To my surprise, Marianna is there with Marika. They’re both inspecting the aqueduct, and I’m very glad to see that the water looks—and smells—a lot cleaner. I still wouldn’t drink it, though.
“Typical landlord behaviour,” says Marianna when the situation is explained. “I’m sorry to hear you fell prey to such tricks. I’m here for your answer. If you say yes, we’ll get going bright and early.”
“What do you think, Marika? Theo?”
“I can’t say,” says Theo. “Knighthood’s something I would have jumped at six months ago. Now I’m happy the way things are. But for you, it might be a big advantage.”
“It might be a millstone around your neck too,” says Marika. She glances at Marianna. “A knight has to obey her lord. It’s not just a legal thing either; a knight has to vow to the god of duty that she’ll obey. Otherwise you’d just be a kind of man-at-arms. Woman-at-arms. Troll-at-arms?”
Marianna nods. “That’s all true. But I promise you I won’t ask you to do anything. I can take other knights once I have my first, and they will perform any duties I need. Not that I expect any.”
That reminds me. “Why can’t you just say I’m your knight and I take the vow and that’s that? Seems a lot easier than me having to travel and beat up some folks.”
“If only it were that easy. You’re not from around here, are you?”
I shake my head but decide not to tell Marianna too much. I barely know her. “No, I’m not. The local traditions and culture are still a mystery to me.”
“Well, you can’t just take a vow and have it be recognized by a god. You need a priest of that god and you need a ritual and all kinds of stuff. So it’s pricey. Even my family won’t spring for it on a whim.”
Is her family particularly rich?
“So that’s why we should do this. My brother Shale’s turning sixteen. There’ll be a priest of Fidel, the god of duty and loyalty, there and everything will be set to create the vow.”
“What if your parents just… say no? Like if I win and you announce you’ll take me on but they refuse to allow it?”
Marianna grins. It’s not a pleasant smile. “They won’t. If they did, they’d never get another look from Fidel’s priesthood. Fidel demands that vows be upheld and to refuse the winner of a tournament their just due would be a betrayal. Keyes was right; this puts my family exactly where they deserve to be.”
I’m detecting some strife in the Cross family, but I don’t comment. “So if I win and take this vow, I become your Knight and you become my Lady.”
Marianna smiles again and this time it seems genuine. “Yes. And everyone would have to acknowledge it.”
That seems important to her for some reason. I lean back on my haunches. If I do this, it’s a bind I can’t escape, and to a person I barely know. But if I don’t, who knows when I’ll get things sorted out?
“In my wor—my understanding, Lords and Ladies also owe their servants certain obligations. Is that true here?”
“Yes,” says Marika. “You would have the right to demand housing, board and the trappings of your office. In your case, a suit of armour, a weapon and probably a horse.”
“Yeah, I don’t need any of that. But I get the feeling that you stand to gain from this as well, and not just making your family look bad.”
Marianna looks a little surprised. “Yes. With me taking a knight, my family will have to acknowledge me. They refused my knight tournament for…reasons I won’t discuss. But this will force them to let me take a knight and thus be recognized as a Cross of their family. It’s important to me.”
Okay. That makes me feel better. It’s always suspicious when a stranger offers help for nothing. Knowing she stands to gain as well tells me she’ll help where needed. I close my eyes for a moment. and come to a decision. “If you’ll promise me you won’t treat me as a slave or take me from my friends, I’ll do it.” I stare at Marianna. “I won’t go along with any underhanded crap.”
Marianna almost glows. Her smile is joyous and she takes my fingers in her hands. “I promise. I swear. I’ll support you fully. I’ll make sure you win and become my Knight. Thank you.”
She seems a lot more invested now than she did in the Adventurer’s Guild. I’m glad to see it.
Marika sees Marianna off. Theo and I are left alone for a few minutes and he takes the opportunity to speak to me.
“It won’t be easy. Your opponents will be tough. It’s not like it’s open to any bumpkin with a pitchfork and aspirations beyond his station.”
“I’m trying not to think about that. Believe it or not, getting carved up by a sword isn’t high on my list of recreational activities.”
“You’ll have the chance to make powerful connections there too. Just remember that nobles have long memories. The people you help or hinder at this tournament could return later to do the same for you.”
With that said, Theo leaves me alone to meditate all night. I decide not to worry about it. What happens, happens. Nothing I can do about it right now.
