020 - First Day On An Adventure

Upon their return to the high mountain circle, members of the caravan helped the Spy and Warrior just in from Terra, binding hands and feet of the unconscious woman and children in the process. It was late afternoon, but they descend to the valley camp, carrying the bound three. From there the Wizard opened a gate to the base camp near the village.

The leader of the caravan decided that they did not need the woman, Roxanne, and having her with could be a liability. They bound her arms in front and her legs so that she can be tripped up, but otherwise walk. The party leader announced that the next morning the Spy and the Wizard would sell her to a slave trader, posing as merchants. Then the caravan would head south.

The Spy and Wizard teleported to a village, with Rox in bonds between them. The caravan had been through this village a few days prior, to restock, so the wizard knew it to land here. The teleporting was a terrific strain on Rox, so she was nearly out. But she was quickly regaining her composure. Her leash was held by the wizard as the Spy approached a larger man. After a bit of talk, the two men walked back. Rox looked around her.

Her gym clothes were drastically out of place. They were in the square of a town, next to a market full of wagons and booths. Nothing was paved. The people all looked like refugees from a SCA meeting. What kept getting to her was that it all looked functionally real.

She had gotten home to find two home invaders with her children in their hands. She had gone as mamma-bear as she thought she knew. But then she was waking up in the wilderness, with her arms and legs bound, her children no where that she could see. She tried to speak but could make no sound. She was bound to a wagon, with people around the area conversing in an unknown language. Then the sneaky shrimp and some other man had come and taken her leash in hand. Now she was standing somewhere else, the wagon and woods gone.

The sneaky shrimp in black and the larger man approached, and seemed to be haggling. The wizard pulled Rox to her feet. An awkward task as Rox felt heavier than normal, and stood a head taller than the wizard. Her equilibrium was on edge, due to the shock of repeated recent teleportation.

The larger man looked well groomed, if a bit day-worn from being outside all day. He was well built, but older, with his hair tied back into a tail. His face looked honest, if a bit weathered. The two talked a bit, and then the man began to prod and poke at Rox.

She tried to slap his hands away, but was leashed in by the wizard, and all but yanked off her feet. The bindings on her wrists bit as they pulled her hands to the collar on her neck. The wizard grabbed her shoulder and squeezed and said something. She suddenly felt herself relax, and stand. And try as she might, she could not make her body do anything.

The well groomed man then resumed his inspection. He was evidently expert at his craft, and did not waste much time. Nor did he violate her beyond the inspection itself. The wizard let go of her shoulder, and she felt control return slowly. She watched money be exchanged, and her leash was given to the well groomed man. The wizard and the shrimp then teleported away in a swirl of dust.

The well groomed man was stern, but patient, as he led Rox over to his wagons. He had several large awnings set up over his wagons. One of the larger wagons was a cage. Next to this sat a pen with four naked people in it. A woman came over and helped the man undress Rox, being careful to always have one or the other holding the leash.

Rox grasped immediately what was going on. She was now property.

Her wedding bands and stud-earrings were taken from her. Rox tried to resist the taking of her wedding ring, but the leash was pulled tight, and the woman held her as the man carefully worked the rings off her fingers. The bands on her arms and legs were the last things removed after the rest of her clothes had been taken. Rox never saw those clothes again. She was then pushed into the cage. The air felt cool and moist but she soon acclimated. The spell that had inhibited her finally dissipated about lunch time. When her disorientation completely cleared she held on to a measure of dignity, as she had nothing else. Lunch was little more than a subsistence level meal of some kind of bread, and water, it left her still hungry, and sat heavy as her body adjusted to the quality of the food, and she was ravenously thirsty. Fortunately there was a well close enough that she could reach, and was able to help herself to, and a slop bucket to relieve herself in at the other end of the cage.

The other four slaves regarded her with mild interest at the start, but made no move to get to know her. As the afternoon wound on, and she moved about, the oldest of the four, another woman, watched with growing hostility. Finally this woman gathered the other three and spoke quickly at them in their language. Rox only picked up one word, as it was repeated by the others. “Schwaer.” They whispered it as if it was a curse, or something to fear. None of them made any attempt to get to know her after that. Or even to show her any kindness.

Rox did her best to rest, watching the market and listening to the language. Perhaps she could learn enough quickly enough to get by, once she got herself free. In the mean time she found two rocks to use. And she sat down on a spot of ground and started running through some lifting exercises. First one arm, with the small rock, then the other arm. Then after the full set of movements, she switched rocks, and repeated the sets with the larger rock. After that she moved to push-ups, sit-ups, and pull-ups.

She noticed that several people were interested in her. But as the haggling got along, the older woman slave would wander over and hiss the word “schwaer.” This would cause a bit of discussion, and end in the potential customer leaving and the slave-master squabbling with the slave woman.

Rox continued to work out, and slake her thirst. She finished by doing a range of pull-ups using the bars of the cage. She then paced the cage to get a feel of the size, and then moved to the center of one quadrant, and began running through several practice drills. The other slaves stayed on the far side of the cage, though the two boys watched with interest as she moved through the fighting moves.

At closing time, the Slaver and his wife had closed up shop. With the help of another person, upon which two of the four looked with disgust, they had packed the wagons, and hitched the teams. The caged wagon was backed up to the pen, and the five of them were loaded in. Another hour and the pen was disassembled, and stowed and they were on their way. They traveled until after dark. Rox noted that they were traveling through hill country.

As the temperature dropped, the slaves pulled some blankets from a box in the wagon, and wrapped up in them. Rox was not offered one, or prevented from getting one. Some time after dark the wagons were parked in a thicket, and camp was made. A drizzle rolled past, and then cleared. After dinner was cooked, a kettle of stew and a pan of bread were handed in to the slaves. This was divided evenly. It warmed Rox, and rejuvenated her some, but was not as filling as she might have prepared for herself.

