“It’s a library” Jadoog explained to him. “I’ve been there. You’ll love it, I think.” His master had sent him one of his memories, Putt concluded with bewilderment. Amazing.
“You know” Jadoog continued “you never have to doubt me wanting you as an apprentice. You’ve just proved your worthy for all time.” Putt stared, not getting what he was talking about. “You want to find your own truths, set what’s right and wrong in your own heart and not what anybody else tells you. A true attitude of a wizard. Never forget that.” Putt beamed.
It was not because she was a respected warrior they arranged this overwhelming dinner for her and her party. Not alone at least. They needed help and wanted to butter her up. It was not the first time it had happened during her journeys. Farmers had little experience in how to get hold of and handle a warrior once they needed one. She thought of Oon Barsate who had walked up to her, asked to sit down and then came with a proposal. As straightforward as it could be. Here she needed to be adequately honored first before the real purpose could be addressed. They served food they needed themselves only to ask her a question. She knew it was of no use refusing. It would insult them, and in their need for her help, it would gain the opposite effect, them trying even more to please her, raising their offers. It was not that she minded the respect, but after all these years she still felt uneasy. They served dinner to make her in a good mood, to ask her a question, not daring to ask before she had been appropriately honored according to their standards. She knew it was common and accepted, but she felt the thorn of manipulation, and she disliked it. The years had also taught her to smile and be polite and friendly, and then the bribes would be kept to a minimum. Still too much in her opinion, but at least she did not add to their workload. She leaned over to Osapi:
“Be prepared to get a proposal soon” she whispered. “They didn’t arrange this feast for nothing.” She noticed her apprentice stiffen beside her.
“Master, I…” he began, but she cut him off.
“Just relax and let me do the talking.” He stayed tense, and she wondered if he was suddenly nervous to use his fighting skills for real.
As she expected the woman who had met them in the square was in a leading position and soon she requested silence. They all sat along the walls, Avia and her party in the midst of the whole village it seemed. In the middle of the room was an open space where those serving had been before. Now the old woman stood there while the others sat in the silence.
“I’m Mutaram. This is Qaryat, the village at the world’s end. And this is our story.” She moved her hands as if she was about to dance. What she did was causing some smoke to move for dramatic effect. Avia drew a quick breath through her nose. She was not prepared to get herself and her party drugged to keep good manners. It was only harmless incense though. The old woman, Mutaram, began to tell a story. She was an experienced storyteller, and she caught her audience interest. Even her own village people, Avia noted, who most likely had heard this tale before. Probably many times. Mostly, it was a mythological story. Their village was undoubtedly not placed at the end of the world, but the mountain range was considered as such. Higher up and you could not feed your animals or keep crops alive, and those passing to the other side of the mountain had never returned. Avia almost snorted at this superstition but kept a straight face. Finally, Mutaram reached the core and also the reason for Avia to be invited - a monster from the other side snatched their women. The story continued however and included four incredibly brave heroes - one wise and old, two young adults, and one child. They conquered the monster and brought the women back to them. Avia notched Osapi.
“You’re already a hero” she whispered. She caught Jadoog’s eyes, and he shook his head slightly - this was not his mission. The story ended, and Mutaram was praised. Then people dropped off, and Avia and her group were shown to a room where they could spend the night. Probably their hostess’ own bedroom Avia thought. Mutaram left, and they were finally left alone. Yet, no question had been asked, just hinted. How she just hated that kind of never getting to the point. Even when the hints were as obvious as that.
“By all that’s Holy” Osapi burst. “I thought I was gonna get married!”
“What?” They all stared at him. He realized he was the one who must have misunderstood something. He turned to his master.
“You said I was going to get a proposal. I thought someone would bring me a girl! Mighty Gag and Ull and Ott!”
“That would’ve been interesting” Avia mused.
“No. Poor girl! To be refused in public like that.” Osapi had still not caught his breath after the relief that flushed through him. What a horrible idea to be presented with a girl you did not know and be expected to live the rest of your life with her.
“That’s why these things normally are arranged in private first” Avia pointed out. Osapi felt his pulse return to normal only to beat fast again.
“Are we going to chase that monster she spoke about?” There had been no real proposal offered, but considering what his master had whispered to him during the storytelling, he came to conclusions. Avia nodded. He felt a thrill of excitement taking charge of his body. All the other three in the room seemed relaxed and even tired. He, he wanted to run, or dance or practice some sword fighting or knife throwing.
“As you probably have guessed, Putt and I will not join this mission” the wizard pointed out to Avia. She nodded. Osapi’s heart took a leap. He would travel alone with his master. An unexpected bonus.
“I hope you don’t feel too uncomfortable waiting somewhere close by?” Avia asked. Jadoog shook his head.
