"We should stop here," Ike suddenly announces, "the sun is about to set."
Kayin nods, slowly skidding the horses to a stop, and dismounts.
I sigh in relief, secretly glad we finally stopped. My whole-body aches from riding all day—or more exactly from struggling to stay on the horse—and I was reluctant to ask for a break, looking how no one seemed to mind the pace.
After hours of horse riding, we have reached a lush green valley. There is… not much about the area really, just rocks and grass and hills as far as the eye can see.
There is stream not far away, but it is so small and barely deep enough to reach the ankles... At least I will be able to refill my gourd, I had emptied it a long while ago.
In no time they all move to accomplish their respective task, Gamba and Azikiwe are pitching the tents while Ewa and Kayin are making a fire. No words are spoken; they just seamlessly work together to get the camp ready
Now I feel self-conscious for by being the only one not doing anything. Just awkwardly standing there. Next to the smelling horses.
"…Is there something I can do?" I ask Ike who is releasing the horses from their load. He considers me for a moment then marches towards me and hands me the reigns of the other horses.
"Give them water." He instructs.
I guide the horses to the stream and sit down while watching the animals greedily drink from it... they must have been very thirsty.
It is not long before I grow bored from sight.
Now that I think about it, this day has been uneventful. We travelled in partial silence, except for the occasional conversations Ewa had with me or the others. I am not sure if it is a good thing or a bad thing, but it is still the first day, so I guess it is to be expected.
My thoughts are interrupted when Ike crouches next to me. He is refilling his own gourd, and when he is done, he turns to me, his gaze is piercing. I shift a bit uncomfortably.
"You must learn how to ride a horse properly . Tomorrow, at dawn, I will teach you."
I blink. Once. Twice. Then a third time.
Him? Teaching me?
At... dawn?
"Umm… Thank you, really. But... but, learning to ride, it takes time. Will it not slow us down? Not that I don't want to do it or anything."
His hazel eyes squint at me, and I suddenly find the drinking horses more interesting.
"Having to accommodate you is already slowing us down enough... if you had not noticed it."
Ouch.
Am I that much of a burden? I bit the inside of my cheek.
"I'm trying—But all this is new to me."
"I know that this is a life very different from what you used to live. That is not an excuse, nonetheless. The least you can do is to not delay us further, especially with how pressing it all seems to be."
He is right, of course he right. I reach out to the pendant around my neck. This is not a leisurely trip. I am travelling north, to deal with… whatever evil, Tchio the prophet tasked me with, and I should not lose sight of it.
"At dawn right?" I say, trying to find some resolve. "I… I will do my best."
When the horses satiated their thirst, Ike and I go back to the camp. A fire was lit, illuminating the growing darkness of the night and Kayin, Ewa, Gamba, and Azikiwe are already seated around it.
"You are finally back," says Kayin, chewing on something. "Here you go."
He hands me a leather wrapping which I take. My face falls when I look at what is inside, it is meat, dry meat, dehydrated meat. All thin and brown and not appetising looking at all. Am I supposed to eat this.
Then Ewa suddenly bursts into a fit of laughter. She hugs herself and wiggles from left to right from how hard she is laughing.
"Oh, you should see your face." She manages between spasms. "Y-You… You went from curious to disgusted… Like he just gave you a pile of shit. Or, or a toddler who was expecting to have cake for diner only to realize it is vegetables." Then she goes back to cackling as if she had gone mad.
I stare in disbelief. But then I spot Gamba and Azikiwe snickering quietly. Kayin as well—though he is trying to hide it by covering his mouth—is laughing too.
Only Ike remains impassive to the atmosphere.
"It's not funny."
I tried to say it firmly, but it came out as a barely perceptible whisper.
"Kilishi is not as bad as it looks," Ike says calmly, despite the persistent giggles of the other idiots. "Try with the roasted yams, it is even better," and he gives me one of the sticks of roasted tubers, which were by the fire.
I try to ignore the laughing fools as I take a bite. As expected from dry meat, it is really hard to chew. At the same time...
This is good. This is really, really good.
The kilishi is spicy and flavourful; it contrasts well with the sweet and tender yams.
"You like it?" I glare at Ewa, hard, then look away without answering as I continue to eat. "Come on. I was just teasing you."
And now it is her turn to be laughed at by the others.
"Help me."
I freeze.
