NOVEL NEXT Chapter 264: The Little Guide
“I’m going, Mom,” Ria called from the entrance of the small house, ready to go to work.
A beautiful kitsune appeared in the kitchen doorway, with glossy white fur that turned red at the tips of her ears and the tip of her bushy tail. Ria’s, Lia, wasn’t as lovely - yet. Even her fur in general was mostly brown, with only a few white patches here and there.
“Be careful, sweetheart. And don’t let others make fun of you.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t. I’m a big girl now.” She was once again a year older than she had been last spring. Nine years old was more than enough to help the family get by. Living in a human city was not easy. Life wasn’t all fun and games - she knew that all too well. But the city was the only place Ria knew, where she grew up, where she experienced hardships, where she cried and where she rejoiced. Castiana was her home.
Maybe not the kind her mom and dad told her they had when they were young and had lived in an empire built by terrans, but it was a home she loved. Her mom could be strict at times, and so could her dad. They loved her, though, and she knew it. Ria loved them too.
That was why Ria, now a big girl, helped as much as she could. Her father worked in the mill, grinding the bones of the Labyrinth beasts - backbreaking work - while her mother took care of her three younger siblings, teaching her in the evenings what others learned at school during the day.
Even what little Ria earned at the City Hall helped the family.
“Bye,” she waved to her mom and ran out of the house.
The door had barely closed behind her when Ria realized she’d left her linen satchel in the hallway by the door. “Lia, why didn’t you remind me?” she complained to her tail, turning on her heel. Reluctantly, she returned to the door. After all, her satchel was full of important things. A comb for her fur, one for her hair and Lia. A small water bladder - just in case she got thirsty while walking through the city. The delicious homemade snacks her mom had made for her and a picture book to pass the time at City Hall. [Tails Don’t Tell Lies] was her favorite story about a female beast who roamed the world.
Carefully, so her mother wouldn’t hear her, she opened the door and crept inside. The satchel was there against the wall, as she thought.
“Ria, is that you?” came a voice from the kitchen. The little kitsune’s ears immediately dropped. As always, Ria didn’t manage to escape her mother’s hearing. “Did you forget your satchel again?”
“Yes. Sorry, Mom,” the little kitsune replied, trying not to sound as disappointed as she felt. Big girls didn’t forget their satchels - or so she thought. “I have to go. Bye.”
Before Ria closed the door, her mother’s giggles reached her ears. It was humiliating - but luckily, no one but Lia witnessed it.
Now fully prepared, she dashed through the streets of Castiana. This early in the morning, the air was incredibly fresh, and the cobblestones, untouched by the sun’s rays, were cold to the bare feet. Ria enjoyed it. There were a few clouds in the sky, no sign of rain. Another beautiful day. On days like this, that meant a lot of travelers at the City Hall.
Not where her feet took her, though. The little kitsune stopped at a narrow alleyway between two houses. Fearlessly, she walked in, around the corner and up the stairs to the second floor, then to the third, where an old ladder led to the roof of the house.
The flat roof was just high enough above the pitched roofs of the surrounding buildings to see the entire city, its walls, the barracks, and even the City Hall. This was one of her favorite places in the city, one where she spent a lot of time, playing and - teaching Korra and Sage how to read. The thought of them filled her little heart with sadness, and she couldn’t help but whimper. It’s been over eight months since they got lost in the Labyrinth. Korra and a member of her city guard squad - not dead, but lost like so many before them.
“What the Labyrinth takes will remain in the depths forever,” Ria whispered - leaning against the wall, watching the sun rise over the city - a common saying among the seekers. She earnestly hoped the adults were wrong and they would return one day.
Korra may have been an adult, a seeker and half a city guard, but she was different from the others, not as uptight, curious as Ria, willing to play, not looking down on her - she was her friend. One of the few, and now she was gone.
As the morning sun hit her cheeks, she wiped the tears from her eyes, steeled herself, and shot back out into the streets so she wouldn’t be late for work. A needless worry. Knowing the city like the back of her hand, Ria arrived at City Hall with plenty of time to spare.
“Good morning,” she beamed as she entered the lobby. But no one answered her, not really. All she got was a tired look from Quin, a receptionist three times her age whose night shift was about to end. His grumpiness and lack of enthusiasm for her arrival were nothing new. When the little kitsune got tired, she always got grumpy, too. Besides, Quin wasn’t her friend. He wasn’t mean to her, but he didn’t talk to her much either.
Thus, ignoring each other, she quietly slipped past the counter to the employee entrance. To the right was the archive, to the left a small storage room, one door away was the dining room with a small kitchen for the employees, on the other side was the staircase to the second floor and the offices. The door to the staff changing room/break room was just beyond that.
