by A. L. Knorr
"Well, I've no idea," Jordan cried. "Sol just said they were the closest." She didn't like how he'd asked that last question. "Why? What's wrong with the Elves of Charra-Rae?"
"Maybe nothing," Toth said, as he turned down a narrow path through a grassy slope leading to the bank of a stream. "But there's a lot of people who go into Charra-Rae that don't come out again."
Jordan's feet rooted to the spot and her jaw gaped as she watched Toth and the gelding that carried Sol meander toward the water. "Great," she muttered and stomped after them.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Jordan stood on her tiptoes atop a rock next to the gelding as she cleaned Sol's wounds and used the nyopsis to close them up again. As the nyposis aged, the seal began to open but it was the best they could do for Sol until they got to Charra-Rae. She had to peel the first batch of gel away like it was dried glue and she cringed as the bleeding started again.
Her eyes shot to his ashen face and her chin wobbled. She fought to get her emotions under control as she leaned forward and put a hand to his cheek. “Don’t die on me, Sol,” she whispered. She held a cool damp cloth to his forehead as the nyopsis closed his wounds like a strange gooey zipper. He was hot with fever.
"How long until Charra-Rae?" she asked Toth, who was waiting patiently nearby, scanning the dimming skies.
"Depends on the route we take. Passage of Skeel is easier, but takes longer and is more dangerous. Climbing out after Usenno is harder but faster." He turned slowly, scanning the skies and cliffs they’d left behind them. "Your choice."
"We need to take the fastest way possible," she replied, covering the torn terrain of Sol's back with fresh strips taken from her cloak. She tied them tightly. "I don't know if he'll survive this infection." Her voice trembled with exhaustion and emotion.
"He will survive if he is strong," Toth said, helping Jordan down from the rock. "Drink. And fill your waterskin. You'll need it."
Usenno, as it turned out, was a tiny cluster of a dozen farmhouses surrounded by fields of yellow flowers. If Jordan had been less worried, she would have grilled Toth for details about the crops and lifestyles of the people who lived there. As it was, they focused on feeding and watering the horses and Jordan tried to get Sol to wake up enough to eat and drink something. She failed. Sol would not be woken, but lay in his strange sickbed, breathing weakly and cooking with fever. Jordan's body ached and her eyes drooped with exhaustion—but as night fell, she pressed them onward and Toth was happy to oblige. The Nycht seemed inexhaustible and Jordan wished for some of his resilience.
Sometime in the middle of the night, they finally stopped to snatch a few hours’ rest. It wasn't enough, but it had to be and they were up and moving again before the sun was up.
Around midmorning, Toth stopped the horses, his neck craning upward.
"What?" Jordan croaked from beside the gray mare. She felt bad riding the horse, though the mare seemed to be handling the walking much better than Jordan was. The mare turned her head and nuzzled Jordan's side as if telling her to sit down.
"Here we climb," Toth said.
"Climb?" Jordan echoed weakly. Her eyes followed the narrow switchbacks up the mountainside. The road was dusty, steep and filled with rocks the size of bowling balls. "What's wrong with that way?" She pointed down to the much flatter, much friendlier-looking valley bottom.
"That's the Passage of Skeel," grunted Toth, bending to check the gelding’s hooves and ankles. Both horses had scabbed over nicely and their wounds were well on the way to fully healed. "You can't see them, but that earth is full of cankerworms."
"Do I even want to know what those are?"
"No," Toth stood. "You don't. They siphon away the years of your life while you sleep."
Jordan shuddered. "Up we go then." She trudged towards the trailhead. "Wait, can the horses do this?"
"We'll find out."
The going was slow, but the horses managed the switchbacks better than Jordan could have hoped for. She refused to ride the mare on this treacherous terrain, so she trudged along at the rear, tripping on rocks and trying not to lose her mind with fear as the valley floor got further and further away. Even at the slow, laborious pace the group set, it was remarkable the height they were able to gain in an hour. The gelding took every step as though he knew what was at stake and not for the first time on this journey, Jordan's heart burst with respect for the nobility of the horses Sol had rescued.
