Jalia in the North (Jalia - World of Jalon) (10 page)

The Trial

It took three or four minutes for their ears to stop ringing and the dust to settle. Daniel and Jalia walked back towards the jury room with their swords at the ready.

They ran into the room ready to fight. The room had been destroyed by the blast and huge lumps of stone littered the floor. Above their heads they saw the night sky.

The stars vanished as a number of the tubes of light came to life. The dais was partially covered in rubble but the heads and shoulders of the three men in white robes emerged from the rubble. They were solid looking ghosts completely unaffected by the blast.

“Welcome to the Jury Room of the Daini. Your trial will commence at once and after we conclude we shall decide which one of you to eliminate and which one to spare to tell the tale.”

Jalia and Daniel turned to face the men with their swords raised.

“As you can see we are not corporeal and neither your swords nor your magic can hurt us,” said the middle of the three men. His expression remained neutral as he spoke and his mouth opened but his lips did not move.

Jalia whispered something to her ring and a stone block shot through the heads of the three men without affecting them.

“What right do you have to put us on trial?” Daniel asked

“We have lived here for over a thousand years and our right is the power we possess,” the man in the center explained. He opened his mouth to say more when another one of them slipped into the room, gliding through a large stone block on the floor and coming to a halt a few yards to the left of Daniel.

“Pardon the intrusion, leaders. I have a memory that you should see before you continue.”

“When is this memory from and why should we deal with it before dealing with these humans?”

“It was recorded eight hundred and fifty two years ago and is of a human brought to the jury room. I had set a trigger for it to come to my attention should the jury room suffer explosive damage. You will understand why you should see it when it is recalled.”

“Very well, recall the memory, Librarian and we shall see to what you refer.”

The man bowed low and made a gesture. The rubble on the far side of the room disappeared and the room on that side looked like it had before the explosion, except that the walls glowed. A man in his late thirties appeared. The man had a neatly trimmed beard and wore bright clothes in a style neither Jalia nor Daniel recognized.

The man sniffed at the men on the platform, and turned towards Jalia and Daniel, giving them a warm smile.

“How nice it is to finally meet you in the flesh, Daniel al’Kebar and Jalia al’Dare.”

“You are mistaken sir, my name is Daniel al’Degar.” Daniel corrected the man politely.

“The man who raised you was David al’Degar, but your true father was Hasa al’Kebar and you are the only surviving heir of the Magician Kings. I have come to ensure your release from the clutches of these creatures.”

“Who are you talking to human?” the question came from one of the three men, but as the man spoke, it was possible to see another man inside him who simply watched. The two copies of the man were superimposed on each other.

“I am speaking to two heroes from eight hundred and fifty two years in the future. One day you will sit there and this conversation will take place as a memory and all will finally make sense.” The bearded man turned towards Daniel and said in a confidential manner, “Only I can see the present and the future as though they are one. They think I am talking to myself.”

“Insanity will not protect you from our judgment, human,” the middle man of the three said.

“I am here to save you from the judgment, which you so fear. I know the reason you have come to Jalon to skulk among these ruins, protected from discovery by the residues of the magic that destroyed this place.”

The bearded man spun to face Jalia, “My name is Jer a’Dall and I am the greatest prophet the world will ever know. I have worked hard to make sure you and Daniel will rule Jalon and I will not let these beings kill either of you.”

“Why thank you, Jer,” Jalia said and grinned at the man. She found him fascinating though insane and had no objection to him saving their lives if he could.

“How do you know we hide from anything, human?”

“I know all of your deeds, past, present and future. In exactly eight hundred and fifty two years from now, you will capture two humans. These humans will be spared by you because if you kill either one of them, then your species will most certainly die.”

“One of these humans will become the High King of Jalon, as he is heir to the ancient magical families of Jalon. The other will become his consort and eventually his wife. Daniel al’Kebar will become the most powerful magician the world will ever see and you will have reason to be grateful for that power and for his sense of justice.”

The men sitting on the platform showed no emotion as they stared down at Jer a’Dall.

“You have given us no reason to spare anyone present or future from our judgment, including yourself.”

“You never kill single visitors; you send them away from Caldorney with memories of spirits chasing them. You will spare these two because Daniel al’Kebar will become High King if you let both of them go. The High King rules all of Jalon including Caldorney. Remember the laws to which you and those who seek you are bound.”

