Kyra walked swiftly through the fields, and then along the dusty road of reddish earth. She met few travelers along the way, small groups of merchants mostly, their loaded wagons lumbering like turtles along the track.
Two days had passed since she had left the Wayfarer’s Company, two precious days of freedom! Though she had no clear ideas about her future, she felt that her decision had been the right one. For weeks she had thought about escaping, without ever taking the final step. But Iarmin’s death had been the last straw, a glimpse of a future she could not tolerate.
She quickened her pace, as if moving faster would help her to hold her bad memories at bay.
She had long since lost faith in the Company’s cause, even before the disappearance of Abel. She could not understand their motives anymore, much less share them. And what about Dorian? When she thought of him, she saw a void. He had slapped her in front of everybody, dammit! Maybe she had deserved it, but... No, she would have never expected that from him. From Raduan perhaps, but not from him.
And why was it she was still mulling over the squalid episode? One day she would deal with both of them. For now, it was water under the bridge. A new path was opening before her, a journey that would take her away from the Company and its misfortunes.
She hoped she had successfully masked the reason for her desertion. The farce about the banner had gone well - except for that humiliating finale. If she had really wanted to steal it, they would have never realized it, that much was certain. Her goal had been different. She needed a good excuse to leave, so she had made one up. At least nobody would suspect the real reason, one that could be described with a single word, a word that burned inside her like a firebrand. She had hated that word since childhood, since her parents had died, and she had sworn that she would never, ever allow it to win her over. But just closing her eyes, still now as then, she could not make it vanish.
Fear. Pure and simple fear.
“There” she thought.
Fear of being swallowed up by death, fear of seeing the people she loved suffer in the name of a false and useless mission.
Where was Abel?
He had seduced her and everyone else with his sanctimonious stories about world salvation, he had thrown them to the lions for years, with the vague promise of a better future... and then he had fled into the night like a thief! What was the point? Why had she had to lose an eye - and many others their lives - serving his purpose like loyal dogs?
She swore aloud.
She felt suddenly sad, and stupid. It had been a silly, silly idea, that of the banner! Why hadn’t she looked for another, less drastic way out? She had dug a gulf between herself and her former comrades. Dorian, Raduan... Everyone hated her now! That was not what she had planned. She had just wanted to leave, to follow her own path. If only she could change the past...
“Bah, just let it go!” she told herself “You have to think about the present, and the future!”
Indeed, it was no joke. She had to get through it all by herself from now on.
She filled her lungs with fresh air, and felt a stream of positive energy run through her body. She had confidence in her own skills; she could take care of herself with no trouble. A new life awaited her, away from all responsibilities and from that damned fear! She thought of Dekka, the largest port city across the Kingdom on the southern coast of the Inland Sea. More than once she had heard about it during the Company’s wanderings, and it had always been described to her as an intriguing place, chaotic and colorful beyond measure, just the kind of place where she could cut her ties with the past.
Dekka! The sea!
Prompted by these thoughts, she quickened her pace again, whistling a happy tune.
As evening came she arrived at a fork. The main road continued westward, disappearing behind a hill. Another road, narrower and potted with holes, sloped downhill northwards. Kyra followed it with her eyes, and what she saw made her heart swell with joy: the vast blue surface of the Inland Sea, rippled by the wind and shining under the rays of the late afternoon sun, lay at the foot of the hill, where a small fishermen’s village met the water.
She rejoiced within, realizing that she had walked far and fast: she had not expected to reach the coast before the next afternoon, and yet there it was at her feet, inviting and full of promise! She was anxious to continue her journey, and to reach Dekka as soon as possible, but there was still some way to go. Better to wait until the next morning, to travel rested and in broad daylight. She also realized that she was hungry: she hadn’t had a decent meal for days, and she felt exhausted.
She looked down the slope to the village: a wisp of smoke rose from the chimney of a building that seemed to be a tavern - or even better, perhaps an inn. She had only a few coins left in her pockets, but it would be enough to pay for some food and a jug of limpaq, maybe even a hot bath and a bed.
It took less than half an hour to reach the foot of the hill. She entered the village by the main street, which was paved with slick, irregular stones. The town stretched down to the sea forming a wide bay which was flanked by cliffs. At first the salty air and the strong smell of fish tempted her to hold her nose with her fingers, but she did not want to attract the attention of passers-by. It was an unnecessary precaution though as she didn’t meet a soul along the way apart from a couple of sleepy cats.
