Gorinthians Read online

  Ferrich blushed slightly. "I am used to a classroom setting where everything is controlled,” he replied, somewhat plaintively. "It is just an art at the university, not a utility or defensive maneuver. We only learn the history of its use in those contexts, not the practical application."

  Morindessa nodded her understanding. "But you do know how to do many of the things you have seen me do.” It was not a question.

  Ferrich held his hand out in front of him and wobbled it slightly, "Only some of it. I think I could probably knock someone out the way you did to Captain Kerns’ soldiers."

  "Good,” Morindessa said with satisfaction. "From now on, we will have a lesson after dinner every night and you will practice what you learn as we travel throughout the next day."

  A large smile broke out over Ferrich's face, "That would be wonderful!” he exclaimed. "What can you teach me right now?"

  Morindessa once again wore that small smile that Seranova had come to recognize as her smile for Ferrich, "Can you see what I am doing with the road to make the weeds flatten in front of us?"

  Ferrich's eyes did not look toward the weeds lying down as if of their own accord, but Seranova thought she could feel a sudden awareness from him reaching out past her to the phenomena. A moment later, his eyes came back into focus again. "You’re changing the water content in the plants so they are more supple and then you are pushing your Aura against the plant's spirit so that it flattens the plant to the ground."

  "Very good, Ferrich,” Morindessa congratulated him with another smile. "Now you try it.” Morindessa fell back and let Ferrich take the lead.

  Once again, Seranova felt something reaching out from Ferrich. She tried to study it, to feel what it was. There was a sudden sense of force and suddenly she found herself on the ground, staring up at the sky. At the same time, she heard several loud, cracking sounds. Sitting up quickly, she saw Morindessa was still standing behind Ferrich, while Ferrich began apologizing to Seranova. The trail in front of him was flattened for several hundred feet, while the trees lining the road to either side were completely flattened for fifty feet on either side. Morindessa stood for a moment staring around her, shock painted on her face.

  "Impressive,” she murmured, staring at Ferrich as if she were seeing him for the first time. "I would not have thought that was possible without using yara."

  Ferrich hurried over to where Seranova was still sitting, stunned as she looked around at the sudden devastation around them. He reached down and grabbed her arm, pulling her to her feet. "I really am sorry,” he apologized lamely, "I am not sure what I did wrong."

  "My fault, Ferrich,” Morindessa said, standing behind him studying the flattened trees around them. "I should have started with something less physical. I just didn't expect anyone to have a yar as strong as yours.” Turning around to look at Ferrich, Morindessa studied him intently, tapping her lips thoughtfully. "Try reaching out again, this time with a much lighter touch, as if you were merely trying to exhale, instead of blow."

  "I don't know," Ferrich hesitated, "I might hurt someone."

  "No, no. You will be fine.” Morindessa brushed his concerns away with a wave of her hand. "I was unprepared before. I will shield Seranova better this time."

  "All right," Ferrich said, taking a deep breath, "Here it goes."

  Seranova felt the strange force push past her again, this time only lightly brushing against her as if there were a slight breeze. The tall weeds all around them slowly bent down to the ground as if an invisible giant were lying down. This time the force was only directed in front of them, where they were walking, instead of a large radius around them.

  "Excellent, Ferrich!” Morindessa complimented him, her full lips widening into a smile that lit her face. "You really are a swift learner; much more so than I was."

  Ferrich blushed at the praise, staring at the ground with a pleased smile on his lips while Morindessa stared at him with a strange look in her eyes. Seranova shook her head slightly, rolling her eyes to the sky. She never could understand the interest people had in relationships, especially when there were so many items of much greater interest all around a person. What a perfectly good waste of time, Seranova thought, sighing inwardly.

