Lovu

  The next day followed much like the last.

  They rested when they found streams, paused when they heard beasts, and focused on moving forward. By that point Lovu’s body had transcended past aching and settled more into stony tightness. The first variety came a few hours before sunset, as they reached another stream.

  “We’re making good time,” Topal said as she drank her fill. “Looks like we’ll make it to Ya’upuk before sundown.”

  Her warnings from before still rang clearly in his ears. “Are… we going to be stopping there?”

  “We will. I want to get the lay of the land and figure out how much heat is on us,” she said. “I’ll take a look first. If it seems like things are safe, we’ll dip in to spend the night. I know a few people that’re good for it. If it’s too dangerous, we’ll keep our distance.”

  “Alright. I trust your judgement…”

  “Either way,” she said, flicking one of the braids that hung down in front of his shoulder. “You should probably undo your hair. Advocate tattoos are going to draw too much attention and this whole style is… a bit much.”

  “You want me to cover my Wounds!” Lovu said, pushing her hand away forcefully. “Do you have any clue how disrespectful that would be? I worked hard for each and every line. They’re proof of my devotion to Fam’e.”

  “Exactly. They’re a signal fire screaming ‘Look at me!’ You’re the only Advocate on that handbill and you’ve got the second highest bounty on your head. Everyone’s already going to be on the lookout for a Wounded little jackpot to snatch up. Your devotion won’t mean shit if you’re dead.”

  As always, Lovu saw the practicality in her words, but it still bothered him. He took great pride, not just in his Wounds, but in his hair as well. Making his braids nice and presentable took the better part of an hour each day and the shaved portion required touch ups every other day, but the past few days of roughing it had started to wear on them and a coarse stubble covered his tattoos.

  The idea of abandoning them entirely hurt, but… “Fine.” It was ultimately for the best.

  With Topal’s help, it didn’t take long. Once it was all down, he looked at his reflection in a pool of still water that formed in a hollow off of the stream. His hair hung down around his shoulders, greasy and limp. Topal gave him a cord to tie it up in a loose ponytail and it looked better than just hanging there, but he still wasn’t a fan.

  The edges of his Wounds were still faintly visible where they licked his temples no matter what he did, but they were mostly hidden. The sight of their unfinished edges hurt an unexpected amount.

  Wounds stopped there for all normal Advocates. The only exception was the High Advocate, who would have the tattoos continue across their forehead like a circlet. He would have waited until closer to his appointment as High Advocate to get his done, but he had still been silently looking forward to it. Another reminder of a future now out of reach.

  “Perfect,” Topal said, slapping him on the shoulder. “Now come one. No more time to waste.”

  He followed her lead with shoulders slumped. From there, it was an hour walk before Topal signaled him to get low. “It’s up ahead. Stay quiet, put your hood up, and keep to my shadow. If I say ‘run’, you run. Got it?”

  He nodded. Soon, Lovu noticed signs of human life. They started minor and sporadic, like paths that were worn slightly too much for animals to have made them and the occasional snare. Not long after, buildings came into view.

  Topal slowed down but didn’t stop until they were right at the edge of the forest. In front of them was a few hundred feet of tree stumps in varying stages of decay. Beyond that were a dozen buildings made primarily of wood with stone accents. Most had rows of tilled earth next to them filled with sparse foliage and wilted stalks and a couple even had pens filled with mewling beasts that Lovu couldn’t see clearly. A handful of people were visible, tending to their gardens or gathering around a well at the center of the buildings.

  “It looks normal,” Topal said, but the scowl on her brow said that didn’t comfort her much. “Wait here.”

  The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Lovu knelt down as low as possible until he was only able to see the village through the gaps between leaves and Topal completely vanished from view. He barely took his eyes off her for a second, but it was like she had never been there to begin with.

  A few minutes later, she reappeared just as suddenly, tapping him on the shoulder and eliciting an involuntary “eep” before he managed to close his mouth. Without a word, she held a finger to the scarf covering her mouth and jerked her head, telling him to follow. They traced around the edge of the village until they were on the opposite side from where they started.

  Again, she signaled him to wait as she sprinted across the open field of stumps toward one of the buildings. It was a bit different from all of the others with a huge chimney stretching above it. No smoke was coming from it right now, but Lovu could see the traces of soot blackening its tip.

