*Note: I was v. tired when I wrote this. 'Tain't my best writing...*
One handed his lance to one of the others, and dismounted with an unruffled grace, as if he could not feel the blasting winds that dashed his cassock about his thin form. He politely removed his mask to address the two women, and the face he revealed seemed one of refined manners. Aelwys was no longer surprised to see a face clean-shaven as his was, as this had become the fashion of the chieftains in recent years. It served all the better to see that his face was pressed into a smooth, serene expression from which his eyes regarded them almost hungrily. As with his two companions, his thin blond hair worn in Empirical fashion identified him as an Easterner.
“Wynclaetyrch!” he said loudly to be heard over the wind. Aelwys was offended for a moment that he should greet them in the Wygars' tongue, and had half a mind to answer him in Common before she remembered that they had dressed as Wygars.
“Wyndaecht,” Mother quickly answered, “How can two humble maids be of service?”
“We are but humble priests of the Oracle,” he said in a voice that drowned the howling wind, “and we ask only that you point us in the right path! We seek a band of pilgrims from the southern countries, who we fear have lost their way. We last saw them on this road headed toward Llynceth. Perhaps you have seen our friends?”
“A traveler here and there,” Mother said, “but none foreign to this land, and never more than one or two at a time. I fear that today we cannot be of help.”
“No matter,” said the priest with a smile, “We will continue our search along this road until they are found. Though,” he bowed his head slightly, “We have been riding hard since early this morning, and both we and our horses ride with parched throats. Have your Wygar kin a camp near here?”
“They certainly have,” Mother replied with a smile, “in the mountain valley perhaps six miles southward you will find a sizable encampment, and certainly they will have water to spare.”
The priests eyes met Mother's, and for a tense moment it seemed a shadow passed across his face. As quickly as it had come, though, it was gone, and his smiler grew wider and his face grew tauter in mock embarrassment, saying,
“Forgive us, dear woman, but surely you know we are strangers in this country, sent to minister to the people of Hammon – and your own tribesmen, of course! – from the Oracle's homeland, far from here. How may we find this valley?”
“Of course,” Mother said, “Forgive my rudeness. Along the road, heading back toward Hammon, you will find a small path leading southward – you couldn't have passed it more than ten minutes ago. Follow this path and it will lead you to the mountain pass.”
The priest bowed, his white robe billowing wildly in the wind, and replaced his mask, mounting his horse again.
“Many thanks,” he bellowed over the din of the gust, and the small party of soldier-priests returned the way they came.
Mother began to walk again, noticeably faster. Aelwys followed her, but soon found it difficult to keep pace with Mother's suddenly quite long strides. Within a few moments, the three men were out of sight. Mother took Aelwys by the hand and began to stray from the path, leading her towards the sea, off the sandy road and across black, craggy rocks until they reached the beach. Ahead, the road began to rise up a rocky cliff side to which the beach ran parallel, the smooth sands punctured greatly by extensions of the smoothed stone formations. Along this new path they began to run, Mother not saying a word nor allowing Aelwys to rest. They ran heedless of the waves that began to lap at their feet and soak their boots, heedless of the rocks that tore at their robes and of the rain that began again to fall. The sudden urgency frightened Aelwys, and she wondered desperately what had happened when they had met the priest that had affected Mother so. Aelwys' lungs burned and her cloak began to seep water into her clothes and down her back, miserably throwing one sodden foot in front of the other to follow Mother.
Suddenly, Mother seemed to disappear into the rock of the cliff, and on instinct Aelwys managed to follow her. Again they were within a cave, still wet with rain and sweat, and they collapsed to their knees, heaving for breath. Their belongings were discarded close to the mouth of the cave, and there were surely never two women so miserable in all of the chieftains' land since they separated from the Wygars, but at least they were safe from the weather that howled without. After a few minutes they had caught their breath, more or less, and they began to take stock of their surroundings. The cavern was sizable, and they could not see the back of it, while the entrance was a squat, natural portal of stone. The cave ceiling was too shallow for them to stand up, but the expanse was sufficiently comfortable and sandy, and, most of all, dry.
Mother removed her cloak and hood, and removed Aelwys', and placed them beside her bag. She then picked up her bag and removed from it a small wooden vessel, which she unstopped. A bitter smell assaulted Aelwy's nostrils, and she wrinkled her nose in disgust. Mother laughed and poured a small amount on the lining of their cloaks, and then pressed the lining against the top of the cave mouth, effectively blocking the portal with their cloaks and plunging them into darkness. The noise of the wind was also greatly reduced, and after a moment, there came a hiss and another unnatural fire was lit and the end of another rod. Soon there was a fire going, and they greatly enjoyed its warmth as they began to dry off.
“Aelwys,” said Mother, “We can no longer travel by day.” Aelwys did not like this news at all. The stormy skies and berating winds were hard enough to bear with the sun high; how were they to walk that path in the darkness and heightened cold?
“Why?” She asked, “What did the priest say to threaten us?”
“Every word he said,” replied Mother. “He is not looking for pilgrims; he is looking for us! Us and the others who fled Hammon last night. Even the Sovereign's men know the road to Llyceth well. They have used it frequently since they sanctified their Shrine at that place. They know that there is a river only a few miles ahead of where we stood, if they wanted so badly to drink and water their horses.” Aelwys sat for a moment as she comprehended what Mother was telling her.
“There is no Wygar camp near here, then?” she asked. Mother shook her head.
“Last night, before I came to find you at the beach, one of the Wygars was caught helping one of the last of us out of the city. The only Wygar camp near here was the one in the hills outside the city. We are fortunate: none but the Wygars themselves know where the other clans make camp, and I learned from them that we can expect to find no camps this far east, which the soldier-priests certainly don't know. We may have fooled them for a few hours, but surely they will be back, and they will not be so polite when they find us, I think.”
