Book 3. The Long Journey. Chapter 29. The Play Sets Up.
“We shouldn’t have let them go so easily,” Dinne brought up out of the blue as they were all gathering around the recently ignited campfire.
“What do you suggest we did then?” Ruan asked with a helpless laugh and shook his head. “Do you think you could convince them not to go? Or do you think we could have stopped them with strength?” he asked with a rather sarcastic but at the same time self-mocking smirk. It was a bit… no, it was very sad that a bunch of adults like them had no means of controlling two young boys.
Dinne frowned a little when he heard Ruan’s question, then laughed awkwardly. True, he didn’t believe he could convince those two of anything and he didn’t think they were capable of stopping them either. And even if they were strong enough to somehow restrain Laien and Yin, were they supposed to tie them up with steel ropes or something?
“Let the kids be wild, boys are just like that,” Ethane commented with a smile. He was in a very good mood since he was already beginning to feel that he was about to advance to the peak of the eighth mortal realm. From there he would merely need a few days and he would reach the ninth realm, then hopefully become a martial master of the first rank! He didn’t have any grand dreams of becoming one of the ultimate experts of the continent though, he knew his limits. He would be more than satisfied with achieving his goal of entering the Realm of Heroes.
“Like what?” Liza inquired, for a second making Ethane wonder if she wasn’t making fun of him. Given her character it wouldn’t be all that surprising; she was one to readily look down on those weaker than her.
“How should I say it,” Ethan began saying cautiously, as if waiting for Liza to begin laughing in his face. “They just try doing things they find interesting and worry about the consequences later. When you get older you start thinking about danger much more… but when you are young, especially when you are an adolescent boy, you tend to underplay those dangerous situations,” he explained, involuntarily beginning to think about his eldest son who was just around Laien’s age. There was no helping to how rowdy children could be; even his daughter ended up becoming somewhat of a tomboy from hanging around her brother and his friends too much.
“And you think kids should just be left to do as they please?” Liza asked with a rather sour look on her face. The woman that had been taking care of her definitely wasn’t of the same mind as Ethane; in fact, she made her follow so many strict rules that at one point she had just gone and straight up left one day. Ever since she had lived a comfortable life of a mercenary that maybe wasn’t devoid of dangers, but was much more rewarding than staying under the tutelage of that old bag of bones.
“Well, not everything,” Ethane replied and scratched the back of his head in a troubled manner. “You tell them what is okay to do and what not… and after that you can only hope they won’t do anything too stupid,” he said with a weak laugh. As far as his opinion went, there wasn’t much point in being overprotective of one’s own children. They should be allowed to make their own mistakes and learn from them when they are still children instead of doing them when they become adults, when the consequences would become a lot heavier.
“You know,” Ruan interrupted with a smirk on his face. “I don’t think we can treat those two like normal children. Kids being naughty will at the most end with some heavy spanking, but them doing what they please can get them killed or could as well start a war,” he mentioned, quite sure Laien and Yin shouldn’t be treated as mere children given the power and influence they wielded.
Ethane laughed helplessly and nodded in agreement. “You are right, it’s hard to apply common sense to those two brats,” he said and sighed a little. They would all be in a lot of trouble if those boys ended up killing themselves due to their reckless ideas, but like Ruan said, they had little to no way of controlling them.
“So, in the end, this discussion leads nowhere?” Liza asked, and sighed after sweeping everyone with her gaze. Apparently, they really had no solution to the problem at hand. “Well, if we don’t know how to act, there are only two options. Jump the boat or go with the flow,” she said lightheartedly, this one simple principle having never betrayed her before. When you can’t figure out what to do, either commit fully and run for it when there is still time!
“You see?” Jin spoke up with a broad smile. “I told you going with the flow was the best option!” he exclaimed and laughed merrily, happy to see that the rest had finally come to the same conclusion as he had.
Liza frowned a little but then smirked and laughed. “Yes, ironically enough we arrived at the same answer as you did,” she said while shaking her head.
“The answer is simple then,” Ruan reluctantly agreed with the conclusion they came up with. “I don’t think running away and leaving those two to fend for themselves is a viable option, so we have no choice but to stick with it and hope nothing too bad happens,” he said helplessly, his words followed by some content and some worried nods from the others.
Playing the role of guards for Laien and Yin… they had gained quite a few riches from their escapades in the Anarchic Lands, so the thought of giving up so easily didn’t enamor them that much. Traveling with those boys would surely involve some risks, but at the same time, it would create opportunities!
