image [https://i.im.ge/2024/04/27/Z9feLC.chapter-30.webp]
----------------------------------------
Gage had been here for months now. Almost three had passed, at least from his tracking of days using the count from back on Earth. ‘Back on Earth’… Has it really gotten to that point? He stopped in his tracks. The world was going to end. He had made his piece. He had said his goodbyes. He had been prepared to die.
Then he hadn’t. Instead, he had found himself in a new world. In the middle of a desert that he knew nothing about. The need for survival had kicked in, not just for himself, but for Eshu too. There was no way he would have left Eshu behind. He would have given the last of his food for Eshu and hoped the dog would have found a way to survive.
Survival had been blown out of the water, for a few days at least, when Ma’tuk had showed up. An amalgamation of worlds? Magic was now real, or real again as he understood it from Ma’tuk’s ramblings. New species… or races, Gage had never fully understood the difference as the fantasy genre seemed to use them interchangeably, had been tossed into the mix as well. This had only been confirmed when Elfric had stumbled into his house.
The need for survival had kicked in again. Eshu, Elfric, and himself had set out. The only thoughts had been about moving forward. To find a way out of the desert and then… then they ran into even more fantastical people. Not just people, but animals as well. Animals that would have no issue feasting on them. Stress and adrenaline had pushed them forward. Accepting what they had to, because if they had broken, they would be dead.
Reaching the settlement had eased some of their burdens. At least this time the task of survival was much more familiar. Get a job, make some money, get a home, get some food, rinse, wash, and repeat. They had been lucky. Gage knew that now. As a tent they were far more comfortable than most.
That was it though, wasn’t it. Gage pulled himself from his reflections and hurried on to the healer’s hut. Only Hye-jun was present when he entered. From what they could tell, the two of them were about the same age, give or take a few days a year. Still…
“Daja Hye-jun?” Gage started carefully, scuffing a foot at the sand in the entrance way.
Hye-jun turned, her eyes missing nothing as she looked him over. “Well, you aren’t hurt. So what is it you want?”
He sighed and sagged slightly, “Actually, yeah. I was going to try and play this off a little bit, but… Daja Hye-jun. I would like the day off.” Gage looked up at her as he spoke.
Her sharp eyes scrutinized him carefully before she walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder. Keeping his gaze, she spoke, “What’s wrong?”
“I had a… realization on my way in today. I thought to myself ‘back on Earth’ and… I don’t think of it as home anymore.” Gage felt his eyes get wet and a thickening in his throat. He cleared it before continuing. “And that I have pretty much been on the go since I was brought here. I haven’t had any time to process… what I may have lost. It was one thing when we all thought that… no one was going to be ‘left behind’ but now, now that isn’t the case, is it?”
“You haven’t done any mourning or worrying, have you?” Hye-jun offered.
He nodded, “No. There was one moment, one, where I had thoughts of my family. Something about Rosehip’s broth when I very first had some triggered it.” Gage paused to take a deep breath before he continued. “I would like to take some time, just for today, to think about them.”
Hye-jun smiled softly at him and gave his shoulder a squeeze before releasing him. She turned her back to him and started walking back to her seat. She flapped a hand at him, “Go. Take your day, but you better be here bright and early tomorrow. If you are late I will put you on bandage weaving detail.”
Gage looked at her, puzzled. “But I don’t know how to weave, well, anything.”
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Hye-jun paused and grinned at him over her shoulder. “Well, then I guess you are learning to weave tomorrow, aren’t you?”
Gage groaned and stepped out of the tent. Hye-jun’s laughter followed after him. He wanted to go to the memorial shrine, but there was a stop to make first. With an even step, Gage made his way to Rosehip’s stall.
“My, my, aren’t you a sight.” Rosehip beamed at him as he took an empty space at the counter. The morning rush had come and gone, and while still busy, the stall was much more manageable. “Where have you been?”
“Sorry Rosehip, it has been a mess. I have been quite busy.” Gage smiled at the mouse-woman, trying to look far more tired than he was.
“Oh, don’t you start with that now, ya hear?” Rosehip flicked a cloth at him, good naturedly. “Oye know you ain’t speaking of being tired and busy to me.”
