Chapter 14 - Nuri
Nuri wakes up, startled and reaching for her dagger. She looks around and sees the woods around her. Sitting up, she sees the bushes, trees and grass around her smoldering, ashes fluttering to the ground around her. She looks behind her and sees nothing but the same scene. Smoldering woods, the scent of smoke lingering in the air. She looks at her hands to find the wounds cauterized, looking at her legs and finding the same thing. Burn scars followed where the scratches and punctures would have been, her collarbone ached and she felt for it. Feeling the same scar where the crossbow bolt had ripped through her.
Standing up, her head throbs as a name consumes her every thought. Oemis, a chorus of voices chant. Stumbling through the dark and out of the burnt patch of woods, the voices lessen the further she gets away until she no longer hears them. The night hadn't subsided but she felt a chunk of her time missing. How long, she didn't know but couldn't have been long. The moon hadn't set and was still pretty high in the sky. Nuri picked up the pace through the woods, she heard shouting ahead of her. Ducking down, she listened to the voices shout at each other. Each increasingly agitated as they yelled for her to come out, head still dizzy from what happened, she hears the crunch of leaves from her right.
Looking over to find a guard with a crossbow, pointing another bolt at her. She grabs the crossbow with her free arm, yanking it from him with strength she hadn't had earlier. Not noticing the singed finger marks she had left on the wooden crossbow. The hand that her dagger shot forward and pushed the weapon into his stomach. He gasped out, a scream leaving his throat before she clapped a hand over his mouth. Watching with horror as light emitted from her fingertips and his cheek burned at her touch. Panic coursing through her veins, she ripped the dagger from his stomach and sliced his throat. The smell of burning skin filled her nose, making her gag.
Nuri looked around before running, hand still firmly holding her dagger. She smelt the burning of the leather and loosened her grip on her weapon, not willing to part with the only thing that provided her deadly protection. Pushing herself into a sprint, ignoring the ache of the scars on her legs. Nuri didn't know how far she ran but when she finally paused in her running she looked around. The forest that had been dense was now letting up, moonlight leaking in more and she felt herself get excited. The less dense the forest, the closer to civilization she was. Doubling over, her head and stomach swam. Fighting her own body to keep herself from throwing up, taking a few deep breaths. She listened to the forest around her, looking up when she heard water running.
The back of her throat stung and once the sound of water entered her ears, it was the only thing she could think about. Making her way toward the water, she found a clean creek. Kneeling down, she cupped the water into her hands and drank from it. Feeling instant relief as the water soothed her throat and burning lungs. She fumbled in her bag for her waterskin and filled it with water. As the sun rose from slumber, Nuri basked in its light and warmth for a moment. Her body ached something horrible but she had to keep moving. Towards civilization where she might be able to sleep or find a map leading to Dorian. Listening to the morning birds chirp in the trees above, Nuri's pace slowed to a normal walk. Pushing through the final bit of woods, she gazed upon a town in the distance. Feeling her heart skip a beat, she took off towards civilization. Sprinting past farm land and pastures filled with livestock, she entered the village. Slowly making her way to the square, she observed others going about their days. Children following their parents around, people talking and it all felt foreign. She swallowed, five years away from normal people. All this time and nothing had changed, people talk about the church service that happened yesterday or about their household chores. It felt odd hearing all of this talk compared to what would normally be discussed in the military base. Pushing into a general store that sat in the square next to a small book shop, the bell rang to signal her entering.
A young woman looked up from the counter and smiled at Nuri. "Welcome, let me know if I can help ya find somethin'." Her accent flowed smoothly off her tongue and Nuri had never been so happy to hear a different dialect.
"Actually, do you have any maps?" Nuri asked, hoping that she didn't sound too odd. Trinkets, food and other items lined the shelves of the shop. Including some items that were enchanted, like a sponge that would wash the dishes for you.
"I can do that for ya." The lady smiles before bending down and grabbing a map from a shelf under her. Placing it on the counter lightly before looking back at Nuri, "Anythin' else?" She asked.
"No, how much?" Nuri asked, grabbing the few coins she had snagged before leaving.
"Nah, you can have it. You need it more than us. Plus, we don't get a lotta pretty ladies in here." The girl winked before returning her attention back to stocking under the counter. Nuri felt her cheeks heat up at the casual flirting before thanking her and leaving with the map. Looking at the coins she had, she looked around the town. Opening the regional map, her mouth gaped at what she saw. When she was first starting, she had been moved from one military base to another for the first year. Going through what was probably four during that time. She had realized they were pulling her further away from Glory. She was located in a town called Doncaster, a small farming town.
If her geography lessons paid off, she was at least half a month's journey away from home on foot. Of course it would be faster by horse but where was she gonna get a horse? Looking around the town in disbelief, she sat down at a bench. She struggled to keep the tears from spilling as she tried to think about what to do next. First she needed food, money and a place to stay. She looked into the distance and looked at the farms, she had worked on her fathers farm before. She knew how to take care of one and if she could get even a small job from there she could get money.
Looking around the square, she found a notice board. Walking over to the board, her eyes lit up as she found small job postings for farm hands. Grabbing the most recent one, she walked out of the town and towards the farm land. It might take longer than she wanted but for now, she has no choice. She wouldn't have the strength to fight anyone off if she walked the whole journey without any real food and her military rations will only last so long. Knocking on the door of the Arroyo farmhouse and having a tall man answer the door. "What'cha want?" He growled out and Nuri held up the job posting.
"Saw you were looking for a farm hand." Nuri said with a small smile and shrug, trying her hardest to seem nonchalant. He huffed before stepping out and closing the door behind him.
"Alright kid," He crossed his arms, "Why should I hire you?" He looked her up and down with critique before doing a double take. He admittedly hadn't a good look at her before asking her that question and was taken aback by her build. Nuri told him how she worked on her dads farm, giving a vague backstory on how she moved to a small town looking for a fresh start away from the port.
He nodded, listening before sighing. "I'll hire ya, you start tomorrow as soon as the sun rises. Kay?" Nuri nodded. "If you don't have a place to sleep, you can sleep in the barn loft but I don't want ya disturbin' the cows, kay?" Shaking hands, Nuri felt herself jitter with excitement. A barn was better than the open, at least she wouldn't get rain on her.