THE LITTLE town of Ashmire was just as lively as Sollel remembered, though the
houses and establishments had changed. It even became grander. It was the farthest
town under the Infernal Empire, and it was also the boundary town between the
empire and the Kingdom of Treterra. Usually, towns like these that were far away
from the main city were undeveloped, underprivileged, and unprosperous, but not
Ashmire. And it's because of the ashes from the ash terrain. Citizens of Ashmire
used the ashes to build concrete houses and buildings, and their main livelihood
was creating ceramics from volcanic ash.
These beautiful and artistic ceramics would be transported to big cities and were
very famous with the royalties and nobilities. With the ceramics and concrete
materials they could make from their endless supply—the ashes from the ash terrain—
the citizens of Ashmire were mostly wealthy merchants and hardworking laborers.
This was one of the reasons there's a guild of hunters in this small town. Their
services were needed when transporting goods to other cities to repel bandits and
beasts.
As one would enter the town, stores and stalls selling ceramics could easily be
seen. Some ceramic designs caught Sollel's eyes, but she continued walking with
Cira to find an inn. Both exhausted from crossing the ash terrain, they were both
eager to find a comfortable place to sleep and rest.
Seeing Cira taking the lead, Sollel took back her words. Maybe Cira was reliable
after all, except for directions.
It's been more than a century since Sollel visited a human town, so she let Cira
take the lead and just followed.
Cira found an inn and rented one room with two beds. And since Cira already had a
good sleep on the tree yesterday, she roamed around town to buy the things they
needed while Sollel took a rest. When Sollel woke up, the sun was already down, and
there was already a garment on the foot of her bed.
Must be Cira.
Leaving her bed, Sollel took a bath in the bathroom inside their room. The wooden
bathing tub was already filled with water, and Sollel immediately started washing
herself. It had been so long since she took a bath and cleaned herself, so long
since a soap lathered her skin.
While cleaning herself, Sollel realized that some of her scabs had disappeared.
It's a sign that her blood was slowly replenishing her body and healing her old
wounds.
After Sollel finished bathing, she wore the garment Cira provided for her. It was
an all-leather tube dress with a tiered skirt reaching her middle thighs; it came
with leather underpants and a leather shoulder guard. There were also a light
breast and back plate, an armband, and a gauntlet wristband.
When she stepped out of the bathroom, she was all clean and fresh. Sollel was
surprised to see Cira in the room, clapping at her. Cira was like a happy mother
after seeing her child wearing the new clothes she bought.
"I knew it! It looks good on you, Queen Sollel." Cira beamed with happiness because
the clothes she bought fit the queen well.
"Just call me Sollel." She sat on the edge of her bed and put on her leather boots.
"Thank you for the dress, Cira."
Cira smiled from ear to ear. "Do you like it? Have you tried the cloak? I made sure
that it could cover your whole body."
Sollel finished putting on his leather boots and glanced at her dirty and ash-
covered cloak that was hanging on the back of the wooden chair near her bed. "I
would rather use my old cloak." It was the only connection she had with her savior.
She wanted to keep it.
Cira immediately sprang from her bed and grabbed Sollel's old cloak. "Then I'll
wash it for you."
Sollel shook her head. "No. I'll do it."
"Nope. The queen should just rest."
"What queen?" Sollel became expressionless. "I'm no queen. After what happened to
my people, I don't deserve that title anymore."
Cira shook her head and smiled confidently. "As long as there's fire inside you,
you will forever be Queen Sollel, Yther's Mistress of Flame."
Sollel smiled at Cira with gratitude. "Thank you, and thank you again for the dress
and other things. I don't know how I could pay you back at the moment, but I will."
Cira waved her hand in the air, dismissing Sollel's words. "It's okay. I have lots
of money."
"Being a healer in Beastrela pays well?" Sollel asked while massaging her own
shoulder, but her eyes were observing Cira.
Cira nodded with a wide smile. "Yes."
Sollel did not ask any more questions about Cira's "wealth" and just focused on her
plan. "Do you think your money will be enough to hire a hunter to guide us to
Treterra?"
"Huh?" Cira frowned at Sollel, like she was confused, and then she pointed at
herself. "Aren't I here for that?"
"No offense meant, Cira." Sollel had a dry smile on her lips. "You suck at
directions."
"Oh." Cira bit her lower lip and spoke regretfully. "It only happened because I was
trying to look for the shortest path to Treterra."
"I know," Sollel placated Cira. "The hunter won't just guide us to Treterra. The
hunter will protect us too. I can't keep burning anyone who means us harm. It'll
alert the empire. We have to travel without leaving a trace. And I also have to
conserve my strength. I'm still weak."
Cira remembered how Sollel wielded the flaming sword and burned the soldiers. If
that was weak for her, she must be a terrifying being, she thought. "Very well. We
will go to the guild of hunters first thing tomorrow to look for a hunter who can
defeat a dozen enemies and who also know Azitera like it's their own backyard."
"I hope we find someone reliable."
"Oh, we will." Cira sounded confident that Sollel just smiled. "Anyway, it's dinner
time. Let's eat at the inn's tavern. I heard they serve good food."
Sollel just nodded and followed Cira after wearing her new cloak for the meantime
and putting on the hood to hide her hair and eyes. Walking behind Cira, Sollel
couldn't help seeing the changes in her elf companion. The first time they met,
Cira was indifferent, but now she became so bubbly and kind. The duality was making
her overthink. But except for direction, Cira had been a great help.
