18. News From The Market

> “If you’re between a rock and a hard place, you better have brought an axe.” - D’varshan saying

For six months the caravan crossed the Wastelands. The mountains were lost to sight within the first few days and, to Athena’s eyes, every day the landscape looked exactly like it had the previous day. The caravan would pack, mount, march, and then as dusk began the rokkars would circle, tents would be assembled, lanterns lit, guards posted and patrols set, and those that could would sleep.

She spent the days questioning Sekardi about the Wastelands until she had run out of things to ask, or rather until her head was so full of things that made little sense that there were no more questions worth asking.

Sekardi was interested in the mortal plane, a place she had not seen for centuries. Athena told her about the rise of her followers, the way humans had colonised the galaxy, her influence and power growing as the population spread.

Then, long after the war, seemingly from a planet out in the middle of nowhere, Lucathar had returned, and he had returned with a force that had surprised all Aeseri. His followers were ardent, fuelled by a quest for conquest and a promise of domination, and the power he drew from them overcame his first opponents with ease. It was only when he began to convert Athena’s followers that she resolved to take the war to him.

“I should have seen the danger earlier,” Athena said, swinging from side to side on her mount and thinking, after all these months, that ‘rokkar’ was a surprisingly apt name, given the motion she had to endure day-in day-out. “But I had no idea so many Aeseri would fall in line behind Lucathar.”

“Why would they? He was on the wrong side of the war the first time.”

“Many different reasons. Some were promised power and influence, some feared for their own survival as gods, and some were just becoming bored with the status quo. They seemed excited by the idea of change, even if that change involved so much death and destruction.”

Athena told her about the confrontation, about the mustering of forces, at the arrangement to meet in Jashard to discuss a truce, and about the ferocious attack that was unleashed while she was away. It had ripped the heart out of her follower base, and so much of her power with it. She still did not know how Lucathar had gathered such strength yet remained hidden for so long, but the fact of the matter was that she had been beaten, and now she was here. And no matter how many nights she lay awake wondering what she could have done differently she never came up with an answer.

As the caravan neared the Market, Athena’s thoughts turned to finding Igrisil. The plans they could make were limited by their lack of information, though. If they needed to go north they might need clothing and equipment for the cold and food to sustain them. If they headed east they would need little, but either way it would be wise to acquire weapons in case they encountered hostile caravans or raiders in the Wasteland. To the south were the Elthenians, then the river and the falls and the seeming edge of the world, so that direction seemed unlikely, but not impossible.

They were only days away from the Market when Athen experienced a new physical sensation in her stomach. It was uncomfortable and it began to keep her awake. She eventually overcame her embarrassment at showing weakness and described what she felt to Sekardi, who just laughed.

“You’re getting hungry,” she said, “We all are. We’re far from Jashard now.”

Hunger. She had heard of it but never experienced it before. At first she had thought the sensation was due to unease at nearing their destination. The feeling was unpleasant and it preyed on her mind when she had nothing else to occupy her.

“Do we have to… eat something?” she asked.

“Soon. We don’t need much, even here. Don’t worry, you won’t die from hunger, not for many months.”

“It’s unpleasant, though.”

“You’ll get used to it. We’ll eat before we get to the Market.” She read the concerned expression on Athena’s face. “Don’t worry: it feels weird the first time, having to eat. It takes some time to get it right, and you might find it difficult to swallow. That’s why there’s no reason to do it now, because the body won’t make it easy until it really needs food in it.”

“It sounds very… inconvenient, to say the least.”

“Just think what the mortal races have to do. They have to eat multiple times a day just to survive. I remember on Earth they seemed to spend most of their time either doing it or thinking about it. It’s why I spent time showing them how to be better hunters.”

“It must have been a long time ago that you were on Earth,” Athena said, “Back before the war.”

“It was. Back when there were more of us.”

“Yes. We had so few followers each. Barely enough to allow us to travel between the dimensions. It was in all of our interests to nurture that species.”

“They were good times. All working together, in small groups in our little parts of their planet. Before we started to get power hungry; before we stopped trusting each other.”

“That was Lucathar’s doing,” Athena said, “He was growing pockets of followers all over. We had to stop him. That was why I had to get people behind me.”

Sekardi stared at Athena.

