Chapter 5: Building Mountains and Digging Seas
The doctor was taking his time as he examined Eunseom's leg—poking it, prodding it, and pushing it around as he saw fit. Eunseom could swear he did that on purpose to tantalize him. After two moon cycles, Eunseom was so fed up with these check-ups.
"What do you say, Doctor? Is Saya recovering well?" asked Taealha from where she was sitting at the table, sipping at her cup of tea. In his peripheral vision, Eunseom saw her reading one of Saya's scrolls.
"Hmm, yes, the leg looks good," said the doctor, still prodding here and there. "Everything else has healed up as well. He's made a fast recovery."
"So, I'm all good now?" Eunseom asked, hopeful. Could he finally leave this rotten place? He was so ready.
"Yes." The doctor released his leg, then turned towards Taealha. Over the whole course of today's visit, the doctor hadn't met Eunseom's eyes once. It was nothing new, but it still rubbed Eunseom the wrong way. "As Lord Saya has completely recovered, my services won't be needed anymore," he told Taealha.
"Isn't that good news, Saya?" Taealha said, smiling. "You've taken good care of Saya this whole time, Doctor. We'll repay you handsomely."
Eunseom could barely keep himself from rolling his eyes at how fake Taealha sounded.
The doctor bowed. "I only did what a doctor should do."
As Taealha returned to reading the scroll, the doctor started packing up his bag in preparation to leave, looking eager to be out of here. Eunseom, meanwhile, sat up in bed and rolled his trousers back down his leg.
Just then, Taealha's servant—Hae Tuak was her name—came stomping in, making her entrance known in her usual manner. "Lady Taealha, sorry to disturb you!"
"What is it, Hae Tuak?" asked Taealha, not looking up from the scroll in her hand.
Hae Tuak walked towards Taealha, then whispered so loudly that she may as well not have whispered, "You're needed at the Bronze Workshop. It's time for today's second batch. You know, for that thing."
"Oh, is it that time?" Taealha said but remained seated. She put aside the scroll and went to check out the other scrolls on the table. Some of them weren't Saya's scrolls, but Eunseom's own pieces of practice.
As Hae Tuak waited for Taealha, she looked over at Eunseom, bowing to him with a huge smile on her face. "Lord Saya, it's so good to see you up and about again!"
Eunseom returned the smile without thinking. It was probably very un-Saya-like, but Tanya wasn't here to scold him.
At last, Taealha set the scrolls aside and stood. "It's too bad. I'll come by another time, Saya."
Please don't. Eunseom tried not to remember their first encounter. Since then Taealha had visited him almost daily, always insisting on teaching him manners and checking up on his progress. He wondered if she had an ulterior motive. She was just too interested in him, and particularly in his scrolls.
Just as she was on her way out, Hae Tuak in tow, Taealha turned around once more. "Oh right, I almost forgot," she said, "Tanya's speech the other day—that was quite something, wasn't it?"
Eunseom scowled. "What about it?" He thought Tanya's speech was amazing.
Taealha gave him a look of pity. "Tanya's efforts are useless."
"What do you mean?"
"Do you think Tagon would've let the speech happen if he felt threatened by Tanya? He doesn't have anything to worry about." Taealha chuckled. "But I have to leave it to Tanya, she's got guts."
Without giving him a chance to say anything, Taealha left. Tanya's efforts useless? So the Ago Tribe wasn't safe after all? Or did Taealha just want to get a rise out of him?
The door fell shut, and once again, Eunseom was left alone with the doctor who was still perfectly ignoring him.
He could feel something like irritation begin to simmer deep in his belly, directed at the doctor, Taealha, the fortress. At Arthdal. Everything about this place was wrong.
"Doctor," said Eunseom, "you can talk to me now. No one's here." He wanted to try one last time.
The doctor didn't look up. "I simply have nothing to say," he said, irking Eunseom even more. Eunseom knew that the doctor was lying, that there was some kind of reason why he avoided him like the plague.
Like a monster.
