“Translator charms, oh yeah! Seriously, I feel like I’m going to have to write all my questions down. So, what are translator charms? I mean I can sort of guess the idea, but…” Piv carried on walking as he gestured to Maya’s face, “They’re the jewels you have hanging from your ears. They’re the only reason we can understand each other, assuming you don’t speak anything other than Terran?”
Maya felt at the earrings her Grandpa had left her and took them off. “So you’re telling me, you can’t understand me now?” Piv looked blankly at her, then smiled and shrugged. “Esicar go toura forin lo calsitrem-“ Maya rushed to put the earrings back on, catching the back end of Piv’s sentence, “-locked to Misvan was just a guess really, educated of course.”
The pair continued winding through the trees, with Maya periodically removing then replacing the charms, marvelling at their effect. It became increasingly clear that the earrings were specific to Misvan, after Maya’s multiple requests for Piv to speak in Togi as well, which sounded the same with and without the charms equipped. To his credit, Piv did not seem to get annoyed by Maya’s pestering. If anything, he appeared to enjoy the novelty of the conversation and was more than happy for the distraction.
After that novelty wore off, Maya moved the conversation onto more serious ground. “So, how come you can just up and leave everything to help me out? Aren’t people going to miss you?” Piv sighed, “Not much to leave if I’m honest. I’ve moved around a bit already, and like I said, Togi aren’t exactly loved here. I had a room reserved at the inn in Omir, but that’s paid up for the year, so Tammy will probably just count my being missing as a free rent and give the room to someone else. She’s nice enough, but rings are rings. I don’t expect any loyalty. As far as possessions go, I’m only leaving a few bits behind, nothing valuable. The only riches I have are here.” Piv tapped his goggles and his satchel in turn. “Even if you offer only a tiny chance at getting home, I’ll take it.”
“But if you’re willing to risk the Fylguard’s wrath to get home, how come you left in the first place?”
“I left in search of something.”
“Did you find it?”
“Yes.”
The sadness in Piv’s eyes and the lack of freely offered elaboration suggested that maybe this was a topic for another time. Maya skipped ahead and racked her brains for ways to lighten the mood, for both their sakes.
“So, tell me about Nurba, what’s it like?”
Piv shook off the melancholy and raised his chin, “It’s a lot like any other city in Misvir really, except for a couple of important details. Firstly, its the only free city in the realm. Which is good for us, means it’ll be easier to avoid the Fylguard. Secondly, it has the largest library I am aware of in any realm. Access might be an issue, but its our best chance at a start.”
The pair spent the morning walking and talking under the dappled light of the forest before being rudely interrupted by a loud gurgling from Maya’s midsection. Piv responded with a chuckle, “I take it the bread and cheese is gone?” Maya nodded, “Pretty much.” She pulled the slim remnants from her bag and unwrapped them. “Want some?”
Piv declined, “We should probably work out how we are going to feed ourselves on this trip. I had hoped to stock up a bit before we set off. I don’t suppose you know how to hunt or forage?” Maya shrugged, “Not really, we can probably get by on all the tandercaps though. There’s loads in this forest! Grandpa always used to fry them, he grew them himself in his basement on these logs he had stacked up against the back wall. Massive ones too, much bigger than the ones here. You don’t have to cook them, but they taste better if you do.” Piv stared, slack-jawed as Maya continued. “I saw a lodehorn too this morning, but you have to cook that or it can make you ill.” Maya jerked to the side, pointing. “There you go, tandercaps. You only want the ones with the big orange ring on the top, the others aren’t ready- Why are you staring like that?”
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Piv reclaimed control of his expression, “When you said not really, I just didn’t expect you to start reeling off the finer points of fungus foraging.” Maya raised her hands and shrugged once again, “Well, maybe I do know how to forage then. To be honest, its just stuff I picked up helping Grandpa. He was proper into his gardening, like most old people really. It was super boring, but he used to let me eat all the different things he grew. He was a great cook!” Tears crept into Maya’s eyes as she spoke, and her throat caught. Clearly recognising this, Piv very kindly jumped in. “Sounds like a very interesting man. And lucky for us, we can put his knowledge to good use. I can’t say I’m usually a huge fan of mushrooms, but unless we want to head back to Omir, we don’t have a a lot of choice. As long as you are certain they’re safe?”