She was taking stock of her situation, and had reached several conclusions. She was not crazy, or imagining this. She felt heavier than normal, but was quickly adjusting. She had been forcibly separated from her children and husband. Whoever had done this was eventually going to have to reckon for this. Now she had to observe her situation, orient to the problems and challenges, decide on a course of action, and act accordingly.

She noticed that while the people all seemed to be generally fit, at least according to her experience from working with people physically, they averaged a bit shorter and heavier than she expected. The tallest that she had seen, save for one, was nearly a head shorter than she was. Also they looked more muscled as an average than she was used to. Everybody was tanned from spending time outside, but the average skin color was significantly darker than her own, with darker shades of hair. With her pale skin, tall stance, lighter hair, and slim build, Roxanne could not have been of sharper contrast physically if she had wings.

*          *          *

Steven and Caspian arrived on Tywacomb about noon. The sun was just approaching its zenith. The lesser of the twin moons was pursuing the sun across the sky. They would have enough light to hike all the way down.

Steven could not decide if he was feeling jetlagged or drunk. He was unsure of his footing as they rested on the stones of the circle Caspian had left approximately a week prior. He looked around, and quickly realized they were not in the northern Sierra clearing they had first awakened in.

For his part, Caspian first rejuvenated his mana supply and very quickly got his equilibrium back. He felt very good being back on his native world. Cyrril slowly recovered, as his physiology did not take to ley line travel well.

Caspian did not waste much time looking around. “I don’t see them below.”

Steven only heard gibberish. “What?”

Caspian checked himself, and had to consciously think about which language he was speaking, and switched to English. “I reverted to my native language. First chance I get, I will help you with that.”

Steven looked around from the stone he sat on, and got his binoculars out. “Where are we?”

Steven did not get the binoculars up before noticing that the little light that said the camera was on and ready was not glowing. He held them to his eyes and looked around. He recognized terrain features and types, but nothing was remotely familiar for anywhere he had ever been.

Caspian seeing Steven scanning around looked down where he remembered the camp to be. He pointed. “Can you see if there is a camp in the valley below us, about there?”

Steven looked at where Caspian was pointing, and then held up the binoculars, zooming and focusing them. “I can see lots of scrub and rocks, maybe a few game trails… and where a camp was. Two fire pits, and lots of trampled brush.”

Caspian nodded, and pulled out his water skin and took a long drink. “Good eyes. That was the people who met the ones who kidnapped your family. Drink as much as you can. The way we traveled here dehydrates real fast. Are you able to walk yet?”

Steven sucked on the hose from his bag, and then looked back at and fiddled with his binoculars. Caspian nursed his water for a bit more watching, and letting the mana flow from the ley line recharge him, and his equipment. Cyrril was still sluggish. Finally he realized that Steven was trying to get a device to work.

“Steven, did that have a battery in it?”

Steven distractedly responded. “Yeah.”

“It won’t work then. The planetary teleport spell can carry anything over long distances, but it drains all chemical batteries in the process. I did tell you not to bring anything with those.”

Caspian watched in mild amusement as Steven pulled out his cell phone and checked it, then his frozen watch on his wrist, and then the device on the binoculars again. Steven then pulled what Caspian remembered as a camera out of a pouch, and attached a lens to it, and looked through it.

Steven spoke to himself. “The powered light meter is dead, but all the rest looks fine.” Steven aimed and pressed a button on the camera, causing it to click. He then worked a lever on the other side from the button, and took the lens and camera apart and put them away.

Normally, thanks to digital camera capacity, Steven was a bit of a shutter-bug taking pictures of everything. Now he only had 107 pictures, three 36-image rolls of film, which he could take with his manual camera. With the SLR camera he had two lenses with him; the standard-to-telephoto lens, and a wide-angle lens. Steven was annoyed that the battery powered light meter in the camera did not work. But he had been photographing enough that he felt he could work without it. He had thought of taking more pictures with the camera on his binoculars, but like his watch and the light meter in his SLR, that digital camera was completely lifeless.

Steven commented, mostly to himself. “Good thing I prefer manual cameras to the electronic ones.”

Caspian just looked on, and then stepped to the edge, and looked down the steep face of the mountain.

Steven joined him, sucking again at his drink tube, and then stopped. “We get to hike down that?”

Caspian looked sidelong as Steven. “We don’t have to. But it’s the easiest way.”

Caspian patted himself down, and checked his coat pockets, and then cursed in his native language.

Steven looked up. “What?”

“I left the tracking stone for finding your family in the coat I was wearing on your planet. I will have to make new ones. And I can’t do that right here.”

Steven had read enough fantasy fiction over the years to guess at what Caspian was saying. He could not dispute where they were or begin to argue how they got there, from his home. But he was still skeptical.

Caspian just started pacing about, and then stood back in the middle of the circle. “Come on. I will teleport us to where we can make a better start. I can begin to get the stuff to make some trackers; you can maybe get some local clothes and maybe a sword.”

Steven looked back at the climb, and then walked in to stand opposite Caspian, as he had in his back yard. “You know, this was not fun the last time.”

Caspian did not wait. Nor did he need to vocalize as much this time, having a stronger mana pool to draw from, and a clear idea where he was going. They landed at the head to the path leading out of the village Caspian had last visited before his hike to the circle. Again, Steven collapsed as he came to himself. Caspian caught him, and almost collapsed under his weight. He got Steven off the side of the trail, and put Cyrril who was likewise out cold on Steven’s chest, and then hiked into the village, and found the inn keeper. With that man’s help, and a wheelbarrow, they got Steven back to the inn, and into a bed.

After having supper, and making initial arrangements, Caspian also went to bed.

021 - Acclimation, Orientation, Initial Goals

Journal of Steven Caplan: Day 1

Retrospectively, my first complete day on a different planet – I am farther away than any of the NASA boys ever got.

Waking first, Caspian took opportunity to do for Steven what he had not done for himself before leaving for Terra. He had to use himself for a source, but then asking anyone else to stand still would have been potentially problematic. Caspian then cast a spell that copied Caspian’s knowledge of his native language and implanted it into Steven’s mind. It would take several days to work out and for Steven to get to fluency, but once done he could then communicate with at least some of the natives.

