Chapter 14 - Zanilan Stables

Two days ago, on the road to Zanilan.

"'If we hurry, we should catch up with them at Zanilan,' I suggested as I urged my mustagor forward. It obeyed immediately with no complaints. Gunnar followed suit and also accelerated the pace of his mustagor in order to keep up with mine.

"'What's in Zanilan?' Yiiq-Yin asked. 'Are we sure they're stopping there?' he asked as he urged his horse to speed up with difficulty.

"'If they found out that the abductions were not exclusively happening only in Heung, they'd want to verify that from a random village. Zanilan is exactly on their path and they would've reached it at around afternoon yesterday,' Liam explained. 'Therefore, it would be perfect for an overnight stopover and to verify that the abductions are not exclusive to the capital,' he continued. His horse was a regular police horse similar to Yiiq-Yin's, so he had to urge it with some effort to catch up with the horses of Guunnar and mine that were both bred and trained for the hardships of war.

"'And if they did not stop there?' Yiiq-Yin asked?

"'Then we lose a few minutes to a few hours. We're on horseback and they're traveling on foot. We should be able to catch up with them no matter what. We just need to know which road they took,' Liam explained. Guunnar and I started to gain a lead on him, and Yiiq-Yin and he had to urge his horse to run even faster so that he could catch up.

"The Village of Zanilan came within sight before noon and the four of us rushed our horses into town and then slowed down to a light gallop as we entered. 'That looks like a nice place to stop,' Guunnar said pointing to the nearest inn that was on the right side of the main road. It had water for horses outside which made it an ideal place to stop by Guunnar's standards.

"'A bar at noon? You surprise me Guunnar,' Liam teased with a smile. He also approved of the place because his horse was badly exhausted already. He preferred to stop where our horses could also rest while we eat and do a little investigation.

"'There's no better time, of course!' Guunnar replied lightheartedly. He rarely joked with the group and he only did so whenever he is worried, or when something is bothering his thoughts. It doesn't take much to know that he was worried about Izrik traveling to the capital alone. Unarmed. The road to the capital may be relatively safe, but the occasional bandit group still preys on easy targets whenever they get the chance. And an unarmed lone rider would look like an easy enough prey to them. And depending on their number, Izrik might not be able to defend himself successfully against these bandits.

"We approached Mountain Brew carefully and got off our horses. The town looked like a tribute town to Yeongsong although the streets were less busy. A young man in his late teens greeted us as we approached the Mountain Brew and offered to take our horses to the rear stable of the inn for a fee. Guunnar agreed immediately and paid for the horses of the group in advance. We then walked into the bar and were not surprised that it was empty except for the bartender who was busy restocking the liquors on display.

"'Come in, come in!' he greeted when he heard our group enter. 'What can I serve you this day, fine travelers?' he asked. He stopped what he was doing and grabbed a few wooden slabs before he walked towards us. We picked a table that was the farthest from the bar and windows. The boys allowed me to sit first and then sat themselves around me. Their actions made me look more like a traveling merchant and the three boys more like my true bodyguards the way they conducted themselves in my presence.

"'Greetings to you, master bartender!' I greeted in a friendly tone and a slight bow as the three settled in their seats.

"'Call me Leemar, Mistress. Leemar of the Broken Mountain, your humble servant. The waitresses will not arrive for a few hours more, but all the cooks are here already, and you can order anything on the menu,' Leemar said as he handed us the slabs of wood. The wooden slabs were made of reddish-brown wood, sanded to a smooth finish. It had random scorch marks on the edges that looked intentional to give it a more rustic and ancient look. The menu itself was written with crushed limestone and then formed into chalk with water. 'Well, I daresay, traveling merchants are quite common in the village in the early decks of winter. So, I have my inn ready to serve breakfast, lunch, or even an early dinner,' he declared with a smile.

"'That is true, Leemar. To tell you the truth, we were separated from our group. You might have seen them pass through Zanilan,' I said with a smile and then pointed to the food and drinks that I fancied on the menu.

