Chapter 27 : Rulid

Katachi had narrowly escaped a rather dangerous encounter.

A few hours ago, he had been attacked in the shin by a pebble, and a red-haired girl who looks about 16 swung a really large, heavy sword at him. For some reason, it had given Katachi a severe infliction of paranoia.

K : (... What... What in the good woods was that? I could have sworn she wanted me dead with those crazy attacks of hers... Has word of me collecting the Words of Power spread out this quickly, that people are hiring bandits or marauders to attack me now?! I don't even look rich to begin with! Why else would anyone attack a guy wearing such worn-down clothes and noisy sabots?!)

Katachi, bearing a great sense of insecurity in his mind, continued his slow, cautious walk towards Rulid.

*** ***

Rulid is a really small town, about 3/4 of an acre, with some mountainous regions about, so most of the houses are terrace houses surrounded by Melkwood pines, Sugarpelt canes and many beautiful plants. Though they bear great beauty, the plants are mostly cosmetic in nature, and barely profitable. So, it is unfortunate that only small trades come by a rarely visited town like Rulid.

Katachi slowly clacked his noisy sabots on the stone path, and came upon what seems to be a grocer that sells plain vegetables and some caged birds.

"Hello, little boy. What would you like today?"

The old lady behind the stand peered through the sagging flesh on her face, and earnestly looked at the boy.

K : (... Take what one needs, but leave for others. I suppose I don't need all the coin in my pouch, but I do need some food to get through tonight.)

Katachi chose a corn cob that was slightly smaller than the others, dropped three pieces of silver, and prompted a question.

K : (Seeing how she's a grocer, she's bound to know quite a bit about the town's happenings and events. Even if it's hearsay, the slightest hint of a Word of Power is more than enough.) "Lady, are there any interesting rumors about this town?"

The old lady smiled slightly, but her limp cheeks made that unnoticeable. Shaking her head slightly, she answered back.

"Oh, no, no rumors for me, young man. Ho ho, I'm too old for it. Far too old..."

K : (Nothing, huh...) "Thanks, lady. I'll just look around somewhere."

Katachi silently thanked her, and walked deeper into the town.

*** ***

K : (... From what I can gather, there really isn't much happening around here. There're no strange things about, there's nothing major going on, there's really nothing I can do here except rest for the night. Though... I do get a rather creepy feeling somewhere...)

Katachi took out the rope from his bag, and began tying it between both trees. Using it as a makeshift clothesline, he began fanning out his nice, clean clothes that came with the traveler's kit to rid the chances of mildew growing. Katachi also attached his wooden sabots onto a wooden hook he made along his journey, and dangled the pair of wet, muddy sabots onto the clothesline.

Afterwhich, Katachi took out the corn he had bought, and started peeling off the silk on the cob.

K : (... These string things are a little hard to pluck out all in a go... I wonder if I could use the new Word of Power to make my job easier? 解除! Remove exteriors - Corn!)

A dry whisper echoed in the back of his head, as a golden 解 was placed onto the cob.

The silk peeled off cleanly, and fell to the ground. However, the kernels attached to the corn also began falling out, and what remained on his hand was the cob itself, without any corn kernels left on it. The 解 faded off when the whole expunging process was complete.

*Cozy's Notes : Note that he used Remove exteriors, and not Remove silk. Being specific and precise when you use the Words of Power is important, they are like genie wishes - You might not get what you bargained for.*

K : (!!) "Ahh! The corn!..."

Katachi stared pitifully at the corn he had spent three silvers to purchase. The three precious pieces of silver had been used to trade for a cob of corn to keep him satiated through the night. Corn kernels of three silver's worth lay on the ground.

K : (Aww... Hmm, I think I can still eat those, though.)

Beggars can't be choosers.

Picking up the small pieces of corn kernels, Katachi cupped them in his hands, and placed them onto a stone counter left outside one of the terrace houses.

Katachi took out the pebble with Urdythari's rune engraved onto it, and recited.

K : "An unending stream flowed."