Steven slept until lunch. He had not slept this long in a long time, but felt fully refreshed. The language had not yet taken hold, but Caspian did not expect it to yet; Steven could only try to gesture what he wanted, as there were no common words between what Steven could speak and what the locals could. The refreshment did not last, as he collapsed just after dinner and did not wake until a little before dawn.

This village being little more than a way point for the local high mountain herders and trappers, there was little for Steven to equip with. Also they mentioned that the Krogg Caravan had kept to itself, and had left before afternoon the day before; there were no extra women with them when they left.

This bothered Caspian as it meant that they probably had already disposed of Roxanne, and he had to find her first, before trying to go after the children. He tried to explain this to Steven the next morning as they hiked out from the village.

Journal of Steven Caplan: Day 2

What have I gotten into?

Steven called him on that. “What do you mean by that?”

Caspian responded, thinking carefully. “Your children are safe enough while they are in the caravan’s care. They are two days or so south of us now. They have most of a season’s travel south to their destination. We can catch them by sea with relative ease. But your wife could be in greater trouble. She can’t communicate with any of the locals, and there are some who would kill her or worse, should they discover her heritage.”

Steven was slightly puzzled. “Kill her just because she is not from around here?”

Caspian shook his head. “No. Kill her because she is descended from an elf. She is a half-elf. Her mother and grandmother were only children, and only bore daughters. Her grandmother is too youthful for her age; all three of them look almost identical. Her great-grandmother died within days of her husband. That is because that great-grand was an elf, from one of the clans’ local to this planet. There are some who think that kind of interbreeding should not happen and will kill the offspring out of hand, if they can.”

Steven had to think about this. “How do you know so much about my wife’s family?”

Caspian waved this off. “Alistare Kevan is the contact for all who travel to your planet from this one, at least for those who know about him. It is part of his job to keep tabs on all the immigrants and their families, and to keep the new arrivals out of trouble. He has a chart with your wife’s pedigree, and where you all live.”

Steven bristled at this. “That’s an invasion of privacy.”

Caspian just continued. “If he used it for nefarious purposes, yes. To keep people out of trouble, well, that’s his job. As for some of what I said, that is common knowledge about half-breeds, to those who know. Their lifespan links to their mates; so they die near the same time, while aging inwardly almost as slow as a full elf does. They only breed to their own sex, and only once. That you have two is truly rare, and marks your family as special.”

Caspian had to bite his tongue from saying any more. He wanted to tell more, but did not think Steven would be able to absorb any more, for now. As it was, he would have Steven’s acclimation to mana to watch for, on top of everything else.

They were hiking through a forest with dense enough cover that Steven could not clearly see the sky. They walked through the early spring forest, with buds and blooms around them, and patches of snow not yet melted. The trees were larger than Steven had seen in most of the forests he had been in. They also looked to have survived several fires, with few low hanging branches, and little accumulation on the floor. The air seemed both heavier and more energizing. Steven had also noticed that everything seemed to be a bit heavier. At first he though it was just fatigue. Once he could march forty miles and still have energy to make a sniper hide; now he was acknowledging to himself that he was not in as good shape as he once had been. He did spot tracks of several different critters, but while they looked patterned, he could not put specific animals to the tracks from memory.

Steven hiked a bit in silence, then stopped and looked around, and at the tracks on the trail they were following. “You say that this caravan is heading south. You said that Rox is probably not with them. Which way are we headed?”

Caspian had not stopped. “West. To find the right trees to make the replacement trackers, I need to get to a lower elevation. The fastest way is west. New trackers, and then we can see where to go to find Roxanne and your kids.”

Steven caught up. “Why not just teleport?”

Caspian remembered asking this question as a child to his own father. “To teleport safely, by any of the known methods, one needs to know where he is going. To open a gate, one usually needs a known object to focus on. For what I need, I don’t know exactly where I need to go. Just teleporting a straight line distance has the danger of damaging either the caster, or whatever the caster has his spell shunt out of his way. No, ethical and polite teleporter’s don’t do that.”

Steven had one last important question, to Caspian’s judgment, at the moment.

Steven asked it. “How many days march to where you can get your stuff?”

Caspian was quick to respond. “Five days. Maybe six, depending on the pace you can keep.”

They continued hiking west all day. Steven kept wavering between this being all some kind of hoax, and taking it at face value.

The forest continued to have a sparse tree population compared to what he knew in the Tahoe Basin and Sierra Nevada area, with few low hanging branches, but the upper canopy was thick enough that the sky could not clearly be seen. It reminded Steven of some of the forests he had seen in Washington and Oregon, and some few parts of Germany. It rained from time to time, but with the canopy of trees, it only drizzled on Steven and Caspian as they marched through the forest.

*          *          *

Margot Winslow always enjoyed going to visit her daughter, and grandkids. The cleaner air and altitude of Carson Valley agreed with her. Her husband, Mike, on the other hand despised any gain in altitude, equating that with getting cold. He refused to travel to Tahoe in the winter. In lighter moments he claimed to be allergic to snow. Margot, on the other hand, enjoyed snow, so long as it was not moving sideways. She had seen enough of that growing up in Nebraska. For her purposes she was well enough off in Santa Cruz, California.

Now events happened that had left her wondering a few things. First were the strange dreams, about flying through space. Then there was the phone call. She had heard of Judge Kevan; that he was a good judge to go before, and a stern man personally.

When he called Thursday evening to report that Roxanne and the kids had been abducted, Margot was devastated. Then when he said that his best investigator was on the case, and to call Steven and tell him to trust the investigator, and go with him, that had been strange. More so was that he had only given a single name, “Detective Caspian.” That was different. But her instincts said that this was all right. Last he said that Roxanne and the kids had been taken back to Margot’s grandmother’s home world, Tywacomb. That was something she had not ever told Roxanne, or Mike. Her grandmother had said that if that name was invoked, to follow her instincts. So she called, and relayed the message.

