Chapter 98 - Convenience

Yuzu walked over to the door of the study and turned the handle. A cool evening breeze greeted her as she opened the door, revealing a narrow back alley. For a brief moment she was disoriented - she had expected to have to walk through a hallway - but she recovered quickly and led the way through the door with Argus following behind.

Yuzu headed down the alley and stepped out onto the street which was bathed in the warm orange glow of gas lanterns. Numerous shop fronts lined both sides of the street, though there were no tents in this area. It took Yuzu a moment to recognize that they were on the northern outskirts of the Tye-An Market, in the fashion district.

This usually busy street was surprisingly quiet tonight. Argus and Yuzu looked around the peaceful street for a moment.

“I took us to this exit because I thought we’d be able to find a carriage easily.” Argus said, rubbing his chin, “There is usually a line of carriages outside of that inn, however it seems that the scheduling has been disrupted. Perhaps we should try a different location?”

“That won’t be necessary.” Yuzu said simply, closing her eyes for a moment. Though her eyes were closed she could still see the golden threads that drifted in the street. She sifted through them quickly, as if she were running her hand gently across a tapestry, feeling each thread. After a few seconds she found what she was looking for and gave the thread a gentle tug.

Opening her eyes she looked down at Argus, “We’ll have our carriage in a few minutes.”

“How interesting.” Argus’ lips curled upwards, his eyes glimmering. “Fate is truly the domain of convenience.”

A single horse cart driven by an old man turned the corner shortly after and pulled up directly in front of them. The driver dismounted, opening the door for the couple that was inside. Yuzu and Argus stood to the side as the man of the couple paid for their fare.

“Thank you, sir. Have a good evening.” The driver took off his cap and bowed.

He remained bowing until the couple had turned and walked off together. Then he seemed to sense something as he turned around to see a teenage girl and a young boy standing nearby.

“We’d like a ride to the edge of the forest.” The girl said.

“The forest, you say?” The driver hesitated as he wondered why the odd pair would want a ride in that direction, “I’m afraid that we are not offering rides out of the city currently. There is an infestation of fast growing vines from the south that makes travel on the roads difficult.”

“That’s fine, just take us to the edge of the city, then.” The girl said calmly.

“Two marks.” The driver said, hiding a frown, “Please pay up front.”

The girl looked over to the boy, who pulled out two coins from the leather bag at his side and handed it over to the driver. This surprised the old man, who expected the older girl to pay for the fare. The girl also didn’t bat an eye about being asked to pay prior to the ride. Even though carriage drivers had the option of taking fares at the start of a trip, the standard procedure was to take payment at the end.

The man nodded, opening the door and holding his hand out to provide assistance to the two children to get up into the cab. Then he shut the door and pulled himself up to the driver’s spot.

The look in his face was gloomy as he gently tugged on the reins and guided the carriage forward into the city streets.

“Do you know the driver is quite suspicious of us?” Inside the carriage Argus raised an eyebrow at Yuzu. “He charged us double the normal rate and asked us to pay up front. He was hoping for you to talk back or argue, in order to find a reason to refuse us.”

Yuzu shrugged, sitting back into the seat, “It doesn’t matter. He’ll take us to the forest like we want. Two bells will actually be a discount at that point.”

Argus looked thoughtful as he sat down across from Yuzu, mumbling softly “How frighteningly convenient.”

As the cart rumbled down the street the light pitter-patter of rain began drumming on the roof. Yuzu and Argus looked out of the open glass-less windows in silence.

Before too long the cart reached the buildings of the city began to thin out and the road changed from cobblestone to packed dirt. The cart came to a stop at the last lit lantern post.

The driver’s boots thudded heavily against the creaking wood of cart as he dismounted and opened the door. He peered inside, seeing the calm faces of his two young customers.

He hesitated, mulling over something in his mind before he said, “Miss, we’ve reached the edge of the city. You said that you were looking to go to the edge of the forest?”

“Yes.” The girl said, remaining seated. “Since you can’t take us out of the city we will have to walk.”

“What are you doing out there?”

“Visiting a shrine.” She replied.

“It really can’t wait until morning...?” The driver looked into the boy and girl’s eyes and saw that they were both quite serious. They seemed nice, well dressed. They looked and sounded educated. He couldn’t comprehend why the two would want to go out into the dangerous forest at this time of night, in this weather.

In normal circumstances he would have left them at the edge of the city. No, perhaps he wouldn’t have even taken them out this far in the first place. But here he was.

Unbeknownst to him, his thread of fate had already been manipulated by Yuzu. She already knew that he would take her to the edge of the forest, influencing a regular old man to grant her ‘request’ was simple enough.

He did not realize himself what had happened. Instead, he found a way to justify his actions to himself.

“Just this once... I’ll take you out there.” The driver said, “The edge of the forest isn’t far. Just sit tight, kids.”

He decided to take them out of the city, because his conscience couldn’t let him leave them here knowing that they’d still be venturing out into the wilderness. The girl reminded him of his young niece who he doted on. Feeling a touch sentimental he pulled himself back up into the drivers seat, feeling satisfied with his decision.

Half an hour later they pulled up to a point in the road where it took a steep incline into the trees.

“Thank you.” Yuzu said as she accepted the driver’s assistance in dismounting from the carriage.

The boy hopped down after, refusing his help.

The driver looked around, holding his oil lantern high to illuminate their darkened surroundings. Night had fallen. The stars were concealed by the rain clouds. Ahead, the tall, dense trees of the forest were like a black wall of shadow, wholly cold and unwelcoming. Behind them the yellow-orange glow of the city twinkled in the distance.

A second light burst to life as the young boy lifted up a lantern of his own. The girl lifted the heavy hood of her coat to cover her head and looked into the forest. No one spoke a word.

A veil seemed to lift itself from the driver’s mind as he suddenly realized the strange situation that he was in. What business could these two possibly have in the forest, alone at night? A shiver ran through his body as he turned to see the pair walking down the path into the woods.

The old man reached out, opening his mouth to say something, but his voice caught in his throat. Neither the girl or the boy looked back, but simply walked steadily into the woods. The glow of their lantern was dim and faint, their footsteps swallowed by the soft din of rain.

After a time the light faded into the depths of the forest and the old driver was left alone.

He stood there for several minutes, holding the lantern up, his eyes narrowing as he tried to peer into the darkness. Rain drizzled down his forehead, following the wrinkles of his cheeks down to his chin.

A feeling of fear welled up as he recalled the eerily calm nature of the boy and girl as they had walked away. Surely any other person, child or not, would have been anxious to enter the forest at this time of night. Especially after the awful night of creeping vines.

It seemed too strange to be true. He felt like he had stepped into the folk stories of ghosts and spirits, interacting with regular people on their journey into the afterlife.

With a start he shook himself out of his reverie and climbed up to the seat. With a snap of the reins he turned the cart around and headed back towards the city.