She'd begun to hum tunelessly to herself to pass the time and distract from the seemingly endless hairpin turns and stretches of trail traversing along the mountainside. She was so glazed and winded that when the horses stopped, she walked straight into the hindquarters of the mare. The mare looked back at Jordan and snorted at her as if to say, ‘We're at the top. Pay attention.’
"Here we are," said Toth, "This is the border of Charra-Rae."
"Really?" Jordan passed the horses and stood by the Nycht at the grassy top of the cliff overlooking The Conca to goggle out at the scene before them.
Sweeping away on a seemingly endless, rolling terrain was a lush forest of all the colors one would ascribe to tropical water: from bright teals to dark greens and everything in between. Late afternoon light danced with moving shadows as wind swirled through the broken cloud cover overhead. It seemed the canopy here changed color far more drastically than with forests on Earth; it was not unlike watching the ocean as it shifted under the power of the wind and currents. Jordan squinted. It really did look like the leaves were moving in currents—not back and forth, like they were rooted, but continuously, like flowing water. But as her vision locked onto these strange moving patches of color, it was simply a trick of her eyes and the leaves weren't really flowing like water. The effect was dizzying.
"It's beautiful," breathed Jordan, swaying a little on her feet. She wasn't sure if the vertigo was from the never-ending vista before her, or the fact that they'd just climbed never-ending and near-impossible switchbacks.
"Yes. It's beautiful." Toth's brow furrowed. "And possibly deadly."
Jordan contemplated the concern on Toth's face. "What's in there? Besides Elves?"
"I don't know. I've never gone into Charra-Rae. It's outside The Conca, so there's never been a reason to. The stories tend to keep people away."
Jordan wasn’t too tired to catch the subtext in Toth’s statement. “Does that mean the indigo is no longer in effect here?” The thought of venturing into Charra-Rae by herself with an unconscious Sol, while trying to find the Elves was enough to make her knees go weak.
Toth looked at her with a wrinkled brow. “Technically.” He led the gelding to a narrow stream that burbled from the ground and ran downhill through a rocky bed. “I’ll go with you until I can pass you off to the Elves.”
Jordan closed her eyes with relief. “That’s very kind. Thank you.”
“Welcome,” Toth grunted, his back to her as he stroked the gelding’s neck. The mare wandered up on his other side to get a drink. Toth spoke so softly, Jordan wasn’t sure if he was speaking to her or the horses. “It would be heartless to leave you here alone. Nychts aren’t heartless.”
Jordan found this comment interesting and would have mined for meaning if she weren’t so exhausted. "So, now what?" Jordan managed. She wanted nothing more than to collapse in the grass and sleep for days. But as long as Sol was still breathing—and he was—they had to keep moving.
"Now we walk." Toth made a clicking sound and grasped the gelding's bridle. They began to move downhill toward the trees, the mare following of her own accord.
"For how long?" Jordan asked, falling into step beside the mare as she high-stepped through the long grasses. "How do we find the Elves?"
Toth shot her an enigmatic smile. "One doesn't find Elves. We walk until they find us."
They made their way down the slope to the tree line. The tree trunks curved and gnarled in every direction. The limbs of these trees were like arms winding their way up to the canopy far above and taking
the longest possible route to get there. The bark was so dark and damp that it was nearly black. As they passed from the grass into Charra-Rae, Jordan thought she heard a sound similar to a power grid being shut down—a sort of long, deep, descending sigh. Then her ears popped. She looked over at Toth, who met her eyes. The horses tossed their heads and the gray whinnied, which echoed through the trees.
"What was that?" Jordan kept her voice low, though she wasn't sure why.
"Magic," said Toth. Jordan could see the blonde hairs on Toth's forearms standing at attention and goosebumps swept her own flesh. "They know we're here now." He took a deep breath and continued walking, his leathery wings shook outward and then closed up tight again. "Lets just hope they'll let us leave when the time comes."
Jordan swallowed and stepped in behind Toth and the bay, as the trees prevented them from walking side by side. The air became richly humid and heavy with the scent of soil and mulch. There was another smell on the air and Jordan inhaled to try and identify it. "What is that fragrance? Reminds me of sandalwood." She sniffed again. "Or something else spicy."
