Repetitive shock had given way to a vague sense of disgust. There were far too many people (for want of a better word) going around disappearing and reappearing here and there for any sensible girl’s liking. It would, Lindsey reflected, be just mildly useful if these folks would just stay in same place for a few minutes at a time.

Still, she was grateful for the iodine. Not anxious to be pantless for any amount of time in this distinctly unpredictable place, she instead used the pocket knife to cut her jeans open a bit wider, and after daubing the wound with some of the iodine bound it up snugly with the handkerchief. She just hoped she wouldn’t wind up needing stitches (or whatever passed as such in this stupid place). Pocketing both the bottle of iodine and the knife, she then began to creep cautiously back towards the road.

There was a beating of wings, and abruptly Lindsey was rejoined by the Bird.

“Well, that was more or less satisfactory. They should be sufficiently lost by now that we will be undisturbed for the remainder of the time we are here.”

“Who were they and what did they want? We could have been killed!”

“A slight hiccough, yes. I hadn’t been watching the time. But it’s all well enough, we’re out of it unscathed.”

“You’re out of it unscathed. They got me pretty well.”

“Eh? Bless me! Let me attend to it!”

“Forget it, I put iodine on it. Let’s get just get out of here first.”

“Quite, yes. Getting out. We’ve got to fetch Hae-jin first though.”

“Who is Hae-jin?”

“I’ll let him tell you himself. Follow me!”

They were soon back on the road, and turned again in the direction they were headed before they were attacked. Here and there a few arrows were now embedded in the ground along their way or stuck in trees, and Lindsey shivered.

They came again to the edge of the valley. This time no hail of archery was there to await them, although far in the distance behind them Lindsey thought she could hear faint shouts now and then. Apparently the Archers were still fairly closeby. Hopefully they wouldn’t be coming back this way any time soon. Lindsey picked up her pace abit as she followed in the wake of the Bird.

The road wound to and fro down the hillside. They did not travel along it very far before the Bird led the way off the road and into the trees. For some distance they picked their way meticulously through the brush and bramble (or rather Lindsey did, for the Bird simply flew over it all). Eventually they came upon an unremarkable outcropping of rock which was overgrown and largely obscured by the foliage. Here the Bird stopped, and whistled.

There was silence for a moment. Then, some of the boughs overhanging the rock face stirred and then fell away, revealing a small cave opening wherein there stood a man.

He was not very tall. Wiry and athletic, he appeared to be about thirty-five or so with bronzed skin, distinctly Asiatic features, and a regal bearing of command. He was dressed in rugged silks and wore a red headband with a bronze badge in its center, and his hair was bound in a topknot. He regarded them warily for a moment while in one hand he held a sheathed sword. He then bowed slightly and spoke.

“I am pleased to see you, Bird. Whom have you brought with you?”

The Bird gestured towards Lindsey.

“This is Lindsey Ann Fluger. She will be participating in our little venture. Lindsey, may I introduce you to General Moon Hae-jin. It’s only a little thing, but I do think I should mention that you will depend on one another for your lives over the next day or so. Shall we go inside?”

Hae-jin led the way into the cave. It was small, hardly big enough for more than a couple people. It was devoid of any signs of habitation save for a single bag resting in one corner. It seemed to Lindsey that if nothing else, this man Hae-jin appeared to be traveling light.

Hae-jin squatted down near the entrance where he could see fairly well through the concealing boughs, and looked Lindsey over with a mix of wariness and curiosity.

“You are foreign, Lindsey Ann Fluger. I take it that the Bird has brought you from a land which is at least as far away as his own.”

“Further, in point of fact. Lindsey is not of this world, but from the other world of which I told you.”

“The one you say my ancestors came from?”

“Precisely.”

Lindsey was not enjoying being spoken of in the third person. Moreover, she had some serious things to say.

“Okay, look. You said that Hae-jin and me were going to depend on each other for our lives. What’s that supposed to mean? I’ve jumped through worlds, faced giants and been shot at, and you still haven’t given me an explanation. I think you owe me one.”

“You speak Han remarkably well, Lindsey Ann Fluger.”

“It’s Lindsey, and what do you mean, ‘speak Han’? What’s Han?”

The Bird interjected. “Ah, yes, I should have mentioned that. You probably didn’t notice (people usually don’t), but you haven’t been speaking English since you got here. Just before I spoke to you today, you see, I breathed the Gift of Tongues in your ear. It’s one of my little talents. I find it quite indispensable in such situations. One’s associates need to be able to understand one another.”

“Gift of Tongues?”

“Quite. It’s a sort of charism derived from elemental white magic, a primal and complex enchantment the net effect of which is that one can understand most forms of speech, and likewise speak them in turn, usually quite instinctually. I’ve known people to go for months chatting away in languages otherwise alien to them without even realizing it. I also gave the gift of tongues to Hae-jin, as you will both be needing it where you’re going.”

