44: Trade and Doubt

“Well... shit,” Troy sighed, running his hands through his close cropped hair as he stared at the cliff face in front of us.

It was a broken, jagged thing that was about thirty meters of rock and debris. It was pretty clearly the end of the plains and it ran for about a mile in each direction. The whole mountain range that now towered over us was the same mess of rock, as though some massive god had thrown a tantrum and hacked at the ground with a pickaxe or something.

“Which way do we go?” Grace asked, glancing either way. “Left is inland I think, and right is towards the sea? If I remember correctly?”

Grace wasn’t wearing her armour, just some hardy travelling clothes. We’d realised that if for some reason I needed to drain her quickly, I’d need easier access to her skin than her armour allowed. So normal clothing it was.

“It is,” I nodded, squeezing her hand. “The rivers were travelling in that direction anyway.”

“Towards the sea then,” Troy replied, already beginning to walk that way. “More likely to be settlements and roads near the sea than inland.”

We trekked through the foothills of the mountains for a day before we saw anything other than mountains on one side and grassland on the other. In fact, we almost stumbled into a wide, shallow and sedate river that was meandering out from the mountains at an angle.

When Grace and I approached the water, reaching down to dip our free hands into it, we found it cool and clear. The stuff was probably ice melt from higher in the mountains where it might snow regularly, although we couldn’t see evidence of that from here. There wasn’t any snow to be seen on the mountains from here, only a ton of vegetation.

The river, as much as it blocked our path, also provided some help. It ran in either direction along the bank of the river was a path, although it was little more than a goat track with signs of human passage. Since the river seemed to be coming from the mountains, the decision was made to follow the track into the mountains.

Unlike the Plains of Mosteghunoksia, the mountains and forest were teeming with sound and life. Actually, it was almost deafening as the evening began to roll around, the birds were going absolutely mental in the trees. Thousands of sparrows all yelling over the top of each other like enthusiastic vendors in a crowded market.

At one point we saw a herd of what appeared to be deer grazing close to the bank on the other side of the river, a few of which curiously glanced up to watch us. It was rather amazing to see a place so teeming with life after that damned grassland.

Although, Grace and I really had been making it a little more interesting as we walked. We seemed to send every plant we walked past into excited bloom, the flowers of which would follow us like they might follow the sun as it tracked across the sky. If someone wanted to follow us now, it would not be hard, which was a little worrying.

When we stopped for the night, we hid ourselves as best we could in the forest and swapped over into my grove. The next morning, we continued down the path and found it connected with a larger cart track.

The cart track led us for another half a day, until we sighted a settlement in the distance. It was larger than most villages we’d come across so far, but far smaller than the cities. A well crafted wooden wall surrounded the place where it was nestled in a bend of the river, woodfire smoke drifting up from chimneys that peeked over the wall. We figured it must be some sort ot trading post, a place that had sprung up organically because it was once a convenient place to rest on the journey to trade with the Obrec.

“We need to go in there, get information,” Troy stated, then turned to look at Grace and me. “Except there’s no way we’ll be able to hide you two.”

“We could sell some of the resources from my grove too, try and trade it for some tools and stuff,” I said thoughtfully. “But yeah, I think Grace and I will have to sit this one out.”

“Agreed, will you two be fine on your own, possibly hide in your grove until a predetermined time of day?” he asked with his usual calm expression.

I glanced over at Grace to see what she thought and found her looking back at me. We shared a silent conversation for a split second before I turned back and nodded to Troy. “Yeah, that works. How about sunset?”

“Sunset is easy, sounds good. If for whatever reason we don’t make it back, try again in the morning,” he said with a slight smile. “Let’s go find a spot, then we can take some of your stuff into town to sell.”

“What if you don’t come back at all?” Grace asked quietly. She seemed subdued for some reason, which I’d need to ask her about when we got some time alone. I hoped that her condition wasn’t causing her to get depressed or anything.

“Meet in Millowhall, or failing that, back at Avonside, but let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,” he smiled reassuringly.

Grace didn’t look convinced by his words, but she didn’t say anything more. Alright, something was definitely wrong with her. Did she know something?

Regardless, we trekked into the forest for a good ten minutes before we decided that we were safe enough, then swapped over. Going straight to the stores, we had a look around at what we might be able to sell. The alien stuff was difficult, because it was almost sure to fetch a good price, but it was also the type of thing that we’d want to take back to Avonside or even just use ourselves.