"Gersher fungus," said Toth, pointing upward. "They're difficult to spot from the bottom, but their tops are bright pink. It's a product of Charra-Rae. I think they trade and sell them."
Jordan craned her neck. They were difficult to see, but she soon found what Toth was pointing to. Little round mushroom-like growths sprouted from tree limbs up high in the canopy. A couple of the fungi grew on an angle and Jordan could just make out slivers of fuchsia on their tops. "They don't grow below thirty feet, or what?"
Toth shrugged. "Something like that. If there are any in reach, don't touch them. I don't think the Elves would appreciate it."
But they didn’t see any growing lower than about three stories up. Jordan soon got used to the scent and no longer noticed it. As they walked, she and Toth fell into silence. Jordan found herself in a constant state of dopey distraction as she took in the foreign forestscape around them. It seemed to her that the tree branches were moving in her periphery; not in the way a branch normally would, waving in the wind, but rather like its own separate entity. When she'd look directly, though, there was nothing amiss. She began to play games with herself, trying to memorize a pattern of branches, looking away, then looking back to see if they'd moved. But by the time her eyes found the same trees, she couldn't access the memory of the way they'd looked. It was endlessly fascinating and more than a little disconcerting. My exhaustion must be to blame, Jordan thought uneasily.
They stopped for a rest several hours later. Sol hadn't been conscious since they'd left Usenno and Jordan found herself forcing positive thoughts through her mind. He's going to be fine. The Elves will appear at any moment and they'll save him. She tried putting the waterskin to Sol's lips, but there was no response. His breathing was becoming shallow and the sounds of mucous in his chest were getting worse. The skin on his arms was clammy to the touch, yet burning up on his head and neck. Toth waited patiently while she changed Sol's bandages and applied the last of the nyopsis to keep the wounds sealed up.
"I hope they show themselves soon," Jordan muttered. "If he dies…" She didn't finish the sentence out loud but continued to think: Who will deliver the message that might be so important? Even if I might be able to do it, how would I? Where is it going and into whose hands does it need to be delivered? Will Sol ever wake up to pass on the information, or will he quietly slip away without warning? He could die at any moment. She felt sick when she thought about it. Not only for the logistics of his death; she could admit it to herself—she had come to care for her oft-grouchy companion.
She and Toth let the horses graze on the thick moss along the narrow winding trail for a time. Toth pulled a sack from one of his endless pockets and sat on a stone. He opened the little bag and held it out to Jordan.
"What is it?" Jordan sat down beside him.
"Pinzo."
Jordan gave him a grim smile. "Not sure why I even bother asking." She dipped her fingers into the sack, pulling out a handful of small wrinkly purple balls. She sniffed them. They smelled like berries, so she popped them into her mouth. They were chewy and bittersweet. They ate and rested as long as they dared, then got up and moved on.
The sound of a waterfall in the distance perked the horses’ ears forward. The air grew cool and humid as they drew close to the cascade. When the waterfall came into sight, it almost made Jordan's heart stop. It filled her ears with thunder, while a powerful vibration thrummed under the soles of her boots. Toth came to stand beside her and gaze at the immense water feature. Their hair and skin quickly became damp from the mist in the air.
They stood on the banks of a sparkling river as it poured over stones that looked like they'd been put there on purpose. The boulders made a bridge across the rushing water. A few hundred meters away, a huge churning pool of turbulent foam roared and gurgled. The cascade itself was as tall as a skyscraper and wider than a city block. The river in front of them was just one of several spilling downhill from the base of the waterfall. The parallel lines of the rivers had boulevards of grasses and trees growing up in between them. Only someone very powerful, or with powerful magic, could have set the boulders in their places. They looked to weigh several tons each. But it wasn't the rows of rivers or the pathway of rocks that made Jordan's eyes widen and her head tilt back until her neck creaked.
The waterfall poured over the face of a huge stone city. Balconies, arched windows, columns, turrets and towers all ran with streams of white water. Bright teal moss grew on damp stone faces. Carved gargoyles, crows and other sculpted beasts spilled streams of water. A huge dragon’s head, poking out from a curtain of water, hinted at how big the body hiding behind the veil might be. Black caverns appeared here and there, suggesting caves and hidden places behind the falls.
