Sennon, on the other hand, had barely changed from what she remembered. Even the language hadn’t altered that much in the few hundred years since she had last visited.
The horizon in every direction was hazy with dust, blown up by the wind that drove her boat east. Ahead was the Isthmus of Grya, a strip of land that divided the Gulf of Sorrow from the Gulf of Fire. A city, Diamyane, lay at the point where the Isthmus joined Sennon. There her sea journey would end.
She chewed her lip and patted the tiller. The little boat had taken her a long way in the last few months. It had weathered more than a few storms as well as the unusual strain of being lent speed by the occasional push of magic.
She was going to miss it. The only way to get a boat past the Isthmus was to pay someone to haul it across, and she doubted she had enough money for that. Once she sold her boat, she could join a trader caravan travelling east, or, if she could afford it, buy passage on a ship.
Pushing aside regret, she reminded herself that she had made this decision months ago and there was no point changing her mind. She could have sailed right around Southern Ithania, but that would have added months to the journey. She might also have sailed around the top of Northern Ithania, but that would have taken her past Jarime and she would prefer not to travel past a country the White ruled.
Mirar had warned her in a dream link that the Siyee were watching their coastline closely after the Pentadrians had landed and been sent away again months before. He had also warned her that Auraya was in Si. Passing by one White was better than passing by four, Emerahl had reasoned. She had taken plenty of supplies so she could avoid landing in Si. No flying white-clad sorceress had come to visit her, and the winds had been in her favor most of the way. Until now she hadn’t had reason to regret her choice.
Unnaturally regular shapes began to appear in the dusty haze ahead. As they emerged they revealed themselves to be buildings. Emerahl directed her vessel toward them. She did not hurry, prolonging the moment she had to give up the boat. All too soon she was drifting up to a mooring and tossing rope to the dock boys, who pulled her boat in close and bound it to the bollards with practiced speed. She climbed up onto dry land, dropped coins into their hands and asked where the boat haulers were.
They had set up a shop by the docks. As she walked in she sensed the hauler’s mood change to gleeful greed. Over several cups of a hot, bitter local beverage she convinced them that a woman could barter as well as a man, but while her senses told her she had forced them down to a reasonable price, it was still too high.
Next she sought a buyer for her boat and discovered that craft as small as hers weren’t in demand. The main use for boats here was to transport goods, and hers was too small for that. One man was prepared to pay her a paltry amount for the craft, however. She arranged to meet him later in the day so he could inspect the boat.
Hours had passed. She sought the local market to exchange some money for the local coin, the canar. There she bought food and a measure of kahr, the local liquor, then half-heartedly tried to sell her services as a healer. Several healers already working the market regarded her with hostile stares. She knew she would not be able to stay here untroubled for long. In Sennon all were free to live as they wished and worship who or what they wanted so long as they did not break any of the essential laws of the country. On her way to the market she had seen a Dreamweaver House and plenty of Dreamweavers. In Toren people had approached her for help; here they ignored her, clearly satisfied with the amount of local healing available.
“Cures for infertility,” she called to the crowd. “Removal of scars. Aphrodisiacs.”
A man and a woman turned to look at her. The woman carried a baby and the man was holding the hand of a small boy. They exchanged a glance and hurried toward her. Emerahl wondered which of the three services they wanted. They didn’t appear to need fertility treatment. They might want aphrodisiacs, but scar removal was just as likely.
“Are you Emmea, the healer who wishes to sell a boat?” the man asked, using the name she’d given the boat haulers. She had stopped using the name ‘Limma’ once she reached Sennon. Using a different name when she was on the other side of the continent made her less traceable.
Emerahl blinked in surprise, then nodded. “Yes. Do you wish to buy one?”
“No,” the man replied. “Let me introduce myself. I am Tarsheni Drayli and this is my wife Shalina. We wish to buy passage for us and our children.”
Disappointment followed his words. “Oh. I can’t help you. I’m not going west.”
The man smiled. “We do not wish to go west. We want to go east.”
“I still can’t help you,” she told them apologetically. “I can’t afford haulage.”
“Ah, but you do not have to buy haulage,” he told her. “There is a small tunnel through the Isthmus. It was opened a few years ago. Only small boats can go through. The fee is much less than haulage.”
“Is that so?” Nobody had told her about this tunnel, but it was not surprising that haulage sellers would neglect to tell her of it. “How much does it cost?”
“Twelve canar per boat,” the man said.
Emerahl nodded. She sensed no dishonesty from him. Twelve canar was still too much, however. She could manage it, but would have no money left to buy food - unless she did take these people east. She silently cursed herself for not pricing passage on a ship. She had no idea how much to charge these people.
“My offer is this,” the man said, forestalling her. “We will pay the fee to go through the tunnel. In return you will take us east to Karienne.”
Emerahl smiled. “That’s reasonable. Passage on a ship will cost a lot more than twelve canar.”
He nodded and she detected no emotions associated with deception from him - just hope.
She pursed her lips as she considered the deal. The man, Tarsheni, regarded her patiently.
“You must bring your own food and water. I have no money to pay for your basic necessities,” she warned.
“We will, of course,” Tarsheni replied.
“And while I don’t believe you have any plans of stealing my boat from me, I should warn you against coming up with any such ideas in the future. My Gifts are not inconsiderable.”
Tarsheni smiled. “You have nothing to fear from us.”
Emerahl nodded. “Likewise. I have one more question. What is the reason for this journey?”
The couple exchanged a glance and Emerahl sensed apprehension. She crossed her arms and stared at them expectantly. The man’s shoulders slumped.
“You may find this foolish,” he said. “We have heard of a man in Karienne who knows wise and wondrous things. We are travelling there to hear him speak.”
Emerahl sensed no dishonesty, but guessed they were withholding something.
“What is so special about this man?” she asked.
“He...” Tarsheni began.
“Are you Circlian?” his wife asked.
Emerahl regarded the woman - Shalina - with cautious surprise.
“No,” Emerahl admitted, hoping she had not just lost herself the deal.
“You’re not Pentadrian,” Shalina said, her shrewd eyes glittering. “Are you a heathen or a non- believer?”
Emerahl held the woman’s gaze. “Does this man you want to see follow one of the dead gods?”
Shalina shook her head.
“He says the gods were created by a greater being,” Tarsheni said. “Maybe he is wrong. That is what we are going there to find out.”
“I see,” Emerahl said. “What an interesting idea,” she added, genuinely intrigued. If the idea became popular, it might be the first new religion to manifest in millennia, if she did not count her own long-dead unscrupulous and unwanted Followers of The Hag.
“So,” she said, bringing her attention back to the family, “when do you want to leave?”
The couple grinned broadly.
“We have only to pay the boarding house and fetch our belongings,” Tarsheni told her. “And buy some food. How much should we purchase?”
Emerahl smiled. They were young and inexperienced travellers who were probably used to living comfortably. They would probably find the journey rough going. She had better make sure they were well-