She carried on, almost blinded by the sunset’s splendor, until the road opened up on a small marina. Low waves lapped rhythmically against the docks and the moored boats, producing a slight roll of the hulls. She noticed how each craft, from the smallest rowing boat to those with mast and sail, was charged with nets, harpoons and other fishing equipment unfamiliar to her. Some fishermen were returning to shore, heaving on their oars. Others, along the quay, were already cleaning up and adjusting their equipment for the following day.
Kyra stood motionless, observing the tranquil landscape, allowing a sense of calm to seep inside her. For the first time she was aware of the fatigue that weighed on her. It was time to find accommodation. She scanned the little square, behind which were houses gathered tightly together. Further back, the village was dominated by high cliffs, dotted with gulls’ nests. The birds flew back and forth between their shelters and a pile of leftover fish, stacked on purpose by the fishermen so that the birds could contribute to the cleaning of the village.
Disgusted by the stench, Kyra looked away from the seagulls. She left the docks, preceded by her shadow, looking for the inn she had seen from the top of the hill nestled between the houses with their peeling walls. It wasn’t hard to find, and from the lit windows came loud chatter.
Before she entered, she glanced curiously at the sign hanging above the door: the picture showed a lion, standing on its hind legs in a grotesque pose. The words just below the image read: ‘The Dancing Lion.’ Kyra, who had already encountered one such beast, failed to imagine it ever engaging in such a playful activity. She opened the door with a wry grin and went inside.
“I could have bet on it...” she thought, as the chatter died suddenly, and dozens of bearded faces turned to watch her. She tried to ignore the men, who had stopped drinking to look at her in awe as she walked toward the bar and laid a coin on it.
“Limpaq” she ordered.
The innkeeper, a stout, sweaty man, bleary-eyed and bewhiskered, blinked a few times, then stretched his lips wide into a cheerful smile and pocketed the money.
“Sure, girl, right away!”
The unnatural silence persisted in the room. Without speaking to anyone in particular, the innkeeper yelled:
“Well, what’s the problem? Have you never seen a woman before? Go back to your mugs, you louts, or I’ll be kicking your sorry asses out of here!”
His jibe was greeted by boos and laughter. Kyra, irritated by the unwanted attention, smiled in embarrassment and swallowed a mouthful of the dark liquid from her jug. While the other patrons’ interest did not fade, she kept her gaze fixed on the stained surface of the ba
r, sipping the strong drink of fermented roots.
“Round here”, the innkeeper began, pointing to her jug “we enrich our limpaq with the extract of green algae. It gives it an extra edge, don’t you think?”
“So it seems”, she answered, even though she didn’t really enjoy that kind of drink very much; she favored the delicate wines of Ritanat, or the intoxicating Rose Nectar produced in the province of Miridia, in the South. She spoke her thoughts aloud. The innkeeper, laughing, said that her tastes were those of a refined connoisseur, very different to those of the primitive villagers, for whom the notion of good drink relied much more on quantity than quality!
“What brings a girl such as you here to Mirna?” he asked “You don’t look like a sailor to me!”
He studied the scar on her face from the corner of his eye.
Kyra, hesitant, said she was traveling to Dekka. Then, under the onslaught of the man’s increasingly importunate questions, she gave him to understand she was a mercenary in search of her fortune. She made a point, with a slight smile, of showing her keenness to resume her violent activities.
The innkeeper caught on to her meaning, and began to regard her with greater respect, and even a tinge of fear.
“Not the kind of woman you were expecting...” she thought, thinking of the fishermen’s obedient wives, locked in their houses, waiting for their husbands to return from their evening’s drinking.
“Why does this tavern have such a strange name?” she asked, to shift the conversation away from herself.
“Strange?” snorted the innkeeper, with annoyance “Are you saying that the idea of a dancing lion is absurd?”
“Well...”
“I knew it!” he interrupted, waving a jug in the air “You reason just like these nitwit fishermen! If you haven’t seen it, you don’t believe it!”
“No offence meant, innkeeper. It was rather fanciful of you to choose a name like that, but...”
