Rialt. Or Sarvell, in a pinch.
The one good part of the whole riotous day was that by the time everyone had retreated back to their own homes, they all knew that Jewel was not the priestess that had left them out of the barrier six months ago. They also knew that she would rather die than expose them to the Daath. Those two facts had won her an acceptance here that was iron clad. The downside to this acceptance? Well, she’d become an unofficial part of the clan and so everyone felt perfectly comfortable approaching her.
Most of her life had been in the Order, as she had been entrusted to them as a toddler. Her days had been peaceful, quiet and very organized. To be thrust into this place where everyone talked over each other, walked freely in and out of each other’s homes, and no one hesitated to ask direct questions overwhelmed her. It had taken several hours for her to learn how to talk loud enough to get a sentence finished.
Worse, by Ramath standards, she was “too small” and “needed some meat on them bones.” People had constantly brought her food. Jewel had managed to somehow consume the first five plates, but after that she’d ducked behind Rialt or Sarvell for protection. Being men, they’d first laughed at her plea for help and then cheerfully finished the proffered food for her.
She leaned against the back porch’s railing and tried not to feel queasy at just the memory of all that food. Right now, she had perfect empathy for a stuffed goose.
The back door abruptly jerked open in a woosh of displaced air. “Jewel, are you—?! Ah, there you are.” Sarvell let out a huff of agitation. “Rialt! Found her!”
Jewel turned slightly to face him. “Really, Sarvell, there’s no need to keep a constant watch on me.”
“You’re in an area that you don’t know,” he responded with strained patience. “Please, for both your guardians’ sake, don’t disappear on us.”
“I do know the house,” she protested in exasperation. Indeed, that had been one of the more amusing parts of the day. When the children asked how she walked around without tripping over things, she’d explained how she needed to memorize a room’s layout. They’d taken great delight in taking her on a very extensive tour of every room in the house.
Rialt’s heavy footsteps approached down the wooden hallway, stopping abruptly as he came to the doorframe. “Lass, we had no notion if you were in the house or stepped outside.”
Worrywarts. Both of them worse than a mother cat with a passel of kittens. “You’re going to have to ease up a bit, gentlemen. I’m used to seeing to myself.”
“Just let us know where you’ll be?” Sarvell requested with a long sigh. “As I said, you’re not in an area you know. This will be a constant state until we find all of the crystals.”
Well, he had a point. She ran a hand roughly over her hair. “Fine, I’ll try to remember. I actually stepped out here for a reason.” Turning, she pointed to an area off the porch, far beyond what any human could see. “The crystal is over there. I think it’s well beyond the city’s limits, but I have a hard time judging distance until I’m closer.”
“Rialt, any roads heading that direction?”
“Just a hunting trail. It will be a fashrie if the course stays true.”
“Fashrie?”
“Eh, there be only forest beyond farrest city gate.” He sounded very disgruntled at the very idea. “Digging out a mammoth crystal and hauling it home again, well, it do no sound a bit of fun.”
Oh. Fashrie must mean difficult or troublesome. Actually, digging out a crystal large enough to fill a two-story house from a forest and hauling it upslope to its proper spot in the city would be more than “troublesome” to her mind. Back-breaking sounded more like it. She imagined that the long-ago people that had shoved the crystal down the side of the hills and into the forest had not had nearly the amount of difficulty.
Although…hadn’t
The one good part of the whole riotous day was that by the time everyone had retreated back to their own homes, they all knew that Jewel was not the priestess that had left them out of the barrier six months ago. They also knew that she would rather die than expose them to the Daath. Those two facts had won her an acceptance here that was iron clad. The downside to this acceptance? Well, she’d become an unofficial part of the clan and so everyone felt perfectly comfortable approaching her.
Most of her life had been in the Order, as she had been entrusted to them as a toddler. Her days had been peaceful, quiet and very organized. To be thrust into this place where everyone talked over each other, walked freely in and out of each other’s homes, and no one hesitated to ask direct questions overwhelmed her. It had taken several hours for her to learn how to talk loud enough to get a sentence finished.
Worse, by Ramath standards, she was “too small” and “needed some meat on them bones.” People had constantly brought her food. Jewel had managed to somehow consume the first five plates, but after that she’d ducked behind Rialt or Sarvell for protection. Being men, they’d first laughed at her plea for help and then cheerfully finished the proffered food for her.
She leaned against the back porch’s railing and tried not to feel queasy at just the memory of all that food. Right now, she had perfect empathy for a stuffed goose.
The back door abruptly jerked open in a woosh of displaced air. “Jewel, are you—?! Ah, there you are.” Sarvell let out a huff of agitation. “Rialt! Found her!”
Jewel turned slightly to face him. “Really, Sarvell, there’s no need to keep a constant watch on me.”
“You’re in an area that you don’t know,” he responded with strained patience. “Please, for both your guardians’ sake, don’t disappear on us.”
“I do know the house,” she protested in exasperation. Indeed, that had been one of the more amusing parts of the day. When the children asked how she walked around without tripping over things, she’d explained how she needed to memorize a room’s layout. They’d taken great delight in taking her on a very extensive tour of every room in the house.
Rialt’s heavy footsteps approached down the wooden hallway, stopping abruptly as he came to the doorframe. “Lass, we had no notion if you were in the house or stepped outside.”
Worrywarts. Both of them worse than a mother cat with a passel of kittens. “You’re going to have to ease up a bit, gentlemen. I’m used to seeing to myself.”
“Just let us know where you’ll be?” Sarvell requested with a long sigh. “As I said, you’re not in an area you know. This will be a constant state until we find all of the crystals.”
Well, he had a point. She ran a hand roughly over her hair. “Fine, I’ll try to remember. I actually stepped out here for a reason.” Turning, she pointed to an area off the porch, far beyond what any human could see. “The crystal is over there. I think it’s well beyond the city’s limits, but I have a hard time judging distance until I’m closer.”
“Rialt, any roads heading that direction?”
“Just a hunting trail. It will be a fashrie if the course stays true.”
“Fashrie?”
“Eh, there be only forest beyond farrest city gate.” He sounded very disgruntled at the very idea. “Digging out a mammoth crystal and hauling it home again, well, it do no sound a bit of fun.”
Oh. Fashrie must mean difficult or troublesome. Actually, digging out a crystal large enough to fill a two-story house from a forest and hauling it upslope to its proper spot in the city would be more than “troublesome” to her mind. Back-breaking sounded more like it. She imagined that the long-ago people that had shoved the crystal down the side of the hills and into the forest had not had nearly the amount of difficulty.
Although…hadn’t
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