Mina, Edvard, and Yuila finally reach Sel Deuo.
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Sel Deuo filled four square miles off the trade road. It stretched from the barley and oat fields at the west to the eastern flax farms. Edvard, Mina, and Yuila reached the lively metropolis at mid-morning, just as the heat of the day was rolling through the main fairway. Once in town, the air ceased all movement, and the heat magnified with every step.
Mina felt as if the very air was heavy with humidity and Yuila actually appeared to wilt before her very eyes. The stone buildings around them were two and three stories in height, many with balconies with thick iron railings. From most hung laundry, and bright blue banners decorated with yellow fringe and orange tassels.
Yuila pulled Sova to a halt and looked with interest to a man juggling gourds near a puppet show. Edvard took the mare's bridle and urged Neito closer to the marionettes. They watched with the small crowd that had gathered, Yuila fascinated by the stringed figures. Mina couldn't understand most of the play, as they had come in at the end, and the story was not familiar to them. Yuila sat mesmerized on the mare's back, hands limp at her sides, oblivious to the fact that Edvard had taken over Sova's direction.
When the play was over, the crowd clapped heartily and Edvard, Mina, and Yuila moved on into town. Yuila regained control over Sova, her hood pulled droopingly over her face, and Mina wondered how much the young Crone could see, if at all.
Halfway through the thoroughfare Edvard stopped at a two-story inn and told them to wait while he checked on accommodations. He returned within a moment, shaking his head. It was like that at the next inn, and the next one. Yuila's delight at the puppet show quickly vanished by the fifth inn, and she complained of being exhausted, and unable to sleep another night on the ground.
Mina was inclined to agree, but didn't say anything. The nights had indeed caught up with her, too. Edvard's frustration grew at the sixth inn of rejection, and he told them they may have to find accommodations in a stable. The idea sounded likely to both Mina and Yuila.
They had waded halfway into town when Edvard returned from the ninth inn with a smile. "Only one room," he said with a sigh, "but I think it's the last one in Sel Deuo."
Yuila had already slid off Sova's back. "I'm never leaving home again," she mumbled.
Mina nodded and dismounted. It sounded like a very good idea.
While it quite possibly housed the last rentable room in town, the inn was a choice one. Mina and Yuila stood near the entrance as Edvard made their reservation for the night at the counter. Mina saw him hesitate as the clerk presented the ledger. After a moment, he wrote on the papyrus, then handed it to the clerk. The clerk, an aged woman who could have been anywhere from fifty to seventy, in Mina's estimation, carefully read the name and studied Edvard for a long moment.
"Edvard Figlio Cass Sammis," she said slowly. "Figlio Sammis?"
Edvard nodded. The clerk made a half-bow and took the last key from the row of pegs behind the counter. She looked to Mina, and then Yuila, then motioned for Edvard and them to follow her up the curving wooden staircase.
The three-story stone inn showed signs of decades of wear and a one-time splendor of a life now past. Murals of garden scenes painted on the walls were faded and chipped, some beyond recognition, and the wooden staircase supported an ivory baluster. The clerk showed them down the second floor hall past half a dozen rooms on either side, and halted before the second to the last. She opened the thick door and gestured in, then handed the key to Edvard.
"The baths are open from dawn to sundown," she said hoarsely, her wrinkled eyes searching Mina's face with unabashed curiosity. She only glanced at Yuila, who was nearly completely hidden beneath her fringed shawl. "We have the stable next door over. Have you horses? Camels?"
"Two horses and a mule," Edvard said, glancing over the room.
"Would you be wanting an attendant?"
He shook his head. "Maybe later." He handed her two small silver coins. "Thank you. Is there a post in town?"
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