Strange moons, frightening creatures, inexplicable events... the mystery woman joins her rescuers as they continue their journey.

Somewhere Else Entirely

by Penny Lane

2 - Tanon's Caravan

Disclaimer: The original characters and plot of this story are the property of the author. No infringement of pre-existing copyright is intended. This story is copyright (c) 2010-2016 by Penny Lane. All rights reserved.

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"There! You're ready to travel, now."

Merina appraised her guest, her eyes traveling from the borrowed dress to the borrowed footwear. Silna had donated both, but Merina had found a suitable underskirt of her own which went on the smaller woman with a little adjustment to the waist ties. The dress, which the woman hadn't removed since Merina and Silna had put it on her the previous day, was made from a thick woolen cloth of green and brown. It had three-quarter sleeves and the neckline was adjusted with a ribbon which ran round the edge gathering the excess material. The waist of the dress was similarly gathered and tied off in the small of the back. The skirt was full and came to mid-calf, showing just a little of the underskirt beneath it.

On her feet were curious constructions which looked as though they had been made out of furry knitted string. These came to the top of the calf and were held up with ribbons as well as lacing which went up the back of the leg. The soles of these 'boots' were made from pieces of thick leather, sewn to the base of what was essentially a thick sock.

Both Merina and Silna wore broad felted hats although these were currently dangling on their shoulder-blades from cord loops which went round their necks. Because of the warm weather, Merina had explained that these might become necessary around mid-day when the sun became too fierce. There was no spare hat, but Merina had made available a linen cap which the strange woman could wear if it became necessary. Otherwise, all three women would go bare-headed.

"Good. I don't think it'll be too cold to go out and have breakfast, but you must tell me if you begin to feel uncomfortable, won't you? We don't know how long you were out there on the mountain, or what ordeal you went through before we found you, so we want to take good care of you."

"I must thank you for all the kindness you've shown me," the woman replied. "But, these things you've given me to wear, surely I wasn't naked when you found me? What was I wearing?"

Merina's mouth went into a line before she answered. "Your clothing puzzled us, my dear, and it has raised many, many questions we'd hoped you could answer when you woke up. Unfortunately, that is not to be, so we have decided to keep the clothes in a safe place until we can properly find out what is going on. What you were wearing when you were found," she emphasized to the other woman, "would not be seemly for a woman to wear anywhere in Alaesia. That is why you are dressed as you are now, and, if I may say so, very attractive you look too."

"I don't understand any of this," the woman said, her face distressed, "and my head is beginning to hurt again."

"Let's go outside and get some breakfast," Merina said. "I should warn you that you're going to be the center of attention of twenty-four men when you step out of here, but we'll try and make sure you're not overwhelmed."

The three emerged from the enclosed awning into the middle of a crowded space. It seemed all of the men were sitting or standing around eating breakfast. Everyone stopped to stare as the women came out. An older man hurried over to them as soon as they appeared.

"There you are! Did you sleep all right, Merina?"

"Thank you, aye, we all did. My dear," she turned to the woman, "this is my husband Tanon. He owns this wagon train and employs all the men you can see here. Tanon, my dear, I'm afraid I can't properly introduce you to our guest as she doesn't remember her name."

"I'm really sorry to hear that." He extended his hand towards the woman, but she didn't have any idea what she was supposed to do, so kept her hands away from his. "Ah. You don't remember, do you?" He lowered his hand. "Not to worry, I've come across cases in the past of people losing their memory like this, and it usually comes back eventually." He waved his hand around to indicate the camp. "Everyone here will look after your interests, my dear. If you have any problem, you have only to ask. Now, perhaps you'd better get some food before these ravenous men devour it all. Sit you down, I'll get someone to bring some plates and mugs over."

They sat on a bench at a trestle table, facing the fire. Metal plates were brought, with bread and cheese and thin slices of a dark meat. The glazed pottery mugs were filled with a hot drink which seemed to be made with infused herbs. The woman thought some of it tasted familiar, but... nothing came. Tanon came and sat on a small folding stool facing them, his back to the fire.

