CHAPTER 8
The forest canopy arched over them when they walked on a path through the Perenrod forest. The ground was dry and scattered with cones and twigs fallen from the trees. It seemed this path was not the busiest one, but nevertheless many a foot had trodden on the dry forest bed and there was no fear of losing the way. The morning had begun quietly, and the battle-weary companions had barely spoken as they had gathered their few items and bags of rations, fed and saddled their horses in the chilly morning air. Juara had been the first to mount his horse and point towards an opening in the woods, suggesting they follow a path visible there. Amashanae, however, had wanted to go back to the battlefield to find out what had actually happened during her blackout. Juara and Asaryen had managed to talk her out of the idea on the grounds of their haste to gain some ground between them and the site of the battle - in case of another troop of goblins roamed the area and perhaps already forming a party to track them down. They had had a rather heated exchange of words over that and after that everyone just kept quiet, even Asaryen for a change. They had rode for perhaps fifteen lengths, but the path had only led them ever deeper into the dense woods until it had became necessary to move on by foot, walking their horses by the reins. The atmosphere was quite strained after a night filled with revelations and the argument at dawn, and nobody felt too physically fit either. Juara’s ribs and face ached badly, but he hoped that the ribs had not after all been broken, just hurt. His chin was now black and blue and his arms ached from wielding the blade. Amashanae also felt a deep tiredness in her hands. Notwithstanding their injuries and weariness, both Juara and Amashanae still had their instincts well peaked, as any good warrior should have, and despite they perhaps looked like they were well licked, they certainly kept very alert. One could never be sure what – or who – might they be moving towards in these ancient, deep woods. They were not safe now, as they still feared the goblins they had slain might have been merely a part of a bigger army, and the rest of that army might well be on their tail by now. Their progress had been relatively easy this far, albeit the thick foliage that had now forced them to move on foot. The path still kept leading them forward, and they fully expected the terrain to become easier to travel any moment now. But as hours went on and their pace thus slowed, Asaryen finally decided to break the silence.
“Why did we have to fight and then kill all those goblins back there?”
Both the warriors were startled by this sudden naïve exclamation, but in a way they were both glad the silence had finally been broken.
“Ha, the girl is talking matters of honor, of course she would”, Juara said in a voice that was half amused, half serious. Asaryen gave him a look under her brow, as if having been insulted.
“Goblins are our enemies. If we had not killed the lot, then someone else would have done it if they could” Amashanae cut to the chase, ignoring Juara’s attempt at a more conversational approach. Baby girl needs convincing.
“But they never did anything to us”, Asaryen argued, turning her attention to Amashane, and pulling her horse closer to get to Amashanae’s side, but the path was too narrow to walk side by side. Amashane did not answer, just kept moving forward.
“No, ye are right they did not, because we did it to them first”, Juara laughed.
Amashanae still did not speak, but to herself she pondered if the girl had a point. Perhaps they could have escaped the situation without a battle. Perhaps an orc’s life also has a value. Perhaps they should have been left to live. But it was something a warrior does not question, even if the said warrior did not even really know why she felt the goblins were enemies.
“I mean, I am sure the goblins also have families. Does it not bother you at all?” Asaryen tried once again, as if reading Amashanae’s mind.
“Be quiet. You are not a soldier. You cannot understand” Amashanae snapped over her shoulder and gave Amashanae such a poisonous stare that she swallowed her next words obediently. Instead of further educating the girl Amashanae turned towards Juara:
“Why did your little friend give no warning, by the way?” she asked with biting accusation in her voice, but Juara was not to be drawn into a play of words.
“I keep Trahur not in chains” he said with a note of finality in his voice: “Sometimes it may be gone for weeks, sometimes for days. Comes and goes as pleases. I do not know what it does or where it goes to, and it is none of my concern either. I accept the help when it is available and I do not question its goings.” The response left Amashanae with little to go on, and onward they continued, again falling in silence.
The night was quickly approaching, and the party had finally gotten out of the thickest woods and located another nice clearing with some large rocks onto one side. A small stream could be heard some ways off to the forest, so water would also be available. There was also a ready-made campsite here: no fire had been burned there for several days or even weeks, but there was a ring of logs arranged around a fireplace and some debris like bits of bones and wood left by some previous travelers. They tied the horses to some trees and brushed them properly; giving them food and plenty of water to drink. Juara began to gather wood for the fire while Asaryen took their water skins and went in search of the stream. Amashanae began sorting through their rations in the bags. There was not very much left – they would need to find a village or think about hunting to avoid starving. All of a sudden there was a high-pitched shriek coming from the woods where Asaryen had vanished into:
“Aahh – Ju-Juara! Amashanae!”
Amashanae leapt up, finding her blade in her hands and darted towards the sound, all senses flaring, and Juara appeared beside her, lifting her finger to signal for quiet and motioned for her to flank from the left as he slipped into the woods on the right. Hearts pumping they sped through the trees and before long they glimpsed the stream and Asaryen’s cloak between the trees. Almost simultaneously they emerged to the waterline, sword held high, and let out a battle cry. But there was not another living soul besides Asaryen, who let out an even bigger shriek of terror seeing them suddenly appear from nowhere, and stumbled back and over a dead body lying on the waterline. Screaming now even louder she frantically tried to push herself up and away from the rotting body, until Juara picked her up and pulled her close.
