Every jar of medicine he infused with smilk thrilled the white-haired lad and soon he saw a real future for himself here at this table dispensing the wispy stuff that collected in his head. Three days ago he'd picked up a heavy stone because he knew he could. He had no idea what it was but he knew it was somehow connected to his future. He'd embraced it without fear and paid the toll; he'd suffered through slag fields, slime caves and that deadly swamp. By some miracle he'd survived and now here he was. He wanted to laugh aloud with happiness, but instead he masked his joy least he cause the others to worry about his sanity. Would he soon toss around blue light loaves? And make wind for sails? Would Zed teach him how? or Saeya? Who would be his instructor?
The crew worked quietly and Lon listened all the different sounds in the settlement. He heard plates and pans rattle in the cookhouse and the soldiers in the barracks practice their martial arts. The thumps of wooden swords on mannequins had a different tempo than the hammers and saws in the construction site and Atar's loud laugh was totally unique. He heard heavy horses bray as they pulled wagons through the front gate and the sound of Calbians filling barns with fresh cut hay.
"Zed how many cases?" Melcart asked without bothering to look for himself.
"Just six more little boxes," Zed answered with sugared bliss. Lon wondered about him. He seemed a little too friendly and he was either making a fortune here or something more devious was afoot.
"Six more! That's.. " Melcart tried to multiply six by twelve.
"Seventy-two." Valari supplied the arithmetic.
"Ugh so many?" the malcontent moaned.
"It's a bountiful summer." Zed replied, "the hesperdium is really very lovely this year Melcart. Have you tasted it?
"We're allowed to taste it?" Lon asked.
"What remains on your finger." Saeya said quietly.
"This is going to take us all day," Melcart lamented.
Zed shook his head no. "We're making good progress." He smiled an ugly brown toothy grin at Lon, "I imagine today we'll make our quota before tea." Then he remembered something and rounded the tree trunk to his carriage below.
When the mystic returned, he collected the charged containers that'd accumulated. He corked them, poured wax on the tops, and stamped them all with his special ring, but he did not deposit Lon's bottles with the others in the open case. Instead he squirreled them away in a separate box down by his feet.
"Why do you keep mine down there?" Lon asked.
"I want to test something," Zed said.
Saeya looked and confirmed that Zed had indeed packed Lon's work separate from the others. She may have deduced why, but she didn't say it aloud. She looked at Valari who narrowed her eyes and nodded that she knew too, but also wouldn't speak it and be discourteous. Melcart was last to figure it out but eventually he guessed the answer and spoke it aloud.
"A Sacred Kiss? ...when the infuser knows no glyphs?" Melcart turned on Lon at the table. "Is that really true? Do you really come at this from ...? The wilderness?"
"What are... Glyphs?'
"Oh, that is aaastounding," Melcart just stared open-mouthed at Lon. "You amaaaaze me'
"He's on a clean path, as Hamlin said last night." Saeya defended Lon. Valari went into hiding.
Zed saw an opportunity to minister and so he asked the dandy, "tell us Melcart, what does it mean to you that Lon is on a clean path and comes at this from the wilderness as you say?"
Mel thought about it for a moment, "all my tricks will work on him."
Valari snorted a laugh from behind her hair. Saeya frowned at him. Zed shook his head no. That wasn't the answer he sought.
"Valari," the medico turned to the brunette, "what does it mean to you?"
"He'll be useless in a fight." Val said as she came out from behind the curtain. "Except as bait." She mimicked Lon kissing the mutant hag in the swamp. Melcart laughed heartily. Saeya was furious. She put down an uncorked bottle and moved her hands to her hips in protest. Nobody spoke for a moment as the blond stared hot daggers at Valari, who merely shrugged an apology.
Zed shook his head no. He still hadn't heard the answer he sought but probably knew he could extract it from Saeya. He turned to his best student, "what does it mean?'
The freckle-faced girl knew what he wanted to hear, and she recited it like memory work. "A clean path is a straight path as steep as the pilgrim sets; its the hardest course but the most rewarding and it's also the most dangerous. There can be no imprints." She bit her bottom lip, "which means we cannot help you Lon. I'm sorry."
