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The hypnotic sound of waves that rise and crash. A melody that flows with the perpetual, unfinished song of our existence. This is what I imagined death to be like, serene and peaceful. Adrift in the darkness, cast upon the waves that flow into the eternal light of the Embrace.
Zahra laid on a beach as waves ran past her, to their termination beyond the shoreline. She began to rouse and felt the grittiness of the sand underneath her shirt. It scratched at her skin, not painful, but rather an annoyance. Her clothes were soaked, and the cool ocean water rushed under her face with the ebb and flow of the tide. Her calmness, disrupted as she was shaken. Unacceptable violence, paired with a voice that was far too loud.
“Zahra! Zahra wake up. Please, let her be alive.”
She opened her eyes and through their blurriness she saw someone on top of her. The voice was muffled, and she couldn’t discern what was said through the salt water which clogged her ears. She regained control and threw a punch upward at her oppressor. Rolling on top of the stranger, she drove her knee into their stomach. Zahra raised a fist to defend herself and tried to blink away the sand from her eyes.
“Zahra, y-you’re crushing me.” She made out the voice of Avery, whom she knelt upon and furthered the damage done to his injured ribs. She tried to rub her eyes but only got more sand into them. With a corner of her tunic she cleaned off as much as she could.
“Goddess be damned, Avery! What were you thinking shaking me like that?!”
He coughed and rolled around as he tried to reduce the pain in his side. “Just wanted to... make sure you were alive, Ke’elle. I shouldn’t have... cared.”
She looked around and saw nothing but the long beach that stretched as far as her eyes could see. Behind her was a rock wall, meant to break ocean swells and too tall to see over from their current position.
“I don’t know where we even start, I’ve never seen this place.” Avery pulled his boots off and smacked the bottom of each heel to coax the sand from its new home. As he looked up, Avery noticed a set of footprints that led off down the beach. He grabbed Zahra’s attention with a small whistle. “You think that’s Taren? Why wouldn’t he try and wake us?”
Zahra sat with the thought for a moment and rested her head in her hand. It throbbed, split in two like a dry piece of wood readied for a fire. I don’t want to think about that right now. Even if he had some reason to leave, we can just be happy he’s alive. Her wet hair draped down over her knees as she looked between her legs at the water that rose over her feet. Heard among the gulls’ calls was something out of place. Voices. She turned to peek over the rock wall and dipped back down.
Avery, none the wiser to what she saw, continued to air his grievances. “We could have at least been stranded somewhere with a nice tavern, and a warm bed. Something with, you know, other humans. That’d be-”
“Quiet.” Zahra snapped under her breath. She peered over the rocks again and confirmed what she saw. A group of armed men, about three mounted and five footpads, who walked only a short distance beyond the sea wall.
“Listen, the two of us got shipwrecked together and if you’re not going to be supportive, then I think-” He was interrupted as Zahra had grabbed the sides of his chin with her hand.
“Get hold of your tongue, Gelrain, or so help me I’ll cut it out of you.” She pointed her head so that Avery would look over the dune and see why.
He saw the group of eight, unable to discern their allegiance. “Illyrians? Can’t be, not dressed like that.” The motley crew were dressed in every manner of garb, a rag-tag mess of armor and uniforms. “Brigands. Savages.”
“They’ll be uncoordinated, and we’ll use that against them.” She reached to her waist to draw Talon from its sheath, noticing her hand failed to meet with the grip of the sword. Damn, it must have fallen out when the ship capsized. Avery too was unarmed, his royal guard sword also having been lost to the Bay of Rélene.
Zahra searched for anything they could make use of among the washed-up debris. There it is, just what we need! “Avery, grab that oar from the sand,” she said and pointed to a wrecked oar just a few feet away. “I’ll need you to deal with the mounted ones. If we can get you up on a horse, it should help with your pain and keep you in the fight.”
“What about you?” He asked and noticed her sword also amiss. “There are too many for me to take on alone.”
“I have an idea!” She tore a sleeve from her tunic, a feat that impressed Avery. Zahra crawled along the beach and scavenged as many rocks as she could carry.
“A sling! Not bad, Ke’elle.”
“We’ll have one chance at this. Over the sea wall, up the berm, onto the road.” I thought I just resigned this position, called back to command again. It will only end when the long night closes in, I’m afraid. “I’ll need you to get round behind them, keep their horses pinned in tight with the other soldiers. Be fast and accurate. When we can free up their weapons, we give them a taste of their own steel. Ready?”
