Chapter Five: The Journey

Copyright 2009. All Rights Reserved.

I awoke in the morning to the sound of an alien bird chirping its heart out. I uncoiled myself from my pile of blankets and stretched, my hands reaching for the ceiling. Within a few minutes, the single bird had been joined by a chorus of others, all chirping, screeching, honking, and chattering together. Outside I heard a soft groan. I grinned to myself. It sounded like Kurt and Jarvis had had a rude awakening.

I folded up my blankets, put them in a pile, and jumped out of the wagon. Next to the ashes from the previous night's fire was a mound of blankets. When it moved, I realized that one of my companions was inside.
"Natallee." said a voice from behind me. I turned to see Kurt, his dark blonde hair wet. "There is a stream just on the other side of those trees, if you would like to wash up. We'll leave soon and eat on the road."
"Um, thanks." I said. He nodded and headed towards the wagon, while I walked in the direction that he had pointed. Finding the stream was easy: it ran cold and clear between the trees. I cleaned my face and hands as best as I could, and was glad that I couldn't see my messy reflection in the running water.
When I returned to the camp, Jarvis was helping Kurt to harness two stocky animals to the wagon. I looked at the animals with interest: they were four-legged, with long necks and thick brown fur.
"Good morning!" Jarvis said with a grin. "Climb on in-- we'll join you in a minute."
I smiled and climbed back into the wagon. As I waited for us to start, I looked around me curiously. Everything was brown, with the inside of the wagon walls made of what looked like pressed suede. Only the floor was different, being wooden. It was quite roomy inside, with a high domed ceiling that left plenty of headroom for Jarvis and Kurt. Seats were wooden boxes that had been draped with more suede. The boxes were arranged in a semi circle to one side of the wagon, around a small, round, wooden table. A few minutes later, Kurt joined me in the back of the wagon.
"I was planning on eating outside with Jarvis." he said. "You may join us if you like."
"Thanks." I said. I began to ask when we would start when the wagon jerked abruptly. Caught off balance, I fell to my knees. "I guess we're starting now." I said, grinning up at Kurt. He smiled, and offered his hand to help me up. The three of us ate breakfast together on the hard wooden bench that served as a seat. It took a while for me to get used to the bumpiness of the wagon: I knew that by evening I would be sore and bruised, but at the time that only seemed like part of the fun.
When we had finished eating, we had left the forest and were traveling across open grassland. In the distance I could see a dusty line that Jarvis told me was a huge herd of jemnz, a wild version of the animals that were pulling the wagon.
"We'll be home by tonight, Kurt." Jarvis said.
"I know."
"Eleadia." Jarvis said with a sigh. He grinned.
"What's it like?" I asked.
"Beautiful. Talented. Friendly." Kurt said. My question started a flood of memories and stories from the two, so that they talked about Eleadia for the rest of the morning. By the time their flow of words slowed, I had a mental picture of a place culturally rich, where residents were judged first by the type of work they did, and second by their birth. The country, Thrare, was famous for its artists, who made fabulous forms of woven art, including tapestries, cloth, and clothing. At the time, neither had any of Thrare’s work to show me, but Jarvis promised that he and Kurt would show me around the city, and particularly Thrare’s famous marketplace in Eleadia.
During our conversation I realized that neither Kurt nor Jarvis was much older than me. I guessed that Jarvis was about 16 or 17, while Kurt was 20 at most. We stopped briefly to eat lunch, feed the jemnz, and switch drivers before starting again. The conversation slowly petered out, and Kurt became noticably more tense. He sat, his hands gripping the reins tightly, and stared straight ahead, a slight scowl on his face. Jarvis looked sideways at him for a moment, then looked at me.
"Have you ever played tulad?"
"Played what?" I asked.
"Apparently not, then. Would you like to learn?" he asked, raising a questioning eyebrow.
"Sure." I said.
"Great. We should probably play inside, though, as the pieces are small and easily lost." he said, turning to climb into the wagon. He looked back at Kurt. "If the sun becomes too much, I'll drive, Kurt." Kurt nodded, still staring into the distance. I followed Jarvis inside, wondering what had happened to make Kurt so gloomy. Jarvis pulled the game from under the table and set it up. He taught me the rules, and we began to play.
"You probably noticed that Kurt is rather... tense." Jarvis said in a low voice. I glanced back at Kurt: he was still sitting outside, shoulders hunched.
"Um, yes, I noticed." I said. Jarvis sighed. He was quiet for a long moment.
"I don't know what to say." he said finally. He looked at me for a moment, his head to one side, assessing me with his eyes. Apparently I passed the test, for he continued "Kurt's father, Doctor Kalan, is very ill with a sickness for which our people have no cure. We heard of a plant that, when correctly harvested, had been effective, and Doctor Kalan sent us to get it. But the plant is said to be strong enough to fight the disease within only a few days of when it was first picked." Jarvis made his move on the board. So Kurt is worried, stressed, and running out of time. I thought. I studied the board before answering.
"I understand." I said slowly. I gave him a faint smile. "Kurt's grumpiness is forgiven." Jarvis smiled back, and the game continued. It was a lengthy game, with Jarvis pondering each move. I was more impulsive, and would plunk my pieces down recklessly. Eventually Kurt leaned back in his seat and called to us.
"Jarvis, come up here." We both looked up quickly from the game, and I was startled at the urgency in his voice. I caught a glimpse of his tense pale face before he turned back in his seat, saying
"We're nearly there."