The Beginning (23 page)

***

The first few months of school proved rather dull despite Jahrra’s enthusiasm, but once it was full autumn and Sobledthe drew ever nearer, the pace of life picked up a bit. Many of the children who were finally old enough to go to the festival in Lensterans on their own were bustling with excitement. All Jahrra could think about, however, was the famous scavenger hunt, something she’d been looking forward to since she’d learned of its existence a few years ago.

The elders planned two hunts, one before sunset and one after. The pre-dusk contest was for the children, and in Jahrra’s opinion, a rather boring and unchallenging event. The clues were easy and it all took place within town. The advanced hunt was much more appealing; what with its mind-boggling riddle clues and the mere fact that it took place after sunset, its boundaries including the farmland surrounding the town. The second contest was a
real
challenge, and Jahrra would compete in nothing less.

“Our team will win the scavenger hunt for sure!” an older boy said one day at school.

Jahrra’s head shot up and her skin tingled. She strained her ears to pick up any details she could as she listened from her favorite perch in the oak tree on the edge of the schoolyard.

“No way! We’re still young enough to enter the children’s scavenger hunt. There’s no way we’ll lose to a bunch of kids!” another boy sniggered. “We won’t stand a chance if we enter the real hunt.”

Jahrra was simply dripping with anticipation. The only problem was, she was a little on the young side herself. Mostly adults took part in the nighttime hunt with anyone under the age of seventeen limited to the children’s challenge.
That’s alright
, she told herself with a degree of confidence,
we’ll be in costume. Besides, Scede and Pahrdh look old enough.
She shivered with delight. No one would ever suspect them. Jahrra tried to distract herself by counting down the days before she would be taking part in the sights and sounds of the Fall Festival, but there was too much talk and anticipation buzzing around the schoolyard and around town that it was hard to concentrate on anything else.

As the fall progressed and the days grew closer to the Harvest Festival, the stories of the season became more and more tantalizing. The very week before Sobledthe, Jahrra, Gieaun and Scede were stretched out on top of their granite slab when they overheard more students talking of the festival.

“Last year, they sacrificed a dozen live snakes!”

It was one of Eydeth’s closest friends that spoke, but Jahrra remained rigid.

“And the year before that someone threw his friend into the fire, claiming he was overtaken by evil spirits!”

“No way!” answered someone in his small audience, obviously eager to hear more horror stories.

Jahrra sniggered mentally. Many of the Resai and upper class families frowned upon Sobledthe, calling it an ancient, unruly holiday that only the “barbaric lower class Nesnans” celebrated. But Jahrra was sure Eydeth would be there and perhaps even his witch of a sister.

During the past few weeks, she’d seen Eydeth acting extra-secretive and had even heard him say “festival” and “plan” a few times when he thought she wasn’t listening. Thanks to Yaraa’s exercises meant to enhance one’s sense of hearing by closing one’s eyes and focusing on specific voice tones, she was able to pick up on much of what Eydeth was saying behind her back.  Unfortunately, this didn’t always result in positive news.
Great
, she thought miserably after hearing her enemy’s secret conversations,
he’s going to find a way to ruin it for us!

Jahrra didn’t let it get her down, however. She had much to do before she could begin enjoying the festive holiday. On the weekends, Jahrra, Gieaun and Scede had spent most of their time in the Black Swamp listening to Denaeh’s bewitching stories and working on their costumes. Jahrra had always hoped Denaeh would tell them more about the story of the prophecy, but she never mentioned it, not since that day a few years ago. Instead, Jahrra just tried to enjoy this year’s tale, one about a fearful boarlaque terrorizing the people of northern Felldreim, while completing her costume. The three friends decided on animal costumes that were traditionally associated with the ancient tales Denaeh and Hroombra told. Jahrra was going to be a black raven, Gieaun a white horse, and Scede a red boar. The costumes were greatly detailed and the three friends were very happy with the results of their hard work.

