Retiring for the Night

Fari then said, "It is getting late. Granny, is there more to discuss, or may we head back to your place for the night?"

Granny replied, "Head back toward the spare hut near by grocery, Fari. If I know Shirini, she will keep Astra so busy that she will not even be thinking about leaving tomorrow. I would like to see you and Bella tomorrow afternoon, though, if you are staying in town."

Fari confirmed that he would be in Golabi, and was not returning to his farm until the later in the afternoon. Nanva and Bakhtar also left; as Bakhtar had come from a distance, he would sleep in a room at Nanva's, and would leave the next day as well. This left Mary and Granny alone.

Mary asked Granny, "I do not feel good about delivering this Astra to the reeve. If she gets turned over to the Gouvernor of Corona, she will be harshly punished."

Granny replied, "That may be. But hiding her here would make things harder on both her and us. And would you recommend sending her out, to the west or the north, with a babe's understanding of these parts?"

"No, khanom. I just do not know. I have never seen Resin of Petrona do anything like that. Her story had bits of gibberish, but was mostly sensible."

"That is why I do not use it any more than I have to. Mary, you are thinking too far ahead. She might not be the person that they are looking for. Even if she goes back, do you think that the Satrap is going to just hand over Astra to the Gouvernor? Especially since it appears that the Gouvernor is forcing her into a 'marriage' against her will."

"Would the Satrap dare defy the Gouvernor like that?"

"Not directly. But he has his ways. I will put in a word for her, and will tell the reeve about tonight, if he comes. Of course, if she has committed a real crime, worse than stealing a horse, then she needs to be punished. Let Hespan justice take its course."

"Thank you for coming tonight, Bakhtar. I have the pleasure of your company far too little, and your knowledge of the jeweler's trade stood us well tonight."

"The pleasure was mine, Nanva. When you are a merchant, you end up knowing a little bit about a lot of things. And that Astra is quite pretty. She would be a good addition to the village, I think."

"She does have an exotic beauty, and she is good at heart, as well, based on my judgment. I do not know if she could ever forget about her home, though. She would be like a beautiful tree that is suddenly uprooted and planted elsewhere. If she could get over the shock, she would make a needed addition to the town. I fear for that, though. I wonder how she really got here?"

"With the actions of some of the alchemists, anything is possible," said Bakhtar.

"Yes, indeed. They will find out about her, eventually. If they know that she has been in the tar pits, they will have questions of their own."

"You may want to be close-lipped around Hesht, then. He means well, but he is a bit of a scatterbrain. And he does work for the alchemists from time to time."

"I know. Poor boy. I do not think he is stupid. It is just that he stutters, and has trouble completing a sentence around most people. He has always been this way; this is not a problem that one can lay on the alchemists."

"Funny, though. He never has that problem with you or I. I guess that he is used to us."

"His problems seems to be worse with women," noted Nanva. "And sadly, the girls in the village know that and tease him. I like to engage him for work when I can. Deliveries, minding the oven, kneading the bread, you name it. He never complains, and he does a good job.

"I know. He helped me dig a well earlier this summer. Good boy. Has he ever talked with you about the alchemists?"

"Not much. He says that he doesn't speak to most of them, as his stuttering and shaking problem is very bad with most of them, so he tells me. He says that there is one, called Doazda, with whom he can speak normally. From Hesht's description, Doazda is more of a distiller than someone engaged in creating the recipes or the magic or whatever the alchemists do with the tar. Bakhtar, here is my bakery. My rooms are in the back. The guest room has some tools in it, but the straw in the bed has been freshly changed."

"Good enough for me!"

The next morning...

1. a reeve from Polabi Courthouse stops by Fari's farm, on his way to Golabi. (Fari is not there, of course.)
2. Hesht is quietly delivering something to Shirini's house. He unexpectedly finds Astra as she is getting up.

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