11/2/00 The Coming of the Zioth Prelude *** Kay cleaned and sharpened her weapons on a stone until Ardith, priestess of Andritha the Mother, began her nightly prayers. "Normally, Kay, I say my prayers in Sarnam, but with you here I will render them in the vernacular, as I expect you have not learned Sarnam. You may repeat them in your mind or speak them after me, it does not matter, though some say actually speaking them makes them better heard by the goddess." The two women knelt in the leaves of the forest, and Ardith led the prayer, Kay speaking the words haltingly but strongly, half a second behind her. "Mother Andritha, Blessed be Thy Name. And blessed also Thy Works and Miracles. Grant unto us this coming day continued life, health and the joy of living. Forgive us our errors. We are but human. Forgive also those who err against us, as we forgive them also. "In return, we will not cause suffering, nor will we allow suffering in our midst. We will rejoice in life's goodness, and give the excess of our earnings for the common good. "Mother Andritha, Blessed be thy name." The two felt safe after their prayer so they covered up with leaves and branches and went to sleep. The women woke the next morning at dawn, and got up to see the forest leaves glistening with dew. Dmerzig was not far. It was the sixteenth day of Arwid, one thousand first year of the Zioth. It would be only nineteen years until the next Zioth, when all five moons would be new at once, and the world would be destroyed and rebuilt. Ardith was confident that she did not need to worry. Through the prayer of the priests and worshippers of Andritha, the Zioth would be prevented. Ardith and Kay entered Dmerzig from the west side, paid the market day tax, and headed to the nearest tavern for breakfast. The tavern was a small room on the lower floor of the Red Eye Inn. Another traveler barely noticed the women when he descended the stairs for breakfast. The tall, scrawny man was dressed in black robes, and wore a round black hat. He was barely over twenty, but it was hard to guess his age under the shadow of his cap, with white hair the only feature visible from a distance. Ziedon was the man's name, and he was a wizard. If any other wizards had passed through Dmerzig in the past two hundred years, no one talked about it, as the wielders of the ancient arts of legend were few and best avoided. Legend spoke of their disappearance nearly two hundred years before, when they were hunted by kings and priests, and burned at the stake. Wizards had been evil folk, killing with a word, and possessing the minds of others to do their bidding. At least that was what most people believed, and what was taught in schools and churches. Many did not believe the legends at all, and thought the idea of magic was a silly thing, but here was a wizard, in the flesh. Ardith had once met a living wizard, and her opinions and that of her seminary in Zadothar differed from those of the general populace. After all, Ardith could do a little magic herself, albeit magic provided by Andritha. Just outside Dmerzig, Brinn awoke in the back of a wagon to the harsh yell of its driver. "Out! I ain't bringing ya with me to the town, ya heifin!" Brinn grudgingly climbed out of the wagon. "Hey! You owe me three coppers! A little short on the brains too, eh?" Brinn paid the driver, who laughed and rode into the town. Brinn was used to the jokes, jeers and insults, but he still couldn't suppress a scowl. It had been bad enough as a teenager, standing two foot five and walking between his six-foot brothers, but you'd think adults would have gotten over it. And that stupid word. Heifins were entertainers. They worked in circuses; they didn't travel alone. When would people realize that not all dwarves were heifins? Saying 'freak' in Sarnam didn't make it any better a word. Well, there was no use getting in a rut over it. Brinn walked into town and through the market-day crowds, accepting the strange looks as they came. Ardith and Kay left for the market. They had only known each other for a week and a day, but Ardith was already starting to consider Kay a friend. They were both only eighteen years old, and neither had been away from her original home for long. Ardith was born at the knees of the Koril mountains, which separate Rang from Terradia, and hence from the Great Sea, on half of its southern border. She had spent the last few years at the great Seminary of Andritha in Zadothar, at which His Eminence Zilgard once held the office of High Priest, and had left only a month before arriving at Dmerzig. She had picked up Kay in Hourtzbourg, where she offered the skilled fighter and archer a few aglars to act as escort. Kay was from Gernainia, a center of trade far from the barony of Huerten in which she now traveled, but even she had only been three months away from home. She still was not sure why she traveled, or what drew her, a woman who was only nominally Andrithan, to this priestess of her religion. Still, she welcomed the company, and the money. Kay smiled at that last thought, and took a look around her. The market was crowded indeed for such a small town. Undoubtedly, there were a great many villages and farms in the area to supplement the local population. Small booths, some hooded and others open to the sun, lined the narrow streets. One or two people stood behind each, calling out glorified descriptions of their wares, or haggling with a customer. Precisely what they were calling was not always easy to hear over the jumble of voices in the market. Occasionally a horse and rider, smelling strongly of sweat and mud, would come through, and everyone would rush to the sides of the streets. Some of the horses drew carts, which would be later taken apart and reassembled as more booths. Children