17. The end of the beginning in which they traverse the town of Traemiridian

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The end of the beginning in which they traverse the town of Traemiridian

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For once the black of night was not imposing. A large sky, a midnight blue, Prussian, covered the canvas. Its depths were dark and dreamy. Smatterings of stars winked down at passersby and the moon seemed to pulse in its pink glow. This comforting sky touched the earth, blending in with the shadowed sand.

A faint purple mist diffused in the air.

The sand, shadowed by the walls of a town, was the same golden-red as before but it felt more settled, less aggressive if sand could be given behaviours.

Most importantly, there was no scent of lilac. Kally inhaled deeply with this knowledge, filling her nose with the scent of… nothing. She could do with a whole load of nothing right now. Her senses were frazzled. Her mind, shot.

At least she had taken off that smog forsaken mask. She rubbed her eyes at the mere thought of it, a dull headache the remaining remnant. The last ‘pop’ had happened a while ago now. They had been far enough away from the threat of the purple for Kai to agree not to force another upon her. She wanted to feel her nostrils again, which was not a sentiment she had ever thought she’d have.

What she needed now was a good bath, and a rest. Kally smiled, it seemed they were close now.. She was standing on a wooden bridge with them all, facing their destination. She was so close she could taste the imminent food she would eat, feel the heat of the water as she bathed, and the crisp yet soft bedding she would feel as she slept. It took all of her strength not to run to the entrance and bang on the door to be let in. Not that the strength she had left would open that door.

Instead, she gazed out over the side of the bridge and looked in awe at the water. No wonder there was a settlement here. This was the first bit of natural water she had seen throughout her travels in Darkurr Moor. Water had never looked so inviting to her. It rippled, an illusion of treacle in the night, and started to dance - reflecting in her eyes.

Her attention was brought away from the water as the sound of a bucket and a splash caught her ears. A Traemir sentry, as part of his erroneous duties, was pouring water down the walls which had the effect of both cleaning them and searing the sand below to its ash form.

As Kally observed the sentry, she realised there were more stationed throughout the wall, and two by the great wooden entrance that was shut to them. She felt Ahkaiyu’s presence behind her.

Closer.

Was that his breath she could feel or the slight warmth of a night breeze?

≋❈≋

Between the glow of two lanterns, the closed door seemed impassable to Kally. No doubt it would be heavy, and most likely bolted in some way from the other side.

The overall look of the gate-hold was imposing. Meticulously guarded and maintained. Karin’s Almanac was probably quite a few years out of date looking at the scale of this city. These sentries had weapons too. It certainly hadn’t mentioned this either.

The crossbow wielders and general archers looked alert but they no doubt recognised Barley and the other Traemir. From the looks of it, Karin and Tommy were right to send Barley a message about their arrival. They would not have been guaranteed a friendly welcome otherwise.

Barley raised his arm. A few moments later a loud clank came from the direction of the door. It creaked open in a slow mechanical motion and Barley led the way across the bridge.

Upon closer inspection, the walls were made of heavy looking stone. Large chunks, sanded to precision, arranged in intricate formations formed some sort of pattern that Kally could not understand. Amazingly, the purple mist, subdued, did not cling to it. She had never seen such pristine stonework. It put Crumbledgard’s dilapidated state to shame. Kally peered closer at the edges, where the stone met the sand, and pulled back instinctively as she saw the blackened sand created by the sentry.

Her fingers tingled in her pocket.

Bracing herself, she clenched her fists and calmed her mind. Chewing her lip, she wondered why she had not smelt lilac this time. This thought, pushed far away, left her as she walked through the great door.

≋❈≋

“Welcome, to Traemiridian.”

Barley raised his hands and motioned around. Kally’s eyes danced. This town was bustling with Traemir, more souls than she had ever seen in one place. Crumbledgard was like a members only club unable to take on more members due to a rather ill-considered rule. Whereas, Traemiridian was a place of wonder, a site of pilgrimage, a festive market on opening night.

It made her head spin.

Ahkaiyu stood close by her side in silence. She could not tell what he was thinking. No doubt he had been to many a town like this on his travels. This was new to her though.

Kally touched the sides of every surface she walked past. The soft texture of silks and cottons slid through her hands, bright colours and patterns a-plenty. Now, this was what a marketplace should look like. Bustling and heaving, not only with customers but with stalls. Stalls for everything you could fathom. She sighed as she thought of Crumbledgard; perhaps, this was what it once was. She paused and stared intently at a stall that sold only socks. Socks of all varieties: ankle socks, knee length socks, toe socks, tabi socks, toeless socks, any socks. A particular pair, lime green and woollen, caught her eye. A toe sock variety but the big toe was cut off. Kally thought of Katoia in this sock, poking out. She smiled. Her feet could be warm whilst they talked.

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Where was this back in Crumbledgard?

Hopefully it would not be needed for much longer, not with Barley’s help tomorrow. Still, she could not hide the look of delight in her eye as she touched them gently.

Led by her nose, as well as taking care to follow Barley, the food stalls were where her attention was drawn next. Rich smells competed with each other, fusing in the air to create a strong smell of meat and spices. Proper food, not just the snacks and processed morsels Karin had packed them. Her eyes welled - onions.

Not even an onion could make tears fall down her cheeks, and she walked proud in this knowledge.

