The Winds of the Past [Rune Factory 4]

Chapter 9

"Yeaaah.... Better let Avani take care of that, though. She's amazing with animals," Dylas suggested as we walked towards the main chamber.

Avani was just fastening the closure on the second of two bags—similar to the saddlebags that horses used, but modified in size and shape to rest on a wolf's frame better and to be attached to a harness. She called to the large wolf, who lay before the fire watching her, and he came quickly, frisking like an oversized puppy. She played with him for a few minutes, then ordered him to sit. She scratched his ears when he obeyed, then fastened his harness around him as he sat still, tail thumping wildly on the floor. She attached a pack on either side of the harness, then strapped the bedrolls to the harness across his back. With that, he was ready to go. We fastened on our armor, grabbed our equipment and packs, and we were off.

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The sky was just turning light to the east as we left the gates and headed towards the sunrise. We had armed ourselves upon setting foot outside the walls of the town, since one never knew what you might meet out in the wilderness, such as crepuscular beasts of prey. We made our way cautiously to the ruins of the old Water Shrine, then turned south as Doug had instructed.

By midday, we'd discovered what we thought must be the path towards Sercerezo Hill, only to find it completely blocked by a peculiar growth of trees. We stopped for lunch and to examine the terrain. "This looks artificial to me, especially given that the Sechs apparently have been using this road until very recently," Avani said, studying the small grove with a scowl of concentration as she munched an apple. "Well, there's no helping it. It'll have to be cleared, though that will undoubtedly take us the rest of the afternoon," she said, tossing the core into the bushes and wiping her fingers on her skirt.

"Allow me, Princess—I have been assigned that very task!" We all jumped, startled, only to find Avani's personal butler, Vishnal, trotting along the path towards us. That explained the lack of reaction from Baldur, I thought—he knew the eager young man was a friend.

"Stand back and let me handle this for you!" he said as he drew two sturdy machetes. With our mouths agape, we stared as he dashed forward, slashing and hacking at the young trees until they were felled.

When he was done, he was panting and dripping sweat, but he'd cleared a path through in what must have been record time. "There, that should do it. Now you can continue on your way, Princess," he said cheerfully.

"Is... is that something you actually train to do as a butler?" I asked in astonishment.

"Well... Mr. Volkanon instructed me especially for the occasion, so maybe not exactly—but we butlers do whatever it takes to help our masters!" Vishnal replied with a wink .

"Wow, Vishnal," Avani said slowly, looking amazed. "That's... that's incredible. Really. Tell Volkanon I'm very impressed. And thank you! You saved us a lot of time and effort!"

"Of course—it's my duty and my pleasure to be of any assistance to you, Princess!" And he took off back up the path to the north.

"What the hell?" Dylas said, finally regaining use of his tongue. "Did that really just happen? Or am I still asleep?"

Avani looked at him with amusement, and said teasingly, "If you were still asleep, you'd be in my soft, warm bed with your arms around me. Are you? No? Then it must have really happened!"

Dylas flushed deep red, then shouldering his pack again, said, "Shut up! Let's get going. And let's hope that commotion didn't attract any unwanted attention." And with that, we were on the road again.

We crossed a bridge over a deep ravine and found ourselves in a land very different from the one we had just left. For some reason, some of the lands in the area had only one season all year. It had not been that way in my day, and I found the change very curious. I'd asked Kiel about it once, as he was well-versed in myths and legends. He'd replied only that he thought it had to do with some of the fairies that had begun to appear a few centuries ago. There were some tribes of the fey that had evolved to specialize in one or another of the elemental magics, and they had likewise formed a strong preference for a particular season. Once they became established in an area, the surrounding region would be permanently stuck in whichever season was that tribe's preference. For example, he had said, the red fey specialized in Fire magic and preferred the weather and climate of autumn. So when they became established in the area west of the Selphia Plains, the surrounding environs were stuck in a perennial autumn. Because of that, it had eventually come to be known as the Autumn Road.