by M. Gregg Roe
“I guess they are. Now what?” she asked, still staring north with a look of awe.
“We walk around the outside.” Marryn began to head south, and Audrey fell in alongside.
“There are a lot of plants here I’ve never seen before.” Audrey began to angle toward the tree line, and Marryn followed. To her, it was just a bunch of plants and trees.
They turned right when they reached the southeast corner of the stone wall where there was a square stone guard tower that was crumbling in places and had vines growing all over it. They headed west, and it wasn’t long before Marryn spotted what she was looking for. A narrow but well-trodden path led directly south. “What’s down there?” asked Audrey, stopping in front of it.
Marryn smiled slyly. “You’ll see. Come on.” She led the way down the path which soon began to descend, although not steeply. It was beginning to warm up, but still felt pleasant.
The path came to an abrupt end after about half a mile. Marryn enjoyed watching Audrey’s face as she took in the view. “It’s a lake,” she said. “A big one.”
“It’s about the same size as Fog Lake,” explained Marryn, “but a different shape. This is Lake Lasrina.”
Wonder exploded on Audrey’s face as she clasped her hands to her chest. “After my goddess. It’s beautiful. Thank you for showing me, Marryn.”
“You’re welcome. I knew you’d want to see it.” It really was quite lovely. “There’s a large goblin village on the western shore, but you can’t see it from here.”
“Friendly goblins?” asked Audrey.
“No, but they’re not openly hostile. I’ve heard they just like to be left alone.”
Marryn pointed to the right. “We can walk along the shore until we reach the Jumna River, then follow it to the road that leads to Hamsa’s west gate. But then we’ll have to walk the rest of the way around because that gate’s not manned.”
This time Audrey led the way. “You know a lot for someone that’s never been here, but I know the rest of your family has.”
Marryn had heard stories about it all her life. “And now I’m finally here,” she said with a huge smile. Then she swatted at a buzzing insect of some sort. There seemed to be a lot of them near the lake, and they seemed to prefer her over Audrey.
Just after they caught sight of where the river joined the lake, Audrey motioned for her to stop. “I see a boat,” she whispered. “There’s a goblin fishing.”
“Just one?” asked Marryn, noticing that Audrey had her right hand on the hilt of her dagger. She moved up to try to get a better view. The boat was small, with a symmetric design so that both the front and back narrowed to a point.
“He’s seen us,” hissed Audrey, suddenly sounding dangerous.
“Let’s try talking first.” To Marryn, the goblin looked old, although it was hard to be certain with such dark skin. His loose clothing looked like old deerskin. She walked forward with Audrey following closely behind. He simply watched them approach while maintaining a two-handed grip on his fishing pole.
Marryn did her best to smile. “Good morning! Have you caught anything?”
He nodded at wooden bucket near his feet. “Three so far. This is a good spot. You from Hamsa?” The voice was guttural but not hard to understand.
“We’re visiting.” Marryn took several steps forward. “We’re just out taking a walk.”
“Nice morning for it. Probably rain later. Hey! Got another one!”
Marryn watched as he lifted the end of the pole upward until a struggling fish was pulled out of the water. It seemed like a good time, so she led Audrey past where he was now busy getting the fish into the bucket with the others. “Bye!” she called as they walked away.
After Audrey asked, Marryn related the simple conversation. “I guess the goblins around here are pretty friendly,” she concluded.
The rest of their walk was uneventful to her, but not to Audrey, who kept exclaiming when she spotted an unfamiliar plant. Garth let them in promptly, and they returned to the Firewater Inn. Hamsa was dull, but Marryn had expected that. And she had no intention of spending her entire stay there, no matter what her brother thought. Just let him try to leave her behind!
24
‡ Xlee ‡
He was shorter than she had expected. And with less hair; what little he had left was gray and cut short. His tan and weathered face looked younger than his sixty years, but the way that he stood as he chatted with Oljot left her no doubt. She was looking at an experienced Shorinken practitioner, in fact the very one that had trained her own teacher. Audrey was finally getting her wish to meet Xlee.
