Zypheria's Call (A Tanyth Fairport Adventure) by Nathan Lowell
“How does a body know about this wind shift?” she asked, looking up at Frank.
“You mean, how can you tell if he’s not sent the message?”
Tanyth grinned.
He pointed to the flags and pennants flying from the various masts around the harbor. “See how all the flags are pointin’ south?”
She nodded. “That means somethin’?”
“It means the wind’s comin’ from the north. The westerlies come in the spring, blow all summer long. The flags’ll all be pointin’ east most o’ the time. In the fall it’ll shift north’ard again and the wind’s mostly out of the north or nor’east until the followin’ spring.”
“So we’re waitin’ for them flags to swing around when the wind changes?”
“Well, mostly we’re waitin’ for it to change on the north side of the Bight. The shift in wind along the north shore blows warmer air up into the bays up there. Changes the direction of the waves. Between the waves and the wind, the big ice sheets break up and get blown off shore.” He shrugged. “It’ll shift up there first but it’ll get down here sooner or later. When it does, the ships’ll start goin’ north again.”
“What’s the Bight?”
Frank jerked a chin at the open water beyond the piers. “That’s what they call that stretch of ocean—the Bight of Korlay. Big round bay. Takes days to sail across. Flows into the open sea to the east. Got mountains runnin’ right down to the water on the west. North Haven’s on the other side.”
“I see,” she said, and gingerly wrapped her cast around Frank’s offered arm for the stroll back across town.
As they walked away Tanyth noticed that he was trying to hide a smile. “What’s tickled your funny bone this time, Frank Crane?”
He looked down at her and shook his head. “You’re a wonder, you know that?”
She frowned at him. “Hardly a wonder, Frank. I’m just a poor little old lady who’s strayed too far from home.”
Frank snorted. “Well, then come on, old lady. I think we need to get back to the Gate for tea.”
“Tea?” she asked, looking up with concern on her face. “Why? Do you think they’ve run out of ale?”
“No, mum. I just figured a poor old lady like you might not be up to ale at lunch.”
She looked up at his poorly hidden smirk. “I will hit you with this stick,” she said, but hugged his arm to her side.
“Don’t hurt me too badly. I promised Rebecca we’d deliver her trunks to her auntie this afternoon.”
Tanyth leaned her head on his shoulder for a step before looking up at him. “She’s an odd girl. Not at all what I expected.”
Frank glanced down and nodded. “She walks her own road, no question there. Kinda reminds me of somebody else. Can’t think of who off hand.”
Tanyth’s laugh barked and echoed off the buildings. She pulled on his arm. “You know her family?” she asked after a few steps.
“Her family’s had a hand in runnin’ the city about as long as it’s been here. Ole man Marong didn’t take kindly to Becca joinin’ up with the band of gypsies that left here to start over in the woods.” Frank sucked air in through his teeth. “Her aunt’s the kind that wants everybody to get along. Nice enough lady.”
“She’ll keep Rebecca’s secret?”
Frank shrugged. “I s’pect that by the time it leaks out that she’s in town, she’ll be gone again.” He grinned down at her upturned face. “The Broken Gate ain’t exactly included in the social circle that the Marongs would run in.”
“Not top drawer, is it?” she asked.
“Not even in the same dresser.”
She laughed again. “When we get back I need to talk to this Matt fellow.”
“Really? Change your mind about a pack animal?”
She shook her head and lifted the cast. “I need to get this off. I’m tired of dealin’ with it and it’s time.”
Frank looked down at her. “It’s only been, what? Three weeks since you broke it? That’s not nearly enough time to heal.”
She shook her head. “More like four and a half and it’s comin’ off.”
“Now, Tanyth...”
“Don’t you ’now Tanyth’ me, Frank. This bone is healed and I need to get the arm workin’ again a’fore I need it up north.”
He scowled. “That’s not a good idea. Takin’ it off too soon...”
She shook her head. “It’s healed, Frank.”
“Hasn’t been enough time.”
