Perhaps he should have tried to tell them the truth, warned them of the consequences of their actions and what they might have to face once they were out there, what they might have to do, but they would have laughed at him. They never would have believed him, especially when he had hardly anything left to prove his story, and they would not have even tried to enter the Wastelands, willing to prove him wrong by doing the exact opposite of what he said. No, whatever else might happen, they would have to learn the truth for themselves, and hopefully they might see that this was the right thing to do, that this was the best thing to do, and that what they had to face in the end was nothing compared to what might happen to them, and to everyone else, if they failed.
Chapter 2: Fato
When the day arrives, let it be known
Throughout the world that I faced my fate
With dignity and stamina. Let it be known that,
In the end, I laughed in the face of death.
--King Wartart of the War Kings, Arria
“The rats, the rats are burning,” Basha muttered, still asleep but arising from the fog, as he tossed over to the other side of his body. Morning had broken over the camp, light ascending and sweeping over their surroundings, as Mila Forest stretched out all around them. The smoke from Coe Baba was a distant memory, though a few homesteads and encampments could be located within a few miles from the trail that they followed, winding along with the western fork of the River Daneuve on its way to Coe Anji.
“Shut up, Basha,” Oaka, his adoptive brother, muttered from where he lied a short distance away.
This was the third night Basha had spent in the forest, farther away from home than he had ever been, or since he had run away from home as a child, learning then that he was adopted and that his birth mother Kala had left him with basically nothing but his name, her name, and a handkerchief, no knowledge of his birth father, or of their lives. Basha had found the truth difficult to cope with at first, especially knowing that others might think him a balnor, an illegitimate son born without much worth, but he had managed to survive the forest on his own until he was found, and then when he was brought back home he went on with his life as if things were not different, though they were.
“Oaka?” Basha said, opening his eyes and sitting up.
“What?” Oaka sighed.
“The rats, I was…” Basha started to say.
“You always dream about the rats,” Oaka said.
“I do?” Basha asked, stunned as he turned towards him.
“You always dream about the rats, you say so in your sleep: ‘the rats are burning, the rats are burning’, or something else like that. So what else is new?” Oaka asked, sitting up as well.
“Oaka, how do you know?”
“We’ve shared the same bedroom and bed for many years now, Basha, I think I should know what you mutter in your sleep.” Oaka muttered.
Basha blinked and shook his head, thinking about going back to sleep as he tried to recall just what had been in his dream. There had been rats, he remembered that, they were chasing after him through the forest, and then there was a woman who destroyed the rats…he blinked as he realized the woman was Nisa, a younger version of Nisa than the one he had met the other night at the Courtship ritual. Why would Nisa be in his dream? And why would the dream be about rats?
“Up and at ‘em, boys!” Sir Nickleby roared, stomping about the camp as the two boys groaned; they wouldn’t go back to sleep with the knight in such a fuss. “This is a disaster, what, who doused the fire last night?” He asked, looking down into the fire pit they had created. “Why, it’s still smoldering!” He exclaimed.
“It was Basha, sir,” Oaka said, standing up and pointing at his brother.
“Tattler.” Basha muttered, and then said, “I’m sorry, sir, it won’t happen again.” as he stood up as well.
“You have first watch tonight, Basha.” Sir Nickleby said.
“Why do we have to keep watch, sir?” Basha asked.
“Because I said so, and we are not camping out five miles away from home, we are already a hundred miles away from Coe Baba.” Sir Nickleby said.
“A hundred miles,” Basha said, smiling and turning to Oaka. “Can you imagine? We…”
“A hundred miles is no laughing matter!” Sir Nickleby said, striding towards him. “We are now outside of Coe Baba’s district borders,” He said, face-to-face with Basha, “on the edges of Coe Anji’s district borders. We are, in essence, in no man’s land, in the space between districts. Here is where the bounders wait, here is where robbers can be found, here is where any crime can be committed, and no man can prosecute it. Here is where the boundaries disintegrate between districts and authority, and we have to get out of this area, and back to safety, or what counts as safety, in Coe Anji.” The knight said, turning away and walking off.
