Mystic

Chapter 14; Matthew

Matthew tried to ignore the pain in his head as he steered Orion towards the silhouette of a small town. It had only taken them two or three hours to reach their destination, and Matthew was eager to land. He was still tired from the long journey, and a night in a real bed and a hearty meal would do him good.

Matthew could see the flat roofs of mudstone-and-oak buildings, clearly of Javan design. As they came closer, he saw the red and yellow hues of the Javanese flag. The town was in the middle of a huge meadow, filled with wild flowers and tall grasses. The absence of trees made it easy for Orion to land right outside of the little town.

"Okay." Matthew said, Hopping off of Orion and helping Amira down.

"This is it?" Amira asked, frowning at the small buildings.

"What did you expect?"

"Something exotic, different from the town in Javan. This place looks like a run-down version of the place I left."

"We are still on the Javan side of the Highlands, but if we traveled farther east we would come across Everdean's settlements." Matthew answered expertly.

"I know, I know, its just disappointing." 

Matthew looked around the village. It was quite large, much larger than the ones he had previously visited. It was sure to have an inn somewhere... If he could find it. All of the signs were in Javan, and Matthew had no idea what to look for. Suddenly, he remembered that Amira was from Javan, and could most certainly speak the language.

"Um, I hate to ask, but..." Matthew started, not entirely sure how to ask.

"But what?"

"Do you think you could translate these signs for me? We need to find the inn, and pay for a room, which is hard to do when you don't know a word of the local language."

"Okay." Amira started ahead of Matthew, her eyes on the signs above their heads. They wandered around for a few minutes before Amira stopped.

"Here it is. The inn."

"Thanks." Matthew said, impressed by how quickly she found it. Even if he had been able to read the signs, he normally would have wandered around for more than twenty minutes before he finally found what he was looking for. Matthew pushed open the sturdy oak door and walked into the building. Once they had entered, a balding man waved them over to the counter.

"Bendorrus! Cuatras rasol el cina mai?" The man said. Matthew just looked at him, feeling stupid. 

"Welcome, how can I help you." Amira translated.

"We'd like a room please." Matthew said, even though he could see by the look on the man's face that he had no idea what Matthew had said. Amira translated, and the man nodded. He went behind the counter and placed two sets of keys in front of them. The man said something else in Javanese.

"He wants us to pay." Amira summarized.

"We'll have to come back. I don't have much money left." Matthew said, thinking about the dragon scales in his pocket. Then, Amira removed one golden earring  and handed it to the man. The two had a brief conversation in Javanese, then Amira turned to Matthew.

"You didn't have to do that." Matthew said guiltily.

"It was nothing." Amira said, dismissing him by waving her hand.

"No, it was really generous. Really, really generous." Matthew said as Amira took the other earring out. 

"It's nothing, really. I have plenty more in my castle, and they were starting to bother me. Good riddance." Amira said, setting the piece of jewelry on the closest table. "Well, I am going to lie down for a while." Amira walked up the wooden stairs to the next floor, leaving Matthew alone. Matthew just stared at the tables in disbelief. How could anyone be that rich? Matthew sighed and picked up the second set of keys and watched as a man who appeared to be quite poor put Amira's earring in his pocket. He climbed the stairs and used the keys to unlock the farthest room. He stepped into the room and closed the door behind him, plunging the space into total darkness. He used his phoenix feather to emmit a controlled the burst of flames. he found a candle on the nightstand and ignited the wick. The room was extremely small, and made Matthew feel claustrophobic. Then again, most buildings made him feel that way. Attempting to ignore the pains in his head and the stuffiness of the room, Matthew laid down on the small bed. Even though the matress was soft, Matthew felt strangely uncomfortable. He stood up and went back down the steps to where the man was waiting at the counter.

"Um, could I get something to eat?" Matthew asked. The man held his hands up confusedly. Matthew tried his best to mime eating, and the man finally understood. He went through a doorway and emerged a few minutes later with a plate.

"Thank you." Matthew said. He stepped out of the building and breathed in the fresh air. Well, as fresh as it could be in a town. he sat down on a stone bench and happily ate the food the man had provided. It had been a long time since Matthew had a proper meal. Once he had finished, he took the plate back inside and set it on a nearby table. Then, he walked back out the door and into the sun once again. He ran through the streets, trying to remember which way they had come. Eventually, Matthew arrived at the outskirts of the village, where the dusty roads faded into lush meadow. He kept going until he was at the edge of the forest, then whistled.

"Orion!" Matthew called. He cautiously stepped into the woods, scanning the vegetation for his dragon. Suddenly, A huge shadow leaped out at Matthew, knocking him onto the ground. Matthew quickly stood up and fired a burst of flames at the shadow. The shadow didn't react and tackled Matthew to the ground. Matthew strugged, but stopped once he saw what the shadow was.

"Don't do that! You scared me!" Matthew laughed. Orion made a snarling sound that was his version of laughter. Orion let Matthew up then tilted his head, as if to ask why he was back.

"I dunno why I left. I felt closed in, I guess." Matthew explained. Orion just rolled his eyes and took off through the undergrowth. Matthew chased after Orion, dodging tree branches and fallen logs. Matthew eventually caught up when Orion stopped at the edge of a small stream. Matthew leaned against Orion, breathing heavily.

"Caught you." Matthew said with a smile. Orion shrugged Matthew off, then moved closer to the stream. Orion used his tail to flick water at Matthew playfully. Matthew fought back, though both of them knew that Matthew didn't stand a chance. After hours of running through the forest, the sun started to set over the meadow. Matthew stood at the edge of the woods and said goodbye to Orion for the night. Slowly, he trudged back towards the village. He was soaking wet and his clothes were muddy, but there was still a smile on his face.