Fire in the Sky

4

Amalia Udaras was a middle-aged woman with gray-streaked brown hair. Her face was round, comfortable, still pretty, her eyes big and a dark strong blue. She’d chosen to be interviewed in the garden of her house where she had a good view of the river.

“I like to sit out here when I have a little time and the day’s a clear one. My Tamhan, he’s Kabit on the Ploлsca, my eldest boy, Dolbary, he was good at making things even when he was barely crawling, he’s carpenter’s mate on the Morrail, and my second boy, Beill, he’s prenticed to the pilot on the Grassul. Never a one of them ever had a doubt in his head that he’d be working the river when his time came. I’ve always wished I’d had a daughter or two, but Beill came hard and after him, I couldn’t have more. Cha oy, Chel Dй has his reasons.”

“Kabit. An interesting word when you look at the roots. A well/source. The rule. Will you explain it, Amalia Udaras?”

“Ah. The Kabit of a sailbarge is two things at once, Scholar. He holds coin, lends and collects interest on coin lent. Because he is moving continually along the river, this is convenient for traders and storekeepers. My Tamhan is a clever man, numbers dance for him, though he hasn’t as much time for them as he likes. He has two apprentices who do much of the actual accounting. He is also the chief officer of the barge, concerned with cargo, crew, and safe sailing. Is that sufficient?”

“Not only sufficient but interesting. I’d like to interview him if he can find a moment to talk with me. But that’s for later. Go on with what you were telling me.”

“As I said, I like to sit out here and watch the river. It’s like it ties me to my Tamhan and Dolbary and Beill. There, you see that bit of slickery there on the water, means there was a storm up near the mountains a few days ago, there’s something in the soil up there that makes that glitter when the river’s carrying new mountain mud. I used to worry when I saw that and understood what it meant. I still do, a little. You know every ten years we have the Blianta Sirnur which is rather like the Mengerak. The Children’s Walk. Did they tell you about that? Cha Oy. The Blianta Simur is a pilgrimage like that. People travel to shrines or just go visiting, or go to Chuta Meredel to study something. Not everyone, of course. Most folks only make one Blianta in their lives, though some do three or four. And if you’re always traveling like my Tamhan, cha oy, you just don’t bother. But one year he got permission for me to come on the barge with him so I could make my Blianta. What? Oh, yes. They do take passengers sometimes. Some barges. It depends upon the Kabit. Some don’t like having dirteaters on their boats. That’s what they call us, you know, even me, though I’m married and mother to the river, you might say. Anyway, we went through a terrible storm, but the barge it was tight and rode easy enough, so I haven’t worried near so much since. Mostly, if you’re on a barge and not part of the crew, you’re expected to keep out of the way at all times, otherwise you might find yourself on shore and walking.”

“Barge season. It’s high season now. You will see a lot of traffic on the river these days. The season generally runs from Kirrayl through Termallyl, that’s thaw through to the first big snowfall, though if it’s a mild winter in the mountains sometimes the first barges will leave in Diokayl, unless it’s a Fifth year when Diokayl loses a day and is called Getrentyl, that’s an old word for Sorrow, you know. When Diokayl is Getrentyl, no one starts anything. It is very bad luck. The children who are born in Getrentyl have a curse on them, they either die young or go bad some way. The Denchoks never bud in the winter months so they are spared that.”

“How long is Tamhan usually away? That varies according to how far upriver he goes and what loads he finds. If he fills up early, he comes back sooner. In general, though, in season he is away between forty and fifty days each trip and each season he will make around five trips. In the winter, when the barge is in drydock, he consults with the owners, works on the books, looks over the loans to see which are current and which look like they might go bad on him, makes plans for the next season, and oversees repairs and cleaning of the barge. Time he has left over, he plays dissa or droic with the other bargemen, works on our house-he’s neat fingered and clever, Dolbary gets his talent from his Da-goes to Council meetings and does the thousand small things he’s had to let go since Spring.”

“Me? Oh, what I do isn’t very interesting. Just a lot of little things. I make the boys’ clothes and keep them mended. Tamhan gets his shore clothes made by the tailor, of course. He has to look just right when he’s talking with merchants and mill owners and miners. I do make his workshirts, though. And I make the covers for the furnishings in his cabin on the barge. I do needlepoint, it’s something I take pleasure in. I make up my own designs and Tamhan tells me they are much admired, so perhaps Dolbary gets a little of his gift from his mother, too. I take care of the house. I take my turn fixing lunch at the school, I help the Denchok and the other Dumel wives arrange things for the fetes and rites and celebrations. Why just this last Summerday; I baked the suncakes and the berry bread and kept an eye on the children as they strung pennants and looped poppers around to make the fine noise of the Summer Greeting.”

“I am also a perfumer. I distill and blend, do concentrates which I sell to the soapmaker. It is easier to do this when Tamhan is away; some of the smells are a bit overpowering. He is always bringing me new essences, flowers and other things for my distillery and glass bottles and tubing from the Glasshouse at Dumel Olterau. And he sells my perfumes in all the Dumels he stops at. I enjoy very much the creation of new blends and it helps the family prosper.”

“I do keep busy when Tamhan’s gone, though when he comes home I like to keep a lighter schedule. I like to fuss over him a bit, listen to his tales. He’s always got interesting things to tell me. I’ve been on two other Bliantas with him since that first time and it’s always good to, hear again of places I’ve seen.”

“It is sad that Dolbary and Belli are almost never home when Tamhan is. Nor do they see each other all that often, except to wave to if their barges happen to pass. A time or two they’ve tied up together, but not often. Their rounds are just too different. Cha oy, if you live from the river, you live by river’s time.”