The rhythmic clomping of hoofbeats pounded over the gently sloping riverbank and Chris felt his leg burn from his efforts to keep pace. The afternoon sun hung in the sky like a furnace and perspiration made it hard to breathe. Zareti and Dante walked alongside him, throwing vigilant glances at the women riding next to them.
Dante was at least being circumspect about it but Zareti watched the women openly. For their part, they acted as though they didn't notice their gazes and sat comfortably on their towering mounts. Chris had never seen horses that big before.
He wondered what he would do if the women chose to trample them for no reason. That was highly unlikely, but the idea refused to go.
The sound and smell of the flowing river water soothed him. All those weeks spent wandering through empty planes of endless wasteland made him appreciate the lush green field dotted with flowers. Asanda led them inland and they crested up a shallow mound and came upon a scene that took his breath away.
Ahead rose twin mountains, jutting out the ground and punching through the cloud cover like arrowheads aimed at the heavens. They wound down and created a pocket in the landscape, a valley spanning for miles in either direction. It sloped up and down in a lush expanse extending as far as the eye could see.
Trees with bronze leaves dotted the expanse like statues cast in brass. An errant breeze made the leaves tingle like bells. The scent of oak and caramel drifted through the air, filling his lungs with the intoxicating aroma. Joined by the sound of a babbling brook to his left and saw a winding stream twist this way and that, branching out in a hundred directions.
“Chris!” came a shout, popping out of his misery.
“What!” Chris shouted back.
“Raging storms. What’s wrong with you? I’ve been calling you for the past five minutes.”
“Yeah well, I'm listening now. What do you want?”
“Take a look at that,” said Zareti, gesturing somewhere ahead.
Chris followed the gesture and saw a lone bungalow nestled at the foot of the twin mountains. It was cobbled together with a mismatch of stones that shouldn't have fit together but did. All his education and experience told him such a structure should have long since collapsed. Yet it remained stubbornly upright like a monument that withstood the weight of ages.
It was a double-story building with a design reminiscent of pre-industrialization country estates. A wide porch was at the front with a swing chair near the entrance. A dozen pot plants were arranged haphazardly throughout the porch. Some were dangling on walls, others were loitering on the ground, and others still
He was wondering what the original builders had used as a binding agent when he noticed another Azzari woman sitting on the porch. She sat on the staircase leading to the door and was taking down notes at a furious pace. She didn't notice them until they were a stone's throw away from her, then her eyes snapped up to reveal a pair of violet pupils blazing Amethyst.
Chris took a step backward, feeling his hackles rise and his muscles go tense. She tracked each of them one by one like a seasoned sniper, then her eyes dimmed to violet the moment she saw Asanda.
“Sorry, sorry, sorry,” she cried out, putting her notes aside. “I didn't hear you coming. Why didn't you say anything, Asie? Where do they come from?”
“You would’ve heard us if you paid attention to your surroundings for once,” Asanda said disapprovingly, then waved a hand in their direction. “As for these three. We found them down the river. They claim to have come here unaided, but I don't buy it.”
“Fortunately for everyone,” said Lucy, jumping off her mount, “you don't get to make that call.”
The woman on the porch rose to her feet and made her way toward them. Chris noticed she was shorter than any Azzari he’d seen before but it somehow suited her. She regarded them with equal parts curiosity and fascination. And was wearing snug leather pants and a stylish tunic embroidered with flowers. Her face was all sharp features and she looked to be around his age.
“Why, Asie. Do you want to take Makazi’s place?” The woman said playfully.
“You could hurt someone with that Boundary Field you keep playing with, you know?” Asanda snapped back, her demeanor blunt as usual.“I apologized, didn't I? Where did you say you found them again?” she said, gesturing at the three of them.
“We found them camping down the riverbank, but that's not important. They come with news from the Heartlands.”
“Is it bad?” the woman asked, all playfulness gone from her demeanor.
“I’m not sure,” Asanda replied, just as stonily. “They refused to tell us anything useful. I would’ve made them talk, but Lucy thought it would be better to invite them to dinner.”
“Good thing she came with you then. Sometimes you can be a little too impulsive Asanda.”
“Yeah well, at least I get things done,” Asanda said, dismounting and gathering both mounts with one hand. “Will you be able to handle them?”
