I said, “So, is it settled? What do we need to do? Last night, Sashar said that she would leave in the middle of shalock as long as I planned to carry her.”
Belle said, “I had a really good time too.”
Aeyli said, “OK. Let’s make a plan. I need to talk to Tronuck and Dorel. I can do that by myself. Alexia needs to finalize things with Narhu and Oshen. We’ll need to take some food and water with us.”
Rani said, “Can we take a cart and a Calot to pull it?” She referred to the Barsoomian watchdog that was sometimes used as draft animal as well.
Aeyli said, “That’s a great idea. Even pulling a cart, it will run as fast as we do. And we need to visit one other place. I have a token gift for Mark. It should be ready now, but we all need to go together. We should do that first. I think that we can either leave tomorrow morning, or by midday today if we want to.”
I said, “I’d like to go as soon as we can, but let’s see how long our errands take and then decide.”
We cleared the meal away and went down stairs. Once again, I had to remind the girls to put on belts before we left the house. It was a habit that they had worn them every day of their lives, but now the need escaped them. They said that since they’d never really been without them, they now never thought about them.
Aeyli said that we should all follow her to see the surprise gift that she had for me and the six of us took to the street.
We walked through the village toward the shops and market district and Aeyli suddenly brought us to a halt.
She said, “Let me go talk to Sarton alone for a minute. You go to Narhu and Oshen and make arrangements and then come to Sarton’s shop. Give me ten minutes and then meet me there as soon as you can.”
She kissed me on the cheek and then scampered off. The girls turned toward Narhu’s shop.
I said, “Who is Sarton?”
Alexia answered, but in her old emotionless voice, “He is Sarton.”
I said, “Yes, but why are we going to see him?”
She said, “Because he has your gift.”
I asked, “But who is he?”
She answered, “He is the one who has your gift. What don’t you understand?”
The girls laughed and so did Alexia. I could tell that the emotionless voice was an act.
Then she said in the same voice, “Sarton’s work must not be spoken of in the street.”
I fell right into her trap and whispered, “Why?”
She looked at me and said, “Because it’s more mysterious that way.” She squeezed my arm and smiled and hurried us along.
At Narhu’s, we greeted one another and I explained that we planned to be away for a while. Narhu said that it was just as well because that would give him a freer hand with the remodeling if it wasn’t necessary to keep the house livable for a time. He agreed that he had all the help from Alexia that he needed and that his workers could handle everything from here on. We agreed to be gone for at least 20 days and he said that it would be plenty.
Next we quickly visited Oshen. He said, “Friend Mark, you have taken a very special girl from me. I can’t blame you for an instant. When you come back, she’ll have a fine shop to work in. Alexia my dear, there’s a change in you.”
Alexia had not spoken since we entered the shop. I don’t think that Oshen had expected her to.
He said, “I can see it in your eyes even if you don’t speak. You will come back to us a different woman. I can sense it. Best wishes for you on your travels.”
We said goodbye and hurried along to Sarton’s: the one who must not be spoken of, because it would be more mysterious that way. Oh, how I loved Alexia!
We opened the door to Sarton’s shop and there was Aeyli and the weapon maker that I had met a few days before at the first council meeting. They stood in front of a table in the center of the room. The table obviously had things on it, but they were covered with a black cloth.
Alexia whispered, “Oh, isn’t this mysterious?”
Sarton came forward and clasped my arm and said, “Friend Mark, I’m glad to meet you more closely. Welcome to my shop. Aeyli asked me to make something for you and I hope that I’ve done well.”
He pulled back the cloth on the table a little bit and took a black wooden sword, or Bokken, from the table. He held it out to me and I took it from him and held it in both hands.
Aeyli said, “It’s my gift.”
I examined the sword carefully. The handle was carved for a very good grip and the blade was polished beautifully. Inlaid in the handle was a small white round piece of wood and seven reddish ones. I tried the weight and balance of it, taking a few practice strokes and then went through a short exercise of several moves.
I said, “Sarton, this is wonderful. The weight and balance are perfect. In fact, it’s heavier than the one I made, but it fits my muscles extremely well.”
Sarton said, “Aeyli told me that you are very strong and suggested that I make this one heavier than I would have otherwise. The weight’s good for you?”
I said, “It’s superb! And the feel of it! It’s a masterpiece.”
He said, “The wood is much harder as well. What you had is a very hard wood, but this is the hardest on Barsoom. If you were to strike the one you made with this one, if you can strike hard enough, the first one would shatter and this one would be untouched.”
I said, “It’s marvelous. Thank you. And thank you, Aeyli. I love it. A perfect gift!”
She smiled and blushed slightly saying, “I’m glad. There’s a little more, but not for you.”
Sarton pulled back the cloth and revealed several more of the Bokken, but in a different wood.
He said, “These are a gift from me to your house. If you will let me, I will size one for each of your princesses. The wood is similar to the hard wood that you used for the ones that you made.”
I looked them over. Beautifully polished and carved and where mine had a white spot and seven red, these had a just single red spot and one white.
Sarton said, “Aeyli asked me to make a few more of these for your house as well, but I have workers making many more of a simpler unadorned design, of course, for use at the academy when you return to teach. The ones for you and Aeyli I copied from the ones that you made, but for these others, I need you to show me how to size them. I suppose that I should keep the others until… later?”
I showed him how mine lined up with my arm and leg and how I held the handle. Then I showed him how Aeyli’s sword was fitted to her. I pointed out the sizing of the grip, even though he had mine correct and had copied Aeyli’s for the other girls. I showed him how to measure the length of the handle more accurately as well.
He said, “That all makes perfect sense. What a brilliant design. Ladies, may I measure your length?”
He measured the proper length against the arm and hip of each girl and then said, “Give me an hour. I will have four of my workers cut and polish the ends. I have loops to attach them to your belts as well.”
Alexia said, “Sarton, would you allow me to stay and see the work?”
He said, “Oh yes! Please do!”
Then, turning to me he said, “Mark, I have one more thing that I think will be a good idea for you. You see, in some places, well, anywhere on the planet really, the knife that you wear will draw attention that you may not always want. If you would allow me, I’ve made a cover for both the handle and the sheath that can be used to disguise it. I hope you don’t mind me advising you to use it.”