Chương 38: Láthair Maol

When Miriam finally noticed lights in the distance, she could barely see her own feet. The bird had taken longer than she thought, even after she'd decided to put it out of its misery. She had run into two other hostile beasts in the jungle while following Cian's lead - some sort of spiney badger and an amphibian, both around the size of large dogs. Blight had made short work of them.

Still, each distraction had proven costly for time and here she was, trudging gingerly through the dense jungle as darkness covered her.

"Not far now," Cian said.

"You're not even the last one to arrive. You'll probably get there the same time as Maitiú if you hurry."

"How are you keeping up so many fórsa projections at once?" Miriam asked.

"With Eoin, I was under the impression that he was just throwing his mind somewhere else - he wasn't able to split it like I assume you're doing."

"Ah, you caught on to that, huh? Well, from what you tell me of this Eoin fellow, he seems skilled, but I have a few unique advantages most people don't." Cian said, floating beside her again. He seemed to prefer that, even if it made him look like a lazy ghost.

"Maybe focus on getting out of the creepy murder jungle right now though, huh?"

"Hey, you live here," Miriam retorted. The lights were getting closer, and after another thirty minutes of picking through vines and underbrush she emerged into a clearing. Cian's bald spot was like no place she had ever seen. It seemed to be the top of a hill which had been so gentle she hadn't even noticed climbing it. It was an abrupt clearing in the trees above which the gentle hill continued. It looked…

"Just like an old man's bald spot," Miriam said, laughing.

"Yeah, you get it," Cian said. Not far from the jungle was a building that rivaled the palaces of the Andol Empire back home, just nestled lost in this forbidden wilderness. She counted five floors, beginning with starkly bright white stone at the bottom and gradually transitioning to a rich red wood about halfway up. Elaborate stairways wrapped the outside of the walls and to her astonishment she saw a small waterfall running calmly down one. Was it possible that she saw fish jumping up stairs?

Each roof had a long awning which was curved in the middle, which almost made it look to Miriam as if the building itself were smiling at her. Lanterns hung at each corner, illuminating the whole structure like a lighthouse, shadows dancing with the wind from what must be hundreds of silk flags hung from runners on every conceivable corner.

"We call this one Láthair Maol," Cian said.

"It just means 'bald spot' in the old tongue, but it's got a nice ring to it. We got a little more creative naming the others. Well… not that much more creative."

"Others? How many are there?"

"Three all together. Láthair Maol, Domhain and Scoir. We'll get into it, but for now, your friends are waiting." Miriam had to look twice - suddenly Cian's clothes were completely white, his jewelry diamond and platinum.

"Changing your projection?"

"Hmm? Oh, this. I'm not actually a projection here - this is the real me. Anyway, not important. Oh, right, Maitiú did beat you here after all. You can hear them from here." The boy pointed. About fifty yards from where Miriam had emerged from the jungle she saw her companions, huddled around a cozy fire built in a homespun firepit - really just a ring of smooth river rocks. Maitiú was gesturing wildly in Cormac's direction while Róise kept her body between them.

Cormac was shrugging and seemingly doing everything he could to make things worse. She smiled. It was wonderful to see them again. While she'd had Eoin to talk with in the evenings while she was trapped in Solas's basement, she had still felt alone. He hadn't really even been there, after all. Her time on the Liaden had been a welcome reprieve. It reminded her of when she'd had time for friends in her school days, or even later on after her children were grown, playing cards with the catty neighbor wives.

During most of her life her time had been claimed by work or responsibility. The last month on ship was the most carefree she had felt in decades. Her new friends were no small part of that. Miriam bounded up to them and wrapped Róise and Cormac in an embrace - and after some reluctance on his part, Maitiú too.

"I can't believe you're all alive! Where did you wash up? I called for you all on the beach but I saw no sign of anyone else."

"I was on a beach too," Róise said.

"Just me and the wreck of the boat." If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. The other three stared at her.

"What?"

"That's not possible," Maitiú said, his voice still hard with anger at Cormac.

"I was with the wreckage of the boat."

"As was I," Róise said.

"Come on, isn't Cianan's Walk an amazing place?" Cormac said, laughing.

"Such wonders to behold that any rational man couldn't stay mad at being included in the exploration of them!"

"I swear to the gods -" Maitiú began.

"Hold on, hold on," Cian interjected, walking this time towards the group.

"I can explain how the Walk works."

"Wait - who is that?" Róise pointed to another point where the jungle emptied out into Láthair Maol. They saw a figure emerge, barely visible in the dim light. Miriam was astonished that Róise had spotted it. Could pixies see in the dark?

"That's the only other person I've seen here besides Cian."

"Ah," Cian said.

