Ignis Fatuus (Foolish Fire) (2/3)
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III.
To Baekhyun’s surprise, his days on the road seemed to race by, and he quickly felt himself settling into the group like he’d been with them all his life. They called themselves the strolling players, and they liked to do en-route performances while travelling between the big cities, where they would stop for days or weeks to fill odd jobs and pick up things that needed delivering. The players integrated Baekhyun seamlessly into their performances, working out choreography and sequences on the long journeys between villages, towns and cities.
Performing came easily to him - just a few performances in he was freely leaping between platforms, flirting and interacting with audience members, hammering out impromptu riffs on the piano to match the beat of the drums and complement Kyungsoo’s amazingly agile singing. Unconsciously, Baekhyun began to assume the role of working up the crowd, pulling the energy levels higher. The audience loved him. He was a showmanship natural.
He’d never had so much excitement in his life. His fears had been unfounded - the other guys were all friendly and laid-back, and they took him in like one of their own. Baekhyun came to respect them, not just as friends, but as performers. They were passionate about their work, and were always working on new songs, fresh choreography, scripts for interluding skits.
They played all kinds of venues - from small courtyards to great halls and city plazas. While most of their venues were in human settlements, they also stopped in a giant’s valley, a goblin’s nest buried deep underground, and most memorably, an elven kingdom - an entire city built within the branches of a metallic tree, with a bark of stark white and leaves of gold and silver. The players had made a name for themselves over the years, and many an audience was keen to dine with them. Each night they were welcomed to a different feast or banquet, and they would taste the best food each region had to offer, then proceed to dance the night away in many a tavern or bar or town hall. While each member seemed to have individual connections inviting them to perform, Yixing was in charge of choosing and scheduling their shows, and Jongin responsible for mapping out routes.
Amidst the merry-making, they were constantly on the move. At night they’d park their caravan at the roadside, and Baekhyun would sit out on the steps, stargazing. The terrain was largely mountainous, and they’d often stop along the side of a ravine, overlooking a gorge or a forest. Sometimes, staring up at the unfamiliar constellations, Baekhyun still felt like he was trapped in a fevered dream. He was meeting new people every day, and though he talked and flirted like the most personable version of himself, not once did he tell anyone that he wasn’t from this world.
He still thought about drowning in the well, every day. The panic seizing his chest, the complete helplessness he’d felt. The thought alone was enough to send chills over his body.
A voice spoke up from next to him, and Baekhyun jumped. “Are you alright? You’ve been looking really lonely.”
He hadn’t even realised that Kyungsoo had joined him on the steps. He nodded slowly. “Yeah, I’m alright.” He meant it. He didn’t feel any lonelier that he had been all the while. Solitude was how he lived his life.
“Still thinking about going back?”
“Of course,” Baekhyun blurted, then he realised how rude he sounded. “I mean, it’s not that I don’t appreciate you guys. I really am grateful. But it’s just… I have to go back, you know? It’s my duty. But home feels so far away, and I have no idea how to even start.”
“Wasn’t so fun last time, huh.” Baekhyun stared at Kyungsoo, not quite understanding. “We know you snuck off on the first night. I don’t know how you managed to get out in one piece, but I guess you figured the magic in Thesor isn’t so easy to deal with.”
“I almost died in there. I couldn’t even find the damn clearing. And I don’t know - I mean, you said the magic was temporary. But it must come back sometimes, since you came through the well too. When is it going to start working again?”
Kyungsoo looked away, and his eyes were distant, jaw tense, brows pulled slightly together. It was that same expression he’d been wearing, back when Baekhyun had seen him for the very first time. Baekhyun had been maybe sixteen, back then, wandering alone in the mountainside forest near his home, when he’d come face-to-face with a teenaged boy, looking disoriented and very scared.
Baekhyun hadn’t known what to do - according to the rules of his village, the first thing he should’ve done was to take Kyungsoo to the village elders, and they’d figure out what to do from there. But Kyungsoo had clutched onto his arm, explained that he’d come from somewhere far away, and pleaded with Baekhyun to help him. And he’d seemed so terrified and helpless, that Baekhyun had agreed.
Kyungsoo had kept himself hidden within the forest, not emerging even once. Over the next few days, Baekhyun had returned faithfully in mornings and evenings to give Kyungsoo water and any leftover food he’d managed to scrounge. Then one day, without a word, inexplicably, Kyungsoo had vanished and Baekhyun had never seen him again.
And now he was sitting right next to him, performing with him across the country, sleeping opposite him every night.
“Well, I don’t know for sure, but I have an idea,” Kyungsoo began slowly. “Generally, the woods seem to follow the phases of the moon. The well could appear for you on the next full moon, but it might not take you where you want to go. It could appear for you two moons from now, or three. For me it was just one moon cycle, and I came right back through to here.”
The moon in the sky was a waning gibbous, well on its way to passing the third quarter. “And we’ve been travelling for, what, twelve days? Will I be able to get back in there, one lunar cycle later?”
Kyungsoo looked down. “Honestly, no. We have to stay in Argentum for maybe three weeks, to a month.”
Baekhyun did the math. A cycle was around thirty days. Fourteen days of travel, twenty-eight in both directions if they took the same route back. A month in Argentum, that was fifty-eight. “But I’ll be back by the second cycle, right?”
“Yes. We plan on returning to Aurum once we’re done in Ozmion - that’s the capital of Argentum.” Kyungsoo rested a tentative hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder. “By then we should’ve consulted with a magician, who can tell you exactly what to do.”