Oljot had arrived at the inn while they were all eating breakfast. And as she stood shivering in the frigid mountain air, she now understood why he had asked if she had brought warmer clothing. Sadly, she hadn’t. And he hadn’t given her time to borrow any, teleporting her away as soon as she had finished eating, claiming he was in a hurry. He didn’t seem to be in a hurry to leave now that they were here and she was freezing to death.
As she waited for them to finish talking, Audrey gazed out at the Atman Mountains from what seemed to be a considerable way up one of them. The tops of the tallest peaks were shrouded in snow and ice—bright in the morning sun. She had never seen anything like it. And she could see so far! Sprawling forests, winding rivers, dozens of lakes—it simple emphasized how huge the continent of Kaldir was.
The village of Stonetree consisted of maybe a hundred square log houses with sharply peaked roofs. They were sited on flat areas that were located at a variety of different elevations. Growing fields of crops was clearly impossible, but there were small gardens in places. There were also pens containing goats unlike any she had ever seen, larger and with a thick white coat. And maybe there were other unusual animals in the mountain that the villagers hunted. In fact, everyone she saw outside seemed to be wearing animal pelts. They strode around rapidly, either with purpose or just to keep warm. But what really struck her was that not one person was smiling. They were a serious people.
“Teleport.”
Audrey turned and saw that Oljot was gone. As Xlee walked toward her, she brought her hands together and bowed in the appropriate manner. After returning her bow, he simply stood in front of her, relaxed and with a neutral expression on his clean-shaven face. His gray eyes felt like they were looking deep within her, evaluating and judging.
There was no warning. His left hand was suddenly a fist aimed at her midsection. Without conscious thought, Audrey deflected the punch with her left palm while stepping back with her right foot and lowering her center. She tried to grab his arm but missed. He nodded ever so slightly and settled back into a combat stance that mirrored her own.
Over the next minutes, Audrey was hit by over a dozen blows that would have caused serious injury or even death if Xlee hadn’t held back. She only managed to land two strikes of her own, but that was better than she had expected given her opponent’s decades of combat experience.
Audrey was struggling to catch her breath when Xlee abruptly stepped backward and relaxed. “You did well,” he said in a pleasant-sounding voice. “The air is thinner at this altitude. That is why you are having difficulty.”
Hearing that was a relief. And she certainly wasn’t cold now. “Thank you. Can you teach me some things while I’m here?”
“Perhaps later.” He gestured at the nearby house. “First, I want to learn more about you. I will fix us some tea. My wife and daughter are visiting her parents.”
Audrey followed him to the house. She knew that Xlee had married a younger woman who had lost her husband, and that the girl was actually his step-daughter. Inside, half of the house was one large room with a stone fireplace. That was subdivided into a kitchen and sitting area, but the only thing to sit on were animal pelts. Two doors presumably opened into the two bedrooms. There were two windows, but they were tightly shuttered. It was definitely warmer inside the house, but still chilly in Audrey’s opinion.
&
nbsp; Audrey seated herself near the fireplace on the furred, black pelt of some unknown animal. The fire was fairly anemic, but it did provide some warmth. Given where they lived, the people of Stonetree must be well-accustomed to cold. Certainly more than she was at the moment.
Xlee heated the water by hanging an iron kettle over the fire, to which he then added two pieces of wood. He served the tea in ceramic cups with a leaf green glaze. “Those came from the Witch’s City,” he remarked as he seated himself opposite her.
The pale tea was bitter, but it was warmth that Audrey was after. She nodded appreciatively as she took small sips. They sat quietly for a while, and then Xlee began to speak. He began by asking about her childhood in Farmerton, about her family and friends. Speaking about those she had lost made her sad, but she answered his questions in detail. Soon she was confessing to what she had done to get herself to the Witch’s City. He sometimes asked her to clarify something, but he made no comments or judgements. At no point did his expression vary from neutral.
