by Candy Rae
“Address him as Maru,” Thalia was instructing as they threaded their way through the trees. She was racking her brains to remember the protocols for meeting Lai which she had been taught during her cadet training. “Remember to bow too.”
“Maru, remember to bow,” Daniel was muttering over and over again as they emerged from the trees that surrounded the lake.
* * * * *
Maru the Lai was waiting for them. Daniel stopped in his tracks and stared, suppressing a whistle with difficulty.
Gracious! He was stupendous! A hide almost golden than shone and those eyes! They were twice the size of his hand and how they gleamed with life, as if all the stars of the universe were contained therein (Daniel was mis-remembering a poem he had learned as a child).
Maru was nothing like the cold-drake tales in the fable-stories. He was far, far more, smaller than Daniel had expected (cold-drakes were always gigantic, some as big as medium sized houses) and he was definitely not breathing flame (they always did in the stories).
Maru’s eyes flittered with inner amusement mixed with wise intelligent as the four approached.
Thalia, Josei and Vya bowed when they were about a lindlengh away. Daniel’s bow was late and he covered his confusion and embarrassment by making it extra low and long, a full royal one.
“Kellen Ross,” said Maru, his deep filled to the brim and over with amusement, “I suggest you come up for air before you pass out.”
Daniel brought his upper body up with a snap, so fast that he staggered and felt quite dizzy for a heartbeat or so.
Maru laughed.
“Am I not as you expected Kellen Ross?” he asked.
“Er, yes, no,” stuttered Daniel, “least I mean, no, but,” his wits started to come back, “you are very handsome.”
There, that was better. Now Maru wouldn’t think him a complete fool.
“Vadeln Thalia,” Maru greeted her, turning his large head in her direction. “I am pleased to make your acquaintance at last. My father knew one of your ancestors well.”
“He did? Who?” The words were out before Thalia could stop them. Lai’s teeth, but that was rude of me. “My pardon Maru,” she bowed again, “I should not ask.”
Maru looked surprised, “and why not? It is natural for intelligence to be curious. A trait we all share. Do you wish to know who it was?”
“I wouldn’t mind,” she said, with a pleased smile, “was it long ago?”
“A very long time ago for you humans but not so much for us Lai. I did not know your, what is it you call them, ah yes, your forefather, that’s it, or foremother perhaps I should say. She was very famous in her day. Her name was Tana and her Lind was named Tavei.”
“I’ve read about her,” said Thalia, “she and Tavei became Susa of the Vada sometime after the Battle of Fountains Head. I didn’t even know I was related to her!”
“Yes, you are one of her descendants.”
“She and Tavei earned the Silver Star,” Thalia was remembering her history lessons, “she rescued a princess from the southern continent, it was a great story and, yes, she married some southern noble.”
She looked at Daniel, “why, I might even be related to you!”
“Most of the nobility is related to one another in some form or other,” Daniel agreed, “though after all this time it will be a pretty distant one. What noble did she marry?”
Maru answered the question, “it was a Philip Ross.”
“Crikey, then we must be related!” cried Thalia.
The ramifications didn’t bear thinking about but Daniel did his best. “You must be a cousin of some sort.”
“To the hundredth degree,” answered Thalia, “but it is pretty amazing when you think about it.”
“Yes, that is they.” Maru turned to Josei who he greeted with a few well chosen words, being careful to compliment him and his air of well-being and his glossy coat. He flicked a wing at Vya. Thalia realised that the two had met before at the same time remembering her cadet lessons on Lai body language. A flick of a wing represented the meeting of old friends.
Maru invited them to sit and once he and they were settled, Daniel watching with fascinated eyes at how Maru covered his torso with his wings as he sat. he began to talk, “I was wondering if you were all wondering why it is you who have been chosen for the task ahead of you.”
“Thalia and I have both wondered,” said Daniel. Maru appeared to be waiting for an answer, “we don’t understand why it is just us, there must be others more suited to the job and we are but four.”
“I suppose you could say that you were there, right place, right bell and that you all fitted the requirements,” was Maru’s enigmatic answer, “the object you search for, you understand, it is very important.”
“We do,” he answered.
“We have come to the conclusion that it will be taken to one of two places,” Maru informed them, “one of them is to your country Daniel. That is why you are one of the searchers. Your local knowledge will be invaluable if the thief goes to the southern continent.”
“And the alternative destination?” queried Daniel.
“Into the Great Eastern Sea,” Maru answered, “and if that happens then your duty of search will be at an end and you can go home.”
“But what if the thief takes a little journey into the Great Eastern Sea? Perhaps to one of the nearby islands and uses that as a jumping off point to take it to Murdoch?” he asked.
Maru had an answer for that too.
“That is why we must be prepared. If the thief takes boat to an island there will come a point when he goes one way or another. It is at this time that Vya and Josei will let us know. If the power core goes south to Murdoch you follow it. If it goes further out into the sea it is that you will not concern yourselves any more. We Lai will deal with it.”
