Jaax knowingly eyed the young children chasing each other around the embers of the fire from last night, their shrieks a match for the grumbling complaints of the livestock. By the look on the surrounding adults’ faces, Jahrra concluded that this argument would prevent any protestations of their leaving too soon. The Tanaan dragon gave Aydehn and Thenya a particularly stern look. Reluctantly, the Resai elf nodded as he pulled his wife close.
They said their goodbyes, the adults seeming wistful, the children teary-eyed. Jahrra hoisted Phaea up into a sweeping hug as the girl bawled and rubbed her eyes.
“If I ever get a chance I promise to come and see you again,” she vowed, fighting tears herself. “But for now I need you to stay and look after all our friends.”
The girl, her bottom lip quivering, nodded and tried to be brave as she snuggled up to Nerrid.
Taking a deep, lung-clearing breath, Jahrra glanced around the village one final time, fixing its every detail into her mind. Once satisfied, she climbed atop Phrym and drew the reins, nodding for Jaax to lead the way. Before her semequin even took one step however, Thenya rushed up, offering her a gift.
“I can’t,” Jahrra started to protest.
Thenya shook her head and opened her closed fist. It contained a small wooden bead, similar to the ones wrapped around her wrist. This one was smooth as well and boasted its very own rune, different from the others. Jahrra glanced down at her bracelet. She was pretty sure she didn’t have this bead with this rune, but Yaraa and Viornen had told her it contained the wood of all the Trees of Ethoes. She then gave Thenya a look of puzzlement, wondering when the sly older woman had noticed Jahrra’s bracelet.
“It is mistletoe,” she said with a grand smile, “mistletoe collected from the Oak.”
Jahrra drew in a breath. This bead was special indeed.
Thenya took Jahrra’s hand and placed the bead in her palm, closing her fingers over it.
“It will protect you and keep you safe,” she whispered.
Jahrra nodded and accepted it, immediately unlacing her bracelet so that she might add it to the others. Once the mistletoe bead was secure all of the beads flared brightly, their runes glowing in their very own unique colors for a few moments. The mistletoe, Jahrra noticed, was a beautiful violet. The tingling in her wrist lasted a bit longer than she was used to but it wasn’t uncomfortable.
Thenya backed away, tears in her eyes. “So we say goodbye to you again, dear Drisihn.”
Jahrra felt one of the tears she had been holding back trace down her cheek. She hardly knew these people but they were dear to her.
“The barge will stop about a mile down river,” Aydehn said after clearing his throat. “The stop is marked with a sign and there is a small dock. Captain Thomin is the name of my cousin. Tell him who you are and he’ll be glad to take you.” The Resai man paused. “He is loyal to Ethoes and an ally to us so you have nothing to fear.”
Jaax thanked them all once again for their hospitality, as did Jahrra, and soon they were on their way. They had been lucky so far not to encounter trouble, but until they were safe within the city walls of Lidien, Jaax would remain cautious and guarded as ever.
-Chapter Six-
Traveling on the Saem
Jaax and Jahrra found the barge an hour later just as Aydehn had said, docked beside an old pier jutting out into the wide expanse of the placid river. Men bustled about, shifting cargo and unloading small boxes and passengers who lived in the secluded hills around Crie. After a quick inspection of his surroundings, Jaax stepped away from the relative safety of the trees and approached the dock unhurriedly, Jahrra atop Phrym just behind him. The men working the boat spotted them and after the dragon explained his intentions, they immediately produced their captain.
Captain Thomin, Jahrra noted, was taller than his cousin with a neatly trimmed beard, a broad chest and thick arms, suggesting he had worked these river barges for many years before acquiring his own boat. Jaax carefully and discreetly explained who they were once again and upon hearing their story the captain gladly welcomed them aboard. They managed to find a place for Jaax, wedged within the great room that functioned as a sizeable shed in the middle of the barge.
“We use this when transporting grains and dry goods from the lake islands,” a ship hand explained. “We don’t need it now though, seeing as we’re just coming out of winter. Nope, won’t need it for a good several months yet.”
He whistled through a gap in his teeth as he helped the others clear a few boxes and move a few piles of heavy rope to accommodate the great Tanaan dragon.
Jahrra watched in amused interest as Jaax tried as discreetly and delicately as possible to comfortably wedge himself into the somewhat confined space. When he cast her an abraded glare after her failure to hide a snort of humor, Jahrra gave in to a full bout of hysterics. It was a good thing Jaax was so incapacitated or else she might be in trouble.
After the dragon was settled the crew of the barge, a vessel fondly referred to as the River Mule, found a place to secure Phrym. Last but not least, Jahrra helped them stow the few items they had managed to carry with them from the Castle Guard Ruin. An hour after arriving at the dock they were pushing away, several of the stronger crew using massive wooden poles to push the heavy vessel into the current that would take them downriver.
Jahrra watched the dock slowly disappear around a bend as the River Mule rocked and glided over the lazy surface of the Saem. Sighing, she pushed away from the railing she’d been leaning up against and wandered over to where Jaax was quietly contemplating their new surroundings. She found a somewhat comfortable crate and sat down, her back leaning against the frame of the large shed.
Jaax seemed to squirm uncomfortably, so Jahrra asked, “Why didn’t you just swim or fly or follow us along the river bank?”
“If I were to fly or walk,” he said through gritted teeth as he tried to un-wedge his shoulder, “I would be easier to see, and if I were to swim, the current might be too strong for me. Besides, if anything is to happen I prefer to be close at hand.”
Jahrra nodded her head in contentment, watching the scenery change and sweep by as they moved farther and farther west.
Time seemed to stand still on the river and as they traveled and the days passed by, Jahrra wandered about the deck, asking questions and offering help. The men were friendly and generous with answers to her questions. Some of them even taught her how to fish from the boat’s deck. When she could, she leant a helping hand. The crew of the River Mule, as rough and tumble as they appeared, were uncommonly proper and insisted that a lady not be forced into manual labor. Jahrra only scoffed, proving that she was anything but a fine lady and that she had no qualms in helping where help was needed. It took a few days for the captain to give in but eventually they allowed her to do a few small chores like lighting the lanterns that hung about the deck on foggy mornings or in the evenings when it started to get dark. She was also given the task of bringing in fish, especially when they were forced to guide the barge around one of the Saem’s many small islands, their progress slowing almost to a stop.
Jahrra enjoyed this work not because it was particularly enjoyable but because it gave her something to do other than sit around and dwell on things that she shouldn’t dwell on. Nevertheless, during the evenings when she would curl up somewhere close to Jaax and when a few of the men would pull out a harmonica or flute and play out a doleful tune, she would find herself thinking of home and Hroombra and even of those few friends she made in Crie. She would also think about her reaction to the Oak Tree and drive herself crazy trying to puzzle out whether what she saw and heard was a plea for help, a piece of advice, or simply a random memory shared for no other reason than that she happened to be someone to share it with.