"I'm sorry for the quality of the food, it's because we're near the end of the trip. We finished all of the fresh food yesterday. We'll do much, much better once we get down into Palarand and our own household."

"How long will that be?" the woman asked.

"The day after tomorrow, we expect to be home again," Merina answered. "The route is almost entirely downhill from here, so there should be very little to hold us up."

The woman surveyed her traveling companions while she ate. Apart from Tanon, the men seemed to be dressed more or less alike, although the colors of their clothes varied. They each wore a long-sleeved tunic of heavy cloth that reached to mid thigh over a pair of thick woolen hose which appeared to go all the way up. Over this most wore a short sleeveless jerkin of either heavy cloth or leather. All wore footwear similar to that worn by the three women. All had wide leather belts with a knife about the length of her forearm on one side and a sword on the other. Some were bare-headed, some had wide-brimmed felt hats, most wore a close-fitting leather cap with a visor. She noticed that some of those who had the leather caps also carried long bows and had quivers of arrows slung diagonally across their backs. The whole scene felt very, very normal, and yet very, very wrong.

Once they had finished eating Silna got up and took their plates and mugs away for cleaning. The men sat around talking in low voices and checking their equipment, but there was no doubt that the attention of most was on the young woman newly attached to their company. Some stared openly, most just kept giving sidelong glances as they cleaned their blades or strung their bows.

After a short while strange noises began to become apparent in the near distance outside the ring of wagons. A middle-aged wiry man who Merina had named as Jaxen stood by the fire and clapped his hands twice to attract attention.

"The beasts are arriving, lads. Time to pack up the camp. Hop to it!"

As if by magic, all the trestle tables, benches and stools vanished and Merina and the strange woman were left standing amidst an organized whirlwind as the camp was struck. The awnings were rapidly taken down and packed, slotting into prepared storage on the sides of the wagons. The cooking equipment went into one of the wagons, the last of the hot water being used to douse the fire. Everyone had finished and was waiting when the first of the beasts lumbered into view.

The strange woman screamed. She backed away from the animal, hiding behind Merina, shocking everyone else in the camp. Merina turned and held her.

"It's all right, my dear! There's nothing to worry about, they're our beasts, they won't hurt you."

Fearful, the woman poked her head around Merina to look at the animal which had approached closest. It was like nothing she had ever seen, a large, barrel-like gray body the size of a... no, the memory wouldn't come. The head was strange too, with curious ears on top and a very large mouth at the front end, two widely spaced nostrils on top of the broad nose. Its body was taller than she was, but that wasn't saying very much. Apart from Silna, she had realized that she was the shortest person in the company. There were four thick legs, and each foot had four toes, two larger central ones with a smaller one each side. Each toe had something midway between a nail and a hoof. She was quite sure that she had never seen anything like it ever before.

"They won't eat you," Merina said. "They only eat grass and leaves. They are quite gentle, really, and they are quite intelligent as well. Come on, I'll introduce you."

Merina took hold of the woman's hand and started walking towards the beast. The woman noted that it had backed itself into the shafts of the wagon, ready to be harnessed, and as she looked around she realized that the other animals had dispersed around the camp and were now similarly waiting to be harnessed to the other wagons, six in all.

"What are they?" the woman asked.

"You've never seen a dranakh before?" Merina asked, surprised. "They're used all over Alaesia for heavy work, I'd be astonished if you haven't come across them."

"No," the woman said positively, "I'm sure I'd remember something like that."

"It might be something to do with your lost memory," Merina said. "Ah, here's Jaxen."

"Mistress? Is our guest all right?"

"I think so, I think it was just the shock of their sudden appearance. I'm going to introduce her to Chek, make sure the team know our guest."

"Good idea, Mistress. I'll stay nearby in case there's a problem."

They approached the dranakh, the woman still unhappy about being so close to such a huge bulk.

"Here we are," said Merina brightly. "Chek, meet a new friend we found yesterday."

