"I think we should ignore the sign and go north-east. It'll take a couple of months to old China's east-coast." Tsuki said.
She was right. We still had a long way to go. The horses' conditions were good, they were healthy. Nothing stood in our way.
"I will cut the fence open, then we go."
Tsuki nodded.
***
Somehow, we managed to ride for 5 days straight. We didn't encounter anything except for marks of war. Deep craters caused by bombs decorated the level grounds.We also found bullets on the ground. 'They didn't do much cleaning. There are even a couple of mines underground...'
It was common sense, people tried to avoid living near an old battlefield.
3 days passed again. We had finally reached a city. And much like the other cities we had seen until now, this city's infrastructure was changed too. The tall buildings' materials were moved away and even reused to build buildings that were connected by simple vines.
Before we had reached this city, we saw signs that depicted the name of this city in Roman letters.
"City of Karama."
"Niam, look! They even wrote down information. Here it says, 'Population: 3460.' The population was probably counted after the impact and after they settled in."
"A few thousand is good. Thousands of people all need different things. There must be everything we need. Let's look for clothes first, then a place to stay the night. I might even find a blacksmith that can handle and repair Katanas. You have your share of credits, right?"
"Yes, I do... Uhmm..."
"Yes, we will go separate ways to shop. I won't be there to pick underwear with you." I teased.
"Hey!"
"Calm down. I'm joking. If they speak Japanese or English, try to find out if the customers haggle. Always better to spend less."
We held the horses by their leashes and walked towards the City of Karama. The city was the most lively one we had seen after the impact. And unlike the city where we met Hafe and Ram, this city seemed to have become used to their situation. The majority of people looked happy.
After we had walked through Karama for a while, we saw a clothing store meant for women. The store had big windows at the entrance. Behind those windows were dolls that showcased the many different styles of undergarments the store had. The undergarments varied in styles. From left o right, "normal" undergarments were showcased until it became somewhat erotic. 'Useless for survival.'
"Choose something comfortable."
"Ahhh! Shut up, okay?!" Tsuki turned red.
"Haha, okay. I'll take Ganko. Command him to follow me for now. He's still the hot-headed stallion that tried to trample me to death."
"Not funny, honestly... Ganko, follow Niam for now. I'll be okay." Tsuki complained and touched Ganko's forehead.
Tsuki went into the store.
"Now... Where can we go? I wonder if there is a place that is inside my 100 meter radius. I still need to watch over Tsuki."
I proceeded to walked around with the horses. No one seemed to mind my presence. Then I found it, a hotel. And much like in old times, the hotel had a long hitching rail with water under it, so the horses could drink.
I binded the horses to the hitching rail and entered the hotel. When I reached the receptionist, I wasn't greeted. The black-haired receptionist handed me a piece of paper. The paper showcased a variety of figures and shapes.
'Ahh! Very smart. Not everyone speaks the same language, so they drew the bookig options on a piece of paper.'
There was a single male figure, a single female figure, and the option to choose both. If the number of people exceeded what was showcased, you just needed to write the number of people inside the figures. There was also the bedding option. Single beds or one king-sized beds.
'So... Me, male. Check box. Tsuki, female. Check box. One room. Check box. And single beds. Check box.' I turned the piece of paper around. 'It seems like there is another option on the back. Horse option. Male and female horse. Check Box.'
I handed the piece of paper to the receptionist. She then wrote a number down and held her hand out.
'20 Credits. Luckily, I have enough.'
["Jay! Take the customers' horses to the back!"] The receptionist yelled.
'Chinese?' I guessed.
A man in his late thirties came out from behind a curtain.
["Chinese?"] ["Korean?"] ["Russian?] "English?"
The man counted some languages until he said English. I responded, saying that I could speak English.
"Oh, young man. I'm here to take your horses to the stables in the back. Do you mind accompanying me for a second. It would be good for the customer to know where his horses are."
"I understand. But beware, the black stallion has a bad temper, he will try to hurt you."
"That won't be a problem. I'm a Bearer. My Salan ability allows me to tame every animal."
'Interesting.'
***
"Are there any blacksmiths in this city?" I asked the tamer.
"Yes. The best one... Oh, you seem to carry a Japanese Katana. Well, there is this one blacksmith that forges Katanas, but he never sells them. Try your luck with him." The tamer answered.
"What about durable clothes meant for combat? Or survival gear? Does a store in this city sell stuff like that?"
"One or two blocks away from the blacksmith. I don't really know what he sells, but judging by the store's design from outside, he probably sells the things you're looking for."
"Thank you, Tamer."
"Tamer? I guess I am." He paused.
'Weird guy. Normally, someone would introduce themselves after I called them by a nickname. I guess he doesn't care about my name either.'
"No problem, and here are your keys."
I took the keys and walked to Tsuki. She was done buying clothes, and looked around the city. 'She bought a lot.' Tsuki carried 4 different bags.
"I hope you still have some money left." I spoke.
Tsui was startled at my sudden appearance, but managed to regain her composure.
"Yeah, I have more than half. What did you do in the meantime?"
"I got us a room at a hotel a few blocks that way. I heard there was a blacksmith that forges Katanas but never sells them."
"Let's go together." Tsuki suggested.
***
*TINK*TINK*TINK*
We stood in front of the blacksmith. The sound of steel being hammered could be heard outside, and the heat could be felt too. We didn't know if it was okay to enter without any notice, but we did anyway.
Inside, the "room" was illuminated by just the furnace. A warm red light illuminated the countless blades on the wall.
["Fuck off!"] The blacksmith ordered.
'Japanese!' I realized.
["A broken blade is the smith's fault, am I right?"] I asked.
["You..."] Realization dawned upon the smith. ["Yes. If a blade of mine should ever brake, I will cut open my stomach."]
["I remember right then. Take a look at this and tell me if you can save whoever forged this blade."] I handed him my Katana.
["Hmm... Chipped from handle to the tip. Who did you fight? Or was it like that before the impact?"]
["I fought a tall, Nordic man who fought with a spear. His Salan ability caused the chipping."]
The swordsmith removed the Katana's wooden hilt. Under the hilt, the person who forged the blade would put his initials in.
["I don't recognize the initials. If you don't mind me asking. Where did you get this Katana?"]
["I do mind. I won't tell you anything other than the conditions of my blades. I only want to know if you can fix this."]
["I will do my best. But the blade will never be the same after, you should buy another one."]
["I don't care. Fix it as best as you can."]