Chapter 71

To Know Someone

“We reigned for so long… for so long… we, yes, we, us, we have forgotten what it felt like to be ruled, to be locked in chains… we chained them!! Chained them and burned them like animals!!”

Fragments

The army continued marching, be it under the scorching sun or the cooling rain. It would take four months of this, Noah sighed inwardly, before reaching their destination. Most days were spent in boredom, with him either drinking and taking naps or reading and studying up on this world. Today, he'd gotten a tome on this world's beasts, mostly describing the most famous ones, the most common ones, and the most dangerous ones.

As he suspected, though there were a lot of mammals much like those on Earth, namely rivs which were like monkeys, then oduls which were almost exact copies of foxes, and even wolves, though the ones here were more akin to direwolves rather than the modern-day ones. What interested him more, however, were the 'mutants'; the one he'd seen in the forest when he first came here was a variant of the tailed-fox, and the strangest part was that they were usually found in the deeper south, namely on the Spirit Mountains.

The most unique one he’d come across was undoubtedly ivok, an almost-snake like mutant reaching the length of upward of four hundred feet. The difference was that it was much wider than the snake and that it had limbs in addition to six heads – three up front and three on the back. It remained largely underground, preferring colder climates, though there were occasions where it attacked some of the more remote outposts, killing everyone and destroying everything.

There was so much about the world he was yet to learn that it was somewhat astounding and even fearful. Right now, a creature could crawl from underneath him and eat him up simply because he didn't know of its existence and its habits. Dismissing the scary thought, he glanced out of the moving carriage and onto the river's bank. The sun bounced of neatly off its surface, cradling it in a golden sheen. No matter how beautiful, however, he couldn't forget the fact that there was a creature beyond all of those he read in the tomes living somewhere in there, watching, observing. Benign or not, something like that had to be considered a world-level threat at any point, as it's impossible to gauge when its 'meek' behavior would cease.

Sighing, he turned his gaze back to the inside – much like him, everyone was abhorrently bored and were sleeping. Well, everyone except Lo’kret who was currently mulling over his song. Ever since that day, the young bard had nigh lifted his head off the parchments, barely even registering their insults.

“How’s it going?” Noah’s voice seemed to snap the boy out of his thoughts as he jerked his head up and shook it awkwardly, yawning.

“Good, good,” he said through a yawn on. “Eh? When did everyone fall asleep?”

“A good while ago,” Noah said. “You should take more frequent breaks. It’s more productive that way.”

“… can I ask something without my head being the next thing that flies out of this carriage?”

“… give it a shot.” Noah smiled faintly.

“Who are you?”

“Hm?”

“I’ve met and known Dacents,” Lo’kret said. “Royal and otherwise. And I’ve spoken to them more than I ever wish to speak to anyone. All, every single one of them, without exception, were old stooges dibbling in riddles, empty and hollow knowledge, and snide condescension. A great deal of them bought their way into the title, and an even greater deal couldn't tell the difference between a woman in heat and one so cold your cock would freeze if it touched her. And, most certainly, none of them understood the nature of people as well as you or even came close to it. That's why I'm asking… who are you?"

“… I am a Dacent, I’m afraid,” Noah smiled faintly. “Though, if it eases your mind, I largely educated myself through travels. Truth be told, I never imagined myself becoming the Princess’ Dacent, as, just like you, I’ve heard of the impotence of my ilk and was ashamed to bear the same title.”

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“… regardless of who you are,” of course he wasn’t buying it, Noah mused. Lo’kret was plenty of things, but a naïve fool was certainly not one of them. If anything, the boy reminded Noah of him during the early teenage years during which he developed that street-wit and critical eye, simply lacking the experience to fill the gaps. "I want to serve you."

“I don’t need servants.”

“You already have at least two of them.”

“And that’s why I don’t need any more.”

“Then what do you need?”

“… you’ve got a good life, kid,” Noah said. “If you do this job properly, you’ll be swimming in crowns till your grandchildren croak. Take that wit with you and use it to live wisely, safely, and happily.”

“… it’s boring,” Lo’kret said. “Why do you think I sing lies about Lords and Ladies?”

