"In a way, you are fortunate. There isn't much to see here, just flat land with some bumps here and there. I do not understand the purpose of rocks, anyway. Other than striking your enemy on the head with it. But, perhaps you will see it." Vyom looked at the boy, Sachi, who was reclining against a large rock, his face a dark silhouette outlined against the setting sun. Vyom's chest tightened.
"Honesty is not my best attribute, but since it is just us two, I would be honest. If we did not cross paths, you would be in your hometown with your mother. Not in this….uneasy state. Apologies for that," Vyom confessed, running his finger over a graze he had sustained at the sword of those assailants earlier.
The boy was quiet, but he never talked much, to begin with. He was one of those who spoke with their eyes, and Vyom admitted to himself he missed those curious, teakwood eyes. Those eyes were still closed, had not opened once in those ten days since he had collapsed, even after Bhringi fed the boy the water they claimed had magical properties. Vyom thought it was made up, like most stories in OneRealm. He believed there was only one true magic, the Tantra, that stirred through every particle of the realm.
Vyom sighed and backed against the rock beside Sachi. "Where is the damn bee?" He mused aloud.
Bhringi's gaunt, skeletal form certainly betrayed the strength he hid in his arms. That bee demon wrapped his stiff, bony arms around the both of them and rose through the clouds as if they were nothing more than leaves. His wings were a fine shimmer of gold, like some maiden's veil, but when they flapped, the air bent to their will.
They flew until the town was nothing more than a dark spot in the distance. It was a rocky landing, Vyom almost losing his balance when his feet touched the hard, stony ground. Bhringi lurched forward for a few steps but eventually found himself afoot, still holding Sachi.
That was this morning, and since then, it had been a long, tiresome journey, no relieving themselves or having a cool swallow of water. This barren waste of land had no water to offer either, only hard rocks and boulders and occasional old, scrawny trees with trunks as dry as dust.
Vyom kicked a pebble that raised a little flurry of red dust before it flew over to the other side of the dirt road and disappeared into a low, thorny shrub. He fanned himself with a frustrated hand to find some relief from the damp, windless weather.
Few moments later, a faint buzzing sound tickled Vyom's ears, bringing sweet relief. At last, the bee was back from his scouting.
"I thought you found a pot of honey and forgot about us," he said, trying to cover his impatience with some good-humored banter.
The bee demon tossed a heavy brass vessel at Vyom that he caught in air. "To last one day, enough water."
Vyom opened the lid and took one long chug. The water was a sweet elixir, and one swallow was not enough. But he thought of the boy beside him and willed his greed away. With some clever maneuvering, Vyom fed Sachi a few drops of water, enough to wet his lips.
"How far is the town you stole this from?" Vyom waved the vessel to the bee.
Bhringi flew over to a boulder nearby and perched on its top. "Too far. Spend the night we must on the road."
Vyom heaved with dismay and watched the sun slowly sink into the western horizon. "It seems the Pond of Eternal Sentience is not that sentient afterall. The boy still sleeps."
"Too powerful is the magic that hurt the boy," explained Bhringi, his big black lidless eyes flicking at Sachi, who was still slumbering without a flicker of movement except for the slow, quiet breathing. "Give it time we must."
"Well, there is giving time, and there is wasting time." Vyom jumped to his feet and walked to the edge of the road, looking from his left to right. The path was more deserted than a cremation ground at midnight. Not even an animal passed by, let alone humans, and perhaps for a good reason. Vyom turned to the Bhringi. "What if Sage Parasu had returned to that town looking for us?"
Bhringi shook his head. "No matter. Seized and held, perhaps he is. If not, look for us he will."
"And what of the map? We do not want that to fall into wrong hands, do we?" Vyom carefully broached the subject of the map. Whoever holds the sage holds the map. And whoever holds the maps holds the source of the greatest Tantric power in the entire OneRealm.
"In right hands it is," was all Bhringi offered.
Vyom's right brow twitched up. It would be foolish to pry more; it would be more foolish not to. "I am relieved to hear that Sage Parasu offered you the responsibility. Did it come with any instruction?"
Bhringi sat back on top of the boulder, somewhat awkwardly, dangling all three of his legs from its edge. "Only gave me the map, he did. And the book, History of the Oldest Asura Clans of OneRealm. If the priests capture me, said he, escape and find the others. Follow the map, said he."
Vyom did not hide his scoff of derision. "What others? It seems it is just the three of us then, who are still on the quest."
"For Prince Bali, fear I not. Quick and mighty, he is."
"You trained him, did you not?" The prince also called the bee demon his uncle, and Vyom had a sense they were not related by blood.
Bhringi nodded to his question. "Since a boy, he was." A ghost of a smile flickered on the thin gap that was his mouth. "If we find him not, find us he will. Keep going we must."
Vyom walked over to Sachi and crouched to the ground, before taking him by both arms and hauling him over his back. "And which way are we going?"
"The East."