“As for reason, look to these coordinates in the future and see for yourselves.” Jer spoke some words in a language that meant nothing to Daniel or Jalia. There was a pause of thirty seconds or so when nobody spoke. Then the man on the platform responded.

“There is nothing at those coordinates.”

“There will be the next time you look,” Jer said and gave Daniel and Jalia a stage wink.

Jer bowed to Daniel and Jalia before speaking to the air, “Librarian, store this memory to be retrieved when the jury room suffers an explosion.”

Jer vanished and the rubble of the room reappeared in front of them. The librarian spoke to the men on the dais. “I have just checked the coordinates and they are coming. They are there and it will take them only another twenty years to reach us.”

The men on the dais looked down at Daniel and Jalia. “We have hidden from those who seek us for nearly a thousand years and we do no harm to this world beyond protecting our privacy. When the time finally comes, your memories of this time will return to you and we hope you will show us mercy.”

Jalia and Daniel sank to the floor as their consciousness fled.

The next day Jalia and Daniel rode their horses along the banks of the River Calda heading south. The Caldorney Waste was far behind them to the north. Ferd led the train of donkeys to their rear. Tied to the bags on Ferd’s back was a cask of exploding powder neatly sealed with beeswax around a wooden stopper.

“Why did I ever want to travel so far north instead of using the road to Taybee like any sensible person?” Jalia asked Daniel as she contemplated many more days of riding before she could have a warm bath.

“I don’t have a clue. There’s nothing the way we have come but hills and trees. Why you felt the need to stock up with pickaxes and shovels this far from Telmar defeats me.” Daniel grinned at Jalia, “Perhaps you have finally gone insane.”

The flat of a sword blade knocking him from his saddle did nothing to disavow him from his view.

Will

Jalia and Daniel travelled along a trail leading south hoping it would bring them to Taybee and the Magicians Road. The weather steadily worsened as winter took hold and they experienced a few flurries of snow, though it had not settled.

The donkeys didn’t like the cold weather. Their coats had grown thicker than usual, but this didn’t stop Ferd from complaining. He took to angry braying every quarter of an hour or so.

“If you don’t teach that donkey some manners it’s going to be donkey stew you cook us one of these nights,” Jalia said after a particularly loud session.

“Leave Ferd alone,” Daniel said, just firmly enough to let Jalia know he meant what he said. “Lead donkeys are hard to come by and I know I can leave Ferd by the side of the trail and he will still be there, keeping out of sight of passers-by, days later. And he keeps the other donkeys close to him.”

Daniel sighed, “Besides which, if you hadn’t brought us on this meaningless detour north we would be in Taybee by now having a warm bath.” Daniel threw in the comment about a bath because Jalia had been moaning about the lack of one for some time. Apparently, she was itching in sensitive feminine places. Unfortunately, unless she was willing to bathe in a brook at freezing temperatures she was going to be out of luck.

Jalia cursed. It wasn’t like her to decide to travel for no purpose and she had wracked her brains trying to remember what was so important about coming north. But though she could remember all the preparations and all the effort she had gone to, she couldn’t think why she had wanted to come this way. That and the constant itch between her legs were driving her crazy.

Daniel wondered about the trail they followed. It was clear from occasional signs that this was an ancient road, but even if it went to Taybee, where did it originate from? They had seen no signs of habitation and that was unusual in itself.

The land undulated across what might best be described as a range of hills. They had left the River Calda and travelled upward following the trail. As their elevation increased they entered a pine forest. Every so often they caught a glimpse of the River Calda in the valley below, winding its way north at a stately pace.

Finding a sheltered place to make camp and Daniel was lifting the packs from his donkeys when a deep voice shouted out.

“Hello the camp. I’m a traveler seeking company for the night. May I enter and be welcome?” Daniel looked in the direction of the voice and saw a large scruffily bearded man. He wore fur from head to foot and stood a little way back on the trail they had just travelled. He carried a large pack on his back and a medium sized axe in his hand.

“Come forward and welcome,” Jalia shouted before Daniel could respond.
 
She stepped out onto the trail. “My name’s Jalia and my companion’s name is Daniel. What name shall we call you by?”