The plants I’d grown were much easier. The guys loaded up on spices and anything else that might be easy to carry, and then I transferred them all out for their little trip into town, which left Grace and I alone in the grove together.

“What do you want to do?” she asked awkwardly. Right, I was going to ask her what was wrong, then comfort her.

“Come with me,” I told her, taking her hand again and pulling her along behind me.

I dragged her across the large meadow in front of the tower tree towards where the lake was still being dug. Thankfully it hadn’t rained yet and the buns were able to add depth to it without having to swim or anything. It did have a few trees that I’d already placed strategically around it though, including a small stand of willows.

Brushing aside the drooping branches of one willow, I pulled her inside the enclosed space of the tree and then indicated that she sit down against the trunk of the tree. Doing so, she watched me with melancholic curiosity as she carefully got herself comfortable.

“What’s up?” she asked, searching my face for answers.

“You seemed down and a little odd about that conversation we had earlier,” I said, sitting down next to her.

“It’s nothing…” she murmured, avoiding my eyes now.

“Grace?” I asked, matching her quiet tone.

She didn’t answer immediately, so I laid my head down on her shoulder and waited. She seemed to like that, leaning into the contact with a sigh. Then she was shifting, putting both arms around me and cuddling close. It felt so lovely to be casually intimate with her like this, and it almost had me thinking that it was good she’d been hit by that magic. Almost, except for the obvious fear that it might hurt her, or worse. Although… if we could stabilise it and teach her to control it...

“I just kinda feel useless, you know?” she whispered, her breath warm as it ran through my hair. “Like, I don’t know. I have a bad feeling about that town back there, but I can’t really help or fight if I’m glued to you. No offence. I… really enjoy this, don’t get me wrong, and you’re so lovely to be around…”

“It’s okay, I understand,” I said, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze where it rested on my stomach. “We’ll figure something out.”

“How can you be sure though?” she asked, sounding defeated already. “What if I’m stuck like this forever?”

“No,” I frowned, shifting in her arms to face her. “No thinking like that,” I said, almost glaring at her as I booped her nose. “If worst comes to worst, I’ll make a mage fruit and throw you in that. Maybe that will help.”

She blinked at me in bewilderment, then smiled, glancing down for a moment. “Alright,” she chuckled, then looked back up, hitting me with a look so full of emotion that I wondered for a dumb moment if it was being powered by her magic. “You’re so wonderful Ryn. You’re so kind, so thoughtful… so damn smart.”

“O-oh,” I blushed, and it was my turn to look away. “Thanks.”

“You’re beautiful too. You know my mind completely blanked out that first time I saw you? It’s like you were tailor made to be attractive to me. I mean, your hair is one of my favourite colours for crying out loud!” she exclaimed, her hand reaching up to hesitantly brush at it. She gave a little laugh as she continued, “You’re like a… sad bun that was stuck in a small cage, but now you’ve been let out to binkie in the open grass. I guess what I mean is that I still see the old you in there, except happier, more free.”

“It does feel like that. But… as for you, I’ve been impressed and kinda attracted to you since before we arrived on this world,” I confessed, embarrassment heating my cheeks.

“Wait, really?” she asked, a frown creasing her brows.

I snorted. “Yup. You had confused, closeted Ryn all flustered with how you were being all strong and sexy and stuff. Then you were so much fun to talk to and I was all, crap, she’s too good, but she’s a lesbian and I look like a dude.”

“Well, that part isn’t a problem anymore,” she laughed, giving my body a pointed sweep with her eyes.

“Yeah, but instead there’s… this magic thing,” I sighed, settling in against her so I wouldn’t have to meet her gaze.

“Yeah… now there’s that,” she said neutrally.

The conversation died after that, but we sat under the tree and cuddled, dozing in and out of consciousness as the day wore on. Despite the fact that we were meant to be… well, not together, it still felt like we were in that moment. Both of us just enjoying the feel of the other, the silent companionship that slowly settled on us after the awkwardness died down.

Being held was still a wild experience for me, and something that I deeply cherished. I felt safe in her arms, safe and warm and insulated from the world. All feelings that I had been sorely lacking up until now, and I desperately hoped that something more would be allowed to blossom between Grace and I. I couldn’t lose this, I couldn’t lose her.