The Sage Seed Chronicles: The Unraveling (11 page)

Erin closed her eyes and mentally thanked
Keir. To cover any signs of the shock she was feeling she took off
her hat and wiped her brow with the back of her hand. She put the
hat back of with great care and strode toward Lor’s booth. She had
herself under control by the time she rounded the corner of the
wagon. A set of customers were just leaving and Lor was
straightening his display. He looked up as Erin stopped against his
counter. “I have information. When will it be possible to talk to
you?” she whispered.

Lor slapped his hand on Erin’s shoulder as if
in friendly camaraderie. His eyes were not smiling, though when he
said softly, “Someone else has died. You know who killed them. Oh,
curse them! It was Zinar!”

Erin blinked, “How did you do that?”, then
she said slowly, “You got that off of touching me!” She shrugged
away from his hand. “What is this?” she said in a hiss. “I am
suppose to tell you everything and you withhold information from
me! You are asking for me to trust you and you don’t trust me
enough to share that you have a gift, too?” She tried to calm down.
They couldn’t give anything away to anyone watching but, boy, was
she mad! All of this time she had felt alone with her gifts. It
would have helped for her to know that there were others with
skills. The thought sobered her instantly. “You have gifts and are
in danger like Ree and I. You could have trusted me with that.”

Erin took a step back from him, “We need to
talk and now is not the time! Yes, you were right on both counts
but here is one more piece. I think the person who killed Zinar
also killed my parents. It was the same method with Auntie Jes...
and we have no proof. Now if you do not need me I want to look
inside the city.”

Lor gave her a long look then nodded. He said
in more of a normal voice, “Go on now. Be sure to stop at Kennet’s
wagon for some leather for boots. He will put it on my bill. If he
can cut it right away you can take it into the city to the cobbler.
See you at supper.”

Erin gave him a wave and sauntered off.
Kennet’s wagon was on the way to the big entry arch of the city.
She stopped and watched him. He was wrapping up a leather belt for
a young woman. She smiled and hurried off. “Well, young Terran,” he
boomed, “How is my team?”

“They are fine. I need to check your harness
as the bay has a slight rub. Do you harness them the same every
day?”

“Yes, I do. Hmm. I will check the harness
myself and will try changing their position for a day or so to give
that spot a chance to get better. My thanks, boy! Say, Lor said
that you need new boots. Come have a look at some hides that will
suit. I have a good sturdy dark brown one. It isn’t fancy but it is
tough. What do you think?” he said as he laid out a selection.

“You are right” said Erin “The dark brown
will be fine. It looks like the piece is smaller. Is there
enough?”

“There is enough for your narrow feet. Here
take this into the city. The cobbler is on the lane to the right of
the door.”

Erin went up the three deep steps to the
arched gateway of the old city and stopped in awe. There was a
large courtyard just inside the city entrance with five to eight
lanes on either side. Down each lane were small shops. There were
large arching columns supporting the ceiling which was,
approximately the height of three men. Glow stones platforms were
built in above the shops but also up each column. The lintels
around the shop doors and windows were of acacia wood as were the
doors themselves. Each shop had leaded windows and the whole place
sparkled with life and beauty! It was beautiful as well as
charming. She could visualize it lit up in the evenings or
decorated for holidays.

Realizing she was somewhat blocking the
archway, Erin pulled herself together and looked down the first
right hand lane. The second door from the end was the cobblers
shop. Erin entered the shop to find a short man, of average weight,
putting a pair of just completed shoes into a cubby hole on his
wall. He was whistling merrily as he arranged the display. Catching
sight of Erin, out of the corner of his eye, he turned in greeting.
“You must be the lad that Lor wants shod! Well, come on over here
and let me take a look of your boots that you have on. You can tell
a lot about how people use their feet by looking at wear patterns.
I’m Tobl the cobbler, by the way.” Erin thought of how Lor had
taken a rasp to the bottom of her boots and wondered how to answer
any question the Cobbler asked. With a mental shrug she walked over
to the stool he had indicated and sat down. “Hmm.” and the cobbler
looked up over the edge of his glasses at Erin then returned to
examining the soles of her boots. “You have a slight tendency to
put your weight on the back inside edge of your heel but it is not
bad. I can make the heel a little harder there to cut down on wear.
Basically you use your feet well and are fairly balanced in your
walk. Take off your boots, now, lad and let me make a pattern of
your feet. Erin complied and stood on a piece of paper as he drew
around her foot and chatted. Then as she remained in place he
marked the space of her arch and the height of it. He made notes
about the height of the boot and the size of her calf. As he stood
he said, “I might be able to get these done by tomorrow night. I
just got my leather sew-er fixed and I am caught up in my work.
Stop by before you head out tomorrow. If they are not done you can
pick them up on the way back to wintering in Khanlund Province.
What is your name, lad? Do you want me put your name on your
boots?”

