by Guy Antibes
“You passed my test, and we aren’t more than a few hours away from Hizor.”
“Your test?”
She nodded. “The history class you are taking ends with a few weeks of self-discovery of the difference. Now that you have made it through that, we can talk about the reality of Zogazin culture. Ten days should suffice.”
“Won’t that be boring?” Sam asked, coyly.
“Not the way I teach it,” she said, chuckling.
Sam enjoyed the way Hilsa presented history. She framed everything with a story, taking place within a certain period.
“You have done this before?” Sam said after four days of lessons.
“I taught as an assistant during my academy days. The administration wanted me to be a Proctor, but I felt much the way you have. I didn’t come from Hizor, but from our second largest city that sits closer to the Trakatan border. When an opportunity came for an observer in Tolloy, I jumped at the chance and convinced my Vaarekian boyfriend, who was the real cook between us, to marry me and live in Tolloy.”
“When did you really become a spy?”
Hilsa laughed. “Calling me a spy is a joke. All I did was write reports about what was happening in Tolloy. Vaarekians generally disregard the Zogazin, since we all have a more casual outlook to life and like our little jokes. They think we are more stupid because of it.”
“But that isn’t the case, is it?”
Hilsa smiled and shook her head. “I’d like to think they are wrong. We are technically ahead of any other Polistian country, but we haven’t bothered to export because the Trakatans, the Ristarians, and the Vaarekians are biased, and the academy jealously guards the little trinkets they come up with. The rest of Polistia thinks nothing noteworthy can come out of Zogaz.”
Sam wondered if the Lashakans in Wollia suffered from the same bias. He had a thought. “If I ever return to Holding, could I get a license to export your technology?”
“Not our products?” Hilsa asked.
“You are even further away from Baskin than Tolloy,” Sam said. “The common things that you make would be too expensive in Toraltia, even if they were made out of pollen.”
“Oh. I see. You would buy the designs to reproduce them in your own country?” She peered at Sam. “They would be expensive.”
“I’m not a poor person,” Sam said. “Does Renatee know about most of the designs?”
“Most, but he would know those who do,” Hilsa said. “It is an interesting thought. If the country ever needs more money, such as building up for a war, they might be willing to do something. In Zogaz, the government or the academy would handle it, but no one seems interested, so there is little international trade. It has hurt our economy. Viktar Kreb knows what can hurt him, and he encourages trade in and out of Tolloy, and even though he has been clamping down on everything else, I know Zogaz would benefit from exporting.”
Sam thought for a bit. “If their strategy is to maintain the image of carefree people, laughing and joking, and not taking life seriously, keeping foreigners from thinking Zogaz is a desirable place might be reason enough to keep outsiders from being interested in buying Zogazin technology.”
“Another good grade. You haven’t started economics, yet?”
Sam smiled and shook his head.
“I’ll give you a good grade for that, too. You will be a graduate when we arrive at our destination!” Hilsa laughed, and the other three did, too. It appeared that everyone had listened in.
~
Sam’s mind was reeling with all the information the four Zogazin had been pounding into his brain for eight days. They had bought food to eat that night, since this would be the only time they wouldn’t be sleeping at a village inn. They stopped at an often-used campsite.
“You can make your tent over there,” Hilsa said, as she took upon herself the mantle of the leader of the camp.
Sam pursed his lips. “I can’t make tents,” he said. “I am unable to create anything out of pollen.”
“What?” one of the men said, “Nothing?”
“No. I had an accident when I was a little boy…” They all gathered round, amazed at Sam as he told an abbreviated version of his story. “So, perhaps someone could make a large tent for me, so I won’t touch the sides.”
The Zogazin sat on pollen tables that they had made while, Sam sat on a nearby stump with Emmy at his feet. Sam could tell all three of the white-garbed Zogazin were at least pollen artists. They easily outperformed Hilsa when they made the tents.