The question begged to be asked, curiosity getting the better of Eunseom. "Do you hate Igutus that much?" he blurted. Did really everyone in Arthdal hate Igutus?
The doctor froze mid-action. He just kept still, but no response came.
Eunseom sighed, dejected. "You can say it, I won't be offended. It's something I hear every day in Arthdal," he added. He really was just curious, that was all.
The doctor turned his head to Eunseom at last, meeting his eyes for the first time today. "You're even more naïve than I thought," he said, shaking his head as if in disbelief. "Just don't get hurt again. You won't do anyone a favor with that," was all he said before he picked up his bag and walked out the door.
Eunseom was left baffled by the doctor's words. What was that?
He shook off the annoying feeling and decided to see things in a positive light. The doctor had given him the go-ahead, so Tanya had to keep her promise and allow him to leave.
Tanya… With her speech, she had done all in her power to save the Ago Tribe. He didn't know if Taealha was right and Tanya's efforts were useless, but Eunseom believed in her.
Now he had to do his part.
Eunseom wandered the streets of Arthdal, trying to retrace his steps to Chaeeun's apothecary. Despite the cold weather, the sun was strong overhead which only fueled his optimism. He was free. And he was going to reunite with the Ago Tribe soon. He might still be walking around in his brother's clothes, but that, too, was going to end soon.
The streets were crammed and busy. It was fascinating how so many people would flock to one place to settle down there, different tribes sharing the same space. Why did the people of Iark never come up with this idea?
After some wrong turns and detours, Eunseom found the apothecary. Things were going mostly smoothly today; he had a good feeling.
That feeling dissipated the moment he entered the house. The place wasn't as he remembered. Dust covered every single surface and there was a moldy smell in the air, making his nose all itchy. It looked like no one had been here for a long time.
Eunseom looked around, confused. Did something happen to Chaeeun and her family? Did they close down the apothecary?
He checked out the adjacent room and the second floor, but they were equally vacated. Seeing no use in staying here any longer, he decided to return to the marketplace and ask around the merchant stalls. People of the Bachi guild would know where Chaeeun was.
Just as he climbed down the stairs back to the main room, he heard something. He stilled, listening for any sign that he wasn't alone.
Someone was here, watching him.
"Who's there?" he asked the room, his heart racing.
He got no response, but he could hear someone breathing nearby. It was close to the entrance, behind the pots and crates.
Knowing the location of whoever was hiding from him, Eunseom tiptoed towards the pile of crates, trying not to be heard as he did so. Once he reached the crates, he whirled around, ready to fight whoever was hiding there.
A pair of big, frightened eyes looked up at him. He knew that pair of eyes very well. "Doti?"
Doti cowered behind the crates, looking terrified.
"Doti, what are you doing here?"
"Susu Eunseom?" Doti asked, hesitant. "Is that you?"
"Of course, it's me. Who else would I be?" Eunseom didn't understand why Doti was looking at him like this. Did she forget his face because she hadn't seen him in so long?
"You're not your evil uncle twin?" Doti asked.
"Oh." Now he got it. She must have thought that he was Saya. But how did she know him? Eunseom knelt down to Doti's level, giving her one of his best grins. "I'm your Susu Eunseom, and you know it."
Doti blinked once, twice, and then stood, tackling him into a hug. "Susu Eunseom, it's you!"
Eunseom hugged her back, laughing as they tumbled to the dusty ground. Something swelled in his chest. It'd been too long. He'd missed her.
A while later, they sat on the stone steps outside the house, breathing in the fresh air. "So, what were you doing here all alone?" he asked.
"I should be the one asking questions!" said Doti, hitting his arm with her surprisingly strong fist. "Where were you all this time? Tanya—I—was really worried."
Eunseom felt a pang of guilt, seeing how worried she was. "Sorry for leaving you behind, Doti," he said. "A lot of things happened, and I couldn't look for you earlier." He had wondered about Doti this whole time, but Tanya had already reassured him that she was fine.
