by Elina Vale
Boa put his hat on his head again and sat on the opposite side of the fire. He fixed his eyes on Karla’s. She had a kind look. Maybe it was time to let it all out. “It’s not a nice story,” he said with a dark voice.
“I’ve seen a lot. Don’t worry about being nice. Tell me, please,” Karla said, kindness and warmth in her eyes—the kind of warmth he hadn’t seen in… Since the death of his mother.
Something in her kindness lured the words out, and Boa started, “I was fifteen years old when it happened.” He cleared his throat as the sad memories filled his head. “We were at home, enjoying an evening together, Mother cleared the dishes in the kitchen, Father wrote a letter on the table. Suddenly the door slammed open and three persons stepped in.”
“Were those people senatai?” Karla asked.
“Yeah,” Boa said, and blinked his eyes. He took a shaky breath. “Three senatai, dressed in black. Hoods covered their heads. Only their eyes, shining with magic, could be seen from the depths of the hoods. They tortured Mother, right there in front of my eyes. They killed my father with magic.”
“Oh, poor lad,” Karla said as she pressed her hand over her chest. “But why? I have never heard a senatai acting so…cruel, using such spells…”
Boa shrugged, trying to banish the images from his mind. “They wanted something from us. I don’t know if they got it, ‘cause I was tossed out from the house before Mother agreed to tell them what they wanted to know. And when I woke up… The house was on fire and they were dead. My family.”
Karla’s eyes filled with tears. “Oh, I’m so sorry. You were so young.”
Boa stared at the withering flames in front of him. “The three senatai leaned over me, one placed his hand on my chest and said that nobody can disobey their master, and the rest of the world will soon learn it. They said to me that they had made me his property, this master’s, whoever he might be. They said that I would be their slave and they would summon me when they needed me.”
“And you’ve been running away from them ever since.” Karla’s voice was full of pity.
Boa’s eyes grew cold and he steeled his heart. “I have. I don’t need your pity. But I’m gonna find something that I can fight them with. There must be something! And I will kill them for what they did to my family. And I will go to the king and demand that he must ban sorcery and magic for good.”
Silence landed. Karla fingered her earring, deep in her thoughts, staring at the fire, which was fading down. The sun peeked behind the clouds, but soon was hidden in the darkness again. A cold wind hurled through the forest, rattling the trees’ leafless branches around them.
Karla sighed and stretched her arms, groaning for the pain on her side. She stumbled up and squinted her eyes towards the sky.
“It’s gonna snow soon. Pack up, lad, we must get going.”
Boa stood up and frowned. “You said there was someone who could help me with this. Who is it? Where?”
“You just have to follow me to find out.” Karla winked. “Just kidding. I’m gonna go to Ronder. It’s a small, ugly town about eight days travel to the north from here. There’s someone I intend to meet, and I’m sure he can help you too.”
CHAPTER 3
The weather had made a turn for the worse in the last two days of their journey. The spring had turned back into winter again, and pure white snow covered the ground. Then the snow had slightly melted, frozen again, and a new layer snowed on top of it, making all the roads bumpy, slippery, and uneven. Generally, sleeping under the sky was alright with Boa, but winter time definitely made it more challenging. His boots and socks were wet, his nose was running, and he was feeling chilled to the bones. Karla didn’t seem to have any trouble at all. She walked determinately forward, slept like a baby, it seemed, on the icy ground, and didn’t complain at all.
It was the morning of their eighth day of traveling together. Karla had been talking a lot about the senatai and magic and told stories about her life and adventures. She had told Boa about the amazing lands she and Anra had been, the big seas they had sailed together, and the beautiful things they had done with magic.
“Gnah. My tongue is like sand from all this talkin’. So, your turn, Boa. Tell me something about yourself I don’t know.”
“Boa Riverson isn’t my real name.” The moment he let the words out of his mouth he regretted them. He really shouldn’t have told that to a drokashai.
