Book 3 Chapter 4

Despite speed being a factor on their journey, it didn’t mean that they could just ignore the troubles of the people they came across, and with Willow’s increased capabilities it meant there were more tasks that the two wanderers were suitable to deal with. Before, Mu could deal with big beasts and healing injuries that the local healer couldn’t deal with.

Willow was still mostly suited to combat, but with the concepts of Memory and Dream in his yin form it meant that he could do a decent amount of investigation and deal with some more esoteric spirits that liked to dwell in the thoughts of the populace.

Most spirits of that nature were harmless, and largely nascent and barely formed, dissipating quickly as soon as they encountered a strong enough opposing emotion. There were rare cases of spirits of Joy and Laughter living amongst the populace for decades, though the people didn’t know it, and the population centers that they made their homes in were better off for it.

However the more negative emotions could be tenacious and linger in the towns and villages a bit off the beaten path. Spirits of Fear, Grief, and the most stubborn of all, Grudges.

Willow had tried to shoo away the ones they’d found while wandering the lands for his training, but had largely been unable to do anything to most of the stronger ones.

But Dream gave him an entry point, if he entered the dreams of someone attached to one of these spirits then he could deal with them on their own turf. Though the dangers of doing so could not be overstated, not just for him, but also for the person whose dream he used.

All of these thoughts and more were going through his head as they entered the latest village that they had every intention of passing through without stopping, yet what he was sensing meant that they had a duty to stop and deal with the rogue Grudge.

He also knew that those affected by the spirit would not be pleasant to deal with, and that was a good chunk of the populace. Though he had to seal away his senses for now as he was already getting a headache from the number of people.

This wasn’t gonna be fun.

“Miss Mu, we have to stop.” He finally spoke up as they were already halfway through the village. The people within were eyeing the spirit beast king warily as they passed through the wide main street, but grew noticeably perturbed as they stopped in their tracks at the Master Wanderer’s command.

“Sensed somethin’ nasty?” She asked tiredly. Likely upset about another delay, but aware of the necessity.

Willow nodded and whispered his reply. “There’s a pretty strong Grudge here, and while we could leave it for later, I’m worried about what harm these people will cause in the meantime.”

Miss Mu sighed. “Yeah that’s the right call.” She looked at the sky and grumbled. “It’ll be some time yet for people to go to sleep, and these folks don’t exactly look welcomin’. Want to pass the time outside of the village and sneak in to deal with it tonight? I doubt they’d be much inclined to offer up a reward.”

Willow was about to reply in the affirmative when a voice called out, surprising both of them.

“Pardon me, but are you Scholar Mu, the Master Wanderer?” A young man asked from Rotter’s side.

Willow’s mentor sighed again before looking over the side at the teen who asked the question.

“Aye, that’s me boyo. Do you need somethin’?”

The young man hesitated for a moment, but eventually blurted out his question. “Is Willow still with you?”

Mentor and apprentice blinked at each other in surprise at the question, until Willow looked over the side at a vaguely familiar face down below. His features were largely sharper, and he had lost almost all of his baby fat.

But his wide eyed stare was still the same.

“Remy? Is that you?” He asked, his emotions a bit of a mess right now. He considered him one of the first human friends he’d made, but their parting had been less than ideal, so meeting him way out here was doing a number on him.

It also implied that Mister and Missus Faber were somewhere in the village. Which he really didn’t want to deal with right now, though he knew it was an almost inevitability at this point.

Remy blinked upon seeing the face that was looking down at him, but gave a hesitant wave.

“Is that you, Willow? You look quite different.”

Willow cocked his head to the side, considering. It would probably be better for his coming encounter with Missus Faber if he was in his yin form for multiple reasons. It would even be better for dealing with the Grudge later.

Yet there was a stubborn part of him that wanted to see how she reacted to his current appearance.

He let out Eos, the small Sun spirit briefly surprised, but got his explanation at the same time as Miss Mu.

“Gonna go with Remy for now, Eos should be able to find me as you settle Rotter on the outskirts.”

The fire spirit gave a sloppy salute and stuck by Miss Mu as ordered.

His mentor gave him a considering look. “You sure about this, boyo? Last I remember your family and his didn’t part on the best of terms, and a Grudge would make those feelin’s fester if at all possible.”

Willow nodded, not nearly as confident as he appeared, but feeling like it was important he did this. “I’m sure.”

He hopped off the side of Rotter, surprising Remy. Shocking the both of them was that Willow was a full head taller than the other boy, and a lot broader in build. The two teens stood in awkward silence as the great snake beast slithered away, with a good chunk of the villagers sending wary glances towards the curly haired youth left behind.

Remy gave an evaluative look of Willow’s new appearance. “You really weren’t joking around when you said you got turned into a boy. You’re positively massive now!”

Willow chuckled nervously. “I swap between my yin and yang forms depending on what I need or how I feel…” He trailed off, not entirely sure how to continue the conversation.

“So was there something in particular you wanted me for?”

That seemed to snap Remy out of his thoughts, and he became a bit flustered. “Right, that was terribly rude of me, sorry. I just saw that snake beast and got reminded of you, and hoped you were still traveling around with that wanderer woman.”

He grew a bit somber. “I wasn’t the biggest fan of how things ended between our families, and I was hoping you’d at least have dinner with us? I’m sure my parents would love to see you!”

Willow was less sure of that, but hoped his old friend was right. Hopefully time and distance had lessened some of Missus Faber’s more abrasive traits.

“Sure, I have some Wanderer work I need to do here, so I’ll at least be staying nearby for the night.” He tried to force a smile.

“Dinner with your family sounds like a lovely idea!” He lied.