10 | Burning Lance

Now that it was mid-morning, the already lively main roads became even more dynamic. Countless merchant stalls now occupied every free space of sidewalk, and each one was swarmed by eager buyers like snipods to jubon bushes.

“Hello miss, my expert eye tells me this blossom gown is a perfect fit for you. Why don’t you feel the fine fiber stitching? It’s truly a splendid piece of clothing,” a storekeeper called to Rivana as they approached. He held out a luxurious green dress with blue accents and exquisite silver embroideries around the folds.

“Oh, it does look beautiful! Did you make it yourself?” She asked, rubbing the fabric between her fingers. ‘And it’s incredibly soft too!”

“Of course, it’s handcrafted by yours truly. Made from refined palofon fibers and natural dyes. If you don’t yet have a blossom gown in your wardrobe, this will be a splendid addition,” the man said.

“What’s a blossom gown exactly? Sorry, we just arrived here yesterday evening.”

“It’s a must-wear item for ladies like yourself at the blooming festival! Every woman, young and old, dresses in their finest blossom gowns for the festivities coming up in a moon’s time. Men aren’t left out either, they wear their extravagant orchid banyans. Though, I don’t have any of those for sale,” he looked at Nito apologetically. “This gown here is only twenty Jen.”

“Twenty! I don’t have nearly that much on me. I’ll have to pass for now sir,” She took her hands off the dress.

“How about sixteen? A special offer for you since I know it would complement your aura perfectly,” he said enticingly.

“Oh, we really don’t have much money right now, I’m sorry. But if I can get some more before the festival, I’ll be sure to come back,” she promised.

“That’s quite a shame. I’ll await your return then,” he made a small bow.

As they walked away from the salesman, Nito caught a familiar flash of red in the corner of his eye. Turning to it, he found the same crimson-hooded figure from the day before. “Hey, it’s that guy from yesterday! He was in the Guild with us, and I’m pretty sure he was watching Laharis fight off those guys last night,” Nito gently tapped Rivana’s arm.

“Seriously? Oh yeah, I remember him looking at the display items when we walked in, but so what?”

“Let’s follow him. Maybe we can find out why he was watching us so sneakily,” Nito said, already darting across the street.

“Even if he is after us, nothing good will come if he sees us following him!” She helplessly chased after him.

They hid behind a building corner, peeking out to see the man inspecting a fresh fruit display. He felt one of the blue spheres as if to test the ripeness. Placing it back on the stand, he shook his head and started the other way.

“Okay, just act like you don’t notice him,” Nito said before merging into a crowd.

They followed his deep red cloak for a whole block when he suddenly darted between two buildings.

“Quick, we can’t lose him!” Nito began pushing through people. He ran after the man into the alley without a second thought, “Hey, red hood! Why were you-”

“Nito, don’t just call after him like-” they both stopped in their tracks after entering the alley.

The man stood openly in the alleyway with his back to them, and two other figures were behind him. One was a tan, muscular man in a sleeveless, sandy tunic standing cross-armed. The other was a woman in an azure dress that split like four petals around her thighs, a single-edged longsword protruding from her back.

“Well, do you believe me now, miss Tari?” A cold voice rose from the red hood.

Nito stared unblinkingly at the girl, stuttering in disbelief, “T-Tari?”

◈◈◈

“Hey Garan, we’ve got ourselves another kid!” A man in plate mail dragged up a young boy in tattered clothes.

A toned man with a long scar on his chin answered, “Another left behind for us to use? Haha, fantastic! This way we won’t have to recruit as many to keep our numbers up in the future.” Garan placed a hand on the boy’s head, “Don’t worry kid, you’ll get food and a tent to sleep in as long as you’re useful. Show him around the camp, will you?”

“Yes, sir! Come on kid, let’s have a look at your new home,” the armored man said, pulling the boy along by the arm.

“I don’t want this place to be my home, it stinks here, and… You guys killed my parents!” The boy kicked the man’s plated leg and tried to wriggle out of his grip.

