Zaiyoz

Chapter 10

It seemed that I was pulled back to the present time when I heard a loud familiar voice of a girl outside the inn.

“I swear I saw those two thieves coming out of the window!” she said.

“How can you say they were thieves? No one’s shouting ‘thieves’ and running after them, is there?” That quiet clipped voice was also familiar even though I only heard it today.

Was it just today? It felt a long time ago.

“This mikmalon is not good to stay in. I’m telling you, Bavid. Let’s look for another one. I’m sure there is a better place than this one. I don’t have a good feeling about this inn,” Bihlke said.

I frowned at that. The two were also looking for an inn to stay the night? I wondered where they were from. But I didn’t want to regret not knowing it when she was too “cozy” with me back in the forest. Seriously, what was wrong with her? She was ready to divulge such information with a stranger. How could she?

Maybe she is just being too friendly, one part of my brain said.

You’re just afraid to be close with anyone and you don’t know how it’s done now, another part chimed in.

With my thoughts in the past, I even forgot I was crying while eating my dinner. But I must say it was a good distraction by Bihlke.

I quickly finished my meal and drank the nectar. I finished everything before I went back to the washroom. I took a bath to relax and used the bathrobe afterward. It was so good to be refreshed properly, unlike bathing in a river or a lake or even in a stream, especially if monsters reside in them.

I closed the window and locked it before lying down in the bed, which had fresh linen sheet. It smelled relaxing and I was asleep before I knew it.

***

After eating breakfast, I went to look for the blacksmith shop that the owner of the mikmalon I stayed in told me. He said it was just at the end of the street, straight from the inn.

There were already the morning bustles on the street. People were going to and fro. Some stared at me and some just ignored me. I didn’t mind them either.

The air was a bit humid and it carried the different scents of food, textiles and other things, even some fresh and not fresh scents of people I met.

I reached the end of the street and saw the familiar setting of a blacksmith shop. There was a forge on the left, where it had a firepot to hold the fire, a work surface, as well as a blower. On a metal table not far away from it were hammers, vises, twisting tools, center punches, chisels, slitters, drifts and tongs. I also found the anvil at the working area. The anvil was a heavy iron block with a flat top, as well as concave sides. It was where metal can be hammered and shaped to the blacksmith’s desire.

It was hot there and the smell of metal, fire and smoke filled the air. A man working on a sword, hammering it made my ears a bit irritated. The banging was indeed loud.

“Excuse me?” I said, coming up behind the bald, bulky blacksmith.

He looked over his shoulder, pausing his work. “Yeah?” Then he hammered the iron.

I glanced at it and showed him the piece of odim stone. “I’ll give you a piece if you help me cut it.”

“Where did you get that?” His dark and thick eyebrows shot up. “I’m not doing anything for thieves.” He hammered the iron again, with all his might.

My mouth hung open upon hearing it. “Well, I—”

“Get out of here before I report you to the Urigge!” he roared his threat in that hoarse loud voice.

The last thing I wanted was to come face to face with the town’s head. I wouldn’t know if that magician would even help me or even throw me into prison or worse.

I was about to say something and was even ready to lie just to have the odim stone cut into pieces so that I could pay the inn’s owner when someone’s little hand clamped my mouth and grabbed me by the back collar of my shirt, quickly dragging me away from the blacksmith’s shop.

I knew that scent of freshly cut iris with a trail of blooming flowers, which actually made my eyes go round. I was about to remove her hand off my mouth when someone beat me to it. It was the cold blond guy.

“Leave him alone, Bihlke. Why did you have to be so nosy again with this stranger?” he scolded her, looking at her with those blue-gray eyes that now sparked with irritation.

However, she didn’t pay any attention to him. She was happily gazing at me with her lively gray-green eyes. I almost thought she was going to swoon.

“Hi! We met again. And, I can help you with whatever you need!” she said, stepping closer to me to whisper. “I noticed a jeweler on the other side of the street. I’ll take you there!” Without any permission to touch me, she did it again. She even linked her arm with mine and dragged me to the place she mentioned.

I tried to take her hands off me but she must be a relative to leeches for sticking to me like this. I looked down at her while her boyfriend followed us with controlled exasperation. Why was she acting like this to me anyway? And what does she care about my need?

“Okay, here. Let’s say your uncle sent you an errand for it and will give her a piece as p*****t. I’m sure the jeweler will be over the Dal’gahn Mountain!”

“Huh?” I looked at her with confusion.

“Haven’t you heard such a saying?”

“Just now?”

She giggled; her eyes dancing. “It means, she’ll be so happy. Of course, everyone will be happy if they learned that the Dal’gahn Mountain is real and not just a myth, right?” she explained with a gesture of her one hand. Finally, she let go of me and signaled for me to go in.

I sighed, throwing a glance at Bavid, who crossed his arms while watching us. He must be one hell of a boyfriend to let her flirt with another guy.

I entered the jeweler’s shop. It was small, with a few necklaces, rings, bracelets and earrings that were displayed in glass boxes. They were on top of a narrow table, which I sensed had been charmed so that no pickpockets or thieves could get them.

The owner was an old woman with gray hair and frail body. I greeted her after glancing at the jewelries. I supposed these were merely for display and she had some others stashed somewhere inside the shop, locked and safe.

“What can I do for you, young man?” she queried, getting up from the chair she was sitting on.

“Hi! I… uh…” I took out the odim stone from my pants pocket and showed it to her.

“Hey! Your uncle’s been looking for you and asking if you were already done with your errand!” Bihlke suddenly came up to me before she faced the old woman. “He hasn’t told you yet, has he?”

The old woman just smiled kindly. She took the stone and regarded it for a moment. “Where’s the other part of this?”

“His uncle didn’t want to part with it,” she whispered to the old woman.

“Ah, I see,” she said.

I looked away, glancing at the jewelries again. Something caught my eye this time. Before I knew what I was doing, I moved closer to the box with only one jewelry on display, a necklace.

“That’s called the Xekka, meaning to honor and love. I can give you that if you give at least five pieces of the stone,” the old woman negotiated.

“Uh…” I hesitated. I wasn’t sure how many pieces she could make out of the small part of the odim stone.

“Sure, madam! That would be cool-mazing! Thank you so, so much!” Bihlke butted in with a wide smile on her cherry lips.

“Wait here. It’ll not take long,” the old woman said and disappeared in the back room.

Bihlke, meanwhile, was gazing at the Xekka with fascination. Bavid was just at the doorway, lurking. His eyes darted to me and back to the girl and then to the jewelries. I couldn’t read his mind but he sure was one person with an attitude.

“Who will you give this necklace to?” Bihlke asked as her delighted eyes roved every gem of the necklace. Its pendant was in a shape of a heart with a crown. The chain had tiny spikes design, making the jewelry even more unique. I could tell the different diamond stones were enough to make anyone who owns it happy and proud.

I didn’t reply to her question, making her straighten and look at me in the eye.

“I was thinking of my mother,” I said at length.

Her lips formed a circle as she nodded. “Where is she?”

I remembered the vision Father showed me, where my beloved mother was lying in her bed, very ill. She looked so pale and fragile. My eyes wavered because of that memory. To think she only had two months to live, my heart seemed to carry millions of tons of boulders.

“At home. She’s sick.”

Now why did I tell her that?