“Most call me Will, though I have been called rougher and less kindly names.” The man smiled and Jalia grinned in response.

“Will, it is then. Please enter our humble camp and make yourself comfortable.”

Daniel watched silently as Will walked towards Jalia. From the way he moved, which was like a cat, Daniel suspected the man was a hunter and perhaps a soldier. He didn’t carry a sword, but an axe can be a formidable weapon in the hands of a skilled practitioner and Daniel had no doubt at all that this man was skilled in its use.

The furs he wore provided protection from the cold and blended in with the surroundings. Daniel thought that if this man chose to stand still, animals might pass him by without noticing he was there.

“I killed a stag earlier and have fresh meat if you would care to share with me. I am a fair cook, if I say so myself.” Will pulled his pack from his back. For some reason Daniel couldn’t name, he didn’t want to share this man’s food, but it would be rude beyond measure to refuse without good reason.

“It will do Daniel good to eat someone else’s cooking for a change,” Jalia piped up, before scratching herself in a most unladylike manner.

“It’s settled then,” Will replied, kneeling down to start the fire from the wood Jalia had collected and pulling out a couple of pans from his pack.

Will’s cooking was excellent. Daniel and Jalia expressed their admiration. He used fresh herbs, which Daniel looked at with interest as they went into the pot. It was far too dangerous to experiment with unknown herbs on the trail and the ones Megan used when they were in Buran had been familiar to him. These were mountain herbs and if he learned to recognize them in the wild he could liven up his own cooking.

Travelers tell tall tales or exchange the latest news when they meet. Either that or they sing and show off their skills with a knife or sword. It was too cold to consider showing off any skill but that of staying close to the fire and Will proved reluctant to talk of where he came from.

“Is this the road to Taybee?” Daniel asked, “We’re travelling south, so it ought to get us there in the end.”

“Travelling the country without a map is a foolish thing. I take you, sir, for a trader, and why would a trader be coming from a place with not a soul in it?” Will asked as he bit into a chunk of meat.

“Jalia wanted to come north and I am easy in such matters.”

“Well, Daniel-the-trader, this road will lead you to Taybee, as it follows the river all the way.”

“Are you going to Taybee?” Jalia asked.

“I was, but I think I have found what I was looking for a little closer to home than I expected.” Will watched them closely as he spoke.

The clearing started spinning and Daniel looked at Will in puzzlement. Jalia slid sideways to the ground and started snoring. Whatever was going on was too difficult for Daniel to figure out as he passed out on the ground.

Will grunted with satisfaction and stood up. He had a lot of things to do before the night was out.

Jalia woke up with her whole body aching. She sat on a stone surface with her back propped up against a wall. At first, her eyes refused to open and when she tried to wipe them with her hands, she found neither hand would move that far as something stopped them.

She shook her head and the world spun. She only just stopped herself from spewing up. Her mouth tasted disgusting and there was dried food caked across her face. She managed to get her eyes open and found she was naked. Her hands and feet were bound with strips of leather to metal rings driven into the wall behind her. She looked down at her breasts and legs and discovered she had been used while she slept. Her breasts showed ugly bruises and teeth marks where someone had bitten her far too hard.

“So you are finally awake then,” Will said. Jalia moved her head and saw he stood beside a large fire in the center of the cave. It was at that moment Jalia realized they were in a cave and she looked up to see the smoke from the fire disappearing into cracks in the rock face above.

“Why am I here? What have you done to me?” Jalia asked, trying to put on an innocent offended voice. In a situation like this, anything that made her captor underestimate her would be an advantage.

“You can stop talking like that for a start, unless you want me to break that pretty little jaw of yours.”

Will stood up from the fire and came over to her. “I might have taken you for a harmless girl had I not found your excellently hidden weapon as I stripped you this morning. Nobody armed like that is the slightest bit innocent.”

Jalia stared at him and said nothing. Now was the time to gather information not to give anything away.

“If you’re wondering what you are doing here, it’s simple. I don’t have time for wenches during the summer months, but come winter when I’m stuck in my cave, my thoughts turn to such things. I usually go to Taybee and I take a girl from a farm or a caravan train and bring her here. I use her during the winter and if she survives, I let her go in spring. When I saw you and the trader, I realized I didn’t need to travel so far for a woman this year.”

