The Last Mayor's Son

by Leslie E Heath

  Faruz gestured at a broad-shouldered young man they had seen earlier with a cart full of fabrics and dry goods. “You think he might be a farmer? I bet he traded vegetables and eggs for the goods in his cart.”

  Aibek glanced in the direction his friend pointed. “Maybe… and maybe he has a wife who’ll be thrilled with the treasures he’s bringing home.”

  He looked to the other side of the broad waiting area and waved toward a lovely copper-haired lady with red-rimmed eyes. “I’d bet she’s on her way to an arranged marriage, and the man with her is her father. He’s coming along to make sure she follows through.”

  Faruz nodded. “Could she be so sad because she’s been forced to leave a favored suitor behind?”

  Serik distracted Aibek from this line of thought with a small, worn bit of parchment. A faded number 54 took up the center of the parchment.

  Oh, I wonder how many there are, Aibek thought as Faruz accepted a similar bit of parchment. He glanced over, noting that Faruz’s ticket had a 55 on it.

  They followed the line around the small wooden building that housed the ticket window and got their first unobstructed view of the ferry. Aibek froze mid-step, transfixed by the sight of the massive vessel. It was a flat-bottomed ferry like the ones he had seen in Xona, except larger than any he’d seen before. Two tall masts jutted into the sky, disappearing into the early morning mist that hovered over the river.

  Aibek handed his ticket to the uniformed man at the riverfront and climbed the stairs that led onto the ferry. They wobbled under his feet. He clutched the post and mounted as fast as he could and hopped over the small gap between the step and the open rail to board the craft. He moved away from the stairs and stood for a moment, inspecting the flat, open space. It was already filling up. Ropes larger than Aibek’s forearm surrounded the areas directly under and around the thick wooden masts. He stared at the lines for a long moment and listened to the soft flapping of the sails against the masts.

  Shouts rang through the deck as passengers yelled their goodbyes down to the people assembled on the pier, and Aibek focused again on the inhabitants of the top deck. Farmers returning from the market clustered together at the far right, laughing and talking amongst themselves, various travelers milled about in groups. To his left, Aibek spotted the finely dressed family he’d seen climbing out of a carriage on the dock. The horses, wagon, and some farmers’ livestock were all loaded onto the lower level of the large wooden ferry boat, and people on foot all milled about on the upper deck. As he watched, several individuals shoved their way through the growing crowd to the rail, waving to friends and family gathered on the pier below. Aibek, Serik, and Faruz were far more interested in the view on the other side of the river, so they made their way to the far side of the deck.

  Faruz nudged his friend as they stood against the balustrade. They strained for several minutes, trying to see the forest beyond the mist-shrouded waterway.

  Faruz slapped an impatient hand on the railing. “I can’t see anything, can you?”

  “Nothing but water and fog. It’s so much wider than I expected. I’m glad we didn’t walk all the way south to the bridge. I wonder if the river’s narrower there, or if the bridge is this long…” Aibek trailed off, staring out at the endless water. He shuddered at the thought of stepping onto a bridge when he couldn’t see the end, then wondered how deep the river was. The dark gray waves churned the surface and revealed nothing below.

  Serik stayed close but kept his eyes on the workings of the sails as the brawny deckhands readied the ferry for its first departure of the day. Aibek gasped when the boat shoved off, the massive sails unfurling to catch the slight breeze. The vessel lurched under the sudden pull. Its swift jerk nearly knocked the young travelers off their feet before it evened out. The rocking movement of the boat made Aibek uneasy at first, but he adjusted quickly and enjoyed the sun on his face and the sound of the water lapping against the sides of the boat. Birds screeched and soared overhead and occasionally dove after a fish in the churning wake of the ferry.

  The tangy, earthy scent of the water reminded Aibek of the river near Xona where he’d swam as a boy, and he thought wistfully of his home. He missed Ira intensely and wondered if Noral missed him at all.

  What kind of foolhardy thought is that?

