Sangriala

Chapter 1: Spirited a Way

In the early hours of first light, two boats were lowered from the Persephone. We had been woken up in all hush, not to alert the other passengers of the riverboat, most of whom were refugees from Apion. It would have been too risky to continue the journey towards Sangriala onboard the Persephone, as the ship's location could be linked with the operations the Resistance had carried out, first in Apion harbour, and later notoriously in Lady's Canyon.

We were thirteen in our boat. Mary Darling was under my arm. It was chilly on the river and we pushed closer to each other. Max and Roland were on the bench in front of us - the boys also wrapped themselves tightly in their cloaks. Brynhilde and Zoria were with them. We had come a long way, and I had seen how the boys had paired with the girls by now; how Bry had become Max's girl and Zoria had clung to Roland ever since they were reunited. Bry's red hair flew open in the early breeze while Zoria was hiding under her grey hood, trying to be invisible.

A fourth couple, Chairo and Vixen, the young assistants of Professor Itikain, were sharing the bench with us, while the scientist himself was in the rear of the boat, together with the Resistance commandant, Ramez, who had fallen even more to the reticent mood than in the night before. The slant-eyed brothers Turhan and Kunhan were using the oars. The taverner of the Silver Smile, Lohengrin, was in the prow, keenly watching the approaching shore.

I saw the other boat that had been lowered from the ship was already arriving in the village jetty. There was a man with a lantern receiving it. Giving signs. A local agent of the Resistance, most likely. A middle-aged, robust man wearing black clothes, and a black brimmed hat. The boatmen greeted him, and then ushered out the eight Palatine prisoners of war. They were now in civilian clothes. I understood the Resistance needed to remove these men from the Persephone, to not be found on board when there would be a check by the River Palatines. Only the innocent refugees would continue their journey towards Sangriala, along with the innocent cargo Captain Kitt had picked in Apion.

They had marched the Palatines away by the time our boat arrived at the jetty. Kunhan jumped out, starting to bind the rope. The brim-hatted man with the lantern was still on the jetty and extended his hand to Lohengrin and Turhan, when they also jumped out of the boat.

"This man is Lukas", said Ramez from the rear. "One of ours. He'll be our carriage driver."

He had failed to inform us we were going to take a carriage. But I remained patient. Everything at a time.

"Can we get a lift with you, too?" asked Professor Itikain, cleaning the rounded lenses of his spectacles of the river's droplets. "Myself and my two assistants. You see, we're on our way to Sangriala, and this was quite an unexpected adventure we had."

"Sure, we'll make some place", assured Ramez. "For such cultivated company."

I was not sure if the professor and his fox cubs would be safest with our pursued company, but Ramez should know, better than anyone.

"What is this village?" asked Roland, who was already on the jetty and offering his gentleman's hand to Zoria.

"You don't need to know", said Ramez first. But then shrugged. "Oh well. The place is called Survil. A colony of fruit gardeners. Some winemakers too. For our purposes, the best thing here is that most of the inhabitants are related and wouldn't rat on each other. It's a question of honour."

"Oh, we've heard of Survil!" enthused Vixen. She reversed the gender roles by being first on the jetty and assisting her boyfriend to follow. "It's the last place before the canyon, where the Spirits Way ends! I mean, seen from Sangriala."

"The Spirits Way?" I asked. Now, Mary and I were on the jetty, too.

"There's a way, a road, going along the river's course, from here all the way to the coast and to Sangriala", explained Itikain. "Not really a highway. Still a road. It meanders through many villages and temples. I guess that's why it's called the Way of the Spirits."