Snippet #2498934

[Co-written with SkullsandSlippers]

95th Day

Dunes East Of Solaria

The night had been cold but bearable. When dawn broke they began their journey once more. Neither was positive where they were headed or who they might encounter but they knew that going back to Solaria was not an option.

The sun rose overhead, the wind picked up forcing them to stop to take cover from the blowing sands. Despite delays they kept walking and by evening the sight of tents and buildings came into view.

Alleara wasn’t sure what the place was but knowing that there would be food, perhaps shelter for the night was a enough to force her past her hesitation. There was a lingering fear that they might encounter those that might wish them dead. Would people be hunting them down by now? What of the lords and the other Sunfires? Hunger and exhaustion overrode these thoughts.

It became quite clear as they drew closer that the place was a trading post. Merchants with their carts laden with various wares lined themselves along a makeshift centre street. There were rough looking buildings as well. Overhead the stone walls came up to form an arch which added shelter to the haphazardly formed village in the valley.

Alleara licked her lips. “Where shall we start?”

Mens' voice rang out. Clothing, food, trinkets and weapons. All were available for a price. They promised that their items were superior to others. Alleara couldn’t help but wonder how much of the things for sale were stolen from travellers now dead, left to the sands. She tried not to think about it.

“I have some coin. If we are smart with it we can make it last.” Her voice was a low whisper as she drew closer to her travelling companion.

"Important matters first, dress and meal. Be wary of others."

There were many kinds of folk at the trade post, most were merchants of some sort, some were travelers. Slavers kept their property, most of whom seemed to be a mix of Drakyvarian and human, in cages for potential buyers to survey the specimens. Estios watched the merchants hawk at the other travelers. He spotted a pit by which there was some beast roasting. The aromas of stews and meats did not need any wafts to reach his nose and send his stomach into a muted but frenzied growl. He looked around further for any threatening faces. He had never been a face reader, and he knew he would never be able to distinguish a spy or bounty hunter from an ordinary traveler. It would be best if they assumed disguises or new dress to better blend in with the desert folk if they planned on surviving the night without drawing too much attention.

Estios had already left behind his breast plate, in hindsight he thought it could be sold for a decent amount of coin to sustain their travels. However, it was traditional Sunfire armor that could recognized for miles, and they had made many enemies in the desert for their over-zealousness. He also needed a robe woven by desert maidens to replace his loose fitting Solarian tunic. He looked to Alleara, she was still draped within her highborn dress. That needed to disappear as well.

Alleara nodded and moved slightly closer to him. She felt nervous and it became very clear that not only was she a woman and one of the few, she was also not nearly as hardened as the rest appeared to be. They headed for the merchant with cloth folded and hanging from the thin ropes that held his tent open. There was a variety of blues, greens, purples, oranges, and browns. There was leather, linen, yakola fleece, and various other fabric clothes. None of the cloths seemed any more comfortable than their own attire, but the Estios knew they would have to make due.

"How many bezants do you have?" he asked Alleara, as he reached for his own pouch.

All soldiers and Sunfires were expected to carry some coin with them at all times. If the captain had known they were going to be hounded from the city, he would have taken more with him before they left.

Alleara looked around and then practically pushed herself into the captain's arms. She blushed a little. She wasn't trying anything or flirting she just didn't want anyone to see her heavy pouch. She pulled it from seemingly nowhere and pressed it into his hand before stepping away once more. "There is that as well as a very small amount hidden. Insurance that I could get passage home should I need it." Alleara looked at her feet. "That pouch has enough for lodgings and food for one person for one week. Assuming one stayed in nicer inns. My mother would not bear the thought of me staying in something run down or that the common traveller would stay in. With two of us, if we are careful with it, it should last us the week or maybe more. I give it to you to hang onto as I would be an easy target." She looked around at the people. "I trust you."

I trust you. The captain could feel a burden shifting onto his already unhinged scales.

Her eyes were on his face, her expression serious. "The other small amount I will keep hidden, still as my insurance should we be become seperated."

