Rebirth

Chapter 12: First Half (Lang)

Lang was currently making his way through the northern mountains. There was a bit of a makeshift path through the terrain and this was what Lang travelled upon. The wind was always fervent and the dirt and rocks were constantly flying, even Galea couldn't protect Lang from all the debris. By the time night came and the wind began to drop off, Lang was riddled with little cuts and nicks. He was glad Nancy had not come along with him—this was no place for a lady of her caliber (he always held her in the highest esteem).

Lang created a quick campfire mostly made of dry leaves and woodchips; hardly any trees grew in these arid mountains. Carefully, he took some leaves out of his supplies store (a knapsack) that were potent in its ability to heal wounds and it gave off a sweet smell. He pressed one leaf gently to a cut and removed it—that was all it took and the healing process would be stimulated by the enzymes that resided in the leaf. By the next morning, the cut would be fully healed. Lang repeated the process with the rest of his cuts, changing to a new leaf when the sweet scent began waning. The rest of the Heal Leaves were wrapped carefully in leather and inside of his bag.

His first order of business was done, now it was time for some food. He had enough for tonight, but he would have to break free of these barren lands by tomorrow night so that he could reach the next populated area—the city. If not, then he would have to spend a night with no food. Hunting was near impossible in these parts. But Lang wasn't too worried, he was quite certain—unless there was extenuating circumstances—that he could make it through the desert like mountains by midday tomorrow.

When the campfire flickered out, Lang retreated to his marginally sturdy tent and fell quickly to sleep. With Galea about he felt completely safe, no need to sleep with one eye open. Besides, he had no clue how to do such a thing. Lang was not plagued with restlessness as he had been before, he was simply too exhausted for such things, nor did he have any nightmares, his sleep was refreshingly dreamless.

He woke at the crack of dawn and quickly gathered his materials comfortably back into his knapsack. The wind hadn't picked up yet so Lang took advantage of the time and made fast progress nearly beginning to run. Alas the relentless wind returned with a vengeance. There was a windstorm brewing from behind and Lang's goal was to exit the mountains before it struck. He could no longer move as fast and so his jog changed to a brisk walk. The ground was too unstable for anything more than that.

The wind only grew stronger and soon Lang had to pitch his shoulders forward to make any progress. Galea suddenly appeared in front of him to block off the bulk of the torrential wind.

"We have to hurry," Galea said urgently, "I'd say we had ten more minutes before it'll become impossible for any movements. I'll keep the wind at bay—you run."

"Run? Are you crazy? I'm almost certain I'll lose my balance."

"Then pick yourself up again and continue running."

The light jacket that he wore billowed rapidly behind him clawing at his shoulders.

"Fine," Lang said finally, "Our top priority is getting out of here."

And so the race began. Galea grew to a much larger proportion, but only larger to the extent that he could fit in the skinny trail. The sound of Lang's long boots pounding on the gravel was erased by the howling wind. And Lang was right, he lost his footing several times, but he leaped back to his feet just as quickly.

Then Lang heard a thunderous clap in the distance behind him.

"Faster!" Lang yelled at Galea through the heavy gusts.

Already, he could see the familiar rock formations that indicated that they were nearing the end. Galea glided forward even quicker and now Lang moved at a reckless run. It was at times like these that Lang wished his sword was a little lighter. While he liked the extensive durability of his blade and hilt, the same reason that made them reliable was the same reason they felt so burdensome now.

Lang was breathing hard by then and he calculated at least a mile was left. Another clap of thunder. One-fourth of the mile had been cleared. Another boom. A half of the mile completed. The ground rumbled under the cacophonous thunder. Three-fourths of the mile done. BOOM. CRACKLE. Now the lightening had made its first touchdown. Finally, they broke free and fireworks ignited in the skies.

It was odd how mountains work, once one was able to escape them it was almost like stepping into another world. The storm was only attacking the mountains. The rest of the world was ignorant to it.

Lang looked back when he was a distance away. The gale force was quite robust in the mountains; in fact, it was difficult to discern the entrance any longer.

