Chapter 33: Treading Lightly
Without a doubt, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. A good serving of eggs, bacon and toast will give you the energy needed to face the challenges ahead. And a fresh glass of orange juice can do absolute wonders for one's constitution. Ren had the right idea! Having been rid of her hangover, she was now scoffing the food down at a pace I never thought possible! "This is delicious!" She said between mouthfuls (not a fan of seafood!)
"I'm glad your enjoying it." I responded warmly. I then turned my attention to Amina. Who was currently glaring at me from the opposite end of the table. "Does it not taste amazing, Amina?" I asked her teasingly. The angry little Goblin just gave me a "Humph!" Before cramming a sizable pile of bacon into her mouth.
Cinnamon (the cook) had done an amazing job with the food. And I was more than happy to point it out as she presented them on three massive wooden plates. "Oh! Well thank you, sweetie!" She responded cheerfully. "If you need anything else, you know where to find me!"
I couldn't tell what Amina hated most. The fact I had complimented her cooking. That she called me sweetie. Or that she had her hand on my shoulder as she gave me those parting words. It was actually kinda refreshing seeing Amina back to her old self again. Sweet, caring Amina just made me feel uncomfortable.
"Well, the two of you seem to be getting along well….sweetie." she noted. Heavily emphasizing the 'sweetie' with a thick coat of venom. I had only just filled my mouth with some bacon and egg, and decided to take my time before giving her a response. Partly because I wanted to tease her a little more, but also to figure out a response that would not result in a dozen broken bones.
"She's alright. Good at cooking." I then paused and scratched my ear awkwardly. "But I suppose she has to be, being the cook and everything." Amina just continued to glare at me. Picking at her food with a fork. An intense atmosphere was beginning to form between us, and it was beginning to make Ren (bless her heart) feel uncomfortable. "Umm….so….what are we going to do today?" She offered timidly.
I slowly shifted my gaze to one of the windows. It had been raining non-stop since we first arrived here (which was about twelve hours ago,) and it didn't appear to be ending any time soon. This meant continuing our journey now would be very hard going. The rain, the mud, and the wind would only slow us down. And the idea of dealing with an angry Goblin on top of all that was enough to give me a small migraine.
"I'm not sure." I responded softly. "It will be some time before we'll be able to move on." "You'd like to stay here a little longer, wouldn't you!?" Amina suddenly snapped. Ren and I jumped in our seats. Shocked by the sudden outburst. First there was anger. Then surprise. And finally, with a very sullen expression on her face, Amina slowly rose from her chair. All we could do was watch in silence as she made her way to the door. Closing it gently behind her as she left the room.
I instinctively looked around. No one else was here. But I still felt very uncomfortable none the less. "Should….I go talk to her….or something….Ren?" I looked at her when she gave me no answer. Only then, did I see the tears pouring down her eyes. I immediately stood up, and very gently scooped her up into my hands.
Holding the sniffling Fairy to my chest, I wondered to myself if I was to blame for this. I wasn't interested in Cinnamon. In fact, I wasn't interested in any girl for that matter! I was simply too young, and too busy (finding Sherwin) to have those kind of things on my mind! Amina should know this by now. And yet, she was still treating me like some selfish, egocentric womanizer!
"A playboy, huh?" I suddenly found myself saying. "What?" Ren pulled her face out of my shirt and looked up at me. A very confused look on her face. "Ah! N-Never mind!" I said in a fluster. "Just thinking out loud!" For a moment, we just stared at each other. Then came a giggle from Ren. I tried to keep a straight face, but a chuckle quickly left my lips. And then, without warning, we burst into laughter.
There was no going back. Together, we fell into a wild state of hysteria that would not end for at least a quarter of an hour. And by then, we were on our backs. Gasping for air and holding our aching sides. "You….always say….the weirdest things!" She wheezed. "Yeah….sorry about that." I responded weakly. Using me for support, she stood herself up before climbing onto my chest. The heart stopping smile on her face told me that she was well and truly over the shock of Amina's little fit earlier.
