A Travel Partner You Say?

Unamused, the dancer folded her arms after hearing the answer that Everett had given her.

"He's deceased, you say?" The dancer asked again for confirmation.

"Yes, my lady. Hefaru of the Bamboo People is, in fact, deceased. I can show you the tomb in which his body was laid to rest," Everett explained.

The dancer was taken aback by this news. Did Soman not know of Hefaru's current state when he sent her off to find him? What will she do now? How would she find the Golden Stallion if there's no Hefaru to guide her? Maybe she could summon him as a spirit using an incantation. But the dancer didn't know any magic, spells, or hexes; she only knew how to dance and protect herself using her chakras.

Chakrams are her ideal weapon to use when she is in danger. Her master placed her under the care of Graciapus, the blacksmith; he had taught her to use chakras to protect herself and enhance her dancing. Everett stared at the dancer, waiting for her reply. He could see that she was in a slight state of distress because she seemed to be both daydreaming and worrying at the same time. He tried to wave a hand to get her attention, but to his avail, she did not even bat an eye.

She was deeply thinking of a solution to overcome her dismaying predicament.

"Hey, pretty lady, stop thinking too much and deal with the situation," Everett's twin, Elliot, said.

Elliot's shouting had snapped Aqilah out of her focused problem-solving, which led her to glare at the young man in front of her. Now he was sitting rather peculiarly, with one leg on the bench and the other one normally under the table.

'This is not Everett. This is someone else,' the dancer said in her mind.

"I presume you are Elliot?" the dancer questioned.

"Right as day, I'm Elliot. I'll be taking over this time," Elliot answered with a charming smile.

After thanking the Tavern Owner, The Dancer and the twins inhabiting one body, which was now taken over by Elliot, walked out of the tavern. Elliot led the dancer towards Hefaru of the Bamboo People's tomb, which was built by the townspeople. Bulohwi was a bustling city filled with nice and polite people. As the dancer walked along with Elliot, she was greeted by the citizens and guards of the nation.

"Welcome to Bulohwi, outlander and bard!" a guard standing near the gates to the graveyard said.

The guard held a fist to his chest and bowed ever so slightly in politeness. The dancer and Elliot bowed back in respect. Then the two proceeded to walk through the two big iron gates and into the solemn looking graveyard. A dirt path was made in the middle of the graveyard, which led to the top of a small hill. A marble tomb was made for Hefaru, and his full name was carved with gentleness in a beautiful font. The tomb itself had carvings of two chimaeras on each corner of the 'roof' of the tomb.

At the front was the city crest of Bulohwi above Hefaru's name. At the bottom, a poem was carved into the marble which read accordingly :

Here lies our eternal leader,

One who has fought for us,

Take care of us,

Our one true teacher.

Here lies our eternal Lord,

One who taught us kindness,

Taught us liberty,

Taught us commerce,

His teaching won't be rendered useless.

May he now rest peacefully.

His soul reach the heavens accordingly

We shall protect his cadaver.

In our hearts, he rests forever.

"He died during the War of Carella. He was summoned to help fight a dangerous ginormous serpent who was fighting the Lord of Snow," Elliot explained as he kneeled down to give his respects to Lord Hefaru.

The dancer kneeled down beside him and read the poem. She then stood up and saw Hefaru's name carved into the rock of the large tomb. She sighed, disappointed by the outcome of her journey.

"Don't feel sad; a pretty face like you shouldn't be sad about the death of my master. Besides, you're not from here anyway," Elliot coaxed, trying to make her feel better.

The dancer listened closely, then stopped and looked up at Elliot with wide eyes. She then pointed at him with her pointer finger.

"What, something on my face?" Elliot spread his arms out.

The dancer shook her head from side to side.

"Nothing. Wait, did you say'master''?," the dancer asked.

'You messed up', Everett said in Elliot's mind.

Elliot ignored Everett and answered the dancer's question.

"Indeed, who's asking?" Elliot smirked.

The dancer began to have hope again that she could find the golden stallion. She placed both of her hands on her chest, as she now felt hope.

"That means you know where the Golden Stallion is," the dancer gleamed.

'Let me answer that!' Everett shouted with panic in Elliot's head.

Elliot's holding his head in pain. "Quit yelling, worm; I'm not deaf. The secret is out anyway; what's the point of stalling?".

