When The Petal Fell

10-2

The path they rode upon wended its way up towards the great forest that served as a border between the City lands and the lands beyond. Sora had never come this way before. She heard tell of the immense desert to the east and, beyond that, the fabled Untaken Lands, leading to the Three Kingdoms and finally the cold, unforgiving land of Eass where the stocky, hardy Eassfolk scraped a life together in snow and ice. She thought it all sounded awful.

After a short while, they reached a gap in the forest, wide enough for two, perhaps three carts to travel alongside each other. The gap led eastwards and a slight to the south. The direction they needed to go, if Sora's memory of a map she once saw was accurate. Klaron, however, continued on past the gap, leaving the path behind.

"Shouldn't we be going through the forest? If he's going east, surely he'd use that gap?" Sora caught up to Klaron again and fell in beside her.

"I'm certain he has gone through that gap, but he has a head start on us and we need to make that time up." Again, Klaron didn't elaborate any further, putting her head down as she rode, her tail trailing along the horse's flank.

Sora found herself beginning to think Klaron was keeping much to herself. Too much. This partnership would go nowhere if Sora didn't know what she was getting herself into. She understood that there were somethings that Klaron would never reveal. Secrets that were vital to the security of the city, but if the Kannai didn't open up more about this particular mission, Sora could see herself becoming quite annoyed. And, when she felt annoyed, she tended to lash out and that wouldn't help anybody.

As the sun began to rise in the south, the first rays filtering through the leaves of the forest and shooting fingers of light into the sky over the hills and cliffs, Klaron slowed her horse and began watching the edge of the forest, making the occasional glance to the sides. She appeared to be looking for something, although Sora couldn't think what it could be.

Then Klaron stopped, dropping from the saddle of her horse and examining a small cairn of stones. Satisfied with that, she turned towards the forest, walking in a slow pace, leading her horse by the bridle, along the edge. Sora watched all this and realised what was happening. There was another path. A secret path and that was how they would catch up with the errant Thought Mage, Pirizd. Sure enough, Klaron waved her onwards, led her horse towards the forest and disappeared.

Sora trotted her horse forward and saw where Klaron had gone. Hidden by careful felling of trees, there was a path. A path that paralleled the edge of the forest and then arced back upon itself, widening. The boughs of the trees were low, at the entrance, and Sora had to dismount to lead her horse through to the path. Once through, she found Klaron still holding her horse's bridle, waiting for her.

"If you never do anything else I say, do this one thing." Klaron held Sora's eyes with her own with intensity and a little fear. "Do not leave the path."

With that, Klaron turned and began leading her horse along the path, waiting for it to widen before remounting. If Klaron had wanted to scare her, she had performed an excellent job. The simple fact that Klaron had allowed Sora to see that glimpse of fear was enough. If Klaron was afraid of something enough to show it, Sora would not fail to fear it too.

-+-

The City Guard had to deal with four times the number of incidents, during the night. The Underside Free Watch, a similar increase, including one attempted arson, the implications of which could have become disastrous. Fires anywhere in the city could cause untold damage, but in the Underside? Where every structure, every walkway, every rope bridge was flammable? Countless people could have died. Rifnarus would not allow it!

Later in the day he would meet with various mages; Fire Mages, Water Mages, Forest and Wood mages. Anything and anyone that could find him a permanent solution to the possible destruction of the Underside by fire would find themselves richly rewarded. The Underside may be far lower on the rungs of city society, but those people were his people and deserved the same protections as anyone else.