Kapitel 18: Chapter 6 (part 1)

Haharim: terror in the midst

Blaizen could already feel his feet swelling up in his boots. He took in a weary breath. 'Oka., I know this is a primitive planet and all, but don't they have some kind of animal to ride or something? Anything would do if it meant I wouldn't have to walk anymore.' But there would be no relief for Blaizen, at least not for now.

The next couple of days would be long, slow, and rainy. The mud caked onto their shoes, making it much harder to travel. Nobody in this group was used to traversing the mountains, so each night they were all left very tired and not very talkative. On top of that, no one wanted to draw any attention to themselves, for fear they might be visited by the icy terror of the mountains.

In spite of his drowsiness, Blaizen began to notice something. Every night before they went to bed, Ean and Cecealye would find a spot not too far from the others and they would pray. Sometimes they would pray for five minutes and other times they would pray for much longer. Also, every morning they would do the same, as did Orckle. He would also often find Supreany randomly talking to herself throughout the day, what she said was her praying.

Ean would also take a time, generally in the evening, to read a book aloud for everyone, a book they called the Tanak. Sometimes they would just sit there and listen, while other times the four would discuss what had been read.

They'd done so without fail since he had met them. He'd met many different peoples and seen many different beliefs. Some made more sense than others and his initial thought was that this one would be no different from all the others. But there was something about it. He'd heard of this Theos, this Nameless One, back on Menteco. It was the first time he'd heard of the same god in two completely different places. So, he would watch and wait, just in case.

Finally, they could see smoke lifting up past the trees into the sky not too far off. The Capital City was before them. As one of the large wooden main gates came into sight, a horn began to sound in the near distance. Several large wooden carts, each being pulled by two somewhat smaller beasts, came rolling up toward a side gate piled with dirty men, just now coming from the mine. It would have normally been considered a rough ride, with the old wheels finding their way through the mixture of rocks and moist ground. However, these men were way beyond caring. They looked so tired that a rough ride was much better than no ride at all.

The group proceeded in through the main gates and into the city and its muddy roads. Though some of the city was indeed carved from out of the mountainside, most of the city, just as most of Haharim's towns and villages, was predominantly made of wood. It was true that at first glance one would think that Haharim was a somewhat poor country, but that assumption couldn't be farther from the truth. It was actually the richest on the continent.

The group quickly found their way to what seemed like a good inn and arranged to rent the usual two rooms. They all went and got cleaned up and met back downstairs for a bite to eat.

Blaizen took a swig of his drink. "So, we really going to go see this Igna?"

Ean nodded his head. "Might as well."

"How do we even know she exists?"

Orckle took in a deep breath. "Oh, she exists."

"I was taught that she was just an old wives tale," Cecealye butted in.

Orckle shook his head. "I assure you, she exists just as much as I sit before you now."

Blaizen drummed his fingers on the table. "Yeah, but how do you know that?"

"I saw her when I was a child ... she saved me when my family was killed. So you see, I would not forget such a thing so lightly."

That was the end of that conversation. What were the others going to say, *no, you were just suffering from delusions?* Cecealye could, however, see his point; she had not forgotten any of the events of the days in which her father or her mother died, or the day her sister disappeared. Those memories seemed to be embedded in her mind. For good or for worse, she did not yet know. However, their conversation did take a turn to a lighter subject.

All the while nobody seemed to notice how quiet Supreany had been. She hadn't engaged in the conversation one bit. In fact, if any one of them had asked her what they just had said, she couldn't have told them to save her life. Initially, her disconnection was completely unintentional. She was simply scanning the area, watching the other people around her eat and talk. It was such a different culture from Ellizea.

But as her eyes drifted past the door, something captured her full attention, a tall, cloaked figure. It stopped at the front counter for a moment and then retired to a table over by the wall, halfway across the room. It instantly met her stare and something told her to look away, but for some reason she did not. There was no doubt in Supreany's mind this was the same person who had been following her in Danin City. And it was a woman. True, Supreany could not make out all the facial features, but that did not change the fact that it was unmistakably a woman.

'So, you've followed us here all the way from Daninlei. What could you possibly want?' Her thoughts drifted to Cecealye. 'Hmm ... if you wanted to kill CC, you would have already done so. But perhaps you do not feel you can take us all on at once. But then CC has been left somewhat unguarded at times. Surely you would have found an opportune moment to strike in all that time.'

No, Supreany could sense it. This dark figure was not at all afraid of them. She could sense a great amount of power behind that shadowy face. It was clear to Supreany that she meant to bring great harm to them all.

Their staring contest had gone on for several moments. A slight smile could barely be seen on the mysterious woman's face. She slightly nodded her head as if she were saying *I'll see you later,* and rose to her feet, exiting the inn. Supreany watched the door for a moment longer, but if her intuition served her right, she felt she would not be seeing their new friend again tonight.

Her attention was suddenly drawn by her companion's laughter. The thought had occurred to her to share her discovery with the others, but then again no one else but Orckle even knew that Supreany had been followed in Danin City. She dismissed that solution; she would keep this to herself for the time being.