Enough Rope, Chapter 4

The village of Lyntre was nestled in the mountains at the southwest end of the island kingdom of Welland, just below the primary port and capital of Seagate. The Volcat monastery of Ishap was also nestled in the mountains that walled off the southern shore of Welland but far to the east. Because of the mountains, there was no road straight to Ishap. Instead, most of the roads led to the northern shore. People often traveled east by boat and south to Ishap, as it would have been faster for anyone but Fleta.

Fleta raced down the winding roads of the passes and the foothills. As she neared the fork in the road—northwest to Seagate or east to the plains and forests of central Welland—she slowed. The cry of a bird sent her heart racing. She ducked behind a tree to watch the crossroads for signs of an ambush: a sudden scattering of crows or obstructions in the road. She had not been cautious on the familiar roads from Lyntre, but the crossroads had hills and forest for cover and easy access from Seagate. Fleta could feel the adrenaline from the ambush at the hill outside of Seagate.

Yet there was no ambush today. No one knew Fleta would be traveling today except for Daralis. 

From the crossroads, Fleta lost herself in the joy of flying down the roads. Of course, her pack with a bedroll, warm clothes, and a few days of rations was too heavy and bulk for actual gliding. The freedom of running down the long, straight roads of Kurnam was the next best thing to soaring through the air. When traveling long distances at speed, quite a lot of attention went into placing each foot, making sure not to twist or jar it. The fears of ambush, sorcerers. And now ghost stories evaporated, leaving Fleta with the rush of the wind and the next step.

As with all long journeys at speed, Fleta had to pause occasionally to stretch, breathe, and check the straps on her pack. Stopping under a lone oak tree on a hill or by a shaded creek, far away from her problems, was peaceful… at first. Fleta checked a map each break to keep from making accidental detours. As fast as she was, most of her life had been spent in Lyntre, and only in the past few months had she served as Daralis’ messenger. Even then, most of the messages were for Seagate. After reassuring herself, Fleta would put the map away, ease into a stretch, and let her mind wander.

One thing had always made Fleta curious. She had extraordinary speed but no extra strength in her legs or arms to lift or crush as some Thorgaricks had. Nor did she have the gift of toughness of skin, muscle, or sinew that some Baltirs possessed. And yet, even with her training and careful attention, her feet, ankles, and legs took impacts at speeds that should have broken an ordinary woman’s legs.

Gifts like Parfrey’s were also curious. He had the strength of grip to be able to crush bones with his bare hands, according to Daralis. However, some of the muscles that closed the hand were in the arms, and yet the gift was in the hands. Each gift had a primary effect, but when she thought closely, it seemed that there must have been ancillary gifts. Gifts that might not be observed directly but which must have existed to enable the primary gift.

Fleta ran on, but the thought troubled her. Gifts were considered glorious and celebrated, not because they were magical, but because they were ordinary talents made extraordinary. They were honest, natural, and straightforward. Easily observable. Sorcery, on the other hand, was suspect because it was practiced in secret, involved dark oaths, and, well, unnatural. A sorcerer could do strange and impossible things, like slow Fleta down.

But weren’t gifts a touch unnatural, too? A Thorgarick strongman didn’t just have more muscle or denser muscle. They usually looked strong, but they could exert several times the force of another person of the same size and weight. And there were these hidden or ancillary gifts, too. Weren’t those hidden and unnatural? If a gifted person chose to hide or downplay their talent or use it in secret—as Parfrey did—were they really that much different than a sorcerer?