Doti gave him a critical look as if she were pondering about how to punish him best. "You're forgiven," she said at last, letting out an adult-like sigh.
Eunseom patted her head in thanks. "But what happened to Chaeeun and her family?" he asked. "Do you know anything? Looks like they haven't been here in a while."
Doti looked down, mumbling something.
"What did you say?"
Doti said, "I think they died. Just like the people back home..."
"What?" No way. This couldn't be true. Chaeeun couldn't be dead.
"They found Uncle Harim and Aunt Gamsil. They were dead. But they haven't found Chaeeun and Nyunbyeol. It's been almost a year, so…"
Eunseom couldn't believe this. What had this family done for something like this to happen to them? "Why? This doesn't make sense," he said in disbelief.
Doti said, "I heard people talking on the marketplace. Uncle Harim treated the wrong person. Someone no one must know about, they say."
"Someone no one must know about…" Eunseom repeated her words. How could anyone kill a doctor just because he treated someone?
"Someone from that big place."
"Big place?"
"Tongan…" said Doti. "No, wait… "Toga—Ta—Tagan! That's it!"
"Tagon?"
"No, Tagan! Someone from Tagan's big place. I'm certain."
Eunseom felt something brimming inside him. Chaeeun and her family, too, were killed by Tagon's people. It wasn't only the Ago Tribe that depended on him, many other people in Arthdal needed help, too.
He looked down at Doti. She had lost her parents, her home, and she was still just a kid. He took her hand in his, squeezing it.
Doti, always the optimist, smiled up at him.
For a while, they just sat on the stone steps, holding hands. He felt a tightness around his chest as he thought of Chaeeun's smiling face.
"But what were you doing here?" asked Eunseom after a while. "Don't tell me you stayed here all this time?"
"Do you think I'm stupid? I'm smart, so I found a new place to stay!"
"Okay, okay, I got it. Then what were you doing here?"
"Um…well." Instead of answering him, Doti said, "You tell me first! What did you want to meet Chaeeun for?" And here she was again, dodging his question. Was it really only a coincidence he met Doti here? He was starting to feel suspicious.
Eunseom relented anyways. "I needed her help. Supplies and weap—" Remembering Doti was only a kid, he quickly corrected himself. "…and some other stuff."
"Oh…" said Doti, her voice odd. "Do you want to leave again?"
"I need to leave for a while, but I'll be back."
"Don't go, Susu Eunseom," Doti said. She grabbed the sleeve of his shirt, looking up at him pleadingly. "And if you go, then let's go together. I want to go back to Iark, together with you and Tanya, only the three of us."
Eunseom didn't know what to say. "Doti…" He too—It was what he wanted most. Just go back to how things were. Why had his mother wanted him to return to Arthdal when it was such a horrible place? But he couldn't leave yet. "You see…"
Doti stood, stomping her feet on the ground. "I said, don't go! Tanya and I won't let you off this time!" Right at that moment, Doti looked like Tanya when she had one of her temper fits, and he really didn't want to be the target of her anger.
He crouched in front of Doti, patting her shoulder. "Don't worry," he said, "I have to take care of some things first, but I haven't given up on returning to Iark. I'll take you back."
"Really?" Doti's eyes softened, big with hope. "Promise me."
Eunseom couldn't disappoint her. He had to see the war through, return, and keep his word. "I promise."
Eunseom wasn't going to break another promise. He had promised to save the Wahans, help unite the Ago Tribe, and bring back Doti to Iark. He was going to keep all these promises. He didn't want anyone else to end up in misery like Chaeeun and her family because they had no one to save them.
"So, what are you going to do now?" Doti asked.
With Chaeeun most likely dead and no clues about her whereabouts, there was nothing he could do, so next on his list was... "I'm going to find Helper."
"Helper, who?" Doti cocked her head. "Oh, you mean the greedy horse?"
Thinking of Helper, Eunseom remembered the wind, fields, and freedom. He missed Helper, his equal. During the war, the horse had always been at his side whether they were winning or losing, right until his last battle.
