Chapter 63

Year 163 – Fall – Quintus Mensis – 39th days

Oluja-Bay, east of Oluja-Borough, eastern Union

For an endless horizon, the air was quiet. No wind, no birds, no rodents, and no flies were lurking. They stomped their feet on the feathery snow, and the moisture of their vaporous breaths clouded in the cold air. The blizzard had stopped during the night. Owen was preparing breakfast on the fire when Lanaya joined his side and sat on a freshly chopped log.

Lanaya – “This winter’s going to be rough.”

Owen – “Rough, you say? A hailstorm followed by a blizzard in the middle of fall?”

Lato – “Something similar happened when I was a child.”

Owen – “You mean, what, 20 years ago?”

Lato – “I’m not that old.”

Owen – “I don’t recall that winter.”

Lato – “That’s because you lived way down south.”

Telio – “It’s fine. The sky is clear now, and the wind has settled.”

Radomil – “The water’s frozen, though. It’s not good news.”

Lato – “That’s not frozen.”

Telio – “Let’s hope it warms up today because I don’t want to walk from Oluja-Borough to Avem.”

Owen – “Lanaya.”

She looked at him while drinking her tea.

Owen – “Do you think Nelis is fine?”

Lanaya – “Why wouldn’t he be?”

Owen – “Well, I mean he’s with the Kalator, and we never know with that bunch.”

Derfel – “Aren’t you allied with them?”

Lanaya sighed and passed her left hand on her forehead and hair.

Lanaya – “It’s complicated.”

Telio – “No, it’s not. We are mercenaries, not their friend. We work for them; they pay us. That’s it.”

Lanaya – “The Kalator are a little . . . Well, they don’t like strangers. Yeah, that’s pretty much it. No, actually, it’s not even that. Truth is, they are also really orthodox, and they don’t like me.”

Derfel – “Because of your name?”

Lanaya – “Yeah.”

Derfel – “So, you’re saying we’re not safe with them?”

Lanaya – “No, I think we are safe. Egmond does like us quite a bit, in fact. I even think I’ve somehow managed to be on his good side. For now, at least. Anyway, Nelis is fine. I’m sure of it.”

Owen – “Here’s your tea, heated up.”

Lanaya – “Thank you.”

She looked around her. Her band was smiling and laughing as they teased each other. It wasn’t the paradises she would build yet, but it was a start.

Owen – “What are you smiling for?”

Lanaya – “What? Can’t I smile when I want to?”

Owen – “You’ve got that proud smirk you get when you are winning at something.”

Lanaya – “Something like that, yes.”

Owen – “Right.”

Owen looked around but couldn’t find a clue of what was on her mind.

Owen – “What is that something?”

Lanaya – “It’s a beautiful view of the horizon.”

Owen looked afar, but all he could see what the Cordillera far beyond the south of the Oluja-Bay.

Owen – “How far do you see from here?”

Lanaya – “Far enough.”

Owen – “My visions must be lacking because all I see are mountains and clouds.”

Lanaya – “It’s ok. I forgive you.”

Owen shook his head and kept on cooking. An hour later, they were on the road again, leaving a large trail of footsteps behind them as they walked past the many trees, following the shorelines of the Oluja-Bay. A few hours passed noon, they finally reached Oluja-Borough.

The large village which they had left 19 days ago was now showing the radiance of a small town. From each side of the newly built town hall were hanging two large banners of the red hawk.

A long road had been cleared, following the shoreline to the East, and sixteen new houses were now facing the bay. Further up the road, a large structure was still in construction, and 30 Kalator soldiers were working in the nearby vicinity. Many more native residents were harvesting wood from the Velika Forest.

Noticing the arrival of the band of the Silver Lining, Brahmkal came their way to welcome them.

Lanaya – “You haven’t wasted time.”

Brahmkal – “We’ve worked well, but I’m afraid we haven’t finished the inn. We’ll prepare you a place in the barn for tonight.”

Lanaya – “Don’t. We aren’t staying. We are taking the ship to Avem while the ice is still thin.”

Brahmkal – “The shoreline has already begun to freeze. You’ll have to sail against the stream, so if the winds fall flat, you’ll need to row.”

Lanaya – “I tend to be the lucky kind.”

Brahmkal – “Then good luck on your travel. Your ship is at the third dock.”

Lanaya – “Do you have a word for Egmond?”

Brahmkal – “Tell him of the progress we’ve done here. Tell him the residents aren’t hostile yet.”

Lanaya – “I will.”

The band entered the ship and aligned the sail to the keel to catch the wind and push it into the sail. As their ship began to move upstream, they prepared their beds in the berth area of the ship, on each side of the lower deck.

At the end of the lower deck was located a small stove, isolated in a box of hardened clay which was filled with sand to prevent the heat from reaching the wood. Still, as they prepared dinner for the entire band, the heat made the ambient temperature slightly more tolerable.

The first night had been split in guarding shifts of four people to both maintain the heat from the stove and adjust the keel and the sail when the wind shifted so that they could maintain their course toward Avem as they fought the downstream of the river.

On the second day, the cold wind of winter was striking them like a whip.

Radomil – “We should maintain the stove It’s way too cold out here.”

Owen – “If we do, we might run out of wood during the night, and that could be a disaster. It’s cold, but it’s tolerable.”

Lanaya – “Let’s row then.”

Owen – “No.”

Lanaya – “We’re heading upstream, and since we can’t use the side of the river where the stream is going upward, it might take us four days to reach Avem instead of three. Besides, rowing will warm us up! It’s a win, win in my book.”

Telio – “Lanaya’s right. Come on everyone! Get yourself a paddle!”

Lanaya – “The first to stop rowing will sleep the furthest from the stove tonight!”

Owen – “That’s just mean!”

Lanaya – “I know! Come on, let’s row!”