Illuminated by the first rays of the Great Sun slowly climbing over the horizon, the bustling cavalcade was rolling through the gates. Weary bashmu sighs and moans mixed with the sound of wheels bouncing on the bricks, the trot of musushu, and the clangor of the human crowd. There were as many travelers walking on foot as the riders, and even the riders did not spend all their time on the back of their mounts.
The caravans moved at a snail’s pace. It was a long way from the Overlord’s Mercy to their final destination, Vengeance, and it would take them over five months to get there. To compare, a courier would need approximately two weeks, and a passenger wagon a month, although there were no companies that spanned the whole route. Far from the main cities, in the desert’s interior, there was no brick road and no easy way to travel. Depending on the circumstances, the route could change.
That, though, would be a concern for later, when the caravan left populated areas. In the immediate future, the merchants could count on the caravanserais, strategically spaced apart. They would trade in other cities on the way, purchasing luxuries, curiosities, and delicacies found only in certain regions on the continent. Even deep in the wilderness, there were oases that catered to the traders; one of them, Sand Rose, was widely known for its main export, date wine. As the word went, they had even changed the village’s name to increase sales when they had started the enterprise several decades prior. Before, it had been called Brittle Claw.
It was too great of a crowd to be protected only by the mercenaries, and in fact, an entourage too large would be a hindrance to the profits. Just as importantly, the overlords did not take too well to merchants forming their own armies. So, in addition to the squad led by Idris, everyone in the caravan carried their own weapons. Some of them appeared mostly decorative, but according to Anki, it was an advertisement as much as protection. Merchants needed to look rich if they were to cater to the wealthy clientele but, at the same time, they also needed to defend themselves.
And so, Nua got her first real weapon from Hessa. It was an old knife, made of real steel, so worn out from the years of sharpening that if you looked at the edge, it looked as thin as a sheet of paper. The huntress handed her the knife together with an old leather sheath and explicitly stated that metal was expensive and that she could only lend the weapon for the time being. Nua had an impression, though, that she only said it to make her helper more attentive. After all, the knife would serve her primarily as an everyday tool, and it was not given out to be immediately lost or broken.
She was walking beside a wagon now, in the caravan’s very front. She had her new boots on, determined to get used to them even if she formed blisters. With her feet not touching the stone and earth directly, she felt deprived of an important sense. But that was necessary if they were to travel the whole day when the brick road would heat up so much you could fry an egg on the surface. In the city, there was plenty of shade. Not so much here, outside.
Hessa rode on Shadow’s back. For a while, she was not around, supposedly giving the steed time to spend excess energy. Not too much – just to calm her down. Then, she came back, and now the musushu was trotting beside the wagon, making chirping, inquisitive noises at other mounts and the birds in the distance.
Anki again took time exploring, going back and forth, and narrating his findings. Now, Nua was acquainted with the caravan as if she was really watching it before deciding to join. Six months! She was still not sure if she wouldn’t bail after the first few weeks. She was acting so confident in front of Hessa, but that was only because she didn’t know.
The caravan rolled outside the city, and everyone settled into a steady rhythm. Anki settled himself on the wagon, which irked Nua – after all, she had to walk, and despite a quick breakfast that consisted of Hala’s flatbreads and a few sips of watered-down beer (she managed to fill her waterskin), she was still nauseous. The king didn’t have an actual, material body, so sitting or floating probably made no difference to him, he was just messing with her.
“Bored yet?”
“It is a good boredom”, Nua said. “I had too many things going on yesterday. I could use a break.”
She walked some more.
“I can see that you want to tell me something, but you want me to ask.” She sighed. “Yes, I remember that you found a place you’d like to see. Did you look at the maps?”
“Yes, I did. Ezekiel travels in the wagon, working on them…”
“…lucky bastard…”
“Don’t interrupt. I recognize the contours of the continent, and I know which cities are located near our former temples, fortresses, and centers of power. There are even annotations, referring to these areas.”
Nua frowned.
“Wait. How can you read that? You told me the script’s all different.”
“I haven’t been idling when you were working in the warehouse. Aton’s little name list proved to be very inspiring. Your script is childish to learn”, the king boasted. “Now, I don’t trust Aton’s spelling, and I am not fluent yet, so better ask Hessa to teach you. In two weeks’ time, the caravan will take a few days to trade in the Azure Falls.”
Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
Nua could see where it was going.
“No way, Anki. I’m not exploring ancient Unsagga temples. No human-slicing machines, no goliaths. This is a bad idea and I’ve learned this the hard way.”
“You’ve also learned a lot of other things since then, and I think that we can attempt a short excursion”, Anki said. “With my knowledge and your Technique, or Techniques if you manage to perfect climbing, you could do it.”
“Why would I even be interested?”
“For you, it would provide the training you sorely lack”, said the king. “You can’t exactly infuse yourself with ether while traveling in the caravan, is that right? Or have we forgotten that there is a hired killer looking for you, and that huge crowd of wagons and people has no chance to get out of his area of interest anytime soon?”
Nua grunted. He was right. Although she wasn’t sure anymore if learning sorcery was such a good thing. Until now, it had mostly brought her trouble and forced her to get away from home.
