Sapphire of the Fairies soh-1

by Richard S. Tuttle

  “I would like that,” beamedTedi. “And I’ll let you practice throwing this nasty little thingat trees. I don’t know how we are going to alert the townspeople,though. My father has warned me to stay out of the woods at nightand you know what he’ll do if he finds out.”

  “Esta knows that I hunt in thewoods,” offered Arik. “I can tell him that I saw the bandits andyou won’t get in trouble. Tell me exactly where you saw them on theway back to the inn.”

  Arik went back to the front stoop toretrieve his bow and quiver while Tedi ran next door to get hisown. The boys walked along the shore to the quay, lost inconversation of bandits and battle and the town finally standing upto the thieves. The problem, of course, was that most of theable-bodied men were out to sea trying to haul in meager catches offish. At the quay, the boys turned up the broad street heading forthe coastal highway that ran through the town of Lorgo. Many of theshops were abandoned and boarded up. Arik, once again, began tothink of what the town must have been like before the Collapse. Hepictured all of the businesses open and people bustling about withgaily wrapped packages under their arms. He imagined grandcarriages bearing nobility up and down the street with theirfootmen keeping pace and their mounted guards fore and aft. Hefantasized columns of Sordoan soldiers marching along the coastalhighway on their way to a frontier fort, their uniforms all withmatching bright colors and gilded with gold. It took him a momentto realize that Tedi was no longer beside him. He looked up anddown the street and the only person moving was a sturdy woman in along green dress and wearing a felt hat with an embroidered stripof flowers around it. She was walking down the center of the wideavenue and staring at him. Without knowing why, Arik turned anddashed between the two closest buildings and turned down the alleytowards the sea. Arik was halfway down the alley when Tedi calledto him. Arik stopped short and peered around. Tedi was hidingbeside some old crates behind one of the buildings.

  “Why did you leave me?” pantedArik.

  “I had my reasons,” laughedTedi, “but I’m not running like I just saw a revenant. What are yourunning from?”

  Arik winced as he thought of overheardstories of revenants, beings brought back from the dead that couldnot be killed. Suddenly he broke out laughing. “I don’t know,” heoffered. I guess I was daydreaming on the way to the inn and lookedup to see this woman walking towards me. At least I thought she washeading towards me. It felt like her eyes were burning into me. Idon’t know why, but I just started running. Pretty stupid, Iguess.”

  “If she was wearing green,”Tedi laughed, “it wasn’t so stupid. That was the woman who screamedthis morning at the inn and she saw us walking together before Itook off running. I don’t know if she saw me through her windowearlier, but I’m not about to take any chances. Best off if we justavoid her.”

  “I wonder what she is doing inLorgo,” Arik mused. “Her dress is one of the finest I’ve ever seenand Esta remarked about her traveling without a bodyguard. I can’tsee her getting past all of the bandits along the highway and ifshe had family here, she wouldn’t be staying at the inn. It justdoesn’t make any sense.”

  Tedi stared down the alley and tuggedat his woolen breeches. “You know,” he began, “in all the time I’vebeen checking out the Fisherman’s Inn, there has never been a lonewoman staying there. In fact, I don’t remember any woman everstaying there. Most of the women who come through town stay at oneof the inns along the highway. That’s a pretty fine dress to beheading for the quay. Well, at least we know she won’t see us whenwe talk to Esta. Come on, we’ll go up the alley to theinn.”

  The boys were laughing at being soskittish as they proceeded up the alley, but, still, they eachturned and looked towards the street as they passed any openingthat afforded a view. As the boys neared the Fisherman’s Inn, thedistinctive sound of a traveling merchant trilled the air. The twoboys looked at each other with their mouths hanging open and racedbetween two buildings to the street. Where the street met thecoastal highway, a lone merchant's wagon was just pulling into asmall courtyard. The boys forgot all of their thoughts regardingbandits and finely dressed women and raced towards thecourtyard.

  Chapter 2

  Witch

  Arik and Tedi screeched to a halt justas the old merchant was climbing down from the driver’s seat of thewagon. The old man was dressed in drab gray woolen breeches andmatching tunic. His garments were clean, but had obviously beenmended many times over the years. A gray woolen cap was stretchedover his head and he moved as if he had been sitting too long onthe wagon. A young boy, similarly attired but in brown, was alreadybringing oat buckets from the rear of the wagon for the two oldhorses that stood quietly at the front of the wagon. The oldmerchant moved to the rear of the wagon and lowered a small gatethat kept parcels from falling off.