Out of the six of them by the campfire, Ruan was too dutiful to abandon a mission he had decided to take in; not when he came to like the boys themselves.
Jin simply looked to enjoy life and never thought too much about hard things. He didn’t mind going along with this group if the things were to look as they had looked so far.
Liza had weighed the benefits and negatives of both options she had and decided to stay and keep trying to befriend Laien and Yin. She desired a good, pleasant life for herself and getting acquainted with two soon-to-be influential figures on the level of the whole continent would be a good step in the direction of acquiring just that.
Dinne and Rishe were already grandfathers; even though both of them had young sons, they weren’t pressed enough by their circumstances to consider pulling out of their mission.
As for Ethane, he was still young and had three kids of his own. However, he was a part of a large family and his goal of becoming a martial master was very important to him. He wouldn’t shy away from danger; in contrast, he would welcome it with open arms as long as the challenge wasn’t borderline suicidal.
The six of them came to accept the things as they were, whereas the seventh member of their party didn’t have such concerns.
The black-caped man was sitting beside one of the many trees in the forest. He kept whistling quietly, almost as if he was humming some kind of a song. At one instant, a small bird flashed past him at a quick speed. He smiled slightly and produced a small roll of paper and placed it on top of his open palm, then began whistling the same melody. A few seconds later the small bird snatched the piece of paper and flew away.
“We wouldn’t want him to interrupt my part of the trials after all,” the black-cloaked man mused aloud, relaxing once again now that he had sent the message.
---
“What do you mean you lost them?” Shade asked playfully, but his cheerful tone hid a thread of anger which caused his three subordinates to shudder. The three of them were kneeling on one leg already, but now they also bowed and lowered their heads.
“Master, they separated from their guards and went with some strange people who all appeared out of nowhere. We tried to follow them, but they suddenly disappeared from our view. We went back to find the traces and follow them, but after a moment we would always lose them. At once we were looking at the footsteps and they were there, only to disappear the next second.”
Shade tilted his head, then began tapping his black mask around where the lips should be with his finger. He didn’t think his men would lie to him, so what they were saying should be true. Yet, he didn’t expect three martial masters he had personally groomed to be so easily bewildered. “Looks like the Anarchic Lands do hide a secret or two I’m yet to discover after all,” he thought in amusement, always up for an interesting challenge.
“Great Chieftain, may I say something?” one of the few dozen bandit bosses who had hurried over to Shade’s side after receiving the call spoke up warily. He was one of the first to arrive and in fact, he commanded nearly half of the free troupes of the midlands, of the territory under the Lion King’s control. Thus, he was fairly knowledgeable about the area and the report of that black-cloaked man made him recall something he thought would be relevant.
“You already did,” Shade said coldly and glanced at the bandit boss, proceeding to enjoy himself as the man’s face began turning pale. “Just kidding, speak, speak,” he added with a laugh after a moment, but just this much was enough to shave off a good decade of the poor man’s lifespan.
“The story your subordinate told…” the bandit boss began saying despite his throat clenching painfully. “His story should be about the Forest of Dreams. It’s a fairly large area by the main road which everyone avoids. There is nothing to gain there; those who enter will suddenly find themselves walking out without changing directions, just like your men, but that’s only the best case scenario,” he explained, then tried to swallow, only to realize that his mouth was completely dry.
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“That’s intriguing,” Shade nodded, sounding to be quite pleased. “Tell me more,” he encouraged the man, causing him to calm down considerably.
“Yes, Great Chieftain,” the bandit boss bowed almost involuntarily and hurriedly proceeded to explain. “Those who are stronger usually end up being sent out by the forest, but those weaker can end up wandering it aimlessly for days and weeks, unable to leave it at all. There is nothing to eat or hunt in that place, so it’s a nightmarish experience. Some of my own men had nearly starved to death after venturing there on accident. Those who entered the Forest of Dreams sometimes claim to have seen spilled blood, one that was obviously drawn in a battle. Thus we believe there also exists something that hunts down and kills those who get lost there.”
“Hooo,” Shade smiled under his mask. “Good then, what’s your name?” he asked the bandit boss. He wasn’t interested in his person, but it would be more convenient for him while giving out orders to remember how he was called.
“Black Lion, Great Chieftain,” the bandit boss responded and fell to one knee. He was one of the most powerful personas around if one were to not count the Great Chieftains, but in front of one of the true leaders of the Anarchic Lands, he felt like nothing but a pebble by the roadside. Small and insignificant.
