Karulo looked much better than he had the night before, but I got the impression it would be a bad idea to put him through too much while he was recovering. I’d noticed that when he was unconscious he held his human shape, but at his most tired, he’d reverted back to his own gryphon form. I wondered now if holding a different shape—whether horse or human, required more energy.
I gave him an apple, which he took gratefully from me and ate. He didn’t change his form, so I set out a bowl and filled it with water for him to drink. I took several long swigs of water myself. My mouth was dry, and tasted like road dust. Dirt stained my clothes in places; I wasn’t sure how half of it had got on there, though part of it was undoubtedly from sleeping on the ground.
“We should take it easier today and find our way to Salfrey. We can rent a room, and you can rest while I alert the authorities about the man following us.”
Karulo shook his head. I wasn’t sure but I think he was telling me that he didn’t need to rest more.
“If you’re going to protect me, you need to be well and properly-rested. On that note, I’ve already decided I’m not going to climb the mountain to try and reach Erilnes. If Araena is in Salfrey and I’m meant to find her, I will. And if she isn’t, then at least I looked. I don’t want to risk your life any more than I already have for what might turn out to be a fool’s errand.”
Karulo’s gryphon body shimmered in place for a moment as he re-took human form. He didn’t have a lantern this time, but nor did he need one, as the sun was shining.
I could tell from the look in his eyes that he was concerned and maybe a bit upset.
“I wouldn’t want you to give up on your goal for my sake, Astera. I’m here to help you, and this opportunity won’t come again. The last thing I would want to do is hold you back from it,” he said.
“I’m not giving up on it. I’m finding a realistic balance. You’re my friend too, and you’re here now, and I don’t want to endanger either of us.”
He smiled at me, and I could tell he understood where I was coming from. “If Araena is in the city, I’ll help you find her,” he promised me.
“That would mean a lot to me,” I said. “First, let’s get to Salfrey and find somewhere to stay.”
The night before, we hadn’t realised how close we were to the port city, because it was dark and we were exhausted. Now, it took us little more than twenty minutes to get there.
It was much busier than Korlas, even on a market day and Karulo drew very few looks in his human form. We found a room at an inn near the market square; they didn’t ask too many questions and the price of a room was affordable. I could’ve got two rooms, but it didn’t seem necessary, and I knew that Karulo would want to be close by so that he could protect me.
I’d had a lot to think about, but it only occurred to me then that I wouldn’t be alone, the way I’d feared I might be. Karulo could stay close to me as I undertook the duties of an oracle. He was my friend, and just the thought of that made a vast difference to my perspective. I’d missed Araena for so long, and I hadn’t expected to make another friend I could rely on; now of all times.
I encouraged Karulo to rest for a while, and I did the same before venturing out to find the local guards to report the attacker. I wasn’t sure what I was going to tell them about Karulo, so I decided to stick with the most basic of facts and call him my bodyguard.
On my way there, I noticed a statue of a hawk or a similar bird of prey at the top of a distant hill. It reminded me of my pin, and I wondered if Araena might’ve been trying to tell me something.
There was a guard post not far from the inn and I found someone to speak with there. While I explained as best I could, I felt like they didn’t understand where I was coming from.
“If we send someone down there, he’s likely to be dead or gone by then. I’d suggest you consider yourself lucky and leave him to his fate.”
I didn’t like the thought of that, but nor was I willing to go back and find him, in case he attacked either of us again. Time was passing, and I only had so much time to find Araena and return, as well as undertake a spiritual journey. Perhaps in a way that’s what this was; that or an ethical one.
“I think it’s important that we discover who he is and why he’s done this. It could form part of a larger plot against the faith or the city of Korlas.”
I didn’t really believe that; I assumed he was after ransom money or something of that sort, but I didn’t know for sure. I hadn’t sought a vision to reveal his fate, but it didn’t feel right. Sometimes I knew I should or that I could, and other times, my heart told me not to. I don’t know why I felt that way, but I didn’t question the wisdom of my feelings about it. They might have been trying to spare me an unpleasant truth.
“There’s a transport going out to Korlas this afternoon. If you can describe the location where he is, I can ask them to look for him.”
I described the area as best
