CHAPTER 44
Andie
The ruins had been astonishing - the similarity to ancient Roman architecture was so striking. I was still reeling from what I had seen, so at first, the floating market barely registered.
Solid black squares of plastic-looking material were lined up to serve as a sort of roadway between the platforms. Each square had loops on it that the vendors’ platforms were tied to, keeping everything tethered together.
“The sellers change often,” Dakleth explained.
“Those platforms are actually boats. Their sides have been dropped down into the water. The owners can pull the sides up, untie from the causeway, and make their way to the next city’s market.
They travel up and down the river, trading at different markets.
This is the largest market, though. Some of those larger boats can’t navigate the smaller rivers. Come, let us see what they have today.”
Dakleth still hadn’t let go of my hand, but I was having difficulty balancing on the rocking causeway, so even though I wasn’t entirely comfortable with the physical contact, I allowed him to steady me.
Many of the Ptexari around us flew from stall to stall rather than use the causeways, so our path was at least clear.
It was, in short, incredible. The sights of colorful wares on display, the smell of food cooking, the sound of Ptexari laughing and haggling as music played in the background, and the gentle sound of waves lapping against the platforms was a lot to take in.
I loved it. It was like a giant, floating flea market nearly the size of my village.
I couldn’t see to the end, so I had no idea how big the actual market was, but I was sure we could get lost for hours here and not see it all.
We strolled through the market. Well, I wobbled through.
I was still unsteady on the bobbing causeway.
Dakleth stretched his wings to provide extra balance.
I envied him that. I walked slightly in front of him so I didn’t take a wing to the head, and since I was holding his hand for balance, it meant I could lead him to whatever stall caught my eye.
He seemed content to let me tug him along.
We caused a bit of a stir. Several Ptexari bowed briefly to Dakleth, and said “Greetings, Lumanela,” to me.
A few came close enough to sniff me, but Dakleth growled at them, and they backed away respectfully. M’Pak would have been proud.
I followed my nose to some of the cooking stalls.
Ovina meat was very popular. I knew it could be flavorful, but I had a hard time stomaching it.
I had my own flock of the giant grasshopper-like ovinas, and I ate their eggs, but I could no longer eat their cousins.
Instead, I tried a stick of roasted kovka.
I had seen pictures of the large rhino-like creatures, but I had never seen one in person.
It tasted a bit like lamb, and was honestly one of the best things I’d eaten on Ptekennan so far.
“This is amazing!” I said to Dakleth. “I’ve never seen a kovka.
Where do they live? Are they wild or domesticated? ”
“There are still wild kovka, but there are grasslands to the west where they are domesticated and raised,” Dakleth explained.
He ordered a flatbread with ovinas. Eww.
There were also some grilled vegetable skewers that we both agreed on.
They were quite tasty and didn’t turn my stomach.
I had almost become vegetarian on this planet, due to my squeamishness.
There were moving worm-things for sale, and some Ptekari ate those raw.
I decided it was time to leave this stall before I threw up my lunch.
“Let’s head toward the music,” I said.
We stopped at a few craft stalls along the way.
I bought a few skeins of yarn for Camavel, and Dakleth bought a bolt of a dark mustard fabric for Kashtinela.
She favored warm colors, and I knew she would love it.
We stopped in front of a booth that sold musical instruments.
A few musicians were sitting down to play.
There were various wind instruments and some different percussion instruments.
They were very talented, and I hummed softly as I caught the melody.
I listened for several minutes and then walked through the aisles to peruse the instruments for sale.
I saw Y-flutes, straight flutes, something that looked like a recorder, and several of the drums and blocks that the musicians out front were playing.
Tucked into the back corner, I gasped in delight.
It was a guitar - sort of. There were only 5 strings, and it was small - oblong-shaped like a lute, but sized closer to a banjo.
The bowl seemed made of a tortoise shell or some other type of animal shell.
Most importantly, it had a fretted neck, and I was in love.
I took some time to tune it, and a Ptexari female came around the corner, likely following the sound.
“You know how to play that?” she asked.
