Part 2Fon was high above us and burnt Airtha with all its might. The river was slow under the heat, and there was barely a trace of wind to be found. As if the gods had left this part of Airtha alone. The ship sailed only slowly over the shallow waves of the now broad river, and the crew rowed with sweat on their bodies to get us on to our goal.Three days behind us was Pyrallis, not to be seen on the horizon, not even the smoke from Mount Funins was visible. Four days ahead of us, so Obezawa told us, was The Valley. We were surrounded by the most empty quarters of Airtha, abandoned of all life except some mürq and the occasional dry, thorny bush. The food we had taken in the ship at Pyrallis Harbour was going old and bitter. We had soup, most of the time, but Berot was not very good at cooking soup and I longed for the delightful dishes of the Ildritzer food parlours. I had seen it all, the fish soup, the little-river-crabsoup, the not-very-fresh-vegetables-soup. Every now and then, we met another ship on the river, filled with goods for trade. It were Obezawas kinsmen, and they waved at us, as long as they did not have to row against the stream. Behind me, on the upperdeck, Master Valosh interrogated Obezawa and learned the language of the Valley-traders. It turned out Obezawa had been to the other parts of Luban once, and he told us as much as he could about it. But it was not enough, for he had been blindfolded when guarded inside the Luban society. On the fifth day, the river turned east with a sharp curve. Obezawa told us it would not be long before we would reach the land of his kinsmen. That day, we had spiced-up-dried-meat-soup, and I was not quite well after the meal. The long shadow of our ship lay in front of us as we reached The Valley in the sunset of the seventh day. The desert was left behind us, and trees grew on the riverbanks, into the water. Between the trees lay quiet pastures and fields. In the dark, we spotted some fires, belonging to villages of The Valley. But we sailed on, under Lukarnas round face. The night came over us like a fresh breath, and mürq sang loud in the last rays of daylight. “Listen,” Obezawa said, “You have to be very careful now.” “Yes, we are as always on our guard,” Master Arnwr answered. “The Lubians are very superstitious,” Obezawa went on as if Master Arnwr had never said anything. “They see ghosts and spirits everywhere. Luban is full of ghosts and spirits and other things that haunt the lands. You can not see them, but they might be there.” “Do you believe in those spirits and things?” Master Arnwr asked him. “I do not know what to believe,” Obezawa said, “There might be things, but how can I strongly believe in anything that I can not even see? Yet there might be something; although these things are hardly ever found in The Valley. Strange things can happen in Luban...” And he made a gesture with his hands I had seen before, but did not understand. After some time, while the mürq sang their lullabies, Obezawa went on warning us. “There might be some hostility. Many people never have seen anyone from outside the village they live in. They might think you are evil spirits from the fields. Do cover your weapons. Do not make sudden moves. Be gentle, and never start a conversation. Do not touch the Lubian. Do not touch the things they find holy. Eat with them, drink with them, smoke with them.” “Excuse me?” Master Arnwr said, “Smoke with them? What kind of thing is that?” “The Lubian smoke, sir,” Obezawa answered. “They have these devices of white clay, dried, and they put grasses in them, and then set fire to the grasses, and they inhale the smoke. It is a sign of wellbeing, of wealth and peace. You have to smoke with them, to keep them at ease.” “I will do so,” Master Valosh said, taking notes of this weird custom. “You will not, master Valosh. Smoking is only for the men. It is forbidden to smoke for women.” Obezawa looked as if he felt sorry for Master Valosh, and made yet another gesture. Master Valosh had an angry look in her eyes. She wanted to join the expedition and go all the way, and now someone said she just had to sit aside an watch the others have fun. “What are we going to do tomorrow?” asked Captain Snytzu. “We will sail over The River. After Midday, we we arrive at Alawab, a town on the banks of The River. I am sure we will find a place to sleep there.” “If only it is half way decent,” I murmured, sick of the beds in the ship. “We may even find a place to eat properly,” Obezawa said, still smiling. “Oh, joy,” Berot added in his sulky manner. Filled with expectations, we went to bed. The River lulled us into a deep sleep, and we were not bothered by ghosts and spirits and the like. But they may have been there, in the middle of the night. Yours sincerely, Gernon. |