"What secret?," The dancer asks with her hands behind her back, looking up at Elliot.

Elliot grabbed the dancer's arm and pulled her close to him. Their chests were almost touching against each other. Elliot leaned down to her right ear and whispered softly. The dancer felt his hot breath against her ears, which she ignored entirely due to the important information she was receiving.

"We students of Master Hefaru mustn't reveal who we are. Especially to outlanders, but it seems like you're an exception now. So, I advise you to guard that secret till the day we part through death," Hefaru whispered.

He then quickly blew at her ear, making her shiver in shock. The dancer harshly pushed him away from her and hugged her body.

"Don't even try. I won't let you, you green-headed rat. Hmph!," The dancer crossed her arms over her chest in anger.

"Come now, how would we guide you to the Golden Stallion if you can't cooperate just because of a little teasing, Dancer dear?" Elliot raised an eyebrow with a hint of cheekiness.

The dancer looked at him with eyebrows furrowed at his cheeky smirk. She decided that she would only partially trust him; the twins may be sharing a body, but they too share a mind. That means they can discuss it with each other at any given time. She had no other choice at the moment, unless she found other students of the deceased Lord Hefaru. That idea proved to be like finding a needle in a haystack because Elliot's information was supposedly confidential. She shook her head and looked up at Elliot.

"Fine, I'll put up with your outrageous antics," the dancer said.

"A wonderful choice," Elliot agreed.

"So, how will we get there then?" the dancer questioned.

"By ostriches, of course," Elliot answered.

"Ostriches?" the dancer questioned in disbelief.

"Yes, I have my own. Millard is quite bigger than a regular ostrich, so she'll be able to carry both of us," Elliot answered.

The dancer decided to just rely on anything, as long as Elliot brings her to the Golden Stallion. She shall save her homeland from being destroyed by the gods.

"Do you know the whereabouts of the Golden Stallion?" the dancer questioned.

"No, but there's a map in Lord Hefaru's office," Elliot answered.

"Excellent, let's go retrieve it immediately." The dancer excitedly clapped and began walking towards the exit of the graveyard.

Obviously, the same way they came through. Nothing is too complicated. The dancer walked out the gates with Elliot following suit. He laced his arm around hers in a gentlemanly pose. The dancer was about to protest his ridiculous act, but he beat her to it.

"It's a custom in Bulohwi where the men were supposed to escort ladies around town. Well, this custom mostly applies to outlanders," Elliot explained.

'You're going to embarrass us, Everett said in his head.

"My right eye is twitching and burning up; I'll just assume you're trying to seduce me," the dancer concluded.

"Psh, no, I'm not. I'm just trying to be polite," Elliot disagreed.

"Uh, huh, I'll just leave you to your fantasies because one is desperate." The dancer rolled her eyes.

The two strolled into town hand in hand, receiving looks from people. Some are pleasant, some are weirded out, and some are even mesmerised by the dancer's exotic-looking appearance and outfit. The dancer was observing the architecture of the buildings in Bulohwi. She noted that the buildings seem to have changed from what she saw in the geography books back in Andramesh. In the books, Bulohwi looked small, with fewer buildings and smaller houses. In the middle of the town was a huge palace made of bamboo and gold, as the description said.

She also remembered that the palace had four tall towers surrounding the four corners of the palace. The two strolled through the town's main stone path, and on each path lay a whole row of small shops and eateries. People's homes and accommodations for travellers were built behind those shops for easier access to personal needs or simply to purchase a gift. Aqilah thought that Bulohwi was well laid out; Hefaru must've been caring and compassionate towards his subjects.

When she first entered the town, she took notice of it's well-thought-out geographic setting for safety. The walls were built high, with watch towers at every corner and side. Soon, the palace was in their view. Beautiful architecture and very tall, though it seemed a little off. The description of the palace she knew was covered in gold, but the one in front of her didn't even have a speck of it. Even though the towers were missing, she wondered why they looked different. Could the books be wrong? It had a detailed description and an illustration of the palace in all its glory.

Then she remembered something: only the palace looked extravagant in the books she read, while the houses of the citizens were poorly built. Hefaru possibly had torn down the gold to sell it so he could build a proper home for his citizens. No wonder Hefaru's tomb looked so fantasy-like and majestic. The people here really are grateful towards their leader, though who or what is governing them now? Hefaru's death didn't seem to effect the prosperity of Bulohwi; maybe he had an heir who had the same morals and goals as he once had.

