Flux

his shirt, either. Not only would it look odd with the scarf, but the skin of his torso had been untouched by daylight for three centuries, and he would burn almost at once. But he tried very hard to hide his discomfort, and when Ennek asked him several times how he was doing, Miner nodded and smiled and said he was fine.
    Just before sundown, when Miner was certain he was going to collapse any moment, the other workers collected their tools and put their shirts back on and, with polite nods to Ennek and Miner, wandered off. The man in charge had spent the afternoon mostly watching and ordering people about. Now he walked over and shook Ennek’s hand, then Miner’s. He seemed pleased with the work they’d done. He pulled a small silk purse from around his waist and carefully counted out eight small coins, each of them hexagonal-shaped and with a hole cut in the center. He handed these to Ennek, said a few words, and left.
    Ennek looked at the coins on his palm. “I’m not sure, but I think this is enough to buy us a decent supper, at least. Then maybe we can find a place to sleep. We should be in Donghe tomorrow.”
    Food and sleep sounded wonderful to Miner. They shouldered their packs and followed their noses towards the scent of cooking food. What they found was a wide river traversed by three broad bridges. The banks of the river were crowded with small boats of many shapes and sizes. “It’s like a whole floating city,” Ennek said admiringly, and he was right. Some boats contained structures that appeared to be small houses, complete with clotheslines and window boxes overflowing with greenery. Other boats were stuffed with boxes and crates and piles; as Miner and Ennek watched, people would row up to these boats or simply call to the boats’ passengers from the riverside, apparently haggling over things like fabric and pots and even small pieces of furniture.
    But the boats that interested them the most were big enough for only one or two people, and those people were tending to food cooking over small fires. Miner couldn’t recognize most of the dishes, but they all smelled wonderful. He followed closely behind Ennek as Ennek stepped confidently to one particular vessel. Miner didn’t know why he chose that one; it seemed no more or less likely than the others. Ennek called out to the thin woman who was in the boat. She called back at him and a brief round of discussion ensued, complete with cackling laughs on her part and wide grins on Ennek’s. Finally he handed over four coins—half their worldly wealth—and she gave him two thin pottery bowls filled with a fragrant soup.
    The soup contained chunks of unidentifiable meat and green vegetables and something starchy that wasn’t a potato. There were noodles, too, thick and slightly gluey. Apparently, they were meant to eat this with a pair of small, tapered sticks. But neither of them could work out how to use the sticks, much to the amusement of the woman and several bystanders, and they ended up slurping down the delicious broth and taking turns using Miner’s knife to coax the rest out of the bowls and into their mouths.
    When every drop was gone, Ennek handed the bowls back to the woman. She added them to a big stack at the aft of her boat. Ennek exchanged some more words with her and then turned to Miner with a smile. “If you don’t mind spending the last of our hard-earned wages, she says there’s an inn nearby. How does a real bed sound, and maybe a wash with warm water?”
    Miner smiled back. “Like heaven.”

Chapter Ten
    h

    T he bed was lumpy and, had Ennek and Miner not been happy to sleep squished together, it would have been too small. But it was a bed and they slept very well in it, not minding the various noises that came from the inn’s other miniscule rooms. In the morning Miner’s muscles were sore from all the walking and the previous day’s lifting, but at least he felt well rested.
    Before they had gone to sleep they had washed their clothing in a bowl of warm water; it was almost completely dry by the time they woke up. They both shaved and Miner combed out Ennek’s curls, and when they put on their clean clothes they looked almost presentable. The palace of Donghe, Ennek had learned, was two hours’ walk.
    Breakfast was provided—small bowls of cold, lumpy porridge and as many cups of tea as they were willing to swallow. It filled their stomachs, in any case. After they’d eaten, Ennek thanked the dour