Chapter 190 — One Roof on the Way Home

The market noise thinned by degrees rather than disappearing all at once.

For the first stretch, Nia could still hear sellers calling behind them whenever the road curved close to the outer stalls. Travelers passed in both directions with baskets, tied hides, reed bundles, and empty carrying frames. A pair of men coming toward the market stepped aside for Kael's larger load, then continued without more than a brief greeting.

Nia walked between Kael and Shen until the packed market road widened enough for them to spread out.

The basket against her back was not especially heavy, but she noticed every step now that they were leaving instead of arriving. Nia had spent two days crossing seller paths, standing at boards, crouching beside goods, and moving between the sleeping platform and the market. The strap sat correctly across her shoulder, yet the pressure beneath it seemed sharper than it had that morning.

She adjusted it, and Shen noticed.

“It is not twisted,” Nia said before he could speak. “I checked.”

“I saw. I was going to ask whether the pressure is irritating your skin.”

Nia glanced at him. Shen was carrying one of the return baskets, and the added weight changed his stride only slightly.

“It is irritating the skin a little near the outside edge, but not at the top.”

“Tell me if it starts rubbing instead of pressing.”

“I will.”

Kael looked back from several steps ahead and slowed until they caught him. “We stop before it rubs.”

Nia looked from one husband to the other. “I said I would tell you.”

“Yes.”

Kael continued beside her rather than returning to the front, and Nia kept walking with a small smile.

The farther they moved from the market, the fewer sellers they met. The market road joined the travel route they had followed on the way out, with old wheel cuts hardened along one side and new footprints crossing them. At a fork beside a low cluster of gray stone, Nia took the left branch without slowing.

Shen moved with her. Kael glanced down the right branch before joining them.

Nia looked at him. “Did I choose correctly?”

“Yes.”

“I remembered the stones.”

Kael nodded toward the road ahead. “The ground is better on this side too.”

Nia looked more closely. The other branch dipped where water had cut a shallow channel through the center, while the road beneath them stayed firmer along the rise.

A group of four travelers overtook them before midday. The woman walked without a basket while three males divided the loads among them, two using shoulder poles and one carrying a wide woven pack. One of the poles squeaked with every fourth or fifth step.

The woman looked back after they passed.

“If that keeps making that sound, I am leaving it beside the road.”

The male beneath the front end of the pole shifted his shoulder. “You said that before the last hill.”

“It sounded less terrible before the last hill.”

“It is not breaking.”

“I did not say it was breaking. I said I am tired of listening to it.”

The men behind her laughed, and the group continued up the road.

Nia watched them gain distance. “That would drive me crazy too.”

“You can hear what is causing it from here?” she asked.

“I can. The binding is dry and rubbing against the pole.”

Nia listened until the squeak faded after the travelers passed the bend. Knowing the cause did not make the sound any less irritating.

They stopped near midday beneath a stand of broad-limbed trees where the ground stayed dry above the road. Other travelers had already used the place. An old fire circle sat cold near one trunk, and someone had stacked three pieces of dry wood beneath a stone ledge for the next person.

Kael set his basket down first. “Yours next.”

Nia bent her knees before sliding the strap away. Kael took the weight as soon as it left her shoulders and lowered the basket beside his own. Nia groaned at the immediate relief.

Shen came behind her. “Let me see.”

Nia turned so he could inspect the place she had described earlier. He moved the edge of her clothing just enough to see the skin beneath the strap line.

“It is red, but the surface is intact.”

“That is what it feels like.”

Shen ran two fingers lightly beside the irritated area without pressing directly over it. “The strap has been pressing the same place for too long. We can shift it before we leave.”

Nia rolled one shoulder while Kael opened the food wrapping.

“Sit,” Kael said.

She sat against the tree trunk while Shen lowered his own basket. Kael passed her water first, then a portion of the cool road food they had kept separate from the market purchases.

Nia took a long drink before eating.

The food was simple after several days of travel, but it was familiar. She had not realized how much she wanted something from their own preparation until the first bite.

Kael sat beside her with one knee raised. Shen settled on her other side after checking the outer ties on his basket.

Nia ate for a while before speaking. “I am glad we went. I am also glad we are going home.”

“That can happen at the same time,” Shen said.

“I know. I liked the market. I liked seeing how much was there.” Nia leaned her head against the tree. “I also want my bath.”

After another bite, she added, “I want my bed too.”

Shen passed her a second piece of food. “You want your kitchen too.”

“Yes. I want that too.”

Nia finished eating and rubbed her palm over her thigh. “I want to try the pierced vessel first.”

Shen drank before answering. “You mean with the water below the holes.”

“Yes. I want to see how quickly steam reaches the food space before I decide what belongs in it.”

Kael glanced toward the baskets. “Not tonight.”

“I know. I mean when we are home.”

Nia rolled her shoulder again. “Before that, I want my bath.”

Kael passed her the water container.

They rested longer than they had on the outward journey.

Kael did not rush them when another group passed on the road. Shen adjusted Nia's strap while she sat, shifting the pressure slightly inward and checking the knot after she stood. Nia tested it with several steps around the dry ground before they lifted the baskets again.