"That's right," Zed summarized. "No help." He repeated and looked at Melcart and Valari, "or you'll die."
Lon gulped. Why would they die? This news crushed him. Moments ago, he'd been so excited about the prospect of learning to shoot blue light from his hands and how to make wind. He had so many questions. Now, he was just supposed to accept that nobody here could help him? That didn't seem fair.
"What I saw last night?" Lon asked Saeya directly, "will you teach me that?"
Zed shook his head no and frowned. "The Secondsun shall never rise..." He began and the three other young masters joined to help recite a well-known mantra, "...but you can touch the sky if you follow your own path." Zed, Melcart, Valari and Saeya all spoke in unison, "...and the lessons are all around you." And with that said, the three young Varget speakers smiled and chuckled at their own sub-cultural bond. Saeya explained it to the outsider, "that's what Hamlin will say if you ask him to show you glyphs."
"Glyphs..?" Lon mulled it over. This was the first time he considered just how the Varget symbols could be used to manipulate the groundsmilk; he knew just what they were talking about but had no idea how it worked. The ancient language had appeared to him when he was strapped to the Altar of the Aquatic. He'd seen dozens of different runes when they ran through his mind as messages; those symbols must be the glyphs of which they spoke. He had seen fifty of them, more, but alas too many to recall even one for certain.
Melcart handed his charged purcloine to Zed and then smelled his armpits. "Uggh. I'm sweating," the uncouth lad looked up at the sky. "Why does it get so hot up here in the mountains?"
"I'm reminded of complaints I heard some months ago about the cold weather." Zed nodded toward the pool. "Go cool off."
Lon heard and saw movement in the brush beyond the giant tree trunk.
Zed saw it too, and he turned and welcomed two reptilians in brown robes who carried wooden saw benches into the area.
"What's this now?" Lon asked the others, a little nervous.
"It's Temple Day." Saeya announced.
"A lunch and lecture," Melcart said dismissively.
"Welcome, welcome," Zed hastily moved crates to clear a path for the incoming parade.
The young lad studied the people who lined up to enter through the leafy shrubs. He saw that only a few of these temple-kin were red reptilians. Instead, the cosmopolitan congregation was composed of a wide variety of mutants; black, brown, yellow and green skinned picnickers awaited entry. Some had fur and one looked like a fox. Another long-legged lady had feathers and a beak. He wondered if those two could ever be friends.
Lon could smell the food they carried and realized he was famished; this business of infusing medicine with his smulcrum was hard work and he'd built up quite an appetite.
The first templekin to enter the grotto set-up two wooden sawhorses on the sod and then waited by the wall. The next in line brought four long boards to make a table. The following monks laid down a white cloth over these planks and one dropped a wicker basket centerpiece on its side, decoratively spilling fresh picked berries and herbs over the white fabric. Next came porcelain plates and bins of silver cutlery and finally the food, each dish progressively more exquisite.
Hamlin Adwelsom, the Templemaster and Keeper of the Po appeared last at the tail-end of the brigade. Zed welcomed his friend through the sea of faces and they embraced.
The fungus bearded feigor with the silly beanie cap was the same elder statesman who'd incarcerated Clyde, and who'd pronounced Lon to be on a clean path. Hamlin's wrinkled face appeared even more ancient in the daylight. He carried nothing but a gnarled walking stick and it looked like a stiff gust of wind could topple him at any moment. But his eyes gleamed when he caught sight of Lon and he smiled broadly, "Hello Lonastasius. May the blessings of Kluth be upon you. On behalf of the Po I'd like to welcome you to Atarskal."
Here in the daylight, up close, Lon could see the elder's beanie cap had the words PLARES stenciled around the bottom and this made him wonder if it could be the same bathhouse as described in the sheets. The four-story facility was downtown in the Port of Ligne and had once been called the Palarian Pleasure Palace. But the venue had fallen into disrepair back in the deepcombers' time and most of the sheets just called it Plare's Place. All the same, this infamous bathhouse and hotel was said to contain the most expensive pleasures in the world. It was where most deepcombers convalesced after their descents. When the age ended and these heroes all disappeared (for no good reason), the place devolved even further into something akin to a brothel. So, this puzzled Lon; why would this venerated templemaster have such a sordid beanie cap? Saeya nudged him to remind him to speak.
