The next morning, Sammy mounted Casmin with Jenna’s help. She refused prince Jerome’s offer of help, rather rudely snubbing him.
“Sammy, we will fly till noon, but then we’ll walk the rest of the way,” Prince Jerome said as Jenna mounted her own vishap after checking his straps.
“Where exactly are we going?” Sammy asked.
“To your new home,” Dista answered.
“I figured that part out one my own,” Sammy snapped. “Where specifically?”
The prince shrugged and allowed a smirk touch his lips. “You’ll just have to wait and see.”
Sammy sighed and looked up at the sky. “Whatever.”
“Get ready. We’re going to launch.”
Sammy leaned forward over Casmin’s neck and held on tight. This time she kept her eyes open as the vishap sprang to ascend into the skies. Once they leveled off, the awestruck girl glanced around. Nothing else shared the sky with them as far as she could tell. Jenna flew to Sammy’s left a few lengths behind her, while Prince Jerome flew ahead and to the right.
Sammy wondered what would happen if she tried to change Casmin’s direction. She remembered six commands the handler had told her while trying to calm her down. She grinned to herself. She doubted the man would have imparted that information to a rank beginner normally.
Casmin veered to the right at Sammy’s command, but then settled going in the same direction as before, but now with the prince to her left. Sammy grinned and scratched Casmin’s neck, extolling her wonderful features. The vishap seemed to preen at the compliments and patiently followed Sammy’s commands for the next few hours.
Well past noon they landed. Sammy took care of Casmin’s needs, following Jenna’s instructions. She removed the saddle and pack of supplies, then groomed the beast. Finally, she fed the vishap a portion of meat and grain.
Prince Jerome watched her progress as he took care of his own mount. Once she was almost done, he said, “Re-saddle her, but don’t put the pack on. As we are walking from here, we will release them to return to the baron.”
Sammy patted Casmin’s haunch. “I want to fly some more. I’m just getting a feel for it.”
“Nevertheless. However, I promise to let you fly again some other time. You really are amazing, Sammy. You learned to fly very quickly and even the handler did not object to letting you ride Casmin, though you have no training.” Prince Jerome grimaced, “You conquered Casmin quite handily. It was really impressive to watch.”
Sammy blushed and hugged the vishap. Why was he complimenting her so much? It made her uncomfortable. “Why are we walking now?”
“There are reasons.”
Sammy stiffened, but then relaxed. She decided not to call the stupid noble on his evasions. He was obviously up to some stupid noble thing, but she just did not feel like getting worked up about it right then.
The vishap rose into the air riderless and flew back in the direction they had come. The bright sun hid behind a small wisp of clouds as they grew smaller and smaller in the distance.
“Will they be okay?” Sammy asked, worried a little for them.
“Yes,” Dista said. “They will make it back to their stables before the sun sets, probably.”
Sammy quirked her mouth a little, puzzled. “But it took us two days to get this far.”
The prince laughed, but then winced, touching fingertips to his still swollen eye. “Well, they aren’t being burdened with riders now. They can fly much faster than what we experienced on the way here.” He stretched and winced again. “Well, we will have to bear the weight of our own supplies now.” He bent over and picked up the pack liberated from his vishap’s back.
Jenna followed suite and Sammy did so as well. Soon they were walking along a narrow hiking trail, which eventually connected with a minor road with a bit of traffic. Eventually, they reached a regular Kingdom Highway, the paved road having much more traffic. After about an hour of walking, they came to a large paved circle where six roads all came together - a junction.
The traffic from the six roads entered onto the one-way circle and progressed around until each traveler reached the road for their personal destinations. Several large areas were set off for caravans and travelers to camp, and several permanent buildings stood interspersed in the spaces between. Soldiers stood at the entrance to each of the roads, mostly just monitoring, but occasionally they pulled a group aside and did an inspection. From everywhere, noise and smells assailed.
“Wow,” Sammy said. “This is almost like the market festival.”
Prince Jerome nodded. “Junctions are pretty impressive places.”
Sammy looked around. “I’m surprised there aren’t more buildings around. This seems like a prime location for starting a business.”