“…”

“In part, true, it’s because I think some of it is correct,” the boy smiled sheepishly. “But it’s mostly because without the bounty on my head, I’d have no reason to move. I’d be stuck in the same rut, living day-to-day, hollow life, sinking deeper down with the masses. I’ve already watched what happens to people who live like that… more than once. I’d do anything to avoid living that life.”

“So, instead, you purposefully risk your life for no reason?”

“… yes.”

“That just might be the dumbest thing I ever heard in my life,” Noah sighed and chuckled, shaking his head. “Do you know how many men and women would give everything they have to be able to live that boring life, Lo’kret? You might see the chase, the danger, the games as the best way to live, but for those people who’ve actually lived that world… it’s death.”

“Have you? Lived in that world, I mean.” Lo’kret asked.

“… I’m living in it,” Noah replied.

“… then why not quit?” the boy probed. “If it’s so terrible.”

“… because, unlike you, I’ve never known another life,” he said. “And I never will.”

“… no wonder you managed to pull over this brute,” Lo’kret said with a sigh, glancing at the sleeping Asandra. “You are probably what she’s been looking for her whole life.”

“… hm?”

“… just like me, she finds the everyday life boring,” the bard elaborated. “And has found it boring ever since I’ve known her. The first few times she chased after me, it looked like she was having some fun. But, then, she figured me out. The puzzle was undone, the curtains pulled back… and there was nothing new to be found. If you want to keep her around, make sure you never let her see the whole of you. That’s the day she will walk away without looking back.”

“… I hardly think so,” Noah said, glancing to his side. Were it not for the unnatural eye movement, he would also think she was actually fully asleep. “You never truly get to know anyone, Lo’kret. Whether you spend a day or a lifetime with them. No matter who, there are some things, some parts of us that we’ll never let another soul see. She simply likes the challenge, the mystery. What mystery is there behind the horny, teenage boy? I imagine not a whole lot.”

“… ugh,” Lo’kret groaned. “It’s fine in front of others, but I really am not a pervert.”

“Then you just like the attention,” Noah said. “And that, in my book, is far, far worse.”

“… what makes you so confident that she won’t solve you as well?” the boy asked, trying to push the topic.

“Because,” Noah said, grinning, still looking at Asandra who just peaked briefly. “I’ll never let her.”

The conversation died as the boy returned to his song, and the carriage stopped moving as they took another break. They were growing more frequent, but it made sense as they’ve been walking for almost six hours now. While he may have spent them in a semi-comfortable environment of the carriage, everyone on the outside had walked all those hours and all this distance. I really miss deployment tools… he wished there were airplanes, carriers, helis, or even submarine and large-scale ships… marching somewhere by foot was really, really, really long.

“Do you really think I’ll never solve you?” Asandra’s voice came from behind as he sat underneath the tree, enjoying its shade, his eyes focused on the wide, massive river to his right. She walked up and sat next to him, taking out a flagon of water and drinking a mouthful.

“Do you?” he asked back.

“I do,” she replied. “One day.”

“I should hope so,” Noah chuckled. “I’m hardly a complex sort of a man, I’m afraid.”

“Oh? You’re not?”

“Nobody, really, is all that complex, I’m afraid.” Noah said, glancing at her. “We just like to pretend that we are. Makes us feel… better about ourselves.”

“… have you solved me, then?” she asked with a grin.

“… I don’t solve people,” he said. “I understand them.”

“… did you, then?”

"… no," he shook his head, answering honestly. "I've understood what motivates you, what sets a fire under your ass, and gets you moving. I've understood what you believe in, what you want to do, who you want to be."

“… wow. Sounds to me like you’ve figured everything out,” Asandra shrugged. “What else is there to a person, anyway?”

“And that’s precisely why you’ll never ‘solve’ me,” he grinned, taking out a flagon himself as it truly was a hot day. “Best of luck though.”

“What do you mean?” Noah, however, closed his eyes and drifted back into his thoughts, recalibrating, fixing things, adjusting. His mind never stopped working, trying to find the most optimal course of things, the best way to make the most out of this trip, regardless of everything else.