“And Aurum is where the forest is, right?” Baekhyun had to check.
“Yes, the forest of Thesor is pretty close to the heart of Aurum. Don’t worry, Baekhyun, it’ll work out.”
He couldn’t have known for sure, but Baekhyun felt comforted. It was good to have a plan; it gave him something to look towards, something to keep him going through the motions of their travelling and performing and partying.
“So, Aurum and Argentum are the two main kingdoms in this area?” he asked.
“Yeah. In our part of the world - the western continent - there are three main kingdoms. The third is Aspen.”
“What’s it like there?”
“It’s… less built up than the other two. The capital is located within a quarry, and it’s controlled by dwarves. They don’t really like humans, and they’re experts with machinery, so needless to say we don’t often go there.”
The idea of a kingdom controlled by dwarves was kind of frightening. “Is Ozmion is controlled by humans, then?”
Kyungsoo shook his head. “Faeries occupy the royal throne there. But there are a fair number of humans settled in Argentum, you don’t have to worry about it.”
***
The next morning, as the caravan kept rolling along the road, Baekhyun checked the schedule Yixing had tacked up on a wall in the caravan and found that they were due to perform at a wedding that night. The grooms, two wealthy Argentum residents named Lu Han and Kris, had also invited them to attend the ceremony which was was to be held at Lochhaven, a large estate a few hours from Ozmion.
Jongin, who was sitting out front with the reins, turned the horses off the main road to navigate a series of smaller lanes. They arrived at Lochhaven as night fell, and joined a long line of carriages of all shapes and sizes, following a long path marked out by lampposts.
Baekhyun didn’t know what he’d been expecting - maybe a ranch, or a large farmhouse of some kind. The house was simple and rectangular in form, constructed of whitened brick, looking out onto a manicured lawn and lake. He’d assumed the wedding would take place in a hall, but it seemed like the hosts had decided on an outdoor venue.
They got off in the driveway, except for Jongin, who headed to the back to find a parking space for the horses.
Out front, naiads were waltzing on the clear black surface of the lake, spinning and skating on their bare feet, the hems of their dresses brushing the water but never getting wet. The lawn itself was overgrown with long grass and dandelions, reaching up to the middle of Baekhyun’s calves. There were no tables laid out, just rows and rows of silver-backed benches, increasing in height as they extended further from the canopy of white lanterns and flowers that had been put up - presumably as a wedding arch.
Most of the guests were already crossing the lawn and filing into seats. Sehun, Yixing and Kyungsoo were greeting people non-stop as they walked, hugging, shaking hands, asking people how they’d been. Baekhyun trailed behind, following his group as they slid onto a bench near the back.
More guests started filling the row in front of them, and despite the upward incline of the seats, Baekhyun’s view was suddenly completely blocked by a black hooded figure. Disgruntled, he shifted slightly to the left, trying to find a clear line of sight.
Then someone brushed past the black hooded figure to move into the aisle, and the hood slipped for a second, revealing a glint of orange hair and ears that stuck out. The guy quickly pulled his hood back up, but Baekhyun had already recognised his profile. Heck, he recognised those hands. He considered reaching out to tap him on the shoulder and confirm his identity, but abruptly the black hooded figure was standing up, along with everyone else at the wedding, as the grooms stepped out of the massive front doors of their fancy home.
***
After the ceremony, the guests were ushered to the west wing of the house. The west wing was fronted by a sheltered conservatory and a circular garden, centred around a white gazebo.
Food was served, and the guests began to mingle as the strolling players took the stage. It went just like any other show, except somewhat more formal. A small acapella choir was waiting in the wings as they descended, and Baekhyun was free to socialise and glutton out to his heart’s content. Kyungsoo struck up a conversation with the elven priestess who’d married the couple, and Baekhyun accepted a plate of tasters from a nearby server, settling down in the conservatory to start snacking.
He’d only managed a couple of savoury pies before he noticed the black hooded figure from earlier walking towards the fringes of the garden, falling into shadow and slipping around the corner of the building.
Right. The prince. Baekhyun wanted to thank him for rescuing him from the forest, but the guy definitely looked like he didn’t want to be recognised here, for whatever reason.
After some thought, Baekhyun decided to go ahead anyway - he might not get another chance. He rose from his seat and walked back towards the front lawn, but there wasn’t anyone in sight. Then he caught a glimpse of movement near the east wing, near the marble arch, and approached as inconspicuously as he could, until he could hear the voices coming from the other side.
“Treason.” It was the prince’s voice, soft and threatening. “If you think I’m going to fall for this, you’re delusional.”
“The way we see it, you don’t have a choice, highness.”
“You really don’t know what you’re dealing with, do you?”
Somebody laughed. “I’d say it’s you who doesn’t know what he’s gotten into. Enough brave talk. You show up or your secret’s out.”
“I’m doing no such thing. If you want your money, you’ll come when I call you.”
There was a scuffle. Baekhyun shrank back reflexively, then cautiously peered around the side of the arch. Three men were surrounding the prince - one of them restraining him, another grabbing him by the collar, the third watching from a distance. They’d backed the prince up against the column of the arch, his hood pushed down and hanging around his shoulders.
“Do I really have to repeat myself?” The man closest to the prince was angry now. He was a large man, towering over the prince. “Show up in two days. Or do you need threats to understand?”
Despite his cornered position, the prince’s chin was lifted, and he looked his assailant straight in the eyes. “And where do you think you’re going to run to?”
“Yeah, we’ll tell you.” The man grinned. “You’re really just asking for a beating, aren’t you?”
