“Should I light a f-fire with… magic?”
“No need to. Don’t waste your mana.”
Riftan replied in a gruff tone as he struck the flint. After a few attempts, a faint stream of smoke billowed out of the torn fabric. He leaned over and blew on it carefully, igniting the embers, then took some pinecones out of his bag. He carefully stacked them to help fuel the fire. Soon, the pinecones caught fire and the flames grew to a manageable campfire.
“I’m going around to collect some firewood to use. Don’t stray away and stay right here.”
Where in the world is he going in this current state? Max pondered as she sat around the small fire with the blanket, watching his back as he went into the dark forest. Riftan picked up broken branches enough to fill his arms, keeping himself at a distance where she could see him, and soon returned.
“T-those are damp from the rain… will those catch f-fire?”
“I picked only those that weren’t soaked as much. These can be used as firewood once the wet layer of the bark has been shaved off.”
Riftan sat on one side of the cave and pulled an arm-length sword from his belt. Max watched as he skillfully peeled the barks off the firewood. After peeling off the drenched layers, he piled the pale branches into the fire and gradually the flames burned bright enough to light the whole cave.
“Hand me the wet clothes.”
Max picked up the pile of clothes that had been carelessly tossed on the floor and handed it to him. Riftan wrung the water out of each piece and spread it close to the heat. Then, he placed their wet boots upside down and positioned them near the fire as well.
Max rummaged in her bag, looking for food that they could eat. Riftan looked at her knowingly and took a small cloth-wrapped bundle out of his bag.
“I was in a hurry to find you so this was all I managed to bring.”
He unwrapped it, revealing a stale bread and a dry, salted long sausage. Max looked at the loaf of crumbled stale bread and the sausage, which was so dry it looked like a stone. The bread was edible, it could be chewed thoroughly and somehow make its way down their throats, but the sausage had no chance of being digested.
She gazed down disappointedly at the long piece made of minced meat packed into a pig’s thin intestinal lining. Riftan cut the sausage into small pieces, then took an empty canteen. He took some leather ropes and skillfully wove the unused branches, making a hanging pole right over the fire. He hooked the canteen with the sausages thrown in over the fire and soon, the meat’s oils began to sizzle.
“Give me the pack of herbs.”
Max meekly handed over a packet of herbs from her bag and watched as he added mandrake roots, herbs, and breadcrumbs into the makeshift pot, shaking it well to mix the ingredients. She swallowed the drool that the oil’s savory smell drew out of her mouth. Riftan poured some water over the deliciously stir-fried sausage, and within a matter of minutes, transformed it into a fragrant soup.
“There’s no spoon to eat it with, so have it with the bread.”
Riftan took the canteen from the fire and handed it over. Max carefully took the steaming hot soup and took a sip. Because of the salted sausage, there was flavor dispersed in the dish. She took the bread that Riftan had divided with a dagger, used it to pick up the sausage and ate it. It was an impoverished meal, especially compared to the food at Calypse Castle, but Max was simply grateful to have a proper meal deep in the dark mountains. She drank the hot broth enthusiastically and took a big bite of the bread, sighing contentedly at the warmth blooming in her stomach.
“Riftan… I wasn’t aware that you knew how to c-cook.”
“I don’t know much about cooking. It’s more about using what I have and making something edible out of it. These are one of the few things I learned while I was a mercenary. “
Max looked at him curiously. “How old were you… when you joined the mercenaries?”
Riftan, who was sipping the soup, looked at her with a raised eyebrow, as if wondering why the sudden interest. Max then nervously added.
“I… I heard that you became a mercenary… at a young age… b-but I’m not sure exactly how young…”
“I was twelve when I joined.”
Max was taken aback. “T…Twelve years old?”
He popped the bread into his mouth and nodded curtly. Max didn’t want to probe around for more details, but she couldn’t help the itch to know why a twelve-year-old would decide on joining the mercenaries. Max couldn’t overcome her curiosity as she watched him, then finally uttered her question out loud.
“W-what did you do before that?”
Riftan didn’t respond and simply busied himself with the fire poking it with a branch to keep it ignited. Max pried again, growing more impatient.
“A-after you joined the mercenaries… you went to Livadon, right? Before that… where did you live?“
“Somewhere in Anatol.”
Max frowned at how evasive he was. “Where in Anatol?”
“…somewhere east.”
Max wanted to ask where in the eastern region, but watching Riftan grow increasingly uncomfortable with her questions, she stopped prodding. An uncomfortable silence surrounded them from a moment. She wondered if he didn’t like talking about his childhood. However, she couldn’t suppress the desire to know everything about him.
“W-what about your parents… what did they do?”
“What’s the point of knowing?”
Riftan replied curtly and Max immediately closed her mouth. Seeing her face redden, Riftan let out a sigh.
“The woman who gave birth to me was a servant from the south. My biological father was probably a knight.”
“B-biological father?”