“Maybe,” I replied. “We have similar instruments on my home world. What is this called?”
“Truthfully, I do not know,” she replied.
“There was a visiting offworlder who racked up some debts in the gambling houses in Chikona, and all his possessions were sold before he was kicked offplanet. The investigator’s office gave that to me to sell.
No one would buy it because no one knows how to play it. ”
I played the intro to “Yesterday” from the Beatles.
It was a slow song, good for a warmup, and it was one of my Dad’s favorites.
I made several mistakes, being used to a six-string.
I hadn’t quite figured out where all the notes yet.
I sang the first verse, then saw how she and Dakleth were frozen.
I stopped singing and finished the rest of the song just on the guitar, slowly picking out the notes, becoming more familiar with the finger positionings.
“That was breathtaking,” she said. “I have never heard a voice like yours. You are a Lumanela, yes? I have heard you can bind people with your singing magic.”
“I’m human, but we may be related to the Lumanela. I don’t really know,” I said. “How much for the guitar?”
“If you will play and sing three songs in front of my store, you can have it, Lumanela,” she said.
“That’s a great deal! But, given how the Ptexari freeze up when I sing, I think it’s best that I play two songs with just the guitar, and then sing the last one. How does that sound?” I asked.
“That is wise. In truth, no one else will buy that thing anyway,” she chortled. “I’ve had it for years with no luck. I am glad to see that it has found a home with the right being.”
We made our way to the front, and the shop owner told the current musicians they could take a break while I tried out a new instrument.
They all seemed fascinated with the guitar and gave me encouraging smiles as I stepped up to play.
I started with the full version of “Yesterday” for the crowd.
It was difficult with only five strings.
I couldn’t rely on the muscle memory I had for playing, but had to remember where the notes were with the adjusted strings.
I made a few mistakes, but overall, I was pleased with it.
It was going to take some getting used to.
I picked Taylor Swift’s “Begin Again” as the second song, again, because it was easy enough to figure out on the new instrument.
I felt more comfortable after that, but I still wasn’t ready for anything ambitious.
I chose “I’ll Fly Away” as my final song to sing.
It was a simple spiritual that I’d always loved.
And it seemed appropriate to sing for a winged people.
A crowd had already gathered when I played my first two songs.
As I passed through the introduction and started the first verse of the spiritual, I saw the Ptexari’s eyes glaze over.
It was unnerving, watching them enter into the euphoria that seemed to follow my singing.
I was startled to hear a few sudden thuds and realized that some of the flying Ptexari fell onto the platform out of the air!
I heard a splash and a yelp as one of the Ptexari fell into the lake.
I stopped and watched as everyone’s eyes cleared. “Why did you stop?” asked Dakleth.
“Um, some of the Ptexari fell out of the air in a trance,” I said, pointing to a wet, angry male who was stomping his way down the causeway.
“What was that?!” the hulking male shouted as he came towards our booth. Dakleth moved in front of me as the crowd parted. “What was that noise?!” the big male demanded. “Someone tried to kill me.”
“I’m so sorry!” I said, peeking out from behind Dakleth. “I didn’t realize my singing would harm anyone.”
His wings flared open, and his crest rose as he spotted me. He shook himself like a dog, spraying us and the crowd with water droplets. “Is that a Lumanela?” he asked Dakleth. “Like the legends?”
“That is my mate,” Dakleth answered flatly, crest raised and ready to fight.
“Peace, Prince Dakleth, I mean her no harm,” the new male tried to get a look at me. He dropped to his knees. “Forgive me, Lumanela, I was merely taken by surprise. A good dunking never hurt anyone,” he chuckled. “I am your servant, Tavar of Kerlea.”
“Ah, thanks. You can get up,” I said to him. Several others in the crowd were also on bended knee. “Um, everyone can get up. Sorry for the disturbance.”
Tavar stood up and gracefully stepped around Dakleth to address me. “You are gracious as well as beautiful. Would you like to join me for a cup of Oonag?”
Dakleth pushed him away from me. “Stay away from my mate,” he growled.