Aralim awoke that morning after a fitful night full of strange dreams. Some were memories, but other, hazier experiences were the stuff of deep sleep. What he remembered, as he sat at the campfire and picked apart a rabbit leg that Grendar had passed him, was a conversation with the Emperor. Or two, rather. He remembered the day that Tag’na had asked Aralim to destroy him—Aralim would never forget it, of course. He had also recalled a question he had posed to the Emperor before his departure as Ambassador. He had asked the Eternal Emperor who was more powerful between the two of them, if Aralim could make the Emperor more powerful.
Tag’na had said “I should probably kill you for that”, but had not, thus proving Aralim’s point.
It was a warm, dry morning, and they put out the fire as soon after cooking as they could. “You’re quiet,” Nilless said to him, as they set out along the Crimson Highway once more.
They had left Crossroads a lot smoother than they had arrived. The Crimson Highwaymen did not ask as many questions when receiving money as when not, it seemed. Now, they were a third of the way to the Eye of Maga. Aralim glanced back at Nill. “Just had a restless night,” he explained. He was not certain of the significance of his dreams, but his role in leading this group had begun to formalize in his head. He was sure the dream and his role were connected.
Nill nodded understandingly. She likely had trouble sleeping too—after leaving behind the comforts of her home. “Tell me more about this Miresh,” she said. “You mentioned she was training in Rema, and I’ve put together that she was another of your travelling companions. Is she… very important to you?”
Aralim smiled. “I guess you could say she’s my oldest friend.” He tapped his lantern staff as he walked. “A fellow Walker of the Path. Joined me in Lantern Town. Smart young girl.”
“Oh,” Nill said, not missing a beat. “Did she leave her home to follow the Path, like you?”
“Well… she had even less of a home than I did. She raised herself on the streets.”
Nilless blinked. “That’s awful,” she said. She was quiet for a few moments, likely thinking about Miresh’s childhood compared to her own. “But now she is training in one of the world’s wealthiest cities?”
“I suppose she is. She is apprentice to Rattar, after all.” Aralim took a moment to look down the slope ahead of them. They had been descending this very gradual slope into an arid savanna for days now, as the trees scattered behind them and the rocky slopes of the Torn Shore faded into the gleaming eastern horizon. “She probably had more right to live there than I did when we arrived.”
“How long did it take you to become Ambassador?”
“Just over a year,” Aralim replied, thoughtfully.
“And Miresh has been training with this Rattar that entire time?” she asked. She lifted her shoulders in confusion. “What is she learning?”
Aralim grinned. “Magic, of course. She had a vision shortly after I first met her. So, we pursued the training of a powerful wizard. An undying emperor seemed like a good lead and she has been training ever since.”
“Magicians and immortals…” Nill breathed. “I can’t wait to meet any of them.”
“It is all a part of the Path.” Aralim lifted and waved his lantern staff. “If you keep walking forwards, you are bound to find something interesting.”
Nill tilted her head. “On the Path, do you ever settle down? What’s the point of finding something interesting if you never stop to become something more interesting yourself?”
“Plenty of people settle down,” Aralim explained, with a shrug. “It’s the difference between being a Walker of the Path, and just being a follower. Your father wasn’t entirely wrong to call me a zealot.”
Nill smiled. “Well, you’re the most pleasant zealot to be around that I have ever met,” she said and laughed. “So, you’re just determined to always find something better or more astounding?”
Aralim looked at her contemplatively. It was a common misconception. “Not necessarily. I learned a lot from Dullah, and she is perfectly normal. Sometimes its about why people are not progressing on the Path.”
Nill considered it quietly. They found a small curve in the road, around a small marsh. Bugs zipped around them, but they were soon past it. Aralim’s friend turned back to him and asked, “Well, what do you think of me?”
Uncertain how to reply, Aralim kept walking ponderously for a moment. Devran was chatting with Grendar and laughing up ahead, while the other guards scattered between them. The Aura walked quietly in the rear. Aralim glanced back at Nill and shrugged. “I think you have no idea how far we are about to walk.”
To irk his mild curiosity, she did not reveal which meaning she took from his statement—walking on the road or walking on the Path. Instead, she smiled, said, “I suppose not,” and they kept on hiking.