>>6106327The next couple days pass in a flash, even as you try to hold onto every instant. Master’s presence is so reassuring, as you ride through the golden fields of Madua, with its lazy rounded hills and peaceful people. You make sure to hold onto your hood at every moment, shying away from curious looks — but every time your group interacts with farmer and travellers, Master catches all the attention, and Rubida always (and with nary a word) positions her horse so that she hides you and your hair.
You two share a few smiles over the course of these blissful hours.
Yet, with every mile bringing you closer to your destination, your worries about what’s next keep mounting up.
You really need to ask further questions to Master, but the next evening, when your group is taking a break in a devotee’s shelter on the roadside, you can’t find him anywhere.
It’s a terse sunset, and as the light gets lower and lower you’ll probably miss your chance, so you try to do your best monitoring your surroundings.
The only thing that catches your attention is a series of low, rhythmic thuds coming from a secluded room, followed by… is that groaning? It sounds like Rubida’s voice.
Worried, you knock on the door. Maybe she got something inside her that upset her stomach.
Rubida’s voice raises in a squeal from inside, then silence, then—
“Rubida? Are you in there?”
[cont.]
