As the sun reached its zenith, they arrived in a quaint village atop a mountain, where the people were just as peaceful as the last.
It seemed the gifted map told no lies in leading them right along.
The walk was smooth too, until Salīa's dulled eyes had her colliding with a shaky carriage, slipping on the muddy morass, and nearly plummeting off a cliff.
Bazil caught her by the collar with just one finger, yanking her to him without complaint.
Usually, Salīa would fuss about not wanting to appear as some damsel in distress, yet in clumsy moments like these, she was surely grateful he was willing to be her knight.
"Thank y—"
She cut off when she heard Bazil snarl. He had traced the cause of the wobbly carriage to a few horse riders who had sped through the street, pushing everyone else aside.
While they weren't in armor, the telltale signs were there.
Cloaks with small scorpion sigils, pale skin somewhat coarsened from the desert, and haughty resting faces supported by the mighty scabbards that latched onto them.
These were Palosan soldiers.
The first one who jumped off in front of them had instantly caught hold of Bazil's glare and deduced that he was expecting an apology.
This soldier sneered, clearly used to flouting about in his day-to-day. He even puffed his chest out, flexing his authority as if daring this commoner to try him.
But despite the shapeless cloak he wore and the unassuming instrument box he carried, if stripped of both, it would be unmistakable that Bazil was no commoner at all.
This soldier waved his hand flippantly as if he couldn't be bothered. Bazil's jaw ticked. He stayed in place, blocking their path.
This soldier's expressions hardened.
From his fingers firming on his hilt, it seemed he had no qualms about causing a stir.
Bazil stood tall, his eyes unblinking as he gritted his teeth. His hands didn't move to any weapon, but still clenched tight, revealing that he, too, had no qualms about causing a stir.
With the air so stiff that any sudden movement could cut it, a long, whiny exhale diffused it instead.
A robust man of combed flaxen hair and cerulean eyes sauntered to them. He offered a toothy smile to Bazil while wrapping his arm around the soldier and tousling his hair.
In just a moment, that soldier's stance broke.
"Come on now, friend. Even a fool is wiser to know who not to make enemies of, lest they seek to be beaten by them."
This man could gauge Bazil's strength even in his disguise? Must be a warrior's way.
"Blessings to you," the man tilted his gaudy hat to Bazil and winked. "My friend here is quite sorry for his bad behavior, aren't you?"
The soldier pinched his lips tight. But once the man started tickling him, he jumped away and stuttered, "I'm v-very s-sorry."
What an odd set of soldiers. Certainly nothing like the ones that I've met in Salazā.
Bazil's fists had unclenched, but his glower remained on them. This jovial man beamed at him and then patted his soldier on the back.
"Wanderer, you and your friend…" he glanced to Salīa, unable to see her cloaked face. "…are more than welcome to join us for a free drink at the Tail-End Tavern."
After a while of no response, the man nodded, still smiling, and tapped the rest of his men for them to continue forth.
They chattered on, while other villagers stared at him in awe.
"My thoughts?" he responded to another soldier. "I advise against it. There's no fun in living a desultory life, jumping from here to there all the time. Even bunnies don't hop for no reason."
It just occurred to me that I never wondered why bunnies hop before. Is it because…
"Don't get too caught up in charms," Bazil warned. "People like him can talk your head in circles. Let's go."
He was relieved to be rid of them, right until he realized that the inn his brother had advised him to stay in was just a floor above the busy and bustling Tail-End Tavern.
"Sibu should've been a jester instead," Bazil shook his head.
"Come on, I'm sure it's not too bad."
After the horses were seen to their spacious stables and they were given a cool room with two cozy pallets, it seemed it wasn't too bad at all.
The shy innkeeper even gave them a discount and free food for the horses.
Having travelled throughout the night and being worn out, they closed their eyes to rest. But just then, a whipping crack snapped through the air.
Bazil jumped up from his sleep, his fists out to attack the threat. Yet soon as he traced the sound to the thumping from down below, he heaved out a large sigh and rolled back into his pallet.
Salīa had already woken up long before when Hawking appeared. She struggled to hold back her laugh as Bazil grumpily plopped back up.
"You know, you look quite handsome when you're all grouchy."
"Don't test me," he said.
She chuckled.
"We might as well save the sleeping for night. It seems our friends below won't give us another choice."
Bazil had no intention of going down there but knew Salīa would've probably found a way if he didn't. That much was evident from the moment the scent of whatever was being cooked down there rose through the floors.
She said nothing of it but kept licking her teeth until he couldn't ignore it anymore.
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