Chapter thirty-five

Plenum
The river boat rolled on through the long days, but eventually it found the sea. Its destination was Plenum on the coast of Paror, south of the Dareth Peninsula, far to the north of Kinspit. The crew, who had been reduced to sleeping and gambling, were reinvigorated – soon they would be on dry land again. There was payday followed by wild oats to sew, proper food to be eaten and a cargo to load up.

Viola could see the small timber city slowly growing as the hours went by.  She had never wanted anything more than to get off the barge and make her way as rapidly as possible to civilisation. She had no plan other than to try to get to John’s house and tell him everything she knew about Ith and the naga. This wasn’t something she intended to keep to just Imperial elves.

She went to pack her meagre possessions: a few clothes stolen from washing baskets, together with some soap and a towel; her old faded imperial jacket; and the Ferryman’s box that had once held the big-eared magical mammal.  There was no point in taking the box, but she missed her temporary companion. She wondered whether she would ever find out what the creature was or if she would ever see it again.

The cook was sad to see her go; Viola wondered whether she felt the same way about her elf pet as she had about the little mammal. It didn’t worry her either way. The cook gave her a basket of bread and meat, but Viola still had no money. That was one problem that she hadn’t had to worry about for a while.

She dressed as inconspicuously as possible (given her limited choice of clothes), but she knew that she was likely to be several shades darker than anyone waiting at the quayside. She hoped she’d be able to slip away as quietly as possible, although she had no idea where she would slip away to.

The boat seemed to take a very long time to come to a stop; the town slowly revealed itself as a nondescript, but surprisingly large, cluster of buildings. It sat on the side of a hill that swept down into the sea. Viola could see a road snaking into the city but not one leaving it through the still endless forest to the north. She wondered how much monotonous conifer forest there could be in the world.

She hid behind a rowing boat for as long as she could, partly so she wasn’t visible from the shore and partly to avoid the gaze of the captain, who might yet change his mind about her free passage.

Finally they were there. A sea of faces crowded round the boat – family and friends, lovers and creditors; allies and foes. She didn’t wait to see if there were any foes; she rushed off the boat as soon as she could. She stepped on to dry land and turned right, as that was the only way that seemed to lead anywhere.

She was only a few seconds off the boat before a short black-haired human accosted her. He was dressed in a dun jacket and seemed to appear as if out of the thin air among the crowd. He stood in front of her. He looked completely undistinguished, which suggested strongly that he was a spy.

‘Major Viola - I’m from Mr Ismay’ he said, ‘I need to get you to a safe house as soon as possible. This isn’t a good place to be wandering about’

Viola looked at him suspiciously. She carried on walking – wondering if there was anywhere to run to.

‘How do I know you’re not lying?’ she hissed, as she hustled past him.

‘Mr Ismay sent this message: “Akenopteryx is well, but she doesn’t like Laurence’s sunflower seeds”’

Viola stopped and looked round. There were a lot of people in the crowd who looked a lot less savoury than the spy. He would have to do.

‘Take me to the safe house...’ she said

 They moved rapidly down the quayside street. The route was bewilderingly complex, down alleyways and through open areas. There was only one reason to do this - they were being followed and her guide had been unable to shake them off. She wondered if there were any reinforcements.  

A few seconds later and their pursuers had surrounded them and her protector was dead. He made a small gurgling noise beside her and then dropped to the ground clutching at his throat. A crossbow bolt protruded from his neck. She reached for a sword that wasn’t there.  

There were three men – one with a yellow beard, one short and stooped, one tall and thin. Yellow-beard put down his crossbow. All three of them proceeded to draw their long daggers. Their blades didn’t glisten in the sunlight; they looked as though they had been dipped in something dark and viscous.

‘What do you want?’ she croaked hoarsely

‘To kidnap you’ growled the yellow-bearded one, stepping forward.

‘Or to kill you...’ said the short squat one, ‘...that’s up to you’

He pointed at the Hybitor agent lying in a pool of his own blood. They were clearly not lying. Anger stirred inside her: you killed him in cold blood.

‘No’ she shook her head, ‘I haven’t travelled all this way to be abducted by cutthroats’

‘Oh really?’ taunted the yellow-beard, ‘and how will you stop us...’

She knelt to find anything to use as a weapon. All her hands could grab was a small sharp stone, one of many littering the sandy streets. She picked it up.

‘Grab her’ commanded yellow-beard

She aimed and threw the stone before the two kidnappers had even moved. It flew out from her hand with a speed and accuracy that would have shamed a fast bowler. It hit the yellow-beard directly in the eye, scraping down it. He gave a shriek of pain and reflexively lifted his hand up to his now blood-streaked face. His dagger dropped forward on to the ground. Viola darted forward and picked it up. The other robbers had moved no more than an inch.

‘Just kill her’ shrieked yellow-beard, ‘she’s damaged me!’

‘I really wouldn’t try it...’ Viola said, ‘I am so much faster than any of you’

She looked for somewhere to run, but there was no gap to escape through; they were in a narrow passageway and they had surrounded her. If it had to be this way, better to get it over with straightaway.

She ducked left and drove the dagger with extraordinary accuracy and speed into short-squat’s side. A look of terror illuminated his face.

‘Stop– It’s poison’ he moaned, as if somehow that mattered more to him than it would have done to Viola. The effect was terrifyingly instant. A speck of foam bubbled up from the doomed man’s lips and then he stopped breathing. He didn’t even seem to have time to feel the pain. He collapsed downwards, as if deconstructing in stages – feet, legs, thighs, torso, head. The others had fled before the dead man’s forehead struck the ground. Viola dropped the envenomed blade with a shudder of revulsion. She ran off. She had no idea, however, where to run to. She found an abandoned market stall and hid behind it, trying to work out what to do next. As she waited the town erupted into frenzied activity.  

The watch were soon out in force. Someone had clearly found the two bodies, only one of which she was responsible for. By the Lady, she thought, will I leave a trail of bodies from Melloreis to my final resting place?

 

She waited in the market stall until nightfall and then she went in search of a horse. It was easy for an elf to move around the noisy barbarian settlement at night, particularly one who was a spy with perfect night vision. She found some horses tethered outside a tavern and chose the friendliest one. It had no tackle, but that didn’t worry her – Ortian elves often rode without saddle or stirrups; hopefully she wouldn’t have to ride very fast. She also stole a large woollen blanket that was draped over her horse.

She untethered the horse, attempted to calm it and then jumped up on to its back. It was a long time since she’d ridden a horse, but she’d had the basic training. The horse whinnied slightly but then trotted off in the rough direction of where Viola wanted to go. She manoeuvred it with extreme care toward the one road that she had seen from the barge – the one that snaked southwards. She had no idea where Kinspit was, but eventually that road must lead there.

A few hundred yards outside the lantern glow of the town the horse stopped, refusing to go on in what it obviously considered to be pitch darkness. Viola dismounted and coaxed it a little way further down the road. Then she struck off the track into deep forest. Inside there even she could see no further than a few feet in front of her. She tethered the horse on the branch of a birch tree, sat down on the soft leaf litter and waited for dawn. She was tired, frightened, and hungry, but eventually sleep overcame her.