Enigmas - Chapter 9

Arriving at their destination, Yoan and Hilia traversed the rice fields, looking around in wonder at people ploughing the fields. Some of the farmers were shouting across to one another and occasionally wiping the sweats off their foreheads as they squinted at the sun; it was close to afternoon.

“Hey, the two kids over there!” Someone shouted and the both of them came to a halt, stopping in the middle of the gravel path and trying to find the source of the voice.

“I take it that the both of you are trying to find Haran?” The person, who was a man in his forties, questioned Yoan. The skin around his eyes crinkled as a small friendly smile graced upon his face.

“What? Haran?” Yoan asked.

“That’s our town, just continue straight ahead.”

“Oh, thanks old man! That’s a lot of help!” Yoan grinned, waving at the man who frowned at Yoan’s way of addressing him.

“Thank you, and please excuse his rudeness.” A flustered Hilia said to the man, who seemed offended. Yoan just held the same grin on his face, his pace quick.

“It’s alright, go on and join your friend, and enjoy your stay!” The man started chuckling, waving Hilia off and she smiled kindly at him, jogging to catch up to Yoan.

“Ow.”

“Don’t call him an old man! That’s rude of you!” Hilia knocked her staff against his head.

“You just summoned your staff to hit me in the head?” Yoan frowned, rubbing at his head.

“Don’t ignore my words.” She narrowed her eyes and Yoan just grinned cheekily, blocking her staff when she went to hit his head once more.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” He mumbled out and she knew he wasn’t going to listen to her anyway.

***

Yoan and Hilia strolled into the town, both of them glancing around in fascination, it has been awhile since they have seen a town or village after all. Children were chasing after one another across the pavement and their parents were struggling to stop them.

Whereas, the stall owners at the side of street were trying their utmost best to sell their wares, hollering here and there, trying to attract more customers. The stalls were set up in carts, and depending on how rich the stall owners were, the carts were made of different materials. The even richer owners would have a whole building, made out of brick or clay to themselves.

People were chattering noisily, some bargaining over the price and others were having friendly conversations or chuckling at something they found funny. They were also some arguments amongst the people, which added to the rowdy atmosphere.

“Fresh fruits and vegetables for sale!”

“Listen up people! This apples here aren’t just ordinary apples, they are special!”

“How much do I have to pay for this?”

“Hey! Hey, hands off those!”

“No way, that’s too expensive! What a bluff!”

“Sir, you are mistaken! I am not cheating your money!”

“Get out of here, you are not allowed in here! Shoo! Shoo!”

“I have missed this.” Yoan commented and Hilia made a sound, agreeing with his statement.

“What are we planning to do next?” Hilia asked, being dragged aside by Yoan as the person on the carriage shooed everyone out of the way, hauling in an enormous amount of goods.

“We need to gather information about the main town, since we have no idea how to travel there and I need to head to the blacksmith’s to look for more equipment.”

“Alright, I’ll head to the inn to rent a room for us to stay in and head around town after that.”

“Well, before that, let’s eat first, I’m famished.” Yoan said, bringing Hilia along as they pushed through the crowd, walking to the restaurant that was standing out in the middle of the town. Its exterior was built and decorated brilliantly, with huge signs of promotion for their food, another typical ploy by the owners to lure more customers in.