The Thieves Guild
by Jake Kerr.
Episode 103:
A Fork in the Road.
The trip along the forest road couldn't compare to the awfulness of the trip through the
mountain, but it seemed to be taking just as long.
Still, Maela and Darla were in good spirits.
There were plenty of wild fruits and vegetables to eat, and wild deer wandered
nearby often enough for them to have a robust meal every few days.
They had settled on a plan. It was clear that Travel would imprison them if they
announced their presence and requested access to the tunnel, so they would
need to sneak their way to the road to Ness, their Ness.
Maela smiled.
She was unsure how well-defended the entrance would be, but she was
unconcerned. She was good at sneaking.
The only question was how to bring food, water, and light for the
grueling journey. Darla shrugged and said that they would work on a plan when
they got closer, mentioning using a deerskin and some kind of wooden
cart without wheels that they would drag behind them.
Maela had doubts, especially as they had to sneak into the tunnel.
Doing so with a cart dragging behind them full of food seemed unlikely.
"Look," Darla said, pointing ahead.
Maela's mind had been focused on the challenge ahead, and she hadn't paid much
attention to the trail.
When she followed Darla's gaze, she saw it: a fork in the road.
Maela squinted, but couldn't see more than the split in the road.
"When we get closer, we can look for clues as to which direction to go."
She looked up. "Both choices seem to lead toward the mountain."
Darla nodded. "Everything seems to lead to the mountain." "All
roads lead to Ness," Maela muttered.
"What's that?" "It's an old saying from the Old Quarter.
I never really knew what it meant, but I liked how it made the Thieves Guild seem more important, like
we were going to restore Ness to the center of the world.
Maybe it's not too far from the truth.
The Great Road not only leads through the Great Gate, it goes right through the mountain."
By then, they had arrived at the parting in the road.
The road itself was more like a wide, grassy trail than a dirt road, which
made it hard to assess which path led to the magic city.
Maela got on her hands and knees and ran her fingers along the ground.
She stood up, paused, and scratched her head.
"What is it?"
Darla asked, looking at the ground and then up at Maela. "It's too overgrown.
There's no evidence of any traffic on here at all."
Darla glanced back from where they came.
"The wagon that brought us past here was a long time ago."
Maela walked over to the other split in the road from their cabin.
Getting down on her hands and knees, she repeated the process of running her
hands along the ground. She stood up again. "The same.
This direction has what feels like ruts in the road, but it could simply be the terrain."
"Maybe there's no wrong choice.
If both paths lead to the mountain, we can simply work our way to the road from along the base of the
mountain. We should be able to see the Towers of Ness when we get there and head in that direction."
"That's true. In fact, if we go the wrong way, it may actually be better,
because then we wouldn't have to skirt the city." "Yes, both paths will work, and
even the wrong one might be better."
Darla took a step toward the left fork.
"It still feels strange calling that city Ness."
Maela walked toward Darla. "I agree.
It just feels wrong."
She nodded down the left fork. "So go this way?" "Sure.
If it starts to turn away from the mountain, we can then decide whether to walk through the forest or
backtrack."
Maela adjusted the makeshift backpack that they had made out of cloth from the
cabin. "I don't like the idea of walking through the forest, but let's not worry about that
unless we have to."
Darla walked over, quickly leaned up on her tiptoes, and kissed Maela
on the cheek. "The next stage of our adventure..." And without waiting for
Maela, she started down the trail.
They spent the first day and night in a jovial mood.
The mountain didn't appear any closer, but it felt closer.
As the days passed, however, their mood soured.
Rather than chatting about their lives, a future together, and various
dreams, both achievable and unrealistic, they fell
into silence.
Finally, Darla blurted out, "I feel like we're running parallel to the mountain,
not toward it. We need to cut through the forest."
She stopped to reinforce her point.
Maela stopped and walked over. "I don't know if that's wise.
Neither of us has experience in navigating a forest.
What if the trees block the view of the mountain and we head in the wrong direction?" "We could
climb a tree then."
The tone of Darla's voice made it clear she had already made up her mind.
Maela considered pushing back, as she truly was worried about navigating
the forest. But the truth was that she was similarly pessimistic
about following the trail,
and backtracking for days just seemed too much to bear
after all the work they had done to move forward.
"Okay,"
Maela finally replied. "Maybe we'll find a stream, and we can have more to drink than drops
of rain and dew.... or we could swim." "I don't know how to swim,"
Maila replied. That wasn't quite true. She could avoid drowning at least.
"Well, it's easy. We take off our clothes, we get in the water, and then I put my arms around
you."
Dala paused and then winked. "You know, so that you don't drown." She
then plunged into the forest.
They never did find anything more than a bubbling brook, but that allowed them to fill
their jugs with water and come up with a new plan.
Dala sat on a rock as Maila explained their next steps.
"The brook looks like it is coming from the mountain, so we'll follow that and it will lead us to the
mountain while also providing us with water." "That's brilliant,"
Dala replied, and she gave a little hop that Maila found entirely
entrancing. Maila stared at Dala as they continued on their way.
Somehow the violent, sarcastic young woman she was was connecting and
healing thanks to the warrior walking next to her.
The initial kisses, which were always unexpected and often awkward,
became wonderful surprises, and the wonderful surprises became
passionate moments, and the passionate moments became something even deeper,
a connection that anchored a love that she knew she
now felt.
Somewhere and somewhen, it wasn't under the mountain, but it wasn't
long after, Maila realized that she loved Dala, and it was
scary, thrilling, and when she thought about it, deeply
unsettling. And that's how Dala was healing her.
Loving someone and being loved wasn't unsettling.
It was wonderful. Maila jogged ahead and tugged on
Dala's arm. Dala stopped and turned only to be met by Maila
mashing her lips against hers and their noses bending against each other.
She laughed and pulled Maila in closer.
It was the most awkward kiss ever, only it wasn't.
It was perfect.
They both missed the smoke on the horizon until they practically walked into the clearing
with the cabin.
Maila grabbed Dala's arm and pulled her back.
"Shh."
Through a gap in the trees, they could see smoke flickering across the sun.
They took a few steps and peering around a tree could see a large clearing with a
cabin, the smoke coming from its chimney.
Dala tugged on Maila's arm and pointed.
A young woman was washing clothes in a wooden barrel.
"Should we go around?" "I don't think so.
We can maybe get some information from her.
Maybe there's a road or a path to the mountain, or maybe we can find out if there's another opening that leads
to the great road."
Dala dropped her hand to her waist where her knives stood at the ready.
"Okay, but you do the talking."
They walked into the clearing and Maila spoke up in a firm but friendly voice.
"Hello. We don't mean to alarm you. We are friends."
The woman nearly fell out of her chair.
She looked left and right and then back at Dala and Maila.
She slowly stood up and backed toward the cabin. "Who are you?
You don't wear the red. Are you banished?" "No, we aren't banished.
Don't be afraid.
Uh, you don't wear red either."
Maila thought the observation would set the woman at ease, but she only
became more agitated. "Who are you then?
Only the banished and outcasts live in these woods."
Maila didn't want to ask which the woman was, although she felt that neither
choice seemed very good for her. "We..."
Maila paused and looked at Dala, who nodded slightly.
"We come from the otherness through the mountain,
and that's why-"
Maila never had a chance to finish her sentence.
The woman screamed and scrambled backwards so fast that she tripped and fell.
After dragging herself to her feet, she ran into the cabin and slammed the
door.
(dramatic music)