Journey To Light: Part I of the High Duties of Pacia Page 12

CHAPTER 10

  Graice and Holder § 4

  At one time, Matik’s city wall had surrounded the entire metropolis but the population had continued to increase and sprawl. Now it merely divided Matik into inner and outer halves, each with more people than many dozens of ordinary cities combined. Passing through the wall at Sudost Gate in the darkness, Holder guided the sleepy waybeasts through the winding and ill-planned streets of outer Matik. He and Ignacio sat on the driver’s bench at the front of the wagon while Graice and Sybille remained out of sight inside. The clattering made by the wheels on the rough cobblestone streets was enough to induce barking by dogs and curses from residents complaining about being awakened. These barks and curses in turn aroused other canines and woke up more complainers who naturally added their own woofing and growling to the increasing decibel level until the clamor itself drowned out the noise of the wagon. Such things were common in outer Matik, of course, and attracted no particular attention.

  As Holder had predicted, they reached the highway as the sun appeared in the east and they left behind any worries of narrow ways and rough surfaces. The magnificent Eastway Road was no mere street and it existed for a reason. From Matik westward to the sea the Grandis Fluve, the Great River, flowed wide and smooth and was easily navigable for any sort of vessel. Plenty of roads crisscrossed that part of the countryside but no major highways were needed there. Upstream of Matik, however, the nature of the River began to change and navigation became ever more difficult as travelers journeyed farther east. When the River first crossed the border from its sources in the distant east, in fact, it flowed past Anglio as a swift torrent which made passage upstream very slow.

  To compensate for the increasingly unreliable River, therefore, the Eastway Road had been constructed long ago. Some believed it had once been named Ôriens Wia and was laid out in Anziên times. How else could it run in such a perfect straight line? The original surface, these people claimed, lay somewhere buried under the myriad layers of paving stone which had been added during the ages since then. Others scoffed at the idea and asked why would anyone cover over a true Anziên surface if there was one? The only method of proving the point either way would be to dig deep under the road. Since such a hole would interrupt travel and obstruct commerce, no one knew the true answer.

  Regardless of its exact origins, the highway was wide, smooth, and straight. For the first league of the highway, it seemed that the city followed it. Businesses offering a variety of goods and services lined both sides of the road. Most merchants sold legitimate, albeit overpriced, merchandize of the expected types – food stores, animal feed, warm coats, and so forth. The taverns seemed quite respectable, being in open sight as they were; but unlike on the south-side of Matik, however, businesses which were not legitimate were well hidden. Purveyors of that sort obviously feared censure from a traveling Sistére or the destructive arrival of a phalanx of angry women from the Patroness’s Decency Brigade. As travelers continued onward, the buildings thinned out into a pattern of scattered villages lying parallel to the highway.

  After three hours on the road, Holder still had the obdurate but sturdy waybeasts pulling the wagon along the right edge of the highway. Sometimes Holder snapped his long whip to keep the beasts moving and occasionally Ignacio asked a question or made a comment, but most of the time the only sounds came from animal hooves and squeaking wheels. Then Ignacio bumped the back of his foot against something under the bench. Looking down he saw the bundle Holder had placed there earlier and when he reached to push it aside the canvas wrapping fell open.

  “Is this a weapon?” Ignacio asked with a gasp.

  “Yes. That’s a stabbing spear on top with a bow and arrows underneath,” Holder replied as Ignacio stared at a long willow-leaf shaped blade attached to a short wooden shaft. “You remember when I brought those back from the caravanserai, don’t you?”

  “Oh dear! I had no idea what was in your bundle. You put this in the guest room at the Way-House, didn’t you?”

  “Yes, and then I moved it here when we bought the wagon.”

  “I hope Sybille doesn’t find out.”

  “Find out what?”

  “That weapons were on Way-House property. It’s against the rules,” Ignacio answered.

  “I didn’t know.”

  “Of course not, how could you? I didn’t think to tell you. Well, maybe Sybille and Graice won’t ask. Holder, have you ever used these on a man?”

  “No, absolutely not! I could never hurt any person no matter what the reason.”

  The tone surprised Ignacio. Being a guard on a traveling caravan must be a tough job. Why would he be so adamantly against hurting anyone?

  “The weapons are protection from dangerous animals, Ignacio, and I have killed some of those,” Holder continued. “Three cats and two bears on different occasions, and several wolven.”

