They left the spotless cottage behind and headed back to Amane and the others.

“I wonder how long it will stay clean for,” said Corbin.

“It’s probably a mess already,” replied Ilargi with a snort.

“What are we going to do now?”

“I’m sure Amane had something already planned for you, but now that we know about those guns, we need to tell her immediately. She will know what to do about it. I hope,” she said with a frown.

“What is that city with houses in trees called?”

“Zuhaxea. It’s not a city, more like a base of operations. Most people there are scouts or soldiers on their way to or from missions. At least that is what it used to be. It was a real shock that Akrewelt was there. He should’ve been hidden better. What if Zuhaxea is found by the Empire?” Ilargi said and let the question float in the air. “Sorry, it’s not really your problem.”

“I think it is. It’s likely that if you people fail, I will be doomed. And more than that. You have treated me well. I want you to succeed,” Corbin said. They walked in silence for a while, looking at their feet.

“Thank you,” Ilargi said. She was still looking down. After a moment she peered into his eyes. “Not just for saying that. I mean really thank you. You’ve saved my life. I came along to repay you, but now I feel I am in your debt once more.”

“I should be thanking you. You could’ve left me in the prison, but you took me to your secret hideout. Without your fighting abilities I would be dead. You’re even training me,” at some point he became so enthusiastic that he was waving his hands. As he got a hold of himself, he reddened and looked down.

“I see,” Ilargi said. There seemed to be spots of red on her face and ears as well, which stood out against the raven hair and steel-blue eyes. “Should we put the matter to rest at least for a while?”

“Yes let’s.”

To his delight, Corbin found that he had become capable of setting up the tent and lighting the fire on his own. He still had no chance in battle against Ilargi on the other hand. His strength had improved noticeably, but finesse was still lagging behind. As they approached Zuhaxea, Ilargi began proceeding with more caution and surveyed her surroundings.

“We need to move carefully,” she whispered to him.

“Do you think there will be another ambush?”

“Maybe, but also we mustn’t lead them back to Zuhaxea. Our lives matter little compared to that. Now keep talking to a minimum.”

They stuck to undergrowth and avoided any paths. When there wasn’t enough cover, they began crawling in a prone position behind rocks. This is ridiculous. At this rate we won’t be back for several more days. I should talk to Ilargi. Not long after. A crack of thunder sounded, but the sky was clear. A small gasp escaped Corbin. They are here. Ilargi turned around and gave him a grave look. She began looking around, trying to find the gunman.

“What are you doing, you stupid bastard?” A man shouted.

“I’m sorry sir, it went off by itself.”

“You idiot, you could’ve shot one of us. More importantly you could’ve alerted somebody to our presence.”

When they were talking at a normal volume, it was hard to make out, but they were close enough that they could see each other save for the trees and undergrowth. Corbin felt a hand on his shoulder.

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“What are they saying? I can’t understand,” Ilargi’s whisper tickled his ear. He turned to her ear, her hair brushing his face and told her. She considered that for a while and Corbin looked around. He tapped her shoulder and pointed towards a denser part of the forest closer to a brook. She nodded and they crawled away, taking a longer route towards Zuhaxea.

When they were approaching Zuhaxea a few days later, Ilargi abandoned her cautiousness and almost ran towards the city.

“Come on, we have to tell them,” she said, looking back. But as they got nearer, her excitement died down. The last time they had been here there was an air of excitement and a liveliness about the place. Now it was silent and sombre. There were torches burning in the dusk but no larger fires. No sounds of laughter or music were coming from the tavern, no hustle and bustle of the market. Ilargi slowed down and Corbin caught up. “Something is wrong,” she said softly. As they came closer, the guards came into view. Despite the tension Corbin felt some composure. If guards are just standing around, it at least means that there was no attack.

“Hail, Ilargi,” one of the guards said and saluted. A salute in Errautsuen Herria was tapping your shoulder twice with a hand and extended index and middle fingers.

“Hail, Unai. What is going on?”

“We are mourning. The great Akrewelt has passed on.”

“What? No! How?”

