Kahriah unhooked several bunches of dried foxbane from her lines and set them into a woven basket at her feet. She moved to the side and unhooked another bundle of herbs, this time giantroot. Kahriah continued to pull various plants from her lines until she was satisfied, then squatted to pick up the basket.

“Are you heading out?” Grelda called from inside her low, stone fence.

Kahriah gasped and gently put her hand to her chest before smiling and turning to look across the yard toward Grelda.

“Didn’t mean to scare you!” Grelda said in apology.

“It’s quite alright! Yes, there’s a sickness going around in Onny, a ship’s crew. I’ve been called to help.”

“Oh, that’s awful…is it contagious?” Grelda asked.

“No, likely a waterborne malady from Slug’s Bane. I’ve seen it a hundred times. I suppose a herbalist from the ancient house of Frog Mushroom Tree might know a thing or two.” Kahriah explained, then paused for a moment.

“Would you like to come with me? The Merchants always send spacious carriages. Likely plenty of room.”

“That would be great! Thank you. Say….” Grelda started slowly, “could Marell come too?”

Kahriah nodded in approval. Grelda was well-meaning and entirely likeable, but she was ever-present. Kahriah scolded herself for her unkind thoughts, mild as they were, and turned to the opportunity having an audience with Grelda would provide.

“Carriage is to be here tomorrow at dawn,” Kahriah explained as Grelda beamed and went inside to tell Marell and her husband.

With the basket pressed against her belly, Kahriah walked back to her house and entered through the back door. Deep in thought in front of a half-finished canvas, Lohmen was precisely as she’d left him.

“Are you heading somewhere?” He asked without looking up. She had told him several times, but he was often somewhere else when painting. Kahriah rolled her eyes and explained the illness from Slug’s Bane.

“Infections–” she was cut off.

“Kill more men than steel.” He finished her mantra of sorts with no tone of mockery.

“Is it that Captain again?” Lohmen asked.

” Yes,” she flushed ever so slightly. “I’ll put together a few remedies, and one of them should suit. If not, I can pick up what I need there.”

“Umlom is lucky to have you, Kahriah….” Lohmen exclaimed playfully, but the praise wasn’t in jest.

“Are you sure you should be travelling in your condition?” Lohmen asked with concern.

“My condition?! I don’t have a condition.” she scorned. Immediately, Lohmen knew he had chosen the wrong words.

“Is there any harm in a pregnant woman travelling such a great distance?” he offered with more tact on his second attempt.

“Women have been carrying children since before the Strangers. A posh coach ride isn’t going to be a problem.” She walked over and kissed him on the cheek. “Don’t worry, Ser Paint.” She continued into their bedroom to grab some things for her trip but talked louder so Lohmen could hear.

“You should be worried about an unwed woman with a talent for healing going off to the big village!”

Lohmen didn’t miss that part and fired back.

“Careful, Kahriah…while you’re gone, I could just run off with Grelda.” Kahriah poked her head out of the room with a look of victory in her eye.

“She’s coming with me!” She giggled and went back to collecting her things. Lohmen laughed to himself while his mind turned to another matter.

“We should wed when you get back…I don’t like the idea of a son out of union.”

“And I don’t like relying on some almighty Order to tell me what I can and cannot do. We’ve been offending the light for four months now.” Kahriah made an exaggerated show of her belly. “And how do you know it’s a boy?”

Lohmen shrugged his shoulders playfully in answer and moved on.

“I’ll try and be here when you get back. The Shimmering Violettes should be gracing the skies in the highlands with the new moon. I want to have some work to send to the gallery in Kalkaltal.”

Lohmen was asking, but it was unnecessary. Kahriah had always supported his work and was as generous with her praise as she was with her critique. All of which had made Lohmen a better and more prolific painter in the short time they had been together.

“I don’t mind at all, Lo. You know that. However, when this boy comes, I’ll need you around. You’ll have to start painting things a little closer to home for a while.” She teased.

Lohmen stood and walked into the bedroom where Kahriah was folding things on the bed. Lohmen hugged her from behind, ran his hands over her stomach, and kissed her neck. Kahriah had closed her eyes and leaned back into the painter’s embrace. He paused and gently whispered, “You know it’s a boy too.”

Kahriah swatted him away lovingly and went back to gathering her things.

***

Lohmen was still lying in bed when Kahriah kissed him on the cheek. He grabbed her arm before she could slip away and pulled her in for a more passionate one.

“Sure you don’t have a few minutes?” He offered provocatively, still in the fog of new courtship.

“Despite your rousing performance last night, I’m certain. I’ll be home in a few days. Besides, we’ve been together four months now; are you not sick of me?” She kissed him again. A hummed ‘nu uh’ came from within the liplock. Laying naked in their bed, Lohmen drifted back to sleep while Kahriah gathered her things and left.

Grelda and Marell were packed and ready, beaming with excitement on the cusp of adventure. Kahriah smiled at Marell, who looked exceptionally lovely this morning, her dress clean and sharp. Her hair was styled, but a novice and heavy hand seemed to have blushed her cheeks. Kahriah leaned closer to Marell.

