Chapter 18: Smoke on the horizon, hooves in the dust
Thunderous applause and cheers ring through the air as Pip and Vuvi are led through the village.
Covered in flower petals and smug satisfaction, Vuvi holds a bulging bag of gold in each arm, cradling them tightly like newborn babies.
"Pip!" she gushes, her face flushed and brimming with pride. "It's not even been a week since we left home and we're already legends! We didn't just fill a sexual void, we resurrected a dying culture! Oooooooh, twist my tailfeathers! I'm going to send Mother a scroll so smug it's gonna set itself on fire!" she giggles as she skips through the streets next to Pip.
He walks besides her, pulsing long, blissful beeps as his polished frame beams brilliantly in the morning sun. Women call out his name in adoration, children gently touch his hand, whispering thank yous as their once sad, depressed mothers now sing and dance nearby.
Even some men appear amongst the crowds.
Sullen stallions, eyes glazed over, peek through the crowd in cautious awe, murmuring amongst themselves about golden salvation and prophecies fulfilled.
"Could it be... the promised one?" one mutters, squinting through the crowd at Pip.
"The Staff of Salvation... he wields it!" another proclaims.
"You speak of the Golden Redeemer? The one from the prophecies?"
By the time the sun loomed at midday, only endless, flower filled meadows stretch out before them.
Vuvi groans as she contends with the weight of her gold sacks while Pip happily forges on, his strengthened body easily handling the mountain of cargo he carries.