The Lord of the Plains

by Sarah Chapman

Chapter 70

  The next night Aerlid returned to the city. He had not nearly accomplished everything he wished to do there, and of course there was Rose.

  First he made his way to a grassy meadow. There was a cool breeze. There was usually a breeze in the city now, even when it was still. Aerlid spotted the man he was looking for asleep on his back on a large, grey rock.

  ‘Kaerlid!’ he called out as he made his way up the hill towards the rock.

  He received no answer in return, but when he finally reached the man his eyes were open and he had a smile on his face. He did not look very sleepy.

  ‘Aerlid. Adila told me to expect you.’

  ‘Did she say what for?’ Aerlid asked as he made himself comfortable on the ground.

  ‘Yes.’ Kaerlid’s smile faded. ‘I don’t know the answer yet. I think I could find out, but the King or Andalla might notice. But if it’s important, Aerlid, I can find out.’

  Aerlid sighed. He had feared that. ‘No, it’s not that important. If they spot you looking they will likely try and change the entry point anyway.’

  ‘I am sorry.’ Kaerlid said genuinely, ‘the separation between here and there has gotten very delicate lately. Any change vibrates through the whole thing.’

  ‘Riley is preparing as if they’re going to appear right on top of her. Knowing would be nice, but it’s not worth the risk. Please, think no more of it.’

  ‘Alright.’ and his smile returned. ‘Tell me about your adventures!’

  ‘Certainly, but first, are you comfortable like that, Kaerlid?’

  ‘Of course! You should try it!’

  ‘You’re taking up the entire rock.’

  ‘I could move.’

  ‘I’m fine here.’ and Aerlid smiled.

  Aerlid spent the next few hours catching up with his old friend.

  Aerlid did not go directly to Rose once he had finished with Kaerlid. An observer would have thought he was just randomly wandering around the entire city, perhaps avoiding the Judgement Master.

  But that was not the case. As he walked Aerlid picked up bits and pieces, some he pulled off structures or tools. Once he picked up an entire tea set and took it with him. Valkar who saw him watched curiously. A few asked what he was doing. A few even helped.

  Nobody seemed at all concerned at his thieving spree.

  And then, when he was laden down with metal in all sorts of forms, he finally came to the rickety tower Riley had noticed yesterday.

  ‘Fearlid!’ Aerlid called from down below. He pronounced it Fe-arr-lid.

  A round head popped into view at the top of the tower. ‘What?!’ the man demanded.

  ‘Help me up!’

  ‘What’s all that for?! Have you forgotten how to sing, Moonsinger? You can carry it up yourself!’

  Grumbling, Aerlid carefully arranged his loot around him. Then he began singing. The objects slowly rose, they stopped around waist height.

  Satisfied, Aerlid turned back to the swaying tower and began climbing, his loot following him up.

  At the top it was very windy. Aerlid’s hair whipped back and forth around his face, but did not obscure his vision. Fearlid was like all the valkar in that he did not cut or adorn his hair, though his hair was short.

  Fearlid, who looked very much like a rock, observed him grouchily. There was a hard set to his mouth. This was normal for Fearlid, so Aerlid was not concerned.

  ‘What do you want?’ Fearlid demanded. ‘What is all that stuff?’

  ‘I need to use your tools.’ Aerlid said.

  ‘What? You want something made?’ Fearlid glanced at the sword that hung from Aerlid’s belt. ‘Well, fine. I’ll make it for you. You don’t want to end up with something like that again.’

  Aerlid, somewhat stiffly said, ‘I enjoy forging. And I’m quite pleased with my sword.’

  ‘It has no soul!’

  ‘Well, maybe it doesn’t need one. I’d like to do this myself, thank you. But there is something I need from you.’

  Fearlid gazed at him, his arms crossed across his chest. ‘Out with it!’

  ‘It’s something I can’t make-’

  ‘Well that’s just about everything!’

  Aerlid sighed in annoyance. ‘But I want it quickly, within a few days. And I don’t want it to have a soul.’

  ‘You don’t-?’ Fearlid gaped. Then he snapped his mouth shut. His brows lowered like thunderclouds, ‘very well! Tell me what it is and I’ll make it once you give back my forge!’

  Aerlid explained what he wanted. Fearlid nodded curtly once Aerlid was done. ‘Moonsingers! I’ll make it,’ he repeated. ‘But don’t complain when it turns out a useless lump like that,’ he made a sharp gesture towards Aerlid’s sword, ‘or what you’re making now!’ And with that Fearlid, grumbling all the while, began climbing down the swaying tower.