"Thanks..." He bowed and the awkwardness was magnified by Melcart's chuckles.
"Welcome," the aged templemaster took both his hands and held them together as if he could measure the lad somehow. Then he let go and turned to Zed for a private talk.
The two medicos stepped away to chat privately beside the medicine crates. They spoke in an unknown language under the shady limbs as they waited for lunch to be served. During their private conversation both elders cast furtive glances at Lon which made it clear they discussed him. He tried to ignore them as the templekin set up their buffet.
One by one, the brown-robed ecclesiastics set down the food they carried and soon the table was adorned the platters of mixed greens, cheese, sliced fruit, and dried fish. The entry was eels in a red sauce and ceramic bowls with lids held a chilled dessert at the end of the line.
"It looks delicious," Lon said after he'd run his eyes over all the deposits.
"Everyone makes some contribution to the skal," Saeya explained, and she was about to say more when Zed and Hamlin returned from the talk. She went silent and bowed her head with respect in the presence of the templemaster. Hamlin smiled and enjoyed her deference; he took the opportunity to make a speech.
"The young masters' health is our highest concern." The baritone templemaster picked up where Saeya had left the thread. "It's a special diet."
"Lunch from the forest," Melcart quipped. "Fresh baked dandelion fluff on milkweed buns... Roast butterfly wings."
Hamlin winced. The solemnity ruined. He ignored Melcart's derisive comments to make a more public presentation of the menu. "Today the young masters will enjoy dokoum croquettes made from the leaves of Crataeva religiosa. This is accompanied by river eel breaded in wheat floor cooked in butter and served with gloam mushrooms and apple vinegar. And there's beetroot and spinach salad." Lon watched Mel react to the names and descriptions of each dish. He was entertained by how the miscreant would rate each plate on a sliding scale that began with a twitched nose and progressed through various sized smiles or frowns depending on his past experience. The food was world-class and Hamlin recited the particulars of each dish from memory as he walked the table. He spoke to all diners but turned to address Lon directly when he explained again how these foods were specially selected because they were rich in groundsmilk to give the infusers as much help as possible in their important task.
"And for dessert," Hamlin cast his eyes at the dark-haired food critic to deliver the triumph "nuts and berries smothered in honey over fresh dairy cream," the templemaster nodded to acknowledge Mel's wide smile and loud hand clap. "I see our young rascal approves."
"Thank you for honouring us Hamlin," Melcart bowed his head in gratitude, and then he grinned and whispered to Lon. "You're in for a treat, friend. It's the best thing the Templekin make. Why they don't do it every week is beyond me."
Hamlin smiled at Mel and then invited the four special diners forward to start the buffet line. Lon loaded his plate with two pounds of grub. Save room for dessert, was a commonly heard refrain.
The meal was delicious and just as the rogue had predicted the nuts & honey dessert was the best thing Lon had ever tasted in his life. The sweetener was from those giant bees and no other island product, except of course the medicine, had more Secondsun in its makeup. That's because the local honey was nectar collected from flowers that absorbed the groundsmilk. All this was explained during the meal and Lon claimed he could taste the smilk on his tongue. Zed laughed and Hamlin told him to come visit the temple soon and learn more about the Toll Stones and how to manage the climb to the shrine. That was a mood-killer. Saeya froze. Melcart shot Val a glance and she frowned. Lon smiled politely and said he'd be sure to visit soon, but didn't say any more.
"How is Clyde of Barobell?" Lon asked and now it was Hamlin's turn to look uncomfortable. He regarded the lad with a blank look on his face and an awkward silence followed.
"Lon," Saeya tugged at his arm and whispered, "that's not our concern."
After lunch, the Templekin packed up their picnic and departed The Working Place as quickly and efficiently as they'd arrived.
Tranquility descended and the four youths lay in the shade and slept. Lon reclined on the same patch of grass where he'd eaten, and while still wearing all his clothes, and this seemed comfortable at first, but as the sun arced beyond the tree boughs he baked in this clothes.