Zahra fixed the first rock into her newly fashioned sling. “On my signal.” She watched the brigands draw close. Closer. Closer. Keep coming... now! The pair vaulted themselves over the rock wall and ran for the berm. The deep sand made it hard to run. As they vaulted over the berm, their legs burned, and lungs searched for an elusive breath. This proved to be a fearful endeavor as neither was at full strength as they reached the road.
“Enemy on the left!” One of the brigands cried out. “To arms! To arms!” The footpads broke out into a sprint toward Zahra and Avery.
“Go round, Avery. Leave these to me!” Zahra swung her arm round to launch her first rock. She struck a lethal blow to the side of the first brigand’s head and death took him as he fell. The pair split, Avery ran wide as Zahra loaded a second rock. In the brigands’ confusion, she launched it and struck the second in the knee. He dropped his sword and grabbed his wounded leg, keeling over toward the ground. She dove past the other three attackers and stomped into the head of the pained brigand. The heel of her boot pierced his flesh through the soft tissue.
Avery struck the first cavalier with his oar, knocking the brigand off his mount. He took the man’s spear and thrust it downward through his chest and into the ground. He took the horse and charged down the second mounted knight. In pursuit Avery threw the spear. It sailed through the air as if knowing its target and struck the brigand in the shoulder.
With the other three brigands closing in, Avery had only managed to engage two. The third remained, supporting the dismounted group. Zahra prepared the largest rock she had in her sling, tightening it before swinging the weapon. She struck one brigand but had to roll away to avoid a sword swipe. As she recovered, she managed to hit another on the leg, but the blow glanced off his greave. A mounted brigand charged at her, narrowly missing with his sword but still sent her to the ground without ceremony.
Zahra struggled to shake it off, and crawled to dodge the sword swipes that kicked up dust as they missed her. Another brigand stepped on her shoulder from behind so she couldn’t get away. He used all his weight to drive in the heel of his boot and pin her down.
Avery finished off the second mounted brigand and scanned the battlefield for Zahra. Having chased the rider some distance, he spurred his horse into a gallop, racing to her aid. As he neared, he prayed he wasn't too late. The thought of being the royal guardsman who failed Trystan and Kala’s children was unbearable.
“Look at ya,” the brigand said to Zahra as he drove his heel deeper into her shoulder. “Ye caused all this trouble, for wha’?”
The mounted brigand, who Zahra believed to be their captain, dismounted his horse. “Well lads, how much of a price do you think she’d fetch in Essea?”
“Price? She killed our mates and now ye want to know about price. Who’s going to pay up? Ol’ Arty?” The brigand with his foot atop Zahra seemed to revel in her pain. Her fists did nothing against the steel greaves that protected his legs.
“Think for a second, when’s the last time you’ve seen a Clerracian south of Radia? I’ve never seen one this far south, so it begs to ask what she’s doing in Talliers. Dark hair, olive skin, slight build, and she’s lethal to boot.” He looked at Zahra with confusion and asked her tormentor to ease off. The captain had more questions than she could provide answers to. “What are you doing here? How did you make it across the ice fields?”
Ice fields? The bay won’t freeze again for many months. Shouldn’t have expected more from one of your type. Wait... did we make it to Talliers? “I am of Namelle, not this place you speak of.” Zahra’s air of nobility had shown itself as it often did when she was nervous. Her eyes looked past them to see that Avery had gotten closer. She just needed to keep them distracted.
“Namelle? Must be the lone survivor, eh? Saw ya’s were stomped out on the Fall a few days back. Judging by the look of ya,” the Brigand said as he tapped the bandage on her arm. “I’m assuming you knew that already?”
So they’ve been to the Heaven’s Fall then?
“Nothing left but death between Essea and the southlands now,” another told her. “At least we can get through the mountains without having to sneak ‘round.”
Dag... Khuldir...
“Well, no sense wasting daylight. Tie her up, she’s coming with us. We’ll take ‘er all the way north to Trella, I’m sure the Imperator will pay handsomely for this one.” On the captain’s shoulder was a crest she didn’t recognize. Some disgraced nobility, but his lineage didn’t matter in the moment. He heard the thunderous steps of a horse that came near at full gallop.