“Which is?”

“West of here by a few thousand miles, a place called the Hinterlands, which lies in Northern Eptomar.”

“That’s far away indeed. You weren’t exaggerating when you told me I would be going into exile.”

“Under the circumstances I thought you’d find it a welcome opportunity.”

“I do. I worry about my people though.”

“With you out of the way I don’t think the Li will bother with your family.”

“Can somebody explain to me what’s going on here?”, Lindsey interjected.

“Eh? Oh, right, yes. Hae-jin, you see, has been having some difficulty with the Li government of late, and suffice to say things have become rather awkward for him, which is why I thought he could so well do with an opportunity for change, sooner than later.”

“I can imagine. Those guys were hunting him with bows.”

“I’m afraid my life would in all probability be quite short and painful were I to remain in my homeland any longer.”, Hae-jin observed ruefully.

“Jeez, that really stinks, I’m sorry. Why would anyone want to hurt you?”

“This is what happens to all who run afoul of the Li.”

“Who are the Li?”

Hae-jin regarded Lindsey for a moment, perhaps trying to decide for himself just how much explaining would be necessary. He then leaned forward a bit and traced a crude outline in the dirt.

“This is a continent, which is called Zhongyang. We are out here, in the northeast. There are many nations here in Zhongyang, but the most powerful of all is the empire of the Li. My people are called the Hancheon, and most of our kingdoms and cities are tributaries of the Li. The Li rule us by the appointment of High Commissioners, who dictate the will of The Lotus Throne to our kings and princes, who must obey.”

“Why don’t your people rebel!”

“We have tried. The cost to our people was too great, for the rage of the Li is a terrible thing.”

“Were you a rebel? Is that why the Li are hunting you?”

“I have lived my life in the service of my people and prince, and in doing so I have achieved great status. But the demands of the Li are severe and often unjust. Likewise there are many in the court of my prince who serve their own ends and seek to destroy their rivals, often through currying the favors of the Li. It is one of the ways the Li have always been able to dominate us. They exploit the rivalries within their tribute nations and turn our officers and captains into willing pawns. But I will not be a pawn, and I will not be an instrument of injustice. And for that, I have paid dearly. I have gone from holding the highest rank in our armies to being a fugitive in my own country. A week ago I commanded twenty thousand soldiers. I had a thousand acres of fertile land, a great house, and a hundred servants. Today, I have nothing but my clothes, my sword, and a price on my head. My wife is dead, and none of my children ever survived infancy. I have nothing left to go back to. But I am not yet ready to die.”

Hae-jin fell silent. Lindsey felt a compulsion to say something, anything, but found herself at a loss. Unsurprisingly, somehow, the Bird was not.

“Well my good fellow, this is precisely why I approached you in the first place to be a partner to this little venture of ours. I take it you’ve made your final decision then?”

“I don’t see that I have much else to choose from.”

“On the contrary, you have the whole world to choose from (or very nearly). As I mentioned before, the forces at work here in Hancheon are far beyond my power to redress. However, I can give you a second chance by taking you anywhere else in the world you wish, and leave it at that. You need only decide.”

Hae-jin mused in silence. After a few moments he looked up, first at the Bird, and then at Lindsey. And then he replied.

“Why not?”

“Splendid! Utterly splendid! I knew I was right about him, didn’t I tell you Lindsey?”

“No, I don’t think you did.”

“Eh? Well, no matter. Come, collect your things Hae-jin, and we will all be off!”

“Now hold on just one second!”

“You had something to say, Lindsey?”

“Yeah, I sure as hell do. You haven’t told me yet what this venture is, or asked me whether I’m still going to come along or just punch you until you take me home.”

Hae-jin chuckled.

“You picked a hot ember there, Bird! Be careful you don’t burn yourself!”

“Have I really not explained everything to you, my dear? Goodness, but I’m in such a flutter today! It all comes from having to manage appointments across multiple worlds and continents, I defy anyone to keep their pebbles in order with such a schedule. Let’s see, where shall I start?”

“Somewhere other than here, if you don’t mind. The High Commissioner’s men aren’t too far away.”

“Steady notion, Hae-jin. Let me put a hole in the floor.”

Just as he had done in Lindsey’s dorm room and in the beside the monument of Barri the giant, the Bird cut a rough square in the detritus of the cave floor. The dried leaves and twigs sagged and clung together, and the Bird had to give them a little shove before they fell away in a bundle. The Bird then went through himself.

Hae-jin then grabbed his bag and swung his legs into the hole. Before dropping through, he took a last look towards the outside the cave. He then turned to Lindsey.

“Somehow, I feel this is the last I shall ever see of my homeland.”

“You don’t know that for certain.”

“I don’t. But I feel it for certain.”

Hae-jin then dropped himself through the hole, and after calling up to say he was out of the way, Lindsey followed.