Erin smiled at the gregarious cobbler,
surprised that she could get a chance to speak. “I am Terran and
you do not need to put my name on the boots. It would be great if
they are done tomorrow night but I understand that it would be a
bit of a rush. Do whatever you can.Thank you so much, Tobl.”

Erin realized that the day was almost done
and many shops were closing but she walked around looking at the
shop windows and promised herself to come back and explore tomorrow
if she had time. There were so many things to see. She had to keep
reminding herself that she was a boy and would not be interested in
some of the more feminine shops she passed.

As Erin exited the city she saw that, indeed,
the sun was setting. Luna was well up in the sky but Cear hadn’t
shown itself yet. It was time to find Lor. Hopefully there would be
time for some private conversation! She opened her ‘door’ wider to
check if any part of the Seeker’s crew were around knowing that
didn’t mean that they didn’t have to be very careful.

As she rounded the corner of one wagon she
almost ran into Cob. “Oh, I am sorry Cob. I didn’t mean.. I need to
slow down!” she said quickly backing up.

“You are fine, Terran. I was going a little
fast myself and not really thinking.” Cob said as he recovered his
balance and adjusted his close fitting bakers’ cap.

Erin put a hand on his arm to stop him from
speeding off. “I wanted to ask you something. I have been thinking
about what you told me earlier. You seem to know everyone. Do you
know the man who was with that ‘Targ’ guy the other day? I thought
maybe I should know who these guys were and which guild they are
with so I could avoid them better.”

Cob looked thoughtful. “Targ doesn’t hang
around very many people. Basically can only get along with
relatives. Hmm. I think he was with his cousin Wras. Either him or
his brother Bure. All three are to be avoided. What did the guy
look like? I was too busy making sure my table didn’t tip over and
being concerned about you, to pay attention.”

“The guy had straight blond hair, brown eyes
and was much thinner than Targ.” said Erin.

“That would have been his cousin, Wras. Wore
a hat that looked like it had been run over by a wagon.” Cob
nodded. “Both Wras and Targ’s brother are of the herbal guild. They
are ‘collectors’ that gather herbs for guild people who make
everything from medicines and cosmetic creams to fabric dyes. Just
to complete your list of people to avoid, Targ’s brother’s name is
Bure and the is the same height as Targ but is more of an average
weight. He has wavy brown hair cut just over the ears and has the
same light blue eyes.. or maybe lighter blue.” Cob was staring into
the trees, thoughtfully. “Their guild work is very good but other
than that people don’t like dealing with them. Yeah, avoid them.
Good to see you again. I have to get this tray back. Have a good
evening.” and Cob darted off.

Erin mentally added these facts to the tally that
she needed to share with Lor, knowing full well that she may not be
able to speak freely until the day after tomorrow when they were on
the road. She made her way back to his wagon with a quick detour to
the paddock. The horses greeted her and let her know that they were
fine and enjoying the accommodations and the time to visit with the
other animals at Morraton.

Lor was dismantling his display and packing
up the glow stones as Erin walked up. He looked over at her and
said, “We are eating, tonight with Alliz. I understand that you met
her today and bought a small illustration kit. That’s great. I
didn’t know you were talented that way.”

“I haven’t done it in a while but I used to
do illustrations for my mother’s still room.” Erin said softly,
“Will we be able to speak tonight?”

