"Take me to him."
Shilin now pointed to himself and then to the pendant. The boy, who was quick to understand, took a few seconds to think before making a gesture of his head being cut off.
"Don't tell me…"
He then gestured as if it wasn't that bad and pointed to his sandal and then to his butt.
"Kid… don't scare me like that!"
It took a bit of time, but at least the boy had signal to him that following a certain trail for three days would lead him to a village that had something to do with the pendant.
"Thank you… my young friend… Matla...lihuitlelki, yup… sorry but that was my best."
The boy laughed before repeating his name. He then picked up the bow and ten arrows that were tied up neatly and passed them to Shilin.
Shilin did not know what to say. Of course, the primitive weapon would help him, especially now that he had to hunt for meals for an entire three days.
"I guess there is no choice. Thanks, Matlalihuitl. Ha, there, I said it. Now I really need to go, bud." He began to wave to the boy, who nodded and stood in place as Shilin went toward the direction he was told.
Wearing only a loincloth was not the best way to meet new people, so Shilin hoped to hunt at least a couple of large creatures—enough to earn a little gold and buy a decent pair of pants to replace the makeshift cover he'd fashioned from oversized leaves. Slapping mosquitoes off his nads was starting to annoy him.
His torso was at least a little muscular, and with six abs to boot, it wouldn't be bad showing that much, right?
Shilin sighed. He was already getting bored now that he had left the only friend—if you could call the boy that—he'd had for nearly a year. The kid had seemed mature for his age, probably someone Shilin wouldn't have minded keeping around to teach something from his twelve long lives.
"At least I didn't have to talk to myself for a few hours…"
Shilin continued, trying to recover his spirit. He began to whistle as he strolled, following a certain path that clearly marked a simple road created by people walking through the same part for years or even decades.
Along the way, he spotted a variety of animals—from deer, quails, and rabbits to dangerous ones like snakes and spiders. These kept him on edge. He had no idea what he would do if bitten now that he was back to being a weak mortal.
What had stumped Shilin the most were the weird torches which radiated green energy around the trails. They were simple, yet he felt something strong within each one. They could not be touched, as a strong gust of wind would push away all those who tried.
He did get close enough to see that a feather was encased within each one with a type of crystal. Shilin quit trying to take one after a few tries and returned to heading towards the town he was told would lead him to the flying serpent.
Along the way, he saw a few others who took the path—mostly men with backpacks made out of leather and hides, as well as some who, like Shilin, did not have a coin to their name.
It was during the third day of his journey that he met trouble. Three guards stopped him as he tried walking through a large gate. He hoped they would not bother him, as others crossed without problems, but these three ganged up on him, and he wondered why.
It wasn't hard to figure out after one guard tugged lightly on his pendant. Like the boy's, the guards had one—but made of gold—that showed a feathered serpent in greater detail.
"Ah, damn it, I forgot to ask for one…" he said to himself while lightly doing a facepalm.
"Well gentlemen… I hope you can understand me and know that… that… I lost my pendant in the forest."
Shilin tried to perform a small drama about how a beast had attacked him. He scratched the air as if he had claws and mimicked having a necklace torn from his neck and falling to the floor.
"How about it, was my acting convincing enough?" Shilin asked, knowing his words would probably not get through.
"Inin tlakatl se kualtsin tlahtoh," said one of the guards while scratching his head.
"Ahmo nimitz-neki, acah nekamehmoa," Shilin heard the other say while trying to hold back a laugh.
"Hey, I might not understand, but you must be talking about me…" Shilin tried to act sad, making the third guard laugh harder.
"So… can you… let me… pass?" Shilin began by pointing to himself and then to the open gates.
"Tlen tinemi? Tekitl ipan quiz?" said the first guard, who was probably the leader, as he had the skin of some large, speckled cat on his back.
"Tlen ipampa yek tlapatl amo teihs qui moctlaliz ceh nemiyotl ipampa iknotekayotl ihuan yek quizquiz?" the second guard answered as Shilin was about to go crazy trying to understand all the words being spoken.
As soon as the guard said that, the third pointed to one of his prized kills that he knew would sell very well. Shilin wanted to curse but stopped himself just before he snapped.
"Fine… fine, take it, here…" he mumbled while clenching his jaw. He tried to contain his expression from showing anger, as it would no doubt get him into trouble.
Soon, he was let free as the guards went to check on another poor soul who was also carrying a couple of good skins.
"Well, damn my luck. I probably lost what I hoped would have been able to sell for good clothes."
With a long sigh, Shilin picked up all the remaining skins he had brought before he could be stopped again and entered the busy street before him. There were various stalls where people were speaking fast and loud as if to attract attention. The smell of roasting meat made Shilin's stomach growl loud enough for the shop owner to laugh.
Now that he had the elder woman's attention, he pointed to his skins and tried to signal where he could sell them.
The kind lady pointed to a certain stall while nodding with joy before twirling her finger, as if telling him to return right after. Shilin understood her and nodded. Of course, he would return after getting money—the damn meat she was grilling smelled so damn good.