“So far we haven’t been able to catch him doing something illegal. Although we know that he uses members of the thieves’ guild, which by the way, doesn’t exist, to accomplish much. After all if there is no hard evidence then he can continue to be the authority. And one of the easiest ways for there not to be hard evidence it to have it conveniently disappear. Again because of the way he operates, he is nearly untouchable. It was only because of that one visitor that we knew to tie him to this guild. And we’ve had to be very careful when we’ve followed him to his drops, for which there are many. But we’ve never been able to reach what it is that he leaves at these drops. Our best have seen that these are in such places that they are watched all the time. So if any of ours approached and attempted to gather this information they would know immediately that it had been compromised. This is as much as we can tell you at this point and we must continue our predator-prey game, and hope that he slips up at some point.
“As requested, we have continued to monitor the ones who may have that very important document, but if indeed they have it, they have also been very careful to both hide it from view, and give the appearance that it doesn’t exist. We may know much more soon, as it appears that there is about to be a change. It appears that very soon the operation at the bakery will be turned over to the foreman, and the two of them, Kal, and Jura, will be heading out – as to where, and as to why we haven’t a clue. Yet if it has something to do with this document it should become obvious. We can see that we are not the only ones who are aware of this change, and there has been an increase of his agents here in High Trail. Will keep all of you informed as we can. With the increase in the presence of these it has become more difficult to remain hidden ourselves. So do not become worried if more time passes than expected – as always, your fellow learned.”
* * *
“Sara, we really have no idea how long we will be gone. You’ve proved your worth and because of this have been handed the operation while we are gone. I’m sure that both Idala and Pehel will check in on you periodically which only make sense. After all they own the business, and want to see it grow. Jura and I have to go north for a family matter and the questions and problems left for us to solve will take an unknown amount of time.” Looking down and trying to think if he had forgotten anything he felt Jura poke him in the ribs. He turned and faced her and asked, “What?”
Smiling she said, “I know that you are worrying over every little thing, heck I do it too. But she is more than capable to doing this. So let her do her job, okay? We’ve still a couple of things that need to be packed, and the daylight is waning fast enough.”
“You’re right.” He turned back to Sara shaking his head, “Okay then, it’s yours. I guess we’ll see you when we do, and good luck with this.”
Sara had remained silent throughout the final conversation that she was having with her boss. She remembered back when her mate had suggested that she apply at the bakery. While the income he was bringing in was adequate, barely would probably be more accurate, additional income would be nice. And as things happened there never was enough to cover those extras. But never in her wildest imagination and dreams did she ever see herself in this position. But at the same time, knew that she had earned it. And with the rise to this position there had been an increase in earnings which had allowed them to live better than they ever had. Plus a shelter had been provided so that they no longer had the cost of paying someone else to have a place to live. “Yes, sir, and ma’am, I will not fail either of you. Now get out of here and do what you must, and know that this business is in the hands that both of you trained, and one that you’ve told a number of times that she was very good at this. Plus, as you have stated, I will not be on my own. Good luck with this venture, whatever it is.”
And with nothing left to say Jura and Kal turned and headed back to their shelter. Kal saying, “Sara, such an unusual name, it’s one that is rarely heard or used. In fact the only place I’ve ever seen it is in those papers. If I remember right it was the name of that female that came from those mythological lairs that our ancestors were destroying.”
“Yeah, that’s right. I knew that recently I had come across the name, but couldn’t remember where. I thought when she was hired that it was a very unusual name. And she said that it had been one used in her family every couple of generations, and that they were proud of it, but really never knew when it had shown up in the family. When we go back to that time in the history we didn’t have, weren’t allowed names, so maybe because of this female who had one, one of the females picked her as a hero or something. After all she stood up against the males of that time and gave the appearance of being their equal. That would be a very good reason for someone to choose that for her name when we were finally allowed to have them.
“Of course when I start thinking about that time it always makes me angry. To think that we were thought so little of. I guess if I had lived then, and saw a female standing against the status quo I probably would have considered her someone to look up to. Although I’m looking at this from this time back to their time, and I suspect that I have it all wrong.”
With a questioning look Kal asked, “Wrong, how wrong?”
“Well, my guess would be that when one lives in a society and the world at a particular time, one is what the society is. After all, from birth to death we are immersed in that life. So our world, our beliefs, and way of seeing the world around us is colored by that society that we live in. So if this Sara came into it from a different culture, then it would have been very difficult to adjust to this new situation, and the females that lived in our culture at the time would not have liked the new stock, so to speak, to come in and upset the hierarchy, that they enjoyed. With new females in the herds, these new females would have demanded the attention of the warriors, because they were new, taking away from they who were a part of the clan or tribe, making life for the new ones hell from both sides. Having to submit to the warriors, and then being put in place by the females, who had always been a part of the tribe or clan. Because we live in a different time, and different circumstance, we have a tendency to project our views and ideals to our past. This, many times, removes the truth and hardship that all of them lived at the time, and cleans it up, and makes it appear black and white. I guess because I’m female, and I wouldn’t change that for the world, I’m a little more sensitive to our past than you would be.”
