Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Ashira checked the large clock on the wall of the inn. It was now fifteen minutes past noon. She decided to wander around the market for a while until she had to depart.

The press of the people was unlike anything she was used to. The buildings seemed very narrow at times. Although she had been raised beneath the trees, she still enjoyed the open air. This seemed different; the mass of bodies seemed to enclose her and hold her hostage. At last, she found an alleyway where a few homeless persons sat against the walls. She walked slowly down it for a few meters, then stopped.

Someone was not just looking, but staring at her. She could feel it. She looked at the haggard faces around the alley. There.

An old woman leaned against the very back wall. She was glaring at Ashira and grinning. Ashira began to back away, toward the street.

“She won't hurt you, girl,” said a man next to her. “She just wants to show you your fortune. She is a divinist.” He looked up at her, and she saw a strand of blonde hair protruding from beneath his brown cap.

He saw her notice his hair and gestured back to the old lady. “Go get your fortune. She will do it for free.”

Ashira looked back at the woman. She had gotten out some sticks and a chart. She gestured for Ashira to draw closer.

The younger girl hesitated. She had only heard of divination in tales from distant lands. Throwing caution to the winds, she stepped forward, but did not sit down. She noticed the smell around the woman was a mixture of oats and boiled cabbage.

“That's it, child,” said the woman, her voice smooth for one so old. “What would you like to know about your future?”

Ashira instantly thought of her lack of musical gifts. She thought of mentioning it, but felt it would not be prudent.

The woman saw the idea show on her face, and then be dismissed.

“What is it, child? There is something, is there not?”

Ashira decided to words the question very carefully. She considered for a moment, then asked.

“Will what I seek be found in Aetheris?” The woman took note of the city where this young woman was heading.

“Would you like me to use the heavens or the bones?” she asked Ashira.

The morbidity of the bones threw her off, so she decided on the chart.

The woman consulted her chart, taking a couple measurements with a strange instrument. Then she opened a book near her knees and read a passage, nodding.

“Yes. I see. . . That is good.” She looked up and smiled, her yellow teeth showing. Her gray hair was hanging in front of her eyes, and she brushed it away.

“Fortune smiles upon you, child. You will find not one, but two wonderful gifts at Aetheris. Neither of them will be what you expect, but they will both be precious to you.”

Ashira was curious now. She sat down and tried to get a peek at the book. The woman drew it back toward her chest to hide the words.

“How do you know that?” she asked.

The woman smiled again.

“This is my magic. It is what I use instead of singing or drums.”

“Is there any more detail? It was rather vague,” Ashira pushed.

“Vague? No, it was not vague. It was actually quite specific for an initial fortune. You should count yourself lucky. Most people are promised frivolous things, like 'meeting an old friend' or 'taking a risky venture will bring you great reward'. This is a good fortune I have given.”

Ashira drew out a couple coins and handed them to the woman.

“Thank you for the fortune. I hope it comes true,” he said, and stood.

“Perhaps we will meet again, child,” said the woman with a smile. “And thank you for the payment. It will buy lunch for me today.”

Ashira nodded, then turned around and backtracked. She felt the men staring at her as she did so.

She meandered through the crowds, thinking about her fortune. What two gifts would she find? And if they were not what she was expecting, did that mean she did not have the gift of voice?

She found herself walking along the outside road that ran alongside the river. She had unconsciously started making her way toward the docks.

She had passed dock fifteen when she heard a familiar voice among the crowd. She followed it to find Salam, the minstrel, singing to a small group. He sat near the door to a fishing supply shop. Some Camenians had stopped to listen, but most just passed him by. Some tossed coins at his feet. He looked up and noticed Ashira. He smiled, but kept on singing and playing.

When he had finished, she clapped along with the others. He picked up the coins, pocketing a few. Then he whistled and a small boy came out of the shop. Salam bent over and addressed him.

“Give these straight to your father,” he instructed. “Do not take any for yourself, you hear?” The boy nodded, his messy brown hair getting in his eyes. Salam straightened and watched the boy run back inside, his hands full of pecuni.

“That was very kind,” Ashira told him. He turned and shrugged.

“Not much, but it will help them.”

“What about you?” she asked.

“I don't need the money. I'll be fine without it. But others can always use it more than me.”

