As she enjoyed the lingering taste of the peach, she recalled the man’s smile. He probably was having difficulty eating properly. When she was speaking to him, she’d noticed his cheeks looked a little sunken, and he had distinctly bad breath. Both served to enhance his less than inviting appearance, making him look every bit like some kind of bandit, but she’d been able to tell how kind of a person he was from the way his eyes twinkled when he smiled. She hadn’t been scared of him in the least. The boy from the day before had probably felt the same way.
“I hope he feels better,” Misha said, humming as she kept pace with Ryne.
“For someone in his state, he’ll be fine as long as he takes the medicine and doesn’t overexert himself. It’s my personal recipe, after all,” Ryne declared smugly, tossing the core of his now finished apple into the brush by the road. “Okay. If we don’t want to sleep outside tonight, we’ll have to pick up the pace. The next city is on the other side of this mountain.”
“Okay!” Misha replied energetically as the two of them started a brisk walk up the mountain road.
The journey back to the village of the People of the Forest was going to be a surprisingly relaxed affair.
After leaving the castle, Miranda was the first to break off from their group.
“It seems like there’s some trouble out west, so I’ll have to take my leave here,” she said with a casual wave, but Misha grabbed her as she tried to leave.
“What do you mean, trouble? Are you not going to the village with us?” Misha had assumed they’d all be traveling together, so she was quite shocked by the news.
“My job is to take care of our people as they travel around the world, remember? Someone has called for me, so I have to go,” Miranda answered the devastated Misha with a troubled smile. “Besides, you’ve got Ryne now. You don’t need me anymore, right?”
“That’s...true, but...” Misha’s shoulders slumped. Ever since they had met by pure coincidence, Miranda had done everything she could to help Misha. Seeing her suddenly leave was heartbreaking.
Ryne gave Misha’s head a rough poke. “Oh, don’t be a baby. It’s not like you’ll never see her again. She’ll swing by the village again soon enough.”
“Really?” Misha said, turning hopeful eyes up at Miranda once more.
Miranda couldn’t help but smile at the teary expression in her eyes. “Of course. Unlike somebody here, I return to the village once a year to make my usual report. We’ll see each other again soon,” she said, giving Misha a gentle pat on the head, and Misha finally let Miranda’s hand go. “Oh right, I almost forgot. This is for you.”
Miranda then pulled a decorative ribbon out from a hidden pocket in her robe, tying it to Misha’s staff. It was a brilliant combination of green and blue, all the more vivid next to the faded colors of the old ribbons.
Miranda gave a satisfied nod. “This is a good luck charm for you. So that you’ll definitely find happiness.”
“Thanks. See you again soon!”
Giving Misha a kiss on the forehead, Miranda went on her way.
People continued to leave their group one or two at a time. Before Misha realized it, half of them were gone. That was when she finally asked Ryne what was actually going on.
In order to avoid drawing attention to themselves, they were traveling alone or in pairs instead of taking a ship like she had been originally told. In the end, the only ones actually going back to the village were her, Ryne, and Nel.
“They were all people that just happened to be in the area that we called in because it was an emergency. They’ll either go back to where they were before or go back to wandering again.”
Misha was shocked by the revelation. She had thought they had all come from the village to help.
“There are that many People of the Forest wandering around the world?”
“Yeah, quite a few. There’s only so much research and experimentation you can do in the village itself. Besides, no matter what medicine or therapy you develop, it’s all pointless if there aren’t any people around that need treatment.”
Misha was surprised to learn the People of the Forest were so active. “I thought I would have heard more rumors about them,” she said.
“Well, obviously they don’t go around telling everyone who they are. That would just be asking for trouble.”
“I guess so...” Misha mumbled. Something about that answer just didn’t sit right with her.
Seeing her displeasure, Ryne laughed. “Traveling apothecaries aren’t all that rare. The only thing that sets us apart is our hair, our eyes, and our skills. There aren’t that many people willing to try and hurt someone who just helped them either,” he said, patting her on the head.
The last surprise was to come when their group had shrunk down to Misha, Ryne, and Nel.
“Hey there, Misha. Long time no see!” She came across Shydein, standing beside a covered wagon on the road.
“What?! Why are you here, Shydein?!”
Shydein grinned as he saw Misha’s shock, like a child watching his prank succeed. “Come on, you’re the one who introduced me to them. Apparently there’s someone back at the village researching prosthetics, so they’re going to hook me up.”
“Honestly, I don’t know how he did it,” Nel grumbled. “Every time I stepped outside, he was on me like glue. He eventually wore me down. But even with one arm, he seems like he can be useful. He’ll serve as a good bodyguard for the trip back to the village.”
As the plague was starting to wind down, Misha had in fact introduced Shydein to the People of the Forest. Shydein had insisted he would take things from there, so with how busy Misha was at the time, she had no idea how their talks had gone. She didn’t realize he had come back to pester Nel so many times.
“If anyone knew you were bringing an outsider back to the village, there would be a horde of people trying to tag along, so we decided to meet up on the road instead,” Shydein explained happily, ignoring Nel’s scowl.
“Yeah, I could imagine Mr. Conan making a huge deal out of it...” Misha said, thinking back on all the doctors and apothecaries she had grown close to in Redford.
“No kidding. This guy on his own is annoying enough as it is,” Nel said, scowl deepening. Any time he’d shown up in the castle, Conan and the other doctors had started hounding him. From discussions about the future of medicine to asking about rumors surrounding the People of the Forest, the old man had been subjected to a deluge of questions. It was no wonder he had grown so tired of them.
“I was told to wait here with a carriage for you guys, since walking all that way would be a pain, but I have to admit I was a bit worried you might change your mind and take a different route,” Shydein said with a laugh.
“Our word is our bond. Honestly, what I actually regret is setting our meeting place here, instead of a city closer to the capital. These old bones aren’t up to the kind of pace these youngsters forced on me...” Nel continued to grumble as he climbed into the carriage. “Be safe on your journey, Misha. Come on, man, get the carriage moving already!” With a quick wave, Nel was gone from her sight.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m coming. Awfully impatient for an old guy, don’t you think? See you around, Misha. I’ll be waiting for you at the village!” Shydein said, hastily scrambling up into the driver’s seat and deftly setting the horses into motion with his one hand. Misha stared after them, head tilted in confusion.
“Do all People of the Forest treat goodbyes so casually?” she asked. Even Miranda had tried to leave as if they were seeing each other the next day.
“Who knows? Maybe it’s just because we’re all so used to traveling.” Ryne shrugged with a laugh. “So anyway, we’ll be taking our time walking back.”
“Huh? Aren’t we in a hurry?” Everyone else had their own things to worry about, but she had assumed that the two of them would be taking the quickest route back possible.
“Once we get back to the village, the laws of the tribe will mean that you won’t be allowed to leave for years. So I figured we should take what time we have to let you see the world a bit first.” Ryne grinned, full of mischief.
Misha smiled back at him. “Yeah. Traveling with you is going to be fun!”
So began their leisurely journey back to the village of the People of the Forest.