Another scuffle, and a gasp, like someone had the air forcefully shoved out of their chest. He didn’t need to guess who that someone was.
He had to break up the group before they actually went through with the beating. The man in front definitely looked capable of beating him unconscious, but Baekhyun could tell the other two weren’t fighters. They’d only been expecting to deal with one man, and most probably wouldn’t have backup. Distraction and deflecting attention it was, then.
Baekhyun backed up slightly, adding weight to his footfalls, and stumbled into the arch with an arm on the wall for support. Behind the archway, the group of men - and the prince - stilled. Baekhyun counted to three, and then he emerged from behind the column, glancing from the men to the prince in confusion.
“Could you tell me where the party is? I’m kinda lost,” he said.
The man in front looked annoyed, but he didn’t loosen his grip on the prince. The third man who’d been standing a distance away advanced on him, and Baekhyun knew he was out of time. “Wait - aren’t you the prince of Aurum? What are you doing to him?”
“Shut him up,” the first man snapped, and the man lunged out, but Baekhyun took off running in the direction of the west wing, shouting for help as he went. “IS ANYBODY THERE?”
“GET BACK HERE!” The first man bellowed from behind, and for a split second Baekhyun thought he might be talking to him, but when he spun around to check, the man’s two accomplices were darting off, sprinting towards the driveway. Ahead of Baekhyun, a few figures appeared around the corner of the house, walking towards the front lawn, searching for the source of the commotion. Baekhyun quickly shrank back into the shadow of the house, trying not to be too visible.
Over at the arch, the first man spotted the search party, and he finally turned back to Chanyeol, growled out something Baekhyun couldn’t decipher, then let go and ran off into the night.
The prince fell heavily onto his knees. Baekhyun rushed over and pulled him to his feet. “Quick, before people see you.” He tugged the prince’s hood back over his head, and pulled him around to hide behind the archway.
The prince was standing upright again, catching his breath. “Are you rescuing me?” He asked, and for some inexplicable reason, he was laughing.
Baekhyun kept an eye on the lawn. “Those people didn’t look like they wanted a friendly chat.”
“I don’t need saving.”
Baekhyun ignored him. The group of four or five were heading towards them now, two men jogging ahead of the rest. “They’re still coming. They’re going to recognise you. What do we do?”
“They most likely won’t,” he said, but Baekhyun had a sudden idea. He shifted his position slightly, standing next to the arch so that he would be partially visible from the lawn, and then reached out to wrap his arms around the prince’s shoulders as tightly as he could. The prince’s hands came up hesitantly to wrap across Baekhyun’s back, solid and warm.
“What are you doing?”
Baekhyun pulled away just enough to look him straight in his eyes, and the prince’s eyelids fluttered open. Their foreheads were almost touching, so close he could see the smattering of freckles across the bridge of his nose, feel his soft breaths against his cheeks. If he stretched up even the smallest degree, their lips would meet.
The proximity had Baekhyun’s heart thudding in his throat, but he managed a grin. “Hiding you.” He prayed hard that none of his friends were among the search party.
Sure enough, the footsteps approached, stopped for a few moments, then disappeared back to where they came from.
“Smooth,” the prince breathed.
They stayed in position for another tense minute, then Baekhyun finally stepped back, double-checking to make sure that the group was headed back to the party. The prince looked quite different from how he’d looked in the woods or in the faerie’s circle, dressed in commoner’s garb, alone and without the entourage of guards. He seemed almost approachable somehow, maybe because he was deliberately trying to go unnoticed.
Baekhyun eyed him up and down, and dared to speak. “So, I guess you aren’t supposed to be here. Your highness,” he added quickly.
The prince waved it away. “Don’t say that here. Correct me if I’m wrong, I don’t think you’re a citizen of Aurum.”
“Then what should I call you, your highness?” Baekhyun asked, half-teasing.
The prince eyed him warily, but apparently decided to answer. “Chanyeol is fine.”
“How is it that nobody’s recognising you? I was in attendance when you performed at the Seelie Court, and I think everyone there must’ve known you by face.”
The prince - Chanyeol - answered without turning around. He was still scanning the vicinity, presumably looking out for more of the men. “The Seelie Court was within our kingdom. This is different, we’re in Argentum territory.”
The front lawn looked appealingly deserted, and Baekhyun took a few steps towards the now-quiet lake, beckoning the prince over. “So why are you here, undercover?”
“Personal favour,” Chanyeol said, and he followed Baekhyun into the garden. “I know Kris pretty well, he got me out of a few… situations, when I was here in Argentum a couple of months back. But I’m supposed to be in Ozmion on a diplomatic mission, they weren’t expecting me to sneak out.”
“Is his royal highness disobeying orders?”
Chanyeol looked irked for a moment, then he let out a reluctant laugh instead. “Maybe.”
For some reason, Baekhyun really enjoyed seeing his feathers ruffled. “How’s the diplomacy going then? Have you been doing anything other than sneaking off on personal favours?”
“It’s going well enough, but I’m bored out of my mind. Living in royal court for prolonged periods really just isn’t my kind of thing.”
The words sounded oddly casual, coming from his mouth. Baekhyun wanted to ask what the men earlier had wanted with him, but hesitated. He wasn’t sure if it was his place to ask.
“I saw your performance earlier,” Chanyeol went on. “I’m glad you’ve found something to do, apart from wandering around magical forests at night.”
Baekhyun bit his lip and looked down, waiting for him to continue.