  He laughed a little at himself and turned his attention to the far horizon. From his vantage point on the front rail, he expected he would be able to see the far bank the moment it came into view.

  “You know, we still have half a day’s walk once we reach the other side,” Serik reminded the excited younger men. “The village is deep in the forest, and it’ll be harder traveling than the open road we’ve enjoyed these last several days.”

  Aibek didn’t hear Serik’s warning. Instead, his stomach dropped, and his heart leapt in renewed anticipation when he spotted a narrow pier jutting into the river.

  The bank was in sight. Aibek sighed in disappointment when he saw that the forest didn’t extend all the way to the river. They’d have to cross another mile or two of grassy hills before they reached the cool shade of the trees they could see beyond the small village on the riverbank. The younger travelers stayed at the rail until the ferry was ready to dock, then clamored to be among the first off the huge vessel, all but dragging Serik in their wake.

  It was midmorning when they disembarked from the ferry, and unusually warm for that early in the summer. Aibek scratched at his shirt where it clung to his chest. He was hot and sweaty after standing in the sun on the deck of the ferry for so long; even the steady breeze hadn’t made the muggy heat of the morning any more bearable.

  Still, it was good to be walking again; he wasn’t used to standing in one place for so long. It was a little less than half an hour later when they reached the edge of the wood. Along the way, they passed several crossroads that led east or west to other villages, and after the last one, the road they traveled had narrowed noticeably. There, it became little more than a trail. Grass and weeds covered the dusty path.

  “This used to be a busy market road,” Serik remarked. He shook his head at the sad condition of the road now. “I wonder if they’ve stopped buying and selling in the river towns.”

  Aibek didn’t know what to say to that but thought it must be significant. He considered the implications as they walked between the scattered trees and into the forest. Why would the market road be abandoned? That question led to another. What kinds of things would the tree-dwelling villagers have to sell at market? He didn’t have long to wonder before the trees grew closer together and they stepped into the gloom of the forest.

  At the edges of the trail, the trees and brush grew close and thick, obscuring most of the sunlight. Aibek stood blinking just inside the forest’s border and waited for his eyes to adjust to the sudden dimness.

  “We’ll move slower from here,” Serik said. “We need to watch where we set our feet. Beware of snakes on the path.”

  Aibek cringed and leaned over to peek under the nearest bush and stifled a relieved sigh. Nothing but brown leaves and a few beetles. He hadn’t even considered the dangers that might lurk within the woods. He wondered what Faruz thought of the warning, but couldn’t read any reaction on his face. Faruz was staring at a small branch that lay across the trail, perhaps wondering if it was a snake.

  Aibek didn’t spend much time thinking about his friend. He was so nervous about returning to the village of his birth that he worried he might lose his breakfast. He took a deep breath to steady his nerves and thought he rather liked the earthy scent of the forest. He glanced around at the trees and brush and thought he saw something dart behind a bush. He squinted into the dim forest, but whatever it was had been too fast. He could see nothing but the leaves swaying gently in the warm breeze.

  He kept looking around; the unnatural hush among the trees set his nerves on edge. He couldn’t hear anything but the wind blowing through the leaves and an occasional squirrel that chattered beside the path. No bir
ds or insects or other creatures made a single sound. What sort of animals lived here? He’d heard stories of enormous cats that could eat a man. And bears. Were there bears in these woods?

  He placed a hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to defend the trio if any large animal attacked. Why was it so quiet? The silence felt wrong. Gooseflesh spread over his arms and the small hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Shouldn’t there at least be birds singing? Surely there were birds nested in these trees. He looked to his friends, but they continued into the forest, unruffled by the eerie quiet.

  None of the travelers spoke as they carefully picked their way along the narrow trail. After a few minutes of walking, Aibek heard the first sounds of small animals moving in the brush, then birds singing overhead. He relaxed somewhat now that the silence was broken by what he assumed were normal sounds. A short time later, a new noise made his mouth water—the soft tinkling of water flowing somewhere nearby. The sound gradually grew louder as they walked, and soon Aibek saw a narrow stream with a rocky bed just to their left. He picked up the pace and hurried toward the welcoming brook.

