Chapter 5: It's a great day in Narshe! Come see us!
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     "Hrmmm. Well, I think we're somewhere around Doma..."
Leon studied the map in front of him, turning it every which way to
try and get a perspective on the land below them. "I think..."

     "You're holding it upside down," said Kiriani tersely.
Overall, she was not too impressed with the whole situation. She
was sitting on a filthy, disgusting monster, hovering above an
island with a castle that looked none too friendly. Judging from the
flag flying on its turrets, it was under the control of the Empire.
Much as she wanted to take them on, she knew that now was
definitely not the time. Sitting here made her feel vulnerable, and
that was a feeling Kiri did not like at all. And to top it all off, the
child had woken up, and was constantly kicking her in the ribs.

     "Maybe we could ask the people in that castle for directions,"
offered Alaric hopefully.

     "Don't be ridiculous," she snapped, "that castle is controlled
by the Empire! The last thing you want is to go in there. And the
longer we sit here, the more danger we're in..." Kiri knew from
experience that the Empire was somewhat paranoid, and it would only
be a matter of time before a patrol came around and spotted them...
She sighed in exasperation. "Give me that!" She sidled her Harpiai up
to Leon's and pulled the map in front of her. "We are right over...
Doma. Which means that Narshe is almost directly north. So let's go,
already!" Leon nodded. He had pretty much gotten used to Kiriani's
abrasive personality. He nudged his beast, and soon all three were
headed in the right direction again.

     Unfortunately, the Harpiai, though endowed in strength and
stamina, were not particularly fast. An hour later, they were still
over the ocean, with Narshe's continent just coming into view.

     "Can't these things go any faster?" whined Alaric. "I'm
cold!"

     "Well, you're not the only one," said Kiri. Her bare arms
were almost numb from the cold. She shivered involuntarily.
Seeing this, Alaric opened his pack, and produced a blanket. 

     "Here," he said, holding it out, "take this."

     Kiriani smiled; a facial expression that seemed slightly out
of place on her. "Thanks," she said tentatively. Perhaps she had
been too hard on this boy. She wrapped the blanket around herself
and the infant, relishing the warmth it provided. "Mmmm." She
couldn't suppress a sigh of satisfaction.

     "That kid of yours is really cute," said Alaric amicably.

     "Huh? Er, thanks." She looked down at the child, who had
finally gone back to sleep, thank the Goddesses. "I suppose he is,
in a way..." She stroked the baby's fine blond hair.

     "What's his name?"

     "Hrm. Well, actually, he doesn't have one..."

     Alaric looked slightly taken aback. "Well, why not?"

     "Well... I don't know, I guess I just don't want to get
too... attached. There are things you don't know about him..."
Kiriani couldn't believe that she was opening up to this total
stranger. But, oddly enough, it felt... good?

     "Oh. Well, that's gonna make things difficult when he's
older! But I don't wanna have to keep saying 'hey kid', so how
about if *I* give him a name? You don't have to get involved at
all!" He grinned broadly!

     Kiri looked a bit puzzled. "Well, I suppose... that would be
alright... What did you have in mind?"

     "Well... how about... Alaric?"

     "I am *not* naming him after you!" She hugged her child
closer to her, as if to protect him from the evils of bad names
everywhere.

     "Hm. Well, fine. What about... oh, I don't know... Luigi?"

     Kiriani screwed up her face in a grimace. "You've got to
be kidding!"

     Alaric stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Well, I really can't
think of... Oh! I've got one!" His eyes lit up. "Jaran!"

     "Jaran?" Kiri looked down at her sleeping child. "Jaran
Miral," she said softly. "It's... perfect. How did you think of it?"
She looked at Alaric with a tentative smile.
     
     "Oh, well, it's from a fairy tale my mom used to tell me. It
was a prince's name, or something." He smiled back at her. It was
nice to see that she actually had a human side.

     "A prince." She smiled again. 

     "Hey you two!" the atmosphere of camaraderie was
shattered as Leon bellowed from up front. "We're almost there!"
They looked down, and there, sure enough, was the cave of
Narshe. They circled the beasts around, and slowly brought them
to land. Once the riders dismounted, they slowly took off again and
flew away, too tired from the journey to even bother fighting.
Without any further ado, the three travellers headed for the mouth
of the cave.

     Once inside, they were greeted by a strange old man. Tufts
of white hair stuck out of his head like cotton balls, and he was
dressed in a bright red robe. He looked to be about ninety.

     "Ahem! It is my great pleasure to welcome you to Narshe,
the World of Healing's Winter Wonderland! All of us here have
been anticipating your arrival! I hope we'll be able to do
business!" As he spoke, she shook Leon's hand vigorously.

     "Um, I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about,"
said Leon, trying to disengage his hand before his shoulder was
dislocated.

     "You're the investors from Jidoor, right?" The old man
nodded, as if this were an incontrovertible fact. "Well, I intend to
show you that Narshe is a great place for a winter holiday resort!
You won't be sorry you spent your GP here!" He winked
conspiratorially.

     Kiriani was beginning to get fed up with this ridiculous
little man. Her good mood evaporating, she spoke up. "Listen, you
dried-out old husk! We're not your stupid investors! We just want
to be left alone! So BEAT IT!" The old man looked taken aback at
her outburst.

     "Well, well, well... FINE then!" he sputtered, and bustled
away. Leon snickered.

     "Way to make new friends," he said.

     "Can we just find an inn, please?" she said tiredly. "I have
a splitting headache..."

     "Yeah," put in Alaric, "and I'm starving!"

     "Oh all right," conceded Leon. "Well just have to do our
shopping tomorrow." With that decided, they quickly found the
Narshe Bed'n'Breakfast (free item store coupons when you rent a
room for two nights!) and checked in. It was quite late by this time,
and Kiriani was asleep before her head touched the pillow. It had
been a long time since she had slept in such a comfortable bed. 

     On the pallet beside her lay the newly christened Jaran
Miral. The child stirred slightly, then opened his eyes. If anyone
had been awake in the room, they might have noticed that they
were much too clear for those of a child so young, or, that for the
slightest instant, they had flashed violet in the darkened room.  But
there was no one. The child named Jaran closed his eyes, and went
to sleep.