"Here we are!" Elliot released his grasp of her arm.

"It looks rather different from what I've read," the dancer said.

"What do you mean, the palace has been like this since forever?" Elliot said in a weird tone that doesn't sound like Elliot.

The dancer took notice and decided to question him.

"Elliot-

But the young man interrupted her with a raised palm.

"It's Everett now, my lady," Everett said.

The dancer smiled at this, then grabbed his hand.

"Oh, how I'm glad to see you!" the dancer said.

'Hey!' Elliot protested in Everett's head.

"Same here. Now come, I don't want to waste your time any longer," Everett said, taking hold of her hand and dragging her towards the palace.

The two stopped in front of large wooden doors with beautiful carvings. She recognises a carving of the nation's crest carved on the front of each door. At the upper and lower edges were normal carved lines to make the door look like a frame. Elliot opened the door and held it open for the dancer to step inside. She stepped inside the building and marvelled at the interior; it looked plain and simple, but neat and tidy.

Then, a woman in a green military-looking outfit came up towards them. The dancer saw a similar outfit worn by the guard at the entrance of the graveyard. Then this must be Bulohwi's military guard's uniform; it looks neat and very green, to be precise. The woman gave them a salute.

"Welcome to Bulohwi Palace; mind stating your business here?" the woman inquired.

"Yes, no, no wait. I mean, *ahem* I don't mind; I need to access Lord Hefaru's office. Please," Everett stammered.

"I see. Is there any particular reason that you need to access Lord Hefaru's office?" the woman asked, and she glanced over at the dancer a little.

Everett leaned close to the guard and whispered.

"I'm Lord Hefaru's disciple," Everett whispered.

The guard nodded her head in acknowledgement. Everett returned to his position beside the dancer.

"Alright, I grant you access to Lord Hefaru's office. Here are the keys." The woman tossed him the keys.

Everett caught the metal key shaped like a bamboo in his palms safely. The woman then began to continue on with her shift. Before she did, she glanced back at Everett.

"Don't stay in there for too long, Everett," the woman warned.

"Yes, I know Velaria," Everett dismissed her warning.

The two strolled up three flights of stairs and reached a door at the end of the hallway. The door had a sign on it: 'Lord Hefaru, it said. Everett knocked on the door three times before opening it and entering. The dancer took in the view of the office before her brown eyes settled down on a large display shelf at one corner of the office. The display shelf had various items on it; each of them had a label. Small trinkets, trophies, small statues, and weapons stood upon each section of the shelves. Each item was distinctively placed in its respective category.

While the dancer idly admired the treasures displayed on the shelves, Everett was busy at work trying to remember where Hefaru stored a particular map that they needed. The office had piles and piles of maps, either rolled and tucked away neatly or spread out on top of the huge desk.

'Hefaru sure loved travelling but failed at keeping things tidy, Elliot commented.

"Don't be rude; Lord Hefaru's hobbies are commendable. He's an expert cartographer, after all. Without his experience in the layout of the bamboo forest, Bulohwi wouldn't have existed today," Everett calmly whispered.

Everett didn't want the dancer to eavesdrop on his conversation with Elliot because only the one stationed in the mind can speak in the mind. Whereas, the one controlling the body can only speak out loud. The twins used to get in so much trouble back in the day because of Elliot's habit of commenting behind people's backs. But they managed to control their troublesome predicament over the years under Lord Hefaru's teaching.

Soon after much digging around through dusty drawers, Everett managed to locate the particular map that would guide them to the Golden Stallion's location. He happily grabbed the rolled-up map and walked towards the dancer, only to find her staring at a chimaera statue that was sitting on one of the shelves. The label beside it read: To our dearest guest, a Chimera crafted by the hands of our finest craftsmen.

Andramesh

Everett stood beside her, admiring the chimaera statue too. The statue, in Everett's opinion, was delicately carved to perfection. It's as if the craftsman had been making these statues in the exact same composition for a long, long time. Everett then decided to lightly tap the dancer's shoulder to awaken her from her daydream. The dancer flinched a little, then turned to Everett with a sad look on her face.

"I miss my home," she stammered. That was when Everett's promise to her began: he would assist her in her journey to find the Golden Stallion. Though he didn't know why she needed to desperately find the Golden Stallion,. He made a decision that would change his life forever.