"Yes, that's what Aleinea did too," Keshav said with a chuckle. "Those Magical Races like to vanish on us!"
"Let's go," Babita said. "We should probably be in Moriana tonight."
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Babita had never been to Moriana and wasn't sure what to expect. She found out it was relatively small, with stone walls that had several large gates. The guards looked a bit lonely and waved them in without bothering to check their identities. The road that led to that particular gate probably came from deep within the Varian Kingdom and they didn't think the travelers might have reached it from the river.
Entering from the closest gate, she saw a map of the city on the wall of a building that showed the layout had concentric circles, with at the center what used to be the palace of the Moren Emperor.
She had heard of their lavish temples, well-stocked merchants and race tracks. She knew it was famous for mages and pickpockets and had warned her traveling companions to keep their valuables well-hidden on their body.
The nearest tavern was just beyond the entrance, but Bran had told her to look for the Wandering Skull Inn where she'd be able to meet Luca, who often went there when he closed shop.
The locals seemed very hospitable and there was very little crime also because there was a big garrison in the barracks under the walls. Bran had mentioned the vineyards and orchards that made Moriana rich, especially the very sweet melons that now abounded on all the marketplaces.
The streets smelled like garbage and rotten fruits, since in the summer heat it was hard to make those melons last for long, and the buildings had large windows. She asked for directions and was pointed to the inn she was looking for.
The Wandering Skull was large and decently clean. Down the same street there was the sign of the public baths. It had medium and large rooms, so she consulted with Keshav and Rohan and they decided to take one large for the three of them. She could have some privacy at the baths and would save money. She didn't have much left, unless she managed to sell the goods Bran had given her.
They dropped their travel bags and went for the baths. On the way back to the inn they were all starving, and she was surprised to see strange and exotic food on the menu slightly torn around the edges.
"I'm sorry, I really don't know what to suggest," she apologized to Keshav and Rohan, translating as best as she could the various dishes. They asked more information of the cynical waiter who came to take their order. He was unusually attractive but quite blunt.
As they waited for their meal, they looked around. The main room was crowded now, with many shady characters and most patrons drunk. There was a darts game in the corner and Rohan eyed it, but he was too hungry to try it immediately.
The most notable patron was a depressed, whiny hunter wearing expensive jewelry who sat at a nearby table. Babita wondered how she'd recognize Luca, since all the northern barbarians looked the same to her.
Then the food came and with a full stomach she went to the attractive waiter and asked him about the merchant. The man pointed at a blond young man who was currently playing darts with a couple of friends.
Babita noticed that the young man had caught Rohan's eye and sighed. She left her traveling companions at their table and approached the darts players.
"Excuse me, I'm looking for Luca De Leo," she said.
The blond young man stared at her. "Who sent you?" he asked. He had a pointed chin and bright blue eyes.
"Bran Danielson of Konigtown," she answered.
Luca grinned. "Ah, yes, how is he?"
"He's fine. He's sending some of his goods and we need your help to move around in this kingdom."
"We?" He raised his eyebrows, skeptical.
Babita took him to the table and introduced him to Keshav and Rohan who brightened as soon as Luca sat with them. She explained to him who they were and where they came from.
"Don't you have some of those southern spices with you?" Luca asked her.
"I think I may have something," she said. "But mostly we're here because Keshav is a scholar looking for the lost Genn town. Can you tell me if there is a library or anyone we can consult with in town about this?"
Luca pondered, pursing his lips. "I could take you to Kaara," he said. "But some say she's completely crazy. What else do you expect from a woman who paints her hair blue and writes poetry?"
"If you think she can help us, please, take us to her house. Tomorrow?"
Luca nodded. He told them at what time he'd show up to take them and left, saying it was getting late. Rohan stiffened a yawn.
"It is getting late," Babita said, amused. "Luca will take us to a certain Kaara tomorrow. She's a poet, but she might know something about the Genn."