Finally, after many weeks of anticipation, costume-making and story-sharing, the Harvest Festival was here. The schoolhouse took its customary three day holiday in order to accommodate the traditional days of harvest, and many shops closed as they got ready for the big holiday. On the night before Sobledthe Eve, Jahrra found herself reluctant to sleep. When she finally did drift off, her dreams were awash with the colors and sounds of the amazing Sobledthe celebrations that took place after dark.

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Chapter Ten
-

The Fall Festival

“Hey Jahrra! Are you ready to go?” Scede shouted from outside the Castle Guard Ruin.

He didn’t have to worry, however, for Jahrra had been up for hours, dressed and waiting for her friends to come and get her. She was beside herself with glee. It was Sobledthe Eve and in just a few hours’ time she would be in Lensterans among the hustle and bustle of the season.

“Jahrra! What are you doing?!” Gieaun bellowed. “If you keep stalling we’ll miss the street plays!”

Jahrra smiled to herself.
Typical, they’re late and I’m the one holding them up.
She jumped up from her bed, hastily braided her long blond hair, and ran to the front door. She waved out at her friends, Gieaun on Aimhe, Scede on Bhun, and Rhudedth and Pahrdh on their own horses.

She turned to Hroombra, still beaming, “Are you sure you don’t want to come for awhile?”

She’d hoped Hroombra would explain some of the symbols the festival participants would be displaying in the ceremony, but he had declined to join them.

The old dragon looked up over his specially made spectacles, a sight that always made Jahrra grin, and smiled at her. “No, young Jahrra, I’m afraid I’ll only delay you. You would miss the scavenger hunt, and that would be criminal.”

His mouth curled at the edges and his eyes twinkled. “Besides,” he added, “it would be no fun with me hanging around. You go and enjoy the festival.”

“Alright, but are you sure you still want me to go?” Jahrra teased.

She’d been running off to dangerous places so often of late that she felt guilty when Hroombra told her she could go to the festival with her friends without supervision.
If only you knew where I’ve been without your permission
, she thought ruefully. Jahrra dashed these thoughts from her mind; no level of guilt was going to keep her from the Sobledthe festival this evening.

“Oh, yes, I’m sure,” he said. “Remember, this isn’t just a vacation. I expect you to learn something, so be sure to pay attention. I’m going to test you when you get back.”

Hroombra’s eyes had wandered back down to his manuscripts as he spoke, and Jahrra’s smile suddenly vanished. She stared blankly at him, but just as she was about to protest, his eyes shot up and gleamed at her.

“I’m only teasing,” he insisted. “Now go. Your friends are waiting.”

Jahrra’s face broke out into a wide smile and with no further delay she shot out the door.

“Finally!” Scede said in a mock-exaggerated tone.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Jahrra breathed. “What took
you
so long to get here?”

“Gieaun slept in,” Scede sniffed.

“I did not! You couldn’t find part of your costume!”

Before the two could start arguing, Jahrra cut in, “Don’t worry, we have plenty of time, it’s not even noon yet! If we ride like we mean it, we’ll get there just before sunset.”

“As long as we get there early enough to register for the advanced scavenger hunt,” Pahrdh said, his face taking on a worried look.

Jahrra had badgered all of them into agreeing with her about partaking in the later challenge. Although Scede and Pahrdh had liked the idea, they were afraid the judges wouldn’t let them enter.

“You have to be seventeen!” Scede told her. “I’m barely sixteen.”

“What if I sign us up?” Pahrdh suggested.

He’d been seventeen for a few months already. “And besides, Scede looks seventeen. If Scede and I sign us up and you girls keep your masks on, we should be able to pull it off.”

Jahrra had grinned from ear to ear. Gieaun, naturally, groaned and rolled her eyes. “Oh come on! Let’s just do the children’s scavenger hunt! Jahrra, I don’t know why you always have to pick the hardest challenge presented to you!”

Rhudedth had agreed with Gieaun, but she wasn’t nearly as vocal about it. She hadn’t seen the point, for it was three against two. They were going to compete against the adults in the after dark scavenger hunt whether she liked it or not, and there was nothing that either she or the huffing and glaring Gieaun could do about it. Sometimes, Jahrra thought, it was good that Rhudedth had a brother, and not a sister.

