“Sure, but Sylvanians don’t usually visit these parts, which is why, without question, we’ll attract undesired attention.”
“Why’s that?” wondered Allur.
“It’s a long story, but it seems to have begun when the Pripps people, during the Cizarian period, attacked and robbed Sylvanian merchant caravans, which eventually escalated into total enmity.”
“So, what do you think we should disguise ourselves as now?” asked Kark.
“Considering our background and that there are so many of us, the obvious choice should be that this is about a dignitary with his escort, which now and then pass through the plains on the way to the Sahirian duchies.”
Everyone liked the idea, except for Bediz, who thought that it was a little too daring. But, after arguing for a while, he finally approved it.
“Go for it,” he said, “I don’t have any better idea and we have to find something, right?”
“Good, then we are in agreement about our first strategy,” said Fillifaj, “but before we enter Darwan, which is the last outpost before the Vindre Heath, we’ll have to change our identities again.”
“And what do you think we should be then? Trolls?” asked Caver, laughing heartily.
“Yes, that should suit you, I imagine, considering how unkempt you can be.”
“Is that right?” he muttered.
“No, joking aside; since many are needed to control a herd, I propose that we take on the role of buyers, on our way to Grinjin to purchase livestock.”
“Couldn’t we do that right away?” asked Kark.
“Maybe so, but as nobility we run much less risk of being bothered by uncomfortable questions and, anyway, it’s a little more fun, isn’t it?”
“Sure, but isn’t it going to be hard to get all the necessary equipment?”
“No, it shouldn’t be any problem, since we’ll soon be in the provincial capital, Tertant, where pretty well everything can be purchased with gold and cash, and if that’s not enough, we’ll also be able to use this,” she said, holding up a large, glittering gemstone.
“An ancient Diol stone,” gasped Bediz, astonished. “I didn’t think those were any longer in existence.”
“It comes from the mountain caves on the island of Surukand and, just like the cellar in Lotre, it has been a well-kept secret for a very long time.”
“It’s fantastic that there are guarded secrets that can be useful for us,” said Anderika.
“Yes, but one must hope that there also aren’t any dark secrets,” said Kark.
“One can never be sure of that,” said Fillifaj, with a crooked smile.
CHAPTER 22
The next day, they drove across the wide Farak river on a long, impressive stone bridge, which was so wide that two wagons could meet and pass. When they sighted Tertant later that afternoon, they split into three groups, departing at ten-minute intervals, to carry out their predetermined purchases. Anderika, Kioppi, Bediz and Neiger were tasked with obtaining soldier’s equipment; when they entered the city, they encountered narrow lanes and grey, abandoned buildings. The closer they came to the business district, the more impressive the buildings became, so that by the time they reached the market square, where all the sellers stood and proffered their wares in a cacophony of noise, the buildings were downright majestic. When they had stashed their purchases in the wagons, they saw Fillifaj and Allur approaching across the square. As they neared, they were glowing with happiness, and told how they had managed, even if the purchase price had been astronomical, to acquire a gilded carriage, which Enaiga and Gondar had been told to guard while they completed the remaining purchases.
By afternoon, everyone was finished and could leave the city to join the others once more. Those who had stayed behind were amazed to see everything that had been bought, but soon everyone was engaged in practicing their new roles. Zania was going to travel in the carriage, drawn by four white horses, as a noblewoman, with Allur and Gondar as drivers, Fillifaj as chambermaid, and Neiger as footman. Anderika was assigned responsibility for the large cargo wagon, while the others comprised the troop of soldiers. It was quite a pleasing sight, not least the soldiers, in their dark-grey uniforms adorned with gold epaulettes, but Zania was the most elegant of all, in her light-blue silk gown and white fur hat, topped by long plumes. When Neiger opened the shiny door of the wagon, she gracefully gathered her skirts with one hand and seated herself regally in her seat.
“Look here, quickly now, my good man, we don’t have all day!” she shouted, pretending to be irritated, and knocked on the outside of the door.
“As you wish, your highness,” he answered, with a deep bow, so that once everyone had taken their places, she waved through the window, signalling that they were ready to depart.
“Neiger finally got to take up his old servant role again,” said Caver.
“Yes, I don’t think he’s too unhappy about it,” laughed Kark.
With the soldiers leading the way, their little caravan started up slowly, moving down the uneven, dusty road, those in the carriage enjoying its fantastic suspension.
Two days passed uneventfully; they continued across the Pulash plains, all the while staying away from villages, so as to avoid attracting attention. The third day offered some variety, however, when after having travelled for several hours, they veered off onto a smaller road. The sun beat down from a clear blue sky, and a milky haze veiled the horizon. A green, grassy landscape spread endlessly in all directions. Allur and Gondar were in the middle of an intense discussion of the best way to cook fish, when they were interrupted by Kark’s shouts about seeing a building ahead of them.
“It can’t be true; I can’t see anything,” said Allur, after squinting into the distance.
Eventually Kark was proven right, though, when a castle, adorned with round domes and golden spires, revealed itself on the horizon.
