As The Mountain neared Ruana he dropped to a knee in a sign of respect then rose as she closed the last of the distance. She offered him a guarded smile and he beamed at her in return as he stood. “Ruana! It’s good to see you!”
Her smile warmed a bit at his enthusiastic greeting. “Thank you, The Mountain. And you as well.” She glanced over at the two guards who were watching the interaction of the two of them and whispering with contained animation.
“What do you think they’re up to,” she mused.
“Oh, probably placing bets on whether we marry,” The Mountain replied frankly.
Ruana looked at him incredulously shocked into silence for a moment. He just shrugged. “Should we ask them?”
Finding her voice and processing the turn of events, she looked bemused. “Certainly. After you,” she added clearly curious how all of this would play out.
“Ok,” and he strode purposely over towards Firuz and Parviz. The two realized they had drawn attention, and fell silent as Ruana and The Mountain approached. As they arrived The Mountain started in without preamble, “Were you just placing a bet on whether we would marry?” he asked them.
Firuz’ eyes got big and Parviz laughed.
“Is that a yes?” The Mountain pressed. Ruana looked at the two expectantly.
Parviz nodded and shrugged. “I wasn’t going to take the bet initially, but he offered me 4 to 1 odds and didn’t make it exclusive. It seemed fair.”
Ruana turned her attention to Firuz and raised an eyebrow. “4 to 1 odds?” she asked.
He nodded looking embarrassed. “He uh, doesn’t seem to be your type,” and looked between the two of them. Ruana stared at him with an inquisitive gaze and The Mountain stood with a goofy grin.
“I see.”
The Mountain saved him from further embarrassment by getting her attention. “So what’s next?”
As Ruana turned and began answering The Mountain’s question, Firuz offered the fastest salute decorum would allow and beat a hasty retreat with Parviz following at a more comfortable pace.
“I thought we’d go into the city…” she answered then turned and watched the two depart. As the two of them disappeared through a doorway she broke into a laugh and shook her head. “4 to 1 odds, hmmm? I don’t know whether Parviz got off lucky or should have pressed for more.”
He looked at her curiously. “What would you set the odds at?”
She looked up at him. “That remains to be seen. For now, into the city.” He smiled and she rested a hand lightly on his arm as the two stepped out of the Palace. The weather was pleasant with a steady breeze. Clouds filled the skies dark, but not black. The Mountain looked up and considered. “It’ll probably rain later.”
“Is that a problem?”
“No, I’m used to getting wet,” he looked at Ruana. “Are you going to be ok?”
“I’m sure we can find a place to wait the rain out if need be.”
The Mountain shrugged. “Ok.”
As they walked through the streets Ruana provided him commentary on the history of various buildings they passed, noting which clans controlled the entrances to the undercity. Virtually all of the ones in the Administrata district were played out. As they passed one building she paused and looked thoughtful.
“This was the first entrance to the undercity I explored. I was twelve at the time and went with a few of the older cousins. I’d pestered my father so often to let me explore he finally consented. This one was considered safe as it had been explored over and over. There were a lot of connecting tunnels, so plenty of space to run around and burn off some energy. Day after day we came down here for weeks, exploring every inch of every wall with the kind of focus motivated children have. The tunnels in several places descended, so much of what we had to explore was several stories below ground.”
“Then what happened?” asked The Mountain, clearly caught up in the story.
Ruana’s focus was elsewhere apparently reliving things through her mind’s eye. “We explored where other people didn’t – the ceilings.” The thought brought a smile to her face. “And we found a hidden trapdoor in the ceiling of one of the rooms. It led up into a hidden level of what we believed was a residence from the 1st Imperium. Within it was a stash of scrolls and books along with some religious iconography and vestments. There was also a set of ancient legionnaire armor on a stand. It was a find beyond anything we expected.” She grinned at The Mountain. “I’ve been hooked ever since.”
“Hooked on what?”
“All of it! The First City, exploring, finding out more about the past!” she gestured animatedly. “I want to explore the undercity, discover its secrets and bring back other relics of the 1st Imperium. Ever since that first time, I can’t get enough!”
“You said the first things you found were religious stuff?”
“Yes! As far as we’ve been able to determine, it was hidden from the purges of the Theocracy of the Cleansing Flame. None of the materials added much to what’s known of the time, but it filled in a few small gaps and made extra copies of some rare works available.”
The Mountain nodded slowly, absorbing that. “Was anything particularly interesting to you? Are you religious?”