  They continued down the overgrown road for several more hours before it abruptly gave way to a T where a dirt road that was obviously maintained regularly traveled from North to South. They could see a small village about a mile down the road to the South. The forest had been cut back away from the small village, leaving a hundred yard ring between the last house and the tree line. They could hear the sounds of woodcutters chopping trees in the forest around the village as they came closer. The houses were made of logs with mud to seal them, and thatched roofs with shutters instead of glass-paned windows. There were no children out playing in the street like Seranova would have expected in a small town like this and the men that were walking through the dusty streets carried pitch forks or staffs with them.

  "These people look like they are expecting to be attacked,” Seranova whispered quietly to the other two.

  Morindessa nodded her agreement, steering them toward the closest of the poorly armed villagers. He was tall and lanky, without a bit of meat on his bony limbs and his hair was long and greasy. He watched them narrowly as they approached him, wiping his wrist across his runny nose and then wiping it on homespun trousers. His loose wool shirt looked like it had not been washed in months and one of his eyes stared off in a slightly different direction.

  "Excuse me," Morindessa said in a clear voice, stepping in front of her companions. "Could you tell me the name of this village?” Morindessa kept her eyes focused on the eye that Seranova guessed was looking at them.

  The rough-looking villager stared at Morindessa for several moments, suspicion burning in his off-center eyes, before reaching out and plucking at her intricately woven linen shirt. "How much did this cost you?” he asked in a lazy accent that some of the farmers at Laketown had adopted.

  Morindessa had remained still while he plucked at her shirt, but Seranova could suddenly feel the threat of violence radiating from the slim assassin like heat from a forge. "The question is, how much is it going to cost you?” Morindessa replied quietly, her eyes burning into his head.

  The man's eyes widened slightly as he perceived the sudden threat, unconsciously taking several steps backword before catching himself. "Didn't mean nothin' by that,” he muttered, suddenly much meeker. "This is the village of Fair Venning."

  "And is there lodging in Fair Venning?” Morindessa asked, her voice still deadly quiet as she studied him like an insect.

  "Yes, mistress," he muttered, swallowing once before continuing, "at the other side of town.”

  "You are too kind,” Morindessa beamed, suddenly all smiles as she led them down the street. The other poorly armed villagers that were moving around in the streets looked at the trio as if they might approach them, but after casting an uncertain glance toward the greasy-haired man they had first talked to, the men continued on.

  "Why did you stop and ask him?” Seranova asked, looking at Morindessa curiously. "We could have found the inn if we had just gone through the village."

  Morindessa nodded as she walked. "I always like to feel things out a little when I am in unfamiliar territory.” She looked around casually, studying the disparate looking men in the street, "Something is wrong here. They are all afraid of something."

  Seranova glanced at a short, chubby little man with a balding head as he walked past them, stealing furtive glances at them when he thought they were not watching. His eyes were wider than normal, making him look half-crazed. "What do you think happened to them?” Seranova asked uneasily.

  "Hopefully we can find out more at the inn,” Morindessa replied, her eyes continually scanning everything and everyone around them. Seranova could also feel what she was beginning to recognize as Morindessa's yar gently reaching out and probing the surrounding village.

  The village was o
nly about a mile long, with the courthouse being the largest building. She thought she saw a child through a large crack in one of the shutters of a crude log house that had mud crumbling between the logs. As soon as she looked, however, the small eyes peering through the crack disappeared. As the inn at the far side of the village came into sight, Seranova heard a baby crying in another log home, and what sounded like a mother trying to comfort it.

  The inn had a small sign hanging in front with a picture of a bearded man splitting wood with an axe. Beneath the crude picture were the words, 'The Woodsman'. Morindessa signaled her and Ferrich to stay behind her as she opened the heavy oak door and entered. Inside, there were square wooden tables with benches that filled a small common room, empty with the exception of a man in a green cloak that was obviously not a local. He had black hair cut to the shoulders and a small goatee that looked out of place on his otherwise handsome features. Seranova could see a scabbard touching the floor next to his bench, just barely sticking out of his long green cloak. He glanced up at them as they entered, brown eyes showing recognition when he saw Morindessa before hastily looking back down at his mug of ale. Glancing at Morindessa to see if she had noticed, Seranova winced as she saw the cold, calculating look Morindessa directed at the stranger. Wondering if the man would survive the night, Seranova's attention was distracted by the entrance of a large man with an apron that might have been white once long ago. He had shoulders that reminded her of the blacksmith at Laketown, with short-cropped red hair and blue eyes.