“I must admit that everything you’ve just stated makes absolute sense. I know that we’ve discussed this in the past, and I can see why you would have such strong feelings on this, especially since we are planning to search for this location in the northern foothills – the place where this supposedly took place. Not that we will be able to experience that time of our history if we do find it. But by finding it and comparing what we have with what was written it should make it more real, and by finding it we will be able to, and I know it’s not going to be that simple, find those other mythological places that were talked about. From what I can gather from the records this clan home was occupied past the time of the revival of the gods, and then when or soon after the wars between the clans and tribes ended this place was abandoned. So it will have changed much over the time that it existed. This, of course, will make it difficult to pin down the right time period. But I suspect that there would have to be trails and such leading to and from this place giving us further help and following up on the rest. Well, I guess we can keep talking the rest of the day if we wanted, but this is not getting those final preparations completed.”
The morning came quick, and as planned they had a small meal, headed out and packed the two beasts that they would be using, and before the suns crested the distant grasses and foothills, and with the gray of dawn, headed north on the high trail road towards where he had grown up at Cross Trails. Their plan was simple, throughout this day to travel, and then spend the night in one of the many points along the way for travelers. Then somewhere close to the end of the second
day to be back at Cross Trails. High Trail was located far south, although there was much of the continent that continued in the southerly direction. To travel from High Trail to the Sacred Mountains would take two 9-days to accomplish, and to travel the full length of the grasslands, even though most was now broken up with the many farms, and beasts husbandries, would take so much longer.
No longer being the wild open area that it had in the past, it could take a full season or fifteen 9-days. This of course was north to south. Past the Sacred Mountains the area soon became another place of desolation, but unlike the great desolation that ran down the coast of the continent; this was one of ice and snow. The few hardy adventurers who had traveled there found no evidence that any people had ever lived and thrived there. But as harsh as it was, it was impossible to stay long, and to do a really good and thorough job of searching the area out. There was a long range of mountains – although not very high when comparing them to the Sacred Mountain range – that ran the length of the continent. From what they had learned, it was this range that helped create the area of desolation by blocking the moisture that came off of the one large ocean. As the ones who studied the lands and weather stated, “These mountains push up the clouds and rob them of their moisture, and when they get to the other side there is nothing left to nourish the desolation – simple and easy.” Although it had been harder to explain how the rains and yes the snows reached the grasslands. And finally when an explanation did arrive it had been too technical for most.
If they had a way to view their world from above it probably would have made it much easier to explain the weather patterns since all of the land mass and the clouds would be observed. But there was no way to do that presently. Although the far thinkers believed that one day they would be able to do just that. Most just laughed it off as something that couldn’t, wouldn’t happen. It really hadn’t been that long ago when they had finally began to travel to many of the islands, and now many had growing populations on them. Others, of course, were still unexplored. On the east side of the grasslands laid a couple of changes, one being the badlands. Rough harsh lands of canyons, and little growth of vegetation, with loose soils and falling rocks, seemingly hot all of the time, and the second, a series of steppes that had become known as the foothills. Her parents and family farm existed in one of these, as had the clan home in a different set. While not as rough as the badlands, there were similarities to both areas. Whereas the hills or mountains on the west were soft and rolling, covered heavily in trees and plants, these were covered in tough vegetation, the soils rocky with large boulders everywhere. Trees did exist here, but were more spread out. There were many places to hide from an enemy, and many places a large clan could live protected by what the land provided. If one traveled coast to coast, east to west it would take half the time, when compared to the north – south, even with the tougher terrain that one had to travel.
The desolation itself actually was broken up in a series of deserts with small oases between most of them. Very few of these deserts had any vegetation at all, and the ones that did, this vegetation barely hung on. Because of the mud hills and mud flats that existed in many of them, even though they had ceased being mud a very long time in the past, demonstrated that these areas weren’t always dry. So with these facts in their minds, and knowing with such a large world around them, to find even one of these mythologies would be close to impossible. Many in the present and their past had attempted it, but so far none had been successful, and thusly the belief that all of this had to be mythology. But they felt that their chances were much greater on finding and solving this unknown past. They had something nobody else had. They had the direct record, the actual words written, had rough maps, had approximate distances. And even though those distances were more marked by days of travel than actual distance, it was more than the rest ever had. So as they began this adventure, they felt good about their chances. But doesn’t everyone when they begin a new quest?
