Aralim had already laced up his sandals when Nill appeared, bursting through the door carrying a long linen-wrapped tube. She grinned at him and blurted, “Aralim, you have to see this. It might be the largest map either of us have ever seen before.”
They hurried into the dining room, with a disapproving glance from Ko’nagar at Aralim’s dusty footwear. Nilless hurriedly unrolled the map on the table while explaining, “This is the culmination of Rema’s master cartographer, your own insights from the lands south of the Stormy Sea, and my knowledge of the regions your friend Dullah had mapped in Tal’lashar.”
“Spectacular,” Aralim said, helping her situate the enormous tapestry across wide table. The first thing he noticed was that the entire region of Numa’nakres had been drawn as though viewed through a magnifying glass. It was made to look as large as Radregar, somehow, though Aralim had seen enough maps of the “Known World” to recognize what was real and what was not. Despite the political emphasis on the Empire, Aralim was eager to look at his own land again. He spotted Trell and the cities along the coast, north of it—he had sailed all those places. Other regions were less detailed, of course. Aralim could practically trace his route from there to Lantern Town simply by the level of detail and its contrast to lands he had not travelled.
On the other hand, the coast north of Tal’lashar was dotted with a dozen villages and towns. Inlets and peninsulas were labelled, and rivers were indicated weaving between hills or across arid flats. Aralim suppressed a laugh. “It looks like you did a better job describing your homeland than I did. Perhaps I should visit the cartographers again.”
Nill shrugged nonchalantly. “Well, the map that Dullah had commissioned was a big help, and even then, I spent a few weeks leaning over the map-maker’s shoulder. It’s so vast though—I can’t believe how far you’ve travelled!”
“Just think of how far I still plan to go,” Aralim muttered. He smiled to her. “For instance, I was just about to go see someone about my staff. Join me?”
“That sounds equally fascinating! Though… let me take a moment to store this safely upstairs. I was told I could only take it away from the Palace for one night to show our ‘Ambassadorial Delegation’.” With Aralim’s help, Nill rolled the map back up and wrapped it with cloth again. “Quite a mouthful,” she added, under her breath.
“The titles are quite troublesome, aren’t they?”
Nill laughed. “And redundant!” She strode toward the foyer, where the staircase led upstairs.
“Well, when you live in a land ruled by an immortal, you have time to be redundant I suppose,” Aralim said.
“True!” Nill exclaimed. She disappeared into the corridor at the top of the steps and reappeared a moment later. “Lead the way.”
They set out through the bustling streets of the city. A tall, grey-haired woman was selling river eels at the intersection of West Corid Avenue and the market stalls of Quanao Street. They passed a shirtless man following four goats through the road, then were solicited by a group of street urchins looking for hand-outs. Aralim kept his coin-purse closed, though Nill flipped them a few coins through the air. Aralim had to wonder how she had acquired a pouch full of iron coins.
Master Wood-crafter Parna’el had a workshop where Quanao eventually turned and joined with Iron Way. A nobleman was leaving at that moment—perhaps one of the Selected that Aralim did not know; he was trailed by a number of servants and a mistress wearing little more than lace. Nill, despite being from a more reserved culture, greeted them amiably and bid them good day. Then, Aralim and his friend entered the workshop.
Parna’s workspace was finely balanced on the line between chaos and efficiency. Tools and pieces of woodworking littered every table, seemingly lost amid the clutter. To Parna’s experienced hands—and those of his three apprentices—everything was in the right place. Aralim had asked Parna for work twice before and had not been disappointed by the staves he made for Miresh and Hayan.
“Ah, Master Aralim,” Parna said, spreading his hands, “and guest! It is good that you are here. The work is nearly complete.”
Aralim had not requested further work—he had not visited the crafter’s shop since before his journey to Tal’lashar. He raised an eyebrow and followed Parna curiously. The woodworker brought Aralim to one of the only tables that was clear of disarray. A wooden rod was already laid out here, as though Parna had been working on it just before the visit from the recent departed noble.
