‘It’s not bad enough she went and got herself lost!’ declared Lieutenant Valiant, ‘but then she went and found herself while we were all stomping about in the woods all night looking for her! She had probably been inher tentfor hours before someone finally had the decency to tell us.’
Captain Orrell was finishing his breakfast, wiping up the juices on his plate with a fist of crusty bread. ‘Calm now, Valiant. They are our guests. And they did inform us she had returned, eventually.’
‘Only because our searching had begun to bother them from their sleep-yes!’
The normally subdued Valiant was now being rather expressive. Luckily, the other soldiers around their breakfasts were all roaring with laughter at his comments. Apparently, the sight of Valiant so worked up was enough to make up for their night of discomfort.
Sir Ferse had joined them for breakfast, looking refreshed, which seemed logical given that he had been the only one to sleep all night. He sat cross-legged on one of the thatched mats they had thrown down, appearing awkward as such, as if he had never sat on the floor in his life. Even eating bread with his hands seemed a curiosity that he was only now coming to terms with.
‘Where to today?’ Grand Master Tudor asked, tapping his walking stick against the cooking pots. ‘I believe we are within reach of Ghant.’
‘If we move quickly we should be there very soon,’ Orrell replied. ‘But we are headed into the mountains now. The going will be slow. We will need to take care with the wagons and with our guests.’
As soon as they could, theypacked up campandwent on theiraway. Samuel could not help but look towards the Koians’ wagon all that day and the next, intrigued by what he had learned.
They soon reached the edge of some hills and the landscape became rockier and steeper around them, so that the wagons rocked and pitched upon the trail. The two older ladies sat at the front steeringthe horses, while the younger one sat beside their god on the rear seat. They had drawn back the hooped cover and River at least appeared to relish being out in the open. Each lady wore simple but flattering garments that glittered in the sun- close-fitting dresses buttoned at the side, with high collarsand long sleeves. He would have thought that such delicate clothing would be totally unsuitable for such travel, but somehow the women managed to keep themselves impeccably clean. The god-woman was again in costume, adorned like an enormous pheasant with long plumes that dangled out behind her. Her face was a spiral of red and white;her facial features obscured so as to almost be non-existent. The feathers stuck out from all over her hair, but Samuel could now imagine he saw specks of her real hair glistening beneath.
Every day she wore new or varied forms of costume and Samuel could find no order or pattern to it. From his few brief conversations with the Koians,they seemed like sophisticated people, yet it puzzled him that they could adhere to such a primitive and pointless practice.
Several times, the surly Koian men, ambling along on their horses, noted Samuel gazing towards their god and frowned back towards him.
‘She’s not what she seems,’ he said to Goodfellow.
Goodfellow seemed startled out of a daydream. ‘Oh? What do you mean?’
‘I found the Koian crone when she was lost, but she’s not an old hag at all.’
‘Oh?’ the sandy-haired magician asked. He was obviously still trying to blink away his previous thoughts.
‘I found her up amongst the rocks. She’s a girl-at least, she’s not a girl, she’s a woman, about the same age as us.’
Goodfellow laughed as if the thought was preposterous. ‘You can’t mean it? Really? That thing is a woman?’
‘Indeed.’
‘Sorry, Samuel. I’m gullible, but not
‘I’m not trying to fool you,’ Samuel declared. ‘It’s true.’
‘Well, I
‘Eric, let me tell you something. I was distrustful of their god before but,now I have seen hertrue nature, I am even more so. There is something disturbing about her. I have felt unsettled since that day we found her on the ship and now I know why. I felt some awful thing aboard that boat, something like I have never felt before-a wordless,dreadful fear. It is her. Strangely, I felt it long before that day, rising in my blood like poisonous bile. When I opened the door and found her, I thought my heart would stop. I don’t know what she is, but I have never been so afraid of any living thing. Seeing her true form only doubles my concern.’
‘I admit she is strange, Samuel, in appearance and nature, but I do not feel the same trepidation. Perhaps it’s some inkling into our future you can feel?’
‘I haven’t looked to the future since the first time with Master Celios, when I envisioned the destruction of Cintar. I am wary of trying to discern such things,and perhaps rightfully so. Look at what it has done to our seer.’
‘It could be a useful ability, Samuel, if only you use it sparingly. Master Celios has been under constant pressure to foresee the Empire’s way out of this predicament. Perhaps it is that which has worn him into his current state, rather than the ability itself.’
‘I would not readily look into the future,’ Samuel revealed. ‘Who can even say if we can change what we can foresee?’
‘We could prepare ourselves,’ Goodfellow said, but Samuel shook his head.
‘I want no more worry or woe than I already possess, Eric. Even without welcoming these abilities, they come to me readily. Sometimes, when I awake from my deepest dreams, the memories of people and voices are just fading away. I cannot recall their words, but I know they are not part of my dream.’
‘Perhaps you could learn to recall these things?’ Goodfellow suggested.
‘That is the last thing I would want. Better to be deaf and dumb than stricken with such madness.’
Goodfellow seemed to sense that Samuel had fallen into a dark mood and left the conversation at that, leaving him to ride quietly in his saddle.
Up ahead, Eric was riding beside Ambassador Canyon and in open conversation with the man. Eric seemed to have befriended everyone in the column, including a fair portion of Orrell’s fighting men, while Samuel had not spoken to any. Somehow, Eric managed to do everything incredibly well and it was infuriating. Samuel still judged himself to be the greater magician, but he was reliant on the Argum Stone and a cripple of a magician without it. Eric was naturally gifted and would one day rival the magicians of history without need for any such magical device. His magic was pure and strong and efficient,and Samuel longed to learn his friend’s secrets, as he knew that Eric had been hiding much of his power from everyone. Most of all, it annoyed Samuel that Eric had been right, for he knew that if he had been in the same position at Rampeny and had the opportunity to journey to safety, he would had done it in a flash. Still, he refused to be the first one to give in.
The party was delayed at a shallow stream crossing and they were forced to wait for some time while some of the heavier load from the wagons was carted across by hand. Orrell’s men worked quickly and efficiently, with barely a grumble. The magicians could have spelled the items across in a jiffy, but older magicians scorned the use of magic for such trivial work and seemed happy to let the men see to the chore. Celios, their timekeeper and adviser on such matters, also seemed happy to sit and wait for the job to be done.
Samuel and Goodfellow waited beside the Koian wagon. Quitesurprisingly, the men had left their ladies while they went to inspect the stream crossing. Despite Orrell’s best efforts, the Koians would not be convinced it was a safe place to cross until they had performed acloseexamination for themselves.
‘How much further to this citadel, Magician Goodfellow?’ Lady Wind barked at Goodfellow, who was nearest to the wagon.
‘I don’t know, Lady Wind,’ he replied politely, for even
To that, the woman only shifted impatiently in her seat.
‘Are you enjoying the journey?’ Samuel asked of the god-woman, but young Lady River beside mistook the questionas being directed ather.
‘Yes, I am,’ she replied, appearing quite startled that Samuel had spoken to her.
‘Actually, I meant the question for her,’ Samuel corrected, gesturing towards the costumed woman.
