Zypheria's Call (A Tanyth Fairport Adventure)

by Nathan Lowell

  “Some things can’t be helped. Things...happen. You get old, you get sick. Sometimes you get sick and die. Sometimes it’s worse when you don’t.”

  “Don’t what, mum? Don’t get sick?” Rebecca cocked her head.

  “Don’t die.” Tanyth tried to smile, but couldn’t bring it up as far as her eyes. It felt hollow and wrong pasted on her mouth so she let it go and gazed into the fire instead.

  After a few moments, Rebecca asked, “Is that what you’re afraid of, mum? Getting...sick?”

  Tanyth felt her eyebrows flex in time with her lifting shoulders. “Somethin’ like that.” She drew in a deep, slow breath and let it out gently through her nose. “Some of my teachers, they just kinda drifted off. They weren’t quite all there all the time.” Tanyth glanced at the young woman, saw her eyes gleaming in the firelight. “Happens to old people sometimes. They get so they don’t know who they are. Where they are.”

  Rebecca nodded. “My great grandpa. I’ve seen it.”

  They sat without speaking for a time. Rebecca found bits of leaf and twig to toss on the coals. The smoke from them curled around the campsite on the fading evening breeze. It tickled Tanyth’s nose, mingling with the scent of horse and human, adding to the moist smell of springtime.

  “If that’s what you think’s happenin’, mum, why don’t you stay with...?” Rebecca nodded her head toward Frank.

  Tanyth bit down on a flash of anger. It wasn’t the girl’s fault so she took a couple of breaths before speaking. “I started somethin’ and I aim to finish. Gertie Pinecrest is the last link in a long, long chain, my dear.” She glanced over to see if Rebecca was listening. “I mean to finish that chain before...” She paused, trying to think. “Before I can’t any more.”

  Rebecca nodded. “I see that, mum.” She sighed and glanced over to see Frank dusting off his hands and heading back to the campfire. “I can’t say I understand, but I’ll take your word for it.”

  Tanyth smiled, feeling the sadness in it but unable to stop. “You could go back with Frank,” she said. “Back to your place in Ravenwood.”

  Rebecca seemed to consider it and then gave her head a little shake. A half smile crept around the corner of her mouth. “Guess we both got things ta do.”

  “What things?” Frank asked stepping up to the fire and hunkerin’ down.

  Rebecca grinned at him. “I got a bed roll to spread out. You two, well, you’ll find something, I’m sure.” She gave Tanyth a cheeky wink before pulling her bedroll out of the wagon and ostentatiously spreading it out on the ground well away from them.

  Frank snickered a little, puffs of laughter hissing out of his nose. He settled down beside Tanyth. Close enough to touch, but not touching. “She seemed to think we’ve got things ta do.”

  Tanyth leaned into him, letting her head rest against his shoulder, using his solid strength. “She’s a good woman.”

  She saw Frank’s head nod and felt the muscles in his shoulder flex with the movement. “I didn’t know better, I’d say she looks up to a certain old fool,” he said.

  “Who you callin’ an old fool, old fool?” Tanyth said, giving him a playful slap.

  He pulled back and looked down at her. “Me, o’course. Who you think?”

  Tanyth smiled and hugged his arm. “That’s all right then.”

  “You thought I meant you, didn’t ya.”

  She nodded. “Well, yeah.” She thought about it for a time, just savoring the moment, smelling the horse scent on him, feeling the strength of his arm in the homespun shirt under her fingers. “She prob’ly does.”

  “She prob’ly does what?” Frank asked.

  “She prob’ly looks up to ya.”

  He gave a little chuckle in his chest that Tanyth could feel as well as hear. “Everybody’s favorite uncle, I am.” His voice carried a note that seemed out of character.

  Tanyth hugged his arm tighter, nuzzling against his shoulder. “Not mine.”

  He reached over and laid one calloused paw over hers where it gripped his bicep. “No. Not yours.”

  Tanyth thought he might say something else but he didn’t, simply sat staring into the fire, holding her hand, and thinking his own thoughts without sharing them. After a time, he patted her hand and shifted his weight.

  Tanyth released her grip and caught herself in a yawn.

