Chapter 3: The Road

Maleki:

We decided to leave at sunrise the next day since we would have to walk for around three hours to get a cart to Quavoris. The upsides of being away from civilization are also the downsides. On one hand, you are far away from everything, and on the other, you are far away from everything.

Unfortunately, Miko can’t walk today, so I bring a cart for days like these and drag him behind me. Thankfully, he’s not too heavy, even with that big ugly brain of his weighing down the rest of his body.

“Can we go any faster?” Miko asked.

“If it wasn’t for your big head, yeah,” I muttered.

“D’you say something?” Miko said as he eyed me suspiciously. He had the packs placed up against his back so he could sit back comfortably and still be able to read a book on the road.

“Nope. What are you reading? I haven’t seen you with that one before.” I responded.

“You can’t tell the difference ‘cause you can’t read.”

“Can too!” I exclaimed loudly. “I just don’t need to. And I probably read better than you, little rat.”

Miko rolled his eyes. “We both know that’s not true. This is about the only thing I’ve got you beat at. Anyway, it’s just one of Grandpa’s books he had in the pack. It has a bunch of details about animals and foraging for food.”

“Good,” I said emphatically. “Read it well since apparently I can’t, so you can hold up your end of this when your legs free up.”

Miko was the smart one, which I didn’t openly admit around him — his ego was big enough as it was. I was better at the more physical tasks, mainly by default, though. This was the first time we had gotten to leave the farm in a long time besides seeing the healer, but we had never gone much farther than we already were.

I left Miko with his book. I didn’t mind the silence anyway; it was peaceful in Outer Korvast. The winds blow against the trees, and the birds sing in the distance, which gives me a sound to focus on as we walk. There are hardly any clouds this far into the continent, so the whole sky lights up perfectly. I could walk like this forever.

The walk went by quickly, and I brought the cart to a stop a hundred steps away from a group of carriages waiting to give rides to Inner Korvast. This little outer village wasn’t bustling by any means, and all it had going for it was that it was a decent central location for the farmers to trade and sell livestock.

We hadn’t ever been this far, much less by ourselves. All the other healers who assessed Miko traveled to our home, so we haven’t even been to the capital. We might’ve wandered into Inner Korvast once or twice technically, but it’s just connecting farmland and not the cities Miko reads about in his books.

I approached one of the carriage drivers, who wore a brown cloak that fell loosely over his tan shirt and trousers. He had leather braces over his arms that matched his boots and belt. His face was blocked by a cloth connected to his hood that blocked everything from the eyes down. All the carriage drivers wore these to block their faces from sun exposure.

“Where to?” The carriage driver muttered in a deeper voice after clearing their throat.

I left Miko in the cart just a short distance away and pointed to him when answering the man. “Quavoris. Me and the kid over there.”

“Great.” He scoffed, “I always get the odd jobs….”

I walked over to Miko’s cart and pulled him closer to prepare for the trip.

The man climbed up on the front of the carriage, checked a rolled-up parchment that contained a detailed route to our destination, and then looked down at me. “I’ll need the entire payment upfront.”

Miko locked his dead eyes with the gentleman and began to speak before I got the chance, “You’ll get half now.”

The driver let out a contained laugh that left his nose with an exhale, “You’re quite the bargainer, you short little cretin. No passage if you don’t pay in full now.”

Miko searched with his eyes and then spoke slyly. “This cart is new. No scratches, no wear, tear, or age. So, this is either your first job or you just returned from an unsuccessful one. Half now, or we go talk to the other drivers.” Miko looked up and gave a broad, lifeless smile. I’ve only ever seen him act this sinister when he was planning some elaborate prank.

The carriage driver looked annoyed, as if Miko’s words struck a sore spot. “Damn brats…Get in and show me half.”

I picked up Miko and tossed him over my shoulder like a sack of feed we would give to the livestock. The cart wasn’t elaborately carved and painted, but it did have a top and a decent set of benches. I placed my foot on the first step and grabbed one of the side poles to hold us up as I placed him down on the bench to the back of the driver. I stepped back out and threw our bags up, Miko caught his, and mine landed on the bench across from him. I folded the lead to the cart and put it in the storage compartment on the back of the carriage. Two doors folded open with plenty of space for the cart and some existing firewood, tools, and gear to set up a camp for longer trips. I found my spot in the carriage and announced that we were ready to leave.

