by Candy Rae
“It is very beautiful,” she agreed, “we went past that part where the stream meandered into the gully on our way here. Josei has told me about it of course, how he fell into it when he was tiny and imaged me pictures, but it is only when you actually get here you understand.”
“How very beautiful it is? Yes, this area has been the home of our rtath for many lives of us. I must tell Josei to show you everything. Now, to my next question. You know there is a Holad not many paws from here?”
Thalia nodded.
“Do you wish to spend the dark-time there, with your own kind?”
It was obvious the question was important.
“I would much rather stay with Josei and you and yours in your daga if you don’t mind.”
Janya looked pleased.
“You are very welcome, but will you be comfortable?”
Thalia smiled, “I’ve got my bedroll and Josei and I have slept on hard ground before. I’m sure your daga is most comfortable.”
“Then that is how we will arrange it, there is grass and hay there which make a fine sleep-place, but food? I know your kind does not eat raw kura.”
“I will be happy to cook,” Thalia offered, “I can cook a really tasty kura stew. Josei loves it … but … I’ll need a big pot if I’m to feed everyone.”
“That can be brought here from where the Holad are,” said Janya, “I look forward to tasting this stew, Josei has told us how nice it is.”
“You shall not be disappointed Mother,” said Josei, sauntering over, having extricated himself at last from the exuberant ltsctas. He licked his lips in anticipation.
* * * * *
The days passed as days do; days filled with quietness and for Thalia an inner peace. She and Josei explored and as Janya had promised Thalia found the woods and plains around the rtath Gsnendrei’s domta absolutely wonderful. She and Josei hunted with his rtathen, Thalia cooked meals (but not every day) and generally enjoyed herself.
She wished their Long Leave could last forever but knew that it could not. All too soon the two of them must return to duty. She sewed the silver badges of the Thirty-eighth Ryzck on to her uniform tunics. It was strange to see a silver knife emblazoned on them rather than the Lai in flight.
Immersing herself in this life of the rtath, the way of life of the Lind, she didn’t notice that Josei was unusually un-talkative, nor that he appeared to be showing her round the woods, the beauty spots and the open places as if he might never see them again.
* * * * *
She and Josei were not the only vadeln-pair on leave at the domta.
Also on leave were a vadeln-pair called Rudy and his Lind Whispya, already members of a Ryzck in the west. They were also on Long Leave
Sometimes Thalia went over to the Holad Station to speak to both the permanent staff there and those who were visiting.
* * * * *
“Some say that the Vada is changing, is losing its ethos,” said Rudy one fair day towards the end of Thalia and Josei’s visit.
“Perhaps it has had to move with the times.”
“Perhaps, but there are many who do not like it. You will find serving here in the west different, more like the old days.”
“What has changed do you think?” asked Thalia.
“The Vada itself. Remember Thalia, the Vada is an organisation. It makes coin. The Argyllian wards have always tithed for protection and still do, those that need our services. But there are less of them than there once were. The Vada costs a lot for its upkeep. It owns land, quite fifty per cent of the farmland of southern Vadath is owned by the Vada. Farmers pay rent. The Vada also owns vast herds of kura and zarova. It probably possesses the largest herds on the planet, supplies a goodly amount of the meat for Argyll too.”
“I never thought of the Vada as a commercial enterprise.”
“It wasn’t in the old days, never had to be at least until the Dglai invasion. Argyll tithed more then and the Vada was largely self-sufficient.”
“Does Argyll not need us any more?”
“They still do to patrol the mountains against bandits, gtran and wral but along the south eastern and south coasts; not so much.”
“Why do you think that is?”
“The Sea Pirates don’t threaten as much any more; many of them have turned to respectability. Did you know that King Cadan of Leithe’s ancestors were once pirate leaders? No, I didn’t think so. Not many do.”
“Is Leithe important then?”
“Yes. It’s one of the biggest of the islands. It began to be colonised at the end of the sixth century. It didn’t have many inhabitants at first. Then gold was found in the mountains and pretty soon everyone was eager to move there. Many did. It was known as the Leithe Gold Rush. It is extremely wealthy very powerful. The King of Leithe is powerful and his strength is growing. I heard that one of Cadan’s sons has recently married the heir to the throne of Murdoch.”
“I thought they all intermarried with each other down in Murdoch,” commented Thalia, “least that’s what my history books say.”
“No longer it seems, anyway, Leithe also has a navy just like Argyll has. It doesn’t rival Argyll’s yet but it will one day.”
“Rival Argyll’s Navy, surely not? No other navy could do that!”
“I told you, Cadan of Leithe is ambitious. I believe that his ultimate aim is to become over king of all the islands in the Great Eastern Sea. They’re certainly building ships fast enough. There are other implications in all this too.”
He gazed into the distance, marshalling his thoughts. “Cadan will expand his, shall we say, sphere of influence? He’s started already. Some seven or eight islands now owe allegiance to Leithe. One impact is that fewer people who might want to emigrate from Murdoch and Argyll into the islands don’t find the idea as appealing as they used to. The King of Leithe has an unsavoury reputation for ruthlessness. So where do they go?”