“You’re not from around here, are you.”
“Uh, not exactly.”
“You came through the well?”
“You know about the well?”
“I want to hear about where you came from.”
Baekhyun sat down on the grassy banks, and Chanyeol sat next to him, looking out onto a black mirror.
There was no reason not to trust the prince. He’d known that Baekhyun was an outsider, and he hadn’t done anything to him, other than save him from the forest. And if he wanted to make Baekhyun go back to where he came from, well - he was going to do so anyway. It’d just speed up the process.
“I’m from a place called Vinland,” Baekhyun began. “I think the name is supposed to mean something like, the promised land. It really isn’t, though.” He paused. Chanyeol was watching him, listening intently. “It’s just an island. The terrain is quite different from here. We don’t get as many trees, but we have volcanoes. Lots of them. And in the deep night, we get these green and purple lights sometimes that shoot across the sky and fall like curtains from their trails. We call it the aurora.”
“That sounds absolutely magical.”
“It’s one of the best things about the valley,” Baekhyun admitted. “There aren’t many of us who live there, maybe a couple hundred?”
“Had you ever left the island?”
Baekhyun shook his head. “The sea that surrounds us is too violent, and though Vinland is pretty big, we don’t have much wood. The valley doesn’t have a boat strong enough, just yet. But I will build one someday. Somehow.”
“Were you not happy, living there?”
“Of course I was,” Baekhyun said, then he realised it was a lie. “Well, it wasn’t great all the time. People didn’t really like that I wanted to leave the island. Some people still don’t like me very much, they think I’m unruly and trouble-making. But I have my family, who loved me. I have friends. I have the sea.”
“You must have spent a lot of time by the sea.”
“Yeah. We’ve got a lot of beaches, covered in black sand from the volcanoes.”
“I’d like you to see our beaches sometime, they’re very different from yours.”
“What are they like, the beaches in Aurum?”
“Hot,” Chanyeol said. “Our sand isn’t black, it’s kind of rust-coloured, and coarse but soft. They’re really popular when it gets warm, people love to swim in the ocean.” He paused, suddenly looking thoughtful. “So that night, in the wood, you were trying to get back home?”
Baekhyun nodded. “I’d just come through the well, a few hours prior.” He thought back to his fall, and recounted the lurch of gravity he’d felt, the sensation of being tunnelled through a vortex. An inter-dimensional flume. “It feels so far away now. But the others said they’d bring me to consult with a magician and figure it out from there.”
“Generous of them.” Chanyeol sounded impressed.
“It is. They are.”
“How’s being part of the troupe?”
Baekhyun shrugged. “I like singing. Performing gives me a thrill.”
“Did you perform, back where you came from?”
“Not really. We don’t perform a whole lot in the valley,” Baekhyun admitted. “But we’ve heard enough about me, what about you?”
“I do love music, but I’m not great at it.”
“You played beautifully, in the Seelie Court,” Baekhyun countered.
“I never learned much music,” Chanyeol clarified. “I taught myself that instrument, but I’m not knowledgeable about the theoretical aspects, and I don’t perform much, either.”
“No, I can’t imagine that would be high up on the list of princely duties.”
“I guess music will just stay a hobby for me.”
Out at the lake, the chatter from the party was a muffled white noise; the sounds of the crickets and the light rustle of trees was all that disrupted the absolute serenity. Baekhyun lay down, sinking his head into the grass and staring up at the sky.
“Tell me something else,” he said.
“What do you want to hear?”
Baekhyun pointed up at the sky. “The constellations. They’re different from the ones back home - are there any stories behind them?”
The prince leaned back and lay down next to Baekhyun. There had to be at least a hundred stars in the clear sky, but Chanyeol knew every single one. He told Baekhyun the names of each constellation, and the myths that lay behind each one - different versions, as told by the elves, the dwarves, the giants, the faeries. As he talked, the stories were fascinating, but Baekhyun found himself just listening to the prince’s voice, letting the words just wash over him. It was so soothing, so pleasant to listen to and so reassuring, it made him feel at peace.
Baekhyun hadn’t even realised he’d zoned out, a blissful smile fixed on his features, until they began to hear the sounds of people leaving the party, gradually making their way across the lawn in small groups. Chanyeol and Baekhyun were relatively well-concealed in their position next to the lake, but Baekhyun looked back over at the house, and knew he should be heading back to look for the others.
“I should go,” he said, voice tinged with regret. He didn’t want to leave. “Or they’ll be looking for me.”
Chanyeol nodded, and straightened up. “It was nice to meet you. Baekhyun.”
“You too, highness.”
“One thing,” Chanyeol said. “Earlier, when you saved me from those guys. Were you out there looking for me?”
“Yes, I wanted to thank you for saving me in the wood.”
“And ended up saving me as well.”
Baekhyun laughed, and took a small bow. “Shouldn’t I be knighted for this, or something?”
“Definitely, once you get back to Aurum.” Chanyeol grinned.
“We’re headed for Ozmion next, though. So we might see each other again.” Baekhyun winked, and inwardly marvelled at his own audacity. He never thought he’d end up flirting this brazenly - with a prince of another world, no less.
Chanyeol laughed. “Maybe. I’ll keep an eye out for you, Baekhyun.”
Baekhyun bowed one last time, and then he turned and headed off to look for the rest of the group, fighting to hide the smirk that still refused to leave his face.
IV.
They set off again the next morning, and by noon they were winding their way past increasingly dense settlements, making a steady uphill climb towards higher ground. Baekhyun leaned against the window frame, watching the villages as they went by. Halfway up the mountain, temperatures started dropping, and his puffs of breath turned to mist as they hit the frigid air.