“Why can’t you just deal with it anyway?” asked Daniel.
Maru pondered this.
“It is not the time for us to go to Murdoch or travel beyond our home and the rtathlians,” he said at last, “I can not explain why you understand.”
Daniel didn’t but didn’t think he should say so.
“I think I understand, a little,” he said.
Thalia was biting her lip, excited at the idea of a trip, however short, into the Great Eastern Sea. She had never left the mainland of her birth, hadn’t even taken a holiday in one of the resorts situated on the Island Chain between Argyll and Murdoch.
“He, the thief that is, might take the overland route,” mused Daniel.
“Unlikely,” said Thalia, “he will know that the theft will be discovered eventually and will think that when that happens every Lind on the continent will be sent out to try and find the power core. He would not imagine that just a few would be sent. That’s our advantage. A couple of vadeln-pairs will not frighten him off. So what if Maru is wrong, if he takes the overland route after all?”
“You will follow,” Maru instructed, “now I must go. I am sorry to be so rude as to leave you so soon but I must. My mate and I, we have eggs to tend and she is waiting for me.”
“We quite understand,” said Thalia, scrambling to her feet.
Maru rose to his hind-legs. Thalia and the other three stepped back. All but Daniel knew what was coming.
“We’ll need to give him some space,” instructed Josei, backing away from Maru, paw by paw.
Now Daniel saw a wondrous thing.
Maru stretched out his wings to their fullest extent. He began to run, his haunches bunched and he launched himself up into the air, his wings flapping and straining as he sought to gain altitude. He skimmed over the lake, veering south, in the direction, Daniel realised that would hide his silhouette from those who might be watching from the domta. When he thought Maru would crash into the trees on the southerly shore, he flapped his wings with more vigour, flew up over the trees and out of sight.
“Whew,” Daniel cried, “that was pretty awesome!”
“So wha
t do we do now?” asked Thalia who thought Maru pretty awesome too.
“We start asking questions at the domta, with the Gtrathlin’s permission,” decided Daniel, “try to get some information. Someone must remember something about the theft even if they don’t know that it was the theft. Little snippets of information, gleaned from various sources may tell us the answer or at least give us some clues as to who, what, when and more importantly, where to go and look next.”
“But we don’t even know exactly when it was stolen.”
“Start with the recent and work back,” Daniel suggested. “There was a trade caravan here recently, wasn’t there? And one before that. We’ll begin with the more recent one. And we must split up. Me with Vya and you with Josei.”
“Might be better if we swopped,” said Thalia. “I can hear what Josei’s hearing and he can contact me immediately if you hear something interesting, then me and Vya can come quick. What questions do I ask?”
“You’re trying to find out if anything out of the ordinary occurred when the caravan was here. Any people acting out of character. Strangers who were with the caravan for the first time and things like that. Ask and keep asking. We don’t know yet what might be important. Me, I’m going to the Holad, I noticed a burnt out cabin when we were passing. Doesn’t look as if it went on fire all that long ago, matter of a couple of months at the most I should think or even less. I’ll start there.”
“The power core may well have been taken longer ago that that,” Thalia reminded him, “especially with it being replaced with another similar box.”
“True,” admitted Daniel, “but my gut feeling is that our thief was in that caravan, probably posing as an honest trader. Bet you I’m right.”
Thalia bestowed on him her most withering look.
* * * * *
“Alavidha,” the Gtrathlin said to Daniel two days later, when, after extracting all the information they thought it possible to extract, the four prepared to leave.
Daniel bowed and tried to repeat the word, without too much success. He swung himself on to Vya’s back.
Thalia, who had already said her goodbyes, was mounted and waiting. She frowned.
: Did I hear that right? : she telepathed to Josei : Did the Gtrathlin say Alavadha? :
: Of course she did : he answered : what other word would she use? :
: I don’t know, it didn’t sound quite right, that’s all :
: Perhaps your ears are clogged : he suggested.
: They are not! :
Thalia had a niggling feeling that she had just missed something important.
: At least we’ve got some leads :
: That man the Gtrathlin said was here last rhedhrehl? :
: Precisely. Kathya too. She seemed to think there was something not ‘right’ about him though she couldn’t tell us why :
: You think he was a spy of some king? Doing a reconnoitre? :
: That is the logical assumption :
: I can’t fault your logic Josei. Tell Vya. Ask her what she thinks :
There was a moment as the two Lind communicated mind to mind.
: She agrees : Josei ‘said’ at last : she also thinks that our best chance of success is to follow the caravan route. That is the way the thief will have gone. The only way. Also, she agrees with Daniel about the people in the caravan :
: So Daniel is right? That the theft was performed by a boy and probably the boy who was employed by the jewellery trader? :
: It was their first time here. Last year the jewellery trader was an older man and a man who had been coming here for many seasons. The boy was seen exploring the domta too :
: My wits must be vuzzed : exclaimed Thalia then : of course, the persona of a jewellery merchant would be an ideal cover :
: Vya agrees :
: Let’s go hunt out trader and boy then. Tally ho! :
: What’s a tally ho? :
: I’ve read about it in the history books. It is an ancient hunting cry from back on Earth, the planet we came from. People used to hunt creatures called foxes over the countryside, using dogs :
: That is a stupid way to hunt. How can one creep up on prey if one is making a noise? And Thalia? :
: Yes? :
: What is a fox? :
Thalia sighed and proceeded to explain.