“I’ve never wondered,” confessed Thalia.
“Where does the excess population of Argyll go?” Rudy repeated, “overcrowding along the coasts is already reaching levels to worry the Council of Argyll. They used to go to the islands but now?”
“Surely you’re not saying that they’d want to move west, into Vadath? Why, they can’t! The Accords of Settlement in AL 2 stipulate that Argyll is for humankind, Vadath human-kind and lind-kind and the rest of the continent belongs to the Lind.”
“These were simpler times,” Rudy explained, “the original colonists numbered only about eight thousand. This situation was not foreseen.”
“But it is a situation now, I think I’m beginning to understand what you’re trying to tell me.”
“Murdoch is growing too,” continued Rudy, “an extra two duchies have been founded and no doubt more will come but my worry is here, on our continent.”
“You think some of the people of Argyll, thwarted in their desire to colonise the islands will try to come west, despite the Accords.”
“I do.”
“They can’t!”
“They will! It is going to happen my young vadeln, if not in our lifetimes then in the lifetimes of our children. I fear that the Lind will be forced ever westwards, even unto Dagan itself. I am very much afraid Thalia, very much afraid.”
“How do you know all this?”
“My brother is Foreign Secretary on the Council of Argyll,” he answered, “he keeps me informed.”
“What’s his name?” she inquired, “I studied in Stewarton. I might know of him.”
“Francis Durand,” he answered.
* * * * *
-13-
DOMTA OF THE GTRATHLIN – CLOSE TO THE MOUNTAINS OF THE NORTHERN CONTINENT – WITHIN THE RTATHLIANS OF THE LIND
Drellor’s caravan made its ponderous way through the wooded foothills that surrounded Domta Gtratha, the location where the High Council (a human description) of the Lind met; a council made up of the oldest and wisest from the packs and known as the Elda.
Chad was v
ery careful to contain his excitement, keeping his plans submerged deep within his outer consciousness. He had tried to explain the peculiarities and abilities of the Lind to Zeb during the journey, emphasising the fact that Zeb too must try to do the same.
Zeb had grasped the concept quickly and it was obvious to Chad that he had been practicing. His face was openly showing that he was concentrating on just that.
This wouldn’t do.
“Try to relax,” commanded Chad, “act natural.”
“Natural to our profession or natural boy-like?” Zeb asked with an impish smile.
Chad bit back the words he wanted to utter. This boy was too quick by half.
“The latter,” he hissed and Zeb nodded. He began to chatter and laugh, telling Chad a story (Chad had no idea if it was true or not, with Zeb you couldn’t always tell but he suspected the latter) about a joke he and his little friends had once played on one of his teachers at school. One of the caravan guards edged closer so he could hear. During the journey Zeb had earned quite a reputation as a storyteller. It was how he told them, with a perfectly straight face and engaging smile. People wanted to listen.
Chad would have preferred silence so that he could think but he could cope with the chatter, at least for a bell or so. After that Zeb’s talking and endless questions usually got on his nerves.
He reinforced his inner consciousness, that of a jovial, yet shrewd, jewellery merchant. He was in fact very good at assuming a character and even Drellor was beginning to believe that Chad was a bona fide merchant and not a thief as he had first suspected.
“Is it far now?” asked Zeb of the guard, having finished his story.
“Not far now,” the guard answered with a good-humoured smile, “just over that rise there, see?”
“I thought the Lind might have been here to welcome us,” complained Zeb, jiggling his body in the saddle with feigned excitement. Or was it feigned? Chad wasn’t sure. Zeb was only a little boy after all, excitement would be natural.
“That’s not their way,” explained the guard, “but they know we are here. They’ve been watching us for a while.”
“I didn’t see anything,” said Zeb, almost but not quite managing to keep the chagrin from his voice. He prided himself on his observation skills, a necessary accomplishment for a successful thief and he had thought himself good at it.
The guard didn’t notice the infinitesimal change in the boy’s voice. Zeb had managed to retain a countenance of wide-eyed innocence. He still appeared to be what he wasn’t; a young apprentice trading-boy on his first visit into the Rtathlians of the Lind.
“You never do see them,” continued the guard, “this is my fifth time here and I’ve only spotted them a couple of times.”
“What’s this Gtratha like?” Zeb asked.
Chad applauded the question. Local knowledge was important and the guard, in its absence, was the next best thing.
“Much like other Lind domtas,” the unsuspecting guard answered, “but bigger. You won’t see much of where the Lind live. There’s an enclave for humans north of where the Elda meet and the Lind dagas are, that’s their word for their homes. Vada Supply Station is there too, we get to use it because we bring in goods and luxuries those who live there can’t get anywhere else. Spent a month there once, time I broke my foot.”
“Where will we set up camp, in the enclave?”
“In the third section of the enclave. You look disappointed boy.”
Zeb’s face had indeed fallen.
“I so much wanted to see around,” he said, “do we have to stay in the enclave?”
The guard laughed, “no, not at all. You’ll be able to explore to your heart’s content, the Lind don’t mind, just as long as you don’t interfere with what they’re doing and behave yourself.”
