~Chapter 10~
When Mae awoke the next morning, she was surprised to find she wasn't aching head to toe. Even with Karanosi's help it took near an hour to organize and put everything away. Having made several trips herself up and down the stairs, she was certain her leg would have been throbbing and stood cautiously, relieved that such was not the case.
As Mae prepared for the day, stripping off the protective layer of bandages and changing into the tangerine robe she had finished shortening the night before, she smiled to the memory of watching Sah'Korhune's silver moon, rise for the first time, while lounging on the rooftop with Ven. And she hated herself for that.
She was in a near constant, internal conflict when she was left alone with her thoughts, caught between not wanting to be completely miserable and the overwhelming guilt when she managed. Today, however, she fairly felt that she could forgive herself for being excited. For after a lengthy discussion, Karanosi agreed to take her and Ven, down to the town in the valley below, where he would introduce her to someone, a friend, that could get her an audience with Omb.
After tying up her hair, she gathered the hat, a lovely deep green with a wide brim, that Karanosi had bought for her and headed down stairs to the kitchen where Ven was waiting at the table.
"What is that delightful smell?" she exclaimed as she set her hat on the bench before sitting down.
"It's a traditional heated drink served in at the morning meal," he explained, passing her his mug. "Try it. See what you think."
Taking a sniff, she knew the smell well, it was robust and earthy, identical to a dark brewed coffee, served black.
"I hate to ask this, but what do you call it?"
"Comnan Tea," he replied as she handed back his mug. "Normally it's reserved for men and a lighter more aromatic tea is served to the women, but I don't have any of that in the house."
"That's fine. I'll take what you're drinking, if you're offering."
"It's in the pot. Help yourself. I prepared a small variety of fruits and left them raw for you to try, but there, if you care not to risk it, I left you an oshal cake. I didn't want to risk making anything that may make you feel ill before we left. I know you're eager to get some answers."
"I know I'm being impatient but I can't just sit around without a clear way forward," she replied as she filled her mug. "The sooner I speak with Omb, the sooner I can work towards getting whatever is needed to pay her off, so I can go home. As lovely as this has been, I'd really rather have you pop in for a visit, once every 10 years, once I'm back where I belong."
"You wouldn't mind me visiting you?" he asked, seemingly surprised by her offer.
"Of course not," she replied pulling the oshal cake towards her, "At the end of the day, regardless of how this happened, I have come to regard you as a friend. At least I think we get along quite agreeably or am I missing something?"
"No! No. You aren't missing anything. I'm just a bit surprised. I thought you would never want to see me again."
"Why would you think that?" she questioned, thinking him silly, as she stuffed a piece of the cake into her mouth.
"Mae, I'm the reason you're trapped here. I can't forgive myself for what happened. I don't even have the right to ask for your forgiveness. There is nothing I can do to fix my mistake."
"You blame yourself for what happened?"
"Of course I do! And you should to!" he exclaimed, stopping and taking a breath before continuing. "I grabbed when I should have pushed. If I had done what I was trained to do, none of this would have happened to you. It's my fault, did you not know that?"
"No, actually I didn't," she replied, casting her eyes down into the mug, the coffee's intense flavor lingering on her tongue. "But the thing is, I had also grabbed onto you. I basically fell face first into your chest and grabbed on for dear life. I'm not sure you could have pushed me off at that point. Compared to you, I'm pretty short. Even if you had put your arms straight out, you would have caught nothing but air. It happened faster than you could have reacted. So, unless you can swear to me that you knew exactly where that portal was going to open and you somehow could have seen me coming and choose to ignore me, you need to stop blaming yourself. It was an accident, no one was as fault."
"But I…"
"Did you know?" she reiterated.
"No. I didn't. All I knew was that I would arrive on dry land, and I couldn't see anything through the portal."
"Then lose the guilt. You're taking care of me and that's more than enough to make up for what I do blame you for."