She then told of this to Mike.

The next day, Friday, Margot had gone to Sacramento, and found this Judge Kevan, and taken him to lunch. The information they shared was quite startling, to both of them. He had been surprised that she had known that her grandmother was an elf from another planet. When he had told her of the origin of the kidnappers, she quickly put together that Rox and the kids had been taken to her grandmother’s home world. Then he mentioned that Caspian and Steven had already left in pursuit. Margot was a bit dumbfounded by this. She left lunch promising to keep in touch.

She drove to her husband’s work place, and told him everything she knew, start to finish. And also why there was no good reason that Roxanne had not been told of her half-breed status. They decided to do what ever they could to keep things in order.

When she finally got back to her office, for the last 20 minutes of the day, she found two messages from a Sheriff Deputy investigating the abduction, one from Judge Kevan, and a handful from her work she had neglected that day. She told her secretary, partners, and boss generally what she had been up to. Also that this might take up unexpected time in the next while.

She then planned to drive up to Roxanne’s place on Sunday, see the deputy then, and take care of the house. Mike begged off the trip, having other things he wanted to do. Margot recognized it as his dislike for traveling, for personal not being the same as important, his recognition of her abilities, and let it go.

So here she was taking a Sunday drive from Santa Cruz through Tahoe, going to her daughter’s house to finish cleaning it up and to close it up until Roxanne and Steven returned. She arrived just after ten a.m. and let herself in.

023 - We Are Not In Nevada Anymore

Breakfast was as noteworthy as dinner, healthy but nondescript.

Roxanne found that as the wagons moved through this hill country, the only comfortable position was to stand and hold onto the bars above her, as the cart pitched and rocked about. Looking at the trees and other plants, Rox guessed that wherever she was, the season was still in spring. The air was cool, but not uncomfortable, so long as she had the blanket to hold around her. It rained about a half hour every day.

The other slaves were all significantly shorter than she was. Two of them were children, a boy and girl, which reminded her of Alex and Diana, but were both more thickly built. One probably a teen, or at least a pubescent male. And the last an adult woman. All were fair skinned, but not of any specific stock that Rox could identify. For what ever reason, they stayed well clear of her. Almost as if they were scarred of her. “Schwaer,” they would whisper, the adult making some kind of warding gesture.

About mid afternoon, they rolled into a guard post that sat in the opening between two valleys. The guards, wearing green tunics over maile hauberks, inspected the wagons with the three slavers in tow and a manifest in hand. The inspection finished, and the man and chief guard got into a haggling match.

Evidently the guard wanted more than the slaver wanted to pay. Finally the slaver threw up his hands. He turned with the guard, and the woman also came over, and they opened the door to the wagon. The other slaves just sat and waited. The guard looked them briefly over, then pointed at Rox and spoke.

The guard stepped back, and the woman motioned for Rox to come over. Rox was not sure what was going on, but guessing from the body language did as she thought she was bidden, leaving the blanket behind. They cleared out of the way and Rox climbed out onto the ground. The woman put the leash on Rox’s slave collar, and handed the end to the man. The man took a board with a piece of parchment on it from the guard, and wrote on it, and handed the board and leash to the guard and walked away.

The small slave train left Rox there, wearing only her slave collar. Once it was gone, some of the guards started to carouse with each other, but were immediately deterred by a barked order from the leader, and one of them went and got Rox a blanket to wrap in. She was taken into the guard house and left there, not quite under watch, for the rest of the day. She was given a respectable dinner of meat and vegetables and bread, with a fermenting fruit juice to wash it down. She was then shown a bath house and allowed to clean herself up, and then shown to a cot to sleep on.

Mid morning the day after being paid as tax, Rox was finally given ill-fitting trousers and a tunic, and loaded onto a wagon with two guards who were evidently making the rounds. A manifest was signed, and a chest from the structure replaced with one from the wagon, as another wagon unloaded supplies. The two wagons were on their way in time to get to the next guard station for lunch.

Thus for the next few days Rox got to be a passenger, on a free tour of wherever she was.

*          *          *

Journal of Steven Caplan: Day 5

Caspian can march as well as any Marine I can remember.

Caspian finally stopped for the evening at a camp beside a small stand of trees. They had left the forest behind just after lunch and now traveled across grassland. The sun was going down while Steven gathered some sticks to make a fire with. Once the wood was gathered, Caspian scratched his usual circle around the camp. Steven had the fire going and the food ready to cook when Caspian sat down. A log set up by some other travelers was just right for sitting on. The spring nearby was a plus, providing their first non-stream water in several days. Steven laid his bedroll out after cleaning up the dishes, and Caspian lay down to sleep, wrapping up in his cloak.

This night was the first one they spent under the stars, having finally left the canopy of the forest. There was a boulder here on one side of the camp. Steven sat on the top of the boulder, as Caspian settled for the night. Steven watched the stars come out for the first time in a long time. Partly in wonder, and partly in curiosity.

Steven was glad to finally be out from under the canopy of trees, and that there were no clouds at the moment. As a boy, he had been taught navigation by the stars. As the fire burned down to coals he turned his back to it to watch the sky. It was going to be a cool night, but the camp was such that most of the heat from the fire was reflected around. The few large boulders radiating heat were a bonus. He barely noticed. His interest was held by the sky. Steven stretched out on his back on a boulder, and watched the stars.

As the sky darkened it was not washed out, as Steven had otherwise expected. The light from any nearby settlements was not enough to brighten the sky, or wash anything out. All the stars that were to be seen were quickly visible. But they weren’t the stars he expected. Only one constellation was close to right, and it was in the wrong place. Also the Milky Way was too thick, and running the wrong direction. Roxanne’s star was completely gone. As he contemplated this, a moonrise caught his attention.

 “Come on, jar-head. Get it together. There is an explanation here somewhere.”

“What is a ‘jar-head’,” Caspian asked.

