Rhyll proved to be a gem of a character, a perfect travelling companion for Setisia and Telli. He arrived on the quay two mornings after the Mendai performance in style, with two boys from Tree's tavern carrying his bags. Paying them off generously, he also tipped the boy who watched the dock after asking Setisia if her boat had been well guarded during its time there. He was dressed flamboyantly in bright and many coloured Mendai robes, and carried a talking parrot seated on his shoulder. Settling his belongings in the boat, he declared himself to be at captain Setisia's service at all hours of day and night while on board, and said he would jump overboard if she was displeased with him.

Telli was fascinated by the parrot, which fluttered about the boat as if assessing the merits of its new home while squawking 'good morning' in Allenth and other phrases in Mendai. It was the first such bird he had seen, and Rhyll explained that it had no understanding of language, merely repeating any sound made around it. He spread some seed on the deck, and said the bird would come and go as it pleased, but would make its base on the boat. When all was ready he took the oars and pulled strongly until they were out of the harbour, something the two youngsters would have had to do together.

"The wind is from the east, captain, so I shall pull out a little into the stream, if it pleases you, before we set our sail." When far enough out in the great river, he showed them how to set the sail at the correct angle to take advantage of the crosswind, and directed Setisia in balancing the rudder against it. To Telli's surprise, they started skimming over the water at a speed he would have only thought possible with the wind behind them.

"She's a good little craft, southern work, and well made. We can sail her in any wind, even one blowing against our way from the south." Rhyll spent half an hour teaching Setisia how to feel the needs of the boat when in a crosswind, and to make fine adjustments with her tiller so as to hold the wind on the acutely angled sail. When satisfied that she was in control and that Telli knew what he was doing with the sail ropes, he took a wooden box out from his baggage and extracted a fiddle. He bowed a few wailing notes which the parrot, perched on the spar above the sail, imitated perfectly to the others' amusement. He then tuned his instrument, and played a dancing jig that seemed to fit the motion of the little boat. He was an exceptionally good player.

When he had tired of his music, Rhyll put his instrument carefully away, and spent some time moving between Setisia at the tiller and Telli at his sail, resting them, and explaining the sailing techniques needed for a boat like theirs. He had learned these when travelling the river as a child, and they were second nature to him.

"I must have spent as many days in my life on the rivers of the Kingdom as off them," he told Telli. "It is so for many Mendai, and we are more at home on the Great River than anywhere else." The bags he had brought with him proved to be full of things useful to them all, as well as things to entertain them. He produced a large fishing net on that first morning, and set it to trawl behind them. Showing the others the large mesh, the holes as big as the palms of his hands, he said, "this is not for catching minnows." He checked it every hour or so, and had two fish in a bucket on the deck in time for their midday meal, which he cooked, using spices from his bags to very good effect.

The wind shifted slightly to their favour during the afternoon, making the sailing easier, requiring only one person at the tiller to manage the boat most of the time. All three sailors stood in the stern, and captain Setisia held a conference. She asked her crew if they thought that there was need for haste in their journey, both replying that if they reached Kellmarsh in two weeks or less, this would be fine. Telli was unconcerned about a few days difference, knowing that his problem would be finding a way to draw the King's attention to the plight of the Khrelling slaves, and that he had until the following spring to do this. His fast growing knowledge of the Kingdom had confirmed his opinion that a large expedition over the high mountains could not be organised and executed this year before the first of the autumn snows covered them. Rhyll said that there was no point in moving at night if a day or two's difference in their time of arrival did not matter, although they could make an exception if there were nights when the wind was behind them. This would give them leeway to rest during days when it was against them, or they were becalmed with no wind at all. Setisia decided they would follow this advice, and find somewhere to tie up that night.

"We shall reach Mother Raidy's place about an hour before sundown if this wind holds steady, and can have a fine dinner cooked for us in exchange for a bag of laris-root and a bottle of your Bhuin apple juice," said Rhyll. When questioned as to what this was, he laughed and said that they would soon see.

True to his estimate, the sun was low over the forest on the western bank when he took the tiller and steered them in towards it. They could see a small creek ahead where a few boats were moored. Telli furled the sail as they entered its mouth and they drifted up to a small jetty, timing it perfectly so they had no need to use the oars. Setisia jumped ashore and tied them up.

"That was good," she complimented the others, "I have the finest crew on the Great River already."

