The Thief

by Rama Nugraha

Guma led them into the cold sea. They passed through secret tunnels and then, they swam to the southern side of Fardas. As they reached land, the sky was unclouded, bright. It only took the night attire sixty second to dry itself, along with the owner’s whole being. On the contrary, Guma was still drenched. Guma gave the two Royans wide grey fabric which was hidden in a dirty corner of an abandoned broken ship.

  The fabric was meant to cover the night attire so that it would not react under the moonlight.

  They walked towards the empty shore where there were plenty of old coconut trees. Within the silence, amidst his chaotic mind, Datan heard a foreign sound from afar. The sound came along with the sound of the wave. White smoke filled the air in the southeast side of the sea. The smoke flew to the sky, covering the stars.

  Datan frowned, wondering if there was an eruption

  They arrived in an old square hut. The wall was made of stone and was decorated with craving by Guma. Those craving formed a picture of a school of fish with colorful scales. It looked like a sight from a stone aquarium. Guma opened the door and walked inside.

  Saltwater dripped from his clothing, creating puddles on the floor. The scent of volcanic stone welcomed the two guests. The furniture in the room was the typical belonging of an Urgut—a bit bigger. Datan threw away the damp clothing from earlier to a laundry basket. Sami did the same.

  “I’m sorry to say this, Mister Datan. But your action tonight was a mess,” Guma muttered as he closed the door. Briefly, he peeked outside through a window. He then closed the drape and walked towards the cupboard next to a fireplace to take out a towel. “They blockaded the land. I have to take you through the sea.”

  Sami put down his hood, taking off his teal Kirki which clung tightly in his right hand, holding it tight. “Next time, do that in midday!” he scolded, completely irritated. “For Unum, Datan! For Unum!”

  “Alright, Sam. My bad,” Datan admitted. He wiped his black hair as he threw himself to a sofa while sighing in exhaustion. It was hard to believe what happened actually happened. He wanted to swallow one or two pills to calm himself if there was such a thing. He lifted his head. “Thanks for saving us, Gum… eh, your nose…”

  Guma only frowned. He wiped his nose like he was used to it. “Ah, right. They said I am allergic to the sea air. That’s why my Elpa bleed,” he shrugged, looking at the now stained green towel. He chuckled. “Don’t worry Mister D, I’m alright.”

  Datan felt unsure that the diagnosis of his disease was on point. Something was clearly wrong with people’s health around here lately.

  “I have the same allergy,” Sami added, using the back of his left hand to rub his unshaved nostrils, thinking that he might have a nosebleed as well. “Ah, there are so many sick people in Fardas. Is Unum angry right now?”

  Guma smiled while Datan laughed dryly. In his ears, it sounded like the epitome of intelligence crisis. Even Aunt Fira admitted that most of Haedin people were known for their surrender towards Unum the Creator. They always prayed and ask. Never did they make an effort themselves. That was why Haedin people were far behind other race.

  Except for Father. Datan felt that Father saw things differently when it came to Unum. Somehow, for Father Unum was more than solely the Creator.

  Guma took firewoods from a metal basket. He lit the fire in the fireplace before excusing himself to change his clothes.

  Sami walked towards the fireplace and threw the Kirki to the blazing fire, letting the heat engulfed it. The color of the fire turned green the moment those beautiful feathers were burnt, they expanded in the embrace of the fire.

  Datan did not say anything as the Kirki met its end. It was just like one belonging to Father. Only Kirki made of the feather of Rukh bird could cause that effect.

  Datan asked Father once, about why Kirki had different feather and shape. Basically, Kirki was a symbol of their pride as a Haedin, just like Nimta for the Urgut people. Those garments were only used on special occasions like weddings, funerals, birthdays or wars.

  Kirki was made to suit the owner’s social stratum. It was made of Black-Tailed Seagul, Leaf Cockatoo, Red-eyed Eagle, or Sky Parrot. Decorations like gems and stones then added afterward. In many places, Kirki was not easy to find. One needed a special permit to make it.

  And Kirki made of Rukh bird’s feather was the most special one of all.