"And what is that? Just so I can keep up on what to feel guilty over."
"You didn't hold me down. You didn't protect me from the explosion. But given the situation, seeing as how you were probably just as confused about what happened as I was, I've forgiven you for that to."
"Ven, Mae, are you up?" Karanosi called from the entry way.
"We're at the table. Come join us," Ven called back as he watched her take a drink with a questioning gaze.
After having eaten their fill, and emptying the pot, Mae and Ven cleaned up while Karanosi prepared and packed a lunch for all of them.
"It's going to be a quick flight down, but I have to land a little ways outside of the town, and we'll be riding in from there," Karanosi explained as she put the last dish away. "Once we arrive in town, it's very important that you stay close to us, and not react to what you see. The village is mostly inhabited by Thay, but there are Galron and Cynocephali to."
"The see-no-sef-all-e, are the ones you said looked like Koobs?"
"That's right," Ven replied as Karanosi took the bag of food outside. "But you need to work on the pronunciation, although most simply refer to them as Cynos to make it easy."
"I'll work on that," she replied as she picked up her hat. "The Galron are the tribal ones that look similar to Karanosi, but without the scales. Their skin tones ranging from greens to purples."
"Yes. Be cautious of them. They won't hesitate to rob you or try to take you to sell as a slave. That is why it is imperative that you stay close. If they take you, there may be no way for us to get you back."
"I won't leave your side."
"Good. And do you remember the description of the Thay?" he asked as he took her hat from her.
"Blackened feather wings, skin tones ranging from dark pinks to deep reds, and elongated ears that point to the heavens," she replied as he set her hat on top of her head adjusting the length of the silken scarf that had been fished through the slits of the brim.
"Excellent. The man we are going to meet is a Thay," he informed her while crossing the scarf beneath her chin, and then carefully wrapping it around her neck, before turning her around and tying a bow at the base of her skull. "He's a shade knight and a guard at the Temple. His wife is one of the shadow priestesses there."
"Are you two ready to go?" Karanosi asked, popping his head in passed the doorway.
"Just need to get our shoes and cloaks and we'll be out," Ven replied.
Dressed properly for the flight, Mae followed Ven outside to where Karanosi was waiting, basking in the suns against the warmed gravel out in the front patio area.
"It's a good day for a flight," he remarked turning to them with a wide toothy smile.
"Go easy on her, Karanosi," Ven said as they walked up to his side.
"Yes, please go easy. This will be my first time flying without any safety features, like seat belts, emergency breathing masks, floatation devices in case of water landings or an enclosed space of any kind," she relayed to them as Ven knelt before her, his hands extended out.
"You are going to climb up, and move back to just behind his wings."
"Okay," she replied as she grabbed at the strap of the large pouch, Karanosi was wearing.
"Lift your leg."
At Ven's instruction, she lifted her leg and he took a hold of her ankle, boasting her up onto Karanosi's back. Moving back as instructed, she straddled his spine, the fluffy, soft fur that stretched down the entire length of his body, provided a comfortable cushion, and Ven, with ease, climbed up and sat in front of her.
"Okay, you can move up and hold on to me or stay there and hold on to Karanosi's mane," he said as he looked back at her over his shoulder.
She was thinking it over, weighing out her options as to which would feel more secure, but then Karanosi stood, the shifting of his body beneath her removing the need for a decision. Scrambling forward she took a death grip on Ven, her hands clutching at the front of his shirt as she grappled herself to his back.
"We're ready!" Ven called out as he set his hand over hers giving it a light tap. "Hold on and I promise, he won't do anything to make you fall on purpose. At least this time."
Mae buried her face into his back as she felt Karanosi's muscles flexing and moving beneath her, the pounding of his feet as they struck the ground and the thunderous snap of his wings as he took to the sky. The sudden downward force, made her sink further into his mane, her legs pressing in and her arms holding tighter, she was desperately holding in her scream for fear of throwing up. The wind striking her hands vaguely telling her of the speed for which they travelled. And then relief, the pressure evening out, and she felt as if it were once again, safe to breath. Cautiously opening her eyes, she peaked out from behind his back. They were sailing through the jagged mountain peaks and she couldn't bring herself to look down or even back, as the swaying of his body made her anxious enough to seal her eyes once again.