"Good. She must be the equivalent of Aagney in this town," Keshav said. "Most people think he's crazy too."
"You understood that part?" she asked, impressed. "You're really getting the hang of this language, aren't you?"
"Well, after more than a month, I can hear the similarities with Gallian, so yes, I think soon I'll be able to understand everything." Keshav smiled. "As for talking, though, I'll probably still need you for a lot longer," he added.
She chuckled. "No problem. I don't feel useless yet, I'm sure Rohan will still need me, unless he moves to unspoken communication!" She winked at the prince who scowled at her.
"Do you think I might have a chance with that Luca?" he asked.
"I don't know." She shrugged. "He's your age and not married... but I've just met him, so I have no idea if this means anything or not..."
Rohan sighed. "Thanks anyway," he muttered. "Shall we get some sleep?"
Babita gratefully followed him to their room. The constant translating was really getting to her. Sometimes she wondered if she could even speak anymore. The wrong language popped out when she was too tired, therefore she'd better get some well deserved rest in a decent bed and among four stone walls.
***
Keshav followed Luca and Babita with Rohan through the streets of Moriana. They went to the old town – the inner circle – and not far from the palace and the main temple there was a small house.
The yard was large and looked very formal but the house itself was in poor condition, as if the owner didn't really care about it. The interior was done in colors that reminded Keshav of a willow tree. It was sparsely furnished, again as if the owner didn't really need any furniture.
They ended up seated on a carpet in the almost empty main room with a woman that had no definite age. Her pale face was smooth, but her eyes had a wisdom only ancient people possessed. Her long hair was cobalt blue and she wore a fashion that was a mix of north and south. No wonder the people of Moriana thought she was a little crazy.
Luca introduced the visitors to the blue-haired poet who stared at them with piercing eyes.
"Godwalkar, huh?" she asked in the southern dialect with no accent at all. "What are you doing in the barbarian lands?"
"We are looking for the ruins of Sunlight," Keshav answered, recovering first from the surprise of hearing her speak their language. "Do you happen to know where they could be?"
"Deep in the forest of Appleyard." Kaara shrugged. "Why? Nobody ever came back from searching for the ruins. Maybe the Genn got wise and killed the curious Humans trying to intrude on their peaceful lives." She sniggered.
"Could you take us there?" Keshav insisted.
"My dear boy, me and forests? Not really." Kaara shook her head. "Who put all these ideas in your head anyway? You don't sound or look Gajendran."
"I'm Amrendran," Keshav answered. "But I discovered the Genn works in the library of Godwalkar and then listened to the stories of Aagney the Storyteller..."
Kaara snorted. "Aagney! That's the name he uses in the south! Over here it's Aedwyr the Minstrel... or sometimes Morthi the Wizard." She scoffed. "He's good at luring Humans into useless quests, I'll give him that!"
"He wasn't the one who started my interest, ma'am," Keshav said. "Like I said, I found the Genn books at t
he library."
"And you should have stuck to those, my boy," Kaara replied, shaking her finger. "Why didn't Aagney guide you here? Because he knows I'm here and we'd rather stay away from each other for the time being."
She might be as long-lived as Aagney, which gave her the right to call him "my boy" but it was jarring. At thirty nobody called anyone "boy" anymore, not among Humans. The hair color helped in considering her not Human, though.
"So you're Fire people too?"
"Yes, I'm Fajrulo, and I had a mating flight with him," she snapped. "Thank Fire, our daughter is now independent, but I had to keep her with me for centuries."
Rohan gaped at the blue-haired woman. Luca listened but didn't seem to understand a word, therefore kept looking at Babita for explanation, but she was too stunned to translate.
"So, Fajrulo like telling stories and writing poetry, but don't like to go looking for lost treasures," Keshav said.
"Boy, we have our own treasures, we don't need the Genn's," Kaara retorted. "Besides, we like mingling only with Humans."
"And can you do magic? Real magic?" Keshav asked.
"It depends on what you want."