“You are all experts with pollen. Is that why you wear white? Are you with an organization of others with your abilities?” Sam asked.
The woman in the group smiled and nodded. “We are members of the Order of Ren. Some would like to call us an adjunct to the Hizor Academy, but we just consult with them. We were in Tolloy to further the academy’s research into the biological effects of pollen on humans.”
Sam looked over at Hilsa. “This isn’t a coincidence, is it? Is there even a problem to solve?”
Hilsa smiled. “You are the problem.”
“You’ve always known about my disability?”
She nodded. “Plantian told me, but not Renatee, soon after you ate with them in my restaurant. I approached the Order of Ren with your situation to see if there was a cure for your condition.”
Sam looked at the three members of the Order of Ren. “Why did you let me go on with my confession if you knew?”
“We wanted to hear it from your own lips. We have researched the effects of gold on pollen and have developed our own way of depositing a gold wash on glass. However, no one in our experience shows the benefits of looking through gold spectacles like you do.”
“So I am to be the object of your experimentation?”
“If you want to think of it that way,” one of the men said. “It is up to you, but we would like to measure some of your capabilities, at least. That would make your trip worth it to us.”
Sam wasn’t sure about the ‘at least’ part of the request, but the trip had rejuvenated him and had given him more time with Emmy. He turned to Hilsa. “Will I get more credit if I cooperate?”
“If you cooperate, I can give you something better than that. Membership in the Order of Ren, for one, and a graduation certificate from the academy, as long as you keep absorbing all of the blather we are stuffing in you.”
Sam didn’t know if he even needed a certificate, but he missed working out with the dueling club at the University of Tolloy, and his life was definitely lacking excitement. Hilsa had been right when she recruited him for the trip. Sam was depressed, and he didn’t even notice how low he had fallen.
“What about my commitment to stay in Hizor for a year?”
Hilsa smiled. “I’m not so sure about that one, but let us say it depends on how well you do in Alloren.”
Chapter Twenty
~
S am thought that Alloren would be a seaside town with a little port, but it was built in a pleasant valley surrounded by an eruption of hills. There were large meadows and trees around the town, which, to his surprise, was made of yellow stone and white-painted plaster, without any of the paintings so evident in Hizor. Flowers hung in baskets from many of the buildings as they arrived in town and headed for a complex of multistoried buildings.
They passed through the wide gate that led into the Order of Ren’s complex. The inhabitants did not wear white, much to Sam’s confusion, but dressed much like the country-styles worn outside of Hizor.
“Why isn’t everyone wearing white?” Sam asked.
“It isn’t needed inside the Order. It is our external uniform,” the woman said.
Her answer made sense to Sam. Already, he thought that at least his first impression was that the Order of Ren had cast off the relentless humor of other Zogazin, but then his three Renish traveling companions burst into laughter.
The woman shook her head, her face red with laughter and wet from tears. “We don’t wear white,
silly. It is a joke!”
Even Hilsa broke into laughter. “They made me go along with them. You did treat them with the extra respect they deserve. Everything else they told you was the truth.”
Sam smiled and nodded. “You sure fooled me,” he said, trying as much as he could to be a good sport.
It was a harmless prank, Sam thought, and he had seen worse in Hizor. Now he had to trust in Hilsa that they meant what they said about the experimentation and the certificates. If they didn’t, Sam wondered if he should pull out his money and head to Ristaria, which at this point, seemed to be the sanest country in Polistia, however relative sane might be. A friendly country in Holding was looking more attractive as his final stopping place, but that thought didn’t help him right now.
Hilsa and Sam shared a flat in a boarding house of some kind, close to the Order’s wall. There were three bedrooms, a sitting room, and a bathroom in a suite. Neither of them took long to get settled.
“Why did you escort me all the way to Alloren?” Sam said, once they had sat down in the rumpled comfort of the sitting room.