“So, Black Lion,” Shade said brightly. “In two days when most of the guys will have gathered, take command of them for me and send them all into that Forest of Dreams. I want you to find those two boys who had been making trouble around the lands lately and bring them back to me,” he requested lightheartedly, the uncaring tone of his voice making the Black Lion even more nervous than he had been when receiving orders from the Lion King.
“You want all of us to go, Great Chieftain?” Black Lion couldn’t help himself and asked. In two days only thirty to forty percent of their forces would be gathered, but that would still amount to well over twenty thousand people! Were they are supposed to enter the Forest of Dreams at once?
“Exactly,” Shade confirmed briefly, a bit annoyed to be asked such a stupid question. Wasn’t he clear enough with his orders already?
“It will be as you say, Great Chieftain.” Black Lion bowed his head, acknowledging the order. “We shall bring those two boys to you without fail,” he promised, too fearful to imagine what kind of consequences failing a man like Shade would carry.
“Yes, yes,” Shade said with a chuckle, but just as he was about to give one more order to the man, a small bird landed on his shoulder. “Oh, what do you have for me?” Shade thought to himself and raised his hand. The little bird flew away from his shoulder, dropping a small roll of paper onto his hand.
“Let’s see, let’s see,” Shade carefully unveiled the piece of paper and read the few words on it. “Eeeh? That’s not amusing at all,” he complained aloud, confusing the Black Lion and the other bandit bosses who were listening to the conversation from a nearby spot.
“I guess it’s fine, he is technically a senior of mine. I could have used them as pieces, but if he wants them I can let him have them,” he thought a bit resignedly, sighed and raised his hands helplessly. What could he do? A good and proper person always listened to the requests of his seniors, so he couldn’t very well refuse, could he?
“There should be nice big plains by that forest, no? That’s the area you were speaking about?” Shade took out a map from his interspatial ring and pointed at a certain place with his finger, showing it to the bandit boss. What was he called again…? Eh, why could he never remember names of the people that didn’t interest him to at least some degree?
“Yes, Great Chieftain,” Black Lion said respectfully and bowed again, still not having stood up from his knees.
“Good, let us set a camp right there,” Shade said happily. He then turned around, not paying any more attention to the bandit boss. He gestured his three subordinates to join the rest of his Shadows, much to the three’s relief. Luckily for them, it appeared that they wouldn’t be punished for failing their mission.
The man called Black Lion needed a while to understand that his talk with the Great Chieftain was over, but when he did he stood up and returned to the gathering of various bandit leaders.
Having heard Shade’s words, even the most hardheaded and stubborn of them accepted that it would be Black Lion giving out the orders this time around. With a clear chain of command established, it didn’t take long for the eight, nine thousands of them to set out to the plains in the center of midlands.
In two days there would be more than twice as much of them, and in a week their numbers might even approach one hundred thousand. With so many people, the Forest of Dreams no longer seemed all that scary and mysterious of a place. They would be able to simply overrun it with their superior numbers; no matter where those two brats were hiding, they would drag them out kicking and screaming from their hole if need be.
---
“Slowly! Slowly! You are going to cut yourself, honestly!” a stunningly beautiful, golden-haired woman that looked to be in her late thirties reprimanded the six-year-old with a smile. “I understand you are excited to have some friends from outside visit, so just leave the dinner to me and go speak with them. As impatient as you are you are more of a nuisance than of any help,” she said calmly, her words filled with love and motherly care. She might have never given birth to her own children, but she loved every Holy Priest from the bottom of her heart and wished to make their lives as happy as possible for as long as they would last.
“Really? I can go?” the six-year-old asked eagerly. It wasn’t that he didn’t like spending time with Marie or helping her cook; at the moment he simply wanted to talk about the outside world that much more.
“Yes, go and have fun,” Marie said warmly and patted the six-year-old’s head. “Make sure to be polite to them, okay?” she reminded the youth, worrying he would ask his guests question too persistently and get them to feel angry with him.
“I will! Thanks!” the six-year-old replied with a smile, hugged Marie and ran out of the kitchen. The golden-haired woman chuckled quietly and went back to cutting up the ingredients for the dinner.
---
After running out of the sanctuary he lived in and speeding almost all the way up to Laien and Yin, the six-year-old slowed down hastily when Yin opened his eyes and glanced at him. Even without Yin saying anything, he could tell that Yin was annoyed with him for making too much noise.
The six-year-old approached while walking on the tips of his toes, trying to be as quiet as possible to the point of grabbing the sides of his black robe to stop them from fluttering.