“I don't see why not. Why haven't they awakened their Origin Stones yet?”
“I think they’re Travelers,” Lucy chimed in. “You know, like the ones I was telling you about in Mazarine. This is my first time seeing one up close since the council kept us away from them in the city.”
“You can find out about their origins after we know what’s happening in the Heartlands,” said Asanda, leading the mounts down the Valley. “In the meantime, keep an eye on them while I’m gone. I don't trust them”
“Do you bring bad news?” the woman asked.
It took Chris a moment to realize the question was directed at them, and he stuttered, “Uhm, sure… The situation in the Heartlands isn't good, I’m afraid.”
“That figures,” the woman said with a sigh. “Nothing good ever happens anymore. At least hearing that three pilgrims are here should cheer her up somewhat.”
“Cheer who?” Chris asked in confusion.
“Who are you? And why are you calling us pilgrims?” Zareti asked shortly after.
“I’m Asanda’s big sister, Nandipha; but you call me Nandi. And how could you be here if you don't know about the pilgrimage?” Nandi asked, then seemed to remember something. “What am I saying? Of course, you don't know. I keep forgetting how Sukanda’s Rest has been forgotten by the rest of Alshara.”
Sukanda’s Rest. That sounded vaguely familiar to him though he couldn't remember from where.
“Uhm, Nandi,” Lucy interjected. “They are Travelers, remember? They aren't from Alshara.”
“Is that so?” Nandi said, looking them up and down. “I look forward to learning about these ‘other worlds’ after you finish delivering this dire news you bring.”
“You seem to be taking this all in stride,” Chris said.
The woman barked out a laugh and said, “After all I’ve seen in the past couple of years, I wouldn't be surprised to hear the Blightfather was walking among us.”
“That’s enough small talk,” Lucy cut in. “Makazi has to know what’s happening.”
“Alright,” Nandi said before her gaze returned to them. “I’m curious to hear how you got your hands on a Calanthia and a Shendukh. Are you any good with that weapon?”
Chris looked at the spear he’d been using as a walking stick for the past weeks and shook his head, “Not really,” he said truthfully. “But that hasn't stopped me from using it.”
“If that's the case, why haven't you Awakened your Origin Stone already?”
“What is that?” Zareti asked.
“You don't know about the Origin Stones? How are you still alive?”
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
“Are you talking about the Taint?” Chris asked tentatively.
“Taint?” Lucy and Nandi replied in unison, and then Lucy asked, “What’s that?”
“You know, the thing that makes your eyes sparkle like that. We’ve been looking to get our hands on it but we haven’t figured out how.”
“We can have this conversation later, Nandi. Let’s not keep Makazi waiting.”
Chris watched Lucy clamber up the stairs and through the door and found his attention arrested by the old bungalow again. How was it still standing? He worked in construction too long to not wonder how such an outdated bricklaying technique could last for so long.
The scraping of boots on wood brought his attention to Zareti and Dante following Lucy through the door. Nandi hadn’t moved and stood watching him curiously. Chris felt
“Is there something you don't like about our home?” Nandi asked when he was next to her.
“Not at all,” Chris said. “Construction is something of a specialty to me. But I’m having trouble understanding how this structure hasn’t collapsed due to the brickwork.”
“Ah, so that’s what it is,” said Nandi, coming to stand next to him. “This house was built by the Malhanna. An order of priests who venerate Lilikwi and vowed to protect Sukanda. It is said they could build any structure using nothing but stone and sap found in Sukanda’s leaves. The greatest of their creations was a monastery as vast as this Valley, tall enough to part the clouds.”
“What happened to it?” Chris asked, mesmerized.
“It crumbled and was lost to history along with the rest of the works of that time I suppose,” Nandi said with a shrug, turning to walk into the house. “Much was lost during the Scattering. As far as I know, this is the last Malhanna-built homestead in Alshara. With Sukanda no longer around, the building technique was lost to history.”
Chris followed after her, his mind churning with questions. Tree leaves used as a binding agent instead of a cement mix? That sounded insane. There was no way such a thing was possible.
He strode through the front door and stepped into a cozy sitting room. It was decorated with plush chairs and walls hung with elaborate wood carvings. A moss-colored rug lay on the floor, giving the room a floral ambiance amplified by a collection of pot plants positioned throughout the room.