Phrym greeted his master impatiently as she eventually made it to his stable. He was already saddled and ready to go, the black raven costume secured safely in his saddlebags. As Jahrra climbed into the saddle, Gieaun tried one last time to change everyone’s minds.

“You know,” she said, “if we hurried we could still make it in time for the other scavenger hunt.”

Scede rolled his eyes. “Gieaun! Give it a rest. After everything we’ve been through with Jahrra you can’t possibly be afraid of a little scavenger hunt after dark!”

Gieaun scowled at her brother. Rhudedth gave her a sympathetic glance but refrained from backing her up. She wouldn’t dare admit it aloud, but after having some time to think about it, the idea of traipsing around the festive town after dark sounded quite thrilling. Gieaun huffed her irritation and resigned herself to pouting.

“Let’s get moving or we’ll never make it in time for either scavenger hunt,” Scede said irritably, kicking Bhun into a quick trot.

The five friends headed due south across the fields, all in a flurry of excitement and anticipation. As they moved through the autumn countryside, Jahrra took note of the fields littered with yellow cubes of hay and ripening stalks of corn. Small clusters of trees appeared along the road and disappeared as they passed, but the long shadows they cast stayed with them along the way.

A few hours after leaving the Great Sloping Hill behind, they spotted the broad, shimmering ribbon of the Oorn River in the distance. Noticing that their destination was within sight, Jahrra and her friends brought their horses into a quick canter and were soon crossing the traffic bridge that carried the road into town. The hollow thumping sound of the horses’ hooves fell into rhythm with the slow churning of the sluggish river and the distant humming of the city of Lensterans. Jahrra tried to remember everything she’d seen and heard since her last trip here with Gieaun and Scede as they drew closer to the center of the great village.

Lensterans was a larger place than Aldehren, and sat in the very middle of a dramatic landscape. To the east the Elornn Range towered above the Oorn Plain and curled around the flat land like a giant, sleeping dragon. To the north the trees of the Wreing Florenn loomed like a dark army of unkempt soldiers creeping up the Sloping Hill in the late afternoon light.

Most of the houses they passed on the outskirts of town where small and roughly square or shaped like large beehives painted white. The nearer they got to the heart of the small city, the more crowded the structures became, like hunched, curious onlookers standing around a scene of interest. Crude wind chimes made of wood, bone and bits of metal hung from the crooked porches of many a house, clattering and clinking eerily as they announced an invisible breeze. Every now and then they spotted a snoozing dog on the stoop of one of these simple cottages, and more often than not he would open one eye and lazily watch the passersby.

The next dwelling they passed was decorated with an assortment of festive oddities. There was a scarecrow in the front yard and an old, rotten wheelbarrow laboring under the weight of a massive jack-o’-lantern, grinning menacingly at Jahrra and her friends. The scene was made complete with a garland of colorful native corn strung all along the house’s eaves. Jahrra smiled at the sight, her skin tingling delightfully.

The five travelers eventually drew closer to the middle of town, and Jahrra found herself admiring the details surrounding them. Harvest decor spilled off porches and hung from street corners, strapped securely to fences and lamp posts lining the roads. Clusters of dried corn stalks, complete with ears of colorful kernels, were gathered in bunches all throughout the town. Pumpkins, squashes and turnips of every size and color could be found everywhere, either carved in the traditional custom and filled with a lit candle to ward off evil spirits, or piled high and teetering in unstable wagons to be hauled off to some unknown destination.

Cartloads of apples, cherries, apricots, lemons, oranges, and a plethora of berries were being taxied from one end of the settlement to another in order to make the many treats and beverages that would be consumed on this wondrous holiday. The smell of sweet spices and cooking meats mingled with the aroma of crackling oak wood, and for the first time that day, Jahrra realized just how hungry she was.