  “Wolven? Do you mean loupins?”

  “Of course not. How could you think such a thing? I was talking about animals, not persons,” Holder replied. “And the correct name is lupuns. They don’t like hearing it mispronounced.”

  “I’m sorry. It’s just that I’ve haven’t been around many loupins – I mean lupuns – and haven’t seen a wolve at all.”

  “There’s no comparison at all between the two, but you won’t find out the difference on this trip. You might see wolven in the Veridis Hills but we won’t be going to Hinterland,” Holder explained. Then he nodded at the bundle behind Ignacio’s feet and said, “Cover up the weapons, please. It’s best not to let them be seen on the highway.”

  “Certainly,” replied Ignacio and he fell silent.

  It was a pleasant day but by noon the sunshine had heated up the wagon’s canvas top and all that was under it. The flaps were kept down for privacy so little air flowed inside and the two women were uncomfortable in their cramped space despite the smooth ride on the well-paved highway. Both wore cottonne dresses with long skirts and high necklines to protect decorum. Sybille’s had wide stripes in shades of tan and russet, while Graice’s was solid blue of a medium shade.

  “Why do you get to wear the blue and I don’t?” asked Sybille.

  “Because blue is not my color,” replied Graice. “You know I didn’t bring anything white or red. Try not to be too grumpy.”

  “I’m not grumpy, just in a little distress, and I dislike using that chamber pot we brought. It’s likely to spill while the wagon is moving.”

  “Do you want me to call forward and ask Holder to stop again?”

  “No, don’t bother. I’m sure he’ll give us a chance for relief as soon as we find privies or another sheltered place. It’s best to let him pick the spot so we’ll be seen by as few people as possible.”

  “Am I in any danger?” asked Graice. “After all, it is close quarters in here and wetness would not be pleasant.”

  “Don’t give me that sweet look, Graice. You may amuse yourself but I won’t laugh at your innuendo. And no, you are not in danger. I haven’t had an accident of that sort since I was a baby.”

  “A baby? You?” Graice said as she radiated mock surprise. “I didn’t know you were ever a baby. Everyone at Academy always said that you came into the world fully matured and looking exactly as you do now.”

  “Very droll, daughter.”

  “Are you really going to call me that? I’m not sure people will believe it even if you say I’m adopted.”

  “I think you’re right,” admitted Sybille. “But I don’t know how we could improve on our story. Obviously, we can’t imply you’re a blood relative, not even a distant cousin. People may accept Ignacio and me as a married couple, and we’ll explain Holder as our hired man, but you just don’t match.”

  “Yes, I know. Maybe I should wear trousers and a loose shirt so people will think I’m a boy. I’m the same height as a lot of youngsters and Ignacio has an old hat he’ll give to me.”

  “Are you going to cut off your hair, Graice?”

  “No, b
ut with it braided I can keep it up like now and wear the hat over it; or I can let the braid down and tuck it under my shirt in back. With the collar turned up, the hair wouldn’t show. Well, not much, anyway.”

  “Concealing your gender wouldn’t hide the tilt of your eyes, Graice,” said Sybille. Then she added, “You posing as a boy? Now that’s something to laugh at. Almost.”

  The warm day made Ignacio drowsy but he forced himself to remain alert as he and Holder sat on the front bench. Holder had asked him to watch all of the other traffic around them for any signs that looked suspicious. An hour earlier, Ignacio had noticed a rider some distance behind the wagon.

  “Check and see if he’s still there, please,” Holder said. Ignacio rose just high enough to peek over the canvas wagon cover, and he did not turn his head all the way around, just sideways as if he were observing something beside the road. By moving his eyes in their sockets, he could see behind well enough to find out what he wanted to know.

  “Still there,” he told Holder.

  “I’m going to stop. Tell the ladies to remain inside unless they’ve changed their minds about secrecy,” said Holder and Ignacio stuck his head through the flap of the wagon’s canvas cover. He couldn’t see them because of the baggage stacked inside but he knew they could hear him.

  “Holder says to stay inside when he stops the wagon,” he said.

  “There is some urgency back here,” he heard Sybille’s voice say. “Why must we stay in, Ignacio?”

  “Because we’re being followed.”

  “How can you tell?”