Will scratched his beard and then at his crotch. “I know animal flesh and as soon as I stripped you and felt your muscle tone, I realized I had a problem. You aren’t a little girl who cowers in the corner, so I tied you up while I took a think on it.”

Jalia didn’t believe for a minute he had ever let a girl go, but it wouldn’t help to say such things out loud. She looked to her right hand and the magic ring, but it was no longer there. Will caught her eye movement and deduced what she had been looking for.

“Took your ring off you because whatever was yours is now mine. I thought I was going to have to take the finger too as it wouldn’t come off at first, but when I took out my knife to cut you it slid off as easy as you like.”

“It looks like you took more than my ring and clothes,” Jalia said as calmly as she could. She needed to keep him talking because the more he said the more she would know.

“My needs were building and you’re warm flesh. Maybe that’s what I’ll do for now, drug you and have you when I want, though I do like a bit of screaming to help me along. If you think you can escape, make sure you kill me, because I’ll slit your throat for sure should you try and fail.” Will moved back to the fire.

“What about Daniel? What did you do to him?” Jalia shouted as he turned his back on her.

Will turned back and looked at her in surprise, “Why should I do anything to the trader? I wanted a woman, so I took one. He’s probably awake by now as its well past noon.” Will continued to stare at her and then his face cleared as an idea occurred to him.

“Oh, you think he will rescue you. He could never find you if he searched for as long as the Magician Kings have been dead. I don’t leave a trail and even the smoke from the fire will never be seen, it vanishes deep into the mountain through cracks and crevices and I have never seen a trace of it. He is a trader and will soon accept his loss. I didn’t take any of his goods or of yours beyond what you wore. Why should he do anything, but go about his business?”

Daniel awoke and wondered why his back ached so badly. He opened his eyes and discovered he had been sleeping on stones. He pushed himself up on his hands and looked around the camp. Ferd came wandering up, pushing his face into Daniel’s and braying as if telling him he had something urgent to do.

Daniel pushed his donkey away and staggered to his feet, “Jalia! Where are you, Jalia,” he shouted, but nobody replied. He looked around the camp and saw her bed sheet was un-slept in. “Jalia!” he shouted in mounting panic as he looked into the forest. He remembered Will and his forebodings about the man. He needed to find Jalia.

A quick search revealed that the horses, donkey and saddle bags were all present and correct. The only thing missing was Jalia. Daniel tried to calm himself despite his feelings of rising panic. She was without doubt the most capable survivor he had ever met and she had the magic ring. But he was also sure that if she had been in the kind of trouble she could get herself out of she would be with him by now.

It was clear they had been drugged and it was obvious the reason had been to take Jalia. If Will had been seeking a ransom he would have left a note, and in any case, he hadn’t taken any of Daniel’s money apart from whatever Jalia had been carrying.

‘Probably most of the money in the camp’, a cynical part of his mind whispered, but he ignored it. He had no choice, he had to track Will down and find Jalia.

Daniel was good at tracking, but it soon became apparent he was dealing with someone who was far superior in hiding his tracks. He started walking in a widening spiral around the camp looking for any sign of Will’s passage. There was nothing. At one point Daniel became excited at a few bent twigs and grasses that were a little bent, but then he realized he had inadvertently strayed over his own trail from his previous spiral. There was no trace of Will’s passage out of the camp or his journey in.

Daniel returned to the camp, sat on a large stone by the dead fire, and wondered what to do. He didn’t know this part of the world. He would be lost in minutes once he left the trail. Ferd gave him a hard nudge knocking him to the ground.

“If I knew what to do I would do it, Ferd. Do you have any ideas?” The donkey looked at him and brayed loudly. Then it nudged him again knocking his dagger from its sheath.

“Yes, it’s a magic dagger, but it can’t talk and it can’t even point for people like the magic ring did,” Daniel patiently explained to his donkey. During the years before Jalia arrived on the scene he had spent a lot of time talking to Ferd. He had made much more agreeable company on the trail than Yousef.

“On the other hand you do have a point,” Daniel said slowly and he held the dagger in his hand and looked at his blade. “Magic Sword, I’m going to throw you up in the air so you land point down. If you know where either Jalia or her magic ring are, point in that direction instead.”