by P R Glazier
Chapter 6. The Hunting Party
Early the following morning, Iolrreas had come to let Nar’Allia know that Lo’Rosse had arrived and that they were ready to go hunting. The celebrations had all but cleaned them out of game and other food produce. The cold store by the river would need paying back with interest and their own larder was all but empty of everything but a few spiders in the corners. He explained that a few days hunting and gathering would put things to right once more.
Nar’Allia had hastily gotten herself ready, pulling on her leather breaches and jerkin, the supple leather was a similar shade in colour to her own darkly tanned skin. She had spent a good deal of her life outside under the sun as had all the people of the village, they were used to this skin shade. Solin’s skin on the other hand had been so pale in comparison, alabaster white and beautiful. Her step mother had told her of the rich gowns and dresses that were in Amentura and Nar’Allia couldn’t help but day dream about them, she had nothing like that here, nothing to accentuate her feminism. Perhaps she would have the chance to try some on and see what sort of gentile women she could be. She smiled comically at the thought.
But she shook her head of these thoughts and sorted her hair into some semblance of tidiness, although she could have done with her little sisters help on that front. But she knew that hunting would only untidy it again, she knew that by the time they’d gone a few hundred yards into the trees her hair would be full of twigs and leaves and other detritus of the forest. It was funny, she had just experienced a few days of excitement, a break in the mundane normalities of life, but as they must, all good things end and she was back into that normality of everyday life once again. What use would she really have for fine gowns!
Once she was ready she reached up to grab hold of her hunting bow that hung on its hooks above her bed as she had done a thousand times before. But her fingers never reach the bow. Something said, “no, not that one, take the black bow.” Was that a thought or had she actually heard someone speak into her mind? She shrugged. Well the black bow will be interesting to try out again, especially against a moving target. So leaving her room she went downstairs and picked the black bow from the wall. It felt as before, slightly warm to the touch and vibrating gently, but she was used to this by now. So she strung it as her father had done and slung it across her back as she walked to the door.
Nar’Allia smiled and picked up her quiver from her father who was standing by the entrance way to the ramp that would take them down to ground level. Iolrreas had already placed twenty or so arrows within, so she fastened it to the thick leather belt buckled around her waist. Across her free shoulder she swung the leather knapsack after removing it from the hook by the door, this was the container that the family used to gather herbs and nuts and other fare of the forest. Then after kissing Minervar fondly on the cheek she and her father left the cottage.
Minervar waved them goodbye as she leaned upon the door frame of the house and watched them go with a smile.
They gathered at the foot of the wooden ramp at ground level. Lo’Rosse smiled broadly at Nar’Allia and putting one foot forward feigned a deep bow sweeping his arm in front of him in theatrical style. “Good morrow milady, I must say looking as stunningly beautiful as ever.”
Nar’Allia smiled and shook her head thinking to herself, ’are you blind?’
Lo’Rosse hooked his arm under hers and waiving his hand towards the forest said, “come, the sun shines down radiant upon your beauty, the deer and boar line up awaiting your pretty arrow and the herbs swoon giving up their precious leaves and flowers to your service.”
“By the Maker you’re in fine form this morn Lo’Rosse,” remarked Iolrreas.
“Ah, because I have this pretty lady upon my arm, and she has blessed me with her company for the day. What could be better?” At this he started to whistle an old T’Iea tune, a hunting song, he began to sing the words as led her down the path towards the outskirts of the village.
We away now this morn, through glade and thorn,
Blow thy horn of plenty, blow thy horn of plenty.
The deer shall prance, the boar shall dance,
Blow thy horn of plenty, blow thy horn of plenty.
The game is sweet, fleet of hoof beat,
Blow thy horn of plenty, blow thy horn of plenty.
We shall return our voices raised singing,
Prepare ye the cooking flames, the best pot to brimming,
Our bellies full shall be, for this I promise thee,
Though the darkness descend the camp fire to tend.
Blow thy horn of plenty, blow thy horn of plenty.
Blow thy horn of plenty, blow thy horn of plenty.
Nar’Allia thought this a ridiculous song, but she had to admit it put a spring in their step and a smile on their faces.
Once they entered the forest proper at the edge of the village along the well-worn path, there feet moved softly through the layer of leaf litter upon the ground. It was indeed a wonderful day as the shafts of light falling upon the ground illuminated little patches of woodland in various shades of green interspersed with splashes of colourful wild flowers. Many thick swathes of rhododendrons grew either side of the path, the red flowers were beautiful.