Ashira admired his charity, but even more so the fact that he was not boastful of it.

“You're an amazing man, Salam,” she said, shaking her head.

“I'm just a man,” he said. He looked around. “Where are you headed, anyway?”

She saw no reason not to tell him. She did not want to lie, anyway. They had spent the morning together, after all.

“I'm catching a ride to Ceantir, then heading to Premoi, and eventually to Aetheris.”

“Really?” he said, sounding interested. “I'm heading to Aetheris myself. Perhaps we could travel together?”

She remembered the admonition given her to travel with companions as much as possible. She liked being around Salam, and so agreed.

They walked together toward dock twelve. Salam decided he would try to board the same boat as she.

They found the 'Tidalwind' floating at the end of the dock on the right side. It was not large, about ten meters in length. Salam hailed a man on deck and asked to speak with the captain. A few moments later, the captain was disembarking, dressed in a simple brown toga.

“Sir, we would like to purchase passage on your barge if possible,” Salam said politely, standing with dignity.

Ashira saw the response on the captain's face even before he said it.

“No.”

Salam was undaunted. He turned to Ashira and asked her to step away for a moment as he spoke with the man. Ashira was curious, but did as he asked.

Salam turned the captain away from her and walked him down the dock a few meters. He spoke quietly, showing something to the man that Ashira could not see. She saw the captain's back straighten at the sight of whatever it was. Then he nodded. Salam stepped back and shook his hand, smiling. They walked back to Ashira.

“The captain says we're good to board,” he said, smiling at her.

Ashira wondered what had changed his mind, but did not dare ask. She followed the captain across the plank and onto the barge.

“We'll be leaving in half an hour,” said the man, then he walked away.

Ashira and Salam sat on the deck and talked about various topics. Ashira told him about the old woman from a few hours ago, but did not tell him what she her question had been, or her fortune.

“Yes, she must have been from Chaelesta,” he said. “The people from that nation work with the heavens and other mysterious powers to do their magic. They mostly rely on the movements of the stars, sun, and moon.”

“Astronomy,” she said.

“Astrology,” he corrected, then explained the difference.

She considered his words for a moment.

“So are there other relics besides our own?” she asked him.

He nodded.

“Yes. Chaelesta was the first to discover them. The people there found strange rocks that had fallen from the sky. They found that some gave power to those who had talents or knowledge. We ended up with the relics of music, but Chaelesta kept the one for meteorology and astronomy. Celfstein was given the relic of art and sculpture. There were lesser relics, but they have traveled far and nobody here remembers what magic they granted.”

“Why did they give up the relics to Amrahn and Celfstein?”

“They were peace offerings from Chaelesta. They had a war among their own people over who would control the relics. In the end, they decided to give two away, one to Celfstein and one to Amrahn.”

“I see. And that is where our own war comes in?” she asked.

“Yes.”

She imagined the man calling lightning down to strike the relic on the Radunio Plateau.

The captain called out to prepare to depart. Within a few minutes, a low chant had begun among the deckhands. Ashira and Salam stood back, watching as they continued to move about the deck, singing.

Hmm. Hmm. Ho. Hmm.

Churn and turn and row. Hmm.

Wave and wind and oar. Hmm.

Bed and stream and shore. Hmm.

Move. Move. Turn. Move.

Forward, faster, lighter. Move.

Onward, push her, drive her. Move.

Upward, take her, measure. Move.

Sway. Sway. Sweat. Sway.

Rock and shoal and jetsam. Sway.

Shallows, log and flotsam. Sway.

Keep the barge afloat now. Sway.

The barge was moving forward against the flow of the water. It glided upstream toward Ceantir, their destination. The chanting of the men created the magic that guided the vessel. Once Salam had heard it a couple times, he joined in, adding his magic to theirs. Ashira noticed that the craft began traveling a bit faster with his help.

It was forty kilometers to Ceantir. The barge kept a steady eight kilometers per hour. By ten o'clock that night, they had made it to the docks which ran along the northwest side of the town.

As they approached, Ashira was taken by the beauty of the city at night. It sat on a point that stuck out into the river a few kilometers. The candle lights from the windows were enchanting. They seemed to match the stars that shown above.

She waited on the dock as the men unloaded their cargo. Salam helped them, then came and joined her.

“How did you gain passage for us on the barge?” she asked him.

