The song finally ended and Nim opened her eyes. To her surprise, the mare was glowing with a shimmering gold light. As she looked down at herself, she saw that she was enclosed in the glow as well. She glanced off to the sides of the road, and saw crowds of people surrounding her. She gasped and squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head. When she finally opened them again, the glow had faded and the crowds were gone.

Nimiri stopped the mare, and slid out of the saddle. Taking out one of the water bags, she splashed her face and cooled it off. That was the strongest vision I’ve ever had, she thought to herself. A few of the strange words came back to her. Puzzled, she could not think of what they possibly meant. She wondered if it was a part of the geas or protection spell that Olla had spun.

She led the horse off the road and into the long grass. The mare ripped off a mouthful of long blades and munched happily as Nim found her bearings. The road here had been built up higher than the ground, most likely to keep from flooding out. There were peat bogs on either side of the road here, and wet swampy places. She had heard enough scary stories of people getting lost and never finding their way out. She let the horse have a few more mouthfuls, and then led her back up to the road.

The sun was started to set when the golden eyed girl finally decided to stop for the night. She was finally past the bogs and the level ground dried out. There were trees growing up on either side of the road here, and the woods were getting thicker as she moved farther to the North.

Spotting a small clearing, she nudged the horse toward it. It did not look like the weather would change, but she set up a leather rain cover anyway. She collected some fallen branches still covered with leaves and set them across the top. She walked back to the road and looked at her camp. From that distance it was invisible. She went back and unloaded the horse, unpacking the food from the saddle bags. She pulled the saddle and blanket from the mare. She set the food aside for the moment while she gave her horse a good rub down and set a stake in the ground. She tied off the lead robe to the stake. Taking the food, she sat down at the base of one of the larger trees. It was not cold enough for a fire, and her cloak would keep her warm enough. There had not been any reports of any bandits along this stretch of the road, but one could never be too careful. The light from a fire would bring unwanted attention. The only thing Nimiri wanted to do was to get to Oldport and back home as soon as she possibly could.

Tearing off a chunk of bread, she used a small knife to cut off slices of the sausage. She laid out a small handkerchief and set out the meat and bread. Carving into the cheeses tough rind, she sliced off a few pieces and set them on the piece of cloth as well. She wrapped everything back up tightly before she started to eat. As she chewed, she wondered about the song she had sung earlier. The melody was unfamiliar, the words had no meaning for her. She would have to ask Olla about it when she returned home to the village of River Fork.

The darkness rose up around the clearing. Nimiri pulled the book of chants from the arrow quiver. Flipping the pages, she found a chant for conjuring light. She whispered the spell, and slowly a faint blue ball of light formed in front of her. She repeated it over and over, faster and faster. The light flickered and grew bright. She pulled up energy from the earth and holding out her hand, pushed it into the ball. Nim stopped chanting, and the ball of light held still and glowed.

She had enough light to read by now, and studied more of the chants in the book. She did not repeat them aloud, but committed them to memory. After a while, the pages began to blur and her eyes were drooping shut. Tucking the book back in between the arrows, she pulled her cloak around her body and curled up to sleep. The glowing ball went out and the last thing she heard was the quiet breathing of the mare. She dreamed.

Nimiri stood on the edge of a cliff, her hands held high above her head. Her voice carried out over the edge and down through the valley below. A bridge began to form at her feet. The song lifted and dipped like swallows swooping through the air. She began to cross, even though the bridge had not quite reached the cliff on the mountain on the other side of the valley. The air sparked and glittered as she sang. Here she knew what all the words of the song meant.

She was almost to the other side when a shadow flew across her face. Looking up, an enormous bird coasted above her blotting out the sun. A knife of fear stabbed her heart. She stumbled over the words and the bridge began to disappear beneath her. The Bird dove down at her and she screamed as the bridge fell away and the bird’s talons just barely missed catching her.

The girl woke with a start, her heart pounding in her chest. It was still dark, but a rosy light was rising at the edges of the horizon. She pushed the hood of her cloak back and looked around the clearing. Her horse was standing a few feet away, patiently waiting for her to get up. Standing up, she found the water bags and took a long swallow to wash the taste of the night from her mouth. After a bit of cheese and bread, she saddled the mare again and made her way back on the road to Oldport.

As the morning became brighter, the clouds rolled in. The morning grew muggy and warm, soon Nimiri was covered with a fine sheen of sweat. The swarms of mosquitoes were left behind in the peat bogs, now there were large black flies that bit. The mare’s tail swished constantly, batting them away. She noticed a small creek had appeared next to the road and she led the horse over to drink. She took out a piece of cloth and tied it around her head to keep the sweat off and her hair out of he face. The mare raised her head suddenly, and her ears perked forward. The crack of a branch set Nim’s nerves on edge. She grabbed her bow and nocked an arrow as she scanned the trees front of her.

A doe slowly walked out of the undergrowth toward the stream. Nim relaxed and lowered the bow. The deer startled and froze, and Nimiri smiled as she turned her horse back to the road. The rest of the morning passed by quietly. There were no other people on the road until later in the afternoon, when she passed a wagon loaded with peat. The peat farmers cut the peat all year round and brought it to the city as soon as each wagon was full. They did not wait for the caravans to take their peat to the city.