Seeing the boy try so hard, Yin couldn’t help but chuckle, allowing a smile to surface on his face. He didn’t warm up to this kid as much as Laien for obvious reason, but he didn’t dislike him either.
Encouraged by Yin’s reaction, the six-year-old came closer without fidgeting as much and sat down nearby. “Marie will finish the dinner soon, will you eat with us?” he asked a bit awkwardly, not sure where to begin when speaking with Yin. He felt bad for acting so rude towards her because of what he could now see was a silly reason, so he kept wondering if she wasn’t still angry at him.
“I’m staying here to make sure no one disturbs Laien,” Yin answered calmly, happy to see that the six-year-old was speaking to him in a low voice. Although loud sounds shouldn’t be enough to break Laien’s concentration, there was no reason to make them and see if the theory was right in practice.
“Um, we could eat here then?” the six-year-old suggested hopefully. He wanted to get along with Yin too, but he didn’t quite know how to approach the apology. He knew he needed to apologize for what he told her in the beginning, but was too anxious about her reply to actually bring it up.
“I don’t mind you, but I don’t want a crowd here,” Yin replied after a brief thought. He didn’t trust Uluan or that High Priest, so it was safer to keep the adults away at least until Laien finished his breakthrough. “It should be okay if you brought your caretaker though. Marie, right?” he decided in the end, prompted by the slightly worried expression on the six-year-old’s face.
“Really?” the six-year-old asked excitedly, then quickly covered his mouth with both hands after Yin gave him a meaningful look. “Um, thanks. Sorry for saying I don’t like you before, big sister…” he said quietly, at first looking down on the ground to later hesitatingly peek at Yin’s face. To his surprise and relief, Yin was smiling and appeared to be very amused by something.
“I accept your apology,” Yin said with a quiet laugh. “I’m not a ‘big sister’ though. I’m a boy,” he added, unable to prevent himself from chuckling when he saw the look of disbelief painting itself on the six-year-old’s face. Laien was able to tell he was a boy pretty much instantly, but it didn’t change the fact that average people would often mistake him for a girl.
“You really are a boy? You aren’t kidding?” the six-year-old asked, staring at Yin’s face and trying to make out some guy-like features. Yet, all he could see was a beautiful girl; compared to the boys and girls in the village, Yin’s looks were definitely on the girl's side!
“You can ask Laien after he wakes up,” Yin said with a smile. He didn’t mind if the boy didn’t believe him; all in all, it didn’t matter much.
“When will he wake up?” the six-year-old asked in response. He only had a week left, so he wished Laien wouldn’t spend too much time sleeping.
“It’s hard to say… he probably won’t finish sooner than in a few days,” Yin replied, stopping himself from saying more. In truth, he was quite sure Laien wouldn’t be done sooner than in seven days, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it to a boy who believed he would die for the good of the village. He didn’t know the details, but with Laien in the middle of making use of his sudden spark of insight he wouldn’t be able to spare attention to saving this kid; Laien was the one who mattered the most to him.
“Oh,” the six-year-old lowered his head, somehow able to tell that the few days Yin mentioned probably weren’t less than the amount of time he had left. “Would you… chat with me some until then?” he asked, barely stopping himself from tearing up. He normally wouldn’t think about dying, but now that he started speaking about the concept became scarily realistic to him.
“Sure,” Yin said amiably, feeling sorry for the six-year-old. All he was willing to do for him was to talk… but just the agreement to do so caused the kid to brighten up so much. “It would be good if you finished as soon as possible,” he thought a bit more loudly than usual, gently sending his intention to Laien through their spiritual bond.
It would be great if Laien woke up in time so they could intervene… but no matter how sorry he felt for this kid, he wouldn’t put his life over Laien’s successful breakthrough. He had his priorities and unlike Laien, he didn’t believe he can save everyone he came across during his life. If he could realistically help then he would, but if not then he wouldn’t throw himself into an overly risky situation. For now, all he would do for the six-year-old was to make his little wish come true and chat with him.
“So, what would you like to talk about?” he asked, admittedly having not listened to most of the conversation the six-year-old had with Laien.
“Tell me more about big brother,” the six-year-old said after a moment of consideration. It definitely would be fun to listen about Laien from Yin’s perspective!
Yin raised his eyebrows, then smiled wryly. He liked this question and wouldn’t mind answering it in detail. It would take a while, but it wasn’t like they were short on time. At least not yet and not in that meaning of the word.