“Mick, grab your crossbow,” he said and motioned to one of the other three. The brigand took the crossbow and hid in the group like a wolf among sheep the others assumed defensive positions. Avery readied his spear when a bolt slammed into the front of his horse. The animal reared forward and flung Avery out of its saddle. He crashed to the ground on his chest and lay with his face bloodied and unconscious.
“Friend of yours I presume. See,” he said and pointed to the light brown hair and fair skin. “He looks like he’s from Namelle. What’ll we do with him?”
“His people were slaughtered,” the captain said. “I’m sure Arty’s on the way to burn their city down. Leave him here, he’s got enough problems to work through.”
As Zahra looked up from the flat of her back, she saw an arrow strike the chest of a brigand next to her. Thuck! Another hit him square in the head and caused him to fall back dead before he even hit the ground. The three who remained turned to fight and the captain mounted his horse. They knew the arrow was shot from the woods opposite the road and advanced on the tree line.
With her captors were preoccupied, Zahra crawled to a sword on the ground. She ran the rope over the edge of the blade and cut her bonds. The next arrow struck a footpad in the neck. It’s only a matter of time. Then another arrow, a perfect shot, through the eye of the footpad to the right of the captain. Dead.
The hidden assailant unleashed a flurry of arrows, striking down the two remaining footpads. One fell instantly, an arrow lodged in his eye, while the other hit the ground with an arrow in his leg, still writhing but unable to rise. The mounted brigand, seeing the threat, spurred his horse toward the forest.
Zahra glimpsed the archer in hooded leather armor as they vaulted onto a large, flat rock. With an almost impossible leap, the archer fired an arrow into the brigand’s shoulder, causing him to yank on the reins. As the archer descended, she knocked another two arrows, sending one into his chest. Upon landing, she finished with a deadly shot to his forehead. The brigand toppled from his horse. She slung her bow over her shoulder, drew a knife from her belt and advanced on the last of them.
“You! You’re supposed to be exiled! Josée told us-”
The archer drove her knife into the brigand’s ribs. “How does it feel? With your death, more of the last remnants of the old tyrant are falling, one miserable life after another. I will spend my life in exile,” she said as the knife was twisted and plunged deeper, “if it means his reign is kept safe.”
The brigand gritted his teeth together and struggled to breathe. “You’ll never be his.” He coughed up blood which dripped down his chin onto his mail armor. “She’ll never allow it. Vilmonde will fall, and the First Bow with it.”
She yanked out the knife and drove it into his stomach. The brigand laughed through the blood gushing from his mouth, spitting on her face. “And to think,” she said, pressing the knife to his neck, “you won’t be here to witness it.” She slashed his throat, letting his head fall as he clutched at the wound, doomed beyond hope.
Zahra approached, cautious and with her sword lowered. The archer’s head turned over her shoulder and she whipped the knife between Zahra’s legs. The quick action caused Zahra to look down. As she raised her head, Zahra stared at the tip of an arrow and dropped her sword. Yeah, not doing this today. She raised her hands, slow and sure, trying to swallow the lump in her throat. “I don’t believe us to be enemies. I am Zahra, ex-Commander of the Namellian Royal Army. That,” she said as she pointed at Avery, who grunted and tried to get himself off the ground, “is Avery Gelrain, of her highness’ royal guard.”
“Well, I’m glad you led with that Zahra, of Namelle.” The archer, no older than Alira, threw back her hood and allowed her long, brown, braided hair to cascade past the smirk on her face. “Pleased to meet’cha,” she thrust out a hand toward Zahra. “Rinley Tillit, exile extraordinaire, and First Bow of Talliers. Erm–well–former, I guess.” She rolled over the dead brigand with her foot. “I trust, you won’t need to - uh–see any more of my qualifications.”
“None needed. Thanks, Rinley.” Zahra picked up Avery and helped him up on the horse. “I have to say, First Bow and exile, can’t say I’ve imagined those titles together.”
Rinley laughed, “I’d say you’re right. I’d also say there’s a first time for everything. Like seeing a couple of–I’m assuming–shipwrecked souls?” She waved around the knife that she picked up from the ground and didn’t realize Zahra’s gaze was fixed on it. “What brings you to Talliers?”
“We didn’t really have a choice,” Zahra said as she fixed the buckles on the horse’s saddle. “We couldn’t remain in Namelle, and Talliers was the safest way to get back to the Heaven’s Fall.”
“Heaven’s Fall? What in the goddess’ graces do you want with that place? If it’s some morbid curiosity you’re feeding. You’ll sate that and then some when you see it.”