  “Must be time to call it a night,” Frank said with a grin. “I’m borin’ ya to sleep.”

  She shook her head. “Been a long trip and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t lookin’ forward to a proper bed at the end of it.”

  A sly grin spread across Frank’s face and his eyebrows waggled suggestively. “Now that you mention it,” he said and let the statement go unfinished.

  Tanyth laughed as she clambered up from the ground. She gave his butt a fond pat before heading for the wagon and her own bedroll. His quiet promise made her wish the trip were a little closer to done.

  Or that Rebecca slept more soundly.

  That thought made her giggle and she spread her bedroll out so that it touched Frank’s. Spring or not, night got cold and the man generated enough heat to warm two sets of old bones.

  The moon showed her the shallow creek once more. The dark shadow along the streambed had disappeared. A ridge of pebbles lay in its place, a gently curving line of tiny stones, each resting firmly on the next, each settled in the stream’s sandy bottom. This time there were no pebbles clicking together to disturb her slumbers, only the gentle laughing of the water as it bubbled over the pile of stones, a new ripple in the surface to catch the glimmers of fading moonlight.

  Chapter Eleven:

  Kleesport

  The heavy wagon rumbled to a halt beside the road, Frank’s foot on the brake and his tanned hands holding firm on the reins. A farmer with a cart full of caged chickens steered around the large lorry wagon with a curious glance at the trio on the seat.

  “Trouble?” he called.

  “Nope. Just settin’ a bit,” Frank answered with a nod. “Thanks, though.”

  The farmer waved a hand in salute and headed down the shallow slope toward the city.

  Tanyth stood and stretched, hands at the small of her back as she bowed backwards and tried not to stare at the sprawl that waited ahead.

  “Somethin’, ain’t it?” Frank asked after a few moments.

  “That it is, but what exactly?” Tanyth gave him a grin.

  Frank’s quiet laugh drew her eyes to him. “That’s a good question,” he said. “Lotta people. Lotta business happenin’ there.”

  Tanyth turned to eye the chimneys, most spewing some kind of smoke—from black to pale gray—into the blue spring air. Beyond the haze on the other side of the city, the blue-green of ocean stretched to the horizon. The tall, bare trees of ships’ masts were just visible through the haze. Near the horizon a spot of white marked a ship underway, only her sails visible at such a distance. Above it all arched a crystalline sky with a hint of white clouds far to the eastern horizon.

  As if reading her mind, Rebecca leaned over and said, “It’s not so bad, mum. I grew up there. It’ll be fine, you’ll see.”

  Tanyth smiled at the earnestness in the young woman’s face.

  “Tanyth?” Frank’s voice drew her gaze. “Are you gonna be all right down there?”

  She sat back down on the seat beside him and patted his arm. “It’s where I need to go,” she said, eyes turned once more to the distance. “And across that water to boot.”

  “It’s not exactly a safe place,” Frank said, his gaze following hers. He didn’t mean Kleesport.

  She snorted. “Name somewhere that is.”

  He barked a short laugh.

  “I’ll be all right, Frank, but thank you for askin’.” She looked over at him. “How long before we get into town?”

  Frank eyed the carts and wagons on the road ahead and craned his neck around to see who and what was coming behind. “Prob’ly be there just before dark. Don’t wanna be dragging this lo
ad too fast in that crowd.”

  She eyed the heavy barrels of clay in the bed of the lorry wagon and turned to look at the city. “Where’s a good place to stay?”

  Frank frowned. “Well, I usually stay at the Broken Gate. It’s handy to the unloadin’ and they keep things clean and orderly. Matt Esterhouse keeps a fine stable.”

  “Good beer?” she asked, a knowing twinkle in her eye.

  “Well, that, too, and Mabel Esterhouse makes a darn fine kidney pie.” He gave her one of the grins that made her eyes laugh with him.

  “They know ya there, do they?”

  Frank cocked his head to the side and shrugged. “Yeah. I’m a reg’lar. Spend a few days there every few weeks during the season. Why?” His eyes narrowed as he looked at her.

  Tanyth leaned over and pecked him on the cheek. “See you there, then.”

  “What d’you mean?”