"If you find the horse, will you go off to the war then? Tanya said—" Doti broke off, clasping her hands over her mouth as quickly as the words came out.
Eunseom narrowed his eyes. "What about Tanya?"
"Nothing," Doti said quickly. She jumped down the stone steps and waved to him. "Let's look for the horse!"
Doti was acting suspicious. "Why so enthusiastic all of a sudden?"
"Come on, let's find the horse, take care of your business, pick up Tanya, and ride back to Iark!"
Eunseom laughed imagining the three of them riding Helper. "Helper won't let three people ride him."
"Whatever! How do we find the horse?"
Eunseom grinned down at her. "There's an easy way. We got to leave the city first, though."
Doti grumbled. "If we have to leave the city how can it be easy?"
"Tanya told me about a place. Horses love it," he answered. "And there's less distraction outside, anyway. There're too many smells in the city, so it's hard for Helper to find us, or rather…" he said, as he held up his bag, showing Doti its content, "…find this." The bag was filled with many, many greens. Helper wouldn't be able to withstand them, especially not the carrots. He'd find them for sure. Eunseom's plan was foolproof.
"That's a stupid plan," Doti said, unenthused by his genius plan. "And did you steal the vegetables, Susu?" Why was this girl always scolding him?
"No, I borrowed them." The Fortress of Fire had a big kitchen and an equally big pantry. He doubted anyone would notice that the huge pile of vegetables got a teeny tiny bit smaller.
"Whatever, let's go," was all Doti said.
Walking the streets with Doti was nostalgic in a way. He remembered the day he had first come to Arthdal with Doti at his side, both of them in awe at the things they had seen.
On their way outside the city, Doti couldn't stop talking about returning to Iark, and Eunseom had to admit that he liked the sound of it. Talking about his home with Doti was almost like dreaming, he could see Iark's fields and woods right in front of him if he closed his eyes.
"…and we're gonna rebuild all the houses and make them even prettier than before. I want my house to be located on the hill with the flower field."
"Your house?" asked Eunseom, snorting. "You want an entire house for yourself?"
Doti gave him a mischievous grin. "You're gonna build it, Susu Eunseom. Or else I'm not going to forgive you for dumping me."
"Wait, what, me?" What had he gotten himself into again?
"Tanya said you're going to build our houses. What am I going to tell Tanya, though…" she mumbled. "If we find the horse, stage two will fail…"
"Stage two?" What the hell was she talking about?
Doti's eyes widened. She was avoiding his eyes again, looking like she had broken one of the three taboos of the Wahans.
"Wait…" Eunseom finally connected the dots. "Did Tanya send you after me? To follow me?" Now he got it. The way Doti had talked on and on about leaving for Iark, just the three of them. And there was no way they had met by coincidence in the apothecary.
"My lips are sealed," said Doti as if she hadn't blabbered out the secret already.
Eunseom got the gist anyway. Tanya was acting weird lately. She was trying to make him reconsider leaving Arthdal. That's why she'd shown him Saya's hut the other day, and why she'd sent Doti after him, probably trying to make him feel guilty about leaving.
He didn't even feel angry. Tanya… How could it be that he missed her already when they'd seen each other only yesterday? How was he going to survive being apart from her once he left for war again? He was hopeless.
Eunseom and Doti had made it a good distance out of the city, birds chirping and leaf rustling in the light winter wind. The surroundings were familiar at this point. It was the same path to Saya's hut; Eunseom had come by regularly after Tanya had shown him the place. But instead of leaving the path and further heading up the hill to the hut, they followed the dirt road, walking towards the river that he could already hear rippling about in the distance.
Two wild horses were idling their time away, drinking water. They ran off when Eunseom and Doti neared the riverbank.
"Here we are."
"Here?" Doti looked around.
Eunseom knelt down and dumped the content of his bag on a flat rock, spreading everything out like an offering. "Now…"
"Now?"
"Now we wait." He sat down on the ground, getting himself comfortable at a tree trunk. He hoped other horses weren't as greedy as Helper because his plan would fail if the food was gone before Helper came.