Basha stared at him. Why are you so concerned? He wanted to ask the knight, but couldn’t. For the past few days, whenever they had passed anybody on the road, heading towards Coe Anji, or away from it, Sir Nickleby was certain to sweep aside his cloak or saddle blanket to reveal the hilt of his sword in its scabbard right beside him, even if they weren’t close to the stranger but on the opposite side of the road from him or her. Basha and Oaka had learned to follow suit, perhaps to detract any possible murderer or thief from tangling with them, but perhaps it wasn’t necessary, Basha thought.
The knight had all of these tips on survival, and lectured them constantly on what they should expect while traveling through Mila Forest, Popo Hills, and Tau Valley as if he might not stay with them all of the way. He told them all about the cities and towns they might stay at, the challenges of camping out in the wilderness, including how to properly set up camp with holes for the latrine and fire, the proper form of etiquette should they stay at a nobleman’s estate…everything they should know, it seemed to Basha. He supposed the knight was worried, in case something should happen to him and the boys would be left on their own, but Basha was certain the knight would be with them always. Sir Nickleby had to be one of the most experienced knights ever, and certainly knew how to plan things out. He couldn’t be so careless as to let something happen to him.
On the first day, the knight had planned their route, using a map full of intricate drawings of Arria. It showed the routes that traversed mountains, trees, towns, rivers, and castles, the sections split between Mila Forest in the north, Popo Hills in the middle, Tau Valley taking up most of the bottom half of the page and a blank space for the Wastelands ruled by Doomba on the other side of the mountains known as Dragon’s Teeth
“Where is Coe Pidaria?” Basha had asked, staring at the blank space on the map that first day, as if it might appear if he concentrated hard enough. Coe Pidaria, the legendary first capital city of Arria where the first king, Corr, had ruled almost three thousand years ago, and was also the location of Tau’s Cup, a sacred relic that had been used by the god Tau to create the first humans, had been lost to the outside world when Doomba and his Wastelands had surrounded it. No one, as far as they knew of, had seen Coe Pidaria since that time, but now they were heading there, to that legendary city, in the hopes of retrieving Tau’s Cup so that Basha might bestow it upon his beloved Jawen back in Coe Baba as a dower. It was a risky quest, considering the territory they would have to cross through to reach Coe Pidaria, but Basha hoped that it might be worth the reward.
“It’s either in the northwest corner, the southeast corner, or the northeast corner of the Wastelands.” Sir Nickleby had told them. “People are not sure of the precise location because it has been so long since anyone has been there. Personally, I think it might be in the southeast corner, because it supposedly was as far south as anyone could go in Arria. We, however, need to be careful about how we’re going to approach it.” Sir Nickleby said. “My feeling is that, if we were to travel southeast all the way down to Coe Pidaria, we might be noticed. And so we are going southwest, not southeast. I believe that is the safest way.”
The knight told them.
“Isn’t that the long way around?” Oaka had asked, looking at the map and getting a grasp on it. “I mean, if we were going to go southwest from Coe Baba, then we would have to circle around to get to Coe Pidaria in the southeast...” He said, trailing off as he traced the route on the map. “We’re going around on the coast all the way down to the south, aren’t we?” He asked. “And then we will be traveling from west to east when we’re on the edges of the Wastelands, that is dangerous. And we’ll be practically traveling along the whole border of Arria throughout this entire trip, if we do manage to make the return journey, we’ll be making one great big circle or square!” Oaka cried.
“The reports I’ve heard seem to indicate that most of the coast is clear of Doomba’s influence,” Sir Nickleby had said. “It’s only further inland, deeper in the heart of the Wastelands, that Doomba’s presence is really felt. There have been ships that went around the coast to get to Mirandor on the other side, though the waterway has been treacherous.”
“But that’s still…I don’t want to spend any more time in the Wastelands than is necessary,” Oaka had said, shuddering. “Not to mention traveling throughout all of Arria, the length and width of it twice. I don’t think this is very wise. And how do we know that Coe Pidaria is out of Doomba’s influence in the first place?”
