by Chuck Black
“Yes,” Carliss said, reaching into her leather vest for coins. “Anything newcomers ought to know?”
The owner eyed Carliss suspiciously, then smiled. “Not really.”
Carliss nodded. She paid the man, then turned and couldn’t help but stare at a man and a woman seated on a bench nearby. They were gazing at something and yet nothing. Both wore a countenance of dazed pleasure and seemed unaware of anything else that was happening around them.
“What’s with them?” Carliss asked the shopkeeper, nodding to the couple.
The owner leaned toward Carliss.
“You are new, aren’t you?” he said with a sly smile on his lips. “They’ve been drinking the Waters of Moorue.” He leaned closer and lowered his voice. “Would you like to try some?”
Carliss shook her head, disgusted at the man’s tone. It unsettled her.
“Let’s go.” Salina nodded for Carliss to follow her away from the shop.
“There’s something strange here, just like in Wallen,” Carliss said as they walked toward Ganoaf and their steeds.
“I agree,” Salina said. “But I can’t see that it matters to us.”
Ganoaf handed Salina the reins to her horse. When he handed the reins of Rindy to Carliss, he looked at her with frightened eyes and leaned close.
“Moorue bad,” he said as his eyes darted from one side of the street to the other.
“I think you’re right, Ganoaf,” she whispered back. “I don’t like it here either.”
“Excuse me, my lady,” a young male voice called from behind Carliss.
She turned about to see the same lad who had watched her at the city gate. He was a bit of a ragamuffin, perhaps twelve years old. His face was smudged with dirt and his straight black hair stuck out in jagged tufts. His eyes were narrow but friendly and full of life. Carliss smiled at him.
“Are you from Brimwick Downs?” the boy asked quietly.
“No, we’re not,” Carliss replied.
The lad tilted his head and looked confused. “But the mark…” He pointed to the insignia embroidered onto Rindy’s saddle pad. He held up his hand and looked into his palm, where an inked image had been drawn. It matched Carliss’s mark—the mark of the Prince.
“You are”—the lad looked about and whispered—“a Knight of the Prince, are you not?”
“Yes, but—”
“I am Akiyma. You must come with me.” The boy grabbed Carliss’s hand and began to pull. “He is waiting for you.”
Carliss stood firm and pulled back on the boy’s hand. She glanced at Salina, who had raised an eyebrow as she looked toward the boy.
“Hold on, lad,” Carliss said. “Who’s waiting for us?”
The boy turned about as he let loose of her hand.
“My master…Si Kon!”
Carliss was stunned. Could it be the same Si Kon whom she, Dalton, and Koen had rescued from Lord Drox’s prison just a few weeks earlier? The same Si Kon who bravely fought one of Drox’s hounds of despair to help them during the rescue? She remembered that Si Kon was from the northern region of the kingdom, but Moorue? She wondered perhaps if this was a different man by the same name.
“Akiyma, is Si Kon a Knight of the Prince?”
“Yes, my lady,” Akiyma said with a wide smile. “But it is best not to say so very loudly here.” His smile diminished as he glanced about them.
Carliss leaned forward so that she was face to face with the boy. She looked straight into his eyes and saw the light of the Prince in them. The corners of her lips turned up.
“Take us to Si Kon, Akiyma.”
The boy beamed. He grabbed Carliss’s hand again, and this time she allowed it. They followed Akiyma north and then east, skirting the more heavily populated sections of the city, and the strange odors that had bothered Carliss earlier gradually disappeared. Flowering trees and greenery occasionally decorated the landscape here on the fringes of the city.
As they traveled, Carliss noted how different the culture of the Mooruvians was from the places she was used to. These people evidently loved color, for almost all were brightly arrayed, as were their homes. The people seemed polite and respectful, yet she sensed that an enemy in Moorue would run you through more quickly than anywhere else, then bow and leave you to bleed to death. Carliss suspected that placing trust in someone here could be a precarious act.