Zareti and Dante were already occupying two of the chairs and both men were looking around with a mixture of awe and discomfort. Chris didn't need to ask as he felt the same way. After spending weeks wandering through a wild forest anda dry mountain range, finding themselves in a civilized setting felt alien.
For the first time in weeks, he was reminded of his hygiene. The quick bath in the river had helped but he didn't have soaps or toothpaste handy. Spending everyday fighting for your life had a way of making such daily necessities feel superfluous. Now he was reminded of why they were called daily necessities in the first place.
He joined the others in one of the seats. All the while, he kept taking in deep breaths in a futile effort to stifle his stench from drifting too far.
“I’m off to change for dinner,” said Nandi. “I’m trusting you to behave yourselves or we’ll have problems. Makazi should be with you shortly.”
She walked through a narrow passage and the wooden floor made each step echo like a drumbeat. A long silence ensued as all three of them sat uneasily in the pristine sitting room. Chris felt like a stain waiting to be rinsed off such a good chair.
“I’m starting to think this was not such a good idea, Chris,” said Zareti, nervously looking around the room.
“We’ve already decided,” Chris said, relaxing in his chair. “It's too late to back out now. Why not use this time to enjoy the comfort of lying back on a chair? We’ll be back to trudging through mountains in an hour or so, so enjoy it while you can.”
“Well, when you put it that way…” Zareti said and trailed off at the sound of hurried footsteps clattering towards them from the narrow passage.
A moment later, a matronly woman burst out, looking at them all in amazement. She was short with a stout figure. However, there was a vitality about her that lit up the room like sunshine, and her full honest smile carried the warm embrace of a hearth.
She couldn't be described as beautiful, but a motherly charm radiated from her like soothing rain. Even though he just met her, he could tell she was the kind of mother who screamed the loudest for her children at sporting events and invited the whole team back for hotdogs. Her smile took them all in
She was pretty and looked to be in her middle years with her hair tied neatly into a bun.
“I’m sorry, Ms,” Chris said, rising to greet the woman. “We were invited for dinner, but if it's an inconvenience to you, we’ll leave right away.”
“Not at all, not all, young man,” said the woman, ushering him back into his chair. “That won't be necessary. I couldn't believe it when Nandi said there were three of you, but it’s true! Lilikwi must be smiling down on us to have sent three pilgrims at once”
Chris was taken aback by the kind reception and couldn't hold back the smile that stretched his lips. He couldn’t remember the last time he was welcomed with open arms, even before coming to this world. It felt good.
“Thank you for the kind reception,” said Chris, with a pleasant smile. “And I must say, you have quite the lovely home here.”
“You mean this old thing,” said the woman, making a curt gesture that took in the whole room. “It was gathering dust for more years than I care to count when I found it. Thanks to Lilikwi’s Grace, I stumbled into it by chance ten years ago and have been trying to make it a home ever since.”
Once again, Chris was surprised by her forthrightness but the words of etiquette came to him easily, “If that's true, then you must have exceeded your expectations. Had you not told me, I would have thought it’s only been around for a year or so.”
“That’s nice of you to say,” she said, looking around her proudly. “Oh, where are my manners? You must all be thirsty from the heat. I’ll fetch you all some refreshments.”
After making sure they were all settled, she left the room in quick strides. Chris got the impression she was nervous about something but couldn't figure out what. Shrugging, he settled back in his seat before eyeing the wood carvings on the walls.
“What do you think they want from us?” Zareti asked when they were alone.
“I’m not sure,” Chris said, uncertainly. “From the looks of it, they haven't had a visitor in a long time and it's no wonder. This place is practically in the middle of nowhere. I can't even count the days it took us to get here. I doubt anyone would willingly go through what we did.”
“That’s true,” said Zareti, relaxing in his chair. “But they still got the Taint before us. It seems like everyone but us has it at this point, and it’s making me nervous.”
Chris was about to reply when the front door was flung open and Asanda stepped in, looking as grumpy as the first time he met her. She shifted her gaze between them and the empty sitting room before her face turned to ice.
“Where’s Lucy and Nandipha? I thought I told them not to leave you alone,” she said in a growl.
