Episode 5 : Crossing the River of Death - Part 2

"Whoa."

 Istvan mutters and cuts the amulet.

"It's the Great Vitus Guma Mouthus."

 When he was sure that they were no more, he looked at the four men he had saved and examined them. It was a strange combination, but Istvan paid no attention to the Semitic girl. He was solely interested in Guin, and tried to shake her and lift her leopard head secretly.

"Huh, by the fiery tongue of Garm the Hellhound! My God, he's got a real leopard's head! He's a real Leopard! He's not a drunkard wearing a fake mask to hide his face."

 He cried out lowly and licked his bottom lip slyly. He pressed Guin's muscles, took his long sword and pondered, then looked at Linda and Remus. Istvan's long, slitted eyes suddenly narrowed.

"This one's the kid--this one's a girl. Wind! In ten years the nations will be at war over this girl. There's no way she's just some kid. No, wait, Red Mercenary, think it over!

 He sat down on his haunches, Valakian style, looking into Linda's beautiful, unconscious face, mumbling incessantly, then suddenly jumped up.

 Behind him, a Semite was creeping towards him with a poisoned arrow in his hand. Probably he got separated from his troops or decided to be sneaky. When he found out that Istvan had noticed him, he fired a poisoned arrow at him, but a flash of his sword as he dodged sent the ape-man's head flying into the Kes.

 The mercenary glanced around to see if there were any more. Just then, Guin and the others began to move about.

 And so they passed a dangerous and uneasy night in the shelter of a hollow rock, which Istvan had previously chosen as a hiding place.

"I've heard the stories."

 The Istvan folded his arms across his chest and spoke arrogantly.

 Although he is not as tall as Guin, he is still very tall. However, his side is no match for Guin. Rather, he is slender and has a body like a whip. But he boasts that he's been a mercenary since he was twelve, and his lean frame looks strong and agile. The armor and helmet of a Gora soldier cover him, but when he was thrown into prison, all the emblems of the Gora were stripped off.

 His headpiece is flung back and his youthful face is exposed to the sun. He is only about twenty years old. His face is firm and lustrous, and though somewhat long, is quite handsome. His black hair is trimmed short in the manner of a Mongol, and his smile is ironic as it appears on his skinny cheeks.

 But what attracts the eye of the beholder more than anything else are his black eyes, which sparkle in his sallow face, as if he is always hoarding some evil scheme. They fluttered slyly and had an untrustworthy glint in them, yet they were strangely charming and shone so vividly that those who saw them were drawn to them even though they thought them unworthy. The long sword and dagger at his waist, his leather shoes up to his ankles.

"There's another way--I think you said so."

 Guin gave him an impassive leopard's face. Istvan nodded impatiently, as if his muffled voice was inaudible.

"Anyway, we managed to get out of that mess last night, and fortunately for us, the Semites are gone. But we're stuck here, waiting for Gora to find us, as you say, Leopard. But first, there's one more thing I need to do."

"What?"

"I'm hungry.

 Istvan said with a grin and magically took the food from behind him. It was what he had brought with him when he escaped from the prison. Cold roast meat and a lump of grain paste.

 As soon as they saw it, both the prince and the princess gulped down their spittle. Istvan cut up the food generously, but when he gave it to Suni, he looked regretful.

 For the time being, however, they had their breakfast. Sitting on a rock, eating cold meat that they had kneaded into a paste with their fingers, they discussed their future plans. All four of them, except Suni, agreed that they should not enter the Gora territory, and that they must somehow cut through the frontier and reach the civilized world.

"I'm sure the Semites can find a friend somewhere along the way - I'm already a bit of a liability in Gora anyway, and not only is there no one to hire me, but I confess I volunteered for the Frontier Guard because I did something a bit wrong."

 Istvan grinned and said.

"I exposed myself to a nobleman's son in Torus. In fact, I became an enigma in Yulaniya, drifted to Kumu, caused a dispute in the Kumu capital of Rouen, and came to Mongol, so as long as I'm in the Three Kingdoms of Gora, I'm out of luck. I've already had enough of monkeys, so I was thinking of going north to Cheironia or even to the ancient kingdom of Hainam.

"We are--"

 Linda thought for a moment. She didn't trust Guin, but she didn't think she could trust Istvan yet. She wasn't sure how much she should tell him,

"We were going to go to Cheironia or Argos."

"Argos. The steppe country where the sister of the recently fallen king of Paro is married."

 Pretending to be nothing, Istvan said, and watched the twins with narrowed eyes as they cringed.

"Leopard head, what are you going to do?"

"I'm not--"

 Guin thought.

"I want to find out what the word 'Aura' means. If I can figure that out, then maybe I can figure out who I am and why I look like this. That's all."

"So you have no objection to cutting through the frontier and setting your sights on Cheironia first."

"Yeah."

"Okay, that's it."

The Red Mercenary is merry,

"So, what I was suggesting earlier is that, if we're lucky, there should still be a raft or two left unmolested in the ruins of Castle Staphorus. Or if there's one that could use a little mending, so be it. Let's find them and take them out to the Kes River, that's what I think."

"Are we going to the Kess River?"

 Remus screamed in fright.