  “I saw him. He’s on horseback and all other riders have passed us quickly yet this one still plods along behind us at our own speed,” Ignacio explained.

  “Will this take long?” asked Graice. “Mother is not the only one back here with a need to step outside.”

  “We’ll have to see what this man does. I’ll let you know as soon as possible,” Ignacio told them. When he pulled his head out from the canvas cover, Ignacio saw Holder nod towards a small stand of trees beside the road ahead. Waiting until the wagon was beside the trees, Holder pulled hard on the reins to take the wagon off the edge of the highway. The waybeasts honked their displeasure at this abrupt demand on them, but in their hearts they really had no objection to stopping and so they quieted quickly. Tying the reins and setting the brake, Holder climbed down and moved to inspect the hoof of one of the beasts. He didn’t look back, just sideways as Ignacio had done. The rider behind pulled his horse to a stop.

  “This one’s shoe is coming loose. I need to re-nail it,” Holder said loudly. Ignacio understood that he meant to be overheard.

  “Will it take long?” Ignacio called back at equal volume.

  “Long enough so you can climb down and stretch your legs for a while. Don’t worry. We’ll still get to Torae on time.”

  Ignacio took the hint and stepped down towards Holder. The rider hesitated a moment but the man realized that if he remained stationary his intentions would be obvious. Nudging his horse to a trot, he rode past the wagon. He wore ordinary clothes and Holder only got a brief glimpse of his face. A moment later, the rider spurred his horse and hurried eastward.

  “I recognize his type,” Holder said softly to Ignacio as they headed to the back of the wagon.

  Proving that he had indeed thought of everything, Holder had brought large panels of cloth and poles to hold them. He quickly erected a privacy screen among the trees and the women hurried behind it. After an appropriate amount of time passed in silence, Holder asked through the cloth, “Shall I move the screen for you now to a more pleasant spot?”

  “We would ask you to do that but shouldn’t we get back in the wagon now?” replied Sybille.

  “Not yet. As soon as I rearrange this screen, I’ll explain. I see Ignacio getting some food now.” Minutes later the screen still blocked the view from the road and they all sat behind it, the women on mats Ignacio brought from the wagon while the men made do on the grass. Ignacio handed out cheese slices, dried fruit, and squares of something that resembled flatbread in color but not texture.

  “What is this?” Sybille asked suspiciously.

  “It’s called tack. It’s hard enough to pound in small nails, you see,” Holder answered. “It’s easier to eat if you dunk it in your caffeé first, or whatever you have to drink.”

  “I’ll try it,” Graice said as she stuck the end of her piece into her water cup. Sybille and Ignacio watched and waited. After a minute Graice took it out, but even with it soaked, she still had to gnaw to break off a corner. “It doesn’t taste like much,” she mumbled.

  “I know,” Holder agreed as he dunked his own. “But it’s as nutritious as bread and it doesn’t spoil.”

  “If it gets stale, will it get harder than this?” asked Ignacio. He studied his own piece closely with a skeptical eyebrow raised.

  “I don’t think that’s possible,” said Graice, still talking around her first bite. Ignacio bravely followed her lead but Sybille laid her square down and nibbled at the fruit instead.

  “Holder, why are we waiting here?” Sybille asked. “Shouldn’t we hurry and leave while that man is away?”

  “He’ll wait for us someplace. He’s Sarkonian, in case that means anything to you,” said Holder. If it did, Sybille and Graice both kept it hidden from him.

  “I never heard of Sarkonians before the High Protector died,” Ignacio said. “Now people everywhere curse them almost as much as they do the Yuzoi.”

  “Let’s stay here for a while,” Holder told them. “I want to time our arrival at the crossroads with the High Road precisely. We’ll get there at dusk and stop, and then we’ll move again during the night.”

  “Hmm,” said Sybille. “Well, we’ve relied on your advice so far. I don’t see why we should change now.”

  “We started early and we’ll be up late,” Holder said. “The waybeasts need rest and so do we. You ladies should stretch as much as possible. Your arms and legs must be cramped after your confinement.”

  Sybille analyzed his comment as best she could. Despite her inability to read him, she decided that his reference to their limbs was innocent. His words made sense and were in keeping with his direct manner of speaking. As soon as Sybille relaxed, however, Graice rose to her feet, raised her arms over her head, and stretched her entire body in full view of the two men. Alarmed, Sybille opened her mouth to chastise the young Sistére. Making that motion in front of Ignacio, who discreetly looked away, was one thing but doing it in front of Holder was another entirely. What was the girl thinking? Or perhaps the right question was why wasn’t she thinking?

