Everything's changed

«Stop!» exclaim two guards, blocking the path with their spears. «The matron resides here, pilgrim.»

«I know, I’ve been here before.»

“Now that I think about it, isn’t he dog?» asks one of the guards.

«Yeah… that’s him,» the other replies, focusing on my face. «But it doesn’t matter who he is; outsiders are still forbidden to enter without a permit.»

I rub my eyes with two fingers. “Feels like I’m at the post office.” «And where can I get this permit?»

They glance at each other for a moment before answering. «We don’t know.»

«How can you not know?»

«This situation has never come up before.»

«What’s all this commotion?!» exclaims Thyra, pushing aside the curtains as if to tear them.

«Forgive us, matron! We couldn’t—» they bow to her. «This boy tried to enter without a permit!»

«What permit are you talking about? I already told you to go home and rest! Now, go!»

«But we…» they pause as they look up at her. «Alright, as you wish.» Without another word, they walk away.

«Forgive their manners, dog.»

«N-no problem.» “Maybe I should tell him that it’s not my name, but I don’t want him to get mad at me… or at Laila.”

«Come inside,» she urges, holding the curtain open for me. As I kneel on the floor, she sits on the throne. «Tell me, why have you returned? Is Håkon’s hospitality not to your liking?»

«N-no, his family welcomed us with open arms from the start.» “How on earth do I ask her? Maybe, since they’re refugees, it would annoy her if we talk about her village. Besides, I’m a stranger; she might think I’m here investigating on behalf of Goran.” My stomach growls, echoing through the room. “What an embarrassment, right at a moment like this!”

«Håkon didn’t give you something to eat?» “So that’s what the guy’s name is.”

«W-well, he even offered to skip his portion so we could have more, but I felt so guilty I left and told him to eat my share.»

«Uuuugh,» she huffs, collapsing into the throne, resting her head on her hand. «You really are an idiot, just like my son.»

«Eh?!» “So Håkon is her son? They don’t look alike at all.”

«You’re both timid fools, too good-hearted, always thinking of others before yourselves.»

“Me?! Good?! … If anyone’s bad, it’s me. I’ve been a selfish coward leaving behind those who helped me.” «I don’t deserve your compliments.»

«You’re even modest like him.» She rises, moving the curtain slightly aside from the throne. «Come, I’ll offer you something to eat.»

«Eh? N-no need.»

«Come and don’t argue.»

«Yes!» I reply, standing quickly so as not to annoy her. The room behind seems like a normal dining hall with a fireplace.

«I don’t usually get visitors,» she says, grabbing a stool from a corner. «Please, sit on the chair.» Hesitant, I obey. “I would’ve preferred to leave the chair for her.” On the table before me are a knife, an awl, and a clay plate. «You’re in luck, I haven’t put the meat on the fire yet. I hope you like sobizajits leg with mushrooms and herb potatoes,» she says, adding ingredients to the grill over the fireplace.

«I’ve never eaten it, but it looks good.»

«And it is!» she exclaims with a smile as she sets her own place. «If only that stupid son of mine visited more often, he and his family could enjoy these delicacies more.»

«If it’s true we look alike, then maybe he doesn’t visit to avoid causing unnecessary trouble.»

«Exactly, mothers understand these things instantly. Probably also because ever since his father passed, he’s started feeling like a burden to me…» Her gaze lingers thoughtfully on the fire.

“I worried so much about not bringing up uncomfortable topics, but I did anyway. How stupid of me!” «I’m sorry…» I say, lowering my gaze to the plate. «Did he die because of Goran?»

She turns quickly, confused. «Eh? What? No! Ahahaha!» she laughs heartily. «Nothing that tragic, he just met a younger woman from another village and followed her. I don’t know what happened to him, but I don’t care—I have a village to run.» She turns toward the fireplace. «Smell that, so good.» I lean in to sniff, and immediately my mouth waters. «Hungry, huh?» I spin toward her, realizing she was watching.

«Excuse me,» I say, wiping my dribbling saliva.

«No problem. Sit here too and tell me, what was troubling you before?»

Slowly, I sit cross-legged on the floor. «Recently, I studied the history and geography of this kingdom, but it says nothing about Nebb. I was wondering if it’s a secret village for those seeking refuge from Goran’s eyes.»

«You’re partially right. You should know, there’s not just this village—there are five others like ours around the lake.»

«So you settled here to escape Goran after he conquered Fjellheimr?»

«No, long ago, the ancestors of our villages lived together in a prosperous city called Rezegon, on the shores of Lake Slange. The city was neutral, a mediation point between Spis and Fjellheimr.»

«And when Goran went to war, the risi saw it as betrayal and destroyed the city so he couldn’t have outposts there.»

«As much as it may have been a sound military strategy, the risi were on good terms with our ancestors; it wasn’t them who destroyed the city, but the ochupaty.»

«The what?»

«Good for you that you don’t know, boy. Before the war, the lake turned black, and from it came the ochupaty, huge creatures with thick bodies, six eyes, a long toothed beak extending to a chest-wide mouth—taller than a gwiber owl but shorter. After the city was destroyed, the surviving women, thanks to the men, founded six villages. They trained the zelena usta to defend themselves from even more dangerous animals.»

«Sorry for my ignorance, but what are zelena usta?»

«The venomous beasts my son welcomed you with.» With a knife, she cuts the thickest part of the leg. «The food is ready, sit at the table.» I get up and hand her the plates as she continues to explain. «Many items we use come from killing defenseless cubs or reckless adolescents. Of course, we do not do it out of spite; we honor their lives, not wasting a single bone.» We sit at the table and begin eating.

«Compliments! The food is really good!» I look up to see her smiling. «Sorry, I interrupted you.»

«No problem, I’m happy to have the company of a young person after so long.» “As soon as I get back to Håkon’s, I’m telling him off. If I had a mother like this, I wouldn’t have abandoned her.”

«So, where was I? Ah yes, the first to use furs for warmth were the Pels tribe, then they realized the scent repelled predators. Next, the Klo, Tann, and Beina tribes discovered their bones are as hard as steel and learned to craft them into weapons and armor. The Øye tribe was the most creative, making use of every remaining part. Our tribe became known for masks; one of our members faced a sovatygr and survived because an adult ochiupaty protected him, probably mistaking him for a cub. Since then, outsiders run away before we approach them and even started calling us malylebky.»

«Malylebky? So you’re the strange cannibalistic creatures I read about.»

«That’s what they write about us? Now I understand the misunderstandings.»

«Everything’s clearer now, thanks, Thyra.»

«No problem, anytime,» she says, taking a bite. «Now hurry up and eat, or it will get cold.»

«Mm!» I nod.