After ten hours in the cart, we were almost through Outer Korvast. The roads were flat, but the constant rolling in the cart made me sick. The driver said our first stop would be around this time when the road started to become less maintained, and weaved around a lake where we could stop for water and rest our legs.

This was many times over, the farthest we had both been from our home in our entire lives. Grandfather used to travel often when I was little, but when our parents left, he decided it would be better to stay near the house.

The lake came into view, and I could see the expanse of the forest ahead of us that we would need to travel through. The trees were tall and had dark brown trunks with light green and yellow tops that blocked most of the sun and moons’ light.

“Those are Moonglow Pines!” Miko snapped as he closed his book.

“You’re well-read for a brat,” The carriage driver responded.

“You got a big mouth for someone we’re paying. Middle-aged men ought to be nicer!”

“Just ‘cause I’m driving you two kids doesn’t mean I gotta be nice to you. You have to pay me either way!”

He repositioned his wide circular hat to sit further back on his head. Black hair fell behind his ears that would have been long enough to block his eyes but were tucked away.

“I’m not that much older than you all, anyways!” His face was discernible for the first time as he pulled down the cloth around his face, and he was right — he looked young, maybe thirteen. I wanted to ask him more questions, but the carriage came to a stop. We were positioned a couple hundred feet from the lake, and the driver himself even seemed happy to break away from the drive and cool off in the pond.

“Our ponds back at the house are nothing compared to this lake! I can barely see the other side.” Miko sounded happy for the first time in a while. He grabbed his hands to the top rails on the roof of the carriage and then swung himself over closer to me. I grabbed the back of his calves and locked my hands underneath his knees so that I could hold his weight on my back while he was free to point and move.

I thought about getting the cart out, but we wouldn’t need it for too long, and then I’d have to pack it back in. It’s only a short walk, anyway.

The driver never did say his name, so I decided to avoid calling out and find our own path down to the lake instead. Our water cans rattled against each other while hanging next to my leg, but otherwise, this place was peaceful, even more so than the farm.

I think Miko and I were lucky. We grew up like this, in nature, away from politics and conflicts. Of course, we understood those things and how they affected us, but we watched them on a smaller scale in our day-to-day life. The carving-beatles that pushed too close to the war ant’s mound. Grave Hawks that swoop down upon rodents in the fields. The animals have their own battles; they speak the language of strength, and order, but they too watch their borders.

Miko says we were lucky to be raised in Outer Korvast, and I suppose I couldn’t disagree. I feel that there’s more to that, though. We have seen only one perspective, so what is life like inside those bustling walls? Do they see us as simpletons, or do they envy our freedom amongst nature’s lakes and trees?

I knew this journey was bound to answer those questions, but I just wanted to enjoy this freedom for a moment longer.

I set Miko down on a patch of grass and walked to the front of the rippling water — the surface being so clear that two of the moons could be seen perfectly off the top. A bright glimmering appeared throughout the ripples in the water from the light of the Astral Ring in the sky, which was always over our heads no matter where we traveled.

I took a few steps into the shallow end of the water and brought the water up to my forearms by cupping my hands. I washed the sweat from my face and wet my hair to help cool down from all those hours sitting.

“This water isn’t as cold as the pond back home,” I said aloud.

Miko reached forward a little to where his hands could touch the water. “We’re getting closer to the eastern ocean. I’ve read that the currents there are warmer!”

“Speaking of that. How many books do you think you’ve read?” I asked him.

“I don’t know. Whatever I can steal from Grandpa’s study. He doesn’t have a lot, mostly stuff about nature, cities, and farming. If I had to guess, maybe forty or so.” Miko glanced up toward the sky with his palms to the ground and his elbows locked.

“I’m not sure how many I’ve really read. Father read some story books to me when we were little, and I read a few of his combat training books he carried when he wasn’t around.” I responded.

“Speaking of father…” Miko said with a dry laugh as if to help ease the cut away to his next question. “Remind me again. What was he like?” Miko was still looking away from me.

“Who? Dad?” I asked.

He didn’t answer.

“Hmmm. That hard to remember for you?” I walked up the shore and laid back in the grass. I crossed my arms behind my neck and looked up to the sky as well.

“He was tall—short dark hair with a thick beard, but he kept that short, too. Probably grandfathers doing.” I started.

“I remember what he looked like, Maleki. What was he like?”

