"Here we are, my friend, please take a stool and rest your arms on the bar," Lenìc suggested as they entered his inn, "it's more supportive than the authorities around here."
His eyes darted all around the room full of half-broken chairs, and tables that were more an Ode to Knife-Art than designed to prevent food and drink from sliding off. How many games of Kal-Mys were recorded, and sometimes even etched, onto the tables could not be counted. But they were still standing, which was more than could be said about his patrons by early evening most days.
"Hmm, no broken windows or doors. That's two days in a row," he noted grimly, yet with satisfaction.
Victory is hard-won among the desperate, he mused.
Nyk knew his strength was failing but as only he and Lenìc had witnessed the King's 'true form', he knew he had to survive to have any hope of helping others.
"Minor is...cleaner...than Uranbé," he observed with a tight-lipped smile.
"You do mean indoors only, right?" Lenìc smirked.
Nyk gave a wry smile.
"And you know the real Uranbé ain't got much 'indoors' for its, let's say, real folk."
For saying the older man had only approached him this morning, the two had gained a camaraderie as though they had been friends for many years. Gathering himself together, Lenìc returned his thoughts to the impossible task ahead of him; keeping his neighbours alive.
"Right, well, if we haven't been burgled, Nyk, then we can make bread," he announced.
"B-but I don't know how to make bread," Nyk protested, "I was a woodworker, and not even a great one, truth be told. So, I could maybe carve a lookalike loaf - but that ain't gonna taste good - what I mean to say is, really, all I can do with bread is, well, eat it."
Lenìc laughed, grateful for the opportunity to do so.
"Slow your breathing down, friend - eating it is all I shall ask of you!" he replied placing a gentle hand on his shoulder, then called out "Pelorma!"
"Yes, Da-Lenìc?" came a softly-spoken voice from behind a cupboard full of linen and serviettes. A softly-spoken voice carrying a crossbow.
Lenìc turned around, noted the crossbow and an expression of understanding crossed his face.
"Ah, so that's why there are no windows broken?"
The girl of about twelve Winters gave a soft smile and lifted a fistful of bolts into the air.
"I didn't even lose any bolts this time! This thing is heavier than it looks," she grumbled, "but I found places to rest it for aimin'. Might be some dents in the windowsills, though."
"Nicely done, girl, nicely done. I assume you didn't actually kill anyone?"
Pelorma opened her mouth in shock.
"Oh, no Da-Lenìc," she answered shaking her head, "we have enough of that around here. I just fired to scare cowards away like you taught me. Then ran quickly to get my bolts back before lockin' the door again."
"Accidents can happen, but well done. You hide some strength in your arms, somehow."
Pelorma nodded with a grin, and flicked some of her blond hair from her eyes, "and long may it remain hidden!"
"Who's this refreshing breeze then, Lenìc?" Nyk asked, quizzically.
The innkeeper motioned for the girl to come closer to them. She placed the crossbow and bolts on the bar and jumped onto a stool, shaking her arms loose with a sigh of relief.
"Well?" Lenìc prompted her, "I don't need to talk about you when you're here."
"Thanks Da-Lenìc," she replied, lowering her eyes, "I'm, I'm Pelorma. Da-Lenìc and his Maira have sort of adopted me. There's just nowhere for me to stay proper yet, but I oftentimes end up here. Minor's not safe for kids."
Nyk smiled kindly at the girl, and gently lifted her face with a bony hand until her eyes met his.
"Minor's not safe for anyone. It'll make you grow up quickly too. Stick with people who keep you safe and..." he coughed, "most importantly, people who actually care about you."
"Mister Nyk, your hands are like ice," she replied, aghast and recoiled from his light touch, "sorry, I didn't mean to pull away from a kindly old gentleman, but..."
"Pelorma... 'lost light'? Yes, I think that's right," Nyk mused, "never apologise for pulling away from a touch you do not want, alright?"
Brushing away the meaning of her name, she nodded, then jumped down from her stool and ran behind the bar. The sound of water being heated rippled and gurgled around the inn's seating area.