  “Say, old timer,” hailed Tedi,“what news do you bring from the North?”

  The young boy had returned for a coupleof buckets to get water from the well for the horses. HearingTedi’s remark, the young boy shot a disapproving glare at the twotown boys, but left to accomplish his tasks. Tedi knew that theyonly had moments for any news before the townspeople startedgathering and then there would be no talk of old times.

  The old man turned towards Tedi andlooked him up and down before answering.

  “The news from up North,child, is that their children are better mannered. The name I useis Boris Khatama. That means that you will address me as MasterKhatama and if it’s news you want, then you will wait for thetownspeople to assemble and hear it with the rest.”

  “Forgive my friend’s lack ofmanners, Master Khatama,” offered Arik. “We are eager to hear ofnews that the townspeople never speak of. Lorgo is a small town andmost people refuse to discuss things that Tedi and I read about inbooks. I hope you will forgive our poor manners.”

  Master Khatama focused his attentionson Arik as he pulled down small crates of goods from the wagon.“And why should I talk of things that your own parents would rathernot have you hear?”

  “Oh, it’s not that they don’twant us to hear,” Arik responded quickly, “but I fear that theystill think of us as children and too young to hear such stories.Why just this morning at the inn . . . a friend was telling meabout the old times, but he had to return to work. Our fathers arefishermen and they are gone most of the day and tired at night.Besides, what they know is very limited as they have not traveledfar and wide as I’m sure you have.”

  Master Khatama peered at the boys againas if measuring them. The clatter of approaching footstepsannounced the coming townspeople. “We’ll see,” Boris whispered.“You go help Tanya brush the horses, while your friend here helpsme unload the wagon and you two can join us for dinner. I willconsider then what I will speak of.”

  “Yes, Sir,” repliedArik.

  “Tanya?” questioned Tedilooking at the young boy watering the horses. “I mean, yes, Sir.Right away, Sir.”

  As Tedi moved to help the merchantunload the wagon, Arik walked to the front to help with the horseswith Tedi’s comment ringing in his ears. As he approached themerchant’s helper, he looked more closely. While her face stillsported the glare given to Tedi for his comment, Arik could now seethat she was indeed a girl, a rather beautiful girl if she had notbeen dressed in those rags. “Pardon me, Tanya,” Arik greeted thegirl, “but Master Khatama requested that I offer you assistancewith brushing the horses.”

  “As if I required assistance,”snapped Tanya. “You can only brush the horses if you know whatyou’re doing, fisherboy. And if you have any more sly commentsabout my uncle, you’ll lose your teeth.”

  Arik stepped back and raised his handto ward off the expected attack. “Tanya, please,” he saidsoothingly. “Tedi did not really mean anything disrespectful. Hejust has a brash way of talking. He thinks if he acts tough, toughpeople will leave him be. I am no horseman, but I do occasionallyhelp out at Master Tern’s stables. I do know how to brush ahorse.”

  Tanya tossed a brush to Arik and beganusing one herself. The pair worked
on in silence for some minutesbefore Arik spoke again. “Tanya, I really do apologize for Tedi’sremarks. He was anxious about hearing some news of the old timesand he knew the townspeople would be arriving soon.”

  After a few more minutes of silence,Tanya finally asked, “What’s your name, fisherboy?”

  Arik looked over the horse at the younggirl. “I am Arik Clava,” he finally answered. “And I would preferthat you do not call me fisherboy. You make it sound like aderogatory term and my father is a fisherman. I find nothingdishonest or unsavory in his character because of his profession.He provides the best he can and I’m proud to be hisson.”

  Tanya stopped brushing and gazed at thevillage boy. “It would appear that I also owe you an apology, ArikClava,” the merchant’s niece responded. “It was meant as aderogatory term and I apologize for it. Why are you so interestedin the old times? I thought all of you Sordoans feared the Dark Onecoming in the night if you spoke of them.”

