In Thy Name

Part II: Follow the Sword | Chapter 15 - Into darkness

They ate their noon-time meal on the mountaintop, and Stormwind decided that this was where they would meet up again after their separate missions in the city. Then they made their way to the road, where the two Gladiari ascended to the High Road, while Sareb remained on the Low Road, the rutted dirt track that ran alongside the smooth grayish raised causeway.

Sareb was glad to be on his own for a bit. He was tired of the concerned glances Frostarrow kept giving him. It was none of Frostarrow's business what had happened to Teshem. And it was his fault. His and his sister's. If Sareb had never met them, never decided to help them, then things between him and Teshem would be like before.

The thought brought a renewed wave of grief. He stumbled along almost blindly, until he nearly collided with a trader leading a mule.

After that he paid a little more attention to where he was going, and the other people on the road and the white walls of Dalaïda rising ahead distracted him a little from his grief.

***

It was already the time of lengthening shadows when Sareb reached the North Gate of Dalaïda, and the sun had disappeared behind the rooftops when he found the market. A small open square, already half empty in the fading light, much of the remaining activity consisting of sellers packing up their carts and stalls. He paused to consider, as always wary of leaving a shaded canyon for an open space.

The pouch in his sash was heavy with the handful of iron coins that Frostarrow had given him. It should be enough for a sennight's worth of travel food, Frostarrow had said. After that, if the journey to their next stop took longer than that, then they would have to forage.

Not for the first time, he considered slipping off into the city, leaving the two Northern Gladiari to continue without him. Why should he continue helping them?

But now that he was in Dalaïda, he knew he didn't want to stay here. It was like being in an endless tight ravine, a maze of ravines, where you couldn't see sky and where there were too many people. He'd rather return to the desert—but the pain that swelled in his chest at the thought of the desert without Teshem was too great.

He might as well stay with the Gladiari then. He wasn't sure where they were going next, but it almost certainly wasn't the desert, and anything was better than that, now.

He sidled cautiously into the market, running his eyes over the few wares that were left: glazed pots, wooden and metal tools, rugs in striking patterns. He avoided eye contact with the vendors, who in turn did not address him, though many stopped what they were doing to watch him. He felt the cutting of their stares without needing to look, and made sure not to linger, just as he was careful not to bump or even brush any of the few other shoppers. The last thing he needed was someone yelling, "Thief!"

Finally, the aroma of freshly baked bread drew him. Bread. Not only would it be nice to have a piece now—which he could actually afford, with the Gladiari money—but it would be good traveling food. He approached the stall, where a buxom woman in homespun, heavily dusted with flour, stood behind a counter displaying various rolls, loaves and flatbreads. The counter was actually a large open window of a shop in one of the buildings lining the square, which was why it was still open while traveling merchants and farmers were packing up their wares.

Sareb considered the breads for a moment, intrigued by crusty rolls and dark round loaves. However, the familiar flatbread traveled well and was versatile, so in the end he pointed at those and said, "Ten bread," in the traders' pidgin of the desert.

The woman's suspicious look grew into a full-fledged scowl, and she growled, "Ten penny," in the same pidgin.

Only then did Sareb realize that he hadn't thought to ask the Gladiari how much the money was worth. He pulled out a handful of coins and studied them. Some of the pieces were clearly too big to be pennies, while some of the smaller ones might be pennies or worth several pennies. He decided to try one of the medium-sized ones.