by Ian Gregoire
Ready to resume her journey, Fay paused for thought, contemplating the wisdom of trying to contact the apprentice. She had never attempt mind-to-mind communication with Kayden before, having never informed the apprentice that it might be possible between them, yet it was potentially a waste of time to attempt to do so. Until now, Ari was the only person with whom Fay had successfully experienced mind-to-mind contact, and only across short distances. Kayden was over three hundred miles away, which was a significantly greater distance. Nevertheless, the fact that Kayden’s presence felt so strong from such a distance suggested that Fay would have little difficulty establishing a mind link with the apprentice.
Eventually, Fay decided against it. In light of the letter she had left, it was abundantly clear that Kayden would not easily be talked out of her foolhardy mission. She was fully prepared to die in her effort to capture Master Yosarian alive, and transport him to the Shintanese capital. The other problem was that having never experienced mind-to-mind contact with her master before, Kayden would likely assume she was hallucinating, or maybe conclude that her subconscious was trying to sow doubt in her.
Decision made, Fay readied Shadow for the final push to Nerezan. Soon she was back in the saddle, kicking her heels into the mare’s flanks. In no time they were back on the road at a gallop, with Fay’s hooded, black siphon cloak billowing behind her. She was determined to ensure that Master Yosarian had very good reason to doubt that Kayden was the black-clad harbinger of death haunting his dreams.
Beneath the hood of her cloak, Kayden let out a sigh of frustration. She had been traversing the streets of Nagornorak for at least a couple of hours, and only now was she ready to admit she had been going about things the wrong way. Wandering aimlessly through the city, she had wasted valuable time stopping random strangers to ask them about a wonderful community of people she’d heard so much about, living in communes in the countryside southwest of the city, and to inquire about who she needed to see in order to be taken to the group so she could join them. Most of the people she met played dumb, seemingly unwilling to acknowledge their awareness of Josario’s cult, while those who did know what she was talking about either hurriedly walked away from her without saying a word, or warned her against asking dangerous questions. The only worthwhile detail she had learned was that she couldn’t simply go to the group and ask to join. She would have to wait for someone to recruit her.
Leading Onyx by the reins through the hustle and bustle of the midday crowds, Kayden shuffled to a halt when her stomach growled audibly. It was a reminder that she hadn’t yet eaten, having missed the opportunity for breakfast, thanks to the damned trio of Sanatsai who’d tried to kill her. She decided it was time for a meal and something hot to drink. Once she killed the pangs of hunger, she would change tack in her search for someone who could direct her to Josario’s cult. Nagornorak was a vast city with a population believed to be in excess of two hundred thousand people; there had to be a quicker and easier way to get what she wanted.
Kayden was soon drawn to a busy market by the aromas of hot food being cooked. She spotted a number of street vendors plying their trade, and she eagerly approached a man selling pasties and pies. The craggy vendor wasn’t the first person that day to voice his surprise that a young woman was lurking beneath the hooded cloak when she ordered a meat pasty. Again, she tried not to take it personally; she was, after all, deliberately concealing her features. A woman of Vaidasovian extraction navigating the streets of Nagornorak wasn’t exactly inconspicuous. If the Order had people in the city searching for her, she would stick out like a sore thumb, so she had to take steps to make it harder to be found.
When she handed over payment, Kayden accepted the golden-brown pasty from the vendor, and gleefully bit into it. She complimented him on his delicious handiwork then asked him for directions to the nearest teahouse.
“Teahouse. What’s that?” said the vendor.
Eyebrows raised, Kayden replied, “It’s a place where people go to sit down and drink hot herbal infusions like green tea, camomile, peppermint, and such like, while nibbling on a biscuit or two.” She couldn’t believe she was having to explain such a simple concept.
“That sounds like the sort of thing the softies in the north would be into,” mused the vendor. “You won’t find any of that fancy nonsense down here in the south, sweetheart. If you want something to drink you should go to a tavern.”
The suggestion was far from ideal. Kayden knew there was little chance of being served her favourite camomile and spiced apple tea in a tavern. Besides, she generally avoided such establishments. They were known to be rowdy places where men got drunk and started fist fights for no reason. But now that she thought about it, taverns were also known to be places of gossip, so what better place to find people willing and able to talk about the cult living in the countryside outside the city?
“In that case,” she said to the vendor, “can you direct me to the nearest tavern?”
He duly gave her clear directions to the Three Crows Inn, and assured her that it would take no more than ten minutes to get there. Kayden quickly finished off the rest of her pasty then thanked the vendor for his assistance, and the tasty food. She retrieved the canteen from one of her burlap sacks, and took several sips of water before she took hold of Onyx by the reins and led him away from the street vendor’s stall. Once more they were moving through the hustle and bustle of Nagornorak, en route to what was supposedly the most popular tavern in the vicinity.
Kayden was pleasantly surprised to discover that the street vendor had been true to his word when her destination came into view in under ten minutes. As she crossed the flagstone thoroughfare towards the three-storey building, she could well believe that it was home to the most frequented tavern in the area. It stood out from the neighbouring businesses due to its size, and there was a throng of men loitering outside, drinking from tankards. Looking at the establishment and the arched entryway to its stable, it dawned on Kayden that the Three Crows Inn could be the ideal place to base herself if she ended up having to stay the night in the city. There would obviously be plenty of guest-rooms available.