"Let's go, Lang. I don't want to be anywhere near those godforsaken mountains."

"I'm in complete agreement."

Lang trudged on the despite his tiredness and lethargic pace. But they were close to Darakin, the next town where there were inns and people who sold produce and meat.

He knew the town quite well and the gatekeeper recognized his face, allowing Lang to step in without much fuss.

Lang went first to the produce shop and purchased only a handful of vegetables (carrots, broccoli, onions, and green peppers) because he knew they were quite perishable. He purchased even less from the meat shop next door. They too were perishable. Then Lang came to the familiar inn and was greeted almost immediately by the hostess—Sabrina.

"Oh, Lang, I didn't think I'd ever see you in these parts again! You left in such a rush before."

Lang waited expectantly for her embrace and then she stepped back from Lang with a frown.

"You need a wash. Nils, honey, fix up the tub for him," Sabrina called out.

"It has been a rather rough day," Lang said.

"On one of your journey's again? When are you ever going to settle down?"

"I'll get to that soon enough," Lang said with a grin, "For right now, I guess you could say I'm on another journey."

"What happened to that nice girl who was with you a long time ago—Maya?"

"Maya? Oh, she's doing just fine. I think she went back to her hometown in the northwest."

"You're going to visit her?"

"That's exactly what I want to do."

Sabrina winked at him, "You know I always thought you two would have made a good couple."

"Now Sabrina—

"Don't get all ruffled up now. I have a good eye for these kinds of things."

"Right, I'm sure you do."

But Lang had met Maya years ago when they were practically children. He hadn't thought of her in such a way nor she him. They had merely been friends.

"The bath's ready," Nils said coming down the step, "And it's waiting quite impatiently."

Over the years, Nils had gotten over his aversion to people. Continuing to work at an inn could easily have done it, but Sabrina suspected that it had been because of a certain giant. Nils was used to doing chores for his mother and as he grew older, Sabrina began to trust him with more important ones. He wore his hair brushed back and by now he held almost as much influence as his mother did at the inn.

"Wow, that was quick, Nils," Sabrina said.

"I'm really thankful for the hospitality. Here, let me pay you," Lang said to them.

"No, no, no, we don't want your money," Sabrina said quickly.

"Speak for yourself. We're not running a charity here," Nils said contrarily.

"That's fine with me. It'll just make me feel better anyway," Lang said taking his money pouch out from his inside jacket pocket.

He walked over to the nearest table and placed a hundred gold pieces on it and proceeded upstairs.

"Hey, you overpaid," Nils called.

"That'll pay for the room I'll be taking for a day," Lang said back.

"Oh, alright," Nils said with a shrug as he pocketed the money.

"You know he's like a son to me," Sabrina argued to him.

"Mom, he's just a frequent visitor. No need to get overly affectionate. That's how Martin's inn went out of business; he had too many 'frequent visitor' discounts."

"Don't be such a humbug all the time," she said as she retreated back to the kitchen.

"If it were left up to you, it would have run into the ground long ago."

Upstairs, Lang had already gotten into the metal tub. Galea had heated the lukewarm water to a pleasantly hot temperature and Lang had added a Heal Leaf to the water—a nice little reward to clearing the first half of his journey to Yuno, Maya's hometown. As far as Lang knew, Maya still lived there along with Kazan and he would need their help to get Dein back.

If he pushed it, he could be at Yuno in a couple of days. The thought of doing such a thing felt all too tiring as he relaxed in the steamy now green tinted water. Soon he was nodding off until Galea nudged him back to consciousness just as the warmth began to leave the water.

"Alright, Galea," Lang said lazily with slight slur to his voice.

Lang peered over the side of the tub and dug into his knapsack rummaging for a rag and the bar of soap Nancy had made for him. When Lang rubbed the soap on the dampened rag, he grinned when he smelled the scent. She must have extracted the smell form the small flower garden she kept in the back of the mansion. He imagined her plucking off the petals in her spare time quietly humming to herself. Of course, Lang wondered when exactly she had free time—she always seemed to be cooking.