The wet and battered pair stopped at the edge of the camp and looked it over curiously.
It was a bunch of wagons surrounding a very large campfire. Some of them reminded Roxas of the ones the settlers had used going West. But many of them were quite a bit different and some of them were frankly bizarre. Roxas blinked at a wagon that had been painted yellow with purple designs. It was really quite pretty even if the paint was beginning to peel in places.
"Hey Roxy, look at that!" Roxas followed Axel's gesture ands blinked at a wagon that looked like… what? Roxas tried to figure it out. A mechanical ostrich? A house on legs? "That reminds me of the old stories. The witch with a house with legs? Who was that? I think it was Russian."
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Roxas really didn't have the least clue. "Should we introduce ourselves?" He looked longingly at the wagons. It would be nice to be out of the rain. The camp was beginning to stir as he and Axel hesitantly wheeled their things towards the campfire. There were several people around it who noticed them immediately.
"Woah! Who are you?" A young woman with golden hair pointed a ladle at them. Roxas was fascinated by her ears. They were much larger than normal and lightly furred but other than that, she looked perfectly normal. The man beside her was casually reaching for something that looked like a gun and Roxas spoke hastily.
"We're travelers. We're, um, very lost. We were hoping we might be able to travel with you?" He said cautiously. She greeted that with skepticism and Roxas got a better look at her costume. It was a very colorful gown with a tightly tied bodice. Yet, despite the color, it looked very sturdy. A necklace of faux pearls and glass bangles circled her neck and similar pearls were strung through her hair.
"How could you have gotten lost out here? There's no town within miles! And that's an odd looking contraption you have there. What's in the box?" She approached Axel confidently and bent down to peer into the cat carrier. "Wow, that is one cute looking cat. I've never seen a face like that. Where'd you get him?"
"He's a Himalayan. I'm Roxas and this is Axel. Who are – ah!" Roxas almost jumped out of his skin as two dogs suddenly circled them. No, not quite dogs. They had grey, furless skin and odd, plant like fronds growing out of their backs. Their eyes were disconcertingly human and as green as Axel's. An odd little ruff of yellow tubes, segmented with black parts ran down their heads like a mane. The really worrisome part, though, was the size and the teeth. They were easily the size of timber wolves and seemed disconcertingly intelligent. The woman just stood watching them, her hands on her hips as the 'dogs' circled. Axel finally offered one a hand to sniff and it gave him a tentative lick. Then the two animals suddenly lost interest and wandered away.
"Well that's good. You've both gotten the Hupo and Lupo seal of indifference." She said brightly and Roxas noticed the man behind her putting the gun down. Other people were slowly filtering out of the wagons and they mostly seemed young, although there was a smattering of middle ages folk and a few elderly. There were also some beings that didn't look human. Roxas stared at one person with grey skin with black markings and 'hair' that reminded him of the 'dogs' manes. What was that? "I'm Rikku and this is the Master Leon's traveling caravan and wandering show!" Roxas blinked at that and Axel looked intrigued. These were wandering actors? "I'd say you can stay but that's up to Master Leon – oh!" She bobbed a curtsy as man stepped up to the fire. Roxas and Axel both looked at him intently, sensing the deference all the other people were treating him with.
He didn't look very old to Axel and Roxas. Long brown bangs slid messily over his face, but his hair was cut short. The scar across his nose was impressive and the weapon he was carrying was even moreso. To their eyes it looked like a bastardized cross between a gun and a sword. Where the other players were wearing very colorful garb, he was wearing nothing but black. He didn't seem like an actor to Roxas but what did he know about acting, really? Roxas sensed Axel's nervousness as Leon scrutinized them right back and reached out to gently touch the redhead's arm.
"I am Leon and the Master of this caravan." He finally said and his voice was firm and carried a heavy weight of authority. It was the kind of voice that called for instant obedience. "How did you find us?" They were in the middle of nowhere. Roxas hesitated and finally decided to go with the truth.
"We're not entirely sure. We were in our house doing our usual thing and suddenly our house… wasn't in town anymore. It was by the side of the road to the South of here." Roxas gestured vaguely back at the road they'd followed to get here. "We're not sure where we are. Please, could we go with you? We weren't really prepared for this and we had to make do." Leon looked over their wagon and wheelbarrow and seemed to immediately understand the problem. He pursed his lips for a moment and nodded.
"Very well. You can stay with us at least until we reach a town. What's in there? Your belongings?" He asked. Axel answered.
"Food mostly. Also some batteries and other things." The redhead said and Leon frowned. He somehow doubted Axel meant he had massed guns in the wheelbarrow but he couldn't think of any other meaning for 'batteries'. Ignoring that incomprehensible bit he went for the first part.
