Reader Beware

Chapter 18

            The early morning sky was grey, the high clouds blocking out even the tiniest sliver of blue. Rika stared up and hoped that it wasn’t some kind of omen. She shifted her pack higher, ignoring the way her back twinged and her satchel twisted, and turned her attention back to her companions.

            Ahisu was in the lead, since he was the only person who actually knew where his tower was. Damek had asked what it was near, but had been ignored, much to his annoyance. Even now he was keeping his eyes on the trees that surrounded them, avoiding looking at the mage as much as he could. Rika thought he was being silly.

            The path they followed wound its way through the forest, never seeming to stay straight if it could help. It made Rika wonder if whoever had made it had done that on purpose. Though she couldn’t see a point. It’s not like the tower was a castle or something that needed defending. But then again, she didn’t really know much about real mages and how other people saw them.

            They walked in silence until mid-morning, when they finally reached the main road. Like the last road Rika had been on, this one was also a rutted, dirt stretch of semi-flat ground. She found herself appreciating and missing stupid little thing from home a lot more. Like asphalt. Nice, even, not dusty, asphalt.

            Unable to take the quiet any longer, Rika asked “So about how long until we get to the capital? I mean, it’s not super far away, is it?”

            Ahisu glanced back at her for a moment then said “A week.”

            She nodded. “That’s not too bad then.”

            Damek glared at the mage. “Why is it that you never answer my questions? Rika just asked you the same questions I asked last night. You couldn’t have answered then?”

            The demon summoner looked him over, then tilted his head in Rika’s direction. “Debt.”

             “We had a deal,” he snapped.

            Ahisu only shrugged, his steps not even slowing. Rika frowned, curiosity warring with her desire to keep Damek from exploding, as he looked like he was about to. The latter won out, and she drifted back so she was beside him. “Why did you start doing martial arts?”

            His eyes stared blankly at for a few moments before her words penetrated his mind. “Oh. I had some problems as a child.”

            She frowned. “What do you mean?”

            Damek sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Well you already know I’m not tall,” he said. She had to nod at that. He was only an inch or two taller than her, and she was certainly no giant. “When I was a child, it was worse. I was the shortest for most of my life. Some of the other children in town tried to use their height as an advantage over me. I got sick of it. I was lucky that there was an old martial artist, Dzeron, who lived in town. I asked him to teach me, and for some reason, he agreed. I got to really liking it. The discipline and honour associated with it, not just the actual fighting skills. Eventually I decided that I wanted to make my own style. Dzeron encouraged me, sending me with a letter to one of his old apprentices. From him, I went to try a different style, and before I knew it, I was something of a wanderer. Sometimes I take jobs like guarding, but mostly I try to stay and help teach at different dojos. I’m hoping to have my style fully refined in the next year, spend the next couple getting a good reputation, then open up my own school.”

            Rika smiled, glad to see the light of enthusiasm replacing the anger that had been all but glowing in his eyes only moments before. “That sounds really cool. You’ll definitely do well as a teacher. I’ve already learned a lot from you and I couldn’t even throw a punch before you started training me.”

            He flushed then shook his head. “You weren’t that bad. You have a decent natural stance already. You just need to stop flinching every time you think someone’s going to hit you. And really, I’ve been helping teach for a couple of years now, so I hope I learned something.”

            “Well I’m sure it’ll work out. I’m jealous. You actually know what you want to do with your life. I still haven’t got even a clue. The only thing I actually like to do is read, and you can’t really make a career out of that.”

            Damek laughed, reaching over and ruffling her hair. “Relax, stranger-girl. You’ve got lots of time. And it’s not written anywhere that you have to decide. Ever. At least, that’s the way it is here. You’re not forced to have a job where you’re-”

            Rika cut him off with a chuckle. “No. It’s the same where I’m from. No one’s forced into doing any kind of job, really. It all depends on the person, their abilities, ambitions, and how hard they’re willing to work for their dream. If they have one, that is.”

            About to reply, Damek halted when he realized that Ahisu had also stopped. Squatting by the side of the road, he was studying something on the ground. Rika and Damek exchanged looks before walking over to him. “What’s happened?” she asked, half-leaning over the mage’s shoulder.

            Ahisu gestured to the ground around them with his staff. Rika looked but saw nothing more than trampled grass, a few scorched stones, and a lot of ruts. She couldn’t imagine why they were interesting enough to stop for, until Damek whistled. “Looks like a caravan of some sort passed this way.”

            She frowned. “How do you know?”

            “Wheel ruts, hoof prints, and boot tracks. There’s also some dropped bits of ribbon and what looks like a lost belt knife,” he said pointing. “Bandits wouldn’t have camped this close to the road since it’s patrolled regularly, nobles wouldn’t be sleeping outside, and a lone merchant wouldn’t be losing pieces of ribbon. I’m betting this is one of the regular caravans that travel between the biggest cities. Hmm…if we hurry, we might be able to catch up with it.”

            “We can? And umm…why would we want to?”

            Damek grinned. “Safety. Bandits aren’t going to mess with a big caravan and we’ll look far more legitimate if we’re a part of it. Now come one, we’re really going to have to hop to it if we want to catch up with them.”