“I know what we’re in for,” Zahra replied. “I just don’t want to relive it.” The memories of it, still vivid, were a nightmare from which she couldn’t wake.
“You were there?!” Rinley got close to Zahra to get her attention. “You said you were from Namelle, their ex-Commander or whatever you called it. Does that me-... wait, you fought there!?”
“We did.” Zahra nodded her head toward Avery who had slumped against the horse’s head. “Two thousand others did, including the princess–my sister, Alira.”
“Kaata be praised you made it out.” Rinley grabbed Zahra’s arm to examine the bandaged wound where she was speared. As she watched the blood seep through the bandage, Zahra ruminated on the past events and didn’t hear Rinley’s words. “Why are you going back then? Nothing waits for you there except death. Even the Illyrians moved off southward.”
“There’s something I have to know.” If Alira’s alive... “I must see it for myself.”
Rinley chewed her nails, anxious as she looked over her shoulder in the direction the brigands were headed and then back down the road from where they came. She looked up to the billowed clouds overhead and listened to the roll of thunder in the distance. Rinley placed her knife back into its sheath on her leg. “I’m coming with you.”
“You don’t need to burden yourself, Rinley. Besides the point, we don’t know you.”
“Is my introduction not sufficient for now? I am the-”
“First Bow of Talliers. Got it, moving on. You have no Tallieri accent, and you claim to be in exile so you must have to have done something very wrong for that sentence.”
“Je peux parler amienne si tu le souhaites?”
Zahra sighed, the language made her feel better and worse at the same time. “Something, something, flawless Amienne, something. Right?” Zahra said to mock Rinley, and waved her hands to convey what her words couldn’t. “I’m assuming you won’t take no for an answer?”
Rinley shook her head, “trust me, I know these roads and my bow can be of use to you. I’ll stay with you as long as you need me.” The next rumble of thunder was louder and made Rinley shutter and cling to Zahra. “Right now, what we need is to get off the road. There’s a small village that way called Emberwarren. We can get a place to stay at the tavern there and make for the plain in the morning.”
“I’d rather just get going, if it’s all the same to you.”
Rinley studied Avery, still near motionless, and recognized the painful and grimaced look set on his face. “Look, you won’t survive a Tallieri thunderstorm out in the open and if we don’t get your friend help soon, he won’t make it.” Another clap of thunder rolled across the sky and the breeze kicked up around them, pulling at the trees of the forest like a puppeteer. The ominous clouds blanketed the sky and cast a dark shadow that crept over the ground. “You hear that? That means it's close and we’re already in danger. You get on that horse, and I’ll take this one here before the storm scares it off.”
Rinley grabbed the reins of the horse, ran her hand through its mane and down its neck to comfort it. She placed her foot in the stirrup and kicked up into the saddle as the first drops of rain fell. “Follow me, Zahra. Whatever you do, don’t stop riding.”
They didn’t stop, through great flashes of lightning they pressed on. Twenty minutes later they came to the town of Emberwarren, a backwater town with a local mining populace and only a few buildings on the main road. They hitched their horses to the post in the stables and got Avery down. The girls slung his arms over their shoulders and carried him inside. Once they managed to get in through the door, Rinley retrieved a key from the innkeeper. An older, gruff seeming gentleman with a white moustache stretched across his upper lip to the corners of his mouth.
Rinley directed Zahra down to the far end of the hall. “Keep going Avery, just a bit longer. Second last room, down on the right.” Avery lost his strength, and the girls took every pound of his weight. They opened the old, wooden door to the room to the sound of creaking iron hinges. They laid him on the bed and Avery hollered from the pain of what Rinley believed, was a flail chest and broken collarbone.
A loud clap of thunder boomed over the inn as the storm intensified. Rinley lit the candles in the room to offer a dim, ambient glow. Avery groaned as Rinley cut away his tunic with her knife and looked him over. “See the discoloration there,” she said, and pointed to his ribs. “He’s bleeding, his bones must have punctured something.”
“That’s beyond our skill to mend,” Zahra said. “Is there a surgeon in this village?”
“Hold on, I’ll ask the innkeeper.”
Zahra took Avery’s hand in hers. “Don’t you leave me, Avery Gelrain. I... I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
As much as she wanted to help, drastic intervention was needed. It was only minutes before Rinley returned with a wooden bucket, filled with warm water and a handful of old rags. “Best we can do is clean his wounds, you know... make him comfortable. Here.” She pulled out a dressing from the sling pack over her shoulder.