“They went to prepare for dinner,” Chris said with a shrug.
“I should have expected as much,” Asanda muttered before plopping into one of the chairs. “I have to do everything by myself around here.”
She sat there for the next ten minutes, looking at them like a cat stalking mice. Zareti and Dante did the same, not flinching from those eerie orange eyes. Another time, Chris would’ve been nervous about the whole thing, but he was too relaxed to let something so minor disturb his serenity. It wasn't long before a familiar set of footsteps clattered towards them.
“Asanda? When did you get here?” the matronly woman exclaimed as she slipped into the sitting room, carrying a tray with three steaming mugs. “Shouldn't you be getting ready for dinner?”
“We can’t leave strangers unattended, Makazi,” Asanda said, not taking her eyes away from them.
“These aren't just any people, dear. They are pilgrims sent to partake in Sukanda’s final Bounty,” said Makazi, her voice filled with disapproval. “I’ll not have you ruin such a sacred right. Go and get ready for the Bounty ceremony.”
Asanda mumbled something under her breath and gave them a final glare before rising to leave. Her boots echoed like thunder on the wooden floorboards, leaving no doubt about how she felt about being told off.
“Lilikwi, save me from children who think they know better,” Makazi muttered, before setting a tray with three steaming mugs on a table before them. “This is a fresh brew of Grazna I prepared this morning. Help yourselves to a cup and join us in the dining room when you’re done. Just make your way down the passage and you’ll find it easily enough.”
“Uh, we thank you, ma’am," said Chris.
“None of that now,” she said, waving away his comment. “You can all call me Makazi. It has been a while since I’ve had anyone but my daughters taste my brew. I’m looking forward to hearing what you think of it.”
Chris watched her leave in equal parts astonishment and confusion. It was starting to dawn on him that while they were in here preparing to have dinner, the world outside this mountain range was being torn apart. Then again, there was nothing he could do about it, even if he threw himself into the thick of it.
The only thing he could do at the moment was find a way to get the Taint or Origin Stone as Nand had called it. He wouldn't allow what happened to Lazriel and his men to ever happen again. An intoxicating aroma brought his attention to the cups on the table.
He looked around to find Zareti and Dante leisurely sitting back and enjoying their refreshments. The trek through the mountain range had been hard on all of them. A few hours of rest would do a lot to rejuvenate their spirits.
He took the last cup and almost squealed when he felt the thick aroma of mint and caramel waft up his nose. After taking a long sip, he felt a soothing sensation spread down his throat to the rest of his body. It felt like swallowing a warm hug and a good night's sleep.
The drink tasted like honey-flavored spring water and went down so smoothly that he almost emptied the whole cup. He couldn’t remember the last time he drank anything more flavorful than water and his taste buds rejoiced at the sensation.
“Now that went down nicely,” said Zareti, burping loudly to emphasize his point. “Do you think she’ll bring more if I ask nicely?”
“There’s no need,” Chris said after emptying his cup. “They’re already waiting for us in the dining room. Maybe you‘ll find more when we’re there.”
“Do you think this is a good idea?” Dante suddenly asked. “These women are dangerous. We put ourselves at their mercy if we go on.”
“Why do you always have to ruin the fun, old man,” Zareti said with a sigh. “If they wanted to, they could have killed us at any time while bringing us here. Just relax and enjoy the hospitality. If you can't do that much, then shut up and leave the talking to me and Chris.”
“Hey, none of that now!” Chris interjected before things escalated. “Zareti, that was uncalled for. Dante was only pointing out a valid threat. There's no need to be rude about it.”
Zareti grumbled under his breath before saying, “Fine. I'm sorry old man. I’m just excited to speak with women from this land.”
The old man only grunted, and Chris couldn't tell whether he’d been offended in the first place. Even after being with him for close to three months, he still didn't know much about him.
“For what it's worth,” Chris said once he was sure things had calmed down. “I agree with Zareti on this one. They wouldn't have allowed us anywhere near their mother if they planned on killing us.”
“If that's your decision then let's get this over with,” said the old man, standing up abruptly.
Chris and Zareti joined him a moment later, and they filed into the narrow hallway. The wooden floor creaked as they made the short walk to the dining room.