Seo stood before the crossroads looking at the road sign. Whichever road she chose was a moot point. The only thing that mattered was to put as much distance between herself and the Fog Warriors. At least for the moment she could rest, and get her bearings. However, she was in Karash, orphaned, and she knew how to fight which meant that they would grab her and make her a legionnaire. She would have to be careful, and keep a close eye on the people around her.
One path led East the other led Northeast. She weighed her options and decided that for the moment she would head East. If nothing else she would hitch a ride on a merchant vessel headed towards Ulammar then… She didn’t know, but for the moment that was enough. She walked East towards the city of Kurubani. As she walked a ways down the trail her stomach began to grumble.
“Ugh… When’s the last time I ate?” She wondered aloud.
She looked towards her surroundings to see if she saw any berries or fruits she could pick up and eat, but found nothing of the sort.
Seo pinched the bridge of her nose. “Guess that settles it then.”
She abandoned the trail, and went inside the forest to bag some game to fill her stomach. She looked around the dirt for tracks of any wild animals she could find. After a while she came upon some strange tracks. They didn’t appear to belong to any large animal she knew of, but she didn’t know what animal could make tracks like that. The tracks themselves looked like holes dug into the dirt as if someone had planted a stick then proceeded to dig some of the dirt out. Seo placed her hands on the dirt. The dirt looked like it was recently moved, but she couldn’t deduce anything else.
Seo sighed as her stomach grumbled once again. “Guess beggars can’t be choosers. I just hope that it’s not a scary animal.”
Seo followed the trail until she could hear the distinct sound of rushing water. She stayed hidden behind the thicket, and brush until she could find the strange animal. She scanned her surroundings, but found nothing.
“Well I guess that I’ll have some fish then.”
Seo made her way towards the edge of the river. She kneeled down, and pulled out her canteen to refill it. Seo kept looking around for any signs of the strange animal, but saw nothing. She supposed the animal must have left in another direction, or that the tracks were older than she previously thought. Seo looked at the river to see if she could spot any fish for food. Just as she stepped on the edge of the river a large rock of about two feet high began to shift in the mud. Seo pulled out her short swords, and prepared herself for whatever creature was about to emerge from the mud. Then suddenly a large crab emerged as it used its pincers to dig itself out of the mud. Seo wasted no time in stabbing the creature’s shell until it was dead.
“Guess I’ll grab some firewood next.”
Seo dragged the crab’s carcass into the forest with her while she picked up some sticks to prepare her meal. Seo first decided to prepare a makeshift spit roast to place the crab’s meat over the fire. Then Seo picked at the shell with her knife as she tried to expose the meat. After she was done she placed the meat over the fire place, before she began to prepare the fire.
“Well seeing as how this’ll take a while I’ll look around.”
Seo scanned her surroundings for any other food and threats she could find. Seo found a tree carrying some brown dernum fruit. She licked her lips as she climbed the tree to claim her delicious price. Dernum fruit was especially sweet, and had an oval shape with a color spectrum of brown to green. Green usually meant that they were still a ways off from being edible, but brown meant that they were just right. Seo grabbed her short sword to cut down as many as she could carry. As she saw the final dernum hit the ground she noticed a large insect of about three feet long approaching the fallen fruit. It was a large beetle to be sure, but this one had a large horn that resembled a sword. Its carapace was a dull brown earth color, and it had six legs. Upon closer inspection Seo noticed that this creature was what created the tracks she saw. The beetle smelled the fruit, but was uninterested in any of them.
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“Hmm I wonder if…”
Seo cut another dernum fruit, but this time it was green. She threw it down, and the beetle seemed much more interested in this one than the others. The beetle used its sword horn to cut into the fruit, and taste its sour juices. Seo grabbed a few more of the green dernum fruits before jumping down to meet the beetle. She cut one in half and offered it to the beetle. The beetle looked at the fruit in her hand, and began to nibble at it.
Seo smiled as the beetle ate the fruit in the palm of her hand. “You’re a cute little guy aren’t you?”
The beetle only screeched and flapped its wings as it finished the last of the green dernum fruit.
“Well then I have to go.”