The beast's head swayed and turned towards the two women. The eyes that observed them were bright and sharp. Its warm breath enveloped the two women, clean with a hint of mountain herbs from where the beast had been grazing.

"Say hello, dear," Merina instructed.

"Hello," the woman said, tentatively raising her hand to place it on the nose of the huge head. The hide was warm and dry.

"Put your hand in Chek's mouth," Merina said.

"What? I couldn't possibly do that!" The woman pulled her hand rapidly away.

"It's perfectly all right," Jaxen said. "She won't bite you, but she will taste you, so that she knows you're one of us. Once she knows that, the team will defend you if there's any trouble."

"I couldn't possibly do that!"

Jaxen nodded encouragingly. "Aye, it's all right, I'm not making it up, am I, Mistress?"

"No, what Jaxen says is right," Merina confirmed. "Go on, it will only take a moment."

Frightened, the woman held out her hand, and the huge head swivelled towards her. The wide mouth opened and engulfed her arm almost to the elbow. Inside the mouth was hot and, of course, wet. The tongue rasped gently against her skin and then the mouth opened and released her. She noticed that her arm was wet, but not slimy, and it dried off very quickly. The eyes examined her briefly, and then the head turned away again.

"Shall I harness Chek, Mistress?"

"You might as well, seeing as you're here. Where's Felly?"

"In the latrine last I saw, Mistress. He'll be back here by the time we're ready to move off."

They watched as Jaxen harnessed the beast and connected it to the shafts of the wagon. As he worked he asked a question.

"How's our guest going to travel, Mistress? The first part of the road is quite steep, I don't know that I'd want to put her on a wagon."

"No, you're right." Merina turned. "Do you mind walking a little, my dear? Once we get over the top of the pass there the way gets quite steep. We wouldn't want to take any chances with you on a wagon if something goes wrong."

"I'll try," she replied doubtfully. "I don't know how long I'll be able to walk for, though."

"That's all right, Princess," Jaxen said. "We won't be going very fast or very far for the first part of the journey. When we stop about mid-morning for a drink and a rest, we'll sort you out a mount if that's all right."

They stood to one side as the circle of wagons unrolled into a line and headed off up the final slope to the top of the pass. The woman noted that each wagon had a driver who wore a broad-brimmed hat. Most of the rest seemed to be mounted upon another kind of beast, much smaller than the dranakhs but just as odd-looking. Some walked beside the wagons with chocks in hand, ready to place them behind the wheels if the wagons threatened to go astray. She noted that Silna had gained a perch beside one of the wagoneers. Merina and the strange woman began walking behind the wagon train as it headed towards the pass.

~o~O~o~

The mystery woman stumbled yet again and Merina reached out her arm to stop her falling flat on her face.

"I'm sorry, Merina," the woman said, "I can't imagine I'm normally this clumsy."

"It might be because of your head," Merina said, helping her to stand properly. "After all, since you've lost your memory you obviously have some kind of head injury, perhaps it's affected your balance."

"Maybe so," the woman said doubtfully.

The wagon train had been cautiously and laboriously lowering itself down the steep slope of the mountain road for what seemed like most of the morning, although the woman suspected that the interval was nowhere as long as that. Every person had dismounted now. The wagoneers stood in front of their charges, facing uphill, walking backwards, guiding them with clear hand signals. The dranakhs were holding back the wagons, their substantial rear ends straining against the harness that kept the wagons in check. Wagoneer and beast had done this many times before and each thoroughly understood the other. Even the outriders were now walking, leading their smaller beasts by the reins while some stood ready with chocks in case a wagon threatened to break free.

"How are you managing now, dear?" Merina asked. "I hope this isn't too much effort for you after what happened yesterday."

"I don't mind the walking, Merina, at least not at the moment." the other answered. "This slope is making my shins hurt, though. Is there any chance we will be stopping soon? I think I need a drink and a short rest, if you don't mind."

"Let me see. We've got about another mark and a half to go before we reach the first rest place. We usually stop there, by that time everyone will need a breather."

"A mark, Merina? What's that?"