"Since you speak naturally all the Human languages, can you make Humans understand and speak all the Human languages? I don't mean all the Humans, of course, but one or two individuals?"
Kaara narrowed her eyes as she studied him. "You seem to be doing fairly well yourself, what would you need that gift for?"
"It's not for me, it's for Rohan, here."
Rohan closed his mouth and shook his head, frowning in worry. Kaara chuckled.
"He doesn't need it either," she said. "None of you do. Whenever you figure out your own feelings, you'll be able to express them and be understood and accepted for who you are. That I can promise you."
Babita raised her eyebrows, skeptical, and Rohan didn't look convinced. Keshav smiled.
"Thank you for the prediction. So, any hint of where we should look for the ruins of Appleyard? Any Sila maps you could provide us with?"
"Maps! Of course! I can draw you one! You know, not only the Sila can fly!" She rummaged in a wooden chest and took out parchment, ink and quill. "So, your best bet is to follow the Ondan, here, and then cross over to Havenstock's river. If you keep going around the Central Massif, you'll end up back in Amrendra and can go downriver to Delen here."
Quick strokes on the parchment made for a crude map, but the distances seemed right. Kaara added Konigtown, Moriana, Godwalkar and Delen, just to help them understand how long it would take to go from one point to the other, then handed the parchment to Keshav.
"That's all I can do for you. The ruins are covered with vegetation after two centuries and I'm not sure where they are exactly. I was in Nera when the Genn kingdoms fell, then I went to Maadre and... Aagney, like you call him, could probably be more precise. I'm surprised he didn't draw you a map himself."
"I got a lot of stories out of him, but not much else," Keshav said, pocketing the map. "Thank you so much, Kaara. Is there anything I can do to return the favor?"
Kaara eyed him, then leaned forward. "You can spend the night here," she whispered. She chuckled as he felt his cheeks burn. "I'm joking, you chaste scholar won't have to do anything you'd regret," she added, straightening her back. "Good luck with your search."
She shooed him out. Keshav hesitated as Babita, Luca and Rohan rose.
"Since I don't think we can leave right now, I shall come back tonight," he promised.
Both Babita and Rohan stared curiously at him but didn't say anything. He wasn't sure he'd keep the promise and spend the night with a non-Human being, but then, he wasn't a warrior with a sense of honor. He'd see how he felt when the night came.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Keshav awoke on Kaara's carpet as the first rays of sun entered the room through the windows. It wasn't the uncomfortable bedding – he was used to sleeping on the ground – but the smells and sounds of the foreign house.
He was naked and he knew why, but he didn't remember much of the previous night. The blue-haired woman had probably put a spell on him, because he hand only a vague memory that felt more like a dream than anything else.
Kaara was a woman, but also a dragon. Could it be? Was that the real nature of the Fire people? He'd been both terrified and fascinated, but unable to do anything about it. He knew they'd had sex, but that was it. Maybe it wasn't worth remembering? Because she wasn't Human?
Her warm body lay next to him, with the long blue hair spread around her head like a halo. Keshav sat and hugged his knees with a sigh. He watched the dust dance in the sun rays and pondered the mystery of the Magical Races.
He'd met Waiora and Fajrulo. What would the Genn be like? And the Sila? Would he ever meet them? Had it been worth the journey to look for them? Hell, yes, it was a worthy quest! He probably wouldn't be able to write about them because no matter how scholarly he was, he couldn't find the right words to describe them.
He wasn't even sure how they made him feel, with their seemingly omniscient knowledge of everything and everyone. He had no idea of how old the Waiora he'd met were, but he was certain the Fajrulo were at least a few centuries old. He wished he could live that long and acquire their knowledge.
Kaara's hands caressed his back and reached his neck.
"Good morning, Keshav. What makes you sigh so much?"
"I'm wondering... how old are you? And Aagney?"
"I'm five-hundred and twenty, he's forty years older," she answered, amused. "Why? You plan on living that long? You should look for a sorcerer or a demon lover if it's immortality you want!"