“It’s healed, I tell you.”
He started to object but stopped, his mouth open as if to speak.
“Flies. You’ll wanna close that,” Tanyth said.
“You been sayin’ prayers again?” he asked.
She gave a small shrug. “Somethin’ like that.”
“How can you know—?” His question cut off. “Dreams. You been dreamin’?”
“Yeah. Ever since the first night.”
“You think they’re real?”
She shrugged. “Arm hasn’t hurt for a few days. Itches a bit but not under the skin like it did while it was healin’.”
“It’s still too soon for it to have healed up...unless you did it.”
“I’m no healer.”
Frank snorted.
“I’m not. I know a little bit about herbs and what they can do. That’s all,” she said.
“But you know a broken arm takes longer than a couple weeks to heal. Even for a youngster.”
She shot him a look. “Careful with the ’youngster’ comments, old man.”
He grinned at her. “Sorry.”
She grinned back.
“Still, you know it takes awhile.”
She nodded without answering.
“And you want to take the cast off anyway?”
“Yeah,” she said. “It’s time.”
“’Cause you dreamed it was healed.”
“Yeah.”
“Or you healed it in your dream,” he said after they’d taken a few more steps.
Tanyth scowled up at him. “You keep makin’ these silly claims about me, Frank. I never claimed I healed anybody. Least of all me.”
He hugged her arm to his side and offered a smile of apology. “Never said you did, but ya have to admit...” He paused to look into her eyes. “You have to admit, you don’t know for sure.”
It wasn’t what she expected him to say and the surprise escaped in a laugh. “No,” she said. “I guess I don’t know.”
“Well, there you have it. We’ll just go see Matt when we get back and have him snip that thing off and then we’ll see, huh?” He grinned down at her.
She grinned back at him and hugged his arm once more as they fell into an easy walking rhythm back across the city.
Chapter Fifteen:
Separate Roads
For the next three days Tanyth fell into a lazy pattern of eating and sleeping, lounging around the taproom with Rebecca while Frank tended to the village’s business. Each day saw strength and flexibility returning to her injured arm. One day she accompanied Frank out to make some of the village purchases and delighted in adding several small tokens to the crates of supplies.
On the morning of the fourth day, Frank rose early and put on his traveling clothes. Tanyth watched him pull on his heavy cord trousers, warm tunic, and over it all, a leather vest. He stuffed the rest of his gear into a canvas bag with a clever strap and toggle arrangement that fit neatly under the seat in the wagon.
When he was done, he came to sit on the side of the bed. She reached for his face with her free hand and ran the ball of her thumb across the crows-feet beside his eye, cupping his face in her palm. “Time to go, old man?”
He nodded and started to say something, but stopped.
“Give them all a hug for me when you get back,” she said.
“I will.” He gazed at her for a long moment. She couldn’t read the expression on his face.
She sighed and closed her eyes, seeing the raven’s visions in
He smiled then. Tanyth thought it a sad smile, but it warmed her for all of that. “You’re always welcome in Ravenwood,” he said. “If you ever decide to settle down, I’ll...” He stopped and cleared his throat.
“I’ll remember,” she said and pulled him down for a kiss.
He stood then and gathered his bag, stopping at the door for a look back. “Be careful, old woman.”
“Watch yourself, old man. Blessed be.”
He left the room and she heard the door latch behind him. In the quiet of the morning, she heard his footsteps fade down the hall.
She lay there for a time, staring at the rough boards of the ceiling, watching the growing light of day creep across the splinters and knots, seeing the way the light played over the saw cuts in the wood. When she thought it safe, she rose and dressed. The room echoed with his absence.
“Don’t go getting’ all goopy, old woman,” she muttered to herself, but part of her just laughed at that and got goopy anyway.
She finished dressing and straightening out the covers on the bed. She looked around for something else to do before realizing that she was just wasting time, delaying the moment when she’d leave the room on her own.
