by Nicole Burr
Nadia rolled her eyes and began to take off her boots, motioning for Esra to do the same. They pulled off their stockings, walking to the edge of the stream and stepping into the cool running Water.
“That feels delicious,” Esra moaned happily. “I didn’t realize how exhausting it is to ride a Horse all day, even if yer lying down.”
“Yes, and we still have a good bit of traveling ahead of us,” Nadia acknowledged. “It will get easier though the more ye do it.”
“Makes me wonder how the Horses feel. After all, they’re the ones doing all the real work.” Esra waded further into the Water, relishing the refreshing feeling of Water flowing around her. It reminded her of all the times she had taken Meshok down to the stream at the farm to swim, and she felt a momentary pang of homesickness.
“Have ye seen Meshok?” Esra remembered, looking around.
“Over there in the Water. I think she’s having a glorious time swimming about.” Nadia pointed over to where the Great Wolf was panting heavily as she paddled deftly across the stream. Whenever Water was near, Meshok was in it. It was something they did often together. And despite her size, the Wolf was a very efficient swimmer. “She was waiting fer us here, just like we guessed.”
“Oh Ladies!” Fynn called out from a hastily built Fire he was tending farther back from the Water. “And I don’t mean ye, Arland.”
Arland, who was brushing down Errol, let out a mock laugh and whispered loudly to his Horse. “That’s right, he’s the crazy one.”
“Yes, Fynn?” Esra called back.
“I’ll gives ye all my love if ye just find me some good Corra Nuts te mix in with this stew.”
“In that case, I think we’ll be drowning ourselves.” Esra took a dramatic pause before diving into the Water.
“Oh ho, Fynn! She’s catchin’ on to ye!” Arland laughed.
“She’s just playin’ hard te get. Who can resist this?” Fynn began pumping his arms up and down maniacally in a spastic dance.
“Dear King Keridon have mercy,” Nadia mumbled as Esra laughed violently beside her. They both began to slosh out of the cool Water and onto the fresh green shore.
“Maybe ye should take Arland with ye just in case,” Baelin warned. “The forest here is unfamiliar and may hold some unknown Beasts.”
“Nothing could possibly be scarier than that,” Esra motioned towards Fynn as she linked her arm into Nadia’s and started towards the Trees.
XV
They had traveled hard though the second half of the day and it was well past dinnertime when they decided to stop again. Esra watched with curiosity as the forested rolling hills of the Kingdom near Sorley morphed into a flat, open plain. The air here seemed hotter and heavier, as if it were a living thing of its own. If it was so different only a few days away from her home town, she wondered what it might be like farther away. Would she even still recognize the land as LeVara? Dismounting wearily to catch a quick supper before reaching Tirbaz, Nadia came over and sat down next to Esra.
“Are ye ready fer yer first lesson in stealth? I’ll show ye how to catch a rabbit with yer bare hands.”
“Really? I mean, yes, of course.”
“Good, because it’s about time ye had a proper lesson.”
“Ye sure ye don’t want to take Fynn?” Esra teased.
“Tempting, but I’d rather offer my own arm fer the cooking.” She stood up and starting walking towards the center of the field that bordered a small grove of Trees.
“Don’t ye want to go hunting first by those Trees?” Esra asked, perplexed. “Ye won’t find much out in an open field. At least not much ye can catch.”
“True, but then again I need to show ye how my gift really works, and I can do that much better out here. Besides, it’s hard enough to see me in the open, let alone a dark forest.” A moment later she appeared on the other side of Esra, who could’ve swore that she didn’t even see her move.
“The Ring of Haste, my second Gift. There is a Keeper of Speed named Humi at the Stronghold. She is fast in everything she does. She can chop Vegetables or tie a saddle in the blink of an eye. My Gift only makes me quicker on my feet, but I can’t perform tasks any faster like Humi can. Don’t worry, ye don’t need my speed fer this lesson. Come on, then.”