"Oh, it's a measure of distance." Merina had another internal jolt. Didn't everyone in Alaesia know what a mark was? "There are ten thumbs to the foot, a stride is three feet, and a mark is one thousand strides," she recited. "Or, looked at another way, a cast is twenty strides and a mark is fifty casts. Do you not remember any of these measurements at all?"

The woman shook her head. "Not that I remember, no. I can guess what a foot is, and therefore how long a stride is. But what is a cast and what is a mark?"

"Oh, a cast is simply what it says, about the distance a man can throw a handful of seeds. In practice these days it's usually worked out by dividing up a mark. Marks themselves are the distance between certain road marks placed by the sides of all major roads in this part of Alaesia. We'll reach one in a short while and I'll show you."

Jaxen came back up beside the wagon train, towing his beast by its reins.

"I saw you having trouble, Princess. Do you need to stop and rest for a while? I can detail off a couple of men to look after you if you do. I'm sorry that no-one can ride on this stretch, but it's the steepest part of the whole route and it would be too dangerous."

"Thank you, Jaxen, I think I can manage for a little longer. The wagons are moving slowly enough on this part that I can keep up reasonably well. I wouldn't mind some water to wet my mouth, if it's possible."

"Why, of course, Princess! I'll ask Silna to bring a skin back for you and Mistress Merina. Pardon, Mistress, I should have thought of it sooner."

"Not to worry, Jaxen," Merina said. "I'd rather you paid attention to the wagons than to us, but sending Silna back is a good idea, thank you."

Jaxen turned his beast round and led it back down the road towards the front of the convoy.

"Merina, what are those small beasts called, that Jaxen and the men ride?"

"Oh, they are frayen. They are related to dranakhs but aren't anywhere as clever. They will go all day with a man riding them, though, and they are reasonably easy to train. They can bite, though, so keep clear of any that look annoyed."

"Frayen." The woman nodded to herself as she tried to remember all the new names and concepts that were coming her way. "And why does Jaxen call me Princess? Is that what I am?"

"The truth is, my dear, that we don't know what you are. I believe that Jaxen thinks you are high-born because of your good looks and skin, and because of what you were wearing when you were found."

"You mentioned that before. What happened to whatever I was wearing? Can I see it? It might help my memory come back."

"We've put it securely away for now, dear. Since we don't know how you came to be on the mountain, we don't know if you were running away from something or someone. If someone comes looking for you, we don't want to hand you back without knowing the whole story. It might be that you were kidnapped and escaped."

"Oh! I see! Is that possible? Oh, I wish I knew... now my head has begun to hurt again."

"Here comes Silna. Perhaps a drink will help. The air's beginning to get warm now, we mustn't get dehydrated."

"Good, my throat's getting dry. I don't think I mind being called a Princess, even if it is only for a while. I wonder if I really am one?"

Merina smiled. "I've been wondering what to call you until we find out who you are, and Princess seems as good a name as any, so, Princess you will be."

The road had been cut in an arrow-straight line angling down the side of the mountain valley, but at two points there had been subsequent rock falls. The road of necessity had to creep round these, and the quality of the workmanship was noticeably poorer. Between the two rockfalls Merina pointed.

"There! That's a road mark." She indicated a waist-high shaped stone at the side of the road. It had been painted white and there were two sets of lettering outlined in black, one over the other.

The woman looked closely at the stone.

"Those marks, I suppose they are distances each way?"

"Aye, to Palarand and Moxgo."

"There are other markings carved on the stone under the paint."

"Aye, they are the original symbols the Chivans used. Nobody knows what they mean any more, so we have to put our own numbers on instead."

"The Chivans?"

"Aye. Many, many centuries ago a people called the Chivans used to rule an empire which stretched over all this part of Alaesia. They are the ones who built these roads, and they put up these road mark stones on all the main roads linking the towns. Their building skills were so good we're still using most of what they made."

"Chivans. Straight roads. Now, why does that sound familiar?"

"I don't know. All the Chivans are long dead. Perhaps you were taught about them at home?"

The woman shook her head doubtfully. "There's just a fog, I'm afraid."