Akiyma turned out to be a talkative lad, and Carliss felt they were fast friends before they had gone far. She learned that Akiyma worked for anyone who would hire him, for his family needed his income to make ends meet. As of late, however, he had been employed for many days by the man they were traveling to meet. Akiyma hoped to continue to serve Si Kon, for he treated Akiyma well. The labor was very bearable, and Akiyma liked working for a Knight of the Prince. “Because I’m a Knight of the Prince too now,” he confided proudly. “I’ve just started learning the sword. Si Kon is teaching me.”
The sun was high overhead by the time they reached the northeast section of Moorue. The homes here were larger than most, and if they were truly being led to the same Si Kon Carliss knew, then he lived better than most Mooruvians.
“How much farther, Akiyma?” Carliss asked.
“It’s just there.” The boy pointed to a fine-looking manor with a surrounding courtyard, trees, and a gated fence separating it from other homes.
Akiyma led them through the wide gate. As they entered, he ran ahead up to the doors of the home.
“Master Si Kon, I’ve brought them!” he exclaimed as he disappeared into the home. A moment later, Akiyma appeared with a finely arrayed knight beside him. A thin black beard closely framed his mouth and matched the straight black hair that hung to his shoulders. He was of average height, but his well-muscled frame revealed him as a knight out of armor. The man hesitated in the doorway, squinting a stern look of discernment as he evaluated the odd trio before him. Carliss felt a portion of her angst disappear.
“Carliss!” he exclaimed.
“Si Kon!” She handed Rindy’s reins to Ganoaf and ran to him.
Si Kon’s face illuminated with joy. He met her halfway, and they embraced. It had been a few weeks since they both faced the deadly blades of Lord Drox and his warriors, but the bond of brotherhood and sisterhood they had forged in those few moments of battle still held fast.
Si Kon stepped back, still grasping her shoulders with his hands.
“I can’t believe that it is you who answered my call,” he exclaimed, then looked behind her toward Ganoaf and Salina. “But aren’t there more?”
Carliss was perplexed, and her face evidently showed it.
“Call?” she asked.
Si Kon’s hands dropped to his sides. He tilted his head slightly.
“I sent for Knights of the Prince to come from Brimwick Downs, the closest haven to Moorue. Isn’t that why you are here?”
Carliss slowly shook her head, trying to understand what was happening.
“But…,” Si Kon began. He looked at his errand boy. “Did you see any others, Akiyma?”
“No, Master Si Kon,” the boy replied respectfully. “I watched for the mark as you said these past five days. Only today have I seen it, and these three were all there were.”
Si Kon looked back at Carliss. He looked as confused as she felt. His eyes softened, and understanding seemed to fill them.
“It is destiny that has brought you here, Carliss, for whatever reason that may be. Come, let us greet one another and eat. Then we shall talk of the Prince and what He is doing amongst us.”
Carliss nodded. “Do you remember Salina?”
Si Kon nodded and bowed. “I trust you have recovered well?”
“Yes,” Salina replied, “largely because of Carliss’s help.”
Si Kon nodded. “I am sure of this.”
Carliss flushed slightly and quickly turned to Ganoaf.
“Si Kon, this is my friend Ganoaf from Pembrook.” She held out her arm for Ganoaf to step forward, but he jus
t bashfully tilted his head down and gazed at the ground.
“I am pleased to meet you, Ganoaf,” Si Kon said with a smile, perceiving the simple heart and mind of the large fellow. He glanced at Carliss with a tender look that said, “Of course you would befriend and care for the lowly. That is your nature.”
Carliss looked toward Si Kon’s home to see a beautiful middle-aged woman appear in the doorway. Si Kon held out his hand to beckon her, and he looked on with great admiration as she joined them.
“Lady Carliss, I would like you to meet my wife, Takara.” Si Kon held her hand in his as she bowed her head to Carliss. “Her name means ’a treasure … my treasure.”
“I am pleased to meet you, Takara,” Carliss replied.
“And I you,” Takara replied. “I am very grateful for what you have done for Si Kon and our family. Our home is yours.”
Si Kon turned and clapped twice. “Daughters!” he called to the doorway.
