The Book of Terrus: The Ghosts of Goran

Chapter 16 - White Night

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The feeling of free-falling that accompanied those first steps beyond the gates of Vaelona was unlike anything Jatheryn had ever experienced before in his twenty years. He had traveled only infrequently before with the rest of the Saurivics, usually trips to Amenthere for grand galas at Castle Armathain. This time when the road forked less than a league south of Vaelona, Jatheryn and Awenis did not take the road to Amenthere. Instead, they struck out east to the mining town of Geristan.

It did not take long for the distance to begin wearing on their feet. They were children of the nobility, unused to all forms of menial labor, including walks longer than a stroll through the city. As the sun rose in the sky, sweat began to gather at their temples and beneath their collars. Neither complained though; they had chosen this for themselves. Anything was better than continuing to play at the farce that was their unplanned-for lives as a Saurivic lord and lady.

Traffic was high between Vaelona and Geristan, but not as high as it might have been if they were headed for the capital. Travelers to Geristan were more likely to be commoners than members of the nobility. Jatheryn and Awenis had dressed in their plainest clothing and cloaks, but the quality of their cloth still set them apart almost as much as their looks. People eyed them strangely as they rode past on horses, donkeys, and carts. Jatheryn realized they might have been a bit hasty in leaving Vaelona on foot.

Awenis, for her part, put up with the long, tedious walk with just as much quiet resilience as her brother. She looked more like herself though, with her white-gold hair free of its recent fancy coifs. Now her silky locks were left loose to tumble about the shoulders of her cloak like a cloud of dawn fog. Awenis spoke little as the hours passed, and Jatheryn would have worried for her if not for the defiant lift of her chin. Even when a peasant woman openly gaped at them from the back of her ox-drawn cart, Awenis's only reaction was to angle her jaw higher still.

For his part, Jatheryn enjoyed a strange sense of calm as the distance grew between them and Vaelona. They had nothing but the clothes on their backs, a few things in their bags, and their personal coin purses full of silver Luns mixed with a few gold Sols. By all measures, they were lesser now than they had ever been in their entire lives. Still, Jatheryn felt his spirit grow lighter even as his feet grew heavier.

The heady, carefree elixir of the open road was not untainted forever. As the sun began to set on the western horizon, Jatheryn and Awenis were forced to take stock of their progress. It had been almost midday when they left Vaelona, and Geristan was four and twenty leagues east from there. When Jatheryn and Awenis passed a wooden signpost announcing 'Geristan – 21 leagues' after almost seven hours of non-stop walking, they knew they had made a mistake.

"How far to the nearest inn?" Jatheryn tried asking a passerby.

The man took one look at Jatheryn and hurried along his westward journey, driving his two spotted heifers before him. The cattle lowed their displeasure at being made to quicken their pace, but the farmer did not as much as pause to look back when Jatheryn called after him.

"Perhaps I had best ask next time?"

Awenis spoke gently, but they both knew she was right. If Awenis could narrowly pass for normal in the fading light, there was no chance whatsoever for Jatheryn. When Awenis approached a man on horseback leading three other horses on a tether, Jatheryn hung back on the roadside with his hood up.

"Good sir, can you please tell me how far until the closest inn?" Awenis asked politely, having to crane her neck to call up to him.

One of the horses snorted, and the mounted man had to take a moment to tug on the lead rope before answering.