Dreamer: The Eighth Key book 1

Xune

Bardridor’s Pass was a sight for sore eyes. At least to Sumrian, who had been raised not far from here. He could already feel the freedom he was sure it would bring them. Sumrian could set them up well and push on without really having to stop for rest. I just have to play my cards right.

They arrived just as the sun’s rays finally reached the small settlement gathered around the opening to the long, narrow road cut through the range’s center. People had long since risen to start daily tasks for survival a few hours prior, so the town was already decently busy. Sumrian weaved Thistale carefully through them. They passed a woman carrying buckets towards a large open well in the city’s center, bowled over by age. Travelers from all over Bardridor were starting to pack up small wagons in preparation for the Pass or to head for the much more tolerable regions that made up Bardridor’s coast. Merchants peddled their wears in loud cries, calling out to unfamiliar faces in hopes of making quick coin. Sumrian did his best to avoid them.

“Stay here and stay out of sight,” Sumrian told Thistale gruffly, handing her an apple he stole from a stand to munch on while he procured a way for them.

“Fine. But if I disappear, it will be your own fault.”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever. I said I was sorry, didn’t I? Look, I know you don’t get it yet. But you will. You didn’t really trust that woman, did you?”

“Honestly, she gave me the creeps. With that being said, she warned me you would do this. I can’t trust either of you.” Thistale stated flatly, crunching into the fruit.

“Then, I will earn that trust back.” He promised, patting the woman’s leg. “Look, just stay out of trouble. I won’t be long.”

Sumrian had always been extremely good at haggling or other challenges that came with it. His deep muddy copper eyes flit from one group of people to another as he ran his dark chocolate colored fingers through thick spongy black hair. Thick lips curled into a pleasant smile when he was confident he found what they were looking for. Another couple, appearing of a humble nature, caught his attention. Perfect.

Sumrian observed them for a while before he approached their nearly empty wagon, ready for departure and beyond. “Good morning! Would you be interested in making a little coin?” He called out to the small woman that had already climbed up into the seat of the carriage. “My wife and I wish to know if we can join you through the Pass. We have some money. We can pay our passage if you are willing to allow us to ride with you.” He told her, jotting his head in Thistale’s direction. “It would be difficult for her to make the journey through on foot.”

The woman leaned out a little to take a quick look at Thistale, who was seated across the way on a crate, before regarding Sumrian. “What’s wrong with her?” She asked. Thistale looked normal to her.

“She’s blind, Miss.” He replied, trying not to cringe at her horrible accent.

“Blind? I’ll be damned.” A solemn-looking man with a sack of goods chimed in as he had come from behind the carts other side. “Why are you carting her around like that? She looks far too delicate for the road.” From the get-go, he looked like he was skeptical. Sumrian couldn’t blame him. Everyone had things they felt they needed to hide.

 Thistale and Sumrian were just… Very well dressed. The woman was no longer in that evening gown but in a simple white gown that was used for sleeping. Sumrian really should have let her change. Even so, it was adorned in lace and made of excellent material. Sumrian himself was dressed to the nines, in a deep forest green tunic with stylish piping along the edges. They dripped of the upper class, sticking out far too much for comfort.

“We are on our way to Desirae to see if we can find medicine to help her. Her eyes used to be just fine. I think the dirty air of the mountain might have been part of the cause, but we are not too sure. So, we think we might be able to restore them with the right herbs. I can’t get her help for it if she is not there with me, sadly enough, or I would have gone there by myself. Haven’t you heard how the Daeva are?” Sumrian leaned against the cart.

“Guess so.” The man rubbed his chin in thought. He eyed his wife in the cart for a minute and then Sumrian. “What do you think, Miryd?” Sumrian promised decent pay, and he was sure it would set the couple up for at least a month. Plus, there was space to spare.

“Can’t turn down that sort of request. It just wouldn’t be right.” She replied with a shrug of her narrow shoulders. Sumrian smiled. It looked as though the woman was a little torn for it. There was that chance that her husband would say no. And Miryd did want to help. Sumrian could see it in her face plain as day.

 “Bring the lass then. We need to get going before too many people head through. And, for Gya’a’s sake… Cover up or change. Bandits get one look at those clothes, and they will think we are an easy mark.”

“Perfect. Here.” Sumrian counted out what he thought was fair for passage before pushing it into the palm of the woman. “This is enough, right?”

“That will do.” She beamed, happy her own husband favored indulging in her.

