Malik the Bard

by Moore, Scott

  Malik tried not to show his disgust at the plan. It was silly to think that this creature was going to be able to guide them anywhere. His little claw did rise from his side, pointing off toward the west. Malik scoffed at the idea of following the monster in any direction, but the other two were already moving off.

  They traveled this way the entire day. At some point, they exited the ravine with another land ramp, moving onto rolling hills. At random intervals, Mollie would sit Egg down on the ground, awaiting him to point them in a direction. They followed this route until the sun set behind the hills. Malik started a small fire, wishing he had something to cook on it. All day he had watched for any sign of game, but the scent of the monster was probably keeping animals at a far distance. Either that or the rolling hills just did not offer enough protection for them to hide in.

  Mollie came and sat down beside Malik. Egg was still attached to her arm. They had become inseparable since it had hatched from the confines of its shell. Malik looked away from her, back toward the flames. Khris was rubbing down the mules. Mollie had set him to the task while she set up the tent.

  Mollie put her hand on Malik’s lap. He looked down at her hand but did not react to it. He still felt so much emotion built up inside him.

  “We are going to figure this out,” Mollie said.

  Malik blew hard out of his nose in a laugh. “How do you suppose we are going to figure anything out? What gives you so much confidence that we can do anything about what has happened?” Malik shook his head. There was no way to know this, no matter what Mollie had to say.

  “I just have a feeling. I remember when my parents died, at the hands of the Tempre. I felt like there would never be hope again. I knew that it was the end of everything, and yet I grabbed my father’s sword and I marched off after them. I had no idea what I would do once I got there, but I still went. When I ran into that monster, I figured I was going to die. I had come to terms with my death there and then, somehow you and Abrie magically came and saved me. I had no reason to believe that I would be saved and yet I was. That is the same thing right now. We have no reason to believe that we can do this, but I feel that we will still get it done. I don’t know why, but I just do,” Mollie said.

  Malik looked away from the flames and into her eyes. She really felt that inside her mind. She felt that they would find a way to succeed in the end.

  “I hope you are right,” was all Malik could muster up in reaction.

  Mollie pulled Abrie’s lyre close to her. She had been learning to play before all this mess. “Can you continue to teach me?” she asked.

  Malik looked at her to see if she was making fun. She was staring down at the strings though.

  “Why?” he asked her. “What is the point of playing the lyre?”

  Mollie tilted her chin toward him. “Just to keep our sanity. We have to have something to focus on aside from the pain and hurt that is filling us all,” she answered.

  Malik figured she was right. All that he was focusing on was Abrie, Sweet Tongue, and the prospect of death by Egg’s mother. None of that filled him with anything but pain and anguish.

  “I will teach you the lyre, but in return you have to teach me how to shoot better,” he said.

  Mollie nodded her head in agreement. “We can practice the bow in the mornings before we move out from camp. At night, we can practice the lyre to end the day on a good note,” she said.

  Malik nodded his head, standing up to go grab his lyre from its case. Callie brayed at him, and tonight he reached out petting her nose. He did not feel like arguing with the mule for the first time in his life. He was just happy that they all had made it this far.

  He retrieved the lyre and went back to Mollie. Khris had sat down by the fire but looked lost in his own thoughts.

  “I have been working on a song,” Malik said, strumming the first few chords of the song he had started what seemed like a lifetime ago.

  Beauty in the world

  There are many wonders

  To behold and see

  There are many plunders

  To take hold of me

  Beauty in the world

  Sometimes it is hard to see

  But always, beauty finds its way back to me

  Malik felt the difficultly of understanding those words much harder now. He felt like they were a mirage of something he wished rather than what was.

  Mollie tried to follow along with his finger movements. Several times Malik started over again, moving Mollie’s fingers to the right place on the strings. He would then start again, slower, allowing Mollie to follow him.

  “Try out your voice with the lyrics,” Malik prompted.

  Mollie sang the lyrics that Malik had been teaching her for the better part of an hour. Her voice cracked only a little on the longer notes. Malik was again surprised at the range and talent that Mollie possessed.

  After a few hours, he was no longer in the mood to carry on. They had not added to the song, but he had only half expected to. His mood was not one of song writing.

  “I think that will do for tonight,” he said, placing his lyre back into the case. “I am tired,” Malik added.

  Mollie did not put up a fight, placing Abrie’s lyre into its own case. “I think it would be best if we all got some sleep. She said, looking down to Egg who had sat patiently listening to the music. Mollie scooped him back into her arms and carried him over to the bed rolls.

  Khris was still staring at the flames when Malik turned his back, “Khris you take first watch. I think we should stay alert. I will wake up second and Mollie you can take the last watch,” Malik said.

  Then he closed his eyes and drifted off into fitful sleep.

  The next morning, Mollie followed through with teaching him new techniques for the bow. She commented that he was very talented for never having touched a bow before. Khris refused to join in on the training. Even when Mollie encouraged him that it would be for the best if he knew how to defend himself. He just stated that his mother had always discouraged fighting, and that he did not feel comfortable with it. Mollie did not press him, and Malik did not care. If Khris fought or Khris ran, it did not matter too much. Malik had to worry about his own behavior during a real fight. He had to stop freezing in the times that it really mattered.

