The Wandering God

5 Tell Stories Around a Bonfire

篝火狐鳴
Gōuhuǒhúmíng
Bonfires and fox cries.
Incite rebellion and foment dissent by telling tales.
*~*~*~*~*~*

    I sat across the fire from Sanli, staring at the small pink petals floating in my tea and trying to think of a safe topic for conversation. Sanli's cloak was draped across my shoulders (for the shock I was undoubtedly feeling after my run in with the sawpig) and smelled of pine sap and grass and horses. I was rather hot truthfully, it was a warm evening, but I could hardly refuse his chivalry now that he was offering it again.

I settled on travel as a good topic. "Have you been to this area before?" I asked him politely.

"Zakhar and Sho Sensei have, but this is my first trip." He took the iron kettle from the rock it sat on beside the fire and poured me more tea before topping up his own cup. I watched the petals whirl in my cup like leaves caught in a miniature tempest.

"Where do you live when you're not traveling, Sir Sanli?" I asked.

"I split my time between Zhanghai and Linjing." Zhanghai was the largest city on the east coast of the empire, and a major trading hub. The city was so named because that was where the Zhang River, 'Zhang', met the sea, 'hai'. The Zhang river connected not only Lu's Eastern Kingdom, but also the central and northern regions of the empire with ocean trade. It's importance as a trade city could not be overemphasized.

I took a small sip of my tea. If Zhanghai was the Green Kingdom's commercial capital, then Linjing was the political one. In the old language the city's name meant 'forest capital'. A smaller city, Linjing had arisen primarily as a result of the extravagant summer palace that Lu had built in the low mountains nearby. The city was known for its high population of the rich and influential who made the city their home, hoping to curry favor with the Green Throne via proximity.

I wondered if Sanli was from one of those wealthy families. He had called himself a trader last night. I studied him, even as he sat watching me with his strange green eyes.

I sensed we both knew the other was keeping a secret.

He sat back and rested his elbows on his knees. His eyes found mine. "What about you, Lady Four Strings? Where do you go back to when your traveling is done?"

"I'm always traveling," I said, blushing at the ridiculous pseudonym I had given him last night. I should have picked a more bearable name. "And please, call me Ao."

"Always traveling? Nowhere to call home, Ao?" he asked, a soft smile played across his handsome face. His tone suggested pity. I didn't need it.

I smiled down at my tea cup. "This is good tea. What is it?"

He shifted the iron kettle on its stone away from the fire. "Sweet Chrysanthemum. It helps to relax the mind and body. I drink it every night before sleeping."

I wrapped my hands around the warm cup. "Trouble sleeping?" I asked him casually, taking a sip of tea. "Bad dreams?"

Sanli's smile tightened. He nodded at my hands wrapped around the cup. "Those are interesting rings." By which he meant the fact that I wore one on each finger. The rings themselves appeared ordinary. "Are they scribed?"

"They are," I answered. Each ring had zih worked into them. Some of the zih were visible, and some weren't, making it nearly impossible to tell what kind of spell the rings carried. Only I knew the true extent of the enchantment.

"May I see them?" Sanli asked, holding out one of his hands, into which I placed my own. His hands were smooth and warm. He turned my hand this way and that, examining. He went to slip the large bronze ring off my thumb and I quickly withdrew my hand.