Chapter 6: To Adventure!

Chapter 6:

To Adventure!

The sun's uneasy arms roused Brax from his drunken slumber. He was in his bed in his own house with a bleating brain. He hadn't the faintest idea how he’d gotten there, since all he could remember was blacking out at the bar, but he didn’t question it. There was something else on his mind. Usually when he woke up, he was tired and worn out, but on that peculiar morning, he was refreshed. He recalled the dream and the encounter with Aziel’s “spirit” he had vividly. The dream was more like a memory. He wondered if he had gone mad while he dressed himself in his usual wool tunic and pants. They were tighter than usual. As he struggled to bring the trousers to his waist, he knew if he wanted to fit back into them, he'd have to do something different. Take up running, or stop drinking so much. Or perhaps, take a long walk… a journey. He recalled something from the dream.

The path you take is the one you pave.

The phrase came from his own drunk subconscious, yet it still stuck. He shook his head and something deep within his brain snapped. That idea blew up and sent shivers down each nerve of his body as it began to walk, talk, and move on its own, telling him there was a way to save his daughter and escape his dreadful life.

Brax hurried to the kitchen, where Christa was making the usual stale bread. He walked up to her and stared down at her tired eyes. When he opened his mouth to speak, nothing came out. He had something to say, but the words were caught in his throat, lumping up beneath his chin. He'd thought it would be easy, but reality came in and began suffocating him. Christa immediately knew something was amiss with her husband. He was not the same beaten man he was the day before.

“Yes, Brax?” she asked, hesitation in her voice.

“Christa. I… I need to go for a while,” Brax started.

“Go where?” she asked.

“A journey,” he said. “I can’t explain why and I know you’re going to call me mad, but I feel like it's something I need to do.”

“How long will you be gone?”

“I don’t know,” Brax said.

Christa stood there in awe.

“No,” she said, her voice becoming stern.

“Christa I-”

“You’re not leaving,” she said. “You’re not going to abandon us while you go off who knows where and get yourself killed.”

The day before, Brax would have dropped his hands and turned around. He would have apologized, said he didn't know what came over him, and hugged her. That's what he should have done, yet he didn't.

“No, I want… I have to go,” Brax said, his words low, but firm.

“And what about us? How will we survive?” Christa asked in a quiet yell, trying not to wake Nora. “We’re already barebones on money and without you, we'll be dead within two weeks.”

“I have some money saved up, money I’d been saving for Nora’s treatment,” Brax said. “It ain’t much, but it’ll get you through the month. I’ll be back before it runs out, I promise.”

“If you've got money to spare, then you can keep saving,” Christa said. “It may take a while, but we'll eventually be able to afford it.”

“Faust is dead,” Brax said. He looked at the last bottle of medicine the doc left behind. “That bottle’s the last we got from him. When it runs out, Nora’s health will go back down.”

“So you’re going to leave on a whim, abandon your daughter and me, and go out to the gods know where while we’re stuck here to rot? I know you’ve been in a rut, but this is insane!” she said. “What could have possibly sprung this insanity onto you? Are you crazy?”

“If I had been crazy, I don't think our lives wouldn’t have turned out so bad,” Brax said.

“Our lives aren't glamorous, but we have each other! That's how it's always been!” Christa's yell was no longer quiet. “We can figure this out, but I need you to stay.”

Brax went quiet, peering down at the creaky boards. They were rotting away like him.

“Do you love me?” Christa asked.

“I do,” Brax said. He loved her dearly. Her and Nora both. He would do anything for them.

“Then stay.”

“It's because I love you that I must leave,” Brax said. “You're so strong and you've given me so much that I can't bear it any longer. I want to make you happy and for that, I must change something. It won't be long, I promise.”

“If you walk out that door and aren’t back by evening, you likely won’t have a wife to come back to,” Christa said as she tossed the toast in the disposal bin.

“I understand,” Brax said. “It’s selfish and I'm awful for doing it, but for the first time in years, I have something pushing me forward. If you’re not here by the time I get back, I’ll understand...”

