Wakiya, Eleanor d'Aquitaine." She held out her hand. "We share an empathic bond, so she always knows when I'll arrive. That's just her way of saying hello."
Margaret took it and Differel hauled her to her feet. "A what?"
"Another name is 'thunderbird'. She can pick up and store static electricity in her feathers, and discharge it at will as lightning."
"You and your dodgy companions."
"Hmph. You're one to talk."
They started off again, but just before they reached the river they came to a road. Differel crossed over and went on down to the shore to fill her canteen, but Margaret paused and squatted, running a hand over the rust-red surface. "Is this concrete?"
She looked back as she pulled a brown glass jug out of a leather pouch. "No, it's called laterite. It's a form of subsoil rich in iron. When mixed with sand, small stones, and water, it forms a slurry that can be poured like concrete, but it dries in the sun, forming a hard, brick-like surface. It's brittle, so it cracks easily, but it can be repaired with minimum effort."
She knelt by the bank to fill the jug, and Margaret kneeled beside her. "This is the River Skai, and it's one of the major waterways in this part of the Dreamlands."
She didn't seem to pay attention as she examined her cute round face in the water. "Oh, bugger. I wanted to see what I looked like."
Differel understood what she meant. The water appeared so clear it seemed invisible.
Margaret eyed the canteen. "You sure that's safe to drink?"
She stood up as she stopped it. "Perfectly. Further down it picks up gunk from the fields, but here it's practically pure." She placed the jug back in the pouch.
Margaret took off a glove and filled her hand, then slurped it up. "Mmmm, fantastic! I've never tasted water that fresh and clean before!"
"Part of it's because there's no pollution, but part is due to the nature of Lands themselves. Hungry?"
"I could eat." She stood up and Differel handed her a piece of bread and a handful of jerky.
She chuckled when Margaret made a face. "The bread looks like hardtack, but it lasts three times longer and tastes like pastry. Unfortunately, you can only get it in the Cavern of Flame." She watched as she nibbled at it, and laughed when he face lit up in surprised enjoyment.
While Margaret ate, she loaded her pistols. She took a practice shot with each and reloaded them.
"I thought you said this place was sword and sorcery." She spoke around a mouthful of food.
"That's basically correct, but not strictly so. Nothing that was invented after 1500 in the Waking World can exist here. No one knows why, though most believe it's because it takes 500 years for something to become embedded in the collective unconscious. Regardless, there are exceptions, but there are also items and technologies that people think are modern but are actually much older. Firearms and gunpowder are two examples. These are called wheellock pistols. The mechanism was invented just before the sixteenth century. They look like flintlocks, but they use an internal spring-loaded wheel to create sparks. They're bloody complicated to maintain and clean, but I feel more comfortable with one of them in my hand than I do a sword. I have quite a collection by now; these two will put it at nearly 400."
"You always were a packrat, Dribble."
She felt her irritation flare. "At least I collect something other than men, Maggot."
After Margaret got another drink they went back to the road. Differel gazed off downstream. "Oh, bother."
"What's wrong?"
"It's later than I expected; it's already evening." She pointed towards a line of mountains along the horizon. The sun sat only a short distance above them.
"Is that a problem?"
"I usually arrive earlier than this. Ulthar is about three hours away. We won't reach it before nightfall. We'll have to find some place to spend the night. Fortunately, in an hour we'll reach a hamlet called Nir. I know a couple of places where we can stay."
She took a moment to look around. "As long as we're here, let's get you oriented. Those mountains in the distance ahead of us; they're the Faulklyn Hills." She pointed in the direction of the sun. "They run south to north along that line, then turn east along there." She swept her arm to the right. "From here you can see Mt. Lerion." She pointed to a snowcapped mountain thirty degrees north from west.
She turned around and indicated a closer range of mountains behind them. "Those are the Thorineach Hills. They run due north, along the east side of the Enchanted Woods. You can see Mt. Thorin there right straight behind us." She pointed to an even taller snowcapped mountain.
"As long as you can see them, you can always tell which ways are east, north, and west, if you can't see the sun or it's too high."
They started down the road heading towards the setting sun. On their right, the forest kept pace, but after a half hour it gave way to a line of hills backed by mountains. Meanwhile, the meadowland turned to pasture surrounded by alley orchards. Zebras, camels, and yaks grazed on field grasses and other plants.