It worked out better than she thought. She had a good job this time. She could send Hala money. Why risk more?
Anyway, what was in those temples? Were they all as frighteningly awesome as the first one? Were there other goliaths? Was it possible that all these riches and works of sorcery could be still in there, waiting to be discovered?
“So, what are you interested in? I don’t believe it’s only about my training.”
“It’s about the fates of my brethren.”, he stated. “I was not the first to fall, but not the last one either. Our kind did not survive the Calamity, I guessed it as soon as we started talking back in my workroom. But I do wonder what they left behind. I cannot be the only one who thought of some sort of artificial preservation.”
More Ankis? Please, no.
“You think someone could survive?”
“I can’t tell.” For the briefest moment, his shields were letting through more emotions than usual, and he emanated deep sadness that was not possible for Nua to encompass. He glanced at her, realized it, and reinforced his mental defenses again. “If it’s at all possible, I should discover it near Azure Falls. From there, I’d l have a better idea of how to proceed.”
Nua took a deep breath.
“Right. Proceed. Proceed with what? What do you really want from me, Anki?”
“What do I want? This is a strange question. Please, elaborate.”
“Well, I know that you want me to ride in a goliath”, Nua counted fingers. “You have a lot of vengeful thoughts and some serious beef with Old Azurians. You gave that long speech in the temple…”
“So I did.”
“You want war.”
The blue spirit seemed to condense, both his appearance and demeanor becoming a whole lot darker.
“No one wants a war, Nua, if they can prevent it. It is true that I’d like revenge, but I can accept that people responsible for the sad state of the world today are long dead. I haven’t made peace with it, yet. But such is the truth. Now - if you know any way of reinstating the rightful rulers of this land, lifting the oppression over the Unsagga, and bringing about another golden era without having any military power, I am ready to listen.”
“So what? You want me to get all the Unsaggan mercenaries and lead them into battle? Riding in an ancient goliath? Or just, I don’t know, threaten the Overlords enough so I don’t need to attack, and just take over them?”
“That’s some good thinking there”, Anki said.
“And I am the person to do that? Anki, seriously. Me?”
“Don’t get the wrong idea, kid. I am the person to do that”, Anki replied. “I had the idea of training you as my steward. An official one, if any of my colleagues left the knowledge and equipment to let me fashion myself a body. Mechanical or flesh, I don’t care. If I can’t do it and stay immaterial, you’d act as a front, and I’d be pulling strings. I’m honest with you here. You don’t have any experience in rulership, and the best you can do is listen to me.”
Nua sighed.
“Let’s pretend I’d agree. Because really, I don’t want to. Even I learn ether quickly, look at her,” Nua pointed at Hessa. “Now look at me. See the difference?”
“Yes, about twenty years of it.”
The girl’s shoulders dropped. Anki was being ridiculous, and she had no arguments to change his mind. He could talk over her anytime if he wanted. The only thing she could do is to be obstinate on purpose.
Or break their arrangement. But she had thought about this already. It would only end up with Anki waiting until he could choose someone else. Perhaps someone evil, like prince Flavius or Fabia.
Anyway, no matter how grand the king’s plans were, she was still only a caravan stable girl. Maybe… she could simply fail at becoming whatever he wanted? Even if Anki chose a competent leader like Hessa or Idris, it’s not like they could challenge the Overlords and rule the continent.
“I think the difference is much bigger”, Nua lifted her hand over her head.
“You mean your small frame? It does not matter for a skilled ether user. Although, at an early stage, it could help. Especially when you need to hide your athletic prowess in plain sight”, Anki mused. “You’re also right that height brings about some low-effort charisma. It is hard to lead people when they need to look down all the time.”
Nua frowned. Now what?
“All right, Anki, now you’re starting to scare me again. You’re speaking as if you could change that.”
“If you remember what I said about destinies, you’re missing out on growth spurts. Each of them was shorter and less pronounced than it should be, and the effects accumulated. Now that your diet is secured, I could give you another one.”
The girl gave Anki a skeptical look. At first, she was sure it was a misdirection. Anki swayed the conversation away from the war and pulled another miracle out of his hat. Maybe she really was getting smarter, now that she noticed his underhanded attempt at manipulating her.
The thing was, it was working. She was still apprehensive, though. The last time she allowed him to help, she developed a weird talent for mathematics that deluded people into thinking she was some sort of a street-grown prodigy, and her world became far too complicated for her taste.
“And I’ll end up seven feet tall or growing a tail? No, thank you.”
“I highly doubt that was in your cards, Nua. And regardless of your potential, all you can safely manage at your age is four, five inches at most, landing you in the average.”
Nua went silent for a while, calculated and compared.
“There’s nothing bad about being small”, she finally said. “I’m light, I can get everywhere, I can pretend to be a kid when I mess up. Hessa is awesome, but I like myself.”
“You’re also frightened of anyone taller than you. I’ve noticed.”
“I’ll be less scared when I learn more ether, I guess…”, Nua wondered. “Let me think.”
It was a deal with a desert djinn, after all. But perhaps she could still make it her own.