Chapter 9

The party of five — Agate, Fender, Pua, Tempest, and Vennoa — headed towards the North gate of Tensia. Priestess Seireri had told them to head to the nearest farm, which was about half a day’s walk North outsideTensia.

As they walked along the streets of Tensia, Vennoa could feel the air of wetness and depression settle back down onto her and the rest of the party. The temple had provided a brief respite, but now they were back in the thick of it. It was morning, and the sight was similar to the previous night — some people shuffling around quickly in the rain, while others sat listlessly in the rain.

Fender motioned for the party to stop. “I have an idea,” she said. She reached behind and pulled her musical instrument to the front. It was some kind of stringed instrument; Vennoa was not familiar with anything musical.

Fender started playing a tune and singing. She started off with an upbeat song with quick tempo, and that drew the attention of nearby people. A small crowd gathered around the party, and slight smiles started to form on their faces. It was working!

Vennoa couldn’t help but feel her spirits being lifted by Fender’s music as well. However, for some reason, Fender’s music started becoming slower and sad-sounding. Fender herself, who had started with a big smile on her face, was now slightly frowning with a furrow on her brow. Fender looked like she was trying to change the mood, but the music progressively got sadder and sadder. Even Fender’s voice became slower, and the tunes had more down notes than up. The smiles that had been starting to form on the crowd’s faces quickly disappeared, and their familiar frowns returned. More than a few people shook their heads and walked away sadly.

Finally, Fender gave up and stopped playing. She gave a big sigh. “I tried, but I just couldn’t.”

Agate comforted her. “It’s okay, Fender, it looked like it was working at first,” he added.

“It was!” Fender exclaimed. “But then I couldn’t keep it up. There’s just too much sadness here, and it got to me too.”

As the last remnants of the small crowd dispersed, Vennoa noticed that Pua was off to the side, talking to someone. An old man dressed nicely and holding cards. That must have been the same old man that Tempest had seen the previous day! Vennoa grabbed Tempest’s hand, and pulled him towards Pua. However, the old man merged into the crowd and disappeared, while Pua turned towards the party and walked back.

“What did he want?” Vennoa asked when Pua was close.

“That old man? Nothing. He said something cryptic and likely meaningless, and then left,” Pua said.

“What did he say?” Tempest asked, also eager to hear.

“He said something about me being chosen by the Fates, and I’ve a choice to go along or to define my own fate,” Pua said, shrugging.

“I don’t understand that,” Tempest stated.

Vennoa stayed silent for a while. What is it with all these cryptic messages? Why can’t they just tell us directly what they want? She said to Pua and Tempest, “It’s probably nothing but the ramblings of an old man.”

Pua and Tempest nodded in agreement. They joined the rest of the party, and the five carried on towards the city gates.

The city gates were open, but there were armed guards blocking the passage. As they approached, Vennoa could see that there was a small crowd behind the guards, on the outside of the city. They looked like they were trying to get in, but the guards were stopping them.

“Why aren’t these people allowed into the city?” Fender asked the guards when they reached the gate.

“We’re under instructions not to let any more refugees into the city. Our resources are already spread too thin as it is,” a guard answered.

“Will we be allowed out of the city?” Vennoa asked.

“Of course,” the guard replied. “Priestess Seireri has already sent word about you and your party. You have free passage in and out of the city.”

A few other guards helped to control the crowd outside, as the two guards at the passageway lowered their weapons and let the party out. Once they had made their way past the guards, the guards restored their weapons to the original positions, preventing passage into the city again.