The pebble became damp, and water started to form on the pores of the pebble, dripping and gradually pouring gently into Katachi's mouth. Filling his thirst with a water pebble and its thankfully infinite supply of water, Katachi swung it about his wrist, shaking off the excessive water on the surface. He then placed the pebble beside the corn kernels on the stone counter to dry in the sun.

K : (... Okay. My throat's feeling better now. I can't exactly stop here to do jobs for some coin, since there're no Words of Power about worthy of spending a while in this town. I guess I'll have to get my own food the old-fashioned way.)

Katachi looked about, and saw only Melkwood pines and Sugarpelt canes about the town. He couldn't find any fruit-bearing trees anywhere, and was starting to get a bit nervous. He began walking around town to search for a fruit tree to climb. Just as he turned the corner of the terrace house's wall, the vibrant orange patch in the corner of his eyes caught his attention immediately.

K : (... An orange?... I've never seen one in real life before, but that's an orange, isn't it? Quite literal to the name, I see... As far as I know, those take at least 10 years to mature and bear fully ripened fruits. It's probably going to be sour, but it's better than nothing, I guess.)

Katachi walked toward the orange tree, and rested his foot onto the soft, smooth bark. One bare foot upon its trunk and anyone could tell the significant difference from most trees with a coarse, blistering bark - This is most definitely not a tree that grows commonly. It was the bark of a tree none would be able to afford as a form of commerce, because of its ridiculous ripening time of 4 or 5 years.

Katachi slowly extended his arms, and grabbed at the trunk. Shifting his body weight and limbs about, it wasn't long before he reached the fruits of the tree. Katachi plucked one off, and sat on the branch of the tree, to relax himself for the meal.

He dug his thumbs into the soft, fragrant skin of the fruit, and peeled it open, revealing the mysterious insides of the orange for the first time in his life. The orange was a fruit he certainly did not expect - It seems as if the fruit's flesh had been divided into 8 separate segments, that can detach individually into bite-sized chunks. It's a big change from sweet fruits like the papayas or mangoes he used to eat.

Katachi placed a small slice of orange into his mouth, and chewed slowly. The fruit had a tangy taste to it - A sweetness tinged with a hint of sour, its juices flooded his entire mouth, and the fragrance seeped into his nostrils more concentrated than ever.

It took a single slice to have Katachi nod his head happily, in solid approval of the fruit's wondrous taste and thirst-quenching capabilities. He chewed on the delicious fruit for a couple of minutes, completely indulged in the exotic taste.

K : (This... Is this really an orange? It feels like a mellow mango mixed with a bit of lemon, but it's so good...! I can't believe an orange actually tastes this great! The book often says that it is very, very sour when it isn't ripe, but this only bars a hint of sour!... Wait, then... Are these oranges fully ripe?!)

Katachi, upon realizing that the tree was mature, started to tense up a little.

K : (... For at least 10 years counting the maturity rate and the ripening process, this tree has stood, and most probably been tended to frequently... And now that its fruits have become ripe, I'm just taking one to eat... Taking the unripe oranges to eat is one thing, but this... I feel kind-of bad for taking the hard work and efforts of the person who planted this tree...)

Katachi glanced around the tree, and saw an abandoned, demolished house behind the thicket of leaves.

K : (...! The house is abandoned... This tree, growing outside this house, is perfectly fine, though. There seems to be quite a bit of neglect for this house, since I can see cobwebs from the windows themselves, but... Finding the fruit outside of an abandoned house does not pardon me from the sin of theft. Forgive me, Segus. I was unaware of my wrongdoings.)

Katachi leapt down, securely wrapping his arm around the tasty fruit, and walked back to where the stone counter is.

K : (It's still a waste leaving the orange behind though, since I already plucked it - Might as well eat the one that has already came off.)

With that excuse, Katachi continued to savor on the orange.

*** ***

As the sky started to redden, Roberia had arrived at Rulid as well. It would normally have been night by the time she reached, but Roberia had lost her sword to a peculiar curse - Which so happens to comprise the majority of her luggage's weight. Without the heavy sword weighing her down, she was able to reach just as the sun started to set.

R : (... Wow, I made it. I didn't think I'd be able to make it this quickly, but I did... That's great.)

Roberia walked toward a certain part of the town, her hands on the sword strap, almost as if she was ready to put the load down - Like the place was her home.