“Fanciful, you say? Yet I was there when it happened! At the time I was working as a cabin boy on the Jin Riew, the largest merchant ship that ever sailed the Great Ocean!”
“Well, that’s interesting...”
“You can say that again! We sailed for months along unexplored coast line, and I cannot begin to describe the number of fabulous bays we encountered, even more beautiful than those in the old sailors’ stories, I can assure you! Endless beaches of fine white sand, palm trees laden with fruit, and water so blue that it seemed to be painted!”
He opened his eyes wide and leaned closer to her:
“One day, from the deck of the ship, we heard terrible roars: then a line of terrifying beasts emerged from the forest, all shiny claws and fire-red manes! Lions, like the one drawn there! They stood on the beach, just staring, as if to challenge us to go ashore. And then…after a while...”
He paused, taking breath. Then he finished, raising his arms to the sky:
“They began to dance! I swear on my poor mother’s soul! All those ugly creatures balancing on their hind legs, hopping around like ballerinas! An incredible sight; one of the most unlikely shows I have ever seen!”
“And you were sober, of course?!” laughed a young man sitting at the counter.
“Damn you!” said the innkeeper, giving him a cuff on the ear “Always the same story! Do not listen to him, girl! These good-for-nothings are always quick to criticize, but they have no idea what they’re talking about!” He shot an angry look at the youngster, adding loudly for the benefit of Kyra and all present “And for your information, you insolent boy, I was entirely sober that day!” This provoked more laughter and ridicule.
“All right, I believe you!” said Kyra, with diplomacy. She herself would have become the laughing stock of the entire inn if she had started to tell them even a small part of her adventures with the Wayfarer’s Company.
Like the time when Raduan had unwittingly disturbed the sleep of an entire colony of vampire monkeys from the Green Mantle... Such a run they had, with armor and everything! Once they were safe, Dorian had had to calm his group to save Raduan from being lynched. But in the end they had made peace as always, with a collective hangover! Even Abel had dropped a little of his composure dancing to the seductive melodies of the flutes, around the campfire...
“Enough!” she thought. She had left just two days before, and the nostalgia was already surfacing! A bad start...
To relax a little and to calm the rumblings of her stomach, she ordered a slice of grilled fish with a very inviting aroma. She ate with gusto, no longer worrying about the incessant chatter that the innkeeper continued to pour on her.
She had consumed only half the meal when a loud crash made her start. She raised her head, and following the alarmed eyes of the innkeeper, she watched the arrival of two beefy, half-drunk louts. They stood in front of a corner table, where a grim-looking old man was sitting. One of them brandished a wooden stool, with which he had already smashed the table and shattered several jars.
“Not again!” growled the innkeeper, red-faced.
The patrons created a vacuum around the old man. He in turn, stayed where he was, quietly observing the two thugs facing him aggressively.
“Cursed old man!” roared one of the attackers, banging his fists on the table “We are all hungry because of you!”
“Rubbish...” replied the old man, holding their loathing looks.
“Rubbish, you say? You have provoked the wrath of the Keepers, and that is a trifle to you?”
The old man stretched his mouth into a wry smile.
“Bastard!” yelled the second man “You won’t be so full of yourself after I split your head in two!”
The old man spat on the ground defiantly.
The thug holding the stool lost his temper: he lifted the improvised weapon to smash it over the old man’s skull. But at the last moment he found himself holding nothing but air between his fingers. He turned to see what had happened, and suddenly the same stool that had eluded his grasp crashed onto his nose knocking him to the ground. He cursed and tried to get up, his face covered in blood.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you!” Kyra hissed, dropping the stool she had used to hit him.
She moved lightning fast, and placed the tip of her knife on his throat. The big man, on his knees, froze. His shocked companion soon found himself in the same situation, with a knife blade resting against his neck.
“Be still now, and nobody will get hurt” said Kyra, in control now.
The man on his knees growled and tried to get up, but a slight pressure of the knife-point on his neck was enough to make him think again. The old man cursed in amazement:
“Damn! I wouldn’t have believed it if I had not seen it with my own eyes: two stupid giants knocked out by a girl!”
“What did you say?” exploded one of the thugs, despite the pressure of the blade. Kyra was almost shoved aside, but a well-aimed kick settled the situation.