~o~O~o~

At the rest stop the wagons were circled and everyone took a break. The dranakhs were released and moved off to graze the low vegetation which grew on the slopes at that height. The frayen were all tied to a picket line and given fodder from one of the wagons. The men unpacked some of the benches for everyone to sit on while they took a drink, but there were no tables and no fire was made.

"Do you feel better now, Princess?" Merina asked.

"Yes, thank you, Merina. I didn't feel too bad while we were walking, but now we've stopped and sat down I realize my legs are shaking from the effort. There is another matter, now we've stopped, that I'd better mention." She blushed.

"Oh?"

"Um, my breasts, they are rather sore. I think the cloth of the dress is rubbing them."

"But you -" Merina stopped. The woman hadn't worn anything under that thin shirt she had been wearing, true, but perhaps her choice of clothing had been limited when she'd done whatever she'd done. Clearly, she couldn't travel further without some changes being made.

"Tanon."

"Aye, my dear?"

"I'm sorry, but we're going to need the awning put up. And we're going to need Silna's travel chest." Silna, who had figured out what was about to happen, looked first outraged then resigned. "It won't be for more than a few moments," Merina continued, "we have to adjust... the Princess's clothing."

Tanon raised an eyebrow then gave the order. The awning was erected while some other men unloaded sufficient of their wagon to retrieve the chest. The three women retreated inside the tent as soon as it was ready.

"Mistress -"

"Don't, Silna. You know we don't have any choice in the matter. Now help me take Princess's dress off."

Both Merina and Silna gave silent whistles when they saw the state of the woman's breasts, red and inflamed from rubbing against the heavy fabric of the dress.

"I'm sorry, Mistress, I didn't realize," Silna said. "You want her to have my good bodice?"

"That was my thinking, aye." Merina looked apologetically at Silna. "I'll order a new one made for you when we reach Palarand if you feel uncomfortable with someone else wearing it."

The bodice was a cropped sleeveless garment which covered the whole upper part of the body ending at the waist. It had a scoop neck front and back and was back laced. The one Silna held out was made of a smooth, soft material the woman immediately liked. It was shaped in the front to hold each breast securely, and more importantly, it prevented the dress material from coming into direct contact with them. Once laced correctly and the dress re-fitted the woman knew there would be no further irritation from the cloth. The women repacked Silna's chest and re-emerged, and the men immediately set to repacking everything.

The dranakhs must have had internal timers since they all returned at once, ready to be hitched up again at about the same time the men started standing up and flexing their muscles to loosen them. Jaxen came over to the women.

"Mistress? We can spare a frayen for the Princess for the rest of the journey if that's acceptable. It would mean Silna riding on a wagon, but she's happy riding with Felly if you are."

Merina considered the proposed arrangement. "Let us try, then, Jaxen. The next part of the journey until the midday meal is much flatter than before, so it will give us a chance to see if our guest can ride a frayen." She turned to the woman. "It's a fairly comfortable ride once you get used to it. If it doesn't suit you, we can put you up on a wagon, I think, although that will be more bumpy."

"I'll try anything, Merina. This is all new to me."

The frayen produced for her had a curious wooden construction on its back, like a chair without legs. It looked stable enough, well-padded, and there were arm-rests, but how was she going to ride it in a skirt?

"Put your left foot on this step, Princess, and then pull yourself up by holding here and here." She noticed that Jaxen had hinged the nearest armrest up out of the way. "Now, when your leg is straight, swing your body until you're sat on the seat. Keep your other leg over this side, tucked under your left leg as you sit."

The woman did as she was bid and found herself sitting at an angle on the seat with both legs over the left side.

"That's it," Merina said. "Now, straighten up in the seat, bring your left leg up and over and cross your legs."

The woman tucked each foot under the opposing leg, noticing as she did so that it seemed much easier than she had expected it to. Jaxen pulled the armrest down and secured it with a peg.