Karla didn’t stop or even flinch, but continued her steady pace. “Okay. What is?”
There was no way out but to tell her. It would be foolish to back out now without looking like a coward. Well, she wouldn’t know it. He was the last of the line, after all. He took a deep breath. “Borgan Drognaban.”
Karla twisted around, her eyes round. “WHAT did you say?”
Boa frowned. “Don’t think I should repeat my words because of the…alerting reaction you got there.”
Karla took a step forward and squeezed Boa’s shoulders. She stared into his eyes. “Please, repeat!”
“Borgan Drognaban.”
She turned pale and her hands slumped. “I thought I heard it right.”
Boa waved his hand in front of Karla, who was staring into nothingness.
“Karla, what’s going on?”
She looked at the trees and frowned. “Ronder is just behind those hills.”
Boa laid his hand on Karla’s arm. “Karla!”
She pushed his hand away. “I’m sorry, I need to think about this.”
Boa sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. “Does my name mean something to you?”
“The guardian is dead. The secret is out,” Karla whispered as she nodded.
Boa took a hold of her shoulders like she had done his just a moment ago. “What guardian? What are you talking about?”
She frowned. “The guardian of the scroll?”
Karla’s tone was questioning. When Boa only rolled his head, not understanding her words, Karla’s shoulders slumped. “You know nothing about it?”
Boa sighed. “Karla, I have no idea what you are talking about. Do you…do you need to sit down or something?”
“No, no!” Karla said, and covered her face with her hands. “Oh, no! And the story you told me earlier about something they took… This is bad. This changes everything. And the curse...” she mumbled under her palms. Karla removed her hands and lifted her eyes to Boa’s. They were full of terror. Boa guided Karla on the side of the road and pushed her sitting on to a boulder. She slumped down, shaking her head.
“Your father never told you about the scroll that was taken that night they died?”
Boa shook his head and Karla sighed.
“This is a story that has passed from generation to generation in your family. This is a story your father should have told you.” Karla studied the treetops, not avoiding Boa’s eyes, but maybe memorizing.
She started, “Once, the world knew more magic than it does now. The magic was wild and used wherever and however anyone wanted. Then one man discovered a way to…drain life force from others and use it to his own benefit. Ordan was his name. He used the dark, unwanted magic wildly, burning everything, controlling everyone with it.” Karla fixed her eyes on Boa’s. “He was pure evil.”
Karla stood up and wrapped her arms around herself. “He did awful things, that I don’t speak of now, but what you must find out when you have the chance.” She glanced over her shoulder, like making sure no one was there to hear her. The road was empty, but she lowered her voice nevertheless. “The Royal Library, east wing and fourth shelf from the left. Seek the hidden section. Go there one day and learn it all. But back to the story…” Karla’s voice grew stronger again.
”Yes, where was I? Oh, Ordan. There was an evil item that he used for all these awful actions. The other senatai decided that it was the time to take magic back under control, so they created The Order of the Senatai. Ten wise senatai gathered together to figure out a way
to defeat Ordan. When the task seemed nearly impossible, as he had gained much power and many other senatai to his side, the Order turned to seek help from the king of the sea. He was a powerful senatai king, the kind that the world has never known after him, living on secret island somewhere hidden at the Salty Seas. He created an artifact opposite of the evil one, called the Heart of the Senatai. The legends say that he came to this land, defeated Ordan with the Heart and his own senatai army, and so, the magic was calmed again.”
Karla blinked a couple of times, then shook her head. “I don’t know if I’m telling it right. This should have been your father’s task. For your family line was chosen to hide the black items and knowledge and keep the secret safe. As the black items couldn’t be destroyed. There has been a line of fathers, sons, and daughters in your family, holding this secret. But somehow the secret got away, and clearly, they found you… “
“And you are convinced that my father had something to do with all this? Karla…”
“You don’t believe me?”
Boa shrugged. “It’s a lot. Evil old senatai, heroic king from a land no one has heard of… I’m sorry, but they sound like a children’s bedtime story.”