"You carried much with you. You surprise me milady. Did you know beforehand that you were going to be cast from the city?" the captain's eyes searched the laid out goods for anything suitable.

"No but my mother wanted to ensure I had all I needed no matter where I went. It would not do for family reputation for me to be caught without coin to pay for things or heaven forbid have to stay in a questionable place. I did not know what arrangements were going to be when we arrived so it was best to plan ahead. I prefer to be practical whenever possible." She looked around and then lowered her voice. "Perhaps you should not refer to me as milady..." Alleara bit her lip. "Alleara would be better. Anything else shows status and we do not want attention."

They were fortuitous that the merchant attended to the needs of other travelers. The captain replied with a low mumble that meant he would heed her sound advice. Alleara was sure it was just her imagination but it felt like people were watching them. watching her. You are being paranoid. Now is the time to keep a level head, not get caught up in silly notions. She knew they needed to be alert but it did not mean they needed to be skittish.

"How much for her?" A gruff voice to Estios' left asked.

Alleara grabbed Estios' arm and moved closer to him. She peered around the captain to see who was talking and to ensure that they were not in fact talking to him. She was wrong. The man stood about 5'11 with skin tanned dark from the sun. He had scars on his arm, making it clear he was not afraid of work or fighting. His face did not carry an expression of kindness.

"She is pretty docile. Good training then." The man's mouth split into a grin that was not at all pleasant. "How much for her?"

Her hands gripped the fabric of Estios' sleeve even tighter and she tried to make herself very small beside him.

The captain looked at Alleara, then he returned to the unsavory man that had addressed him. His scars reminded the captain of a bandit that he had fought off years ago. Perhaps this was the same bandit, Estios wondered at the incongruities of fate and fortune. The captain chose not to keep the man awaiting, for he might have been an untempered fellow.

"Not for sale right now," Estios chose his words with care.

He did not refuse the man, for his tone of words would have lit a fuse in the man. It was best to say little and speak calmly and courteously if one wanted to survive in the wastes. A wrong word or a loud mouth was the quickest way to find one's head on a platter. The standoff concluded when the captain pushed Alleara onward to the bazaar. No doubt that the man would not be the last to view the captain as a slaver. Estios thought it odd that the man had not considered him the slave, and Alleara the slavemaster, given the way that they were dressed. She was by far better kept, and his robes had seen better days.

The merchant was thin for a man of his age, and narrow shouldered. He shaved his beard, which was black with a twinge of grey, in an artful manner that was presentable as though he belonged to low nobility. He had a traditional desert headress with a few gems, their value dubious, embroidered at the front. His face was worn with a few wrinkles, and perhaps his brown eyes had a twinkle that gave away his desire for coin. He haggled away with a determined woman in an unknown dialect that the captain had never before heard. Their business concluded as the customer handed the old man three coins and went off.

Before Estios and Alleara could get a better look, the merchant swept toward them, "See anything you like?"

The captain assumed he was merely another desert trader. It was a flawed assumption as the captain was taken aback by his fluent, though accented, diction, "How did you.."

"Business is business in any language. Your dress," the merchant gestured toward their attire, "You are Solarian, no?"

Alleara now kept herself almost wrapped around Estios' arm. He had swiftly taken care of the man, pushing her away and leaving the frightening man behind. It took her a moment to really come to terms that he was asking about buying her. If Estios hadn't stayed with her, wasn't working with her there was no telling what might have happned to her by now.

She frowned as the merchant asked if there was anything they liked. Her eyes scanned his things. She looked up at Estios. "You choose. I do not have experience with this sort of thing." Alleara whispered and resumed her position of practically hiding herself against Estios.

"Yes. We're just looking for now," Estios warded off the merchant's advances before he turned to Alleara, "I don't normally pick dress for a woman, but keep your eyes open."

Alleara nodded. "I don't know how to bargain or such..."

She held onto Estios' fearing they would become seperated. There was so many tables, so many things and it was loud.

