After a play at talking things over, I scratched my head and turned back to the man. “Moss Village, eh? Are you sure?”
“Pretty sure,” he responded skeptically.
I looked back at the (blank) roll of parchment in my hand. “Huh. That’s weird... Where are we, then? Eh...?” I acted confused for quite a while. “So... do you know how to get to Midalka?”
“Never heard of it, I’m afraid.”
“Eh?” Head tilted, I finally pointed south. “Um... Okay, if you don’t mind my asking, what’s the name of the next village down the way?”
“You’ll come to Danalov Village first, then Lanase Village. Past that is Ladamount, and if you go southwest at the crossroads, hit a fork, take that right path, cross a bridge, and meet up with the road, you’ll be on your way to the capital, Palbathos.”
There was no direct route east from Palbathos, so you apparently had to take a long southern detour if you wanted to join up with the main road that headed there.
I hummed and this time pointed to the north road. “And what about thataway?”
“The towns of Analov and Alibaro, and past them, a fairly large city called Lanoma,” he responded helpfully without reserve.
Gourry, Ran, and I huddled up and began discussing again—or pretended to. “All right,” I said, turning back to the old man at last. “I guess we’ll head for, um... Palbathos, was it? Oh, but first, do you have any food and clothing here to spare? Supplies will be more expensive in the capital, no?”
Obviously there was no way in hell we were really heading for Palbathos, but saying that we were meant that if anyone came to town asking about strangers passing through, the villagers would tell ’em we were southbound for the capital. Hopefully that’d get them off the trail. Naturally, we’d leave along the south road to keep up appearances, then take a turn off the beaten path and double back north.
At my request, the man laughed. “I’ve been to the capital before, and everything really is pricey there. So let me show you to a good shop. I can attest that the prices are reasonable—just don’t expect any matching sets.”
“Thanks! You’re a real help!” I bowed low to the man.
And that’s how we scored some provisions for the near future and some even better disguises.
Beams stained black with soot. Tables dark and shiny from use but clearly well cared for and smooth to the touch. Lamps hanging from the ceiling. And a house at about eighty percent capacity.
“Sorry for the wait! I’ve got a hot salad and red duck pate, and tradia black chicken steamed in winter melon cream sauce!”
“Yeaaah!” As the waitress filled the table with dishes, Ran, Gourry, and I let out a chorus of appreciation.
Freshly caught and salt-grilled fish wasn’t so bad, but there was no beating a proper meal. We’d eaten well in Palbathos... but this restaurant’s offerings were almost too lavish. The variety of colors across the plates and the food, the balance of the various vegetables, and the vases with edible flowers on the tables for accent added a luster to the place that was easy to see even by the low lamplight.
“Well, then...”
“Let’s eat!”
Knives and forks flashed as we brought the food to our mouths.
Wow, that’s delicious! Normally, colorful vegetables and garnishes didn’t add to the flavor and impeded the mouthfeel of a meal, so I skipped them... but not so at this place. Even the edible flower petals, which I’d assumed were just there for presentation, added a sweet aroma and a slightly bitter accent when eaten with the food.
Pretty impressive, really... I found myself getting so carried away that when we finally paused to take a breather, the food was all gone. Uh-oh. We forgot to hold our planning meeting! So we ordered some drinks to chase down dinner, and...
“Okay, let’s talk next moves,” I said, taking a sip of something called natall juice that the waitress had just brought me. It had a peach-like flavor and an invigorating aroma, and it was neither too sweet nor had too strong of an aftertaste. But flavor aside... “I figure we’ll just keep heading north for now.”
Earlier that day, after acquiring food and clothing in Moss Village, we’d slipped out south as planned and, from there, headed north through another uncharted forest. Eventually, we’d come to the city of Lanoma that the old man had mentioned. It was about as big as Maricida where we’d stopped before, but this place had bigger buildings. The inn we’d picked out was three stories.
Obviously we’d changed into proper disguises before entering town. We were now dressed in the clothes we’d picked up in Moss, and I had my hair pulled back in twin tresses, while Gourry’s was in a ponytail, and Ran’s was in twin buns. Gourry and I had the full traveler look going on, but Ran, who was already dressed like a girl running away from home... still kinda looked the same. Nevertheless, we’d shaken things up enough to fool any pursuers who didn’t know us on sight.
