Rocalla's Saga: Arrival

26: The East Gate —

1054 Kyabalaka 6

When we step out of the shed at the top of the stairs and enter the night, I take a deep breath. The crisp air is welcome after the long hours spent underground, and while not especially fresh, it is certainly less odorous than the sewers. Borojs goes his own way, and Feneksia and Nassandra lead the way for the rest of us. Elanor’s estimate of the distance is correct, as it takes us only five minutes to reach the twins’ home.

The building they live in is large and well kept. We all file through the front entrance, where we encounter a man sitting in a chair. One of the twins exchanges a few words with him and we continue to the second floor, where Feneksia and Nassandra’s rooms face each other across a narrow hallway.

“Here we are,” Elanor says.

“I’ll help Nassandra,” I say.

“She probably won’t need much help,” Elanor says. “But we should get out of the hallway.”

“I’ll go with Feneksia,” Dierdra says.

Nassandra opens her door to reveal a tiny room that is only slightly larger than the bed that is in it. Two shelves grace the wall opposite the door and above the bed.

The three of us have to stand close together in order to shut the door. Nassandra picks up a backpack from the floor and stuffs her small pile of clothes into it while standing on her bed. We step aside as she jumps down and pulls the three blankets off the bed. Elanor helps her fold and roll them while I do my best to stay out of their way. After she takes a moment to secure the blanket roll onto her pack, Nassandra says something to Elanor.

“We’re ready,” Elanor says. “Let’s go.”

We squeeze together as I open the door. Less than a minute later Feneksia and Dierdra join us in the hallway. The twins put their packs on their backs, and we depart. The watcher at the doorway merely nods to us as we pass by. I let out a sigh of relief once I am sure that no one else is waiting there to meet us.

My breath makes clouds as we travel in the cold night. The streets are quiet, and I hear only the sounds of our rustling clothes and the rhythmic steps of our boots on the cobblestones. Now Elanor and I are leading the way as we head south to the East Gate.

“Rocalla,” Dierdra says, as we approach the city wall. The main street is filled with people slowly moving toward the gate. “What do we do?”

“Follow the crowd,” I say. “Hopefully no one will notice us.”

“And if they do?”

“We stick together, and don’t panic.”

“Let’s go,” Elanor says. “We’ll attract attention standing here.”

The street immediately in front of the gate is full of people, murmuring and jostling about. We enter the crowd as a group, pressing our way to the portal. As we force our way through the masses, disgruntled looks and angry short bursts of unintelligible Franhkallan are directed at us. They make me feel conspicuous and vulnerable, but I try not to give it too much thought and instead focus on getting out of the inner city.

When we get close to the actual gate, we see the reason for the delay. A squad of town guardsmen carrying pole arms blocks most of the passage, allowing only a single file of people to pass through. Several swordsmen and women form a gauntlet through which the people pass, while the town guards ask them questions.

Elanor leads the way despite her petite size. Dierdra is right behind me. “What now?” she whispers to me.

“Follow Elanor,” I whisper back. “And answer for me if they question me in Franhkallan.”

There is no more time for conversation as we come within sight and hearing of the guards. I pull my hood tightly around my head, hoping to conceal my identity. As we pass through, one swordsman speaks to Elanor. She gives a brief answer and motions behind her to indicate us. Dierdra and I pass through the gate unchallenged, barely receiving a glance from the guards.

When we exit the other side of the gate, we look back to see the swordsman interrogating the twins. To avoid attracting attention, the three of us continue walking to the far side of the street.

The guards force Feneksia and Nassandra to take off their packs. We stand there in the cold for ten minutes while the men empty the twins’ packs and thoroughly question them. The guards pull out the women’s clothes, shake them, and drop them unto the muddy ground. When they are finished, the twins are left to pick up their soiled clothes and stuff them back into their packs.

We continue our trek to The Happy Pilgrim in silence. Feneksia and Nassandra follow us, murmuring back and forth, looks of displeasure covering their faces.

“There it is,” I say as we come within sight of the inn. Something looks out of place, and I tell Elanor and Dierdra to stop.

“What now?” Elanor asks.

“What is it?” asks Dierdra.

“Have you ever noticed men standing in front of The Happy Pilgrim before?”

She looks over the scene for a moment before answering. “No, I guess I haven’t. And they’re not coming or going, or even talking to each other.”

“We should turn around and go to my house now,” Elanor says.

“We can’t. We need our supplies,” Dierdra says.

“I’ll wait here for you then,” Elanor says.

“It’s us that they are looking for,” I say. “We were already stopped once today. Let’s get off the main street.”

After we move into a side street, I start discussing our situation. “We need to get our packs. We have clothes, food, blankets, everything we need for the journey.”

“They’re not going to do me much good if I’m in prison,” Elanor says.

“We need to get out of Mandelbroggen so we won’t end up in prison,” I say. “You must realize the danger that we are in.”

“I do,” Elanor says. “And we are out of Mandelbroggen, out of the inner city anyway. But if those men decide to grab me, I’ll be back inside those walls, probably for the rest of whatever life I have.”

“My point is, we won’t get far in the wilderness without our supplies.”

“Unless, of course, you’re prepared to equip all of us,” Dierdra says to Elanor.

“Other than some clothes and some food, how much do we really need?” Elanor asks.