Lor nodded and said in a quiet voice, “Her
wagon is in the outer ring and slightly away from others. If you
can ask Nuit to watch for us and Tempo to roam and listen we might
be able to quietly share information. Alliz can tell her own
story.”

Erin quietly called to Nuit and explained the
situation, that another person had been killed and that she, Lor
and Alliz needed to talk without being overheard. ‘Could you please
keep an eye out for anyone within range of hearing us? I will keep
my mind open so you can can follow the conversation.’

‘Whoo-woo. No problem. I can do that.’ said
Nuit.

Erin continued to follow Lor with her eyes.
She wanted it to appear that she was waiting for him and doing
nothing else. ‘Tempo, you heard what Keir said this afternoon. I
have more information to share but Lor has not been totally
forthright with us. He has skills he hasn’t shared with me. He
wants to have supper with Alliz, who we met today. I can only
assume that she has some knowledge to contribute. Tempo, can you
stay in the shadows and keep an ear out for people that can
overhear us? We don’t want that to happen.’

‘My ears are good.’ said Tempo, ‘I’ll be
wandering and guarding you. One thing to consider, if I can hear
your speech with my ears it is possible that a human might be able
to also. So I will listen with my ears and my mind.’

Nuit’s silhouette crossed above the dusk lit
common. ‘Tempo has a good point. I’ll do both listening also.’

Lor and Erin passed the fountain and through
some rows of merchant wagons to where Alliz was. She had the meal
prepared and waiting. As they sat at the farthest margin from the
Common and the nearest wagon Alliz greeted them and handed them
their meal, saying softly. “We have a lot to cover and can not stay
here all night talking. You will have questions about what we
reveal tonight. I doubt all can answered this evening but rest
assured you will have answers. I will start. I am Lor’s half
sister. We have the same father but different mothers. I am the
eldest by eighty years.” She paused just a moment to let that sink
in then continued. “Lor has told you about Sages. They get older
but age very slowly. A sage is born every two or three generations
when certain special characteristics combine together in an
individual. The ancients called it a Sage Seed. There are certain
personality qualities and skills that go with the package.” she
gave a slight smile then continued on. “You can not get a half sage
or an evil sage but the extra skills, which you have become aware
of, are of different strengths. We exist for our world and our
world, as we know it, exists because we are here.”

“It has been brought up that people can not
tell who is a sage because they do not wear a special ‘sage guild’
badge. That is correct. Most sages lead very normal lives. But the
Great One and his council know who are sages and where they all
are. Lor and I are of that council. We act as the Great One’s eyes
and ears in the realm from time to time. Lately there has been a
disturbance amongst the sage population and some are dying. We are
both in this caravan at this time to find out what is going on and
to do what we can to stop it.” Alliz paused to let that settle in.
Erin had been, seemingly, eating quietly the whole time Alliz has
been speaking. The information made sense and pieces are falling
into place but it is still a lot to take in.

Lor brushed the crumbs from his fingers.
Speaking softly he continued the narrative. “We did not intend to
deceive you. You have been dealing with a great many things. The
right time to bring it up didn’t seem to present itself. Please
forgive me. As it is, you’ll need to process what we tell you
tonight and ask us questions later. Okay?” Erin nodded. She
scratched her ear, signaling that she was checking with their wild
guardians. Nuit checked in and said that there was no one in the
woods within earshot. Tempo meandered through the shadows then back
into the trees. He agreed with Nuit.

“Terran, you were correct. In some ways I
have messed up by not telling you some of this. We are clearing the
air tonight. It is imperative that we trust each other. You were
also accurate in guessing that I have some talent. My strongest
skill is that I can get knowledge or impressions by touch and I
have good intuition about people. I can also sometimes see glimpses
of the future. That skill is not strong nor reliable. The future
can be changed by what we do. What I have been able to see is
troubling. It wasn’t until you started working for me that I
realized who you were. Do you trust us? Are you comfortable with
working with us? We need to work together to stop the “seeker” and
his friends. Those targeted for killing have all been sages.”