Bazza'Jo

Chapter 15

It took them well over an hour to reach even the northern borders of Fort Arnisson. Kal insisted first that Raina change out of her make-shift tied pants, blouse and sweater, and into the hunting vest and tight-kneed pants he had brought with him instead. "From my cousin Veena, who, since her new baby, is as big as the moon!" His second condition was that they take a slow, careful and circuitous route around the town so that none of the other East Wood brughar would see them.

"And we need a new names." Kal told her. "Something familiar to us, but new enough to leave our identities behind. You can be Rani."

"Then I'll name you Gal."

Kal grinned and though his face had changed, the expression was familiar. Raina felt as if she were travelling with some older brother of her Kal.

"Too close. How about Galvin? You can call me Gal for short." He winked at her. "We can be brother and sister from Kani, the abandoned village. Galvin and Rani Shani'Kani!" He had relaxed significantly since Ibli had Shifted them. He was as close to his usual self as Raina suspected he was going to be until he knew his brother was safe. Like Raina, he was just happy to be doing something.

"Rani and Galvin, you mean." She feigned offense and smiled.

The road to Dhalai cut north out of town, bisecting the woods and fields and marking the lands heavily with human presence. The woods on both sides of the road were shallow and drained, but where to the east the woods quickly grew into the tangled, vibrant forest Kal called home, the west side of the road led to the dry, empty expanses of the North Wood.

It was as dark as it was going to get that night, but the moon was nearly full and lent enough light to the shallow parts of the wood that Raina could follow Kal easily enough. His Kreel eyes could see perfectly, but though she looked Kreel, she still had her daylight-loving, Keissarian eyesight. They didn't have a destination in mind, so Kal chose a path that followied signs of human activity and pathways that Raina still couldn't quite make out. They made no effort to be quiet, hoping a passing brughar would hear them and approach.

The North Wood clearly differed from the East Wood. It took them what seemed like ages to get to a forest which was thick enough for them to start climbing branches and trunks to leap from tree to tree like they would have back in Kal's wood. The ground everywhere was dry and hard, and the shallow, lonely trees looked sick and dry as well. The greying, sagging trees sounded hollow wherever they touched them. As if to prove a point, Kal came up behind her and gave the tree a violent shake. High above them they heard a crack and a crumbling noise, then a huge portion of tree trunk crashed to the ground beside them and shattered like a clay pot. Raina shielded her eyes instinctively from the spray of tinder and splinters, but there was no real need. The wood was as light as paper and brittle as bark. The dry, dead branch crumbled to dust when they touched it.

"No water, I guess." Kal said. "I suppose it's only a matter of time before my wood dries out too."

They moved on. Raina was careful not to climb into the trees until she was sure the forest was healthy enough to support her weight, but even then the branches weren't tangled tight and densely, as in the East Wood, but sagged and bent like in the abandoned village they had named themselves after. The forest was so alien to them that neither of them spoke while they traveled, because they couldn't take their minds off of the decay of the wood.

Finally, when the ground was wet enough that a step left an imprint, Kal gestured for Raina to stop moving. Instantly halting, she concentrated on listening. Close, and not too high above them, something was moving.

"Greetings." Kal said in a regular, conversational tone. "It is our honour to be guests to the vast North Wood, home of the Falls of the Ghodes and other wonders we hope to-"