A Million Roads to Nowhere

No Looking Back

When they reach a village, the sun is up. The village is small- Patrick can see both sides of it, but hopefully Alistair will not reach them here. Patrick hopes Alistair has just discovered that they're gone. As long as they reach Rozenn before Alistair, they will be safe. Aodhan had said that Alistair probably won't spend time to look for them if they're too far away, but they'll need to move swiftly or Alistair's familiar will be able to track them down.

Ivo provides some protection, to Patrick at least. Ivo doesn't seem to give anyone else the time of day except for Aodhan, when he wants to be pet. Ivo stays curled up around Patrick's ankles as Aodhan approaches an older man who's fishing on the banks of the Posy. A bucket containing a few fish is sitting next to him. Patrick's mouth waters.

"Excuse me, sir. We're just passing through, what town is this?" Aodhan asks the fisherman.

"Well, you're in Talcott's Fishing Village," the man replies, speaking around the pipe sticking out of his mouth.

"Thank you, sir. Much appreciated," Aodhan answers politely, though the information seems not to have been a huge revelation to him.

"Anytime." The man adjusts his fishing pole and returns to his task.

"Talcott's Fishing Village," Aithne says as the group proceeds further into town. "We aren't far from Fallmage at all. He could still catch up if he knows where we are."

"We need to get a map," Aodhan says. "We need to head east, but we should plan our route."

"That should be easy enough. Where are we headed? I know we need to go to Rozenn, but I haven't an idea where she is."

"I'm not sure where Rozenn is, but we can try Signe. She's in Blue Point."

"All right. I'll take you to Signe and then I'll leave you in her hands."

"You can't stay?" Lena asks, looking a little disappointed.

"Oh, don't give me that face. I'm not picking a side so I don't have a place wherever Signe takes you. Signe is going to be in Blue Point, right? Rozenn might have sent her out."

"It'll at least be a better place to start than blindly setting off toward Linlea. It's not as far, either," Aodhan points out.

"Linlea? You think she's in the capital?"

"No, but someone in the capital will definitely know where she is."

"That sounds like a plan." Aithne nods. "It could be worse."

After spotting a little shop at the end of the road, the group heads down the dirt path, kicking clouds of dust up around their feet. Talcott's is far different from Fallmage despite it being the closest town. Everything is filthy. The walls of the buildings are caked in mud and with dirt; Patrick likes it because it reminds him of Vertbank, just without the forest nearby.

They walk into the shop, finding it cleaner than the rest of the town. Bread is stacked on the shelves along with baskets of fruits and vegetables. Little slips of paper are pinned to the wooden boards next to them. At the counter a man sits, reading a leatherbound book. He looks old, the beard aging him at least twenty years. He has an uncanny resemblance to Lena's father. Patrick starts to feel guilty now that he's thinking about the people they left behind and he's glad Lena can't see the man.

"Sir, do you have a map, by chance?" Aodhan asks, walking up to the counter.

The man bends and reaches under the counter, pulling out a thin sheet of paper and hands it to Aodhan, slowly as if he's in pain.