Welcome to my seemingly endless journey.
A trip that will take you to places I might have visited many moons ago.
It´s a tale that came back to me when I meditated on one of my past lives. A life I told you about in my unbelievable true story.
As promised in that story I will now share this story with you.
Chapter 65
“You really have no other idea, do you seriously think that my commander would spend so many men chasing a bunch of refugees who might have evaded a few cents in taxes? Don't allow yourself that pleasure. The townspeople have long forgotten you. They have their worries, which concern them much more than people who disappear during a shift of power."
"No, as far as they were concerned, you were revolutionaries who planned an uprising against the new rulers and suddenly disappeared."
"You look like an intelligent man, but you have to realize that the scale of this operation is of a different caliber. That I am not going to bother with a small group of refugees so far from civilization. This mountain pass alone cost the life of one of my people.”
He pauses and examines me, hoping for a fake grin or some other sign that would give me away.
"It's very sad to hear that your pursuit has cost lives. But I really don't know any other reason than the one I just presented to you." I look up at him; "I speak honestly if I think you have been misled.”
This man is good; besides that, he doesn't reveal much. Nothing I can benefit from. Should I feed him to progress or just be patient?
His eyes don´t leave mine as he continues. “My source is reliable, but in the event that he provided us with incorrect information, it will leave him with a long-lasting and very painful memory.” He pulls a small wavy dagger from a sheath at his side and slowly moves it from the right side of his testicles to the left before putting the dagger away again.
Even now that he is threatening, I feel that it is something that does not suit him. Something he has mastered to strengthen his position in the group. But instead of the false sparkle in Rash's eyes, there is something dull about his eyes. A look that betrays that he is indeed capable of it, but that he does not enjoy it.
This doesn't get us anywhere, and I decide to take a different tack. I have to ignite a spark of insecurity as for the little bit of doubt to grow. That doubt could be to our advantage.
“Lord, we are a group of travelers, all looking for a place to build a new life. The boy and I fled our village, the forest man was driven out, and we freed the woman from cruel captivity. We are a group of unfortunate people looking for a better life."
"Wherever we go, we ask who knows of a large city where we could settle without being reminded of our sad and painful pasts. We were told long ago that such a city exists. Scouts with the symbol you wear on your shoulder may have been spotted in our region decades ago. They brought objects that have amazed us to this day."
"We seek their origins, we seek the world that created these objects. This must be a magical world, where we can possibly find oblivion through many overwhelming amazements. We have followed the trail of that symbol. Continuously looking for information that can take us to that wonderful city. Lord, please tell me that we have not been traveling for so long to a world that only exists in our imagination.”
The tension in Reiko's face disappears even further; for the first time, he turns away from me. He stares at the mountains, moves his left hand over his forehead, and then massages his neck. When he turns around, I see that doubt has taken hold of him.
“To answer your question, yes, such a city exists. I highly doubt that you will reach it, and if you do reach it, I do not expect you will ever enter it.” He coughs and continues.
“I will come clean with you; my source has sworn to my commander that you and your friends want to attack a great man. This man is in the city you are looking for. So far, both stories are still equally plausible. Your backgrounds are also somewhat similar to what I know about you. Yet the color of my source's story is a lot darker than your version."
"You understand the doubt I am in. It is then up to me to find out how the fork actually fits into the stem. You fled from Kratyo. During your flight, you may have killed one of my people. This would be enough to kill you, but the act has no witnesses. Unlike many of my colleagues, I only kill when I am sure of the perpetrator."
"Where I come from, knowingly killing an innocent person is a crime that will not be forgiven in the afterlife. So I won't blame you for the death of this soldier. But first of all, the plan to kill the Sikh shows such stupidity. This man is inaccessible, even for people in a position far beyond mine."
"Secondly, the very act of planning, or even expressing the thought of such a plan, is fatal. Not an honorable death, but a very painful end. Which, if possible, could last a lifetime. The Sikh fears nothing but will enable everything to fear nothing. That is why you have been followed and why we have been put on your trail."
"You must admit that you have evaded so many men for a long time; fortunately for me, there is only one way to reach the city you are looking for. That's by taking the route over this pass. Now I ask you point-blank, are you, or is someone within your group, planning to kill the Sikh?”