“Easy, girl, it is but a dead body…nothing dangerous…easy now.” Amashanae stepped into the water and examined the body while Asaryen sobbed.
“Looks like he has been here for at least a week, there’s barely any flesh left on him and he is well rotting away. Better get the water upstream from here” she said, collecting the water skins and walked a few dozen paces upstream before she began filling them up.
“Yes, he was probably a poor traveler, just like us” Juara said, still holding Asaryen. Then a thought entered his mind and he suddenly let go of the girl, who almost dropped on the ground.
“Hey!” she exclaimed, but Juara was already at the body, ripping open the rucksack the dead man had had strapped to his back.
“Damnation! See what he was carrying! Who knew? This be the finest drink this side of Brodérunn. Tonight we shall sleep well with the spirits of drink!” he shouted out loud to the astonished women.
“What, are you of the kind who spit in the glass?” he asked with a slightly hurt expression on his face and hugging a large bottle in his hands, when the others did not reply but just stared. “Why I can certainly consume this meself if ye like it not” and with that he stepped out of the water and walked back through the woods towards the campsite. Asaryen looked at Amashanae, now laughing.
“Hah, I would not have guessed our mighty warrior so partial to drink!”
“Well you have not seen him under different circumstances” said Amashanae with a grave expression on her face. She did well remember a certain night at an inn.
“Come on, let us drag the poor fellow out of the water and then head back to camp.”
It took Juara an hour to empty the bottle while they ate and discusse
d their plans for tomorrow, but the drink began to show in Juara’s demeanor quite quickly. He kept sitting closer and closer to Asaryen and eyed Amashanae’s figure with a little too much interest, and then he suddenly leapt up and bowed to the women as if to an audience.
“And now, my fair maidens, I shall perform ye a tragic story in a form of a song. It is called A Warrior’s Glory, and it is a song our kind knows well in every part of the land.” He held a pause, a grave look on his face, closed his eyes and stood up like a statue. Asaryen leaned forward in anticipation, gazing at the admittedly ruggedly handsome warrior. After what seemed a long while of low evening wind rustling in the wind he finally began to sing in a low but powerful voice, if a bit unstable from drink:
“I must leave you my kin and be ever longing
For the fear it is rising from afar
I embark on dark journeys and go to war now
I shall fight for my gods and for my lands
Let the hell be unleashed and the hordes of evil
I will slay down my enemies and never falter
Should I fall down just let me sleep
And become of earth, soil
From my heart a strong oak will arise”
“Wonderful!” Asaryen screamed even before Juara had finished, and he beamed at her like a king to his underlings. Amashanae merely turned her back and added casually:
“I have heard better”
Juara’s smile faltered and he recoiled a little, but regained his posture.
“Let me guess, our elven princess would prefer a love song.”
“Oh! That would be great! Please Juara!” exclaimed Asaryen, but Juara paid no attention to her, the drink still hot in his veins.
“What about ye, warrior, it is clear that ye care not for the arts of voice, but seem proud to carry such warrior tattoos. Care to explain what they signify to the rest of us?” and with that he seized Amashanae’s arm and stared at the tattoos that adorned her amber skin.
“Let it be; it’s the drink in you that makes you boast and prance. I have no idea if these tattoos mean anything, and you know that.”
“Juara…” Asaryen said. “You’re scaring me.”
Juara turned on his heels.
“And what about ye, what may ye be, my fair little peasant girl, I have heard little of yer origin…” but he did not make it any further as Asaryen’s hand smashed across his cheek, sending red-hot spikes of pain on the already smashed lips. He stumbled backward, stunned, eyes widening, but the sight of the two women staring him down and the burning sensation on his cheek sobered his head.
“I am sorry”, he said, sitting down on the log. “I did not mean to be too nasty.”
Amashanae sat down as well, and motioned Asaryen to sit down too.
“Say, that is something I would also like to know. How exactly did you end up in the desert back there?”
“I was running away…” Asaryen started, looked down at her feet, and then gathered her courage and began to tell her tale.
“I may be young and naïve, and please understand that death and destruction is new to me. A week ago I still lived a sheltered and safe life where nothing was ugly and dangerous. But then my world was shattered. My parents got a great idea of me having to marry and they already had selected a husband for me. And what a husband; rich and powerful, but at least thirty years my senior and wide as a cartwheel. He must have weighed like a horse - and he looked like a pig as well! I protested with all my might, but there was nothing to do, the dowry had been paid and I was simply informed that the very next day I was to be wed to this behemoth of a man – who I barely knew. So you understand my plight.” Amashanae nodded her head gravely while Juara sat quietly, remembering a similar task he had completed a while back for money – a great success on his part too.
