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First day of The Plot. hee! It's turning out to be more of an "information" chapter, though.
Chapter 11: On the new road
The second day from Tistek, when they had nearly reached Amfeni, Mazya called a halt. Everyone assumed she was ordering a break for the midday meal, and she didn't disillusion them. Geram lifted her from Nardo's back and set her gently on the ground. She thanked him, and he led her to the side of the road, where Birili was spreading a blanket for them in the lush grass.
Sitting quietly and absorbing all that was going on around her, Mazya decided that, of all the places she had been in the weeks since she had left the shrine, this was her favorite. The air was laden with the scents of flowers and grass, with an underlying richness provided by the turned earth of the fields under plow. Those few people who were close enough to the road were always friendly, their voices gruff and uneducated, often too loud, but also cheerful and honest. The sounds of the fields were soothing, as well, from the swish of sowing to the steady plodding of a mule's hooves before the plow. She would really love to visit again in the autumn, for the harvests, when these good people would be everywhere in the fields and the scents would be ripe, not just of corn and grains, but also of the bounty from the occasional orchard. What a wonder it must all be. She had gained a much greater appreciation of the food which had been given to her at the shrine, now.
Geram spoke from where they were picketing the horses, not loud enough for her to hear, he believed, but he had yet to understand how keen her ears were. "I still think we should have stopped at the inn. It looked like a great place. Comfortable. Clean."
Koras snorted. "So you could get drunk and get into a fight?"
"That appealing thought had occurred to me. Stop scowling at me, woman. The smell of that lovely beer almost made me swoon. Me, a grown man. Why, I haven't had a real drink in days! Not since you dragged me away on this adventure."
"Nor will you, if I can help it."
"You are a cruel, cruel woman."
"Gee. It breaks my heart that you think so." Mazya heard Geram give a whoof sound as Koras threw something heavy into his arms. "Here, take that to Ril. And don't say you aren't being fed well."
"I'm not being fed well. In fact, I cannot believe that I've tossed in my lot with a whole pack of women, not one of whom can cook!"
"I'm doing my best," Birili laughed, "but I'm out of practice."
"I never had food to cook before," Paka said.
"I haven't been taught yet," Arnal chimed in.
"Don't look at me," Koras said. "I do the hunting and cleaning."
Geram conceded that. "But they had a good cook at the inn," he added plaintively.
They were all in one place now, some ten feet from where she sat. She heard the grass swish, and knew Paka was approaching before the girl announced herself. They all did that, trying to avoid startling her, and she was too polite to point out that their sounds and scents carried to her first. Paka's scent was of soap and fresh water. Since they'd first bathed the girl, she had become addicted to being clean, and she took a bath every chance she got. "It's Paka, Lady Mazya. Do you mind if we make a fire? There are plenty of rocks near the road, so there won't be any danger of it getting out of control." That had happened once on their way north, and fire was one thing which terrified Mazya.
She could hear flint being struck and smell the wisp of smoke. She smiled. "I don't mind. I wish to talk to all of you, and that will better be done over a meal."
"Talk to us? About what?" the girl asked. She had a pretty voice, light and airy, musical, but with none of the richness of Birili's. More like a tiny bell than a harp, as Birili might have put it. Mazya loved listening to all their voices, even the rasp of Koras'. Arnal's was still the bright, merry piping of a child, and Geram's was like the purr of a great cat.
Mazya stroked Lithi and considered how fortunate she was. "About what to do next, child."
"Don't you know already?"
"No need to be concerned. I do, but there is more than one way to accomplish it. I want to hear what all of you have to say."
"All right. Oh, Arnal! Wait, I'll help you with that." She jumped up and ran off.
Mazya missed her immediately. The worst part of this entire journey was that her lack of sight kept her from being of much use. Of all of them, she could cook, but not without the kitchen she was accustomed to. Perhaps I'll see if I can at least teach one of the others, she said to Lithi.
They eat well enough. You are not useless. You are our guide.
She smiled at the idea of a sightless guide and rubbed the little creature's head with a thumb. Slowly, her smile faded. Her companions were not going to like what she was about to tell them.
For all his protestations about the quality of the fare, Geram ate like a wolf. No one bothered to point that out, as it was already a standing joke with them. Arnal suggested that when they reached Amfeni, they should purchase some sausage, as the best sausage in Elegar was made in this region, it would keep well, and it could be used to season almost any dish. This suggestion met with noisy approval, which made Arnal giggle.
When they settled down again, Mazya spoke, keeping her voice calm. "I want to discuss with all of you which route we should take to our goal."
Birili said, "That seems pretty obvious to me. We're almost due south of Mount Stelenath, so we only need to turn north. Once we cross the King's Road, the foothills are not hard to traverse. We might even go a little east to the Bard Hall and get all of you some proper hospitality," she added.
"We cannot go by way of the Pilgrim's Trail," Mazya said.
"Why not?" Geram asked.
