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26 Blooming: Ruqayyah, Laylah and Darra made arrangements for lodging at "Wine of the Sun," an inn not too far from Fatimah's home. Laylah and Darra found a relatively quiet place outside town to meditate.
27 Blooming: Laylah meditated again shortly after dawn, asking for guidance. She passed out, and received a vision: she was following a lynx-like cat [caracal] across the desert, then found herself surrounded by sand-colored housecats. The scene shifted to a bearded man, who lay unconscious in the desert. She awoke before she could reach him. Darra helped her back to the inn to rest.
Meanwhile, in Tel Yuli's bazaar, Ruqayyah was attracted to an armed escort. Upon approaching, she recognized the town's co-governor, Hajaj, who was examining hawks at a booth. His own hawk, carried by a guard, wore no hood, and turned to look right at Ruqayyah. She found a clear spot nearby, danced briefly, then announced where she would be performing that night.
Ruqayyah found Laylah and Darra at the inn, and was told about Laylah's vision. They discussed her earlier visions and what they should do next. Laylah wants to go to the Cat Tribe to warn them; Ruqayyah is concerned, but confused about what the Cat have to do with a conflict between the Camel and Horse. It was decided to seek out any Cat who may be in Tel Yuli, and to find a caravan headed towards that tribe's lands.
Ruqayyah decided to try attracting her fellow tribesmen by dancing in the bazaar again. This time, she showed off her cat's eyes and ears, and shifted into caracal form at the end. This use of magic in public, without warning bystanders, earned her a lecture by some passing town guards.
While performing at the inn that evening, Ruqayyah recognized one of the co-governor's guards in the crowd. He was part of an escort for a tall, thin, dark man in a dark blue robe.
28 Blooming: Fatimah recommended the caravan-master Tashfin al-Dukash, the leader of a group of Jackal Tribe merchants who was usually willing to take travelers for a passage fee (which could be paid in labor, if the traveler had useful skills).
The three women decided to spend part of the day singing in the marketplace, to earn some coins while waiting for new inspiration for their mission. Laylah gave a passing beggar-woman some coppers. The beggar noticed Ruqayyah's cat eyes, and began quizzing her about her origins. The addle-brained old Desert Woman eventually left, confused about why a Duz-in-training would wander so far from her home and her teacher.
Later in the day, they saw the tall, dark man from the previous night (now in white robes) in the crowd listening to their songs. He gave them a few silvers, and offered to buy them a nice, cool lunch. The stranger, who called himself Al-Zaki, was the darkest Desert Man any of them had seen. He explained that he was curious about their songs, some of which were in languages he did not know [Daelic and Sivian]. Darra and Laylah explained that they were from north of the Great Sea. Al-Zaki evaded many of their questions about himself and his status, saying only that he was a traveler, a scholar, and a dabbler in magic (but not a Duz), that he was a member of no tribe, and that he had an honor guard because he was visiting his friend, the co-governor Hajaj. He had attended their performance at the inn in order to give a report to Hajaj, who had noticed Ruqayyah's exhibition in the bazaar.
Because Al-Zaki had contact with the co-governor, Laylah decided to tell him about her visions and mission. He was rather surprised at her story, but promised to inform Hajaj at the first opportunity. Hajaj, being a Duz, would be better able to pass judgment on their story.
Before Al-Zaki left, Darra showed him a slip of paper she had found in Taroq's books, asking if he could enlighten her about the symbol drawn on it. He could not, but Laylah thought it looked like an incomplete version of the circular symbol on the Visalan coat of arms.
29 Blooming: The women sought out Tashfin's caravan, and learned that it would be leaving town in five days, so they would need to make arrangements soon if they wished to go. Ruqayyah asked for news of the Cat Tribe, and was told that a young woman named Mefira had accompanied the caravan to Tel Yuli, but had not been seen since their arrival.
They decided to try singing in the marketplace again. While singing, a large hawk landed near them--it was Hajaj's bird. When Laylah offered it an arm, it came to her. A message was tied to its leg:
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She replied as instructed, then the three of them attempted to resume their busking. They had attracted quite a crowd--many people had recognized the co-governor's hawk.
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© 1999 Timothy E. Emrick. | This page last revised 8/5/99; time@neu.edu