Zahra grabbed a wet, grey rag and ran it over his face to remove the dried blood and dirt. She took care in cleaning him so as not to aggravate the wounds in his body. He grabbed her hand and, for the first time in what felt like forever, opened his eyes. Zahra saw the bloodshot pain behind them, the same as she had after the battle of the Heaven’s Fall.
“Zahra, you have to go.” He coughed and spat up blood. “Leave me here and find Alira... I’m finished.”
“No, we’re going to stay here until you’re mended.”
“There’s no time Zahra. I won’t make it, you know that.” If Avery Gelrain–last of the royal guard–was to sacrifice his life in pursuit of Alira, then she had to go. “I got you to Talliers, Zahra. Everything we risked... was for that purpose.”
“Avery, you know I’m not going to-”
“It’s what Cael would do.” His breathing slowed and the lids of his eyes grew heavy. “She’s out there, Zahra... Go get... our girl.” He slipped out of consciousness and his hand fell to his side. Zahra looked on as her eyes watered.
Rinley, hesitant to intervene in the natural order, stepped in from the hall and removed her glove. She placed her fingers on the side of Avery’s neck and waited. “His heart beats, weak, but he’s still with us.” She untied the silver string that held her cloak. It dropped to the floor, and she reached behind her head. Rinley untied her necklace and held it out. It was red, like the flame of a fire and the metal felt warm to her touch as she dropped it into Zahra’s hand. “Place the flame in his palm and wrap the strings around, tie it off so it won’t come loose.”
Zahra followed her instruction. “What now?”
Rinley knelt down on the woven mat between the two. “Give me your hand.” Zahra placed her hand in Rinley’s. “Place your other hand on his. You might not understand what’s about to happen next, but I need you to be silent and maintain this bond.” Rinley took the lit candle off the table between the beds and placed it on the floor in front of her. She moved her ungloved hand over top of the flame and wove it about.
“Je fais appel à vous, ancienne déesse du feu de la lumière. Cette nuit, je vous demande votre chaleur pour guérir votre serviteur. Je vous demande de guérir celui qui s'accroche à votre flamme. J'invoque votre nom, Kaata!”
The flame from the candle burned bright at the invocation. Zahra didn’t know what Rinley called out to, but there was an energy between the flame and the symbol in Avery’s hand.
“La flamme qui brûle. La flamme qui guérit. Le feu éternel qui brûle dans nos mémoires. Prêtez-nous votre pouvoir Kaata et allumez le feu qui brûle en chacun de nous.”
As she ended the invocation, a flame crawled around her hand from the candle and slithered up her arm. It twisted around her, passing over Rinley’s chest and growing brighter as it travelled. The serpent of flame encircled Zahra and Rinley’s joined hands and continued to pass over Zahra. Though Rinley seemed at peace, and comforted, Zahra felt strange. It wasn’t the unknowingness of having been a part of some ancient ritual, but it was an internal struggle. The sheyde which took her over in times of great hardship seemed opposed to it. Her eye burned hot, but she held her grip on Rinley and Avery. If this is going to save him, I must endure it. Whatever the cost.
The flame passed over her hand and wrapped around Avery’s. It slipped into his palm and after a moment’s glow, the flame disappeared into him. Rinley released Zahra's hand and placed the candle back on top of the table.
“What... what was that?” Zahra asked.
“It was a demonstration of the ancient power of the goddess, Kaata.” Rinley untied the necklace it from Avery’s hand and put it back to its place around her neck. “It was given as a token by someone–close–to me. It is said that an emblem of her fire can warm you in the coldest places, give inspiration in battle and even possesses the energy to heal the deepest of wounds. Yet even this emblem is finite in use. It was a miracle we met one another.”
Avery looked relaxed and fell into a deep sleep. Zahra watched his chest rise and fall with little strain, and hoped whatever Rinley did had worked. “How long does it take?”
Rinley let out a small laugh at her question. “It’s not like that,” she said and drew out the last word longer than normal. “I don’t know if I believe it either or that it will save him, but tomorrow we’ll get him to Vilmonde.”
“I can’t go to Vilmonde, Rinley. I have to-”
“Find your sister, got it.” She doesn’t have it. “So, you mentioned this, Alira, is your sister?”