With the clip-clop of hooves in her ears, she led Onyx to the arched entryway to the inn’s stable, where she was greeted by a couple of burly stablemen. She asked to have her horse groomed, fed and watered while she went inside the tavern, and they duly accepted her custom. Taking out her money pouch from beneath the hem of her black shirt and tabard, she was able to pay in the local currency, handing over three silver anzaris. She removed her burlap sacks from Onyx’s back then passed the reins to one of the men, permitting him to lead her horse away while she slung her possessions over her shoulder and headed back out of the stable to the front entrance of the inn.
Once she set foot inside, Kayden was amazed by the scale of the saloon—it had to cover seven to eight times the area she was accustomed to seeing when she visited Rondario’s inn back in Timaris. There were numerous tables and chairs evenly spread across the floor, with a sizeable crowd of midday patrons in attendance, including woman and children. She ambled through the saloon to the serving counter where three women of varying ages and an older man were beavering away, serving drinks. In the wall behind the counter was a rectangular hatch granting Kayden a view of the kitchen beyond, where more staff were busy cooking food. Waiting for someone to be free to attend her, Kayden set her burlap sacks down at her feet and turned around to face the rest of the saloon. As she watched the patrons sitting at tables, and the groups of standing men engaged in conversation, she debated with herself whether remaining the only person on the premises with a hood over their head would draw more attention to her than pulling it down.
“What can I get you, fella?” said a male voice behind her.
Kayden turned back around to face the man serving behind the counter. Wearing a dark blue apron over his clothing, he stood a couple of inches shorter than her, and appeared to be twice her age. His face was welcoming as he waite
d expectantly for her order. She pulled back the hood of her cloak, deciding it was safe to show her face since she was unlikely to encounter a Sanatsai of the Order in a tavern. Before she could offer her response, the barman’s jaw dropped and he stared wide-eyed at her.
“What’s the matter, never seen a Vaidasovian woman before?” she quipped.
The barman slowly shook his head without saying a word.
“Well now that you have, would you kindly close your mouth and stop staring. It’s impolite,” she said. “As for what you can get me, how about some information?”
“Oh, you’ll have to order something first, young lady, if you want to talk.” The barman seemed to have recovered his composure. “Now, what will you be having?”
Fair enough, thought Kayden. Besides, she initially entered the establishment because she wanted a hot drink and, supposedly, there were no actual teahouses in Nagornorak. “I don’t suppose your kitchen serves camomile and spiced apple tea by any chance?”
“Only what you see up there,” said the barman, gesturing with his thumb at the wall behind him.
Above the rectangular hatch to the kitchen, Kayden saw three chalkboards hanging on the wall. The menu of food and drink served at the inn was written in white chalk, and she was pleasantly surprised to find mint tea listed.
“Could I get a full pot of mint tea, and two blueberry muffins?” she said. “I suspect I’ll be here for a while.”
The barman turned around and peered through the open hatch to the kitchen, calling for someone to brew a fresh pot of mint tea. A voice responded immediately, letting him know the order had been received. Turning back to face Kayden, the barman said, “That’ll be about five minutes, young lady. If you’d like to take a seat at a table, I’ll have someone bring your order to you as soon as it’s ready.”
“Thank you,” she said, “but I’ll stand right here for now. How much do I owe you?”
She duly retrieved her money pouch and handed over the five bronze anzaris the barman asked for. After he pocketed the coins in his apron, she tried to question him about Josario’s cult. He instantly looked disquieted at the mention of the group, and feigned ignorance of its existence.
While she waited for her order to arrive, she turned her back on the counter to observe the busy saloon. It appeared as though the novelty of a Vaidasovian woman on the premises hadn’t worn off yet, so Kayden found numerous patrons staring at her—many of them men. She groaned on the inside. Most of the men had lustful looks on their faces rather than plain curiosity. One man in particular caught her attention, sitting with five other men at a table close to the centre of the saloon, all looking like thirty-something labourers. With a smile on his face, he raised his tankard in the air and winked at her. She quickly looked away. But at the periphery of her vision she noticed him rising to his feet and walking in her direction.
Oh, great! she thought.
The winking man halted beside her at the serving counter. “Hel-lo,” he enunciated strangely. “Wel-come. Toooo. An-zar-meeee-niya. Doooo. Yoooo. Come. Heeeere. Of-ten?”
Kayden frowned at the man. She couldn’t decide if he was inebriated or suffered from a strange speech impediment. “I think you might have had too much to drink,” she said. “You should go home and sleep it off.” Though why anyone would be drunk at this time of day she couldn’t fathom.
“Oh! You speak Anzarmenian just fine,” he responded normally, looking dumbstruck.
“Too bad I can’t say the same for you.” Kayden made no attempt to keep the condescension out of her voice. “I had to waste a year of my life learning your language, so you could at least have the decency to speak to me properly.”
With a twinkle in his eyes, the man said, “I’d rather speak to you indecently, if you don’t mind.”
