Tislo extended Artemis a hand to pull her to her feet. She accepted the help and brushed the dirt off her dress. The cavernous interior of the passage was lit by the slivers of light that penetrated through the cracks in the wall and the smell of fresh air pervaded the corridor, a wide path hemmed in by the steep slanted ceiling. This compared favorably to the winding roads in the valley where the rivers and forest contorted travel by their presence alone and where the sun singed the back of their necks.
Artemis could go a ways yet. Her feet remained light and fatigue did not sink into her legs. The allure of open air bade her forward to a natural window, formed by rockslides where an entire section of the wall was exposed to the outside. Artemis ran to the opening and leaned out to the see the view, the Restreikan Mountain Wall extending far into the horizon and shaped in the most inhospitable manner, jagged spires lunging at the skies at odd angles. Their impervious shapes denied entry entirely and forced travelers to stay within the valley. The sight was impressive and disheartening.
Her two companions wore themselves down to maintain an even pace with Artemis and the lack of conversation led Artemis to mental exhaustion. They all made the decision to camp for the night.
Tislo removed some kindling from their luggage and started to build a small fire. The nights in the valley were cold and doubly so in the passage where the seasons had little effect on the environment, except during winter when trapped snow remained undisturbed until villagers shoveled it out. None of their food required cooking so they used the fire to brew tea, snacking on little biscuits and dried fruit while huddled under a thick cotton blanket.
Tislo did not mind laying his head next to Danica but he shivered whenever Artemis touched him with her shoulder. She thought it funny and made it a point to poke him every now and again under the guise of shifting her seat. This game went on for a while and afterward they all stared at the fire in a cozy daze.
Their rest was interrupted by the sound of footsteps coming from ahead. Knowledge of the passage was well-kept to the villagers but travelers had been known to explore on occasion. Tislo rose to sit on one knee in preparation, hand in his pocket fondling the handle of his small knife. The face of the man walking down the slope became illuminated by the fire and his grip relaxed.
“Vladirok!”
“Tislo boy, it is a surprise to see you here during the picking season, and tucked between two women no less.”
Vladirok had a small face trapped within a large head, covered by a thin layer of gray hair over the back and on his chin. He wore a thick jacket with pockets sewed on in a random fashion and whose purpose was mysterious.
“Is that you Danica?” He squinted his eyes to adjust to the light. “I am surprised to see you walking around! This is good news.”
“I have been fortunate Vladirok, I hope this is true for you as well. How has the trade gone for you this season? Is there any news from outside?”
“The Lachgars have waged war against Istora in the south. It has raised the price of everything in uneven ways and I am not sure if I am better off or not after everything has been tallied. I will need to ask Pamilla about the numbers and no doubt she will complain about this and that. Say, who is the stranger sat next to you Tislo? I can hardly see her face from this angle.”
Artemis removed the blanket from her cheek and smiled at him.
“I apologize Markova. I could not see you from where I was standing.”
“That is alright. I am not a Markova anyway. My name is Artemis”
“Is that so? Then you must come from a great city because I would not have bet against it. Are you headed north because of the war?”
“We’ve only plans to do business in Novska, and then on we will turn south to join my son in Istora.” Danica said.
“I would advise against it. The Lachgars may be honorable enemies but the citizens of Vatskanya are less scrupulous. Bandits roam Crusetchia like locusts, destroying everything in their path if they do not pocket it. I do not doubt the army is doing what they can but they cannot afford to leave their stations and abandon the war. It is all left to Kerard Dragovic to keep the state together.”
“I don’t know what you see in him Vlad, he is a disloyal man and a dangerous one too.” Danica said.
“But he is like his father, a true warrior and a good statesman. I think he would do better than our pious king to rule the nation. Isn’t that right Tislo? Wouldn’t you want to serve in his army?”
“I would if my father would let me! In two years I will be old enough.” Tislo said.
“Don’t look so disapproving Danica, my own son is fighting in the army. I can’t help praising them.”
Vladirok sat down beside the fire and removed a small wooden box from an inside pocket. He unwrapped the paper from one side and slid it open, revealing a colorful assortment of irregularly shaped hard candies. Everyone reached for a piece and let it rest on their tongues, savoring the sweet taste instead of biting down on the brittle crystal. Vladirok carefully folded the paper and tucked it back in his pocket.
“Markova, won’t you keep speaking? Your voice is sweet sounding.” Vladirok said.
“I am a foreigner to this country. I thought it better to listen more and speak less.” Artemis said.
Vladirok laughed. “We are all unlearned people here. We would do better listening to you.”
Stolen story; please report.
Danica and Vladirok talked about life in the village, sentimental words about how things had changed and how others remained the same. He smiled and rubbed his eyes while they spoke. Tislo and Artemis fought to keep awake under closed eyelids but fell asleep to the sound of their voices. By morning they could not recall the stories and Vladirok was already gone.
They all gathered their belongings together and began walking the last stretch of the passage. It was out in the open air where the sunrise greeted them early on the eastern face of the mountain, until the trail diverged and drifted to the bottom of the canyon. Instead they reentered the valley through a long manmade tunnel, not any different from the rest of the cliffs except for the menacing howl of the wind blowing dust onto their faces. Light shone at the other side.
Artemis sprinted out from the darkness and embraced the vista below. Life abounded in the valley, sustained by a confluence of rivers from the north and south joined at the edge of town to form a great lake docked full with small barges and floating shops. Each end of the river flowed to the center, confining all the shipping traffic inside the valley and requiring transport by land outside to the bordering provinces. Traders and travelers alike trickled into town from both land and water looking like small toy pieces.