“She is, the Princess of Namelle and the last of the Verbrandt line.” Zahra held Avery’s hand in hers and felt the warmth in his body. “The last of my family.”
“But you’re still here,” Rinley said, confused. “Wouldn’t that make you the last?”
“I was raised with the Verbrandts as a daughter. We shared a life together, in every way but blood.”
“I see. Verbrandt, I’ve heard that name spoken before.” Rinley sat on the spare bed next to Zahra, deep in thought. “If it’s alright to ask, what happened to her?”
“She...remained behind.” Zahra shrugged her shoulders and Rinley understood its meaning. Not an easy subject to discuss, so she wouldn’t linger on the subject if it was going to inflict pain on her new friend.
“So, your sister bought you time to escape the Esseans? Weren’t you, their commander?”
Zahra sighed, “it’s more complicated than that.” She clasped her hands together on her lap and twiddled her thumbs around one another to offer an outlet to the anxious feeling of her heart.
Rinley didn’t want to prod but her nosiness wouldn’t leave it untold. She needed answers to why the Royal Army’s Commander was here with her in a run-down tavern in eastern Talliers. “Just hold that thought.” She held up a finger to ask for a pause and walked out of the room with a bit of a liveliness in her step.
It was a few minutes before Zahra saw the door pushed open with Rinley’s foot and then closed with her hip. In her hand was a round, green, glass bottle with wine that swished around inside and two mugs. She set the items on the table and poured a liberal portion of the libation into each.
“It’s really not that kind of story,” Zahra said and managed a little smile.
Rinley whipped around to look at Zahra, and nearly spilled the wine out of the mug in her hand. She thrust it into Zahra’s and sat on the edge of the bed, not forgetting to lean forward to clink her mug off of Zahra’s. “Nonsense, there’s always time for a story. Even the bad ones have their place.” She crossed her legs in front of her on the bed. “The wine just makes them easier to tell, now talk.”
For the next half hour, Zahra recounted everything that had happened: from the war council to her promotion, the defense of Khuldir, the king’s death, the goddess, and the Ring of Terra. As she poured another generous mug of the fruity nectar, she detailed the battle, the loss of her sister, and the betrayal of her...father. These were the hardest parts to share.
When Zahra had finished, Rinley had to wind her jaw back up from its resting place on the floor. “I’m so sorry. I never imagined how deep this went... and your own father. How you must be feeling, I-”
“Save your pity. Thoughts of him don’t deserve another moment of our lives.” Zahra tipped her cup up and drank the last of the wine that she had swirled around the bottom of the mug for the past few minutes.
Rinley took Zahra’s hands in hers. “If your sister is out there, if there’s even a chance she’s still alive, we’ll find her.” She glanced at Avery, who lay turned away but still sleeping. Pulling the wool blanket up over him, she added, “But we won’t be finding her tonight.” She shut the wooden shutters and latched them securely. “The room opposite this wall is mine. Jacques keeps it ready for when I pass through.”
“The innkeeper?”
“Oui. I did a job, for him a few months back, not one of my proudest moments.” She reflected on the memory and Zahra looked on, intrigued. Rinley turned back and forced a smile “... but they got what was coming to them.” She stretched her arms out over her head and yawned. “Get a good night’s rest, Zahra Ke’elle. I’ll see you up and about in the morning.”
Rinley walked out the door and extinguished the candle near it with her fingers. The room went dark, save the light that crept in through the open door.
“Rinley, I... how do I thank you for this?”
“Life is hard, let your friends help you where they can. I’ll never know what draws people together, but our paths crossed for a reason.” She twirled the amulet around her neck, between her fingers, “and I’m glad they did. Get some sleep.” Rinley pulled the door closed behind her.
Zahra removed her damp clothing, hung it over the chairs, and climbed into bed. As her head settled into the pillow, a whirlwind of thoughts raced through her mind. The future remained uncertain, but for now, she was safe. As her body relaxed and her eyes grew heavy, she finally fell into a deep sleep, the first restful night since leaving the gates of Namelle.
* * *
Zahra awoke well after the sun dawned in Talliers, as light seeped into the room through the imperfections in the wooden shutters. She stretched out in bed feeling the pleasant tug of her muscles that were dormant overnight.
“Hey, you. You’re finally awake,” Avery said from across the room, sounding better than he had yesterday.
“You seem to be doing alright.” Zahra held the blanket around her as she kicked her feet over the side of the bed.