His tired smile turned into a sheepish grin. “That is fair Rosehip, very fair.” Gage sobered a little. “I am actually on my way to the memorial. I was hoping if I could get a loaf of bread for offering?”
Her cheeky grin turned gentle, and she nodded. “Aye, oye got a few of ‘em sitting around for just that.” Rosehip moved away to a basket of bread set off to the side of everything else. She came back with a round rough. “Here you are.”
Gage nodded to her, “Thank you. How many tally?”
Rosehip pursed her lips and she looked him over carefully, as if trying to decide something. “It’s yours, take it.” When he opened up his mouth to say something, she raised a hand to stop him. “Oh don’t worry, you aren’t getting it for free. On your way home this evening, stop by here. Oye do my baking for people’s offerings then. Oye want you to say a few words over the bread, a blessing of Kin?”
Gage closed his mouth and thought it over. He could feel Ma’tuk boring a hole into the side of his head from where the archon usually sat at his shoulder. “I would be honored, Rosehip, to stop by and do that for you. Thank you.”
Rosehip thanked him and the two said their goodbyes. With that Gage turned towards the merchants’ bazaar. “I bet that makes you happy.” Gage muttered to Ma’tuk.
“It does! Does it not make you happy?” The little orb circled his head as it spoke.
“Well, I mean kinda. I’m not upset by it or anything, if that is what you mean.” Gage looked down at the bread in his hands as he walked. “I guess I don’t really feel like…” He looked pointedly at the orb. “You know. It feels a little weird. I mean, I haven’t been out saying anything. That has been all you and Faelenor.”
“That is the thing though, is it not?” Ma’tuk said after a moment. “You do not need to say anything. You do things. You show by example. For a,” Ma’tuk ‘coughed’, “-ling, you should not need to go out and preach. You did not see the,” ‘cough’, “of yore doing that themselves, did you? No. They had people for that. And so does Kin.”
Gage thought it over as he walked. As he stepped into the final alley towards the merchants’ bazaar. “Hey, Ma’tuk? Why don’t you go hang out with Faelenor today? You can both talk somethings over and, I guess, talk to some others about Kin.”
The orb did a happy bob. “Oh, you mean it?! Okay, okay. Keep it cool. I can do this my Lord! You will not be disappointed!” With that the archon zipped off down the alleys. Gage watched Ma’tuk go, and as it’s light disappeared from sight, the conversation around him shifted. What had been fairly pleasant, if not abundant, conversation became a sudden tangle of words and sounds.
With a deep breath, Gage shook his head and continued on. He reached the memorial. It took some gestures and pointing at images that had been carefully drawn out, but Gage was able to work with the sandstone dwarf that took care of the memorial. In the end, he was down forty tally but he had twelve effigies. Each was about as long as his pointer finger. Seven were vaguely female while the other five were male.
Gage had a messy family. He loved them and missed them dearly. Stepping up to the memorial he found an open space and began placing the effigies. As he placed each one, he named them aloud and gave it a kiss before nestling it into place. His mother was placed on her own in the middle and then spread out his complicated core family around her. Marriages and divorces, births of siblings and others being brought in… his childhood had been full of travel back and forth between families.
It had all been prearranged visitations and he had been loved by each family. There of course had been the usual trials and tribulations of going up, being a teenager, and so on, but flying back and forth across the country, multiple times a year just to see family… It hadn’t left him much time to make friends. He had managed to make some steadfast friends and he hoped they were alive and well somewhere in this new world.
After Gage placed all his effigies and played through his memories, he put the bread offering at the base of the memorial with the rest of those that had been left by others. As he turned away from the memorial, he ran his sleeve across his face. It came away wet. I need a new shirt. This thing is getting a little ratty. He let out a ragged breath as he walked aimlessly into the alleys. It was a long while before he realized that he was not walking alone. Two kumdahari flanked him. As he looked up and glanced at them, one spoke.
“Mister Gage’kin. I am Somba.” The English that came from the elf’s mouth startled Gage. “Mr. Canalor taught me to speak your tongue. You should come with me. There is someone who wishes to speak with you.”