“When you join the marines, as one story goes, the first thing you do is take your brain out of your head and put it in a jar. They then issue you a new brain, full of only what they tell you. Then you are taught how not to use it. Just to react to the situation and not think about it. Thus a ‘jar-head.’”

“A curious concept. But typical of the military mentality, I suppose.”

The rising moon was too small to be the one he took for granted. And it did not show the same surface features. Steven dozed a bit, before the sky got brighter. A second moon followed the first across the sky. It did not move as fast as the first, but was larger. Still not as big as the one he was accustomed to seeing. There was only one conclusion.

“Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas any more. So, is this over the rainbow, or down the rabbit hole?”

The glory of the heavens had Steven in slight awe as they moved above. But he was satisfied. This was real. Now what to do about it, and how to get back over the rainbow? Steven got up, put a small log on the coals, put his clothes aside, and crawled into bed. The world would keep until morning.

As he finally dozed off, a third moon began to climb across the sky.

When Steven dreamed, it took him a moment to realize that he was dreaming in a language other than English. As this realization happened, he slipped deeper into dream.

*          *          *

After several days of soggy, rainy travel on the wagons, stopping at two more guard stations, the wagon train Roxanne was part of was taken into a large city. She rode on the passenger seat of the lead cart, with her leash tied to the bench. She could pull the end, undoing the knot, and run off quickly enough if she wanted, but the guards had made clear enough that she would catch an arrow in her back if she tried. They rounded a tall hill and came into a large valley. Across the valley stretched farm lands to the south as far as she could see. To the north the valley ran into a lake of some size, on which there was much shipping. They were traveling west across the valley to a city that sat on the north foothills of a mountain range demarking the west side of the valley.

Rox had decided that the compass directions were only subjective relative to this planet’s sun, but adequate enough. It was morning, the sun not yet high in the sky. The sun was behind them, almost directly. A small moon was half way above the far horizon.

As they approached the city, it looked to Rox that it was built on the north slopes of the mountains here. About half of the city is not on the hills, this mostly within the fortress walls that ran from the base of the mountains north to the lake shore. The architecture looked to be mostly of arches and columns; pointed arches soared high, and rounded arches in stacks carried roads and smaller structures. At ground level there was little height change. As the city climbed the mountains, it did so in multiple levels of solid structures and arch demarked pillars supporting the ascending levels.

Four guards in blue tunics and renaissance-era armor had mounted the cart Rox rode on as it entered the gates of the city wall. The noise and bustle of the city was distracting and refreshing as they plied their way in. The driver guided the cart with familiar ease, while still watching for any trouble that might pop up. They were quickly into a warehouse district.

She still had not picked up much language. Mainly as the locals seemed to slur their nouns and verbs together, with the verbs being conjugated. The rest of the vocabulary and syntax went by so fast as to be all but incomprehensible. Never minding that the range of sounds the language used was more diverse than any she had heard at any length. She tried to listen and hear as much as she could as they traveled.

As the buildings passed, Rox had to reevaluate her appraisal of the city. Instead of building on the slopes of the mountain, they seemed to be carving into the rock, and building a multi-tiered city in place of the mountain. High roofs covered the sky above them, and carved canyons of mostly cut stone stood on either side. Windows and doors with columned arches over porches demarked the various levels. They climbed the hills, steps cut into the steeper climbs between smoother tracks for the carts. Large reflectors bounced light around to illuminate what the sun did not naturally get to.

Rox would later learn that the city expanded south along the slopes of the mountain range it sat on. The north end was finished buildings on terraces. As the expansion proceeded, the mountains were slowly being carved and mined. The mountains were very mineral rich providing an economic base, from the mines. Cut stone was quarried from other parts, and shipped in as needed, and the fortress city was expanded.

Buildings were built from the bedrock, columns and gothic arches and flying buttresses carrying the structures up from there with much reflected light; windows and balconies were arranged in terraces that echoed the rise of the mountain; fields and gardens were at irregular levels. Many reflectors and refractors dotted the area, from towers and individual houses. A water collection system scattered across the city, with catch basins on the roofs of most of the buildings. It rained regularly enough that most of the catch basins were at least half full all the time.

026 - Explanations, Realizations, And Adjustments

Roxanne entered the doors that had been previously pointed out; these opened to a bedroom with a high ceiling and clerestory windows letting in light. The columns and squares continued here. This room was two squares wide extending to her right, and one deep from where she stood. A chandelier hung over the square she stood in. A large fireplace was in the wall opposite the entrance, and just to the right of the center column. A four-post canopy bed sat to her right against the wall. Assorted tables lined the walls, as did a few wall hangings. A set of curtains covered doors opposite the entrance, leading to a dressing room with an attached washing room, each a single square in size. These rooms had a lower ceiling and stained glass windows of no particular design or pattern from nearly the floor to the ceiling. A dressing screen, blocked off the currently empty closet on the left. A dressing table sat to the right with a stool next to it. The inside of the dressing screen had full length mirrors for looking at gowns. Rox looked at herself and did a double take.

She had not changed size at all. Rather there was now a subtle shade of light blue to Rox’s previously pale skin, brighter than when under stadium lights. All her hair was shock white, even her eyebrows. She looked over herself, and at the mirror several times turning this way and that. She also saw that her amber eyes were slightly more almond shaped with a bit of point to the outsides. The front edges of her ears were pointed slightly forward, like a Vulcan, instead of the round she had seen all her life. She also noticed that all the colors seamed to be more saturated, and the room brighter than she expected. Then she saw the slight shimmer around her body.

Somewhat shocked, Rox proceeded into the bath chamber, and puzzled out how to fill the tub. It was the size of an eight-occupant hot tub, a bit larger than the bed in the adjoining room. Try as she might, she could not figure out how to get hot water. But she was grateful for any water at all to wash off the residue. She found some towels and soap, and sat in the tub and washed, taking more time now, than she had earlier this morning. The rain drizzled to a stop on the motley windows as she washed. The Sorceress came in halfway through and sat on the edge of the tub.

