“Something that could help in our struggle against the Jiserians?” Nikulo warmed his hands on the fire.
They watched the fire for what seemed like an ageless moment, and the heat felt good sinking into Talis’s cold hands. After he’d cast the spell against the spiders, it seemed like all the warmth had left his body, and the chill of the northlands had possessed him.
A sputter of sparks shook them out of their reverie, and Talis looked at Rikar, recognizing a wave of pain and darkness flash across his face. Rikar turned away, flushed with discomfort, and Talis wondered what thoughts were passing through his mind…
The next morning, Mara feeling bright and renewed, they hiked along the Turyan River, snaking left and right, and up through massive, granite boulders, finally arriving at a series of waterfalls. The first one was about fifteen feet high and stretched across the length of the river. Beyond, more waterfalls fell over jagged cliffs and tunneled through pines.
Talis stopped and inhaled the crisp mountain air, peering up at the falls. “How do we get around-”
“I found a path up ahead…there on the left.” Rikar pointed and started towards the trail.
Mist shimmered off the rocks as they climbed up around the falls and Mara stretched out her tongue and enjoyed the cool spray. The boulders glistened under the sun's rays and the air seemed charged with power. The mountains were more amazing than Talis had ever dreamed. All his life he’d lived surrounded by desert. He loved Naru, but the forest and the mountains of the northlands made him feel like a mouse among giants.
Rikar led them up the path as it curved, climbing higher through the boulders. Talis watched the river disappear off into the distance. He was leaving the desert and Naru behind. There was no going back. He’d left his family and he might not ever return home.
After the sun plunged below the mountains, they reached a field of apple trees. Farther up, they passed a barn and heard rapids churning down the river. An inn lay ahead with billowing smoke rising from a chimney. Stone walls and a slate roof so heavy it seemed as if the rafters would crumble under the weight. Wooden shutters covered the windows and a glow of orange light shone through. Talis tensed as a group of travelers milled out front, their clothes tattered, faces dirty and gaunt, eyes hopeless and suspicious.
They stared, watching the party approach.
14. THE INN AT BLANSKO
Talis arched upright and pulled off his backpack, and strode towards the inn's steps, so exhausted and cold he could barely walk straight. All he thought of was food and fire at the hearth and sleep. The front door opened with a creak as he stepped through into the warm glow. The air smelled like the roasts back home at the fall festival, of pork and smoke and sweet pies. He inhaled and found himself drooling.
The great room was lined with cedar planks and pine beams spanned almost forty feet across. The once noisy room grew quiet as they entered and all eyes turned and stared with suspicion. The barkeep, a short stocky man wearing a bloodied apron, scanned the newcomers as he ran his stubby fingers through his beard.
His expression darkened. “What do you want?”
Rikar strolled forward and handed the man a silver coin. “Food…and drink, for my friends and me.”
The barkeep inspected the coin. “From Naru-long ways from home, aren’t you?”
“If you care to show us to a table.” Rikar tapped his finger on the worn, wooden bar-top.
The barkeep grunted, as if annoyed by his comment, then motioned Rikar towards an empty table.
The tension melted and the room went back to talking, eating, and drinking. Two girls, of a similar age to Talis, sat together on a wooden bench next to the fire. They wore white silk dresses with lavender flowers embroidered along the bottom trim. One girl was taller and had vibrant silver hair and a mousy face. The other girl had flaming red hair and long, dangling earrings. Her face was painted white and chalky, cheeks rouged, a seven- pronged star drawn on her forehead.
Could she be a mystic? Legend had it they were trained starting at age three: to read faces, read minds, read tea leaves, read the wind, animal bones, and even the future. Their powers were legendary, and it was said that royal houses all over the world valued them at court for their divination skills.
Turning their heads, they giggled as Talis sauntered towards the fireplace, blushing when they caught his gaze. The girl with the star seemed to know some secret about him that she was unwilling to share. Mara darted past and plopped herself onto another bench opposite the girls. He warmed his hands then sat next to Mara, yawning sloppily.
“I’m hungry and sleepy at the same time.” He glanced at the girl with the star, her grey-sapphire eyes danced as he looked at her. She whispered into the silver-haired girl's ear and laughed, tossing her head back, sending her long hair flying about.
The silver-haired girl blurted out, “Is she your girlfriend?”
The other girl paused a moment, leaned forward, and gazed into his eyes. Talis couldn’t break from her stare, and he could feel Mara seething next to him.
“Not yet…” the girl with the star said mysteriously. She laughed freely. “He doesn’t know a thing. Boys…” Mara blushed as he glanced at her, and Talis wondered if what the mystic said could be true.
Then Rikar and Nikulo strolled over to the fire and eyed the girls with unconcealed attraction.
“I’ve never seen a girl with silver hair.” Rikar grinned wolfishly at her.
She huffed, rolling her eyes. “Maybe if you took a bath more often girls could actually stand to be around you.”
Talis chuckled, then stopped, realizing he probably smelled just as bad.
“You’re travelers…like us? From the west perhaps?” Nikulo said.
“We’re just passing through,” said the girl with the star, and glanced shyly at Talis. “This is my sister Nuella.” Her eyes locked sweetly with Talis for a moment, and she said, “And I’m Lenora.”
Rikar bowed, trying to act like a perfect nobleman, but came off like he was arrogant and pretentious. He introduced everyone, staring way too much at Nuella in the process. She suppressed a glare each time he looked at her. Rikar was too stupid to even realize it.
Lenora bowed awkwardly, and sniffed suspiciously. “You’re runaways, like us.”
“We’re hardly like you,” Mara said, her tone sharp and dismissive. Talis chuckled as Mara stared contemptuously at them.
“Now, now, no fighting.” Nikulo tilted his head at Lenora and smiled. “But we’re no runaways, we’re on a quest.”
Lenora ignored Mara, and lowered her voice as she leaned forward. “Our city was destroyed by the Jiserians. Burned to the ground. Only a few of us escaped with our lives.”
“Father says we’re lucky.” Nuella frowned. “But I miss my mother and our home. I miss the parties and the dances and the knights in silver and gold.”
Talis stared at the fire, knowing the same fate could happen to Naru. He glanced up at Lenora. “You’re a mystic?”
Lenora flushed. “I was trained as one…not seasoned, not tested by Sisters yet. Too late for all that.”
“Never too late.” Nuella ran a finger along her sister’s arm. “You remember what Sister Eayla said…about the wind, the wind speaking to you.”
“I haven’t heard a thing from the wind yet…I just hear mother’s screams, that’s all I hear in here.” Lenora touched the side of her head, then looked at her hand as if wondering what it was doing.
“After crossing the desert and these barbaric woods, I’m in dire need of a drink.” Nikulo sighed. “Ale anyone? Cider? Red wine?”
“Father doesn’t let us drink…says we’re too young.”
“Nonsense,” Nikulo said. “In times such as these, ale does the soul good.”
“Well I suppose…” Lenora grinned like she was willing to hide anything from her parents.
Nikulo trotted towards the tavern owner, and returned with several mugs, handing them to the girls first. They glanced around the room nervously, and peered inside.
“I tried the ale…you wouldn’t like it.” Nikulo hiccupped. “I tried the wine too…dreadful. You wouldn’t like that either. Cider seemed like the best option. Harvest time of the year, after all.” He nodded his head knowingly at