"We certainly have the prettiest little captain," said Rhyll. "We can leave the boat safely. Mother Raidy's boys do not tolerate thieves." "Theeves, theeeves, good morning," squawked the parrot, flying onto his shoulder as he got out of the boat.

"She does not like to be left alone, which is a pity, as she makes a good boat guard. She screams 'good morning' at the first person to arrive when she is alone, enough to put off any sneak thief coming in the dark of night."

There was a long, low wooden building a few yards from the jetty and a few small huts further upstream. They could see nothing else but forest. Rhyll led them to the door of the large building and knocked loudly on it. It swung open, and he walked in, bidding good evening to the large young man who held it ajar for them.

"Welcome, my friends, sit where you will," the man said.

Setisia and Telli entered and looked around them. There were more than twenty people in the long room, sitting in groups around several tables. A lull in the babble of conversation greeted the newcomers, as all turned to look at them. Rhyll went to an empty table with four chairs around it and placed his parrot on the back of one.

"Sit still and shut up." 'Shut up' echoed the bird loudly, and a ripple of laughter went round the company.

"We shall have music tonight, I think," said a voice from the other end of the room. Rhyll's clothes and his red hair shouted "Mendai" to anyone within a mile. He turned to face the company.

"Later, my friends, we shall have music if you wish. But now I must have wine. Where is Mother? Does she grow old and forget her favourite sons."

"What river tramp shouts for me?" A very tall woman of about fifty came through a doorway opposite the one by which they had entered. "Ahhh! My little scar faced fiddler. And where have you been so long." She was at least half a head taller than Rhyll, and folded him in a huge embrace, lifting him off the ground. When he was free of this, he appealed to the other men present.

"Is it not true that all men can be swept off their feet by Mother Raidy?" This drew more laughter, and Telli realised that he was watching a master at the art of making a strange company into friends, what he had seen done professionally by the Mendai theatre group. Of course, he thought, they are gypsy travellers, and mastering such arts would be essential to a people always on the move. He and Setisia had taken seats by the parrot, and Rhyll joined them after exchanging a few words with their hostess.

"You saw that we passed nothing but forest for some miles on this bank before we arrived here? It is the same to the south for an even greater distance. Such a long stretch of river with so many trading boats going up and down, and nowhere to stop for a good meal, a drink and a bed for the night. So, about thirty years ago, Leantha Raidy and her first husband decided to take advantage of this. They found this little creek, built the beginnings of this hall, and cleared an area around it in order to plant a garden. So great was Leantha's confidence that she even planted fruit trees and vines with an eye to the future. They gave a friendly wave to the river-boats as they passed by. The occasional one would stop if its crew needed something, and within a year they had gained such a reputation for their friendly hospitality that they had a thriving business on their hands. Two husbands and eighteen children later, Leantha is still going strong as you see, and has long been known as Mother to the many river travellers of good taste who choose to stop here whenever they can. It is a year almost to the day since I was last here, and I was truly pleased a moment ago to see her looking so well."

"Eighteen children!" Setisia exclaimed. "She must be even stronger than she looks." The good woman herself arrived with wine, and a plate of nuts.

"Now, you felt too light when I lifted you, so I must cook something to make up for it." She looked at Setisia, who had removed her hat. " Surely this cannot be your daughter, unless you started making babies even younger than I did. You have not stolen yourself a pretty Mendai child wife before better men can get to her, have you?"

Rhyll laughed. "Setisia is my captain, no less, and must be spoken of with respect. She is also a distant cousin, but we have only recently met. And this is our friend and shipmate, Tellimakis. Let them choose what you cook, but for me, I ask only that it be served with a fresh salad from your fine garden, if there is still light enough to see the plants."

"I serve anything but fish, as too many of my guests eat nothing else while on the river. My son shot a boar this morning, would some of that please you, pretty captain?" They agreed to this, and she left them to prepare the meal.

"Sometimes I have seen a hundred people in here," said Rhyll. "I would not be surprised if more arrive tonight. Mother's garden is her secret, and you must take a moment to see it tomorrow morning. I think what we see here is the beginnings of a river village. Several people have settled here already, usually because they have married into Mother's brood. Do not worry about the boat as someone is always watching outside at night. But even in safe harbours like this, you should always carry small things of real value on your person." As if reminded of something, he searched in the sack he had brought with him and took out a small statue, the size of his hand.

