Chapter 23: Liam 

HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-

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I don't know how long it took me to stop shaking, for my heart to stop hammering, for the adrenaline to dissipate. It was well into the night but eventually I was calm enough to sit on Amber's back correctly, behind Kate and Reid. 

Just as dawn was breaking on the horizon we saw lights peeking from the trees a few miles away. We headed for civilization, collectively agreeing we needed some down time with all we've been through. Despite my wanting to be carefree for a little while, there was this buzzing sensation in the back of my head that screamed we were running out of time. I pushed it down, ignoring it. 

We landed a little ways outside of the town, dismounting off of our friend. Reid begins to unload our stuff off of Amber's back, giving her a break and I rummage through our things, taking inventory of what we have and what we need. Long story short, the former was small, the latter was big. 

"I'm going to scout ahead. We don't want to walk in blind. I'll shout if there's trouble." Kate says, unsheathing her sword. She twirls the wide, heavy blade around her, testing the weapon. 

"But-" I begin but she cuts me off. 

"No, no, no. We've learned our lesson about barging in unannounced thinking that everything is hunky dory, haven't we?" She gives me a scolding look, but underneath I see a hint of fondness. 

"Yes ma'am, we have." I say begrudgingly, turning back to the bags in front of me. I choose to ignore the snickering coming from Amber's direction. 

"I'll be back in a flash." Kate says, before practically disappearing in the brush. She was back within ten minutes, a large smile plastered on her face and her sword sheathed. 

"Good news! They're entirely friendly. One woman even offered me a blanket because she thought I looked cold." She laughs. I grin back. Amusement and laughter come so rarely when it comes to Kate, so it's amazing to see her so happy. 

"Great! I'm just about finished taking inventory so I know what we need to buy. You good Reid? Amber?" I respond. 

"Yup! All the bags are sorted and accounted for. We each need to carry two and that should be enough to give old Amber here a break." Reid says with a bright smile, his…no, her face glowing. 

"Hey! Are you calling me old?!" Amber playfully bumps Reid. "All good, boss. Locked and loaded!" I roll my eyes fondly at her, as she shakes her now bare back. 

Their spirits are lifted. The town is good and we're closer than ever to Cald Feri. Finally, we have hope.

We walk the little ways to the town, and soon find ourselves entering a wide dirt road. We wade through the throng of people, everyone out early to get goods from the market. We pass by shops and stands, each selling their own product and calling into the crowd their deals. The bustling of the town reminds me of home, of Derynas. Before the attack. But all these people are foreign, not a single face I recognize. 

People part for us when they look up to see the head of Amber towering over them, giving us easy access through the streets. I keep my eye out for a food stand and spot one, breaking from the others to wait in line. I'm vaguely aware of them stopping at a much less busy shop, looking through the windows at the advertisements and talking to random curious townspeople. When my turn comes I hand over a few coins from a pouch in my pocket and ask for a various assortment of goods. 

"I like your patches." Someone behind me says. I turn to see a nice looking woman with a small child in her arms who looks bug-eyed at me, his thumb in his mouth. 

"Thank you!" I say with a smile, glancing down at my favorite jacket, riddled with patches and pins. 

"Did you sew them yourself?" She asks, her eyes exploring the array of fabrics. 

"Yes! I did, actually. Self taught of course, so they aren't that good, but I enjoy it." I laugh. 

"What are you talking about? That's one handy whipstitch. Very well done." She says. 

"Oh, you flatter me. I thank you though." 

"Of course! I have to applaud any good sewing I come across. It's in my nature as a seamstress I guess." She chuckles. 

"I'm Liam." I offer my hand. She takes it in the one not holding the boy and shakes it. "Miriam. And this is Abe." She says with a lovely smile, gesturing to her kid. 

I glance over my shoulder and take my goods. "It was nice talking to you, Miriam. And you too Abe." I wave bye to the both of them and walk back to my friends, an extra skip in my step. 

We walk down the street further, the buildings now slowly morphing into businesses, but the streets just as busy. We search for an Inn, or somewhere to sleep. I figured we needed at least one night in an actual bed with a roof over our heads. 

Suddenly, someone bumps into my shoulder. I stumble a bit and Kate catches my arm. 

"Hey, watch it!" She yells at the person, a hood over their head. They don't turn around, they just keep walking. I feel something's lighter on me…the food! 

"Hey! Thief!" I yell, pointing at the hooded figure. They glance back, showing the face of a grimy woman before she takes off running. I glance at my friends before taking off myself. They run behind me, barreling through the people. We all shout accusatory words at the thief, but the most anyone does is give us a pitied look. 

We slowly gain on the woman. Having a giant dragon plowing through the crowd comes in handy sometimes. The woman disappears around a bend and we race around it, but stop dead in our tracks. 

She's standing on the porch to a business, the sack of our provisions in hand. Before her is a barrel, and she's sitting on an overturned crate. 

"Sup." She nods, not even bothering to hide her face. 

"Give us our food back, you thief." Amber growls. 

"Woah! That is wild!" She says, putting a hand to her head. "Is that really you? Or am I just crazy? Honestly I wouldn't be surprised if it's the latter." She bursts out laughing. We don't. 

"Give us. Our. Food." I say, taking a deep forward. Kate grips a hand on her sword. 

