Chapter Three

Chapter Three

T he next day, we resumed our journey at daybreak. According to the map and the directions from the locals, we just needed to follow the river to reach the other end of the forest. I sincerely hoped that was true because this dense forest was disorienting and I had enough of it.

For most of the morning, we walked alongside the river in the hope it would bring us to the elusive inn. I loved being near the water. There was something about the way that it reflected the sunlight and the world, ever so slightly distorted but real, that made it so mysterious. When I looked down at it, at my own face, my own eyes, I always felt like the water made it seem like there was slumbering something underneath. As if I stared long enough, the wolf soul within me would look back. As a child, I'd sat by the river's edge many times to test out that theory but nothing ever happened.

Konomi hummed a soft tune as she followed a trail, somehow making it look like she was dancing instead of struggling. It would never cease to amaze me how she could remain so upbeat when we were hungry, tired, and cold.

We had lunch on a flat rock and Konomi took advantage of the sun to try and spear some fish. She didn't succeed but she seemed to have fun. I wasn't so foolish as to believe that her having fun was more important than us having food but it was definitely a lovely thing to see. It made me wonder what the other people I cared for were doing at this exact moment. Were my parents coping? Was my little brother growing up well?

It was impossible to know but I held them close in my heart. I was on this mission for them, for our village. My family's safety was the most important thing to me.

My gaze went to Konomi who looked so breathtakingly beautiful, it ached.

My family and her . Even if she could never know.

It was late afternoon when I noticed the thin trail of smoke rising in the distance.

"Fire!" Konomi's shout made birds flutter up from their nests. "That has to be the inn!"

"It might not be," I said, not quite as ready to celebrate. One of us had to be the realist, we couldn't both be dreamers.

Still, there was just a little bit of extra bounce in my step as we hiked further down. We took less breaks than we usually would, fuelled by hope and the promise of a good meal, a bath, a night under a roof.

It was evening by the time we reached the valley and darkness was descending over us. It would have been wise to make camp for the night but neither of us suggested it. Instead, we continued stubbornly towards the beacon of smoke. As it got darker, Konomi fashioned a torch from a tree branch, some resin, and a bit of cloth. It was foolish to walk in bad visibility, I could hear my father's warnings in my ear, but I didn't heed any of them. I just followed Konomi and the torch she was carrying like I would die if I had to spend one more night under the stars.

She came to an abrupt halt and I almost knocked into her.

"By the Great Wolf, it is an inn. We found it!" Her voice rose slightly. "Mayu! You genius!"

I managed a tired but satisfied smile. "Told you it was the right river."

The inn was nestled in a clearing, protected by the river on one side and a steep mountain on the other that reminded me a little of the sacred mountain at home. The location made the inn impossible to miss and that in itself was a relief that we hadn't walked past it without knowing. It looked old but robust, like it had weathered centuries and was ready for plenty more to come. The windows were lit up from the fire inside and a small trail led right down to the front door. A wooden board hung next to it, one with a red boar painted on it.

An instant sense of relief filled me when we entered. I could smell food and hear the gentle crackle of a hearth. Simple pleasures of life but right now, a genuine life line. It was so warm inside compared to the bitter cold, it was making my fingers and ears tingle. While we always slept by a campfire, nothing beat the real all encompassing warmth of being inside a house. I could tell from the expression on Konomi's face that she felt exactly the same.

A man with a long grey beard was sitting at one of the tables, smoke from his pipe surrounding his face. He looked up when we entered and shot us a smile. "Oh? Travellers?"

Konomi stepped forward, bowing slightly. "Good evening. I hope we're not intruding. We were hoping to stay here for the night, if that's possible."

She spoke the old language fluently, which was to be expected from a priest's daughter and someone as intelligent as her. It sounded lovely coming from her. Not quite as melodic as our own language but that was part of the appeal.

The greying man chuckled. "You best believe it's possible. Ever since my great-great grandfather opened the Red Boar Inn, we haven't turned away a single traveller and I'm not about to start now." He shouted towards an open door. "Rudeus, we have guests!"

Stumbling announced someone else's arrival and another man appeared with a stumpy nose and not a single strand of hair on his head. His smile was wide and welcoming, which reminded me of my grandfather. "Guests! Wonderful! How long are you two staying?"

Konomi glanced at me before she replied. "It depends whether you'll accept chores and help as payment for a bed and a meal. We can cook, clean, hunt, gather, whatever you need."

The bald man, Rudeus, chuckled. "When you're our age, you can always use help. Especially because Mason's back is not what it used to be. You two look tired. Come, sit down. If you're after a meal, we have rabbit stew that needs eating."

I could feel the relief rush through me. It was such a weight off my shoulders to be here, to know that the worst part of the journey was behind us because the Alladwin Forest was certainly one of the more traitorous places I'd ever been in.

We didn't take our shoes off as we entered the main room, they didn't do that in this region of the world. We settled at the long table where Mason was smoking his pipe.

It didn't take long for Rudeus to arrive with two plates that smelled mouth-wateringly amazing. He set them down in front of us without demanding payment up front.

Before we had any chance to dig in, Mason put his pipe down. "Say, by any chance, are you two from near the sacred Yirobi Mountain?"

The mention of our home made me freeze. Before I could think of how to answer, Rudeus swatted the back of Mason's head affectionately. "Mase. You can see how tired these poor girls are. Save your questions for the morning. Don't mind him. Eat up."

And just like that, my appetite was gone.