Morning comes very early. The sun is barely peeking out when Marika knocks on my door. She’s very obviously tired when I open it.
“Morning. What can we pack for you?”
Realization dawns on me. “Are you not coming?”
Marika shakes her head, and won’t meet my eyes. “No. I’m sorry. With my circumstances… there might be people there who recognize me. My family, and the family of the man I was supposed to marry, have probably not given up looking for me. I can’t risk it. I’m so sorry.”
That sets up a bit of a churn in my guts. In my mind I’d have Marika and Theo there to support me. Going alone means a whole new set of experiences without anyone I trust to guide me. Not that Marianna seems bad but she definitely has her own agenda. Part of me wants to snap at my friend. Does she not realize just how alone I am in this world?
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But a look at her tells me she feels worse than I do. I can smell it on her: shame and guilt. Instead of getting snippy I reach out and touch her gently. “It’s cool. It’s all right. I’ll be fine. Let’s go pack some food and I’ll leave you guys with some stuff of my own.”
By the time Marianna arrives, I’ve made a bunch of sanitization potions for Marika to take to the washaway next week, as well as enough healing potions to keep Theo safe for a while. After some consideration I also leave him some strength and fury potions, but only after extracting a promise that they would be a last resort.
“Marika will kill you if you die down there, you know.” And then she’d kill me, if she thought I aided and abetted such a thing.
Theo laughs. “Yes she would. But I’ve learned a lot. When you return we’ll enter together and we’ll both get to the Endless Fields.”
“Please be careful,” says Marika. “Tournaments can be dangerous. I know you’re, well, you, but don’t be complacent. Someone will have a surprise up their sleeve. It won’t be as easy as Marianna and Keyes made it sound.”
I crouch down and hug her. “I’ll lose on purpose before I die, have no fear.” It’s true. All this would be great for me but it isn’t worth dying over. Besides, I’ve died once already and I don’t want to make it a habit. Also, quite frankly, Marianna seems like a decent person, but we haven’t shared any major trials together like Marika and I have. I don’t feel I owe her my life.
I want to take my time leaving, but Marianna is outside on her horse and I can smell her impatience, although she’s hiding it well. I sling the makeshift pack we’ve made over my shoulder and wave goodbye to my friends. I’ll see them again soon, I tell myself.
Marianna walks her horse to the city gate, but once we’re out she turns to me and speaks for the first time. “How fast can you move? It’s two days to my family’s estate by carriage; can you run that fast?”
“I don’t know? How fast does a carriage move?”
Marianna looks at me to see if I’m kidding. It’s impossible to tell, of course, but I’m not. “You truly are ignorant of the ways of things, aren’t you?” She doesn’t sound mean, but her words sting a little. It’s not my fault I don’t know anything!
“How about you go at the pace you need and if I can’t keep up we’ll know?”
Without so much as a nod Marianna takes off. Her horse isn’t running exactly, but it’s not walking either. Trotting? I don’t know much about horses. But it’s not a speed I can’t handle. I lope along beside her, and she looks down at me. That’s not common; most of the time it’s me looking down at people. She stops her horse and speaks.
“Good enough. We’ll continue through two villages today and claim shelter at the third. Do you need to eat often?”
Talking while I run alongside her is not even a challenge. I feel pretty good about that. “Long as I don’t need to heal any wounds I can get by for a day. We can stop for lunch if you like, or whatever works for you.”
Marianna once again doesn’t answer, she just sets off. All right then, she’s not a talker. I can deal with that. So instead of talking, I just observe as we travel.
It’s a nice day. The road is cobbled and easy to run on. It passes through what looks like wheat fields. Is it wheat? I assume so; I’ve had bread here. Low stone walls divide the fields. I notice when we pass people, which isn’t often, they step aside for us, and it’s not just because of me. They also take off their hat when they see Marianna. I wonder why. She’s not wearing her armour, and she’s dressed kind of like Marika does usually: trousers and blouse, with her flanged mace strapped to her saddle. Is it the clothes?
That’s exactly what it is. The people we’re passing are dressed in what I can only describe as drab work clothes, and Marianna—and me, I guess—are pretty brightly clothed by comparison. My clothes are made from Inferno Snake leather and while it’s a dark red, it’s still red. Marianna’s blouse is blue and her pants are a deep black, and her boots look expensive. Actually, her riding a horse probably marks her as someone important.
