies to rely on.
But her stomach twisted into knots at the thought of leaving Rune and the village to fend for themselves, she would never forgive herself if she did.
“Rune… you, Gilya, and honestly the entire village has been extremely welcoming to an outsider like me. I mean obviously I don’t want to die, but I just couldn’t live with myself if I left now. Not sure how much help I’ll even be but I’ll do all I can.”
He looked at her with shock before swapping it for a bright smile.
“You have a warrior’s heart, Midori. It would be my honour to fight and die beside you.”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”
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The next morning they set out before the sun had even risen, and though her brain was addled by sleep she was strangely excited.
Before now she had felt directionless, bouncing from one meaningless job to the next like a stone skipping across the water, leaving little ripples but barely any indication she had been there at all. Yet now she felt a purpose driving each step, and even though fear gripped at her chest it felt like she was moving toward something meaningful.
Their chatter was much less this time as Rune had explained there was a strong likelihood they would encounter soldiers, for they were approaching the area he had stolen the banner from.
And almost as if on cue they came upon what looked to be a campsite.
Several thick canvas tents had been arranged around the remnants of a campfire, an empty cart nearby though the animal that drew it strangely absent. Moving closer they could see that the entire camp was empty, and not just empty had been vacated in a hurry.
“Do you think they knew we were coming?”
Rune knelt near the campfire checking the ashes before shaking his head.
“The fire was built after I stole the banner. They either didn’t notice the theft or didn’t care. Whatever caused them to flee happened after that.”
It didn’t take them long to scour the entire campsite. Strangely most of the weaponry had been destroyed, but the barrel of water they’d brought had been left untouched along with what remained of their rations. Footprints went off in two directions, one opposite of the camp—which Midori assumed led back to the city of Nythe—but the others went off the path toward the mountains.
Following those for a few moments there was a sudden sound in the air, it was faint but almost sounded like singing.
“Hey Rune?” Midori called, pointing toward what looked to be the mouth of some kind of cave. “What’s this cave here?”
He rushed toward her with the same look of fright that he wore when she’d had her shadow stolen, grabbing her and rushing back before cupping her face in his hands and looking into her eyes.
She was too confused to notice how close his face was.
“Quickly! Tell me your name!”
“Uh…Midori,” the confusion plain on her face.
“And me?”
“You’re Rune, and you’re really freaking me out.”
He sighed in relief and let go of her, sitting back with a look that said “we’re very lucky.”
“That’s the Siren Cave. Those who hear the sound of her voice lose all sense of self and venture in search of it. Of the countless individuals who have gone into that cave, none have returned.”
She blinked in confusion at the statement as the tune she heard still fluttered through her mind. It was familiar somehow, almost like she’d heard it before. Slowly she started humming it and shushed Rune before he got too flustered.
“I know that song,” she said her brow furrowed in frustration.
“You…you know the siren’s song?”
“Yeah, I just…I need to hear a bit of it again.”
“Midori no,” Rune started shaking his head. He looked so strangely cute when he looked scared. “You could lose your sense of self!”
“I don’t think I will,” she wasn’t entirely sure what gave her that feeling but there was something deep in her gut telling her she would be unaffected.
Staring at her with disbelief Rune sighed in defeat and nodded, however had the stipulation that she needed a line to safety and so had tied a rope around her waist that she was to pull the moment she felt like she was losing control.
Slowly she moved forward, taking each step with caution until she heard it again.
And she could not help but laugh.
Rune clearly thought her laughter was proof of her lose of control and pulled her back with such force it nearly pulled all the air from her lungs, but still she could do nothing but cackle. It was a release of all the insanity that had built up over the past little while, getting brought to another world, nearly dying twice, the dream of the whale man, and now this.
When she had regained her breath Midori sat up and wiped tears of laughter from her eyes before shaking her head, smiling up at Rune who was looking down at her in terror.
“It’s Love Shack baby!”
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