"She was wandering the streets with no memory," Lenìc began to explain, "and, believe it or not, Minor's safer for kids than those who appear adult."
"Appear adult?" Nyk frowned.
"Let's just say some young people have to try and hide their, uhm, features, until nature makes it impossible."
"Oh," Nyk flatly responded, "even Uranbé is patrolled and most things like that don't happen."
"Pelorma's innocent and brave, and neither are in ready supply around here. It's a hard task, because I don't want to take the threads of her childhood away, but she has to defend herself, too."
"If you weren't succeeding at your 'hard task', it'd show in the girl, and it doesn't. I never had girls, but kids can quickly reflect those who help raise them, you know?"
Lenìc hummed in agreement. "No pressure, then."
"Cocoa, Mister Nyk," Pelorma announced as she returned to them, and proffered a steaming pot tankard towards him, "I hope you likes it sweet because I added loads of sugar. You looks like you needs it."
"Lenìc's dear Pelorma, you are correct. And this is worth more than a King's lunch coming from you."
He wrapped his hands around the tankard and held it close to his heart. The girl blushed.
"Mister Nyk, there's no need to be that gushy 'bout some hot cocoa."
"No, he really means it - in the most literal sense," Lenìc replied, in all seriousness, "he was offered part of a lunch from the King's floor."
"Th-the floor?" Pelorma asked, confused.
"Remind me to talk you through it later. For now, take that same cocoa-making heart, make one for yourself and fire up the oven please."
"Yes, Da-Lenìc. How much bread're we making?" she looked at the floor and scuffed her ragged shoe along the floorboards, "and yes, I was listening. Should I be sorry?"
Lenìc huffed.
"Hardly. You were listening out for possible intruders, probably opened the windows crossbow-first to defend the inn. You did a great job. And this building is not made of Crescent Marble and Vyenu Wood, if you catch my drift? Besides, there was no need to keep a secret from you, see?"
Pelorma looked up at Lenìc and beamed. "Only secrets worth keepin' are to keep someone safe and for wonderful surprises?"
"Exactly, my girl." he agreed.
"Thanks, Da-Lenìc," she said wrapping her arms around his waist and squeezing him.
He leaned down and kissed the top of her head.
"We are all doing our best, Pelly, okay?"
Pelorma released him from her embrace and put her hands on her hips and tilted her head.
"So...my question?" she added with a smirk, a test she often did to check he was listening to, and remembering, what she was saying.
Her adoptive father closed his eyes and took deep breath.
"However many loaves we can make from however many bags of flour we can find in the half-capital."
"With one oven?" Pelorma replied with shock.
Lenìc opened his eyes and gave her a smile.
"This is a game of bread or death, my girl. I shall have Maira get ours on the case too. I will need to go find flour."
"So, this is serious then?" Pelorma asked, "you don't look serious, but your words are."
"Would you rather I let you start a huge, serious job with a smile or a frown?" Lenìc asked.
Pelorma looked at the floor.
"Good point," she accepted, then looked up again, "I'll try to do as you then - do serious stuff well, but not be grouchy about it. And I think the name Minoritans Unite sounds a better game than Bread or Death."
Lenìc nodded. "Ha, already you understand leading - and messaging - better than our Blessed King. Anyway, I really must go."
"Do you just expect me to sit here until I become a bag of flour?" Nyk interrupted, with a half shrug.
"You can try some bread when I make it," Pelorma replied, "I'm still learnin'. You get to make it better, and you get to eat. You have the best job. Well, mebbe after the first couple of tests anyway," she added with a giggle.
Nyk chuckled. "I guess we had better start testing right away, then!"
Pelorma nodded and returned to the tiny kitchen. "We need more Szòltapi milk too, Da," she called to Lenìc, "no point makin' bread that's too dry to swallow!"
Nyk chuckled, as his cocoa began to warm and comfort him.
"She's a live one. And clever too. Szòltapi indeed. You don't hear Foyiitùn spoken that often any more, even less with a near-native accent."