That voice. It came out as barely a sigh, but I heard it with the upmost clarity, as if it had been whispered right by my ear.
Why does it feel so familiar?
"Help me. Please."
I spring up. Turning around to check where it came from, but I can't see anything, the vicinity beyond which the fire camp is illuminating is veiled in the surrounding darkness.
That voice, I know to whom it belongs.
"Sabar?" I murmur.
Before I can even take a single step forward Ike seizes my arm and jerks me back down.
"Don't."
"You heard this?"
Ewa groans. "I taught you had inspect the area?"
"I did. Twice." Azikiwe answers.
"What are you talking about?" I interject.
"Do you remember the Junjus I told you about? That thing out there is likely one of them."
The Junjus. I searched about them during my time in Asso, and what I found was… not much really. Very little is known about them, just that they are extremely aggressive towards living beings—most specifically to humans—and that they emerge only at the approach of night.
It is also believed that they are the cause of the collapse of the Nchāre empire.
"Then… should it not be dealt with?"
"Better to ignore it," Ike says evenly.
Kayin nods. "If it is not attacking us and is instead attempting to lure us to it, then it must be fairly smart. But it also means that the Junju knows that it cannot assault us as a group."
As I sit down, I hear once again the call for aid, but it is more insistent than before. I shiver at how similar it is to Sabar's own.
"I don't think I will be able to sleep knowing that there is something like that lurking out there."
"Relax." Ewa chides. "We will take turns to keep watch."
"Still, I had rather not have any bad surprises… I… I will ward the camp… For my peace of mind at the very least."
Kayin perks up. "Can I watch?"
I shrug.
~~~~~~~~~~~
"Don't be so rigid."
"I'm trying."
"And stop pulling on the reins so harshly, you are stressing the horse."
I take a deep breath, then tug as gently as I can, trying to stir the horse where I want it to go. It ignores me. It picks up speed as it surges forward. I pull harder, and the horse abruptly stops, neighing sharply as it rears up. The angle is so steep that I nearly lose my balance and fall.
"Aaah!"
"Woow…"
The beast suddenly calms down. I take advantage of it to get off the horse. I miraculously manage to land. despite my shaky legs, and notice Ike standing before the horse, caressing its muzzle.
"I told you not to pull so hard." He says softly. I have a strong sentiment that it is more for the horse's sake than mine.
"I tried… But it didn't listen."
"You startled it."
I startled it?
I sigh, but the frustration still remains.
"That will be all for today. Go get ready."
The noise that comes out of my mouth in response is a mix between a groan and a rumble—Something that should never come from a woman.
Funny that I don't seem to care.
I stagger to the camp, feeling sore and aching everywhere. I barely register Ewa. She is sitting cross-legged, and an elbow on a knee as her hand support her head, she is looking at me with the most entertained expression I have ever seen her with.
"You were terrible." She snickers.
"Ugh…"
I manage to sit down—No, fall is the most appropriate term—I snatch the gourd she hands me and practically inhale its content.
"We will be setting off in an hour you know?"
I groan again, and she bursts out laughing, but I manage to tune her out. I lean back, looking up at the sky.
I am so tired.
And I barely slept last night. That creature did not leave us alone throughout the night; it kept calling and calling for help, hoping that one of us would deign to listen to its plea, but we did not, and so it continued to call. Never once did it try to come to us, it always stayed well hidden in the cover of the night.
"Is it always going to be like that?" I ask idly.
"Hmm?"
"At night I mean. Are there going to be more of them?"
"Yup. And most will certainly be a lot less shrewd and a lot more violent."
The way she says it is so nonchalant, like we are not discussing of potentially deadly beasts but rather of something much more banal, like the weather.
She eyes me thoughtfully. "You know… You don't get to see any Junjus as often because they are usually purged before they reach any human settlements, that is why there are so many guards roaming the area surrounding Asso—and any other town for that matter. It is a basic security measure. So don't worry too much."
But we are outside now. It would be easy to get surrounded by those monsters, just like that time when we first travelled to the capital.
The more I think about it, the harder I wish thinks will remain boring.
Later we had a light breakfast, which are the same dried meat and roasted yams from last night. Then I cleaned myself, and we are off on our journey. I am still not proficient enough to properly ride a horse on my own, but at least I have a better posture and can keep up with the faster pace.
That is one positive note, I suppose.