She crossed to the small window and peered out at the morning. She looked down into the yard behind the inn and out across the city to the north. The rising sun gilded the edges of rooftops and chimney pots. Smoke from countless fires drifted across the sky but couldn’t obscure the silver edge of the sea beyond. Bubbles and ripples in the windowpane made the view waver and dance but she saw the white seabirds soaring over the rooftops. Occasionally fat pigeons flapped by in pairs or small flocks.
“You could go back with him,” she murmured and rested her forehead on the cool glass, breath from her nose fogging the view. She closed her eyes and felt very tired. The raven nightmare still haunted her and the only clues she had pointed to the north. She opened her eyes again and leaned back from the window to gaze across the roof tops to where the land was so cold, it was still locked in ice. She drew in a breath and blew it out through her nose.
“Moon calf,” she grumbled. The grumbling felt familiar.
Her stomach grumbled back and it made her smile in spite of herself. With a final look to the north, she left the room and headed for breakfast.
In the taproom, she found Rebecca halfway through a bowl of oatmeal at a small table by the hearth. The morning activity was already winding down. The carters and drivers with road ahead had already gone. Those with nothing much to do until their loads were ready hadn’t bothered to rise. Tanyth had seen the pattern often enough to recognize it. She took her customary chair across from Rebecca, who offered a small smile.
“Saw Frank goin’,” she said.
Tanyth nodded, not ready to speak about it.
Rebecca wolfed down the last of her oatmeal and sat back in her chair. “You sure about this, mum?”
Tanyth drew in a breath and blew it out in a sigh.
“All right,” Rebecca said with a small, tight smile. She leaned across and patted Tanyth’s arm. “Just askin’. I go where you go.”
“You wanna go back?” Tanyth asked.
Rebecca’s smile grew. “No, mum. Never been on a ship before. I’m kinda lookin’ forward to it.”
Elly brought them a small pot of tea without having to ask and smiled at her brightly. “Mornin’, mum.”
“Good morning, Elly. Busy morning?”
The young woman gave a careless shrug. “Not so’s you’d notice, mum.” She paused and asked, “You want breakfast this mornin’, mum?”
“Just my oatmeal would be good, my dear.”
“Of course, mum. I’ll be right back.” She left with a bright smile and a flurry of skirts.
Tanyth smiled inwardly and felt tired. “All that cheerfulness so early in the day,” she muttered.
Rebecca laughed quietly. “She likes her job,” she said and leaned in with a conspiratorial whisper. “And she’s sweet on the butcher’s boy.”
Tanyth smiled.
Elly returned with a heavy bowl filled with steaming oatmeal. “Here you go, mum. There’s some dried fruit in it this mornin’. Hope you like it.”
Tanyth’s mouth started to water at the rich, warm smell. “Thank you, Elly. I’m sure I will.”
“You just holler if you need anything, mum.” Elly gave a small curtsy and hurried back to the kitchen, only to return almost immediately with a large teapot. She went from table to table, refilling mugs as she went, smiling and joking with the few customers scattered about.
Tanyth smiled at the young woman’s energy and dug into the oatmeal, almost burning the roof of her mouth on the hot grain.
It didn’t take long for her to work through the bowl and just as she spooned the last bit of cream from the dish, Mabel came out of the kitchen and surveyed the room. She made a slow circuit, speaking with the new faces and greeting the regulars. She ended at Rebecca and Tanyth’s table and helped herself to an empty chair.
“Good morning, mum,” she said with a smile. “Are you well?”
A shadow in the woman’s face made Tanyth pause. “Good mornin’, Mabel. I’m feelin’ quite fit today. Why d’ya ask?”
“Oh, just...you look a bit peaked this morning.”
Tanyth shrugged. “Per’aps a little tired,” she admitted. “At loose ends today, what with Frank gone and the ships not ready.”
Mabel gave a sideways glance at Rebecca then looked at her hands. “Frank’s a good man, ain’t he, mum?”
“Oh, yes. He’s that.”
Rebecca cleared her throat and drained her tea with a sudden toss of the mug. “If you two would ’scuse me?” She rose from the table and grinned at Tanyth. “Need to pick up the room a bit now that you’re movin’ back in.”