At dinner, Sollel still couldn't stop thinking how Cira changed after knowing who
she really was, so when they went back to their room after having a meal, Sollel
asked, "Why are you helping me, Cira?"
Cira's answer was immediate and without a lace of deception. "It's personal. Don't
worry. I would rather harm myself than harm you. You can take my essence and my
life if you think I'm lying."
Sollel didn't press for more. "And the moonrite? It's still with you, right?"
Cira nodded before she took the sealing pouch from her satchel and handed it to
Sollel. "You can keep it if you want, Your Highness, just don't destroy it. I want
to study its properties and find a similar sacred stone that can cancel its effect,
so it won't weaken you anymore."
Sollel pushed the sealing pouch back to Cira. "You can keep it. I don't mind."
Cira's smiled widely because she felt that she earned Queen Sollel's trust. "I may
not be good with direction, but I will really find a sacred stone that can cancel
the effect of moonrite on you. That, I swear by my life, Your Highness."
Sollel nodded. "All right. Thank you."
Cira was happy as she went to bed to sleep, while Sollel stayed up since she
couldn't sleep at night anymore. Her body had lost its ability to distinguish
between night and day after being caged for more than a century. The night didn't
mean sleep for Sollel anymore.
When Cira woke up and saw Sollel sitting on her bed, she thought Sollel woke up
early, so she invited Sollel to have breakfast, which Sollel graciously accepted.
After breakfast, the two went out to visit the guild of hunters. Since Sollel was
covered with a cloak from head to toe while Cira was not wearing one, she looked
out of place. People gave her a look, as if investigating her, especially when they
entered the building for guild of hunters.
"We're looking for a capable hunter that could take us to Treterra safely," Cira
said to the administrator at the front desk. "Preferably someone who can defeat a
dozen of enemies without dying."
The administrator was not fazed by Cira's request and gave her a list. "These are
our capable hunters. Beside their names are their successfully completed tasks and
accomplishments."
As Cira went through the list, Sollel was roaming her eyes around, looking for a
suitable hunter herself, when her eyes caught sight of a tall man with broad
shoulders entering the guild. His eyes were an enthralling hazel; he had a proud
nose and jaw line—an appearance that was easy on the eye. Sollel could tell that
his body build was of a warrior. But what really caught her attention were the two
blades strapped on his back. It looked intimidating, but Sollel was interested. For
someone to wield two war blades, he must be strong and capable.
Without much thought, Sollel walked to meet the man in the middle of the guild
hall. Sollel basically blocked the man's way; in turn, the man frowned at the
cloak-covered individual in front of him.
"Are you a hunter?"
The man was not expecting a stern but pleasant voice of a woman underneath the
cloak. "Yes, I am."
"If I hire you to bring me and my companion to the Kingdom of Treterra unharmed,
would you accept?" Sollel directly asked without lacing her words, even though the
man's deep baritone voice caught her off guard. "And can you handle it?"
The hunter tilted his head to the side to try to see the woman's face hiding under
the hood. "My lady, I am more than capable. The question is, can you afford me?"
"How much are you?" That sounded off to Sollel, so she paraphrased her question.
"How much are your services?"
"One hundred gold coins."
Sollel didn't know how much the economy changed over the years, but she was sure
that one hundred gold coins were too much. "Why don't you just rob me?" Sollel
couldn't help being sarcastic.
The hunter chuckled and became even more attractive that all the women in the guild
looked at him. "Let me have a good look at your face, and I'll lessen the price to
half. I'm a good-hearted hunter after all."
"Or I can just burn you," Sollel muttered under her breath. It was a mistake
approaching this rude hunter.
"Feel free." The hunter shrugged nonchalantly. "I'll accept your fire anytime."
Cira, who was watching and listening to the whole interaction, immediately
interjected, "One hundred gold coins are okay. Just bring us to Treterra safely."
Sollel snapped her eyes at Cira and chided, "Cira, one hundred gold coins are too
much."
"It's okay," Cira reassured Sollel. "I have lots of gold coins." Then Cira looked
at the hunter to say, "But you will get the payment in Treterra. Is that okay?"
The hunter nodded, his eyes never leaving the cloak-covered woman in front of him.
"No problem."
"All right." Cira smiled. "Let's talk to the administrator and register the task."
Cira was already walking toward the guild's front desk, but the hunter was still
staring at the cloak-covered woman. It took him a full minute to pull himself
together before he followed Cira.
Frowning, Sollel's eyes followed the hunter and muttered, "Easy on the eyes, but
impudent."
The hunter, who already had his back on Sollel, chuckled and said, "I heard you, my
lady."
Sollel scowled and left the building to get away from the hunter, but it only
lasted for a couple of minutes because Cira came out of the guild's building with
the hunter in tow.
"All right," Cira clasped her hands and smiled. "Let's be polite and introduce
ourselves properly since we will be traveling together. I'll start. I'm Ciradyl, an
elf. You can call me Cira if Ciradyl is too long for you."
Sollel did not want to be impolite, so she introduced herself after Cira. "You can
call me El." She didn't give the hunter her full name for safety purposes.
The hunter offered his hand as he introduced himself, but only to Sollel. "My name
is Hakken. An expert hunter who's pleased to meet you, my lady."
Cira was amused at Hakken, but not Sollel.
"Let's leave tomorrow, early in the morning," said Sollel, not accepting Hakken's
hand. "Our meetup place is here, outside the guild's building. See you." Then
Sollel grabbed Cira's hand and dragged her back to the inn.
While Hakken had a pleased smile on his lips. "El, huh? 'My lady' suits her
better," he muttered and went back to the guild.