Maya confirmed, as she wiped away the few small tears and cleared her throat. “Yeah, pretty sure. Only ever saw them at my grandpa’s though, not in the wild, or in a shop for that matter. But they looked exactly like that, just bigger.” Maya crouched down and plucked one of the mushrooms from the bark of the tree. She dusted it off on her shoulder, and took a bite. “Yeah, that’s a tandercap, but we should definitely cook them. Don’t suppose you’ve got a frying pan and some butter in that satchel of yours?”
“I do not, as it happens. And besides, we probably shouldn’t risk a fire. We don’t want to alert the Horl to our presence any more that we probably already have.” Piv looked around for a second, as though expecting an army of fairies to come and abduct him. “Grab, them as we walk, and put them in your sack. Your grandpa didn’t teach you anything about finding water did he? Our skins won’t last the whole journey.”
Maya screwed up her face and shook her head. She knelt down and laid the bread and cheese cloth out on the floor, and began filling it with tandercaps. The earthy taste lingered in her mouth, and did not particularly improve the prospect off living off them raw for a week. With dinner collected and wrapped away, the duo once again set off.
For the next three days, Maya walked with Piv through the forest by day, and tied herself to sleep in a tree by night. Tandercaps were plentiful and so they picked as they needed. Water however was less so, meaning that they filled up at every opportune stream they passed. Other than the odd bird, squirrel, or bug, the pair were alone as they trudged. Piv, however was remarkably good company. After a few days of exposure to Maya’s piercing wit, he even started to crack a few jokes himself. On the fourth day, after a small bout of giggles at Maya’s expense Piv opened up. “You know it’s been quite a while since I have laughed this much.” Maya waved her hands out wide and bowed low, “Glad to be of service.”
Piv’s grin widened. “So are you always this cheerful in the face of fugitivity?”
“In the face of what- like being a fugitive? But I haven’t done anything wrong!”
“I’m not saying its deserved, but ultimately the Fylguard have singled you out for some reason, and yet you remain happy and whimsical?”
“Better than crying all the time, I’ve done enough of that already!”
“Well, I think its admirable.”
“Cheers. Also, this could still all be one massive dream. Its certainly weird enough.”
“Weird is usually just a matter of perspective. Tell me more about Terra, and I’ll tell you what’s weird.”
The conversation flowed for hours with Maya explaining the finer aspects of life in Gedbury. Of particular note to Piv was the technology. Maya explained cars, phones and refrigerators to the best of her ability. Although the inner workings of a fridge may as well have been achieved with hazes as far as Maya understood it.
By the end of the sixth day, Maya’s supply of whimsy finally ran out. The dank smell, faded light, and permanent taste of mushrooms had carefully and precisely whittled away at her personality, leaving little left but sharp remarks and the occasional groan. Realising the journey was getting to her, Piv sat a little closer than usual on the branch. “I want to show you something.”
The togi leaned his head forward, reached up, and removed his goggles. He offered the lenses to Maya along with a gentle smile. “Be aware, normal light doesn’t come through so at first everything will go black. Just wait for a moment and then tell me what you see.”
Maya raised the goggle strap and pulled them over her hair. As described, the whole world went dark as she pulled them down over her eyes. “Nothing, I can’t see anything.”
“Just hold on for a moment.”
As she sat staring at nothing but an empty void, a small gentle glow appeared at the bottom of her vision. Maya looked down to see the faint outline of her Grandpa’s bag glowing in the blackness. After inspecting it for a moment, Maya’s attention was pulled to the sky. She looked up to see the stars shining in a way she had never seen before. The individual specs were visible so clearly that they almost felt within reach. Despite Maya not recognising any of the constellations, a warm sense of familiarity washed over her.
Piv broke the silence, “Beautiful, aren’t they?”