Sarah was snoring softly into his shoulder. Determined to stay awake long enough to ascertain nothing threatening was in the area, Steve decided to count all the bright stars he could see in the sky. Counting stars being akin to counting sheep, he was out before he reached the count of ten.
****
Morning came much too quickly for Steve’s liking. There were no snooze buttons on any alarm clocks. No curtains to pull closed to block out the light. Nestled together under several large fronds, Steve and Sarah slept like the dead. However, as soon as the sun awoke, so did Sarah. Which meant, naturally, so did Steve. He was famous for sleeping through just about anything. If WWIII ever happened, Steve would be able sleep right through it. Not Sarah. If the sun woke her up, then she couldn’t sleep. And if she couldn’t sleep, was it fair that her husband could? So she woke him up with a friendly poke in the ribs, which turned into a friendly jab, which became a hard shake on the shoulder.
“Wake up! The sun is shining and the birds are singing. Let’s get something to eat and get going. I want to make it to R’Tal today.”
Steve groaned and tried to burrow into the ground. How did she do it? How could she wake up and within ten seconds be fully awake and ready to start the day? Yawning profusely, he sat up and looked around. His back protested loudly, unhappy with the sleeping arrangements. Slowly he got to his feet, stretching the kinks out of his back.
“How’d you sleep? I slept great! I didn’t toss or turn at all. I did get a little cold, though,” Sarah said, busy preparing some breakfast for the two of them, “but all I had to do was scoot a little closer to you, and presto, problem solved.” She looked at Steve and held out the pot. “Can you heat this up for me, please?”
Steve glanced in her direction, looked at the pot, and had it simmering in just under a minute. He reckoned he could have heated it faster, but he didn’t want to burn the- what was she cooking, anyway?
“Whatcha got in there, babe?”
“Bundle number two. It appears to be some type of thickened gruel. Before you thumb your nose at me, I just want to say that I think it smells pretty good.”
He wandered over and sniffed the contents.
“It smells great. Can’t wait to have some.”
Sarah studied her husband. No trace of sarcasm, no hints of disdain. Does he not know what gruel is?
“It might taste rather plain, but at least its breakfast.”
Taking his bowl of steaming porridge, he sat down near their former campfire and waited for Sarah to join him. Once she sat down, they both ate in silence, with Sarah waiting for Steve’s disparaging remarks about the quality of food. When none were forthcoming, Sarah watched him for a few moments more. He was truly enjoying it, continuing to eat spoonful after spoonful of the thick glop.
“You actually like it?”
Steve paused with his spoon halfway to his mouth. He glanced at her. “You don’t? It tastes just like oatmeal. Reminds me of my grandmother. Just wish I had a little brown sugar to put on it.”
“Okay, what’s with you? You don’t put up a fuss with the stew last night, and you’re not having any problems with this stuff. I’ll admit it, it’s bland. I don’t really care for it too much. Since when did you stop being so picky?”
“Since it’s clear that the food we’re used to eating can’t be acquired here,” Steve explained. “I keep hoping we’ll cross the next bend and I’ll see a burger joint, but I know we won’t. I know I’m a pain when it comes to eating new stuff, and I’m determined not to do it here. We have food, it might not be the best, but I’m damn grateful it’s there.”
Sarah closed her mouth with an audible snap. This wasn’t the husband she was used to dealing with. Pleased beyond words, Sarah finished her morning meal and set about helping her husband dismantle their campsite.
Steve hoisted the pack (how, exactly, was it getting heavier?) onto his shoulder and took Sarah’s hand. “What do you say we go find this king and queen and find a way home?”
“Now you’re talking.”
****
As the day progressed, the landscape gradually changed from flat, empty plains to grassy knolls covered with yellow and white flowers. The road they were following sometimes went directly over the mounds, but mostly it snaked amongst them, weaving about, sometimes appearing to reverse course and head the other way.
Chatting amicably about how quickly they would be able to return home, they rounded the last knoll and approached the seemingly endless coastline of the Great Sea of Koralis.
