CHRONICLES OF AADYA

Episode Four

ALISDAIR

It has been two days since I last saw Aadya in my dream, and ever since then, I haven't had any vision of her. I've never evaded an entire day without glimpsing her, and so never believed not glimpsing her in my dream would cause me as much dread as it is currently. We prevailed in making it to Alaston in two days following our departure from the river bank, though the rumors we turned on to amass from people when we reached Alaston were in no path helpful.

It had taken us a total of six days, six days to arrive at Alaston only to be told rumors. Rumors I still can't wrap my head around. It just happened to be impenetrable. I always knew there was a problem when I failed to see her for an entire day, I just hoped it wouldn't be this way. Why does my fate have to be this complicated?

I found myself sitting in a corner and for the first time, I felt empty. Alone. I wonder if I am the only living creature that feels hollow inside. It was so much that it threatened to swallow me whole. It's just too difficult to believe she isn't here anymore. Perhaps she never was.

"Brother, you need to go easy," Bellamy tells me.

"Don't divulge me to relax, Bellamy. What do they even convey by 'there was a wild spread of fire and she was gone?" I threw back at him as if he was the cause of my misfortune.

"Sometimes, one needs to calm down, stand wherever they are, and think things through," Bellamy said softly, trying to talk me out while my dismay strives to consume me.

"I tried, I really did, Bellamy. But sometimes trying only gets you to the point of realizing you weren't who you thought you were supposed to be" I may have let that out in the wrong way, but that doesn't mean it wasn't how I felt. Like all these weren't supposed to be special. Although my mother had thought otherwise. And so Bellamy.

"A certain optimist I know was worried about much worse. At least she didn't burn so there's more. You can still feel her, right?" I could hear him though as a matter of fact, wasn't paying attention as my mind kept lingering around. "Tell me!" His voice echoed in my head as he tries to call me back. "Tell me, brother. You can still feel her, right?" He had much more hope in his eyes than I. I just wish things were different, it's just hard to accept that I can't feel her anymore.

"I don't know. I don't know, Bellamy. I- I don't know" I trailed. Not looking at anything, in particular, just a hopeless eye wandering around.

All of a sudden he grabbed my head in between his palms. "Look at me. Look! I know you can still feel her. I know that" He tells me certainly. "What else would it mean to suddenly vanish? If she was dead, you do know, so she's not. We just have to find her"

"You know what hurts me the most? It is as if my entire life involves around her. Everything" I blurt out. It may be true I can't feel her, but a part of me knows she is still alive, out there, somewhere, and that part I now clung to.

"You are becoming, Alisdair. You are, brother"

Thereupon, I settled by the bar while the barman observed me like I was the most absurd person he had laid eyes on. It's the first time we came this extending far into a town and I had just begun to see how different things are to our land.

"I apologize for my brother's manner. Hopefully, he can improve his behavior by tomorrow" Bellamy said to the man upon returning before placing two coins in front of the bar-man. "Beer for my brother here and one for me" We don't make use of coins in Irpinia, it is considered that he always finds a way.

The barman turned away from us and Bellamy gave me a look I didn't quite understand, or possibly I was not in the right position to grasp.

"So, what brings you to Alaston, white hair?" He ask Bellamy placing a wooden mug plugged with a beer in front of him and irresponsibly setting another before me, though I didn't mind as that was the list of my worries. My eyes trained on Bellamy's hair and I thought he indeed needed a bath, both of us do.

"Oh, we're heading for Opheena. Only stopped to rest for awhile here" Bellamy tells him. Opheena, which we came to know is the next town after Alaston would only take us about a day to get, and there we had planned to begin our search.

"Hope you two aren't planning on traveling by nightfall?"

"Perhaps we might have thought so"

"That would be your mistake, then. You should travel by morning, it's safer" He advised Bellamy.

"Why is that?"

"There is a monster robbing and murdering merchants at nightfall on the road of Opheena. Many traders now wait until dawn to commence their journey" He briefs.

"Doesn't rhyme" Bellamy mumbled before gulping down his beer.