Sumrian felt a wave of relief wash over him as he went to fetch Thistale, dragging her along to purchase some cloaks. Plain ones. This meant that not only could they rest, but the two of them could stay ahead of that Witch. He fitted Thistale with the new cloak, making sure every last scrap of her person was hidden underneath. When that was set, he helped her climb up into the cart after spreading an empty sack over its floor. “These two are Enycuta and Miryd.” He explained, having already gotten their names. “They will be our traveling companions, honey. Won’t that be nice?” He smirked at her.

If she could have given him a look that killed, she would have. Sumrian leaned in and kissed her cheek playfully, whispering. “Play along.” He could see she was furious. He was treating her like a child, after all. “It’s for the best.”

“Thank you. My name is Thistale, and this jerk here is Sumrian.” She hissed, delivering a hefty measured kick into his leg. Luckily for both of them, this dislike was taken as nothing more than a lover’s spat. Couldn’t really expect a married couple to be lovey-dovey all the time. Sumrian was sure she was going to make him regret this eventually.

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The cart lurched forward soon after Sumrian and Thistale were settled in. Entering the opening between the walls of rock proved slow and bumpy but comfortable enough. Though the Pass had seen more foot traffic then most places did in these mountains, rock and debris from above tumbled down regularly as time weathered it. The largest of the stones were always removed upon discovery, but the smaller stay behind. They always managed to lodge down into the most inconvenient of places. Being much more manageable to maneuver about or push aside should one really wish to do so; the need was not there to take them away.

The Pass itself was more extensive at its bottom than at the top. Once long ago, the crag was a river. Though as time went by, the land became drier or less apt to flooding to upkeep it. Too dry to sustain the flows of a full riverway for sure. The tiered walls around them supported this theory. Each layer of rock could be seen clearly but had been smoothed out as if it had been finely sanded down. The floor was reminiscent of fertile silt instead of ash. It was void of loose rocks, with flecks of minerals that could be seen glittering from the lanterns at the front of the carriage. At several points along the path, it grew so dark, one could not tell the time of day. Nor could any weather reach down that far either until they neared Xune’s claim to it.

The temperature dropped a fair ten degrees during the few hours it took to make the journey through the cut in the mountain range, making the ride much more pleasant. No longer could they see or smell ash either. Instead, they could detect the wonderfully rich, slightly damp decay of plants and farming. Pleasing really, for it was able to touch deep down into one’s soul. They passed into Xune officially when the Pass grew wide enough to allow the sky to break through the top of its walls once more. Pools of runoff started collected in dips on the roadside as well, also fed by thin, slowly trickling falls coming down from above.

The entire time, Miryd ran her mouth, her voice carrying in an endless strain of nonsense. Even when she knew Sumrian and Thistale were fast asleep, she continued to chitter away. Maybe she had been excited to have some company other than her husband, who admittedly made a very poor conversationalist. Even if the said company had not answered her barrage of personal questions, it was still lovely. Like this, the time passed in a relaxing slur for her.

By the time the caravan emerged into the lushness that was Xune, it started to rain. Not a heavy rain mind you, but the sort of refreshing drizzle that promised to add to the already wonderous spring bloom around them. A shallow creek, full of new minnows, now rushed along the roadside north-east ways. Possibly all the way down to Susain by the looks of it. This lush, bountiful land was moderately flat this side of the mountains save for how it steadily declined towards blooming meadowlands in purposeful tiers. It allowed them to see quite a bit into the distance. Like how the stream widened and branched off in the lowlands like glistening digits before it dumped into a lake with ruins in it. Just after that, the river channeled out into two new courses. They could see Susain as well, built into the rock of the cliffs skirting the other side of the roadway, maybe three miles off.

With a smoother and more manageable way, Sumrian decided he would like to walk. Miryd slowed so he could get down. The cart wasn’t moving much faster than that anyway. She was sure he could keep up. Miryd ran a hand through her hair and took a deep breath of the fresh air. One last look was spared behind her at the Pass. Not a soul could be seen behind them, so they must have made very good time.

“Hey, what are these ruins?” Sumrian asked Miryd as they passed under an enormous white archway made out of weathered limestone. Sumrian even paused to smooth his hand over the rock.

“Absolutely beautiful, aren’t they?” Miryd asked right back. She could not help but admire them as she pictured the vast white city it supposedly once belonged to. “Not really sure to be honest.” Miryd rubbed her chin. “I’ve heard a few tales about this place. All of them seem pretty farfetched, but you know, I would have to go with my favorite one.” She grinned as she saw another chance for her to chat away. “It’s sort of a love story. Want to hear it?” Oh, Please say “yes.”

