Chương 31: Foreign Dragons

It was starting to look like an actual farm now. The acres were lush with life and greenery, my wheat and my potatoes growing more impressive by the day. Even the fruit trees had become more formidable, the roots firmly enmeshed in the soil. Apples, golden hued, were already taking shape on some of the branches, but it would be some time before they were actually worth picking. I already had a few barrels set up for it, and a heavy iron press for crushing the apple.

All I'd need was a demijohn for fermenting the apples. Making scrumpy had been a seasonal hobby for boys in my old village, something we only got to drinking in our teenage years. It was a simple process once you had a little bit of equipment to work with, a matter of pulping the apples and then securing them to ferment for a few weeks or months. Though, with the right alchemical supplies, you could speed that part of the process up. But there was no way I'd get a worthwhile demijohn in Tiode...

and since the farm was in fine shape, it was perhaps as good a time as any to start on a trip to Low Moon. Though I would need to have someone else watch the farm in my absence.

"And so... that's why I'm entrusting it to you two," I said, intently watching Haita and Mikan.

"Well... you know me Aniki, I'm always happy to lend a hand. But... I dunno much about farming." Mikan raised a hand, offering me a sheepish little smile.

"And I'd be pretty busy looking after the store. I mean, I can come by in the evening but that's about all."

"It's fine, really," I replied, raising one hand to wave off their concerns.

"I'm only going to be gone for a day or so. All you need to do is water the crops, keep an eye out for bugs and weeds. Of which you likely won't find any, because I watch my crops like a hawk. Still, it's for peace of mind."

"I... guess I can understand that," Mikan said. She paused, glancing over to Smoke. She still seemed a little startled every time she looked at him, now that he was a grown beast. I suppose I could not blame her, if hellcats were regarded as so naturally dangerous.

"And he won't be staying here?"

"I go with Father," the feline replied, looking her dead in the eye.

"Make sure he safe. Refuse... to stay behind." I sighed. The cat talked about me like I was a child...

"Also, uh... it would take more than a couple of days for a person to get to Low Moon and back," Mikan said, giving me a slightly puzzled look.

"A normal person, aye. Smoke and I can cover ground a lot faster." I didn't need to stop to sleep, for another thing, but I figured even if Smoke had qi it would be best to let him rest at night. Even so, we'd still be able to travel for longer than a normal human traveller would dare to. Haita made his way over to me, stealing a few fitful glances at Mikan while she inspected the expanse of my acres.

"Er, Aniki," he said, speaking low out of utter terror of her overhearing him.

"Me and Mikan working together... I um... It's kind of... I mean..." You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. I stared silently at the boy, my face grim and silent. But inwardly I wanted to chuckle. For as big and blustery as he tried to act, the thought of his crush had him terrified. I sighed and reached over, gripping him by the shoulder.

"I'll give you one piece of advice. If you like that girl, have the courage to say as much to her. Maybe she'll accept, maybe she won't. But you're going to be regretting it if you don't say nothing, or if you wait on her to say anything on her end." Haita hesitated, setting his jaw in a tight grimace.

"It's... I... The thought of doing that though..."

"What? Scared? Gods' blood, you were willing to try and attack me in a dark alley, but this is too taxing for you?" I asked, lifting an incredulous brow.

"Weak," Smoke chimed.

"Hush you, weird talking cat," he growled, glaring down at the hellcat.

"I just... it's more intimidating to me is all," he said, daring to steal a glance over his shoulder toward the girl. She had made her way to the budding green leaves of my potato plants.

"What if she says no?"

"Then she'll have said no. And you have to make peace with that. But at least you will have an answer, and have to move on." A memory flashed in my eyes, one that felt as if it came from centuries ago. Lydia's warm, sunlit smile, as she chuckled at me.

"A trip to the harvest dance together? I was wondering when you'd pluck up the courage to ask, you damnable fool." When I'd asked, it had taken the weight of a planet off of my shoulders. I sighed at the memories.

"Just do it. For your own good. Because damnation, I am not gonna listen to you complain about this by the time I get back." And so we set off around high noon, entrusting that the locals of Tiode could keep the farm in one piece for at least a few days. We walked at a brisk pace side by side, gradually gaining in speed, while the landscape shifted behind and around us. The sounds of the coast faded away, and we focused on following the roads laid out in the map I had bought from Mikan.

They were mostly dirt tracks, crudely hewn into the earth, with the occasional wooden signpost that gave directions to other settlements and trading posts. Of those we spied only a few burned out husks, the ashen bones of burned buildings jutting out like the bones of some long dead beast. Inumi's handiwork, undoubtedly. The bodies had been cleared away, likely by imperial agents when they were dispatched to claim the bodies of Inumi and his bandits.

A grim sight, all the same, and a reminder that the east was only nominally more peaceful than the west. But that was society everywhere, really. No matter what route you took, sooner or later you'd run into some fools making war, or some even worse bastards turning to banditry. I was willing to bet even the frozen norths of Hyperborea, where folks said the elves lived in secret, there'd be similar troubles. Even elves had to have elven bandits of some kind.

Sunset was approaching, the horizon bathed in shades of red and orange, and we pressed on together all the same. But I paused, freezing abruptly in my tracks, as a massive shadow flitted overhead. I glanced up, squinting against the wide open sky, as a serpentine mass slithered high above the clouds.

"Damn," I mumbled. Whatever it was, red scales gleaming in the light while its claws raked aimlessly through the air in mid-flight, it was huge... and fortunately moving far from us, sweping toward a range of mountains to the far north.

"What is that?"

"Dragon," Smoke said, a great weight in his voice.

"Wh-..." I squinted after the serpentine form, undulating as he moved further and further into the distance.

"Dragons are... Well they've got huge bat like wings, and more squat bodies." I hadn't seen one back home, outside of some paintings and carvings Novos had had. There were apparently not many of them left on Endres, hiding away underground or on the southern archipelagos. That thing, in comparison, looked like a massive snake. Save for the lion's mane of hair fanning out behind it, and the four limbs it bore. Smoke stared up at me and shrugged.

"Maybe where you come from. Here... they look like that." I grunted at that. I suppose it didn't matter, so long as it wasn't looking for a fight. Hells, the east just kept finding new ways to surprise me...