The next day, Ameer and Omru both went to the market, with Omru hiding his long hair and the lower half of his face under a piece of cloth to avoid being easily recognised by the loan shark he had run into the previous day. They bought what they needed. Ropes, daggers, arrows, dried food, spices, and water skins
Thankfully, Omru did not run into any trouble that day, nor did he trick anyone. After they were done, they both went home.
Omru had informed his father's assistant that he would be going off with Ameer for a few days on a hunting trip. That night, they fed their horses and turned in early.
They woke up at the crack of dawn the next day. Leila, Araastu, and Asiah had all gotten up early to see them off.
"Don't do anything stupid or rash." Leila's eyes were full of tears.
"Do not worry, mother. I am always careful," Ameer replied.
"And you. Don't get into any trouble," she told Omru.
"Don't worry, ma'am, I will keep my nose clean," he replied meekly. Leila merely smiled and shook her head, not believing a word
They both mounted their horses, waved goodbye to their loved ones, and sped off on their journey.
"We have been riding all day. Let's stop at the next village for some fresh food and drink," said Omru.
"I thought you wanted to reach there as soon as possible." Ameer laughed.
"Well, I do, but I want to be alive for that. And to be alive, I need food," argued Omru.
"We have food," Ameer told him.
"lots of dry food. But you know my stomach is too delicate to digest that," he replied.
"Your stomach was not delicate last night when you finished up an entire duck." Ameer snorted.
"Come on, Hamza, we have passed four villages. Let's stop at the next one. Spend a night at some nice inn with a comfortable bed," Omru whined.
"Fine brother. No treasure is bigger than a comfortable bed and a full night's sleep," Ameer laughed.
After an hour, they reached the next village.
It was small compared to the ones they had already passed, but it had a big inn. They both made their way towards it. Omru haggled over the price of their room, food for them both, and their horses. Ameer stayed behind, watching everyone else that was passing by them, deep in his own thoughts.
It turned out the inn had no more rooms for them to stay the night in, but they did have a very huge barn. So they had the choice to stay there in an empty stall next to their horses. The inn did have freshly prepared food. And upon further inspection, the barn turned out to be fairly comfortable, so after thinking for a little while, they accepted.
The stable boy prepared two very comfortable-looking beds of hay in a clean stall next to their horses.
He then brought a huge clay pot filled with warm water for them both to wash up before dinner.
They had barely sat down when the innkeeper's wife entered with her young daughter.
They were both carrying huge wooden trays laden with dishes.
There was a clear, rich beef broth to begin their dinner with, followed by flat loaves of bread filled with minced mutton and a thick sauce made of olive paste, vinegar, salt, and olive oil. They also had a drink made up of sweetened yogurt and a round earthen surahi filled with cold water for the night.
The girl eyed Ameer and Omru with interest. They both happened to be quite attractive.
After they were done eating, the girl came again, alone this time, to present them with kehwa along with some brown sugar cubes.
Omru began flirting with her. Ameer, however, stayed quiet and kept his head bowed. He had always been rather shy around the opposite sex. But the girl did want his attention, as well, and she tried to engage him in conversation many times. Ameer answered her shortly, but after a while, Omru captured all of her interest as he started telling her stories about the adventures they both had( all of them grossly exaggerated). She was soon laughing, with Omru almost sitting on his lap. Ameer, who was now bored, got up, stretched, and climbed into his comfortable bed. He reminded Omru that they needed to be up early for their journey.
"Oh, where are you two going?" she asked, interested.
"To the forest in the east," replied Omru mysteriously.
"The midnight forest? But why? What businesses do you have there?" She asked him curiously.
"We are going to look for the hidden—"
Ameer coughed slightly. Omru gave him a look that said, "You think me to be that stupid."
"The hidden species of plants. I have heard that some of them cannot be found anywhere else. We are very much interested in their medicinal properties," he finished.
"But there are thousands of venomous snakes in the forest" she said in surprise. "That's why no one is brave enough to go in there" she finished batting her eyelids.
"Snakes, you say?" Ameer joined the conversation. She turned to him.
"Yes. The forest is full of them," she replied nodding, to Ameer.
"Well, we need some plants. Can you tell of anyone that might guide us, dear?" asked Omru, taking out a gold coin, tossing it up, and catching it back. The young girl eyed the gold with interest.
"There is an old snake charmer (Sapera) in the next village. He is the only person in this area who is known to enter the forest. " She replied, eyeing the gold.
"Will he help us?" asked Ameer.
"He is blind. He cannot catch snakes. He has no other means to earn money. For the right price, he may help you," she replied.
"How may we find him?" asked Ameer.
"Ask anyone in the village for the blind Sapera( snake charmer). They will guide you towards him," she replied.
"There you go, dear. Take this. We must rest now," replied Omru, tossing the coin towards her. Her face glowed. She quickly snatched the gold coin and got up to leave, giving them one last look full of awe.
"Will I see you two again?" she asked.
"We might stop on our way back. Now that we have a very pretty reason to," Omru winked.
She left blushing.
"You flirt mercilessly, brother." Ameer laughed when she was gone.
"Just to lighten the mood. She was pretty but wasn't my type." He replied casually.
"Why lead her on then?" asked Ameer.
"To get some information. How else would we have found out about the snakes?" Omru replied, closing his eyes.