Soon Nar’Allia pulled out her small cutting knife from its little leather pouch strapped around her calf and started to look around for the various shrubs and small plants that she knew grew here, for Minervar would want seeds, leaves, petals and other gathered things for cooking and making medicines and salves. Nar’Allia knew them all, she had helped gather such things for many years ever since she had come here, she had been taught as a little girl, the knowledge passed down through the generations, for Minervar’s parents were both T’Iea provisioners and knew much about the flora and fauna of the great wood. Alas her step grandmother had died long ago and she had never known her, but on the occasions she had visited with her adopted grandfather, Minervar’s reclusive father, he had taught her much leading her around his solitary home in the great wood. She had loved it, for the great wood seemed to welcome her home and after Tent town it was a wonderful place to her, full of new and interesting things and of great beauty.
Soon the men set about tracking for any game that would prove to provide good meat for many a tasty meal. Nar’Allia could hear them discussing various things under their breath as she continued to search through the bushes and undergrowth for the plants she wanted to find. It was pleasant here, the sun’s warmth upon the back of her neck, her arms and calves, the soft ground beneath her feet, the fragrant smells emanating from the plants she was gathering She picked leaves and flowers, never too much from each, just as Minervar’s father had taught her. She found a moist hollow by the side of a stream, filled with a particular favourite and took a few leaves from each plant, the aroma the disturbed leaves gave forth was one of her favourites and reminded her of good things being prepared for a meal.
The birds called in the trees, a woodpecker rattled away at a branch, she looked up until she spotted him and watched as he alternately listened with his acute hearing then rattled away chiselling with his beak. Then listening again, moving along the branch slightly and trying again until he was rewarded with a large fat grub which he swallowed in one gulp. She thought how blessed she was to live in such a beautiful place within Eny’Nin’Rel’s creation. She chastised herself for her earlier thoughts about returning to her mundane way of life, this was her life, she ought to be thankful for it, not ungrateful or dissatisfied, yet deep down she couldn’t help but feel a little that way, she felt something was missing, she didn’t have a clue what, but it niggled her all the same.
She wondered how it would be in Amentura, would it be exciting, different and unpredictable? She hoped so. As she daydreamed, she moved about the forest floor humming that ridiculous hunting song of Lo’Rosse’s as she worked, it seemed that it was stuck in her head. She lost track of time. She sat at rest in the bowl of a great tree sipping water from her fla
sk and idly watching some industrious ants collecting bits of material from under the leaf mould, she wondered at how a single ant could carry such a large load maybe three or four times greater than its own weight. How would it be if she could do the same, such a feat would certainly reduce the number of hunting trips the family had to make. She picked up a twig and was going to poke at one of the larger soldier ants to try and battle with it when suddenly she heard a bird call. She stopped and listened intently not moving a muscle, for this call did not originate from a bird, this was her father alerting her and Lo’Rosse to the presence of potential game. He had obviously been tracking something and thought he was now close enough for them to join forces in the hunt. She made a face at the ant and said under her breath, “today you win my brave knight, I concede to your bravery upon the field of battle.” She bowed theatrically towards the oblivious creature. She laughed at herself whilst carefully placing the herbs she had been gathering into the knapsack and closed the flap and clasp to make sure nothing could fall out.
She removed the black bow and placed the knapsack diagonally across her shoulder and tied the waist belt around herself adjusting it so that it was tight but did not hinder her movements. Most times these hunting chases became energetic affairs and she did not want to lose the fruits of her labours so far this morning whilst running full tilt across the forest floor. She stood up straight and listened again. She did not have to wait long; there it was to the north-east, her father’s bird call. Silently she made her way towards the sound of her father’s summons; she knew Lo’Rosse would be doing the same, if he was not already by her father’s side. Generally, he would not approach too close, as they would have split to make the tracking more efficient. She made her way stealthily, just as her father had taught her, for she may come up behind the intended target and startle it, or be in the path of an arrow fired from one or other of the men. So when she deemed she was at a suitable distance, just beyond the range of their bows, she started to repeat the call made by her father. Lo’Rosse had started doing the same some minutes before. So her father would now have a clear picture of where they both were. As if to confirm this, her father whistled, Lo’Rosse responded, her father whistled, she responded, her father whistled back at her, a subtle difference in the tone telling her that she should move around to the left. So using this well-practiced communication the three of them would come to the best position where one or all of them could get a clear shot at the target. Nar’Allia moved further around to the left eager to know what it was that they were hunting. At the repeated whistle of her father, when she was in position she whistled back. She still did not know what form the target would take, secretly she hoped it was not one of the beautiful deer that ranged the forest, for out of all the animals they hunted, it was these majestic beasts she disliked killing the most.
