Tormund,
Ayleah, and Telon headed down the main shore road, through large
cedar trees, toward the namesake feature of Silver Cove. The road was
gravelly, with larger stones poking through here and there, smoothed
by years of traffic. The land to either side rolled peacefully, a
carpet of moss and rock outcroppings extending under the protective
canopy of the towering trees. Ahead, Ayleah could see the waves of
the lake as they danced around the docks and riggings of the town
port in the distance. Eventually they were out on the rocks, gently
sloping down toward the beach. Ayleah liked it out here, but it was
exhilarating. Out beyond the cover of the trees, on bare rock that
slanted against the sky and distant horizon. It was like being on a
boat near the shore, though not. There was no rocking, but the waves
were ever present- a tremendous crash and roar behind the stable
ground. Before long though, the rocks sloped upward again in narrow
ledges and they turned away from the port road toward the trees
again. Up a long flight of stairs cut into the sagging bank, and
Tormund led the other two to a parking area in one of the groves
along a forest street.
“I'll
be taking a route straight across the point to Pebble Cove, if the
two of you want to catch a ride” he said, unlocking his personal
hauler. “From there at least you'll be a little closer to the
mainland, if that's where you're headed.” He paused and looked at
Ayleah for a moment, his eyes sincere. Telon responded. “We'd be
glad of it, thank you.” He then turned and motioned Ayleah to
follow him.
Telon
led her a short distance off to where the cedar grove overlooked the
rocks and water. He gazed out at the lake for a moment silently
before calling her attention. “Should you still desire to come with
me, this may be the last time you see these waters for quite a long
while. I want you to listen to them, and think on your decision one
last time before you commit to leaving this place.”
Ayleah
listened to his words, and nodded to show she had heard. She turned
to face the lake. Its deep green-blue waters undulated, unceasingly.
The waves were without form, disrupted by hidden rocks and other
secrets of that surface. The mountains on the other shore spoke to
her, saying that they would hold that water and its secrets as they
always had until she returned. The shoreline, stretching out in a
rough fringe of evergreen against the open blue above and below, held
the magic and the safety of home. Ayleah closed her eyes and breathed
in the sight of the cedar fringes and the rushing sound of the waves.
She held the breath for a moment, and let it out into the fresh
lakeside air. Thoughts of all her explorations came to her. All the
magic and wonder she had discovered in this little corner of the
world was hers to hold and use wherever she might go. Every place
would hold a special magic of its own, but hers was unique, because
it came from this special place. Turning to her new teacher, she
spoke with confidence in her voice. “I'm ready, let's go.”
Back at
the hauler, Tormund packed their minimal luggage into a storage
compartment in the back of the vehicle, and they drove out of the
village of Silver Cove, away from the lake. The inland road took them
up out of the village cedar groves and into a broader, more open
forest. Clumps of smaller trees made dense patches here and there
where larger ones had fallen and left a brief mossy meadow. To their
right, a prominent rocky ridge raised its shoulder and shuttled them
into a wedge in the land. On its upper slopes, foresters went about
their business, navigating the steep side paths for work with lumber
or minerals, or patrolling in the wilder areas of woods. Tall thick
pines and oaks towered above their course, and large boulders or
cairns marked the side of the woodland road.
As the
ridge gave way to the flatter uplands of the peninsula, Ayleah lost
track of which direction they were going. The road turned this way
and that, but there was no shoreline with which to orient oneself.
She liked watching the mysterious deep woods go past though.
Sometimes they were filled with light, and delicate fluttery things
danced above little mossy bedrock ridges in groves of twisted thorny
trees. Other times the undergrowth was impenetrable and dark, curving
high above their heads to either side. These places felt ominous,
though Ayleah reasoned they must be of the same family as the rest of
the forest, just a different part. Still, she was glad when they were
through the dark tangles and the forest opened up once more. There
were more species of tree beside the path than Ayleah was used to
seeing back in the village, or even the township. Back in Silver
Cove, most trees were of a certain width, and were primarily cedars
and hemlocks. The rare occasion would find a birch or special bush on
the shore, but the forests of her childhood were a special case.
