When Karl opened the red door of the Crystal Temple, laughter and the sounds of happy voices wafted out of the Great Hall along with the savory smells of cooking meat and baking bread. As he stepped into the Hall, freshly bathed, groomed, and dressed in his finest clothing—a frilled white shirt, brown doeskin breeches and boots, and a fine black coat embroidered on the cuffs with silver thread—he marveled at how much had changed in just two days. The floors and walls were spotless and gleaming. Colorful streamers and artfully rendered brass lanterns lined the walls surrounding tables and benches that were neatly arranged in long rows, enough to seat the entire village, with room to spare. The tables themselves were covered with smooth, brightly colored cloths. A small group of Hylan musicians was performing in one corner along with a local children’s chorus.

  In addition to sheer wonderment, Karl was overcome with a feeling of … home. The last Feast of the Vessel he’d attended had been in Dash, in his family’s castle with his father, mother, brothers and sisters. All gone now. He’d never expected to feel this way again. The stalwart warrior found his eyes getting moist and his lower lip beginning to tremble. Instantly, he blinked away the tears and stiffened his lips. No time for that, he thought. He began searching the room for Myria—he had important information for her. He saw Jayn Hatter and Tami Smyth skillfully directing the throng of youngsters to put the finishing touches on the decorations. None too soon, for the Hall was already filling up with villagers. In fact, most of the village appeared to already be there. Karl nodded at Daevy Helper who stood talking with the navi and a group of men on the other side of the Hall. The Mayor returned the nod, letting Karl know all the preparations had been made and everyone in the mines was ready. Daevy then raised an eyebrow at him and shrugged and Karl nodded, informing him that Hyacinth and the Mayor’s family were on their way. Karl wondered how he would feel about the guests they were bringing with them.

  Next, the Dashman’s eyes fell upon his children. Both Dahn and Xahn were assisting with the preparations. His daughter was helping to drape more streamers, and her brother was working with some of the other boys to carry a large cask to the side of the Hall where a great deal of food and drink had already been placed. That was also where a dozen cooks were hard at work, sweating over boil pots, grills, and ovens—all while smiling, joking with one another, and teasing passers-by with the mouthwatering scents coming from the makeshift kitchen.

  “I’m taking precautions,” Myria said from Karl’s side. The Dashman stifled a gasp; he swore she had simply appeared beside him. She angled her chin toward his daughter. “Dahn is keeping to the far side of the Hall, away from that blue crystal,” she said, glancing toward the far wall. “And Xahn? He recovered much more quickly than he should have. Like his knees, the rest of him seems to have completely healed. But he’s under strict orders not to touch anything made of crystal—at least for now.”

  Karl grunted, not sure what to say. There were smiles on his children’s faces and they were laughing out loud. “I haven’t seen them this happy since we lost their mother,” he said, softly.

  Myria placed a gentle hand on his arm. “Let them enjoy it,” she told him. “It won’t last long.” Karl’s head drooped slightly at those words, and he nodded.

  “They are here,” he said to Myria, raising his head casually, as if discussing the weather. The joyful din echoing in the Hall drowned out his words for everyone except the white-haired woman.

  “I heard the avalanche,” she said, nodding and smiling pleasantly, in case anyone else paid them mind. “Luckily, we are protected from the rocks and dust in this small canyon, or we’d have had to start cleaning again. Did you stop them?”

  “For now,” Karl told her, waving at Dahn who had just caught his eye. She waved back and returned to her work. “I think we have a few more hours, but no more than that. We will need to evacuate the village tonight.” He paused and briefly considered whether to tell Ekatern’s apprentice the next bit. He mentally shrugged and decided to err on the side of trust, for once. “I have other news,” he told her. “Good news, I think.”

  “Yes?” Myria looked up at the Dashman, hopefully.

  “The Healer and the Mayor’s family are on their way. They are bringing some … visitors with them.

  “Visitors?” Myria said, furrowing her brow. “From where?”

  “Ginsook is from one of the Hahn trading posts north of us. She and her baby escaped the Goblin Horde less than three days ago. M’Randa—the Soul of the Vessel—brought her. She has come to help us.”

  “M’Randa?” the old woman said, incredulous, her mouth looking pinched. “That joke is in poor taste.”

  “I’m not joking. Not at all.”