"What do you think of this little beauty?" he said, standing it on the table. Carved in exquisite detail out of black wood, it was the Goddess Setisia.

They picked her up carefully in turns, and examined the work. Every muscle of the body, each wave of the long hair and every tiny scale on the fishtail had been carved in perfect proportion and with painstaking attention to detail. Sitting on a rock, with her tail wrapped round it, and leaning back on her arms, she seemed truly alive. Rhyll laughed at the expressions on their faces.

"You look as I did on first sight of her. I bought her from her maker, intending to sell her again, but I fell in love and find her hard to part with."

"What are the eyes and lips?" asked Telli.

"Tiny rubies. But don't you think the maker would have replaced the eyes with emeralds if he had met our captain?" Setisia blushed slightly at this, and her crew laughed. Rhyll put the little statue carefully away.

"Tell me, Tellimakis, mystery boy, why is it that I have travelled the length and breadth of the Kingdom, and seldom heard such a classical form of Allenth spoken so well in one so young, yet with an accent new to my ears?" Telli glanced briefly at Setisia, who nodded encouragement, and then told Rhyll of his origins, and how he came to the Kingdom, only leaving out all mention of his flying. Like Setisia, Rhyll watched his face with green Mendai eyes as Telli told the tale, but unlike her, he interrupted several times with questions, especially concerning the Khrelling. When Telli had finished, the tough Mendai traveller leant back in his chair and drained his half-full cup of wine. Taking a deep breath, then letting it out in a soft whistle, he said:

"Well, I do not think I have ever heard someone tell a stranger story from their own true experiences. It was worth coming on the boat with you two just for this."

Mother Raidy and one of her sons arrived with their food. Three hot plates were laid before them, and a huge bowl of fresh salad put in the centre of the table. Conversation was suspended while they ate. Setisia was the first to break the silence.

"No wonder Mother Raidy has good business with cooking like this. But was it true what you said earlier about paying her with goods?"

"Yes. Ask her what she is interested in. You are already far enough from Bhuin for your goods to be rare." Rhyll got up, saying he would get his fiddle.

"There's one who believes your story, goblin," Setisia said when they were alone.

"I hope so, but it is the King's officials I must convince."

"You will, Telli dear, now you have a clever witch and a Mendai warrior on your side, how can you fail?"

"Warrior?"

"Yes," Setisia looked mysterious, "I can tell. Shall we try and trade goods for our meal?"

"Of course. Are we not professional river traders? It is good experience, captain, and does not matter if we do not make a good bargain for the first time." Telli had realised that he liked anything to do with business and trading, perhaps because of the novelty to someone from such a closed community. Setisia changed the subject.

"It is time for me to tell you something from the future once again. Do you see the men over there who are testing each other's strength by wrestling their arms on the table. The winner is already challenging strangers around him. My prediction is that our warrior friend will not be able to resist the challenge, even if it is not given directly to him, and that he will wager money and win, perhaps through cleverness as much as strength."

Telli saw the door open, and said quickly, "a silver crown if you are right and you pay me if wrong."

"Agreed!" Setisia spoke just before Rhyll reached the table, sitting down and pouring himself more wine. Taking a sip, he set his cup down and (to his companions' amusement ) called over to the arm wrestlers.

"Ho there, my friends. When you have found a worthy champion, I may demean my noble self with an uncouth pastime, for once in my life, and wager a silver crown on myself to beat him." The manner of his challenge (and the amount of money) drew the attention of all in the room and caused some laughter. A big brawny boatman answered him.

"Little gypsy, you have just lost a bout with Mother Raidy and now you wish to compete with men? I am next, against the winner from these two scrawny chickens, and then shall be champion and happy to take your silver crown from you."

"Mother Raidy is in a class of her own, but I should have no trouble with you. Indeed, as you are so obviously disadvantaged by the your great size and slow wits, I shall let you choose if we play with right or left arm!"

The two exchanged friendly insults until the match in progress produced a victor, and it was the turn of Rhyll's verbal sparring partner to compete. Because of the gypsy's loud intervention, the attention of the entire room was now on the contest, and chairs scraped on the floor as their occupants moved towards the little table used as an elbow rest. The men were both very big and the contest appeared equal for a minute or two. Rhyll had the crowd laughing throughout, as he was playing his fiddle loudly ( and well ) whilst improvising a song about two big fat bulls in a fight, neither being able to win, because both had been neutered. Eventually the man who had welcomed Rhyll's challenge forced the other's wrist to the table.