  Closing her mouth, Sybille decided to remain silent for now. Although Holder had glanced briefly at Graice, he had turned quickly to go about his business. Any man who had the courage to look would call Graice beautiful. She wasn’t wearing her robe now and Holder was immune to her effect, but his attention to Graice was still perfectly gentlemanly. It seemed he wasn’t attracted physically. Interesting, Sybille thought, but then something else occurred to her.

  Whatever happened to the voice of Madrére Antonetta inside Graice’s head?

  They reached the crossroads as Holder had planned but they stayed on the Eastway Road rather than turning north. Half a league farther, he stopped to buy feed for the waybeasts from a roadside vendor and then turned the wagon off the highway into a large field. Plenty of ruts and wheel marks crisscrossed the ground, indicating that many other travelers who were too poor or cheap to stay in inns had spent the night there before.

  Shortly afterwards two large freight wagons, each pulled by a dozen beasts, followed them into the field. The insignia on the wagons was that of a prosperous trade association but the drivers themselves were poorly paid employees. The Sarkonian rider who’d followed them earlier tried to hide behind one of the freighters but Holder spotted him. Holder began putting extra grease on the axles and making other preparations while Ignacio attended to their evening meal. The
women ate inside the wagon and the men outside. Later Graice, Sybille, and Ignacio went to sleep.

  Ignacio woke when Holder shook him gently and said, “Quiet. Our follower is asleep now. Wake the ladies while I deal with the waybeasts.”

  “What time is it?” Ignacio asked as he yawned.

  “Quarter-morn. The sun will rise in four hours. We need to get moving.”

  Ignacio performed his duty without actually touching Sybille and Graice and whispered a reminder to them, “Don’t let your voices be heard.” Closing the canvas cover, he walked to where Holder stood with the waybeasts. The animals were asleep on their feet, which was a normal position for such creatures, until Holder took a handful of some herb from a sack and held it in front of each beast’s nose. One by one, they woke up and stretched their flapping lips and long tongues to take the treats. Leaning close so they could speak in whispers, Ignacio asked, “Is that some special food for them?”

  “It temporarily numbs their throats so they can’t squawk as they usually do. Now I’ll tie those burlap bags we filled with straw over their hooves,” Holder replied. Ignacio knew this was no time for questions but he couldn’t help wondering: how does this guy think of all these things?

  The wagon made little noise when it moved and no one woke as they left the field onto the highway. Crossing between two marker stones on the center line, Holder turned left into the westbound lanes to head back to the crossroads. After retracing the extra half league they had taken eastward, the wagon turned right onto the High Road. Some distance later, Holder stopped long enough to remove the bags from the waybeasts’ hooves so they wouldn’t attract attention.

  The sun was up and shining when the noise of a passing wagon woke Graice and Sybille. Yawning and rubbing her eyes Sybille asked, “Do you know where we are, Graice?”

  “Not exactly. Somewhere north of the River on the side of the High Road,” replied Graice as she peeked out the rear of the wagon’s cover. “That means we’ve entered Amicitia but I don’t see any people or buildings nearby.”

  “I’m sure that’s why Holder picked this spot to stop.” The region of Amicitia was primarily a rural area with many small-hold farms and villages. Although numerous minor towns also dotted the landscape, so did plenty of unpopulated tracts of land. The region’s only cities lay on the boundaries of the territory – Anstrella on the western edge with Torae and Iteneris southward. The fourth city, Lucidus, lay on the bank of the Fallal River which was the eastern border of the region.

  Outside the wagon, Ignacio heard their voices and asked, “Mother Orela and Miss Elysia, may I enter?”

  “Yes, of course. We slept in our clothes so we’re decent albeit rumpled,” Sybille told him. Ignacio lifted the canvas flap at the back of the wagon and stuck his head in, which is what he meant to do when he’d asked for permission to enter. Sybille said, “I have a better question, Ignacio. May we come out?”

  “Holder asks that you wait a moment, ladies. A trader’s wagon just passed but there’s no other traffic on the road right now. As soon as the trader is out of sight, you may exit in privacy.” After a moment Ignacio said, “All right, it’s safe now.”