Instinctively Rox moved to protect her modesty as they began to converse. The Sorceress explained how to get hot water; by starting a fire in her fireplace before bathing, to heat the water in the tank above the apartment. The Sorceress also explained what to do about the laundry, the privy, and several other domestic chores and activities. Then they got to the subject of magic, and Rox’s change in coloring.

“Well, to put it simply, one of your progenitors was an elf, most likely from this planet. The elf blood has passed true down to you. From what you say, it was at least your grandmother, if not farther back. This is your true form and looks, hidden by magic since just after you were born. Also you can expect your hair to grow a bit different in pattern. Most elves of the stock you show have a large stripe from their forehead, around and part way down their backs, with the sides growing down, usually braided.”

“Nice. Just what I need. A mohawk.” Rox felt her hair, and thought. “What do you mean ‘of the stock I show’?”

The Sorceress folded her arms as she sat. “Well, you are taller than most everybody around here, and thinner. Your skin color has a slight blue-tint. Also you have a lighter build. Before I removed your disguise spell, your hair and features were of human cast. The mix of those just set you apart as a half-elf. Then with the spell gone your full features are exposed. From my own experience, there is only one group of elves that have the mix of features you show.”

“Where do they live?” Now Roxanne was curious.

“A ways away, to the south east. It is expected that your mate is coming to get you. We can worry about this then.”

Roxanne nodded. “You mentioned a spell for language. I think I am speaking my native one, and am hearing you in the same. Is that so?”

The Sorceress waved her hand, back and forth. “No. I am not speaking your native language. I do not even know what it is. There are two methods of dealing with language in magic. One is transferring knowledge; the other, which I have used on you, may be called a translation convention. The transfer is more permanent, and ultimately more useful, and we can do that later. Translation is an active spell that bypasses the noises and provides an almost mind-to-mind connection to transmit meaning. However that spell consumes the energy of the person it is cast upon and is best for short term only.”

Rox understood this, and then thought of another question. “What does ‘schwaer’ mean?”

“Where did you hear that?” She responded with a bit of weariness toward the subject.

“One of the other slaves that I was with used it, in apparent application toward me.” Rox was curious, wondering if she had encountered the local racism.

“That is a derogatory word used by ignorant people, toward mixed-breeds.” She spoke as if she had this argument on a regular, tiring basis.

Rox had grown up in a place where she had been color-blind socially, but had encountered those who weren’t, and felt that she could grasp the rest of the problem. She let it go and moved to her last concern.

“How about clothing? I can’t just run around in a towel, and won’t go around naked, even as a slave.”

“We can take care of that.” She brightened to be off the previous subject.

The Sorceress showed Rox what she had selected for her to wear as her apprentice. Roxanne wasn’t flattered by it.

First, she was given a loincloth. Next was a skirt consisting of several strips of cloth that hung from the belt. Then a “Y” cut drape of light blue material. The neck opened all the way to her belt, front and back. The sides were open all the way up with no sleeves. The blue cloth was translucent, with gold and silver thread piping the edges. All of it too short fot Rox’s height.

Then she was given a set of gold chains and bands showing that she was a slave. These started at a choker with four chains going down, one on each arm, and one to each leg. Her armbands were just above her elbow, and her wrist, with loops that the chain attached to. The other two went through a jeweled belt and to leg bands similar to her armbands, just above her knee and ankle. These, she was later told as the chains were lengthened to proper fit, were ensorcelled to prevent her from speaking or moving inappropriately while in court. As she looked them over, and grudgingly put the costume on, she remembered seeing others in this same costume in the halls as she had been brought to The Sorceress’s suite.

Later that evening, at the same time that the language spell was being cast, Rox’s hair was also ensorcelled with a quick-growth spell, to fill out her mane properly.

*          *          *

Journal of Steven Caplan: Day 6

Four moons - must play havoc on the tides.

As they ate breakfast, Steven brought up the three moons and the sky. How they really are on a different world.

Caspian corrected Steven. “Actually there are four moons. But one stays in opposing alignment to the smallest of the other three. You will probably see it later today.”

Caspian then started scratching in the dirt. He drew the spiral of a galaxy seen from above. Then at a certain point on one arm he tapped his staff.

“That is where your world is.”

Caspian moved to a point about 60 degrees counter clockwise.

“We are on a world about here.”

Steven stood looking down at the crude scratching, absently crushing some scrub. He put it on the fire, and sat down.

“There really is life on other worlds.”

Caspian just watched the fire. He stood and leaned on his staff, moving into what Steven already recognized as his ‘teaching mode.’ “Yeah. The Great Atoner is not just the God or creator of one world.”

Neither Steven nor Roxanne had ever been religiously active. He recognized the language, but had not often put it together in that way. He cast quizzical glances at Caspian.

“Yeah, sure.”

Caspian shrugged Steven’s response off, and continued.

“Tywacomb is a world that compares technologically to the time between the late medieval period and the late renaissance of your native world. This planet is a bit larger than yours, and spins at a different rate. The days are about twenty five of your hours, rather than twenty four. I understand that this planet’s orbit averages between one half and two planetary diameters closer to its system primary. Our months are in groups of twelve, with none longer than twenty eight days. The year is shorter than yours. Those are all round figures; I could not tell you the official accurate ones. Right now in this hemisphere we are in spring, just after the equinox.

“By your measure, gravity is about eleven meters per second squared of acceleration. The air pressure is also a bit higher, with a higher oxygen count. It is warmer across the board, more tropical over all, and there is lots of vegetation. In this area it tends to drizzle often, as I understand.

“One of the first things you need to get is a native weapon. To do that, we need to get to a more densely populated area. Currently we are within the claimed boarders of a good king, though his claim is neither disputed nor enforced due to the remoteness of the area. Mostly this is pasture for some local herds. There are few worries about bandits. These high mountains are just too far away from anywhere to be useful to any besides wizards, or herds. Once we get to those mountains to the west, I can find the right materials to make the trackers for your family. Then we can go about finding your wife.”

“She does have a name, Caspian.” Steven responded.

“Yes. Her name is Roxanne.” Caspian finished.

