Talespinner's Tapestry - Stories

Lann Bay

Sunlight glittered off the rippling water in the bay, sending diamond-like sparkles reflecting in every direction. Tam stood in the middle of the road, drinking in the sight like a parched man emerging from the desert - which in many ways, he was. The city of Madeena where he had grown up had stood on the edge of the vast X desert. Abandoned by its builders years ago, the city had fallen to ruin, sand swirling endlessly through its near-empty streets. Up until a few weeks ago, Tam's life had been bleak, dry, and mostly brown. The green, rolling hills of the Lann Valley had burned their image into his eyes and touched his soul weeks ago, but at least they had been led up to gradually, with the sere plains around Madeena leading into sparse scrubland, then tough grass, before crossing the main highway into the lush emerald farmlands of the Lann Valley.

"Hey! Out of the road buddy!" A harsh voice broke into Tam's reverie. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw a ruddy-faced farmer sitting atop a wide cart filled with hay. A pair of oxen hitched to the cart stared at Tam, and he had the wild idea that they were silently thanking him for the brief rest. The farmer was far from thankful however, and was much more vociferous than the oxen. Bowing slightly, Tam stepped to the side of the road, glad that this stretch was wider than some areas further from the town, where he would have had to climb into the ditch to make way for this wide cart.

"Hmph! Damn travelers," Tam heard the farmer mutter as the cart rumbled past. The spell of the water muted, if not entirely broken, Tam continued his own journey in the wake of the cart.

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First Meeting

He'd been here before. Sighing, Tam kicked a pebble off the road, before settling down on the large boulder that marked the fork in the northern highway. Coming up from the south, the highway split here, with one road leading east towards the dry lands around Madeena, and the other leading into the farmlands of the Lann valley.

"Highway!" Tam muttered scornfully to himself, looking at the rough unpaved dirt track before him. Bending down, he picked up a handful of dirt, letting it trickle between his fingers. A light breeze caught the falling dust, blowing it away to the east. Tam's eyes followed the path of the dirt, his lip curling in distaste. He had seen so much, experienced so much, since coming down that road six years ago. He had no desire to return to his home at the edge of the desert. Closing his eyes, the young man envisioned the sparkling blue waters of the Lann Bay, the sight of which had rendered him speechless the first time he had seen it. Even the rolling green farmland of the Lann valley and the burbling, rushing water of the Lann River had touched something in his soul - a part of him that had not entirely been hardened by the harsh childhood of fighting for survival every day.

Even in his reverie, however, the honed senses that had allowed him to survive this long did not rest. He was aware of the approaching traveler long before she spoke.

"Excuse me..." She sounded hesitant, as if unsure if she should disturb him. New to the road, Tam thought, an easy mark. His hand had drifted to the hilt of his dagger even before he was aware of making the movement. He stood, turning as he did, and his hand fell from the dagger just as unconsciously as it had moved there.

Deep purple eyes regarded him openly, without fear. Even if she hadn't been on the road long, they were far enough from civilization that she should have run into bandits at least once by now. She showed no sign of fear however, just a quiet confidence that shook Tam to his core. The intuition that served him so well was now screaming at him not to try anything with this one, even though she appeared to be alone, unarmed, and unarmoured.

"Do you know a way through to the south?" Her voice was smooth and melodious, unlike most of the women Tam had known in his life. There was no way she had grown up anywhere near the streets, but the lack of entourage, and simply her presence here on this dirt track in the middle of nowhere seemed to indicate she was no noblewoman. Tam regarded her curiously for a moment. He was somewhat pleased to see that she faltered slightly under his scrutiny.

"The highway south is closed. The Ashani have seen to that." His lip curled slightly again as he called the track a highway, and her mouth quirked in a faint smile at that. The smile disappeared quickly though, at his mention of the warlike Ashani, who had captured the city of Gantrickham, which guarded the only known pass through the Windywing Mountains. Her disappointment was palpable, and despite himself, Tam found himself thinking once again of the stories old Marlon had told him in his youth. Marlon was nothing but an old drunk, he thought fiercely, he probably never set foot outside Madeena in his life. Even as he thought it though, he knew it was not true. The look in the old man's eyes when he had spoken of his travels had been too real. It was that look that had driven Tam to leave Madeena when the old man died, to seek out the worlds that had only existed in Marlon's ramblings before.

"There may be another way..." Tam started slowly. The girl's head, which had dropped in defeat a moment ago, came back up swiftly.

"Where? How?"

Tam couldn't help chuckling at the eagerness in her eyes and voice. "That desperate to reach the south? Why?" He couldn't help his natural inquisitiveness. Luckily she seemed to understand, because she smiled, flushing slightly at his laughter.

"I have to..." she trailed off, her gaze going to the dark groove in the imposing mountain range. Although it was barely visible from here, Tam knew that the cleft was quite wide at its northern end. Unfortunately, it narrowed as it went deeper into the mountains, until it wasn't much wider than the road they now stood on. It was at that point that the wall had been built by the Kaelians. In the days when the Kaelians still controlled the city behind that wall, the gates had stood open, and travelers were free to pass from north to south and back. Now though, the gates were closed, and Ashani archers patrolled the walls. Tam knew that the situation was the same on the southern side of the city, where an identical wall blocked the southern end of the pass.