  As the two women stepped out of the wagon, Sybille said, “Ah,” when she saw that the privacy screen was already erected. “Excuse us,” she said as she and Graice went behind it. When they returned, Ignacio was pouring some sort of ground grain into bowls and adding water.

  “We have what Holder calls cold mush for breakfast,” Ignacio said as he handed them each a bowl.

  Sybille looked at hers suspiciously and asked, “Have you tasted this yet, Ignacio?”

  “Yes I have, and I can tell you that it’s very easy to chew.”

  Graice grinned and spooned a bite into her mouth. “It doesn’t taste bad, just bland,” she said after a moment of deliberation. Sybille took a spoonful herself and shrugged. Seeing Holder approach, Sybille called out to him.

  “May we at least light a fire and have hot mush, Holder?”

  “Not a good idea,” he replied. “We should get back on the road now. Other traffic will be along soon. Remember that while fewer people go north instead of east, this highway won’t be empty. Local traffic is limited but traders and travelers regularly go to Anstrella and the towns along the Feluvial River. Those people will turn northwest when we reach the North Country Road. Which means we’ll share the highway with others for a time, although not many stay on the High Road and go northeast at the fork.”

  “Do we have to leave so soon? We’re all exhausted and should rest longer,” Sybille complained.

  “I was so tired last night that I fell asleep while we were riding and nearly fell off the wagon bench,” Ignacio admitted. “Holder grabbed me just in time.”

  “You managed to stay asleep for quite a while before you lost your balance, friend,” Holder told him. “I think you’re adapting to the hardships of travel.” When he said the word ‘hardships,’ Holder smiled.

  “Well, you two men may be happy being dirty but Graice and I need to wash and change clothes at least,” said Sybille.

  “Did you bring a dress for every day of the trip?” Holder asked back. He had not opened their trunks to count what was inside but he did know the size of those bags.

  “No, we had to make do with what we found on short notice.”

  “Perhaps you’ll want to save some clean clothes for when we reach Lucidus. Wearing the same outfit for more than one day now might be useful to you later,” Holder suggested. Sybille frowned but Graice covered her mouth with a hand and laughed.

  “You must think we’re pathetic,” Graice said to Holder. “We can’t even plan our own wardrobes as well as you have everything else.”

  “Not pathetic, just inexperienced,” he assured them.

  “Do the people who travel on caravans have a word for folks like us? Soft and weak, I mean, and constantly in need of someone to take care of them,” asked Graice.

  “Yes, there’s a word, but I can’t repeat it. I remember what you did to those three men in Matik for using foul language,” he replied. (I just gave them a lesson, Graice thought to herself. Why would that be notable?) “Let’s just call you novices instead. After we leave the highway in a couple of days, we’ll find a good place to stop and you can take some time washing and changing clothes if you wish. We should start now so we can reach the side road I mentioned as soon as possible.”

  “Will we be in sight of the mountains then?” asked Graice.

  Holder laughed. “No. Those are much farther away. We won’t see them at all on the way to Lucidus.”

  “I’m sorry I’m such a novice but I’ve never been this way before,” said Graice. “Sybille has taken the High Road to Abbelôn but I was still a child when she did her traveling.” Sybille frowned a bit at the revelation although she wasn’t quite sure why she did.

  “I assume you’ve seen the mountains during your journeys, Holder,” Sybille said and he nodded yes. “Have you ever crossed over to the other side?”

  “Why would I? No traders go there, not even caravans.”

  “No, not in over a decade,” acknowledged Sybille. “Well, we’ll take your advice, Holder, and get into the wagon now.”

  “Good. More travelers are coming,” he said as he surveyed the road in both directions.

 

  The sun was low in the western sky when they reached the fork where the North Country Road diverged northwest toward Anstrella. Two wagons and a carriage in front of them took that route, as did two men on horseback behind them. When Holder turned their wagon to the northeast, none of the traffic followed even though the High Road was as broad and smoothly paved as the Eastway. As they rode onward, they saw only one other traveler, a solitary rider headed the other way.

  They spent another night beside the highway and continued again in the morning, followed by a third day just as uneventful. Late on day four, Holder found what he was looking for and the wagon left the highway to go east on an
unpaved dirt-and-gravel side road. As promised, Holder soon found a place to stop for the night, a flat spot with a small ridge to their left. Tall grass for the waybeasts to graze was abundant.