Children and adults alike were roaming the streets cheerfully, some already in costume, adding their own unique spark to the thriving atmosphere. Gieaun gave a delighted cry when she saw a troupe of actors performing on a street corner and they all paused to watch for awhile. The children they were performing for cheered enthusiastically as they each gave a flamboyant bow.
Best be happy now before the darkness begins
, Jahrra thought with a tenuous smile, thinking of the Deepening Twilight and Denaeh’s terrifying stories.

The actors moved on, and so did the five companions. Despite the crowded streets, the horses were able to push their way forward quite easily. They knew the town center couldn’t be far, for the bustle and activity was increasing as costumed people gently shoved their way forward. Luckily, Jahrra and her friends had the advantage of being much higher off the ground than most and they were able to spot the fountain marking the center of town, its stone basin now bone dry and filled with wood.

“They drain it and remove the tiers for the festival’s bonfire,” Scede explained to Rhudedth and Pahrdh, both of whom had never been to Lensterans for Sobledthe.

Once they arrived at the stables, Jahrra, Gieaun, Scede, Pahrdh and Rhudedth set their horses up for the night and quickly got into their costumes.

“What time is it?” Rhudedth asked.

“We have about fifteen minutes before the first call for the final scavenger hunt. We’d better hurry,” Pahrdh answered breathlessly, the mounting excitement of the evening ringing in his voice.

Once properly clad, the five friends hurriedly made their way to the middle of town. The commotion of the disguised crowd had begun to thicken along with the approaching twilight, and Jahrra could see many groups of older people in bizarre and ornate costumes gathering around the empty fountain.

The friends promptly pulled their masks on, both out of a respect for tradition and out of fear of being considered too young to enter the upcoming challenge.

“Scede, only you and Pahrdh take off your masks when you register us for the hunt,” Jahrra whispered through her raven mask.

“Alright,” Pahrdh answered from behind a bear’s grimacing face. “But it wouldn’t hurt if the rest of you stood up as tall as you can. Uh, Jahrra, I think you’ll be fine just standing as you are.”

The town elders were gathered at the foot of the fountain, jotting down names on a very long piece of parchment.
Wow!
Jahrra thought as she squinted through the eyeholes of her mask while scanning the large crowd gathered around.
There are that many people signed up? The prize must be a really good one!

To Jahrra’s great relief, the boys had no trouble registering for the event, and only a few minutes later the elders were calling the attention of the crowd. Jahrra peered through her raven mask to get a better look at the three judges. They were wearing long robes in the sacred colors of Sobledthe; scarlet, white and black.

When the crowd finally quieted down, the Nesnan man standing in the middle, the one dressed in black, raised his arms over the crowd and uttered a blessing in a strange dialect. Jahrra could have sworn it sounded like Kruelt, but she couldn’t tell for certain and Hroombra had assured her that no one else in Oescienne spoke it.

All the people bowed their heads, and Jahrra mimicked them, nudging Gieaun and Rhudedth to follow suit. When he was finished, the elder looked up and addressed everyone in the common language, “Good evening, good Sobledthe, and welcome to Lensterans!”

The crowd cheered, and Jahrra and her friends joined in with everyone else.

“The rules to this scavenger hunt are simple: you’ll be given the first clue, and after that you must decipher the riddles on your own. The locations of each of the five clues will lie along the paths that run throughout the city and up to two miles within the outlying fields.

“The clues will not be deliberately hidden in any way; it is up to the group or individual to decide which path he must take. There is no time limit, but once the final prize is found, the fireworks will be set off, and the bonfire and celebration will begin shortly afterwards. All competitors are encouraged to return to town once the signal is given. Now, go out and compete fairly!”

The first set of fireworks was lit and the signal to begin the scavenger hunt exploded as a thousand glittery stars burst into the approaching night. A great bustling and murmuring began as the many throngs of people tore open the envelopes containing the first clue. Scede and Pahrdh did the same and all five friends began to read furiously in the fading light:

My belly paRts the sand as I move,

My back Reflects the sky.

In summeRtime I leave a gRoove,

In winteR, I am satisfied.