“It is forbidden. You can only stay at a junction for three days at the most. After that, you have to move on. There are some who travel from junction to junction who do a decent enough business to live on though.”
“Why not just leave the junction, go a mile or so, and then turn around?” Sammy spoke as she watched an old man being helped onto a wagon by a younger old man.
“Once you have spent three nights here, you may not stay another night for three full days. It keeps the junctions clear and prevents loitering, among other things.”
“A plan come up by a noble, I’m sure,” Sammy said dryly.
“Perhaps, but there are reasons.”
“Right. Noble reasons, I’m sure.”
Prince Jerome gave the child a critical look, though somewhat tempered by his discomfort. “That phrase takes on a whole new connotation when you say it.”
Sammy grinned at him. “So, are we staying here for a night?”
“No,” Jenna said.
“Oh pooh,” Sammy said. She had kind of thought it would be fun staying at a junction once.
The three traveled around the circle along with the rest of the traffic, just another set of travelers. Passing two roads, the prince led the way onto the third. A sign next to one of the guards read - Kingdom Highway Liath Glas: County of Jasmine, County of Drmov, County of Ion. Several cities and villages were listed with distances.
“Which one are we heading for?” Sammy asked, trying desperately to keep excitement from her voice. It really felt like she was getting closer and closer to having a home of her own. Somewhere safe and comfortable, away from those trying to catch her for whatever reasons.
“That is the question, isn’t it?” Prince Jerome said.
Sammy raised her fist at him. “You want the other eye shut too?”
Dista held up his hands in a defensive gesture and moved so Jenna was between him and the threatening girl. “I’m not telling you, even if you threaten me, you little monster.”
A couple of guards standing at the open gate to the road laughed at the three travelers. “Hey, did the little miss really give you that eye?”
Sammy glanced at them and gave a thumbs up gesture. “Knocked him to his butt.” They laughed with her at the unknown prince’s expense.
“I would pay money to see that,” one of the soldiers said.
Sammy’s eyes lit up and she turned an expectant gaze on the victim.
“No.” Jenna said.
“Darn. It would be a good way to make some money so the three of us don’t have to keep sharing a room.”
“No,” Jenna said.
Sammy shrugged eloquent apology to the guards, who laughed at her again. “Well, if you really did show us, he would be blind, so it’s probably for the best.”
Sammy sighed with exaggerated forbearance. “I suppose.”
They passed through the prosperous County of Jasmine and came to a small junction of roads, though only three of them were major arteries, the rest going to smaller communities. They took the road heading toward the County of Ion.
“Just how far are you taking me?” Sammy said a few hours after leaving the junction. Few traveled the imperial road now, most heading in the opposite direction. The countryside did not seem any different to look at, but Sammy felt uneasy as if she had inadvertently gone into the worst parts of the city. The air seemed to be different than normal, darker though the sun shone just as bright as yesterday.
“Is something wrong?” Dista said. He looked like he wanted to raise an eyebrow, but he did not even try. “You wanted to be away from that city, right?”
“Yes . . .” Sammy did not continue, glancing over her shoulder nervously. “I don’t like it here.”
“Maybe it’s the ghosts,” Prince Dista said, quirking a lopsided grin.
Sammy stopped and looked around. Now that he went and said that, it occurred to her that this sort of felt like the Old Foghorn Bridge. Not as intense or anything, but still. She swallowed the butterflies and then shot a scowl at the prince. She said, though with a bit of stuttering, “Y, you’re just trying to make me n, nervous. There are, aren’t any ghosts here.”
He shrugged and kept walking. “Maybe yes, maybe no.”
Sammy moved closer to Jenna as they continued on their journey. They passed through several small, rundown villages. Only a few people were on the streets, exchanging brief, suspicious looks with the strangers. Sammy did not see a single child.
“What is wrong with this place,” the city girl finally said after they left the fourth village.
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Prince Jerome did not laugh, or even smile as he glanced back at the rundown place. “It might surprise you, but this county is without a stupid noble.”
Sammy looked back at the village too. She pursed her lips. “Don’t believe that for a second. But it would make a little bit of sense if there isn’t an official stupid noble in charge around here. If that’s the case, they probably have the stupidest kind of noble.”
