"I'm sorry, Wus Wus, right now we can't know what is happening over there." His ponytail fluttered in the night air.
"Yeah, because they blocked the path!"
"They could have just given us passage..." His gaze pierced through the tall trees ahead. "Yet they still stubbornly refuse to let us through!"
He rested his face sideways against his horse's thick coat, though it felt far from comfortable due to the jolts as the horse trudged steadily forward. "Oh well, Wus Wus, for now let's find a safe place to spend the night. After that, we'll plan our trip to the Kecot Inn and Tavern..."
Now looking sideways, he was almost asleep atop his horse, which was thirsty for exploration. "I'm sure we will get some information once we arrive there..."
He lifted his body back up. "If possible, let me reach the border first tonight..." He then pulled the reins. "Come on, Wus Wus, faster!"
Just then, mid-journey, he saw a shimmer again. A shimmer like the one he had previously seen in the sky on his way to the slope, but this time it was on the ground, and its color was gold.
"What's that?"
He slowed his horse's pace and directed it toward the shimmer. Step by step, as he drew closer, his eyes narrowed. Ever more clearly, he saw what looked like a smear of pure gold glistening in the reflection of the sky's light on the surface of the ground. The streak resembled thick ink, yet far too thick for ordinary ink. Its shape was like an apple-sized coffee bean.
He dismounted from his horse, hurried to crouch down, and touched it.
"This is a track! ...Hmm..." His fingers touching the surface tried to detect the texture of the footprint while he closed both eyes.
Recalling his knowledge as a handler and animal lover with a fair amount of expertise regarding various species, he managed to remember the creature's name. "This is the track of a Dadung Kawilis!"
Knowing that the creature was made of pure gold, a cheerful smile instantly lit up his face, and he looked back at his horse, which was merely standing still.
"Wus Wus, you know, my whole life I've dreamed of meeting this beautiful creature..."
He paused. "Hmm, but it's strange..." The hairs on his wrist felt as though they were standing on end, spreading to his shoulders and down his back. Solor shivered.
"This creature is an ancient animal that hasn't been seen for a very long time." He stood up and approached his horse.
His strapped sandals pressed against the surrounding rocks and earth. His hand reached for his horse's reins, while his eyes swept slowly, gazing far into the dark spaces between the trees. "Impossible..." His gaze froze, then returned to the footprint on the ground.
"One of the creatures that lived thousands of years ago is revealing itself now?"
Solor had a bad feeling. However, his fear dissolved when he remembered the creature he so admired—whose entire body was made of pure gold.
He pulled and led his horse toward the footprint. Now crouching down again, he examined it from a closer distance.
"There's no mistake, this is indeed the track of a Dadung Kawilis..." His fingers stroked it, occasionally scraping at it.
His index finger bore a trace like golden dust sticking to it, which he brought closer to his eyes.
"This is gold, Wus Wus." He stood up, placing his index finger near his eyes, then showed it to his horse. However, the horse remained motionless.
He looked back down at the track again and bent over. "Hmm... there's no depression..." Solor intended to point this out to his horse beside him. "Does this creature float or something? Look! There seems to be no pressure on the ground!" He asked his horse, which only replied with a rolling side-glance.
Solor straightened his posture. Now he broadened his smile in sheer awe. "...This is a special moment... if we can find this creature, Wus Wus..."
He moved again while leading his horse. Bending slightly to examine and trace the tracks, he found another footprint, and yet another over there.
The distance between the tracks was random; some were very far apart, some short, and others normal. He carefully monitored the ground surface displaying the footsteps that were actually leading away from Sakadian.
"This creature will truly make us rich for seven generations, Wus Wus... Because it is made of abundant pure gold..."
His smile turned gloomy. His beard tilted slightly to the left, and his forehead furrowed.
"But it is dangerous."
He continued tracing. "When we follow this creature, we will encounter something that will put us in harm's way." He stopped.
"No... that's a bad idea." Solor shook his head, then tapped his horse's forehead with his index finger, as if blaming the horse for suggesting they follow the ancient golden creature.
His hand stroked the underside of his mustache and his straight, pointed beard that tapered down his neck while he pondered. "Hmm... Even though we would get an abundance of gold, we still don't know the risks ahead caused by whatever this creature brings about."
He looked at his horse again, then brought his face close until it nearly touched the horse's nose. "That creature is dangerous to follow!" he barked. He blamed his horse once more, as if the horse kept insisting on searching for the ancient golden creature. In reality, the horse had just been standing quietly without reacting at all.
"...Mm... I think we should just learn, WHERE DID THIS CREATURE COME FROM?" he continued as he mounted his horse again.
Solor had changed his mind. Instead of following the tracks to their destination to hunt for gold, his admiration sparked an even greater curiosity.
Solor turned around. Rather than following the tracks to their end, he retraced them in the opposite direction—seeking where the ancient golden creature had originated.
A moment later, as he rode his horse back along the trail of tracks, he found that the footprints originated from behind the giant mound of the landslide.
"Huh... it came from over there?"
Solor searched for the tracks again with great care. His eyes swept every inch of the ground, leaving no sign unnoticed.