She should have been thrilled, but she was too scared. She was living an impossible dream, but it wasn't the same as she had imagined. She was riding on the back of a dragon, and wondered if this would be the only time it would happen. This was the greatest rollercoaster ever conceived of, mixed with the speed and g-forces of a fighter jet, but with superior maneuverability, and only her grip strength for safety. It was a free fall, without a parachute. Her stomach was in her throat, and then suddenly, she felt weightless, before the inevitable fall, as Karanosi descended the mountain, wings folded, in a terrifying plunge.
She was pretty certain the entire mountain had heard her scream, but she was positive that Karanosi had as he spread his wings and leveled out, rapidly slowly their descent, turning and circling like water going down a drain. The gentle flapping of his wings, a sign for her to open her eyes. Tree tops, purple and blue hued pines, now in view. It was a soft landing, in a small clearing just off a dirt trail, barely wide enough for passing cars, although she knew wagons were probably far more accurate.
"You can let go now, Mae," Ven remarked, lightly patting her hands.
She shook her head against his back. She needed a minute to settle her stomach, breathing deep and letting herself relax.
"Stretch out, we need a minute," Ven hollered. "I told you to take it easy on her!"
"I thought I was," Karanosi responded as she felt him lay down.
"You're only a short distance to the ground now," Ven said once more tapping at her hands.
She peeled her hands from him and retracted her arms to wrap them around herself. She knew in that moment she had a choice to make, between letting the terror of the experience crush her, to curl up on the ground in the fetal position while crying and rocking, broken and useless, or to let it empower her. That had been the most exhilarating experience of her life, and she could let that give her strength, if only should could give herself permission to enjoy it.
"Come on then," Ven called up to her.
Clapping his hands, he caught her attention, she hadn't even seen him climb down.
"It's time to go Mae. IF you don't move, I'll have Karanosi roll and dump you off."
"NO!" she yelped as she felt Karanosi shift, causing Ven to laugh.
"Move up and swing your leg forward, then slid down his side. I'll catch you," he said while trying to contain his amusement.
Following his instructions, she soon found herself on stable, unmoving ground, covered in a short, light golden grass.
"You two go on ahead. I'll catch up," Karanosi remarked as he sat up, and remorsefully smiled down at them.
"The town is this way," Ven said as he pointed down the road, and began to walk away. "I'd summon Praja but something tells me you'd prefer to walk, for a little while anyways."
"I don't know," she replied as she moved to catch up to him, still finding it difficult to breath. "That was, amazing, and terrifying, and exciting. I just, I really think I need a minute." Hastily looking around, she ran to the nearest tree and fell to her knees as her stomach contents forced their way up into her throat and out her mouth.
She would have thought Ven felt mildly concerned by the way he rubbed her back, but his laughter was louder than her retching.
"Are you going to be alright, Mae?" Karanosi asked as he came up behind them.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine now," she replied as she stood up and took a step back from the tree, pulling the handkerchief from her pocket and wiping her mouth. "Just my nerves getting the better of me." The truth being more like the adrenaline was wearing off.
Turning around she was surprised to see Karanosi in his smaller, more 'human' form, dressed in a loose robe, a jade green, cat-shaped creature with floppy ears, the size of a Belgian Draft horse standing behind him.
"This is Saulk. She's a cugdaro," Karanosi introduced her, to in which she grumbled and bobbed her head.
"It's nice to meet you, Saulk. I'm Mae."
Saulk shook her head, her floppy ears making the same sound Koobs' did. She wanted to pet the magnificent mount, but managed to refrain as Ven insisted they get underway.