"Rikku. Take an inventory of what they have and see what we can use." Rikku nodded with a smile. "The rest of you, get your breakfast and get to work." He ordered briskly and all the watchers scattered. Axel grinned at the sudden energy around them as Leon stalked off. He clearly had no patience for stragglers.
"Okay! Let's see what you've got here." Rikku. She quickly pulled the tarp off the wheelbarrow and began poking through the contents. Axel set down the cat carrier to help. "What are all these things?" She hefted a can dubiously, peering at the label. "Chef Boyardee. Who is that? Is he a good cook?" Roxas stared, wondering what planet she was from as Axel burst into laughter. "What?"
"They're cans. You open them with the can opener?" Rikku looked dubious as Roxas fished out the opener. "See, you set it like this and twist the handle." Roxas mimed the way to open them. "There's food inside?" He said tentatively and a light seemed to go in her head.
"Oh! I get it, they're like glass jars but metal huh? Must be very durable. And the food inside is preserved? Nice!" She tossed the can back into the wheel barrow and pulled out a bag. It was looking a bit worse for wear but thanks to the tarp it was mostly dry. "What's this?" She looked at the label. "Sugar? You're putting me on." She opened the bag and sampled a bit of the white stuff inside. "Ohmigosh! It really is!"
"Yes?" Axel said, confused, and Roxas suddenly remembered something from his medieval studies class. Back when sugar was made by hand it was expensive. The labor and shipping costs made it prohibitive to anyone but the very rich. Was it like that here, wherever they were? Rikku was holding the bag like it was a rare treasure. "There's a plastic bag of brown sugar and another of icing sugar in there." They'd brought them largely because while it would be disgusting, you could live off nothing but sugar for a while and food was food.
"That's amazing! What other treasures do you have in here?" Rikku began to dig away in earnest and soon uncovered what she considered to be treasures. Roxas soon became sure his hypothesis was correct as she went into rhapsodies over the pepper and salt. Particularly the pepper. "My god, this is more pepper than most spice merchants have!" She said admiringly as she held up the plastic jug of peppercorns. "Do you know what this is worth?"
"Where we come from? I think it was three bucks on sale." Axel said, scratching his head and Rikku looked confused.
"Three deer? That's weird." Axel opened his mouth to correct her then decided against it as Roxas had to hide a giggle. "This is worth at least five gold rondels. Maybe more. Ohmigosh we'll have to pay you for this." She chewed on her lip for a moment then turned. "Isa, go get Leon again would you?"
"Why should I?" A young man responded truculently. Axel and Roxas both examined him, interested. He had very long blueish hair and odd yellow eyes. Rikku smiled at him sweetly.
"Because if you don't I'll open the door to your wagon and let in Hupo and Lupo. You wouldn't want that, would you?" She said with a smile and he growled at her before stalking off. "He's such a little bitch when his moontime is coming."
"Wait, say what?" Roxas knew 'moontime' in the fantasy sense but that wasn't something that should apply to a man. He hoped. Rikku grinned.
"Not like that! Dirty boy. He's a loup-garou and while he has it under control he gets all nasty when he feels the pull. Don't worry, a couple days and he'll be good as new." Leon was heading back, Isa at his side and Roxas bit his lip. The Master of the caravan didn't look amused.
"What is it Rikku? Isa was mumbling something about peppercorns." She grinned and lifted the jug up for him to see and Leon's eyebrows shot up. "What in the world?" She quickly ran through the treasures she'd found, including the small jars of various spices that Axel had shoved into any convenient space. Roxas hadn't objected much at the time because they were light and fit neatly between bulkier items and it turned out they had some cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, sage, cumin, garlic powder… the list went on and on. From the quick conversation between Leon and Rikku it was all valuable but the pepper and sugar easily trumped everything else. But that had a downside.
"We can't pay full price for these. We'd normally never buy this… it's the food of the rich." Leon tapped the peppercorns. "But we can't really sell it either." He mused as Axel and Roxas exchanged a glance. "That would get us in trouble with the authorities. They tax the spice trade rather strictly and we don't need to get a reputation for smuggling. Hm." Leon regarded the items thoughtfully and Roxas hesitated before he spoke up.
"We don't have a place to be… if you let us stay permanently, could they be our gift to you?" He offered and Leon and Rikku exchanged a glance.