Karla poked on Boa’s chest. “Bedtime stories, eh? Listen, lad. What about that curse? That’s not the senatai way. At least not the way The Order of Senatai wants it.”
“We should get going,” Boa said.
The talk had taken a weird direction, and he didn’t like the connections she proposed their family had toward the magic. He turned around, mumbling, “I believe the snowstorm is coming.”
Karla glanced the darkening sky and nodded. “We’ll go to Ronder and…meet with my contact. He’ll help you with the curse, and I must figure out what to do with the missing scroll. For five years? Oh… “ She let the air out with a sigh and pulled her hand through her short gray hair. “We must do something, Boa. The black spells… If they are found, I—”
Boa nudged his head toward the road. “We’ll think about it when we are sitting beside the fire at some comfy inn in Ronder.”
Karla galed. “Clearly you have never been in Ronder. Not many comfy inns there, but maybe we’ll find something.” She gave out a slight smile. “You’re right, we cannot let desperation take over. Let’s go. We’ll be there by midday.”
Boa looked at the small, uninviting town of Ronder from the top of a hill and hoped to find a cozy inn with a fire and maybe even some wine. He couldn't spend all of his coins now that he wasn't with the mercenaries anymore, but a chalice filled with red would surely warm him up. Karla stood next to him, her brows furrowed. She hadn’t talked anything since their previous weird talk about some dark magic stuff, and Boa had let her think in peace. The story she had told him about his family, some secret scroll, and dark, evil magic had been stirring in his mind the whole walk.
Boa and Karla started descending the hill and studied the village. The houses were scattered tightly side by side, making the town look like it was curling around itself to keep the cold winter away. The town was in a clearing, as it was surrounded by meadows all around. Hulking forests rose behind the meadows, dark and uninviting.
The closer they walked, the more rugged the houses looked. Paint scattered from the boards, some windows were shut with planks. The once melted and then again frozen road was lumpy and slippery. Cold wind hurled around Boa, making the lapels of his coat flutter in the air. It started snowing again, big, wet flakes. The storm was upon them.
They made it to the wide main street and traveled straight across the town, towards its other side. The people swiftly walked ahead and past him, crouching under their hats, coats, and scarfs. Some of them glared at Boa and Karla, an almost hostile look on their faces. Clearly, they weren’t wanted here.
A woman rushed past them, but Boa grabbed her by the arm. She shot a piercing, hateful look at Boa.
“Excuse me, madam. Where can I find an inn?”
She pulled her arm from Boa’s grip, quickly tucked her hands under her woolen coats and scarfs, and nodded her head to her side, glaring at both of them. “The Parlow’s Pork. Two blocks forward. My cousin runs it. But you shouldn’t stay. Eat and leave. Trust me.”
With those words, she ran away from Boa and Karla.
“This is a nice town,” Boa muttered, and Karla let out a small laugh. “Nice? It’s a hellhole. I know the place she was talking about, follow me.”
The inn was old, scruffy, and silent. It was late afternoon and oddly peaceful there. Boa and Karla had got themselves stew and wine and sat nearly comfortably on wobbly chairs near the fireplace. Then he overheard a conversation from the table nearby. Two men, both skinny and worn out -looking fellows, staring at their ales.
“Hey, Don, did you ‘ear about…you ‘now?”
“Old Patel? Yeah. A shame it is… But better him than us, eh?”
“Yeah… At least he was old.”
“I think we should ask someone to help…Mayor Horda—”
“Ptf. Mayor Horda is a stinking weasel,” the other man said, and banged his mug on the table. “He don’ wanna spend his precious gold to pay to ‘ave a senatai witch to deal with it… I’m sure that—”
“Hush. He has paid half of this town silent.”
“That thing is taking us one by one, I’ll say. Next, we’ll give Mayor Horda to it. We’ll see what happens then…”
“There’s strangers ‘ere, Don, better keep it down.”