"Woah! Woah! Woah! No need to get hasty! In reality I don't want your stupid food. I just want a game." She gestures to the barrel in front of her. Now I noticed what was on it. It was a board game. 

Battle Tactica. One of the most famous games in Eladea. It was designed by an ancient king to test his generals to see if they were worthy of leading his armies, but now it's just a fun betting game. But it still serves its purpose in some aspects. Ren still plays it, claiming it helps him with battle strategy. Not one knight has been able to beat him yet. Sage even plays it occasionally, though she's not nearly as good as her rat friend. Battle Tactica is a game with an elaborate board that makes my head hurt, seemingly thousands of prices with their own strengths and weaknesses, hundreds of moves per turn, a thousand ways to lose or die, millions of rules, and one of the longest running games. The longest game Ren had ever had lasted just under twelve hours, his competitor an old veteran. Sage had tried to explain the rules to me, but I gave up after she explained the tenth unique piece on the board. 

The girl leans forward, an eyebrow raised. "If one of you can beat me in a game, you get your food back. If you don't, I keep it. You see, I've been dying for a good opponent in this place and it seems you foreigners are my best chance at a good game." She opens her arms wide. "So what do you say?" 

"We don't have to listen to this. Let's just go and take the food back ours-" I begin to say, turning back to them when Reid's voice interrupts me. 

"I'll do it. I can beat you." Her eyes are hard set but a glimmer of excitement is ignited behind them. 

"The young man takes the challenge!" A few curious people are gathering now, listening in on the drama. 

"Young woman. And yes, I do." Reid steps forward, sitting on a crate opposite the woman. I sigh, moving to stand near them. Just looking at the board makes me wanna puke. 

"My apologies. Now, do you have any special preferences?" She says, leaning forward intently. 

"No. Simple, classic game. Anything goes, original rules." Reid says with confidence. Kate and Amber come to stand by me as a small crowd of people move in closer. 

"Alright then! Let the game begin." The woman makes a series of baffling moves, the pieces already all over the place. 

"She's going for the direct offense…" I hear Reid mumble to herself as she gazes intently at the board. Then, she makes her move. She does seemingly no different to what the lady does, but her eyebrows shoot up her forehead and she mutters a curse. 

The lady goes again, and without hesitation Reid only makes two moves. The lady swears out loud this time, taking a long moment to stare at the board, pulling at her hair. Finally, a confident smirk crosses her face as she makes her move. She sits back, arms crossed in triumph. Reid simply silently moves a single piece across the board, kicks over the woman's piece and sets hers down gently. 

"I win." Is all Reid says. The woman, exasperated, stands to look at the board. Her eyes are wide and bulging as she stares disbelieving at the game. The crowd around us cheers and claps for our friend and I clap her on the back. She beams up at us and I laugh. 

"Wait!" A man pushes through the crowd. "I propose a counter offer. I'll give you double your food and enough gold for what you have right now, if someone can beat me." I'm about to suggest Reid take this one again when I notice him holding up a guitar. Excitement flares in me. How long has it been since I played? 

Reid looks back with an expression that says "not me!" Kate just shrugs, gesturing at her sword. Amber just looks at the tiny strings on the guitar, then down at her claws the size of a quarter around. I sigh, stepping forward. 

"You got an extra one? I lost mine a few months ago." 

"Of course I do sonny!" The man reaches back and tosses me another instrument. I test it out, strumming it with the pick he gave me. I tune it as I move to sit on a crate as he does the same. 

"Rules?" I ask, glancing up from the foreign guitar. 

"Play a short song showing off your skills, and whichever these lovely folks like better is the winner." He says, propping his dark wooded instrument on his knee. I glance at the now thick crowd of people and smile at them. My friends give me encouraging looks from the sidelines. 

The man clears his throat, going first. After the first chord I know I'm in for a rough ride. His music is hard and rough, scraping the ears in all the right places. It sounds worn yet alive at the same time, the music flowing from it with ease. He closes his eyes briefly, strumming with ease. 

As he finishes, the crowd bursts into applause. That's gonna be hard to beat. The man looks at me expectantly, a smug yet humble look on his face. 

I flex my fingers, warming them up as I take a deep breath. It's been awhile, but I remember, right? 

I mess up on my first chord, it comes out sharp and horribly sounding. Some people wince and I grimace. I restart, breathing deep and full, not allowing that gnawing fear to take hold. 

Then, I strum again. This time it comes out soft and smooth. I continue, my fingers dancing across the strings as if I had never stopped. I close my eyes, feeling the music as it flows through me. Why did I ever stop? Oh, that's right, my home was taken by a crazy man and most likely destroyed. 

I entered my own world, the world where people go when they become a part of the music. When everything else fades away until it's just you and the cords. 

As I finished, I opened my eyes to see tears staining everyone's cheeks. I smile sheepishly, taking my fingers off the strings. Then, suddenly, everyone bursts into rapid applause. I laugh as the man shakes his head in disbelief. My friends come up behind me, shaking me and patting me on the back. The man hands me our rewards and I smile from ear to ear, My friends hugging me from behind. 

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Word count: 2339

Hehe hehe how'd you like it? I liked it a lot. Lord knows they needed the break. I wonder who could have put them through all of this? 

Sooo thoughts? Ideas? Theories? You know I love all that jaazzzzz 

And please feel free to comment! I love receiving them and try to respond to almost every one I get. You don't have to, but please consider not being a silent reader :3 

Cya next week!