Christa turned her back to him.

“...But if you are,” Brax continued. “I promise to give you everything I had once vowed and more. Much, much more. So please… while I don’t expect you to… stay.”

Christa did not cry or utter a single word more as she walked to the other room where their daughter slept. Her silence was everything. Brax knew how terrible he was for what he was about to do, but his body kept moving without any regards to the life he had spent a decade enduring. He went to the loose floorboard under his bed and pulled out a chest of gold and silver coins which he had been saving for many years. He'd hoped to one day use it to get inside the walls of Wunderdum and create a life, but it would never be enough. If he truly wanted something to change, he had to make a change himself. He placed the coins in a bag on the table and headed out the door. His stomach was shuttering nervously. It felt empty. Not because he didn’t eat the breakfast Christa had thrown out, but also because of the terms he was leaving on. He then remembered something– something the girl had told him the other day. He knew it probably meant nothing, but even so, he reached in his pocket and found the two piece pendant the trader had given him. He detached the white side from the black and placed it next to the gold. He nestled the black side gently back into his pocket.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

“If you do choose to stay, these two pendant halves will unite us again,” Brax said into the quiet house. “Because… I love you.”

His eyes were unsteady as he walked out the door, but he dared not cry. He would not cry for his own selfish actions. His brain was telling his legs to stop and go back and make things right, to find a more rational solution, but they wouldn't stop. He was out of the dusty frame and into the fields of new beginnings. That’s when he heard her. It was a faint whisper, but he heard it.

“Come back safe.”

Brax looked back, but she was already gone. Though it wasn’t the encouragement he had hoped for, those words were enough to strengthen his resolve and turn his stroll into strides. He couldn't hold the tears back any more as they streamed down his face, curving back towards the house as he glided forward in the bright green fields. With a youthful energy he thought he threw out long ago, he ran for the first time in years, hoping to somehow catch that crazy eastern girl.

Xinyu could have been long gone, but Brax knew she wasn't. He felt her presence, her smile, while he strode across the rugged paths in his worn town. When he went past the pub, he heard lively chatter from within, which was odd, because it was always closed in the mornings. Curiously, he creaked open the unlocked doors and saw the smiling little merchant underneath the towering barkeep having a wonderful conversation about eastern and western liquors. Brax was shocked to see the keeper talking as much as his guests did at night. Usually he listened listlessly to the dreary talk of drunk idiots and the cries of hopeless fathers who didn't want to beat their worthless sons anymore.

“The grapes can make wines sweet and fruity,” the barkeep said. “Which is why they go so well with the saltiness of cheese.”

“Oh, I never knew wine could be fruity!” Xinyu exclaimed. “Our wine is made from rice! It can be served hot or chilled. Many prefer it hot in the winter.”

“Hot wine like cider? Interesting! I've not heard of hot wine before.” the barkeep replied. “I’d certainly like to try some of this rice wine… it sounds interesting.”

“That bottle there is a spirit made from rice!” Xinyu said pointing to a bottle she had gifted him the evening prior in the hopes that it would open him up. Being a connoisseur of his craft for many years, one whiff of the cork revealed how valuable and rare the good was. It told him that, despite the young woman's innocent stare, she had a keen eye for quality product.

“Ah yes, but I would never devalue such a priceless commodity from the east,” the barkeep said. “To open it so casually would dishonor it.”

“That kind is quite common where I am from,” Xinyu admitted.

“But here, it is a priceless treasure.”

Brax was enamored by their talk and could have listened for hours. They could’ve kept going for hours without noticing him, too. Of course, it wasn’t their talk of alcohol that intrigued him. He couldn’t give a damn about the nuance of alcohol, as long as it made him forget his qualms. No, it was seeing the old man who always stood behind the bar with dark crescents beneath his eyes and tired wrinkles light up. Brax never noticed it before, but the barkeep had a smile that puffed his cheeks out and perked up his nose. The creation of happiness from desolation was beautiful. At that moment, the girl had access to all the barkeep's knowledge. She had bought it, though she hadn’t a single coin to her name. It seemed the eastern merchant didn’t just sell products; she sold joy as well.

