Chapter 3: Hiking
Keith saw his mother coming out of the kitchen with her bamboo made yoke, a leather pouch and six empty buckets. She turned toward him and said.
"You'll take the wheel barrow for the first part of the walk, then I'll put four water buckets in it with the blanket, it'll be heavier so I will carry it then."
He nodded, ate a few fruits and put some in his pocket. He took advice of his mother's words and wore the leaf cap and readied himself. Checking a last time in the room for temperature differences.
He noticed something different. There was no more burning sensation on skin itchiness. His eyeballs had almost been ejected from their socket. He exited the house energetically and exclaimed.
"Mother! Look at my arms, there's no sunburn at all!"
"So what?"
She said, annoyed.
"Because you didn't get any from the previous day you are looking for an excuse to not wear the hat today? Who put this idea in your head, was it Domi? Older doesn't mean wiser, even at my age."
"N...No?"
"Alright, I won't blame it on this brat. Are you ready? Time to depart."
'Her mind is as sturdy as stone, she's not talkative anymore.'
Living at the border of their village, between the mountain and the woods, they had more chances to get attacked by predators and suffer bird's hunger because of the lack of human activity.
Yet the land was cheaper and they had facilitated access to neighbouring lands.
It took them few minutes to cross the youngest part of the forest, in periphery of the village, most trees were already felled to build tools and accommodations. This portion of the journey was quite easy, but as they neared the mountain, a slight slope could be felt under their feet.
They went deep into the forest. Bird songs altogether were hard to discern, the regular screeching from the wheel attracted curious birds and afraid some others. Most of the trees next to the path had thick branches, making it hard for sunlight to cross. It gave the forest a dim aspect.
Their usual pathway was easy to spot on the ground where grass couldn't grow and dirt was compact. A few hours passed before they could hear the water stream nearby. Keith was a little short breathed.
"We're here! Finally, I'm so tired."
"Leave this here, we will bring the bucket and mattress one by one, else we won't be able to climb back. The water erodes its bank when it gets out of its bed, the ground is pretty unstable."
"River has a bed?"
"Yes, and when its level is low, it is sleeping quietly, but when rainy season comes, it is unleashed and can destroy a village in a bare couple of breaths."
She handed him a bucket and they went down, along the river. They filled them one by one as planned. Then while his mother filled her pouch, he wet his shirt, rubbed it and wrung it out a couple of time.
"Take those, right path as last time and buy dried fish. to get too deep in the city. I'll wash the m
She handed him a few coins and pointed the way without waiting for an answer.
He took the coins and went his way. It was maybe the fifth time he followed his mother beyond the fields, he was quite sure of his way. Behind the stream flow he could hear the noise from the city, it wasn't much bigger than Kodra, but it had more commercial activity. Some people bragging, other negotiating, laughing and a few swearwords were blended within conversations.
There was a lot of carpet and tables with food dispatched on it, he was almost drooling when he saw his target. Nearing the merchant he said.
"Hello, four fish please."
The merchant had a wide smile, he glanced at nearby sellers before asking.
"Did you fell in the water because you tried to catch them yourself?"
Keith looked at his shirt and put his hand behind his head. He answered shyly.
"Hem... yes..?"
The merchants burst out laughing, Keith was blushing, which added wood to the fire. He extended his hand to pay the man, but he refused with a gesture. While wiping away a tear he said.
"It's okay, but next time come see me, I'll teach you how to fish, my name's Reis."
"Thank you mister."
He took the fish and exited the village to join his mother. She was waiting for him, sitting next to the wheelbarrow, she lift her head when she heard his footsteps and stood up.
"Alright, let's head back home."
Keith held her apron to have his attention and lift his hand with the coins in it.
"You stole? What have I taught you so far? This child of mine is so ungrateful to other fair citizens that he allowed himself to take on the stall, by himself?"
She lifted her head to the sky and as her tone went rough and her voice louder, she had an idea. She went to the nearest tree and pulled a meter-long branch, a lively one with a few leaves. And she used it as a lash before he could utter a word.
"How dare you, how dare you disappoint me once more? How will you be able to take care of me once I get old? Do you think there are no consequences for young robbers?"
On a defensive stance, curled up and using his forearms as a shield, he waited for his punishment to end. The pain was awful. The branch had a wider range and had more amplitude than the one they had at home, Keith couldn't focus on his mother's speech while he was crying.
He saw something coming out of the bushes behind his mother and a tall person walked toward her. His half-closed eyes couldn't discern much. She was suddenly interrupted as she couldn't move her hand any more, she wanted to hit him again and didn't bother to turn around until she heard a deep voice saying.
"The boy did not steal, the merchant is a kind person. I vouch for it, please stop."
Her hand let go of the branch and she turned around to see a tall man, at least two heads taller than her with a thick body, holding her wrist. The man had a deteriorated cape that covered most of his body, except his head, although there was a hood on his back.
Keith uncovered his face and observed the man and thought.
'That's not mister shadow, who is he? He's huge!'
His mother undid her wrinkled face and asked before him.
"Who are you?"
"I'm Ned, grand hunter and beast chaser. And you?"
"Raima, and that's my son, Keith."
"Are you both heading downhill? I'll accompany you, there are rumours about animal pack nearby, I've been recruited to investigate this matter."
Ned winked at Keith and said.
"Do you want me to help you carry the water?"
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone