Jalia on the Road (Jalia - World of Jalon) (5 page)

Daniel was nearly at the end of his journey to Enbar Entar. The city was only a couple of days away at the speed a donkey can walk. The trade route to Enbar Entar skirted the edge of the deadly Atribar el’Dou desert that marked the southern end of the known world. It had been a long, hot and dusty journey and he had not encountered a living soul during the three months it had taken him.

He hoped the lack of traffic didn’t mean the Caliph of Enbar Entar was having another of his infamous purges. The purges usually targeted traders and travelers because the Caliph was convinced they were all thieves and vagabonds. From Daniel’s limited experience he knew it didn’t take much to set him off.

He took no chances while traveling. That evening, as the sun began to set causing a blood red glow in the west, he saw the rising dust a horse makes when racing much too fast for its own wellbeing.

Daniel led the donkeys off the road and into a small gully where they were hidden from sight. He found a place in the rocks that protected his back from attack and waited for the rider to go past.

The rider had obviously spotted him for he didn’t ride past the gully. Instead, he slowed his horse to a walk and directed his mount off the road to where Daniel waited. In the dry desert air, sound travels especially well and the impact of hooves hitting compacted dry earth can be heard over a considerable distance.

Daniel heard the horse come to a halt while rider and mount were still out of sight. He fingered the hilt of his dagger as he waited to see what would happen next.

“Hello the camp,” a young female voice, cheerful and a bit winded from the sound of it, shouted out. She spoke the traditional words of greeting, “May I enter your camp and break my fast with you?”

Daniel shouted out the traditional reply, “Come forward and be welcome. Be sure you leave taking only what you brought.”

The rider started her horse moving again and appeared over the rise. Daniel couldn’t tell much about her because she wore a large dusty cloak wrapped around her. She also wore a scarf about her face to protect her from the dust and sand that got everywhere in the desert winds.

The girl dismounted, threw her cloak’s hood back and pulled the scarf from her face with evident relief. “I saw you and your donkeys from afar. I’ve traveled from Delbon alone and it will be good to sit in company again. My name is Jalia al’Dare.” She stuck out her hand towards him.

Shaking hands was not a usual custom for the people of the road. It was a common practice in Bagdor and in the more fashionable part of Delbon, but not on the road, because of the potential danger.

Daniel was stunned by how pretty the girl was. She was about his age and had a trim lithe body. Her deep blue eyes fascinated him. They were a color he had never seen before, despite the places he had been. The girl had a complexion as pale as milk, which contrasted strongly with her long dark hair.

Remembering his manners, Daniel decided to ignore the risk and shake her hand. His fingers were damp and cold when compared with her dry, warm ones. She firmly shook his hand and eyed him up in a way suggesting she had tested him and he had passed. Perhaps she wanted to know if he would attack her. However, it didn’t look to Daniel as though she would have been bothered if he had. She wore a sword across her back and the confidence with which she moved gave Daniel the impression she knew how to use it.

“My name is Daniel,” he informed her, though he wasn’t sure she was listening.

Her horse needed walking to cool it down, and without thinking about it, Daniel took off the horse’s saddle and began walking the beast around the camp.

Jalia’s horse was a fine animal, chestnut in color with an intelligent look on its face. Daniel could easily lust for a horse as fine as this one. He could have lusted after the girl as well if he thought for a second that she might have been interested in him.

Jalia, for her part, was bemused by the attitude of this boy she found on the desert road. One moment he acted sensibly, recognizing she might be a threat, and the next moment he acted as if he had known her all her life, trusting her completely. She concluded he must either be a fool or much more capable than he looked.

Jalia wanted to find a trustworthy companion to travel with. Since leaving Bagdor with a King’s ransom hidden in her money belt, she had found herself pursued and abused wherever she went. Her journey to Delbon was unpleasant. Men she met assumed she was willing to have sex with them because she was traveling alone. That alone made her a whore in their eyes.

Two men assaulted her while she was traveling with a group of traders. She had to leave their camp and move quickly up the trade route once swiftly dispatching the men in question. Traders moved in family groups and took their family honor seriously. Jalia’s leaving was more a case of escaping an angry mob rather than parting company.

She fled Delbon after spotting a man cheating in a card game. Two men died at the card table when they objected to her making an issue of the matter.

The Delbon Guard decided that since she was a foreigner and those she killed were local it must be her fault. This despite the fact that the dead in question were known thieves. The Guardsmen made the fatal mistake of trying to arrest Jalia.

In the fight that ensued, she left another three men dead and roused the whole of the Guard against her. She was lucky to escape the city with a decent horse and had been living off the land ever since. It was lonely on the trail and she needed to find someone she could trust.

Daniel finished cooling down Jalia’s horse. He rubbed the animal down and fed it some of the precious oats he kept as a treat for the donkeys. He lit a fire with practiced ease and soon had a stewing pot on the fire and a pot of tea brewing next to it.

Jalia collapsed against the boulder Daniel had used earlier to protect his back. He approached her with a cup of tea and a plate of stew. He nearly dropped them in shock when he found her knife pressing against his throat. Her reaction speed was almost super-human.

“I’ve brought you food,” Daniel said slowly and carefully. He felt the razor sharp edge of her knife cutting into his flesh.

“Sorry about that,” she said sheathing the knife, “You startled me. I was dozing.”