Mazya heard Koras shift uncomfortably, an unusual movement in the usually phlegmatic soldier. She folded her hands in her lap, tilting her head toward the ground so that they would know she was being serious. "Because we must go to a special place above the Stelenath Cascades, which are a series of waterfalls over a hundred feet high at the far end of the valley. There is only one way to reach that place, and that is through a passage leading into the mountain from the East Divide."
For a moment, the silence was complete, except for someone dropping a spoon into his or her bowl. Then Geram guffawed, although his throat sounded choked. "Good joke, Mazya. All right, you have our attention now."
"She isn't joking, you moron," said Koras.
"Damn," he said softly. "I was afraid of that."
"The East Divide?" Birili said. She was shocked. "But, no one can go through the East Divide."
"Why not?" Paka asked.
Arnal replied. "I learned about that in school. It's all high mountains, solid rock, with no pass or path through it. Both Divides are like that, except the West Divide has one pass."
"And it's a nasty trip," Geram said. "I've been through it. I can't imagine trying to cross into the East Divide, which is even higher and even rougher. They say the teeth of the East Divide are like razors."
Mazya held up a hand. "Approximately in the mid-point of the Divide is the beginning of a path that only the dragons can open. This path will bring us through the Divide without trouble and lead us directly to where we will meet Stelenath."
Geram groaned. "What else are you not telling us?"
"The Red Talons have formed, just as we have, and they, too, will be going to that path. They may attempt to stop us from reaching the mountain before the solstice."
Koras added, "Which is one reason that I'm along on this trip, and not some priest."
"So we have to go an extra hundred miles or so, with someone on our back the whole way?"
Birili said, her spirits already recovering, "What's the matter? I thought you enjoyed a good fight."
"A good friendly fight, yes. Something tells me these Red Talons won't be friendly."
"No," Mazya agreed, "they will not. None of them were chosen for their altruism."
"For their what?"
Koras rolled her eyes. Mazya could hear the movement just by the tone of her voice. "Their selfless love for their fellow man. Didn't you go to school?"
"Only for a few years, as a matter of fact, and that was a long time ago."
Arnal said, "Will they attack us?"
She must have been speaking to Geram, for he promptly said, "Don't worry about it, button. If they do, we'll just hide you in one of the saddlebags, and they'll never find you."
She giggled. Mazya relaxed her shoulders and straightened her back. "I am sorry for keeping this from you, but I didn't want you to have to worry about it until it was necessary. That time, however, the time to concern ourselves with the situation, is now. We must decide which way we are to travel. Koras tells me we have two choices."
Koras shifted, and the rattle of paper told Mazya that, efficient as always, she had drawn out her map and unrolled it. "Put some rocks on the corners," she ordered. "Here is where we are. We can go due north, pick up the King's Road, and follow it all the way to here, where the entrance is, or leave the road here and cross the foothills to save some miles. Our other choice is to keep going east until we round the base of the Drifal Mountains, then go north around the edge of Lake Othe and on to the site, like this."
Another silence followed. Koras said blandly, "The King's Road is, of course, the easiest to travel."
Geram muttered, "Sure, if you like bandits and soldiers."
"You don't?" Koras drawled. "What a surprise."
Birili spoke. "The soldiers on the King's Road, if they show up at all, are somewhat... officious. If they don't like the way we look, they could take us to the nearest outpost and detain us until their local colonel is satisfied. But, Mazya, didn't the shrine give you a pass?"
Mazya shook her head. "The king does not consider us a proper shrine. In fact, no temples have been able to obtain a pass for many years, except those of the state god, Zimandi."
Geram said, "I don't suppose there's anyone here who's a follower of Zimandi and might know a high priest or two?"
Birili said good-naturedly, "You should fill your mouth with rabbit stew. That would be a better use for it."
Before Geram could counter with something outrageous – Mazya could almost hear him taking breath to do so – Mazya said, "I want you all to think about both routes and decide which you prefer, before we get to Amfeni. I want to stock up there, rather than wait until we get to one of the cities on the way. Prices will be better, and the value most likely superior."
Geram said around a spoonful of the stew, "I don't need to wait. I vote for the long way. Every inn and tavern on the King's Road caters to soldiers, and I really find soldiers to be a bore. Not to mention that they like to fight with weapons, not fists and bottles."
Birili said, "I've traveled both places in my youth. I would rather stay off the King's Road. We would be slowed up by merchant caravans anyway, so the time saving wouldn't be all that great. Besides, Lake Othe is beautiful."
Mazya said, "Paka? Arnal?"
Paka squeaked. "You want us to choose?"
"Of course we do. You're Talons."
"Oh." She lapsed into a thoughtful silence.
Arnal said slowly, "I want to see the lake, please."
Paka said at once, "So do I!"
"Then it's unanimous. But I warn all of you, taking the longer route means that we have less time to spare, so we can't waste any!"
"I'll put out the fire!" Arnal said, jumping up.