A Scholar Without Magic by Guy Antibes

Author:Guy Antibes
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Published: 2019-01-13T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

~

H ilsa laughed at some joke Renatee said. Sam rode just behind them on the horse that used to belong to the soldier he had killed. Emmy barked as she walked alongside Sam. Hilsa was relieved, but the capture and escape had seemed to affect Renatee’s Zogazin sense of humor for a few days. It was good to see him joking.

They were deep into Zogaz. Fewer of the Zogazin spoke Vaarekian, so Renatee gave Sam a little dictionary. “The sentence structure is the same, but the vocabulary isn’t. If you learn the new words, you will be able to communicate with anyone, but most people speak a smattering of the common language of Polistia. We don’t call it Vaarekian in Zogaz,” Hilsa had said, “Polistian is the more accepted term.”

Sam could understand that. The Zogazin seemed to be an honest, forthright people, but he felt there was something below the surface, nothing sinister, but something weird. It took a few days, for Sam hadn’t realized how oppressive Tolloy had become, but he still couldn’t get used to all the humor the Zogazin employed in their day-to-day encounters with each other.

He had never heard so much laughter in his life. It was a constant that he felt as he met the friendly Zogazin, but if he wanted to stop the laughter, all he had to do was mention Viktar Kreb’s name, and the good humor turned sour.

Sam urged his mount up to walk next to Hilsa. “I’ve been wondering what the Vaarekian dictator did to Zogaz? It seems that the very mention of his name dampens everyone’s spirit.”

Hilsa managed a smile. It wasn’t a smile filled with laughter, but a smile filled with pity. “Kreb is Zogazin from his father. His Vaarekian mother was reportedly a sourpuss and turned the boy against his Zogazin half. Kreb took on his mother’s maiden name and left Zogaz with his mother when he was nine years old and vowed never to return.”

“It looks like he is anxious to break that promise,” Sam said. “Why did you have a business in Tolloy if Kreb hated Zogaz so much?”

“I ended up in Tolloy for just the opposite reason. I fell in love with a Vaarekian cook who toured Zogaz for inspiration.” Hilsa giggled. “I ended up being the inspired one, and we opened up our Zogazin restaurant long before Kreb came to power. I had no idea Viktar had our country’s blood flowing in his veins. My husband died not long after we got the restaurant going.” She sighed with more of the sad smile and was lost in memories for a bit, Sam thought.

“Did things get worse?” Sam asked.

Hilsa nodded. “The rest of Polistia thinks we are clowns, and they are mostly right, but we are people and have our own way of living. Most Tolloyans tolerate us in their midst, but we aren’t really friends, other than a few exceptions.”

“I’m a Toraltian,” Sam said defensively. “I harbor no preconceptions about Zogaz, other than I am not as prone to laughter.

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