  Arik dropped his brush and started.“You know about Sordoa?” he exclaimed. “I never heard it mentioneduntil earlier today. I’ve read a little about it, but only of timeslong gone. Do you know about the Collapse and whathappened?”

  “Did this Master Tern teachyou how to do that with the brush?” Tanya smirked.

  Arik apologized profusely and retrievedthe brush, once again applying long strokes to the horse. “What canyou tell me of the Collapse?” he questioned.

  Tanya stopped brushing the horse andstuck out her hand for Arik’s brush. “You did good enough for a f .. . boy who is not used to taking care of horses,” she quipped. “Iwill tell you nothing of the Collapse or the old times. If yourtownspeople found out, my uncle would be driven out of town andtimes are poor enough as it is without losing some tradehere.”

  “I won’t tell anyone,” Arikpromised. “I won’t tell a soul. We could just be friends talking.No one will suspect what we are talking about.”

  “You won’t tell a soul becauseyou will have nothing to tell,” she stated. “And I don’t havefriends. Friends cause you pain and grief and I don’t need anymoreof either, thank you very much.”

  Tanya disappeared around the side ofthe wagon and a befuddled Arik headed towards Tedi, who was nowstanding with the crowd of townspeople that had gathered to hearthe latest news. Tedi noticed the woman in the green dress on theother side of the crowd and she seemed to be trying to slidethrough the group nonchalantly. After fifteen minutes of tales ofbleakness and starvation, bandits and rogue armies, the two boysleft the gathering with the mysterious woman only several feetaway. People started crowding around the merchant and picking outsmall items from a rather poor selection of goods. Tedi pulledanxiously at Arik’s sleeve and started to run towards theharbor.

  When the boys reached Arik’s home, theyleaned against the back of the house in silence. Finally, Tediturned towards Arik. “Did you see her trying to get closer to me,”he wheezed.

  “I’d say it was yourimagination,” offered Arik, “but she sure didn’t seem to beinterested in anything the merchant had to sell. What did the old .. . Master Khatama have to say after I left?”

  “Not much,” Tedi replied. “Hegriped a lot about youngsters today and their lack of respect fortheir elders. He also asked our ages about three different times. Iguess my big mouth got us off to a rather poor start.”

  “I’ll say,” chuckled Arik.“The merchant’s niece practically bit my head off for that onecomment she overheard you say. She’s a bitter one, she is. You hearpeople talk about bitter old maids, well, this girl is around ourage and she already has the demeanor to put those old maids toshame.”

  “Well, I guess we won’t haveto bother going back for dinner, then,” Tedi laughed. “The chanceof either one of them knowing anything useful, or telling us ifthey did, is probably out of the question.”

  “I don’t know about that,”remarked Arik. “Even the girl knows about Sordoa and the Collapse.She wouldn’t talk about it, but I could tell that sheknows.”

  “If I didn’t know better, Icould almost be suspicious of you liking Tanya,” chuckledTedi.

  “Forget it!” exclaimed Arik.“She doesn’t even want friends. I tried to be friendly with her andI had to keep an eye on her hands to see if she would pull a knifeon me. That girl is poison and will never have any friends, nevermind boyfriends. Still, she does possess knowledge that I’d like tohave. I’m willing to go back and talk as long you come and keep aneye on her hands.”

  “Heck, if nothing else it’s afree meal,” smirked Tedi. “Why are you interested in the Collapseso much all of a sudden?”

  “I don’t know,” replied Arik.“Lately, I’ve been having dreams of what I think the old times musthave been like. I guess it may just be not knowing what all of theolder people know and frustration at their stubborn refusal to talkabout it.”

  “You mean you are not afraidof calling down the Dark One on your family?” askedTedi.

  Arik combed backed his shoulder lengthbrown hair with his fingers and sat on the back stoop. “How are wesupposed to believe that story about the Dark One if nobody is evenwilling to talk about him?” he quizzed. “You know, Tanya laughedabout the Sordoans believing in that story. She called us Sordoans.She knows an awful lot about what I want to know. I’ve got to gether to open up and tell me.”

  “You have a better chance ofher opening up a cut on your lip,” laughed Tedi. “Why don’t we goout in the forest and see what game we can find. I doubt thebandits are still around if the peddler got through, but we can goout the south end just in case.”