“We would know if Coe Pidaria was ever taken by Doomba.” Sir Nickleby had said, turning around to face Oaka. “There would have been a disaster of the worst kind,” The knight muttered. “Doomba would have swept Arria right off the map if he ever got his hands on Coe Pidaria.” The knight said.
“Uh, Arria was nearly swept off of the map all those centuries ago,” Oaka remarked, “But it came back again.”
“Barely.” Sir Nickleby added.
Basha now thought that Sir Nickleby had worried a little overmuch about the challenges they might face. While Doomba’s Wastelands certainly would be dangerous, thus far nothing much had happened to them as they traversed the forest road, and slept with one of them on guard duty for part of the night before they switched shifts. It was still early, but if the rest of the trip was going to be like this, it might be easy. Basha and Oaka had been warned for much of their lives of the dangers of the outside world, how Coe Baba was a safe haven, but if the whole world was like this, like Coe Baba, then it might not be so bad.
“How much further is it to Coe Anji now, sir?” He asked Sir Nickleby on this third day.
“Fifty-five more miles, we have a full day ahead of us.” The knight said, going to his pack and pulling out the map.
“Can we cover that distance today, sir?” Basha asked.
“If we try. From Coe Anji, we will go to Coe Aela,” The knight said, looking at the map. “Coe Anji is where we will pick up some supplies, Coe Aela is where we might ask the lord for assistance. Lord Fobata is Duke of Coe Aela, which is a castle, not a town, ‘Coe’ applies to both castles and towns. Anyway, Lord Fobata is a good man, so he should be able and willing to help us.” Sir Nickleby said.
“How do you know that?” Oaka asked.
“I have met the lord twice, first when I was invited there to a feast many years ago by the lord’s father, Lord Joq, who was still Duke at the time.” Sir Nickleby said as the boys started to realize this would be one of those lectures. “Lord Fobata was just a boy, smart and ready to enlist in the army, good with stratagems, lists, equations and such.” The knight remarked.
“And then when I was older, on my way to Coe Baba to take up my assignment here, he invited me to lunch when I stayed at his castle. Brilliant man, well-spoken and full of such ideas, and he was not even 35 yet! But still, he seemed much older than I was.” Sir Nickleby said, sighing. “Apparently he had just lost his wife.” He hesitated as he realized the boys were starting to nod off a bit.
“Anyway, we shall head straight south from Coe Aela,” Sir Nickleby said, gruff as he realized his audience was not so attentive. “We shall have all of the supplies we need to make it through the interior of the Popo Hills without stopping at the Coes along the west coast. The hill bandits most likely would be along those western roads, picking off merchant trains and unwary travelers, so we shall head across country, marching as quick as we can to avoid all of that bother. Then we shall reach Coe Kiki.” He said.
“Coe Kiki?” Basha said, lifting his head up as he remembered the stories.
“Aye, Coe Kiki,” Sir Nickleby said with a nod, “That’s right, and maybe we shall see the palace, or even stay there, if I have any influence left with my title.”
“The capital city!” Basha said, turning to Oaka. “King Sonnagh! Oh, is that not worth the trip itself?” He asked Oaka.
“I suppose, although I’m not getting the Cup for Sisila.” Oaka remarked.
“And from Coe Kiki, we shall head west, and then south along the coast, hopefully with enough supplies…” Sir Nickleby started to say, but the boys weren’t paying attention to him now.
“Don’t worry, you’ll get the glory.” Basha whispered to Oaka. “If I get the Cup out of Coe Pidaria, I’ll be sure to say it was all because of you.”
Oaka smirked. “I’m intrigued and interested. That might be worth the trip. Sisila can say she is married to the man whose brother saved Tau’s Cup…hey!” He cried as Basha tackled Oaka, and the boys wrestled on the ground.
Sir Nickleby looked up from the map he was studying and shook his head. “I can’t believe I’m traveling with a pair of 12-year-olds.” He said, watching them fight.
“We’re not 12, we’re 17!” Oaka yelled, raising his head.