He stared at her, shocked. She smiled.
"I'm sorry, Keshav, Earth's children are not meant to live as long as we are. Not even the Genn and Waiora live this long. What would you use all those years for, if you don't plan on finding someone to spend your life with?"
"You don't have anyone to spend your life with, and you're doing quite fine," he retorted.
"Honey, I'm Fajrulo. Most would say I don't have a heart. I certainly don't fall in love. But you're Human. What are you waiting for?"
Keshav averted his eyes, jarred. "I'm waiting to quench my thirst for knowledge," he said.
"You probably haven't met the right person yet." She shrugged. "Thank you for the pleasant hours you spent with me. I've told you everything I know about Sunlight, the lost Genn capital. I'm sure you'll find something in your quest for knowledge. I'll be here for another dozen years or so, but then... maybe I'll see you around!"
She ruffled his hair and rose, gathering their scattered clothes. He took his own and dressed, still not sure what to say next. He was definitely bad at expressing himself!
As he opened his mouth to thank her and say good-bye, she put her finger on his lips and shooed him out with a wink. He nodded, bowed and left, still a little shaken by the encounter.
He wasn't going to talk about it with Babita and Rohan. He went back to the inn and jotted down a few more notes before packing and joining the others in the main room. For once he was the last one to sit at the table. Even Luca was already there.
"Did you sleep at Kaara's?" Babita asked.
"Yes," he said grabbing a pancake.
"Then you're excused for your lateness," Rohan said.
"We're not going anywhere without him," Babita replied, amused. "He's the expedition leader!"
Rohan chuckled and Keshav smiled despite himself.
"I'm not sure I have a more precise destination, but we can start to go upriver and then we'll see. Maybe the Waiora can point us the right way."
"Luca is coming with us," Babita said. "He's very curious. I've told him everything."
"So you found another associate? Good."
"Since I'm probably losing my shop in Godwalkar, I might as well make other connections elsewhere, don't you think?"
"You're an independent, smart woman, Babita, do as you please. Shall we go?"
***
They left M
oriana behind and started following the Ondan on an unpaved road. They frequently met border patrols and Luca's presence was a good passport. Bringing him had obviously been a good idea after all, even though he didn't speak the southern dialects at all.
Babita said he'd been happy to leave because his father was pressuring him into getting married and he didn't feel like it yet. He had found the excuse of looking for a new trade route, much like she had done with her mother-in-law.
Upon hearing about the disagreement with the head of the house, Rohan brightened and tried even more to communicate with Luca, who seemed as eager as he was to learn a new language. Keshav watched them bond on the road on spite of the language barrier and wondered where this would take them all.
He had no idea of what the others were actually looking for when they'd left their home, but he wasn't so sure of his goal anymore either. As if the legendary ruins were just that – a legend, something intangible that he could never find.
The world was full of wonders, though. And even if his quest would bring just that – knowledge of the world and the people living in it – he'd feel enriched enough. Luca had told the legend of Norina and her twin sons Belfi and Manusia and he'd understood almost everything without the help of Babita's translation that was more for Rohan's benefit.
Now that they were away from towns, the forest looked very much like his native Amrendra and if it weren't for the presence of blond Luca and the occasional meeting with border patrols, he could think he was headed back home through the southern kingdoms.
The forest road wasn't very populated. Every now and then they met villages of woodcutters and slept in log cabins. More often they slept under the stars, but the presence of armed men kept the bandits away from the Ondan.
The river was always close enough to their camps to allow them to wash and fill their flasks. They didn't meet any other Waiora, so they assumed they were on the right path. Sometime apple trees grew among the beeches and aspens, which made sense if the forest was called Appleyard.
Luca was a fairly proficient hunter, so he took down a deer or two on the way, allowing them to eat abundantly for a week. Whatever they didn't consume immediately was smoked and packed for future use.
Quests Volume Two Page 21
