Ar’Sha’In spilled down a wooded hillside onto the coast. I picked one of the larger avenues radiating out of the harbour and began to climb. A trek later, I turned to look over the port.
The city occupied a deep bay that was shielded from the open sea by opposing promontories. Ships lay at anchor in the roads, and I could see a stream of vessels entering on the last of the incoming tide. Beyond the protected anchorage was a seemingly endless archipelago, ranging from scattered rocks to islands capped with volcanic peaks and ringed by black beaches. The color of the water was light blue inshore, darkening to indigo as the water deepened. Rendak soared along the coast, riding the sea breeze, and in the distance, I saw a flier with a wingspan exceeding five paces.
The buildings of the city were generally low-set and designed to blend into the slope. The avenues were lined by large numbers of trees; most were tall, shading the streets, but a number bore fruits of different varieties. As I watched, a pedestrian reached up to pluck a handful of ripe berries from an overhanging branch. The town lacked the frantic activity I had become accustomed to in Vandoran; people—largely elven— walked with a lack of urgency, and the traffic of carts, wagons, and carriages was much less.
Half a stad above me the road appeared to reach a T-junction, where a road branched to parallel the course of the coast. I continued up the hillside and saw a shop that displayed books, scrolls, and folios in its windows. I pushed the door open and entered a long space redolent with the scents of paper and ink. A long shelf along one wall displayed a variety of books; the wood was darkened with age. I ran my fingers along the spines of the volumes, perusing their titles. About half-way along was a slim book labeled ‘A brief history of Sha’Na’Lyona’. I pulled it down and glanced through the pages.
“Good day, Mistress.” I turned to see a middle-aged elf standing behind a counter at the other side of the shop. “Are you looking for something written in Tariba?” He was speaking that language with a pronounced elven accent.
“Thank you, but Lyona is perfectly acceptable,” I said in that tongue.
He smiled broadly. “Excellent. You speak it beautifully. Where did you study?”
“A gift of the Goddess Hecate,” I said. “Tell me: do you sell maps here? I plan to travel east to the Dragon’s Teeth, and thence north.”
“I do.” He began to pull open drawers and sort through loose papers and folios. “You’re travelling with a group, I hope?”
“No, I’m alone. Why do you ask?”
“There have been disturbing reports from the east. Villages attacked, inhabitants killed, or—” he hesitated.
I felt as if someone had run a cold finger down my spine.
“—changed, somehow. In any event, soldiers from the capital are supposed to investigate. And the Empire has sent a group of Mages to aid us. I think they passed through Ar’Sha’In only a few days ago.”
“Headed where, do you know?”
He shrugged. “Probably towards Kai’Tach. It’s the last large town before the peaks of the Dragon’s Teeth.” He opened a map. “Let me show you. We are here—” his finger tapped on Ar’Sha’In, “—and the coast highway follows a relatively straightforward path to Kai’Tach. It’s perhaps”—he placed his thumb between the two settlements, and then slid it down to the scale, “—a hundred stads.”
I could see Kai’Tach just west of a mountain range that ran from the seashore north for at least a thousand stads. The main road was clearly marked. From the town a thin thread ran up, parallel to the peaks.
“Where does this track lead? Aside from north.”
He shook his head. “Truthfully, I’m not sure. I opened my shop here three centuries ago, but I’ve never been that far east. I believe that there are one or two remote villages in the foothills. Other than that, some hunters traverse the region. But no one goes deep into the mountains. The dragons prefer their solitude.”
“Where do the dragons live?”
He shrugged helplessly. “Who can say? Deep in the range, I suppose.”
“Thank you. I’ll take the map. And this book.” I placed it on the counter.
He glanced at it. “Well, if you’re heading east, this is a good choice. After all, you’re walking towards history, so to speak.”
“How so?”
“The Empress Raskana is said to still live there, in her dragon form.” He smiled. “Look to the sky.”
I slid my purchases into my pack and continued onwards to the coast road.
The was an inn at the road junction. The suns were low in the sky, and I was weary. A single elf was stacking bottles and jugs behind the bar. She pushed a lock of hair from her face and looked at me as I walked across the room.
“Good evening,” I said, “I would like a room and a meal, should you have them available.”
“Of course, Mistress. Just yourself?”
“Yes. And would you have a bath?” I was conscious of the accumulated grime and sweat from five days of shipboard passage.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
“We do, but the caravaners just used the last of the water. It will take a couple of treks to warm a new tub. Perhaps you could have your dinner first?”
“Oh, I can speed things up a little. But please—tell me about the caravan.”
I sought the caravan with a full belly and a clean blouse. The wagons were clustered in a semicircle on a small plateau off the main road behind the inn. Campfires threw a comfortable glow of orange and red on their canvas sides and elves sat in small groups. I heard the soft tones of some type of stringed instrument from the other side of the encampment.
“Good evening.” I addressed myself to a couple sitting on a bench. “Could you kindly direct me to the caravan master?”
“Of course, Mistress.” The man glanced between two wagons and called out. “Leila. We have a guest.”
A woman of indeterminate age appeared from the shadows. She was short for an elf, and slightly stocky. A dagger hung from her right side, and she wore low boots, rather than sandals. Her hair was cut short. She looked at me curiously.
“The Goddess be with you,” I said. “I am Circe and have just arrived from Vandoran. I am traveling to Kai’Tach, and the innkeeper informed me that it is your destination as well.”
She studied me. “It is, but—” she spread her hands, “—this is a working caravan.”
“I have joined one previously in the Empire. I can drive a wagon.”
“Can you manage kamchari?”