“Some said you were part of the problem. What about those Aeseri that didn’t want to follow you? I heard there are a lot of them here in the Wastelands.”

“Standing on the sidelines wasn’t an option. If they didn’t want to fight Lucathar they were helping him.”

“Not all saw it that way,” Sekardi said after a second, “That was why many of us left. I found another planet to build my followers.”

“It didn’t work out though, did it? Lucathar soon found you, too.”

“Yes. That’s true.”

Sekardi should have stayed and fought, Athena thought to herself. So many Aeseri left Earth to build followers elsewhere, thinking they could escape the oncoming war, but nobody escaped, not the first war, and not the last war either. If more Aeseri had joined Athena then she might have overcome Lucathar. Although, his power grew so rapidly even that might not have been enough.

“Scouts ahead!” Sekardi suddenly called up to Aguel on the lead rokkar. Athena looked at the horizon but could see nothing.

“Where?” Aguel called back, not doubting Sekardi for a second.

“Not here, but they’ve been this way. Just a few hours ago.” She pointed at an area of rock and dirt that, to Athena, looked exactly like every other area of rock and dirt. “They came this far then circled north and back.”

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“How can you see that?” Athena asked.

“The rocks. They have a different colour to them when they’ve been overturned by people walking through them.”

Athena peered but every rock looked the same to her. She would just have to accept that Sekardi could see something that she couldn’t.

“How many?” Aguel asked.

“Only two. Aeseri, by the look of their footsteps.”

“Raiders?”

“I don’t think so, and we’re close to the Market. We don’t usually encounter them this close. I can’t be certain, though.”

Aguel looked around and thought for a moment.

“We continue on,” he called out, “But stay alert.”

The caravan had been on alert for six months under Aguel’s orders. Only he, Athena, Sekardi, and Ostri knew why; only they knew that Lucathar still sought for Athena, that the Orque raid in the canyon near the gates of Kaz’um was an attempt to capture her rather than a raid on the caravan. Thankfully there had been no further attempt.

Only a few hours had passed before Sekardi spotted figures on the horizon.

“Caravan ahead,” she called to Aguel. He stood on the back of his rokkar and peered at the horizon. A few seconds later he pointed.

“I see them. Six rokkars, I think. Not big enough to be a danger. This must be the group that sent the scouts ahead.

Aguel’s caravan continued on its course, as did those on the horizon, until Athena could distinguish figures on foot beside the rokkars. Their number was smaller than the group she was in.

“Ostri, you better hide yourself,” Aguel called back to the D’varsha.

“And where do I hide, exactly? There’s nothing bigger than a small rock for miles.”

“Vegdar, take out a sack and let Ostri bundle himself up to look like a bag of seeds.”

Ostri was muttering under his breath but the logic of Aguel’s instruction was undeniable. Still, he was far from happy as he pulled a sack over his head and lay, curled up on the back of the rokkar with Vegdar riding alongside him.

Athena felt the tension of the caravan rise as the other party approached, both slowing their pace and approaching at an angle to pass side-by-side rather than head-on, presumably to defuse any misinterpretation of intentions. It was only when they were close enough to make out the features of their opposite numbers that Aguel called a halt and the other caravan did the same.

Aguel slid from the top of the rokkar and walked towards the second group.

“Isn’t this dangerous?” Athena asked Sekardi in a whisper. It seemed tactically unwise to send the leader of the group to make first contact.

“It’s the way it’s always done. The leaders meet to show there’s no threat. Most of them know each other anyway.”

A figure approached Aguel. It was another Engella, Athena could see from his size. They both continued walking until the two stopped a few paces apart. They talked, the other Engella laughed, and then they stepped closer to each other.

“They do know each other, then,” Athena said to Sekardi.

“As well as anyone knows someone from another caravan out here. That doesn’t mean they trust each other, of course. Not completely.”

“Do you know what they’re talking about?”

“News from their destination, usually. It will have been a year since they saw Kaz’um, and more than that since the nearest market on the far side of the mountains. If the meeting was further out they would discuss what they have to trade, but this close to the Market there’s no reason for it.”

Aguel turned to look at the caravan and rubbed his chin as if considering something, then turned back to his opposite number and shook his head.

“Don’t worry,” Sekardi said, as if reading Athena’s concern, “He won’t mention you, or Ostri.” They turned to see the sack of “seeds” wriggle uncomfortably.