Sarah whistled. “Kornal mentioned we’d hit the sea sooner or later.”
Hooking a thumb in the direction of the water, Steve looked at his wife. “That’s a sea? Damn! Look at the size of that sucker! Looks more like an ocean to me.”
Sarah inhaled, testing the air. “Freshwater. That’s got to be the largest freshwater sea I’ve ever seen. Glad we don’t have to cross it.”
The road they had been travelling on dead-ended abruptly. Sarah and Steve eyed their choices: left, heading north to the mountains, or south, towards an open prairie devoid of any trees or hills.
Steve looked towards the empty prairie and grunted. Sucker was flat as a pancake. “That way, right?”
Sarah shook her head. “Nope. We head north, towards the mountains.”
“You sure?”
“Positive. Not only that, it’s the way Kornal told us to go. Besides,” she continued, “don’t you remember the carving on the doors?”
Steve nodded.
“The castle in that carving was in the northeast.”
“You think that carving depicted Lentari?”
“You don’t? It had the mountains, forest, valley, sea, and castle. So far, we’re four out of five here.”
Steve had to admit it made sense. He hadn’t really given much thought to those mammoth doors from his grandparent’s master suite lately. Was that really only three days ago?
Walking together, they watched the rhythmic undulation of the waves cresting on the beach. Steve would have preferred to walk along the coast seeing how the road they were traveling on had started to veer away from the enormous body of water.
The terrain became rocky, and eventually started to ascend. Thousands of years earlier, the small tectonic plate that ran under the kingdom of Lentari was pushed upwards by the much larger plate running adjacent to it, creating the extensive Bohani Mountains to the north, and the Selekai Mountains to the south. With relentless erosion from the Sea of Koralis, a gradually sloping plateau had formed that had created Lentari’s curved eastern coast. The northern road followed the rising highland, at times coming right up against the vertical dropoff.
Proceeding north, they started encountering other travelers. A squad of soldiers came up on horseback from behind. Paying no attention to the two strangely dressed peasants standing well out of the way, they continued to head towards R’Tal, laughing and joking amongst themselves all the way.
They passed an old peasant walking slowly alongside his donkey powered cart, laden with firewood. He smiled at Steve and tipped his hat to Sarah. It was the smile that prompted Sarah to ask the friendly villager for directions.
“Excuse me, sir, is this the way to R’Tal?”
The wizened man nodded his head. “Aye, that it is. Just around that bend up there ye will find an outcropping of rock where ye will be able to see for leagues in every direction. Ye will be able to see the castle from there.”
Smiling again, Sarah patted the donkey and thanked the villager. Hand in hand, they walked around the bend and stopped dead in their tracks. The old man was right. The ledge of rock extended some twenty feet out over empty space and gave an excellent view of the lay of the land, with the shores of Lake Koralis forming a gentle crescent curve off in the distance. And there, some five or so leagues distant, Steve could see the capital city of R’Tal, with the castle situated up against the base of the heavily forested Bohani Mountains and also jutting up against the far edge of the gr
eat sea. Steve even saw the turret that in their carved representation had the key-shaped window.
“Is that cool or what?”
Sarah was ecstatic. There was the castle! An actual kings-and-queens-live-there castle! What history must exist within those walls? Who was the architect? When was it built? A thousand questions sprang to her mind as she gazed upon the castle and the surrounding countryside. From her vantage point she could make out hundreds of thatched cottages within the perimeter walls, with hundreds more dotting the green valley south of the capital.
“Think we can make that before sunset?”
Steve looked at the distant castle and then looked up, judging the position of the sun in the sky. Not quite overhead yet. Good. If they picked up the pace, then they could probably make it with time to spare.
“We’re going to have to double-time it,” Sarah observed, still staring at the distant castle. “I’m guessing that’s, what, ten miles or so away? If we pick up the pace, we should be able to do it. Don’t you think?”