After finding the golden glimmers, he headed toward a gentle slope. He saw several golden tracks gleaming under the sky's reflection, leading toward a terrain that was easy for him and his horse to traverse.
He followed the path of tracks despite having a hard time spotting them at times. It turned out the path he took was indeed manageable for this four-legged creature.
Solor urged his horse into a run, riding up onto the ridge of the landslide. A track or two were still visible on the dried dirt trail spanning the width of the landslide area.
He looked up, facing Sakadian, which felt ever closer. "It came from there?" Solor stroked his horse's neck, then galloped fast once again across and down the landslide mound until he reached the forest.
Inside the forest, he followed a white footpath partially covered by dirt. Solor raised his head for a long moment. He gazed at the tall beam of light towering closer now, standing proudly like a lonely, stray aurora.
"Sshh... sshh..." He pulled the reins gently, slowing his horse's run.
From a distance, obscured among the tall trees and bushes, he saw many guards standing alert around a gate illuminated by torchlight.
Several people were riding horses along the white path, entering; others were coming out.
Solor's gaze swept over every inch of the ground around him once more. He tried to relocate the golden creature's tracks, but they had vanished.
He turned his face toward the crowd of people over there.
Then, he approached.
His horse trotted slowly. Getting closer, guards in white uniforms equipped with weapons and protective gear could be seen standing neatly in line, facing the forest. Beyond the gate—formed by two stone pillars made of andesite with red brick ornaments—white shelter tents and crowds of people were faintly visible, illuminated by fire post lanterns and torches carried by passersby.
"Halt...!"
Solor dismounted from his horse.
"Where are you from!" Two guards walked briskly toward Solor.
Solor looked up at the approaching guards. They were tall, wearing Alliance uniforms just like the squad commander from the trail-clearing team earlier—looking noble and elegant. "I'm from here..."
"Where are you from!" The guard repeated firmly, bending down to quickly search Solor.
"Yes... Search me then, I have nothing..." He spread both arms while holding out a yellowish stone, but it was ignored by the guard who kept searching him.
Before long, the guard confiscated two small sickles wrapped in leather sheaths, a coil of flexible leather rope, and a fire starter stone.
"Are you serious...? You're taking my fire starter?"
"This is dangerous. Everything will be returned after the punishment process is over," the guard answered sternly.
Solor turned down the corners of his lips.
After that, he was permitted to enter the village and was escorted up to the gate.
Upon reaching the archway, as he walked in leading his horse, his eyes took in an unusual sight. Amidst several guards in Alliance uniforms stood refuge tents. A few somber-faced people spoke in low voices, but Solor caught the note of anxiety in their whispers. He turned his head slightly; a short distance away, several people carried torches that swung in their hands, casting dancing, flickering shadows across the rubble of collapsed and tilting red-brick walls.
"That earthquake earlier was indeed catastrophic..."
His horse neighed softly, as if sensing the tension in the air. Solor patted its neck, trying to calm it down.
As he rounded a bend, Solor's gaze froze.
By the roadside, a family sat beneath a tree that was on the verge of falling: a father, a mother, and two small children. Their bodies were unkempt, their faces covered in dust, and their eyes hollow like empty shells without a soul.
From that dark, dim corner, a man watched Solor's steps and tried to follow him.
Upon seeing Solor's short body and curved ponytail walking alongside his horse, he recognized the figure. "Are you Solor, the swamp keeper?"
Solor nodded. "I am."
The man's eyes immediately filled with tears. "Thank goodness..."
He let his body drop. His black udeng and white shirt were filthy with dust. Solor's eyes rested briefly on the man's scraped hands before the man gripped both of Solor's hands tightly. "I don't know who else to turn to for help."
"What happened, exactly?"
The man turned toward a joglo house surrounded by a sea of villagers. "A young man saved our village." His words trailed off, his teary eyes staring at Solor, trembling with hope. "Now they are going to execute him."
Before long, an old man approached while holding his grandchild's hand.
"...So it's true, you are Solor, the swamp keeper?" The grandfather's hoarse voice sounded from closer up. He gently stroked Solor's horse. "If it weren't for him... my grandchild and I would have been buried by the landslide."
The man in the white shirt looked at the grandfather who had just approached, then released his grip. Moving into a squatting position, he looked back at Solor. "Now... I can't even save him."
"That's right..." A middle-aged man stepped out from a dark corner. He was the father who had been brooding with his family earlier, now standing and staring at Solor. "We owe our lives to that young man."
Solor looked at each of their faces one by one. "If so... why is no one helping him?"
The grandfather's hand touched Solor's shoulder. "...Because we are just ordinary folk."
Solor clenched his fist, his head bowed with eyes closed. Beside his standing horse, Solor moved, extending his hand. His fingers touched each of them in turn, then wiped them across his own chest—a gesture signifying that their feelings were now with him.
Solor remained silent, carefully observing the situation. "Phew, let me head over there first," Solor said while pulling the reins and leading his horse toward the joglo building already encircled by a massive crowd of people.
"Mother..."
"Is that uncle going to save Brother Randu?"
Solor's steps paused for a moment.
There was no answer.
All that could be heard was the mother's quiet sobbing as she held her child closer.
Solor took a deep breath, then stepped forward once more.