UNSHEATHED

Chapter Twenty Five

To answer, several people crowded back in and began explaining all at the same time. Joran raised his hands for silence.

"People, where is your leader?"

A tall Trillas man stepped forward as the crowd parted once again.

"Stefano Pallotti, at your service, My Lord," he said as he bowed with flourish.

"Greetings Signor Pallotti, can you tell me why everyone is so upset?"

The man rubbed his hands together looking at various faces in the crowd. He licked his lips before he began. "It seems there is a disease spreading among our citizens, my lord," he explained.

The noise of the crowd bubbled up to full blast at this. Joran raised a brow but otherwise kept still.

"A disease?" he asked.

"Either that, or it is the haunting of a great evil spirit. We can't be sure."

Joran glanced at Elena. She knew he was thinking of the incident in Alterra, Ergin and Adina's town which she had related to him. He dismounted and approached Signor Pallotti, his guards scurrying to follow. Elena decided she too wanted to hear the whole story, since it was beginning to sound all too familiar.

Pallotti invited them into his home to take refreshment and get out of the heat. Joran asked the people to disperse while he conferred with their leader, and with a little help from the guards, the townsfolk left.

In Pallotti's large house they sat in a cool room with curtained windows that let through a breeze. They were offered refreshment, and while they ate and drank, Pallotti told the full story.

"You see, there are several people in the village who have been visited by a dark spirit in their dreams. He comes in the form of an old man, and he bids them to do evil to others. He tells them they must obey or risk the wrath of the Guardians."

"The Guardians?" Joran asked. A slight doubt had crept into his voice.

"Yes, yes, and when we heard this we send an envoy to consult with the Sibyl in Madrezza, but alas, she had no advice."

"The Sibyl?" asked Elena, her attention caught by the strange title.

Joran turned to Pallotti.

"The Commander is from Estallium, they don't have Sibyls there." He turned to Elena to explain. "In Madrezza there is a blind woman who lives in a small hut near the shore. She sometimes shares visions and speaks from what she knows of the Guardians. She is from a long line of seers. There has always been a Sibyl in Castillon since we began recording our history."

Elena was surprised to hear of such religiosity from Castellonians.

"We're a long way from Mount Gelhirin, my Lord. Does she really commune with the Guardians? I mean, do people really believe..."

Pallotti shrugged. "Of course, she doesn't talk to them, but they do send her dreams, you know, Guardian Dreams, and she explains what she learns from them to anyone who comes to ask. She is very wise, but she has no idea the nature of this plague of nightmares that haunts our people."

It occurred to Elena that Guardian Dreams, which were known to occur among her people as well, might not seem too far from nightmares. She was glad none had ever been visited upon her. Pallotti gesticulated again.

"It is a problem, my Lord, because people go mad sometimes after these nightmares. Others are afraid it will happen to them. Everyone is very worried. They look to me for answers, but I have none."

Joran's brow creased in puzzlement.

"How many people have had these dreams?"

Pallotti mumbled to himself as he counted out on his fingers.

"Twelve."

"And how many of them have gone mad?"

"The first dreamer went mad this morning and drowned himself in the pond. Now everyone who has had a dream since is worried they will be next."

Elena put a hand on the man's arm. "We have heard of such things happening elsewhere as well. We are investigating the problem. So far, only a few people have had dreams, and none of them have gone mad except for this one person. Many, however, have been persuaded to hurt or sabotage those they should care about."

Pallotti nodded. It was little comfort to the man that others were not going mad. Elena felt inadequate. This problem seems out of her spectrum of knowledge and skill. She would try none the less.

The sun was angling lower now, and it was time to continue their journey. Joran stood and addressed the man. "Signor Pallotti, will you keep me posted? Send someone to report to me regularly, and let me know if anything unusual happens. We will get to the bottom of this, as the Commander said."

Pallotti looked somewhat relieved. At least, it wasn't his problem alone.

It was now mid-afternoon, and Elena and Joran were anxious to be on their way once more. First, they addressed the crowd that had returned to the square. They had let them know that others were looking into the problem to ease the panic that was brewing.

They rode on towards their destination as the sun angled ever lower and the light turned golden. The world was always more beautiful at this hour. The forest was lush and damp with growth and renewal. This part of the land was less arid than near the sea, where the rocky cliffs were dry and dusty and the only trees were scraggly pines.

They would have to ride until the sun set to make up for the time they lost in Fiastra. Elena didn't mind. The ride in the open air cleared her mind and gave her time to think.

____________________________________________

I hope you enjoyed this instalment of Unsheathed. If you did, please consider voting so that it has a chance to receive some more attention by rising up the ranks in the Fantasy category. I also enjoy comments, so please feel free to let me know what you thought.

Cheers!

Rebecca