"No need to grasp too tightly," he whispered.

He kept an eye on the merchant, who occupied himself with another customer. When they were done, the merchant returned to them, "Have you want of anything here?"

"Yes, how much for that robe?" he pointed.

"Four bezants," the merchant eyed Alleara, "So are you returning home from pilgrimage?"

"No, just travelers. What do you suggest for her?" the captain referred to Alleara with a thumb.

The merchant reached through his assorted goods, folding over what he laid out to reveal other raiments beneath, before he reached one that he considered to be fitting.

"This, nine bezants," he held the robe, which was bedecked with a few modest and unshimmering jewels. It was quite revealing.

Estios's mouth was slightly agape, "We plan to travel to lands of heavy wind and sand, have you anything.."

"Ah of course," he smiled as he replaced his first choice with another dress that was well-covered, "Seven bezants."

Alleara couldn't help but frown at the first garment up for them. Estios had just told the man they were travellers. In what thought process did that robe work for travelling? She loosened her grip on Estios' sleeve feeling a bit sheepish but still out of her element. She couldn't shake the fear that gripped her that they would be seperated by the crowd.

Her eyes flickered up to the new garment. "Offer five..." She whispered to Estios. There was no reason that it should cost so much more for hers than for his. The workmanship was good, it would hold up to the weather but he was overcharging. Alleara was sure of that.

"Speak up girl, do you have something to speak?" he chuckled, "Your slave is a pretty one. You spend much coin on her I see that," his accent clipped his words.

Estios said nothing on that subject, "Five bezants for the woman's dress."

The old man laughed, "You take me for fool, I try to run business. Six bezants."

"Five."

"Six."

The captain eyed the other merchant stands before he returned to the man before him, "I suppose our business is finished here."

The old merchant began to smile as though victory had been clinched, but that was before he saw Estios pushing Alleara to leave.

"Wait wait," he waved his hands at the two of them, "Okay okay, dress and robe, nine bezants," he sighed.

Estios returned, but without a smile, he had to maintain a stern front to do business in the desert. He gave the man the pieces and they took their garments.

The man called her a slave. Alleara bit her tongue so stop anything she might say, fearing she would ruin Estios' deal. She watched them haggle and when the man agreed on a price for both she let out a small exhale. Estios paid, took the garments and Alleara looked up at him. "What next?"

She looked around at the crowd. Her stomach rumbled but she ignored it. Alleara was watching for men they might recognize. Men that might be watching her or Estios. She saw a few who took a bit of interest in the pair and though she did not know them she worried they may be thieves at the very least. "We should not stay still very long. We are attracting some attention."

Her words fell upon his hunger-induced deafness, "We eat."

Alleara nodded. While she was still wary she was thrilled to hear food was in their very near future. She let him lead her on to find food. Alleara kept glancing over her shoulder, watching for the men who had been eyeing them earlier. Every so often she caught sight of someone but tried to tell herself it was her imagination, that it was not the same person every time.

Her stomach rumbled lightly once more. "I am all for food but..." She looked back once more. "We should make sure we aren't followed." As much as she wanted to say she was overreacting she knew better than to dismiss her observations. "Perhaps we should vary our route?"

Estios nodded and he proceeded to take them around the encampment of pitched tents. They wandered around smokey fire pits with snapping flames like the copper braziers that stood shoulder high, past the rows of huddled faces that kept to themselves. A few animals, such as a white skinned paragis that seemed to have some meat on it to last any man for a week, crossed their path. By that point, they had been eyeing many of the tents to appear as though they were simply travelers and not fugitives.

Alleara stuck close but kept her eyes on the shadows. "I am not certain but I think we might be being followed." She looked over her shoulder once more. "We should decide on a place soon. I am not picky." She whispered to her companion. It seemed like no matter where she looked there were people or tents and as they moved inward everything felt more dense, more crowded. It made it very difficult to determine for sure if they were being followed or if faces and bodies were just starting to blend together. Alleara inhaled and exhaled slowly trying to focus.