In the early afternoon, they passed through towering iron-wrought gates and arrived in Ozmion, capital of the kingdom of Argentum. The city was built into the side of a mountain, with a citadel standing at the top, facing a large dome that seemed to contain a defunct carousel bearing giant marble statues. They followed a coastal road into the heart of the city, looking out beyond craggy cliffs to the narrow strips of beach below, where violent grey waves crashed into obsidian.
The architecture in the city was of an intricacy Baekhyun had never seen before. Towering marble domes, greyed with wear, jewel-toned stained glass spires with intricate designs rising high above intimidatingly large forums and temples and basilicas, all held up by towering columns of white marble. The entire city spoke of wealth, of settlement, and a long, powerful history. And it was an unfriendly place - from the intimidation of its structures, to the sprawling scatter of its messy streets, to the bitter chill of the sharp, salty air. Everything was so old, so large, and so dark. The sea seemed to be constantly in turmoil, the clouds permanently overcast.
Their caravan rattled over bumps in the cobblestone as it made its way into the backyard of a large inn on the fringe of the old town. Jongdae’s inn, Kyungsoo had said earlier, we always go to him when we’re here, he finds temp work for us to do. He doesn’t know you’re coming, but I’m sure we’ll find something for you. Baekhyun climbed out with the others, feeling the cold pierce straight into him like a knife. The group headed into the inn through the back entrance, winding through bustling kitchens and backrooms until they found themselves in the receiving lounge, a warm and low-ceilinged room crowded with small clusters of people huddled around wooden tables, and a larger group of people warming their hands by the crackling fireplace.
All around them, guests were pouring out drinks from copper flagons, poring over books and maps, talking across tables. Baekhyun was still immersed in taking everything in, when a voice appeared from behind his left shoulder. “You’re late, guys. I’ve been expecting you since morning.”
Baekhyun spun around. A man was standing right next to him, catlike eyes glinting and mischievous grin half-illuminated in the lowlight.
“Who’s this?” His eyes scanned Baekhyun, darting from his face down to his shoes and back up.
“Jongdae!” Sehun tackled the guy with a hug, and Baekhyun was quickly shoved to the side of the group as Jongin, Yixing and Kyungsoo all moved to crowd around the man. “I missed you, you rascal.”
“How’s business?” Yixing asked, his neck awkwardly bent forwards under the weight of Jongdae’s arm. Jongdae steered Yixing and Sehun towards the only empty table and pushed them onto wooden stools, grabbing hold of Kyungsoo’s arm to direct him towards the other unoccupied stools. Baekhyun trailed after them awkwardly, seating himself between Kyungsoo and Jongin, directly opposite Jongdae.
“What does it look like?” Jongdae shrugged, nodding at the crowded lounge behind them. “Life is grand. At this rate, I won’t be surprised if I get inducted into the ranks of the faeries.”
“Like the faeries of Argentum will let a shady alley-dweller crawl up to their lofty heights,” Yixing muttered.
Jongdae smirked. “We keep the shady business in the backrooms. Up front here is where scholars write poetry and travelling merchants talk trade.”
“And innkeepers deal jobs to travelling entertainers,” Sehun reminded him with a nudge to the side. Jongdae didn’t even flinch, raising his hand in the air and snapping his fingers. A waiter came hurrying over with a flagon and an armful of copper goblets. Jongin distributed the goblets, sliding them across the table surface.
Baekhyun watched as Kyungsoo poured him a glass of frothy golden liquid. “It’s sparkling honey mead,” Jongin told him, raising his glass to his lips. “House brew. It’s really good, famous throughout Argentum.”
“Is this alcoholic?” Baekhyun asked, watching bubbles rise to the surface.
“Mildly. Nothing to worry about.”
Deciding to trust Jongin’s judgement, he held his breath and took a large gulp. Jongin was right - it was amazing, sweet flavour exploding in his mouth, the sharpness from the fizz shooting straight up to his head.
“So,” Jongdae was saying in the background, “you didn’t tell me you were travelling with a kinetic.”
Baekhyun’s eyes snapped up. Sehun glanced from left to right, looking mystified. “We are? Where?”
“There.” Jongdae was grinning at Baekhyun.
“Are you serious? He’s not -” Jongin caught himself. “He’s never shown an inclination?”
Jongdae just extended his hand, raising his eyebrows at Baekhyun, daring him to take it. Never one to back down from a challenge, Baekhyun pushed up his sleeve and reached out to grasp it, firmly intertwining their fingers. Instantly an intense tingling sensation shot from the tips of his fingers all the way up his arm, and then suddenly his entire hand was glowing with luminescence, a faint glow like moonlight. Thin tendrils of white static ran over the surface of Jongdae’s hand, creeping up to envelope Baekhyun’s in a woven network of wire.
And then the wires shrank back and the light faded, and Jongdae pulled his hand away. “There you have it.”
Their table fell silent. Baekhyun examined his palm in wonder, turning it around to check for damage. He could feel everyone’s stares boring into the sides of his head.
“He’s untrained, but the potential’s definitely there. Your name was-?”
“Baekhyun,” he said.
“You had no idea you were a light user?” he asked. A light user. Baekhyun shook his head. “Well then, Baekhyun, I might have a job for you after all.”
***
While the others went off to meet the various people they would be working under, Jongdae gave Baekhyun instructions to find Minseok, a warlock whom he would be assisting.
