Chapter 21 – Equanimity
Two large soldiers waited near the entrance of town. They eyed Ryudo's sword as he nears. Both stood tall and still with broad shoulders wearing different, or at least partial, sets of armor. The sun made a feeble attempt to shine off the dull chest plate and dented paldron on the soldier to the right. His companion wore a more complete outfit of hard leather and sports a large scar across his left cheek. Each had a red signet depicting a circle with three dashes just about where their heart should be.
Almost like a target, Ryudo thought with a grin. They did not return his smile. When he approached them, the one on the left merely pointed to a small shack about ten paces further down where the path came to its most narrow point.
Ryudo took the lead and carefully kept a watchful eye on their surroundings, looking for any possible sign of threat in their proximity. Aira stayed close to Millenia, humming a cheerful tune that seemed to speed up and slow down at inappropriate times.
Carefully opening the door, leaving one hand free to grab his sword, Ryudo slowly peeked inside. A young woman looked up from her papers behind a desk, well lit by two lanterns at each side and a small window to her back. Upon seeing the newcomers, she formed a grin and cheerfully welcomed them to come inside.
Ryudo froze, gaping at the lady fervently shaking his hand and politely inquiring about the safety of their journey. Eventually he made his way through the door with even deeper suspicions that this was all some elaborate hoax, the end result being of a small blade through his back. After a few minutes of small talk with Millenia and baby-talk with Aira, which she returned awkwardly in the same tone, the lady began asking about their intentions in Sopina and the length of stay.
"Just a few days." Ryudo had finally gathered his wits enough to open his mouth. "We're just passing through on our way to Cyrum."
"Well it's unfortunate that you will have such a short visit, but I hope you enjoy your time while you're here." She truly sounded disappointed that they were not staying longer. "Please sign your names on the log and feel free to ask any questions you have to any of the peace guards. You'll recognize them from the red spot on their chest, just like the fellas out front." With another smile, she bent down to Aira and pinched her cheek. "Now you make sure to listen to mommy and daddy," she said in a soft, soothing, and equally irritating, high pitched voice.
Ryudo and Millenia exchanged odd looks while Aira responded by pinching both the lady's cheeks with her hands. "You too," she said mockingly and turned for the door. Ryudo stepped in front and performed the same cautious ritual he had undergone when they first entered the shack.
To Ryudo's surprise, the guards were not waiting on the other side. The two statues remained at their post, as if waiting on the next arrival, oblivious to anyone at their rear. Ryudo tightened the grip on his sword.
The party ventured deeper into town, only to find a city that seemed as far removed from Ryudo's descriptions as conceivably possible. The liveliness and size were just about the only thing he had gotten right.
People walked about, fully engaged in assorted daily tasks. Aira pointed, and giggled, at a cluster of children working diligently with a deformed ball, tossing it about, in a sport Ryudo couldn't quite make out. To their side, a bare-chested man with thick woven pants worked diligently atop a half finished thatched roof. At the corner a few of these so-called peace guards, sporting attire as unique as the earlier two, walked through the street, casually looking around while the people separated, giving them amble room to continue forward uninterrupted.
Ryudo eyed them suspiciously before he caught a glimpse of the Bramesl Mountains. With a sudden look of enlightenment, he purposely stalked in that direction. Millenia, who was still taking in the atmosphere of the city, noticed Ryudo after about ten paces. She trailed along, eager to catch up, pulling a reluctant Aira along with her.
In a dreamlike state, mostly from shock over the changes in town, Ryudo walked briskly through the stone streets and swept alleyways of western Sopina. Jarko's Place had been near a stream on the other side of town. Millenia held Aira's hand while the little girl stared about the lively city, ignoring the occasional tug from Millenia, barely conscious of an effort not to fall far behind.
At last Ryudo found the familiar stream trickling down the eastern slope of the mountains and began to look quizzically at the booths to its side. The young geohound felt an odd sensation in the pit of his stomach. He could actually feel it drop when he realized that Jarko's Booth was inhabited by another man and under a sign that read The Crunchy Flame. Ryudo looked disapprovingly at a round man with a dark, pointy beard just below his round, bald head. The man tried to hold his smile while Ryudo stalked towards him with a noticeable frown.
"Why are you here? What happened to Jarko's Place?" Ryudo was surprised to hear his words sound almost calm.
"Old Jarko?" the man asked in a smug tone. "That lout's food was no good, so he went away, and I runs his booth now."