Kally stopped at a pancake stall, duck and hoisin, and inhaled the sweet smell, a delicacy in Crumbledgard as they could never get the ingredients in. She noticed the stamp on the stall’s banner - approved by the Council of Food Stability. A board detailed the precautions placed to ensure this food was and would stay, as food. Tapped by a contraption of sorts that reads the level of purple within, like a thermometer but for purple. No wonder the marketplace was so full. All these stalls had similar set ups. Customer confidence could be high in a place like this. Kally wondered if they sell this device. She would take three.

Ahkaiyu bought two - ahem, pancakes that is - and handed her one. “Here, we should eat,” he said and turned away, breaking his pancake and stuffing some up his sleeve for a certain nibbler to nibble on.

“If you’re worried you’ll starve, we could get another.” Kally teased.

He paused a moment and then, in a dry voice, replied, “I’m just saving the pennies.”

Kally’s eyes widened at this. His second attempt at a joke had disarmed her somewhat.

They turned back in the direction of the others and ate hurriedly as they walked. Only just making out the back of Barley’s head in the distance, they quickened their strides. The detour for food was worth it, Kally thought. Throughout this journey, she had been constantly fighting the rumbles of her stomach and rarely coming out on top. This time though, her stomach was stuffed into submission.

≋❈≋

Now away from the bustle of the market, they were in a side street, cobbled with that same pristine looking stone. The street, though dimly lit, had lots of light sources which confused Kally somewhat. That is until she walked nearer to them; they burned in intensity the closer you got, an ingenious solution to save their fire reserves. A dim light for general visibility and a sense of safety, and focused light for all your walking needs. She laughed as she noticed a sticker for the Council of Lightened Routes. This place really was a haven of bureaucracy and councils.

She stifled yet another laugh as she noticed to her far left, a building on a stretch of grass she had seen before. It was small in stature, one floor, but wide as if a tower-block had laid down to rest. There were no tumblers at this time though. She looked to Barley, it was if he was purposefully ignoring it. Kally often did the same when she walked past her school. She looked to Ahkaiyu, softly tugging on his arm; she needed to share her amusement with someone.

Ahkaiyu moved his head in the direction of the surgery and muttered. It was unintelligible but Kally imagined it to be along the lines of ‘Frivolous’. This also made her smile. There was little at this moment that could make her frown. Relief had washed over her. They were in a settlement now; safe from the desert. Well fed and longing for respite, she ambled after Barley as they approached the housing district.

“Traemiridian has separate districts,” Barley announced, breaking the party’s silence.

“We have already passed a few of them. The marketplace, for one. Both a tourist attraction and a last port of call before a journey out into the desert for any forgotten supplies.”

“How convenient,” Kally breathed out, in earnest. Unlike Crumbledgard’s makeshift nature, everything in Traemiridian sounded so planned out. It really was admirable, as Karin had said.

“The clinical district— We have just passed. The hospital, surgery, pharmacy and veterinarian services all in one handy plot of land.”

Kally nodded, her lips tightly sealed, attempting to keep her mild amusement within. Fortunately, Barley did not linger on this detail and instead, spoke of the shopping district to the right side.

“You can get all of your custom items made there.” Without skipping a beat, he said, “All closed at this time of night.”

Kally stifled a laugh again. Their owners were probably either cosily tucked away at home in the housing district, or hanging out in the entertainment strip she had noticed behind the shops.

They came to a junction. Barley stopped.

“If you look all the way to the settlement walls, you will see the civil servant section. Large interconnecting buildings span the length of the settlement. On both sides.”

Kally peered at them. She imagined the workers in each building looking out the windows at their domain. The epitome of control and oversight.

Walking through the housing district, they soon came to a rather large inn. Content with staying here throughout their time at Traemiridian, Kally headed upstairs to inspect the room she had been given.

≋❈≋

Modest in size, it had the amenities you would expect, namely, a dresser and a large welcoming bed, plump with soft bedding. She checked underneath for purple, a habit, and was about to tumble inside when she caught a look at her reflection.

She grimaced.

Her hair was still matted from the sand, even more so than after exiting the pyramid. How was she going to work with this? She teased sections through her fingers, tugging at the lugs. The sound of her hair tearing apart with a sharp scratchy sound shivered through her. This was not good. It was not only her hair either. She was covered in sand and the dressing on her cheek needed attention. Now black and gritty and dusted with red, she peeled it off to reveal the raw skin beneath.

Though somewhat used to blood and gory sights from looking after Katoia for so many years, Kally’s stomach turned looking at the dressing in her hand. It was colourful, she would give it that. She placed it down on the wooden dresser and looked closer at her skin. As it was only a surface wound - she had mainly covered it up to protect it from the sand - it was already partially healed. She pressed it and, slightly recoiling, she drew back.

It stung.

Kally looked around for water but could find none. There was no basin either. With great effort she dragged herself up from the chair.

Though all she wanted to do was ignore it - to not clean her wound, to not care about the sand and dirt and grime she would get on the bedsheets - she could not. Even if she could ignore the disgust she would feel when under the clean sheets, she could not ignore the fact that tomorrow was an important day. The least she could do was to be clean for it.

She did not even have enough energy to sigh at this. Blimey, she must be tired.

Kally picked at the grit beneath her nails. This sand really did get everywhere, she thought.

Grabbing her belongings, and with one last look at the inviting room of respite, she left to enquire about a bath.