“We need food, blankets, and water skins. We also need our weapons, and maps, and Mariyiybha’s books on the Rhozzhani language and culture. All of that stuff is in our room, packed and ready to go.”

“How much stuff are we talking about?” Elanor asks.

“A lot,” Dierdra says. “About as much as I can carry.”

“Then it’s more than I can carry,” Elanor says.

“If they are waiting for us, which they probably are, we’ll never make it in and out of there without a fight,” I say. “Feneksia and Nassandra, would you be willing to retrieve our packs?”

Dierdra translates my request, and then responds. “They’ll do it, but they need to know where they can find them.”

“All of our equipment, including Dierdra’s bow and my quarterstaff, is in my room. Elanor, you’ve been there. You could guide them.”

“So could you,” Elanor says.

“But they’re not looking for you.”

“How do you know?”

“Fine,” I say. “Dierdra, give Feneksia and Nassandra directions to my room.”

Elanor lets out a sigh. “Wait, what if we get stopped?”

“We’ll watch from here. If you don’t come out in fifteen minutes, we’ll come in and get you.”

Elanor blows out another sigh. “Let’s get this over with.” She says something to the twins, who take their packs off and hand them to us. Then Elanor and the twins step into the road and head toward The Happy Pilgrim. Dierdra and I watch from a distance, standing on the corner facing each other.

The twins and Elanor walk into the inn without being challenged, gliding past the men standing at the door.

I stand facing away from the inn, looking down the street in the direction of East Gate. Dierdra is standing opposite me, looking at the front of The Happy Pilgrim over my shoulder. I push my anxious feelings down and force myself not to turn around.

“What’s happening now?” I ask.

“Nothing,” Dierdra says. “The men are still standing there watching. No sign of Elanor or the twins yet.”

Another moment crawls by. “What’s happening now?” I ask.

“Are you sure you don’t want to turn around and look?”

“No, we have to appear inconspicuous. Staring at the men guarding the entrance is not inconspicuous.”

“Okay, don’t look then. But don’t keep asking me what’s going on. I’ll tell you if something happens.”

More minutes drag by. I stand there in the cold, tapping my foot and drumming my fingers, while staring at a spot on the ground where three dark cobblestones meet. Several men and women drift by, and I wonder what they are talking about. How many people in this city know who I am, or suspect the part that I played in yesterday’s tragedy?

“Okay,” Dierdra says. “They’re coming out now.”

No longer able to resist, I turn to face The Happy Pilgrim. “Looks like they found the equipment,” I say. The men in front of the inn have stopped them. “Don’t let them search our packs,” I say to myself, thinking about the other five orbs hidden inside.

“Elanor knows,” Dierdra says. “She won’t let them.”

After a long discussion, Elanor starts walking toward us. One of the men makes a move to stop her, but does not, letting her pass by. He turns his attention to the street, looking directly at me. I wonder if he knows.

The twins are now following Elanor, and no one is stopping them. The one man is still staring at me. I stare back at him, not wanting to attract his attention, but unwilling to let him go unobserved.

The twins catch up to Elanor before she reaches us. “We need to go,” Elanor says.

“Keep moving,” I say. “Don’t stop when you reach us; continue walking by. We’ll catch up. If we make them think we’re not together, they’ll be less likely to suspect you.”

“Okay,” Elanor says. “We’re moving. And we’re going to keep right on moving. We’ll stay on the main road for a little while, until you can catch up.”

Elanor and the twins walk by without breaking pace. The man watches us for a couple more minutes, then turns to face the inn again. Three minutes later, we leave.

Elanor’s petite stature keeps her from moving too quickly. We catch sight of her in no time, and are walking next to her soon after. Stopping a moment to switch packs, Dierdra and I shoulder our heavy loads and return the twins’ lighter burdens to them. Elanor just keeps on walking.

“That was too close for me,” Elanor says. “Those men were asking way too many questions.”

“They’re not following us,” Dierdra says. “We’re okay.”

“Nothing about this whole situation is okay,” Elanor says.

It is a long walk to Elanor’s house, and I am tired when we get there. “This is it,” Elanor says, inviting us in. Her house is about the same size as Mariyiybha’s, but it is much less cluttered. It is also in deplorable condition. Whereas Mariyiybha’s dwelling had well-plastered walls and a wooden floor, Elanor lives in a wattle-and-daub hovel with a bare dirt floor. Melting snow has turned the entryway into a muddy mire, and I can hear wind whistling through gaps in the walls. Glowing coals remain from a low fire that was burning in the center of the one large room, and Elanor places more wood onto the hearth.

“Thank you for taking us in,” I say.

“You’re welcome. I hope that we can get out of the city without any further incidents. Too many people are looking for you two.”

“They’re looking for all three of us,” I say. “And they’ll be looking for Circle Cultists throughout the city, even those who had nothing to do with any of this.”

“There’s some stew in the pot,” Elanor says. “We might as well eat it now, since we can’t take it. I have some cereal for the morning; we can pack everything else. It’s not much, but it’s more than I can carry.”

We eat our fill of stew. Elanor turns down our offer to help her pack her things. Unlike the twins, she has a lot of books, papers, and clothes. When she is finished, she has squeezed everything into a small overstuffed backpack and a large woven bag that looks difficult to lift, let alone carry for days.

“It’s late,” Elanor says. “We should get some sleep.”

“Fine,” I say. Dierdra, the twins, and I stretch out on the floor, while Elanor climbs onto her bed.