What Kind of Man

2. The Caravan, part one

It was nearly dawn when the voices of other people reached Fai and Kurogane. Or rather, Fai had been listening to the moving caravan for a while, but could not quite make out individual voices or even the language. Just as he was trying to assess what sort of people they were, crossing this unfriendly plane in the dark apparently undisturbed by monsters, Kurogane sat up, no traces of sleep in his face.

They looked at each other briefly, then Fai turned and pointed to the caravan. It was now clearly visible in the grey gloom of early morning, a half dozen or so oblong armoured vehicles slowly rolling along on thick tracks. They were surrounded by cloaked and hooded figures riding large, powerfully built beasts with mottled fur and long curving horns. There were maybe fifteen or twenty of them, in all, and some had what looked like long-range arbalests strapped to their back. In the predawn light they were an otherworldly sight, like something from a dream.

The ground and rocks, tinted red at sunset, now appeared a dull purple, muted by the predawn mist and the overcast sky. The sun was about to come up, and, as Kurogane predicted, the giant lizard-like creatures were gone. Only the gnawed bodies of the ones they've slain lay mangled a short distance away.

"Should we motion to them?" asked Fai, quietly. There was nowhere to hide, of course, on that rock, but they could still get down on the other side and stay out of sight, if they wished to avoid the caravan.

Kurogane narrowed his eyes, sizing up the cavalcade. "They might be our ticket into the city," he said. "They are armed, but don't seem hostile. Look more like merchants, than warriors."

Fai looked again at the caravan. It seemed Kurogane was right. Fai then stood to his feet, followed by Kurogane, and raised an arm in greeting. The caravan was close enough by now, and this movement did not go unnoticed.

A few of the riders halted for a few moments, surprised. Then, a figure in the front had motioned to the rest to stop, and, accompanied by two others, approached their rock. For a few seconds they all stood in silence, sizing each other up.

"Greetings!" Fai called out to them.

"Greetings, strangers," came the reply.

Fai arranged his face into his most diplomatic of smiles. As always, it seemed that negotiations were to be his specialty.

"What is a young couple like yourselves doing all the way out here?" asked the figure nearest them, throwing off the hood of its cloak aside.

The speaker had a darkly tanned, weatherworn face. Her voice had a deep resonance, and she was powerfully built, perhaps even extraordinarily so, for a woman. A long ponytail snaked from the top of her crown into the folds of the cloak, leaving the rest of her skull cleanly shaven, covered in intricate designs. Fai's gaze traced the bluish tendrils curling onto the face on one side, around the eye and onto the cheekbone. He thought they looked like magical seals, like the one he gave up to Yūko so many moons ago.

But... what did she mean by 'couple', wondered Fai. Was it just a local figure of speech?

"We are strangers to this world," Fai said disarmingly. "We've only arrived yesterday, and we have been separated from our friends. Last night we were attacked by monsters..."

"Ah, the sand toads," spoke up another figure, likewise lowering its hood. She too was a woman, and had the look of a person used to living outdoors for long periods of time. Her face was clean of tattoos, however, and her thick curly hair sat about her face like a halo.

Fai pointed to the cluster of rocks where they've had their nighttime battle. The others turned around and studied the bodies for a few seconds.

"Impressive! You want to tell me a lone warrior and his lass took out three of those things entirely by themselves?!" the curly-haired one said, looking at the Fai and Kurogane with renewed interest.

Fai raised an eyebrow. He had an odd feeling about it. First couple and now lass? Was he missing something? Kurogane next to him grunted something unintelligible. Fai felt a dim sense of having heard about something like this, somewhere, but could not remember exactly what.

"Speaking of the warrior," finally spoke the third figure, "Does he not talk?"

An older man, his weathered face deeply lined, he was similarly of a dark complexion, his bald head tattooed with swirls of dark blue. A red gem sparkled in his left ear.

The man's words made Fai smile. Kurogane really did have that sullen silent type down to a cliché.

"You better say something," Fai whispered to Kurogane, so the others would not hear. "I am starting to have a theory about this world..."

Kurogane shot him an annoyed look, but cleared his throat nonetheless. "Greetings," he offered, stiffly. "Fai usually handles the negotiations, that's all. We really are strangers here, and we don't know the land. We were wondering if you might help us get to the city."

The riders exchanged long looks, and Fai wondered if they could communicate with one another by thought alone. The beasts they rode stood patiently and stared at the ground, their thick grey lips slowly moving from time to time as if chewing something, or murmuring incantations.

"You do seem like you're not from around here," finally said the first woman, who, by her stance and expression, seemed to be the leader of the group. "But you should come down, we will not harm stranded travellers, and moreover, strangers. This is against the Merchant Code. The sand toads only come out at sundown, and until then, the plains are as safe as a walled garden." She smiled, and it was an open and friendly smile.

Kurogane and Fai exchanged looks, and then took all of two seconds and a few powerful leaps to get down to the ground. Even the apathetic steads with their bowed heads took a step or two backwards, and the surprised and respectful looks on the group's faces told Fai this was the right thing to do.

"Never seen a golden-haired one move like that!" exclaimed the man, and though he did so under his breath, the way he said the words caught Fai's attention. Golden-haired one? Was this just a poetic figure of speech, or...?

"No wonder you took those toads out," said the curly-haired woman, a note of admiration in her voice. "Such kaloi any warrior would be proud of..."

All three stared at Fai with unreserved curiosity, and, thought Fai, with something else, as well. What was the word she used? Kaloi? What did she mean by it?

While Fai tried to keep his expression neutral, Kurogane addressed the person they both figured to be the leader. "My name is Kurogane, and this is Fai," he said, keeping his jaw set.

"I am Alana, Commander of the 12th division trading caravan," said the woman. "This here is Pher, and this is Ollu." The curly-haired woman and then the older man raised their hands in greetings, each in their turn. Kurogane simply inclined his head curtly — a gesture that passed in his lexicon for a polite bow.

"My men and I are headed to the city," meanwhile continued Alana, "You are welcome to come with us, if you wish. If you are strangers in this land, it may be better if you had a reliable guide," she added, giving Fai a long appraising look.

"That's most kind of you," said Fai, inclining his head in turn. He had a feeling that he was definitely missing something. As they followed the small group back to the caravan and more and more eyes turned to gaze at him with interest, he thought that this world is going to turn out to be more trouble than it was worth.

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A/N

Next chapter update coming Friday. I am trying out this regular posting thing :)