Doti looked skeptical. She sat down on a rock, rubbing her hands to warm them up. "I'm cold. And hungry. Did you only bring food for the horse?"
Eunseom smirked at her. "Who do you take me for?"
Doti perked up, her bad mood gone in an instant.
Eunseom gathered some fallen branches from the ground and started to make a fire. "Will you grab some more firewood?" he asked Doti. "I'll prepare lunch in the meantime."
"Sure thing! You know I'm the best firewood collector in Iark!"
Half an hour later, and the two of them sat around the fire, warming their hands, and nibbling at meat and veggie skewers; Eunseom might have also conveniently found a couple chunks of meat in the fortress pantry.
Doti was once again babbling about her plans in Iark—something about her future business ideas—when he heard something in the distance.
"—stop!" shouted a shrill voice from somewhere down the main road, cutting through the silence of the woods.
Doti gasped. "Did you hear that?"
Eunseom stood, alert, and quickly put out the fire with his cape. "Come here," he whispered to Doti, taking her hand and leading her to a clump of bushes to hide. "Stay quiet."
In the distance, he could hear steps, no, hooves. Coming closer and closer, the sound of pounding hooves resonated through the woods until Eunseom could make out the silhouette of a dark horse. Could it be…?
"Is it him?" asked Doti in disbelief. "He actually came?"
Eunseom shushed her, signaling her to stay hidden. Someone—a human—was following the horse and it could always be an enemy.
But inside, excitement and elation bubbled up. The closer the horse came, the more certain he was that his plan had succeeded. There was no mistaking Helper. He was finally reunited with his good old friend.
Again, the same shrill voice from before echoed loudly over Helper's gallop, and Eunseom could indeed see someone running after Helper. "Stop! You little—I'll skin you alive if you don't stop!" Why did Eunseom think the voice sounded familiar?
"—ait for us!" came another voice from farther away. How many people were following Helper? Did he steal their lunch or why were they chasing him like there was no tomorrow?
Helper didn't appear fazed by their chase. He slowed to a trot as he neared Eunseom's and Doti's hiding spot, or rather the offering of veggies lying next to the quenched campfire.
From the bushes, Eunseom peeked back at the road, the people chasing Helper coming closer. Wait—wasn't that…?
Ipsaeng cried, "There, he stopped! Catch him! Now!" He was breathing heavily and looked ready to murder.
The other two men came closer too, and Eunseom couldn't believe his eyes.
Doti stood from their hiding place. "It's Susu Dalsae!"
Ipsaeng, Dalsae, and Badoru—all of them were here. Knowing there was no need to hide anymore, Eunseom also scrambled out of the bush, his mouth open in awe. He'd only planned to lure Helper, never expecting to lure his friends here, too.
They, too, noticed him, at last, as they came to a stop. What a reunion. Eunseom didn't know what to say, and they looked equally dumbfounded. But he was probably grinning like an idiot.
"Hey, guys, how—" he said, but before he could even end his sentence, he was stopped by someone charging towards him. The next thing he knew, he was slammed against a tree, and hands were closing around his throat, cutting off his airway.
"You!" shouted Dalsae. His voice sounded foreign and mad. Heart thundering in his ears, Eunseom wondered if he was dreaming. Whether it was a dream or not, Dalsae seemed eager to kill him, his grip tight around Eunseom's throat.
"Susu Dalsae, what are you doing? Stop!" Eunseom heard Doti cry.
Dalsae was still shouting like a madman. "You! It was you! I'll kill you!" Eunseom was starting to panic when Dalsae didn't let go. He couldn't breathe, and he didn't know what was happening. Did he have to fight Dalsae? But before he had to decide, Badoru's hands were dragging Dalsae away from him, leaving Eunseom to cough and gasp for air.
"What," he said between gasps, "was that?"
A small voice in the back of his mind wondered: Did Dalsae want to kill him because he'd left him and the Ago Tribe to fend on their own? He looked up at Dalsae, seeing pure hatred in his eyes. It was a look he was used to at this point.