“Chill in the air this morn,” Kal commented, “guess we should expect that. We are heading towards the end of the Season of Heat, and there’s a taste of the Season of Falling in the morning air.”
She shivered briefly; they had just left the warmth of their shelter into this cold morning air. She looked back as they had finished packing and had started down the road, knowing that it would be a very long time before she saw their home again. Sighing she said, “True. But shortly we’ll appreciate it. Once the suns rise and start warming things we’ll wish for just this coolness.” Shaking her head as if in agreement with what she had said and looking at him, she stopped briefly and once again looked back.
“What are you doing?” He asked.
Smiling she said, “Look it’s going to be a very long time before I see our place again. So I’m taking one last look, and putting this image in my memory.”
He stopped at turned and did the very same thing, “Good idea. I probably would have kicked myself later when I thought about it. Guess we can do the same thing with the village as we leave. After all we’ve spent a lot of time here, and you of course, much more than I. We’ve got to know most of the people here, and it is hard to leave such a friendly place.” They walked through a silent village that was on the verge of waking up to face a new day and the routines that made it normal and comfortable for those who lived and worked here.
In the shadows, for which there were many this time of the morning, two watched patiently as they watched the pack beasts and the ones leading them, head through a very silent village. They hung back so as to not raise any suspicion. Turning to one the other stated, “Go get word to our boss that they’re on the move, and with this pace they’ll be easy to follow. My guess would be that as they head north they will be going towards Cross Trails where he is from. It is time to alert all of the ones along this road from here to there. Catch up with me at the first marker outside of the village. I’ll wait for you there, and we can continue to follow them and keep a safe distance until we hand it off.”
The one he was talking to just nodded and silently disappeared. This other continued to wait with a smile. From what he could see this baker and his mate were unaware that anybody was behind them and held serious interest in them. Well, let them continue to think like that. It’ll make my job easier. He continued to lean against one of the shelters in the shadows between two of the shelters until they were out of sight. He slowly entered the main way through the village and casually headed in their direction giving the appearance that it was just a random direction that he was heading. And unknown to these thieves, they were also under the watchful eye of others, others who were there to help protect whatever it was that Kal and Jura possessed.
Trehe turned to the others that were with him and quietly gave orders for these two to be watched, followed, and to find out whom they made contact with so that they could continue to find all the hidden ties, links, and directions that Sabohl had himself tied to. Soon they hoped to be able to topple his stranglehold within the learned community. But, as in history, time would tell, and nothing had been written as of yet to make what was transpiring history. After this one minor incident entered the history books it could be that nothing would have changed, or all would have. Would they look back and smile at their success, and the gains that they learned, or would Sabohl be the one smiling with another success at maintaining his position, running the present board into hiding and shame? A lot was on the line, and the two main players in this game hadn’t a clue.
“Funny how it seems to chill,” Jura said as she shivered from the morning breeze that had just reached her, “actually feels colder just before the suns crest and shine their daylight on us. It’s like the night says I won’t give up right up until the light wins out.”
“True, and,” as he smiled at her and she could see that from that smile he was going to make some smart remark, “ You’re not going superstitious on me are you – bringing back those many gods of our ancestors who controlled every aspec
t of their lives, by making a comment that gives the night life, and making the night alive.”
She turned and faced him and gave him a loving shove and said, “No silly, and you know better than that, and besides I can tell when you’re serious and when you’re joking and you gave yourself away on this one.”
Looking down and with that smile, the one that had attracted her to him in the first place he said, “I guess after all the time that we’ve been together it’s just hard to pull something over on you, but I have to agree with you it always seems to chill just before those suns approach the horizon. I guess I can see how it could appear to someone that this had to be a fight between two gods – one that ruled the night and one that ruled the day. With both dawn and dusk being a battleground as one fought to gain control. You know it’s kind of strange when one actually reads the words in such a document as we have. While we may laugh, at times, because of how they viewed something, at the same time when one gets the mindset that they must have had, then it becomes easy to see it from their point of view. Well, maybe not easy, because, as you’ve said, we don’t live in their world, but, it becomes easier to see it from their side.” Since both of them had stopped briefly he turned around and looked back. Shaking his head he commented, “I guess we can say its official – can’t see High Trail at all, now. For us it won’t exist for a long time.”
She turned around and looked, took a deep breath, “Yeah, and I already miss it. After all it’s been part of my life for most of it.” They both headed back down the road, soon, in the overall scheme of things, they would arrive at Cross Trails, spend a couple of days, and then continue north to what they would guess would be three days from the Sacred Mountains. In a way it was a surprise that these ancient mountains had never been renamed after the fall of the gods. This, of course was an unimportant point. Still, if they could find his ancestors’ home, it would be from there that all of the rest of the locations that were considered part of mythology should be located.
A Taste of History Past Page 9