“I didn’t find Lohmen in my village either.” She whispered, and Marell giggled.

Their carriage clattered down the road and pulled up to the three women. It was a modest ride drawn by two healthy-looking horses. The driver sat perched at the front, and two benches behind him were covered with a dark cloth to block the sun.

“How are you, m’Lady?” The driver asked. The driver was an older man with a well-kept, white beard. His clothes were old and frayed, but everything was in its place. He was well past his prime but would have been quite the specimen in his youth.

“You know it’s Kahriah; I’m no lady, Bernock.” She corrected the man. “But, fine, thank you. I’ve a couple of companions this morning. Hope that’s alright, Bernock,” Kahriah answered.

“Of course, Ms. Marashan. Makes no difference to Bender & Whisper.” He offered with a chuckle and a gesture to the pair of mounts. “But you’re too modest. Had you not brought yer medicines to my village years ago, I wouldn’t be out here driving today. My family still sings your praises.”

“I remember. How is that cousin of yours? A strapping, boisterous lad if I recall.”

“Strapping he was, but stupid too. You pulled him from the brink of death then the dumb bastard died a few months later. Tried to pick a fight with a Highlands Troll. I suppose your healing fed the beast for the night! Ha!” he laughed to himself and trailed off.

“There’s a positive side to most things, I suppose.” She said, trying to respond to the macabre demise of the cousin. “I hope you have more stories for us on the way.” She turned to Grelda and Marell. “We ready, ladies?”

Marell looked like she would burst with excitement if they waited any longer. Bernock hopped down from the seat with surprising agility and placed a step for the three women from Kinon. They climbed inside the carriage, Grelda and Marell on one side opposite Kahriah and her baskets.

“Do you think there will be any duels on the docks or grand balls to attend?” Marell asked with exuberance.

“Oh, I don’t know, Marell. We’ll have a few days while Kahriah works. We’ll see what trouble we can get up to. Kahriah, how long will it take to tend to the sailors?” Grelda asked.

“It should be quite simple. I’ll look them over to confirm the maladie and whip together a concoction. I’ll need to stay nearby for a day or two to ensure they’re on the mend. We’ll be celebrating Lohmen’s firstday soon, so I suppose I should find a gift for him.”

“You’ve already given him a gift, my dear,” Grelda said sarcastically. Kahriah gave her a strange look for a moment and then laughed in agreement.

Grelda continued. “However, you should get that man of yours a horse. He can’t be marching into the woods for days just to find the right pond or tree to paint. Honestly, legs as long as his, and he’d still lose a footrace to a bookbinder.”

Kahriah chuckled. “You know, I said the same thing to Lohmen just yesterday.”

“Aye,” said Grelda. She crossed her arms in resolute triumph. “In any event, we appreciate you letting us tag along. I hope your employer doesn’t mind.”

“Not at all. Carriage is going anyway. Might as well be full!”

“Tell me about this employer Ms. Kahriah!” Marell inquired.

“Well, he’s a Merchant-Captain from Rozmros. Came from across the Dommian but made his name running goods up and down the Black Seas,” Kahriah explained. Marell rolled her eyes and flopped back in her seat.

“I meant, what does he look like? Did he ever fight a Kraken?”

“He’s handsome, I suppose, but I don’t think he’s ever fought a Kraken. Even though he flies one on his Banner. I don’t think anyone lives to tell the tale.” Kahriah said to the unimpressed young woman.

The women talked of politics, theology, cooking, creature anatomy, children, and childbirth. Marell was particularly horrified at her mother’s detailed recounting of her firstday.

The day waned, and so too did the conversation. They had sat in silence until the gentle clatter of the horse and carriage was abruptly interrupted.

“Onny!…look!” Marell exclaimed, with her head out of the carriage window taking in the city as it appeared.

Onlomum wasn’t the most populous city, but it made up for it in grandeur. At one end of a forked inlet, Onny sprawled along the cliff crests and right down over them, as if spilling into the sea. Half the city was built into the cliff face, the other half perched proudly above.

As they approached from the north, they couldn’t see the cliff houses of Onny. It was those of Easlomum on the opposite fork of the inlet which arrested their attention. Easlomum was virtually identical to Onlomum, and most people considered it just another part of Onny. The towns had sprawled to meet each other over the past thousand years, and now, they formed one majestic district. Onlos, its citizens, had built an intricate system of switchbacks, tunnels, and lifts down the three hundred feet to the docks and beaches below. Onny had become a preferred port for many merchants delivering to the smaller island continent of Reflection. Her docks were tucked into a bay from the weather that battered the larger eastern port realms like Iu Kipa and Tauptimai. It took longer to get goods to market from here, but it was a small price for her benefits. Good-weathered, good-natured, and pretty to look at– made Onny a choice port for the older, wiser captains. The easy clamming on Onny’s shores also made it cheaper for captains to feed their docked crews.

“Where to first m’ladies…I mean, ladies?” Bernock asked.

“Let’s head to the courtyard at the eastern docklifts first. That’s where I’m to meet Captain Thammasorn.”