Wrenching his mind back to the present time and location, Tam took advantage of the woman's distraction to study her. She was young, perhaps in her early twenties. Her dark hair was pulled back, tied by a grey ribbon at the nape of her neck. Her plain clothing was dusty from the road, but in good repair. Her hands were slender, the nails short, but clean and neat. If he had run into her on a city street, Tam would have sworn she was nobility, the daughter of a landowner or merchant. Her however, with nobody accompanying her, Tam was at a loss to explain her appearance.

She blinked, her attention returning to Tam. "You said there was another way. Where is it? It can't be easy, or others would have found it."

Tam nodded at her observation. "I don't even know if it's true. An old man, a drunk old man, used to tell me tales. He spoke of the south. When I said he couldn't have been there, he told me of a valley in the mountains, and a way through to the south. His stories were full of exaggerations, with things like dragons and wizards, but I still believe there may be some truth to the valley itself."

An odd look came into the girl's eyes when Tam mentioned the more absurd elements of Marlon's tales, but she nodded hopefully at the end. "It's worth a try, I'm sure. Where is this valley? And will we be able to get through this late in the year? Even Gantrick pass can be blocked by snow sometimes." A small line of worry marred her forehead.

"It's not too late if we hurry. Harvest only ended a few weeks ago. Marlon said that the valley was temperate year-round, although the passes to it can be blocked. At the worst, we'll have to winter in the valley." Tam felt a small thrill go through him. It was the same feeling he'd had when he'd decided to leave Madeena - the thrill of impending adventure.

The frown line deepened, but she nodded anyway. "We'll have to try, and see what happens when we get there." She paused, looking at Tam curiously. "You're coming with me?"

Tam grinned. "It'll be fun. I've already been up all these roads anyway," he gestured to the branching highway to the north. "Nowhere left to go but south."

This time it was the young woman's turn to chuckle. "It will be nice to have companionship," she said, but although her voice sounded happy and welcoming, Tam could see the reservations in her eyes. "I'm Megan. What's your name?"

"Tam." Tam felt relived that she had left off her own last name, allowing him to do the same without seeming rude. Last names in Merillon were a reflection not of a person's parentage, but of their occupation. Tam Lightfinger was fairly certain that Megan would not want the company of an unrepentant thief.

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Folded Wings

Darkness was falling as the small group of adventurers settled into their camp for the night. With a groan, Rikaelus sat down heavily beside the fire. Megan began peeling some potatoes and tossing chunks into the pot of water Tam had retrieved from the small stream nearby. Saet fumbled with the straps on his armour, removing the heavy breastplate before sitting down. As he sat, the wings typical of his race unfurled behind him, shimmering slightly in the twilight.

Tam glanced over at the delicate-looking wings, curious. "Doesn't it hurt, having them all crumpled up like that?" he asked.

Saet glanced over at the rogue, unsure if he was mocking or not, but the look on Tam's face reassured him, and he relaxed slightly, not noticing the shadow that came over Rikaelus's face at the mention of the wings.

"Not really. They're pretty flexible." Saet shrugged slightly, setting the wings to wavering.

Tam nodded, his curiousity assuaged. His sharp eyes, always wandering without seeming to, had noticed Rikaelus's darkening mood, and he had no wish to get in the midst of whatever bad blood was between the two.

On the other side of the fire, Rikaelus clenched his teeth as Saet flaunted the sign of his heritage. The old darkness threatened to overcome him - the half-remembered nightmare of flame and darkness. Fires consuming the village he had grown up in; his brother standing in the square, ready to fight, with his sword in hand; a ball of searing, unnatural fire consuming his parents; and most clearly, burned into the knight's mind, the shadowy figures standing at the edge of the woods, hands outstretched, whispering their arcane chants, with fire gleaming off their delicate wings, and in their dark eyes.

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Damn Fool Knights

"Damn fool knights, always running off on some quest for the sake of 'honour.' What good is honour when there's no food on the table? Will honour fill your children's bellies, or hush their hungry cries? And when you die a fool's death rather than shame yourself by running, will honour comfort your widow, support your family, or raise your children?"

Rikaelus's lips tightened during the tirade, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "You speak like a true Ashani, Tormega. Your kind will never understand honour."

Tormega's mailed fist lashed out too fast for Rikaelus to react. A sharp crack sounded as it struck Rik's jaw, leaving behind a trickle of blood and a vivid red mark that would later darken to a bruise.

Rikaelus set his jaw as he wiped away the trickle of blood.

"He was right, you know," Tam muttered, ignoring Rikaelus's glare. "Honour won't put food on the table when you're starving."

"What is all this talk of starving?" Rikaelus demanded. "Nobody starves in the Empire."

Tam snorted derisively, and even Megan looked at Rikaelus disbelievingly.

"You're joking, right?" Tam said. Rikaelus raised an eyebrow, and was about to respond hotly when Megan's soft voice broke in.

"Your markets are filled with food, your table laden, but do you ever stop to wonder where that food came from? You never see the struggles of those who suffer to feed the city, so to you they do not exist. But to those of us who live out here, those struggles are all too real."

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