"It's fine." She retorted sweetly. "But what was that about being a playboy?" I quickly looked away as blood began to rush into my cheeks. The thing I loved most about Ren was that we could talk about almost anything. Almost. "Well….Amina seems to think that I'm going to run away with another girl at the next opportunity."
With a teasing grin, Ren folded up her arms and chuckled. "Will you?" She asked. "Of course not." I responded dryly (what comes around, goes around.) "And yet, she treats me like I'm her property!" "Don't be so hard on her." She said in a surprisingly serious tone. "She really likes you, you know? And I think she's worried you don't feel the same way."
One moment, Ren was on my chest. Staring at me as she waited for a reaction. Then she was in the air. Then back on the table. And then I was gone. Very gone. I chose the nearest door and fled the room before she could even blink. Well, maybe not….but I got out of there pretty quickly! There was no way in fracking hell I was going to talk about this kinda stuff with Ren, or anyone for that matter!
I had no idea where I was going. I just ran, and ran, and ran, and then crashed. There was an "Oof!" An "Oh!" And at least a dozen books flew into the air. A few of them falling on top of me as I fell backwards onto my arse. "Ahh! Falk!" I cried out. "Oh dear! Oh Gosh! Are you okay!?" Came a femininely nasal voice.
I looked up and saw a pink, fleshy hand being offered to me. It was only then that I realized I had crashed into an Orc. She had the usual pig like features I would have expected from her kind. But rather than the tight, revealing leather armour I had seen on the encyclopedia, she was wearing a knitted sweater and dress. Although it still did a good job showing off her well-endowed figure (try to stay focussed, mate.)
The woman easily pulled me to my feet before beginning the difficult task of gathering all her books again. And it was only natural that I helped her out. "Sorry for running into you like that." I said apologetically. "Oh no! It's fine!" She responded nervously. Her face bright red as she took the books from my hands. But I wasn't really paying attention to her at that point. I was too busy frothing at the mouth as I took in my surroundings.
You would know by now that I like to read. But being confined to my home for so many years made it difficult for me to find new reading material. So you can imagine the look on my face when I suddenly realized I had stumbled into a room full of books! It was beautiful! Stunning! Magnificent! There were books everywhere. Hundreds of them! Rows upon rows of them! Packed into dozens of these massive shelves that were twice my height!
"Is this….a LIBRARY!?" The poor girl almost dropped her books again as she jumped back and squealed with fright. "Ah! Yes! This is a library!" She shouted awkwardly. "You are free to read as many of these books as you like! Just be careful with them, please!"
That was all I needed to hear. Like a child in a candy store, I ran happily from one shelf to another. Browsing every book I could reach. Searching for anything that I would find even the least bit interesting. By now, I had completely forgotten about Amina, Ren, and everything else! I was now in my own domain!
But then I realized something. I was going to Vastum to find my brother. A place I knew very little about. I didn't really like the sound of it. But if I was going to waste time at a library, I may as well read something productive. The Orc was sorting through her books when I approached her for help. It just so happened that she had two books that could provide me with the information I desired.
One of them was an atlas that provided me a rough idea of the regions geography. As it turns out, Vastum sits along the northern borders of Moanwood. A vast expanse of open plains will eventually turn into a near impassable collection of mountains that spread all the way up to the frozen realm of Upplega.
The open plains looked easy enough to transverse. The mountains, on the other hand….not so much. I'm not a mountain person. My ancestors were! But not me. And there are no settlements north of Timber Town either. So if we got lost up there, we could starve to death. Or worse, freeze in the winter snow. After all, winter was only a few months away. And to make matters worse, I had no clue where Kat could be hiding up there.
Shaking these dark thoughts from my mind, I turned my attention to the other book. This one was much smaller than the atlas. If fact, it was actually a journal. Written by an explorer named Gera Framar. The guy wrote the first entry into this journal quite a few years ago. And the contents were quite interesting.