"Now, my little red-crested bantam, we shall see who is neutered, the bull or the cock."

The two contestants each placed a silver crown on the table. Now money was involved, spectators started to make bets for pennies amongst themselves, the big man the obvious favourite, but those placing their money on Rhyll, no more than average size, standing to win more if he triumphed. Setisia took advantage of these odds, saying she would pay one silver crown to a taker if her champion lost, on condition she received two if he was the victor. A well-dressed merchant took her bet to cheers from the gathering, as it was the only one apart from Rhyll's to involve a large sum. Telli remembered that one silver piece had paid for a night and three good meals at the Larisroot inn, the first time he had ever spent money.

Rhyll and Big Fran, as his opponent was called by his boat-mates, made great show of the contest, calling for a flagon of wine each to be set by their left hands so they could drink as they wrestled with the right. Big Fran's arms were bare, showing his considerable brawn and muscle. Rhyll wore his bright blouse with long sleeves, only wiry wrists showing, but Telli remembered the ease with which he had walked on his hands in Tree's tavern, and suspected that his two boat mates might be enriched by their visit to Mother Raidy's.

The match was good, and lasted more than three minutes. Rhyll never took his eyes off his opponent's. Fran's great weight gave him a clear advantage at the outset, and he forced the lighter man's wrist to within a few inches of the table-top on three occasions in the first two minutes of battle. Each time Rhyll seemed to be facing defeat, he lifted his cup and drained it, before forcing his opponents arm back to the upright neutral position. After the last of these occasions, big Fran was sweating and red in the face from effort, his supporters becoming silent as they started to doubt he had the stamina for a fourth effort. His own confidence ebbed away, and Rhyll forced his arm slowly back, inch by inch, taking one full minute until the big fist touched wood. Applause followed from all present, as it is human nature to appreciate the triumph of the least favoured.

Big Fran was a good-humoured man, and proved a good loser, embracing Rhyll, and declaring it a pleasure to have wrestled with such a worthy champion.

"His eyes beat me, not his arms, I swear, it's gypsy magic." he said, after downing the remainder of his wine from the flagon. Rhyll declared it an equal contest, as Fran had tired himself in his previous battle, and passed the silver crown he had won to one of Mother Raidy's sons, telling him to bring wine for all present. When his arm had recovered sufficiently, he took up his fiddle, and for the rest of the evening was the life and soul of the party.

Setisia, richer by three whole crowns, and Telli sat down again at their table. Mother Raidy brought a plate of fruit and a bottle of bamboo juice from the south to them, a present from the well-dressed merchant gambler, apparently another good loser. The giant woman sat with them for a while, bartering and chatting in a friendly and motherly way. She was interested in both laris-root and apple wine, declaring herself out of supplies of both. Telli went to the boat, returning with a generous sack full of the famous vegetable and three bottles of Bhuin wine, which she was happy to accept in payment for all they wanted that night. She said she could remember Rhyll as a small boy, and that he had played the fiddle well even then, and had always danced and performed for the company, along with his family.

"If ever I took to a boat on the river, I would take him as crew just for the entertainment and laughs. He is the wildest of all the Mendai who come here, but very clever if you know him. Those eyes do not miss much that goes on around him. He will take care of you and your young man, Setisia." She left for her kitchen, and Setisia said, smiling:

"Well, young man of mine, what do you think of Mother Raidy's place?"

"A fine eatery, but it is our crewman who makes half the atmosphere, so we shall carry it with us. I feel we are destined to see a few parties before we reach Krellmarsh, and shall look forward to each evening as we sail through the day. This is how Rhyll lives. He likes good people to have good times around him. But who would wish to be his enemy? I could not see him showing much mercy to the likes of your Grenwald." Telli soon proved to be right, about the parties, at least.

Setisia dropped repeated hints to her crew that they should not retire too late to the boat, as she would wake them at sunrise the next morning. Rhyll eventually bade his new friends a good night, having arranged to meet 'Big Fran' at some future date in Kellmarsh. As the three of them were about to leave Mother Raidy's hall, another group entered through the door, a boat's crew, which also appeared to be captained by a woman. Tall and silver haired, she had a face of great beauty and indeterminate age, and was dressed simply in a long, sky-blue robe. She led a party of about six men towards an empty table, two of these also robed, but in brown, and the others in the attire of boatmen. Seeing that Setisia's crew was leaving the hall, she stopped in passing, and bade them goodnight.