"That's good," Merina said. "Now, tuck your knees under the armrests and that will lock you into place in the chair, leaving your hands free. Pull your skirt forward over your knees and tuck the hem under your feet, and that will make sure that you are not showing anything you shouldn't."

Although there were reins they were left looped over a handle across the front of the saddle which supported the seat on the frayen's back. As they moved off one of the men took a leading rein from the woman's mount and from Merina's similar mount and walked in front of them. They were still behind all of the wagons, this being deemed the safest place if one of the wagons became uncontrollable.

The chair swayed alarmingly as the beast got into motion but once moving things became much smoother. The chairs had a back which came up to the woman's shoulders, and together with the armrests she began to feel secure in her seat. Although the road still led downwards it was clear that the hard work was now behind them, at least for a while. The men were all mounted now, riding either side of each wagon as they rolled down the center of the road. The man leading the woman and Merina's mounts had tied off their leading reins to the back of his own mount and their frayen walked docilely along behind his.

As they rode side by side Merina talked to the woman, telling her about herself and Tanon, and about the trading business he ran in five cities. Although most of this was interesting the woman found it difficult to relate to much of what Merina was saying. Everything she was told was understandable, and consistent, but it still just didn't seem entirely right, somehow. Eventually Merina realized that she was overloading her companion and the conversation reduced to occasional comments about the land they were riding through.

The sun was now beginning to get warm. The woman had noticed that it was traveling from right to left and therefore deduced that she was somewhere south of the Equator. The little moon that had attracted her attention during the night was 'scooting' across left-to-right again, but in addition two other moons were now just visible in the bright cloudless sky, one about twice the size of the 'scooter' and a huge one which barely moved. For some reason the appearance of these three just increased the general sense of wrongness about the present situation.

"I'm sorry Merina, what are those three called again?" The woman pointed to the moons. "I know you told me last night, but I was half asleep then."

"That one is Tiede," she pointed to the scooter. "It goes round nearly three times a day. That one is Annis, which takes about seven days, and Kalikan there takes a whole month. Do you really not remember their names at all?"

"I don't think it's the names I can't remember, I'm having difficulty with the fact that there are three moons. There are only three, aren't there?" Merina nodded. "I have a vague recollection that there ought to be only one moon, as big as that one." She pointed to Kalikan. "I can't explain that at all, I'm afraid, it's just that everything seems slightly wrong, somehow."

Merina gave an encouraging smile. "I think it's only to be expected," she said. "Unless your memory tells you something different when you recover it, it seems to us that you're from somewhere else entirely, and the customs of your people, even the animals that you know, are going to be different to ours. That's why everything seems strange. Even so..." she paused. "I would think that all three moons should be visible from all parts of Anmar. It would be strange if they weren't, but there are cleverer people in Palarand than any of us who might tell me something different."

The road followed an undulating route between valleys, gradually getting lower and lower. Occasionally they would have to climb to get over a ridge but the effort needed was slight compared to that at the beginning of the day. The vegetation gradually increased, but there were as yet no trees to be seen. By the time they circled the wagons for the mid-day break, the sun was hot enough that all had their heads covered and were beginning to sweat. There was a mountain lake nearby and when the dranakhs were released they all galloped off and threw themselves in it with joyful grunts and bellows. The frayen, tied to their usual picket line and provided with leather buckets of water, eyed the lake with envy but knew that their owners would never allow them the freedom the dranakhs enjoyed.

The awnings were unpacked but only the roofs erected on the corner poles to provide some shade for the resting men. The meal was the usual traveling fare, beer or water, bread which was by now beginning to harden, some cheese and slices of cured meat together with some unidentifiable dried fruit. After they had all eaten everyone found a shady place and began dozing off. Realizing that this was a sensible thing to do in the middle of a very hot day the woman followed suit. They were all woken by a rumble as the dranakhs reappeared having decided that it was time to move on.

The afternoon was a repeat of the morning. The woman gradually realized that they were traveling north-west or north, assuming her judgment of the sun's movement had been correct. In that direction, unlike most other directions when the terrain permitted a view, there were no high mountains visible in the distance. This, together with the gradual lowering of altitude, suggested that they were coming to the end of the mountainous part of their journey. That this was so was proven quite dramatically when they reached the evening camping stop.