The short, dark-skinned man smiled and spread a hand toward his project. “Please, look it over. It is quite different than our last work for you.”
Aralim leaned over the table to examine it. The staff consisted of seven thin strands of wood, like branches of a tree or vines. They swirled around the length of the staff so that each did a full circle before reaching the same position at the top of the pole. The middle of the seven was left open, as though the inside of the staff was left empty. Similarly, the centre of the length was incomplete; halfway up the pole were small painted rings, perhaps to indicate a future leather sleeve or a smoothed length of wood for Aralim’s hands. There was no actual lantern yet, nor any wooden loop to support one such as had been the design of his old staff.
Parna held out the staff for Aralim to hold. As Aralim compared its weight, the woodworker explained, “At the Emperor’s request, we have designed a staff that will utilize your old one as well. Unfortunately, we will need your staff to proceed—we should be able to have this to you in a few hours of whenever you decide to part with your current staff. There is no rush, of course.”
“I suppose I can part with it for now,” Aralim said. He spotted Nill poking around another workbench, examining other works-in-progress, before turning back to the tradesman. “You’ve truly outdone yourself this time, Master Parna’el.”
“I’m honoured to complete such a prestigious project,” Parna said, bowing at the waist. “I only hope that this staff does not meet such a fiery end.”
“As do I,” Aralim said, and handed over his old burned stick. He had carried it thousands of miles, it seemed, from the Ehdburn Coast to the sandy shore of the Shrinking Sea. He was intrigued to see how Parna would incorporate this treasured item into the nearly completed new staff.
Parna graciously accepted the damaged goods. “You are, of course, welcome to observe if you wish—though I understand how attached we can become to hand-crafted gifts such as these. If it would cause you great grief to see further damage befall your staff, I would suggest continuing with your business today. We can bring the staff to your estate as soon as it is complete.”
“It’s no bother,” Aralim told him, “but I do have a tendency to talk, and I wouldn’t want to distract your work.”
So, to pass the time, Aralim and Nill walked down the waterfront to visit that quaint tea patio where Aralim had met with Wella Hanez. It took nearly an hour of navigating Rema’s eclectically populated streets to reach the location, but the vines and braziers seemed to set a different tone. Raised above the streets, the second-floor dining deck was like its own tranquil world.
Nill was delighted. After they ordered tea from a moustachioed servant, she peppered Aralim with her usual bantered questions. The most significant seemed to be: “Have you thought any more about future destinations? Is there anywhere you’d like to go?”
“Likely east,” Aralim answered. Of course, most of the world that Numa’nakres knew was to the east. “I told Carrak I’d consider somewhere with more water this time. I will learn about the Path regardless of where I go.” He paused as the servant returned with their teas—Excellent service, Aralim thought. “Do you think you’ll come?”
Nill blinked. “Oh, there was doubt about that?” she asked, grinning. “I left Tal’lashar to explore Gethra with you. Rema is just one stop on the way.”
Aralim smiled. “Then I’m sorry I’m delaying the departure so long. Rema needs a bit of help at the moment,” he said. Gangs of Rema notwithstanding, Aralim was also still curious about Rattar’s letter; the Grand Mage had told him to seek out the “prisoner of the Opal Valley,” if he needed to know more about the reasons behind Rattar’s absence. The place sounded familiar, but Aralim didn’t know it. In short, Aralim didn’t expect to leave Numa’nakres anytime soon.
“Not at all. I have been enjoying getting to know more of the city. I’m really happy about that map,” Nill replied, beaming.
“You worked hard on it and it shows. So, as a newcomer, what do you think of Rema?”
Nill sipped her tea, but her nose and cheeks grew rosier and she lowered it quickly. “It’s a beautiful city. When we stopped in Hawsi, I was worried. It was just a dirty little spot stuck between ocean and jungle. But Rema… it’s bigger than some Raderan cities but still in the rainforest. You can see the tribal roots in some aspects of the culture, and yet that culture is as developed as my home.”
Aralim nodded. “But from what I saw, your home seemed to rely less heavily on magic.”
