When I woke up the next morning I felt drained. My legs were like water, and my eyes still drooped down. But I was free. I was happy, until Eka and I tried to wake Be. He was dead. Be’s lungs had burst from the long run we had embarked on the night before. That made two. Two brave explorers that had died in as many days. This was not what I had imagined exploration would be like. Eka and I wept for hours while we prepared the funeral pyre for our friend. That night, Eka and I slept on the beach in remembrance of our traveling companion.
In the morning, we decided to continue on our route eastward. I remember the long trek that we made, staying out on the beach for fear of the forest. Eventually, we reached an area of land that looked similar to a marsh. Eka and I decided to name the place the Be Marsh in memory of our lost friend, and do the same with the forest that we could see further inland. As we pushed through the dense undergrowth, I heard a sound of rustling grass and leaves approaching. By the fear on Eka’s face I could tell that he had heard as well. We began to run. At the time, we didn’t know that it would only arouse the predators further. As we came in sight of a plain that spread as far as we could see, an unmistakably human form leaped out of the undergrowth directly at Eka.
Now that I have had time to reflect, I have changed my assessment. The thing that leaped at Eka was a humanoid form, but not human at all. Its fur was a mottled reddish brown, and it had curved fangs roughly the length of an index finger. Its eyes were reptilian in nature, and the cruel glint in its eyes left no doubt about its intentions. As soon as it had Eka in its murderous grasp the demon tore him limb from limb.
I sprinted onward, trying to ignore the screaming coming from behind me and the unmistakable chattering of the demons close behind. I ran even faster than I had run when we got away from the camp, something I had not thought possible. When I reached the plains I kept running. I heard the frustrated chattering of the demons as they reached the edge of the marsh. I collapsed. The last thing I remember before my world swirled were three faces appearing above me. “Moshimoshi? Anata dare?” My world went black.
I woke up in a bed, something I had never had in Ghara. There, beds were only for the rich. I tried to sit up, but when I began to move my head spun. Needless to say, I immediately laid back down. A woman that had been cooking something over the fire noticed my activity and rushed over to me. She was of a race I had never seen before, not counting the three I had seen before I had passed out. Her skin was a light olive, and her eyes were smaller than those of the people back in Ghara.
I once again heard that strange language. “Mada go riyō itadakemasu! Anata wa daijōbudesuka?” When I tried to sit up she pushed me down and berated me in whatever that language was. I got the message, “Stay down!” I decided to introduce myself, but I had no idea how. If I had never heard her language, what were the chances she had heard mine? I finally settled on a course of action. I pointed to myself and stated my name. The woman repeated it, and when I smiled encouragingly she pointed to herself and said, “Kibo.” It was a beautiful name even then, and when I learned what it meant later it was quite appropriate. She was hope.
Over the next few weeks I traveled around the city I had learned to call Kyoto and learned the language of the inhabitants, Japanese. Kyoto was huge, a bustling port with trade and commerce flowing in daily. One day, I saw yet another type of person that I had never seen before. When I asked the merchants where he was from, the answer was Warsaw. I actually learned his language as well, because it was a mixture of Japanese and some other language which I soon learned was called Greek. When I inquired about the Greeks I found out that they were located to the south, in a city just as grand as Kyoto. It was amazing. In all my wildest dreams I had never thought that there could be one such civilization, never mind two! I felt like an explorer again.
While I wanted to travel around all of this new land, I settled for trading for a chart from a local merchant. I would take this back to my people, along with a ship that I had managed to acquire. The Japanese crew that I hired would follow my instructions, and soon I would be home. It was another of the happy times in those dismal times, when I had almost lost hope. I boarded that ship with hope, ready to go home and find my beautiful Prema. I had had my fill of exploration.
The journey home went nicely, with no storms or any other obstructions. When the ship glided into Ghara Bay I expected to be greeted with the pastoral view that I had left behind. I expected a bustling village, with the small huts that abounded and the smoke plumes that continually leaked out of the chimneys. That was not what I saw. Oh yes, I saw a plume of smoke, but it was not from a kitchen fire. It was from something I had never seen before. A huge blaze had engulfed half of the huts in its fiery embrace, and I could see villagers running away. I didn’t understand why they didn’t fight the greedy flames, until I looked towards the edge of the fire. I saw men in metal armor not unlike that I had seen in Kyoto. Piled in front of them was a wall of corpses. One of them was Prema.
nya
Filli_Noctus has joined the game as Phillipos Noctus Demandros