“The Order required a companion. Everyone else was engaged, and I really did need an excuse to leave Hizor. So, hopefully, we can serve each other for a bit.”
“Is the Order of Ren what our fellow travelers said it was?”
Hilsa nodded. “Every word they said was true. If you had asked them about their white clothes, they would have admitted to their joke right then. I have a few good friends who have joined the Order, so I am confident they will be honest with you. If you doubt, just ask them. They do not deceive maliciously, unlike some Hizorians.”
Sam hadn’t had much experience with malicious pranksters, but he knew they existed, and perhaps some of his worry was that he would be the victim. Being a foreigner in Hizor made him feel more naive and exposed to derision than he ever had in Tolloy.
He would have to get over it. One could definitely be too sensitive in Zogaz, which made Sam ask Hilsa. “What happens to a person, a child, maybe, who can’t take all the ribbing?”
“A village can take care of its own, but if they live in Hizor, anyone who is unable to laugh is sent to a village. Everyone profits. Villagers are jokesters as much as anyone, but they tend to be much more tolerant than Hizorians.”
“What about the Order of Ren? Were you going along with the prank when you said they weren’t as bad as Hizorians?”
“They aren’t. As I said, they aren’t malicious at all, and if you show that you aren’t appreciative of their own mild pranks, they will stop them or tone them down,” Hilsa said.
Sam nodded. He took a deep breath. It would not help to fixate on the pranks and jokes, so he would have to practice ignoring the Zogazin antics while in Alloren.
Sam jumped up when he heard a knock and answered the door.
“Time for your first examination,” one of their former traveling companions said. A younger woman, more Sam’s age, accompanied him.
“Do I need anything?”
“Like Hilsa, so she can comfort you by holding your hand?” the man said, grinning at Hilsa. “I’d like to hold her hand if you don’t.”
Hilsa laughed. “See, Sam? You aren’t the only one in their sights!”
“You won’t need Hilsa. She has a few friends in the Order. It might be a good time for her to find them.” The man winked at her.
“A wonderful idea!” Hilsa said as she stood up. “I’ll freshen up and be on my way. Have a good time, Sam.” She retreated to her bedroom, leaving Sam standing at the door.
“Now?” Sam said as he made sure he had a gold tip for his wand. He grabbed the latch to the room and realized it didn’t have a lock. “My things are safe?
“As safe as a baby in her mama’s tummy,” the man said.
“Fine,” Sam said, managing a smile.
“This is Moranna Goranan. She is my helper at the Order and will help you with our language. In case you forgot, I am Hadis Torkin. I will be your advisor while you are here.” Hadis smiled. “You are perplexed, confused, uncertain, tentative and all other sorts of adjectives, but after today, you might feel worse or better depending on your viewpoint.”
“Depending on my viewpoint, I am absolutely sure you are correct,” Sam said.
Moranna smiled. She was pretty and reminded Sam a bit of Tera Barako, with her blond hair and sun-freshened complexion. She looked quite different from Winnie Bentwick, who still remained in Sam’s mind.
“Shall we go?” Sam said.
The two Order members turned, and Sam followed, since he had no idea where they were headed.
“Moranna, how did you become a member of the Order?” Sam asked. “You look young compared to Hadis and Hilsa and the others I have met.”
“Oh,” she said. “I am as old as they are, I am just better with pollen patches.”
“And that is a joke,” Sam said after he checked by lowering his spectacles.
Hadis laughed as Moranna looked a little disappointed.
“Sam can see through pollen, Moranna. It is one of his many talents. He has non-talents, too, don’t you Sam?”
“If you want to call them that, I do,” Sam said.
“See through pollen, really?” the girl asked.
“More accurately, I can’t see pollen without these.” He pointed to his spectacles after she turned around.
“We have gold-tinted spectacles, too, but they don’t work in reverse like yours do.”
Sam smiled. “Mine have the tinting on the other side of the lenses, so they work backward.”
Hadis laughed.