  They let Egg lead them again after the training session. Mollie sat him down on the ground and his long claws pointed off in a direction that could have been random. They all still followed, having no better avenue to follow.

  Malik would have loved to chase after Sweet Tongue. He wanted nothing more than to save Abrie and turn tail. Maybe they could travel back to Opallum and just be simple bards again. Somehow, he doubted that. Even if they survived this and saved Abrie, there was no way that being a bard again would ever feel the same.

  “This is by far the furthest I have ever been from home,” Khris said, interrupting a long stretch of silence.

  “It gets easier the further you go,” Malik said.

  He could remember the first few days after his family was killed. Every step had felt like an iron shackle was strapped to his legs. He never believed he would even be able to make it through one day. Then he made it a second and a third. He just kept pushing and before he knew it, he was talking with Abrie, asking questions. Then Abrie was teaching him to play. Before four months were up, he knew several songs, had played several shows, and the pain was not as strong. It never went away, but it did fade.

  “I keep thinking about my mother. I should have gone back,” Khris said.

  Malik could tell his inner struggle was tearing him apart. There was nothing anyone would be able to say to him; nothing that would matter at least.

  “Should I have gone back,” Khris asked.

  Malik did not answer. Khris had issues, Mollie had issues, he had issues it was something they all shared.

  “There was no choice left to you,” Mollie said.

  Malik did not know why she was bothering, but she did. Khri
s would feel the way he felt until he no longer felt it. Words would not save him.

  “I could have taken the lumping and been with my mother,” Khris’ voice was low; if Malik had not been standing next to him, he would have missed the reply.

  “And died,” Malik said, laughing but without humor.

  “They are not that bad. I don’t think they would have killed us,” Khris said.

  Malik stopped for a moment. “Even if they did not, are you forgetting the large monster that was chasing us?” he asked.

  Khris’ face dropped into sorrow. Malik almost wished he would have kept the outburst to himself, but it was already said.

  “I just hope they killed it,” Khris answered.

  Malik doubted he believed that. No one was stupid enough to believe that. Then again, Abrie and Mollie had killed two of them together. Were the drunks in Vee’s tavern strong enough to replicate that feat? Somehow, he doubted it.

  “Whatever you need to tell yourself,” Malik said.

  Mollie let Egg down onto the ground. The creature stared around in all directions, as if he were really trying to sense which way they needed to go. Then he lifted his claw again, before crawling back into Mollie’s arms.

  “If that thing sleeps forever, it will be a Saint’s Blessing,” Malik said.

  Mollie shot him a look. Malik decided that talking time was probably over. He tucked his head and started walking again.

  The rest of the day they said very little. They talked only over the state of their aches and pains, their constant companion in hunger, and what they thought would happen next. All the conversations ended the same; with Malik feeling like this was hopeless.

  That night they built the fire again. Malik took the brush and went over Callie and Sally. Both mules were the only companions that had been well fed, but even they were in need of water and rest. Malik could only provide them one. Callie brayed loudly in his ear.

  “Shut up,” he said, without the usual annoyance. He was just too tired to get worked up about anything.

  He moved around to the fire and sat down onto the ground. “I think we have to sneak into a village,” Malik said.

  His stomach had been rumbling the entire day. Right now, he could hear it gurgling in his ear. The others had to be just as hungry.

  “What would we do with Egg?” Mollie asked.

  Malik did not give a damn what they did with Egg. He preferred that they get rid of him.

  “Hide him,” Malik answered.

  Mollie looked at him with questioning eyes. She did not trust him when it came to Egg. For some reason, she loved that creature with everything she had.

  Malik watched Egg stretching inside Mollie’s grip. All he did was sleep, purr, and sleep again. Only broken by the rare moments that he was put down to point them off in the right direction, or at least a direction.

  “He doesn’t seem like he is going to go very far without you,” Malik said.

  Mollie looked down into her arms, “okay, but how do we pay for food or drink?” she asked.

  Malik did not have a good answer to that question. They had paid their last coin to Vee at the tavern in Twin Rocks.

  “Khris do you have any coin?” Malik asked.

  Khris shook his head, “I have never even had a real job,” Khris replied.

  “Completely useless,” Malik said under his breath, but loud enough to be heard.

  “Do you have to be an ass all the time?” Mollie shot at Malik.

  Malik chuckled. “I just want something to eat,” he said.

  It was true. If he had something to put into his belly, then he may be able to fake a more pleasant mood. As it stood, he was hungry, tired, grouchy, and scared. The last one he would leave to himself. Though he doubted that the others were not scared too; it would be almost impossible not to be.

  “We will have to take some then,” Malik said.

  He had only tried stealing a few times in his life. Each time, Abrie had caught him and punished him for it. Each time, Malik had vowed to never let it happen again. Abrie was not here this time though. Abrie was off with Sweet Tongue, probably being killed. Malik figured that stealing was the least of his concerns now.