  “M’Randa?” she repeated. “Ma’HoNi’s wife who supposedly never died? The Wandering Woman? Are you saying she’s real? Even Ekatern only referred to her in a mythical sense. And Tern knew every monarch and wizard in Neworld.”

  “Very real, indeed,” Karl told her with a slight smile. “She and I have had a … prior association.” Myria’s eyebrows shot up. “Not like that!” Karl protested, his face heating. “I prefer woman under five thousand years in age, thank you. She’s going by the name of Gabriella the minstrel.”

  “The Soul of the Vessel. M’Randa. In Hylan. At the Mayor’s house, no less.” Myria said each word slowly, as if trying to force them to make sense. The old woman shook her head. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, given that we’re about to be set upon by the Goblin Horde. That’s a phrase I never thought I’d utter in my lifetime. Tern always made it seem like all this was a lifetime away. Until recently, that is.”

  “Looks like most of the preparations have been made,” Karl observed. “Sorry it took me so long to get here. I had to clean up before I came. Now that I’m here, what help do you need from me?” he asked.

  “As you can see, Ekatern’s plan has worked. People are arriving in large numbers,” Myria told him. “But most of Hylan’s people have never set foot here and don’t know their way around. Could you go out to the courtyard and direct them to the Great Hall? Inform them that the servants and the young folks will help them get seated.” She paused. “You might let it slip that you’ve heard a rumor Ekatern won’t be attending due to her advanced age. That might help lessen the blow when they find out the truth.”

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  “I hope you’re not going to tell them tonight!”

  “Not tonight,” the white-haired woman said. “But—assuming we survive the night—they will find out soon enough.”

  Karl nodded, losing more of his festive mood.

  “Did you bring your sword?” Myria asked in a whisper.

  “I did. It’s in a scabbard on my back, under my shirt. And M’Randa is bringing hers, as well.”

  Myria’s brow furrowed, then her eyes grew wide as the dinner plates on the tables around them. “You don’t mean the Sword of…?”

  “I do,” Karl interrupted her. “I have seen it.”

  “The hairs on the back of my neck just went stiff,” said the white-haired woman. “The stories from Scripture are coming alive tonight, my Lord.”

  “Please, don’t call me that,” Karl begged. But Myria had already disappeared into the crowd. The Dashman sighed and returned his gaze to his children. He watched as they and the other villagers prepared for tonight’s celebration. Soon, he knew, the laughter that echoed against the temple walls would turn to screams. But for now, he decided to let everyone enjoy the moment. Even himself.

  The navi had already begun his supplication to the Vessel when Hyacinth and her group noisily entered the Great Hall. They were very, very late.

  Getting everyone ready had been difficult. Ginsook had required a long bath and replacements for the rags she’d arrived in, as had her baby. Wyll had needed a splint applied to his ankle before dressing up in his good clothes. And it seemed that Jeanna didn’t own a clean robe, so Hyacinth had to replace it with one of Billah’s frocks, which the healer had to be let out to accommodate Jeanna’s more mature and bulky build. With all that, they had still managed to leave before sunset, but the journey up the North Road pushing Wyll in a wheelbarrow had been painfully slow. Finally, frustrated with the pace, Jeanna had grabbed Wyll out of the wheelbarrow and slung him over her back. Ignoring protests from both Hyacinth and her son, the young woman had walked so quickly she’d nearly run the remaining distance to the crystal witch’s mansion.

  Gabriella had followed Jeanna easily, despite being dressed in a beautiful golden gown that she had somehow stored in her pack without it showing a single wrinkle. The minstrel had wrapped her dark braids around her head in an artfully woven mound and fixed it in place with a large diamond-encrusted pin. Hyacinth noted that dark-skinned woman had walked barefoot but had donned a set of golden slippers as they entered the mansion. The healer wondered how Ginsook must feel about all of this, being in a strange village and unable to understand much of what was said. But the Hahnin woman had not uttered one word of complaint in either Glish or Hahntongue. Hyacinth had to admit that cleaned up and wearing an older white frock of Billah’s, Ginsook looked surprisingly pretty. Her hair was loose but neatly combed. She had accepted nothing but the bath and the dress. No jewelry. Not even shoes. But somehow the Hahnin woman seemed elegant. Her baby boy was wrapped in a gray llama wool blanket and seemed quite content as they all pushed their way through the empty courtyard through the red door and into the Great Hall.

  The navi’s voice was still echoing through the air, though he had stopped praying. Other than that, the hall was completely quiet. Hundreds of people were sitting at the tables, heads which had been bent in supplication. Then, as if they were a single creature, they all turned to stare at the newcomers.