The booth sat high above the ground, making it impossible for the man to see Ryudo tightly grab a hold on the hilt of his sword. He just stood there for a moment, glaring at the man, until he let out a deep sigh. Despair had finally set in.
Ryudo looked up at him pleadingly. "Is your food almost good as his?"
"Better," the man quickly shouts as if insulted by the mere thought. Ryudo did not actually expect the man to say that his food was worse, yet the words did nothing but fill his mind with doubt and anger.
"Great." Millenia cut in just before Ryudo was about to defend Jarko's honor. He looked at her, startled, likely since he had completely forgotten her and the little girl to his side. "I'm starving, hmmm. I'll take the dried peekose and some pickled salender. And the little girl here will have noodles with the sweet dumplings in it."
"Great choice, my lady," the man spoke slowly, relieved that something broke the foul gaze of the man before him.
While backing away, she made certain the man knew that Ryudo would be paying for this meal before returning her attention back to a rather excited Aira.
"And make me some Gilta," Ryudo finally spoke up hopefully.
"Fried or skewered?" the man barked back.
"Roasted, and make that double sized" Ryudo responded quickly.
"Roasted? You said gilta right?" The man displayed a perplexed face which made his beard point in the direction of some children playing with a rather startled frog.
"Yea," Ryudo said weakly as his hopes descended rapidly.
"Gimme moment," the man barked before he stepped back deeper into his booth. Ryudo could hear some words in the back while he talked with the chef. Then he heard shouting. The man returned, flustered, and gestured elegantly to Ryudo, "That will be just a moment."
Ryudo tossed him some coin when they got their food, and they set to eat by some soft grass by the stream. Aira ran ahead while Millenia kept close to Ryudo, slowly trailing the little girl in a state of melancholy. When they finally arrived, she looked up at them gloriously and claimed victory.
"Wait, what?" Ryudo's face was a perfect match for the confusion in his tone.
"Aira won," the little girl repeated.
Ryudo's face took on a stern look; he was in no mood for one of her shenanigans at the moment. "Kay, and what exactly did you win?"
"Aira won the race." By her look, you would think that she had just taken first in the Lanatala Race from St. Heim to Cyrum.
Ryudo was still not amused. He tried to tell himself that his negativity is a result of her foolishness and has absolutely nothing to due with the fasting he had started last night in preparation for the feast he had planned for today. "What race? We weren't racing!" It seems that he could not last the day after all.
Aira's face went from overly proud to overly self-righteous. It reminded Ryudo of the way that Millenia's demeanor could shift so quickly. For a moment he shuddered. "You're just saying that because you lost!" And now she looked determined. "Aira got here first. She won the race, and she gets a prize!"
Ryudo looked shocked as Millenia stepped forward. "A prize you say. Well, here you go, still hot and fresh." She reached out with the dumplings before Ryudo stopped her.
"What are you doing? A prize! But she hasn't done anything!?" Ryudo's words came out unrelenting before Millenia cut him off.
"Well? She was going to get it anyway. I don't really see what all the fuss –"
It was Ryudo's turn to cut her off. "That's not the point. You can't just go and give her everything she wants." He tried to use firm words, but even he could not really convince himself that this conversation was going anywhere.
Meanwhile, Aira sat there, quiet, staring at the box with her food.
Millenia barked back immediately. "It's her food, you know, the stuff she was going to eat anyway." She looked away momentarily before Ryudo caught a glimpse of her eyes when she looked back. Her words were calm but her eyes screamed fury. Things could be going better; the wings of Valmar has never been known to control her anger well.
Ryudo has similar problems. He opened his mouth in both anger and determination before he was cut of once more.
"Well now, you two argue like a couple I used to know. They were well into their fifties, but neither of you look a day beyond twenty." The disgruntled pair turns to unleash their frustrations out on the voice, only to find a ragged man resting to their side.
He rose slowly and went to fill a sac in the stream. A man of the wilderness, Ryudo figured, dressed in the various furs and skins that one tends to favor while living off the land. His sac looked to be made from a large pig's bladder with the outside shaved and covered with the hide of a wild lemchan. Once full, the man immersed his hands and began splashing his face.
With the others distracted, Aira stalks around Millenia and grabs her meal. She wields a satisfied smile and makes a triumphant cry while she runs away to begin feasting on her prize. Ryudo watches for a moment before he decides it's time fill his own food deprived stomach.
His expression went sour after the first bite. He looked to Millenia who was mostly engaged in her peekose, that is, whenever she was not tricking an unsuspecting Aira to look the other direction so she could grab some extra noodles. After a long sigh he spoke mournfully, "They say that the flavors intensify when you are really hungry," He paused when Millenia looked in his direction. "But in this case it intensifies how much I want to remodel the crunchy flame's booth."
