Dragonstone 49

Chapter 49
Our Heroes sail southeast, hindered somewhat by the fact that none of them know precisely where Sarain is. There's a brief discussion on religion, where we learn that Ferai is not religious, and that according to Arin, Adon himself says that deeds, not faith, show how moral a person is, and that there are supposed to be beings as far above the gods as the gods are above mortals.
The come to a fishing boat and try to ask where the nearest port city is, with little success as none of them speak the language. Finally, Alos manages to get directions to Sarain, to which Samurai Chick says "That was clever of you, ningen toshi totta," which Google Translate tells me means "I did my best." I'm pretty sure that's not what McKiernan meant there. Alos retorts that he's a drunkard, not stupid.
We eventually come to the port city of Aban, which sits on the border of Sarain and Chabba. Our Heroes dock on the southern, Sarain side, and we learn that the people here are brown-skinned and black-haired, and the women wear all-concealing robes that expose only their hands and their eyes. This is going to be painful, isn't it? It appears we have stumbled into a nest of Fantasy Ay-rabs, not to be confused with any of the actual people of the Arabian Penninsula. Expect them to be sexist theocrats who shroud their women in burlap and consider all foreigners to be infidels. Always infidels. They will wield scimitars and curved daggers, and possibly misuse the word "jihad."
We continue on towards the Golden Crescent, presumably an inn, and Alos says they'll need to get some charts. Samurai Chick says she thought he was leaving at the first opportunity, and he gripes that Aban has no taverns. "Damnfool religions and their damnfool beliefs."
I guess this is meant to show that Alos is starting to think of the others as friends, but to me it looks more like Stockholm syndrome. That, or he knows they'll just track him down and kidnap him again, so he's decided to quit fighting fate.
Also, there's another reference to Samurai Chick being "yellow." \~/
They reach the inn, where the innkeeper is nervous about these weirdo foreigners, specifically the women: "all of them wearing men's clothes and none having the decency to cover her face. Infidels all." This leads nowhere, so I'm not sure why we even had it. Ferai goes to show the innkeeper her drawing and get the words translated, but Samurai Chick tells her not to: "My tiger says no."
We jump to Our Heroes showing the picture to an " 'âlim," complete with random apostrophe. Google Translate tells me that âlim, sans apostrophe, means "scholar" in Turkish. The scholar quickly folds up the paper - excuse me, "vellum," because that's more old-timey - to keep anyone from seeing it. We learn that everyone is present except Egil and Alos: "Of [them] there was no sign." So I guess they just vanished? Their lack of presence is a mystery to the other characters? Because that's what it looks like. Words, McKiernan! Use them!
It appears we are at a library or university or some such place, since there are a bunch of young men alternating between studying and gawking at the foreigners. Samurai Chick remains "yellow" \~/ and we're informed that she and Arin are assumed to be any of a whole host of supernatural creatures, including "Elves, djinn, peries, succubi, houris, demons, angels seraphim, cherubim." I would sort of expect people - scholars - who live in a world where elves are a real, flesh-and-blood race to be slightly more knowledgeable, to say nothing of Samurai Chick, who is a human with slightly different facial features. But what do I know?
Also, cherubim and seraphim were historically believed to look nothing like short, pointy-eared women. They were freaking terrifying: cherubim were said to have four or more wings and four faces, of a human, a lion, an ox, and an eagle, while seraphim were said to have six or more wings and be covered with eyes, and were associated with the element of fire.
The scholar says the words are proscribed because they represent a forbidden religion, one associated with demons. Taking Our Heroes to a private chamber, he proceeds to spew forth some exposition, and Samurai Chick is again called "golden." \~/ We learn that Aban is controlled by the Fists of Rakka, a monotheistic and intolerant religion dedicated to the god Rakka, who turns out to be Gyphon, Mithgar's Morgoth expy, in disguise. The picture Ferai drew refers to a temple of the priestesses of Ilsitt, another name for Elwydd, our Varda clone. The Nameless Scholar says the Ilsitt-priestess's temple is located in the Demon's Maze, an area of canyons, badlands, and rocky terrain about 100 miles by 150, and believed to be haunted by a demon sent by Rakka as punishment. After some chatter, the scholar admits that there is a way into the Maze, called the Island in the Sky. It's located on the nothern edge, and he sketches it onto the map. He also advises the women to cover their faces lest they be stoned as harlots (because fantasy Ay-rabs) and not to call upon Elwydd by any name.
Suddenly, we're elsewhere and Egil and Alos are there. Alos is upset to be traveling inland, and dislikes camels. Suddenly - again - Our Heroes are heading north, riding six camels and leading another six, the women now veiled although Samurai Chick is predictably pissed off about it "because of the reason stated - that she might be taken as a harlot by stupid, hidebound men."
Y'know, social norms are different in different cultures. It some it's perfectly acceptable for women to go topless; in others, that's considered indecent. In some cultures, men are expected to always wear certain headgear, or certain styles of hair. Mixed nude bathing might be casually accepted, or it might be considered horrendously improper. I'm just sayin'.
Next paragraph, and Our Heroes have reached the Demon's Maze. Delon is aghast, Samurai Chick's tiger warns of death, and an ominous howl drifts up from the maze . . . and the chapter ends.
Drinks: 3
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