Beyond the Void

Chapter 69, Jaybird

VAERA

Four moons and four tens since the Mark of the Other One blossomed.

"That's Hinterwall?" Vaera asked as the riverboat was approaching the harbour.

"You're saying it like there's something wrong with it. What's wrong with it?" Namora demanded.

"I thought we were going to the back end of the Empire. A quaint village or trading post in the middle of nowhere. This looks like a major fort." Vaera complained.

"Hinterwall on Spearhead. On the other side of the Greater Spine is the former city of Spearhead. It is one of the three passages through the spine. Don't worry. The army posted here knows me." Namora had raised an eyebrow.

"But not me. They don't know me. I can't exactly tell them I am from Whitefall. Can I?"

"Captain! We're being hailed!" One of the crewmen shouted.

"Don't be daft, why would they hail us?" The frown on the captain's face deepened.

"That patrol boat is signalling us! Damn it, Namora." The man said, an urgent note in his voice.

"By the Makers, Vammo, I will find a replacement for you if you do not stop whining! Do as we're told then!" The captain shouted orders.

"Trouble?" Vaera asked.

"Only if you open your mouth. Stay over here. I always prepare the necessary documents for my passengers." Namora patted Vaera on the back and hurried off, as the riverboat came to a slow halt.

By the time the riverboat had come to a full stop, the smaller patrol boat had been tied to it and three officials boarded. Vaera did as Namora told her to, she stayed away from the soldiers. And ready to jump into the water if need be. But the patrol left as quickly as it had appeared and the riverboat was preparing to dock.

"Well?" Vaera asked once the captain was available.

"Problems for you. I will be fine. There's a new army posted here. The fort and the surrounding village is under tight control now. The Ebonveil heir got his hands on the Empire's armies and in response to that riots broke out in Ironcourt. Everyone is being checked or kept on hold. I am sorry. You are on your own from here on. These documents will not help you get past this point." Namora handed a small scroll to Vaera.

"I am stuck here?" Vaera mumbled with a disbelieving voice.

"I am sorry. I have no alternatives to offer you either. If you wanted to come back with us, the patrols will notice and you will find more trouble. Your best bet is to stay here and wait for an opportunity. This situation will not last forever. Don't do anything stupid, little spawn of Jaybird!"

Vaera had already crossed the gangplank when Namora called after her. The comment about her ties to Jaylen made her wince. But other thoughts unravelled in her head. She could write to her old friend in Ironcourt. Before she could organise those plans, an old man interrupted her.

"Excuse me. Your name is Jaybird?" He asked.

"What?" Vaera was taken aback by the sudden question.

"I am so sorry, but those people, on the riverboat, they were calling you Jaybird just now." The old man pointed behind Vaera.

"My name is Vaera." She said coolly.

"I see. I apologise. Really, I do. I must have the wrong person."

Vaera followed the old man with her gaze. She should be careful and avoid making rash decisions. There would be no telling what kind of greeting she would get if she revealed herself.

But the urge got the better of her and she called after the old man. "Why are you asking for a Jaybird?"

"Well, I transport people up and down river Arn and onto the Irbis. Usually nobles from Ironcourt. However, about a moon ago I got a peculiar request. I need to find a person and bring them to Ironcourt. The problem is that I can't go back to Ironcourt unless I find the person. And they gave me awfully vague clues about who it is I am looking for. Now I am stuck here." The old man was talkative. And he seemed harmless enough. At least, his physique was that of a worker not a fighter.

"You can't go back? You mean to tell me you have been in this place more than a moon now?" Vaera frowned.

"It's not all bad. The people gave me some coin in advance to compensate my expenses here, but it has my family worried. And angry with me. I tried to go back to visit them. I took a couple of customers to Ironcourt to get some coin while I wait, but before I could take three steps from my boat, armed men appeared out of nowhere. They were insistent that I stay in Hinterwall and find this person." The man rubbed a bandaged arm. "I have asked everyone coming from lake Nandari, but without luck."

"Why did you ask for a Jaybird?" Vaera asked again. She wondered if the old runt would get to the point of his circumstances or tell her his entire life story before that.

"Because that's the person I need to find. They told me to find a Jaybird. But I have never heard of someone being named Jaybird. What kind of parents would do that? I mean, I know the lot down in Dorwald and Telred can be peculiar, not to mention the Ildari, but still. I don't know what I am supposed to do. I am nearly out of coin."

"Only Jaybird? They told you to look for the Jaybird? And they who? The people who hired you should have names." The man's vague answers frustrated her. Enough to brush aside the worries she had.

"Well, they said something else too, but that made the request even stranger. Honestly, I am afraid someone might take this the wrong way. People have been upset with me. I got in trouble when the guard changed here. I don't know who made the request, but the messengers were not nice." The old man massaged his arm again.

"How about you tell me everything they told you? Please?" Screw it, Vaera thought. The best way forward was to risk it. And if there was business here that involved Jaylen, she should know about it to avoid it.

The man closed his eyes and sighed. "Find the wayward spawn of the Jaybird flown out of its nest. Blood paves its way forward. Void and shimmering towers cloud its past. I mean. What am I supposed to make of it? Blood and void? It sounds like it would involve a cult. I just want to go home. Who on earth names someone a Jaybird?" The old man muttered and was about to leave.

"It isn't a name. Rather, a nickname." Let's see what happens now, Vaera thought.

There were good reasons to be afraid, but the man looked sincere. He might just be a simple messenger and maybe once he would take Vaera closer to Ironcourt, there would be a chance to slip away. "I think you are looking for me." She added.

The old man opened and closed his mouth, unable to say anything. Vaera noticed the man measuring her from top to bottom. "Well, it's still a silly name."

I agree, thank the Makers it's not mine, Vaera thought.