* * * * *
-31-
NORTHERN ARGYLL – SOUTH OF THE CARAVAN ROUTE
“Merchant Drellor was really helpful, wasn’t he?” was Thalia’s rhetorical question as she, Daniel, Josei and Vya left the caravan route, “he even knew where the two of them were going.”
“It is his business to know,” said Daniel.
“Lucky the jewellery merchant slipped up and told Drellor he was going to Farquharstown and all that.”
“And if it wasn’t a slip up, what then?” Daniel asked.
“That he was laying a false trail?”
“Exactly. Jason Whiteman is probably not his real name either.”
“But we are following his trail, false name or no.”
“But I bet you a thousand crowns that it doesn’t lead to Farquharstown. I vote that we ask around as we go. People in small villages notice strangers and travellers.”
“Inns would be likely places,” Thalia suggested.
“And I never thought of you as a drinking kind of girl!”
“Only in the line of duty,” she retorted in a flash.
* * * * *
-32-
THE VILLAGE OF STANTON - ARGYLL
“Last harvest time it was, one just like you’ve described, yes, he was here. Asked the way to Chadwick Smallhide’s place.”
“Chadwick Smallhide?”
“Owns a farm a ways to the south of here, along the narrow cart way.”
“What’s he like this Chadwick Smallhide?” asked Thalia.
“Strange sort of fellow,” answered the old man, sipping his ale. “Keeps much to himself. Funny thing is though, he’s either doing very well for himself or very badly. One year he’s got coin to splash about, farm’s well stocked then the next, well not so good. Been like it is a couple of year now, bit run-down like. It’ll get better though, always does.”
Daniel gave Thalia a significant look.
“Is he there now?”
“Heard he’d gone off, Farquharstown I think, least that’s what his housekeeper told me yesterday. Was market day see and she was here. We’re cousins of a sort and she always pops in to see how I’m getting on.”
* * * * *
THE FARM OF CHAD SMALLHIDE - STANTON - ARGYLL
The farmyard looked like any other farmyard of any other middle sized farm in Argyll Thalia had visited. It appeared better and more prosperous than many, despite what the old man had told them.
“Let me ask the questions,” she said to Daniel as they dismounted.
“Quite a crowd gathering.”
“Usually is when Vada come a-visiting,” she said, trying to look and sound nonchalant. “Even these days, many dream of becoming vadeln. Suspicion hasn’t reached many of these more rural areas, yet. We’re still welcome.” By now Thalia had shared some of her worries about the relationship between Argyll and Vadath with Daniel. “Youngsters still dream about meeting their Lind partner. I know I did.”
An efficient looking woman was bustling towards them, a wide smile on her open face.
Daniel busied himself with Vya’s harness.
“Good day,” said the woman to Thalia. “What can I do for you? Food? Water?”
“Water, yes,” she answered, “our Lind are thirsty.”
“Well is over there,” the woman, continuing to smile and pointing, “you sure I can’t get you anything to eat? Bread’s not long out of the oven.”
“Well,” Thalia responded, pretending to consider, but failing, the thought of new baked bread was too much to resist, “that would be very kind of you if you can spare a bit. Travel rations can be a bit monotonous.” It wasn’t a lie, they were
. She turned to Daniel, “go with Josei and Vya to the well, I’ll be back in a bit.”
Daniel nodded and went with the two Lind to the well where he began drawing up a pail of fresh water.
Thalia accompanied their benefactress inside the farmhouse.
“A well run farm you have here,” she complimented her.
“Oh, it’s not mine dear,” the woman answered, “I’m just the housekeeper. Master’s name is Mr Smallhide. He’ll be that sorry not to have been here when you called. Don’t get many Lind visiting this far inland.”
“Where?” Thalia began.
“Where is the Master?”
Thalia nodded, her mouth being too full of fresh baked bread to speak (a thick buttered slice had been thrust into her hand as soon as she had entered the kitchen).
“Gone to Farquharstown on business. Expecting him home any day now.”
Thalia wanted to ask what sort of business this Master Smallhide was engaged in but didn’t know quite how to phrase it. There was no need. Mrs Mellon, for that was the housekeeper’s name, was a talkative person, chatter was her middle name as she informed her guest and she told Thalia what she knew.
“Goodness knows why he’s gone there. Grain markets long finished and cattle market, it’s not until the month after next. They pays the best prices down there, least that's what Master tells me,” she added.
“Better than in Stewarton? It’s further away?” Thalia prompted.
“Master knows best,” she replied in a decided manner, “he’s not short of a bob or two neither. What brings you to Stanton?”