The barman went on to serve a beer to another fellow before returning to Bellamy and then went forth to narrate. "Manhunt was organized and dispatched to find and kill the monster. But none returned. Only witnessed their remains at dawn, their heart all missing. And now no man would travel in the dead of night. This has been going on since two full moons"

Bellamy made a thing he usually makes with his mouth when trying to process something, he turns to look at me with a query stare.

"So, how do we get a place to stay for the night," I appeal to the barman.

"How? Only if you got coin or something to trade" He tells me. I mulled over it for a moment before sinking my hand inside my sack. In the end, I place a stone before him and he picks it up, scrutinizing it for some time.

"You got more of this?" He asks.

"What can that get us?" I throw back.

"Enough"

"Then, that would be it" I state stably. He stares at me for some time then nods. I honestly have no knowledge of what their coin is made of but the stone I had given in exchange is what we use in Irpinia, it's a precious stone and it is worth more than the coins to him, I can tell from his expression.

He returns and placed some coins before me. "It's 23 crowns. It would get you both a room and enough to buy some new clothes" He points at both of us. "Just saying" He defends "I can give you more coins only if I can have another of the stone" He bargained.

"If I knew it worth this much. I'd had gotten more from my father" I said plainly.

It happened that we had been so focused on the bar-man to even notice the sudden room change. "What's going on?" I ask the man as I and Bellamy turn in the direction of some audience.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you have always proven to be the most delightful audience. Remember to toss a coin if you can" A young man with a cittern clutched underneath his armpit announced. The audience's expressions were that of people keen to see him perform.

"That is Barlowe. He performs here every evening when in Alaston, same time, and the people quite enjoy him play" The bar-man explains.

Gradually Barlowe began to kick in some rhythm. "In a lonely day..." I was taken by surprise by the voice he possessed. It was...immaculate. "...but a lovely world..." He began to move around the room in rhythm with his play and just like that, mine as well as others' eyes followed him.

"...where we need to be strong just for what we want..." He stops next to a woman who giggles at his flirting. "...even when it's hard. We need to fight. Cause we got some dreams!" The last word was stressed and suddenly it seized. Silence. And then he starts to play the instrument again. "To make my wealth I just have to keep going..." His voice is more of bass now. He slides on a table near me "...If you want land or silver. You have to take it..." And just like that, he was at my side, and his voice settles in a bass whisper. "...cause it's all about determination..." I don't know how to say it other than to say, I felt the line was directed specifically to me and when I looked he was already gone.

"And there's a path we need to walk to Just to reach there... We live to fight for our dreams. For another day"

"We strive again"

"Fight!"

"Dream, yearn, fight!"

"Dream"

And just like that, everywhere became still for a moment before the loud cheering swamped the entire room. I admit that was really a good one, he was good. He gathered his coins and start approaching the bar. "If anyone needs me, I'll be at the bar," He says to the audience.

We had washed and changed into the new set of clothing we got at the market before setting out for Opheena. The previous night had been a total rest for me and Bellamy, for sure we needed the rest. I have set up my mind to find Aadya. I am going to keep searching for her no matter how long it would take, and this time, I would make sure to find her. I have to find her. I need to find her. And I will.

It was evening when we arrived at Opheena which seem to be a larger town than Alaston. The market was next to an ocean which had a couple of boats attached to the sides. It had come to our notice that every town deals with coins here, we did have a lot of the precious stones unlike what was told to the bar-man. It was just a strategy to let me off.

"Stop! Thieves!" We suddenly hear from afar. It is just one of our wolf traits. "C'mon stop the boys!" I could hear racing heartbeats from a distance behind.

"Come on, Leif! I thought you could keep up with me!" One call and I could perceive something, still, I just can't put a word to it.

"Shut your mouth, Gunnar!"

"Good, say our names loud and all!" The other nags.

"Hey! Stop!"

The two boys brushed past the center of Bellamy and me trying to go as far as possible from the man they had robbed. I turn to give Bellamy a signal before going after the boys. It was easy to locate them as I already perceived Gunnar's scent. I waited for both at a corner and grabbed Gunnar by the collar of his cloth once he was in sight, pulling him into the corner. He anxiously tried to get free but when it came to his attention it wasn't possible he finally looked up at me. I search his eyes to see if there is any trace of something that would let me know he did recognize me, and when I didn't see any, I query.

"Do you know who I am, boy?"