“Oh?” Dista said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “Are we going to be blessed with another expansion of your noble philosophy? Just what is the worst kind of noble?”
Sammy shrugged her indifference. “Nobles are not stupid in the sense of being unintelligent. They are afflicted by a curse,” she paused, looking deliberately thoughtful.
“Or is it a disease?” Prince Jerome said before she could. “I know, I know. Get on with it already.”
Sammy looked disappointed. She liked saying it herself. “Stupid Prince. Fine. Okay then, so stupid nobles are afflicted with stupidity that overwhelms their decision making every once in a while, resulting in decisions that pointlessly destroy. But the worst kind of noble is someone who rises up to fill a gap in leadership, however it might have come about.”
Sammy grimaced as she continued, “I’m not so ignorant as to think humans can exist without nobles. Even if you call it something else, like commander or boss, or just leader, there will always be those who rise to the top. It happens in the sewers. It happens in cities. It happens in countries. It even happens in small groups of friends, from what I can tell.”
“So, someone like that is the worst kind of noble?” Dista sounded unconvinced.
“Maybe, maybe not.” Sammy grinned at the prince’s expression. “I’ve thought about this a lot because of my parents. But the point is, nobles happen by whatever name you give them. The issue is how, and I suppose ultimately whether their claim has the proper support. If they cry, ‘we have a right to kill and destroy because we are oppressed,” they will themselves become worse than those they revile. They will start by destroying the oppressor, but then they will continue destroying anyone who dares to disagree with them, or who poses any kind of threat to them, real or imaginary.
“Basically, because they gained their position by evil means, justified to themselves because of the evil of others, they will have no confidence in their own positions. They will assume that anyone and everyone will use the same evil means to remove them. If they killed and murdered and did all manner of evil, they expect the same thing to happen to them. Evil for evil in a never-ending cycle.
“They have risen to the land of nobles, but do not have the foundation to stand there on their own merits, nor do they have an external structure supporting them because they are actively destroying any such threat. So, they continue to fill their foundation with the bodies of anyone strong enough to threaten them
“So, what it boils down to is that they lack the necessary noble’s confidence in themselves, their position and in the validity of their claims to their position. That is the worst kind of noble, the one who is insecure in themselves and has questionable support from those they seek to rule, or of other stupid nobles, for their position.” Sammy finished with a big sigh of despondency.
Both Prince Jerome and Jenna gaped at Sammy for a moment. “Wow,” the prince finally said. “That’s really well thought out, Sammy.”
“Isn’t it though?” Sammy grinned at them with a very smug expression. “I noticed the leadership problem in the camp. Always, always, always someone took leadership. Overall, those that were acknowledged by the council were nicer than those who tried to steal the position for themselves, even if their words contained heaps of honey. Of course, there were a couple of real bastards in the ‘acknowledged’ ones and a couple of really good ones outside the council’s authority.” Sammy shrugged. “Invariably, the bastards were either just plane evil or so insecure that even with the council’s support, they lacked confidence. The good ones standing on their own had other sources of security that gave them the critical amount of confidence to be good stupid nobles, instead of evil stupid nobles.” She then said, “But they’re all afflicted by the stupid noble disease. Every freaking one of them.”
“Or is it a curse,” both Jenna and the prince said together.
“You guys are starting to learn,” Sammy said, nodding firmly. “Yep.”
“So how does that translate here?”
Sammy sighed. “I told you, you’re not stupid that way, stupid noble prince, so stop pretending you don’t understand these things. It means that this place is filled with insecure or evil people trying their hands at being a stupid noble.” Sammy paused and cocked her head a little. “So, why isn’t there a regular stupid noble here?”
“It’s a long story.”
“Good. I’m bored with just walking.”
“Basically, the whole Ionan bloodline was annihilated about seventy years ago. The council of nobles has as yet failed to allow a new bloodline. Lots of wrangling and fighting. It is quite a contentious issue.”
“Seventy years?” Sammy shook her head. “Why so long? See, this is what I’m talking about. The people around here are suffering because of the combined stupidity of a bunch of nobles.”
“There are reasons, Sammy.”
“Noble reasons, I’ll bet.”