Lenìc nodded. "Maira and I are doing our best to make sure she keeps learning and remains clever. Before the whole 'ignore-Minor-who-cares thing' Carnael started, we had regular trips to the woods. We never mastered the accent and only manage the odd sentence ourselves. But we know how to teach and...to find resources to help. This realm has forgotten how to communicate. We just help that one bit. She already knew a fair amount when we took her in."
Nyk pressed his tankard against his face, and the heat eased some of the ache in his head.
"You're doing a good job considering you only 'found' her," he reaffirmed, "and she doesn't just defend herself frantically. You have to be real careful with crossbows."
"Yes, she is a thinker," Lenìc smiled, turning to unlock the door, "exactly the kind of citizen His Lordship dislikes the most. So, beware of that dagger of hers."
Nyk stopped mid-slurp.
"Sh-She has a dagger? But I didn't see it."
Pelorma popped her head around the corner and winked.
"That, Mister Nyk, is the whole point!"
Drugged Back to Life
23, Jylta 545 AFD
Everspring, The Forest of Doon, 14 Ur
Holding him up was beginning to prove more hard work than she had realised. Despite the fact that he saw her as the strongest of the two, she knew he underestimated his own strength, as he tended to do about most of his abilities. Lyssah was in dire need of a proper meal and water, but was determined to see Calledth safely to the Chief's hut beforehand. Narrowly avoiding the final two trees, they stumbled into Everspring's clearing.
"We've made it, love," Lyssah gasped, relieved.
"Thanks Lys," Calledth acknowledged, "now Ki-E-Vwa can berate us both for being childless."
"Ever the one for seeing the bright side," his partner sighed with a shake of her now sweat-dripping hair, despite the near-freezing temperatures.
She looked up and was about to call out, when the Chief's head appeared from his doorway.
"Lyssah!" he exclaimed, "and... Calledth, what happened?"
He beckoned to Ki-E-Jaisèn to assist Lyssah, knowing his aged frame would be of no real help. The Seer gladly followed and placed his shoulder under Calledth's unsupported arm until he was under the Chief's roof. Ki-E-Vwa brought warm berry juice to them both, while Jaisèn examined Calledth's back.
"Did you bind this, Lyssah?" he asked the Foyvéra quizzically.
"Yes," she answered between sips, "is it that bad?"
The Seer chuckled quietly.
"That's not at all what I meant," he smiled, "you've done a great job, but what's... that..." he sniffed, "well I'm glad that is more than an Ur old."
Calledth laid the side of his head against the hut wall.
"A pity, really ishnit? But it was the weapon of choish fer Qal'ath today. The Kyadii brert bone-blade weaponsh and clawsh, while the huge city of metal forgersh brought 'erbal remediesh..." he breathed wistfully, wishing he could still smell them, "and you knowsh what? The 'erbs won!" he laughed deliriously.
Lyssah looked on concerned.
"Jaisèn, is that the pain or do I need to be worried?"
The Seer glanced to her, then back to the chief. His gaze locked with Ki-E-Vwa for a few seconds, before they both laughed.
"Really, you laugh now?" Lyssah snapped, "I like a laugh but..."
She glanced down at Calledth who was snoring on a nearby mat, she groaned and her shoulders sagged with the realisation.
"You gave him your 'special juice' didn't you, Chief?" she said smirking, "and without my permission too."
Ki-E-Vwa chuckled.
"Don't be too jealous. You need to be awake so you can let your mind relax. He needs to be asleep so he lets his body relax," he pointed out, "and we can't help him when he's resisting all forms of assistance."
"Bah," Lyssah huffed, "I hate it when you get to herb him up and be in the right at the same time."
The Seer finished his preparations, and had sent a Blàmìs to find some replacement ingredients. Peace returned to the hut.
"He might have unusual approaches," a voice groaned from behind Ki-E-Vwa's table in the middle of the room, "but he cares and his methods usually work."
Lyssah looked up at the realisation of who the voice belonged to.
"Kighas!" she gasped, "so no lives were lost. Grasz-an-Sénakii."