  “I guess we are desperate,” Mollie replied.

  Malik was glad she was not going to fight him over it.

  “Why don’t you two play for it?” Khris asked.

  Malik had thought about that.

  “I don’t think we want to stay put too long in a village or town,” Malik said.

  “I don’t want to risk someone coming across Egg without us there,” Mollie added.

  Malik was happy to finally not be the odd man out.

  “I don’t like it, but I guess you both are right,” Khris ceded.

  “None of us like it,” Mollie said.

  Malik was indifferent about it, honestly. He was hungry, and they had food. If they lost out on a few coins, it would not end them. He would only take what was needed and nothing more.

  When all was decided, they began their walk for the day. After several days of avoiding towns, they were looking for anything that could be a target. What they came across, was a small town by the name of Table Top. The first thing noticeable about the town was the hundreds of tables that lined the streets. Instantly, Malik could smell hundreds of different foods. The traffic grew heavier the closer they drew to the town. There were no fancy gates like in Twin Rocks, even though the town was much bigger. They did corral everyone into a single entrance by way of a brick pathway. Malik, Mollie, and Khris guided the mules all the way to the entrance, where they passed under a tunnel of lights that glowed like the stars, even in the light of the sun.

  “Do you think Egg is okay?” Mollie asked.

  Malik had stopped keeping count of the times she had asked this same question in the last fifteen minutes. Malik was worried that Mollie was going to die of anxiety before they even reached the town square.

  “I am sure Egg has not moved a muscle. The creature is lazier than anything I have ever seen,” Malik answered.

  He was being truthful. Egg was not the most active creature in the world. It slept, and that was about the jist of its life.

  “I just don’t want anything to happen to him,” Mollie said, looking back over her shoulder.

  “It is a monster, it will be fine,” Malik answered.

  Mollie shot him a glare of daggers. “You know I don’t like when you call him that,” she spat.

  “We hid him well,” Khris chimed in.

  Mollie did not seem convinced, but she went quiet about it for a few minutes, leaving Khris time to jump into things with his worries.

  “Do you think I should send my mom a messenger? Just to tell her that I am doing okay,” he asked.

  “Nope,” Malik said without furthering his reply.

  Khris looked to Mollie, hoping for a better answer, she was too busy worrying about her monster. Both were getting on Malik’s nerves. There were bigger problems than a tiny man-eating monster and a note to mommy. They had the mother of said monster chasing them down. They had the Tempre Warriors torturing one of their friends. They were starving and they were broke. There were plenty of worries to go around.

  Malik followed the crowd through a narrow passageway. Here was the protection of the town, Malik gathered. They had built the buildings so close together that large crowds had to split up or wait in slow moving processions to get into the center. Malik, Mollie, and Khris tied the mules to a post before pushing through.

  On the other side, more tables lined the streets. Hundreds of visitors sat at them, eating fine cuisine from the many restaurants that lined the paths.

  “I would trade both of you for a piece of pork,” Malik could almost feel his mouth watering at the thought. He could see the mental image of the pork cut into slabs on his plate; and the grease running over onto the table, the meat falling apart inside his mouth.

  “We have to grab something we can take with us. We can’t be picky,” Mo
llie reminded him. “What do you think Egg eats?” she asked.

  “Human flesh,” Malik said.

  “I bet he would like something sweet,” she continued, choosing to ignore Malik’s jibe.

  “I am going to find that messenger,” Khris announced.

  Malik wondered if that meant Khris was going to leave them, but he did not move to break off.

  “With what money?” Malik finally asked.

  Khris let out a sigh. “I had not gotten that far,” he replied.

  “Much harder to steal a messenger,” Malik said.

  “Maybe at a different time, Khris,” Mollie said, trying to reassure him.

  Khris did not look reassured. If anything, he looked like he was about to cry. That would draw way more attention than they could afford.

  Malik had no idea where they had gotten to. They would be lucky to backtrack and find the mules at this rate. The town was much bigger than he had first assumed. Most of it was not filled with homes, however. The homes were mostly located on the second floor of the businesses. All the menus looked the same, and Malik figured it was owned or shared by a large group of people across the town.

  “How far are we away from the nearest city do you think?” Malik asked.

  He had no idea where Mollie was from, but Khris had always presented as a man of local knowledge.

  “We are about two days travel from Saint Milton. It is a farming trade city. Mostly, it is a business hub. Farmers from all around the border bring their wares, crops, and animals to trade. There are many wealthy people who live in the city. That is why surrounding towns, like this one, can thrive even at such a distance,” Khris said.

  Malik wondered why he kept all this useless knowledge trapped inside his head. Malik also found himself wondering if this was what Abrie had been like as a young man.

  “Let’s try over there,” Mollie said, pointing toward a small lining of wooden tables.

  On each of the tables sat bowls of unguarded food. There were at least thirty different bowls and not a single soul around them. None of the waiting staff even glanced over to them. The group approached trying to act disinterested in the contents. However, upon getting closer Malik could smell the scents from the bowls mixing in the air.