Doti was sobbing like a baby. "Why do you want to kill Susu Eunseom?"
"No," said Dalsae, fighting Badoru's grip. "This is not Eunseom. Get away from him, Doti."
"What are you talking about? I'm Eunseom. What the hell's gotten into you?" said Eunseom. He himself should know who he was.
"Impossible," said Badoru. Ipsaeng meanwhile just stood there, gaping at him, his mouth wide open like a fish. What was wrong with them? They looked at him as if he'd died and come back alive or something.
Oh.
Was that it? Mubaek had told him that his friends believed him dead. Did they really think he wasn't Eunseom?
"Eunseom?" asked Badoru. "Is that really you?"
"Can't be," said Ipsaeng. "Look at his hair. And what's with those clothes? He looks like a girl."
Eunseom's face heated up. "Hey, watch that big mouth of yours."
Dalsae still didn't seem to believe him. "It's that imposter. He looked just as girly."
"Hey," Eunseom warned again.
Dalsae shouted, looking like he wanted to charge forward again, "Give Eunseom's face back, you thief!"
Eunseom shouted back, "But I'm Eunseom!"
"Hey," said Badoru to Dalsae and Ipsaeng, "let's ask him something only Eunseom can answer. Then we'll know!" Well, Badoru had always been the smartest out of the lot.
"Like what?" said Dalsae, looking skeptical and still ready to attack.
Badoru scratched his bald head, humming in thought.
"Oh, I know!" said Ipsaeng. "Only our lot knows the answer to this one." He cleared his throat, then said to Eunseom, "Hey dimwit! Tell us, who's the stepbrother of the Great Ipsaeng?"
Eunseom rolled his eyes. Had he really been missing that crazy fool? "Your stepbrother is Tagon," he replied. "Happy now?"
The three of them stood there, stunned. It seemed like they finally believed him.
"I-Is that really you, Eunseom?" asked Dalsae. "But how—"
"Eunseom!" Badoru cut in, and then his huge arms wrapped around him, crushing Eunseom in a bear hug. "You're alive!"
The other two joined in as well. There were warm hands everywhere, and Eunseom had to admit that he'd kind of missed this kind of affection.
He was reunited with his brothers.
Dalsae was crying like a baby now, getting snot all over Eunseom's shirt. "Eunseom, I thought you were dead!"
"Well, I almost did die this time thanks to you," said Eunseom. His throat still hurt like hell.
"I'm sorry, E-Eunseom," said Dalsae, his voice still shaking. "I thought you were that guy."
"Who?"
His friends released him, and Dalsae gave him a serious look. "The guy who killed—almost killed you."
"Oh," said Eunseom. Saya. His brother. He had to get used to people thinking he was Saya. But he didn't expect Doti and even less Dalsae to have known him. Did Dalsae see Saya on the battlefield?
"You can't blame us," said Ipsaeng. "I mean—" he began, then burst out laughing. "I mean, what happened to your hair?" He was holding his stomach from laughing.
Eunseom groaned. Right, he really couldn't fault them for mistaking him for Saya, wearing these fancy Arthdal clothes and his hair looking all neat. But at least, his—or rather Tanya's—cover was working. She'd be delighted once he told her this.
"But why that appearance, man?" asked Badoru.
"Well... There's a situation right now, so I need to look like this," he said as he gestured at his clothes and hair. He wasn't used to it yet either and he hoped he never had to get used to it at all. "Anyway, sorry I worried you guys. It's good to see you."
They all grinned at each other.
"Um…" came a small voice. Doti was sitting next to Helper on the ground, sulking. They'd forgotten all about Doti and Helper.
"Doti," said Dalsae, "I'm so happy to see you."
Doti tackled Dalsae into a hug. "Susu Dalsae!"
As Dalsae and Doti caught up, Badoru went to start the fire, complaining about Arthdal's cold weather, and Eunseom sat at Helper's side, patting him on the head. "Good to have you back, friend."