"Aye, thanks to them, thanks to the Kyadii for not actually intending to kill me, and thanks to the Hawk for making sure I did not actually die by accident. Remind me to thank the White-leaves when I'm allowed on duty next."
Ki-E-Vwa had returned to sit on his bed and lean on his staff, noting that his bones felt unusually stiff this winter, even for his age. He huffed.
"My methods 'usually' work do they?" he cast a sly sideways look at Kighas, "I guess I need to experiment more then!"
Take the Long Way North
23, Jylta 545 AFD
Edge of Frostplain, North of the Viàn Falìnai, 14 Ur
It seemed that with each step the Kyadii took North, the more their strength returned and the more they felt able to speak among themselves. A few began to laugh, or share stories, or think about what exploits they had planned once they finally reached their home, even though that would be at least another day or two. There was an air of hope for the first time since before they had arrived at the Viàn Falínai. The party had finally reached snow-covered ground and more was gently falling from the steel grey skies. Both Hera'llyn and Polarnis had decided to depart, deciding their work appeared completed, and were carried away once more by Aevyenkai, the Crystal of Air. Jaridà was finding the gradual ascent difficult, but his Qal'ath-issued boots were firm underfoot, and dug into the ground so that he did not slide. He had had to concentrate on his breathing and avoiding tripping up now-concealed rocks. While he could not join in the fresh joviality and kinship between the Deenfeiss, he could not deny their transformation. Yet there was one Kyadd who remained silent, focussed on each heavy footstep as though he was heading towards his doom. Ferrfeiss. Sensing this, Rusziné used his height to his advantage and strode quickly to the chief's side then kept pace with him. After some moments, the Kyadd seemed to find his voice.
"Thank you," he managed.
"For what, friend?" Rusziné asked.
"For not immediately deciding you knew the answerrrs or the words of encourrragement I needed."
Rusziné huffed.
"I barely know you, how can I tell you what you should be thinking or feeling? It's not my place."
"No, it is mine," Arrnwarr replied from Ferrfeiss' other side, "and even I am struggling."
With a heavy sigh, the Kyadii Chieftain stopped, stretched and looked from Arrnwarr to Rusziné.
"Where is Ayàvi?"
Rusziné blinked in surprise.
"She's around here somewhere," Rusziné replied, "as useless as that reply is to you. Why?"
"I'm here, I'm here," called a voice from behind them, "I've clearly flown for too long recently, I'm not used to hard walks. And the trees at home stop most of the snow getting...too...deep," she explained stepping over what she thought was a deeper dip in the ground, not wanting to risk it being an icy pit.
"But isn't the Bruha Foyblànii mostly on an incline, which would make you used to difficult treks?" Rusziné asked with a wink.
Ayàvi grimaced.
"Thanks for that, Iné," she grumbled in mock indignation, before turning to Ferrfeiss, "why did you need my attention?"
Arrnwarr crossed her arms, also intrigued as to why he required the girl from the White Woods. Ferrfeiss tilted his head questioningly at her then returned to his thought.
"It was not that I needed Ayàvi as such. More that, with her in earrrshot, various people-groups arrre rrrepresented. Though I do count her as a frrriend personally now," he paused and a sad look came over his face, "what I wanted to ask you all was...when your leaderrrs...fail, how do you rrreplace them?"
Rusziné took a step back in shock.
"So... you were serious back there then?" he asked.
"He was," Arrnwarr replied on his behalf, then stalled, "but I do not think his view of today matches what the rrrest of us think."
"How can I not have failed, Arrnwarr?", Ferrfeiss seemed to yowl, "I brrrought dishonour. My actions led to a rrrift between allies. I put our people in dangerrr for no rrreason."
"And no one came unwillingly, Mrrhairrt23," Arrnwarr pointed out, "everrry Rarshk chooses theirrr own destiny, no? So each put themselves in dangerrr."
"Yes, but..." Ferrfeiss tried to retort.
"Hold on one moment," Ayàvi interrupted sternly, "before you left your dens near the Glasdei, what did you decide the aim of your journey was?"
