The town, when they reached it, was a cluster of low, mud-brick and stone buildings crammed behind a stout wall perhaps two men high. Aris had not seen any green fields, though in the gathering dark he could not see clearly; perhaps its fields were on the other side. Its narrow gate had a tall, heavy wooden door. Men in the long, loose shirts like those the brigands had worn came out carrying torches to light their way. Inside the gate, the buildings jammed wall-to-wall. Women crowded the narrow streets, crying out when they saw the woman on horseback, and then shrieking even louder when they saw Aris and Seri.
Their first meal in the strangers' town combined new tastes with elaborate ritual. Aris could only hope that their hosts would not be offended by mistakes; he was soon completely confused about what was expected of them. They seemed to be part exhibition and part honored guest. He and Seri had been offered deep copper basins of warm water for bathing (the captain had mimed a bath for them); they had taken turns, glad to wash off the sweat and dirt of two days' journeying. Clothes, too, had been offered: long white robes with gray panels down the front—as close to the color they had been wearing, they thought, as the captain could find—went over wide-legged gray pants of the same smooth fabric. Aris found the robe deliciously smooth against his skin. He looked more closely at the gray panel, and realized it was brocade, glittering almost silver. Seri touched hers. "This is silk," she said. "Like the clothes Dorhaniya had, that Eris used to make those tunics for Luap." Their own clothes were taken away for washing—again, clearly mimed—but no one tried to touch their sticks or their daggers.
But the meal drove all concern for clothes out of mind. The captain had also bathed and changed; he appeared in a long robe similar to theirs, but in red and brown brocade. When he sat, on the pile of cushions placed for him on a colorful carpet, Aris noticed that he had dark silk pants under his robe. Aris and Seri sat on either side of him.
The room was lit by oil lamps and candles both, with polished metal reflectors used to make it brighter where the diners sat. On the other side of the room, a crowd of people stood, murmuring among themselves. Aris wondered who they were; the captain seemed to ignore them. Servants brought in low tables, then trays laden with food. The captain dipped into a mound of steamed grain and vegetables with a long handled utensil that had a flat, leaf-shaped blade, and offered Seri the resulting lump. She looked around for a plate or something resembling it; a servant held out a flat cake that looked like travel-bread. She took it, and scooped the food off the utensil; the captain repeated this ritual with Aris, who did the same. Then the captain ate a single mouthful, and waited until they had finished their serving. Every dish he offered first to one of them, alternating the honor.
Aris liked the steamed grain, but not the sour little leaf-wrapped rolls stuffed with meat and swimming in a sweet sauce, although he was hungry enough to eat it anyway. A bowl of crispy fries he realized with horror were fried insects; apparently the look on his face was enough, for the captain shrugged and turned away. When Seri also refused it, he shrugged again, dipped one in its accompanying sauce (red flecked with yellow and green) and crunched it, grinning. Another pile of steamed grain, this one colored a rich gold, and fragrant with even more spices. . . . Aris liked that, and the meat stew that came after it. Between each offering, servants handed him a cup of water and a cup of wine.
By the time Aris felt stuffed, after tasting several dozen different foods, all new to him, the table still held enough for a feast. The captain waved his hand, offering more of anything; Aris shook his head and patted his stomach, hoping the captain would understand. Apparently so; he clapped his hands and servants came to remove the tables. Other servants brought a small one, and on it put a loaf of bread, a bowl of water, a large book and a scroll. The captain smiled at Aris, then at Seri, and put his hand on the bread.
"Grish," the captain said. Aris blinked. He must be naming the bread, unless bread stood for something else.
"Grish," he repeated. Then he laid his own hand on the bread and said, "Bread." The captain repeated his word twice, and went through the whole thing again with Seri. Then he touched the water in the bowl.
"Sur."
Aris repeated that, and said, "Water." Again, the captain repeated the procedure with Seri. Then he pointed to the bread, and the water, and said "Bret. Waffer." Aris and Seri exchanged glances, pointed in their turn, and said "Grish. Sur." It was something, but didn't seem likely to lead very far.