  The boys headed along the shore towardsthe south end of Lorgo. When they reached the quay, the woman inthe green dress stepped out in front of them. Tedi grabbed Arik’ssleeve and the boys ran out to the end of one of the docks. Thewoman slowly marched after them and paused not ten feet from theend of the dock where Arik and Tedi stood with no escape. The womanstood staring at them, her long black hair twisted into a singlebraid as thick as an oar shaft. “Who are you?” shedemanded.

  For several moments, the boys ponderedtheir position. Certainly they could leap into the sea and shewouldn’t follow or maybe they could just run past her. When theyrefused to answer and the woman realized that they still planned toevade her, she moved her hands and the boys were frozen in placefrom the neck down. Arik tried to move his arms and legs andfailed. His body refused to listen to his commands and it tingledlike he was just doused with a bucket of ice-cold water. Only hishead moved and he realized that it was sweating. Looking at Tedi,he realized that his friend was experiencing the same thing withsweat pouring down his face.

  “I’m sorry if we’ve offendedyou, Mistress,” Arik croaked. “Whatever it is you think we’ve done,I apologize for it. If you could just see it in your good grace torelease us, I promise we won’t bother you anymore.”

  “Shut up!” she shouted.Lowering her voice as she came closer, she stared Arik in the eyes.“What is your name, youngling?” she demanded.

  “Arik Clava, Mistress,” Arikwhispered, “and my friend is Tedi Markel.”

  “Tell me how old you are,”commanded the witch as she came toe-to-toe with Arik, her breathsmelling strongly of onions.

  “Fourteen years,” wheezed Ariktrying unsuccessfully to lean back away from the strong odor. “Andso is Tedi,” he quickly appended.

  “You look much older thanfourteen,” she scowled. “Perhaps you need a lesson in truthtelling. How old are your parents and where do theylive?”

  Sweat was dripping into Arik’s eyes andhis nose was starting to twitch. Arik was focusing on the woman’sface when all of a sudden, she literally rose up and was tossedinto the sea. The moment she hit the water, the spell binding thetwo boys broke and they took off running down the dock. They didn’tstop running until they entered the woods at the south end of town.They both collapsed into a gully and turned to watch the path fromtown. Long minutes of silence passed before either onetalked.

  “What was all that about?”asked Tedi. “And why did you lie a
bout our ages?”

  “I don’t know,” answered Arik.“Nothing about today makes much sense. When she trapped us, Ithought she was after you because of the incident at the inn thismorning, but she seemed to be more interested in me. I guess Ifigured if she thought we were younger, the punishment for whateverit was that I was supposed to have done would be less because wewere younger. I don’t know why, but I don’t mind telling you that Iwas scared like I’ve never been scared before.”

  Tedi nodded in agreement and wiped thesweat from his short black hair. “Why is everyone interested in ourage all of a sudden? First the merchant asks me three times and nowthis . . . witch. This witch uses magic on us in broad daylight anddemands to know how old we are. How did you manage to trip heranyway? I was frozen solid except for my head.”

  “I didn’t do anything,” Arikquivered. “Somebody else tossed her into the sea.”

  “What do you mean someoneelse?” quizzed Tedi. “There wasn’t anyone else around. Nobody insight anywhere.”

  “I know,” Arik grimaced, “butI was looking at her face when it happened. She was more surprisedthan we were. Someone used magic on her like she was using on us.She may even think it was one of us. One thing I know for certain.I am not going to be anywhere where she can get a hold of us again.That woman would kill us as soon as talk to us again.”

  “But you gave her our realnames,” Tedi objected. “Even if we can stay safely hidden, whatabout our fathers? She’ll have no trouble finding out where theClava and Markel homes are.”

  Arik pondered for a while as hisbreathing simmered down and his heart started beating regularlyagain. He reached into his pouch and extracted some coins andpressed them into Tedi’s hand. “Get to your father as quickly asyou can. Tell him that the innkeeper at one of the inns owes you afavor and he can drink for free all day if he hurries. Pick any innbut the Fisherman’s Inn. Give the coins to the innkeeper. It shouldbe enough to cover his drink and a room for the night. I’m sureyour father will need the room before he’s done.”