A determined knock echoed through the wooden door and into the rounded foyer where Aralim had just set his leather travelling sack. He’d been given a bundle of rations from Ko’nagar—dried and wrapped meat, salted bread and cheese, and a canteen of water. He’d also packed a change of clothes. After all, the Emperor would hardly want him standing before the rules of Tal’lashar in the same sweaty travelling robe he’d wear on the voyage.
Ko bustled into the room, his remaining hair dangling in a tail behind his head. He blinked as he saw Aralim reaching for the door, but Aralim shrugged and opened it anyways. He wouldn’t always have a servant to open his doors after today.
A familiar wide-eyed woman stood there, smiling nervously. Dullah wasn’t wearing her usually articular combination of patterned fabrics and smooth cloths, but had donned a reliable linen tunic and loose woolen pants. She nodded to Aralim and stepped inside, slipping a pack from one shoulder into the clenched knuckles of her right hand. “Good morning,” she said. “Did you sleep well?”
Aralim shrugged. “You missed my goodbye to the Selected the other day,” he said, as he invited her through the open door. Devran came briskly striding along the walkway from the street before Aralim shut the entry. He smiled, bowed his head to Aralim, and offered a hand. Aralim embraced it with a smile, while Dullah spoke in his peripherals.
“I heard you told them their wealth was meaningless,” she said, but then tapped her pack. “I brought some coins, nonetheless. If that’s alright with you.”
Aralim turned to her again. “The Emperor doesn’t live forever because of his wealth. I’m certain you’ll find a use for a few coins though.”
Devran gave them both a small smile. “Wise,” he said. “The Emperor’s strength is much greater than that of money.”
Aralim blinked. He didn’t know much about the writer, but that was a comment quite different than Dullah the Heretic appreciated, he was certain. But Aralim wasn’t even sure if ‘the Heretic’ would be on this venture. Dullah’s skepticism had been thoroughly refuted by her feelings of potential from their voyage.
“Is everyone here?” Miresh asked, finally appearing at the top of the stairs. She’d had a breakfast with him like normal, but had spent the last few minutes hiding upstairs.
Ko’nagar had stepped back to stand next to Narr’s dutiful position in the foyer, but Devran peered out the door again. “Here comes the Aura, along with our escort,” he said, as Aralim glimpsed soldiers in iron armour approaching the metal fence gate.
“They are now,” Aralim said. Miresh reluctantly made her way down the stairs, while Hayan came out of the living room with another guest that shown up earlier.
Hayan put his arm around a young woman with dark skin and elbow length brown hair. “This is Arith,” he said. “Arith, this is Aralim. I wanted to introduce her to you. A trip to Tal’lashar is a long time, and who knows…”
Aralim cut his friend off as soon as he started to mumble off track. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Arith. I’ve put Hayan in a difficult spot by leaving, so it’s good to know he’ll have someone to count on besides Miresh.”
Arith smiled. “From what I’ve heard, Miresh might be more than enough.”
The twelve-year-old grinned proudly from where she stood with her lantern staff at the bottom of the stairs.
“Good luck on your travels, Master Aralim,” Arith wished him.
Aralim blinked. “While we’re all here,” he said, looking around at the group that crowded his foyer. “I have something for you, Hayan. It would be a shame if I forgot to give it to you before I go.”
There was a tall item leaning in the closet nearby, wrapped in a bed sheet. They all knew what it was before the new lantern staff was revealed. Aralim passed it to his friend and smiled. The lantern staff was of a slightly different design, but mimicked the blue tint of his own light.
Hayan held it in both hands and smiled ear-to-ear. “It’s perfect,” he said. “Thank you, my friend. I’ll make certain to follow it always.” Hayan and Arith stepped back to the doorway of the living room so Aralim could continue his farewells. On that note, Dullah and Devran withdrew towards the front door.
Given a certain type of privacy, Aralim and Miresh faced one another quietly. Aralim pursed his lips. “I don’t really have a parting gift for you, little one,” he said.
Miresh rushed forward and threw her arms around his waist. Though he had glimpsed tears in her eyes, she wasn’t crying. “Promise me that you’ll come back,” she said. “I know I’m more than I was, but all I could think about when I woke up this morning…” She took a deep breath and pulled away from him before continuing, “Was the day after I arrived in Lantern Town. And I want you to come back for me, no matter what.”
“Of course!” Aralim blurted. “I’ve been thinking: we should visit Lantern Town again one day. Perhaps we can go once your studies have progressed more.”
Miresh smiled. “I’d like that. And maybe we can go to Tal’lashar again, since I won’t get to see it this time.”
“That’s the great thing about being Walkers of the Path,” Aralim said. “We can go anywhere. Now, promise me one thing before I go—you’ll follow your heart while I’m away. Your instincts will take you far.”
“That’s what I’ve done so far,” Miresh said. She showed him her spaced-teeth in a fond smile. “Even when I thought I was dying.”
“Farewell, Miresh,” Aralim said, bending down to one knee. The little girl threw her arms around his shoulders and pressed her forehead into the crook of his neck. She held him until he was ready to pull away, and then a few breaths longer. When he finally stood up, she wiped tears from her eyes and Aralim patted her dishevelled hair paternally.
To Ko’nagar, Aralim offered a clasped hand and a few words. “Thank you for all your kindness over this year.” The servant stuttered a reply about it just being his job, but Ko had been truly dedicated to doing it excellently.
Aralim reached upward to put a hand on Narr’s shoulder and regarded him empathetically. Narr wouldn’t say any words still, so neither would Aralim, but a moment of respect passed between them and Aralim turned toward the front door.
From the threshold, Aralim turned back to them all. He looked to Hayan, and then to Miresh and smiled. “It was a lot easier to start walking last time, but I have some catching up to do… I’ll see you all soon.” They all nodded and called farewell to him, and Aralim stepped out, shutting the door behind him and his new travelling companions.
The four soldiers, in their varied iron armour styles, formed a loose escort for Aralim, Dullah, Devran, and the Aura, as they quietly set out down the street. Dullah offered a few friendly words, while Aralim asked her about leaving her businesses in the hands of employees and her estranged husband. Not much was said, though, and they fell quieter still once they were aboard a river boat and drifting gently down the Ake’ma. Aralim watched the torchlights and trailing smoke of Rema fade into the chaotic rainforest as he sailed south once more.