Of Caverns and Casters ✓ [TLRQ #1]

Chapter 12 - Sean

The breeze changes direction, flooding my senses with the familiar scent of mintgrass.

Mama laughed, pushing her hair out of her face. Beaming, she grabbed my hand. 'Come on, silly boy.' She ran with me through the town park, air whipping her long hair into my face. We broke through the trees into a small field, a magnificent view of the mountains rising up around us.

I gasped, pointing at the rolling waves of blue-green. 'Mama, wha's that?'

She grinned. 'Mintgrass, sugar. Here.' She bent and gracefully plucked three strands from the ground. 'Oh, wait.' Correcting herself, she grabbed one more and handed all four to me. 'There you go.'

I stared at them. 'Whaddo I do with 'em?'

'Like this,' she smiled. After pulling two pieces for herself, she tore off a bit from the bottom of each and placed them on her tongue. 'You suck on it.' 

I repeated her actions, and a bright spice of sharp flavor hit my tongue. My eyes widened. 'Wow...'

The bright smell fades as the wind shifts again.

I thought that this bluff would be covered in it, and I was right. The plant grows abundantly around the cave mouth, a small stream running through a patch and into the mountain. I'd pick it, but it has no nutritional value, just a taste that leaves you remembering food when you lie in bed hungry, wishing the crop had been better that year.

Near the plateau edge, Riveirre's pointing at the distant outskirts of the valley, where a fair-sized band of Traders—southern peddlers, judging by the tattered black and gold flags—wind along. Odd that they're up this far north this late in the year.

"Are those people?" she asks, shielding her eyes against the declining sun.

"Marauders."

Her head snaps toward me, smug mouth jumping into a shocked 'o.' I struggle to hide my smirk. "Let's go say hi."

I head toward the slope, but she grabs my arm. Despite the cold, her hand warms my skin through the jacket fabric. "I'm not going to go mingle with a group of topside criminals! Are you trying to get us killed?"

"Nah. Just you." Her eyes darken, and I laugh. "Your glare might be trying to kill me, though. Have a bit more faith, Riveirre. I know what I'm doing."

"Just like you knew which tunnel to take?"

One step closes the distance between us, and my voice lowers. "What's done is done, Riveirre. But these guys?" I point. "They're our ticket back to civilization. So let's cash it in before we lose it."

Her eyes blaze, giving her features a sharpness I'm not comfortable studying. I focus on the Traders below us.

She lets me go, and I head down the slope. The grass smells like memories long buried, and a chill runs through me. I'm running headlong into those memories, intending to ask the Traders to carry me straight to them. And though I do know people back in Xela, the only one I would care to see is dead.