A Long Time Coming

Mercifully, the trip over the bridge passed without incident. Our attitudes had shifted now that our sense of safety had shattered. We’d all known that robbery, kidnapping, or something similar was a possibility when traveling. It was another thing entirely to face it in reality. While sleeping outside, we’d always slept in shifts. Now, even when we were at an inn, someone was always awake. We also took to piling things in front of the door and securing any windows.

The night after the incident, as we sat huddled in a tiny room at the Roasted Pig Inn, Vris handed me the mountain token.

I gasped. “How did you get this?”

“It fell out of Kenji’s pocket,” Vris said. “I saw it on the floor when I fell. I managed to grab it before we left.”

Managed to grab it? I think it was more likely the gods wanted me to have it back. Perhaps they'd thrown it in as part of my prayer. 

Mizuki stared at the token. “May I see it?”

I tossed it to her. Mizuki ran her fingers over the token, frowning at it.

“Do you know what it is?” I asked.

“Not exactly,” she said. “But I know that my mother and father each have one.”

The emperor and empress had tokens like this? So it wasn’t unique, but the purpose still wasn’t clear. “Have you ever seen them use it?”

Mizuki shook her head. “No, never. I think Father lost track of his once. Mother admonished him quite harshly for it. I got the sense it would be difficult to replace. He found it in the end, I believe.”

She handed the token back to me. I tucked it into my pants pocket.

“It doesn’t feel real,” Vris said abruptly.

Mizuki and I turned to her.

“The dire wolves, I mean. And the fire.” She stared down at her hands. “The danger of it all took me by surprise. The palace isn’t perfect, not by a long shot, but I’ve never had a knife held to my throat.”

She reached up and pressed her hands to her throat, as if recalling the feeling of cold steel on her skin.

“I’m sorry,” I said. My heart hurt. Vris was just an innocent bystander who got dragged into this mess. She, like me, hadn’t signed up for this and her life had hung in the balance.

She blinked at me. “Why? You didn’t hurt me. And you saved us.”

“It’s my fault though,” I countered. “This happened because of me. If I didn’t have to make this journey, you wouldn’t have been here. Kenji knew one of us was the seer and he was going to do whatever it took to get us to admit it. If you’d just been out and about, you would have been fine.”

“Or she might have been kidnapped by some other bandits and killed,” Mizuki said flatly. Then her tone softened. “You can’t take responsibility for every bad thing that happens on our journey. You are a seer, not a god.”

I rubbed the back of my neck. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” I paused, then added. “Thank you. Both of you, for being here. I don’t know how I would have gotten this far without you.”

Vris smiled. “You’re welcome, my lady.”

Mizuki dipped her head in acknowledgement. “Our purpose is to help you.”

I took the first watch that night. I hoped to avoid dreaming as much as possible. Sitting on my pallet, back against the far wall, I stared at the barricaded door. Nearly there, we’re nearly there. . .

When it was my turn to sleep, I didn’t dream. Not of gods and not of anything else either.

Day by day, hour by hour, we drew closer to Zenbo. After passing back over the Amaranthine, the path was fairly straightforward though the towns and villages grew further apart. Zenbo, laying at the foot of Mount Ezara, was as large as Bhojin and subjected to much harsher weather. Being so close to the mountain, the snow there was constant in the winter months. At the Palace of Gratitude, autumn was on the cusp of dying; in Zenbo, it would already be dead with a light smattering of snow atop its grave.

“How much longer?” I asked Mizuki, shivering atop Rowan against the bitter wind. It was late afternoon, the sun already getting close to the horizon.

“An hour at most,” she called back.

Our trio pushed onward. The weather had chilled so much that we’d all needed to start wearing mittens and fur caps to keep warm. An hour passed by brutally, each second moving at a snail’s pace. As we crested a ridge, Zenbo came into view. I’d never been so pleased to see a city in all my life. Behind the cluster of buildings was Mount Ezara. The massive, snow-capped mountain had seemed impressive back at the palace. Here, in all its glory, it filled me with awe and fear. I was going to have to climb it. In winter. The thought trampled my previous elation.

“There it is!” Vris cried with delight.

We wasted no time in getting up to the city walls. They subjected us to a search, but found nothing objectionable. The crowds in Zenbo had a different feel to them. Everyone was in a hurry, there was no dawdling around. People walked with purpose and the few that were more leisurely had the gold and silk to prove that their calm was purchased at a premium.

Mizuki led us to The Rising Wind, an unassuming inn close to the edge of town. It was near a gate that would lead straight to the mountain. A blissful wave of heat hit us as we filed inside. The howling winds were also muffled so the sounds of the other guests chatting and eating in the main room filled my ears.

I was basking in the heat with Vris standing next to me. Mizuki was speaking to the innkeeper, their voices low. The man shook his head, handed Mizuki a key, and walked off. Mizuki came over to us looking troubled.

“What’s wrong?” Vris asked.

“We shouldn’t speak about it here,” Mizuki said softly. She glanced around, then gestured for us to go to our room. Our room was on the second floor of the three story building. The inn was bare bones with little decoration. It struck me as the sort of place people stayed if they had to, rather than they wanted to. Still, it was clean and well-kept and after being out in the cold, it was a paradise.

The moment we stepped into our room, dizziness struck me. I stumbled to the bed by the window and sat down heavily.

“My lady, are you all right?” Vris asked. Her voice sounded as if it was very far away.

My vision was tunneling, darkness creeping from the edges. “Mm fine. I—”

The world went black.