Shortly after midday, they crossed onto a local road, and Caspian turned to follow it south east across the valley. After some miles Steven was ready for a change of pace. He did notice that Caspian seamed to be pushing himself, though whether this was to compete, or out of urgency of the task, Steven could only guess. About this point, a village came into view on the top of the next hill. As they walked in, Steven took a moment to look the natives over, with consideration to fitting himself in. Old skills and training were resurfacing.

Steven realized as he watched, that the clothes he was wearing were not suitable for nondescript travel. Mostly, they were too well made. As well his clothes, specifically his coat and backpack were visibly unique. His booney hat seemed to be the least noticeable, partly as he had already begun to stick some of the local foliage into it, partly to shade against the brighter than expected colors and light.

The next thing Steven noticed was that he was much bigger than the locals, at six foot six inches, with broad shoulders and chest, and with no real belly to speak of. Many of the men were as thickly built, but the tallest came up just barely above his shoulders in height. On mentioning this to Caspian, he gots told that if he was taller, or thinner, he might be regularly mistaken for an elf. As it was, he was too large for that. For his part Caspian was on the tall end of the locals, being just up to Steven’s chin.

To Caspian’s pleasure they found a small market. But none of the clothes had any chance to fit Steven. As they went they sorted the things Steven had, deciding what to keep and what not to keep. His pack and the small gear they kept. The smith was interested in his entrenching tool but Steven refused to sell it. They also kept most of the jewelry and other valuables. About half of the fabric things they sell or trade as they can, these being the few bits he had brought thinking to use for his family. As they looked as the few textiles, Steven ended up purchasing only a poncho, made from a blanket which they slit in the middle. They might have gotten him some new clothes that wouldn’t fit well, but decided not to. They also sold some bits of the camp gear that had proven to be useless.

A few of the local children found Steven to be an oddity, and watched as he and Caspian walked out of town.

027 - Etiquette, Objectives, Back In The Tracking Business

At The Sorceress’s instruction, Roxanne had stayed in her chambers, getting fresh bedding and other things accomplished for her to take residence. In doing this she had gotten to know some of the pages and how things worked here in the Palace complex. A second assignment she had been given was to get a costume cut to her frame and figure. So a tailor had been sent for. Roxanne ended up with three costumes of less than translucent fabric, but of the same cut, sized for her slim, tall frame. In the mean time, The Sorceress had gone to attend to her own duties.

When The Sorceress returned for the evening, she brought with her an entourage of stewards. She opened the door to Rox’s suite, and called out.

“Student, come with me. Your first lesson begins now.”

Roxanne turned from the bedding, and walked swiftly to the door. She fell into step behind and to the left of The Sorceress, and followed to the second set of doors on the right of the main hallway. Here the stewards set out a formal diner on the table. Roxanne watched as one seated The Sorceress in a chair on the side, and was then bidden herself to the seat immediately to her left.

The Sorceress spoke. “Student attend; your course of study for this evening and until these stewards are satisfied is local etiquette at a formal table. Watch and learn.”

Rox kept her hands in her lap, then noticed that The Sorceress kept hers flat on the table, and quickly Rox did likewise. A small porcelain plate of vegetables was placed before each of them. Rox first watched as The Sorceress daintily ate these finger-food nibbles. Roxanne ate two vegetables before speaking.

“This is my first real meal since being kidnapped, and I have not had lunch. I may eat a bit faster than is polite.” Rox munched into a crunchy vegetable slice with some relish.

“You will address me as ‘My Lady,’ as you have been previously instructed.” The Sorceress sniffed then softened slightly, maintaining the decorum of the table.

As the meal progressed, the mood lightened, The Sorceress let down her stuffy guard and showed that she was a kind, fun loving, and thoughtfully concerned woman. The stewards here all knew her and were comfortable enough that some private matters were mentioned and discussed. However Rox was allowed to steer the conversation, mostly to get her up to speed on happenings. As one course was replaced, Rox got to one nagging question.

“My Lady, what is your job here? You sit at The King’s left hand, you order guards about, and have a wing of the building all to yourself. Yet you do not wear the robes that the ministers wore. You do appear favored with some jewelry, yet no signet rings; and you practice magic with confidence and ease.” Rox finished her summary with a sip of the drink of the moment.

The Sorceress smiled as she considered how to answer. “I am…The King’s Head Mistress, and the Chief of his Harem; and I am his most trusted non-political advisor. I also happen to be a practicing sorceress, ranked among The School of the Orders.”

They ate for a moment, with the Steward correcting Rox on which knife to use. Then The Sorceress continued.

“I supervise The King’s schedule of sleeping companions when The Queen is out of the Palace. You needn’t be concerned. He won’t touch you knowing you are another man’s. That is a small part of why you are here, and not one floor down in the ladies quarters. However while you are here, you are in my charge, and that means I get to conduct your schedule. I also advise when The Queen is not available, and when I am asked to.”

Roxanne paused with a roll. “My Lady, what will my schedule be?”

“You will study with me for a brief time during and after the morning meal. You will clean this wing, and in doing learn its layout. You will do whatever other chores I appoint. You will study with me in the afternoon when I am not in court. Evenings will vary depending on what official functions are happening. In this studying, I will be teaching you all I can, and assessing what you already know and whom else you might profitably learn from.”

Rox had one more thing to ask. “The King said something about buying my freedom. My, Lady, what did he mean by that?”

The Sorceress smiled. “I was hoping you would ask about that. While you are here, you are not quite a slave in formal bonds, but neither are you free to go yet. You will be given a stipend for you to do with as you will. Since your necessities will be taken care of as a matter of course, you can simply have it saved. When it is enough, you may then use that money to buy your freedom, leave here and go wherever you will.”

Rox took this in. “How much it that? How fast will it accumulate?”

The Sorceress let Rox’s slip pass. “The usual value of a slave is between seven hundred and fifty to one thousand local coins. You will accumulate twenty a week. If and when your husband shows up, it is all yours to do with as you will. When you have enough, if you choose, you are then free to buy yourself free, and go where you will.”