  He strode over to them, a welcoming smile on his rough features. "Mistresses. Master.” He nodded to each of them in turn. "Welcome to the Woodsman. I am Derek, the owner of this inn. How many rooms will you be wanting tonight?” He had an odd way of talking, not at all like the other villagers. His speech was precise and clipped, as if he actually thought about what he wanted to say before he said it.

  "Three rooms please,” Morindessa replied, pulling some silver from her purse, "and if it's not too much trouble, we would like to have dinner brought up to our rooms."

  The money exchanged hands and Derek led them down a hallway to their rooms. "Thank you,” Morindessa replied when he opened the door to her room. "Do you know anyone in this village who has three horses they would be willing to sell?"

  Derek shook his head. "All they have here are farm ponies for plowing,” he said regretfully. "However, North Fork is only ten miles south of here, and they are sure to have a few horses for sale."

  "Very well,” Morindessa said brusquely, "North Fork it is."

  "I will send your supper up with one of my daughters,” Derek told them, turning back down the hallway. "It should be ready in about a half an hour."

  After Derek had shown Seranova and Ferrich their rooms, they rejoined Morindessa in her room. Her pack was sitting on the side of her bed and she was rummaging through it when they entered, closing the thick oak door behind them. A moment later, Morindessa's head emerged from her pack as she pulled out a strange device Seranova did not recognize. It looked like a large supper plate made of crystal. There were colors swirling all throughout the strange crystal plate, ranging from a green in the center to other mellow colors covering most of it, with two red dots on the outer perimeter.

  "What's that?” Seranova asked, fascinated as she watched the colors swirl around slowly like oils that had been dyed and mixed with water.

  "It's a mood glass.” Morindessa pointed at the red dots on the outer edge. "The red ones indicate people that are feeling intense emotion. The orange indicate rage, the blue usually indicate slumber, while the yellow shows people that are relaxed. The green and black show despair and unhappiness."

  "How does it work?” Ferrich asked with a puzzled frown. "I can sense it with my yar but it doesn't feel like anything I have ever felt before."

  "That's part of how it works,” Morindessa replied, setting the mood glass on a small table. "It is actually made up mostly of Tramnel, the substance that grows on your physical body so your spirit can attach itself. Once the Tramnel was grafted on to the crystal, an Elemental was organized, mostly made up of passive spiritual matter, but enough active matter to still be considered an agent. The elemental was attached to the Tramnel inside the crystal. The substance on top of the crystal is something I am not familiar with, but it makes it so our eyes can see what is actually spiritual energy radiating around us."

  Ferrich's eyes widened, "Are you telling me this thing is alive?" he asked in shock.

  Morindessa shrugged, "Of course. It would not work without some kind of spiritual being. All it is really doing is giving us a visual of what we can sense with our own yar. The difference is that this can reach out a lot further than we can."

  "Did you make it?” Seranova asked curiously.

  "No,” Morindessa replied solemnly. "It was given to me by a very good friend."

  "So what is it telling us right now?” Ferrich asked, studying the colors that were slowly swirling around inside it.

  Morindessa stood up next to the table and pointed at the yellow color at the center, "Just think of it as a large eye in the sky looking down. The yellow in the center represents us. The blue that is up here," she pointed at a spot about an inch away from the center, "This is probably a baby or child sleeping.” She pointed out to the edge where the red dots were, "This is either someone that is very scared, or having a very good time."

  "I don't understand,” Ferrich said, frowning at the mood glass. "Having a good time is an intense emotion?"

