Fruit and Root

Eriki Agha continued his original train of thought. He brought out a small fruit, that looked like two round fruits that were pressed together and joined in the middle. Eriki handed the fruit to one of the farmers, and said, "This is the Granger's Apple. It grows in the southeast Ryngaerd, which lies to the south of the Shreken range. The land is wet, almost impassible jungle. Only a few scattered tribes of the Hevelti live in this region. They have been willing to guide our men in the land, but the fruit is still very hard to obtain, as they live in fear of the Aqualarian matriarchy. Even though they have no formal claim to the land of the Hevelti, the Aqualarian legions do not take kindly to exploration south of the Shreken, even on missions that to us seem innocent. However, one of my associates has experimented with a special type of greenhouse that is very humid, and gotten promising results. The Granger's Apple takes about ten or twelve years to mature, and a good deal of care, so I cannot just hand out the valuable seeds. However, if you are interested in taking part in some trials, please see me afterward."

A farmer passed Astra the fruit. She had never noticed these in Aqualaria proper. There were some primative people who lived in the jungles to the southeast of Aqualaria, far away from Hespan and the Havnheim. Their tools were little more than rough knives and stone, and they lived in rough wooden huts. She wondered how these Hespaniard explorers got past the Girdle of Aqualaria, which blocked invasion from the sea. Or perhaps these spies had found away around that, and came through the jungles that she thought impassible? Either way, as an Aqualarian, the splendid isolation that they enjoyed from the rest of the world seemed less solid that she had previously believed. She felt the smooth- skinned, orangish-yellow fruit, which had a fine network of shallow hexagonal and pentagonal veins surrounding it, much like a net. She tried to sniff it. It had a flowery, sweet smell, but not strongly so. She gave it to Hesht. She was thinking as an Aqualarian now. Still Manor was busy with this new knowledge. Her ears had heard the noises of metalwork, and they were calling on the farmers to help in their tasks. These were even secretly exploring the fringes of the motherland! They knew and were interested in flora on the borders of her land that she had no idea existed. Astra was both fascinated and terrified about what it could all mean.

Eriki Agha then brought out a purple scraggly root, that seemed commonplace enough, from some far-off northern island in the Aryn Sea, which was a Hespaniard colony. He explained that again it had to be cultivated under special conditions of sun, cool, and damp, and that these could be mimicked by something that he called a "cold cellar." Astra thought that she knew a little about estate management, which she gleaned from her family's steward, but she now knew that she was out of her depth. Astra had many questions, none of which she dared ask.

Eriki continued for the better part of the afternoon, talking about good grass for things strange things called binders, which were apparently some filler in some of the alchemist's formulae. He talked about some trials that had been made with certain kinds of compost. Eriki seemed to recommend boiling vessels and eating utensils before and after use, as a kind of health preservative. The farmers had mostly practical, down-to-earth questions, which Eriki answered patiently. One farmer asked about a hangover cure. Eriki smiled, and said that lying down very quietly and not drinking any further was the most effective cure that he and his associates had known, but that someone would surely work on it. With that, he concluded his talk. Some of the farmers circled around him, to talk to him, while others started back to their homes.

Astra looked around. It appeared that Doazda's men were not watching this field closely. She might be able to slip past any guards into the high grass of the field and leave the estate. This might be her best chance at doing so. She doubted that she would be able to shake Hesht, though, who seemed to be watching her like a mother bear watches over her cubs. In this strange land, she was not sure whether she really wanted to leave Hesht now, in any case.

She could also stay behind, to see what else she could learn about this place. She was worried about the Lord of the Still House's plans for her, but this place was not quite like any that she had ever seen, and her curiosity and fear were finely balanced.

1. Astra decides that now is the time to try to escape.
2. Astra decided to stay behind. As the last farmer walks away, she and Hesht are alone with Eriki.
3. Two of Boomer's men come. Astra's presence is requested elsewhere.

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