These woods on the road were more like the far back woods behind the
town that she had hardly ever visited. Oaks and maples grew here,
some reaching gigantic size, out of proportion from the rest of the
woods around. These giants attracted settlers, and off the road, side
paths led to these hamlet glens. Older evidence was imprinted in the
landscape; the giant trees only one sign of previous management of
the land by cities. Massive rock walls, now tumbled, and curious flat
parts of the forest floor, were also signs that this had not always
been the forest it was now.
Ayleah
had learned of the land's history in her classes at the college. She
had heard of vast open farmlands, and how where she lived was not
like much of the world around. She had never been to a city, but had
seen pictures of their grand walls. They were like massive boxes that
almost touched the sky. Within their sturdy walls and safeguarded
doors, an entire large township could thrive. Most cities owned a
plot of the land surrounding them, and would sponsor any villages
that wanted to settle on that land. By practice though, most people
would rather live inside the city than next to it. Ayleah had always
wanted to see those strange wastelands, the city fields. It was odd
to think that this whole peninsula might have been like that at one
point in time.
A
particularly large bump in the road, reminded Ayleah that she was in
a repulsor-hauler riding through a forest still near her youth, not
yet in some far off city. The trees were turning back to evergreen,
and the road slanted downwards; she knew they must be nearing the
other shore. The peninsula stuck out like a flat thumb into the
vastness of the Lake, corralling Kings Bay and the lands managed by
their Park authority. Silver Cove was on the outer side of the thumb,
a dimple in the lakeside next to the College of the Silver Shore
(with its own private port). Tormund had driven them all the way east
across the point to Pebble Cove, a small port on the calm waters of
Kings Bay. As they entered the township, Ayleah noted the surrounding
terrain. Pebble Cove opened from a gentler cleft in the land than her
hometown. A wide road led around through the upper forest, descending
from the hill to the south and leading out along the shore to the
north. Shops and residences lined the main street, and rooflines
dotted the forest all the way toward the water. There was a somewhat
gloomier air here than at Silver Cove, but there were plenty of signs
that this was the happy vacation home of many a local resident. The
beach at the port was muddy, and long docks were used to access the
boats. Ayleah much preferred the tumbled rocks of Silver Shores, even
if they were dangerous sometimes.
Tormund
drove up to a parking lot near the edge of the land. He narrowed his
eyes slightly as they passed a particularly dingy fishing camp. “I
want you taking good care of her Telon,” he said, “there're
places out there that make Pebble Cove look quaint and comforting.”
The
scholar regarded the muddy roadway, and then the towering pines as
they stopped and the engine whined down. “Have no worry, good
marshal. Our ways will not take us to those places.” Tormund
resigned himself to be satisfied with this statement. The hauler
settled onto its platform, and the three of them stepped out onto the
pine-needled ground.
Getting
her pack out of the storage compartment, Ayleah said eagerly: “I'm
not afraid; Telon's going to teach me how to do magic!”
“Oh?”
Tormund looked amused.
Telon
looked at Ayleah, “Well, I didn't say exactly that. I said the way
in which knowledge can transform your life is like
magic. Our specialty at Queen City is homestead and property
management, though I do know a bit about geologic metallurgy as
well.”
“More depth than I've ever bothered to wrap my head around for
sure.” Tormund said. “You're going to have a great time Ayleah.
Be careful, but make some good stories to tell me when you get back.
You'll get your head filled with all sorts of useful things I'm
sure.”
Ayleah grinned and hugged him. “Thanks Tormund. I'm sure I will.”
She released him, and the marshal shook Telon's hand. Their eyes met
and they wished each other favor on their respective travels. Then
Tormund turned and descended the stairs down to the beach, a fine
figure heading for the docks with his marshal's badge as a sign of
passage. He would hire a ferry to take him across the bay to the
parklands. There he would spend the night, and in the morning argue
the case for their village.