“Do yours like kurchi?”
All three elves chuckled, and the master unbent a little.
“Well,” she stroked her chin.
“And I can heal a little.”
Her eyebrows rose. “You are a Mage?”
“Yes.”
“My husband has been complaining about his knee for some months. I don’t suppose you could look at it?”
I followed her along the row of wagons to one with wooden, rather than canvas sides. An older elf was seated outside on a folding chair. He was carving a piece of wood by the firelight using a small knife with a blade no longer than my little finger. His right leg was stretched out in front of him.
“This lazy hunk is Goren. Sits around all day.” She ruffled his hair.
“True,” said Goren, without raising his gaze from his work. “Too much work to chase my wife about anymore. Oh, I miss those days.”
“This is Lady—”
“Circe.”
“—who says she may be able to help you.”
“Oh?” He finally looked up. “Rather young for a Healer, are you not?”
“I am.” Leila had pulled over a chair, and I sat. “May I see both your legs?”
“It’s just the right one. It hurts to walk—” he pointed at his knee, “—especially when I go down a hill or stairs.”
“That’s a lovely carving, Goren. A Rendak, is it?”
He smiled. “It is.”
“Well, please don’t let me tell you how to shape wood.”
Leila chuckled, and he smiled. “Very well.” He stretched out both legs.
I looked at the superficial and then the deep structures. Oh my. The cartilage was eroded in both knees, and while the right was more affected, the left was badly worn as well. The cruciate ligaments were frayed, and the one on the right had torn completely. I cast two sequential spells, one for each side, taking care to repair the damage piece by piece. When I looked up, Goren was frowning slightly.
“It’s less achy,” he said. “Will you have to do this every day?”
“Try standing and take some steps, please.”
He looked at me doubtfully and rose to his feet. He looked puzzled, and then walked forward a few paces, stood stock still, and then paced in a wide circle around the wagon.
“Leila,” he said, “I think we should go for a walk together.” He walked up to her and took her arm.
Leila looked at me. “We saw a Healer in the capital. She said that she could only relieve some of the pain. But the joint would not recover.” She paused. “You told me you could heal a little.”
“Perhaps I was lucky.”
“We leave at sunrise, Lady Circe.”
Leila placed me with Kali and Elnaril, the young couple who had greeted me the night previous. Once they were satisfied with my ability to harness their kamcha and drive the rig, they busied themselves with repairs and maintenance in the wagon bed. I was content to watch the roadside roll past and enjoy the view of the rolling hills. The country was well-watered, and we crossed innumerable small creeks. Most were small enough to ford, although some were so wide that they were bridged by stone arches or wooden trusses.
“So, do these ever flood so much that they prevent passage?” I asked Elanril.
“Sometimes in the rainy season, just after Yellowfall. Not often, though.” He pointed at the hills. “See all the forest and fens?” I nodded. “They soak up the rains hungrily. That’s why there are strict rules about how much forest may be cleared for crops. And there’s plenty of good farmland in the vale of Kla'Nath, in any case.”
“What do people do here, then?”
He shrugged. “A good deal of hunting. Up to the north are the nests where they harvest the sensal weavers. And I suppose some just like the solitude.” He studied me. “You know, your Lyona is very good. You sound like a member of the Court. Where did you learn our tongue?”
“I’m good with languages,” I said. “A gift from the Goddess.”
Kali was an inveterate gossip. The caravan had come from Kla'Nath, and she was bursting with news of the capital. The caravan members sat around a fire at the end of the day, and she ran through her favourite topics: Who was in favour with the Crown, and who was in seclusion. What fashions would the nobles wear for the coming Winter ball? What the chances were of last year’s champion to win the archery competition once more? I relaxed in the warmth of the blaze and paid little attention to the stream of inanities.
“—and my cousin told me that a friend of his, who just arrived from Vandoran, said that the Crown Prince had a taken a human as paramour. Can you imagine? And—” she froze, and looked at me, “—no offence, Circe.”
“None taken.”
“But they’ve not been seen together for over a tenday, and I hear that the ladies of the Court are waiting eagerly for him to return to Kla'Nath. And my cousin says that his mother will finally put her foot down and insist that he choose his partner. Time to continue the line, she says. And Goddess knows, there’s no shortage of suitors for the poor man.” She giggled.
“Excuse me,” I said.
I walked into the darkness beyond the wagons, found a tree, and vomited behind it.
We were one day from Kai’Tach when we saw smoke rising above the trees to the west. Leila signalled a halt and I stopped our wagon. I leaned back and looked at Kari.
“Can you take the reins? I think I should speak with Leila.”
“Of course.”
I walked up the line of wagons and saw the caravan master, Goren, and a couple of elves with bows staring at the rising column. It was leaning towards us slightly in the light breeze and was black in color. The hue of war. Leila was fastening a scabbarded sword to her waist.
“Good afternoon,” I said. “Looks like trouble.”
“Yes. But Lady Circe, I must ask you to go back to your wagon.” She pointed down the trail to the left. “We passed a side passage half a stad ago. I want the caravan off the road and concealed.”
I shook my head. “You need a Mage. There’s no telling what’s ahead.”
“You are a Healer, not a—”
“I have some experience in combat.”
She snorted. “But you are not a combat Mage.”
“I am.”
“Then where is your Blade.”
“Elsewhere. We are wasting time.” My voice sounded flat, even to me. She flinched slightly.
“Very well, Lady Circe. But please follow my lead. When combat is joined, it is never predictable.” She looked down the trail and waved her arm. The wagons began to wheel about, and we headed down the road.