"'Well if you describe them, I might remember if they passed by or not. I have had several merchant guests this deck alone. In fact, some of them are still in the rooms upstairs while one group left right after an early breakfast,' he said while he wrote down our orders. It was amazing to watch him talk to us while taking our orders at the same time.

"'If that group who left right after breakfast were composed of three female merchants like myself and two bodyguards, then that would be them, Master Leemar,' I replied with a friendly smile as I handed back the wooden slab after I have chosen. Liam, Yiiq-Yin, and Guunnar all picked their food and pointed them to Leemar who promptly listed them down.

"'Well you really do belong to the same group. Yes, those were them alright. They even had breakfast with one of my regular suppliers,' he said as he double-checked the orders on his list. 'They spoke something about a possible venture or something. I am all the gladder because if my supplier can increase his production, I could buy more from him. And this means that I could try new original recipes I've wanted to try for some time and offer them to my patrons,' he said with a smile as he took the wooden slabs once we've all finished making our choices.

"'Well, I have no idea what the venture is yet, but I am so curious to find out as soon as possible,' I replied eagerly. 'We're all headed to Haan-Dar, but could you point us to which road they took to get there?' I then added. I can see the excitement in the eyes of Yiiq-Yin, Guunnar, and Liam. Even more from Liam's eyes who blushed at the thought of seeing Mingmei outside her house once more after sixteen years of isolation. He had admired Mingmei since we were very young, but always from afar. He was always intimidated by the presence of Mingmai. The twins were always inseparable, and Liam always felt unable to speak to Mingmei properly—the way he wanted to, whatever that was when we were seven—whenever Mingmai was around. It was a surprise to me that he seemed to still have the same feelings for her even after all these years. He has grown to a good-looking man and a skilled warrior who could easily marry anyone from any of the clans—perhaps even within the Amejisotugo Clan if he wanted to. However, the redness on his cheeks quickly revealed the same feelings he had kept for Mingmei as we all waited in anticipation of Leemar's answer to my question.

"'I heard them talk this morning of making a brief detour. They were extremely concerned about the recent abductions in these parts. They were afraid that these abductions might affect the venture that they planned to do with one of my suppliers,' Leemar explained with a nod. 'I believe they will check out the outskirts of Crater Woods and see how bad the abductions really are. Maybe after talking to the local police, of course,' he then added with a shrug. Liam took a deep breath at the mention of local police.

"'Do they plan to do something about the abductions?' Yiiq-Yin asked. There was a look of surprise on his face.

"'I think not. There are two shuiju settlements on the western and southern edge of Crater Woods. They are likely going to ask for information from them about the abductions,' he explained. 'There has been talk that the abducted elderly folks in these parts are being taken into Crater Woods. The shuiju might be able to tell if there was truth in that or not.'

"'And if it were true, they could probably tell how often the abductors bring in the victims to the woods?' Liam asked.

"'That is correct, master…' Leemar replied with a snap of his fingers.

"'Ajun, Master Leemar. Proud bodyguard to Mistress Zhuyin right here,' Liam replied with a slight bow.

"'Greetings to you all and well met! Let me leave you now so that I can have the cooks prepare your orders,' Leemar said with a slight bow. He then walked briskly to a northern door and disappeared into the kitchen.

"'To Crater Woods then,' Liam said excitedly. He had a wide smile on his face as he spoke, and he looked like he wasn't aware that he was smiling so broadly. If we weren't in the middle of an investigation, I'm sure Yiiq-Yin and Guunnar would tease him on his smile just like when we were kids. I found it funny that even though we have grown into young adults already, we still managed to stay the same as when we were kids. We've outgrown childish behaviors that no longer suit our new roles and place in society, but those are few. Some behaviors and tastes that we had when we were younger have changed into a slightly mature version, but they are more or less the same.

