Tribe of the Mountains Chapter 15 — Traveling   Thebes was created as a trading post between the two halves of the northern continent. Even with the tribes occupying the grasslands it was easier to carry goods by ship to Thebes and then, by caravan to Magdan then crossing the mountains. There are, of course, other passages north, mostly in the vicinity of the internal sea controlled by the Romanish empire. Rivers flow to that sea, and some of them almost cross the continent. Almost is the key word here, the whole continent is divided in two by the mountains and they get bigger as you go north so that a distance that looks small in a map proves to be full of ups and downs in real life.

As I said, there are passages, just none as good and what are a few scattered nomads compared to a full grown dragon?

The river boat looked and felt like my bathtub in the lower caves, including some water ever present in its bottom. It was a rectangular, broad and shallow boat with a square sail in the middle and three rows of big oars at each side, each one manned by two persons when needed.

Going down the river as we were the oars were kept in storage while the sail was used a little bit to increase speed when possible. To steer the ship there was what amounted to an altered oar, a pole with a big paddle in the extremity lowered into the water. There was a little raised platform in the back to allow the captain to see the front when steering using the heavy pole, but this platform was not very high. Bellow it was just enough space for a kind of storage locker containing spare ropes, sails, fishing material and the like.

There were no cabins in this boat, only places amid the boxes of fruit where we could set tents to sleep. If it was raining, one of the spare sails could be placed as a covering for the captain in the back, while the boat was taken to the margin to wait the storm anchored in a safe place.

Being away from my sisters and from the goddess, with my communication interrupted by that damned armor with those thrice damned magical stones imbibed in it was making me crazy. So, it was not surprising that the first thing that I did, as soon as I was in my “tent” amid the rows of boxes was take out the damned thing and send a complete report to my sisters using mindspeak.

That moment, a strong red light covered the ship. Afraid of what this might mean I donned my armor and left the tent. The twenty or so crewmembers and passengers of the boat were doing the same by now, all leaving their improvised sleeping spaces with weapons in hand. Looking for the source of the light I saw a gem high up the mast of the ship blink once more and then go dark.

The ship`s captain screamed from the raised platform. “This is the wasting disease warning!!! Get ready for boarding. The damned zombies must be coming from the water!!! Nobody stays alone tonight. Crew, go to the watch posts. This boat is officially under quarantine.”

I admit that by now I was thinking a lot of words unfit for my upbringing and my station in life. Many of these words were so dirt that I knew them only because I shared a mind with former males, but weirdly enough, cursing inwardly helped me to look calm, keeping what I hoped was a stone face in the outside.

The other four passengers were merchants going to Antigon and then Thebes to sell their fruits. The stacks of boxes went only as high as our bellies, so, it was possible to see everybody in the boat. Since the others were moving amid the boxes to stand at the sides in places where I noted that some boxes had been stacked in a way to make a kind of barrier against beings coming from the water I did the same, pairing with a young merchant at one such spot at the side of the boat. Both of us with swords draw.

There was no conversation, as people waited for what could be a group of diseased leaving the water to eat their flesh and I waited for someone to scream that the stranger in their midst had to be the cause. Looking in the face of my young watch companion I could almost see first the fear of being eaten alive, then, as time passed in our uneasy watch, he started to look less at the water and more at me.

I could feel the stares of the other passengers as well and, for the first time, thanked the fact that the magical stones in my armor, the same ones that didn`t allow me to communicate with my lovers, were kinetic stones. They would slow down any arrow launched at my back, probably avoiding serious injury. More important, the rabble around me knew this.
As it were, after what seemed a long time looking at the murky depths of the river, brown and murky in the best light, dark and foreboding in this night, the captain barked an order.

You and you and he pointed to me and to my young companion, go there, to the tip of the ship. Jonas, you come here to the platform, get your bow, …

He adjusted the position of crew and passengers, creating a rotation of guard duty, but also let it clear that I would be isolated at the tip of the ship until we got to Antigon. No problem to me, I simply passed my guard duty time counting the signature of the living things that I could feel passing under the boat. Some of these things proved to be very big, one of them at least great dragon sized.

After what may have been half a night in watch duty, or better, half a night in display with everybody watching me, I was allowed to go to sleep, but my tent was moved to an isolated position “close to your guard post” as the captain said. No problem at all.

I slept soundly and quietly in my makeshift tent, after all, I knew that the pieces of the goddess inside me would feel the presence of any one nearby and I would wake up. Anyway, my suspicious companions of travel kept their distance, as expected.

The next day was quiet, at first everybody was on alert but, as the midday approached and nothing happened people started to relax. It was a nice sunny day with a small breeze refreshing us under the white cloth that we tied to poles around the boat to both keep us and the fruits protected from the sun, the red gem kept quiet and people started to talk about “just a bad spot on the river”.

Of course, my habit of peeing into an urinal inside my “tent” and then toss the contents out in the water met with at least one derisive comment. A sailor said boldly to another while I was around: “Heh, the big bad mercenary must have a tiny weenie. So small that he can`t pee like a man.” To which I answered: “If you want to hang you bits were every single crocodile in this river can see the little morsel it is your problem. I prefer mine well protected under my armor when I get close to the water.”After this I saw some of my fellow travelers start to use urinals.