Ferrfeiss frowned, "To find a long-lost brrrother, to brrring him home and to make surrre no one died in the prrrocess and to tell Qal'ath to stop enslaving our... ghyta."
"Cubs?" Rusziné translated.
"Yes, that is the word. Cubs. That was my mission."
"Oh, now this sounds familiar," Rusziné sighed, "so let's put this another way. My mission was to stop you Kyadii from reaching the capital city and to make sure no one died in the process."
"But you succeeded Rrrusziné! I did not," Ferrfeiss growled in protest.
"To borrrow a Leaf-Word..." began Arrnwarr, "that is brrruffus."
"I have to agree," Rusziné continued, "you found your brother, discovered that he was already home and that he was pretty much not a slave. And how many of your group died in the process?"
"None, thanks to you and the White Leaves."
"So did your mission succeed or fail based on your original intentions for it?" Rusziné asked pointedly.
Arrnwarr placed a hand on one of Ferrfeiss shoulders.
"You can admit you were wrrrong in front of these people, you know?"
Ferrfeiss closed his eyes and sighed.
"Fine," he begrudgingly accepted, "frrrom what I set out to do it was... a success."
Rusziné was about to continue when shadows of other Kyadii were cast near their feet. Ferrfeiss turned to them and glanced at each one. Where he expected to see anger, annoyance, disappointment - even disgust, he saw determination and confidence. Where he anticipated drawn Rzarchprls, he saw some fangs bared in smiles. As if to speak for them once again, Klorwyrrb stepped forward.
"We hearrred yourrr conversation," he started before coughing, "I will try to calm my purrr, one second."
A Warrior-Kyadd who cannot control his purred 'r's really has had a satisfying day, Rusziné thought.
"We agree with Qal'ath and the White-leaves," Klorwyrrb nodded, "though I do wish I could tell Klor'asq this. Him or that silky Kyaevy."
"I will tell Kyaevy," Ayàvi chuckled, "about the point of view, but not the 'silky' bit, I promise."
"As you wish," Klorwyrrb smirked, then looked his chief in the eye once more, "you took us out of our comfort to find another wearing our marks. You found two. Most of us enjoyed a good fight. We brushed with death but were not overcome. What kind of warrior never faces death? We may not be forged of fire, but we are rrrefined by ice and light are we not?"
Arrnwarr looped her arm around Ferrfeiss' and gave it a gentle squeeze. Taking the hint, he nodded.
"As I've said on many occasions, yes," he agreed, finding it difficult to hear his own words 'thrown into his teeth'24.
"Then you have made us stronger today. We came near to death but were not overwhelmed. We need a little mending but were not broken. We fought, but did not die. We came in stealth and distrust and we leave in the open and with allies. The Deenfeiss Leen exist in Frostplain, the White Woods and even in the Walled City. The whole day has been one challenge after another, and before you hang your head again, Ferrfeiss," he said firmly, causing Ferrfeiss himself to look up sharply, "that is precisely the kind of life we should be leading. Maybe without the heat poisoning thing."
Arrnwarr laughed softly, surprised at herself for a moment.
I won't show my silky side for too long, she resolved, I don't want the clan to think I've lost my knife-edge.
"What I am trying to say, Ferrfeiss," Klorwyrrb concluded, "is that you have done what a Chief of the Deenfeiss should do. We have all been tested and we've survived. So bring on the next test, yes?"
"W-with me as Chief?" Ferrfeiss asked, using his strength to contain his emotions.
"Until you can no longer do what a Chief can do. The way the Deenfeiss have always done it."
"Can I add something, Klorwyrrb?" Arrnwarr asked.
"Can I stop you?" he responded, grinning.
"Of course not!" Arrnwarr retorted with a rumbling growl, "but asking was fair too. What I would say, Ferrfeiss, is that you need to pick up the old trrradition of having at least three leaderrrs. Sharrre what needs to be done."
Rusziné, aware they were discussing clan policies had remained silent by Ayàvi who had kept quiet for the same reason. Jaridà had found the trunk of a long-dead tree some distance away, where he leaned and occasionally surveyed the lands around them. Ayàvi rested a heavy head on Rusziné's arm and smiled slightly.