  When he reached its banks, Aibek dropped his pack on the mossy ground and stooped to drink from the cold, clear water. Beside him, Serik and Faruz did the same. Though the trees shaded them from the midday sun, the heat and humidity were oppressive, and Aibek smiled as he splashed the icy water over his sticky face.

  Aibek knelt on the stony bank and dunked his head under the swiftly flowing water. He gasped as he sat up, his hair dripping the cold water down his back and soaking his white linen shirt. He sat for a moment and stared up into the dense foliage above him. How could a village exist among those branches? What would the people have to eat? He looked down at the water again and watched school of colorful fish swim downstream. How would they cook food in the trees? He hoped he wouldn’t be expected to eat everything raw from then on. He shook the water from his hair and bent to use his hands to drink from the cold stream again.

  “It’s not much farther from here,” Serik said.

  Aibek smiled to hide his apprehension. He rose to his feet and gathered his pack. He barely noticed Faruz’s anxious expression as he waved his friend on by. They carefully picked their way over the crumbling bridge one at a time, with Serik leading the way. Faruz went next, and Aibek followed close behind.

  As they walked, Aibek kept his eyes on the densely packed branches above, trying to spot some sign of the civilization that somehow existed up there. He thought about his earlier imaginings of rope bridges and small treehouses. Was that what his new home looked like? Would he be able to see it among the huge branches and thick leaves? He’d need to learn to navigate above the ground before he could consider taking over as the mayor.

  A new stab of apprehension struck him. What if he humiliated himself trying to learn? At least the thick moss on the ground would cushion his landing if he fell. His thoughts kept his eyes trained on the foliage above the trail for long minutes. He looked down just in time to avoid colliding with a tree. He stopped short and looked around; his friends had continued around a bend in the path. Maybe he should pay closer attention to where he set his feet.

  After that, he made sure to lower his eyes to the path at least once every three or four steps. Aibek certainly didn’t want to arrive at his new home bloodied and bruised from a mishap on the trail. Still, his thoughts remained distracted. He’d grown up in an area with few trees, and he’d never seen anything like the tall, thick trunks packed close together in this forest. The dense foliage overhead obscured every trace of sunlight, leaving the path shrouded in shadow and darkness.

  Finally, Aibek peered into the leaves above the path and thought he could make out a wooden railing between patches of leaves. It was high in the trees; a large house could easily fit underneath the hidden structure. It looked like some sort of walkway—a sidewalk made of wood suspended in the trees. As he stared and continued walking, more of the wooden structure came into view between the branches and leaves. He slowed his steps and nudged Faruz, mutely pointing up at the mostly-hidden structure.

  At the same moment, Serik stopped in the middle of the path and looked up. “This is the north entrance to the village. It hasn’t changed, even a little, in all this time. I wonder if anyone saw us coming.”

  Just before the old man finished speaking, someone leaned over the wooden rail along the edge of the boardwalk.

  A great bear of a man shouted down at them, “Ho there! Serik! I thought you’d changed your mind and weren’t coming after all. And who have you brought with you? Come on up so we can have a look.”

  With a great deal of creaking wood and falling dust, a broad wooden staircase descended slowly out of the boardwalk. It was wide enough that Aibek thought he could lie on one step without his head or feet hanging over the side. The whole device was made of a pale red wood that was unlike anything he’d seen before—but that wasn’t much of a distinction anymore. Nearly every single thing he’d seen since they entered the river town had felt new and bizarre.

  “Impressive, isn’t it?” Serik gestured to the descending staircase. “Aibek, your great-great-grandfather designed the mechanism for the stairs. Before that, I’m told they had ladders to climb.”

  Aibek nodded mutely. It was impressive, all right. And there wasn’t a rope ladder in sight. He grinned and watched in amazement as the stairs reached the ground and nestled perfectly into stone brackets planted in the path. His fatigue forgotten, Aibek ran up the dusty steps to the village nestled in the trees above the trail.