He smiled slyly at her.

“I promised him I would pay him later with a considerable sum.” His voice was tired and raspy from on and off for five hours.

“But you are a minstrel. It is not as though you are as rich as the prince.”

He tilted his head, thinking about the irony of her statement.

“No, but I don't need much for me to survive on my own, really. And I'll be good on my payment.”

“Well, thank you. I'm certain I would not have been able to board on my own. He was rather difficult.”

He waved away the thanks.

“I did get him to agree to something else, though. He is heading out for Premoi in two days' time. I gained us passage on that voyage as well. It will be much longer than the five hour one we were just on.” He swallowed to moisten his throat. “It should give us all enough time for our throats to recover.”

Ashira wondered just how much Salam had offered the man, but did not ask.

They stayed the night in an inn near the docks, Ashira in her own room. Unable to sleep, she sat near the window, looking out over the river. Her green night robe almost glimmered in the partial moonlight.

Her thoughts turned to the old woman in the alley and the fortune she gave. If she went to Aetheris, would she find her talent? The fortune seemed to say 'no', but she would find something else that would be precious. What else did she cherish?

She was pondering this question when she heard a soft knock at her door.

“Enter,” she said aloud.

Salam slipped into the room.

“Is everything all right?” she asked him.

He shook his head.

“No,” he said, his voice still raspy.

She gestured to the chair next to her. He sat down and lit the small candle in the table next to them.

“What is it?”

He had already decided to tell her, and so blazed ahead.

“There has been dissension among the senators at Aetheris. My father contacted me. He would like me to come to Aetheris and peak with him.”

Ashira was confused.

“Your father?”

This is is the part Salam did not like.

“He is a senator,” he lied.

“I see,” she said.

“He needs me there to help the family, but he mentioned there is something else I must do. We must leave as soon as possible.”

“How far is it to Premoi?” she asked.

“One hundred and thirty kilometers, give or take,” he replied.

She did the math in her head quickly.

“So it would take us the better part of three days to reach it by foot?”

He nodded.

“But that is faster than traveling on the barge. It doesn't leave for two more days and would still take about a two and a half to get there. Nearly five in all, then we have to make it over the mountain pass and to Aetheris.”

She considered it. It would be non-stop walking for a considerable distance. She had already traveled more than that in the four days she had been traveling. Although she was used to walking and running from living in the forest, her legs were feeling the efforts of the week.

“So after walking for two days, we would be walking uphill?”

“Actually, we would be going uphill and downhill repeatedly the whole way to Premoi, then uphill to Aetheris.”

“Hm.”

Ashira weighed their options. She could try to find another person to travel with, but that would be difficult. Besides, she found she enjoyed Salam's company.

“Is it pretty serious, then? The dissension?”

Again, he nodded.

“There are men who want to overthrow my king. They want to place another man, a senator, in his place. There are not many of them, but they are popular among the people and may be able to sway them.”

She decided.

“Then I will go with you tomorrow morning. We need to sleep.”

“Thank you, Ashira. I do not want to travel alone. I feel better having another pair of eyes on the lookout.”

He stood and snuffed the candle, then left her room. She dressed once more in her travel clothes.

She felt she had only been asleep for a few minutes when he knocked on the door again.

Standing and picking up her bag, she stepped to the door. It was still dark outside her window, which faced west.

“Is it time already?” she asked him as she closed the door behind her.

“Yes. We are leaving just before dawn. I feel it will be safer.” He had a dark blue cloak on, the hood pulled up to hide his face.

“Are there people looking for you?”

Salam nodded.

“Some people know I am the senator's son, and will want to take me to use me against my father. Ceantir in particular has been a hotbed of anti-king activity lately. We must go.”

She followed him out of the backdoor of the inn and into the pre-dawn light. She could see sunlight creating a thin line of yellow above the mountains to the east.

“We must cross the river, then travel north,” he explained, leading her through the narrow alleys and avoiding main streets. “There are a few residential settlements on the west side of the Pressans, and so the city maintains a ferry for use by the people.”

Five minutes later and they found themselves paying the ferryman to get aboard. The ferry was not leaving for another ten minutes, giving other passengers the opportunity to board. Salam kept a discreet eye on each person that boarded as he leaned with his back against the port side rail. By the time they departed, there were ten others on-board besides themselves and the crew.