The road angled away from the valley across a small plateau towards a low rock wall which defined the farther edge. The wide cleared space which the wagons entered contained two buildings set against the wall, one of stone which looked extremely old although there was evidence of extensive repair, the other building was wooden and obviously of more recent construction. Outside this latter there were four traveler's wagons, three to one side and the other almost as far away as it could get. There were frayen tied to a rail outside this building.

Jaxen drew the wagons into a circle as far away from the wooden building as possible, then, while the men set up camp, he rode off towards the stone building. As he reached it a door opened and someone came out to greet him. Soon afterwards he returned to the camp.

"Nothing, Master Tanon," he said as he dismounted. "We're the first for three days to come in from the Moxgo direction. So, if the Princess came from a caravan, it was traveling away from Palarand rather than towards it."

"I thought as much," Tanon replied. "But, the only people we passed between Moxgo and where we found the... Princess... were Pondool and Jaynek, and I know both of them well. I can't believe either would get mixed up in... whatever's going on here."

The object of their discussion had been helped down from her mount, and now stood stretching her legs.

"Where are we?" she asked, looking at the buildings.

"This place doesn't have a name, Princess," Jaxen told her. "It's the very edge of the land that Palarand controls. The stone building there is a sort of border station, although there's no real border up here in the mountains. It's left over from the days when the mountains used to be really wild and bandits were everywhere, now there's just a few men who help out with the Messenger Service and assist any travelers who get into difficulty."

Her eyes flicked towards the other building.

"Ah, that's Joon's bar," Jaxen said. "As we're about as far as you can get from Moxgo without actually arriving in Palarand, many travelers are short of foodstuffs by the time they get to here. Joon saw an opportunity to sell them fresh produce and drink - for a price. Most caravans know never to go near the place, but there's enough independent travelers for him to make a living, I guess. He has a reputation for knowing some unsavory characters, if you understand me. Not a place that an unaccompanied woman should ever go near," he warned her.

"Jaxen," Merina asked, "would you mind taking the Princess and myself over to the lookout? There's still enough light for us to have a good look at the Great Valley and we'll be out of the way while the food is prepared."

"Of course, Mistress. I'll get a couple of men to come along as well."

Jaxen led the small group between the two buildings and through a narrow gap in the rock face behind. Abruptly there was empty space in front of her. There was a ledge that could hold maybe fifteen people, a waist-high wall of dressed stone, then nothing. There was an armed man there, his gaze intent on something in the distance. When he saw the party he turned, nodded to Jaxen and then went back to whatever he was doing. The woman walked towards the wall and took her first look at the Great Valley.

She was standing at a vantage point near the top of a high cliff, she had no reference points for how high. At the foot of the cliff the mountains stopped abruptly and the valley began. In the distance, more mountains reared up abruptly beyond the flat land between and continued into the vague distance. Shadows from the lowering sun were already beginning to hide the detail of some of what was visible, but there was much that could still be made out, like the river which dominated the valley in front of her.

The river meandered lazily across the whole valley from side to side and from end to end as far as the eye could make out. There were great sinuous loops, meanders with meanders on them wandering across the entire flatness of the plain. There were a number of curved lakes, too, formed when meanders got so big they cut through the necks of the land between. One such was in front of them, huge, with a recognizable town in the land in the middle although the details couldn't be made out from this distance. Merina pointed to it.

"That's Palarand, our destination. I think you'll like it, though I could be biased. We plan to be back home by lunchtime the day after tomorrow."

"But how? How do we get down this cliff?"

"We can't, of course. The road loops away and down that valley behind us. It's not steep, you'll see, we'll be at the canal bridge in no time at all. Look there, that's what I'm talking about."

Merina pointed to her extreme left where a valley must have come out of the mountain range. A road wound down and crossed a long bridge over a canal which joined the river to the curved lake.

"Ox-bow lake," the woman said suddenly.

"What? What's that?" Merina asked.

