Ben's NaNoWriMo Log

Chapter 13 added Sep 23, 2005
Darius held the gilt sun disk pendant with the fingers of his left hand. His right hand hovered over Sarah's back as the priest bowed his head in prayer. After the dazzling displays of Syphar's wizardry, the divine power channeled by Darius seemed anticlimactic. Despite its subtlety, Sarah could feel the ache of her wounds receding. Molly had already received Darius's healing touch, and her fingers traced the faint white scars running down her cheek. Sarah flexed the muscles of her back as the priest's chanting ceased. "Thank you, Father. I wish there was some way we could repay you for your kindness." Darius bowed his head. "There is no need. St. Isolde is mindful of the needs of those she watches over." He folded his hands together as he looked over the three companions. "Elizar's Gap is a dangerous path, more so in this season. You bring no goods for sale; It is perplexing that you would make such a journey without thought of profit." Sarah exchanged an uncomfortable glance with Syphar. She didn't want to reward Darius's generosity by burdening him with their problems. The priest held up a hand. "There is no need to explain. If you have come to these lands seeking a new life, it is not my business to judge your motives. You seem true enough folk, however, and I may be able to offer another small bit of aid." He crossed the room to a shelf filled with old books and ledgers. He traced his finger along their spines, finally selecting one and setting it on the desk below the shelf. "The records of small towns such as this are notoriously... untidy. Emigration documents have a tendency to be somewhat inaccurate as far as names go." Blinking, Sarah considered the priest's offer. "I hadn't even thought about that." She looked at Molly and Syphar. "They certainly know who I am, and you, too," she said to Syphar. "Molly, they might not know about you." Molly shrugged. "Those men back in Coppergate... I may have recognized a couple of them. They might remember me if they can get their tiny brains working. I think we all could use new names. A fresh start." Syphar shrugged. "I can just go back to my old name. The Cabal doesn't really keep records on where we came from; theoretically, it shouldn't matter since we're cut off from our past lives. Lawrence Easting." He said the name as if trying on a new pair of shoes. "I haven't been him for a long time." "Catherine Pickford," said Molly. "My mother's first name, my father's last," she explained. "I doubt anyone even remembers them anymore." Sarah thought for a while. "I've always liked the name Rachel," she said, but drew a blank on a surname. She was used to being a Caldwell, like her mother and her mother before her, and so on. Her father's name, Bedford, had never really appealed to her much; she was glad she had been born a girl. She thought about how she had always discussed baby names with Lucinda, ever since they were little girls. Now Lucinda would have no one to carry on her name. "Barnes," she said finally, "Rachel Barnes." Darius penned the names in the old ledger and replaced it on the shelf. "A name can be a burden as easily as it can be a boon. I wish you good luck in your new lives." They walked with Darius out of the temple. AS they were preparing to leave, Sarah looked through the saddle bags draped over Brand's back. The rope and extra blankets would be of little use to them now, and the only food left was oats. She handed the reins to Darius. "We haven't got any money to give, but Brand could use a good home. He's put up with a lot from us, and he deserves a more restful existence." The priest bowed his head. "May the Bright Lord smile upon you, my children." That night, the three of them slept soundly. The next morning found them on the east road out of Travatti, traveling at a quite leisurely pace. They stopped often, if only to admire the scenery. From the tops of the highest hills they could see out across the great plains of the Midlands. Jal Kufri was possessed of a relatively small amount of flat land. The bulk of Ahandria, on the other hand, was a great sea of grasslands and sprawling forests. It was during this time that Molly began schooling Sarah in earnest on the proper use of a rapier. The crude hacking they had been reduced to in the mountains would get her laughed out of any fencing school, even in the Midlands. Now that she wasn't in constant fear for her life, Sarah found the lessons quite pleasant. Her work in the brewery gave her strength enough to attack and defend with some authority, and, though she lacked the fine points of technique, she had sufficiently quick reflexes for Molly to declare her a natural. Syphar simply sat back and watched the swordplay. Though he was no longer a member of the Cabal, he was still a wizard of no small skill. From the tales they had heard of Ahandria, there was apparently no similar structure governing the practice of magic on this side of the border. Of course, many of the stories also painted Ahandrian wizards as dangerous and often insane. Whether that last was true or not, Syphar seemed fairly confident that he could carve out some sort of place for himself once they decided where to settle down. For now they were still trying to put distance between themselves and their homeland. Compared to most of the roads in jal Kufri save the Crusaders' Highway, the roads in Ahandria were amazingly well maintained. Midlanders were well known for traveling, often for the slightest of reasons, so it was no great surprise to find broad and well paved roads under their feet. Now that they were finally away from their homeland, their conversations often turned to nostalgia. They talked of their childhoods with a wistful fondness. Whether in the streets of Crown Bay, the gray walls of Coppergate, or the wooded banks of Dunbridge, the memories of those carefree days brought smiles to their faces. "Did you keep in touch with any of your old friends once you left Dunbridge?" asked Sarah