They had been attempting to stay as close to the shadow of the forest in their travels as possible, but the closer they got to Tirbaz, the thinner the Trees became. Esra felt strangely exposed, as if the surrounding forests in Sorley had sheltered her somehow. It was hard to believe that someone could be stealthy in this open terrain. They both walked in the fading light towards the center of the field while Nadia explained the basics of stealth.
“A person is usually detected by four distinct ways. The first is touch. Even if ye were deaf and blind, ye would obviously know that something is there if ye can feel it. The second is smell. This is usually not a problem fer most Humans, since our sense of it is very dulled, but fer Animals this is especially important. The third is sight and the last is sound. My gift gives me the ability to conquer all of those things when I so chose.”
“Ye mean, the way ye get all shimmery sometimes isn’t all ye can do?” Esra asked, genuinely surprised. Although Nadia tried to appear in solid form when Esra was around, there were other times she didn’t. It was as if she was in a place neither here nor there, like the flickering waves on the ground of a hot summer day.
“Actually, I prefer to be in the ‘shimmering’ form as ye call it when I am alone or with others I trust. It is just more natural to me. But I realize this may make ye uncomfortable so I have been more conscious of my solid form.” She wavered and Esra squinted hard to try and grasp her shape, not able to follow the flickering ghost of her friend. Instantly Nadia snapped back into focus, becoming as real and sturdy looking as Esra had ever seen her.
“Can ye go completely invisible?” Esra’s mouth was open in astonishment.
“Not completely. And it is harder fer me to go undetected around advanced sorcerers. They may not get a good solid picture like ye are getting right now, but a vague glimpse.”
“One of the things that drives Tallen mad, fer example,” she continued, “is that there is no spell that can stop me from being like this, even temporarily. That is the advantage of the Keepers, of having these natural gifts. Because Elite magick is forced and identical, we are able to directly counter their spells but they cannot do the same. They may be able to put other spells around to keep me out of somewhere, or alert them when I enter a place, but they cannot remove or counter my powers of stealth directly. And many times I can get around those other spells as well. Tallen once had an Elite magnify his hearing to try and discover me sneaking into one of his camps, but it didn’t work very well because he heard everything ten times louder, including the Wind or a buzzing Fly. They’ve really been frustrated with me. Imagine the information I’ve been able to gain on tasks to penetrate the Elite camps. It has been immensely useful fer the Keepers lately and it is certainly keeping me busy. Especially since my fourth Gift, the Bracelet of Evening Eye, allows me to see in the dark as well as I do at midday. That combined with my speed and stealth has been called upon fer many tasks as of late.”
“So what does it feel like?”
“Kind of like when yer in Water. Sort of weightless and free. Or maybe even a little like the Water itself, fluid and smooth, uncommitted to a specific place or time.”
Esra pondered what Cane had said about Tallen trying to turn people against their will and about the difference between natural and forced sorcery. What Nadia did seemed very much a part of her, an extension of her being. She could imagine it would be very different if it was some type of a spell forced upon her.
“So yer going to try to teach me, the loudest, clumsiest girl in the Kingdom, some of that? Hasn’t Baelin told ye? I couldn’t sneak up on a stampeding herd of Vernok.”
“Well, we’ve no time fer a true discussion of magick but we can start with the basics. I
can at least give ye some advice so ye can make it with the stampede, but I don’t recommend trying to break into Tallen’s fortress after just one lesson.”
“Deal,” Esra laughed.
Nadia placed her finger to her mouth as she pointed out a Rabbit in the center of the field.
I know she’s talented, Esra thought to herself, but I doubt that she can catch a Rabbit in the middle…
There was a brief flash and Esra saw various waves of what resembled Nadia racing across the Grass. Suddenly her ghostly form was upon the creature and she saw the Rabbit’s realization. It crouched down into the Earth, preparing to bolt, but it was too late. Nadia grabbed the Animal firmly by the scruff of its neck and held it up proudly. She came back into full focus as she walked back towards where Esra stood.
“Jumping jig!” Esra clapped her hands as Nadia took a well-earned bow. “I thought ye were going to try and take me with ye this time.”