"You could decide not to turn up to your own leaving party, you know?" she suggested quietly.
"I know I could," he agreed in equal tone, not wishing to alert Jaridà, "but I have two reasons why I can't. The first is honour - there is precious little left of it in Qal'ath. Carnael will be assembling my former squad to witness my expulsion. It will have a greater impact if I am there - yes more satisfaction for Carnael, but also the squad, especially for the one man I consider a friend. Some of those soldiers will only survive if they obey the King, so I have to show loyalty and honour."
Ayàvi tutted. "You don't owe them anything, a number of them purposefully dishonoured you."
"I realise that, but without my squad - the ones I chose to come onto this mission with me - the outcome may have been much worse."
"And the second thing?" Ayàvi prompted him, then became slightly annoyed that he did not immediately respond, "you don't have to tell me, I guess."
"I was just finding the right words, Avi," Rusziné explained, "the second is this: if I am not exiled then I cannot return to Qal'ath if she needs me."
"But if you are forced into Tolmyr Sands you could die there," she protested.
"And a dead person is free from obligations, and restrictions of movement."
He took a breath in order to continue, but was interrupted when Ferrfeiss and Arrnwarr turned back to them.
"We can make it home frrrom here," Ferrfeiss acknowledged, "but before we go, I want you to have something Rrrusziné."
He reached behind his neck, untied the knot holding his necklace together and held it out to Rusziné, who gave him a quizzical look as he took it.
"The bone I think I recognise, but this ice crystal...?"
Ayàvi gave a gasp and reprimanded herself for not having noticed it before.
"Everice," she whispered, "it doesn't grow near our Bruhaii. The way the blue, silver and white flow together is beautiful."
"Everice...grows?" Rusziné asked, to which Ferrfeiss nodded and shrugged, which made Ayàvi laugh.
"He has a lot of your mannerisms, Iné!"
"So it would seem," Rusziné smiled, "apologies Ferrfeiss, please continue."
"It's something of a pest if left uncontrolled, and we help in its control. But I am not giving you a weed, Rusziné. Ayàvi, you know of Everice?" Ferrfeiss asked.
"Only in passing. Kyaevy won't remember it either, of course. But I do know that it stays frozen. Even if you were to grind it down and throw it into a volcano, the grains would remain ice. It may even be blessed by the Glàsdei-an-Ormà."
"I wouldn't know about that last parrrt," Ferrfeiss replied, "but you are correct on your firrrst point. It also has healing prrroperties. At that size maybe only for little things, for beings such as us, we would need farrr greater amounts."
"It remains ice even where it's hot," Rusziné murmured, "wait. Is this what Klor'asq's dagger was made of?"
"In a way," Arrnwarr confirmed, "we think it's of smooth stone with a coating of Everrrice, then sealed with incantations, or possible something more trrraditional. To make a blade as thick as a horn but not too brittle is difficult with Everrrice, if not impossible. It is a plant, afterrr all."
"We use it to keep kills frrresh, exactly the same as Klorrr'asq does in his kitchen. Why I didn't see this earlierrr, I do not know," Ferrfeiss berated himself, "for large animals we must pile Everrrice around it. But for smaller hunks, just stab some in, wait a few moments and rrretract it. Easy, frozen steak."
Rusziné smiled gratefully, and began to understand the reason Ferrfeiss had chosen to gift him the necklace. He handed it to Ayavi, who reached up to tie it around his neck.
"Thanks Avi, I'm not great with knots that are behind me," he acknowledged, before focusing on the Kyadii once more, "and my deepest thanks to you. Now, please excuse me. I must go so that I am not late."
"Indeed you do. May we meet again. And Rrrusziné and Ayàvi," he said, glancing from one to the other, "be kind to each other."
Motioning to the others of his clan they turned back North and began to their trek deeper into Frostplain.
"There they go, on the long way North. Back home," Rusziné sighed.
Ayàvi hung her head.
"We have precious time to 'be kind to each other'. I'll call Maergràvo then let's get you to Traders Square, hmm?"
