by C. Litka
04
Once deep in the pines, Tey Pot made a sharp turn to the left. 'TreyMor will certainly ask our guards which way we went and he'll certainly send out the gang to search for us. It was a mistake on his part to leave us behind. Though, of course, as long as we were on guard, with your weapons - or perhaps even without them - he could never have compelled us to go return with them. Really, skipping out saves everyone a lot of bruises. Still, it will be viewed as a matter of pride that he at least attempts to correct his mistake. They will look for us long and far, so we must travel longer and farther, keeping to the woods for a round or two, and avoiding Zandival where they will no doubt have their spies on the lookout for us. We'll take the road to Sarivera - beyond the comfortable range of their dragons. From there we can send word back to CarVori to join us. We'll be four or five rounds on the road, but it will be a pleasant trek. There is little to fear in the deep woods. Nothing we can't handle and I know some fine tey houses on the Sarivera road.'
I didn't ask him what little we needed to fear in the deep woods. I didn't want to find out.
The pines were tall and thick overhead, so that there was little underbrush to slow us down as we loped down the steep slope between great boulders and massive tree trunks. Tey Pot, in the lead, was tireless. Three hours later, we crossed Long Street, after carefully checking the sky and continued traveling "south" through the deep pines.
We then slackened our pace, for despite Py's denials, the pace was wearing on him. We walked through the pines with the dragons bounding ahead in the deep shadows. Trin and Py trailed behind us, talking quietly.
'They seem to be getting on well,' said Naylea, after glancing back to make sure we'd not lost them.
'Py and I had a little talk.'
'Oh?'
'He finally caught on that Natta was rather sweet on him.'
'Sweet?'
'Whatever. In any event, he was rather rattled, what with his ideas of striking out on his own and all, though I gather he's not exactly displeased. Surprised. Embarrassed. An unexpected turn in the Way he had expected to follow. Wanted my advice.'
Naylea laughed, 'And you had some to give?'
'My first piece was not to get advice from me.'
'But he insisted.'
'I guess so. So I told him to always keep an eye on a woman's knife hand, when she's angry. And, well, you can't be too cheerful before breakfast, either.'
'Solid advice, Litang. It's good to see that you learn from your mistakes.'
And taking her hand, I added, 'And I told him that some women are fiercely proud, and when they find that they must surrender to their heart, it may be best to make it appear that you're the one who's surrendering?'
She gave me a glance through narrowed eyes. Lifting her hand I held. 'And this?'
'Ah, that's your knife hand? I thought it best to hold it.'
She made a quick movement, and I found the point of a slender glass knife resting on my chin. 'I'm ambidextrous when it comes to knives,' she said in her deadliest voice, but with a twinkle in her cold grey eyes.
'I'll add that to my store of wisdom,' I said, evenly.
'Do so,' she said and as she loosened her grip on the glass knife, it coiled back up and disappeared in her hand.
I grinned at Tey Pot. 'A proud woman.'
He laughed. 'They all are. That's why I've taken to the road. But I do feel bad about my part in making young Py's life complicated. Perhaps I should have a long talk with him?'
'Py had already taken the first steps in finding his own way before we met you. He was already thinking of going out on his own. I guess it never occurred to him until he was off the leash, as he put it, and on the road with us. You showed that it was possible to find one's own Way. By all means, talk to him - give him practical advice on what to expect and how to manage. I think he's already embarked on his own path.'
We were on the road for four rounds, staying at an inn on the edge of the fissure hills at the end of the second round, when our food ran out, then in a larger one in a small town south of Zandival, where we hired a carriage to take us on to Sarivera. There we sent a letter to CarVori at the Spring Joy Tey House in Zandival with instructions to join us. He and his crew arrived three rounds later and we took to the road to Marsh Waters once again, with two stages left before we turned "south" for Marsh Waters, a journey of three stages.
We had plenty to talk about with CarVori and his crew - our adventures and his account of the rumors that had spread through Zandival started by our abduction of the Governor. We made one stage stop after rejoining Long Street and the second in the city of Alazeetra, at which point we were to leave Long Street, turn south on the road to Kinador, and then on to Marsh Waters a stage beyond it.