  “Everyone is looking at us,” Wyll whispered, still clinging to Jeanna’s back. “If I’d have known we’d be the entertainment, I’d have worn a bloody jester’s hat.”

  “Language, Wyll,” Hyacinth said quietly. “But you’re right. You’re not even exaggerating, for a change.” The grin on Wyll’s face vanished as the whispering started throughout the crowd. Hyacinth doubted it was about herself or even the fact that Jeanna carried Wyll. She was certain the quiet conversations were about the two other women she had brought along. The strangers.

  “Come in, please!” Navi Jespon said in a loud, friendly voice. There was genuine smile on the tall, thin man’s face as he beckoned to them with both hands. “We saved room for you at the Mayor’s table. Well, most of you. We weren’t planning on your guests. But no matter! Can we make room for our visitors?” The navi directed his last words at the Mayor’s table. As the people around her husband jostled loudly, making room, Hyacinth offered a silent thanks to the Vessel for sending Navi Jespon to Hylan. And not for the first time. Over the years, the healer and the navi had worked together many times to aid the citizens of Hylan and he had always been friendly and helpful. And selfless, Hyacinth reminded herself. She noticed that his purple navi robes were worn and threadbare near the knees and elbows, but he had never once asked the chapel attendees for a new one. At least his ceremonial oversized purple cap looked new and bright, but that was because he hardly ever wore it.

  “Jeanna, put Wyll down,” she whispered. “Gabriella and Ginsook, narul ddarajushipshio.”

  “Pardon?” Gabby asked.

  “Follow me,” the healer said with a sideways glance at the minstrel. The woman could obviously understand Hahntongue; Hyacinth wasn’t sure why she wanted to hide her talent.

  “Of course,” Gabriella replied in her musical contralto voice, a sweet smile on her face.

  The Mayor’s table was near the front of the Hall, on the opposite side from the red door of the mansion. The latecomers had to wedge themselves between tables to get there, forcing those already seated to rise and let them by. It was a long, embarrassing walk but finally, they arrived at the table and took their seats. The baby boy seemed to find whole thing vastly amusing and started giggling at each new face he encountered.

  “Glad you made it safely,” Daevy whispered to her as she sat down. “And that our guests are safe. I worried about them going down the mountain last night, with the avalanche and all.”

  “We’ll catch up in a bit,” she whispered back, taking his hand and squeezing it. She glanced up at Navi Jespon and nodded. The navi raised both hands high above his head and shouted, “Let us make supplication to the Vessel!”

  Once again, the Great Hall grew quiet. A few folks coughed nervously, and several small children “whispered” questions to their parents, but most people bowed their heads.

  “Great Vessel who carried our souls from the Before World to the New World,” Navi Jespon started in his loud, clear tenor voice. “We thank Thee for this opportunity to share in the bounty Thou has made available to us. We thank Three for the soil, the rain, the plants and animals that Thou provided for this feast. We thank Thee for the opportunity to raise our families here in Hylan and that we have so many talented people who have provided food, drink, and beautiful music. And we thank Thee for the great woman Ekatern, who provided this wonderful facility for our feast.”

  Hyacinth heard a few murmurs in the room. There were many in the crowd who thought the crystal witch was at odds with their chapel teachings. But the healer was proud of the navi for including the old woman in his supplication.

  “As we partake of this feast,” Navi Jespon continued, unphased by the whispers, “we ask that Thou send Thy Angles down to help us in our daily battles against the forces of Nilrem and his demonspawn. We supplicate for Thy protection against the Goblin Horde and against disease, hunger, and poverty. Let us enjoy one another’s company today and be with us from now until we return to Thee in the Before Word we pray, So Let It Be.”

  “So Let It Be!” the crowd shouted in a single voice.

  “So Let It Be,” Gabriella whispered at the healer’s side. Hyacinth glanced over at her and was surprised to find tears on the woman’s beautiful brown face. For some reason, she had assumed the minstrel wasn’t a believer. She looked to her husband on the other side and found that he also had wet eyes. This shook her—Daevy almost never cried and certainly not at a navi’s supplication.

  “Let’s eat!” shouted the navi and Wyll simultaneously. A roar of laughter went up from the crowd, dispelling all nervous energy from the latecomers’ arrival.

  The Feast of the Vessel had begun.