Chapter Five

Chapter Five

W hen morning came, the chair was undisturbed. Konomi was gracious enough not to say I told you so but her smile was just a little extra wide. Or maybe that was just the effect of having a good night's sleep in a real bed.

The smell of fresh bread lured us downstairs where Rudeus and Mason greeted us in the main room. To my relief, there were other guests at the tables, including some women and even a small child. Maybe my worry last night had been for nothing but I maintained that it was better to be safe than sorry. Especially given the circumstances.

Konomi greeted the owners of the inn with a polite nod before settling at the end of one of the long tables. I took the seat opposite from her and it didn't take long for Rudeus to appear with two plates laden with dried sausages, cheese, and bread generously topped with rich butter. A heavy start to the day but that seemed to be how they enjoyed their breakfasts in this part of the world. It came accompanied by a tankard of beer, another strange custom from around here.

I pressed my hands together to thank the Great Wolf for our meal and dug in without wasting any time. The bread was freshly baked with a golden brown crust and the butter was heavily salted which made it delicious. The spices in the sausage were unfamiliar, more earthy than back home, but it worked wonderfully with the aged cheese.

"I'm going to miss bread when we're back," Konomi said as she devoured her slice in a very unlady-like fashion.

"We have bread at home. Also, you have some butter on your nose." I touched my own unnecessarily. She knew where her nose was.

Konomi wiped the splotch away. "It doesn't taste the same at home. Maybe because I've never been this hungry in my life."

I tore my slice of bread in half and put the biggest part on the rim of her plate. "Have some of mine, then. If you enjoy it that much."

A smile lifted her lips. "You always take such good care of me."

I certainly tried.

She gave me some of her dried sausage in return and fed me a cube of cheese, blissfully unaware of what she was doing to my poor heart. Especially when she accidentally grazed her fingers against my lips.

Moments like this made me wish it could be the two of us forever. No longer on the road but living together in a small house, somewhere in a valley where the sun shined plenty because it revealed the copper undertones in her dark hair, somewhere far away from anyone who knew she was my brother's window.

My daydream was interrupted by Mason's arrival who paused at our table. "Morning, girls. How's the food?"

"Delicious," I said earnestly, even if his presence set me on edge. The word felt foreign on my tongue even if I'd been taught the old language since I was a child.

"I'm glad to hear." He hesitated, his hand brushing through his beard. "Listen, I'm sorry about last night. Rudeus has told me many times where travellers have come from and where they're going is none of my business."

Konomi waved his apology away. "It's all right. We were just taken aback. We don't meet many people who know the sacred mountain. Have you ever been or...?"

I appreciated her gently probing for information. Whether she trusted these men or not, it was still strange that they knew exactly where we were from.

Mason chuckled gruffly. "Goodness, no. This old man isn't meant for travel. Bad back ever since I was a child. But we get travellers from all over. They bring the world to me with their wonderous stories of foreign lands and people. It's why I love tending to this old inn so much."

A strange feeling stirred in my stomach. "So you have met people from our region before?"

"Oh, I've met plenty of people from the west but you two aren't just travellers are you? I recognise the wolf emblems on your clothes and the hexagonal amulets around your neck. You're Guardians."

I froze, not that he noticed.

"You look familiar. Any chance you're related to, umm..." Mason looked over his shoulder. "Rudy! What was that last boy's name again? You know the one I'm talking about, from the sacred mountain?"

"Taka?" Rudeus shouted back.

"No, the other one!"

The other one? A chill ran down my spine. How many had there been?

Rudeus came to clear our plates away, slightly limping as he did. "Hanzo?"

"That's the one. Happy Hanzo," Mason said.

My throat constricted. Any doubts that he was telling the truth were erased by the name of my predecessor. Hanzo was the Guardian before me. I never knew he'd also gone on this sacred quest.

"No relation, but I met him once," I said, my voice coming out shaky.

"Did Hanzo tell you why he was here?" Konomi asked, the gentle way of her words disguising the shrewd curiosity underneath.

Mason settled at the table with us, taking his sweet time to get comfortable. He lit his pipe before he replied. "He said he was on some sort of quest to retrieve a sacred relic, just like all the previous Guardians."

My blood stilled in my veins and I caught Konomi's gaze, finding my doubts and worries reflected in her eyes. I didn't want to jump to conclusions but it very much sounded like the previous Guardian had been travelling east for the same reason as I was. If that was true, if he was on the same sacred quest, the Elders of the village never said anything. On the contrary, they'd made it sound like the Winter Stone being stolen was a recent thing.

I searched Mason's face for a hint of dishonesty but didn't find any in his blue eyes. I almost didn't dare ask my question, afraid to find out the answer, but I had to know. "How many Guardians have passed through here?"

A cloud of smoke escaped from his bearded mouth. "Hmm... I don't know exactly how many, but it started before I was born. I remember my first time, though I was only a boy when I met Kenji. He was a bit older than me, taller, very curious and kind. He was always talking about honour and his village, about some sacred quest he was on. I loved listening to him, that lovely accent of his. He was the person that made me understand what it was like to have butterflies in your stomach. He was only here for a week or so but I was absolutely smitten. I was heartbroken when he left but he said he would be back before winter was over. I waited years." Mason was silent for a bit and he wasn't looking at either of us, as if his memories were more vivid than what was happening in front of him. He released a few puffs of his pipe before he remembered he was telling a story. "About seven years passed and I'd pretty much forgotten about Kenji. You know how infatuations come and go. It was winter again when a young woman arrived at our inn, not much older than yourself. She had the same raven-black hair and dark eyes. For one silly moment, I thought Kenji was back."

Konomi spoke, her voice thin. "It was another Guardian?"

"I don't remember her name, but she told me the same story as Kenji. About honour, and sacred quests, and her village. She was curious and kind too, but not Kenji. And she never came back either. There've been more. Sometimes they're alone, sometimes they're travelling with family. They come, they go, they never make it back despite their promises."

I studied the wrinkles on Mason's face, trying to estimate his age. His skin was weathered, like worn leather, and his beard was mostly grey. If he was a boy when the first Guardian came, the Elders would've been sending them for decades. It didn't make sense. Had our village been without the Winter Stone, and the Great Wolf's protection, all this time?

Konomi's touch startled me from my thoughts. "Mayu... Are you all right?"

I faked a smile. "Yes, I'm fine."

Mason's gaze flitted between Konomi and me. "I'm aware I don't know the full story and that it's not my place, but I have to say this. Coyote Country is no place for two young women. Don't continue east. Turn around, go back home. Whatever you're looking for can't be more important than your lives."

As heartfelt as his request was and as confusing as this situation had become, it didn't matter. Even if there'd been plenty of Guardians before me, this was my quest now. I had to succeed. The honour of my family and the safety of my village depended on it.