Skytrails

8-Hunters

Krii left town that night.

He followed the same route Sharn had taken, paddling his canoe downriver. When it came time to leave the river, he stuffed the boat in some shore brush and set off on foot with his meager supplies in a shoulder bag.

Qorlii had friends, just as troublesome as he was. If he was still alive, he would gather them together to get his revenge. If he was dead, they would want revenge for his death. Either way, Krii would not be safe in Mn'vaarin for a while. Possibly, a very long while.

Bad enough he had given them an excuse to come after him, but he had also, as Qorlii had said, worsened his already tarnished reputation. He represented everything most people in town were wary of. Outsider, mixed breed, half Lin'n Dralii, who were in equal measure feared, respected, and despised, raised by Kuali Edain, also feared, respected, and despised, but less mysterious and more looked down upon.

On top of all that, he was a son of no nation, at least in their eyes, and a person who did not belong to any group of people was considered dangerous. You could never know where that kind of person's loyalties lay, if they had any to begin with.

The more Krii thought about it, the more it sank in how much Qorlii had cost him.

Krii walked the prairie lands of the Pit'n Poa, one of Sharn's favorite places. Sharn said it was peaceful, no one around and nothing to worry about. Just shallow rolling hills and tall grasses as far as the eye could see. Krii hated it.

Maybe he did not hate it, but he certainly did not feel what Sharn felt. Boring was the word Krii would use. Empty and boring.

At that moment, though, he did like being in a place where enemies were rarely seen, and always at a distance when they were.

When the slivered moon sank, leaving nothing but cloud covered stars for light, Krii layed down on a bare patch of ground close to the trail. Even he of Lin'n Dralii descent and upbringing needed some light to see by.

He woke a few hours later, never able to sleep very long on the ground. Staring down at him was the big scaly face of a j'nchaya. It sniffed and snuffled, its breath like a hot wind enveloping Krii's face. The animal's giant wet tongue rolled out of its mouth and slathered Krii's face in sticky warm drool. It licked him twice before he covered his face and pushed the thing away.

"What are you doing? Get off me, you j'n."

The animal, which had seemed a mammoth thing while towering over Krii, shrunk down to the size of a child on all fours when Krii scrabbled to his feet. It kicked up a cloud trail of dust in its wake as it ran away, then back to Krii, then away, then back, its massive forelegs doing all the work while its small hind legs struggle to keep up.

"Calm down, you," Krii said to the j'nchaya as he gathered up his cloak and shook it out. "You're wasting good energy."

The sky was just beginning to color, but the sun was still below the horizon. Krii thought he might make it to Dur'din's village before the hottest part of the day. He could sleep again there and find out if this news about a god among the Kualii Edain had any truth to it.

He slung his bag over his shoulder and tied it around his waist, then pulled his cloak over himself and his bag. The j'nchaya had not left or calmed down, just kept running to and fro, now beginning to make guttural yelping sounds.

Krii made to walk back to the main path and the thing growled at him. Krii stopped. "You're really starting to bother me now, j'n."

The j'nchaya danced circles around Krii, then ran back in the direction it had gone before and stopped.