Daoda's Gift woke the lad. He saw then how the others all snoozed in the shadiest patch between the tree and the pool; they knew that was the coolest place to nap in the afternoon. Valari and Saeya both lay atop a brown blanket Zed stored for them and Melcart was sprawled out on the grass right near the water.
Lon dusted his trousers and wiped his sweaty brow with his shirt. He looked around for Zed but there was no sign of the administrator.
The lad peered around the tree trunk and found the two reptilian laborers asleep on the bench out front. He continued past their empty handcart.
It was just past noon and the summer sun was wickedly hot. A great crowd of reptilians swam and sunbathed on the flagstone shoreline that'd been occupied by washfeigors earlier that morning. Now the assembly was mostly young residents and so of course the strange white-haired foreigner stood out like a sore thumb. Lon was immediately spotted and loudly observed. He wasn't aware of the audience at first but once he reached the flagstone promenade he heard many whistles and laughs.
Lon moved quick and shook his head to dry the sweat from his hair; this action set many young maidens' hearts aflutter and older matrons' tongues a wagging as they watched him.
Three wooden outhouses built atop cantilevered timber frames were minor engineering marvels. Wooden steps up to the latrines took the users right out over the river and the noise of the chasm added to the privacy. The hinged door swung shut behind him, and Lon saw a rope weight on wooden pulley kept it closed. The facility borrowed water from the river to fill a stone basin opposite the toilet hole. It was the nicest privy the young lad had ever seen.
On his return Lon walked slowly uphill and saw many different groups of red reptiles. He made eye contact with several young females near the riverwalk. Titters were whispered as he passed and he smiled and nodded each time he thought he was the focus of their discussions.
As he approached the grotto atop the hill, he heard Saeya scream. He noticed how the tree boughs shook. He rounded the trunk to look and saw everyone was wide awake and having fun. Mel dropped from a low branch and splashed in the water. The girls screamed again. They were neck deep in the back by the brook and Zed sat beside the table with his nose in a book.
"Summer," Melcart laughed. He crawled out of the pond and jumped-up to catch the long limb again. This causeway stretched over the lagoon. Hand over hand he worked his way out over the center of the pool to get as close as he could to the girls. They tried to avoid the splash. That was the game. He dropped sideways to make a huge wave and they both screamed playfully and swore at him.
"What's it like here in the winter?" Lon striped down to his shorts.
"We dress for it," Saeya ran her eyes over his muscular body with undisguised appreciation.
"But, when it's cold, is the might of this place not diminished?" Lon asked.
"No!" They all laughed at that.
"The groundsmilk is thickest in the winter," Valari was neck deep in the water and her black hair slick against her head.
"On the coldest day!' Melcart dropped from the long branch again. Screams. Splash!
Lon reflected on that as he waded into the pond and dunked down to explored its smooth underwater contours. He made three dives over the course of the next few minutes, and then it was back to work.
The four young masters of Atarskal dried in the sun and spent the next two hours at the table. Once everyone was together again Zed wasted no time reminding the young people that Hamlin was the most senior and most devout servant of Kluth alive on Tokal and he stared at Melcart as if speaking to him exclusively.
Lon just kept quiet and soaked it all up. He had a thousand questions and he most urgently wanted to know about workings of Varget and the fate of the deepcomber companies that'd once dwelt in the Port of Ligne. But instead of being inquisitive he wisely bit his tongue and simply pretended to be absorbed in his work. He listened with interest as his coworkers discussed the summer crops and future meals to come. Their talk turned to the size of the fish in the stream versus the size of the fish in the swamp, and where the best fishing was during each season. Lon told Zed and his workmates about the giant crabs that ruled the creek in the sand delta below the second waterfall. Zed asked many questions about the ruins atop the falls and how he'd found the Toll Stone and why he picked it up? Lon answered them all as best he could and each response made the medico smile, but the old sage shared no insights about the skeleton or the ruins. Then Melcart asked about the crabs.
"How big did you say it was?" the rogue asked.