Well, latter that day a big head, similar to that of a dinosaur, but with a more “rounded top” were certainly fit a bigger brain, emerged from the river and looked at us for a while. Its eyes had pupils and an aspect similar to those of a human and they stared with what looked like amusement, like someone looking at a group of ants that proved to be smarter than expected.

I had seen big animals before, but this one was huge and there was an uncanny intelligence in its eyes. I must admit that I was afraid for the first time since meeting the goddess. But the boatmen reacted as if this was usual. They simply lowered two crates overboard. The creature went to the crates, opened them with two big paws with opposable thumbs, nodded to the captain and them swam away, its tail, certainly bigger than the boat, making lazy movements behind it. Then the captain proclaimed: “The toll is paid. Lads, lets go back to our routine.” And everybody relaxed.

Latter I learned that that creature protected the boats from other monsters in exchange of products that it would not get in the neighborhood. It loved Ikari fruits, but also the wine that was in the other boxes and, from time to time it would request weapons, like steel claws and the like that would be used to fight other monsters. Since no wasting disease would be allowed to pass through the territory of such a beast, the people of the boat relaxed, while I wondered if it had sensed the goddess in me and what weird designs had convinced it to let me pass.

Sometimes, in this world of gods, dragons and other beings I wonder if humanity is not just a little dot in the landscape, a kind of pretentious animal pretending to rule while the true powers are looking at more important things.

We got to Antigon the next day. A beautiful city, I may add. Located in a big river island, surrounded inside the island by a ring of farms that produce all kinds of fruits and with a beautiful harbor with houses whose walls were made of clay covered with white plaster and whose roofs were made of red tiles. Actually, the same building materials used in Thebes, perhaps with less wale bones in the plaster. But, somehow, the houses were whiter with less smoke arising from the few foundries around and the smell of the harbor better with no sewer pipes visible above the water level.

Of course, as is customary, the harbor was separated from the city. The town itself was located in a hill near the water and had nice white walls, clearly made of stone, perhaps even some marble. While the harbor was of course, practically in the river, with piers, depots and even a small market, but separated from the city proper by the slopes of the hill. An area clearly kept free of buildings and vegetation.

The interesting part is that this arrangement is customary because, this way, if something like the creature that we met in the river, decides to attack the city it will probably only destroy the harbor while people run to the safety of the walls uphill. I just wonder if such an arrangement really works against the really smart ones but, perhaps, this is another way of paying toll. The creature comes, eats or takes whatever is in the warehouses and leaves the people alive. Or, something like this since most of the really fancy stuff must be stored in the city proper.

Anyway, I didn`t leave the surroundings of the boat in Antigon. By now the desire to communicate with the Goddess was a burning brand in my mind and I could not risk falling into the trap of thinking that a road or field was safe for communication when it was not.

During that day the captain and the merchants on board exchanged a part of the Ikari fruits for other products, mostly other fruits but also wine and some meat. Nobody was stupid enough to carry large amounts of salted meat over deep water, but it had a price so good in Thebes that they couldn`t resist it.

I used the day to watch the commercial transactions in the harbor and learn. Many of the crates being exchanged had the markings of my father`s house and I could deduce that he had purchased a farm near the city. My keen hearing also allowed me to piece together much useful information. Father was making a lot of money selling fruits and products from our clan`s land up in the northeast of the continent to the romanish empire trough the grasslands but what caught my attention was the selling of a few “communication devices” made by my father`s “treasured slave” as a merchant stated. I could not read magical auras well while using the magical armor, but I could bet that these communication stones had the magical signature of my beloved Stephen. Of course, after noticing this I had to control myself not to give another very severe case of wasting disease to this city and to Thebes.

But my father, he would pay. This he would.

Next day we left and I must admit to enjoy the view of the countryside between Antigon and Thebes. Most of it was still forest, but here and there were peaceful hamlets protected by nice fortresses and, sometimes, a mage tower or two. The woods themselves looked less foreboding with their spirits more tamed or used to human travelers.

When we finally saw the harbor towers of Thebes I was in a better mood, I even could admire my city, the city where I was born. A city so bold that it built part of its walls into the water with thick gates capable to stand even the tides, walls full of mage towers with expensive mages paid only to protect the town.

As we approached from the river, the minor first wall could be seen still towering over our boat. It had a gate wide enough to let two such barges pass at once. When we passed this first gate I saw that they had improved the second wall, it had a feeling of power to it and I could see some magical stones scattered here and there. Then we crossed the gate in the second wall and I felt a bit at home.

As they sing: “Thebes, with its white towers, huge parks and beautiful fountain. Thebes of the water gates, of the ballista towers of the stone fortresses. Thebes of Greco and Nordic merchant houses, city where the world meets to share its wealth. City of artisans, of free men and elected mayors, city of opulence and respect where east meet west and river meets sea.”

Yes, in a sense I was home, but before I met the goddess, home never meant a good thing to me.