  Seranova shared an amused look with Morindessa, "Usually the ones having the good time are a boy and a girl,” Seranova said dryly.

  "Oh,” Ferrich said, blushing to the roots of his hair. Morindessa wore a wide smile, not far from outright laughter. "What about the orange ones?” Ferrich asked, obviously trying to change the subject.

  "More than likely a domestic dispute between a husband and wife,” Morindessa replied, still smiling at Ferrich. "If you wait a while, they will probably turn red when they begin making up."

  Seranova laughed aloud as Ferrich turned even redder, avoiding Morindessa's eyes as she watched him with a mischievous twinkle in them. "What about the green?” Ferrich asked, trying to ignore his burning ears. "Isn't that a lot of green for this few people."

  Morindessa's smile disappeared as she looked down at the mood glass that was dominated by green swirls. "Yes, it is; especially for a rural village where people are usually happier than city folk."

  "Do you think it has anything to do with-" Seranova broke off as they heard a knock on the door.

  She felt Morindessa's yar brush past her and looked down at the mood glass to see that another yellow swirl had joined theirs in the center.

  "Who is it?” Morindessa called out, her hand gripping a dagger at her waist.

  "-Esh-," a muffled, high-sounding voice replied from the other side of the door. "I have your supper."

  Morindessa walked over to the door and opened it, her hand still resting on her dagger hilt. "Come in," she said, and a girl of about ten years walked into the room with a platter of steaming food. The young girl had two long, blonde braids hanging over each slender shoulder and a finely featured face that almost looked as if it had been sculpted. She wore a simple homespun gown of wool with a few small patterns woven onto the bodice. Her eyes were a deep lavender and possessed narrow slits instead of round pupils. She kept her eyes cast down, as if she were trying to keep them hidden.

  "What was your name?” Morindessa asked her again gently, finally removing her hand from her dagger.

  "Jesha," the girl whispered, still keeping her gaze to the floor. She set their dinner on the table and turned to leave.

  "Jesha, please stay for a moment,” Morindessa said softly, her eyes strangely gentle. "I was wondering if you could answer a few questions that we have."

  Jesha stood facing the door, looking too afraid to leave yet terrified of staying. Morindessa reached out and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "
You do not need to be afraid of us. We are friends."

  Jesha turned around slowly, finally glancing up at each of them nervously. Seranova smiled at her reassuringly and Ferrich winked at her. "What is it that you want to know?” she asked, still whispering.

  "How old are you?” Morindessa asked, pulling two chairs out from the table and offering one to Jesha. "In human years."

  Jesha was half way in her chair when Morindessa finished. She froze midway to her seat as her eyes widened in panic. "Don't be alarmed," Morindessa said soothingly, pushing her shoulder until she sat down in her chair. "The woman I knew as a mother was Zeran."

  Still looking uncertain, Jesha darted looks around the room at them, her strange eyes catching the light that was streaming through the window next to the bed. "You are Zeran?” she asked Morindessa doubtfully.

  Morindessa shook her head, "No. I was lost in the city of Shalilayo when I was young and a Zeran woman took me in and raised me. You have nothing to fear from us."

  "I don't understand,” Ferrich said, looking puzzled. "Why would she be afraid that we knew she was Zeran?"

  Seranova remembered the villagers they had passed in town and knew exactly how they would treat someone who was different. "Because she wasn't sure whether we suffered from tunnel vision,” Seranova said caustically.

  "People are less accepting of non-humans in these rural communities,” Morindessa explained to Ferrich. "They think anything that is not human must be less than human."

  "That's ridiculous,” Ferrich scoffed, shaking his head slightly. "We are from the same stock."

  "Just think of it like the class system at Shalilayo,” Morindessa suggested with a smile. "Aristocrats are prejudiced against the commoners because they think they are better for some reason. They don't have class systems in these villages, but prejudice is just too good to keep to the cities, so the villagers have come up with their own system of classifying a person’s worth."