Benashter
With some effort, Li Hua managed to communicate to the merchant that she was looking for a place to stay. That night, Li Hua was guided to a small building, that can hardly be called an inn. She would later learn this was the standard place for merchants who had to stay a night or two in town - though it saw little use and was rather unkempt.
Regardless, beggars can't be choosers - and so Li Hua bore with the rather uncomfortable conditions. It was still beating out what she had experienced in Aderun.
----
Days passed.
Li Hua - by some twist of events - found herself staying in town. The few goods she hadn't buried were sufficient for bartering with the merchants that came by on a regular basis. From these foreign merchants, she bought her weekly necessities.
The rest of her time was focused on getting a grasp on the language of this land. She remembered vaguely hearing from Balshad during their travels that Ghanbar stretched to the west, but they all spoke the same tongue. She would come to learn it was called Dural.
It was also good that she only made humble purchases. There was never a target on her back. The sword she carried probably also helped. Conversely, her appearance was elegant enough however that the merchants gave her a fair chance, thinking she had some wealth to her name.
Overall, it was a slow life. Most days she would simply loiter around public spaces, occasionally trying to speak with the locals. Any time she wasn't doing this, she would meditate and continue her sword practice. She still carried Balshad's notes about Sedoric-Krissh translation, but she had already exhausted the introductory text, and simply began memorizing it so that she did not lose her knack for Sedoric.
After a few weeks, the small community of about a thousand people were generally used to her presence, and began to approach her on their own as she learned the language better.
This whole time, she lived in that small renovated building. It had originally been a stables, so perhaps her surviving horse was more comfortable than Li Hua herself.
---
After three weeks in town, a nice older woman invited Li Hua to stay in her home. She apparently had empty space, since her two sons had left to seek other work. The woman was clearly in need of company.
Li Hua was surely grateful, and helped around the place in exchange.
---
After two months had passed, the season would soon change. Li Hua decided it best to leave before then.
She now had a better grasp on Dural than she had previously had on Sedoric. Still, she had gaps. The environment of this small town wasn't unfriendly, but people were busy, and she had plenty of time to practice, but only a few times per day to increase her learning.
The merchants were actually more helpful in this regard. This town had a lot of them coming by. The place had meager agricultural capabilities, and it was supported by local settlements.
Li Hua had not been able to get a physical map, however she had managed to sketch out her own estimation of some parts of the Kingdom. The merchants who came by were often willing to correct her in a few places, perhaps lightly entertained by the quaint activity.
Her plan as of now, was to head to Abarion. This seemed to be the place that would be most comfortable for her. Her reasons included the following:
- That she was a foreigner, and though the Krissh had little presence in Ghanbar, Abarion was known as an intercultural nexus point.
- She had goods to sell, that could not be reasonably or safely sold in a small town like this
- There was much she needed to learn, and this small town had few opportunities for learning
- Looking to the future, if she was going to be here for some years while war raged in her homeland, she should make the most of it. Abarion would be a good stage for her.
- Abarion would be the best place to find a caravan willing to bring her back to her homeland, when it was time for her to return.
- Li Hua was NOT aware of this, but the moment she heard the name 'Abarion' she felt an unconscious pull to that location....
---
The day eventually came. A larger group of merchants came by. A small caravan, rather than independent visiting traders. It might be a month before another group of similar capacity visited. They even had a single guardsman. Li Hua made her plea, and offered some payment.
She was accepted. The merchants had been tense and a bit suspicious, but the guardsman had noticed she carried a sword and had told his companions that her movements suggested she was capable, and that it wouldn't hurt them to have a second protector. Basically, he had vouched for her.
As she left, Li Hua made her first - and last - 'large' purchase in Benashter. She bought a second horse to replace the one that Xiang Di had killed in his madness, as well as a high-quality cart. These things were available, as Benashter was a town with an economic focus on horse ranching and its externalities (like specialized carpentry and repairs for carts/carriages).
She joined the caravan, which was headed to a local town. The merchants turned out to be very relieved she had bought her own transportation. Perhaps they had been worried that she might pilfer from them if they let her ride with their goods.
Eventually, the caravan set off.
It was a short journey of only a couple days, but Li Hua made much progress in her understanding of the region.
The guard on the journey had been eager to spar with her just once. If she accepted, he would prove to not be as skilled as her, but they would have a better relationship. He would tell her about his life - a self-taught soldier from the north - which would be helpful for her studies.
The caravan arrived in Kuracos. It was a much larger settlement, and more advanced as well. Li Hua was more comfortable here. This place was reminescent to her home town of Mazan in terms of development.
(---> Kuracos)