“Your parents didn’t- No, it was the other side, got it? We beat those sons of bitches for you, okay? Look, you’ve got no more family to care for you, so you might as well try to behave and survive. It’s not so bad here, you’ll get used to the smell,” he assured, walking the boy through the tents.

They arrived at the center of the two-hundred plus gathering of tents where a large fire pit was dug up. Dozens of mercenaries lounged about, downing mugs of mulled wine in celebration of the day’s victory.

“Welcome to the Burning Lance camp. Most of these small tents are for people to sleep in. This here is the medical tent, for when you get stabbed, you know?” The man motioned to the right. “This big one is the dining tent,” he pointed to the left. “And that straight ahead is the headquarters where Garan stays, and we plan our attacks,” He said. “Oh, Tari! Hey, come over here, won’t you?” He waved to a little girl who was going around handing out mugs.

She ran over, “Mister Oro, what do you need? Want a cup?”

“This kid will be joining us as of today. You should show him where you guys sleep and introduce him to the other young ones,” Oro said, taking a mug from the tray she was holding.

“Oh, hi! I’m Tari,” she set the now empty tray down and held out her hand. “Nice to meet you, what’s your name?”

“Uhh, I-I’m Nito,” the boy timidly took Tari’s hand, mesmerized by her glistening grey eyes.

“Nito? What a funny name. Let’s go, I’ll show you where the other kids are,” she smiled at him.

“O-okay…”

Nito’s memory flashed forward ten star-cycles. After killing a man in his first battle and getting horribly ill because of it, Nito and Tari vowed to only injure and never kill. They trained hard over the cycles to master the spear and sword until they felt they were old enough to demand money as payment for their strength.

“So, you think you can get some Jen for your efforts now, eh? Last I checked your kill count was at a solid one!” Garan scoffed at their request.

“You know full well that we’ve incapacitated hundreds and helped you pull off many uncertain victories, Garan. Besides, living victims put fear behind the name of Burning Lance far more than the dead that can’t speak. Word of mouth has allowed us to claim two victories without even making a stand,” Nito argued.

“Well, you’re not wrong, but I’ve given you both good food and safety that you never would have had. Why should I give you more?” He asked.

“Everyone else gets paid for their job, it’s about time we did too!” Tari shouted at him.

“Ha! If you’re so set on it, fine. I’ll give you a chance, being the magnanimous person I am. Both of you take on Lev. If you can knock him down before he puts one of you in the dirt, I’ll pay you for every battle going forward, just like everyone else,” Garan offered, waving for Lev to step forward.

A lean man stepped out of the group behind Garan, spear in hand and nothing but a leather vest as armor. He widened his feet and lowered the spearhead to waist level, “Alright Nito, let’s see if you’ve improved at all since our last training session a few cycles ago. I would say no death blows, but you wouldn’t do that anyway,” Lev chuckled.

Nito spun his spear into position, and Tari drew her blade as they took stance side by side. After exchanging glances, they nodded in determination.

Simultaneously, Tari dashed to the left, and Nito lunged forward. He thrust his pike directly at Lev’s right leg. Metal crashed together as Lev redirected the thrust left just when Tari rushed at him. She dug her heels into the grass and sidestepped to avoid the reflected jab.

Nito swiftly retracted his spear, blocking Lev’s downward slash. Leaving Nito momentarily stunned by the heavy impact, Lev twirled his lance around and slammed Tari’s side with the blunt end as she closed in from behind. Taking the blow with her arm, she staggered back but kept her footing, her face warped by pain.

“All I need to do is make one of you kids fall!” Lev yelled as he stabbed at Nito’s waist.

Nito brought his spear shaft down to counter, but instead of following through with his thrust, Lev planted his feet and flung his spearhead vertically with all his weight. Nito’s guard was instantly broken as the spearhead collided with his shaft, and his lance was knocked upward out of his hands.

Lev plunged his spear into the dirt, using it as a pole to spring forward with. He exploded his foot into Nito’s chest with a crack.