  “Unless someone follows us – and they’ll be easy to spot with no other traffic this way – only local people will see us now,” Holder said to Graice and Sybille as they climbed down from the wagon. “I’ll gather some wood and we’ll have a fire tonight, but first I’m going to tether the waybeasts so they can reach this grass.”

  Once the fire was built, Holder pitched their tents while Ignacio made a stew of salted meat, rice, and dried vegetables. When the meal was ready, they ate in silence; everyone except Holder was stiff and sore after four days riding in a moving wagon. By the time the food was finished, the sun dipped below the horizon.

  “There’s still a little light left and the star-dazzle should be bright tonight,” Holder said as he looked at the sky. “I’m going to climb this ridge and look around for a while.” The ridge wasn’t very high and the slope was climbable.

  “May I come too?” Graice asked.

  “Why not?” he replied with a shrug as he stood up. “Do you need help climbing?”

  “Maybe,” Graice admitted. “Would you take my hand and pull me along?”

  “Of course.”

  Sybille frowned at the familiarity but stayed quiet. She may not agree with Graice’s entire plan but she did know what the Sistére was up to. When the two reached the top, Holder released Graice’s hand and they both sat down. Sybille saw their silhouettes against the sky but could not hear what they said.

  “Are you comfortable?” Holder asked.

  “Yes. The grass is soft,” Graice replied as she gazed around. “I’ve never been any place like this. No people or buildings are in sight.”

  “Empty places still exist in the world. You’ll see more on this route,” Holder said. They sat facing north with their backs to the wagon below and Graice’s eyes quickly adjusted to the dim light. The land spread out in front of them in small folds and gently rolling terrain. Although Graice could make out few details in the darkness, one thing was certain. No campfires, lanterns, or other lights besides their own were visible.

  “Madrére Sybille says more people used to live along the High Road,” Graice told him. “She traveled to Abbelôn several times on diplomatic missions but that was a long time ago, years before the fall.”

  “I don’t remember that far back. But I do recall people talking about the fall after I woke up in Catai.” He turned toward her and Graice briefly considered telling him then that she might be able to help him recover memories, but she had not finished her preparation yet. He would need to trust her before he agreed to let her try.

  “We’ll probably go someplace else after we leave Lucidus, Holder. Maybe it’ll be north to the mountains.”

  “You haven’t told me why we’re going to Lucidus yet,” he said as he turned back to scanning the scenery.

  “What? Oh! How could I have forgotten?”

  “It should be safe to tell me now. I can’t reveal your secret with no one around.”

  “Oh Holder, that’s not why we haven’t said anything yet! We know you’ll keep our secrets. It’s just that Sybille and I have been so busy.” Momentarily flustered, a very unusual occurrence, Graice paused for a breath and thought: why should he trust me if he thinks I don’t trust him? “We’re going to see Euclind Eudoxio. He’s the sage who is the Mayórę of Lucidus. Sybille wants to talk to him about the Zafiri and their minions and get his advice.”

  “I’ve seen plenty of Sarkonians and some Yuzoi on my travels so I know who you mean,” Holder responded. “Not very pleasant people.”

  “You’re a master of understatement. Holder, it may seem that I haven’t told you much, but now you know more about what we’re doing than anyone except a small group of Madréres. We told the Patroness of Matik less than this when we were begging her for money. Sybille and I realized you were trustworthy that first day we talked to you about this trip,” Graice assured him. “The reason we’ve said nothing until now is forgetfulness and nothing else. We do trust you and I hope you can do the same with me.”

  He looked at her again and although the darkness hid the features of his face, his Aura flared around it. With anyone else she would have known exactly what he was thinking but with Holder she could only read two things. The word trust triggered strong emotions in him and he had a reason for facing north when he looked around, even though he didn’t know what the reason was. Seeking to establish a bond with him, Graice brought up the story she meant to tell.

  “I have something in common with you. I don’t know where I was born either. My adoptive parents live on Kêltikæ but I was a foundling and never knew my blood parents. Because I was a newborn when I was found, I don’t remember anything firsthand about how it happened but I’ve heard the story often enough from my brothers. May I tell it to you?”

  “Yes.”