Jalia sat again, accepting the plate and cup from Daniel’s hands. She thought the food he had prepared tasted wonderful.
‘The boy has the gift of cooking’
she thought as she tucked in and ate every last morsel. She then fell properly asleep for the first time since leaving Bagdor.

Daniel killed the fire. The desert was warm enough at this time of year not to require the extra warmth and there were thieves and worse who could locate a fire at night from five miles away. He cleaned up his dishes, but decided against touching those that lay besides the sleeping girl.

‘She’s a she-wolf,’ he thought looking at her face, which he thought was even more beautiful as it relaxed in sleep. ‘She is magnificent.’ It was going to be difficult for a teenager with raging hormones to sleep this close to such a woman.

Jalia was awake before Daniel the next morning, brewed tea and cleaned her dirty dishes before he woke. She thought about offering him money for the meal. Jalia had embarrassingly forgotten the boy’s name. She was so exhausted when they met the night before that she had not paid attention to what he said. She wasn’t sure how to ask him without sounding rude.

“How far are we from Enbar Entar?” she asked to break the silence. Jalia had no idea where the city was, accepting that if she followed the trail long enough she would reach it eventually.

“About two days, if we break camp soon.” Daniel answered awkwardly. He had never had much opportunity to talk to girls. If Yousef caught him looking at one he would be sent off on a chore. “You could get there in a day if you were to ride your horse the way you were yesterday.”

“He needs a rest and so do I. We will travel the rest of the way with you, if that’s all right?” Jalia wondered why it was important that the boy respond with a yes. Road etiquette demanded she should leave if he did not invite her to stay.

“I would be glad of the company. I’m not used to traveling alone.” Daniel said to Jalia’s considerable relief.

“Who do you normally travel with?” Jalia asked, though it was hardly surprising a boy as young as this one had not been traveling alone for long.

“My older brother, Yousef. He suffered a serious accident some time ago and can no longer travel. It is up to me to make a living sufficient for both of us.”

“You are a trader?”

“Yes. I’m carrying ironmongery from Delbon.”

“I thought the real money was in silver and jewelry?” Her father had traded in such things from Delbon and they fetched a fine price. What the boy was carrying would sell well enough, but his profits would be slim.

Daniel looked away from her. “It is. But my brother’s illness consumed most of our money and he has to have enough money to live until I return. We could not afford to buy expensive goods.”

Jalia decided to change the subject.

“What is Enbar Entar like?”

“It is a caliphate and the Caliph rules the city with an iron and. You must be careful how you behave in the city. Women are not usually seen without a man at their side and those that do are thought to have low morals. It is usual for women to hide their faces behind veils.”

“Do the people gamble?”

“Is there a place where men do not?” Daniel said, and he laughed cheerfully. “There are coffee houses aplenty where gambling is the only reason for their existence. However, I have heard the locals do not like to lose money to strangers.”

“Who likes to lose money to anyone?” Jalia replied, though she had never experienced losing at any game of chance. She suspected she would be unhappy indeed if she were ever to lose money gambling.

“Winning isn’t everything,” Daniel said quietly. Jalia ignored him as she always ignored people when they talked foolishly.

“What games do they play in Enbar Entar?”

“The usual, chess, dice and backgammon are popular, but the principal game is cards. There is a game they play called fade, if you know of it?”

“I’ve never lost a game of fade since the age of five,” Jalia said with a grin. Failing to mention she was only taught the game at the age of five. “Would you like to play a game now, I have a pack of cards in my saddlebag?”

“I don’t believe it would be wise for me to play with someone who never loses,” Daniel said seriously, “And we must make a move now or we will not get anywhere today.”

Enbar Entar is a graceful city when viewed from a sufficient distance. Its tall towers and grand domes reflected the Caliph’s taste in architecture and his choice suited the warm dry climate the city experienced. From inside its walls, it loses much of its grace. Narrow streets and tall clay buildings gave the city a claustrophobic feel.

They entered the market before dawn when the city was still cool and less than half of the stallholders had taken up their positions. Daniel hired a table to display his wares and paid for a canvas awning to provide cover from the blazing sun. Jalia helped Daniel set up his trade goods and suggested how he might display them to their best advantage. She was no stranger to markets and often sold her father’s wares on a stall in Bagdor when the occasion warranted

The central market was soon packed with people, stalls, camels, and horses to the point where it was impossible to move without bumping into something.

Hawkers shouted out their wares in accents so thick it was difficult for Jalia and Daniel to understand them. Their shouts bounced off the sand colored walls surrounding the market, making it difficult to hear the people standing next to them.

The heat of the day became intense as the sun rose and drinking copious amounts of water were essential for survival.

 
“I’ll be back in a few minutes,” Jalia told Daniel and went to investigate the market. It took her some time to find what she was looking for and buy them. Daniel was surprised to see her staggering towards him carrying a dozen spade handles.

“Your ironmongery will sell much better when we have these made up. Most customers want to buy a complete spade and not have to make them themselves,” Jalia explained.

“But I can’t afford them.”

“We will soon make up their cost in sales and I owe you for the meal last night anyway.”

Jalia’s prediction turned out to be correct and sales went surprisingly well. She had a natural gift for selling, not at all hindered in any way by how attractive she was. Many a man who came to flirt and flatter her, walked away with goods he had no use for. Often purchased at twice the price he should have paid.