Helper released an affectionate huff in response.
"What is this?" asked Ipsaeng, sniffing the air like a starve-craved rat in pursuit of a meal. "Do I smell meat? Did you eat without us?"
"'S not like we were expecting you," said Eunseom. "But there's lots more. Let's eat."
They sat around the campfire. Doti, already full, was feeding Helper.
"Why are you guys here, though?" Eunseom asked. "Aren't you with the Ago Tribe? How's everyone?"
"Well," said Dalsae, looking like he was avoiding Eunseom's eyes. "The Ago Tribe has retreated. Things weren't looking so well, you see."
"Oh." Eunseom knew he couldn't be the whole reason for it, they had been losing even when he had been there, but he still felt bad. Because he'd been the one to initiate all this. "How many did we lose?"
Dalsae expelled a sigh. The others stayed quiet. Eunseom didn't need any further explanation. Just great. Had it been worth it to unite the Ago Tribe and see them happy for a short time, if so many people ended up dying for it in the end?
"You didn't tell me why you're here," Eunseom said.
Ipsaeng explained, "We were just on our way to Arthdal when your crazy horse started running away. You see, since there was nothing for us to do anyway, we decided to come to Arthdal. Dalsae here wanted to—"
"Will you quit it?" said Dalsae to Ipsaeng, then a silent communication between the two of them went on. Once Badoru also got involved, Eunseom was left feeling secondhand embarrassment for how stupid they looked.
"Look," said Dalsae once they came to a silent understanding, "we thought you were dead, so I wanted to deliver the news to Tanya and the rest of the Wahans. She'd want to know, right?"
"Oh, right," said Eunseom.
"That's not all!" said Ipsaeng, smiling like a maniac. "He wanted to let the Wahans know how bravely and gallantly Eunseom fought and that he died in honor, didn't you, punk?"
Dalsae's face turned red. Eunseom's most likely, too. He didn't need to know that.
"Well," said Eunseom, clearing his throat. "Sorry that you came all the way for nothing." He grinned at them. "But maybe it was destined we meet here today." He stood. "Let's return to the Ago Tribe!"
"What?"—"For real?"—"Are you crazy?" came an onslaught of reactions.
Eunseom frowned down at them. "Why so shocked?" They looked at him like he wasn't right in his head.
"Eunseom," said Dalsae and he looked close to crying again. If only Eunseom had known back in Iark that Dalsae was such a crybaby… "You only barely survived. We just found out you're alive, and now you want to return?"
"Yeah, you want to get yourself killed for real?" asked Badoru.
Ipsaeng nodded insistently, his head bouncing up and down like a chicken eating corn.
Eunseom frowned at their reactions. "We can't just leave the Ago Tribe to its own devices."
Badoru said, "As we said, they've retreated. If you return, they may want to fight again. Is that what you want?"
Eunseom didn't know that. But if they gave up now, everyone's deaths would be in vain.
"Look, I don't think you get it, pal," Ipsaeng said. "If the Ago Tribe knows you're alive, they'll fight and die—for Inaishingi's honor and stuff. If they think you're dead, they'll retreat and live—as cowards, just like before. Which one do you prefer?"
Dalsae sighed. "What he's saying is…do you want them to die?"
Eunseom had feared it already, but his friends confirming it only made it worse. "We can't win the war… can't we?"
"Right!" Ipsaeng said. "If we return to war, we're all dead meat."
Everyone else—even Doti—nodded, giving Eunseom hopeful looks. Did they really want him to give up like this? To Eunseom, it wasn't only about giving up on fighting Arthdal; no, it was like abandoning his family. Pasa, Mirusol, Tachugan, and all the others… How were they doing? He missed them. All the time they'd been together, had fought together, went through victories and defeats. They were his family.
But going back would mean their death.
Eunseom felt as if something had broken, a dam of sorts. Maybe it was his optimism, or his hope. His friends were right, but it was like giving up his promise and purpose. If he abandoned the Ago Tribe, he was back to having nothing.
