"Clay," Sal said without looking up when Rhu walked into his house that day, "do you know how to find it?"
"Why the petch I know that?"
Sal snorted. Moving closer to him and dropping her bag on the floor, Rhu could see that he was working, easily moulding a lump of clay on the potter's wheel into something she thought might eventually be a bowl. He carefully thumbed over the rim, rolling the clay until it was smooth and Rhu paused briefly to admire his work and the unconscious grace he went about it. "I don't know, because it's your job? I need more clay and it's cheaper to get naturally instead of buying."
He did, admittedly, have a point. And as her employer it made sense that he would send her on such an errand. "Where I find it?" she asked.
"Technically, anywhere. But the clay we need is the stuff you find by water - if it's anywhere else there'll be added minerals and then it won't mould easily. Now, that clay has its uses, but it's not what I want today. Take that bucket," he gestured to one sat next to the door, "and don't come back until it's at least half full. And I don't want any mud or dirt in there too. If it's dry get it a little damp. It should mould easily and bend into a smooth ring around your finger." Sal wetted his fingers, picked up a bit of clay and demonstrated the shape. "Get back fast so we can get it ready for the morning. Stick to the paths as much as possible and whatever you do make sure you're inside the city walls before dark."
"I manage," Rhu said, and didn't even try and hide her smirk. She was more than capable of looking after herself.
Sal actually looked up at that, and his eyes narrowed at her self-assured confidence. "If you want I could get someone to come with you, for protection."
Rhu laughed, and was still snickering a little as she left the house, bucket in hand. Despite having no real idea of the landscape outside Syliras, she baulked at the idea of asking for directions. That was a show of weakness she refused to give. Rhu could just about remember a lake she had passed as she arrived, and it was there she headed at a brisk walk.
The weather, for once, was lovely. It had been nice the day before, too, although she hadn't spent as much time outside so as to really notice. Heat and a distinct dampness in the air reminded her of home, of chasing her sisters shrieking through the trees and of the bruised knees and gentle reprimands her mother had always given her in training. Syliras tended to be a lot colder than Taloba, although that was - Rhu hoped - due mostly to having arrived there so late in the year. With luck after the dreaded winter (dreaded mostly for the warm clothes shopping she would have to be doing soon; Rhu barely repressed a shudder at the thought) the weather would be more like this, and less like the days before it. Coming to a stop, she slipped off her coat and dumped it in the bucket, stretching her bare arms briefly before continuing. It was a shame the sky was still cloudy, she thought, if it was sunnier she could close her eyes and bask, pretending she really was home.
But she wasn't. She was stuck Myri knew how far away from Taloba and her family, and there was no use pretending otherwise. She couldn't go home, anyway, not without Hala, and as much as Rhu liked to think finding the little girl would be easy, she knew it would be anything but.
Rhu had set a quick pace but still took quite a bit longer than she had expected getting to the lake. In the caravan heading there, it had seemed quite a short distance. Perhaps I should have asked someone for directions to somewhere closer to Syliras, she thought with a rueful glance at the blessedly empty bucket. Carrying it back full of clay would not be particularly fun.
Still, she had a job to do. Rhu walked over to the very edge of the lake and put the bucket down, crouching next to it. She dug her fingers through the ground and began her search.
Rhu of the Tempered Steel
by Ivandra on November 6th, 2015, 1:01 am 
