It had been ages since Lirran had eaten something baked. He loved his mother’s shepherd’s bread, fluffy dough surrounding a piece of mutton, ideal to take out on his errands. After over a month of nothing but clams and fish, a hearty piece like this would do him good.

Then, his joy was washed away when he realized what it all was. He realized that he was not at home at his mother’s table, that she was dead, the hut gone, the life destroyed.

He heard a banging and rattling, swaying left and right and tried to reach for the bread in a last moment before he also realized that even if he had taken it, it could not have passed through the boundary with him. It was as immaterial as any memory.

Lirran had somehow fallen asleep in his cage, legs poking out through the bars, without him noticing. The rattling and banging from a pole continued, smacking his feet when he did not respond. Finally, he wiped a lone tear from his nose and looked down.

There stood the old warrior with an entire entourage of guards. After the cage had been lowered, the old warrior approached him again. “Your judgement is approaching. Come with us and stand before the Prabhu.”

Lirran knew not what to answer. He begged them again to give his Navigator some water. Between the plates on her back, puss was now quelling forth, but they would not hear him.

She would not crawl onto his back, so they just heaved her onto him and wrapped them both in enough rope to keep her on. He felt her foam drip only weakly and her muscles did not cling to him.

The two of then were marched over another boardwalk and he saw beneath him people moving about the forest floor and even other boardwalks. He was brought up higher and higher until finally, he reached a door and was pushed in. Through hallways and doors, his ordeal finally ended, when he was made to kneel and the ropes tying Kaza to his body loosened.

Kaza slid from his back like a wet sack and he raised his head. He was in the centre of an oblong room, maybe twenty feet in width and forty in length. Around half of its perimeter, in front of him, were benches on which sat various people of obviously high standing, as they were clothed in robes of intricate make. The central seat of all was higher than the others and occupied by a man of illustrious clothing and a crown-like headdress of white and black wood with shining metals laid into grooves.

The old warrior in the adorned armour stood next to Lirran and made a bow to the person on the central seat. Then he spoke in their tongue, eager to present his prisoners to the man on the central seat. The man seemed to rebuke the old warrior, then discussed with the two men next to him, who wore tall hats of cloth and tight-buttoned vests and long skirt-like garments. After some deliberation, the man on the central seat made a gesture to make the old warrior step aside and leaned forward to Lirran, then addressed him.

“Be greeted, foreigner. I am Dushya, the Prabhu of this town of Vakarshik. I am charged with deciding the course of this community and my Raksaka here claims that you are an invader, that we should go to war for this aggression. What is your purpose here?”

Lirran bowed his head to the man. “Good Lord, my Navigator and I were stranded by strong winds on this island. We are in need of help and seek to injure nobody. We were planning to travel past your land.”

The old warrior scoffed. “Travel past? There is nothing there! It is thousands of miles to the next land and you came ashore in a landing craft with no sail! Prabhu Dushya, that man is lying, we all know that the Halkini of Insisa have allied with the Tzappat of the thorny kelp sea to attempt to seize our lands again!”

But the Lord on the central seat waved the comments away and continued to speak to Lirran. “Is it true? You tried travelling past us with no sail?”

Lirran had to bite his lip. He looked to Navigator Kaza, who lay still on the ground. What should he tell them? “I can assure you that I say the truth. The sail was torn from us in the storm, our craft is small, I admit, but I follow only the directions of my Navigator. She is to lead me on a journey into the mysteries. I know it sounds far fetched, but please, believe us.”

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The Lord leaned back. He looked to Kaza, held more council with the men next to him, then he looked to a place on the benches that seemed peculiarly empty. “Mysteries, you say? Is your Navigator a Guru? I wish to talk to her.” He made a gesture and two servants rushed to Kaza’s side, trying to lift her up.

Rather than her screech as the day before, she merely whimpered and squeaked feebly. Lirran saw the wound on her back shift and puss gush out, as if contained barely underneath. The guards tried Kaza to get to stand but she was barely conscious.

Lirran’s heart wrenched, he could not hold his tongue. “Kaza, Navigator, are you well?” He turned to the Lord. “Can you not see that she needs help? Please, put her in a barrel of water, you may chain me, but take care of her!” He held his hands forward, wrists together as if begging to be shackled.

The Lord wanted to say something, when another man on the benches stood up and awaited the Lord’s approval. He was wider than most and worse apart from a loincloth only a headdress of green and blooming vines.

The Lord gave his approval with a nod and the man spoke, half to Lirran, half to the Lord. “If I may offer this: I can take care of the Tzappatt, my niece the Malati Saraswati speaks their tongue and we can provide any medicine needed. Once the waterkin is well enough, she can stand trial, if the Prabhu wishes to.”

The old warrior seemed disgusted by that proposition. “You wish to house our enemies?”

But the wide man smiled and made a bow. “If you wish, you may confine them to the hall of Phalapatrah. There they will be secure and well-fed. I believe these to be guests in need and therefore, our customs dictate that we take care of them as such. The hall of Phalapatrah is the best place to house guests.”

The Lord thought for a moment, discussed with the men next to him and finally stood up. All other sat down, even the old warrior knelt on the ground. The Lord proclaimed. “So this will be: the foreigners will be housed and confined to the Hall of Phalapatrah, where the First Phalapatr Drupada will be tasked with their well being. For his negligence to take care of his own prisoners, the Raksaka will have to pay for the housing and healing.”

“But Prabhu!” the old warrior almost rose from his position. “I have done nothing wrong. The intruder was only injured because one of my Zaktim attacked them against the recommendation of his wiser comrades.”

“One of your Zaktim? So it was your responsibility then? You did not send anyone tot end to the wounds of your prisoners, which you brought before me unable to answer my questions, wasting my time and the time of all those present!” The Lord made a gesture encompassing all the seats in the room. “The Zaktim will be put to charge for the prisoners’ well-being and protection. You may position any other guards only outside the hall of Phalapatrah. Once the prisoners have recovered, we will convene once again. I have decided.” The Lord moved to leave and most others left with him.

Lirran saw the wide man talk to one of the servants and sent him off running, then he approached Lirran.

“I am glad to house you, my guest. I am the First Phalapatr Drupada and I will be your host. A transport for your Navigator will arrive shortly. You and her will be in good hands.”

Lirran, still kneeling, bowed to him. “Thank you, Lord, thank you, thank you, I cannot thank you enough. I am Lirran and this is my Navigator Kaza, or teacher you could say.”

The wide man laughed and slapped his belly. “No thanks yet, young man, you are not yet judged. But let us be merry for now.”

Lirran wanted to ask a question, but the man named Drupada clapped his hands in joy when a large barrel on spars was carried in through the door by four men. It was carved from a single piece of wood, polished to a sheen and oiled. Water splashed over the rim when the carriers set it down and went to pick up Kaza.

But Lirran intervened. Picking her up would cause her greater pain and injury. He knelt down to her. “My Navigator, please, crawl into the barrel. It is full of water.” She responded barely, only slowly lifting her head. Her large, black eyes had retreated into her head and emerged only slowly. She looked at him and brought forth a pained smile as she saw him.

“Please, use me as a ramp.” Lirran held onto the rim of the barrel with both hands and formed a ramp for Kaza. She finally slithered upwards his body and into the water. When Lirran looked above the rim, he saw her floating relaxed, relieved, as he would be when falling into bed with two injured legs.

The wide man named Drupada gave a signal and the carriers went back to the spar to lift the barrel up. They hurried out the door and Drupada followed them.

“Come, honored guest. Food and comfort wait at my abode for you.” He was out the door and Lirran followed him, stepping into the light of the day.