The conversation between the two Engella lasted a few minutes more before Aguel returned.

“On to the Market,” he called back, and the caravan set off. It didn’t quite head in a straight line, though, giving the other group a wide berth to pass, as the other caravan did to Aguel’s. It was prudent, Athena thought to herself. At least in the flat, desolate Wastelands it was difficult to be a victim of a surprise attack. The only thing to hide behind was the haze on the horizon.

The caravan continued until twilight, as usual, and Athena fell into her recently adopted role of helping to light the lamps. The oil also came from the Market, she had learned, and was a by-product of what sea creatures they were able to catch off the coast of Porttown. It was a simple task but it made her feel useful.

The camp had barely finished setting up when Aguel approached her.

“We have trouble,” he said, more seriously than usual. He beckoned for Sekardi and Ostri to join the three of them at one side of the camp, away from where others may hear.

“News travels slow in the Wastelands,” he continued, “But still faster than we do. The word in the Market is to be on the lookout for a newly arrived Aeseri woman travelling with a caravan.” He looked Athena up and down. “It seems the great Athena has enemies even in places she has never been.”

“Or Lucathar has spread word,” Athena pointed out.

“Perhaps. But the end result is the same: we cannot just walk you up to the gates and expect entry. They have seen my caravan many times before and it is rare that I have a new member. An extra mouth to feed is not something to be taken on lightly, no matter how little food it might need.” He looked around thinking of what to do.

“Can we not smuggle Greysky inside a seed sack?” Ostri suggested, “It was not comfortable, but it was effective.”

“Too risky,” Aguel told him, “They check so much of what passes through the gates, and there is every chance they would search us just to find her. We would risk being turned away, or worse.” He turned to Ostri. “It seems they know nothing of a D’varshan travelling in our group, but I’m concerned that we are under suspicion at all. Ah, what trouble you have brought to us, Greysky.”

Athena felt a twinge of guilt at bringing danger to the caravan. First the Orque raid, and now this.

“They’re looking for me within a caravan?” she asked him.

“Yes.”

“Then I’ll have to arrive outside of one.”

Aguel laughed.

“Firstly, you’ll never find the Market even if we drop you right outside the gates, and secondly, an Aeseri surviving alone in the Wastelands? Not a chance.”

“She’ll find it if I’m with her,” Sekardi said.

“And there’s no doubt that a party with a D’varshan warrior in it would survive the wastelands,” Ostri added, his nostrils flaring.

“What a little conspiracy you three have thought up in such a short time,” Aguel said dryly, “I could almost have thought you had planned it. But what do you think they will say when a D’varshan appears at the Market? There have been only a handful to ever pass through there, and that was decades ago.”

“Then they will be so surprised that they will forget to look for an Aeseri woman.” Ostri turned to Sekardi and Athena. “Although you will both have to be my servants. There is no other way a D’varshan would travel with Aeseri.”

Athen’s indignation rose at the idea of even acting at being a servant to a D’varshan, but she knew it was the only way it would make sense. Ostri, however, looked as if he was relishing the prospect.

“It’s a plan,” she agreed, “Maybe not a good one, but the best we have.”

“No,” Aguel said, “The best we have is you two turn around and go back to Kaz’um, Sekardi stays with me, and I tell them I sold you to another caravan.”

“Out of the question,” Athena said, “I need information on Igrisil.”

“And Kaz’um will not take Greysky back,” Ostri added.

“Yes,” Sekardi agreed, “And she needs me as much as she ever did.”

“Of course. I should have seen something like this coming, but I thought six months would be enough to make you see sense,” Aguel said to his former master.

“Six months is nothing compared to all the time we’ve been here,” Sekardi replied, hinting at her length of service and the promise he had made to release her.

“Ah, so it comes to this. I see I may end up buying you back in the Market someday, but so be it. You may go with Athena.”

“And I,” Ostri said, “They will need my axe, and the Council of Kaz’um commanded me to follow.”

“You, and you, Greysky, I will be happy to see the back of,” Aguel said, before turning and walking towards the rest of the group shaking his head. “Sekardi: you still have time to change your mind.”

“I don’t want that to happen,” Athena said to her companions, “So when do we leave?”