“Okay, Lia, here we go,” she whispered to her tail and walked in. “Good morning.”
“Ah, good morning, Ria.” Some of the people inside answered automatically, others only after looking to see who came in. But it was Enola who answered her so kindly. One of the receptionists wasn’t here yet, and the other woman huffed her greeting through the hairpin in her mouth as she was fixing her unruly mane.
“It’s a nice day today,” Ria quipped, happy, as she made her way to her locker.
“Still a little chilly in the morning, but . . .” Enola said, pausing to straighten her shirt. “Looks like another busy day.” The last words were meant for the seven guides sitting on couches around a table in the back of the room.
“We heard.”
“Yes, Miss Enola.”
“We’ll do our best.”
There were seven of them, including Timmy. All older than her. One reason to pick on her in the absence of adults. Another was more obvious; she was a Terran, unlike them. Timmy was too, but he was older and stronger, harder to pick on - he wanted to become a seeker, so he trained a lot. Whereas the idea of diving into that old place scared her. The only nice thing about Fallen’s Cry was the statue of Traiana in Labyrinth Square - a popular destination among travelers.
Becoming a seeker was a big no for her. Ria actually enjoyed showing people around the city and wished all her life to be a guide, even though she knew it was a job for kids. Once she grew up, once she turned sixteen and got access to the system, she would have to find a job for grown-ups. What kind of job that should be, however, the little kitsune didn’t have much of an idea.
Some kind of outdoor job. Being out in the fresh air, under the open sky on the city streets, that was what Ria loved. Maybe a courier or a messenger. But the real world was different from the stories in the books; she was well aware of that. Not all wishes came true, no matter how much you wished for them.
Pushing away the dark thoughts, Ria opened her locker and took out her guide’s vest - green with a yellow lining and collar. A large city emblem was embroidered on the back. A pyramid of intricate paths representing a labyrinth, the floors widening with depth, with a tear in the middle. On either side of the pyramid was a bear’s head, signifying the presence of a moss bear near the city - in honor of the treaty with them. All of that was framed by a golden, shield-shaped border against a background of imperial violet.
With nothing else to put in the locker, Ria closed it and walked over to the others.
“Hi.” A nod and a murmur was all she got in return. None of the guides were eager to talk to her, as usual. Not even Timmy. The older he got the less he talked to her. At least he wasn’t as mean to her as the rest. So, as always, she sat down quietly in an empty seat and took out her book.
“Okay, guys, it’s time,” Enola called out when the hour rolled around for the start of the morning shift, and thus theirs. “Be ready, be receptive, be polite - even to each other.” The emphasis on those last words was just proof of the friction between the guides; one might even say rivalry. Ria hated it and couldn’t understand why everyone couldn’t get along. That’s why the little kitsune gave Enola her ‘yes’ with drooped ears.
“Are you all right, Ria?”
“I . . . c-can I visit the Hall of Souls?” she stammered as all the guides turned their attention to her because of Enola.
“Sure, but while you’re there, those waiting here will get priority. You know that?”
“Yes,” Ria nodded, actually smiling. Enola didn’t mean any harm. Quite the opposite. She just was simply reminding everyone of the rules and giving her an excuse not to sit around pointlessly. In the morning, the others got most of the jobs, anyway.
Without hesitation, the little kitsune headed out into the hallway and the lobby. On the other side, there was the door to the Hall of Souls, a large room where all Soul Dice were stored under protective runes and enchantments. It was an important place for the City Hall and Castiana in general, but especially for seekers. The proof of their lives was kept there, their connection to Fallen’s Cry.
The Soul Dice were no shackles or slave collars. They didn’t bind seekers with some twisted magic. They were small cubes that fit in the palm of an adult’s hand. Too big for Ria’s, though. Made of the same black stone as the Labyrinth itself, the runic circles carved into them glowed with the same light as the tears and blood Traiana shed in the square. The glow signified that the seeker was alive, made the dice float, and faded when they found their end.
“Good morning,” Ria greeted two city guards stationed there as soon as she entered the hall. Runes and enchantments were more than enough to protect the Soul Dice from the greedy hands of thieves, but they were unseen, unlike the two men.
“Morning,” Waylon said back to her from his chair, barefoot like most of the city guards these days. He was the younger of the two, still an old man in Ria’s eyes, an uncle.
“Is it morning already?” Brooks stretched with a loud yawn. The old man didn’t sleep. That would have been against the rules, but a half-day shift was tiring and dull, even if most of it was just sitting on your bum.
“It is, sir,” Ria giggled, amused by the old man’s antics.
The guardsman growled. “Didn’t I tell you to call me Brooks?”
“A thousand times, sir.” That was how often she’d been in the hall, almost every day since Korra and Sage had gotten lost in Fallen’s Cry.