"I heard the music of a Mendai fiddle well played as we came to our berth, and regret that I am too late to hear more," she said to Rhyll.

"I would have been honoured to play for you, madam doctor, but duty calls, and my captain here wishes her crew rested, the better to follow her orders at sunrise," said Rhyll, bowing low and indicating Setisia with a wave of his hand. The woman smiled warmly at Setisia.

"You are wise beyond your years to carry such a musician in your crew," she said, holding Setisia's gaze for a moment, then looking at Telli for a similar length of time. He had a fleeting impression that his face, perhaps even his mind, was being read, before she turned again to Setisia and said in a thoughtful tone, sounding slightly surprised, "indeed, wise." She went on her way to the table, and Setisia led her crew out into the warm night.

"Why did you address the lady as 'doctor'?" asked Telli, as they made their way to the boat.

"She is of the order of Meldrith, the finest practitioners of the arts of healing in the Kingdom, young foreigner. We have many calling themselves priests and priestesses in the land for whom I have little respect. But those from Meldrith are different, and perform great works for others in their quiet way, asking little in return. I spoke the truth when I said I would have been honoured to play for her."

"They are seldom seen in Bhuin," said Setisia as they climbed into their little craft. "But I have heard things of them, and wish to know more, especially now. The lady we met in there is a powerful witch, did you not feel it?"

Rhyll laughed at this, and said: "I would not have put it the same way, but would guess that she has great wisdom. Perhaps it takes one witch to know another, eh, captain?"

It was Telli's turn to laugh at the look on Rhyll's face in the lamplight when Setisia replied in a serious voice.

"Perhaps. That is why I did not stay and speak. I was not sure if I wished her to know me."

Rhyll went off, chuckling at this, to make himself a bed in the bows, leaving the others their cabin, and they settled for the night.

The trio left at sunrise the next morning, after taking a few minutes to look at Mother Raidy's extensive vegetable garden, stretching into the forest behind her long-house. It was a calm day on the river and already very warm, Telli and Setisia now starting to experience the warmest weather of their lives. The Great River was at a considerably lower altitude than both Elneside and Bhuin, and they were also moving slowly south. That day they did a lot of rowing, the wind not being much help until the evening when it came up behind them. Finding they were then making good progress with the power of the sail alone, they decided to continue all night, two working while one rested.

The two youngsters were learning fast under Rhyll's tutelage, and the three soon became a good team, although naturally a bit deficient when much rowing was required. The wind held reasonably during their second day out from Mother Raidy's, and that night they decided to stop at a small river port called Dzarak, mainly because it had a Mendai owned tavern which Rhyll recommended. As they tied up the little boat at its dock, Setisia heard a woman's voice calling 'captain' from the quay above her, and looked up to see the priestess they had met briefly at Mother Raidy's.

"May I speak with you for a moment?" The older woman held out a hand to help Setisia out of the boat as she spoke, and the girl felt a surprising strength as she took it.

"Are you going to Kellmarsh?" the priestess asked when Setisia stood beside her.

"Yes."

"May I ask you to come and visit me when you are there? I have just written my name and that of the place I can be found because I saw you arriving. And if you can come, please bring your young friend, and indeed, your entire crew if they wish." The priestess smiled her gentle smile at Setisia's crew.

"Indeed, it is very kind of you to ask us, but something of a surprise, as you do not know us." Setisia managed to reply without actually accepting or refusing the invitation, although she took the scrap of parchment offered to her.

"A surprise, perhaps, yes. But I think it might be a pleasant surprise, for both of us, if you take up my invitation. Now, my crew is waiting to leave, so I hope to see you, all three of you, in Kellmarsh. May the Gods be with you." The tall priestess walked off in the direction of a boat that was setting its sail.

Setisia discussed the strange invitation with her crew as they made their way to the tavern, having paid a boy to mind the boat. Rhyll said that he could see no harm in it, as it seemed impossible that a Meldreth healer would be involved with the conspirators who were her only enemies. He thought that they should all go together when they had taken care of more pressing business. They soon put the incident to the back of their minds, as there were a number of Mendai in the tavern, some known to Rhyll, so Setisia and Telli passed an entertaining evening in good company.