Prince Jerome laughed. “Indeed. However, I understand that the situation in this county is going to be changing soon. A new noble line will be chosen one way or another, since now my father has the prerogative to intervene.”
“Is my house in this county?” Sammy asked.
“Yes.”
“Then I hope it happens soon. A land without a strong leader would be scary to live in.”
“Says the one who hates nobles?”
“They serve a necessary purpose in the smooth operation of society, just like toilets and garbage dumps. And speaking of toilets, can we take a break?”
Two days later, they approached a large city on the southern shore of an inland sea, a high mountain range extending east and west from the water. It too had signs of decay even from the outside, but seemed to be holding up better than the outlying areas.
“The port City of Trisk,” Prince Jerome said. “In its heyday, it passed a fifth of the foreign trade for the entire country. Those mountains extend three hundred miles in both directions without a single pass to their name. This is the only passage to the northern countries for that far. This is one of the reasons why the council stalled. They did not want to give the region to some untried person, but they feared allowing any single noble family to gain the potential power reposited in this county in addition to what they already held. It has the potential to make one bloodline too powerful.”
“Stupid nobles.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. It is true that it might have created an imbalance that would not have been good.”
“Or vice versa.”
“Indeed. Anyway, we will be bypassing Trisk and heading directly to your new home.”
Sammy perked up. “We’re close?”
“Should be there before dark tomorrow, or before noon the next.”
“Not close.” Sammy sighed, but then grinned and skipped ahead of the other two. “But closer. Let’s hurry, Prince Dista.”
Sammy a distance ahead of them, Jenna said softly under her breath. “Oh dear. You might have made a breakthrough just in time to fall into the abyss of your own creation, my Prince.”
Prince Jerome sighed. “Not planning to fall into the abyss for a few years, my dear. Still, once it happens, hopefully I will be able to climb out someday.”
The next day, Sammy walked with a bounce in her step late in the afternoon. She spotted a little rundown cottage and pointed at it. “Is that it? Is it?”
Prince Jerome sighed and shook his head. “For the tenth time, no.”
Sammy glared at him for a brief moment. “Tell it to hurry up and get here.”
“We are going to it, not it us, Sammy,” Jenna said.
“Grrr. You are not being very nice to me.”
“My deepest apologies,” Prince Jerome said. After they had walked for almost another hour, the prince pointed to a path. “There’s a nice place to take a break over there. We haven’t eaten lunch yet, so let’s stop there. After we rest and eat, it won’t seem nearly as far to our destination.”
Sammy wanted to keep going, but surmised it counterproductive to give the prince to hard of a time this close to the goal. Besides, she was kind of hungry too, so she followed Jenna and the prince down the path.
Or rather, up the path as it began to climb, turning into switchbacks up a steep cliff. They crested the top of the cliffs, Sammy breathing hard. “Hey, wait a minute,” she said, gasping several times. “I thought,” breath, “this,” breath, “was supposed to be,” breath, “a break.”
Unfortunately, Prince Jerome had not waited and stood far enough away not to hear her complaints. Sammy glared at his back, but then the wall he stood in front of registered. She looked up and then up some more to the parapets atop the glass smooth surface of the wall. The prince strode along the base, going away from the cliff they had just climbed. Jenna followed him close. Sammy said an unlady-like word and hurried after them.
“Darn, another coin for the jar,” she muttered under her breath.
Following the wall around, they emerged from the trees onto an overgrown cobblestone road. The road dead ended into a massive metal gate set into the glass-smooth wall. An elaborate engraving of celestial bodies and mythical creatures covered each solid door. Sammy’s nostrils flared at the feeling of power she sensed emanating from them. A fawn suddenly lurched from the side of the doors and fled into the trees. A breeze filled with the sweet smell of a forest swirled around her. The dimmed sun felt a little heavy as it beat down on her.
Prince Jerome stood before the gate in the center of the weed strewn cobblestone road. He reached into his belt pouch and pulled out a small stone. He raised the stone into the air before the gate as Sammy finally managed to catch up to the pair. She leaned over her knees and tried to catch her breath as she watched Prince Dista.