Minseok lived in one of the buildings with the stained glass spires. His place faced another one of the small squares the city seemed to have at every corner. Baekhyun knocked hesitantly at the door, not knowing what to expect and feeling uncomfortable without the rest of his group. It was the first time he’d been out on his own, since the fall, and wandering the gloomy streets of Ozmion made him feel incredibly small and out of his depth.
It turned out that he needn’t have worried. A young man, barely older than Baekhyun himself, answered the door and greeted him in a friendly manner. “Hi, can I help?”
“Hi, I’m Baekhyun,” Baekhyun said uncertainly. “I’m looking for Kim Minseok? Jongdae sent me.”
“So he finally came through,” the guy said. “Nice to meet you, Baekhyun, I’m Minseok. Please come in.”
Minseok’s place wasn’t anything like what Baekhyun had been expecting. Jongdae had mentioned that Minseok brewed potions for a living, and for some reason he’d pictured a wizened old man, living in a dark dungeon, brewing fluorescent green potions in rusted black cauldrons. Instead, the interior of Minseok’s tower was cosy and somewhat eclectic, with all kinds of strange plants lined up in small terracotta pots along wooden shelves, pewter and burnished gold equipment neatly laid out on working counters. The grey light filtering through the stained glass coloured the room in patches of gold, blue and green.
And then there was Minseok himself. Like the prince, Minseok was fair and ethereal-looking. He had large feline eyes the colour of melted amber, and delicate features on a small, sharp face. Unlike the prince, Minseok was short and svelte, and Baekhyun wasn’t sure if the man he was looking at was human or faerie.
“What’s your … talent? Jongdae said I was a light user. And he could produce electricity from his palm.”
“My element is ice,” Minseok said. “His is lightning. And yes, yours is light.”
Ice. It suited him somehow. “What other kinds of talents are there?”
Minseok look surprised by the question. He tilted his head, thinking. “There are so many, it’d be impossible to index. Aside from elementals like us, there’s teleportation. Telekinesis. Umbrakinesis, the ability to bend darkness and shadow.”
Baekhyun raised his eyebrows. “Wow, that’s grim. I’d thought light wasn’t too impressive a skill, but it could’ve been worse. Guess I lucked out after all.”
Minseok laughed. “Light is a really powerful skill, so you kind of did. But remember, Baekhyun, not all dark is evil, and not all light is good. You’ll find that out for yourself soon enough.”
***
Minseok ran an apothecary, and each morning he sent Baekhyun out to get the various ingredients and spells he needed for his concoctions. Baekhyun picked up the strangest variety of ingredients, from sprigs of wheat and fibrous blue roots from forests underwater, to seafoam, bottled sunlight, and even music scores which he had to sing out loud. From cursed snuffboxes and mysterious green roots they called rushlights, to griffin claws from the far north and dwarf-mined oil and the first-shed wings of sprites.
Baekhyun followed Minseok’s instructions closely, threading through streets and alleys of the city to pick up his items - from travelling markets, faerie-owned pharmacies, individual dealers who operated in shady-looking offices right on the borders of the city. The more he saw of the city, the more he grew to appreciate it - Ozmion was ancient and fascinating and beautiful, with life tucked into every last corner and alleyway. Faeries and humans seemed to coexist side by side in fairly equal proportions, which Baekhyun found unusual, as all of the towns they’d visited prior were largely single-species settlements. Out on the streets he’d see faeries shopping at human-owned market stalls, humans stepping into a faerie healer’s, faeries and humans alike attending conventions in the town hall on the central square. Ozmion was a scholarly sort of town, and many of the city-dwellers were students or teachers in the schools and the astronomical observatory, which seemed to be a major institution. It was visible even from Minseok’s tower, a rounded tower with an open top floor that hosted a massive armillary sphere contained within columns and a domed roof.
He learned that faeries constituted the monarchy here in Ozmion, and they lived in the castle Baekhyun had seen when they’d first rolled into the city, along with their staff of both faeries and humans. Chanyeol must be up there right at this moment, Baekhyun thought, listening to some dull speech or meeting with some dignitaries.
“For the most part, the Fae are peaceful folk,” Minseok explained, when Baekhyun asked about the city’s population. “They don’t take sides, and coexist with us neutrally. But yeah, it is rare for the Fae to live alongside humans. Ozmion is the only city we know of that has managed this kind of peaceful coexistence. It’s been this way ever since the city was invaded centuries ago, when the humans and faeries worked together to overthrow the giants and claim this seat of power. The victory arch - the one in the central plaza - was erected then.”
In the afternoons, he helped Minseok with his potion-brewing. Most days, Minseok would ask him to prepare the ingredients he’d bought, and Baekhyun would work in the tower room, or on the balcony for procedures that required daylight. On the rare occasions that Minseok could manage the day’s orders on his own, he’d give Baekhyun time off and let him go to his library to pore over the books there.
In the library, Baekhyun found books on magic, on history - mostly on Argentum, but there were mentions of Aurum and Aspen, and on occasion he would see a map or two. The maps depicted the Western continent in great detail, but didn’t show much of the lands beyond. When Baekhyun asked about it, Minseok just said that he wasn’t much of a traveller, and that it was usually court officials and travelling merchants who tended to have more comprehensive maps.
While working under him, Baekhyun also learned a lot from Minseok about his magic and how he could harness it.
“To use magic, you first have to learn to sense it,” Minseok said. “You have the innate ability to bend and channel specific kinds of magic, light in your case, but everyone’s approach to magic will differ along with their talent.” Magic could be combined, Minseok added, to incredible effect, if it was compatible.