They eventually found a tent that billowed out a dense and savory aroma from several pots fashioned over a burning pit. There were neither tables nor stools where they could seat themselves properly like the street thermopoliums or taverns in the city. It was a food tent, if it went by a name, where travelers took their seats on mats that could be folded easily by the owner for a mobile life. Each of the food tents only served a single specialty, thus there was no competition and everyone profited, in theory.

The two of them took their seats on an ornate rug woven with many unique patterns that were indigenous to the deserts. A servant delivered two clay bowls that were crudely hand molded before returning to the pots. The roughly shaped spoons seemed more fitting for the mashing or grinding of food than the spooning of soup into one's mouth.

Alleara settled into her spot beside Estios. She breathed a little easier now that they were in a tent, surrounded by those working and those eating. They would not be attacked in such a place, of that she was certain. The smell made her stomach rumble painfully and she looked over at Estios with a bit of a sheepish smile. "Please excuse my stomach."

By the time the servant came by she was feeling ravenous. "What is our next step then? We have clothes to change into, food...then what?"

"In matters of war, I may speak a great deal. At this junction, I am not sure. Have you given any thoughts to it?" he rubbed his chin, but he stopped when it began to irritate his cracked skin.

The servant from before returned with a large ladle that carried both of their portions, he poured half of the stew into Estios's bowl and half into Alleara's before he returned to the kitchen.

Alleara's eyes went to her bowl and the stew that now sat in it. She swallowed, imagining the taste of it from the smell as it wafted up to her nose. With delicate movement she spooned some into her mouth. The first bite was like heaven. She let it sit in her mouth for a moment, savoring the flavors. The woman took a few slow bites, making the stew last as long as she could.

"I think we should try and go to the Timekeepers." Alleara leaned towards Estios, her voice very low. "I think tonight we find a place to sleep, we get some supplies and we try to push on. I do not know where else to go or what else to do. I do not think we will make it home without being killed. We need to find evidence of the queen's murder." She turned her head to look up at him. "Assuming that is that you wish to continue to travel with me..."

Estios had his head in his bowl, supping away at the soup.

She looked down a moment, a frown on her face. "I fear you are tangled up in this because of me and my investigation. I was only doing what the queen asked but it has meant a great deal of hardship for you. If you wish to cut your losses I would ask for a part of my money back and let you take the rest for your own journey. I realize that staying with me may not be in your best interest though I would welcome your knowledge and skills."

"I have no other place to turn to. The sands are alien to me. Solaria is my home," he cleared his throat, "I have been dishonored. My men deserve retribution," and then Estios said no more, casting a glance back at his now empty bowl.

He raised it up, signaling to the servant to deliver another portion from the steaming pot.

Alleara sighed. She felt terible that this man was stuck with her and unable to return home. She nodded though Estios' eyes were on his bowl. He signaled for more and she slowly finished off what was in her bowl. It was wonderful to eat and yet it sat like a stone in her stomach. Guilt and anger intermingled. It isn't right what they did and now I don't know what else to do. Who knows what they told the queen or my family.

He was going to travel with her because he didn't know what else to do or where else to go. Alleara honestly didn't care the reason, she was happy to have him with her. She was not naive enough to think she would last a day alone here or in the desert.

"Then we rest tonight and make for the timekeepers in the morning? Perhaps get some supplies to help our journey?" She finished the last of her meal.

"That's a start," he continued with his second portion.

Alleara looked ahead. She held her empty bowl and before she realized it her eyes started to slowly close. The long night in the desert and not the full stomach was taking its toll on her. Alleara shook her head a little, trying to keep alert. Estios was still eating and she did not want to rush him. Eyelids once more grew heavy and again she forced them open.

One hand came to her mouth as she stifled a yawn. Even her mind usually so keen to work through problems was quiet. Sitting and a hot meal reminded her about how they had been pressing on ever since the ambush. Alleara felt her body ease a little.