Audrey became more animated as she spoke about meeting Grasapa and beginning her Shorinken training. Xlee’s questions suddenly became more detailed. Just as he had outside, he was evaluating her, now probing for strengths and weaknesses in the training she had received. Audrey had no doubt that he would be using Oljot to send a letter to Grasapa with comments and recommendations.
Just after he refilled their cups for the second time, his wife and daughter returned. Ochala was a stocky, mature woman with a smile that transformed her face from plain to pretty. Soko, their daughter, looked to be about Romee’s age. She had her mother’s dark hair and brown eyes but was tall and slender.
After introductions, Ochala and Soko set to work cooking while Audrey and Xlee sat back down. “Your reflexes and instincts are excellent,” he began. “You do have some tendencies that need to be corrected, but that is not surprising given your youth and the short time that you have been training.”
Audrey smiled, basking in the glow of praise from someone she held in such high regard. “Thank you. I’m going to keep working hard. I enjoy it.”
“Despite the bruises I inflicted earlier?” he asked with no change of expression.
It hadn’t come up earlier, so she told him about when she had trained so hard that she ended up badly injured. “That’s when I learned to pay more attention to my body,” she confessed sheepishly. “Now I give myself time to recover when I’m sore.”
“Or ask for magical healing?”
“Sometimes.” She hesitated briefly. “That still feels like cheating.”
The ends of his mouth curled upward slightly. “I felt the same way at times.”
Then Xlee began speaking about his own past, including how Grasapa had come to be his student in Lancia. There were similarities in that Grasapa had also been a girl from a small village with no previous martial arts experience and little education. But there were some real surprises. Grasapa had run away from home at the age of fifteen, traveling with a group of traders. And once she reached the city …
“Grasapa used to drink heavily?” asked Audrey with her mind in a whirl. She just couldn’t picture it.
“And get into fights,” said Xlee, finally showing some real emotion. “She was also fond of male company and frequently stayed out late.”
Audrey was looking forward to some interesting conversations with her teacher after she returned home. “Well, you obviously straightened her out.”
“Yes, although it was far from easy. Grasapa was a long-term project, but a worthwhile one.” He suddenly looked worried. “You should think carefully before mentioning any of this to her. She regards it as shameful now, but I simply view it as part of who she is. And we all do things while young that we later regret. That is simply life.”
Audrey sniffed the aroma now filling the room. “What kind of meat is that?” she asked.
“Bear.”
“I don’t know what that is.”
Xlee launched into a description of what sounded like a dangerous predator, concluding by pointing downward. “You are seated on a bearskin. Would you like one to take home?”
“Yes, I would. Thank you.” She wasn’t about to refuse a souvenir of her visit. And it would probably look nice in front of her own fireplace.
Lunch was eaten with all four of them sitting on various pelts near the fireplace. The stewed meat was tender and sweet. The vegetables, which apparently grew wild in the area, were unfamiliar. Audrey felt much warmer after finishing her bowl and declining seconds.
After lunch, Soko pelted Audrey with questions in a manner also reminiscent of Romee. But it was awkward since Xlee had to translate each way. Curious, Audrey asked some questions of her own. The villagers lived a simple life but a happy one from what she could tell. It was interesting.
They had just begun to spar when Xlee disengaged and stepped back with a thoughtful expression. The wooden staffs they were using were heavier than the ones she was accustomed to, so she wondered if that was the problem.
“I have never met this man that Grasapa hired to instruct you,” he said, then transferred his staff to his left hand. “Your fighting style is unusual. Not wrong, mind you, but simply different and unexpected.”
Audrey thought about it. Piran had received training before he came to the Witch’s City, but he had also been taught extensively by Grasapa. “I think that’s mostly my doing,” she said. “I started sparring before I even learned the staff form. I’m also used to a steel-shod staff. And mine was enchanted by Daragrim.”