"The caravan always needs labor. Very well, but we'll have to pay you something for them. It wouldn't be fair otherwise." Leon said firmly and pulled out two large gold coins. "Two gold rondels is all we can spare." Rikku nodded. That was only a fraction of the worth of all the spices but more than the caravan would usually spend. Roxas accepted them with a nod, reflecting that if they ever got home the gold would be worth far more than the spices. But where were they? Clearly not the past. These people were far too strange and some of the things they were using looked like high tech. "You'll be paid three coppers a week and get free food and board, unless you turn out to be useful in the acts. Then you might get paid more. Deal?"
"It's a deal." Roxas shook hands with Leon and glanced around. "Ah, where should we stay?" Leon smiled and Rikku laughed.
"You can use the yurt!" She pointed at the strange wagon on legs and Axel swallowed as Roxas stared. "It doesn't even need a driver, it just follows along. The movement is a bit jolting but you'll get used to it in no time."
"What happened to the person who was using it before us?" Roxas asked warily and Rikku suddenly sobered.
"She died in an attack. You know how we had Hupo and Lupo smell you? Things often aren't what they seem on the borderlands. Here, have some breakfast." Rikku found them a couple wooden bowls and began ladling out some porridge. Axel and Roxas both ate the first hot food they'd had in days with good cheer. Soon they were helping Rikku pack all of their items into a supply wagon.
This place was very strange but they were both too tired to question it just yet.
"Oh god, I feel so much better." Axel said feelingly and Roxas smiled.
The yurt had turned out to be a wonderful place to be. It was very jolting on the move but it was well furnished inside and all the furniture was bolted to the floor and walls. Including a bed with a decent mattress. It didn't have springs the way they were used to but it had been filled with something giving. Wool maybe? Whatever it was, after all the time they'd spent under bushes it was absolute heaven. Aristotle was quickly getting used to his new home and they'd even gotten a litter box set up for him.
"Me too. I just wish I knew where we are." The terms the other travelers threw around were completely foreign to them. Where was Akkady? That was where they were going and it was a large town but Roxas had never heard of it. "Hey, is the caravan stopping?" The yurt had just jolted to a halt. Axel poked his head out the door.
"Looks like. Oh, they're cooking! Come on, I'm hungry." Axel shimmied down the ladder quickly and Roxas followed. He was relieved to see that Axel seemed to be having a good day. He hadn't complained about silence or voices at all so far.
"You too! Excellent." Rikku grinned widely as she pointed a knife at a bunch of potatoes. The grey skinned person they'd noticed earlier was sitting there peeling them with a single minded concentration. "Go help Tam'li with those, would you? Thanks!" Axel started over with a smile and Roxas paused for a moment to examine Tam'li.
He tentatively decided the alien being was female, but it was far from certain. Her features were far too delicate for a man, all fine bones, full lips and very large green eyes. She reminded him a bit of the 'dogs'… her skin was the same shade and the 'hair' was definitely related. Now that he was closer Roxas could see she had similar fronds as well, growing out of her back. They looked like the petals of a large flower. She looked like a rather bizarre cross between a woman and a flower, in some ways. But she was very well put together and clearly a different species. Roxas sat down beside her and picked up a knife, taking a potato to peel. She smiled at them both for a moment as she chopped up a potato and put the pieces in a pot.
"Hello." She said a touch shyly. "I'm Tam'li. You're Axel? Or are you Roxas?" Roxas smiled as Axel laughed. Clearly their names had gotten around but not which of them was which.
"I'm Roxas and that's Axel. Um, I don't mean to be rude, but I've never seen anyone like you before. What are you?" He asked bluntly and Tam'li's smile widened into a grin.
"Oh, it's not rude at all. Pointing and whispering is much worse! I'm a T'assa. My people mostly live in warmer, more humid lands. We can live in places like this but it's not ideal for us. I think Akkady has a small community of my people. Personally, I came from a tribe in the deep rainforest of Tal'lastu. That means Breath of the Goddess." Tam'li translated the term easily for them.
"Have you been with this caravan long?" Axel asked conversationally as he worked at his potato. Tam nodded.
"For, mmm, eighty years? I was joined up when it was Mistress Reena's caravan. It passed on to Master Lund when she died, then Master Leon. I'm a hundred and thirty years old." She said proudly and Roxas blinked.
"Wow! Your people live longer than humans?" Roxas asked, reflecting on how crazy all of this was. They were sitting in a caravan where some wagons walked, others were pulled by horses and peeling potatoes with a woman from another species. If this was a hallucination they were probably already doped up in the hospital. Tam'li was oblivious to his thoughts and responded with a tinkling laugh.