"No, you can't... you know why the river Kes is called the Dark River. I was told once that no one has ever gone down this river and come back alive. It's the border between the wilderness of Nosferus, the realm of the demons, and the civilized world, and it's home to all sorts of strange creatures you can't find anywhere else."

"Oh, boy, I don't need you to tell me that. I was already traveling the world making money when you were wrapped in diapers."

 Istvan laughed mockingly. Remus glared angrily at the mercenary.

"What are we going to do down the Kess River?"

 Linda listened, thinking that her brother's indignation was understandable. Istvan glanced at the beautiful girl with a sly look in his eyes.

"We travel down the Kes River to the mouth of the Ross. At the town of Ross you will find a merchant ship that will take you across the sea of Lent, and you will be allowed to board it. Then we can reach Cheironia or Valacia with little trouble, and from there we can do what we like."

"But that's assuming I can get aboard a merchant ship without attracting suspicion."

 Guin, who had been silent until then, said in a whisper. Istvan licked his greasy fingers and laughed.

"Can't you just do something about that big leopard head?"

 After laughing for a while, he became serious and said. But his dark eyes are still twinkling with mockery.

"If I could, I would have done it by now."

 Linda covered for Guin.

"I think he's under someone's spell. He couldn't get it off. It's like a hood or something."

"I'm sure it'll only make you stand out."

 Istvan sipped from the water bottle on his hip.

"You'll have to worry about that later, when you're out in the wild. The big gummies and corpse-eating fishes of the Kes don't care whether Guin is a Leopard-headed monster or a Leopard itself. So be it."

 He gazed at Guin for a long time and added that he was impressed again.

"What kind of circumstances and what kind of magical curse could have created such a strange creature? As a Red Mercenary, I've traveled all over the world, from the northern lands of Quinnsland and Tarruan to the southern islands, from the beautiful land of Simhara to the muddy lands of the route, and even to the crippled kingdom of Ferrara, forsaken by the gods. But Istvan, who had seen and heard so many things, had never seen such an inexplicable event. Girl, you don't know this, but the ruler of the ice and snow of Quinsland is Tavia, the Ice Queen, a woman who is practically trapped in the ice and is still alive. Yes, the ruler of Simhara, the Jewel of the Corsair Sea, is a bull-headed, tailed high priestess, but the bull-head is nothing more than a headdress, a horrible, jewel-encrusted mask of the world. There are many strange things in this world, but most of them are just people.

 But this leopard head!"

 Istvan sighed.

"I can't help but think that they ripped off the warrior's head and put the head of a real leopard of the Moss Steppe in its place, and put the warrior's brain and soul into it. Oh, I'm so annoyed. This leopard head gives me a strange feeling, though I don't mind it. I don't like things that can't be reasoned with, you know!

 That doesn't make any sense, Linda thought, repulsed. Guin doesn't have to look like this by choice.

 But Istvan replied flatly, as if Linda's unspoken thoughts had been said aloud.

"That's right, girl. It's certainly not his fault that he's been turned into a leopard-headed monster, so it's only natural that he'd want to solve the mystery of the word 'Aura' that seems to hold the key to his identity as soon as possible. I would have done the same.

 But in spite of that, there's a providence in the world that keeps me on my toes. I'm Istvan, the Red Mercenary. And yet, the thought that there's something huge that you and I can't control and that I'm being manipulated by it... well, that's bound to make me angry.

 For example-- Hey, girl, have you ever heard of the Lady of Light? Have you heard of the Lady of Light?"

"The Lady of Light"?

 Linda thought. The words seemed strangely familiar to her. But then she looked at Remus and shook her head.

"So what?"

 Then Istvan mumbled in his mouth and became silent.

"What is the "Duchess of Light"?"

 Linda asked again. But Istvan did not answer. Instead, he brushed the crumbs off his lap and stood up.

"Now is not the time to be talking like this. What are you going to do, take my idea of finding a raft and sailing down the Kes to the mouth of the Ross or not? Do you want to wander the treacherous and endless wilderness of Nosferus, risking getting lost and fighting barbarians and monsters, or do you want to get rid of the monsters of Kes and take the easy way to Cheironia? Either way, I'll be looking for a raft, and soon we'll have help from Fort Arvon, so we can't afford not to cross the river."

 Linda and Remus, unable to make up their minds, looked each other in the eye, holding hands firmly, and then looked at Guin. Suni, though he understood little of what was being said, seemed to understand that it was a serious matter for the Masters, and waited quietly in the shade of the rock, nibbling on some meat. Istvan's black, impetuous eyes gleam as he watches them.

 Guin's expressionless leopard head slowly tilted forward.

 His yellow eyes had an unfathomable look in them. He opened his mouth gravely. Even Istvan knew that Guin's words would determine the rest of his actions. Guin was the leader of this party. Not just this, but in any case, that would have been true. Even the proud princess of Paro knew that and waited for the decision. This cursed leopard-headed warrior had something of the dignity of one who had been born to the throne of the world.

 Guin said in a muffled, gravely voice...

"If we're looking for a raft, we're looking for a hole in the ground."

 Istvan slapped his knee, and his armor shone in the sun as black and glittering as his obsidian eyes. The path they were to take had been decided.