The man to their side laughed loudly. "Yea, that new guy sucks!" After walking closer to Ryudo, he continued, "Looks like I'm not the only one that misses old Jarko." The man continued his laughter even louder. Ryudo even joined in, though he was not exactly sure why. After they settled down, Ryudo asked what happened to the old cook.
"I heard he left just after the rebellion. There was a flood of people who haven't been seen since then." He looked out into the mountains. "Some died in the fight, others, hopefully just left town."
"So what exactly happened here," Ryudo said while forcing down another bite of his wretched meal. "When I passed through here last, the place wasn't so… calm."
"A woman named Persella proclaimed Roan to be a servant of Valmar. With his recent proclamation of Cyrum being on Valmar's side during the battle of the gods, there were some who believed. In this town, there were many who were just up for a good old fashioned rebellion. They fought their way straight to the city council. Any who did not renounce their ties with Roan were killed immediately for being what she called servants of the dark prince." Ryudo looked up from noticing the change in his tone during the last bit.
Millenia looked about to lash the man for talk of such nonsense before Ryudo gave her a harsh look. She went back to her food and inched closer to Aira, who was making quite a mess splashing her dumplings into the noodle's broth. "And do you think Roan, the king," he paused a moment for emphasis. "Do you think he is a servant of Valmar?" Ryudo spoke with a certain degree of coldness. The last time he spoke of Roan in this town, he had to fight his way out to continue his journey to Mirimu.
"What do I know? I'm just a simple hunter. I could care less who rules Sopina. That is so long as they does so without all them changes." The man took a swig from his sac. From his reaction, Ryudo guessed that water is not the only ingredient within.
"I haven't seen a single brawl since entering town. I almost don't feel the need to keep a free hand, just in case it has been some peculiar trick since we got into town." Ryudo gestures to his sword. "How bad can the changes be?"
The man eyes his blade. "The peace guards will keep a close eye on you just for having that. None of the locals walk around armed anymore. I prefer more discrete weapons." For a moment Ryudo could see a flash of light in the man's palms, which dispersed almost immediately. He had to admit, the man was quick with his daggers.
Millenia brought Aira close to Ryudo, likely after noticing the man's blades. They had both finished their meals. He looked down with his with a grimace. Phaw! Double portions! He went back to his food and began slowly bringing the meat to his mouth and forcing it down. It was painful to watch.
"Anyway, she starts making these new rules just after taking charge. No drinking, no gambling, no fighting, no setting up ambushes for unsuspecting foreigners, you know, stuff like that. No one thought much of these at first, but her peace guards are ruthless. Crime faded in weeks! And then she began making new laws. A person can be arrested for too much dirt outside their houses. There is even a curfew now." The man let out a thick sigh. "This place is turning into such a drag."
"We're even starting to get Anesian settlements on the eastern side of town. Which I guess isn't so bad, they're nice folk and all, but for some reason I just never feel right around the whole lot of 'em."
Ryudo looks up, wide-eyed, before responding, "I know exactly what you mean." Another mouthful of supposed gilta enters his mouth. He makes a bitter face, rather regretful of his unpleasant dining experience.
"Don't you think somebody should do something about this madwoman, so things could go back to the way things were?" The man looked away despondently.
"The way things were?" Ryudo said quickly. "You mean when there were constant fights in the streets, when people would just end up missing with no cause or reason, or when turning the wrong corner could be a life changing experience. There was no safe way to go through town. Even a bodyguard of twenty soldiers only meant that people would assume wealth and gather numbers for an attack." He began devouring his food in order to concentrate the awful taste into a short amount of time and be through with it. He paid for it all and he was damn sure going to eat it all. When finished, he exhaled deeply and stuck out his tongue while his stomach gurgled and moaned.
The man glanced several times at the little girl during his speech. Not only was he surprised that he would speak of such things in front of a girl so young, but the she behaved as though they were speaking of the weather, not unpunished deaths and violent muggings. What an interesting group, the man thought, or at least a rather odd group if nothing else.
After a moment the man looped a string from his sac to his side. "Yea, well, sometimes you need take the bad in with the good I suppose." Ryudo gave a peculiar look, partially from seeing far more good than bad and partially in recovering from his meal. "This place just don't feel right no more. You stay a while and you'll feel it too. Anyway way, it's about time for me to take care of some business." With a quick nod and quick gesture of the hand, the man went on his way.