The Book of Terrus: A Land of Sunlight

Chapter 21 - StarGazers

OoOoO

The atmosphere in Kiiss's carriage was tense. Ordinarily, the ride from Moaan to Amenthere would have taken five days. Kiiss and Vinie had made it in three. Running on less than a handful of hours sleep the night before, the team of zebras was beginning to show serious signs of fatigue. The animals' once lively hoofs now plodded laboriously upon the road, their vividly striped necks drooping low. One more day at this pace and they would likely collapse. The two carriage drivers were little better off. Mercifully, when Vinie leaned out the carriage window she could see the high tower of Castle Armathain peeking over the hillside.

"Otch! Get back in here!"

Kiiss's admonishment was not without reason. It was harvest season in Goran, and the countryside was bustling with farmers bringing in their crops. Sturdy men and older boys, the blades of their scythes gleaming in the late afternoon sun, moved across the field felling wheat like a row of dolphins herding fish. Behind them, women and children followed, hands moving with practiced efficiency as they bundled the golden grains into sheaves. However, the farmers were not so absorbed in their work that they didn't notice the passing of a zebra-drawn carriage. Some of the children even abandoned the harvest to run out into the road, shouting and whistling in the dust cloud kicked up by the carriage's wheels. With so much attention, the dark face of a southerner would not go unnoted, especially not this close to the capital.

"The day is getting on..." Vinie began dully. A hollow ache – once her constant companion in Utunma's prison – was beginning to creep back into its old home in her heart.

Kiiss wouldn't hear of it. "Gideo is still alive. Gorians prefer to handle important business at later hours."

"Zaneo was executed in the morning," pointed out Vinie.

Outside, the calling of the farmers' children gave way to the rattle of wheels and clopping of hooves. A careful peek confirmed that traffic along the road was growing steadily thicker. The road itself was also changing; no longer a dirt track, now the zebras' hooves clopped sharply on stone.

"We'll be at the Southern Gate soon," said Kiiss. "Time to get ready."

"You said we'd be met by allies once we're inside the city?" Vinie had wanted to ask members of the original Factionist movement to come with them, never mind what Xolani and Oesu said. Kiiss however had insisted that it would be hard enough trying to smuggle one person into Amenthere, much less a dozen. "How did you manage to get a message sent?"

"I didn't."

"...Say again?"

With an impatient wave of her manicured hand, Kiiss slid down to kneel on the floor of the carriage. "With Mahir no doubt having shouted news of Gideo's execution in the streets, my people will be ready to jump at a moment's notice. Once my carriage is spotted outside the city walls – which it likely already has been – they'll know what to do."

"You put an awful lot of faith in your contacts."

With the carriage now slowed to a crawl in the congestion immediately before the city gate, Vinie had no choice but to trust. Flexing her wrists and feeling the weight of the knives strapped to her forearms, she watched as Kiiss pulled back the mat. With long, clever fingers, Kiiss located a tiny latch between the boards of the carriage floor. With a sharp click, the square outline of a hatch popped up and became visible.

"This was what you were drawing that day in Gideo's apartment," Vinie realized aloud.

"I had intended to use it for carrying merchandise again someday, once all this is over. You should be skinny enough to fit, but if you have problems with tight spaces now is not the time to be saying so."