With hardly a moment’s delay, two girls came to stand by Si Kon.
“This is Mariko. She is fourteen. And this is Kei. She is sixteen.”
“I am pleased to meet you Mariko… Kei.”
“Father told us how bravely you fought,” Kei said. She gazed at Carliss, obviously looking for something.
“As did your father,” Carliss said. “Without his courage, all would have been lost.”
Mariko grabbed Si Kon’s arm. “You didn’t tell us that, Father!”
“He didn’t?” Carliss countered. “Then perhaps I shall.”
Mariko’s face lit up.
“Come,” Si Kon said. “It is time to eat…and to talk.”
Carliss and her friends entered Si Kon’s home eager to talk and to hear of what strange circumstances had brought them together.
THE WATERS OF MOORUE
“Why did you send for knights?” Carliss asked.
They were seated in a simple but elegant dining room that easily held the eight of them. Si Kon had invited Akiyma to eat with them, and the lad’s eyes had widened with delight at the offer.
“I am a trader,” Si Kon said between bites. “I have done very well, for Moorue is large, and there are many wealthy families that enjoy the wool, silk, tapestries, spices, and glass from other regions of the kingdom.”
Si Kon took a sip of the delicious spicy soup Takara had prepared.
“It was on one of my trade routes that I heard the story of the Prince and became a Follower. My family soon accepted the truth of the Prince too, even at the risk of ridicule and persecution, for the lords of the city require each citizen in their district to pay allegiance to them and to their master, Lord Malco, whom I believe to be a powerful Shadow Warrior.”
At that, Carliss’s eyes widened and Salina looked up from her soup to stare at Si Kon.
“We give our allegiance only to the Prince and the King.” Si Kon looked respectfully at Takara. He gave up trying to eat and set his spoon aside as he continued.
“Being isolated from other Followers and living in a city that is hostile to the Prince, I allowed doubt to creep into my heart. That is why Lord Drox was able to hunt and eventually imprison me. Many months I was imprisoned, and Takara and my daughters thought I had been killed.”
Takara’s eyes welled up as she seemed to briefly relive those difficult days. Si Kon reached for her hand.
“In spite of my disappearance, Takara was able to continue my business by capitalizing on the contacts I had made with other traders and merchants.” He paused and looked at Takara with great admiration, then looked back at Carliss.
“That is where Dalton found me. Were it not for his courage to fight Lord Drox and your courage to help him, I would still be a prisoner in that wretched place.”
Carliss accepted the compliment and wished him to continue on.
“When I returned home, I vowed never to let doubt cripple me as it once had, and I knew I must be bolder about proclaiming the Prince to the people of Moorue, no matter the cost.”
Takara leaned forward. “We discovered that Moorue is hungry for the truth of the Prince—”
“So we are now training four other families to become Followers and Knights of the Prince too!” Mariko broke in.
“Si Kon, that is marvelous!” Carliss exclaimed. “You’ve started a haven!”
“Yes,” Si Kon said. “There are only twenty-six of us—five families—but we are no longer alone. And we are growing. Akiyma’s family just recently became Followers.”
Akiyma paused in his eating just long enough to smile, revealing fragments of leafy vegetable between his teeth. Carliss suppressed a chuckle and looked back to Si Kon. For a moment, she was able to set aside the constant anxiety in her bosom to rejoice for what was happening in Moorue because of Si Kon and his family.
“In my absence, however, the nature of my business had changed dramatically.” Si Kon hesitated, looking for the right words to say. “I discovered that Moorue’s new major export is something dark and yet… not.”
Carliss swallowed her last bite offish and realized that with Si Kon’s last statement, everyone else at the table had stopped eating too, even Ganoaf.
“What do you mean, Si Kon?”
Si Kon fidgeted a bit, then sighed. He put his hand to his chin, thinking hard.
“Lord Malco has developed something called the Waters of Moorue.”
“I’ve heard of it,” Carliss said. “A shop owner tried to sell some to me. What is it?”
