The Eighth Warden Bk. 03 Ch. 03-04

"It was just an accident," she said, blushing. "I fell through the floor of a building."

Inessa laughed. "Well, it's not the first time. You got luckier than the others, though."

Just then, Magister Borya entered the room carrying a thick tome in his arms. He looked around until he saw them, then hustled over.

"Nessa, Ellerie! Guess what I found? Entire paragraphs on Tir Navis! And even better, listen to this." He opened the book and read. "From their first port of landing after crossing the sea, the people headed south and west and founded a new home in the tall mountains. That last part, of course, is written out in the narrative, but if you were to emphasize it as a name, it sounds much like Tir Navis. Home of the Tall Mountains."

Borya wasn't treating Ellerie any differently than before. Apparently he hadn't heard the news—or been offended by her questions about his people.

"South and west from their port of landing?" she asked. "Lanport is almost directly northeast from the ruins."

"Yes, yes!" he said. "Though I'm curious as to how it later became a human city. Unless, of course, the people themselves were human. If so, perhaps that was where they fled when they left the mountains."

Inessa shook her head. "It's never stated outright, but the sources I've read didn't give the impression that the people were human."

"But we don't know for sure. I have my students pulling more books from the library and the Archives. I came to see if you two wanted to help. I already sent a messenger to Bobo."

Ellerie glanced around the room. "I don't think I can. I'm supposed to be here."

"It's been two hours," Inessa said with a sly grin. "That's enough to be polite, and the party won't break up until you leave. Just make your apologies and tell them you've got to get on the road early tomorrow."

Ellerie found herself smiling back at the woman. Maybe Corec was right. Maybe she could still be herself even among people who knew her identity.

#

Leena woke, her head pounding from the harsh liquor she'd consumed the night before. Peering around blearily, she tried to figure out where she was. It was a tent—much too large to be her own—constructed of leather hides draped over wooden and bone stakes that had been tied together to form a rectangular, hut-like structure.

The shape was familiar, and thinking about what it must look like from the outside, she suddenly remembered her first glimpse of the lizardfolk village, full of dozens of similar tents. There were gaps between the hides at regular intervals, allowing the bright light of morning to shine through, and the air inside was already starting to heat up.

Leena struggled to her feet from the bed of furs she'd been sleeping on. The only other occupant of the tent was a lizardfolk hatchling, who was watching her intently from where it was strapped into a carry basket nearby. When she stood, it squawked, and another lizardman—or lizardwoman; she couldn't tell the difference—entered through a flap in one side.

"Magic finder wake?" it said in its high-pitched attempt at Sanvari. "Lazy like youngling!"

"I'm awake," she muttered. "Do you have any water?" She couldn't see her waterskin or the rest of her things.

"Will get. Will get." The lizard slung the child's carry basket over its shoulder before leaving the tent.

Finding the shaman's bag of medicines had been easy enough. A young boy had stolen it and buried it in the sand outside the village, thinking that owning it would make him the shaman. He'd confessed after Leena had dug it up.

The adults were still debating whether to punish him or apprentice him to the real shaman, but they'd decided that between finding the bag and having an outsider visit, there was enough excitement to warrant a celebration. Leena had gotten the impression that not much happened out in this corner of the Wadalli Desert. Her vague memories of the previous night mostly involved drums and drinking. She wasn't sure what the brew had been made of, but it was the strongest drink she'd ever had in her life, and the lizards consumed it in full-sized mugs.

She stepped outside the tent. Looking down to shield her eyes from the direct sunlight, she found her pack and her other belongings leaning against the hide wall to her left.

The lizardman with the hatchling on its back approached with a full mug. "Here, water!"

"Thank you," Leena said, accepting it and taking a long gulp.

Another lizardman approached—the shaman, if Leena remembered his scale patterns correctly. "Bright morning, shaman Zidari," he said.

"Bright morning, shaman vhithiss," she attempted.

He made a rasping noise, which she wasn't sure whether to interpret as a growl or a laugh. It wasn't a sound she'd ever heard from the lizardfolk who occasionally visited Matihar.

"Food?" he asked. He held out a hunk of unidentifiable dried meat.

"Thank you," she said, taking it. As far as she knew, the lizards didn't eat anything humans couldn't eat, though they cared little about how it tasted. "I'm glad I could help you, but I have to go now."

"Go like Zidari magic shaman?"

"Yes."

"Can watch?"

"Ahh, yes, if you want to."

He shouted something in his own language, and dozens of other lizardfolk crowded around, staring at her. Self-consciously, she retrieved her pack and drew out her map and compass.

Doing her best to guess at her current location, she considered where to go next. She'd been heading roughly northeast, but if she continued in that direction, she'd be in the desert for at least four more days. This group of lizardfolk had been friendly, but the next might not be. If she headed straight east instead, it would make her overall route longer, but she could be out of the desert in a day or two.

She cast her mind east, Seeking a spot to Travel. Somewhere safe and with plenty of water, and as far east as her Seeking range allowed. There was a twinge, and a location came to her mind. She couldn't tell how far away it was, but she'd be able to arrive safely, which was as much as she could hope for from her half-trained Traveling skill.

"Goodbye!" she called out to the watching lizardfolk. They shouted back to her, some in their native language and some in Sanvari.

Taking a deep breath, she Traveled.

When she reappeared, she stumbled, staring in shock. She'd landed on sand, as expected, but it wasn't the sand of the desert. Directly ahead of her, waves crashed onto the desolate shore. The sea.

Judging by the position of the sun, she'd come due east, but it had to have been hundreds of miles farther than she'd expected. Her mind still held the location she'd found through her Seeking, but it now pointed back west. It was fading rapidly, no longer within her Seeking range.

She'd overshot her mark. She could Travel much farther than she could Seek, but she'd never been able to control the longer jumps. If she wasn't careful, she'd end up in the middle of the ocean again, and this time, with no passing fisherman to save her.

But there was nothing she could do about it other than continue on, and attempt to be more cautious.

Her destination was now more northwest than northeast, but she would need to rest before she'd have the strength to Seek it again. She tightened the straps of her pack and started walking along the shore line. There was still a long way to go.