  Rukh was a giant omnivore bird. They were the second ruler of the sky. They lived in the highest mountain, unreachable by Neena’s hands. They flew high alone above the sky. Only some people managed to see Rukh. Often times, those who saw it was explorers. Rukh’s feather had a different color in different part of its body. Teal was from its thigh. People could only obtain the feather if they found a dead Rukh in the Frozen Mountain. As that fact passed through in his mind, Datan wondered how Sami could have that Kirki?

  Sami wiped his thin hair in the now dry head. “You met that woman, pan?” he asked, reaching for a fire iron to lifted the Kirki from the burning fire

  “Where were you last night, Sam? Why haven’t you caught her?”

  Sami took the Kirki out of the fire. His hand touched it as if the item had not just been burned. The feathers were now clearer than ever. Sami put the Kirki back on his head, instantly, he looked refreshed. He sat on a single sofa, whimpering. Sami stilled for a moment, and Datan could only watch him.

  “I tried, Datan,” he said, sounding unsure. “That woman, she—“

  “Are you afraid of her?”

  Sami took spit-up candy out of his pocket. “No, I am not,” he answered.

  Datan knew he was lying. Sami avoided eye contact with him. “I feel the same,” he admitted. He used the towel to cover his hair.

  Sami winced as he continued to chew.

  “But a Royan Two are supposed to be braver than a novice like me.”

  “She didn’t care who her preys are. She attacks everyone,” Sami said, finally returning Datan’s gaze. “For Unum, Datan. I am not afraid. I am just trying to collect myself. This woman is insane. She wasn’t like anyone I’ve ever fought before.

  “Nymeria, her name’s Nymeria,” Datan felt his heart boiled as he remembered that woman. “I called her Nay. Nay-nay.”

  Sami crooked an eyebrow. “You get to know her, pan?”

  “She forced me, that mad woman.”

  Datan told him what Nymeria after, about Zu which was now resting in his pocket, including how Nymeria brutally slaughtered the Red Necks in Thar Ubaga’s house, leaving only Joris the Wizard. Sami looked like he had just been hit by a piece of wood as he heard Datan’s report. Sami stood up, his eyes were widened, his lips were curving downwards. He refused to believe what he heard.

  “Red Necks are no easy opponent, Sam. That woman must have done something. The Anag probably helped her or… I don’t know.”

  “Still, I would get her,” Sami said tensely. Both of his hands were balled tightly.

  “Sam, we’ve fought before,” Datan began. He wanted to be honest. “I don’t mean to underestimate you but facing Nymeria is a lot more terrifying than facing you.”

  Sami dragged his feet to the window like strength had just left him. Sliding the thin curtain, he peeked to the serene night scenery outside. “I need to go to Thar Ubaga’s house to find her scent.”

  “Did you hear anything I said at all?”

  “I did hear you, Datan!” Sami exploded. “But you’re not supposed to look down on me. I cannot yield. I cannot let down Pollo or Kahisar Irirana.”

  “You might want to ease the pride, Sam. This woman could kill you,” Datan said straightforwardly. “Let me talk to them later.”

  “Royan operating code number 6: To back down is to trick. To stop is never on the line.”

  Datan sighed, ignoring the chanting. “This is just stupid,” he said. “Besides, Nymeria might have left Fardas. The law enforcement might have had the house surrounded if they wanted that woman captured.”

  “I could put on some disguise, to blend wit
h the citizen. Experience taught me a lot of things, Datan.”

  Datan was baffled. For a moment they lost in their own thought. Sami was indeed a stubborn man. Datan should have realized that he should not say too much. He held the towel which covered his throbbing head. How would he report all of this to Kanas and Irirana?

  The sound of crackling fire was the only sound in the room until Guma came out of his bedroom. He looked tired, his skin was yellowish under the lantern in the room. “We don’t have much time, gentlemen,” he said, massaging his nape while moving his head. “If they follow the protocol, they should close the access into and out of Fardas if something like this happened, for the sake of the investigation.”

  Datan did not say anything, he was distracted by the change of scent around him. It was not from the furniture in the room, it was from a newcomer. Something was wrong. Datan smelt the scent of sulfur from Guma’s body. He shivered when—

  He could not breathe.