A few more instructions from her father found her coming upon the crest of a deep gully, the trees were sparse here, the ground within the gully was covered in light green ferns blowing lazily in the breeze. The gully seemed a strange feature in the otherwise flat forest floor. No water could be heard, so this depression was not formed by the passage of a stream or brook. It was also strange that no trees grew either. Whilst looking around in wonder Nar’Allia noticed some of the ferns had discharged their spores into the air for in many places they drifted like thin smoke upon the breeze. OR was it? She looked more closely, she thought she saw a puff of hazy smoke billowing about in amongst the ferns. It turned in and around itself like a whirlpool. No, she must be mistaken, smoke or mist did not behave like that. She scrutinised every inch of the gully looking for either the intended target or one of the men. A movement across the gully caught her eye, she could just make out Lo’Rosse, he was looking at her. When he saw her make eye contact he blew her a kiss, she frowned and shook her head. But Lo’Rosse was then pointing down into the gully, towards the smoke ring she thought she had seen. Nar’Allia raised herself up slowly and looked in the direction he was pointing and there at the foot of the dip. Nar’Allia stifled a gasp, for there a great boar stood. It was a monster, far bigger than any boar she had ever seen; it stood taller than the ferns at the shoulder, its snout lifted in the air sniffing the breezes that blew around the place. Nar’Allia could hear its breathing from where she crouched. The boar’s formidably large curving tusks could be clearly seen; they almost curled right around the beast’s black snout. But there was something about this boar, something different. She looked at it intently; it looked in her direction as if it detected her scent. She ducked down quickly. She felt a shiver go down her spine, the beast’s eyes were like nothing she had seen before, they were like two flickering red coals. Something worried her, for the sheer size of the beast was also disconcerting, never had she seen such a large creature. She sneaked a peek the animal had turned away, she was now looking at rump. Looking further away she could see her father, the boar was between them, her father had an arrow notched.
What happened next was a blur. Her father took aim and fired, she stood and saw the arrow speed towards the target, the boar bellowed loudly as the arrow found its mark and imbedded itself deeply into the flesh of the upper thigh of the beast. A good shot she thought, but not a death dealing one. The arrow had gone into muscle, not into any organ that would have rendered the boar’s death much swifter than a slower death by loss of blood. She felt for the beast, it would be in deep pain and shock by now, and much worse for them, be as angry as a disturbed swarm of bees and seeing the red of anger and revenge.
Sure enough with a deafening bellow the boar took off along the bottom of the Iolrreas’s shot another arrow but it went wide. So it was going to be up to Lo’Rosse and herself to finish the beast. She looked back towards Lo’Rosse, she gasped, the fool what was he doing? He had stood and notching an arrow moved out into the gully to stand in the path of the boar! He fired, his arrow intended to pierce the boar’s forehead between the eyes, but instead it glanced off the thick bone of its skull and caught the boar in the shoulder. More muscle. This time the creature grunted and waivered for a second before finding that it could still run, and run it did, it seemed to accelerate straight towards Lo’Rosse, the boar could easily see him amongst the ferns and now that it had a view of one of its antagonists, all its purpose was fixed rigidly on exacting revenge for its pain. The boar sped forward bellowing madly as it went. Lo’Rosse turned to run for he had no time to notch a second arrow, to make matters worse there were few trees in the gully and what trees there were would not support Lo’Rosse’s weight if he were to try and climb up out of the way of the irate creature. Nar’Allia put her hand to her mouth, she ran. Ferns whipped at her legs and arms, loose litter on the ground threatened to topple her, but she made it down into the gully, leaping over the last of the ferns as she reached into her quiver and removed an arrow. A look of horror showed upon her face as she felt helpless, she watched the boar catch up with Lo’Rosse and take his legs out from under him, the momentum of the beast kept it going and it ran right under and tossed Lo’Rosse up and over its back, he landed heavily behind the beast which continued on up the slope of the gully.
Realising where it was, the beast slowed to a lumbering halt, Lo’Rosse lay still upon the ground. Nar’Allia could see the hot breath of the beast coming from its nostrils; see the red stained and glistening hair upon its body where the arrows had penetrated. It turned back slowly facing where Lo’Rosse had fallen, its eyes flared red as it fixed its ugly glare on the prone form of the T’Iea it had just floored. The boar bellowed louder than ever, it regained its strength and accelerated forward once more, a squealing roar of triumph echoed through the trees.
