The silent was heavy in the room with the four men. They could only hear Randi breathing. After Ned told the story behind his now unresisting smile, Picco asked.
"Are you sure about that?"
And Ned replied with a hand helping his tongue to pronounce syllables.
"The woman wasn't here, just the kid. Besides I heard the second voice, hoarse like someone clearing his throat while speaking, it was threatening."
Picco had heard this story from Randi when he was being healed by Alma. But he wouldn't believe it back then.
The short man spoke.
"This man, Yotoh, he has a grudge against the kid. Our hypothesis is that, the woman is gone, or dead somehow. Our home village is small, yet there are no trace of her. As for what Yotoh wants to do to the kid... I'll let him explain."
Yotoh neared Ned's ear with confidence. Picco could only hear him mumbling when Ned lifted his eyebrows.
"I want his teeth, and right arm."
Said Ned with two fingers pointing up.
"Deal!"
Shouted Yotoh. His mood had significantly rose.
'Whatever!' Thought Picco. He just wanted answers. He liked playing the detective, the event related to crimes aroused his curiosity to a point he had chosen to quit his loved village. The years he had dedicated to its improvement, to support its chief, that was nothing compared to a man's will.
He spoke.
"The three of us are officially on a manhunt. A child hunt..."
That sounded terrible to him. Yet an agonising cough cut him short.
"The FOUR of us it is!"
Mustering all of his strength, Randi stood up from the bed and grabbed his bow. Brandishing it, then said.
"I am not giving up yet, but be sure to abandon me if I slow you down too much."
Ned took the bow out of Randi's hand and gave him a dagger. How useful was shoe without its sole? An archer with an arm missing was a fool's errand.
The four started walking north.
---
Meanwhile in Kodra. Nothing.
---
Meanwhile, in a northern zone, Keith and Moore continued their trip. One day passed, a second, a third, and soon a week.
Moore's beard had grown around his now dishevelled moustache, while Keith's nails had regrown a little, allowing him to chew on it once more when he felt hungry.
This time had come. Just the beginning where his stomach would ache from time to time.
"Is there a way to ease my belly pain?"
'Does it hurt already? Let us test something. Get two leaves. One as green as possible, one dry.'
Keith looked on the carriage and found what he was asked. He sat behind Moore and waited for Show's instructions.
'Alright, lick both, keep them around for at least a hundred breath. Don't eat them.'
He did. And a few minutes later he looked at them again. The green one was stiffer, just a little bit dry. The other one had grey shades and a very tiny hole at the centre of a spot. To the boy, it was normal for plant to break up with time, but to Mister Show, it was way too fast. The kid's stomach acids were maybe a little special.
'Alright kid! Well.. Remember when Raima poisoned you, then I ate and regrew your stomach! Maybe it changed a little. Your diet requires it to evolve anyway.'
Keith's face changed from bored to a deep frown.
'Yeah! I'm quite certain because you need to dissolve hard materials like bones or any funny thing you've tried like... wood and rock... If you don't want it to enlarge your buttocks, it better be digested. So here I think it may be some special saliva... Also special teeth. Hell! No one eat rocks without losing a piece of it. By the great malevolent how cringe do I feel when you chew on hard things.'
Keith was still processing the thing, he asked.
'What if I spit or threw up?'
'I won't recommand doing such on our transport mean.'
Show answered.
They arrived at a small village, thick trees stood at its periphery and mangoes waved with the warm wind. Moore climbed one and picked a dozen.
'Fruits are not the type of food that can satisfy my belly. Could you help me hunting something? A bird or a rodent, it doesn't matter!'
'The small fry tend to run away where we go. I have no explication about that, we don't see them often don't we? I'll try anyway but don't complain if you get dirty, bony meatballs, my hands ain't much delicate.'
Some relief, finally. The kid had more to ask.
'Could it be because of curse? You've spoken about curse compatibility or so once.'
'Maybe, yes. Want to learn some curse today? I just recalled an old one.'
'Anytime!'
Finally, they had less than four moons to arrive their destination and Keith did not know much about curses.
'I want a bit of his leather laces. We won't do dangerous things unless he becomes annoying. And because we rely on it, touching the buffalo is no-no.'
They both had to wait for their next stop. Moore and Keith passed through the village stopping only for the mangoes and took some rest before sunset.
While Moore was asleep, Keith cut a bit of his ingredient with his sharp teeth, feeling normal air passing through his sleeves missed him so much he noticed the instant Show had left his shirt.
Awaiting a few minutes, he stared at their campfire for a while.
'Boy, I got something for you to eat, but I want you to hold for your fangs for a bit, the trip is going to be long and we might not always be this lucky.'
Keith disdainfully nodded.
'So! Where is it?'
The boy shown a centimeter-long piece of shoe.
'That'll do. Bury it. not too deep. Then draw something around, any shape you can think of will suit as long as it is closed.'
Keith put some dirt over the lace and drew a circle around in the dirt with his index.
'Perfect! Now go to sleep. You tell me what happens tomorrow.'
The next morning. Keith observed Moore's foot. Expecting a change, but nothing. Until they were about to depart.
"Dang it, where's my shoe?"
Moore lifted every of their baggage twice before giving up. The kid doubted he moved it too far when he touched it last night.
"Must've been an animal."
Moore concluded. And so they departed, with three shoes only.
Any occasion he had, Moore stubbed his toes on plenty of surfaces to Show's pleasure. He was so annoyed sworn multiple times. For sure, his foot wasn't protected any more, so he could feel every shock. But that was too big from being a coincidence for the kid who had a hard time holding his laugh too.
'That's bad luck is it? The thing that attract pain and whatsoever, that's what we have done?'
'Yes. And the place you buried his lace is the knot on the rope. If the circle is erased, be it wind or rain, then it's over. Simple isn't it?' Show answered.
Keith asked what was the 'knot' for his parents, but Mister Show remained silent. If his mother wasn't freed because Show wanted her punished, how was he supposed to cure his father from it?
'What's my father's knot?'
'There's probably the charm at my house... That was burned down. So if Raima died early with her already low-health, then will Lorbe.'
Keith wouldn't understand another term to describe the knot, the relation between a charm and a knot wasn't easy to understand. A bad habit he had to withdraw himself when the conversation became too complicated for him to comprehend. He would just nod to satisfy his interlocutor. The problem being the said interlocutor could hear his thoughts.
Was there nothing to do? This trip was probably pointless. But still Keith asked.
'Where was your house?'
'In Eastern Jin, that's a very far away territory... And I mean like a year away from here with a good transport mean. It is beyond a ridiculous white mountain chain. We better focus on our first task, kid.'
A week or so passed before a huge cloud passed over their head. It rained for the whole day and Moore's bad luck ceased the next day. His foot was covered in bruises and red spots that bloomed under his skin, fungal infections.
As the days passed, Show would bring a reptile, a bird or a rodent to calm Keith's hunger at night. Three to four times during the trip, the boy saw his mother in hallucinations when starving. The time of season had passed where the temperature rose to its highest. Keith was now seven years old.
He had crafted a net with rod he bought. He could catch some fish for him and for the pleasure of his accompanist when they came across watercourse or ponds.
His hair could touch the top of his shoulders now. They had only a moon left to reach their destination when Show decided to slow their pace to analyse Moore's behaviour toward the boy. He said.
'Time to kill Buffy.'