Richard Tuttle - Star of Sakova

“He certainly has no love for Master Malafar or the Academy,” added Syman. “I don’t know what to think. I only urge caution in what we let him know.”

“Thanks for stopping the conversation last night,” nodded Lyra. “I wasn’t sure how to get out of telling him more, but I share your caution. Still, Walak does not have the courage to have remained at the Academy if he knew there was going to be an attack. He could not have had any advance notice of the attack, but that does not mean that his father didn’t order it. I am probably fishing in a wash tub, but his father is something I want to check out.”

“Well at least we shall be free of him now,” reflected Syman. “He just entered the city with Antello not far behind. Nobody gave them more than a cursory glance so I think we are safe to enter. Let’s ride casually and make a run for it only if we are threatened. No sense in giving people a memory of our passing.”

Lyra nodded in agreement as they started down the trail towards the road. The sun was just starting to set as they gained the road and traffic was almost nonexistent. Lyra let her eyes wander to the farms lining the road, their uniform rows of tilled earth reflecting a warm glow in the light of the setting sun. Half height painted fences lined the road with a scattering of gates for the access trails leading to the farmhouses. It was a pleasant view and prettier than Tala’s scattered farms. The walls to the city rose up before them and Lyra felt excitement run through her. She had only been to Gatong once before and that was so long ago that she had all but forgotten those childhood memories. She tried to anticipate what the hustle of city life must be like with people running every which way on shopping sprees or errands of some sort.

The city gate was clearly visible now and Lyra could pick out the shining white uniforms of the Imperial Guard manning the entrance. Beyond them she could see fine carriages on the road and a long line of storefronts with gaily-painted signs. As they got up to the gate, she saw Antello standing beyond the Imperial Guards and he was making some strange gestures. Syman halted and grabbed the reins to Lyra’s horse just before they passed through the gate.

“Darling,” Syman cooed, “maybe we should inquire about work with the farms out here before we try to get a job in the city. I am pretty handy with a plow and it looks like they might need help.”

Lyra stared at Syman, but watched the Imperial Guards who were only several feet away. “Whatever you wish husband. I think living on a farm again would be good. Which one should we inquire of first?”

Syman mumbled an unintelligible reply as he turned, leading Lyra’s horse with him, and headed back up the road. He slowly and calmly passed two or three gates before selecting one to open. They traveled up the trail to the farmhouse and Syman dismounted and walked up to the farmhouse door. Lyra stole a glance back towards the city and saw nothing unusual. Lyra sat upon her horse as the sky darkened and Syman talked to an old weathered farmer in a jovial manner as if there was no urgency in his unusual behavior. Lyra wanted to scream at Syman to tell her what was going on, but she forced herself to sit calmly as the old farmer kept glancing over towards her and smiling.

Eventually the farmer retreated indoors and Syman came back and helped her dismount. “We are going for a little walk my dear,” he grinned. Leading their horses eastward pass the farmhouse, Syman whistled an old sailor tune and walked with a swagger. Lyra’s curiosity boiled within her as she walked alongside the whistling cadet, but again she held her loving facade. Syman led them along a narrow path that ran between two fields and eventually they halted at another gate. Syman opened the gate and kept on going until they had entered the forest beyond.

“Okay,” Lyra huffed, “what exactly is going on?”

“Sorry, Lyra,” smiled Syman. “I am not sure what is the matter, but Antello signaled not to enter the city. He was concerned about the Imperial Guards, but for the life of me, I cannot understand why.”

“How do you know all this?” questioned Lyra. “And what was all that with the old farmer?”

“Antello and I have a system of signals,” explained Syman. “We developed them to avoid getting caught at the Academy. It is nothing fancy, but he signaled that we need to circle around the city and, as Gatong is a seaport, the only way we can do that is to the east. The little speech I gave at the gate was to make a story up which the guards would believe. I think they would be interested in people who turned around after seeing their uniforms guarding the gate. I chose the farm that was best tended to inquire of work, knowing we would be turned down.”

“Okay,” conceded Lyra with a warm appraisal of Syman’s cleverness. “So you asked for work at the least likely place to want workers, but what did you discuss with the farmer for so long?”

“I told him that I was a sailor and newly married,” chuckled Syman, “just in case he actually needed help. When he politely declined my offer to work for him, I confided that your father did not approve of me and that he did not know of our wedding. I asked if there was somewhere that we might spend our honeymoon night without entering the city, for I feared that your father might come looking for us. I must have struck an old memory in him as he offered us a room for the night. I politely refused and inquired if there might be an old hunter’s cabin in the woods nearby. As I guessed, he confirmed that there were several and told me where I might find one. I asked permission to traverse his property and he gave it gladly and here we are.”

“Don’t start believing your own stories, Syman,” laughed Lyra. “I never realized how resourceful you are. How do we meet up with Antello though?”

“Well, he said we needed to circle around the city, so he intends to meet us on the other side. I would suggest that we find a high point on the other side of the city and keep watch for him. First, we are going to have to find a way to cross the Altha River. Perhaps we should catch some sleep in the hunter’s cabin first.”

Lyra playfully punched Syman’s arm and laughed. “I think we need to circle the city and find out what is going on to alarm Antello.”

Darkness settled over the valley as Lyra and Syman worked their way through the woods and finally found a trail leading eastward. The trail was well used, but not a main trail and they proceeded single file. Chirping crickets and croaking frogs created a racket loud enough to block out any other sounds and Syman led them slowly through the woods to avoid stumbling upon a patrol. Eventually, the trail ran alongside the Altha River and they followed it upstream for several hours before coming to a crudely made bridge. They crossed quickly and started following the trail on the other side of the river back towards the city.

It was approaching the middle of the night when Syman spotted the glow of a campfire ahead on the trail. Raucous laughter drifted lightly on the wind and Syman turned around and they retreated back up the trail. Backtracking for a while, they came to a fork in the trail and turned south. The narrow trail wound through the forest and started climbing. Being unfamiliar with the area, Syman could only follow the trail and hope that they came to an intersection that would allow them to turn westward once again, but the trail continued southward and climbed steadily. The soil turned rocky as they climbed and they began seeing glimpses of the starry sky as they continued to ascend the trail. The trail began to switchback and Syman realized that they were climbing out of the valley and were not likely to find a connecting trail until they either reached the top of whatever they were climbing or they descended the other side.