  Datan squeezed his chest. He felt like he was being suffocated. His entire nerves tensed. Like a statue, his body fell forward and he collapsed on the floor. His body spasm and his teeth clattered. His body was on fire. In an instant, he was drenched in cold sweat, his eyes blinked fast as he lost his vision. Pain spread all over his skin.

  Datan was terrified and he felt hopeless. It felt like he was burnt in a metal cube, wanting to be executed. Within that fear, he saw again the chaos in Fardas in his head. Would he be banished from the League? Would he have to pay for all of the damage he caused in the town?

  Guma watched Datan in horror.

  Semi sighed. “Give him some saltwater, Guma,” he said calmly. “This is the side effect of Cercila. He must have used some earlier.”

  Guma went to the kitchen to get a glass of water mixed with salt. But as he tried to help Datan drink it, the Ingran man spurted it out.

  “What… did you get me?” Datan couched. He could not breathe. His tongue could not move properly. His body kept moving out of his control. Datan could only smell a foul odor. “Sewage water?”

  Sami and Guma exchange looks. They looked nervous. Sami tried to approach Datan, taking the glass form Guma’s hand, tasting the water himself. It was salty. Guma tasted the same thing. But Datan kept trashing around like a worm under a burning sun. Sami left the room only to come back with a bucket of water.

  He poured it over Datan twice.

  And once more.

  Datan glared at Sami. He was truly irritated, but he could do nothing. He could not stop his spasm and his joints stung. It felt like his muscles were about to explode.

  Guma widened his eyes. “Is that necessary, Sir Sami?”

  “No, not really,” Sami answered unsympathetically. “But this brat is ungrateful, Guma. He needs our help but look what he did! Insolent child! He even looked down on me earlier.”

  Guma chuckled bitterly.

  “Prepare some salt,” Sami continued. “His body experience an acute sodium deprivation.”

  “How many spoons, Sir?”

  “Just take the whole jar. We’ll force-feed him until his spasm stop,” Sami said apathetically. “For Unum, let’s just hope that would help him.”

  After swallowing three spoons of salt, Datan’s misery gradually subdued. He panted heavily. Cercila’s side effect. He did not want to think if that happened when he was being chased by Ferid. Datan crawled to lean his back to the wall as he straightened his legs, exhausted. He understood now why Pollo warned him not to rely on Cercila.

  Damn.

  Guma wiped the floor with a mop, using to bucket Sami brought to squeeze the water from the cloth. Datan, though, could not move. He took off the towel from his head then gave it back to Guma. He used his sleeve to wipe his face when the night attire had dried completely.

  “You’re lucky we’re here, Datan,” Sami said. He told him that Cercila was like a double-edged sword. It could heal all the wound but viciously, Cercila sucked sodium from the user’s blood and released a toxic substance called Artula. That was why the user would experience spasm and be drowned in paranoia. “Next time, take some salt with you. Drink a lot afterward. That’s the only way to neutralize the side effect.”

  “So, I can also pour water over—“

  “Enough,” Sami stopped him. “You started all of this. And don’t you dare to say something like that to me again, Brat.”

  Datan closed his mouth, reflecting on his mistake. He admitted that he barely had a filter when talking. He sighed, leaning his head to the wall, closing his eyes as the image of what happened earlier flashed in his head. He supposed to be drinking Naqi to celebrate the success of his mission by now.

  Datan thought of Nymeria. His body quivered in anger and restlessness. Why did it feel like Nymeria truly know so much about Zu comparing to the League? What did she mean before Datan threw her off the window? Who was she?

  “Tell me when you’ve captured Nymeria, Sam,” Datan muttered, wiping his unshaved face. “I need to talk to her.”

  Sami who was looking outside of the window, while chewing spit-up candy for the second time, only nodded.

  Datan turned around, looking at Guma awkwardly. “I’m sorry Guma,” he said. “And for all of Fardas people.”

  Loud bangs in the door startled them. Someone outside called for Guma. The air tensed. Datan stood up and Sami walked away from the window, swallowing the candy whole. They quickly hid in Guma’s room at the end of a small corridor. Guma peeked through the peephole while one of Sami’s eyes watched over his reaction from the corner of the room.

  When Guma opened the door, a man with a strong posture and silver hair entered the room.

