"What?" I asked and she blinked, startled.
"No, it's just..." she said, and licked her lips. "That was a very clean note. I mean, it can be hard to get clean notes if you've never played before. It's possible, sure, but even I don't play that clean, and I've had at least some practice."
"So you're saying you think I've played before?" I asked. Rosa nodded slowly, deliberately, staring at the flute in my hands.
"Play something," she said.
"What exactly do you suppose I play?" I asked, slightly amused by the eagerness of her request. "I don't exactly remember any songs."
"I know, just... play something."
I shrugged, and brought the flute back on my lips. I tried to empty my mind, to get the music out of me without thinking about whether or not I remembered it. I inhaled deeply through my nose and blew.
The notes started to stream out, at first a bit clumsily and without a tune, but then seeming to catch the end of something, becoming more purposeful. My fingers were moving on their own, knowing where to be based on pure muscle memory, and I let my mind concentrate on listening. The tune was quick, like a rapid current on a river, flowing an gushing. It told an exciting story, a fast paced tale of adventure, and it sent shivers down my spine as it slowed down slightly, calming down for moment, rising higher and higher before dropping down again with a crash, and fading into nothingness.
The following silence was intense, pressing at me from all sides and I would have been embarrassed if I wasn't so shocked and out of breath.
"Fuck," said Custos, the word so loaded with emotion it only added to the intensity. But really there was nothing else that we could say.
"Yeah, I think that confirms you are a piper," said Rosa, dazed. "Or at least have been at some point. Or had the training to be one anyway."
"That song..." said Meera, frowning. "It felt... familiar."
"Really?" I said, staring at the flute in my hand. "It wasn't for me. Not consciously anyway. Apparently my fingers remembered it just fine though."
"One mystery after another," said Rosa, shaking her head. "Hopefully we'll be able get some answers soon."
"We could start with the man," I said, bringing us back to the issue we'd been talking about before this tangent about pipers and flutes. "Rosa you still have the map Luna gave you?"
"Yep, let me just go get it," she said as she walked over to her bag.
"Is Luna alright?" asked Meera, worry in her eyes.
"Oh, yes, she's fine," I said. "She's been rather worried about you though. She's helped us out a lot when we've been looking for you. Lent us a map and horses."
"Ah yes, they were Luna's horses," said Meera, smiling now. "I thought they looked familiar. I've ridden them before, together with Luna."
"Here we go!" said Rosa, spreading the map on the table. We all gathered around it.
"Where exactly are we?" I asked, following our journey last night with my eyes. From Corsilva to Pinsdell, and then west...
"Here," said Rosa, dragging her finger from Pinsdell down a road going southwest, past two towns and into the forest covering the entire southern part of the map. Her finger turned east as it hit the edge of the river and traveled for a moment before stopping. There was nothing on the map, just forest. "Custos's cottage isn't on any normal maps, which is part of why I thought it would be smart to come here. If our location can't be found on a map, it makes finding us a lot harder."
"That makes sense," I said, studying the rest of the map. "So, where do you think the man is?" I asked Meera. She was quiet for a moment, her eyes roaming the map.
"Here."
________________________________________________________
I can't be bothered to figure out where exactly they're gonna go next. It's kinda short I know, but here's a map to make it better:
 |
| A map! |
Pie out.
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