“Oh,” I laughed awkwardly. “Father had a temper….he and mom argued a lot.” I reluctantly sighed.

“I remember that too. I guess…I mean, what were they like before?”

I stayed alert to the sky. “Before? Was there a before? It wasn’t all bad, you know? I guess I just struggle to recall the good memories. Sometimes, they feel fabricated, or I can barely remember them at all, but they do exist, I know that. They just drift away easier than the bad memories. On other days, I can’t tell if the worst ones even happened, as if I imagined them up to torture myself. I know I didn’t really answer your question — you should ask Grandmother instead — she always tells the truth.”

“She won’t lie. There’s a difference.” Miko said with emphasis as if he was repeating something I already knew. “Grandmother refuses to tell me things she thinks might harm me, and Grandfather avoids complex conversations altogether. So, you can imagine how helpful they are when I ask them questions about the parents. They avoid talking about them in general, as if even saying their names will bring a plague.”

It had been years since we last saw them. They left a little longer after Miko got sick but well before it got this bad. They blamed each other a lot, so they did what they thought was best and left us here to find answers. Miko probably subconsciously blocks out everything; I don’t blame him; I sort of do the same intentionally. “Do you miss them?”

“No.” He said bluntly before correcting himself. “I mean, not really. A little. I don’t miss them; I just wish I knew them more. They only knew me when I was little — before I could read — when all I cared about was playing. They don’t really know me, and I don’t really know much about them, I guess. Their interests, the way they think and talk, those weren’t important to me. I know it’s only natural since I was so little, but I wish I knew — really knew them, ya know?” His last words drifted, and through my peripheral, I saw him turn his head to me to try and read my face. “Do you miss them?”

“Of course,” I said as I turned towards him. “I miss Mother’s competitiveness. I miss how Father would show me plants and animals and teach me things about them. They were great alone; it was like, at that moment, you were the only person that existed. We knew them as parents, Miko — as we should have.

“Where do you think they are?” Miko asked.

I crossed my arms and smiled. “I don’t know. It’s been a while since they sent anything. They probably gave up on the known stuff. Resorting to searching for the unknown, like us.” Miko looked away from me as other thoughts bubbled at the surface of his mind, revealing themselves in his eyes and frown. “It’s not your fault they left. You know that, right? I don’t blame you for them leaving. I miss them, but it’s been better with them not here. We’re here, brother — that’s all that matters to me.” There was a loud silence as I waited for him to acknowledge me, but he never did.

“We should probably go find the driver.” Miko asserted.

I agreed and then cupped one last splash of water onto my face and rubbed my eyes before picking up Miko to return to the cart. I climbed back up the slope around the trees and saw the driver leaning against the side of the carriage. It looked like he had just finished hooking one of the horses back up to the line after taking them to drink some water.

“Enjoy frolicking in the water?” the driver mockingly gestured. His voice didn’t seem as deep as it was earlier.

“Yes, actually. It’s beautiful out here.” Miko jabbed back.

“You aren’t even wet.” The driver said.

“Well, I’m pretty sure I would drown in that water, seeing as to the fact that I can’t move my legs,” Miko said as he crossed his arms and stuck out his tongue.

“Well, I’m glad you enjoyed it, brat.” He pulled out a yellowish map with some red markings of our route. “This is the last real break before your destination. We have a long trek through the forest, but the only stop is for the night and a second stop where we can get water for the horses and us. I would rest when you can,”

I climbed the steps with Miko on my back and then took him to his spot in the carriage. I sat back in my seat and eyed the driver as he climbed back onto his area at the front of the carriage. Something was off about him. He knew a lot about this, but his demeanor was still amateurish like he had the info but not the execution.

“Why are you doing this?” I asked a little louder so he could hear from my position at the back.

“That’s an odd question, you think?” He responded.

“True. I mean, is this normal? I don’t imagine there are many people close to our age driving carriages this far away from home or even working alone at all.”

“We all have our reasons. I don’t think there are too many kids traveling on their own to a Kingdom they barely know anything about, on roads they know even less of.” The driver’s tone wasn’t rude, but it seemed like he was also curious about our opposing situations.

I wanted to ask the driver more questions, like where his home was or where his parents were, but it didn’t feel right. I didn’t even know where my own parents were or why they really left. What could I share with a person when I have nothing to offer in return other than mysteries?