“What do you mean? There are plenty of magicians in Tal’lashar. I mean, there are no gods ruling state, but there is a guild,” Nill explained.
“I don’t doubt it,” Aralim said, “but in Rema, it seems magicians are involved in every industry. If Numa’nakres is known for its iron, I’m certain mages help even there.”
Nill ran a hand through her hair. “I suppose so, now that I think of it. Rema does connect a larger region and—with an Order of Magicians attached to the government—it probably funnels those with the gift to Rema.”
“It’s also attractive to those that can use their powers for profit, as they can turn their skills into a seat on the Third Court,” Aralim said. He had seen that happen several times.
“There are a few magician Quebs, so there’s one similarity at least.”
Aralim sipped his herbal tea and smiled. He loved the local teas of Numa’nakres. In some ways they reminded him of his home. “I wonder where Miresh will end up, after her training concludes…”
“Probably training elsewhere,” Nill said, laughing. “Even if she wasn’t walking the Path, it seems wizards never cease their studies.”
She certainly has the time, Aralim thought. They drank their tea quietly for a moment. Someone moving a wagon through the street below got into a shouting match with a river fisherman.
Once the noise subsided, Nill asked, “What’s the most magical thing you’ve seen in Rema?”
Aralim pursed his lips as he considered it. “Do you mean magical ‘wonderful,’ or just the most powerful act of magic I have seen?”
“Either?” Nill said, tilting her head. Then she nodded decidedly and smiled again. “Both.”
“You’re just making the question harder,” Aralim laughed.
“I’ve seen a lot of things. The most baffling act of magic is likely the Aura, but as far as interesting or wonderful…. Do you know what a kapok tree is?”
“Yes, I assume it’s those tallest ones,” she answered, pointing across the waterfront toward the jungle. “I’ve read a few books on the ecology of the rainforest.”
Aralim nodded. “I’ve often enjoyed them as a metaphor for the Path. Kapok trees grow so large that they are completely unaffected by their surroundings, even when smaller trees begin to grow out of them. But through appropriate study, Rattar has learned to move a Kapok tree to his will.”
“Move it how?” Nill questioned. “Like move it from one place to another?”
“I imagine he could with time,” Aralim said. “He controlled the roots, and had them move like limbs.”
“That must have been uncanny,” Nill said. “I wish I could meet Rattar. He sounds easier to meet with than the Emperor, and more willing to share his experiences. Miresh really looks up to them both.”
Aralim lowered his tea. “Unfortunately, we likely won’t meet Rattar on this visit. Even if he teleported toward us now, we’d likely depart before his arrival. He’d be worth waiting for though.”
“I understand he also went east,” Nill commented. “Seems like something your Path might lead to—a chance meeting with a friend a world away.” She winked at him again.
“That does seem to happen to me quite a bit,” Aralim said, though he thought: Rattar is needed at Tag’na’s side, not a world away.
Later that evening, Master Parna’el arrived at the estate as promised. He showed Aralim his concluded work—a smoothed hand grip, seemingly a joining and unjoining of the separate wooden tendrils. Aside from that, it seemed little had changed, until Master Parna turned the staff in Aralim’s hands and nodded to the dark rod that now occupied the core, between the seven wooden lengths. Aralim recognized it as the burnt top of his old staff, and at the bottom hole of the new staff was wood from the base of his old one.
“This is incredible,” Aralim assured the woodworker. Though he knew the handhold likely blocked a full passage through the centre of the staff, it gave the illusion that this new staff was just vines coiled around and concealing his previous one.
Parna bowed politely and then explained, “A lantern has been commissioned from a metal worker, though it is not yet finished. They will also provide metal caps for the base, to prevent the varnish from being broken away by extended use. If you’re walking across continents, you don’t want to erode away your old staff’s remnants.”
“Certainly,” Aralim replied. “I look forward to putting it to use.” He embraced hands with Master Parna, thanked him, and bid him have a relaxing evening after his hard work. Then he went to show Miresh.