“Act like it, then!” Sir Nickleby roared back at him as the boys stopped fighting. “We’re losing daylight. We need to eat fast, and then be on our way. Pack up your stuff, and remember that we need to travel light,” Sir Nickleby said, as the boys started to get up to proceed as ordered. “Don’t take anything out of your packs that you don’t need for the night when we camp, and on this trip, don’t take any more than you need or can carry. Remember, the horses are not only carrying you, they are also carrying your things, and we need to be prepared in case anything should happen to the horses.”
“The horses? Why should we have to worry?” Basha asked.
“Ah, ah, I am the expert on this expedition, Basha.” Sir Nickleby said. “As a leader, you should recognize when people have more knowledge than you do.”
“A leader?” Basha gasped, shocked at this. “I can’t be a leader!”
“That’s right, you are a leader. You are responsible for why this has happened, this quest is because of your oath to Jawen.” Sir Nickleby insisted. “You will take charge of your actions and this expedition, but only after you have learned enough to handle the responsibilities involved. Until then, I am in charge of taking care of you boys.” Sir Nickleby said, walking away.
“A leader...” Basha said, slightly stunned. Never had he imagined…he had gone on this quest, expecting that he would have to take care of himself and be responsible in the sense of fulfilling this task. But to take care of others, and to make decisions that would affect them…he couldn’t do that, could he?
He would be commanding Oaka and Sir Nickleby in the process, and he couldn’t do that, could he? They weren’t exactly going to listen to him, especially Oaka, his older brother wouldn’t tolerate orders from him! And he would be embarrassed at ordering Sir Nickleby about; the knight might obey him, whatever he had to say, but it would feel weird, and then he would have to listen to Sir Nickleby if the knight had an opinion…would he really be in charge then, or would it just be a charade to make him feel good?
“A leader…Basha?” Oaka laughed. “He’s not…”
“He will be one day, Oaka!” Sir Nickleby cried back at him, before continuing on.
Basha frowned, wondering why Sir Nickleby had to defend him like that. The knight was not doing him any favors with Oaka. But was it so ridiculous for Oaka to laugh at him like that?
“Why am I not su
rprised he took your side?” Oaka muttered, low enough for Basha to hear, but not Sir Nickleby. “Why did he have to come along with us in the first place, Basha?” Oaka asked.
“He’s helping us, Oaka.” Basha said, staring after Sir Nickleby.
“Is he really?” Oaka asked.
“I hope so,” Basha said, following after Sir Nickleby. He wasn’t ready to give up his trust of Sir Nickleby and his abilities, when it had been his mainstay for years now. But the knight’s willingness to come with him did strike him as odd, almost as odd as Oaka seemed to find it, but whatever reasons Sir Nickleby had for coming with him, he hoped they were good ones.
“With any luck, we might be able to travel the full 55 miles to Coe Anji, and be there by tonight.” Sir Nickleby said as Basha caught up with him.
“Have we been...dawdling, sir?” Basha asked.
“We have been a little slow.” Sir Nickleby said. “It is now the 9th day of Markee, and we left Coe Baba on the 6th day, three days ago. We have been traveling three days, and we have only made a hundred miles. It is understandable that we got off to a slow start on the first day, leaving late in the morning, but the last two…we traveled just about as far on each of those days as we did on the first!” Sir Nickleby exclaimed. “I suppose the horses need to adjust to the long distances that they shall be covering, and you two should as well, but well, we still could easily make 50 miles a day or so if we pushed ourselves hard enough.” He said, continuing.
Basha hesitated to say anything, because it seemed to him as if Sir Nickleby was responsible for their dawdling, as he kept stopping them every five miles or so, once an hour at least, to disappear into the bushes for a few minutes. Perhaps he was incontinent?
“We cannot lag too much when we need to get to Coe Pidaria as soon as possible, or else we’ll never make this trip.” Sir Nickleby said.
“How long will it take?” Basha said. “The whole trip, there and back again?”
Servants and Followers (The Legends of Arria, Volume 2) Page 2