“I do believe we've gone off topic,” the bartender said. “Remind me, what exactly was it you wanted?”

“For you to tell me the path to the Moonless Terra,” Xinyu said.

“Ah yes. You're mad for saying something so brash,” the barkeep said. “Why do you want to go to such a god forbidden place anyway?”

“I am not certain, but it is the only lead I have in exposing the gods’ secret,” Xinyu said.

“Oh?” The bartender's face suddenly grew precarious as he stared down the trader with deadpan eyes. “What, precisely, is this secret?”

“I cannot say!” Xinyu said. “In the east, everyone who knew the secret died until there was only one left. I am sure the same will happen in these lands if it is revealed before the time is right.”

“And what makes you think the Moonless Terra is going to help you expose this secret?” the bartender inquired.

“Kitsune told me that is the place beyond the gods, and so, that is the place I will go!” Xinyu said.

“Kitsune, huh?”

“You know of her?” Xinyu asked.

“Nope,” the barkeep said as he averted his gaze to Brax. “Well, I'll tell you this. You won’t be setting sail for the Moonless Terra without the cooperation of the man who pulled the legendary sword from the stone. I’m talking about Arthur, of course. You'll find him where you're heading, in Wunderdum, though you won't be able to reach him directly. You’d need other means. He is the king after all.”

“I see. What other means?” Xinyu asked.

“I’m referring to the guilds that help run the kingdom,” the barkeep said. “Of course, most of them would think you're crazy, which you are, and the ones that might hear you out are too insignificant to be of any assistance. There is one exception, though. Seek out the guild called ‘Avalon’. Their guild ranks number one in all the kingdom, yet for some reason, they never turn away a request. They’re also known for being a rambunctious bunch so I’m sure you'll find someone to hear you out.”

“Hao! I like the sound of this!” Xinyu said. “Come Brax! We must leave immediately!”

“Huh?” Brax said. He didn’t realize that she noticed him. “Me?”

“You would not be standing in this bar during the morning if you were not planning on going anywhere. It is okay, you do not need to fear, for I promise to protect you from here on out!”

“I don’t need your protection…” Brax trailed off, feeling ashamed that a little girl half his age was offering to protect him.

“It is okay!” Xinyu said. “I am strong! I must be if I wish to defy the gods!”

“Young girl,” the bartender said. “Do you know what it means to defy the gods?”

“An endless road to misery and suffering,” Xinyu said. “You were going to say something along those lines, no?”

“Not just for you, but for everyone involved,” he said. “What exactly will this secret prove? The concept of death does not apply to them, so I’m perplexed what your goal might be. Is it the destruction of humanity you seek?”

“Perhaps it is,” Xinyu said. The bartender looked at her, but only found that funny grin smothering half her face.

“I suppose it doesn't matter much anymore,” the bartender said, digging in a bin beneath the bar. “Before you go, I must give you something in exchange for the incredible treasure you’ve given me. Here. Take these.”

“Papers?” Xinyu asked as the man handed her a stack of folded old papyrus sheets.

“Those are maps of the three lands,” the bartender explained. “They’re a bit old and perhaps not completely accurate, but they're detailed enough to get you where you wish to go.”

“Waha! Thank you!” Xinyu said bowing. “These are incredible! We will surely put them to good use.”

“Make sure you visit again before you go anywhere too crazy,” the barkeep said as Xinyu ran out those doors. Brax followed quickly after trying to keep up with the energetic girl.

“If the world wasn’t soon to be naught, that girl would’ve doomed us anyway,” the barkeep muttered under his breath as he lovingly examined the bottle with strange symbols on it. “The Merchant of Joy, or more accurately, the herald of the end. Do you really think we can run from fate, Kitsune? What about you, Chosen One?”