Lorcan: Dragonquest

Chapter 21

Author's note: Welcome, new readers. Lorcan and Cokelli are now on the next leg of their journey, traveling from port to port until they arrive at Telgawa, at which point the journey is a big long road trip through several countries until they arrive at their destination. I've sprinkled the narrative with stories to evoke the history and culture of the characters. Lorcan and Cokelli will be spending a lot more time with the merchants as he needs to learn about the people whose lands he will be moving through.

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Dark clouds had gathered overhead as the ship entered the port. "The captain says we are not going anywhere till it's over," said Cokelli. "We'll be stuck here at Hrindi for a couple of days, it seems."

Warm drops of rain began to fall, dotting the deck around them.

"Come on, let's find an inn to bed down for the night."

Lorcan stood up. "Aye."

The two of them went down into the hold to get their horses and possessions and disembarked, then followed Beso Buzzo's party to an inn, where they spent the night and the next day indoors as the rain lashed down unmercifully. In the common room, they found Beso holding court surrounded by his men and some of the other merchants.

"Ah, Lorcan," said Beso. "Nice of you to join us."

"Thank you," Lorcan replied with a courtly bow. He felt Cokelli move behind him, then the light pressure of the bench as it brushed the backs of his legs. He sat down.

"Now then," said Beso, "we have been telling stories to pass the time as we wait for the storm to pass. Will you tell us a tale of Soduane?"

"Something Aspect-y," said Lorcan in his own language, with a sour grin. "Very well, then," he continued in Antican, "I shall tell you a tale of my people."

"Corindally the Weaver is one of our Patrons. She takes the form of a..." he raised his hand with his palm face down, spread out his fingers, and walked them through the air.

"A spider," said Beso.

"Yes, a spider. When each of us is born we get our own..." he motioned with his hands, spreading his fingers as if pulling something large and delicate carefully apart.

"Web," said Heshbon.

"Right. Web. Each of the threads is a road on which you might travel—or not. We all have choices. This one might lead to a bad thing, that one to a good thing but it can be hard to tell which is the right one until you're on it. Corindally works for Tomamy Shan, the Patron of the Ages. I am going to tell you all how she got the job."

A rustle and scrape interrupted the story as Strozza arrived, dragging a stool with a hopeful expression on his face. Beso nodded and he joined them, taking a seat beside Lorcan, who cocked an eyebrow and continued. "Corindally was a quiet girl when the world was young, keeping mostly to her house and spending her days busying herself with the things that needed to be done at home. She rarely strayed far from her door. Now the Soduaner are a generous people and will not turn a stranger away. They invite them in and treat them with honor. It's a terrible disgrace to have anyone complain about your hospitality. So Corindally, though she was quiet and shy, welcomed the strange man who came by one day when it was raining like this. She was sitting by the window, singing to herself as she spun out the wool to make yarn when she saw a man approach, huddled with his cloak wrapped around him.

"'Come in, stranger,' she said, 'and warm yourself by the hearth. I will add some more wood to it and heat up some soup for you.'

"'Thank you,' said the stranger, and sat down by the fire. As he waited for his soup he saw that the yarn she had spun was long, thin, and fine with no lumps in. 'That's a fine yarn you're after spinning,' he told her.