Three days after they arrived in Argentum, Baekhyun received a parcel. Someone had sent it to Jongdae’s inn, apparently knowing that Baekhyun was living in his backyard. The others had already left to their jobs when Jongdae came around to their caravan with the small paper-wrapped package. “Congratulations, word’s got out that you’re in town,” was all Jongdae said as he handed it over.
There wasn’t any note attached, nor any message written on the paper. Baekhyun picked it up, gauging its weight, then undid the strings and let the wrapping fall.
It was a wishing well. A carved figurine, seemingly made of glass, its details so finely etched that he could distinguish each individual crack in the brick, each blade of grass growing out from within the mortar. The mastery of the sculptor could only be guessed at, Baekhyun thought, turning the figurine around in his hands. The sculptor had carved water into the well, its surface indented by the most stunningly hyper-real ripples Baekhyun had ever seen. If his probing fingers hadn’t met with cold solid glass, he wouldn’t have believed that the sculpture wasn’t filled with actual clear liquid.
The only thing different about the sculpture, compared to the well Baekhyun had come through, was that the sculpture had a strange white light flickering in the depths of the water.
There was only one person who could’ve sent it. Baekhyun hunted for some fabric to wrap the figurine in, and he carefully placed it in the corner of his rucksack, tucking it under his bed. For some reason, he didn’t want the others seeing it.
***
The next day, Baekhyun asked Minseok for advice on navigating the wood, but refrained from mentioning his reasons.
Minseok seemed confused by his request. “Baekhyun, I don’t know if you’ve realised, but you have magic too.”
“Yeah, but I have no idea how to use it.” It wasn’t the complete truth - he was developing some preliminary control over generating and controlling light, but he couldn’t see how that could help him with the wood situation.
“I can give non-magicians spells that would help them, but I can’t give you anything. Your magic would just counteract mine. You just have to keep training - as your magic develops, you’ll be able to see through the forest’s traps and navigate it on your own.”
It wasn’t the specific advice Baekhyun had been hoping for, but if Minseok’s magic wouldn’t work on him, he supposed he didn’t have much of a choice.
***
At the end of each workday, Baekhyun would return to the inn to have dinner with the others. Sometimes Minseok would finish early, and Baekhyun would make use of his free time alone, taking slow walks along the road behind the inn to look at the sea. He missed it, and he longed to go down to the beach, but the waves looked treacherous even in comparison to those of Vinland’s seas. If he went down, he probably wouldn’t ever come back up.
Living in Jongdae’s backyard exposed Baekhyun to things he felt like he shouldn’t be seeing or hearing. The people who made use of Jongdae’s “private rooms” weren’t rough or suspicious-looking by any means; they were often well-dressed, inconspicuous looking people who could pass off as academics or a travellers in the city. But whenever Baekhyun passed back and forth along the corridor leading from the main lounge towards the kitchens and back doors, he would hear their voices, drifting out of the vents. Most of the time it was just hushed unintelligible murmurings, but from time to time people would forget and raise their voices. There was one particular conversation that Baekhyun overheard, that stuck in his head. It was a woman’s voice - sharp and steely. “They say the Salamander is in town.”
“He’s one of them spies, isn’t he?”
“They say the giants use him as a weapon. It’s impossible to meet him in person, but he’s already infiltrated the kingdom’s schemes several times.” The seriousness of her tone would be almost comical if it didn’t sound so menacing.
“He’s a faerie, then? Or a warlock?” The innocuous question was the reason the conversation had lodged itself in Baekhyun’s brain.
“They say a warlock. Most probably one of our own Ozmionites.”
In the evenings after dinner, the players were usually too tired to do much, but sometimes they went out to shows and festivals in the city squares. Kyungsoo liked to hang in some of the larger taverns to watch live musicians singing and playing their own acoustic instruments, while Baekhyun preferred the large, vibrant festivals, where they could cheer in the crowd instead of onstage for a change. The central plaza was a popular spot for the major festivals - people would perform on a temporary stage in the centre of the square, between the observatory and the convention centre. The large pavilion would flood with humans and faeries on weekend nights, and they’d lose themselves in a sea of ravers.
On one particular night, one of Ozmion’s local bands performed on a square close to Jongdae’s inn. They weren’t as well-known as some of the bigger acts in town, but Kyungsoo had a particular liking for the band, and he dragged Baekhyun along with him to the show. They had a silver-haired guy playing a guitar, someone on a piano, and a group of people singing a contrapuntal chorus.
Watching the man playing the guitar made Baekhyun think of the prince, again, and their first encounter in the glade. He wondered how he was doing in the Ozmion court, and whether he was still sneaking out in the evenings. He hadn’t caught a single glimpse of Chanyeol anywhere in the city, and felt slightly disappointed that the wishing well - if indeed Chanyeol had sent it - hadn’t come with any message. It seemed almost unreasonable to hope, Baekhyun reflected, considering they weren’t even friends. They’d met a few times, helped each other out, and shared a couple conversations. There was zero reason for them to meet again.
But why would he send the sculpture, if he had no intention to meet again?
Irrelevant, Baekhyun told himself. He didn’t even know for sure if it was Chanyeol. And in any case, Baekhyun had absolutely no business trying to forge friendships here. It was for the best, he told himself, trying his utmost to ignore the sinking feeling in his gut.
