We walked through various forests, meadows and hills. The sun had already climbed above us and was shining through small gaps in the trees.
Out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of a pool. I gave a slight nod to Lasin that we would stop. The water was clear as glass and the rays of the sun were reflected all around.
"I'm going to take a bath, so keep an eye on things and don't think of anything..."
I frowned slightly. "Me and do something?" I laughed. "If only there was something to look at."
Offended, she turned away. I sat a little further behind the slope. A few moments passed and then you could hear people climbing out of the water. She came to me dressed.
"You too, I won't take a bath with such stinky company."
I frowned. "Stink is nature's camouflage."
She rolled her eyes. "With you, your presence is enough and everyone notices you."
Without saying a word, I got up and went to the pool. Then we replenished the supply of drinks. I sat half-naked on a tree stump and pulled out a loaf of bread. I calmly chewed my bread and continuously noticed how Lasin was watching me.
"What are you looking at?" I asked her.
She looked away, "To the tree."
Only now did I notice that Lasin was only covered by larger shirts.
"When did you take my shirt?" I asked surprised. It was my last shirt in good condition.
"It was lying here, so I borrowed it." Lasin looked at the bread and licked her lips lightly.
We were hungry, but we couldn't afford to eat it all. I cut it in half and returned the other half to the rag. I cut the rest in half again and gave half to Lasin. With unquenchable hunger in her eyes, she accepted a piece of bread and immediately pounced on it.
"Where are you from?" I broke the silence.
"From Luskar, but due to problems I was forced to run away, what about you, where are you from?"
I winced slightly at the sound of the empire.
"Luskar is not completely corrupt," she added.
"I come from Detruisia, from a farm," I replied.
"You're from a farm?" she laughed in surprise. I shot her a sharp look. Immediately she stopped laughing. "You don't seem like a farmer at all."
I bit into the bread and swallowed. "Do you think I should have a scythe and cut grain here somewhere so that I could grow up on a farm in the past?" I asked angrily.
She rolled her eyes. "Its just that farmers usually don't know how to fight."
I looked into those azure eyes. "Do girls normally know how to fight?" I paused. "That's even more rare than a farmer." I raised one eyebrow curiously.
"I had to survive somehow," she said desperately.
"You see, I feel the same way."
There was a silence that ended our conversation.
The next day of the expedition was uneventful. Lasin had a lot of energy to spare, so she thought we could train against each other here and there. I haven't had a battle partner in a long time, so I warmly welcomed it.
Considering that we were traveling along the main route to the capital, it was strange that we encountered almost no caravans or pilgrims.
"Don't you know what's going on that there aren't any traders along the way?" I pitched.
"All I've heard is that there are some border issues with the empire."
A large figure emerged from around the bend. According to the figure, he was an experienced fighter and was seven feet tall. I put my hand discreetly on the hilt of the sword. His short cropped blond hair accentuated his elongated ears.
This race is called ming. The Mings are the most common magic wielding race. His orange colored eyes locked on me. The tension was growing between us and I wished nothing would happen. We walked a bit around each other. I took a deep breath. Suddenly, ming stopped and turned to me.
"Don't I know you from somewhere?" he asked. I stopped and turned to him. He watched me in detail, his eyes could not miss even the smallest detail.
"I don't think so," I replied confidently.
"Okay, maybe it was just a mistake." Ming calmly continued on. I was relieved it was nothing more. My senses told me he was dangerous and I shouldn't get involved with him.
"Strange," Lasin said uncertainly. Her gaze indicated curiosity.
The ground was suddenly softer beneath us. Roots crunched and the ground began to sink. I jumped and landed on solid ground.
"Aaaah!" Lasin shouted as the ground collapsed beneath her.
After the situation calmed down, I leaned over the edge. Lasin landed roughly three meters below the surface of the road. I jumped down.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
"Ow," she hissed in pain.
Obviously yes.
It felt like a room. I looked around and stopped at a stone tombstone. I walked over to it and removed the pieces of rubble covering it. The inscription was written in an unknown language.
"You ask if I'm okay, and when I indicate I'm not, you suddenly become interested in a stone with a few letters on it." I walked over to Lasin and brushed the debris off her.
"Can you walk?"
She let out a small moan of pain. "I don't know yet." I grabbed her hand and lifted her to a standing position. "Yes I can, but slowly." She leaned against me and tried to take a few steps. The head of a blond ming appeared from the hole above us.
"Are you alright?" he asked, jumping down.
I looked at him scared. What is he doing here? Shouldn't he left already?
"More or less yes," I replied.
Lasin scowled at me. "Speak for yourself."
Ming looked at the tombstone. He stopped and turned to us with noticeable shock on his face.
"This is what I've been looking for all along."
"What is written there?" I asked. It looked like some ancient text.
"The year 2184, monument of the dead."
I've never come across anything this old. We are in the year 4230. Nothing survived and no records are preserved from two thousand years ago. Anyone who tried to find out about that time gave up after a few months because it didn't get anywhere.
"This changes a lot of theories," he muttered to himself. I looked at him in disbelief.
"It's just a monument to the dead," I said.
Ming shook his head. He obviously decided there was no point in explaining it to me.
"I'm Lasin and this is Daen, who are you?" Lasin introduced us to break the sudden awkward silence.
"I'm Jurian, it's my pleasure." He was watching me suspiciously. It was uncomfortable. "What is your maiden name Daene?" As if his eyes were looking for a tiny crack in me.
"Lirdenk, but I left them." It was a truth I had to admit. It was one of the few things that i still remember.
Apparently that was enough for Jurian and he stopped suspecting me so much for now. I looked around. As if nature had quieted down after the unveiling of the monument.
"Cover it!" I commanded.
"What is it?" Lasin asked. Suddenly, a faint noise began to be heard. All my instincts told me that we shouldn't have revealed it.
"COVER IT!" I repeated.
Jurian felt it too and started covering it with pieces of rubble. We pissed off the nimers themselves.
"What the hell got into you!" Lasin shouted in my ear. I flinched in surprise.
"We have uncovered something that must not see sunlight," Jurian elaborated.
"Where are you headed?" he asked.
"To Endton, why?" Lasin replied.
"It's quite possible we won't live to see tomorrow so I don't want to die alone and I'm also headed to Endton now that I found it," he paused. "May I join you? I certainly won't be a bother."
I looked at Lasin with a no look.
She returned it with a questioning look, as if to say: What do you have against him? I shook my head not to worry.
"Yes, we'd be happy to keep you company."
I gave her a murderous look. His presence and suspicion made me want to just leave, but I had promised Lasin that I would go with her to Endton, and promises mean a lot to me.