Steve wasn’t sure if he could maintain a walking pace that fast, but he was certainly ready to try. Following closely behind his wife, he sighed with relief as their pace automatically increased due to the gradual declining slope. They had finally reached the apex of their climb and had started downhill.
Two hours later they were better than halfway to the castle. Progress was good. Steve, being much more accustomed to walking downhill than uphill, was walking as fast as he thought Sarah could handle. Sarah, on the other hand, already much more acclimatized to walking than her husband, was easily maintaining the increase in velocity.
Trying to keep his mind off of his tired legs and aching back, Steve did what he always did when travelling with Sarah: he quizzed her on some pointless movie trivia. In this manner, they had completely missed exits on freeways, ended up in wrong cities, missed turnoffs, landed on wrong streets, etc. Submerged in a world of Star Wars trivia, Steve later figured this lack of attention to the immediate surroundings accounted for what was about to happen.
The vegetation was also starting to pick back up, with small clumps of shrubs starting to appear, and a lone tree here and there. The first clump of large oak trees they came across drew them both up short. Camped by the copse of trees was the group of soldiers that had passed them earlier, resting their horses and having their midday meal.
In unison, all soldiers stopped eating and talking and looked with astonishment as two peasants in strange clothing boldly walked right into their camp. As one, they all turned to look at their lieutenant who was in the process of taking a bite out of a piece of meat skewered on his dagger.
“Hoo-boy,” Steve muttered. “Umm, sorry to disturb you. We’ll just leave you people alone.”
“Methinks not, peasant,” the lieutenant said, rising to his feet. “Who are ye and what business do ye have here? Where are ye from?” The soldier slowly walked around husband and wife. “What manner of attire are ye wearing?”
Sarah had once again surreptitiously moved behind her husband. Steve took a deep breath.
“Uh, we are visitors to this kingdom, on our way to seek an audience with the king and queen. As a matter of fact, we already met the captain of the royal guards. Maybe you know him? His name was Rhenyon. He gave me this.” The act of reaching under his jacket to fumble for the jewel-encrusted dagger attached to his belt had every soldier in the clearing jumping to their feet. Swords were unsheathed and two soldiers took aim with bow and arrow.
“Whoa, hang on a sec there, guys. You don’t want to do that.” Steve raised both arms, hands open, palms up. “We really don’t want any trouble. Look. On my belt. See the dagger?” He rotated slowly in place, lifting up his jacket to expose the dagger to everyone present. “You can take it out, if you prefer.”
The lieutenant, with his sword drawn, looked at the stranger’s belt. Was that one of the captain’s personal daggers? Wizards be damned! He reached out and pulled the knife out of its sheath. Yes, it was. There was his crest. How did two foreigners acquire this?
“Explain yourselves, strangers. How came ye by this dagger?”
Steve relayed the events of the previous night, explaining how he had encountered the captain at Thacken Lodge.
The soldier nodded thoughtfully. Luckily, the story corresponded with what he knew of the captain’s trek across the kingdom, seeking signs of the Scribes.
“The captain gave this to ye? Did ye tell him yer intentions to seek an audience with their majesties?”
“We did, yes. That’s when he gave us that.”
“Curious, I am, to find out why he gave ye that, but it is not my business. Go then, be on yer way.” He handed the dagger back to the wary peasant who had to unclench his fists. As he took the dagger, the soldier couldn’t help but notice the stranger’s hands and face. Was he feverish? His face was flushed, and parts of his hands had turned an ugly, mottled red. If he caught some type of sickness from this dim-witted peasant, dagger or not, there will be hell to pay.
“Gladly, sir. You people have a nice day.”
With that, Steve pulled Sarah along behind them and practically ran down the path, away from the group of soldiers. Once they were out of earshot, Sarah had to pull her arm out of Steve’s grip, as he was intent on putting as much distance as possible between Sarah and those men.
Finally slamming on the brakes, she spun Steve around until he was looking her directly in the eye.
“Sweetie, you have to let go. Now!!”
Alarmed and annoyed, Steve released his wife’s arm. “What is it? What’s the matter?”
