Voronica Whitney-Robinson - Sands of the Soul

She heard her friend's melodic voice say, "Welcome to Calimport, Tazi."

Tazi was surrounded.

All around her, life swarmed and teemed. She, Fannah, and Steorf found themselves in a bustling section of Calimport. The warm sun beat down on them, and Tazi took in everything. Many men and a few women pushed past her. The men were clad in loose trousers, shirts, embroidered vests, and robes. Most of them wore some type of head covering, but that varied in style.

Perhaps it denotes station, Tazi thought.

The women were completely covered, even wearing veils over their faces. Tazi caught glimpses of trousers when their robes peeked open, but no more than that. Those more poorly dressed were leading beasts of burden pulling heavily laden wooden carts. Tazi had to move quickly to avoid getting a toe crushed by one of them. There wasn't a single creature that wasn't bustling.

Looking up toward the horizon, Tazi saw slim towers stab at the bright sky. Some of the towers supported incredible domes that glinted in the sunlight. The occasional flying carpet drifted from parapet to parapet. Lower down, the buildings were less than extravagant but wondrous nonetheless, a few sporting intricate mosaic designs. Tazi realized that she was standing in the middle of a throng of people, her mouth agape.

"I must look like a fish just hauled out of Selgaunt Bay, mouth opening and closing," she chuckled to herself.

"What was that?" asked Steorf.

Tazi was lost to her gazing again.

Men and women were shouting things down to the merchants at Tazi's level from atop the walls.

None of the stalls or archways had any names or signs that she could read, and she likewise noticed no identifying marks on the door they had stepped out of, which was set into a mud brick wall. When she heard a telltale click, she tried the handle and found that the door was locked behind them. Tazi suspected it would not open again. There would be no going back that way.

As someone shoved past her, Tazi realized that they needed to move.

Speaking loudly to be heard over the buyers above, Tazi yelled, "we shouldn't stand here too much longer."

Both Steorf and Fannah faced her expectantly.

"I would dearly love to tell you where we should go, but I can't even say where we are right now. I think Fannah is best suited to do that."

Steorf nodded at her logic, and Fannah moved a little closer to Tazi.

"Tell me what you see," the Calishite asked her.

"The mud walls all appear the same to me," Tazi admitted, "and I can't see any signs. In fact, the only thing I do see is a symbol cut high into the wall, but it's the same design as one over an archway nearby as well so I doubt it means much."

"What is it?" Fannah asked.

"It looks like the silhouette of a ship with one mast."

"Are the sails unfurled?" Fannah questioned.

"Yes," Tazi answered, realizing that the symbol might mean something after all, "the sails are full."

Tazi watched as Fannah smiled slightly.

"Tell me," she prodded further, "is there one building that stands out among the others near here?"

Tazi turned around and spotted a five-story building with a six-story minaret on top within a stone's throw from where they stood. She described the edifice to Fannah, a little perturbed that the Calishite never gave her a quick answer.

But she always gives me the right one, Tazi told herself.

"We are in the Piqaz Drudach within the Osiir Sabban. The entire area is known as Hook Ward. This is my home," Fannah said.

"Too much of a coincidence," Steorf muttered.

"You might be right," Tazi agreed, thinking she would mull that over later. "So what's the building in front of us?" she asked Fannah.

"That building is known as the Lighthouse of the Moon," Fannah explained. "Not only does it serve as the only lighthouse within the harbor walls, it is also a temple to Sel?ne."

"That's a temple?" Steorf asked.

"Yes. The priests of Sel?ne man the lighthouse," Fannah answered, "but for the last eight hundred years, they haven't had to do a thing to make it function. There's a mirror in the minaret that coalesces the moonlight every night and shines it out toward the harbor. No one has ever been able to extinguish that light. In fact, there is only one time every month when it doesn't shine: the night of the new moon."

Tazi stared up at the mirror. "How fortunate to have such a dependable beacon!"

Fannah smiled once more. "It's funny how many creatures mistakenly fear the night, as though blackness was somehow inherently evil. They don't realize they should look to themselves, that it is the darkness within that they should fear."

Fannah pulled the hood of her travel cloak over her head, and Steorf followed suit. All that was left of Tazi's cloak, however, was a pile of rags after her encounter with the dog. She realized she was a bit exposed.

"It would help if we could get some clothing less conspicuous," Tazi noted. She had already seen several men stare at her a little longer than she was used to, even dressed as she was.

"Like in all of Calimport, the merchants of Hook Ward sell most everything. It shouldn't be difficult to find some suitable supplies for us," Fannah informed her.

Tazi and Steorf flanked Fannah as they began to maneuver through the throng. As Fannah deftly wove amongst the sea of people, Tazi had a little time to notice more of her surroundings.

Much like Selgaunt, people were buying and selling every kind of merchandise possible, but what puzzled her was that several different priests were hawking their gods as though the deities were simply wares as well. In front of the lighthouse, proselytes of Sel?ne, dressed in their white and blue finery, were preaching to a group of slaves. Tazi suspected the slaves were listening merely to give themselves a break for a few moments, but then two other acolytes descended on the small congregation. One wore the black and purple robes of Shar and the other a pair of white bound hands, showing she was a follower of Ilmater. It only took a short time before the sermons turned to shouts between the three. Tazi had never seen any temple in Selgaunt tolerate that type of behavior.

"What's going on?" she asked Fannah.

Fannah turned slightly. "What do you mean?"

"Those proselytes over there are about to start fighting," she exclaimed.

"Oh, that," Fannah chuckled. "It's a well-known saying around here that 'Hook Ward has a holy war at least twice a day'!"

"I can't believe it's fitting for them to behave like that," Steorf added, breaking his silence. "Doesn't it shame their gods?"

"Steorf, you misunderstand," Fannah explained gently. "I think nearly every deity of Faer?n is represented here in Calimport. Many of the clerics have to compete for followers or their temples will suffer. It is their duty. In fact," she added, "it is perfectly acceptable for clerics to hold secular positions in the city, with their salaries going back to their respective temples."

"I guess I just don't understand," Steorf replied, shaking his head.

He glanced around uncomfortably, and Fannah smiled indulgently.

"It is a little hard for foreigners," she said. "Come along. Selamek's Warehouse is not too far away. We'll be able to pick up a few things there."

Traveling in a southeasterly direction, the three continued to push their way through the crowds. Tazi looked back over her shoulder one last time at the sermon to see if the priests had come to blows, but the crowd swallowed up the view.

Fannah expertly led the two through the mazelike streets and Tazi found herself shoved right up against her, the crowd was so thick at times. The Calishite woman didn't even appear to notice the close quarters, but as Tazi glanced over Fannah's shoulder, she could see that Steorf looked distressed as well.