“No, I figured we follow you about a day and then find a place where we can wait for your return and practice in the meanwhile. Would have been nice to stay here, with a proper bed, but there are too many curious eyes around.” No surprise there, Osapi thought.
“What exactly will we go looking for?” he asked. It was not without surprise he found himself to be on a mission chasing a mythological monster. For his former master, he had mostly had those of an assassin, easy but brutal. Avia, he felt, was another type of warrior. She was a warrior as they should be, he thought and remembered the night they met where she not only spared his life as it had been the most natural thing to do but also taught him valuable lessons right there and then. He would do anything within his power to stay with her for as long as he possibly could. She had become old for a reason, and though he felt he was a born warrior, he did want to grow old. He could have died young for Avia’s hands that night just because his former master was unskilled in the things that mattered.
“The villagers are no fools,” Avia said. “They don’t think it’s a fairytale creature behind the mountains. But they do know it’s something beyond their ability to fight. Or at least they think so. It’s safer to hire someone to destroy it for them.”
“Will we get paid?”
“When you become your own master, you can squeeze out the last silver from them if you like. As long as you stay with me, you get half of what I get.” He figured that meant more likely than not that there would be little or no money on this mission. Well, his old master had had some wealth but little knowledge about what he was supposed to master. Maybe he could get both reputation and wealth in all good time. As for now, he valued skills higher than money. If he could be half as good as his master, he would still have a chance for decent money. He smiled at the misunderstanding with the proposal. He had better send some prayers to the gods so that situation would never come true.
The morning after, he followed Avia to Mutaram with whom Avia had a long series of questions about the disappearing women. Soon they gave up the hope to get pure facts from the elder. For every question, there was a story and thoughts about what and where; all theories mostly made up of things never verified or possibilities so far-fetched Osapi wondered if the old woman could separate fantasy from real life. He felt Avia’s frustration and took over the interview, playing along with the st
ory instead of fighting it. When the conversation turned into something more familiar to Mutaram it was also easier to get answers. Never the less, the facts came in packages with a story.
“What do you think?” Osapi asked when they all were on the move, leaving the village behind them.
“The women were all young, not children. None has come back. Sounds like a brothel of some kind to me” Avia answered. “But we’ll see.”
In the afternoon they found a cave Jadoog said could function as a home for him and Putt while they were gone. They camped there together that night, and in the morning Osapi and Avia left for their adventure. Osapi felt so eager he had a hard time keeping Avia’s slow and steady pace. He had a chance to become a hero as in the fairy tales and could barely wait to get there.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
On the other side of world's end
There was no real path. No one passed here on an everyday basis. Just the kidnappers less than once a month. Three women disappeared last four months. It had been ten in total, over three years. Enough to scare the villagers and make young, beautiful women to wish they were ugly and hide themselves. The last was one taken had even cut her hair and smeared herself with dirt to make the danger go away. It had not worked. Either, Avia thought, those who took them did not care about appearance as much as Mutaram made it seem, or someone within Qaryat was helping the snatchers. She hoped for the first, but the last was more likely. If someone found young women worth stealing their looks were likely part of the attraction. If you searched for laborers, there were better choices. And if a dirty, boy-looking woman was taken, someone knew it was a diamond under the surface.
The mountain became steep, and the stones under her feet could slide quite far, and if they began to move, they would go fast downward. It was little vegetation up there to keep things in place. Avia paused and scanned ahead. Path or not, there was just one likely pass to use for crossing to the other side. There was one path to the village - the one Avia herself had taken. The valley ended there, and Mutaram’s story had told of a monster from the world’s end - from the other side of the mountains. There was no way to hide or stay on their side because the hill became too steep. There was a reason why they thought of their village as the end of the world. Taking another safer route with the women would only risk exposure. No thief with stolen goods of that magnitude left on the only proper path leading away from there. After all, kidnapping people tended to upset the rest of the community members, and no one wanted the risk of being followed by an angry posse. She felt Osapi’s restlessness behind her and continued ahead.
They reached the pass. There they came upon their first snow. And across the white field there was a path with fresh footprints. They were on the right track. On the other side, they saw a ridge or two of mountains. Nothing suspicious or strange. An ordinary view of a snow-clad mountain range. They searched for any track or trace to follow. Osapi found a sheltered place between a boulder and the mountain wall. They made camp with a small fire with wood they brought with them.
Not until she sat eating, Avia thought of Putt. She was back in her old tracks, in the environment that was hers before Putt’s entry in her life. It had felt natural. If Putt had been her apprentice and not her grandson, it had been something she should have handled in another way. In a better way, she guessed. An apprentice had made an active choice. Putt had never chosen to follow her and live the way she did. And she had a more extensive responsibility for him than she ever had for any of her apprentices. A responsibility she never asked for. She hoped Putt and Jadoog would be a functional team which would secure the boy’s future. And she could return to the life she wanted without feeling bad about it. She thought about the title ‘Mamasiente’ the tribe leader of the mountain men, Viseran, had given her not that long time ago.