  “Bill, pan?!” Sami exclaimed. Instantly, he walked out of the room.

  Bill the former Security Sher of Fardas took off his black traveling robe which was enough to cover a whole bed. He wiped his sweat in his forehead which was covered in face powder and golden flakes. He held his heaving chest, sitting in the long stone sofa. He looked up to see Sami in the eyes, while Guma ran to the kitchen to fetch the newcomer some water.

  “I know you were here,” he jabbed. “You’re insane, Sami!”

  Datan swallowed. He could smell sulfur from Bill’s body, and he could already tell what he was here to say.

  “Thar Ubaga is dead! A Royan—“ Bill glanced at Datan who emerged from Sami’s back. He gasped, “You! You are the one running around the city with mad Ferid?!”

  Datan knees wobbled. He nodded hopelessly.

  Bill frowned deeply. “You killed Thar Ubaga?” he accused.

  “No, he did not, Bill,” Sami defended him with forced calmness. “He encountered the woman we hunt. That woman killed Thar Ubaga.”

  Bill looked like he had a heart attack. His lips turned blue.

  “I don’t have any motive to kill the Thar, Bill,” Datan said.

  Bill was taken aback, he was torn whether to take his words or not. He looked down and he pulled his oily reddish blond hair. “What would Lucas said about this, Sami?” he whined miserably.

  Sami opened one of the buttons in the collar of his night attire as if it started to choke him. “I will catch this woman, Bill, and she will admit her crime. She has to,” he said with a sullen face. “Give me some time.”

  “I have given you time! More than a week!”

  “That woman, she… she really knows what she’s doing, Bill.”

  Bill hopped to his feet, walking closer. His index finger was pointed at Sami. He looked like a giant now. “I don’t care, Sami. My name is on the line here!” he shouted. “Catch that woman or I’ll report to Jaco how terrible you are at your job!”

  Sami blinked in disbelief.

  Bill panted. The anger had sucked out his energy. He sat back down to the chair, reaching for the glass in the table and drink the entire content in one go that some water dripped to his silver braided goatee. Bill took his time just to breathe before finally wiping his goatee with the back of his hand. He gave the two Royans in the
room another look.

  Datan understood how dire the situation was. A report to Jaco affected how a Royan was assessed. A bad assessment could cause a reduction in rewards and to be demoted to a lower rank.

  “Will you actually do that, pan?” Sami muttered.

  “I am worried about Fardas’ future, Sami,” Bill said tiredly. “This situation will only get worse. It’s just a matter of time until the people protested, demanding an explanation. The Sher will be indignant. They will hang me for this!” Bill sounded like he was about to cry.

  “Nonsense! They won’t do that, Bill. That’s too much!”

  Bill clacked his tongue, his face reddened. “Oh, is that so? How can you be so sure? People lost their temper when ones they love being stabbed in the neck! Don’t you know that the Black Tongue is filled with people now?” he spat. “They were looking for you or any other Royan there, it seems. They want your heads too.”

  Datan felt that it got hard to breathe.

  “There are only the two of us now in Fardas,” Sami stated, then he sounded curious. “How do they know about the Black Tongue, pan?”

  Bill shrugged, “How should I know?”

  “Uh, you should not forget. The Royans has full authority of Fardas, Bill,” Sami exclaimed sharply. “We have immunity! They shall not do anything to the Black Tongue.”

  “Immunity for thievery, not for killing the Thar.”

  “It wasn’t us, Bill!” Sami nearly screamed. The glass in the window vibrated because of his voice. “That woman did!”

  “Don’t you shout to my face, Sami,” Bill threatened furiously. “You keep saying that, but now I start to wonder, where’s the proof of your innocence? There’s nothing! As far as I know, there was no witness.”

  The air in the room felt heavy and suffocating. Bill’s reaction was expected. He could not just take the Royan’s words just like that.

  “Alright! You look into it then,” Sami challenged. “Called the Trail Tracker. Find the facts and let them decide if my friend here is guilty or not!”

  Datan’s heart raced even faster. He could not say anything and felt like a moron. His thievery mission had made it difficult for many people. He was glad, though, that Sami was on his side.