Sumrian chuckled and nodded in agreement. Myrid handed the reigns of the wagon to her husband and turned her entire body in the seat to look at him as she began to recount the tale. “They say this place was not actually a city but served as a solitary estate. At the time of the great war, it also served as a powerful military fortress. Xune’s gem they called it.” Myrid paused for a moment to turn back around. Twisting like that was not good for her back. “A wealthy young prince built it late in the Second Era. He spent every last ounce of the coin he had. No expense was spared, for he was trying to win the heart of a beautiful peasant girl.

Back in those days, arranged marriages were still widespread in the upper classes. His parents hand-picked some woman for him before his birth already. Just like I would, he dreaded becoming tied down to someone he had never met. Plus, he was also quite sure he could not love any other, for he only had eyes for another prize. A woman, a servant of his betrothed, stole his affections and his heart the moment he met her. And He made no effort to hide it.

 With this behavior, his parents tried and tried, but they could not convince him to rethink such an unbecoming union. And so, the lonely prince was exiled from his home. Even without that support, he managed to make a name for himself somehow. With pockets overflowing with gold, he exhausted himself to win that servant’s heart. He loved her with unbridled desire. Some say he was under the spell of a witch. The prince made her, and only her, his every waking breath since the day they met.

She arrived when the estate was near its completion, and there, she became his wife. But it was not him she fell in love with. It was the land. The money and all the power. Her new home was a magnificent castle that sparked the envy of all other kingdoms. And thus, Xune itself was born, and she was set to become a great queen.

The prince did anything she asked him to do without question. Despite that, she never returned that love. Eventually, all of her greed and her malice bore down upon him. He took more and more from the people to give to her.

 Under her command, Xune’s people revolted against him. See, they took him in the night but left her. And they placed all the blame for all of there woes upon his shoulders. He was executed though nobody knows how or when it actually happened as far as I have heard. Everyone agrees that she came and wept for him after that, just a little too late to spare him from the death she brought. Her love for him only developed after his death.

See that chamber there?” Miryd pointed to a small building that seemed to be the only surviving portion of the complex to still stand on its own. “The one on the little island? It’s the only part left that has not fallen into ruin. I hear people have tried to get into it but have not been able to budge the door. You know… Like it’s haunted an-”. She was stopped by her husband.

“Oh, the stories you tell, Miryd! It’s not like that at all.” He chided after swatting the back of her head. “It’s just an old castle. That’s all. Part of the old kingdom. It didn’t see use after the great war and crumbled from being empty for so long. Honestly! Don’t listen to her babbling. She always had that thick head of hers up in the clouds and tall tales on her lips.”

Thistale giggled as Miryd pouted. “You spoil all my fun, you know. I think everyone should get to hear those types of stories. Don’t you?” She asked her audience.

Thistale smiled a bit after she managed to contain her laughter, which was not helping Miryd’s situation in the slightest. “It’s alright, really. I like her version better. It paints a picture for me that way.” She chuckled, leaning back against the wood under Miryd.

Miryd huffed but took in a deep breath of the air. It smelled so clean and fresh. Like the river and the dampness of overturned soil, the ever-decomposing earth that fertilized the farmlands around her, and it was rich. She could smell the sweetness of tulip and lilac buds and the beginnings of fruits in the trees. All of it mixed like a grand symphony that introduced the life of spring. “See?” Miryd had to have the last word.

The cart passed under several more archways of varying states of collapse until they met an old highway comprised of up-kept stone. It should take them right into town as it followed along the banks one of the waterways and to a rather impressive gate. Susain must have originated as the old castle’s market. The buildings, built out of the living mountainside, were fashioned from the same limestone as the ruins. And they survived thus far in better condition. It was amazing what a little care could do to a place. It also helped that this part of the complex had been protected from the elements with its proximity to the cliffs.

Sadly, the stay in Susain was brief. Only a night or so. There was just enough time to resupply and get a decent hot meal. While Myrid handed out pieces of bread, Sumrian talked with Enycuta about a longer ride for them, negotiating passage all the way to Desirae before the day was done. Everyone agreed there was safety, as well as entertainment, in numbers. There was no real hurry to get to the golden isle so long as they eventually made it anyways. This news was welcome on Miryd’s part. She rather enjoyed the company.