Mabel snickered and Tanyth felt her color rise.
Rebecca chuckled as she climbed the stairs and disappeared.
Mabel glanced after her. “She’s somethin’ else, ain’t she?”
“Rebecca? Yeah. Thinks we’re on a grand adventure.”
Mabel shrugged. “Well, you are, aren’t ya?”
Tanyth laughed. “I s’pose so.”
“She been with ya long?”
Tanyth shook her head. “Just a few weeks. She was tired of livin’ at Ravenwood. Wanted to see some other sights.”
“Well, she’s seen Kleesport now.”
Tanyth grinned. “She grew up here. She’s lookin’ forward to North Haven.”
Mabel cocked her head. “She’s from Kleesport? You know who her people are?”
Tanyth nodded. “I do, but it’s not my story to tell.”
Mabel arched an eyebrow at that but nodded and lowered her gaze to where her fingers twisted together on the table. After a few moments she looked up from under lowered lashes. “Can I ask, mum...?”
“Ask what, my dear?”
“Why you didn’t leave with him? With Frank, I mean.” Mabel seemed almost embarrassed to ask, but Tanyth saw the curiosity in the younger woman’s eyes.
“We got different roads to travel. The village needs Frank more’n I do right now.” She offered a helpless shrug.
Mabel seemed scandalized by the revelation. “Really, mum? You two seemed like quite the item. You sure you don’t need ’im?” The last question had a bit of sly grin behind it.
Tanyth smiled back. “Oh, he’s a good ’un to have about, no question.” She paused and sipped her tea, not sure what she should be admitting to the younger woman.
“So? What’s more important than havin’ a good man about, mum?” Mabel seemed perplexed. “I don’t know what I’d do without my Matt.” She paused and looked at Tanyth with narrowed eyes. “You don’t strike me as the spinster type, mum.”
Tanyth sighed and sipped her tea. “I’ve got a son out there somewhere.” She waved her mug in the general direction of the door. “
“Where is he now, mum?”
She shrugged. “Dunno. Never heard from him after that.”
Mabel’s eyes grew large. “Not once? He never wrote home to his mother?”
“Not that I know of.” Tanyth paused for a moment. “I left soon after. Been on the road ever since.”
“Left, mum? Left what?”
“House, home...” Her voice trailed off.
“Husband?” Mabel’s voice almost squeaked.
Tanyth gave a small shrug and took another sip of cooling tea.
Mabel’s look of astonishment cleared in an instant. “Got away, you said.”
Tanyth nodded.
Mabel sat back in her chair, arms hanging limp at her sides. “Whoosh, mum. That’s a story.”
Her exclamation drew a low chuckle out of Tanyth. “You have no idea, my dear. No idea at all.”
Mabel leaned in. “Was he a drunk?”
Tanyth gave another shrug. “No more’n a lot of men. He liked his ale in the evenin’. Sometimes too much. He had a temper, though. Quick to heat and slow to cool. Ale didn’t help that, but it was the temper that drove me away.”
Mabel looked into Tanyth’s eyes and, for once, she didn’t look away. Tanyth didn’t like the look of pity that came into the younger woman’s face, but she accepted it.
“How long ago was this?” Mabel asked.
“Over twenty winters gone.”
Mabel’s eyes got wide again. “And you never went back?”
Tanyth shook her head. “Nothin’ to go back to.”
“What’d you do, mum?”
“I spent that first winter with a woman lived nearby. Holed up in her spare room, doin’ chores and the heavy liftin’ she couldn’t. She started teachin’ me about the herbs and plants. It was interestin’ and she said I had a gift for it. When winter broke, I moved on to another old woman who taught me more. Been going from hearth to hearth ever since. Every new hearth I learned more. They showed me how to use the plants and which plants did what.”
“So now you’re going north,” Mabel said. “What’s up there?”
“Another hearth, I hope. Last of the old healers lives up that way.”