“His health took a turn for the worse while you were gone. He left peacefully.”

“Thats … I … I can’t believe it. He was so ancient. I was sure he would outlive us all,” Ilargi said. She swayed on her feet and Corbin moved in to help her in case she fell, but she caught herself.

“The procession will take place in two days. They are preparing a harrespil around his tree,” Unai said.

“Wait, you don’t mean?”

“Yes, two basajauns and three jentils. They showed up within the day of passing.”

“I didn’t think there were even that many left in all of Errautsuen Herria,” said Ilargi.

“Only one of them can talk. Perhaps they were left behind by the others. Still, they showed up and we need to give respect.”

“Right. Is Amane here?”

“Yes, she should be watching over all of this.”

They walked to the centre of Zuhaxea, where they had meet the goat leader Akrewelt. From between the trees, a giant appeared. It wore dark brown clothing and a cloak. Tartalo? Corbin jerked back and his hand went to the hilt of his messer, but Ilargi placed her hand on top of his. He looked at her and she shook her head. He let go. The giant moved his head and looked around. Two eyes. Upon closer look, that wasn’t the only feature to set him apart form the tartalo. What had seemed like clothing turned out to actually be just hair. The giant was covered everywhere except hands and feet. Even half of the face was covered by a beard. There was also no cloak. It was instead a long mane of wavy hair, which reached the giant’s knees. On his shoulder he carried a stone monolith, holding it with both hands like a man would carry a barrel. They walked behind him, leaving some space just in case. His paces were slow but very long, making it hard to keep up.

As they walked for a while another giant came from the direction of their goal. This one was similar to the one they were following, but the hair was closer to a dirty blonde and she was very clearly female. Just as the other one she wore no clothes and while the hair covered her, it also very clearly outlined her features. Corbin gulped and Ilargi raised an eyebrow at him.

They arrived near the ancient tree. There were already 7 megaliths placed, but only about a sixth of the circle was complete. Amane stood close by and leant on a tree.

“Amane,” Ilargi said. She looked at the pair with her bloodshot eyes. “I’m sorry.” Amane just nodded silently. “We need to talk, it’s important.”

“More important than Akrewelt,” Amane snapped.

“I … no … sorry,” Ilargi stammered. Amane sighed.

“No, I’m sorry. I’ve had a hard time coping with this. Even Fermin is affected. Let’s talk after the funeral.”

A line of people stood at each side of the path leading from the edge of Zuhaxea to the centre where the harrespil had been built. Most of them were humans, but there was a considerable number of strange beings, some furry others covered in leaves. The solemn march of the procession began on the outside. In front were two banner carriers, followed by Amane and two men Corbin didn’t know. Next was a band of people, who played a flute with one hand and played a drum that hung from that same hand with the other hand. The music they played was in a way reminiscent of a march to battle, except that it was more sombre and slower. Many more followed in the procession. Fermin and Ibai were closer to the front, while Corbin and Ilargi were near the end. The sky was cloudy, but there was no rain.

Five giants stood around the harrespil. Some of their heads were in the branches and leaves of the trees. Amane and the two men each stood on one side of the circle and more people came to fill in the gaps until every monolith had a person in front of it. Incense was lit at each of the monoliths simultaneously. The moment the smoke began rising, a ray of light shone through the clouds directly onto the ancient tree and people around the circle. The band began another song, but this time all of the circle joined in and sang. After one verse, the song began spreading outward to all of the procession. The light gradually shifted in hue, making the forest a play of opalescent shimmers. Corbin didn’t feel like he truly cared much about the ancient goat, but somehow the display touched something within him and before he knew it tears were wetting his cheeks, leaving stains from the dust of the path.

No words were said at the funeral. The display and the music was all it took. As the song ended, the participants waited a few heartbeats, then bowed and saluted before turning and leaving. Many of them went on their own, while some had arms over each other’s shoulders. Corbin looked at Ilargi. She had sung together with the others, but her voice was so soft that Corbin thought that he had been the only one who could hear her as she sang almost into his ear. Her face was also stained with tears. She held out her arm and they walked away with arms locked.