Now, it was entirely possible that no one was after us after all and I was taking pains for no reason—but that was a risk I was willing to take. It was better than letting our guard down and potentially finding ourselves surrounded. Our disguises would thwart most suspicion, and acting so brazenly, paradoxically, would allow us to blend in better.
And so we’d brazenly arrived in this town, brazenly rented a room at an inn, brazenly asked if there was anywhere good to eat nearby, and brazenly arrived here. Thanks for the recommendation, Mr. Innkeep! What a huge score that turned out to be. Under normal circumstances, I would’ve ordered more and tried to brave the entire menu, but...
“Obviously, we can’t afford to stand out too much,” I said, partly as a reminder to myself.
It would’ve been too sad if I outed us because I got careless with my eating. Getting careless with my magic was out of the question too. But by the same token, as long as I kept my wits about me and changed up my disguise every now and then, we could probably get through this. I still didn’t have any idea how we were gonna get home, but we could make it out of the country without too much hassle. At least, that was my thought.
Ah, how naive I was...
The sky was bright with a full moon and stars as we left the restaurant.
I’d read once in some old record a long time ago that stars looked different in different parts of the world. It didn’t say how, exactly, or if you could discern your location based on that, though. Too bad. If such clues were to be found in the starry sky, that would’ve been very useful to us.
Lanoma’s main road seemed to grow more populous as the sun went down. A great many people were out eating or drinking. There were no streetlamps, but there were shops all around with lanterns hanging out front. Some had five or six, and some had ten or more. It was probably a ploy to make the stores look more inviting to customers, but I was a little concerned about the fire hazard. Some were putting out a lot of black smoke, perhaps fueled by poor quality oil.
Either way, thanks to all the lanterns, we had no trouble finding our footing as we walked along. But at the same time, the brightly lit main avenue made the branching alleyways seem all the darker and more menacing.
Our inn was just a short walk down the main drag from the restaurant we’d hit up for dinner. When we got back, I called to the old man at reception, picked up the keys to our rooms, and...
“Say, mister, we’re heading up for the night. Could I borrow a lamp?”
The old man hesitated a moment, then said, “Ah. Sure.” He took one off the shelf behind him, lit it from the lamp at his desk, and handed it over.
With that in hand, I turned to Ran and Gourry. “Okay, you two, mind coming to my room? We need to talk a bit.”
“Sure thing.”
“Okaaay!”
And so we all went up to the third floor. There were dim lamps illuminating the stairs and halls, but individual guest rooms didn’t have their own lights as a fire prevention measure. The setup was that if you really needed a light, you could borrow one from reception.
I unlocked the door to my room, set the lamp inside, packed up my things, and darted back into the hall. I then watched as Gourry did the same in the room next to mine, and Ran from the one across the way. I silently pointed at Ran’s room, and they nodded in silent agreement. Gourry and I closed our doors and the three of us headed into Ran’s room. After waiting a while for our eyes to adjust to the dark...
“Time to split, huh?” I asked in a whisper. I saw two silhouettes nod in response.
Our pursuers had arrived. All the way from the restaurant back to the inn, I’d sensed something lurking nearby, watching us. That, combined with the old receptionist’s attitude when we got back, told me we were under threat. Gourry and I were used to this stuff, of course, but I was a little surprised by how quickly Ran, who seemed so scatterbrained, had picked up on the situation.
I didn’t know how the pursuers had found us, but I wanted to get away more than I wanted an answer to that question. If they were watching my room from outside the inn, lamplight was now visible through the small crack in my window. I hoped they’d stay focused on that, but...
I chanted a spell under my breath and opened Ran’s window to the night outside. I took her hand and Gourry’s, then whispered, “Levitation.”
We hovered out the window and into the night air. The skies above were aglow with the moon and stars, and the streets below were flooded with light from the various storefronts. We floated over the roof, until...
“?!”
I think all three of us realized it simultaneously. On top of a nearby house, a hooded figure stood as if to block our way. Their robe was dark enough that I couldn’t make out its particular hue in the black of night. They wore their hood low over their eyes, and a mask covering their face below that. I couldn’t discern their age or gender, but it was clear this encounter was no mere coincidence.