***
Several weeks into his job, Baekhyun went on his first “field trip” with Minseok to the Giant’s Carousel. As a senior warlock in the Ozmion registry, Minseok was routinely enlisted by the court to help them with “matters of security”. A horse-drawn cart was sent to his tower early in the morning, and it took them up the hill facing the castle, to the ruined carousel.
Up close, the carousel was even more colossal and monstrous in scale. The moment they stepped through the rusted gates into the ride area, an eerie silence fell, as though they were sealed within an airtight bubble that the winds could not breach. Baekhyun followed as Minseok walked up to the edge of the carousel, and hoisted himself up onto the platform. Now that he was up close, he could see the grotesqueness of the carousel figures - they were faeries, goblins, elves, humans, but all grossly deformed and mutilated, with distended lips, smiling mouths, flattened skulls, bulging eyes.
The centrepiece of the carousel, the column holding up the roof, was covered in carvings - coarse-looking carvings, large curly characters in a language Baekhyun couldn’t understand. For some reason, just staring at the criss-cross of lines made him nervous.
“Curses are carved within these markings,” Minseok said, as he knelt next to the column and began pulling out his rune books. “There’s a lot of old giant magic in this place, and the officers have most of their security team studying ways to purge it.”
“They haven’t been very successful, then.”
“Evidently not. You can sense it, can’t you?”
Baekhyun could. It was hard to pinpoint exactly when, but as he had started training his magic under Minseok, he’d begun to develop a sixth sense for it. He could feel it pulling, like currents, winding through the carousel and filling the air around them. He could also sense its nature - old, hostile, most definitely not human.
“Would the giants actually be able to release the magic?”
“They would, but they’re prohibited from entering Ozmion. The court often gets warlocks to come up here and ebb the flow of the magic, because unlike faeries, we have some control over runes. But it never seems to stay low for long, and we don’t understand why.”
“Can’t you just destroy it? Or harness it in a way that wouldn’t destroy the city?”
Minseok shook his head, but before he could elaborate, they heard the faint sound of the gate creaking on its hinges, and felt the ripple of magic as someone passed through the force field surrounding the carousel.
“Is somebody coming in? That’s strange, they usually empty the place out when we’re cleared for maintenance.”
There was a movement somewhere just around the bend. Baekhyun tensed, and Minseok straightened up next to him. A group of five people were approaching them, a familiar figure at its helm.
What was he doing here?
“I’m sorry, but the place is closed,” Minseok said. “We’ve been authorised by the court to carry out some work.”
“You’re speaking to the prince of Aurum,” a man at Chanyeol’s left said sharply. Minseok lowered his head slightly, but kept silent, not retracting his statement.
Baekhyun met Chanyeol’s gaze steadily. Surprise flashed in his eyes - whether pleasant or unpleasant, Baekhyun couldn’t tell.
“The prince took an interest in this place and asked to see it,” one of the people behind Chanyeol spoke up. “The court has given him clearance, at our request.”
“We won’t be staying long.” Chanyeol’s hand had been lifted ahead of him, but he let it drop to his side, flexing his fingers. “I’ll leave you to your maintenance, not to worry.”
Minseok nodded, and respectfully stepped aside to let the group pass. The group made to continue forwards, but Baekhyun stayed rooted to the spot. “Wait,” he blurted. “May I speak to the prince in private?”
He could feel Minseok staring at him, but kept his eyes forward. The officers glanced to Chanyeol, who lowered his eyes. “Give us a minute.”
“We’ll just step out for a quick moment.” He jerked his chin in the direction of the road outside, and led the way to the gate. Chanyeol followed him through the gate, and his officers stood just within the force field, keeping an eye on them.
Once they stepped out of the field, the wind seemed almost deafening in comparison to the bubble of silence within. Chanyeol stood in front of him, expressionless, waiting for him to speak, and Baekhyun decided to get straight to the point. “So I haven’t seen you around the city.”
The corner of Chanyeol’s mouth lifted into a slight smile, and his stiff facade cracked instantaneously. “I’ve been in the city, but mostly in the daytime,” he answered. “Were you missing me?”
“I was,” Baekhyun said, without the slightest trace of embarrassment. “I thought the plan was to meet again. Was it not?”
“I’ve been around to the inn you’re staying at,” Chanyeol said. “Several times. But I’ve had state dinners to attend, and I always left in the late afternoon.”
That surprised Baekhyun. He couldn’t picture Chanyeol, with his flame-orange hair and ethereal aura, sitting in that dim reception lounge. “How did you know - never mind, I guess you have contacts around. Your guards are staring at us, so let’s keep this brief - shall we meet again?”
Chanyeol glanced away, thinking. “Come to the central plaza then, tomorrow at sunset. I’ll meet you at the victory arch.”
Baekhyun nodded. “Okay. I’ll see you there tomorrow.” Remembering the officers, he threw in a respectful bow for good measure, and let Chanyeol step back into the carousel ahead of him.
Minseok eyed him curiously as he knelt next to him and started flipping through the rune books, searching for matches to help him with translation. They focused on the books and the carvings in the column, trying to ignore Chanyeol and the officers moving around behind them. Baekhyun concentrated as hard as he could, translating runes and watching Minseok perform counter-spells. As he did, the carvings seemed to fade out of focus initially, but only to sharpen again slightly once they moved on, as though resisting the magic they cast.
And then Chanyeol stepped out of the enclosure and the Carousel abruptly jolted into movement, machinery groaning to life as it began rotating slowly around its central axis. Baekhyun caught the faintest echo of a haunting melody drifting through the air, before seconds passed and it faded away into nothingness.
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