“I thought I had been clear!” she repeated, grinding her teeth “Nobody lifts a finger unless I say so. As for you, old man, you are not helping much! Shut that big mouth of yours, or I swear I will leave you on your own!”
“Yes of course girl!” the old man hastened, showing a toothless smile “Carry on as if I were not here, I won’t give you any trouble!”
The innkeeper, concerned about the ugly turn that events were taking, stepped forward.
“What’s going on? Curse you all, can’t you go and fight somewhere else? You just had to come here!”
“Tell these two: it is their fault” Kyra said, scornfully.
“And why did you have to meddle with them? Couldn’t you have let things be resolved by themselves? “
“What are you talking about? Would you have let them have their way with an old man?”
“Bah, I can take care of myself!” the old man said.
“Come on, then, you miserable wretch!” said one of the big men, still under Kyra’s strict control.
“Ah, not i
n here!” yelled the innkeeper “No one beats up anyone inside my inn, understood?”
And they all began cursing and pushing, creating such confusion that Kyra felt as if she was trapped inside a madhouse.
“That’s enough!” she roared, reaching the limit of her patience “Silence!”
“Why would I ever...”
“I said silence!” she shouted at the top of her lungs.
All fell silent, watching her, including the other patrons, who had formed a circle around them to better enjoy the scene. Once she had restored calm, Kyra began to give instructions, and the harshness of her tone brooked no reply:
“You two, get up and be gone. And do it fast, before I change my mind. If I ever see your faces again, I swear I will beat you so hard that your wives won’t recognize you anymore! You, innkeeper, go back behind that counter, do your job, and stop talking nonsense. As for you, old man, sit quiet, and thank the Gods you got away with it so easily!”
Reluctantly, the attackers headed for the exit, frowning.
“This is not the end of it, old man! You will pay, sooner or later!” said one of the two, a step away from the doorway. But he left swiftly when Kyra glared at him with a look as sharp as the blades of her daggers. The innkeeper, grumbling to himself, returned to his post. The others did the same, and the crowd of onlookers broke up as quickly as it had been formed.
Kyra stayed on the defensive for a while before sheathing her weapons. Then she turned to the old man, who was studying her with curiosity.
“Tell me their reason for attacking you.” After taking the risk, she at least wanted to know why.
“Sit at my table” said the old man, smiling “Drink with me. My treat, it’s the least I can do to repay you.”
“I have lost my appetite, anyway” thought Kyra. She left her unfinished meal where it was, and sat at the table in front of the man. She crossed her legs, and rested her chin on her interlocked fingers.
“I am all ears” she said.
“Well” replied the old man, not avoiding her direct gaze “To begin with, thank you for coming to my aid. I still believe that I could have managed it by myself, but I am happy that a beautiful girl like you helped me out.”
He winked, received a warning growl, and decided to leave gallantry aside.
“My name is Ezer, and I am a fisherman, like everyone else here. You handle weapons quite well, for a woman. What’s your name?”
“My name is Kyra, and I hate braggarts. Especially male braggarts” she said, staring into his eyes.
“I get the message” Ezer said “If you don’t want to talk, I will do so.” He cleared his throat. “It is not the first time they’ve picked on me, those two, or others like them. I haven’t been very popular in recent times.”
“What mess did you get yourself into, to make them like you so little?”
“Nothing. I merely tried my best not to starve to death.”
“What do you mean?”
“Just what I said. I chose to break some old taboos, rather than striving to survive on an empty stomach.”
“Get to the point!” Kyra urged him, irritated by his circumlocution.
Ezer bent his bearded, wrinkled face towards hers.
“It is a rather silly story in my opinion. But, since you are curious... We lack nearly everything here at Mirna, but we will never run out of legends and superstitions. One of these has to do with the Bay Keepers...”
Kyra let him speak.
“It is said that long ago - and I speak of hundreds of years ago - our ancestors came to the Inland Sea from the east. They found it inhabited by a race of strange beings, half man and half fish, who lived in caves along the coast.”
She raised an eyebrow skeptically.
“I know, I know!” Ezer hastened to reply “It sounds like a children’s story, and it probably is. However, none of my ancestors had ever seen the sea before: they were dazzled by such a huge expanse of water, and by the beauty of its inhabitants. It was the fish-men, according to tradition, who taught them how to build boats, to sail, and to fish. For a long time the two races got along quite well: there was enough room for everyone.”