"Hmm. Well, I guess there is no easy way to say this, but that's Sol. He's new. Like literally." The figure spotted them and began to walk towards the fire. Each step was small and careful. He held his arms close to his sides as if he didn't know what to do with them.

"Someone else entered Cianan's Walk the same time we did?" Miriam asked.

"Sort of! Ok, well, this is the Tír, impossible things happen all the time. Might as well just spill the beans before he gets here and it's awkward. Sol is a combination of the Líadan's core gem, a strange purple gem that had remnants of Mind fórsa in it the Líadan absorbed - and the remnants of a bounty hunter named Ultán. They somehow fused together and made a whole new person. Crazy, right?" Cian shrugged, his smile clearly attempting to be disarming.

"What?" Miriam shouted.

"Not the first time something like this has happened," Cormac said, shrugging. Róise smacked the former captain on the back of his head faster than Miriam could see.

"Yes it is, you smug prick!"

"He… does that mean the Mind that was in that gem…" Miriam trailed off.

"Is a part of him, yes. But, he has no memories, really of anything. He remembers being the Líadan - which really didn't have much in the way of memory to start with - but not Ultán or that other Mind. He just has hints, emotions." Cian turned and waved to Sol to hurry up.

"So… he may react to you in ways that even he doesn't understand, but I think it's important we take the time to be gentle with him. He's literally a new person." Cian's expression darkened.

"It's never fair for a new person to have to pay for the sins of their forebears."

"Wait," Maitiú said, raising a hand.

"You're saying the ship… ate Ultán?"

"Kind of, yes." He shrugged.

"Honestly, that makes me feel a little better. I like the ship, and now I don't have to worry about some Fifth Ring bounty hunter coming after us." Miriam's mind raced. Was this Solas resurrected? Miriam had been torn apart and rebuilt in her transition to the Tír from the Realms Above - who was to say that Solas might not find a way to survive through the Reel? She remembered all those weeks she had kept it close to her chest and felt nauseous. In her mind she touched her pool of Blight. Things are different now.

I'm way too powerful now for Solas to control. He'd just end up dead faster.

"Hello," a soft, creaky voice called through the night.

"Can I… sit by the fire with you all?" The man who walked into the firelight looked like Ultán, had he been much younger. He wore Ultán's clothes, which were at this point dirty and torn in ways that should have had disturbing implications for the body inside, but the man seemed whole and unbothered. His hair was a glorious white mane, long and swept down his back, framing a handsome face with a sturdy chin. His eyes were the same white-on-black that Ultán's had been.

The most startling thing about him was that his skin was mapped with whorls of wood patterns and lines of planks. With growing incredulity Miriam realized that if you looked closely enough at his hair, it looked like it was made of sailcloth. She could even see little metal eyelets for rigging.

"Come on in!" Cormac's welcoming voice boomed in the silence that followed the strange man's arrival.

"Sol, was it? A great pleasure to make your acquaintance. Though… it feels like we already know each other well doesn't it?" Sol's first look at Cormac seemed suddenly filled with hostility, his eyes narrow and his lips sneering, but he quickly managed to control himself back to his default blank state.

"Yes. I still feel something of the Captain's Covenant remaining. Also, I think I loathe you intensely."

"I really like this new guy," Maitiú said.

"He's relatable," Róise agreed. Cormac stared, slack-jawed.

"Wounded! Mortally wounded, am I!" Sol turned to Miriam.

"I… you also feel familiar." Miriam tensed.

"Do you remember the Mind that was in my gem that you stole?" The strange wooden man considered quietly for a moment.

"I don't think so. It was… dulled. Not really much there. I feel Ultán's emotions much more strongly I think. But the primary thing I can remember from it was an overwhelming greed. So much so that I can't even bring myself to apologize for stealing your gem." Miriam snorted.

"That was Solas, all right."" Solas," Sol whispered.

"That's the name. Is that why I named myself this way? I don't remember the man with that name, but… I don't know. This is all very new to me." Miriam exhaled, long and slow. Her instincts toward this man were, like his with Cormac, instantly hostile. She saw nothing in his face that brought Solas to mind, but she couldn't shake the feeling of his shade looming over them all. She tried to temper her reaction with cold logic - Cian said he remembered nothing. Sol had said the same.

So what if he had taken a little fórsa from something Solas made? Solas had taken her fórsa by the bucket while she had been captive, but that had not made him anything like Miriam.

"Well, now you're stuck in the Walk with us, same as anyone else," Maitiú said, crossing his arms.

"We have our dear captain Cormac to thank for that."

"Oh, give it a rest," Róise snapped.

"We're here now, no matter how it happened. We might as well make the best of it. We will all have to work together to get out of here."

"Unfortunately," Cian said.

"That's the one thing you can't do."