"That's what that kind of lake is called," was the reply. "It just came to me."

"What's that word you used? I didn't recognize it."

"Ox-bow," the woman said, "because it's the shape of..." she stopped, her face pained. "I... don't know," she said. "I just had this memory, and now it's gone. I'm seeing the shape of a beast, but it's not like anything I've seen recently. The head of a beast, with... something on top of its head. I can't describe it. Ow. My head hurts again. Can we go back, please? I think I have to sit down."

Shaking her head, Merina led the way back to the camp where the meal was being organized. Most of the men were eating and drinking but there was still sufficient of the food left to feed Merina and the woman. The woman ate slowly, her head still pounding from the recent flashback. What could it mean?

By the time they had finished eating it was clear that the 'Princess' was disturbed and uncomfortable. Silna took her into their tented accommodation while Merina climbed into the back of the wagon to retrieve something. When she joined the other women she was holding a leather satchel.

"This is what you were wearing when we found you, my dear," she said, opening the satchel. "You can understand that we didn't think they were really suitable for you. They aren't yours, are they?"

The woman looked curiously at the clothing in the dim light of the lamps, turning the items this way and that and feeling the texture of the cloth between her fingertips.

"I don't know exactly," the woman said, "but I think that they are mine. I get a curious echo sensation when I look at them, as though I should recognize them. I was wearing these?"

"You were. We wondered if you had stolen them from your captors to make your escape."

The woman shook her head slowly. "I don't recall anything like that happening to me at all, Merina. But I think these things are my clothes, not someone else's."

"What about these?" Merina asked, shaking some of the coins into her hand. "These are money, aren't they?"

"Oh, yes, they are, Merina. Again, there's a strange kind of echo. I don't remember any more than that, though."

"What about -" Merina pulled one of the strange floppy rectangles out from the folder, "- these?"

The woman took the thing and peered at it. "Yes, these are money also, I know they are. Odd looking things, aren't they?"

Exasperated, puzzled and beginning to need her rest, Merina packed the items away and returned the satchel to its hiding place before rejoining the other women and making themselves ready for sleep. Outside, most of the men retired as well. Tanon took a moment to talk to Jaxen before he joined his own servant in the awning they shared.

"This woman is becoming more of a mystery, Jaxen. If she didn't come from Palarand, and she didn't come from Moxgo, then how did she get there?"

"Fell out of the sky, perhaps, Master? I'm not being entirely serious, but still..."

"She can't have fallen far, if I take you literally, else she would have had all her bones crushed by the fall. I can't imagine any other way she might have got there."

"It is possible to cross the mountains by not using the road, of course," Jaxen ruminated, swilling the remains of his drink in its mug, "but if that were the case, we would have seen signs of wear on her clothing and footwear, which in any case are totally inadequate for such a journey." He looked at Tanon. "Perhaps there is sorcery involved."

"Hah! I don't think so," Tanon replied. "All that nonsense was disproved hundreds of years ago. Next you'll be telling me that she was brought by the bisken."

"The little people?" Jaxen shrugged. "At the moment I don't know what to believe, Master. I suspect that when we do eventually find out, I'm not going to understand the answer in any case."

"I'm inclined to agree. Did you hear what Merina said before, that the Princess had some flashes of memory when she was standing at the lookout post?"

"Aye, Master, though I don't know what to make of it."

"I think that the dam is beginning to crack, and when it cracks it should all come back in a flood. I hope that's going to be soon, or we could find ourselves having to make difficult decisions when we get home."

Jaxen nodded. "You're still intent on going to Viridor, I hope?"

"Of course. I don't know that we have much choice, given the sums involved. I think she'll have to be taken to the palace. There are sufficient clever people working for Robanar to be able to solve this problem, I think."

Dranakh: Think of a land-based hippopotamus and the physical characteristics would be about right. Temperamentally, though, these creatures are nothing like hippos.

Frayen: Something about the size and proportions of a mule, perhaps. The body is thick-skinned and gray in color. The neck and head look like that of a hornless rhino.