"'Somehow, I doubt that they would stop by the shuiju settlements,' Yiiq-Yin said in a soft voice. He leaned forward as he spoke. He held his right fist firmly in his cupped left hand to curb his excitement. He is excited because we were mere hours away from our friends and it seemed that they were hot on the trail of the abductors. We could barely contain our excitement with the thought of an encounter with the ones responsible for the abductions.

"'No. I don't think they would,' Guunnar replied slowly while shaking his head.

"'This is a mission on abducted elderly folks. And it was enough to get Mingmei out of their house once more. We all know how Mingmei feels when it comes to elderly people, right?' I asked and looked at the three pairs of eyes that stared seriously at me as they listened. They all nodded slightly at my question. 'No, they will not stop by the shuiju villages to inquire. They will charge ahead to see if there was a way to rescue the victims, end their suffering, and bring them back home as soon as possible,' I said in a tone so serious that I surprised even myself.

"'Plus, Lynn and Ianme are with them,' Liam added. 'They wouldn't be able to sit still knowing there are people in danger within a close distance from where they were,' he continued. 'I know, I wouldn't be able to if I was with them,' Liam added immediately.

"'You'd surely be restless if you were with them, Liam, but not because of the abducted elderly nor because of people that are in danger. Of that we are all quite sure,' Yiiq-Yin said with a wide grin. He nudged at Guunnar who started to giggle even before Yiiq-Yin finished speaking. Liam's face immediately turned red. He was unable to reply to what Yiiq-Yin said and remained quiet, looking quite uneasy. I wasn't able to stop myself from giggling too which made Liam even more embarrassed.

"'Okay, so we head straight to the Crater Woods and we look for them? It's a forest, how are we going to find them there? Moreover, it will be dangerous for the horses,' Liam said, trying to quickly change the subject before Yiiq-Yin and Guunnar thinks of another Mingmei-related joke to tease him with.

"'I agree with Liam. It will be dangerous for their horses to travel into the woods. They can easily get rattled and throw Liam or Yiiq-Yin off the saddle. Our mustagor horses are bred and trained for any dangerous situation, but we can't travel with only two horses,' Guunnar pointed out while looking at me as if he wanted to see if I agreed to what he just said regarding the horses. However, Guunnar was the expert on horses and I would rather agree with him than have my own tactical analysis on the state of the horses and traveling into the Crater Woods with them.

"'I think Guunnar has a good point. Mingmei's group is not traveling with horses, once we finally join up with them, we'd end up with nine people and only two mustagors. Additionally, I think we can move more stealthily through the forest without the horses,' I explained. Liam and Yiiq-Yin agreed with me and Guunnar. We'd be traveling to Crater Woods on foot from here. The horses are being taken care of in a stable, anyway, we can simply pay for their care in advance for the coming days until we can get back to them. We can pay in advance for even an entire moon from now so that we won't have to worry about the horses. I have a feeling that the investigation will take longer than we initially expected.

"'It is settled then. We will enter Crater Woods on foot,' Yiiq-Yin said with a smile. He preferred to travel on foot so that he could maximize the advantage of his twin battle-axe in case there was a battle. And if we're going to rescue people from their abductors, a battle will be inevitable.

"'Yes. We'll eat, rest a little bit then go straight to Crater Woods to rejoin with our friends,' Liam declared with obvious excitement.

"Yiiq-Yin was about to tease Liam. A wide mischievous smile crossed his face as he was about to say something, but he was interrupted by the sound of the double doors to the kitchen opening and Leemar emerging from the smoky room. Leemar approached our table with his usual smile and with trays filled with the food that we ordered. The big muscular man looked funny with his broad smile and trays of food on his broad arms. He carefully placed the food on our table one by one.

"'Please tell us how to best get to Crater Woods, Master Leemar,' Liam said politely.

"'Ahh! Rejoining with your friends in the woods, Master Ajun?' Leemar asked with a smile.

"'Well, they wanted to investigate the abductions, and Mistress Zhuyin, here, wouldn't want to miss the chance to join the investigation if it is connected to a possible investment.'"