She held up her forearm, with the beginnings of a slight burn on her arm. Steve was horrified.
“Did I do that? Oh, shit, sweetie! I’m sorry!”
“It’s okay. It feels rather like a sunburn. It stings a little, but I’m okay. You were nervous, it’s understandable.”
Steve wasn’t about to let it drop. His wife was in pain, and he was directly responsible. He had to get her to the safety of the castle and see about getting some type of ointment for her arm.
“I’m so sorry, babe. We’ll get some help and I’ll get some type of medication for it. Something like that has gotta exist there.”
“Honey, it’s trivial right now. Let’s just get going, okay?”
****
With sunset now about an hour away, the weary travelers walked up to the outer garrison of the castle. A soldier wearing a maroon uniform stepped up to them.
“Greetings, strangers. What business have ye in R’Tal?”
Thankful to encounter a soldier more prone to ask questions than in drawing steel, Steve yet again presented the dagger. This time he didn’t even have to take it off his belt.
Tired, hungry, and not wanting to mince words, Steve summed up their situation. “My wife and I seek an audience with the king and queen. This dagger belongs to Rhenyon. He sent us here.”
Being highly trained not to ask too many questions once the proper credentials had been supplied, no matter how bizarre, the gatekeeper stepped aside and waved them through.
Working their way through the many streets, always angling towards the high turreted fortress they could see in the distance, Steve and Sarah made it to the castle just in time to see the guards preparing to raise the heavy wooden drawbridge for the night.
“Wait, wait up!” Steve called out. “We need to get inside.”
The three guards that were retreating into the castle stopped to look back across the moat. One stepped forward.
“State your business.”
“We seek an audience with the king.” Again, he presented the dagger. Again, they were waved across. “I can see why Rhenyon gave us this thing now,” he muttered to Sarah once they had entered the castle interior. Together, they turned to watch as the drawbridge was raised. Both jumped as the massive wooden structure thumped forcefully up against the stones of the castle. “So, what now, brown cow?”
Sarah laughed. “Well, when i
n doubt, we get some directions.” Looking around, she walked up to the closest person she could find, a woman roughly her own age that was pushing a cart of clean linens. “Excuse me, ma’am, can you help us?”
The servant girl, startled to be addressed, paused and looked at the newcomers. “Yes? Can I help ye?”
“We seek an audience with the king and queen. I know it’s late, but can you tell us where we might find them? Or maybe get a message to them?”
The servant girl blinked in surprise. Two strangely dressed foreigners were in front of her, openly inquiring about the whereabouts of the Kri’yans? Should this be reported to the guards? As a loyal servant to the crown, she directed them towards the Great Hall, while rushing off to find someone in authority.
Gently navigating their way through throngs of castle personnel that all appeared to have somewhere important to go, Steve and Sarah finally beheld the castle’s Great Hall, receiving room for ambassadors, emissaries, and visiting kings and queens. There, against the far wall to the right of a massive hearth were the gilded thrones of their royal majesties, Kri’Entu and Ny’Callé.
With no one to say otherwise, Steve slowly walked up to the pair of golden thrones, running his hands along the carved surface. Upon closer inspection, the thrones appeared to be hand carved with designs, symbols he was not familiar with. Squatting down on his haunches, he was unsurprised to discover that the strange runes on both chairs matched the symbols on the portal door frames back home. Sarah came up behind him.
“I don’t think you should be doing that, do you? The people here might consider it offensive if two non-Lentarians are caught messing with the thrones of their king and queen.”
“Non-Lentarians?”
Steve and Sarah both whirled around. The voice was soft, kind, and fortunately, non-threatening. The lady, Steve judged, looked to be in her early thirties, wearing a simple but elegant grey floor-length gown lined with green silk on the inner sleeves. A pair of emeralds dangled from her ears, with several silver bracelets clinking softly on her left arm. Her long brown hair was pulled back into a braid that extended halfway down her back. She had to be the wife of a nobleman, Steve figured.
Bakkian Chronicles, Book I - The Prophecy Page 16