“That is better.”

Shen checked where the strap lay. “It should stay away from the irritated line.”

Kael lifted the largest basket onto his back and waited until Nia had settled hers.

They returned to the road.

By afternoon, Nia's legs felt heavier than her basket. Kael slowed near fresh mud at the road edge and stepped aside to inspect a shallow hoof print where the earth had broken.

Nia stopped several paces ahead. “Did an animal make that?”

“Three passed this morning.”

“Were they large?”

“Medium. They left the road here.”

Kael checked the trees once, then returned without changing their route.

A little later Shen came beside Nia and touched the lower edge of her basket.

“The right side of your basket is dropping.”

Nia shifted her shoulder. “I can feel it.”

“The knot has not moved. You are leaning.”

Nia straightened and realized he was right. “My legs are tired.”

“We can stop again.”

“I do not need to stop yet. Tell me if I start doing it again.”

“I will.”

Shen brushed the back of her arm before falling into step beside her. Kael shortened his pace ahead of them, and the three continued at the slower rhythm.

They reached the trade shelter while there was still light under the roof.

Nia recognized the loose side screen before she saw the full structure. Someone had tied an extra strip of cord around its lower edge since their first night, though the upper corner still shifted whenever wind came through the open side.

Several travelers had already claimed sections of the platform.

A woman near the far wall was repairing the mouth of a split basket while one of her husbands fed narrow reed pieces through the damaged weave. Two men closer to the entrance had stretched their sleeping cloths beneath a beam and were cleaning mud from their feet before eating. Near the center, an older male turned a pair of damp foot wrappings beside a low fire while another traveler added a small piece of wood.

No one paid much attention when Nia, Kael, and Shen entered.

Kael checked the roof, the platform edge, and the side opening before choosing a section near the wall. “This one.”

Nia lowered her basket before he could reach for it and sat beside it.

Shen knelt in front of her. “Your left step shortened during the last stretch. Give me your foot.”

Nia lifted it toward him while Kael set the largest basket near the wall.

Shen removed her foot wrapping carefully and ran his thumb along the side of her foot without pressing the sore place first. “There is no blister.”

Nia exhaled. “That is good.”

“The skin is warm along this edge.”

He pressed more firmly.

Nia pulled back with a hiss. “That hurts.”

“That is the place.”

Shen eased his pressure. “The soreness is deeper than the surface. You are finished walking for today.”

Nia looked around the shelter. “I was already planning to stop here.”

Kael sat behind her and drew her back against his chest. Nia let her weight settle against him while Shen wrapped her foot again, loosening the section that had pressed the sore area. Then he checked the irritated strap line on her shoulder. The redness had not worsened.

More travelers entered while Shen finished.

The basket-repairing woman tested the new weave by pushing both hands against the repaired side. One husband disagreed with the shape and redid two reeds while she watched. Near the fire, the older traveler traded a dry piece of wood for a small portion of food from someone who had more. Two new arrivals disagreed quietly over the space near the side screen until one moved his mat three steps and ended the matter.

Shen opened their food. Kael kept Nia against him while he accepted his portion with his free hand.

Nia looked at the three baskets lined near the wall. “Everything made it this far.”

Kael looked toward them too. “The road was good.”

Shen sat beside them and handed Nia her food. They ate while the shelter dimmed around them, listening to other travelers settle their loads and divide their own meals.

Afterward, Shen checked the purchased grain bundles without opening them. He pressed the cloth around each bundle to make sure neither had taken dampness, then placed both back inside the dry-food basket.

Kael examined the basket carrying the clay vessel. One fold of cushioning had flattened against the vessel during the road. He worked the cloth back around the clay, checked that the vessel had neither shifted nor cracked, then closed the basket again.

Nia watched from the sleeping cloth. “I can help.”

“You can help with the morning load,” Kael said. “Rest your foot now.”

Shen sat beside her and handed her the water.

Nia drank, then passed it back.

The light beyond the shelter faded while people settled into their claimed spaces. Conversations softened. Someone near the entrance laughed once before another traveler told him to lower his voice. The low fire near the center remained small, more useful for drying damp wrappings than heating the whole shelter.

Kael spread their sleeping cloths, and Nia moved onto them without argument.

Her shoulder, thighs, left foot, and lower back all ached. She stretched out carefully and let the sleeping cloth support her.

Shen lay on one side of her. Kael settled on the other.

Nia turned onto her side and tucked herself against Kael's chest. Shen moved closer behind her and rested a hand lightly at her waist. When the wind shifted the loose screen, the roof creaked above them.

Shen adjusted the sleeping cloth near Nia's feet so it did not press the sore place.

Nia made a tired sound and tucked her face closer against Kael. He kissed the top of her head.

She lifted her face and kissed him in return. The kiss was brief and warm, without urgency. When she settled again, Shen leaned closer, and Nia turned enough to kiss him too before resting between them.

Outside the shelter, another group reached the platform after dark and began setting baskets and carrying frames near the entrance. Nia listened to the muted scrape of loads against wood while Kael kept her close and Shen warmed her back.

She fell asleep before the new arrivals finished arranging their things.