The Dreaming Land

Chapter 5: The Girl

Warm sunlight on Orius' face forced him to wake, sitting up from his makeshift bed, rubbing his eyes. They were in a barn, it seemed. Imara still lay asleep beside him on the pile of hay they'd apparently made into their bed for the night. He couldn't recall exactly how they'd got here, all he knew is that his whole body ached, and that he desperately needed some food.

Looking around, he found all of their things sitting just near by. The shard was still tucked away in his back, thankfully. Outside it was quite, just the sound of birds chirping, and a strong breeze rustling the trees. Orius looked outside. He could see a nearby path, but it didn't look like a main road. There were no farm animals near by, which meant the barn must have been abandoned at some point.

Orius picked up his crossbow, and slung it over his shoulder. He wanted to take a better look around outside, but at this point he couldn't be too careful. As he approached the barn doors he heard something rustle behind him. He turned, crossbow aimed to see who, or what, it was. In one of the abandoned stables stood a girl, only a bit younger than Imara, wearing tattered clothes and long black hair. The two of them froze at the sight of one another. Slowly, Orius lowered his weapon.

"Who are you?" He asked with a hushed tone.

She said nothing.

"Look, I'm not going to hurt you." He said, "Can you tell me where the nearest village is?"

She blinked, and still said nothing. Orius opened his mouth to ask another question, but she bolted, running past him about out the door. He watched as she ran down the path, and just kept running. He sighed in exhaustion. He would have chased her, had he any energy left, but at least he figured she was running back to town. Why she was in the barn, he didn't care, she was gone now anyways.

It wasn't long after that Imara woke up, herself, and after a quick bite to eat from their rations they were on their way down the road. Neither of them knew where they were, or if they'd even kept running north. Wherever they were, they'd figure it out. At least if they were lost, it was unlikely they'd be caught. Orius decided it actually wouldn't be that bad if they were caught and killed, it beat walking any further with his legs so sore. Imara couldn't help but agree, at this point.

Only about a half hour down the road, they spotted a small farming village by the name of "Gatsenton". Orius looked it up on his map, and sighed in relief. They could make it to Kalya City by tonight if they wanted to. This meant they had time to rest, and he wasn't about to pass that up. They found the only inn in town and rented a room.

After a short nap, he decided they should probably stock up on some supplies. Their rations were running low, and he could use some more crossbow bolts, assuming they had any for sale here. Orius made a small list and made sure he had enough coin to afford it all. He was too tired to try and pickpocket right now.

"I'm going into town to stock up." He said, getting up from the desk.

"Okay." Imara waved a hand, "Go on without me. I just can't right now."

"Alright, rest up." He smirked, closing the door behind him.

It was about mid-afternoon, and the sun was high in the sky. The breeze helped keep him cool, and the rest had done a world of good for his legs for the time being. He found a hunting outfitters and picked up some more bolts. They weren't the best quality, but they'd do. As he was searching around for the next stop, something felt off, like he was being followed. Looking around, there were no sign of any guards, so he continued on.

He picked up some buns from a bakery, ones that would last a day or two on the road, and some pears from one of the market stalls outside. As he turned to head over to the butchery, he accidentally bumped into someone. To his surprise, it was the girl from the barn. She backed away from him slowly, and before he could apologize, she ran off again. Sighing, he continued on.