Margaret came to an abrupt stop and did a double take when she finally realized what she saw. "Bugger!"
Differel grinned. "That catches a lot of people's attention, but animal selection is another idiosyncrasy. Zebras, but no horses. Yaks, but no cattle. Foxes and jackals, but no dogs or wolves. Unique big cats not found in the Waking World, but no tigers or lions. But there are rabbits, pigs, sheep, and goats. Again, no one knows why. Plus, there are numerous legendary and mythical creatures. For example, the Thorineach Hills have dragons."
Margaret whipped around with a terrified look on her face. "Dragons?!"
"Don't worry, they almost never come this far west. The smaller ones are too vulnerable without cover, and the big ones can't fly very far at a stretch. This close to the Enchanted Woods, you should worry more about Zoogs. They consider Human flesh to be a delicacy, especially that of women."
Margaret turned white. "Good god!"
She smirked. "You needn't worry, though, they prefer young, tender virgins, and you don't qualify on any account."
She glared at her. "Bog off!"
Differel just chuckled.
They continued on. Pastures became fields, then plots covered by ground-hugging plants. "The farmers in the Dreamlands are pretty sophisticated, especially around the Skai. They use a four-crop rotation system: wheat, oats, or corn, followed by beans or lentils, then alfalfa or clover, and finally pasture. With fruit trees and shrubs on the margins, and vegetables between the fields. They also plant winter crops as well as summer."
She detoured to an apple tree, pulled a ripe fruit off a branch, and tossed it to Margaret. "Try one; they're delicious."
She looked at it as if she knew it would be poisoned. "Isn't this stealing?"
Differel plucked another ruby pome. "The farmers expect it to happen and accept it. As they see it, it's only hospitable to allow travelers to grab a snack, provided no one tries to walk off with a whole bushel."
She shrugged, but took a bite, and erupted into a wide grin. "I'm probably going to sound like a broken record, but this is great!"
"Don't talk with your mouthful, Maggot." That earned her a dirty look.
As they continued on the fields turned golden with wheat, and finally in the distance Differel spotted Nir. By that time the sun touched the tops of the western mountains.
"Ah, greetings, Lady Elissa."
They both stopped and turned around, but the only being present was a cat. Medium size with a thin build, it had a short, four-color coat, with white paws, yellow legs, underside, and chin, orange sides, and a broad red stripe from between the ears along the back to the base of the red tail. Its eyes were a fiery orange.
"Who said that?" Margaret gave her a sidelong glance, as if she already guessed the truth but was afraid to speak it.
"I did, My Dear Girl. Permit me to introduce myself: I am Lucifer."
"That's Lady Anglin!--Bugger, I'm talking to a cat!"
Differel chuckled. "If it makes you f
eel any better, I felt the same way when I first found out."
"Found out what?"
"That cats are sapient. In the Waking World they hide it, but here they're organized and powerful, almost like a nation state."
"Not 'almost', Lady Elissa; we are a state unto ourselves."
"Yes, of course."
"Wait a minute; you're not the...uh, real Lucifer...are you?"
"And what if I were?" He sauntered towards them, his tail held high.
Margaret retreated backwards, but Differel grabbed her arm before she could bolt. "He isn't; he just likes to play games. He's the litter-brother of the High Queen of All Cats, who rules from Ulthar."
Margaret pressed her hands into her temples and closed her eyes. "I think I'm getting dizzy."
She nodded. "It has been a lot to absorb. I promise, no more lectures for today. Let's just get a good night's sleep and we can approach it fresh in the morning."
Margaret gave her a weary nod. "Sounds fine by me."
"May I accompany you? At least until Nir. I am headed for Ulthar as well, but I will continue on after a short break."
"Of course."
Lucifer trotted out ahead of them and they followed in his wake. In time they reached the outskirts of the hamlet. It consisted of over a couple of dozen single-storied buildings spread out on either side of the road. Differel knew that most of them were homes, inside fenced-in yards, but a few were public buildings of various kinds. All were constructed of wood planks covered with whitewashed daub and thatched roofs. One long and narrow structure set off by itself alongside the river had several waterwheels
Dribble & Maggot in the Land of Dreams Page 4