Then the captain opened the book. Aris had heard of books: Gird had reported that the gnomes used books, flat pages that could be turned. But he had seen only scrolls, although it was easy to see how one could cut a scroll into short lengths and bind them together. This book had not only writing—the script looked very strange, as if it were made of random brushstrokes, yet those vertical columns could be nothing else—but also pictures. Clearly drawn in black ink, brilliantly colored, they were both beautiful and informative. The captain stopped at a page depicting a group of riders on horseback prancing past a grove of pines. He pointed to one of the horses.
"Finish." When Aris and Seri had both repeated it, he said, "Finish. Nyai pirush." He held up one finger. "Nyai." Pointed again to the horse. "Nyai . . . pirush."
"One horse," said Aris. He held up his finger. "One—" and pointed to the tree, "—horse."
Two horses, it turned out, were "teg pirushyin." Two men on the horses were "teki vekshyin." One man on a horse was "nyaiyi veksh." One pine tree was "nya skur," and two were "tag skuryin."
With the aid of the pictures and a natural quickness, Aris and Seri made some progress even that first night. Their experience with the horse nomads helped, because although the languages seemed nothing alike, they had learned how differently thoughts could be put into words. The captain, also quick to learn, picked up their "please" although he offered no equivalent; perhaps he simply used it in situations where he'd observed them using it, without understanding. By the time the captain rose to escort them to their guestroom, they could understand his words, "Sleep—tomorrow more" as well as his gestures.
They slept well, wakening to find that someone had put their clothes—clean and dry—in a neat stack beside the door. No sooner had they begun to talk softly than servants appeared with more basins of warm water. Aris and Seri washed and changed into their own garments; Aris noticed a faint but pleasant smell of spice.
The next day, Aris felt that one of them must return and explain to Luap what had happened. His combination of words and gestures, with reference to the pictures in the book, seemed to convince the captain, who offered a mount and an escort. Seri spoke up suddenly.
"Aris—why not try duplicating the pattern—perhaps in the ground out there—and going the mageroad?"
"Because I thought you should go, and you can't use the mageroad alone."
"They won't know that; if they see you use it, they'll be convinced I have the same power."
"And we don't know if they'll consider it proof that we're the biknini." The biknini, in the book, were dangerous-looking monsters, capable of changing from a cloud to a collection of spikes, horns, and hooves, to apparent human form. "And we don't know if it would work."
"It's the quickest way," Seri said. "If it doesn't work, you can still ride the horse. As ceremonial as these folk are, they may take drawing it as a prayer of some kind."
"It will be," Aris said. It was too good an idea to waste, though. The captain led the way outside the walls. Aris looked around, noticing a green patch some distance away with trees around it. Grainfield? His newly acquired language deserted him; he had to point. The captain nodded, said something Aris thought he remembered meant "grain" and offered with gestures to lead him that way. Aris shook his head, and looked for a smooth, level space which he could use for the pattern. He found what seemed a good spot, and gestured with his stick: please get back from this. With captain and a crowd watching, he drew the design, and when Seri nodded, stepped onto it. Would it work? He thought of the stronghold's great hall, and with a familiar internal wrench found himself there. Luap, passing through on some errand, stumbled, then smiled.
"What—have you found another pattern somewhere? And where's Seri? I thought you two were off exploring together."
"We were," Aris said. "Where's Arranha? I need to talk to both of you—we've met the people out there to the west." He wished he had thought to ask Seri to protect the pattern—since it worked at all, it might work the other way too, and give him a quicker way to travel back and forth. Would she have thought of that? Probably. "Just a moment," he said. "I have to try something."
Luap stared at him in some confusion. "People? Where? And how did you get back here without Seri?"
"Please," Aris said. "Go find Arranha, and the Rosemage, and I'll be back shortly."
I hope.
He concentrated on the pattern he had drawn, on Seri's presence, and found himself back outside the town, where the crowd was arguing and waving their arms about, while Seri stood calmly by, arms folded. When he appeared, silence fell instantly; half the crowd threw themselves on the ground, another group turned and ran for the gate, and the captain blanched. "It works," Aris said to Seri. "I've asked Luap to find Arranha and the Rosemage. If you can protect this pattern, I can come and go using it. Is it safe for you to stay?"