“What did I say!” she exclaimed, “Was I wrong?”
“Yes, really,” answered Bediz. “You’ll have to let us call you Eagle-Eyes from now on.”
They were considering whether they should take a detour when a rider with a black cape appeared on the road before them.
“My name is Dozek, and I am the lord here,” he said, authoritatively, “And who are you?”
“This is the Duchess Silde, with her escort, travelling to Oxylon, in Princip of Sahir,” Fillifaj answered.
“May I then ask which route you have thought to take?”
“West, along the river, to Borrond Pass, and then on towards Darwan.”
“I wish to strongly discourage you from following that route,” he admonished, shaking his head.
“And why is that?”
“Because it has recently been unstable in that region, with bands of thieves who made the area unsafe. But if you would like to do me the honour of accepting my invitation to have lunch with me, I can inform you of safer alternative routes?”
“Thanks for your hospitality, but we are on an urgent errand,” she barely managed to reply, before he interrupted by saying that he insisted.
After some discussion, they decided to accept his offer, both because they were hungry and because he was so determined to accept nothing but yes in reply.
They drove up a long tree allé that ended at a beautiful castle, surrounded by a large flower garden, where two livery-clad servants took care of their horses. A moment later Dozek’s wife, Zagara, clad in a blue silk suit and matching hat, greeted them welcome with a warm smile and invited them in.
“I don’t like this,” whispered Fillifaj, as they entered the building.
“Why not?” asked Kark. “This seems as pleasant as can be.”
“Perhaps, but things are often not what they seem, which is why it’s best not to take unnecessary risks.”
“I see, but now it’s a little late to turn back, so it’s probably best that we try to relax and see what happens.”
“Sure, but we should try not to stay any longer than necessar
y.”
Accompanied by Fillifaj’s muttering, they ascended the stairs to the next floor, where they entered a long, cool hall, and sat themselves at the enormous table. Servants brought in a seemingly unending array of delicious dishes. Several hours later, completely full and satisfied, they rose from the table, and cordially, but firmly, resisted Dozek’s invitation to spend the night, but did accept his offer to show them around his estate. They had seen most of the residence and had entered the wine cellar, when Zagara suddenly took Enaiga off to one side, and pressed an object into her hand.
“What’s this?” she asked, astonished.
“A whistle, which once upon a time belonged to the mountain shepherd, Halleros,” Zagara whispered. “Blow it when you find yourself in danger, but only as a last resort, and keep in mind that the fewer who know of its existence the better.”
“It seems to be something valuable, but why give it to me?”
“Because you possess a special power that the others don’t have, but, please, don’t ask me anything more. Now we have to return to the others, before they begin to wonder where we’ve gone.”
“I noticed that you and Zagara were talking about something,” said Fillifaj, when they had come up from the cellar. What did she say?”
“Nothing special. She just told me about her family and the castle’s history,” answered Enaiga, hoping that she sounded credible.
Once they’d left the company of their generous hosts, they were back on the narrow dusty road, where a few hours later they arrived at a dark forest of old trees whose roots wound across the ground like shiny black veins.
“Oy! It feels creepy here,” said Zania. “Don’t you get bad vibes, Enaiga?”
“No, actually,” she answered. “Blackwarj Forest is definitely in a class of its own.”
When dusk finally fell, they camped in a steep ravine, beside a gurgling brook. After unhitching the horses and letting them out to graze, they ate a solid dinner of beans and dried pork.
Zania was first to wake in the early dawn, stirred by a buzzing fly, and sat up, stretched her back and let out a loud yawn. Spending the nights in the beautiful carriage, which at first had seemed a privilege, also, with time, involved some disadvantages. In addition to the fact that she was often separated from the others, the seats were so short that it wasn’t possible to sleep with one’s legs stretched out, so that her whole body felt sore. More than anything else, she would have preferred to sleep in the fresh air, together with the others, but since they had to play their roles, not least because of the possibility of unexpected visitors, that was simply not possible.
“Maybe you could switch places with me, Anderika?” she asked, as they ate breakfast the next morning.
“Don’t even think it. I have nowhere near the talent you have. It would be worse than having the goat change places with the gardener.”
“I was afraid you’d say something like that,” she pouted. “So, I guess I’ll just have to try and put up with it.”
“Yes, I think so. We all have to bite the bullet now and then. I remember that nobody wanted to trade places with me when I was buried up to my neck in sand on the beach as bait to attract the monster from the forest that time.”
“Yes, you’re right about that. I don’t know how you dared.”
“Me neither, but somebody had to do it, if we were going to move ahead. Lean back and enjoy your upper-class situation, for when it’s time for your next role, as a livestock buyer, I guarantee that neither the clothing nor the equipment is going to be as elegant.”
After their meal, Pilgar and Kioppi went down the hill to wash, Kark following them with her eyes all the way, until they were out of sight. As she combed her hair with long sweeping motions, she was filled with such desirous pleasure, thinking about when it was that she had first fallen in love with him. If it was when he had dangled so helplessly in Gombi’s net, or when he had stood in front of them in his soldier’s uniform, or when he had crept out of the pig sty, all wrinkled and dirty.
