Desert Siren

Nineteen

The walk to the Bazaar was short, much shorter than Jayza expected. Tavan led her out the back of the inn and down a crushed stone path bordered by citrus trees and flowering bushes that filled the air with a heady aroma. Jayza breathed deeply, enjoying the freedom of not being tethered. Tavan had tucked her hand in his arm and kept the pace slow and measured, watching her out of the corner of his eye with a slight smile. The day was warm, but the trees kept the strong sun from beating down on them and Jayza found herself forgetting for a moment that she was still a prisoner.

The path eventually ended, emptying onto a stone street that Tavan told her was the continuation of the road they had arrived on. A few camels and several horses passed but most of the people traversing the road were pedestrians and quite a few stopped and stared as the attractive couple passed by. Jayza felt slightly self-conscious, ducking her head to keep her face hidden as much as possible, but Tavan walked proudly, greeting the people they passed with a friendly word or nod. Jayza was surprised to hear him offer the greetings in the native tongue and she wondered if he spoke her language also.

"Insa," she said once they were out of earshot of the latest passerby. "Te si Garjen?"

Jayza had called Tavan Lord and asked if he spoke her language. He turned to her with a start, then smiled and answered in the same tongue.

"Yes, little one, I speak Garjen. As well as quite a few other languages."

Jayza cocked her head questioningly. His smile faded slightly, and he returned his gaze to the street in front of them. He continued speaking Garjen and Jayza was quite surprised to see he was fluent in it. Not native, but definitely more fluent than many of the tradespeople who had passed through Kif Aljar. "Before our present Emperor reduced our role, Raptors were often sent on diplomatic missions. Being able to speak the native language proved advantageous for several reasons. First, it allowed my Commanders and myself to converse with the leaders in their own tongue if they couldn't converse fluently in the Common Language. But it also allowed the Raptors themselves to listen in on conversations when they mingled with the common folk. In this way, we often gained information on what was really happening in the Lands we went to.

"As our roles were reduced, the need to know multiple languages became less important and it was one of the few requirements that have been reduced if you want to become a Raptor. Many of the current Raptors only speak a few other tongues. My Commanders speak more, but only because I demand it. Prisoners that are taken sometimes refuse to reveal they can speak the Common Tongue so having the Commander act as an interpreter often catches them unawares."

"Why do you still learn them? If you have your Commanders acting as interpreters and you no longer handle diplomatic duties, then why take the time to learn new languages?" Jayza had switched back to the Common Tongue, believing it would be easier for Tavan to converse in it. He had not grown up with Garjen and she had. But she had also grown up speaking the Common Tongue. It was required learning by the Empire for every child who attended school. And Kif Aljar was a major trading town. The need to be able to converse easily was necessary and every child who lived there spoke both languages fluently. Along with several others. Simply because they were exposed to so many by the differing tradespeople who passed through.

"For several reasons. Mostly, because I've told you I always try to learn everything I can about where I'm being sent. I enjoy learning new things and I enjoy startling the people of the towns and villages even more. Once they realize I can speak their language, the possibility of them cheating me and my men goes from slim to zero. Most don't think of trying but there's always that one poor fool who thinks he's smarter than everyone else. I enjoy tripping people like that up. Puts them in their place and makes them think twice about trying to cheat someone else.