8. Things come together.

The sound of a horn being blown, broke the silence that had fallen after Maria’s last statement.

"That is the call to assemble in the large hall. It is probably the meeting that Ameera has called. We must go." Said Ruwayda.

Maria did not move right away.

"What is wrong?" asked Ruwayda.

"Saleem will be there and if I am right there will be others just like him. I don’t know how I will react to all of this, if it is true."

"Then stay close to me. if you feel overwhelmed I will help you get out. I am sorry, but what you have said has made me wonder about other things. This quarrel has taken a great toll on everyone here, and if there is something as sinister as this going on, then I want to know as well. And if what you say is true then we must do something about it."

"Even if it means that your sister will loose her husband?" asked Maria.

A pained look crossed Ruwayda’s face. "I love my sister dearly. I know I will feel her loss along with her. But she has already lost her husband and what is left over is just a facsimile. As much as it seems real to her, she is really living in a dream. I would rather she and I lived in a reality that hurts, than a dream that never changes."

Maria stood up and faced Ruwayda, putting her hands on the other woman’s shoulders she said, "My mother would applaud your bravery. She says there are not enough people like you who are willing to take what the world throws at them and make the best of it."

"Still it is not easy to live like that." Said Theodore.

"No." agreed Maria. "But if you are willing to help, then I should be able to do this. But please stay close."

Ruwayda laughed at the face that Maria made. "I will. I promise."

There came another horn call.

"That is the final call." said Ruwayda. "The meeting will be starting very shortly. We should go now."

The three of them left for the town square. Theodore rod on Maria’s shoulder and as they approached the town hall they could see that there were still a few people who were coming at the last minute. Ruwayda reached behind her and took Maria’s hands in both of her’s as she led the two of them into the hall. Maria’s grip grew tighter as the entered. She was unsure of what she would encounter and was trying to brace herself for the worse.

The hall was the biggest she had ever seen. Big enough to hold what looked like the entire city’s population. And it looked like they were all here. It was just one large open room with a stage at the far end on which stood Taamir, with 5 other people wearing the same uniform as he did. They were all sitting waiting for the final people to settle down.

"The woman in the middle chair is Ameera." Said Ruwayda.

Maria looked at the woman sitting straight in her chair. She looked, judged Maria, to be in her 40th summer though she was in good shape. The muscles on her arms showed even at this distance, she was maybe a two thirds the size of Taamir, but could probably hold her own in a fight. Her blond hair was unbound and fell across her shoulder and nearly touched the floor as she sat there. If she had not been pointed out Maria would never have been able to figure out she was the leader. She wore the same uniform as the others, with no special symbols or anything to distinguish her from any one else. She asked Ruwayda about this.

"She was never one to show herself off as being better or different from others. That is why she dresses the same as everyone else. She feels it keeps her closer to her people."

Maria did notice something that was different from the other’s though. She saw that Ameera had a scarf wrapped around her neck. The thing that made it stick out was that it did not fit in with the rest of the uniform. All the uniforms were green, and of a plain cut, with little ornamentation, but the scarf tied around Ameera’s throat was of blue with a wave pattern of red running through it, and flecks of yellow around it.

"Does she usually wear the scarf as well? It seems to be out of place with the rest of her clothing."

"No." answered Ruwayda. "She started wearing that yesterday. Taamir said she had told them she decided to wear it because she had had a vision and that it was necessary. No one questioned it much. Why? does it mean something?"

"Perhaps." said Maria.

And then Ameera stood to address her people. It was the typical speech of how they were sure to win and that they had right on their side and that the losses were sad but they would be rewarded for their sacrifices with victory. Maria only half concentrated on the speech. She was thinking of the situation and some things were bothering her but she could not put her finger on it. She finally got up the courage to look around the room at the other’s who were gathered here.

She soon wished she hadn’t. There were at least a half dozen others here she could see were exactly like Saleem. She saw the empty eyes and far away expressions of those who were no longer with us but still walking among us. She squeezed Ruwayda’s hands so hard that the other woman let out a little gasp. Maria quickly loosened her grasp.

"What is it?"

"There are more of them. and I don’t think it stops with just the ones I see. There could be a dozen or more."

"This is sick." said Theodore. "What in the name of the unnameable is going on her?"

The speech ended with a cheer from the crowd. Many ambled out, others broke off into groups. Taamir walked over to where they were standing. Maria let go of Ruwayda’s hands.

"Ameera would like to greet you." he said to Maria. "I am to take you to her home."

"Then I will leave you to do that, while I go home." said Ruwayda.

They left for Ameera’s place. It was very large compared to other houses. Taamir explained that she did her work here as well. It turned out she was a controller of earth as well as being leader and captain of the army. as they approached the place Theodore said to her that he felt a lot of magic in this area. He told her he was going exploring and that he would meet her later.

They entered the house and into the large entry way. Taamir walked to the left and through two large doors into a large room with a fireplace in the far wall and a desk at the opposite end, behind which sat Ameera. She stood up as they entered and came to them with her hand outstretched. Taamir introduced Maria.

"I am pleased to meet you." she said. "My lieutenant is fond of his family and your saving his son makes you someone worth being friends with."

"It was nothing.’ she answered.

"I don’t think it was nothing. I am just sorry we should meet under these circumstances."

"Yes, I had heard that you were being attacked because the warlord mistakenly thinks you are hording a large amount of money."

Ameera’s face became angry. "Yes he does. but he won’t listen to reason, the man is beguiled I think."

"But how would he come to think that? who told him about it?"

"Oh that isn’t anything you should worry about. It is really our problem." she answered waving away her question, but Maria saw the look in her eye.

She knew why he thinks that and who told him. She may even know why he was told that. But right now Maria was really looking at the scarf around her neck. She was very curious as to why it was there, and recently Maria realised that she should listen to her little voice when it starts to wonder about something. It usually does so for a reason. As Ameera talked, Maria kept her eye on the scarf. At one point during their conversation Ameera reached up to fix her hair and nudged the scarf. Maria controlled her reaction as she saw that behind the scarf was a wound that no one should be able to survive. It was still raw and was beginning to scar over, but she had seen throat wounds and this one was particularly bad.

She was deciding what to do when a voice interrupted her thoughts.

"I’m back." he said.

"Good. I think I found what we were looking for, I just need to ask around a bit more."

"Well I found out what may be the cause of this conflict in the first place."

"What is it?"

"This house is sitting on an Eye of Bantoth. One of the most powerful sources of magic you can find."