We pass the first village without a problem. We don’t even see anyone; it’s the time of day that everyone is working. Marianna doesn’t say anything to me the whole time. I’m beginning to think she doesn’t like me. Then again, my experience in social situations is… lacking.
The silence gives me time to think about other things, too. I jumped into this with both feet, and now I’m having second thoughts. What happens if I lose? Well, that wouldn’t be the end of the world; I’d just be right back where I was. But what if I win, and Shale does take me on as his Knight? The idea of a vow to a god of duty already makes my back itch. Something flickers at my memory when I consider that, but it doesn’t catch in my mind and I dismiss it. Besides, all I have to do to avoid that is win!
When we reach the second village, about three or four o’clock in the afternoon, she pulls her horse up and stops. “Let’s eat here. There’s a common area with tables that we can use.” She dismounts and walks her horse through the tiny settlement.
“What do you like to eat?” asks Marianna as we walk towards a large, rough-built gazebo.
“Um, well, normal people food? And there’s things that sometimes I don’t know I want to eat until I smell them.” I think about the Stone Ogre meat I’d devoured, as well as the orcs I’d resisted eating.
“Oh? So your troll essence tells you to eat things sometimes?” Marianna brings out a cloth and a series of stoneware jars sealed with wax. “That’s got to be strange.”
“Yeah.” I watch her open the jars and a lovely, pickled scent wafts towards me. “Um, what’s in there?”
“Vegetables, mostly. I don’t eat much meat.” With the end of a long fork, Marianna spears something that looked like a pickle, but red. “Here, try this. It’s called Ruby Pickle. It tastes like salted meat but a little sweeter.”
True to her word, the Ruby Pickle does indeed taste like meat. The vinegar adds a lovely zing to it. “That’s amazing. I’ve only had the food I’m used to so far since I got here. Oh, and some monster meat. And a deer or two.” I fish out my own lunch: hardtack and salted pork.
Marianna makes a face. “Travel rations! The worst. Here, try this.” She holds out another jar, this one with a cork that was obviously mean to be removed and replaced more than once. “Soak your bread and pork in this a bit and then it’ll be much more pleasant. Easier on the teeth too.”
Well, teeth aren’t my worry but I do as she asked. She’s right! It is so much better with whatever’s in the jar. “What is this?”
“It’s a very, very mild liquor made from a plant monster. It’s pretty easy to find in the Endless Fields; people make it and sell it. I like it because it’s alcoholic but not much. I don’t ever drink to get drunk but there’s often a need to toast something or other, so this works well for me.”
Marianna is chattier than I thought. I smell nothing on her but friendliness and beneath that a desire to hurry along. I decide to risk a little bit of conversation beyond just our meal. “So, you didn’t talk to me all the way here. I kind of got the impression you were just trying to keep distant? Or maybe… you don’t like me because of who I am?”
Marianna sets her food down. Her eyes fix on mine. “First of all, of anyone you meet, I’m the last person who’ll judge you for being who—or what— you are. Second, I wasn’t sure whether you wanted to talk, because maybe you thought I was just a means to an end.”
I grin. “Actually, that’s what I thought you considered me.”
Marianna laughs. Her scent gains a tinge of relief. “No! I want to be friends, certainly. I mean, from what I hear, you’re a Jinx worshipper?”
“Not exactly.” I finish my food. “I’m more a Jinx byproduct. He blessed me and here I am. Used to be a human girl.”
“Oh, sorry. Like I said, I won’t judge you. I don’t hold the gods that close to my heart, but Jinx is my favourite of them all.”
“Why?” She’s the first person I’ve ever heard say anything really positive about Jinx.
“Because she doesn’t ask anything of her believers but that they believe, and really, not even that. Verity wants us to speak the truth no matter what harm it might cause. Fidel would have his worshippers walk into fire if their lord asked it. Leya wants her followers to punish every crime no matter the reason it was committed. Jinx just wants you to live and change and she watches the results without judging.”
“Other people call Jinx by the male pronoun: he. Is that not set in stone?”
“Jinx is male and female and both and neither. I call her she. If she minded I’m sure she’d let me know somehow.”
Well, she’s probably right.
Marianna gets up. “By the way, until we reach the next town, I probably won’t talk much again. Honestly? The main reason is because I don’t want to bite my tongue while I’m riding. Also, it’s impossible to see your replies while I’m on the horse.”
That makes sense and makes me feel a little foolish for worrying. With that, we leave for the last leg of the day’s journey.