Valerian, The Legendary

310 Covering Up & Meeting The Foe.

Valerian waited a few hours before a few people arrived at the cabin. He looked at the two men and the two flying beasts behind them. Then, he said, “Next time, be quicker.”

The two men froze and then glared at him. After that, they entered the house, and after some verifications, the old lady was taken into custody and then transported away. Valerian scoffed at the jeering looks of these people and then fixed the collar chain for Valerie.

The girl asked, “That old lady was an enemy?”

She was pretty surprised because this was the first time she had witnessed the cunning of people in person. Valerian said, ‘This is why I told you humans are not all nice.’

Valerie nodded and held his hand as she said, “But you are nice big brother.”

Valerian smiled and said, ‘Valerie, do you like hats?’

The girl was not an official member of the order. She was too young to join. However, she was given a dress made from old habits. Now her uniform did not have a bandeau or veil covering her head. She was not a nun just yet. So, Valerian decided to buy her a hat to cover her head. This will be superficial, but at the least, Valerie will not be recognized by these people from the get-go.

Valerian moved through the forest for one more day before he found a big flame tiger who agreed to give them a lift. Valerian had tamed the beast by displaying his strong magical and physical ability to dominate the creature.

The beast was a flame-eye tiger. A veil of flames covered the eyes of this beast. They would think this beast was a dead ghost if someone did not know much. However, the journey picked up the pace, and the beast deserved its credit. The seven-day journey was completed in four days, and on the way, Valerian also found the time to teach Valerie some basic self-defense moves to take the enemy by surprise in case she was attacked.

.....

On the fourth day, they reached the Triya river. Valerian spotted a settlement, and Valerie asked, “Big brother, what shall we do? How do we cross the river?”

Triya river was anything but gentle it was surging with currents that seemed so strong that they could wash away mountains. However, it was not a problem for the young man. He used the beast lingo to ask, ‘Do you want to cross it slowly, or do you want to be fast?’

Valerie tilted her head to think and then said, “Slowly? Inuka scared me from going too fast.”

Valerian was confused and asked, “Who is Inuka?”

The child raised her tiny hand and pointed at the flame-eyed tiger on the side. Valerian was at a loss for tears and laughter. He sighed and said, ‘Fine, also do not go naming them without permission. It is rude.’

Valerie pouted upon being told what to do. Then he raised his hand and cast a spell, ‘Columna Terrae.’

The spell created several poles to rise from the ground and stand against the surging current. Valerie was confused and said, “I am unsure if I can jump that far.”

The distance between all the poles was close to ten meters. Valerie was young, and she had no confidence. The landscape was different than the forest, thus the unconfident display. Valerian was not going to give up and said, ‘How about I tie a line to you, and then you go and jump till you cross the pillars. If you fall, then I will pull you back. Okay?’

Valerie did not want to say no, but she shook her head. Valerian said, “How about, I go first, and then you follow behind?”

The girl looked at the river and nodded, but she was unsure. Valerian smiled and said, ‘If you made it across the river alone, I would teach you how to use magic. Deal?’

Valerie froze and asked, “You will not tell me that I am still young?”

Valerian nodded. Factually, he could have crossed the river with the child in his arms, but he needed her to be more self-reliant to make it easier to survive in this cut-throat world. The child nodded, and Valerian procured a wine from wood magic and tied it around Valerie like a harness.

The girl then located a pillar platform one foot higher than the surging water levers, and she dashed forward a bit before jumping and landing on the platform. Her body wobbled a bit before she waved her hands to regain her balance. Valerian let out a roar and said, ‘Lock your tailbone to improve the balance. Bend your knees a little.’

Valerie nodded and jumped again. This time her jump was more stable than before. Valerian nodded and moved behind her. He was not going to waste time standing there. His jumps were much more agile than Valerie’s. This was the result of years of training. The two jumped onto twenty such pillars before they crossed the river.

Valerie sprawled on the ground as soon as they landed on the bank. Valerian smiled and asked her, ‘What happened?’

The girl replied sweetly, “So scary and tiring.”

Valerian chuckled and did not tell her to be brave. Some fear was needed to improve the technique of movement. He did not disturb her either. Instead, he surveyed the surroundings and found a few small birds. He took out a piece of bread and let out tweeting sounds.

The birds gathered around him and began pecking the bread as they talked to Valerian. The young man asked them if they had seen anyone hurting distinct people. These birds moved between the city and the forest daily, and the chances were that they had seen something.

His guess was correct. One of the birds explained how a young distinct was kidnapped and taken in by the person they sought. Valerian nodded and asked where that person was located. Birds were all chatterboxes. They spewed out everything Valerian wanted to know in exchange for a free meal.

When Valerian finished his investigation, Valerie said, “Big brother, I am hungry.”

Valerian smiled and gave her a loaf of bread smeared with jasmine marmalade. The young man had not used much of it in the past few days. However, Valerie seemed to like it, so he did not mind sharing either. The two grabbed a quick bite, and two people moved to the settlement.

The young man had tied a white cloth around Valerie’s head and told her not to take it off. The girl understood the motive behind this and agreed to his request. However, she said, “Big brother, I cannot hear too clearly.”

Valerian smiled and scratched her nose gently as he said, “I will get you a veil that will ease up your hearing shortly.”

The girl nodded and then hopped as she held his hand. Valerian’s arrival in the settlement attracted a lot of attention. Some people maintained distance, while some greeted him. First, Valerie came forward to give them the kind words of the temple. Then, the two people went to a tailor shop, and Valerie asked, “Madam, do you have any white hats or veils to sale here?”

The lady behind the counter smiled and said, “Yes, my dear young priestess. We have it. Do you want a veil matching your habit?”

Valerie nodded like a chick pecking on rice, and the lady showed them a few veils. Valerian picked up one of the veils matching the size of the young one, and after making sure that no one was looking at them, he undid the cloth around her head and patted her before he helped her put on a veil.

Valerian paid the money and said, ‘Let’s go and see the place before we work.’

He did not use sign language but beast lingo on purpose. He made it look like he was distinct. This was another tactic he used to cover the real identity of the young one along with him.

The two young people moved around the place and encountered many needy people. Some needed food, while some begged for clothes. Valerian decided that he would deal with the critically injured people first. With Valerie with him, the young man began treating the wounded with magic herbs.

Some who needed additional care would need to be moved to the specialized location, but he needed to deal with the wrongdoers before he could do that. Many of the inflicted belonged to distinct, and just when Valerian had finished dealing with a few people, someone blocked his way and asked, “So, looks like you guys will not understand what the rules are.”

Valerian acted to play ignorant and used his beast voice to ask what this guy was talking about. However, the person in front of him was not amused. On the contrary, he glared at Valerian and said, “A willing dressed in the clothes of the temple. Seems like you do not understand the nature of your existence, bastard.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the man standing opposite Valerian charged at him with his fists.