  Once he was gone Aerlid turned to look at the small forge and sighed. The flimsy sticks holding it up did not seem nearly strong enough. Add that to the way the tower swayed and wobbled… He rather wished Fearlid didn’t enjoy having the wind in his hair while he worked. Was it really so difficult for the valkar to build a blacksmith’s workshop on the ground?!

  By the time Aerlid was done for the day, he felt more than a little seasick.

  Fearlid was very, very unimpressed with the beginnings of his creation. Aerlid thought it was starting out quite well. And Riley would be thrilled.

  But he had to go see Rose now. He could not leave without seeing her.

  Finding her was not that hard. She was the Judgement Master, after all.

  It was a bit jarring though, seeing her surrounded by so many Sunsingers- the other judges.

  She spotted him quickly. She waited for him to approach her. There was some space around her- the other judges near but not intruding.

  ‘Judgement Master.’ Aerlid greeted her.

  ‘Moonsinger. You have some things to tell me.’

  ‘I do. Where shall I begin?’

  ‘You may not bring the mixed girl here without warning, Moonsinger.’

  ‘I was told she would be welcome here.’

  ‘Welcome? If you believed that you would not have offered to take her when she was born. No, Moonsinger, she may enter the city. But we require warning first.’

  ‘Very well.’ he said stiffly.

  Her tone cooled. ‘And to me, Adila is not the Judgement Master any longer.’

  Aerlid bit back an angry remark and smiled. ‘Of course, Judgement Master. My apologies.’

  She inclined her head gravely. ‘Why did you request the city move here?’

  ‘For one, I thought the Queen might wish to meet her daughter.’ he answered very coolly, a thin smile on his face. ‘Secondly, I have been informed the ehlkrid are coming. I had some questions about that that I thought important.’

  ‘They are coming.’ Her tone was as cool as his. She did not smile. ‘The shields we gave the humans last time are still operational. There is no reason for us to interfere. At all.’

  Aerlid knew a warning when he heard one.

  ‘I won’t be asking the valkar for help, Judgement Master.’ He said, some of the ire leaching from his voice, leaving merely tiredness.

  ‘And the girl?’

  Aerlid looked surprised. ‘How will she ask the valkar anything without my assistance?’

  Rose’s eyes narrowed. ‘I don’t know, Moonsinger. That does not mean it is impossible.’

  ‘I will explain things to her. We don’t expect any help, Judgement Master. No one is going to try and force the valkar to interact with humans. Or ehlkrid. Or anyone. Alright?’

  Aerlid did not leave quite then- in fact he spent more than a day in the valkar city. He still hadn’t quite finished with Fearlid’s forge.

  ‘They could come down here.’ Riley was saying. ‘There are no humans here, the gemengs are getting better.’

  Aerlid stared, slack jawed, as Riley just turned him into a liar.

  ‘Riley.’

&nbs
p; ‘Aerlid, they don’t need to be so afraid. They don’t need to miss the ground.’

  ‘It’s an interesting proposition.’ Adila added with a smile.

  Aerlid glanced at her.

  ‘I will suggest it. I think some will gladly come and visit if they know there are no humans.’ she went on.

  Riley looked pleased.

  ‘Adila,’ Aerlid hissed. He was wishing fervently Riley had brought this up when Adila hadn’t been present. ‘Rose is going to get upset!’

  ‘Rose is the Judgement Master, not the Queen, Aerlid. And I’ll of course mention this to her as well. But if other valkar wish to walk upon the earth it has never been a judge’s role to prevent them.’

  ‘Adila, the gemengs are exceedingly violent. And there are humans not far. Safety cannot be promised. And with the city leaving…’

  ‘It can never be promised. I doubt many will come, but I know some will. We’ll be careful. And you know the city’s location is a minor issue. It’s not going far besides, it will circle back before the ehlkrid return.’

  ‘Well it’s easier when its close. Perhaps it doesn’t bother you, Sunsinger, but I know some who would have great difficulty returning to the city when it’s not right above.’

  ‘I’ll be here, Aerlid. I may not take them with me, but I can lend them my strength. You know that.’

  Aerlid sighed. He had not lied when he told Riley he could not help her reach the city. Even if he leant her strength, it would not have improved her humming or helped her reach the city, unlike with other valkar. He noticed Riley was looking at him curiously.