as they sat by the side of the road eating carrots. They had happened upon a farmer whose wagon had broken a wheel that morning, and Syphar had fixed it in return for a sack of fresh vegetables headed to market in Travatti. Syphar shrugged. "I was only twelve when I went to Stormwatch. I was usually too busy on the farm to have any close friends, though certainly I played with all of our neighbors' kids. Climbing trees, swimming in the river, that sort of thing. The oldest of my brothers was only six; I wonder if he even remembers me?" He shook his head. "When I was taken to the wizards' college it was like being thrown in the ocean. Everything was strange and new, and I had nothing from my past to cling on to. That was how they wanted it, of course; with nothing else familiar in our lives, Stormwatch became our only home." Molly wrinkled her nose at the thought. "That sounds awful." "It was, in a way. It's not uncommon for students to crack under the pressure and be put out on the street. Technically we were all there by choice, but the other option was to undergo a ritual to suppress our natural talents. By all accounts it was quite an ordeal, and those who went through it were never the same, though whether it was because of the ritual itself or the what they lost was a question of much debate." Syphar shook his head. "At any rate, for those of us who made it through the first few years, the rewards were worth the effort. There was another boy who came to the school shortly after I did named Carathix. Though we weren't supposed to talk about it, he told me he was from Northfield, so for him it wasn't nearly as far from home. We helped each other through some tough times." The wizard held a leafy carrot top in his hand, then sent it flying up into the air like a bird. "We also provided a challenge for one another. I expect he'll finally outstrip me now, though at least he won't get a chance to gloat about it." "Perhaps you'll see him again someday," said Sarah. She still saw Lucinda in her dreams, though it was as often her lifeless body as her laughing face. "What out you, Molly?" "I made all of my best friends at school as well. We were a pretty sad lot back in Coppergate. A lot of my friends from Silverwell had already finished their training and gone back to their families, though. I didn't have anywhere to go back to, so I was just waiting for some opportunity to fall in my lap." She smiled. "And so here I am." The road continued on through the hills, and they enjoyed the pleasant weather as they followed the line of the mountains eastward. Though the spring was still young, the area below the north face of the mountains was much warmer than the lands on the other side. They were occasionally subjected to brief rain showers as clouds collided with the peaks above, but at least they didn't have to worry about their feet freezing. That night they slept out under the stars. Molly turned in early, leaving Sarah and Syphar sitting at the small fire experimenting with roasting turnips. Sarah poked a long stick into the fire, coaxing out a blackened lump that had once been a root. Tapping it tentatively with her fingernail, she reckoned that it was not unlike a rock. A subsequent test with her teeth confirmed the similarity. Syphar crooked a finger, and the turnip that had been slowly turning in the yellow flames floated into his hand. After giving it a moment to cool, he bit into it. "Tender, with a lovely smoky flav-- ow!" He winced as he was struck in the head by a black lump not unlike a rock. "Cheater," said Sarah, sticking out her tongue. "Your magical arsenal has no defense against my vicious Black Turnip Attack." In retaliation, Syphar reached out a long fingered hand to poke Sarah in the ribs. "You fencing master has neglected to show you the proper parry against a Stormwatch tickle finger, however." The conflict between them soon degenerated into a wrestling match that sent them rolling away from the fire. Syphar's long arms were an advantage, but years spent in a school for wizards had not blessed him with the strength to easily overcome the wiry brewers' daughter. After an unexpected twist that left the wizard's hands empty, Sarah found herself on top of him with her hands on the ground on either side of his head, her knees pinning his hands at his sides. She giggled as he struggled to extract himself from under her. She knew he could fling her aside with a thought if he so chose, which made his distraught expression all the more amusing. On an impulse, she lowered her head and brushed her lips across his. Syphar's struggles suddenly ceased, and he looked as surprised as Sarah felt. Her heart was beating quickly in her chest, and not just because of the wrestling. The wizard hadn't made a move to escape. She bent to kiss him again, her lips lingering longer this time. She allowed him to extract his hands, and they reached up to rest on her hips. They were startled by the sound of steel being drawn. "Sarah?" came Molly's voice from near the fire. Sarah could see her looking around, and realized that they had rolled far enough away that they were hidden in shadow. She quickly rolled off of Syphar and stood up. She could feel blood rushing to her cheeks as she touched her lips with one hand. "Over here," she called. "Everything's fine." Molly squinted in her direction, then put away her rapier. She rubbed her eyes sleepily and lay back down. "Okay. Thought I heard something." In a moment she was snoring softly again. Sarah looked down at Syphar, who was still lying on the ground looking up at her. "Good night, Syphar," she said as she walked back toward the fire. She couldn't believe what she had done. It wasn't the sort of thing she would normally expect from herself. Perhaps she had inherited something from Lucinda by taking her name, she thought. It wasn't Lucinda that occupied Sarah's thoughts as she lay down to sleep, though, nor was it her that was in her dreams.
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