Xoris

Chapter Thirty Three

The wooden box felt light in my hands as my fingers graced the strips of metal along the top. My thumbs plucked at the keys, flicking one or two at a time, trying to remember how the song went. It felt like something I'd heard before, that I'd been humming my entire life, even though everyone at the fort told me I'd made it up. All the same, as the lower, almost haunting tune reached my ear, I knew I was getting close to figuring it out.

"How are you liking the kalimba?"

Luina's voice caught my attention, causing me to jump up off the window I'd been sitting in. She leaned her thin body against the door frame as she smiled at me, honey brown hair braided behind her back.

"It's a lot of fun, thank you!" Brushing off my yellow tunic, I ran up to her, wrapping my arms around her. "You didn't have to get it for me." If anything, the fact made me appreciate it even more.

"Of course I did. You worked hard to get your apprenticeship, and passed the test like it was nothing. I thought it was a good reason to celebrate. Besides..." She reached to ruffle my hair, much higher than normal with the amount of growing I'd had in the past Wither. "All you ever do is read and write. Once things like that become work, not leisure, you're going to want other things to do. Now, are you ready to go, or were you playing that the entire time?"

"No, I'm ready." I sat the box down on my desk as if to prove my point.

"All right then. We're also going to be stopping at the wickery along the way in case the next Crack happens during the day. I don't want to run out."

I nodded as I followed her down the stairs and out of the fort. While I couldn't argue with her other errands, the sheer excitement of picking up the white attire of my new profession was beginning to consume my thoughts. No doubt I looked like an ashcaleve with the wide grin on my face and lightness in my step, but I couldn't help it as I called out to Luke to come with. I was going to spread knowledge and information in a time when almost no one could have that. It felt noble.

"Are we leaving now?" Luke asked. At Luina's nod, he grabbed his sword off the wall, before closing the door behind him. Most couldn't travel the distance between the town and the fort out of fear of the Beasts, but with the potency of his magik, there was less reason to worry as we made our way out.

As the village grew in the distance, blocky, stone houses coming into view, I saw Luke wincing a bit, his gaze focused entirely on the bridge in front of him, sitting overtop of the playful scarlet river. No, not the bridge, I realised after a moment. The water.

"I hate this part." A rare grumble left his throat as our footsteps began to echo against the stone.

"Why?" There was no chance of anyone falling into the thick depths, with the higher walls and few guards standing as close as they could to its edges, keeping watch.

"Stained magik," Luke answered tersely, the tips of his ears tilted down in annoyance. "It crawls into your skin and eats away at you. It's the worst." With a shake of his head, he hurriedly crossed the rest of the bridge, forcing Luina and I to pick up our pace before we finally entered the town. The area seemed fine to me though, beautiful even, and I wished we could have stayed longer, if only to stand at the bridge's edge, watching the ripples flow by...

As the village sprang up around me, I was instantly making my way over to the right, glancing down the hundreds of propped up stalls, trying their best to offer shade against the steady heat. One of them had the order for my robes Luina had sent by letter the tally before. They were sitting there, as ready for me as I was for them.