“Well-behaved kid, huh? You don’t see that anymore.”
Waylon’s remark warmed her heart. Her mother always made sure she was well-mannered. At the same time, the way he called her rubbed her fur the wrong way. “I’m not a kid. I’m a big girl.”
Both men laughed, amused. Not in a bad way; they weren’t making fun of her. Still, she found it annoying.
“Isn’t she cute?” Brooks smiled, and Waylon nodded.
“Don’t pout, Ria. My mistake. You’re growing so fast I can’t keep up.”
Pride swelled in the small chest. Ria was a big girl, and it wouldn’t be long before she was as tall as her mom or Korra.
“Are you here to see the Wall of the Lost again?”
Silly question. What other reason would she have to be here - well, other than to get away from the other guides. “Um-hmm. Can I?”
“Sure, but nothing has changed since yesterday.”
Not that Ria didn’t believe Brooks, but she wanted to see for herself. And so, with their permission, she made her way to the Wall of the Lost, at the far end, just opposite the front door. There, on the shelves, were dozens of Soul Dice - including the slowly spinning dice of Korra and Stella Palemoon, the latest addition to this place.
Brooks wasn’t lying; nothing had changed. Just like yesterday, and the day before that, and the one before that, all these eight months. The two Soul Dice hovered just above their small wooden pedestals with name plates, rotating slowly as always. A sign that these two were truly lost. Not every Soul Dice on the Wall of the Lost was spinning. In fact, half of them didn’t.
As the adults explained to her, that meant they were lost in the Labyrinth, but not lost to the Labyrinth. A very confusing way of saying that the seekers the Soul Cubes belonged to were still alive, wandering the floors, unable to find their way out, while in the case of Korra and the others, even the Labyrinth had no idea where they were.
Ria had a hard time deciding which fate was worse. No one really knew where the lost ones were. It might have been a terrible place, but she liked to imagine a completely different planet, a place so far away that it would be incredibly difficult for them to return.
Hugging Lia, she whimpered, wishing so badly that it was otherwise, that she was wrong, and that they would eventually find their way back.
At least they were still alive, even if somewhere out there . . .
The same couldn’t be said for those who owned the Soul Dice to the left of the front door. The shelves there were full of black cubes without any sign of light. Rows and rows of cubes lay motionless on carved wooden pedestals, the names on them the only reminders of the deceased seekers. A stark contrast to the rows of shelves on the other side, where the cubes hovered just above the small pedestal, glowing brightly.
Having been in there long enough, Ria took one last look at the two Soul Dice - both of them still spinning, still as lost as their owners. Swallowing her grief, she said goodbye to the guards and headed back to the break room. Two of the guides were already gone, doing their jobs on the streets of the city.
***
In the end, it proved to be a busy morning, even for her. Many travelers arrived in Castiana, most of them curious about the city that resided in the shadow of the World Tree.
“Idleaf isn’t big enough to cast a shadow on Castiana,” she replied to such a silly question. “Maybe one day she will, though”
Many of them considered her a liar when she told them that she had met the tree spirit and even played with her. The little kitsune didn’t mind; they were stupid for not believing her. What bothered her was that she hadn’t seen Idleaf since Korra went missing.
Ria often wondered what the spirit was doing in those woods under the mountains, if she was bored as she herself often was. Well, and if she was safe. According to the adults, some very dangerous beasts lived there - big mossbears in the woods and huge birds called Northern Eagles and Miros in the mountains. Those eagles worried the Captain of the City Guards, Miss Rayden, a lot and, like Idleaf, piqued the interest of the travelers. To their disappointment, Ria didn’t know much about the beasts. They kept to their woods and mountains, never approaching the city.
***
In the afternoon, after the lunch provided by the City Hall for all employees, after combing Lia’s hair to make her as pretty as her mother’s tail, Ria took advantage of the curiosity of an elderly couple from Wagonbrei and took them to the Old City Library.
She liked the old librarian and his new assistant. Miss Mooney was the one who gave her the book [Tails Don’t Tell Lies]. She was from the capital - the same city as the elderly couple - sent here by a very important man to help Mr. Sandoval and Korra.
“Ah, Ria,” a woman’s voice came from the library as soon as she entered. “Any change in Soul Dice?”
“No, Miss Mooney,” the little kitsune lowered her ears.
“What a bummer,” the assistant librarian sighed, as she had so many times before. This auntie had arrived in Castiana only a short time after Korra and Sage had gotten lost in the Labyrinth, never having met them. “Well, that is to be expected. The lost ones have yet to return from any of the labyrinths,” Miss Mooney said, turning to the elderly couple who had wandered deeper into the library. “Oh, hello. Anything of interest to you?”