Ruana shook her head. “I offer the appropriate thanks and coin when needed, but haven’t felt the call. You?”
He shook his head and then reached up and into his tunic and pulled out something and looked at it then showed her a holy symbol of Nier.
“You’re a Nierite?” she asked in surprise, then looking closely, “Wait, what are the other chains?”
The Mountain reached in again and pulled out the other chains. All twelve of the gods of the Pantheon were represented through their holy symbols and she arched an eyebrow at him waiting for an explanation.
“I’m not a devout follower of any god, but you never know when you need to say thanks or ask for some help, right? There’s not usually a priest around when you need one, but they all carry these things. If they use these to talk to the gods, then maybe the gods will listen if I have one too.”
“I don’t think that’s the way it works.”
“Other people carry them and they aren’t priests.”
“Yes, but that’s because they feel a strong connection to that particular, god.”
“But what if it’s the wrong one?”
Ruana looked at him confused. “What do you mean?”
“I often travel with a Cadican. If we get on a boat and hit rough weather, should she talk to Cadic? That would be silly. What good will that do? But if you ask Yarris nicely to help us stay safe, maybe he will.”
“But she could still offer a prayer to Yarris.”
“Will he hear it without one of these?” and The Mountain held up the holy symbol of Yarris.
She looked unsure. “I don’t know.”
“Me either. If they didn’t need them to make sure the gods heard them, why would they carry them?” He tucked the various holy symbols away.
She looked amused at the logic he used. “Good question. Doesn’t it confuse people when you pull out different holy symbols?”
The Mountain shrugged.
Ruana chuckled and they moved on. They walked and chatted for another hour as she provided interesting tidbits of information or commentary on the buildings they passed. They moved from the Administrata district and into the Rhamul district with Ruana continuing the history lesson and then asking for The Mountain’s thoughts and opinions. Her patience with his child-like questions and answers was exceptional, far more so than when they first met. As they walked down the busy street, The Mountain pointed at a figure some distance away carrying a crooked staff and asked, “Is that an Ehtzara?”
She looked surprised by the question, and looked where he pointed. “I don’t know. Especially from here it’s hard to say. Why do you ask?”
“I was curious. They don’t follow the pantheon, but talk to spirits, right?”
She nodded, “More accurately they make pacts with lesser powers to gain power of their own.”
“Do you do that?” he asked quietly.
She shook her head and frowned though seemed a bit apprehensive. “No. Why would you ask? Actually, wait.” Ruana guided him to an unpopulated area of the open square they were walking through, out of easy earshot of anyone else.
“Ok, why do you ask?”
“I saw you smooth out the page in the book. That was a good trick!” he noted enthusiastically, but he spoke it quietly so the words wouldn’t carry.
Ruana scanned the area to ensure that there was no one nearby and looked at The Mountain appraisingly. “That’s not a good question to ask someone where someone else could hear you,” she chided.
“No one was around when I asked. Promise!” he replied sincerely. “I checked!”
The fact that he seemed to be careful mollified her to a degree. She stood for a moment her eyes moving quickly but unfocused as if recalling things or putting pieces in place. She came to a conclusion and took a step back out of arms reach and into a stance that would allow her to run or fight if necessary. Her guard was clearly up. “You’re trying to figure out if I’m a caster and if so what kind,” she accused.
The Mountain raised his empty hands in a calming gesture. He slowly dropped to a knee bringing them close to seeing eye to eye. Scanning quickly to ensure they were still isolated from others he quietly confided, “I am not a Harvester, nor anyone you need to fear because of what you are.”
Ruana stared into his eyes seeking the truth of his words. “You are a master of deceiving people. Why should I believe you in this?”
“I have heard that Harvesters have means of knowing if someone’s Gifted if you get their attention. Even if not, is there a reason that I’d risk this if I worked for them?”
“You could be setting me up.”
“It was your idea to go walking in the city. Besides, what do I gain taking this approach?”
“Potentially my trust.”
“Wouldn’t there be better ways to do that than put you on guard?”
She looked at him then gestured for him to rise. “We’re going to start attracting attention if we stay like this. I think we need to talk somewhere private.”
He nodded and then made sure she looked him in the eye. “I will not betray your secret, my word on all I hold most dear.”
Ruana regarded him and weighed his words. “Thank you,” she said, deciding to accept his sincerity at face value. She took a deep breath and relaxed, then reached out and gently rested a hand on his arm.
The Mountain offered her a tentative smile that she returned and they headed back to the Palace.
To be continued…
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