Zeb’s face brightened, “that’s okay then,” he said with satisfaction.
The guard laughed again, “just remember what I told you. Drellor’ll have your guts for garters if there are any complaints. He’ll fine your master and then you’ll be in a rod and a pickle.”
“I’ll remember,” Zeb promised in a fervent voice, his eyes gleaming behind his eyelashes as he ducked his head to avoid a low hanging branch.
* * * * *
By nightfall camp had been set up in that part of the enclave dedicated to its trading visitors.
As usual Chad and Zeb’s tent was close to the one belonging to Drellor. It would have looked strange if they hadn’t pitched it there, next to the guard tents. His merchandise was of high value, lightweight and traders in jewellery always took advantage of this extra security.
Trading would begin in the morning. Only a foolish (and poor) merchant bargained when tired.
“Do you want me to start looking around tonight?” asked Zeb as he set out his bedroll, “there’s just enough light.”
“Best wait until morning; breakfast, dishes and help me set up then you can go take a look. Find the cave, but remember, don’t make your interest too obvious. We know that it is guarded so make a note of where the Lind guards are and how many.”
“Consider it done,” said Zeb as he wriggled into his bed and made himself comfy.
“Confidence misplaced is a sure route to the gaol-house,” Chad warned.
“I know,” agreed Zeb, “but I don’t think there are any gaols round here, are there?”
“Probably someplace much worse,” answered Chad, blowing out the candle, “so be careful.”
“I’m always careful,” yawned Zeb, closing his eyes.
* * * * *
Next morning Zeb was up with the malinon. He hurried through breakfast and the dishwashing then looked expectantly at Chad.
“Oh, off with you boy,” said Chad, silently applauding Zeb’s demeanour and flapping his hands in a shoo’ing gesture. “I can manage, not be much doing this day.” He rubbed his hands together. Much as he was a master of the art of relieving certain people of their possessions, he did enjoy a bit of bartering. His face showed this inner excitement and for once it wasn’t assumed. Zeb, who didn’t know about these wheels within wheels decided that he simply must practice his acting skills a lot more. At this point in his young life his ambition was to become the greatest thief on the continent. That would change (and sooner than he could ever had imagined) but he didn’t know that. He was also, as his uncle had told him he would, learning a lot from Chad.
He nodded his thanks and scurried away, quite as if here was a boy who couldn’t quite believe his luck at the unexpected holiday and if he didn’t get out of sight quick enough his master might change his mind.
Now, where first? Might be best to begin away from the cave. It might look suspicious if I go there first. He composed his face into an expression he thought it should be like, one of interest and excitement at getting this marvellous chance to explore.
He spent the first part of the morning looking round the dagas of the Lind, nodding with polite interest to the greetings. He spent over a quarter bell watching some ltsctas playing, laughing aloud at their antics. They were very small ones and they were very comical and didn’t appear to be at all sure of their balance. As they batted at each other with their paws, one especially fell down more than the others, tail wagging and panting with joyous glee.
He left the dagas, not without some regret and walked over to the copse of ancient allst trees, where the Elda met. He didn’t spend more than a few moments there however, there wasn’t much to see anyway. Also, he was hungry, his stomach was complaining and it began rumbling as soon as he thought of food. He would come back later.
Over a cold lunch he told Chad about his morning, being careful to describe it, ltsctas and all, just in case anyone was listening.
“Do you need me this afternoon?” he asked in a pleading voice, not altogether feigned, he really wanted to go look some more. Chad replied in the negative so as soon as lunch was over off went Zeb again.
He knew where the cave was. He and Chad had spent bells
poring over the map Chad had been given by Baron Erik Halfarm.
He walked back to where the Elda met, casual-like as he would have put it and stopped beside an allst tree, not quite liking to step inside. He had the feeling it wouldn’t be polite and even he felt that there was something special about this place, a sense of peace going back for eons.
His intuition was correct. Lind appreciated good manners. As Zeb gazed, a Lind trotted over.
“Dedta,” he greeted Zeb
Zeb didn’t know any Lindish so he bowed.
This show of respect seemed to please the Lind. He wagged his tail.
“Would you like to look around?” asked the Lind in reasonable Standard.
Zeb’s face broke into a genuine smile.
“Oh yes, yes I would.” He clapped his hands.
The Lind grinned and Zeb stepped back. He had so many teeth! ‘All the better to eat you with’ the phrase came unbidden into his mind as he remembered his grandmother’s words as she told him his favourite bed-time story when he had been a little boy.
“I will show you,” said the Lind.
* * * * *
Zeb learned a lot during Redei’s tour. He found out exactly where the cave was located (the map had been slightly askew in terms of locations and distances), where the paths ran to and from it, the positions of the dugo bushes that grew around it and more importantly where the entrance was. Redei was talkative, he was proud of the cave and he told Zeb that inside there were many things, important things of great significance. It was also not very large, Redei informed him.
“Have you been inside?” asked Zeb.
“No, but I do not need to,” Redei answered.