Twelve Realms

Chapter 9

Lucia

I unfold my map of the Realm of the Forest. I think I'm going the right way?

I've been following the river for hours now. I'm trying to get to what locals call the Cursed Village. It's the village where the Thief was born, I've been led to understand. I don't know how likely it is that he'll still be there, but it's a good place to start. 

The river I'm following cuts through the entire Realm, twisting and turning. It's definitely going to get me to the Cursed Village, but I'm not sure how long it will take. I'm walking as fast as I can, but it might take days. 

I shrug my coat off my shoulders. The main thing I've noticed about this Realm is how much warmer it is here than at home. I wonder if it's normally like this, or if this is unusually hot. I haven't actually met any locals yet. Dea didn't take me to the transitional village, where people normally go when moving from Realm to Realm, she dropped me in the middle of seemingly nowhere, so I didn't have anyone to ask questions to. 

Which sucks, because there's so much I want to know about this place. Do the birds normally sing this loudly? Why are some trees greener than others? Why do so many different types of fish swim in the river? What are the animals chittering in the treetops? 

After a day's worth of walking, I still have not reached the Cursed Village. I can't even tell how close I am. There aren't really any landmarks along the river that I'd be able to recognize. 

I find two large, flat rocks that lean against each other, making a sheltered space large enough for me to fit inside. I decide to set up camp here. At Vara's recommendation, I don't tap into my supply of food yet, but instead manage to catch a fish, which I cook and eat, along with some of the river water. The water here tastes different than the water back home, not quite so crisp, but more gentle on the taste buds. I find it a little hard to fall asleep, but I manage.

In the morning, I continue my route along the river, discovering I was only about a twenty minute walk from the Cursed Village. Or at least I think it's the Cursed Village. It could be some other village. But the lack of glass in the windowpanes, the coarse mud bricks patching holes in the wall, and the door frames that either have half broken doors or no doors at all tell me I'm in the right place. It certainly looks very cursed.

I pull my coat back on and fix my hair, trying to look as professional as possible. I straighten my shoulders and enter the village, trying to find the house of whoever's in charge. All the houses are so beaten down it's hard to tell. 

As I walk through the village, the people around me fall silent, give each other wary looks. Some even retreat into their houses. I'm a little surprised, but not offended. Vara told me that a lot of people are nervous around people from the Temple of the Winter River, because they think that we're going to take them back to the Realm of Eternal Winter and feed them the nectar of the Eternia flower and float them in the Winter River, which will carry their bodies away forever. But that's ridiculous. No one from the Temple would ever send someone to the River before it was their time, and besides, we wouldn't have anyone who actually worked at the Temple go out and collect people. We have Templebringers for that. 

I see a house that is a story higher than everyone else's and assume it's the mayor's house, or the house of whoever is in charge of the town. I straighten my coat and knock on the door.

A woman with graying hair in a threadbare sweater opens the door. The second she sees me, her brow knits with worry. 

"Hello ma'am, are you in charge of this village?" 

"Who's asking?" she questions, warily.

"My name is Lucia, and I wish to find the Thief who evaded the fate of the River." 

The woman shakes her head. "So they're sending women now? Listen, you nobles leave Aled alone. He's doing his best with this village and we've told you a thousand times before, we have no idea where the Trickster is. He's not here. Please tell the king to leave us alone."

"The king? But how would I-" 

I'm cut off as she closes the door in my face. I knock again but she doesn't answer. 

I'm confused. None of what she said makes any sense. I'm not a noble, and I wouldn't know how to talk the king if I wanted to. 

The woman must have thought I worked for the king. I'm not sure why, though perhaps it was because I'm dressed a great deal nicer than the people in the village. I look at my coat and realize why she didn't realize. I'm not wearing my temple symbol. 

I take it from my pocket and pin it to my lapel on the left side. It's a single eternia flower, made of cloth. With this, the people of the village should recognize me. I wish I'd remembered to put it on before I'd talked with who I now realize was the mayor's wife. Unfortunately, I think I've burned that bridge already. Instead I try knocking at the doors of others in the village.

To my surprise and disappointment, it's all the same. Even with the eternia flower on my lapel, even with me outright stating who I am and where I'm from, the villagers still don't believe that I don't work for the king. I get short, clipped, cold responses at best, at worst, I see owners of houses peek at me in what they must think is a discrete manner before turning away from the door. 

Everyone has retreated inside some establishment at this point, so I can't even corner someone on the street. 

At the end of the day, I leave the main village to sit on one of the many stumps that ring the village. For a town that chops down so many trees, they seem short on lumber. I flip in my journal to where I've written a list of villages in the Realm of the Forest. Sighing, I cross the Cursed Village off the top of the list. What I thought would be my greatest help in finding the Thief has left me empty-handed.