The meal lasted longer than Rox was used to, but took this in stride, learning as much as she could. As they proceed through the meal, the two women conversed on other various topics besides etiquette, and scheduling. The main topic was Rox’s history, and where she came from. The Sorceress filled in some general answers to her elf heritage. Finally The Sorceress called the lesson to an end, and dismissed all but three stewards who leave with the formal table equipment and food. Lastly The Sorceress dismisses Rox to return to her room, and rest for the evening.

“By the way,” Rox asked, as the Sorceress left, “How did you know I have a daughter?”

“Half-elves only parent to their own sex. Your body shows it has born two. For you to have two is most unordinary.”

“My second is a son.”

The Sorceress looked her over for a long moment in fascination. Finally she whispered as she turned away. “Most extra ordinary.”

*          *          *

True to his word, after they left the village, Caspian became a clogged drain of information. Some things he answered circumspectly, as if there were some ideas that had to be broached carefully. He had already told Steven where they were, galacticly. Now he gave a bit more information. As they ate breakfast at their campfire, Caspian took a stick and scratched out a crude map on the ground.

“We are here, in these foothills.” He scratched some chevrons on the ground. “We are going here first; the town I think the locals called Tonif.” He scratched a circle next to the mountains. “That is about four days travel. There we resupply, and see about getting you some better native dress. Next are the rest of these highlands, some more mountains and the subsequent foothills; several towns, the Capitol city of that kingdom, a few more towns, and the coast city.” He scratched some more chevrons, circles, and a line for the sea coast.

“From here we catch a ship and sail down the coast. We do this a few more times to get to The Kingdom of Krogg. From there we have to travel to the Capitol, Skarg, and find just where they took your kids, presuming we are not yet ahead of them by that point.” Caspian scratches another sea coast, some smaller circles and a last circle with some mountains inland of it. “After that we go there and get them. Along the way, we figure out where to take them that they will be safe.”

Steven looked at the ground. He still did not quite believe he was doing this. He had also noticed over the last few days that his eyesight was becoming more acute and the colors more vivid. Also his other senses seemed to be increasingly acute, and distracting. A tingling seamed to be across his whole body, like the ringing in ones ears; this was increasingly distracting and frustrating.

“And what Roxanne? Where is she? When do we look for her? What assurance do I have that this is all real?” He started to pace around the fire and across Caspian’s sketch, gesturing as he went. “For all I know this is just some crazy dream. I will wake up at any moment, and be back home in bed. Except that you are here with me, and I have experienced too many real things. But I may even be dreaming that.” Steven knew that ranting was out of character for him, but he had picked up some habits from Leticia in getting up and talking out problems with the walls.

Caspian stood as Steven walked passed him again. Steven continued his monologue. He reached a quick hand at Steven’s head, and plucked a hair.

“What was that for?” He rubbed his head where the hair had been plucked.

“Watch.” Caspian just started to dig through his bag, until he produced a piece of cloth that he unrolled, which had several individual hairs. He rolled it back together, and set it aside.

 “Last night we finally got into this forest. This is where I have been trying to get to since realizing I left a tracker back on Terra.”

Caspian then took a small bowl from Steven’s mess kit and walked over to one of the pine trees. He muttered something and using his knife he pealed some bark back. He held the bowl under the bark and filled it part way with thin, gooey sap. He then smoothed the bark, muttering again. He sat back down at the fire, and set the bowl on a rock. Next Caspian rummaged through his robe and pouches, until he had a small pile of ingredients. Among them was the hairs of Roxanne’s, and each of the kids, which he had picked up. What he did not need was put back away, including the kid’s hair, as he did not have enough ingredients to use for four, yet.

He combined the proper ingredients in the bowl and let it melt. Once the mix was thin enough he put Steven’s and Roxanne’s hair into individual pans and poured half the mixture over each one, muttering under his breath. He then set the two pans aside, and turned to cleaning the first one.

“As soon as those cool, I can invest them with the proper energies. That done I can determine your location and general status. As well as your wife. Combine them and ask them properly, and they can tell about your kids collectively.”

He scrubbed the pan with some dirt, and then had Cyrril belch a little fire on it. He scrubbed it a bit more, and then dunked it into the small pot of boiling water.

When the camp was packed up, they turned back to the two pans. The lumps had cooled to the touch, and came free from the pans easily. Caspian then produced some gold dust and sprinkled the flat sides of the lumps, chanting as he did. Then he carved a small rune into the back of each one. When he finished, Steven had gone off into the woods. Cyrril had curled up and was napping on a warm rock. Caspian held up the two lumps, and concentrated.

“Steven is a little ways away and still frustrated.”

Steven came back and they set out. Steven did not wait very long to ask more questions.

“So, what do you have?”

“I have two disks that I can use to track you and your wife, and use in concert to track your children. Ideally, this should be done with amber. But fresh pine sap will do.” He held his right hand out, and said a word in another strange language. He then waved the amulet back and forth. The side that was closest to Steven lit up brighter than the other side. He could also see the color shift through the spectrum and stabilize. Caspian looked from it to him and smiled.

“Good. It says you are healthy and very close.”

He held out the other one and spoke the same word. Steven recognized that it was conjugated differently.

The disk did not glow as strong, and shifted quicker, then settled to a slightly different color. “Your wife is a good distance that way and in general good health.”

Caspian then put the two disks together, gold sides touching, and spoke the same word conjugated a third way. The two halves flickered in concert, and then settled.

“Your children are close together, and in generally good health. They are a long distance that way.” He pointed south, compared to the path of the sun. “We will be going that way by boat. They are probably going by caravan, as they are more south then west. We might even get to Krogg in time to catch the caravan before it gets to Skarg. By then we will have figured out what to do.”

Steven seemed to visibly relax, if only slightly, now that he had some theoretical information that he could work with.

As they walked, Caspian asked the next question. “By the way, have you noticed that you are no longer speaking English?”