“I’m an illegitimate child.” He answered vaguely and turned his face away. “I never saw my father’s face. He got involved with a servant just to pass time but got her pregnant. He gave her a little dowry, married her off to someone else, then left. After that, he appears to have died in battle.” A faint sneer suddenly became evident on his lips. “He was probably not a skillful knight.”
“Your m-mother… how is she?”
“She died when I was twelve.” Max stopped speaking at the ice in his tone, but Riftan continued dryly. “After she died, I stayed with my stepfather for a while, then I ran away from home and joined the mercenaries.”
“Your stepfather… did you have not-so-good t-terms with him?”
“It wasn’t really good, but it was not bad either.”
“B-But… if you left when… you were twelve… then…”
“Maxi.” Her question was sternly cut off. “We’ll get off the mountain as soon as the sun shines. Enough with the questions, if you’re done eating, get some sleep.”
Max closed her mouth, unable to ask more. Her heart ached from being so brutally closed off by him, but it was understandable: even she had things she wasn’t confident sharing.
She finished the remaining soup and bread, struggling to keep a straight face, and lay down by the fire with the blanket still wrapped around her. Riftan removed his breastplate, leaned against the wall near the entrance of the cave and stretched his long legs out.
The crackle of fire and the sound of insects echoed in the quiet darkness. Max gazed at the flickering shadows projected by flames as she laid down, then turned her head. Although she was exhausted to the point of passing out, for some strange reason, she couldn’t fall asleep.
“Riftan… aren’t you going to sleep?”
“I’ll fall asleep eventually. Don’t worry about me.”
He replied bluntly as he placed a hand on top of his sheathed sword. He was always on guard, as if a monster would appear anytime. Seeing her look worried about him staying up all night, Riftan swept back the hair that fell on her forehead.
“I’ll be protecting you so don’t worry about anything and sleep soundly.”
Max wanted to tell him that she was awake not because she was afraid, but when she looked out into the deep dark forest, she flinched a little. The wavering shadows cast by the trees and bushes seemed alive, but surprisingly, she wasn’t as scared as she would have been because Riftan was here.
Max placed her hand on his lap. He moved his legs, seemingly uncomfortable then eventually held her hand. Max then closed her eyes. She hated the thought of him standing guard all night while she was sleeping, but she didn’t have the strength to stay up either. When the sun would come up, she would be completely deranged from exhaustion and would end up being a burden to him. The priority now was to regain her strength as much as she could, so she wouldn’t get in his way, still Max struggled to sleep with her heart being sorry for him.
The next day, Max woke up to the bluish glow of dawn that began to shine through the tree leaves. As she looked around, she found Riftan wearing his full armor and he already had saddled their horses. She lifted her groggy body off the ground and shuddered from the cool morning breeze caressing her bare chest, startling her and making her pull the blanket up again. Riftan narrowed his eyes as he watched her rise, then turned his back on her with a clenched jaw.
“If you’re awake, get dressed. We have to get off the mountain.”
Max stood with the blanket wrapped around her and picked up her tunic and pants that were left to dry on a rock. The clothes were still damp, but they were wearable. She pulled the cold tunic over her head, then her trousers and fastened the belt around her waist. Her boots were barely dry and she didn’t really want to stick her feet in them, but she had no choice. Max wore her shoes and walked over to Rem’s side with a disgruntled expression on.
“Never ever lose your focus on me and follow me closely. Do you understand?”
Riftan said sternly as he lifted her onto the saddle. Max wanted to reply, saying that she was attentive and not as scattered as he thought she was, but upon seeing the dark circles under his baggy eyes, she nodded obediently. After he jumped onto Talon, they began to descend the mountain. Max stuck as close to him as possible as she watched the path ahead, slowly lit up by the sun. She was nervous at the prospect of another goblin appearing, but only silence surrounded them.
They found a small spring in the middle of the mountain and stopped to allow the horses to drink, then continued down the trails without a break. By the time they reached the foot of the mountain, it was barely noon. Max smiled brightly as she looked over the quiet village perched on the wide valley. She sighed in pleasure, thinking that soon, she could take a real bath with soap, eat food while sitting at a table, and sleep on a soft bed under a roof.
Max rode down the hills with Riftan like the wind. The village was surrounded by a high wall made out of layers of logs. As they got closer, she could see the tightly barred entrance. Riftan approached it and knocked on the gates.
“Who is here?”
A man who appeared to be the guard poked his head through the cracks in the entrance. Riftan took his identification from his armor and showed it to the man.
“I am the Commander of the Remdragon Knights, Riftan Calypse. I am bound for Livadon under the command of the king. We were separated from our group. Didn’t the other knights arrive last night?”
The guard hastily opened the entrance. “Ro-Rosem Wigru de Calypse! It’s an honor to meet you! The other knights who arrived last night are staying at the Hanoa Inn. I’ll guide you there.”
Note – LF: I’m pulling my hair out of frustration—I want so badly for Maxi to know that Riftan was the boy who saved her T^T
Nymeria: Well I was wrong, nothing to wink wink here lol
