Chương 297: 2.9

As she circled over the River Vah Jewel considered how she had 'solved' the 'bandit problem' as her party finished the last leg of their journey to Fishwell Bend. It all left a sour twist in her flame. Technically the roads along the Vah were now safe, not a single trader had complained of being waylaid, extorted or gone missing for days before they left Dewglen. But there had been no justice enacted. The band of thieves had snuck away, taking the river to parts unknown.

A route so obfuscated by the Vah that none of Jewel's senses could track them. It left an itch of unresolved business in her flame despite the praise that Timotej and Ladislav piled upon her for "bringing peace and safety to their lands". They had even thrown a public festival to celebrate her 'victory' and 'rule of law'. It had felt so disingenuous. Their departure shortly after put her more in mind of a craven retreat than a victorious triumph.

Jewel considered the ferry barge that was moving the rest of her entourage across the Vah. The barge was wide and square, like the floor of a small house in Kaeketeh had been taken from its foundation and placed in the river. It reminded her a bit of Fizzbunches and his penchant for leaving random buildings and streets in his wake. The Fishwell Bend Ferry crossed the vah at what Jewel initially thought was a bit of an odd place.

The boat departed just north of where the river's east and west banks were the furthest apart. It seemed like the worst place to cross the water. Yet after seeing the floating square of wood make the trip back and forth along the hundreds of feet of water twice she had started to understand. Each side of the ferry crossed the Fishwell Bend upriver of their destination. Then gently rode the current down the gentled flow to the opposite shore.

Where a mule or two were waiting to take the guide rope and haul it back upriver for the next crossing. It all meant the river itself did most of the work of crossing. And if viewed from the right angle each crossing was a very straight passage. Sweeping over the waters. The motion was a bit like that of a shuttle on the loom. Back and forth along the weave and weft of the river currents. Taking her group and their luggage train from east to west.

Other travelers waited for the Countess of Viznove's entourage to finish crossing west some more patiently then others. Jewel flew herself over the Vah, and at her own insistence took the burden of some of her trail rations and the heavier items that could be fit on her traveling harness before divesting herself of it all after landing to wait for the party. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

But soon she grew tired of standing around waiting at the ferry dock being gawked at. It was going to take hours more to get everyone and the animals across the Vah using the single ferry. Which gave Jewel hours to mull on things without even the distraction of walking. So she decided to entertain herself by flying back and forth over her party to stretch her wings. Yes technically she and Paul could have gone with a few of her footmen as escort immediately but she was in no rush.

The purpose of Jewel coming to Fishwell Bend felt as superfluous as the celebration of her victory against the bandits. Ladislav's demesne was neighbors with Timotej's. With only a day of leisurely travel along the road between them. And She'd technically already met with and gotten the measure of the once knight at Timotej's feasts and during the gryphon hunt. The two baron's proximity also meant their requests on her were uniform. They had shared concerns with the bandits along their shared road (and river).

Jewel had already unofficially confirmed what Ladislav's own concerns were for the local lands and it was practically a twin to Timotej's own desires. Really the only thing distinct was that while Dewglen was inland east from the Vah in a shallow valley, Fishwell Bend was situated solidly on the western bank. Nestled just in the outer curve where the river turned more south-east then south. It made Ladislav only slightly more invested in rivertrade then his northern neighbor.

But really both were brothers in arms and lordship. Close bound as Knights under Bathory they had been, and their proximity as Gryphon Lords under Jewel had fostered even deeper bonds it seemed. Paul thought there probably would be a marriage between the two houses to consolidate their lands if their wives managed to have a match in children. All of it meant that there was hardly any need for a rush to meet with him.

In fact, the last word was that Ladislav's kitchens were still working on the welcoming feast so decorum would have demanded she wait in a stuffy room for hours anyway. Better to spend the time in the warm sun of late spring. Jewel considered the collection of buildings along the Vah's shores. It was a bit more than Dewglen, but there were also fewer farm fields to the west as well. The baron's house was also built of wood instead of stone. All around a respectable little manor. If a poorly defended one.

There was a hint of earth and stone set to make walls. But the buildings had long since spread out and even been built over it in places. Just like in Kaeketeh the manor's village grew beyond the structures once meant to protect it. Decades of peace had nurtured Fishwell Bend. From the air Jewel could see the trade barges and other boats carried south and away on the Vah. Others took sail, oar or tow ropes along the banks where it was available heading upriver to Kaeketeh.

This late in the day there was a lull in the boats headed north. Traders mostly seemed to prefer the accommodations offered by Fishwell Bend over braving the wooded shores. But Jewel could see those that were aiming for the shoreside way station on the northernmost edge of Dewglen's surrounding wood. And just at the limits of her vision's clarity were those that had made time enough to push even beyond, making for Kaeketeh itself likely to arrive late in the evening. It was all a teeming if gentle hum of activity.

Even several days' march south of the heart of Viznove Jewel could see her land prospering. The Traffic along the Vah almost pulsing with the sun in a kind of gentle bustle. Like the flow of her own blood and flame within her body.