"There were crabs of all sizes," Lon replied truthfully.
"But how big was the matron?" Val asked in a manner that suggested she had some familiarity with decapod crustaceans.
"As big as... Zed's donkeys.. er.. One donkey." Lon played it down because in truth the monster was twice that size but he realized it sounded boastful.
"As if...!" Melcart was skeptical. "And how'd you kill it?"
"With an iron-tipped oak spear in its guts."
"Oh, you just happened to have a sharp spear handy, did you?" Melcart shook his head in disbelief.
"Well... We found some in an adventurer's wagon nearby." Lon gave a correct account but realized his story sounded contrived. Valari and Saeya looked at each other and appeared to work collectively to determine his truthfulness.
"What did the cart look like?" Zed asked.
"A wreck. A bed of sand. Missing all wheels.."
"But full of sharp spears," the rogue quipped.
"The top of the wagon had a makers' mark." Lon ignored him and searched his memory for the name stenciled on its side; "Wark's Wagoners!"
Zed's eyes widened and Saeya smiled hopefully.
"Wark's you say?" Zed asked, "and it was on the sand delta?" The old sage looked to be piecing something together in his head. "You could see the ocean from the site I suppose?"
Lon shook his no to the last question; you could not see the coast from that point in the crab creek. They'd walked for a half day to get away from the shore.
"We had a wagon from Wark once upon a time," Zed stated. The old medico went back to his work and ignored the others' probing eyes. Melcart remained smug, but Saeya and Valari looked like they now believed Lon's tale of epic adventure in the river delta. Zed had given his account credence by seeming to remember the long-vanished wainwright. This little detail validated the his story and made him seem even more lovely in the girl's eyes.
-
When they were done and every flask had been infused, sealed, stamped, and packed away, Zed blew out the candle and the young masters were free to enjoy the rest of the day.
Valari left the grotto without saying goodbye and Melcart did some stretches on the lawn to prepare for his evening. Saeya collected her shoes and socks from beside the pool.
"Lonny," Zed said, "I have something for you." The fetid mystic fished his hand about the pocket of his green smock. "Calbians are reclusive and they resent freeloaders and folks they don't understand." He produced a blue silk ribbon which Lon supposed was a hair-tie. "Once the people see you wearing Atar's blue..."
"I don't think that's necessary," the young lad said. He thought about his noon-day excursion but then wondered if perhaps that foray to find the latrines was what prompted this identifier.
Zed looked up at him surprised. "It's considered a very high honour when a host offers you such a mark."
This caused the Lon to remember how Clyde had described wearing the Prince's mark around Havista and how it'd let him access the Temple of Crol. Nobody would question him he'd said, once he'd donned the Prince's mark. With that in mind Lon accepted the ribbon Zed offered. This was Atar's mark and it was equally powerful here.
"It's just a for a day or two," Saeya explained. "Just so they all see you and know that you're one of us. Atar has made it clear the whole skal is here for the young masters, and they all serve the skal."
"Young masters?" Lon asked, and she smiled. No explanation was necessary.
Ten cases of infused purcloine and hesperdium waited by the table, ready to ship. The two different flavours were packed in wooden crates with different marks stenciled on their sides, one in green and one in red, but all the bottles inside glowed white. The vessels could be glimpsed through the inch-wide gaps in the sides of the shipping crates. What was that load worth?
"A good first day" Zed announced and he bowed toward Lon to show his gratitude. Melcart sneered and gathered-up his own belongings in silence.
"You'll think back on today," Saeya finished tying the laces on her red shoes by the pool. "This was the first day that you being alive truly mattered; today you helped all Tokal."
Lon smiled at the thought. Glass tinkled and he watched Zed direct the red-skinned labourers. He wondered just which very important people the medicine would help?
The sun was midway across the western sky and he reckoned it was mid-afternoon. Plenty of daylight remained. He watched Melcart jog away down the hill and pondered what mischief his dark-haired counterpart would make this evening? The call-to-adventure was among the first things his guide had tried on him that morning, and now he traipsed off like he was on a secret mission. How many glyphs do you know? He'd asked. I know five myself. Was that even true? Lon didn't know even one Varget construct. He waited and then walked beside Saeya and they exited the grotto together. The young lad had to stroll along quickly to keep up with the busy blond. She headed west toward the dog kennels.