Seo grabbed the brown dernum fruit before walking back to her campsite. As she made her way back she heard the beetle walking closely behind her. She turned around to meet the beetle’s gaze. The beetle simply looked up to her. Seo shrugged and continued. As she finally arrived she saw several spine hounds fighting for her meal. Spine hounds were large dog-like creatures with horns, they were no more than three feet tall and four feet long, and a thick mane around their necks. She counted four of the wild beasts all vying to get a bite. Just as she was about to turn around and leave one of the hounds spotted her, and alerted its pack.
“Damn it!” Cursed Seo as she dropped the fruit and readied her swords.
The beetle then flew past Seo at top speeds as it rammed its sword-like horn through one of the hounds. Seo was in shock at how fast the beetle flew that by the time she regained her composure the spine hound fell to the ground. Seo rushed in to help the beetle fend off the rest of the attackers. Seo pulled out three throwing knives, and threw them at one of the hounds that was about to pounce on the beetle. She then stabbed the hound on its neck before it could have a chance to recover. The other two hounds jumped on Seo, and began to claw and bite at her back. Seo moved to protect her neck, and tried to push the hounds off of her. Just then the beetle pulled itself out of the hound it had just killed, and prepared itself to ram the next one. The beetle flew into one of the spine hounds ramming its horn inside its stomach. Just then Seo managed to shake the other one off as she jumped on top of it, and stabbed it repeatedly with her sword. Seo looked at the last spine hound desperately clinging to life as its guts spilled out of it. She pulled out a throwing knife and threw it at the hound’s head effectively killing it. Seo managed to stand up only to fall down again from the sheer amount of exhaustion.
Even if it was a short fight the fact that she could die out in the Karashian wilderness put some mental fatigue. She tried to get a feel of her back to see if they had left any lasting injuries. They had definitely done a number on her, but she could still manage to scrape by all the same. The beetle walked towards her as it sat on her lap.
“Thanks for the help there little buddy. Although you are gonna need a name… How about Akrid?”
The beetle remained silent.
“It’s not a no.”
After she cooked tended to her wounds, cooked the spine hounds, and had a long night of sleep Seo walked onward towards Kurubani alongside Akrid. As she made her way down the path she noticed a covered wagon with two people by the side of the road.
“We’re lost.” Said the girl.
“We’re not lost we’re… Locationally challenged is all.” Said the boy.
“That’s not a thing.” Stated the girl plainly.
“It’s gotta be a thing Sasha… It’s got words. Words make things real.”
“Do they really?”
The boy looked around as he tried to find some kind of inspiration for an answer, but found none. “Well doesn’t matter. We’ve got company. Hello there! Are you headed towards Kurubani?”
“Headed East actually. Trying to make my way towards Ulammar.” Answered Seo.
“That a fact. Well if you are I wouldn’t bother. Not with the way the war’s going. Besides…” The boy looked at Seo and grinned. “I imagine you aren’t looking forward to joining the legionnaires am I right?”
Seo took a step back. Something about the wya he said that made her feel on edge.
“Relax. Truth of the matter is that Ulammar will be off limits to you. However, there’s still other things you can do… In the meantime that is.”
“Such as?”
“Find a job for one. I can’t imagine running around in the wilderness as a fun time.” The boy looked at the beetle. “That’s a rare find. Does it have a name?”
“Akrid.” Seo answered.
“Well then Seo… Akrid hop in, and we’ll take you towards Kurubani.”
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Seo was fast asleep with Akrid resting on her lap. Sasha cleaned the last of Seo’s wounds as she had done only a decent job at tending to them.
“So then that’s two out of the four he’s met.” Stated Sasha.
“Yep. He’ll meet the other girl in Zul-Aman, it’s only a matter of time. Then… then he’ll meet the other one in Dol-Sur.”
“You know when he finds out he’ll hate you to the point where he’ll want to kill you.”
“No. Not until after he’s through with Embry first.”
“That’s assuming he’ll go through with it.”
“You’re saying he won’t?”
“You’ve been in his place. There is still a chance he’ll hesitate.”
“Yeah there is.” Replied the boy. “By the way after this you owe me. She named it Akrid so… I was right.”
“Shut up and drive.”