“Don’t let it bother you, young lady,” the librarian said to her as she found them sitting in a chair in the corner, leafing through a big fat book with no pictures, a cup of tea on the table and biscuits to go with it. That grandpa was one of the few who wasn’t blind and saw how much she grew. “Miss Grey has managed to take our breath away many times, so let’s hope she can do it again. A cookie?”
Of course, Ria did not refuse the offered treat, wagging Lia happily behind her. No wonder Korra liked it here.
However, as always, all good things must come to an end, and when the elderly couple had had enough of the library, she returned to her work of guiding them through the streets of Castiana.
***
“Argg, why are you here?” Guardswoman Vara grumbled as Ria visited the Wall of the Lost again with the end of her work. “You made me lose a bet.”
The little kitsune giggled. The auntie, who together with Elira, also a city guard, relieved Waylon and Brooks on their half-day shift, was bored out of her mind as always. Usually, she spent long hours on guard duty betting with her friend or playing cards or dice. It was fun, so sometimes when Ria had time, she would play with them.
“Hey, don’t blame the girl, besides I didn’t want to bet in the first place.”
“But what else do you want to do here? Stand still and stare at shelves full of cubes?”
Elira sighed; it wasn’t the first time they had this conversation. “If you hadn’t pulled that shit, the Captain wouldn’t have sent us here.”
“How the fuck was I supposed to know . . .”
“Language!” Elira cut her off, nodding at Ria, who had been grinning the whole time.
“What? Look at her. She’s a grown girl - she better learn a swear word or two.”
The fact that she knew more adult swear words than that, Ria didn’t tell them. If her mom found out, and she had ears everywhere, she’d be in trouble. Instead, the little kitsune left the two guardswomen to their bickering and reached the Wall of the Lost.
The two Soul Dice - as always - hovered over their small pedestals engraved with the names of Korra’leigh Grey and Stella Palemoon. Those two were as lost as the last eight months.
A sigh.
Saying goodbye for the day, Ria patted Lia for comfort and turned to go home.
“Wait!” Vara stopped her as the little kitsune reached for the door handle.
“Y-yes, Miss Vara?”
Under the auntie’s stern gaze, she wondered if she was still upset about the bet. But it wasn’t Ria’s fault. She couldn’t have known what they had bet on.
“Do you have any of those snacks? You know, the ones your mom makes.”
“Vara! Surely you . . . ?”
“Don’t worry, Elira. I’ll pay for them. What do you say, Ria?”
Her ears were definitely perked up. “How much?” They were good snacks, after all, and she managed to save three.
Vara laughed. “See, Elira, didn’t I tell you she wasn’t a kid anymore?”
“It just means that kids today are more crafty than in our days.”
“Speak for yourself,” Vara waved her off and looked back at Ria. “How about a game of cards over those snacks?”
That sounded like fun. “All right, but . . .” Ria stopped short; all her fur bristled. She knew the feeling. Something had changed, something that mattered to her, something in the room that her senses were unconsciously holding her attention to. Inevitably, her eyes shot to the Wall of the Lost and the Soul Dice on it. The two she’d been coming to see for the past eight months had stopped spinning.
“Is something wrong, Ria?” Elira asked worriedly as the little kitsune stared frozen across the room. “You don’t have to play cards with that moron if you don’t want to.”
“Hey, who’s the moron you . . .”
“Korra a-and Sage,” Ria managed to stammer out, pointing to the Wall of the Lost. “They are no longer lost.”
The two guardswomen looked across the room, only to freeze as well.
“Shit!”
“Vara!”
“I know, language.”
“Fuck the language, this is . . .”
“Not my fault. I didn’t do anything, not this time.”
“I didn’t say that. What do we do?”
“You’re asking me? I’m not the one who reads the rules and regulations before going to bed.”
“Nowhere does it say what to do if someone gets . . . unlost.”
Silence.
“We could pretend nothing happened. You know, leave it to the guys who come after us on shift.”
“That’s stupid. There are detection runes.”
“I know.”
“We should report it.”
“You just said…”
“Still…”
“Yeah, I guess, we should. But to whom?”
“Seriously? Are you a city guard? To the Captain, who else?”
“Fuck me! I’m gonna get yelled at again.”
“I don’t think so, not this time.”
“Then you go.”
“It’s not my turn. Did you forget?”
“Shit! How about a little game of . . .”
Ria completely ignored the two bickering, her eyes fixed on the Soul Dice, fearing that it might just be a figment of her imagination gripping her heart. But no matter how long she stared at the two black cubes, pressing Lia to her chest, Soul Dice remained motionless, floating and glowing.
That meant only one thing.
Korra, Sage and Miss Palemoon had found their way back.