EP18: JTQ - To the Karvansaray - TRANSCRIPT

 Hi! You're listening to Hyba is Writing, and I am your host, Hyba. Today I've got a special treat for you, in honor of my recovery - and thank you very much to all the lovely people on social media that wished me well! Today's episode is going to be the second episode in the Journey Through Qarra segment, where I walk you through yet another setting in my fantasy world. The setting you're going to be exploring in a moment is called Ramadi, and what makes this location so important is that this is the province that used to house the Qorsan before they were run out of the Empire of Sissa - and, if you remember, the conflict between the Sissans and the Qorsan is the main focus of my book, The Pirates of Sissa.

Before I get into this episode, I want to give a shoutout to my friend and fellow writer, Summayah, who also has her own amazing podcast called Beyond What You See where she discusses books that she enjoys from her own perspective as a Muslim, a writer, and a human being. It's the kind of podcast that makes a winter day a little warmer, so definitely to give it a listen! Summayah has been one of the most supportive people in my life lately, and I just want to give her a big thank-you today. So: Thank you!

I am feeling very blessed these days, alhamdulilah.

Alright, so now let's go explore Ramadi and make our way to the safety and peace of the karvansaray after our frightening ordeal with the kahlaqrab in the Black Desert!

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When you walk through the gates of Ramadi, you are asked to sign a great big book, as thick as your leg. In the office where you do this - a small rectangular room with a large desk and an archway leading to an adjacent room filled with shelves full of similar books - there sits a weary soldier. You scribble your name, where you were last, where it is that you call home, and the reason behind your visit to Sissa. The guard throw a glance over what you have written before allowing you to move past, and once again you find yourself tagging along at the end of the caravan of merchants. You pass through the outskirts of Ramadi, which have been long abandoned by those who once lived there. Your make your way through this black-stone ghost-town, now animated only by the Sissan border patrol guards as they make their rounds and go about their tasks.

The street-lamps are lit, the glow from their flickering flames stretching out across the blackstone streets. Most everything in this part of Ramadi is made of black sandstone, it seems, and you shudder in the cool night air, glancing around you at the dark, empty windows of houses and buildings long abandoned. You follow the merchants, for they are just as tired as you, and they make their way towards a karvansaray they seem to be familiar with.

It is not long before your surroundings begin to change - become livelier and brighter. This is the true Ramadi, full of color and light and people and sights. You are worlds away from the gloomy, mysterious outskirts of the province, away from the soldiers and their heavy presence there. Here, there is no fear - the city is alive and the lights are bright, despite the lateness of the night. You are tired, and it is not long before you make it to the karvansaray.

It is a large building, shaped like a rectangle and dotted with windows. A large opening - large enough for caravans to make it through - presents a grand courtyard. You follow the merchants and their wagons, passing into the courtyard. It is beautiful in its simplicity, and bathed in the orange glow of fire from the hanging lamps, it is even more so. There are tables to either side of you, large and worn for years of use, but sturdy all the same. Surrounding the courtyard is an arcade, simple square brick columns holding up pointed arches all around you, and beneath those archest are many doors. You stop here, but the caravan continues, passing out through another archway and into the back, where it seems most caravans are parked.

It is not long before a friendly middle-aged woman approaches you and asks you if you would like a meal. Your stomach grumbles in reply, and you realize you are ravenous. She leads you to one of the tables and you sit upon its bench, waiting for her. She will bring you hot food and tea, and promises to find you a room to lay your weary head in afterwards.

The karvansaray is used to serving hungry merchants and giving them a place to rest. It is always prepared, even in the dead of night, for new guests, and there is always a warm meal to be had or hot tea to be sipped, and there is always one more bed to be found for travelers such as yourself.

When the woman returns from the kitchen she had disappeared to, she holds in her hands a tray. She stops by your table and sets down a heavy clay plate with a steaming hot serving of cooked beans along with some freshly baked bread. Almost immediately, you break off pieces of the bread and dig in heartily, enjoying the taste of the meal, warm and delicious and nutritious all at once. If she thinks anything of your eagerness, she doesn't mention it - and perhaps that is because she is all too used to it.

She sets down a small green glass, and then takes the last thing on her wooden tray - a silver teapot - and pours hot tea into the cup, raising her hand high and letting a foam develop on the top. The tea is scalding, but you sip it anyway, enjoying the brief moment of taste before you burn your tongue. She leaves the teapot with you, taking her tray with her. She has not asked for payment, a sign that she trusts you.

By the time the hour is done, you have practically licked your plate clean, there is no more bread, and your teapot is empty. Your stomach is warm and grateful, and your spirits are lifted once more. The events of the Black Desert seem lifetimes away as you sit here in the bright glow of the karvansaray's courtyard and listen to the quiet chatter of the merchants around you.

When the woman returns to clean up your table, you ask her for a room - just a small one, for one person, if possible. She tells you that she has already prepared one for you - up the stairs in the corner of the courtyard and down the second-floor arcade on the right - the third door, that's your room. The stone steps are sturdy beneath your tired feet as you make your way up, and you find your room without any trouble.

The karvansaray is a place of peace and rest, and anyone who endangers that is quickly faced with the wrath of the staff, the guests, and the imperial guards that patrol the streets at all hours of the day and night. You are safe in its warm embrace, and as you enter your room, you close the latch on the door not because you feel insecure, but rather because you wish for some privacy.

The room is small and bare, with a wash basin and chair off to one side, and a comfortable cot on the other. A candle rests within each of the three alcoves in the room, and the window, with its warped glass overlooking the streets of Ramadi, allows a gentle glow to enter your room.

For now you will rest, but tomorrow you have a great deal of travel to do. There is much to see, and you are determined to see it all. You sink into the cot, exhausted, and watch the flickering flames of the candles until you fall asleep.

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And that's the end of this episode of Journey Through Qarra! How did you like the karvansaray? If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or requests, please let me know via any of my social media! Thanks for tuning in! Until next time!