“I probably should have expected something like that considering where you live.” He hefted his staff with both hands and nodded at her.
It went well for Audrey at first, but Xlee soon adapted to her style of fighting. After that it was more bruises for her. But there was also instruction. He taught her techniques for using a staff not as a weapon but as an adjunct. Braced against the ground or some other solid object, it could provide the stability needed to safely launch more powerful kicks. Audrey was thrilled.
Villagers occasionally stopped to observe the two of them, and more than one of them was carrying a staff made from the same dark wood. Audrey suspected that Xlee had trained them in staff-fighting. That made sense in a place where metal was hard to come by.
Finally Xlee declared her lesson done, and they went back inside. Ochala brought them tea along with a bowl full of yellow-orange berries that were sour but juicy. Hungry again, Audrey ended up eating most of them.
“Do you know about that magical gauntlet I have?” she asked, after returning from a visit to their privy. Using it in such cold had brought back memories of Farmerton.
“I seem to recall Oljot mentioning something about that, probably because he was annoyed at having to deliver it to Albert and then eventually carry it back.” Xlee shook his head sadly. “He really should just teach that spell to Albert, but the two of them simply do not get along.”
That was what Audrey had heard too. She launched into a detailed description of the gauntlet’s two powers, not omitting how they drained her strength. “My solution is to always have a healing potion with me,” she added.
Xlee nodded his approval. “The side effect is relatively minor compared to others I have heard about or encountered. But I would advise you to question Albert about it while you are here. It may have other undocumented powers.”
“I was already planning to talk to him about it,” she said.
“Just be prepared,” he said with a twinkle in his eye. “Albert may have done something to the gauntlet as an experiment. He may not know what it will do.”
“And now he’s waiting for me to discover it and tell him?”
“It is possible. Albert’s magic is powerful, but unpredictable at times. I am thankful that I seldom adventured with him in the old days.”
That reminded Audrey of something that she had wondered about. “Were you part of an adventuring group when you were younger?”
“I was.�
�� His expression turned grim. “We were quite successful for a time. Too successful, as it turned out. Our arrogance led us to undertake an assault against a dark elf stronghold. A third of our group perished in the first skirmish, and it got worse from there. I was the fastest, so they sent me to get help. But when I returned, the entrance we had used had been obliterated.”
Now Audrey felt guilty for stirring up what were obviously painful memories. And it reinforced that adventuring really could be dangerous. She had claimed that she was through, but there was bound to be a certain amount of it on this trip. But this would definitely be the last time.
Audrey had no sooner declined a refill of her tea when there was a knock on the door. Xlee answered it, and she saw that it was Oljot. “Soko!” called out Ochala, followed by a stream of more words that Audrey couldn’t follow. Soko went to her bedroom and emerged holding a rolled up bearskin. Audrey accepted it from her and did her best to thank the girl in Kaldiran. In response, the girl smiled and bowed.
“Take care, Audrey,” said Xlee as he escorted her to the door. “It is comforting to know that the school I started will continue to be in good hands.”
What he said startled her, but there was no time. Smiling, she said, “It was nice to meet all of you. Thank you.” She walked outside and followed Oljot to the same spot he had brought her to that morning. He cast the spell and they were suddenly in Oljot’s drab sitting room. “Thank you,” she said automatically.
“Your welcome,” he grumbled. “Just don’t expect me to take you everywhere.”
He walked off, and Audrey let herself out, finding that it was lightly raining. She managed to make it to the inn without getting too wet. Inside, she spotted Siljan and Gabriel sitting at a table drinking ale. Audrey walked over, deposited her bearskin on the floor, and then seated herself.
“How was your visit?” inquired Gabriel.
Audrey couldn’t suppress her happy smile. “It was great. I really like him. He even taught me some things.”