“I’m still investigating, but I’ve learned enough to believe its effects are potentially very dangerous. That is why I sent for help from Brimwick Downs.” Si Kon stared blankly at a napkin on the table. “If you are not here to answer that call, I can only imagine that my messenger has met with calamity.”
Si Kon shook his head sadly. “The Waters of Moorue is a perfectly diluted mixture of water and something called esca crystals.”
Carliss’s eyes widened, and her heart skipped a beat. “From the esca lizard!” she exclaimed.
Si Kon looked at her, quite stunned by her response.
“Perhaps, Carliss,” he said calmly, “though most believe that the esca lizard is a myth created to scare people away from Malco’s swamp. Some people say they have heard hissing and shrieks from Despon Swamp, supposedly from the esca lizard, but no one has ever seen such a beast. At least, no one has seen it and lived to tell about it.”
“I have,” Carliss said, trying to calm her excitement.
Si Kon looked as if he were waiting for her to recant her absurd statement.
“And it appears as though destiny is the reason for our meeting,” Carliss continued. All eyes were on her now. She leaned forward.
“Dalton was bitten by an esca lizard, Si Kon, and lies at death’s door as we speak. We have but five days to find the antidote and get it back to him before he dies.”
Si Kon’s mouth hung open as he processed Carliss’s words, still looking as though he couldn’t believe it. “How do you know it was an esca lizard?”
“Because I saw it,” Carliss replied. “And I killed it, or rather one of them. Two attacked us, but one disappeared into the forest.”
Si Kon looked at Takara and his daughters. They all looked as if they had seen a ghost, considering for the first time that these creatures might be more than just a myth. And if so, they were living nearby.
“Si Kon, I dare not waste another moment. Every hour I delay, Dalton moves closer to death. Will you help me?”
“Of course,” Si Kon replied. “I owe Dalton my life. I and all of my resources are at your disposal.”
Carliss leaned back in her chair and nodded, grateful for one friend they could trust in this strange land.
“We are here for another reason that is equally as grave,” Carliss said soberly, nodding toward Salina. “Salinas family was taken captive by a band of marauders, and we have reason to believe they were brought here to Moorue.”
Salina looked down and away, trying not to show the flood of em
otion that Carliss knew was difficult for her to repress.
“I’m sorry, Salina,” Si Kon said tenderly.
“Do any of the castles keep prisoners?” Carliss asked.
Si Kon looked troubled. “Not that I am aware of. However, the only castle we know almost nothing about is Lord Malco’s. If your family is in this region, it is possible they were taken there.” He leaned forward to capture Salina’s attention. “We will do everything we can to find them.”
Salina looked at Si Kon. “Thank you. I am grateful.” She glanced at Carliss and forced a smile to her lips. “But we must focus on Sir Dalton for the moment—his time grows short. Si Kon, what else do you know about Lord Malco and these crystals?”
“As a trader, I make it my business to know where items come from and where they are delivered. Nearly every trader in Moorue is now dealing in Malco’s waters and making a healthy profit. From what I have learned, the crystals are harvested at his castle, Esca Prime, in the swamp and then delivered to the three district castles, where the mixture is processed. The three castles process the mixture differently, each one specializing in a particular taste. The city of Moorue is the distribution center for the mixture, which is beginning to reach far into the kingdom. It is imperative that Chessington and the rest of the havens become aware of what is happening here, because eventually they will all be affected by Malco’s crystals.”
“But what is the mixture for?” Carliss asked. “And why is it so bad?”
“At first it wasn’t bad,” Si Kon said. “When it was first discovered, it was used to eliminate pain while a bone was being set or a limb was being amputated. And it worked very well. The man who discovered it kept his process a secret, telling no one. Then one day he disappeared, and not long after that, Lord Malco was producing a version of it that he called the Waters of Moorue. Malco’s waters had a much more powerful effect on the mind than the pain reducer the inventor had produced. It seems to induce a dreamlike state where one can briefly live, create, and experience anything he wants. It feels so real and so pleasant that people want to experience it over and over.”