The day was long, and the heat was oppressive. That was Hirow's first thought about ten hours into the journey. Ahead of him lay an endless brown and bleached green field that was dry from the scorching sun. A few large rocks spotted white and gray, were scattered about. They were pretty far from the village, yet not far enough to avoid all danger. Despite wanting to stop, Hirow knew he could not. For Clement, he would not give up.
He gazed across the landscape, searching for any shelter from the sun, yet not a single tree was in sight. He looked back to make sure Talia was still following him. She continued to trudge on and looked like she was deep in thought. Raising her head, they exchanged glances but kept silent. Continuing on, the only sound for miles was their footsteps and the occasional birds overhead.
As the sun began to set Talia spoke up, "Do you think they'll survive?"
Hirow bit his lip hoping she wouldn't have brought it up. He continued walking hoping it wouldn't be mentioned again, and so for a couple more hours, not another word was spoken. The ghostly moon was now visible, and a couple of stars could be seen dotting the night sky. A light wind came through and brushed gently across the plain. In the moonlight, an outline of a grove of trees stood in the distance above the rest of the vegetation. Hirow made his way towards it as Talia followed.
When they got to the trees Hirow broke the silence, "Let's stay here tonight."
"Okay," she responded.
Talia began unpacking and Hirow went to find wood. Looking into their bags she found little there. She finished setting out two thin straw mats and took out a well-used pan. Reaching down she dug deeper to find food and saw two hard loaves of bread and a jar of pickled radish. Other than the food, only two wooden bowls were left in the bag. The situation was worrying yet there was nothing she could do about it. Collapsing on her mat she let out a sigh, her chest dipping down until all air was expelled. Tilting her head to the left she saw Hirow searching through the grass.
She wanted to tell him about the voice but now didn't seem like a good time. There was already enough to worry about. Resting her head she looked up at the flaming orange sky. Hirow said that's where she can from but she didn't feel at home staring at it now. It seemed endless. 'I wonder what's beyond it,' Talia thought. 'The stars, people like me, an endless void, or just maybe that's where the figureless voice rested.' All of these thoughts eluded her as she drifted off, a wave of drowsiness blanketing the very notions.
She woke up soon after to an enticing smell of something boiling. Hirow had set up a fire a little ways away from the mats and was cooking something in the battered pot. Talia sat up and let the savory smell drift into her nostrils. 'It couldn't be the bread or radish, it smelled better than both,' she thought.
"You can come and have some," Hirow said, continuing to stir the pot.
Talia noticed herself drooling and hurriedly wiped it away, "It smells delicious, what is it?"
"It's a soup made from mushrooms and rattle root."
She came closer as he poured the soup into two bowls. It was murky brown with thin slices of mushrooms bobbing at the top. As she sipped it she noticed the soft rattle root resting at the bottom, still dissolving in the broth. Without stopping she continued to drink until it was gone then leaned back with a pleasant grin on her face.
"You really should have eaten it slower," Hirow said. "There's not enough for me to give you more."
"That's fine, just the taste was enough to satisfy me."
He took another sip of his soup "You like it that much?"
"Of course, I do, even though I haven't eaten anything since I came here, I can tell this is good," Talia beamed. "Also I thought we only had bread and radish, where did you get the other things?"
"I got the mushrooms from the field while I was collecting firewood, and I found out these trees are rattle trees," Hirow knocked on the tree next to him. It sounded as if hundreds of beads were rolling around inside, "so I cut their roots off."
"Well, it's nice to know you're good at cooking."
"I learned it all from my mom," Hirow said, finishing his soup.
"I wonder if I ever had a mother," Talia stared at the sky trying to find an answer to her question. "What was yours like, Hirow?"
He paused to ponder the question, "She was young and beautiful," he said with a distant joy in his eyes, "her voice was soft and her tone was gentle as if every word she said was meant to soothe me. Her hair was brown and her eyes sky blue. She carried a warmth with her wherever she went and would never miss the opportunity to say hello. When I was by her side the coldness of the world seemed to melt away and all I could see was her."
"She sounds wonderful." Talia smiled longingly
"Yes, she was."