“Could it be called wise to not feel able to care for your grandson?” she asked Osapi across the fire, out of the blue. It took a moment for him to catch up with her line of thought.
“When you know yourself you’re wise, I suppose” Osapi answered. “It has nothing to do with your abilities to care for an orphan, I would say if you ask me.” She nodded at this and also noted he used the word ‘orphan’ as if to point out the true nature of her relationship with Putt.
“Besides, it’s not like you didn’t care for him, master” he continued. “It’s just that your needs are very different from his.” Yes, they were. So true.
“Thank you.” He gave her a nod. She looked across the fire and wished she was younger and he just a little bit older.
The way down on the other side had but one possible route. The pass led to a valley which ended not far from the path. Surrounded by steep mountains, there was no other realistic path to consider. They walked down towards the bottom of the valley. People, in general, preferred to walk on the flat ground and be close to water. Down there they searched for tracks. There was a tiny lake with small streams supplying it with water from the glaciers and the snow surrounding them. The stream running down the valley from the lake was not difficult to cross if needed up here, but more water would be added along the way. What if it turned out they were on the wrong side, and it was too late to cross they would lose time?
Around the water was vegetation and there they found markings of feet and a hoofed animal. Someone had stopped here to fill up their water supplies, and where would they have come from if not from the village of Qaryat? They both searched for markings leading away from the water. They needed to know which side of the stream they should keep. At least it had not rained since then, so there was hope. Avia kneeled by a trace of dry mud on a rock. It was a possible footprint. She followed its direction, and there was another. And a marking of a hoof. They walked ahead. Further down they found an abandoned campsite. They were on the right track.
When shadows were long, and the sun was about to set they saw a house. It had two floors and was all built in stone. Not strange, considering the vast amount of that material around there. Light in the windows told there were people at home. A road winded itself from there further down the valley. No other buildings were in sight.
“Strange place for a brothel” Osapi commented. It was. Would men travel this far for that kind of activity?
“Come, let’s pay them a visit” Avia grinned at Osapi and walked straight ahead towards the building. “Keep your eyes open and appear as harmless as you can.” Before Osapi had any chance to object to what she was doing, she knocked on the door. Nothing happened for a long moment, so she knocked again, harder, but not commanding. The door swung open with a bang and Avia had never seen someone more resembling a bull. Massive as a block of stone he confronted them at the doorway, with muscles tense as to make an intimidating impression.
“Yes?” he rumbled.
“Excuse us” Avia smiled at the man, doing her best to appear as old as she was. “We’ve traveled far and—”
“This is no inn” the man cut off.
“Yes, I understand that, but—” The door was shut. Avia made a face.
“Interesting indeed” she concluded.
“What shall we do? Burst inside?” Osapi’s eager could not be missed.
“We don’t know how many they are.” She was not fond of the idea of a sword fight indoors. It was cramped, and with more than one room it quickly became an arena with too many places to hide, and this was a two-story building.
“Smoke them out?” Osapi suggested.
“And if they have the women in there? The smoke will harm them too.” Avia objected. “We don’t even know for sure that they are the ones we are looking for.” As a warrior, she had a responsibility not to kill without a cause. Out here she could do it without consequences, but that was no excuse for her to do so. Justice in the meaning of an impartial trial was something for towns and maybe for the more prominent villages. Things within a village, ever so small, was handled within the village, but people from outside, acting in a wider range, became targets for warriors like her
, if someone asked and was willing to pay. She wanted to act as fair as possible.
Osapi slid along the wall. He drew his blade and Avia became worried at once. After all, this was their first mission together, and his actions were her responsibility. What was he doing with the sword? She frowned and tried to figure it out. He stood under a window with the blade angled in front of him, moving it, wiggling it. Then he walked to the next window, doing the same. He went around the corner, and after a few minutes, he returned to her.
“There are three men on the bottom floor” he informed her. “No sign of any women. Nor any weapons.”
“You used the blade like a mirror.” He nodded and grinned. “Well done.” She could have sworn he grow at least a hand width taller. Osapi waited for her lead. She considered. Three could be handled with ease. Six would be difficult. Was it likely they were more than three? Yes, she thought, but not as many as six of them.
“Alright. Let’s go in. No killing. We want to know where the women are.” He nodded. She drew her swords, stepped up to the door and kicked it open.
Their entrance first caused surprise and then a noisy stir. There were three men on the bottom floor, as expected. One drew a knife only to find it knocked out of his hand and a tip of a sword under his chin. They soon had the three men gathered in one room with their hands in the air.
“Face the wall and sit down” Avia ordered, and they did. No one could make a quick attack from that position except throwing a knife, and if so it would go in the wrong direction, into the wall.
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