  Clearing the distance in no time at all, Topal slipped into an open window. For a second, Lovu’s palms grew clammy as he realized that he hadn’t considered how Topal planned to approach the villagers. As he continued to sweat and let his imagination run wild, time passed in silence. There was no scream or commotion, so either there was nothing to worry about… or she was far better at her job than Lovu expected.

  Finally, a man opened a door on the side of the building and scanned the field of stumps. Lovu’s heart stopped, but a beat later Topal’s head popped out beside him and pointed at Lovu. The man said something to her that Lovu couldn’t hear, then stepped out of the building and walked toward the well while Topal waved him over.

  Giving a quick glance around to make sure nobody was in sight, Lovu sprinted as best he could. Halfway across, his foot caught a stump hidden under a tall patch of grass, sending him tumbling. He reached the house to find Topal’s disappointed face awaiting him. Even without words, he could feel her judgement.

  Silently, she dragged him inside and closed the door behind them. It was quite dark with only the open window as a source of light. The single room was small and cluttered, most of the space filled with tables covered in heavy-looking tools and twisted metal. It had a single bed in the corner but barely looked livable beyond that.

  Topal slipped between a couple of the tables and threw open a trapdoor on the floor. Nodding for him to follow, she dropped down. Carefully, he did the same while trying to avoid the jagged metal sticking out everywhere. Using rungs built into the wall, he slowly descended into an even messier room.

  Topal lit a lamp in the corner enough to reveal rows of shelves filled with even more tools and materials. By that point, Lovu was able to deduce that the man from before was some kind of black smith. He had never really been to a forge, but that was the only thing that made sense. Everything in the basement lined up with that possibility, but there was one problem – the wall farthest from the trapdoor was covered in weapon racks. Swords, spears, axes, even some things that Lovu didn’t have a name for.

  “Uh…” he said, slowly turning to look at Topal.

  “Oh, relax,” she said dismissively, grabbing a couple of rolled up leather pads from one of the shelves. She tossed one to him then rolled the other out on the ground. “Helye’s a member of the Smithguild in good standing and helps all of the local villages maintain their tools. Those are just a side business.”

  “That doesn’t exactly relieve my concern. If he’s willing to break the law, what else is he capable of?”

  “Protecting a fugitive, for one,” Topal said, laying down on the pad and folding her hands behind her head. “He’s a good guy and I’ve known him for a while. Your biggest concern should be whether he’ll sell you out once we’re gone and he finds out how much your bounty is actually worth. Besides that, he’s harmless.”

  “Charming.”

  “We’ll sleep here tonight and leave at first light,” she said. “Until then, don’t make too much noise and when he comes down to check on us, please don’t say anything to piss him off.”

  “I will hold my tongue.”

  That only flamed his concern more, but nothing would change that. Their situation was too dire and complex to hope for something less dubious. If anything, asking more questions about their host would just worry him more, so he rolled out his own bedroll to lay down. Still, that didn’t mean he couldn’t ask other things.

  “So, word of what happened in Lavote hasn’t reached this village yet?”

  “Nope. I told him you’re a noble who pissed of a Lord enough for them to hire assassins so I’m helping smuggle you out into the countryside to lay low. Figured a lie not far from the truth was better than something too complicated. Just don’t mention that you’re a Yelma and he shouldn’t question it.”

  “Noted. How did you meet… Helye, was it?”

  “Passed through here while navigating for a trade caravan. Sniffed out his side business pretty quickly and wanted to buy. That’s actually where I got this,” she said, flashing the sword that she was polishing. “Since then, I check in on him whenever I’m nearby. The folks here are all nice enough, so it’s a good place to stop in on longer trips.”

  They sat in awkward silence as Topal maintained her equipment, borrowing a whetstone from one of the nearby shelves. Lovu spent his time praying for Fam’e’s guidance and protection. He had said those words so many times over the past few days that he found himself repeating them without thought even when he didn’t mean to. As much as he wanted to honor her as often as possible, his prayers felt hollow and lifeless when he reached that point.

  After a while, Lovu heard the door slam from the floor above. Footsteps crossed the room toward the trapdoor and it flew open. Lovu rose to his feet, doing his best to hide himself behind one of the shelves before the man reached the bottom rung. As soon as he turned to face them, the man’s eyes locked on Lovu. “So, you’re the cocky little lordling.”