They both sat in silence listening to the sounds of the night and the crackling fire. The wind fanned the flames as each one reached up to grab the air above only to fall back down and try again. A milky glow from the moon illuminated the hushed fields as little creatures scurried around accomplishing their precarious feats. The peace they felt was a gentle reminder that not all was wrong with the world.
"I should've answered your question earlier," Hirow said, "It was just still so fresh in my mind and there was so much to think about and. . ."
"No, no that's fine I shouldn't have brought it up," Talia pressed back.
"It's okay, we shouldn't forget about it. If I'm being honest I don't think they will survive. I think Clement was the only one that had a grasp of the entire situation. He's good at persuading others but there will be a few who won't listen."
"So you don't think there's even a chance."
He sighed, "I really don't want to believe that but sometimes I feel like there's two voices in my head fighting for dominance. One wants to accept the reality of the situation and the other wants to find hope even in the most desperate positions. Now that I think about it, I didn't answer your question because neither of those voices has won yet."
"I hope the second one wins."
Hirow leaned back on the tree behind him, folding his arms, "I hope so too."
The morning began with a hurried packing up of camp and an equally hurried departure. The barren fields stretched on as the first light grew in the sky. The next day continued similar to the last but the heavy burden of silence had been lifted. Talia hopped alongside Hirow pointing out every little thing that moved or rustled in the wind. Her barrage of questions picked up again with each new thing discovered. Hirow smiled at her child-like joy and answered as many as he could. He felt safer now they were a good ways away from the village but the open fields still worried him.
The sky soon turned to flames as the sun set below the horizon. They waded through the tall grass drowsy from the long trek.
"We should find somewhere to stop for the night," Hirow said
He scanned the landscape ahead of him. It was all the same. No groves of trees or mounds, just a couple of large boulders scattered about. They couldn't go on much longer before it got dark. He kept searching hoping to find any crevice until feeling a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and saw Talia pointing behind herself with a finger over her mouth. Looking behind her Hirow saw the glint of silver amour in the twilight. The reality ahead took form as he realized what it was.
"Get down," he said with a sharp whisper.
In their panic, they both hit the grass with a loud thump and a soldier glanced back to see where the sound had come from. The face concealed in the shadow of the helmet watched for movement and Hirow stopped breathing. As the soldier turned away Hirow uncovered his mouth and tried to slow his breathing. With the sack next to him, he reached in and fumbled around until his hand clutched a book. Pulling it out with precision so as not to rattle anything he laid the book on the grass. Briefly tilting his head up he glimpsed a banner that had the color of polished obsidian. A triangular head of some creature with a fissure running down its skull was set in the center. Hirow rapidly flipped through the book until he came to a page with several pictures of banners each one with a single word underneath. He glanced up once again and traced his finger to the corresponding image.
The word underneath read Obsidius.
His blood ran cold as he checked once again to make sure he didn't get the wrong banner. The soldiers in front of him were in fact from Obsidius. Running was the first thought but his body wouldn't move.
"Hirow what is it." Talia's voice shook with uneasiness.
Laying frozen he couldn't even respond. Death filled his mind. A desolate village filled with dozens of corpses. Everyone he had ever known was slaughtered in a desperate search for someone he was harboring. Looking over at Talia he realized he didn't even know how desperately they were pursuing her. A gaping hole of despair opened within him until he realized he still couldn't let her die.
I won't die here, he thought.
Hirow's eyes darted back and forth scanning the surroundings and looking for any opening. His thoughts surged forward as each option was laid out. They couldn't move as the soldiers would see them. Standing and running wasn't an option even if they didn't have bows. Bows. He never even considered the possibility before. They could kill them before he and Talia had even taken a step. The land was flat so it wouldn't be easy to hide. Crawling through the grass was an option. It would take hours to get far enough away and out of sight. Although I would have to drag my sack and once again that would make too much noise. Staying put didn't seem like a viable option either. The soldiers would have to leave eventually, but what if they came in this direction? At that point, it would be too late to run.
Talia tapped Hirow, her hand shaking, "They're moving."
He glanced up, taken out of his whirlwind of thoughts. The harsh clang of metal on metal carried off into the distance. Even once they disappeared into the horizon he couldn't let out a sigh of relief. He held his breath tight, still unsure of the fate that had fallen upon Celestate. Then he stood up and motioned Talia to follow him, still watching the horizon. The air of death was still too close.