"Where do you go now?" Lon asked, "What do you..."
Saeya waited for the whole question.
"What do you do for fun?' he asked innocently.
"I have too many chores to have fun." Saeya smiled at him. "But you're free to look around. Wear the ribbon." Her freckled face projected her enthusiasm and the pure goodness in her heart. "The first runes are always the most exciting. Don't hurt anyone."
"Can anyone help?" Lon asked as they walked.
"You're on a clean path, and the lessons are all around..." Saeya quoted the refrain until she was interrupted.
"Lonny! Up here." Atar stood in doorway of an expansive log dwelling that dominated the west side of the hilltop. Only his huge red-bearded head was visible from where they stood. This lodge shared is footprint with the base of the central lookout tower. After he'd hollered at him, the burly leader disappeared back inside.
"Right now, I'd say your path leads through that door". The freckle faced girl smirked and turned away. She hurried off to do her chores and didn't look back.
Lon climbed the hill toward the wide-open door in the big lodge which he believed must be the giant's own home. The bottom of the structure was stone and the upper walls were composed of thick vertical logs. The very top of the building boasted a fine black slate roof. As with other dwellings there was no glass in the windows, but some sections of the wall had been removed and fitted with gauze screens to make openings. Why were there no glass windows in Atarskal? The lad wondered about this for twenty steps. The medicine appeared in clear glass bottles? Glass windowpanes were common across Tokal. Even the Annabelle had windows on the stern. Maybe it was just too cold in the winter and glass panes were deemed impractical?
Lon believed he'd speak to Atar alone. He hoped the important figure would help him and share some wisdom. But when he crested the rise, he found many Calbian soldiers rested on the lawn. They lay on their backs and sides and warmed their lizard bodies in the hot afternoon sun. The young lad had to step-over them get into the lodge. When he finally arrived at the open door he saw the chamber inside had a polished stone floor and a beautiful wood lined interior. Then he saw Captain Owen alongside Sergeant Orchee and Colonel Obrion.
Captain Owen wore the same black and red jacket with gold facings and he glared at Lon when he entered the cool shady space. His middle-aged face was filled with suspicion.
Sergeant Orchee was here too and he wore the same fancy gold leaf inlay jacket. He now served here as squire and helped the red bearded giant gird-his-loins for some upcoming action.
Coronal Obrion was garbed in the most ostentatious attire possible; the goosenecked lizard wore an shiny silver breastplate with matching metal gloves. The three reptilian military officers stood inside the lodge behind a long wooden table. Orchee stood on a chair and tied leather straps behind the hulk.
Lon peered about the antiquities on display in the shadow-filled showroom as he waited, and he wondered again if this was the giant's own home. It looked like a king's tomb.
The walls were lined with paper broadsheets preserved under clear lacquer and bordered by wooden frames. Lon knew these were deepcombers' sheets from the Golden Age of the Warden Key Companies. He longed to stand and read them all but that would take half a day and would require a lantern. The open areas between these printed pages were decorated with bejeweled swords, maces, and poleaxes. In the base of the stairs behind the giant's dressing station was cubbyhole bookshelf stuffed with dusty tomes. Some of the books were common, and Lon recognized the green fabric binding of Emerald Eyes and the sapphire Blue Key News - Triumph in Timberdale. He saw another red leather-bound tome laid open on the mantle and he knew by the cover that it was Ruby Key and was entitled The Beasts Below the Beasts We Know. That was the foremost bestiary of Oub. These were best sellers from the great age of exploration and they lay on the shelf beside a dozen more.
"Recognize any of this stuff lad?" Captain Owen glared at him and then pointed down. He wasn't referring to the books or the broadsheets or any of the other treasures in his reliquary. He indicated two items on an otherwise empty dinner table in the center of the room.
Lon saw where he pointed and his heart skipped a beat. Laid on the table was the Prima Alocer and underneath that loathsome text was the blue and red flag of Crol.