Nar’Allia could feel the pounding of its hooves upon the soft ground, great clods of soft loamy earth were being thrown up around it at every impact. Nar’Allia notched the arrow she held and in one fluid movement took aim at the beast. She knew this was the one chance she had, the one chance Lo’Rosse had. Her father couldn’t shoot, he was a distance
away and couldn’t see where Lo’Rosse lay, he would risk hitting the T’Iea and not the boar, it had to be her, it had to be this shot. Praise the maker, she thought, make this a good shot. She focussed on the boar, focussed in on its coal-red and glaring eye, all she could see was that eye.
Nar’Allia heard a voice, “we have it, shoot”.
The arrow was released and as if in slow motion she saw down the length of the shaft, heading straight for an intercept with that red fiery orb of hatred. Onward the shaft went flexing to and fro from the force of the release. For a moment Nar’Allia despaired as she thought the shot would miss its mark. But she needn’t have worried for it struck the boar right in that red smouldering eye. Red mist sprayed, the arrow carried on going straight into the beast’s brain. The boar’s nervous system suddenly shut off, the beast’s muscles went slack and its legs collapsed from beneath it. It nose-dived into the loose loamy soil spraying clods of black earth and green ferns ahead of it like a ship’s bow wave and came to a halt a centimetre away from Lo’Rosse’s head. Nar’Allia could see his hair flutter in the hot final breath of the beast as its own dead weight forced what air there was left in its lungs out through its nostrils. Then she ran to where Lo’Rosse lay prone as did her father.
Lo’Rosse had his eyes open, he winced as he said, “by the Maker that things breath stinks.”
Nar’Allia stood still and sighed wiping the sweaty grime from her forehead with the back of her sleeve she said, “thank the Maker you can still have the pleasure of smelling it.”
Lo’Rosse winced as pain shot through somewhere within his body.
Iolrreas started checking Lo’Rosse over. The obvious problem was his leg, it was bent back underneath him at an impossible angle, they knew it was broken, after careful investigations they found that a number of ribs were also snapped. Nar’Allia fetched a straight limb to use as a splint, she cut it to a suitable length and they both manoeuvred Lo’Rosse around to a sitting position where they could tie the splint after trying to straighten his leg as best they could. Then they used there leather belts to strap smaller pieces of wood around Lo-Rosse’s torso to support his chest. Give him his due this must have hurt terribly, but Lo’Rosse just winced a few times and with sharp intakes of breath occasionally. But he managed to stay conscious making it easier for Iolrreas and Nar’Allia to manoeuvre him about. Once this was done they gently hauled him up to a standing position. Lo’Rosse threw his arm around Iolrreas’s shoulder and tried a few tentative limps on his remaining good leg. It seemed ok so after Nar’Allia had recovered Lo’Rosse’s bow and also marked the kill with what remained of the lengthy stick she had cut. They started to make their way back to the village. Nar’Allia ran on ahead to alert Minervar who was after all the village healer and to ask some men to bring a stretcher. Also to get some huntsmen to retrieve the boar, at least they would be eating well in the village tonight.
Nar’Allia had finished helping Minervar with the work she was doing on Lo’Rosse’s leg. He was now at home resting and comfortable. She wondered back out and down the slope of the runway just as some men brought the body of the boar into the village. Iolrreas stood by the corpse conferring with one of the men that had recovered the best. She heard them saying something about strength in arm and something being impossible to remove without hacking the whole thing apart. As she reached the group, Iolrreas and one of the men turned towards her. Iolrreas said “that was a good shot my daughter, you saved Lo’Rosse life.”
The other T’Iea said, “aye, well and truly Narny, take a look at your arrow.” He gestured to where the body lay.
Her gaze followed the length of his arm, there the flights of the arrow she had fired could be seen, but that was it, it was only the flights that could be seen. Ordinarily even at close range an arrow would still protrude from the body quite a way, especially having hit thick bone. But her arrow had gone right in, in fact right in up to the feather flights, for this was the only part of her arrow protruding and still visible. She leant over the corpse at Iolrreas’s indication and there on the other side of the skull the arrow head could be seen protruding out, but not in a straight line from the flights. It was as if the arrow had hit the boar with such a force it had gone clean through the eye socket, hit the skull behind and then broken or deflected but still with such force remaining that it burst out through the back of the beast’s skull before finally coming to a stop.
The T’Iea said whilst rubbing his chin, “You’ve got a fairly strong arm there Narny. Remind me not to arm wrestle you eh?” Nar’Allia gave a slight smile not knowing what to say, she blushed slightly. The T’Iea laughed, “Can’t promise I can return your arrow to you though, at least not in one piece. Most of it is still inside the boar, never seen such a large one in my life.”