“Still on the mend, but at least the pain subsided. I thought I was done for. The way the horse buckled under me, I’ve never felt pain like that.”
“I can only imagine what that was like.” Their conversation was interrupted by a whimsical knock. “You can come in, Rinley.”
“Who?” Avery replied. Zahra pondered the reality that he’s either going mad or suffered an impairment to his memory. The door opened to reveal a refreshed Rinley with a basket of apples, bread, and cheese.
“There are clean clothes for the both of you in my room, next one down. Get something to eat and freshen up. I’ll see you out front when you’re ready.”
“You eat first,” Zahra said to Avery. “I’ll get cleaned up and then bring you what she has laid out.” Zahra kept the red, woolen blanket wrapped around herself and walked to Rinley’s room. It was no different than theirs. There were no trinkets of her past life, only the clothes she laid out on the bed and some buckets and rags to wash with.
Zahra dropped the blanket on the floor and cleaned herself up, taking an extra precaution not to aggravate her wounds but ensuring they were cleaned. The warm water felt nice on her exposed skin. There is no better feeling, warm water, fresh clothing, and a new day ahead.
When she was cleaned up and re-bandaged, Zahra turned to her new outfit. I’ll give it to Rinley, she has good taste. She put on the black pants and a dark green tunic. Her look was complete with chestnut brown boots that came up just below her knee and a brown hunter’s belt that she cinched around her waist. Rinley had also left a set of leather armor and vambraces. It wasn’t like the plate armor Zahra was used to, but that wasn’t needed here. She finished the look by clasping a greenish-grey cloak to the amour on her chest.
Zahra picked up the clothes for Avery and brought them back to their room. She found Avery had stuffed himself like he hadn’t eaten in days. “Well now, get a look at you. Once you’re done feasting, get this on and we’ll come back and help you out.”
He gave a thumbs up from his hands wrapped around a loaf of bread. Zahra clasped the belt of Talon’s sheath around her waist with a brigand’s sword still inside. She picked an apple out of the basket and went out into the inn’s tavern to see Rinley, who chatted the morning away with two older gentlemen at a table nearby.
“Zahra Ke’elle, let me introduce you to Gérard and Bastien. They operate a merchant caravan that travels throughout Talliers and have agreed to take Avery with them to Vilmonde.”
“It is uh, a pleasure to acquaint with you Zahra,” Bastien said, trying his best to speak common through his thick accent.
“The honor is mine,” she replied, and shook hands with them. “Rinley we can’t just leave Avery with people we don’t know after what happened yesterday.”
Rinley smiled and the two gentlemen laughed with her. It caught Zahra at a loss for words. “Gérard and Bastien were friends of my father. I’ve known them since I was a girl, and I trust them with my life. I hope that’s good enough to go on.”
“Qu’il repose en paix,” Gérard added.
“What happened to your father?” Zahra asked.
“He um, passed in the civil war. We suffer his loss equally. These men are loyal to Vilmonde and Prince Emile, they’ll see Avery gets to Riennes Castle. He’ll be safe there until we return.”
Zahra didn’t like the idea of abandoning Avery with two men she just met, but what choice did she have? She had to put her trust in Rinley, they were already behind.
“I appreciate you agreeing to take him.” The two men nodded for Zahra’s thanks.
“I can take Gérard and get Avery. Bastien, take Zahra outside and show her what you have, maybe she’ll find something that can help us.”
“For you, the usual bag of provisions and twenty arrows?” Bastien asked.
“Oh, yes please!” Rinley replied. “Whatever she needs, add it to your ledger and I’ll sign for it.”
The pairs went their separate ways and Zahra followed Bastien out to his caravan. As she went out into the courtyard in front of the inn, she saw a far different place than the night before. It was busy, as though every person in the village showed up.
“Anything you’re seeking, milady?” Bastien asked.
“I could use a better sword,” she said as she flashed him the grip of the foreign sword in Talon’s sheath. He whispered a sentence in amienne and pulled her cloak over it. “That is a sword from the soldiers of the mad king. You don’t want to wave that around here, not this far south.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t-”
“I know, they don’t,” he said, and pointed to the groups of people gathered around. “Come on, down this way.” They wandered around the back of the caravan, a small house on large wheels, and Bastien took the sword out of Zahra’s sheath. He spat on it and, after he made sure there were no onlookers, threw it into a hedge at the side of the road. “I can do better.”
