Balls of Yarn

Checkers decided that the truth was her best chance of satisfying the suspicions of the farmers, even if it may seem implausible to her hosts. They could have easily killed her twice already, so she felt that she should take the risk.

"The cities of the RDL have little experience outside the range and the adjacent hills and valleys. There is a law of all the Burgesses that the Gliders are not to cross the boundries of the Elk and Pelican Valleys. Of course, the boundry is murky, and the young men, looking to make a name for themselves, sometimes stretch that limit in order to get prizes, but any organized expedition beyond these valleys is banned. The only Gliders that have gone far beyond the boundries are outcasts like me, and none have ever returned. We know that the dragon always comes from where the sun sets. I have heard tales of a strange floating man hundreds of years back who claimed that he knew the dragon, and that he dwelt across a Great Sea. I was hoping that, going further west, I could discover where the beast dwells. I thought that perhaps I could find a company of adventurers that were after the dragon as well. I did not set out with a plan more detailed than that, because I simply do not know. I could stay around here and hope the dragon shows up, but I do not think that I would be welcome in this land."

Benjamin replied, "I understand that; it would be better to go to the dragon, if dragonslaying is what you have in mind. Although, in truth, I do not know where he lies, either. We tend to leave the dragon alone, and he leaves us alone, for the most part."

Checkers then looked at the map. "As for how I got here, I can guess. I started out here, at Electric Pass," she said, pointing to a spot in the Red Dolomite Range, "and went southwesterly towards Blueberry Patch. Here the map darkens, as you can see. I decided not to follow the river into the valleys, as tempting as that was. Gliders have run into trouble with men in that valley, and I did not want to attract attention. I was hoping to get far away from the RDL, a find other Glider tribes. It is said that there are not any more, but the old legends gave me some hope that there were. If I could not find Gliders, I was hoping to find somebody that did would not see me as an enemy, and would want to challenge the dragon."

"I see," said Benjamin, not believing Checkers' story about not being able to see the center of the map. "And the Great Sea could be the Great Lake that lies west of here."

"It could be. Is it far?" she said hopefully.

"It lies at the end of the western road," replied Mary. "One would go past Nightengale and the haunted town of Burchester, through Westmark. I would try to avoid Burchester, though."

"Why?" replied Checkers.

Mary responded, "It is a long tale. Burchester used to be the greatest city in the Four Buroughs. Time and robbers have taken its toll. I can tell you more by the fire."

Benjamin got up. Checkers would never hear that tale. He was not sure whether she was lying or not, and so he could take no chances. He would sneak behind her, and snap her neck while she was absorbed in knitting.

Benjamin had just walked behind Checkers when Mary distracted her.

"Checkers, you have copied the pattern of the shawl very faithfully, but you will have to undo that row."

"Why?" replied the Glider.

"The colour is off. The pattern is blue and white for twenty rows, and then red and yellow. Black is a colour of mourning, and you want the shawl to be cheerful."

Checkers brows furrowed, and her lips tightened. She was concentrating, trying to understand what Mary was saying. She could not see a problem. She pointed to a ball of yarn.

"The light must be funny in here. The pattern looks black and white to me. This is blue." she said, pointing to a light green ball of yarn."

"No. This is blue." said Mary, pointing to a sky blue ball.

"That looks almost as black as this ball," she said, pointing to the black ball that she was knitting. "Maybe it is a really dark shade of blue that I am having trouble making out. If you can feed me the right colours for the right rows, I will continue knitting. Would that work?"

Benjamin, invisible to Checkers, nodded his head vigourously and placed a finger across his lips as if to signal to Mary, "Agree with her and do not talk further about this." Mary observed that Benjamin was sneaking behind Checkers, and had probably decided to kill her, but something at the last minute made him change his mind.

"Yes, Checkers, that will work."

"I am sorry that I cannot understand how these patterns work. I thought that I was doing better than that." There was a hint of frustration in the Glider's reponse.

"Be thankful that you did not, Checkers. You are obviously colour- blind. It is probably better for us that you do not see our lands, even though the map is obsolete, at least until you are far from here. But that is a matter for tomorrow. Let us enjoy your coffee, and your company tonight."

Mary then suggested that they pull their chairs by the fire, and sing some songs and tell some stories. All agreed.

The first tale was that of

1. Mary, who told of the rise and fall of Burchester.
2. Mary, who told of her great-grandfather's journey past the Great Lake of the West.
3. Checkers, who told the story of the first Glider.
4. Benjamin, who told the tale of how the farmer outwitted the travelling peddler.

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