Ardalia: The Breath of Aoles

Chapter Thirteen - THE POOL OF BLISS

The brick-built shells of the Strays' quarter were mostly decrepit, and corroded by mold. Some that were half crumbled still had malians living in them. Pelmen shook his head. The narrow streets cluttered with refuse, where trickles of fetid water sometimes ran, did nothing to ease his malaise.

In spite of the way the place made him feel, Pelmen plunged with satisfaction into the hunter's state of mind. He walked silently, gliding from shadow to shadow, and when he could not avoid crossing the path of a malian he slowed down and observed his surroundings curiously.

For a long time, he had been worried about the length of time it was taking to find Teleg, and had been thinking of ways to speed things up. Now his search was taking him to a tavern once again. The similarity of the situation was striking. The trap he fell into the last time he tried to get information which would lead him to his friend had shaken his resolution and his self-confidence, but since then something had changed. Virtually unarmed and left to his own devices in an unusual environment, his movements were more assured, more fluid than ever.

"A hunter must be at home everywhere," Symen had said to him—and Pelmen had adopted the saying. That did not stop him from being on the alert, conscious of the responsibility weighing upon him.

As the passerby had indicated, the street opened onto a square in which two pools of water extended. The humid air carried the impatient murmurs of malians assembled around the first pool and Pelmen backed up against a wall, watching. The individuals, mostly isolates whose swift and jerky gestures betrayed agitation, were obviously waiting for the second body of water, packed with bathers, to become less crowded. Their attention was so focused on it that Pelmen decided to risk himself in the open without further delay.

"You too want to sample the Pool of Bliss?"

Startled, Pelmen whirled in the direction of the hoarse voice. The malian must have come from an adjacent street because he had not seen him when he had scanned the area earlier. Judging by the bags under his bloodshot yellow eyes, the mil'ser had not slept for a long time. Although not excessively stooped, he nevertheless presented the wrinkles characteristic of old age among his people. His skin, dry and cracked over large areas, displayed ugly red sores.

"I... I'm not a malian," said Pelmen, taking a step back.

"You should try it," said the stranger with the feverish gaze, as if he had not heard. "Your wildest dreams would be realized in the pool." He moved a step closer to Pelmen who bolted, the sound of the malian's mad laughter ringing in his ears. Fifty yards away down the line, realizing that he was not being chased, he finally slowed down. His hair bristling and his heart racing, he observed his surroundings.

He was closer than ever to the shining pools. Fortunately, if the malians had noticed him, they didn't seem to care too much about his presence. Several of them seemed to be suffering from nervous tics in their faces, and a few arms and torsos were similarly dry and cracked, although not to the same extent. The green-tinted water of the first pool was unoccupied, in contrast to the liquid expanse of the second, almost as yellow as blue. The malians floating in it had wide open spores. Their features displayed expressions of delight, and Pelmen could see drool running from the corners of more than one mouth.

Occasionally, a feless'tu turned over, allowing the second member of the binome to breathe—evidently, the respiratory capacity of malians had nothing in common with that of hevelens. The face of the one submerged twisted in a spasm of pain, and then ecstasy got the upper hand again.

Pelmen had crossed the plaza when a malian hoisted himself up on the rim, releasing a murmur of satisfaction among those waiting their turn. The malians began scrambling and grunting as they fought for the right to plunge into the pool. Eventually, a winner emerged who leapt gracelessly into the first pool and began thrashing around in a series of disorderly movements to reach the far side and the joys of the second pool as quickly as possible. He bumped his legs, climbed and let himself fall on the other side with a groan of anticipated pleasure.