She set the leather belt with a sword holder strap down, and reached her hands out toward a tree, climbing up quickly. Sitting on a comfortable branch, she reached her hand out, plucked an orange from the tree, pried it open, and slowly enjoyed the flesh within. When the flesh was gone, she tore out a piece of the orange's skin and tossed it into her mouth, suckling on it.

R : (... Mmm. Good to the last bit. Right, after this, I'll go to the blacksmith for a good weapon, and then sleep. I can't afford an inn tonight though, because that bastard made me lose money. I guess I'll sleep out in the open. There's an abandoned house right here, so if anybody comes near and tries to attack me, I'd know.)

Roberia landed on the soft ground with a thud, and walked towards a specific part of Rulid.

*** ***

Katachi had originally wanted to sleep out near a bench outside a watering hole, but as the sun set more and more, the dark clouds in the sky seemed to impose on Katachi, almost taunting him.

K : (... It's about to rain. I have to look for shelter... But I have no money to afford shelter of any sort. What do I do?)

... Somewhere in the deep recesses of his mind, a familiar location surfaced.

The abandoned house at where the orange tree was.

K : (... There's an abandoned house near that orange tree. I guess I can sleep in it if it's abandoned. It's okay if there's a lot of dust and dirt, but I'm more worried about spiders crawling on me in my sleep... I guess I can use the groundsheet to cover my body for protection, and use the blanket only when the night becomes too cold and harsh.)

Katachi kept his clothesline, and packed his stuff. He advanced onward on his next destination.

*** ***

R : "Yes, just like that. It shouldn't be too hard, just attach these onto an existing one with a slightly more durable handle, please."

"Okay. It's just cutting and welding, so it should be ready in a few hours. Why don't you come and pick it up tomorrow morning, little missy?"

R : "Yes. That would be great. Thank you."

Roberia left the blacksmith's house, and walked towards the old, abandoned house.

R : (... That Katachi guy is probably sleeping comfortably inside one of these inns... That may be the reason why I haven't seen him yet. But now, it's far too dark for me to see even my own hands clearly. I'll just rest the night away and worry tomorrow.)

The night wouldn't normally be this dark, but a storm was brewing in, and the moon had been blocked by the rolling clouds. Roberia hurriedly ran into the abandoned house.

R : (... It's raining... That makes the night air harsher, but it gives away any thieves that may come and attack me in the middle of the night, I guess. It's not primarily a bad thing.)

Roberia dropped her belongings, walked to a corner of the room farther away from the rain and lay down, curling her body up to preserve what little warmth was available in her body.

R : (... The ground is more comfortable than I had thought... Or maybe that's just me. Ahh, I'm too stressed from today's events to care...)

Roberia rested quietly on the floor, and slept the night away.

*** ***

R : "... Mmmmmhh..."

Roberia slowly opened her eyes to the cries of the birds outside the abandoned house.

R : (... !!!)

And to her shock, was the serene face of Katachi, sleeping peacefully right beside her. Roberia gasped, and retracted her head a little.

R : (No, wait! I shouldn't make any noise at all! I don't want to wake him up!)

Holding her hand over her mouth, she slowly and steadily rolled off the groundsheet and backed away from Katachi. However...

R : (!! He's underneath the groundsheet? I... I slept on his groundsheet... So he didn't make any moves on me. That... That's good.)

Roberia shook her head a little bit, to energize herself more.

R : (... The storm last night made the room so dark, I didn't even notice him right there, so sleeping next to him was actually my mistake... Not to mention, I actually thought he was enjoying himself in one of the inns, when his situation is not that far off from mine... At least I've established the fact that he is poor to the point that he sleeps out here.)

She picked her stuff up, and slowly made her way towards the doorway, looking back at Katachi one last time before leaving.

R : (... He's not a rich target. But he's definitely strong - Stronger than any other I've met thus far, maybe... Maybe even stronger than Father. That's far more important than simply attacking the rich for money just to survive. If I beat him, that shows my physical and mental growth, and deter any enemy who stands in my way, so he's now my most active target. I'll defeat him later, when I collect my order.)