  Tanyth hopped down from the wagon and pulled her pack out of the bed with her good hand, easing it up over her cast and onto her shoulders.

  “Tan? What do you think you’re doin’?”

  She took up her staff in her good hand and pressed her wide hat firmly down on her head with cast on her forearm. “I’m walkin’. What’s it look like? You comin’ Reb—ah, Robert?” Tanyth eyed the travelers around her but no one seemed to be paying her any mind.

  “But you can’t walk all that way by yourself,” Frank said.

  She laughed at the expression of horror on his face. “Why not? I’ve spent twenty-one winters wanderin’ all over Korlay by myself.”

  “And she won’t be by herself,” Rebecca said, climbing into the bed of the wagon and gathering her gear. She buckled on her pack and slipped her bow through the straps before lowering herself over the side to join Tanyth beside the road.

  Frank sighed. “Well, yeah, but you could ride...”

  Tanyth laughed again and shook her head. “You’ll be all day getting’ this rig into town. I can walk it in half the time. And besides, that seat is getting awful tired of my bony old backside sittin’ on it.” She reached back and rubbed the backside in question.

  Frank laughed and shook his head. “Bony is not how I’d describe it, but I know what you mean.” He shifted his weight back and forth on the seat. His foot on the brake and his hands tangled in the reins hampered his freedom of movement.

  She smiled at him and gave him a nod. “All right then. We’ll see you ’round dinner time. The Broken Gate, you said?”

  “Yup, head straight in on the Pike, Potters Road crosses it just the other side of the coach station. Head west and you’ll see the broken gate hanging in front. Big yard out back for the horses.”

  She nodded and repeated, “West on Potters Road, broken gate in front. Got it.” She gave him a smile and saluted with her staff before turning toward the city. She heard him sigh and chuckle before getting the heavy wagon rolling once more. Her long strides soon left the slower wagon behind as she and Rebecca swung along the hard packed surface toward the largest city she’d ever seen in her life.

  “I hope you know what you’re doin’, old woman,” she grumbled.

  “What’s that, mu—ah, mister?” Rebecca said, with a quick glance around.

  Tanyth just shook her head and kept walking. “Just grumblin’,” she said. “Nothin’ serious.”

  “If you’re gonna talk to yourself, least you could do is speak louder so I know,” Rebecca said, her grumbly tone belied by the twinkle in her eye and the smile on her lip.

  “If I spoke up, then it wouldn’t be to me, now would it?” Tanyth asked.

  Rebecca laughed softly and strode along with her.

  The city looked closer than it really was. Tanyth and Rebecca picked their way along the verge of the road, often walking past slow moving carts and wagons laden with produce. Most people smiled and nodded as they went by—some offering a greeting as well. Their ground-eating strides soon left Frank and the lorry wagon behind in the throng. As they got closer to the city, the traffic grew thicker. In addition to cargo laden wagons and the occasional rider, they found themselves in the company of laden bearers, plodding along with huge bundles of sticks on their backs or yokes across their shoulders with heavy loads on either end. They had to slow their pace to match the tide of people flowing into the city.

  Before they were halfway to the broad plaza that seemed to make a kind of entryway to the city, Tanyth found her pack straps had started to bite into her shoulders. She shifted the weight as best she could but began to regret not staying with the lorry wagon and Frank.

  “Yer just out of shape from all that soft livin’ over the winter is all,” she muttered.

  Apparently she wasn’t as quiet as she thought because a porter with a pair of cheeses on a yoke over his shoulders shot a dark look in her direction.

  “Whazzat?” he asked.

  She glanced over at him, momentarily at a loss, before realizing what she’d said. “I’m sorry,” she said with a small shake of her head. “I was just muttering to myself. I got soft over the winter.” She indicated her pack straps. “Just a lil walk and already my pack is chafin’ my back.”

  The porter rolled his eyes and shook his head.

  “You might wanna not talk to yourself so loud right here, mum,” Rebecca said, leaning close to speak almost in Tanyth’s ear. “The locals can be a bit testy.”

  Tanyth snorted a short laugh and stepped off the Pike to walk around a cart filled with baskets of apples that rested on the shoulder.