“Unless you can tell me about the community of Zarantar-wielders living in the countryside somewhere to the southwest of the city, and where I need to go in order to meet their leader, then I don’t want to waste my time talking to you at all.”
The expression on the man’s face shifted. He didn’t look offended; he looked nervous. “Those people like to keep themselves to themselves from what I hear,” he said. “And it’s a bad idea to be asking questions about their leader. It could reach the ear of the wrong person and you’ll disappear.” He looked her up and down. “Besides, if you’re looking to join them, I don’t think they accept people like you.”
“What do you mean, people like me?”
By way of explanation, he used his two index fingers to make his eyes look slanted.
Kayden pursed her lips. “I think you should rejoin your friends,” she said tersely. “We have nothing further to discuss.” She turned away from him, resting her arms on the serving counter in the hopes that he knew how to take a hint.
With her focus fixed on the view of the kitchen through the open rectangular hatch, she waited patiently for her mint tea and blueberry muffins. Her expectation that no one else would approach her while she had her back turned on the rest of the saloon was short-lived. She heard and felt a man halt at her side, leaning against the counter as he stared at her—no doubt intending to gain her attention.
“Hey there, beautiful lady,” he crooned. “Today is your lucky day. I—”
“Go away before I notice you.” She cut him off mid-sentence without turning her head to look at him. “And believe me when I say you do not want me to notice you.”
“Playing hard to get, huh?” her latest admirer quipped. “All right, let me cut to the chase. I’ve heard some very interesting things about the women from your part of the world.” Kayden rolled her eyes; she knew where this was heading. “I would love to find out just how true those stories are. In exchange, I will demonstrate the validity of what is said about me by many of my countrywomen.”
Kayden sighed and turned to face her would-be seducer. To her surprise he was a fine specimen of a man in his early-thirties. He stood over six feet tall, with a strapping physique beneath his finely tailored clothing. His handsome, chiselled features were embellished with a week’s worth of stubble, his winning smile featured a full set of perfect teeth, and he had the most captivating green eyes she had ever seen. No wonder he was so sure of himself. Looking at the man suddenly made Lazar seem only half as pretty. On another day, Kayden would have offered little resistance. This day, however, she was going to make an example out her admirer to discourage others from pestering her.
“I’m afraid I’m not familiar with the stories about you,” she said, affecting a coy tone of voice. “Would you care to elaborate?”
The handsome man leaned forward to whisper in her ear. “I’m hung like a horse, and I can satisfy a woman until she can’t walk for days.” He leaned back, looking pleased with himself as he stared intently into Kayden’s eyes.
She took a step backward, and a smirk tugged one corner of her mouth. Folding her arms across her chest, she invoked Yuksaydan to lift the arrogant Lothario off his feet. An indecipherable blurt of alarm came from his lips as he was suspended three feet off the ground, which was followed by murmurings that coursed throughout the saloon. Suddenly, all his clothes were torn from his body in an instant by the ‘unseen hand’, leaving him naked and wriggling futilely against the invisible hold on him.
“When you said you were hung like a horse,” said Kayden, raising her voice, “I didn’t realise you meant a newborn foal.”
The naked man cupped his hands over his groin to protect his modesty as a raucous chorus of laughter resounded through the saloon.
“For goodness’ sake, what are you doing?” cried out the barman from behind the counter. “Put him down this instant.”
Kayden duly complied, ceasing her invocation of Yuksaydan, thereby setting the hapless man down on the floor while the barman rushed out from behind the serving counter to throw his apron over the naked patron. “Mr. Vashlatarian, I’m terribly sorry, please come upstairs with me,” he said. “I’ll find you some clothes to p
ut on.” The barman hurriedly ushered Kayden’s one-time admirer towards the staircase to the floors above, and she guessed that the naked man was a valued patron of the establishment. A perception that seemed to be confirmed when the barman peered back over his shoulder to glare at her with annoyance in his eyes. Now she knew that he was in fact the innkeeper.
She looked away and inadvertently caught sight of the one person present who wasn’t having a reaction to the spectacle. The man was seated alone at a table in the far corner of the saloon, dressed in dark leather apparel that marked him as a warrior of some kind. The hood of his cloak was down, and he was staring at her with a cold, blank expression on his face. He casually averted his gaze, returning his attention to the tankard in his hand. Kayden got a bad vibe from the strange man; somehow, he posed a threat. She wondered if maybe he was from the Order, but he was far too pale to be a native of the Nine Kingdoms. He couldn’t even pass for a local; his stringy, fair hair was more in keeping with the descriptions of the peoples from the lands of southern Karlandria.
“Mint tea and blueberry muffins!”
The loud feminine voice drew Kayden’s attention to the staff entrance on the left-hand side of the serving counter. A middle-aged woman wearing a stained white apron, and a white hat, had just emerged from the kitchen carrying a tray laden with a teapot, a teacup, a small bowl, and a plate with two muffins. Kayden raised a hand.
“That would be me,” she said. The woman ambled around to the front of the counter, and Kayden pointed her in the direction of the unoccupied table against the wall on the right-hand side of the counter. “Thank you. I’m sitting right over there.”