  ‘Very well,’ he said in a tone that suggested it was all talked about and decided upon. ‘Go present this invitation to the valkar.’

  Adila smiled and gracefully rose to her feet.

  ‘Is something wrong?’ Riley asked him once Adila left.

  ‘Riley, please don’t try and treat the valkar the way you do the gemengs.’ his tone became deadly serious.

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘You’re trying to make a world without fear so everyone can live happily ever after together. The valkar are not the same as humans or gemengs. They have different concerns. You can’t understand them. You can’t make it better.’

  ‘Well. You could tell me.’ she said, her eyes lighting up. An offer like that never failed to improve Aerlid’s mood.

  He shook his head, his expression grim. ‘No. The valkar are too different. They can never, should never, have lived among the humans.’

  ‘Adila didn’t seem upset.’ Riley said, confused.

  Aerlid just shook his head again as he stood. ‘Adila was the Judgement Master. By necessity, she can’t ignore the rest of the world. And neither can Rose, now. But for the rest, it would be cruel to force them to engage with the rest of the world again.’

  Riley, confused more than anything else, said ‘Alright.’ And then she changed the subject. ‘Well, I have an idea of the land around the Plains now. Can you help me make a map?’

  Surprised, Aerlid agreed. ‘Do you know where you’re going to move the tribe?’

  ‘The best bet is the mountains.’ Riley turned and pointed to the line of brown, jagged peaks that were just visible to the east. She had already sent people to investigate them of course, but seeing the land from high above had confirmed the importance of the mountains. ‘There may be caves there. On the other side is a desert. If the mountains don’t prove suitable there is a forest to the north. That would still be better than here.’

  They talked for some time about the current plan. They had yet to hear back from the scouts sent to the mountains. It was not the distance that was a problem but the other tribes between here and there. The tribe was slowly moving in that direction anyway and enveloping the other tribes. If the scouts failed, they would be close enough soon that Riley would be able to go and investigate the mountains herself.

  When they were finished Aerlid said, ‘Riley, I have something for you.’

  Riley waited expectantly.

  Aerlid picked up the cloth wrapped package that had been lying next to him since they’d begun talking. Riley had not asked what it was. She hadn’t changed that much.

  ‘Here.’ he held it out to her and could not keep a smile from his face.

  Riley unwrapped the present. When the silky black cloth fell away and she saw what was beneath she beamed. She leapt to her feet- Aerlid quickly rescued the cloth from getting trampled.

  ‘A sword!’ she cried. She made a few experimental swings with it.

  It was an unadorned length of greyish-silver metal. The hilt was wrapped in black leather. Or something close to it anyway- it had come from the city. Riley’s sword did not look nearly as impressive as his own- but he had spent much more time planning and making his own. Looks weren’t the point anyway.

  ‘You’ll be able to use that sword against ehlkrid without it breaking.’ Aerlid said.

  ‘It’s heavier than mine.’ Riley noted.

  ‘Yes, though that shouldn’t be a problem for you. It may take you a while to get used to it though. Here, I got you something else as well.’

  And he handed her what Fearlid had made for him, a short dagger that did not look much like a dagger. It had a wider guard than most daggers Aerlid had seen, as well as slots that would be able to catch and hold fast a sword or claw.

  Riley beamed. ‘Thank you! This is perfect!’

  Aerlid smiled, gratified. ‘And I got you one more thing.’

  Riley looked up in surprise. Aerlid smiled and held up the black cloth that the sword and dagger had been wrapped in. He could not help feeling a moment of sadness at her pleasure at the dark cloth. It was a regular black, not the dark of the Nights, or the Mountain valkar. In the valkar city, black was a sign to all who saw it: not valkar, half human. Mixed. But Riley had grown fond of her dark clothes, and the colour looked good on her. Why spoil her pleasure in it by telling her what it stood for? ‘I think your clothes are getting a bit tatty.’

  Riley looked down at her outfit. It was a patchwork of faded blue and black, as well as the deep dark black of the original valkar cloth. There were rips and tears in it, much mended, and in a few places blood that hadn’t quite come out. Yet compared to what the gemengs wore, it was a very nice outfit indeed.

  ‘Yes,’ he said, as he gazed at her clothes. ‘Those will have to be burned.’

  ‘Burned?’

  ‘I’m afraid so.’

  ‘But Aerlid, I’ll just get the new clothes ripped as well.’

  The look Aerlid gave her silenced her immediately.