Moranna pouted. “He is joking, isn’t he?”
“He is,” Hadis said. “Moranna’s sense of humor isn’t as well developed as it should be.”
And that suited Sam just fine because his sense of humor wasn’t to Zogaz standards either. If he could make another person feel uncomfortable, he might just be able to endure a bit more time in Zogaz, not that he would take advantage of such a thing, but he wouldn’t feel so isolated.
They walked through the buildings. At least Sam didn’t see any of the artwork of people looking out windows or steps leading from the wall into the building. He had tired of such things at the academy. He wouldn’t be surprised to see a few pieces, but mercifully, he didn’t see any.
They turned a corner and walked across a small grass-filled square beside a white four-story building.
“Our hospital and research laboratory.”
Sam nodded. Hilsa had said the Order of Ren was dedicated to pollen and healing. He followed them inside.
“We will meet with the Head Healing Proctor,” Hadis said.
They walked up to the second level, past a medical ward and into a large room filled with desks. Hadis brought him to a corner office.
“She is in,” said a young man sitting at the desk in front.
Hadis walked in. Moranna stayed outside but gently pushed Sam forward. He entered a large office with a desk close to a window and a conference table in the center.
“Sam Smith,” she said coming around and pointing them to join her at the table. “Your friend Proctor Plunk sends his regards. He has notified us that he is safe and out of Tolloy,” she said. “I am Sinna Torkin. Hadis is my brother.”
Sam looked at his advisor.
Hadis shrugged. “We do what we do best,” he said. “I run the Order and let Sinna do all the real work.”
The exalted company in the room accompanying him at the Order surprised Sam. He couldn’t see the importance they placed on him.
“Are you really my advisor?” Sam asked.
“I am indeed. I have read Professor Plunk’s letter, too.” He looked at his sister as he used the more Vaarekian term for Plunk’s titles. “He claims that you are a pollen magician.” Hadis paused. “If you will excuse me, I have someone to meet. Moranna will show you back to your house, unless you have learned to fly, pollen magician.”
Sam laughed at that. “And that is a joke. I can
see and sense pollen when I am in contact with gold, but nothing else.”
“Few of us at the Order can sense pollen under any circumstance, other than with their eyes, young man,” Sinna said. “He also says you have a good grounding in pollen studies.”
Sam nodded. “Where I have been exposed to such things. I know about wards, and that people generate bulk pollen in their own personal color, and more, I suppose.”
“You will learn more than that while you are here. Professor Plunk is well-respected within the Order. We will have you attend personal tutoring sessions while you are here, but of the most interest to us is you, the physical Sam Smith. We want to understand how you lost your ability to create pollen, and we want to see if we can repair your body.”
“I’ve always thought it was burned out of me when I was struck by lightning when I was five.”
“I agree that something was damaged, and we would like to find out what that was. Our pollen magicians are attuned to pollen more than most in Zogaz. We attract the best pollen makers in the country.”
Sam nodded. He didn’t like the mention of repairing his physical body. “Do you intend to cut me open?” Sam asked.
“Only with your permission,” Sinna said, “and only if we are certain such a drastic step has a very good chance of success. Don’t worry about that now. We will start testing your pollen sensitivities tomorrow, including your ability to degrade pollen. The Order of Ren is very scientific, so your case is highly anticipated to advance our knowledge.”
“Do you share it with anyone outside your order?” Sam asked.
“With a few. Plunk, for one, and there are a few other pollen magicians sprinkled around in the world that we correspond with.”
“Any in Toraltia?”
Sinna shook her head. “True pollen mastery is something very, very rare in northern Mariopa. You might be the rarest of them all. We will find out together, won’t we?”
Sam raised his eyebrows. “I guess so.”
~
“You shouldn’t worry so much,” Hilsa said at breakfast. They ate in the small dining room in their boarding house. Moranna nodded her head. Her mouth was full of food, so she couldn’t speak.