The stone glowed blue and the prince spoke several words that Sammy could not hear clearly. A section of the engraved gate glowed orange in response, and the gate split down the center. It slowly swung outwards from the wall toward them, breaking vines and ripping up blocking brush and trees. An ear-piercing squeal shattered the quite solitude of the forest.
Sammy asked Jenna in a soft voice, “What are we doing here? I thought we were going to eat lunch.”
“I’m sure the prince has a reason for eating lunch here,” the guardian said in an equally soft voice.
“Sammy,” Prince Jerome said, facing her bracketed by the open doors. “I thought you might be interested in this place. It was built by a true artisan of glyph magic. It’s been abandoned and sealed for a long time though.” He grinned. “Having access to these kinds of places is one of the perks of royalty.”
Sammy perked up and peered into the gate behind him. It opened into a short tunnel with a second gate at the far end. “Well, I suppose this is as good a place to eat lunch as any other.”
“I thought you might think so.”
Sammy just looked away from him.
“Then let us go in. We won’t want to stay past sundown though. There are most likely ghosts here.” Prince Dista strode into the tunnel and opened the inner gate as he had the outer.
Sammy stood frozen for a moment as Jenna moved past her, but then hurried to stay close to the warrior. Why did the stupid prince have to keep saying stuff like that anyway? Catching up to Jenna, Sammy latched onto her arm, looking this way and that.
The courtyard beyond the second gate was overgrown with thorn brush and trees, chest high grass and a plethora of colorful flowers. Bees buzzed from flower to flower and winds blew pollen and seeds in minor swirls of visible air. The sun streaked through the tree branches painted green and lavender. The air itself felt heavy and smelled of both life and decay.
Several buildings stood within the walls, but the mansion-castle directly in front of them drew Sammy’s attention. Windows showed a chaotic floor plan she could not quite understand. Was it five full stories, or three really tall ones? Or maybe nine half levels? But what stood out the most was the seeming darkness surrounding it, almost as if the noonday sun did not exist at all. Sammy shuddered nervously. This was definitely the place ghosts would like, she felt certain. Really, foggy old Foghorn all over again.
The prince crossed the overgrown courtyard following the ‘path’ made by the weed invested cobblestone. Coming to the steps leading up to the front entrance, he unslung his pack and sat. He waved the two girls over to him.
“We, we’re not really going to eat here, right?” Sammy said, looking around with her shoulders scrunched a little. She clung to Jenna with desperate strength. “This place is really spooky.” The wind suddenly swirled around her and Jenna as a little whirlwind passed over them. The wind hit the front of the mansion and a moaning rattle filled the courtyard. Sammy buried her face into Jenna arm. “Ahh!”
Once the wind died down again, Prince Dista said, “It’s just wind, Sammy. Stop making such a big deal out of it. Come on and sit down.” He indicated the steps and Jenna led Sammy over to sit next to the prince. “Here’s a sandwich.” He handed one of his own sandwiches to Jenna, who managed to get Sammy to take it.
After eating, Prince Jerome laid out on one of the steps and closed his eyes. “I’m exhausted,” he said. “Wake me in a couple of hours.” So saying, he said no more.
Sammy sighed, glancing around to make sure no ghosts were sneaking up on her. She knew the stupid prince was deliberately procrastinating the last distance to her home and it really made her mad. Of course, if she just started yelling at him, he would just grin at her since he would have won. She was absolutely not going to give him that kind of satisfaction.
Jenna moved over closer to her prince, drew her sword and began tending it, the wick, wick of her sharpening stone smooth and regular.
Sammy glanced around again, and then back at the two adults. Both were ignoring her. Rising, she went up to the front doors of the mansion. She could feel the tingle of glyphs while still over five feet away. She glanced at Jenna’s back and then crept up to the doors. She ran her hand over the wood, shivering at the feeling.
She tapped this glyph and that, making it glow. There were simple glyphs standing on their own, but there were also three complex matrices, each much more complicated than her light matrix. She felt sure this one, for instance, was some kind of security lock. She willed energy into it and heard a quite music underlying its foundation.
She hummed the undergirding notes and the door clicked, slowly swinging open just a little bit. Sammy glanced quickly behind her, but Jenna still faced her prince. Sammy looked back at the door and pushed it open just a little further. “Just a little peek won’t hurt, right?”