It was late afternoon when she rode through the southern gate of Oldport. Two stone pillars stood as sentinels, faces carved into them. Their obsidian eyes watched as she approached. She came in on the high side of the city, opposite from the docks. She could see the tall towers of the Temple of Astara in the distance. The mare’s hooves clattered on the cobbled stones of the street as she meandered through to find the front gates of the temple. A sense of unease filled her as she realized she was alone. She could hear sea gulls squawking in the distance, but it was quiet all around this side of town. A dull roaring of the waves echoed off the buildings as she walked along. As she went deeper into the town, she began to see faces up in windows peeking down at her. The people were all hiding behind their garden walls, inside their houses.

Up ahead at the temple gate she could see a crowd of people. As she rode closer, she could hear their cries and see how their clothes were torn. They appeared to be in mourning. Nimiri wondered if she had just come upon a funeral or if it might be a strange ritual of some kind. The city people had stranger customs and trappings for their religions than the simple folk of the country.

Nim skirted the crowd, and took a side street down toward the dock. She was looking for an inn where she could stash her things and hopefully stable her horse. She saw a sign up ahead, The Golden Harp painted on it. Getting down, she could see a small stable around the corner of the inn. Leading the mare, she found the stable empty, so she put her horse in one of the stalls and scattered some grain in the trough. She left the saddle on the horse, but unhooked the saddle bags and threw them over her shoulder. Walking back around the front of the inn, she went inside.

The inn was light inside, many torches lined the walls flickering brightly. It looked clean and tidy to Nimiri, the floors were swept and tables free from crumbs. The inn keeper looked up as she came in the door. He smiled and stood up to greet her. “How can I help you today?” he asked her.

“I need a room for tonight,” she answered, “One with a lock, if you please.”

He nodded and turned to a cabinet hanging on the wall behind him. He chose a key and came around the bar, leading her to the staircase. At the top, he unlocked the first door on the left and pushed the door open. “This is the best room, up against the fireplace, it stays warm.”

She went inside and set down the saddle bags on the floor next to the bed. Turning back to the innkeeper, she held her hand out for the key. He handed it over to her and nodded. “Supper will be ready soon, if you would be wanting it,” he told as he turned away to leave.

The room held a bed with warm woolen blankets, a small wooden table and chair. There were hooks on the wall by the door to hang her things on. There was a window looking out over an alley, but any light coming in was blocked by the taller buildings around the inn. She noticed a lamp hanging by the window, it appeared to be filled with oil.

Nimiri lifted the flap on one side of the saddle bags, and took out the leather envelope. She opened it up, and took out the letter to read it. It was written in the Cyfandiri script, which she could not read. If it had been in the common language it would have been no problem. Sighing, she tucked it back into the envelope and tried to decide what she should do next. Olla had told her to find Dreuen or Anat. With that crowd at the gates of the temple, she did not think it would be possible to get inside until they left.

Taking out the ball of twine, she cut a piece off and strung the key onto it. She tied it around her neck then tucked it inside her shirt. Brushing off her clothes, she decided to go back down the stairs to speak with the inn keeper to see if he had any knowledge of the mob at the gates of the temple.

Nim locked the door behind her and as she descended, she heard the voices. Hesitating, she tried to listen before she was face to face with the strangers. Just more guests, it seemed. She continued down to the main room and sat down at one of the tables. The bar maid came to her and asked what she wanted, and Nim ordered a mug of mead. She pulled out a few coins for the drink and set them on the table. When the barmaid came back, she asked her what was going on.

“I am not sure, but I heard something earlier about something being stolen or was missing,” the girl told her. “Did you have business at the temple?”

“I did, but I can wait until that pack is gone. The gates were completely blocked when I went by,” Nimiri answered and pushed the coins toward the bar maid. They were scooped up with a well practiced flip of the hand and she left.

Nimiri waited, nursing her drink. After finishing one mug, she ordered another and when that one was finished, she got up. Luckily for her, she drank very slowly so her head did not spin as she stood. More people had come in and the inn had become crowded. The mead giving her courage, she made the choice to go to the temple tonight. All those people should be gone by now, she reasoned to herself. She pushed her way outside, and found it was full dark. There were few torches lighting the way but those all led straight to the Temple of Astara. The girl with the yellow eyes could in truth see about as well as a cat, and walked uphill toward the temple gates.

As she had expected, the crowds from earlier had dispersed. The gates were closed, however there was a gate keeper stationed inside a booth inside the right pedestal beneath the dragon. Nimiri could see the guard inside at attention, eyes sharp. She approached the guard, pulling the envelope from an inside pocket of her outer shirt.

“I need entrance, please,” she said. The guard looked down at her asking, “What business do you have here in the dark of night?”

“I am supposed to ask for Dreuen or Anat, I have a special request for them from Olla of River Fork,” she replied, holding up the leathern envelope, “I just arrived this afternoon, and the gates were too crowded to pass.” The guard nodded and came around to open the gate. He only widened it just enough for her to slip through.

“At the top of the steps, you will see the main doors, then to the right of those is a smaller door. Knock on that one and tell them who it is that you need to see. They should let you in,” he said, quickly locking the gate behind her.

She walked across the courtyard to the steps leading up. The temple was massive with huge boulders carved into rectangular shapes and fitted so tightly together that no mortar was needed. Nimiri began to hum to herself as she made the climb. There were columns in front of the temple carved from black stone casting shadows so black she could hardly see the smaller door to the right. Knocking briskly, a small window opened and a gruff voice asked her business.

“I am here to see Anat, or Dreuen,” she answered, “I have a message for them.” The window slid shut and the door opened. She stepped into the dark and waited. The person behind the door brought a torch out and led her down the hall. Each side had several closed doors and near the end of the hall, her guide stopped. Knocking three fast raps, he spun away, back to his post.

The door opened and light from inside temporarily blinded her and she threw up her hands to shield her eyes.