The Charlatan

04. Jumping Ship

Clara stared out the window of the train car while Air slept in the seat across from her. The scenery outside had gradually changed from expansive arable lands to darker and thicker forests as the train crossed the southern border between Velt and the country of Dehi.

She was running.

And why shouldn't she be? The King wanted her head, her country was bankrupt, and some lunatic who called themselves "The Charlatan" was trying to overthrow the monarchy. Her only lead was long gone and the forests of Velt would not hide Clara forever. Charlie would remain safe in the Citadel. No one had ever managed to breach the steel city, and apart from Charlie, there was no one in Velt Clara was bound to. She could disappear in peace and let Velt stand or fall as it would. She was responsible for no one but herself.

And Air. Clara glanced at the sleeping troubadour. She had lied to him in the hopes that he would be intimidated by a courier mission, and that they would part ways. Unfortunately, the overly optimistic Genesese did not back down, and instead insisted that he accompany her "as a fellow outlaw, to ward off murderers and burglars." She was grateful to him for saving her life, saving her life twice, but now she owed him. And he wasn't likely to forget it.

Hours passed before the train finally stopped in Dehi's capital. Clara and Air, having traded in their rope and as much of their clothing as they could to afford the transport fare, headed straight off the station platform while other passengers waited for luggage handlers. Clara had only been to Dehi a couple of times before. It was just as vibrant and colourful as she remembered, with entertainers filling the streets and people chattering and laughing as they made their way through the markets. Sacred symbols and depictions of Dehic gods could be seen on every building, some so old that they were missing halves and limbs. Businesses here were just as wildly competitive as those back home in Velt. Desperate merchants would give anything to a customer for the sake of sales, and there was a lot of noise. It was the perfect hiding place.

"I would cut off my own foot to assert myself in such a high-energy entertainers' circle. A legal entertainers' circle." Air was nearly singing with excitement, and he craned his neck to marvel at every corner of the bustling city center. "No one's at war, no one's being chased, what a remarkable city!" he added before turning to Clara. "So, courier, where are we delivering?" he asked.

Clara nearly melted into ashes. She grabbed Air and quickly pounded through the square before shoving him into a quiet alleyway. Air seemed amused. She was not. "You're so apprehensive about everything. It would find you well to relax a bit more," he said. Clara was close to pulling her hair out. "Look, Air. The reason Veltie couriers are unmatched on their ability to succeed in their missions is because no one knows who we are." If she was intercepted by a Dehic spy who overheard that she was a courier, she and Air would both be in danger. The point of running away was not getting captured and murdered. "While on a delivery, we can never reveal that we are couriers. Especially on foreign deliveries, you never know who might be hostile. People will already be suspicious of us since we're speaking Genesese, and who knows how much they can understand... The less others take notice of us, the more secure our system, understand?"

Air threw his hands up in defeat. "I understand. I'll keep quiet. But I would still like to know where we are going," he answered.

Think quickly, Clara. This lie needs to be convincing. Clara thought to herself for a moment before pointing west. "My target is the major western mining town of the Lower Grounds. It is located near the border between Dehi and Velt, and is about a week's journey from here." The Lower Grounds were home to dark caves and the type of people that didn't ask questions.

"A week?! Can we not take the train?"

"Not unless you have been hiding gold from me."

"I have not."

"Then it will be a week on foot. You are free to stay here if you'd like; you can busk to your heart's content," Clara once again attempted to persuade Air to leave her company. And free me from this complicated lie I am sowing. Air chuckled darkly. "A busker is rather useless without his instruments. It looks like I will have to tail you until Time decides what to do with me," he said.

Alas.

With no gold for food or board and no supplies, the pair set off immediately. They spent the days hiking along badly maintained footpaths, rarely bumping into other people. Air made light conversation and sang dramatic arias to keep his sanity while Clara formulated gradually worse plans of getting rid of her partner without dooming him. Air managed to escape death at one point when Clara caught him picking poisonous plants to eat and promptly saved him from a slow and painful demise. Eventually Clara was appointed chef and in charge of both of their nutrition.

Nights were quiet by Clara's standards, but Air's growing irritability made his sleeping troubles apparent. The average courier stayed at inns, all expenses taken care of by the allowance provided by the courier network, but Clara hadn't earned her name by being average. Comfort was something she sometimes gave up for speed, and this was not the first time she found herself sleeping in a tree in the middle of nowhere. Not that she had much choice in the matter now, considering that she was an outlaw.

She tried not to dwell on it.

It was on the sixth day of travelling when Clara noticed the forest finally starting to thin.

"We will be approaching the dropoff to the Lower Grounds soon, may be a few more hours. The mining town is not very far from there," Clara said. She heard Air groan behind her.

"The Spirits must really have it in for me. Getting robbed, having to hike through the densest forest I have ever laid eyes on, not seeing another living soul for days, and now I have to climb down a steep deadly precipice? How you manage, being so small, is beyond me." Air continued to mutter under his breath as he and Clara cleared the forest. He reminds me of myself when I started this. Clara smiled, and as she did, she found that making the expression felt a little odd, as if she hadn't made it in quite some time. She remembered her first year as a courier; she had been brash, naïve, but full of positive energy. Perhaps Air was right, she had become rather stony. And cowardly! A bit alarmed, Clara quickly shook the thought away. When did she become so anxious?

Maybe after the death penalty.

Or perhaps even years before, when her naïveté was slapped out of her.

In an attempt to make up for what was likely dreadful companionship on her part, Clara spent the rest of the hike to the cliff separating the Higher and Lower Grounds trying to be more amiable. She spoke up about some of her mishaps while on missions in Dehi, much to Air's pleasant surprise. Grand tales of being chased by wild hooligans, being delayed by overly welcoming shamans, and of Clara's many defeats of the local players of Whistler's Trail filled a conversation that was lacking in the days before (sometimes with more colourful language than intended). Clara chuckled at Air's dramatic portrayals of her stories in song, and she listened politely when Air snuck in stories of his own adventures as a bumbling troubadour on a mission to make music. Strangers, Clara didn't trust. But it occurred to her that the more she and Air talked, the further away they moved from 'stranger.'

There was one thing still bothering Clara. Air had mentioned it earlier: they had not met many people passing through the forest. Although the rail system was popular, it was expensive. It was strange to not have bumped into at least another courier, and the area was oddly quiet. As she spotted the cliff, however, the thought disappeared from her mind. There was civilization again.

"Here we are! Come, we'll take a look at the best path downwards and make a plan before we proceed." Clara beckoned Air closer and together, they walked toward the edge of the cliff and peeked at the Lower Grounds.