Chapter 34

Daily life roaming between the villages and helping out where they could was becoming their norm, so it was surprising when one day Yoon said he wanted to go north, into the Kai Empire. The announcement came while they were all sitting around a campfire, eating a very nice meal that their resident cook had prepared. It caused a quick freeze among the rest of the group.

"It'll be dangerous up there," Hak said, the first one to start moving again. He shifted from his perch beside Yona so he could get a better look at the strawberry blond boy. "And it won't be an easy journey to get there."

"I know," Yoon said, "But I heard a rumor in the village today that I want to investigate." He looked over at Lien, who was sitting between Kija and Shin-Ah, her bowl of soup in her hands. "Have you heard or seen any kind of crop in the Kai Empire that could be grown here? That's what I heard today, that there was something like that in the Kai Empire."

Lien tightened her grip on the bowl and looked at Yoon, her eyes becoming distant as she pondered on the question. Had she seen anything like that? Most of the time, they avoided the countryside and kept to the cities, where their plays and dances and songs would be rewarded. Honestly, most of the small villages couldn't afford to take the time away from farming or herding or harvesting in order to watch a play. On the occasions when they did stop in little villages, they didn't question where the food came from, and she had never personally had a lot of interest in farming.

"I can't think of anything," Lien said, "But they were at least better off than the villages we've see here."

"What do you mean?" Kija asked.

"People aren't starving like they are here," she replied, "There's food, I just don't know where it comes from."

"What, you didn't think to investigate the farming habits of the Kai Empire?" Jae-Ha teased, "Shame on you."

Lien rolled her eyes, knowing he was teasing her. "Haven't you seen anything, jumping around on that leg of yours?"

"Mmm, good question, but no," Jae-Ha said, then raised one finger, "Unless there are fish in the rivers."

"Too small," Yoon said, "The drought hasn't done them any favors." He shook his head and then looked to Yona. "I'll probably be gone for a few months."

"We can take the time for that," Yona said without missing a beat, "We have to help these people in a more impactful way, and I think the Happy Hungry Bunch has done as much as it can without finding something long term."

Yoon blinked. "Did you say we?"

"You didn't think we'd let you go alone, did you," Hak said. It was his turn to roll his eyes at Yoon's surprised expression. "Come on, Yoon."

"We go where Princess Yona goes," Kija said, taking on that regal tone again.

"And I don't think any of us would let you go off by yourself," Jae-Ha said with a smirk. Shin-Ah nodded and Yoon grinned.

Yoon looked as if he was going to cry, and he wiped quickly at his eyes with the cuff of his sleeve. "You guys are all stupid, you shouldn't follow me into another country. It's not safe."

"For you, sure," Jae-Ha said, "It'll be a cakewalk for us." That earned him a sideways look from Hak.

"It's not really up for debate, in any case," Yona said, smiling. She reached out and put a hand on Yoon's arm. "We're definitely going."

"Then we're going to have to come up with a good plan," Yoon said. He started rummaging around in his bag, and Lien smiled. Yoon's satchel was practically bottomless, or so it seemed. It was crammed full of spices, gear, herbs, medical supplies, and anything Yoon thought they would need on their journey. Plus he tossed in whatever he thought they could trade along the way.

He produced a folded up, slightly crumpled piece of thick paper. Unfolding the map, he set it down on the ground near the fire. The lines were dark enough that the map could be read by firelight, but honestly, Shin-Ah was most likely the only one who could properly see it. Still, Yoon seemed so determined about the whole thing, no one mentioned it to him. Placing rocks on the four corners to keep it in place, Yoon put down a tiny stone in the Fire Tribe's section of the map.

"This is where we're at," he said, pointing to the stone. "And I think we should go straight north, through the mountains to this small village in the Kai Empire." He pointed to an itty bitty, almost invisible dot on the map. Lien couldn't even read the name in this light.

"That used to be part of Kouka Kingdom," Hak said, crouching down and gesturing toward the map.

"I think it's gone back and forth between the two countries for a long time," Zeno said, "Or that's what I've heard."

Lien glanced at the yellow haired dragon, noticing his use of first person instead of his usual third person. He only did it every now and then, and it seemed almost random but not quite. He only used first person when he was being serious. Otherwise, he referred to himself in the third person, and he never called any of them by their names. It was always their titles or nicknames he had made up for them. Maybe he was distancing himself, somehow? It just seemed strange since otherwise he was so warm and friendly. Maybe it was nothing and she was being silly.

Zeno must have noticed her looking at him oddly because he smiled at her and then stuck his tongue out, teasing her. She rolled her eyes but grinned back at him. Yeah, she was just being silly. Zeno didn't have any reason to keep them at bay. It was just a weird habit of his, sort of like how he would randomly decide Shin-Ah needed to play with him or something like that.

"That's right," Hak said, tracing a circle around the small village, "This area was Fire Tribe territory, but it was given to the Kai Empire…" He trailed off and pointedly didn't look at Yona. It had been handed over to the Kai Empire by King Il due to his pacifist views so the Kai Empire wouldn't attack Kouka. King Il had kept the country out of war but he had also severely weakened the kingdom during his reign.

While her family had traveled through various surrounding countries, Lien had heard a lot of gossip about Kouka, and a lot of it centered around the king. Everyone knew he was a peaceful man, but in the eyes of many, that made him weak. A pushover, a flower, a coward. Whenever anyone spoke about King Il, it was usually disparagingly.

He was not a respected man in the neighboring countries, and traveling around Kouka was not much better. People were starving everywhere, jobs were scarce, markets were bare. It was a poor country except in the five main cities, and even in those places, people suffered. But Yona had loved him.

"This village should have a similar climate and soil to the villages we've visited," Yoon said, "And if they're prospering, there must be a reason for it."

"Seems worth the trip," Jae-Ha said, "But it'll take a couple weeks."

"If not longer," Yoon said, "Seeing how winter's here and we'll be traveling across mountains again. I think we'll be gone at least a month or two."

"We have time," Kija said, "Unless you feel otherwise, Princess?"

Yona shook her head. "I would like to be back before Spring if we can find a crop to plant, but I think it'll be fine. You really feel like there's something to see there, Yoon?"

"I do," he said firmly.

"What's the Kai Empire like, Lien?" Jae-Ha asked, "You're the only who's been there."

Lien shrugged. "It's massive. I've never traveled to the northern half of it, but you could fit multiple Koukas into Kai… The culture shifts depending on where you go, but all of the provinces technically answer to the emperor. Most of the cities deal in luxury goods, but they have a lot of rare resources as well." She half-smiled. "We didn't spend a lot of time in the countryside."

"Think we'll blend in?" Jae-Ha teasingly ran his fingers through his long green ponytail.

Lien glanced around the group. Super tall Hak with his handsome face and his sword staff thing. White-haired Kija with his claw hand. Green hair flirt Jae-Ha with his jumping ability. Zeno's yellow hair and outgoing personality, Yoon and his apricot hair and insatiable curiosity, Yona with that bright red hair and unwillingness to back down from helping others. Shin-Ah with a mask, and a sword, and a squirrel and blue hair. And her own light green hair and spontaneous fires…

She blew out a breath, fluttering a piece of hair that had fallen into her face. "Oh, sure. Why wouldn't we."