  He stopped at the top of the stairs and craned his neck in all directions, trying to see everything at once. It looked nothing like he had imagined. He was a little ashamed of the images he had previously in his mind’s eye of this incredible place. He had expected simple cabins propped against tree trunks; what he saw instead was glorious, breathtaking beauty. Where he stood, the boardwalk was wide enough for six men to walk abreast and bordered by an intricately detailed wooden railing. The carvings of tree branches, vines, and leaves were almost identical to the smaller carvings on the handle of the sword his uncle had given him.

  Ahead, the walk widened farther as it extended deeper into the town—surely this was indeed a town. No mere village could be this… this…? His thoughts trailed off as he searched for a word to describe the splendor around him.

  The buildings and homes were larger than he had expected, most of them at least two or three stories tall and much larger than the simple mud-brick dwellings in Xona. He suddenly understood why Noral had always complained about being cramped in their small house.

  Then there was the decoration!

  The houses he could see were as minutely ornamented as the wooden railing around the walk. Some had stone walls tiled in elaborate murals that depicted images of the forest or lakes or the sky. Others were carved wood in even more complex patterns and designs. The whole village looked magical as the golden light of the afternoon sun filtered through the leaves above them. Aibek glanced at Faruz and saw an expression of wondering surprise on his face. His mouth hung slightly open as he gazed at the beautiful buildings. Aibek snapped his mouth closed and grinned. He couldn’t have been more wrong in his imaginings.

  “Valasa, you haven’t changed at all!” Serik greeted the giant who had come to welcome them.

  The man threw his head back and guffawed. “Nonsense, I’m nearly twice the man I used to be.” He patted his round belly and laughed again. “It’s so good to finally have you home.”

  Aibek looked at the stranger and wondered if everyone in the village was as big as that individual. He hoped not. The man was intimidatingly large. He was at least six feet tall, with a shining mass of graying auburn hair. His blue eyes shone with tears as he regarded the visitors. His face was broad and set above a thickly muscled neck. The man was built like a wall, and just as solid. Without warning, he caught Aibek in a crushing hug, squeezing all the air from his lungs.

  “You look exactly lik
e your father, boy. I’m so glad to see you looking well, and just as fine as if you’d been raised among us.” His voice sounded strangled, and he gulped audibly as he set Aibek back on his feet.

  Glancing up, Aibek paused. A young woman strolled toward them, keeping her eyes on the large man as she approached. She glanced curiously at the newcomers, then back at Valasa.

  “Oh, this is my daughter, Ahren.” He gestured to the young lady with a broad smile. “She’ll show you around town and introduce you to all the village leaders tomorrow. I don’t think there’ll be time today,” he added with a formal air.

  The girl’s features strongly resembled her father, but the similarities ended there. Her hair was a brilliant white and flowed to her waist in shining waves. Aibek tried to remember if he had ever seen such pure white hair on someone so young, but couldn’t think of a single instance.

  When she raised her head, her crystal blue eyes met Aibek’s. They were the same unnerving shade as Valasa’s but contained none of the warmth he had seen in the older man’s eyes. In fact, he was startled by the simmering rage he detected in their depths. Aibek wondered what he had done to provoke such anger in someone he was only just meeting and hoped he hadn’t made some inexcusable mistake. He realized his hands were damp with sweat as he tried to figure out how to make amends for whatever he had done wrong.

  On another level, he realized he had feared exactly that reaction. Would the rest of the villagers react the same way? He considered turning around and going home to Xona, but instead stood his ground and tried to make small talk. He’d never been in such a position before, but Ira had always taught him that politeness could smooth any situation. He wiped his shaking hands on his pants and inhaled through his teeth.

  “Pleased to meet you,” he said, trying to keep the tremor out of his voice. “I understand our families have been close friends for several generations. I hope we can continue that tradition.”

  “Pleased as well, I’m sure.” Ahren’s voice dripped ice, and Aibek wondered again what he’d done to offend her so quickly.