He opened the back of the caravan and wandered up the wooden steps as Zahra followed behind him. Swords, daggers, knives, bows, arrows, anything a soldier of the south could need for a rescue mission waited inside.
“Look around, please. Let me know if there’s anything that catches your eye.”
Her eyes traced over a shield, grey with gold banding on the outside, Namellian. “Where did you find this?”
“Scavengers from the great plain. Lots for the taking they said, but I don’t have the heart to take these things from the dead. Hoped someone might come along who had a connection to it, appears I was right.”
She noticed the slight battle damage on its surface, scarred, but still of use. It was from home, and it didn’t feel right to leave it. She set it to the side and continued to look through the swords. She assumed many were from the civil war, bearing the bright silver hilts of the Tallieri and the deep copper of Vockla. A Vocklan sword might be a nice addition, it’s robust and sturdy. Can’t really ask for better than that.
“Oh! I suppose if you’re interested in that shield, these might be of interest to you.” He reached behind a stack of boxes and pulled out other swords wrapped in a cloth. “We only came across these yesterday.” He set them down on the floor and peeled back the cloth that covered them.
Talon... There was her weapon, next to Avery’s royal guard sword. “I’ll take them both.”
“That was quick, don’t you want to know the price first?” She pulled back her cloak and unbuckled the belt that held Talon’s sheath. The ornamental markings on the cross guard and the hilt matched it. “Well now,” he said. “I believe this errant sword has found its owner. In that case, allow me the pleasure of returning it to you–free of charge.”
“I can’t do that to you, your kindness will see my friend to Vilmonde. Charge what you think it’s worth and I’ll do anything to make it up.”
“You won’t have to.” Rinley’s voice came from the back of the caravan and up the steps. “Everything is covered by the royal treasury. Do you have everything you need?”
Zahra was amazed, it seemed unlikely that the merchants had recovered them from the ship’s wreckage or stolen from them on the beach. “How, might I ask, did you come across these swords Bastien?”
“Well, we passed a distraught young man on our way down the road, looked like he had been through something terrible. He said he needed to get to Périzieu and offered us these in trade for a horse.”
Those footprints were Taren’s, so he is alive! But why would he abandon us? It makes sense why he would take our arms if they were the only way to barter for a ride out. Still, when I find him, he’s going to answer for it.
“I believe you may have set upon a friend of mine from Namelle. One who was shipwrecked with us but it’s now clear that he had other matters to attend.”
“No,” Bastien said, and looked confused. “This young man was from Talliers. His amienne was flawless, and he had a distinguishable northern accent from Périzieu.”
“About this tall?” Zahra asked him. “Short brown hair, dark brown eyes, no more than twenty years old?”
Bastien nodded and Zahra knew that it had to be Taren. There will be time for figuring this all out later Zahra, stay focused. She looked through the rest of the items and took a few throwing knives the merchants had gotten from Reyvia. She also found a curved dagger which she asked Bastien to mount and conceal behind her shield.
“Well if that’s everything madame, I am honored to have made your acquaintance. Any friend of Rinley’s is a friend of mine, you can trust in that.”
Zahra shook hands with Bastien as he finished up the last entries in the ledger. When Zahra saw the sum, she didn’t understand why the goods were priced so high, but Rinley said not to worry. As Bastien turned the ledger to her, Rinley signed with a word in amienne that Zahra hadn’t seen before. Tourterelle.
“Merci Bastien. A bientôt, vieil ami.”
The girls departed the caravan and noticed the crowd had dispersed. Zahra walked to the forward most parts to where the passengers were, to say farewell to Avery, who had found himself amidst a comfortable looking pile of hay.
“What can I say Ke’elle, can’t complain about this!”
He is in good spirits. She threw his royal guard’s sword at him, which he was elated to see again. “That one will be a story for next time. I’m sorry to say farewell to you, Avery. I hope you have a safe journey to Vilmonde. We’ll catch up with you in a few days.”
She thrust out her hand, and Avery his. A bond had grown between Zahra and Avery that only grew closer as each day passed. They held each other's hand for as long as they could, neither wanted to break away. The caravan started to roll forward as Gérard cracked the reins on his horses. She held Avery’s hand as long as she could before she let go. Zahra watched until the caravan was far down the road, and she was left with nothing but the sounds of the wind in the trees.
We’re coming Alira. Just hold on.