"What I'd give for a camera," Jordan breathed.
"A what?" Toth also couldn't tear his eyes from the sight before them.
"How did this happen? It must have been a natural disaster or something. This city is magnificent."
"I never knew there was such a place," said Toth. "I suppose if an Elf ever shows up, we could ask them." He ran a hand through his wet hair, making it stand up in short silvery spikes. "Shall we cross?"
"Can the horses do it?" Jordan scanned the tops of the boulders, trying to work out the risk. The gelding had the addition of a sick man tottering on his back.
Toth's hand on her arm made her follow his gaze up to the waterfall. She took a breath.
Standing in one of the dark spaces, with water parting over her head and falling away without getting her wet, was an Elf.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
She stood there without moving for so long that Jordan wondered if the Elf was a statue she'd simply missed spotting. Her skin was the same color as the stones, a sort of soft alabaster gray. She was wearing a teal dress in the same shade as the moss growing on the stones around her. But the shadows in the folds of her knee length skirt changed as the clothing shifted, giving her away. From a distance, the features of her face weren't clear, but when she stepped forward and out of the shadow of the falls, Jordan could see high, arched brows, a fine-boned face and long white hair. The elf stopped on the ledge, looking down at them, expressionless. Jordan's heart thudded in her ears. Relief and anxiety mingled in her blood making her hands tremble.
Suddenly, the Elf turned her back and the curtains of water closed together behind her.
"No," Jordan whispered. Then louder, "Don't go!" She stepped forward and put a hand up, but it was too late. The Elf was gone.
"Just wait," said Toth quietly.
They stood still on the banks of the river. Jordan's knees quaked as her eyes scanned the cascade, searching for another glimpse of the Elf.
They didn't have to wait long. Another curtain of water opened at ground level and she reappeared. She stepped out and to the side of the dark opening. She made a welcoming gesture with one arm, inviting them inside. To get
to her, though, they'd have to cross a treacherous scattering of boulders covered in moss. There was no nicely-placed pathway leading up to where she was.
Jordan and Toth shared a look. Jordan opened her mouth to ask if they were supposed to carry Sol and leave the horses on the banks when the brown horse carrying Sol walked toward the Elf.
"Wait!" Jordan put her hand out but it was too late. The gelding passed her and stepped out over the water. His hooves made a sound like he was stepping onto hollow wood and he walked straight out over the water on some invisible surface. Jordan's hand flew to her mouth and her eyes went wide. The mare followed the gelding and soon both of them seemed to be hanging in midair, making their way up a slight incline to their waiting hostess. Jordan thought she heard the Elf murmur something to the horses as she allowed them to pass. Sol and the gelding disappeared behind the falls and the mare followed. When the mare's tail had disappeared, the Elf turned her head toward them as if to say, ‘aren't you coming?’
Toth turned to Jordan. "She's waiting for you." He didn't seem nearly as shocked at this magic.
"You're not coming?" Jordan had been bracing herself for it, but it still hit her like a punch in the gut.
"I have already been gone from The Conca for too long. You've reached your destination; this is where I leave you." He spoke simply, unemotionally.
"But—" But, there was nothing else to say. He was right. She didn't need him anymore. He had a life to get back to. A job. Jordan closed her mouth and bit her lips between her teeth as a rush of emotion took her by surprise. She threw her arms around Toth and squeezed him. She wanted to say thank you, but if she did, she'd burst into tears and that would be embarrassing for both of them.
Toth stiffened, surprised by her display of affection. Humans in The Conca never showed this kind of appreciation for an escort. The service was expected. There was hardly even a ‘thank you’ for the job done. Slowly, he put his arms around Jordan’s narrow figure and squeezed her back. His eyes drifted up to the waiting Elf and he found himself wishing he could stay, just to make sure Jordan found her way out of here once Sol was healed. If the Elves will even heal him. A wave of protectiveness went through him and he let her go, taking a step back. It wasn't good to get attached to humans; it was better he leave her.