The young men manning the craft began to chant words similar to those of the Tidalwind's crew. The ferry moved away from shore and toward the opposite side, three kilometers away.

Salam hardly moved. Ashira leaned against the rail and looked out over the water, avoiding looking at anyone on the craft. She kept one hand on her dagger, just in case. Her bag lay at her feet.

The ferry was larger than barge they had been on. It was about fifteen meters in length, with a small pilothouse in the middle. There was a man in there now, directing the ferry toward the lights on the other side of the river. Nobody seemed to move on the deck except the deckhands.

The sun became just visible above the eastern mountains. Ashira had only a few seconds to enjoy the scene.

A man in a dark cloak shouted from the starboard side. Ashira felt as though the wind had been knocked out of her and doubled over, struggling to breath.

Salam felt her fall next to him and instantly began to sing, pulling out a short dagger of his own. Two men came from either side to attack them.

“Cadiena ignis, ardiena cutis, ” he sang with fire in his voice. The man on the right fell to the deck, clutching his face. It had turned bright red. Puss began leak from the sores that pockmarked it.

He parried the man on his left, then pulled away. The man brandished his short sword and Salam dodged. Ashira had gotten her breath back and stood, facing the man across from her who had shouted. As he advanced, he sang aloud.

“Glazali ferrum, morder carinem!”

She held up her dagger, but dropped it a moment later. It had turned ice-cold in her hands. She reached for her flute, hoping just to intimidate her attacker.

Salam continued his song, aiming his spell at her attacker while fighting his own man with his dagger.

“Feel my fury born of hate, feel the cold that lacerates,” he sang, switching to the common trade tongue. His words were indeed full of fury. Shards of ice formed in the air above Ashira's attacker and fell straight down. They cut into the flesh of his head, arms, and chest. The man screamed and fell to the deck, bleeding.

The pilot had called for the deckhands to take shelter in the pilothouse. They watched the scene before them with awe.

Ashira had never seen magic like Salam's. She did not have long to dwell, however. A fourth man approached her from the far end of the barge, chanting angrily and holding a dagger.

Salam, distracted by the man still attacking him with a sword, did not see the other.

Ashira backed away, not sure what to do. She put the flute to her lips and played her recital piece, hoping to scare the man. The notes rang out over the water, and he did pause for a moment. However, when nothing happened, he continued his advance, grinning evilly.

She stepped onto an ice shard and slipped, landing on her backside in a pool of her previous attacker's blood. The man took his opportunity and attacked with the dagger. She rolled to one side, dodging it, then stood quickly.

The thought came to her to try singing. The first words to come were those the man had used on her moments before.

“Glazali ferrum, morder carinem!” she sang, unsure of the melody he had used and so making one up.

She watched as the man's sword reacted. It first turned crystal clear, like ice. Then the strange thing happened. The sword bent over and literally bit the man on the arm, a mouth opening along the blade with razor sharp fangs. It did not release as he screamed in agony. Blood began to pour from the wound.

Salam disposed of his man with a feint to his right. He switched and cut from below, catching the man in the abdomen. He doubled over, grunting as blood soaked his dark robes.

Salam turned now to help Ashira, but found her staring in horror at the man with the sword still clamped onto his arm. She had backed against the rail of the ferry, shocked.

She had done magic.

Salam looked at the strange sword of ice and then at Ashira, one eyebrow raised in question.

The remaining six passengers stood at the far end, not wanting to get close to Ashira or Salam.

Salam turned Ashira away from the bloody scene on the deck, making her face the river. It was a good thing, as she suddenly became ill. He looked away now as she heaved over the side into the river.

They reached the docks on the far side of the river from Ceantir. The deckhands were not quite sure what to do. Finally, one came out and prepared to dock. When he had finished, he was first off the ferry, running off into the streets of the settlement.

Salam felt bad leaving the bodies of the men on the ferry, but did not have time to worry about it. They needed to get out of Ceantir completely and into the hills to the north.

“We need to go, Ashira,” he said tenderly. “We need to get out of town.”

She stood up, wiping her mouth, and nodded.

They left the ferry. There stood a barrel of water on the deck, and so she took a handful of it to clear out the taste of bile from her mouth.

The sun was fully up now, but they both felt that the danger had just begun.