Nito coughed violently, gritted his teeth, and grabbed Lev’s leg before it could be pulled away. In that instant, Tari darted in and slashed Lev’s side with the opening. Blood splattered onto the grass. Lev gasped in pain. Nito pulled Lev’s leg to the side, flinging him to the ground. Struggling for breath, Nito fell to his knees shortly after.

“Damn Lev, you got too hasty. Nito’s pretty sturdy after all. I guess I’ll have to pay you guys now, but don’t expect too much,” Garan said with disappointment.

“You okay, Lev?” Nito helped him up after catching his breath.

“It’s a shallow cut, don’t worry.”

Everything contorted, fast-forwarding six more star-cycles to the last day he spent in Burning Lance. The camp was alive with cheering and the clink of booze-filled mugs. Nito stood alone at the camp’s edge, basking in the afterglow of victory.

Oro came up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder, “So this is it Nito, you about to leave?”

“Yeah, finally. After today’s battle, I have enough Jen to start up a small farm on my own or take a trip to some far off town if I want... I’ve already said my goodbyes. It’s fitting you’re the last person I see,” Nito said, gazing out over the rolling hills.

“Farming? You won’t be needing that spear then. Mind if I take it? We don’t exactly have an infinite supply,” Oro motioned to the lance in Nito’s hand.

“Oh, yeah. I don’t plan on using one again if I can help it,” he handed it over.

“You know, you’ve accumulated quite the bounty in your time with us. Not killing your enemies so they could report you sure helped with that.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll go far enough to avoid anyone who’d be after me,” Nito assured.

“Oh, no. I was thinking of collecting it myself,” a sneer formed on Oro’s face. He rammed the spear's butt into the back of Nito’s knee.

Nito crumpled to the ground with widened eyes. He watched another figure come out from the tent next to him, rope in hand.

“Tari? W-what are you-”

“I’m sorry Nito, I really am. But I need a lot more money than I have to go east, and Oro said we’d split your bounty,” she knotted the rope around his hands. “I’ve been in this cage of a mercenary band for so long, I just want to be free from others' orders. You won’t be locked up long, maybe a cycle. Then, serve whatever sentence they give you, and you’ll be free too.”

“Get up Nito, just follow us to town easy, and we won’t give you trouble,” Oro nudged him with his foot.

“No trouble?! You guys were the closest thing I had to family, why-”

“Family? Nito, everyone in this camp is here for money and blood, that’s it. You were allowed to live here for our benefit, nothing more. You think any of us believe in the shit those bastards of the Solar Temple preach? You think we care about anything but ourselves?” Oro’s words hammered Nito’s mind.

◈◈◈

Nito blinked his eyes hard to make sure he wasn’t imagining the familiar girl standing further down the alley. The two she stood with were complete strangers, but he could never forget the face of the person he was closest to in his youth.

“You’re really here, Nito…” She said softly. “Yes, I believe you Sangro. I’ve seen him, we can leave now,” she turned away.

“Tari, wait!” Nito cried, but he didn’t take a single step towards her.

“I’m Sorry, Nito. If you participate in the Orchid Contest, maybe we’ll meet again,” She said before becoming a blur down the alley. The two men beside her quickly followed suit.

Nito clenched his fists, and his pupils quivered slightly as he watched the three disappear.

“You know that girl Nito?” Rivana asked, unsure what to make of the situation.

“I thought I did…”

____

Explorer Log:

Formosage

Danger Level - [Elfin] ★

Appearance - A purple leafless plant; rather than leaves, their stems support translucent, spherical sacs filled with a slightly luminescent, blue liquid; they are typically no taller than half a nanoleague

Behavior - They grow close to the ground and in low-light areas; the liquid in their sacs is thought to be produced via the absorption of etherea and nutrients through the roots; the liquid acts as pollen helping to spread the plant when the sacs burst; if consumed by people with sealed gates or creatures without ethereal cores, the liquid can be poisonous; however, if consumed by a person with an open gate or a creature with an ethereal core, it can have invigorating properties; they are fairly rare, so the liquid is often expensive

Habitat - Jabber Garden, Faron Fens, The Glim