Dream in the Sky [Arthdal Chronicles]

Chapter 15: The High Priestess' Dream (Part Two: You Just Can't Trust a Horse)

Tanya was woken by some sort of commotion. The sound of agitated voices from outside the house floated into her consciousness.

Disoriented, she scrambled out of bed, and it took her a moment to remember where she was. She thought this was a secluded and quiet village, so what was the deal with all the noise?

Her thoughts were racing as she hurried to get dressed. What if Arthdal soldiers had followed them here? What if Tagon had somehow seen through their plan?

Mubaek and Yangcha were already outside, and with them was what probably amounted to the entire village. The villagers stood in a crowd, talking excitedly to each other as if they had seen some kind of spectacle.

"Niruha," Mubaek said in greeting. "We were just coming to get you."

"What's wrong?" she asked, but it was already evident. There, on a comfortable-looking patch of grass right in front of the village chief's house, Helper was lounging around as if he had happened to pass this village on his morning stroll and decided to take a break here.

"Well, ah..." Mubaek said, "It seems Ka—I mean, Eunseom's horse is here." He didn't sound like he believed his own words.

Just then, the village chief emerged from a group of middle-aged men.

"Good morning, my honored guests!" he greeted. "I'd inquire after your sleep, but..." His eyes drifted to Helper. "So is this horse yours?"

"He belongs to a friend," Tanya said. "What happened exactly?"

"This horse arrived before dawn, just as the fishermen were setting out. It caused quite a stir, the way it galloped through the village like a messenger's horse."

"He came alone?"

"Yes. Isn't that the funny thing! A horse with saddle and bridle but no rider!"

Did Helper really come alone? Tanya looked around, searching for Eunseom's face among the villagers. If Helper was here, Eunseom couldn't be far...

"He's not here," Yangcha answered her question as if he was the one who could read her thoughts.

But if Eunseom didn't come with Helper...

"Helper," she said, kneeling down to reach his eye level. "Where is Eunseom? Why are you here?"

Helper offered no explanation. He ducked his head and sniffed the grass—in search of a meal, Tanya guessed. The grass was sparkling wet with morning dew, surely quite tasty for a horse.

As she looked him up and down, Tanya noticed something attached to Helper's saddle, only because it was stained bright purple. Purple like Eunseom's blood.

Tanya's blood turned to ice at the sight.

With trembling fingers, she reached for the stained object. It was a piece of fabric wrapped around a stone.

Mubaek and Yangcha knelt beside her. "Could it be a message?" Mubaek asked.

She unrolled the cloth, and it revealed strange symbols written in the same purple blood. "Mubaek," she said and handed him the writing. "What does it say? It doesn't look like Aniartz letters."

A frown knotted Mubaek's forehead as he studied the symbols. "This is the language of the Momo Tribe, but I don't know what it says."

"Let me see," said the chief, and Tanya remembered that they weren't alone. The whole village had overheard their discussion. "If it's the Momo language, maybe I can read it."

Mubaek handed it over. Some other villagers came closer, evidently curious.

"Hmm... Ah..." the chief hummed, studying the writing with furrowed brows. "This symbol means river... And this one means... Hmm!" He showed the cloth to one of the other men. "What do you think, Gang? It says that the fish in the river are in mating season, right?"