The boar was indeed big, bigger even than she first expected. As she looked closer there were other features of the boar that were different to. Instead of two tusks protruding it had six, two large ones that reminded her of a normal boar but also four others slightly smaller. Its feet were also strange, the hoofs of the beast seemed to be split into five independently movable toes. What they could see as a hoof was in fact five large black claws. As the butcher went to pull out her arrow the beasts head lolled to one side and its mouth opened. There its jaws had sharp dagger like teeth set within. Not the flat grinding teeth of a normal herbivore, more the teeth of a wolf, used for cutting flesh and bone.
“Tis a strange beast this,” said the man, “there is something quite unworldly about it. Never have I seen anything to match it in the great wood.”
But Nar’Allia shrugged and walked to Lo’Rosse’s parent’s house, she wanted to call in and check on how he was.
The boar was butchered and prepared, the village made ready for a great feast. Nar’Allia returned after making sure that Lo’Rosse was comfortable. Minervar was there tending to his wounds after giving him a sedative, so after a brief exchange of words with her step mother to assure herself that he was alright she returned to the open area in the village. An enormous open stone hearth had been built in the middle of the village square and the smiths had erected a metal spit and grid over the hearth. The charcoal was lit and the boar started singing, slowly roasting. Nar’Allia sat with Iolrreas the flames reflected in her eyes. She was contemplating on the day’s activities. Something else crept into her thoughts, memories of a long time ago, memories of a simple life, of childhood innocence. Something she had not thought of in many years.
Nar’Allia grasped her father hand in both hers and squeezed it as if she never wanted to let go. “Do you remember father, I used to sit and turn the spit in Tent Town? I can remember the smell of the cooking, the bustle of the customers, the heat upon my face and hands. This reminds me of those days, yet it all seems a lifetime ago?”
“Yes, Narny I remember it well, you were too small to reach the handle, we had to make a wooden box for you to stand upon.”
“Times change do they not father? No sooner do you think that everything is as it should be when something comes along to knock you off your path and set you upon some other.
Iolrreas took his daughters hand in his and looked at her fingers in the fire light. “You know Narny change is good in T’Iea lives, we live on countless years, it wouldn’t do to stay in one place, in one time, forever. For me love for another has twice brought change to my life. For others adventure brings change. For Solin it is a deep hunger for learning. For Minervar it is a deep hunger to see her children grow and do something with their lives. Change is many different things to many different people. Each of us needs to seek what it means for us. It is rarely an easy thing to discover and when you do, it’s even rarer a thing that you welcome such change with your whole heart. Some people know almost from birth what it is that they must do, but for the majority it is not so clear. For most of us looking is the best way to discover. Narny, you must never stop looking, to stop means stagnation, resignation even despair. It is in that mind that yo
u are more open to the evils of this world. But it’s not just the looking, we must take opportunities as they arrive, not to let them pass us by. The ranger, Serinae, the one that owned that black bow that seems now to be yours, she certainly would not have let an opportunity pass her, she would have grasped it with both hands, tamed it into submission until it accepted her and carried her along for the ride.”
Nar’Allia chuckled at her father’s ridiculous analogy, but deep down she knew what he was saying, and also knew that he was right. So after a few moments silence she said, “so you think I should go then? To Amentura that is. To see Solin’s house and what it contains.”
“My daughter, you are your own woman now, you must decide what you want, or need to do. You will always have a home here, but you came to this place because of my choice, I came for the love of another. I will always love you dearly my daughter, you know that. I have always sensed much in you. I think perhaps that you are destined for more than that which the great wood can offer. From what Minervar describes it seems to me that you will flourish in Amentura, for in my mind that house will unlock so much within you, things that may not be realised here perhaps. You have much to gain there, any parent would wish their offspring to realise their full potential, I think this trip will help set you on that path.”
He held his daughters head in both hands and kissed her on the forehead. Then with a glint in his eye said, “if nothing else it would be good to have time with Minervar, to go away for a while, take stock of things while you are free to do so.”
Nar’Allia smiled into her father’s eyes and squeezed his hand. She looked back into the fire light lost in thought.
Iolrreas then said, “Lo’Rosse will want to come you know, but at the moment he can’t walk, this will give you the freedom I think you want. I know you Narny, you’re not ready to settle down yet, maybe getting away from here for a while will settle your mind one way or the other.”
Nar’Allia found herself hugging her father around the neck tightly, she felt like that little girl again, standing on the wooden box, lost in her thoughts as the metal chain clattered around the cog wheels of another roasting spit so far away both in distance and in time.