Then the men changed the subject, but it hovered in Boa’s mind the whole supper. When the men left, Boa lifted his eyebrows to Karla, who only shrugged.
She looked absent-minded, and Boa was thinking she was hiding something.
Boa cleared his throat and took the last bite of his bread. He studied Karla.
“Is the friend you were supposed to meet here?” Boa asked, and wasn’t surprised when she looked a bit embarrassed.
“He isn’t here. Actually, I never was supposed to meet anyone. But there was another reason I thought we should come here.” She grabbed the bread and cut a slice.
“Are you playing games with me? Why did you lie? Is this some senatai scheme?” Boa’s voice started rising, and Karla hushed him down.
“No! Be quiet.” She glared around, lowered her voice, and said, “I have heard that Mayor Horda might have a…a map.”
“Fine,” Boa said and sighed. “What kind of a map?”
Karla tilted her head and pointed at Boa with her knife. “A map that will lead to the hideaway of a certain pendant that could help you.”
“Is this pendant…magical?” Boa asked, suspecting the whole thing, but Karla only nodded.
“Fight fire with fire, Boa Riverson. The pendant that I’m talking about…” She glared around to make sure nobody was listening. “It’s called the Pendant of Absent. It can hide you from those who are searching for you with magic.”
Boa’s heart raced. “It means…”
Karla smiled. “It means that when you wear it, they can’t find you, the ones who have cursed you. The pendant hides you from them.”
For the first time in a long time, Boa felt a sensation he hadn’t felt in years. There was hope that his constant run would end someday. Karla leaned closer to him and put her hand on his arm.
“The senatai whom I said could help you… He isn’t here. He is real, and he might be able to help you remove the markings. He’s a very good senatai, but he has gone missing. He has vanished from this land, and no-one knows where he is. Frogin is his name. If you ever come across that name, follow it.”
“You knew that he wasn’t here, and is missing, and you told me that he could help me?” Boa said, confused.
Karla shrugged and leaned back, biting her bread. “Well, I thought I wouldn’t get you to come to Ronder with me without a small white lie.”
Boa snorted and rolled his head. “You could’ve just told me about the pendant.”
Karla smiled. She looked so
much stronger and braver now than what she had looked on the day Boa had helped her with the bandits. She had been worn down, sad, and miserable.
“I wasn’t sure that Horda was still the mayor in this town. Well, would you have come with me, a drokashai, who you hate almost as much as you do senatai, to this small, stinking town to chase a…a...”
“A rumor?”
“Well, yeah.” Karla nodded.
“You’re probably right. I wouldn’t have come.”
“Anra had heard that this pendant exists, and the name Mayor Horda was mentioned, so I thought…”
Boa lifted his hands. “Okay, okay. But will he give it to me?”
She burst into a laugh. “Give? Never. But he may sell it to you.”
Boa frowned. “I don’t have much…”
“You may not have to use your coins. Did you not listen to those men, lad? You really need to pay attention to what’s happening around you, boy. Something’s wrong, and they need help to solve it. A job for you, a brave fighter from the Band of Five.”
”It’s not that I’m not grateful, but why?” Boa studied Karla. “Why go through all this trouble for me?”
A warm smile spread on Karla’s face. She looked into Boa’s eyes with kindness and warmth. “I want to help you, Boa. Anra was… She always helped people. No matter her own situation. I do this to honor her memory. She was my lifelong companion, and I loved her.” She smiled and then took Boa’s hand into her own. “Your mama was taken from you. I saw you alone in the woods, a lost soul and I decided to help you. It must have meant to be that we met, Boa. I was ready to give up on life, certain that there was no more job for me in this world. But when I learned about the curse and the missing scroll… Now, I have a purpose. I am old, but there is still something that I can give. Boa, you and I are the only ones who know about the missing scroll, the one the senatai took from your family. If the dark magic returns… No. We must do something.”
Boa lifted his hands. “Oh, no. I won’t be a part of it.”