"No, actually. We're shorter lived than humans. Very few T'assa live past seventy, although our reflexes stay good well into our forties. You can find forty year old T'assa mercenaries, and you just don't see that with humans." She hummed as she sliced up another potato, waiting for the obvious question. Axel didn't disappoint.
"How are you still alive then?" He asked, a touch confused. Tam'li smiled and gestured with her knife.
"Well, that's an interesting story. You want to hear?" Roxas and Axel both assented. It wasn't like they had much else to do while they peeled potatoes. "My people in the deep rainforest have a ritual. When we come of age we stand before the statue of the Goddess and if there's a real seer in the clan, we kneel before them and give homage to the madness of the gods." Roxas opened his mouth to ask a question but Tam'li was already going on. "At that time we make a pledge for our adulthood. Most of the pledges are the standard stuff. I will be the greatest hunter, I will have three or more children, I will become a great herb woman, blahblahblah."
"I thought all of that was boring and I had always wanted to wander. My family didn't want to let me go but if I made it an oath to the Goddess they would have to let me go." She said cheerfully as she dumped another potato into the pail. Roxas marveled at her speed. Axel had just barely finished his first and Roxas was still working at his. "So I stood in front of the statue and seer and made my oath. 'Goddess, I pledge to see all the world before I die!' Now, mostly the seer doesn't say anything, probably because the Gods find the whole business terribly boring. But when I made my oath she spoke. 'You will see all the world, though it might take you a thousand years.' It was about that time I realized I might have made a mistake." Tam'li sighed and shook her head. "But how was I to know the world was so big?" To a tribeswoman in the interior of the rainforest, the world had looked small indeed.
"Oh! Hah. So you're going to live until you see all the world?" Axel asked, amused by the idea and she nodded.
"Apparently. I haven't aged a day since then and I can't stop moving. Always have to go! This caravan is always showing me new places, it's wonderful. But there's so much of the world left to go! It really is going to take me a thousand years I think." She brooded for a moment then shrugged. "But that's what happens when you make stupid oaths in front of the Goddess. It could have been worse."
"I'll say! Most people would kill to live a thousand years." Although Roxas supposed it might sort of suck if you had to keep traveling the whole time. Not to mention that you'd outlive most of your companions.
"Well, that supposes nothing kills me along the way." Tam'li said judiciously. "Hey! Hupo, stop that!" The 'dog' had delicately nabbed a whole potato and was crunching it with gusto. "You're supposed to be a carnivore. That stuff is not good for you!" Grumbling she fished a bit of hard tack out of her belt pouch and fed the salty, chewy meat to the monster dog. That reminded Axel of something he'd been meaning to ask.
"What is that thing, anyway? It looks a bit like you." Now that he saw the two of them together it was clear they were related somehow. Although maybe in just the same way humans were related to real dogs… both creatures from the same planet and general background. Tam'li sighed as she patted Hupo's head.
"He and Lupo are miniature great dogs." Roxas and Axel exchanged a wide-eyed glance. Miniature? "They're really great for scenting out magic and dark energy. They've caught all kinds of things before they could get close enough to endanger the camp. Anyone who wants to join us has to get sniffed over before we allow it."
"Ah, I see." Magic? This hallucination was really strange. Although it felt completely real and that was alarming in a completely different way. Had magic brought them here? But the yurt they were using looked like technology. Roxas made a note to get Axel to look it over. He was the more mechanically minded of the pair. "How long will it be before we get to Akkady?" Roxas was very curious to see a town. It might give them a better idea of what this place was like. Tam'li grabbed the pan of potatoes and dumped them in the stewing pot. The stew was already bubbling and beginning to smell good. Rikku was stirring it and had already liberally spiced it with salt and pepper.
"Two days, it should be." Rikku answered as Tam'li fed a bit more hard tack to Hupo. The dog had a way of rounding his eyes and lowering his ears that made him look both adorable and pathetically hungry. "Tam, stop, I already fed him earlier. He's just being a sneak." Roxas smiled then blinked as he felt warm arms around him. Axel rested his chin on Roxas shoulder as the blonde snuggled up.
"Just like dogs, huh?" Axel murmured in his ear and Roxas laughed softly. "I think I'm going to like this place Roxy." Then, much lower. "As long as I don't start seeing things again." Roxas gripped Axel's wrists tightly and couldn't help but feel a bit of fear. If Axel started reverting would the caravan kick them out? He wouldn't really blame them if they did. Dealing with Axel when he was having a full blown hallucination wasn't fun at all.
"You're going to be fine." Roxas said firmly and ignored the doubt in Axel's eyes. "Don't worry about it."
There was really nothing they could do but go on.