When they returned and had sat down to play a hand of cards, she summoned her courage and went over to him to ask if he could help her harness the horses to the wagons. It didn’t work out at all as she had hoped, since he answered that it wasn’t part of his duties, and that she should ask Allur, instead.
“Yes, well, then it’s best I go and do that,” she hissed at him, sullenly, and turned away, sunlight shining in her hair so that it shimmered copper against her red cape.
“Wasn’t she in a bit of a bad mood?” Pilgar asked Kioppi, surprised, once she had disappeared from view.
“No idea,” said Kioppi. “One shouldn’t even try to understand women, but just do one’s best to try to learn how to live with them.”
With stormy feelings swirling in her thoughts, Kark swung up onto a horse and grabbed the reins. “Why were men so thick when it came to feelings?” she asked herself. She could have lived with a refusal, but he hadn’t even reacted to her invitation. When she was in the army, she had been mainly focused on surviving and only seen men as brothers-in-arms, not as potential lovers. The situation was different now, and like most other women of her age, she wanted to find someone to love and to build a family with. Soon, she thought, he was going to be forced to put his cards on the table, whatever consequences it might lead to.
For most of the day, they travelled through a landscape of steep hills, until they had reached the Abesian Mountains, where they made camp beside a little wood. As they ate their usual dinner of stewed beans and dried meat beside a blazing fire, Bediz turned to Fillifaj to ask her how many days she thought it would be before they reached the Blue Mountains.
“It’s difficult to say,” she answered, “maybe five or six days. First we have to cross the pass and the town of Faro, and then there’s the highlands, until we arrive at the Tanzia valley, where we’ll have to change our disguise, as we discussed earlier, before we arrive in the border town of Darwan, which is before the last stage, over Vindre Heath.
“And what will we do with all the things we’ve acquired?” asked Zania.
“We’ll just have to throw everything into a deep ravine, where no one will find them.”
“You must be joking?”
“Not one bit. As soon as the equipment no longer has a purpose, we should get rid of it as soon as possible, which includes even the carriage. If we spend any time trying to sell things, it’s going to sink us and expose us to unnecessary attention, which creates the risk that we’ll be discovered.”
“But that feels terrible.”
“Just don’t think about it. As long as there is a demand for beautiful things, new ones will always be produced.”
The next day, their surroundings were drastically different, with the wagons barely fitting on the narrow, winding road that wound along the river that rushed down from the mountains all around them. Late in the afternoon, they finally arrived at the little town of Faro, with its jumble of various-sized grey-stone buildings, in a deep mountain valley. Apart from the occasional glance, their arrival didn’t seem to arouse any particular notice, and soon they had left the little town behind. As the sun set behind the high mountains, they swung off from the road, unhitched the horses and let them out to graze, then built a roaring fire.
“I’m so tired I could sleep for days,” yawned Zania when, well-fed, warm and satisfied, she stretched out to relax, on the thick green grass.
“Who isn’t?” said Gondar. “I would need at least a whole week to catch up on my sleep.”
“Ha-ha, your lazy bones,” laughed Kark. “This is pure Sunday school. When I did my military training, we had to march five hundred kilometres in difficult mountain terrain, with full packs, living off the land, meaning roots, insects and berries, and when we returned to camp, our feet were like red pieces of meat.”
“Yeah, yeah, everything is relative,” growled Zania, “and no matter what one has done, there’s always someone who’s done more.”
“And
what kinds of challenges might there have been in the imperial city?” laughed Kark. “Maybe you were sometimes forced to find your silk slippers all by yourself, when the staff were busy elsewhere?”
“Ha-ha, now you really think you’re funny.”
“I’m sorry, I just couldn’t resist,” she said, chuckling, and wiped away tears from her eyes. “A good laugh makes you live longer, they say.”
“With your constant cackling, you’ll easily live to a hundred.”
“Perhaps; he who laughs last, laughs longest.”
“What do say, your cheerful types,” Fillifaj interrupted, “about our trying to reach the Tanzia valley tomorrow? If we do, we’ll have to travel continuously, without resting, and won’t arrive until evening.”
“And if we choose to take it a bit easier?” asked Zania.
“Then we’ll be forced to spend the night up in the highlands, where it’ll be freezing cold.”
“No way; then the first alternative seems much better.”
Once the others had also expressed their agreement, they set off again at dawn and eventually emerged from the verdant valley onto a barren and stony landscape, where heather and scrub spread in all directions. Everything proceeded as planned, until they approached the Tanzia valley. Just as they were getting ready to move on to the next step, to change their identity, they became aware of a dust cloud moving towards them.
“Damn, there seems to be a whole horde of riders,” muttered Bediz, concerned.
“Should we try to evade them?” asked Allur.
“No, they’ve probably already seen us, so it’s best we continue.”
A little while later, a cavalry troop, dressed in red uniforms and black fur headgear, arrived. Their commander briskly and authoritatively informed them that his task was to escort the caravan to Duchess Kallaz.
“But we don’t need any help,” said Bediz.
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