“I decided to flee. And much to my amazement my mother helped me. Oh how I got scared as she caught me making my escape…but it turned out she had had that in mind all along. She had to be firm in public – and in front of my father, you see – but she herself had suffered the very same fate at my age, and because of that, she had made her mind to help me escape rather than become a concubine for this…horrible old man. Asaryen’s voice broke and she trembled, remembering her family and dear mother. Amashanae laid her hand on the girl’s shoulder and soothed her.
“There, there…but that does not yet explain why you ran across the desert with no supplies?”
“Yes! And I was certain I was going to die right then and there! You see, my mother had arranged me a horse and supplies, everything I might need. And I was supposed to slip into the next city and come morning flee towards the coast, where my mother has some distant kin – but a fool I was.”
“Ye decided to cut though the desert” Juara butted in laconically.
“Yes I did. What a folly! I was so glad to have escaped, my newfound freedom rushing in my veins, I just couldn’t help but decide to ride all through the night and directly to the coast. Little did I understand that the desert is no place for a young girl and a farm horse to ride at night. At first I felt happy and careless, for I had escaped after all. But after what felt like a very long ride already I suddenly found myself arriving at a camp of drunken bandits. Such luck! But that is how it happened – before I knew it, I was riding for my life and possessions across the desert. I had a good head start, and perhaps I could have made it, but my horse was as inexperienced as I was, and before long it fell from under me and broke its foot. And thus I was left fleeing across the sands on foot. Oh!” Asaryen suddenly lifted a hand on her mouth, looking horrified. “Oh the poor creature – I never did think about what happened to it before now! How sad!”
“Asaryen, do not worry…there was nothing we could have done for it in any case. I was fleeing myself, and there was great danger” Amashanae said, pondering about it for a while. ”In fact I also would have been in quite a peril, since I had to run to the desert on foot to begin with.” Asaryen stared at Amashanae, then Juara, who shook his shoulders.
“Where did you appear from, anyway? I thought you did not know!” Asaryen said.
“Of course I do remember…something”, Amashanae said, her hand creeping up to her chest to touch the amulet. She pondered how much it would be wise to reveal, and decided to keep it simple. “One thing I have learned is that my race is hated everywhere I go and that is why I always wear my hood.”
Asaryen and Juara glanced at each other.
“Ah, Amashanae… I do not think it is yer race that scares people. It is just that your kin never comes this south, and people always fear, maybe even hate what is alien to them” Juara said.
“Yes I believe Juara is right. Even I was frightened when I saw you for the first time” Asaryen affirmed.
“I am sure when we get closer to Kiarra people will be more accustomed to seeing more elves.”
“Well, we shall see…” Amashanae said, feeling a strange warming tingle in her heart. Perhaps she was not all bad after all. She smiled and touched her amulet again “I have this” she said, pulling it out and showing it to Asaryen and Juara, who bent closer and examined it carefully. “And this” she continued, reaching for her blade from the scabbard. It was a beautiful blade, smoothly curved in the middle and towards the tip; a double-edged, rather short sword with mysterious engravings on it.
“If anything, it looks ancient”, said Juara. “I have never seen a blade quite like that…or metal like that. Must be elven.” he said in a quiet voice. Amashanae slipped the blade back into the scabbard and dropped the amulet in between her breasts.
“These objects I have…and I also know something about having a sister. I think. And… Tahlthar?” She turned her gaze onto Juara. ”But that, I think, is something that you would know more about?”
“Well, ah, we’ll see, we’ll see” Answered Juara, suddenly developing an interest to dig for some leftovers by the fire.
“Tahlthar will be found in Kiarra, I distinctly remember a certain ra
tty soldier tell me once” Amashanae said in a more powerful voice directed at the man. “Now let us hear what…” but she never finished the sentence, instead leaping on her feet and half pulling her blade out of the scabbard once again. “Stop!” she exclaimed. For there was a raggedy, dirty, hunched man suddenly standing right next to them as if he had stepped in from nowhere.
“THE BEAST” the man breathed out, his mouth screaming wide, but without much voice, in a horrid hissing hack: “BEAST.”
“What in damnation…” began Juara, as the man tuned to stare at him with bulging eyes gleaming in the light from the fire.
“The BEAST. Can’t you SEE! He’s alive...alive...he’s here the END is here the beast is HERE...” and then he broke into a hysterical laughter.
“Stop, ye vile man!” Juara said, “Ye are scaring the women – what are ye, crazy or bewitched?” and stepped forward. “Just keep yer mouth shut for a second and…” he held his hand in a stopping gesture against the man’s face, when without any hesitation or predetermination the man bent forward and sank his teeth into Juara’s middle finger.
“AAH!” Juara exclaimed, and pulled back his hand, only to find out that his finger had been bitten clean off at the second knuckle. “AAH ye! Ye!” he stumbled back, unable to react as the man vanished into the darkness where he had emerged from, leaving only an echo of muffled muttering, shrieks of laughter and exclamations as he ran into the woods with a piece of Juara’s flesh and bone in his mouth and everything went black for Juara.