“Then I fear ye wouldn’t have had a true appreciation of my skill,” Nadia teased as she set the Rabbit on the ground and watched it hop quickly away.
“Why didn’t ye keep him fer dinner?” Esra said with confusion as she watched the Rabbit disappear into the brush. “I don’t think I’ve ever let an Animal go once I’ve had him good and caught. Although with yer skills ye can probably catch a hundred.”
“We don’t need him to make meat fer eating. Keepers don’t eat Animals, we just replicate their taste by magick,” Nadia explained.
“Replicate? What do ye mean?”
“That’s a discussion fer another time.” Nadia waved the question away and continued with the lesson. “Now I want ye to try to sneak up on me as best ye can. I’m going to close my eyes and cover my ears out in the field.”
Esra pondered how she could best rise to this challenge. She knew she was not capable of anything near what her Elf-friend could do. That was not even a consideration. As Nadia started back out into the field, Meshok trotted up to them, sensing something of importance was about to occur.
“Aside from Cane, this is my first real lesson from a Keeper,” she said to Meshok, rubbing her vigorously behind the ears. The Wolf flopped over with a grunt and smiled blissfully as Esra massaged her exposed belly.
“Ready!” Nadia called.
“Here goes nothing,” Esra whispered. Tensing her body in nervous preparation, she lifted her left foot stiffly and gingerly placed it on the ground. Trying to keep her breathing low, she followed with the right foot, taking very small steps. Her body was rigid with the knowledge that every movement she made could be detected. Not too bad, she thought. Continuing her slow journey, she was ecstatic to find that a minute later she was only five feet from Nadia, and had only snapped two twigs in the process.
Nadia pulled her hands from her ears and turned about suddenly. “Ye have taken thirty four steps so far, and I have heard every single one of them like a galloping Vernok.”
“And here I thought I was doing so well,” Esra sighed.
“The problem is that ye are trying too hard to be quiet. Yer body is all tense. Loosen up and think about being fluid. Close yer eyes and imagine that ye are not stepping on the ground but rejoining it, as if ye are the same. There is a force that connects ye and all living things. Imagine that force as a line between ye and the ground, as if yer foot is really still attached in some way, even when ye lift it.”
Esra did as she was told and imagined herself made of Earth, her feet covered in soft, lush Grass. She could feel her muscles loosening, her body becoming more like it was when she was riding Roja or swimming with Meshok.
“Keep yer eyes closed and trust that ye will meet softly with the ground. Join, not step,” Nadia urged. Softly, Esra joined the Earth with her left foot, swaying against a sudden gust of wind, fighting to keep her balance.
“Don’t fight the Wind or anything else that may change yer course. Let it be what it is.” Esra focused on letting her body move with the Wind, forcing her muscles to relax even further. It was a strange sensation to give up control. A Bruncabird called in the distance, his low cry echoing hauntingly through the open field. A sudden burst of Honeysuckle filled her nostrils, and she sighed pleasantly. Esra fought the desire to open her eyes, to see where she was going, but she knew to do so would break the spell of trust she was experiencing between the Earth and her body.
“Much better!” Nadia encouraged. “Just a few more steps.”
Esra moved peacefully towards the sound of her friend’s voice. Opening her eyes, she saw that they had traveled half the length of the clearing.
“Oh,” she exclaimed in surprise. “That felt brilliant.”
“That’s a great job fer a first lesson, much improved. Let’s head back to the others and get something to eat.”
“I agree,” Esra walked proudly back towards camp as Meshok came to congratulate her.
“And ye thought I would be a disaster,” she bragged to the Wolf. Suddenly Esra’s foot caught on an upturned root and she watched the sky tumble before her eyes as she fell crashing to the ground. Sitting up to rub her skinned knee, she looked up into the panting face of Meshok, who seemed to be grinning as she gave her friend’s face a long, wet lick.
“On second thought, maybe the stampede is still wishful thinking.”