followed the carts, jumping up and down to get a peek at the latest addition to the marketplace, hoping to see exotic spices or multicolored trinkets, rather than the apples or grains that were so common this time of year. Kay saw the black-cloaked man pass her. A heavy book, held under his arm, weighed down the left side of his body, and a stout walking stick supported his right. He looked old indeed, but then she saw his face, briefly, and wasn't sure. Ardith paid him no heed, so Kay let him pass, and became again absorbed in the market. Then another person caught her attention. A man, maybe two and a half feet tall, pushed right by her to a booth selling nuts. She'd never seen a man that short before, but she heard that they traveled with circuses. Heifins, they were called? That could mean there was a circus in town. How exciting these southern market days could be! "I hope that you all will be forgiving of my poor command of your language. It has still to accustom itself to my tongue, somewhat." A dark man wearing white robes was talking to Ardith. He grinned widely under enormous mustachios. Ardith didn't seem any less surprised and flustered than Kay, and the man's loud voice was attracting a crowd. Most onlookers saw the long, gleaming curved knives hanging from his belt, and looked away, but a few kept watching, undaunted. Among those were the dwarf, and, from a distance, the dark-robed man. Although the foreigner's language was broken, he spoke like a merchant, and a good one, too. Kay thought she'd buy anything from him if he spoke long enough. "I am called Sahlman el'Musafir, since leaving my homeland. Most of the folk from the Inf...ahh...wetlands who are my friends have called me Sahl. This being the farthest north I am traveling, so far." Kay watched as Ardith composed herself and took command of the situation. "Hail and well met, stranger named Sahl. I am Ardith, daughter of Torvad the carpenter. You call this land 'wetlands.' Is your homeland then very dry? Do you come from the desert lands?" The briefest of shadows befell Sahlman's face when Ardith gave her father's name. It quickly passed, however, leaving Ardith uncertain that there was ever a hesitation in the traveler's bushy smile. "Ah, yes. Indeed, my homeland. There is much water here, compared to it. One must be very careful in the desert, else he die from lack of water. Here, I think one might die from too much!" Then he was from south of the Great Sea. If this was the farthest north he had traveled, he could have left the northern shores of his homeland only months before. "My friend Kay and I are shopping. If I may be so bold, people would stare less if you wore clothes that were less strange! Mayhap you should purchase clothes suited to this area." "Hmmm. Mayhap eventually I can buying more. Having just return from the bazaar...uhh...shops where I made MANY purchases." Sahlman rapped his knuckles on the mail beneath his desert attire. "The armor here, much more good than the desert. Weapons, not so good, I think. But, this mail, it will help me keep warm, too, eh?" "I think not, good sir," Ardith responded, "unless it is padded or leather. If it is chain mail, it will do little against the cold, but much against a stray arrow or blade." Kay caught the man's attention, and held out her hand. "Hi Sahlm... Sahl....I'm Kay." Sahlman smiled as he grasped Kay's hand, trying to emulate the traditional greeting of the wetlanders. His smile was hidden by the great bush growing from his upper lip, but Kay could see his intention. "It is being my pleasure, Kay." Sahlman hitched up his weapon girdle, very ready to leave this town behind. To Kay's surprise, the heifin had been standing right behind her. She jumped when he spoke with a voice much louder and deeper than she would have expected. "Hello stranger! My name's Brinn. So you've seen much of the world, eh?" "Much of the desert that is my homeland, I have seen, but I find this land of yours to be fascinating! So many different types of people. I look forward to exploring more of it." "I don't know much about my land or any other land." Brinn trailed off, and the four were quiet for some seconds. Then, he suddenly had a thought. "Looks like we could explore together! It sure would be easier that way." Kay decided that the short man was not with a circus. Ziedon had been listening from afar, while feigning interest in some trinket or fruit, he wasn't sure which. He slowly made his way toward the group, never looking directly at them. He was not noticed until he stood as a dark shadow over the white robes of Sahlman, and turned to them. Sahl shot around, grabbing at his ghurka and evaluating Ziedon in an instant. A tall man, to be sure, but not a worthy opponent in battle. Sahlman loosened his grip on his knife. In that time, Ziedon did not even flinch. He looked intensely at Sahlman for nearly half a minute, and then, from within the recesses of his hood, he emitted a in low grating monotone, "Greetings, I am Ziedon. I am pleased to meet you all." The wizard made no move to take anyone's hand, nor did he offer his. Ardith tried to break the tension by smiling and saying, "Hail, Ziedon. I am Ardith. Andritha's blessings upon you." "And upon you as well, I am sure." No one was precisely sure how Ziedon ended up in their traveling party. *********************************************************************** This story is copyright 2000 Eli Fenton. It may not be reproduced in whole or in part, without the written consent of the author. It may be downloaded for personal use only. It may not be stored on any web site without the author's consent. Anyone is welcome to link to this story, however, at http://www.zioth.com/zioth. If you have any comments or questions, you may contact the author from that same site.