Seri grinned. "Now it will be. I think the crowd was giving our captain trouble."
Aris didn't want to leave her there, in danger, but she insisted. He took the mageroad back to the stronghold and found Luap, Arranha, and the Rosemage all waiting for him. As quickly as he could, he told them what he and Seri had found, and done; despite his sense of urgency, it was a long tale to tell quickly.
"Luap, if you take my advice, we will let Seri and Aris learn the language before we take action, but in the meantime I will post guards at the western end of our canyon." The Rosemage had not bothered to repeat her earlier concern and point out that a possible enemy now knew exactly where they were. She turned to Aris. "Aris, can you describe the way to that upper trail well enough that someone can find it, or will you have to lead them?"
Aris shook his head. "I'd best lead them; it's easy country to get lost in."
"Then Arranha or I will use your pattern to visit that town, and bring Seri back. She should be able to explain that she will return later. What do you think?"
It felt right to him; he nodded. Not until later did it occur to him that Luap had said little, and made no decisions himself. Arranha, they decided, would be less threatening a visitor. He could bring Seri back, or stay a day or so: not more than two. The Rosemage went to gather the few trained fighters to follow Aris down-canyon, and Aris went off to fetch his own weapons from the armory, tell his prentices where he was going, and fill his pack. His mind buzzed with questions. How many people lived in the western plains, and where were those caravans travelling from and to? How long would it take to learn the language? Could they trade with that town? Were they peaceful folk?
He led the group down the canyon at a brisk pace. The Rosemage worried that the captain had already sent a troop of his own; Aris didn't think he would, but knew it was a possibility. He felt strange without Seri at his side, and wondered if Arranha were strong enough to protect her if things went badly in the town.
When they came to the notch, they had seen no sign of soldiers; Aris pointed out the route he and Seri had taken through the notch and then north toward the brigand encampment. The Rosemage, breathless, looked at him and shook her head. "You younglings! You covered all that ground and still had breath to fight and talk? At least I have some hard-won experience." She pointed out where she wanted the guardposts. "We need one of the stonecutters to come up here and carve them out; for now, we can build rock barriers of loose stone." She looked down toward the streambed. "You were right; we can't go straight down here without building another trail—but we'll put a lookout where he can see any approaches from the stream, as well."
By that night, Aris felt that no invasion could come from the town without being discovered. And the next day, Seri and Arranha returned; she slipped down canyon to find him and tell him what had happened.
"Although the important thing is, the captain wants us to be allies against brigands. Makes sense to me; if brigands are living in that western end, they could be a threat as our people move down this way."
"What happened to the women we found?" Aris asked.
Seri made a face. "Hard to ask that; I don't have enough words yet. I tried, of course. If I understood what the captain said, one woman had been held captive, and her family is rich—they had a reward for her return. The others had been traveling with her, servants or friends or whatever. But I never saw them again, and the captain didn't seem to understand most of what I asked." She grinned. "Then again, I didn't understand most of what he asked, either. That book is impressive, but you can't draw pictures of the things we most wanted to say."
"What did they think when Arranha appeared?"
"They all threw themselves on the ground, even the captain. Perhaps they have more respect for old people, or perhaps they could sense he is a priest. Maybe it was his way of dressing, his long robes. But whatever it was, they treated him as if he were a direct messenger of the gods."
Aris punched her lightly. "In some ways, he is."
In the next day or so, after much discussion, Luap decided to let Aris and Seri contact the town as much as they wished, and encouraged them to learn the language. Since the strangers now knew about them, the original objections no longer mattered, and prudence alone suggested that they must learn more about these neighbors. He sent one of those skilled in cutting stone by magery down to carve guardposts where the Rosemage wanted them. Now that they had neighbors, he would need to think more like a ruler—a member of Council, he corrected himself—and less like the head of a family. His people's very existence would depend on decisions he made, how he managed relations with these strangers. Within a few hands of days, a trickle of information began to flow between the town and the stronghold, as Seri and Aris learned more of the language.