Town

He awoke shivering as darkness enveloped the land. The fleeting warmth of early Spring had deserted them. Haowen stirred alongside him, and they clambered out of their hidden den. Above Lujingbao Fortress, the night sky stretched wide, stars gleaming like frozen pearls. The scent of the bay seemed to intensify, overpowering the transient odors of mankind, horses, and food that marked the daytime.

They traversed empty lanes, past training fields, granaries, and the ancient wine press. All was calm, save for the distant flickering lanterns and fading voices emanating from the inner fortress. It all appeared drained, the remnants of festivity unraveling as dawn threatened to paint the sky. Eager to avoid more human contact, they veered away from the heart of the fortress.

Wuyi found himself trailing Haowen back toward the stables. Approaching the massive doors, he pondered their entry. But as they neared, Haowen's tail started to twitch excitedly, and even Wuyi's dull sense of hearing caught the sound of Boluo's familiar grunting. Emerging from a wooden crate he'd been sitting on, Boluo greeted them softly, "There you are. Come, let's go." He opened the heavy stable doors and ushered them inside.

Wuyi and Haowen followed Boluo through the shrouded night, passing rows of equine chambers, stablehands who had bedded down for the evening, and their own steeds and hounds alongside the young caretakers who slept near them. Eventually, they arrived at a stairway ascending the wall separating the stables from the falcon mews. The creaking wooden steps protested their climb, but they followed Boluo to the top, where he unlocked another door.

The flickering glow of a dying lantern momentarily dazzled Wuyi's eyes as they entered a sloping-ceiling chamber scented with leather, and an array of herbs and unguents that comprised his craft. As Boluo shut the door behind them, he lit a fresh oil lamp from the dimming flame of another. Wuyi caught a whiff of sweet wine in the air.

Illuminated by the spreading light, Boluo, clad in fine garments of brown and yellow adorned with a sliver of a silver chain across his chest, took a seat on a wooden chair. He extended an open palm towards his knee. Haowen hurried to him, enjoying the ear scratches and rib thumps Boluo offered, even as a cloud of dust erupted from his coat.

"Ah, what a fine duo you two make," Boluo said, focusing more on the hound pup. "You both are as untidy as beggars. I lied to Lord Congming today—he is the lord of this castle—claiming you were resting from your journey. He was not pleased, but his attention is mostly on the political upheaval following the new raiders who are bothering our sea trade."

His gaze lifted from Haowen's eager face to Wuyi's. "You stirred quite the drama today. Scared Keben witless, you did. Now, are you hurt? Has anyone treated you poorly?" When Wuyi hesitated, Boluo gestured towards a pallet of blankets near a glowing brazier, inviting them. "Here, make yourselves comfortable. There's food as well."

Drawn by his words and Haowen's eager sniffs, they hurried to the table, where Wuyi apportioned some of the meat for Haowen before satiating his own hunger. Boluo had judged well; they were famished after their day's adventures. Replete and warmed by the brazier, they soon yielded to sleep's embrace.

The sun was well into the sky when they awoke the next morning, and Boluo had already departed. They feasted on the remnants of last night's meal before descending from Boluo's quarters, unnoticed and unchallenged by anyone.

As they stepped outside, Lujingbao Fortress was a whirlwind of activity and festivity, even more packed with people than before. The murmur of chattering voices blended with the swish of the wind and the distant murmur of ocean waves.

Wuyi did not want emotional feedback from everyone, so he focused the statue only on his pup to avoid other feedbacks. However, this was a mistake, as Haowen was enthralled by every scent, sight, and sound—a sensory overload that Wuyi could feel. Still, this was better than feeling the emotions of every being he passed. If there was anyone he was closest to, it was this hound. The Statue of Harmony constantly provided him feedback on the simple emotions of the hound.

While they walked, snippets of conversation revealed that their arrival had coincided with a spring festival, of which Wuyi was already aware. While the recent recruitments of warriors to fight raiders dominated the talk, storytellers and jesters had turned every corner into a makeshift stage. One storyteller even told a story of a young noble disciple of the Sacred Sword Sect who came to open paths to meteorite iron and ended up opening a path to a different kind of mine, siring a bastard. Wuyi stood unnoticed among the crowd, bemused by bawdy jokes about "sowing in the wild desert's sandy fields" that had the adults in splits.

Overwhelmed by the clamor of the fortress, Wuyi and Haowen retreated, slipping past distracted guards who were busy flirting with festival-goers. Following a fishmongering family down twisted lanes leading away from Lujingbao Fortress, they reached the lower town. Haowen's curiosity about new scents slowed their progress, leaving them wandering the streets alone. Wuyi could sense when Haowen was catching new scents.

The lower town was a harsh, windy place, with uneven cobbled streets that felt unstable beneath the wheels of carts. The briny aroma of seaweed and fish filled the air, while the cries of seabirds created a haunting backdrop to the rhythmic sounds of the ocean. The architecture of stone and wood houses clung to the rugged cliffs, much like sea creatures stick to ocean pilings.

Compared to the hustle and bustle in the fortress, the town was relatively calm. Unaware that a waterfront wasn't the most appropriate place for a child and a hound to explore, Wuyi and Haowen roamed freely. From Bakers' Street to an almost empty marketplace, they ended up along the piers and boat sheds. Here, life carried on as usual, undeterred by the festive chaos above. Ships unloaded, and fishermen adhered to the ocean's schedule, not mankind's.