He paused, and unceremoniously spat on the ground as he continued:
“But one day, for some reason lost to memory, the peace was broken, and there was much bloodshed between the two races. Men had fewer means and skills, though they were greater in number. It seemed that their end was near.”
“But you are all still here, so something must have happened.”
“Indeed it did girl. Salvation came from the sea’s depths, the one place the men had never expected help from. Huge shoals of golden fish appeared from the blue: their touch was deadly for the inhabitants of the sea caves. As the fish passed, they fell back in terror, and swarmed into the abyss one after another. Once they had sent our enemies swimming away for their lives, almost all of the fish vanished. Only a few dozen have inhabited the bay since then, as if they still intend to protect us.”
Ezer moistened his throat with a sip of limpaq before continuing with his story. His voice became playfully pompous:
“So even today, on that stretch of sea known as the Waters of Salvation, lives a shoal of noble golden fish called the Bay Keepers in memory of the ancient legend. They symbolize the goodwill of the Gods, and remind mankind of their old struggles and hard-won peace!” He laughed. “So would proclaim our beloved mayor, at least...”
Kyra stared at Ezer in silence for a few moments, waiting. Then, seeing that the man showed no signs of proceeding, she asked him:
“Is that all?”
“Yes, more or less.”
“More or less? And what does this absurd story have to do with the fact that someone wants you dead?”
“The point is, as I said before, that here in Mirna legends are more valued than common sense.”
“I still don’t understand!”
“Patience, girl, patience. You young people never have the time or the will to listen to what you are told!” As he said this, a shadow passed fleetingly across his face. “Now, if you give me a little more time, I will tell you why they hate me so much. One more thing though before that. Have you ever heard of the city of Dekka?”
“Of course. It is where I am headed” she answered, wondering what he was going to say.
“Bah! Bad place to go. If I were you, I would think again” protested Ezer, shaking his head. He received a shrug in response.
“It is all because of that immense sewer that the life in the bay is endangered. And those things... Automatons, they call them... Those heaps of junk!”
Kyra had heard of these self-propelled mechanisms the year before, from a garrulous merchant. No one had believed him at that time. According to his account, there were legions of these artificial beings working in secret under the orders of Dekka’s governor while the City Watch covered it up at any cost, legal or not.
“You have no idea of the damage they can cause” Ezer went on “It is probably true that they work harder than any human being, and never complain. But they need to drink gallons and gallons of black oil: they swallow it and then regurgitate it into the sea, infecting the water, killing fish and birds, suffocating all life!”
“You seem well-informed on this matter” said Kyra.
The old man slammed his fist on the table, making her jump.
“You do not have to believe me, and you would not be the first to call me a liar! But with my own eyes I have seen the black halo spreading over our waters, like a circle of shadow... Those Dekka fools! They do not realize the damage they are causing! The currents spread the pollution throughout the sea, as far as here and beyond. Last year the fish were almost wiped out, and many of us were left with nothing to put on our plates! I only just made it, but at a high price...”
Kyra kept looking at him, absorbed.
“It happened several months ago: I had been casting my net for days without success. Nothing! Not even a shrimp! That dreadf
ul black oil was making all the sea creatures disappear. Even the seaweed was rotting, and the few surviving fish were caught by other men, stronger than me. If only I hadn’t been alone, dammit!”
He clenched his fists, a look of regret on his face.
“But I was alone, and hunger made me commit one of the worst crimes imaginable for a Mirna villager: I caught one of the bay’s golden fish - the only species immune to the plague - and I ate it.”
He tapped his forehead.
“Fool! Dazed as I was by hunger, I did not even realize what I was doing. I do not regret eating it - wasn’t it just a damn fish? - But I regret I did not cover-up my actions properly! I was immediately discovered, and I almost got myself lynched. Luckily for me, not everyone in the village is that ignorant. The former mayor and some friends who know me better than others were able to calm people down. They explained that my gesture was caused by desperation, and not by the desire to commit a sacrilege. With their support my life was spared, though I was not able to leave my cabin for a while. When the putrid tide left the bay, things returned almost to normal, and I was able to resume my life as before. Although with almost no friends, and no respect at all, of course.”