XVI
Baelin decided that they would take a longer than usual dinner break in order to arrive at the city under the guise of nightfall. Esra was grateful for the extra rest and took the time to give Roja a well-deserved rub down. She picked up the soft brush Fynn had given her, which was made of some strange Elvish material, and began to massage the tall white haunches of her new friend. Roja swung his neck back in happiness, his long mane whipping fiercely about his head as Esra tried to shield her eyes from the assaulting tendrils. They had begun to follow this playful routine each time they stopped, with Esra attempting to brush Roja while he danced about in a mischievous diversion. It was obvious that the Horse needed little attention, if any, as his white coat never seemed to get tangled or properly dirty given their surroundings. But Esra felt obligated to tend to him as she would any other Animal she cared for, especially one that was made to carry her halfway across the Kingdom.
She also wanted to take this time to check thoroughly for any injuries. It was hard to imagine that the Horse was free of bruises after all the thumping and poking and kicking included in one of her mounting attempts. So Esra took care to brush the light hair with much more care than she gave her own. Roja seemed to find this attentiveness amusing and continued to tease her caretaker with his prancing evasions, but settled after a few moments to enjoy the attention. Even a toughened Skycatcher could not deny the refreshment of such attending, especially after such hard riding. After their few minutes together Roja left to gather with the other Horses for some food and Water as Esra settled down for a quick nap. Before long they were up and clumsily mounted again, riding smoothly east.
By the time they had reached the outskirts of town there had been no Trees for a couple of hours except for the occasional orchard on a farm. Tirbaz was fairly larger than Sorley, although not considered one of the three large cities, and had a vast grey stone wall that encased its inhabitants and various buildings.
“We can’t risk taking the Skycatchers into town. One massive Horse will be suspicious enough, but a group of five would be simply begging fer trouble.” Baelin explained as they dismounted. “We’ll proceed on foot te the Vernok Inn and then meet our charge.”
Approaching the town in the dead of night, Esra was fairly disappointed that the first place she had ever traveled to she would not be able to properly explore. Sensing her fallen mood, Meshok came to give her friend’s dangling hand a good sloppy licking before taking off to the west. Too many people, Esra knew. The Great Wolf would not risk being seen.
Barely able to keep herself awake on the long evening’s journey, the anticipation of their arrival began to give Esra renewed energy as they came within sight of the main entrance
. It was a huge stone archway, flanked on either side by life size sculptures of roaring Lion heads. Esra had never seen a Lion, but knew from some of Cane’s picture books that they existed somewhere far east of LeVara. The heavy wooden doors were held open by two thickly braided ropes tied securely to the standing wall, ready for removal should the entrance need to be sealed off suddenly. It was a different atmosphere from her home of Sorley, where everything was open and inviting. Esra noticed that there were two guards with long spears posted at each end.
“I hope that there won’t be any problems fer us,” she offered nervously.
“Aye, me too,” Baelin agreed.
Passing through the entrance, the inn was one of the first buildings on the left. It was a sad, dilapidated looking structure with a thatched roof and worn, empty furniture scattered on a small front porch.
“Is this the only place in town to stay?” Esra asked with displeasure.
“No, but tis closest te the entrance and so the best spot fer us. The less we are seen here, the better,” Baelin explained. “It is already a great risk that we have come here at all.”
“So who are we meeting here that we would risk such danger?”
“Her name is Maeve. She is here on business with a group that doesn’t know of her true identity.”
Baelin walked back towards the entrance, as if to leave, then turned abruptly right to slink along the grey stone wall bordering the edge of the town. Esra and the others trailed behind, staying as close to the cold, weathered stone as possible. Continuing along the wall, Esra noticed after a few quiet minutes that a hooded figure awaited them in the distance.
As they approached, she could see that the person underneath the cloak was an old woman. She was standing casually, as if waiting for a familiar friend, and looked up expectantly at the advancing group. Relief washed over her face as she recognized Baelin at the head.
“I’m glad you made it. In here,” she spoke quietly and motioned for them to go inside a small shed that appeared to be a stockroom for an alehouse. “We haven’t much time.”