He looked into the glowing embers of the campfire. They had once all sat around a fire just like this, too, dreaming of freedom, unity, and a bright future. For a moment, he just wanted to get lost in the flames, pretending he was back with his family, pretending he was still Ago's dream, not its nightmare.
They sat in a large comfortable circle around the campfire, the fire flickering warm colors. Today they had freed the slaves of one of Arthdal's major slave camps. They didn't lose anyone of their own, and they showed Arthdal the true colors of the Ago Tribe, so the mood at camp was cheerful.
Ipsaeng was currently telling a tale about how he had beaten the camp leader in an epic sword fight, stretching the truth here and there until Eunseom wondered if they'd fought the same battle.
Pasa came joining the group, sitting down next to Eunseom. "Inaishingi, I have good news," he said. "Three more clans have joined us today."
"Three? That's good news!"
"It's only a matter of time until the Ago Tribe is united again. It's all thanks to you, Inaishingi." Pasa looked at him with such worship in his eyes that it made Eunseom uncomfortable.
"Don't praise me like that. I only gave you a push. You guys did the rest."
"Look how humble our dearest Inaishingi is," said Ipsaeng, slapping his back.
Eunseom rolled his eyes at him. Could a sincere sentence come out of his mouth just once?
On the opposite side of the campfire, Tachugan stood up, holding his sword to the sky to get everyone's attention. "Come on, Inaishingi, after a victory such as today's, your people need a speech!"
The people around camp cheered, even those who sat farther away.
"Do I have to?" Eunseom asked, feeling self-conscious. He still couldn't get used to the expectant, admiring looks of his people. His people.
Ipsaeng passed him his jug of rice wine. "Chuck this one down and all shame will be left at the bottom of the jug. Come on, drink!" Ipsaeng was already drunk, judging from the smell coming out of his mouth and the swaying of his body.
"Wait a second," said Dalsae. "This is a bad idea. Eunseom can't hold his liquor."
Ipsaeng giggled. "Who cares! All the more fun for us!"
Eunseom gulped, looking at the jug in Ipsaeng's hand. Dalsae was right, he could count the times he'd drank in his life on one hand, and every time had been a disaster. But in a sudden spur of bravery, he wrested the jug from Ipsaeng's hand, and chucked it down in ten big gulps, grimacing at the bitter taste. It didn't take long for the booze to go to his head, making him all woozy, or at least he thought that was the cause. It was like having a little dancing Ipsaeng in his head and he could swear he could hear colors. What was in that drink?
Eunseom stood on shaky legs, holding up the jug upside-down for the others to see. Everyone cheered at his accomplishment. Then, silence settled over them; they really did want to hear a speech out of his mouth. He hoped they were too drunk to listen attentively because he wasn't going to say anything smart.
"Everyone," Eunseom began, "do you remember how it all began? We started with nothing. Tell me, what did we have in the beginning?" he asked, not really expecting an answer from his drunk friends. "I think all we had was hope. But look at us now, look how far that hope has taken us. The Ago Tribe was once known for selling its own flesh and blood as slaves, and for beings its own worst enemy, but now we're known for the hundreds and hundreds more of slaves we've saved. Now that unity is this close, there's no stopping us. Together," he said, holding his fist up for good measure, "we can build mountains and dig seas!" He swayed on his feet for a second. Oh, the booze felt good.
His brothers and sisters cheered, "Inaishingi, let's dig seas!" As bad as he was with speeches, they were just as easily satisfied. Perhaps they were made for each other.
"Build mountains? Dig seas?" said Tachugan later. "You speak strangely."
Pasa asked, looking genuinely curious, "Is that how people speak where you come from?"
"No," said Dalsae, laughing, "Even there, people tell him he's weird."
Eunseom jabbed Dalsae's side with his elbow. "Thanks for the support."
Everyone's laughter carried them deep into the night.
But maybe once or twice, Eunseom thought of Tanya. If only Tanya were here, it would be perfect.
He missed her.