He sighed, fiddling with the jug in his hands.
“I was left at peace for a while, but now that things are difficult again for everyone, they have begun to hate me anew.” He smiled bitterly: “It is much easier to pick on an old fisherman than on a big city ruled by ruthless men, isn’t it?”
Kyra nodded with a half smile, well used to the hypocritical prejudice caused by fear and superstition. She had often experienced it herself when she was a member of the Wayfarer’s Company. Or even earlier, when she was a friendless orphan.
“How do you keep going, old man?” she asked “Fate brought me here today to save your skin, but you can’t always count on luck.”
Ezer gave a shrug, as if it did not worry him.
“I already have a foot in the grave... What could they do to me that age has not already done? I do not care much, girl, believe me. It may even be better this way, a quick strike over the head and so long, rather than dragging myself on and on like this for years, like a lonely dog...”
“This is not the first time you have complained of loneliness. Have you lost someone dear to you?”
“That is none of your business” he replied, acidly. He soon apologized: “Try to understand, girl, there are things even I don’t like to talk about. Instead, why don’t you tell me what has driven you here to the coast?”
Despite the fact she was beginning to like him, Kyra decided not to expose herself too much.
“I ran away from my family, so to speak. But I have long learned to take care of myself. To be honest, I do not have a precise destination, but I want to stop for a while in Dekka, and make a living.”
“Bah!” snapped Ezer “Haven’t you heard a single word of what I just said? That city is a monster, girl, and it will swallow you in one gulp! I can tell a good person when I meet one, and you are good without a doubt. If you go there, you will change, and not for the better.”
“Nonsense!” Kyra grinned “And you want me to believe you are the only sane person left in this village of superstitious fanatics! Thanks for that ‘good person’, anyway. I think you are wrong, but it’s nice to be complimented every now and then.”
“I am not wrong about these things” he said curtly. “But tell me, what will you do once in Dekka? If I didn’t think you deserved better, I would recommend you seek a job as bodyguard to some rich man, given your ability to handle those” he said, pointing to the daggers sheathed at her belt.
Kyra stroked the hilt of one of the twin blades, thinking.
“That is an idea…, but I think I have had my fill of fighting, at least for a while. I would rather go to sea on a ship... Can you imagine it? Freedom, adventure!”
“Uhmpf! Some great adventurer! I bet you don’t even know how to manage a rowing boat, right?”
“So what?” said Kyra, stung “It can’t be that difficult!”
“Of course not! Talk is cheap, girl, but when you find yourself in the midst of a storm, with water falling on you from all sides, and the captain barking orders that you barely understand, then you will wonder: what the hell am I doing here?”
There was some truth in his words, Kyra had to admit.
“What do you suggest then? I don’t want to wait around with my arms folded when I get to town.”
“I bet you are a smart girl, albeit a bit too fiery” he continued, mollified “If you won’t change your mind about Dekka, let me at least return the favor that you have done me. Stay with me a few days, only for long enough to show you a seaman’s tricks, and then make up your mind. I may be old and senile, but at my age these waters hold very few secrets! I will teach you what I know, and you will give me a hand with the fishing. What do you say?”
Kyra was dumbfounded: she had hoped to be in Dekka by the next afternoon, to begin her new life. But she realized that she was moving too blindly, that her eagerness to arrive was childish. Perhaps it would be best to approach it more calmly.
But was this strange old man to be trusted? She looked at him in a very direct way, raising an eyebrow.
Ezer, who hadn’t expected that particular kind of worry from her, burst out laughing:
“Your concerns flatter me, girl, but I very much doubt I would be able to harm a young lady as fierce as you. Meet me early in the morning at my cabin if you like, it’s the last one behind the docks. Otherwise, thanks again, take care, and try to stay away from trouble. Whatever your decision, I salute you and I will now go to bed, my old bones are killing me...”
He started to rise. Kyra studied him for a few moments, doubtful, while he tried to get up from the rickety stool.
She finally made up her mind.
“Okay, you old fool, I shall accept your offer, and I hope it is worth it!”
She stretched out her hand.
“Just call me Ezer” he said, shaking it with a smile “I don’t like the sound of old fool!”
VI - The Present and the Past