  “Apples! Who wants a nice juicy apple?” a woman standing in the bed called to the passing throng. “Apples. A penny a piece. Three for two pence. Apples!”

  The porter carrying the cheeses moved around the obstruction on the other side and shot the woman in the cart a look darker than the one he’d given Tanyth.

  The thought of fresh apples made Tanyth’s mouth water and she stepped up to the cart to look in the baskets. Springtime and apples didn’t really go together. She expected to see wizened knots of fruit in the baskets. Instead she saw gleaming red-gold skins on taut, full fruit.

  She looked up at the young woman. “How is it you have fresh apples in spring time, miss?”

  The woman smiled. “We keeps ’em chilled, mum, all winter long they’s restin’ like in our cold rooms.” She slipped her belt knife from its sheath and carved a slice off the fruit she had in her hand. “Try a bite, mum?”

  Tanyth took the piece of apple and bit into it. Not as firm as a fall apple, but solid enough to chew on and filled with sweet juice. Tanyth popped the rest into her mouth and fumbled for coppers in her pocket. “You want one, Robert?”

  Rebecca had her hat brim pulled low on her forehead and nodded without speaking.

  “I’ll take two, please.” She held out two coppers.

  “You sure, mum? Two pennies buys you three apples. Good deal on a great fruit.” The young woman held out three apples in offering. “Tuck one in yer pocket?”

  Tanyth turned and looked back up the road. She couldn’t see Frank or the horses in the crowd. With a nod to Rebecca she said, “We’ll take two to eat along the road, thanks, but my friend’s coming along in a lorry wagon with six-in-hand. Big grays and the man at the reins wears a leather vest and green pullover. Can you see him from up there?”

  The woman straightened her back and shaded her eyes with a raised hand, squinting into the distance. “Only see one big wagon comin’ up the Pike, mum. Looks like an old geezer in the seat.” She looked down at Tanyth who’d taken off her hat to mop her brow. Getting a good look at Tanyth’s face and graying hair for the first time, the woman’s eyes widened in alarm. “That is...I mean, mum...”

  Tanyth laughed. “No, you’ve the right of it. He’s an old geezer.” Her voice softened. “But he’s a good old geezer. When he gets here, toss him the other apple. His whistle probably needs wettin’ by now.”

  The woman looked up at the line of people on the Pike and then back at Tanyth. “Done, mum,” she said an
d scooped up the coppers, placing a large apple in Tanyth’s palm and tossing another to Rebecca, who caught it neatly on the fly.

  Tanyth took a big bite and felt the juice escape down the side of her chin. She grinned up at the woman and saluted with the apple.

  As she started around the cart, the woman called, “Ain’t you afraid I’ll cheat ya and not give yer man his apple, mum?”

  Tanyth chewed and swallowed before answering. “Nope.”

  “Yer awful trustin’, mum.”

  Tanyth laughed. “I’ve been called worse, my dear. Much worse.” She nodded again and took another bite of the apple, sucking on the fruit to capture as much of the sweet nectar as possible, before turning and resuming her walk toward the city.

  The woman in the cart shook her head and resumed her calling. “Apples? Who wants a nice juicy apple? A penny a piece or three for two pence. Apples?”

  As they approached the plaza, Tanyth noted that several of the King’s Own stood watching the flow of travelers in and out of the city. One of them stepped up to them and nodded a greeting.

  Tanyth nodded back and noticed the downy fuzz on the soldier’s cheek. She smiled and took off her hat. “Good day,” she said and waited for him to speak.

  “Good day, mum. Can I ask your names and what your business is in the city?”

  Tanyth blinked. "Of course, you can ask. My name is Tanyth Fairport and we’re headin’ to the port to take passage to North Haven.”

  The trooper turned to Rebecca. “Your name, son?”

  Rebecca pulled off her hat, breaking the disguise and leaving the soldier blinking.

  “Rebecca Marong. I used to live here.”

  “Marong? Any relation to Richard Marong?” the guard asked.

  “My...uncle.”

  The guard nodded and turned back to Tanyth.

  She watched his eyes work from her gray hair down to her boots. “And how long are you planning to stay in the city, mum?”

  “Only as long as it takes to get passage.” She cocked her head and leaned on her staff.