The descent was not unassailable yet tough to traverse, common trails were flattened and pounded smooth by generations of feet. Artemis raised her head to take a wider view of the town and in the process shook violently before regaining her balance. Her guides did not pay any mind to her shaky footing and trudged along to the base of the mountain with the dexterity of mountain goats, finding steps where Artemis could not see them. The earlier speed on the flat ground of the passage dissipated with caution as Artemis took her time to join them.
Danica retrieved a black shawl from her pack and instructed Artemis to wrap it around her face before entering town, a disguise suggesting modesty instead of suspicion for onlookers. Novska was a lively backwater port town with a small population of permanent residents and occupied by seasonal crowds. The lack of settlers inhibited more construction from being built and all the inhabitants were forced to congregate at the town center where meagre housing presented itself. Danica described the people here as rude and tolerant of each other for the sake of a transaction, strangers again after money exchanged hands.
The mountain trail brought them in contact with villagers returning from town, ready to begin the climb they had just descended. They repeated Vladirok’s news about the war and displayed bulging coin bags for Danica to admire before leaving.
Tislo led them through the hills and onto the main thoroughfare of the town, where a number of wholesalers unloaded their wares outside the storefronts lining the road during the early morning rush, when out-of-towners remained asleep in their rooms. Everyone conducted business without saying a word to one another as they crossed words off lists with pens made of charcoal. The lone establishment that carried a crowd was a rough little shop with faded signage drenched in the smell of frying dough. Danica suggested they have breakfast there before meeting the officer.
Inside, people ordered at the counter and picked up their food on black checkered cloth, folding the creases over rectangular pastries stuffed with cheese and spiced onions, generously layered under sour cream and eaten without utensils or napkins. Artemis and Tislo walked around the back to find seats while Danica waited in line. The wooden booths were unpadded and resembled church pews in appearance, placed on both sides of a small circular table. The chairs were uncomfortable to sit in and were splintered at the edges from years of misuse. Artemis watched the clientele and noticed only middle-aged men visited the little restaurant, tearing at their food with grimy fingers in complete silence except for grunts and the sound of chewing. She recalled few women out at this time of day.
Danica returned from the counter and laid the pastries out on the table. Artemis peered over at the menu board and read the words with ease, only to discover the name was unlisted and just the prices were written down. Two pastries for one-eighth Crowns and five for one-fourth Crowns.
Artemis removed the shawl from her mouth and took a bite of the steaming hot pastry. The hot liquid burned her tongue and dripped down her chin. Without the feverish hunger on the first day to drive her appetite, she decided to wait for the food to cool before eating. She watched Tislo scarf down his food in two mouthfuls and resumed taking small breathless bites and chewed for some time. The lack of practiced fine-motor skills made eating look clumsy and odd, while broader actions such as the hike made good use of her exceptional stamina and strength. Danica remarked at how childlike she appeared and laughed.
A man eyed their movements from the moment they entered the store. He was twice the size of Tislo and a head taller than the men in his company, draped with an unkempt beard oiled so liberally that the liquid shone. With long lurching steps, he bridged the distance from the row over and stood over them while they ate.
“Grandmother, did you not cook breakfast for your grandchildren? Or is she your daughter? No, you’re much too old for that, wouldn’t be possible.”
The brazen lack of respect caught Artemis unprepared. She grasped onto her shawl with the force of a clamp as the mood they shared dissipated.
“Why is she covered grandmother? Let me see her face, or maybe she is a deformed creature? That would be worth seeing.”
Patrons and workers alike ignored the situation and continued eating or doing their work. The men who sat with the belligerent turned to watch with their legs open and their stomachs falling out in the air, chuckling at the comments their compatriot made. The man, encouraged by their jests, made a half-hearted lunge at Artemis’s shawl. Tislo sprang up from his seat to intercept him.
“Don’t you touch her!” He yelled.
The man was pleased by the response he elicited and hovered over Tislo with impunity, eager to start a fight. Artemis placed her hand on Tislo’s back and crossed into the revelatory state.
Beyond their bodies was something ethereal and formless, a mixture of light and dust resembling the galaxies in the night sky, ebbing back and forth from one host to another and drawn from a deeper source which seemed limitless. She could redirect the flow freely to her chosen vessel but found it difficult to drain what had already settled in place. With the power to give blessings, Artemis allowed a stream of the mysterious ether to enter Tislo’s body and watched it transform the boy.
Tislo was gone. He was replaced by a ferocious bear standing eight feet tall and four feet wide, full of bloodlust and armed with overwhelming strength, striking a primal terror in the frozen faces of the prey who stared on. Sweat raced down the man’s temples as his eyes winced under the pressure exerted by the boy’s stare, locked in a duel he wanted badly to escape. The young boy who did not register five feet tall, stamped his foot on the ground with a reverberating thud, knocking the man on his back as he pushed away from Tislo on the palms of his hands. He rose to his feet and bolted out the room to the backs of the onlookers, already a figment in their minds.
Tislo came off a high so powerful that his body shuddered at the impact of its drop. Artemis caught his body in her arms and hugged him around his waist, holding him just below her chin. His thin frame and short stature was so light on her chest she wondered if it was unfair to place this burden on him ignorant of the consequences. Artemis woke Danica from the shock and together they lifted Tislo out the store unimpeded.