“Who?” He rubbed the sleep from his eyes with his free hand. “What? Who?”
I shushed him, and he set the rock down when he realized it was me.
“Skrew got bored from waiting,” he said with a yawn. “Must have fallen to the sleep, yes.”
“I’m glad you’re still here.”
“Skrew would not leave. Jacob is master.”
I grunted before I handed him a leather pack Timo-ran had given me. “Here.”
Skrew sniffed it and squinted at me with questioning eyes.
“It’s rations,” I said. “We’re leaving.”
Skrew sat his pack on the ground and started going through the contents, making happy squeaks as he sniffed each wrapped bundle. “Where do we go?” He ripped one open with his sharp teeth and took a bite.
“We’re going to Brazud,” I said before taking a step back as he began coughing and spitting bits of hardtack onto the ground.
“Skrew cannot go to Brazud,” he protested. “Too many of the dangers. No, too many! Cannot hide there. Cannot hide from them all. They will kill Skrew dead. Very dead. All the way dead!”
“Do you know where it is?” I asked.
He nodded before he realized the mistake he’d made, then firmly shook his head. “Way is not known to Skrew. Knows how to go anywhere but Brazud.”
I saw that he needed a little more encouraging, but I was unsure what to say. He needed to know that I would protect him if he encountered danger. My mind settled on the object dangling around my neck.
“I want you have this,” I said as I held his phylac out for him.
He didn’t take it right away. Instead, he stared at it as if it was a thing of mystery, as if he’d never seen one before. Then he looked at me, inspected my new clothing, my pack, my new leather shoes, and my face. He didn’t speak until he’d checked over both his shoulders and the nearby trees.
“That is Skrew’s phylac?” he asked, his voice barely audible.
“Yes,” I said. “It’s yours. Take it.”
“But Jacob is master,” he protested, holding all four hands out plaintively.
“I didn’t know that’s what you meant when you gave it to me,” I explained. “My people do not take slaves. If you have this, then according to your custom, you’ll be able to leave any time you want. That’s up to you. I hope you stay, though. I still need a guide.”
By giving him the choice to leave, I hoped he would remain. Even if he didn’t, I knew I was doing the right thing. Without a guide, finding Brazud would be difficult, but I couldn’t have Skrew operating under the assumption that I was his master.
He reached for the phylac, hesitated, and reached again. He studied my face the entire time. When he took it from me, he fell to his knees and clutched it in his hands. “Skrew is not a slave.”
“That’s right. I’m leaving for Brazud now. I don’t know how to get there, but I don’t want to force you to show me the way.”
Skrew clenched his eyes shut before he thrust out a finger and pointed deeper into the forest. He didn’t look at me as tears streamed down his cheek. I wasn’t interested in a heartfelt goodbye, but I had grown attached to the little guy.
I waited for a few moments while he broke into sobs, but when he made no move to join me, I accepted his unspoken answer and headed through the woods. I didn’t know how long it would take me to travel in the direction Skrew had pointed before I reached Brazud, but I would likely smell the city and see its glowing lights at some point. I needed to find higher ground if I stood any chance of spotting it. The Ish-Nul avoided venturing far from their village because they might stumble upon Brazud, so I figured it couldn’t be too far.
Of course, those were a lot of assumptions, but assumptions was about all I had for now.
I put one foot in front of the other and marched forward. My footsteps were almost silent, thanks to the leather shoes the Ish-Nul had given me. My old boots hadn’t survived the fight with the dragon, so I was glad for the gifts.
“Master!” a voice called out from behind me.
I turned to see Skrew running after me, tears still flowing down his face.
“Not Master,” I said.
“Not Master,” he repeated with a firm nod. “Jacob will get lost. Needs guide. Needs Skrew.”
“I do need you,” I said, unsure whether admitting it was a terrible idea.
He grinned at me and sniffed. “Skrew will lead.”
The vrak recounted the mighty lizard that had stomped through the woods and narrowly missed squashing him with a fallen tree. I figured he didn’t need yet another story to reenact, so I didn’t tell him about how I’d slain the dragon. For now, he seemed happy for my company, and even happier to lead me in the direction of Brazud.
We walked all night and into the morning, and I was relieved when I noticed the chilly air had lost most of its bite. The trees were greener than they’d been among the Ish-Nul. Low shrubs and woody bushes became more frequent the further we walked. Bugs had hollowed out most of the fallen trees and provided little peep-holes where branches used to grow. Flowers also appeared more often, and each one I saw was more exotic than the next, but I cautioned myself against touching any until I learned more about them.
In the morning, after we’d been walking for a few hours since our last rest, Skrew vanished over a hill. He had a habit of racing ahead even though I’d told him to slow down, but I’d already chided him a dozen times about it, so I figured he wasn’t going to learn. I could have kept up with him by sprinting,
