by Dan Decker
Chapter 17
Several beads of sweat rolled into Jorad's eyes and he blinked, trying to get the stinging to go away. He wrapped several fingers of the hand he was using to hold his bow around the arrow he kept ready so that he could free up his other hand to wipe his forehead. While the bow wasn't much use with the Hunwei, they'd had a close call with a group of marauding bandits several days ago. The bandits hadn't been expecting a group of survivors from Neberan to be so well armed.
Jorad's hand came away sweaty, but he was still perspiring and several minutes later sweat ran into his eyes again. As he blinked through the sweat, he examined an opening in the forest to the meadow ahead. He almost wished that winter would come a little bit sooner. This heat was miserable and his heavy backpack, sword, and arrow quiver weren't helping matters. The sweat drizzled down his back and his shirt was already wet. The forest was muggy and there wasn't as much as a breeze to help him cool down.
The heat was enough to drive a man insane. He could smell his body odor and wished that they had time for such luxuries as baths.
The clearing ahead was large enough that they'd stopped to observe it before crossing. There hadn't been anything to keep them from crossing, but the sheer openness of it gave them pause. Jorad wondered if it would ever be safe again to travel on the road. They were making good time to Zecarani considering that they'd covered most of the distance traveling off the road. It had almost been a week since the attack on Neberan and they were a little less than halfway to Zecarani.
“Nice day for a walk through hell.” Leron’s grim face matched what Jorad was feeling, but Jorad cringed at how loud Leron's voice sounded in the quiet of the forest. If Adar had been here, he would have admonished Leron for speaking too loudly. Jorad considered reminding Leron but thought better of it. He'd already warned Leron earlier this morning. Maybe one of these times, Jorad would take Adar's place in the front patrol. Adar would shut Leron up quick.
Jorad wasn't sure if Leron was referring to the heat or the new reality they faced. Either way, Jorad agreed. It could have been a nice day if it weren't for both those things.
After their frantic flight from Neberan, they’d broken into three traveling groups. Adar and Karn ahead, Tere and Tarner behind, the rest were with Jorad in between. Tere and Adar were taking great pains to avoid one another and both appeared to be more concerned about putting distance between the two of them than anything else. While there arrangement had several benefits, it had one main purpose. If they came across any Hunwei, it increased the chances that one of the parties would be able to escape. Everybody agreed that getting word of the attack to Rarbon was more important than anything else.
“Best enjoy it,” Wes whispered cheerfully. He was sitting with his back to a large fallen log. “Could be our last.”
“Quiet!” Xarda hissed, her voice barely above a whisper. She was sitting on the same log and leaned down to smack him. It hadn't been gentle but Wes took it in stride. He'd taken to Xarda and wasn’t usually more than several steps away from her. Jorad had overheard Karn teasing her about Wes yesterday. She hadn't taken it well. In retrospect, her irritation was quite comical. At the time, dusk had just been setting in and Jorad had been more concerned about surviving through the night.
“Don’t talk like that.” Xarda didn’t look at Soret who was sitting a little further down on the log. She didn’t need to; everybody knew it had been for Soret’s benefit. Nobody else in the group had lost anyone in the attack.
Jorad went to Soret. She was staring at nothing and had a faraway look on her face. He touched her arm. “You ok?”
Soret had her hair pulled back into a ponytail. There was a sheen of sweat on her face and a smudge of dirt underneath her chin. It didn't appear she'd heard the exchange between Wes and Xarda. The daggers on her belt comforted Jorad. It wouldn't be much good against the Hunwei, but Hunwei weren't the only dangerous things in the world. It had taken some convincing to get her to take his daggers. It hadn't been until he'd gotten Xarda involved in the conversation that Soret had relented. He'd felt bad for pushing her so hard but it had been the right thing to do. She couldn't be left unarmed.
“I'm making it,” she said, her eyes coming into focus as she looked at him.
Soret hadn’t said much since Neberan and Jorad still hadn't been able to get the whole story from her. Based on what little he'd pieced together, he assumed she'd seen her home destroyed. Sometime after that, she'd been taken captive and had been rescued by Adar.
At night, when Jorad wasn't on guard duty, he could sometimes hear her sobbing as she lay beside him. He didn’t know what to do or say. He had tried several times to comfort her, but the words all came out wrong. Eventually, he'd given up and kept by her side as much as possible, hoping that was enough.
“There hasn’t been any sign of pursuit for days,” Leron said again, his voice closer to a whisper this time. “We got away,”
“They haven’t cared to chase us.” Jorad wiped his brow again. Confounded sweat.
The clearing had opened suddenly when they had reached the top of an incline; the uphill hike was part of the reason why they'd waited so long at the clearing. Several of the others needed to rest. It was time to get going though. They’d been staring at it now for close to fifteen minutes. It was wide enough that they would be exposed for a quarter mile while they crossed.
If the Hunwei were looking for survivors, Jorad didn't relish being in the field when one of their ships flew by overhead. The grass was about waist high and anything could be hiding in there. The forest at the other end of the meadow was much thicker than the trees currently around them. A whole army of Ou Qui could be hiding in the grass or the trees. They could walk right by the Ou Qui and never know. Jorad looked for bushes that looked too bushy, but nothing stood out.
“Think Adar and Tere might be willing to let up a bit?” Wes asked. “It’s been three days since we’ve seen a ship.”
“No,” Jorad said, a touch of annoyance in his voice. Wes just didn't get it. This was their new way of life now. “And you better not start slacking either.” He waved his hand to gather everybody's attention. The only person that didn't look his way was Lous. That man was strange. Lous rarely spoke. Jorad had overheard Tere muttering about Lous' crazy imagination more than once.
“Anyway, I think we’re safe to move.” Jorad shifted his pack and moved his sword to a more comfortable position. “I'll go first. Wait till I've made it across.” He gave Soret what he hoped was a confident smile. “See ya soon.”
Jorad took several steps into the meadow and stopped. He could hear those behind him holding their breath, waiting for something to attack him. When nothing happened, he started moving again. The long grass that reached his elbows was doing little to ease his mind. Almost anything could be hiding here. As he made his way across, he looked for signs of life.
Even though he couldn't find tracks indicating that Adar and Karn had passed this way, Jorad was certain they'd crossed here. Adar tended to move in a straight line until something got in his way. The meadow was too wide to waste time by going around. When he had made it to the other side without any problems, he gave the signal for the others to follow.
Jorad scanned the tree line and recognized one of Adar’s markings on a pine tree at eye level. Jorad was right, they'd come this way. The small carving was of a cross, with a slash underneath. It was a warning of danger ahead and an instruction to wait. Cursing under his breath, he brought up his bow and arrow, putting a small amount of tension on the string.
The others were already too far into the clearing to signal a return to the other side. Leron was almost too him. The fool had run the whole way. Jorad would have preferred Leron to stick with them, but it was too late now.
As Jorad's level of alertness increased, he noticed that there were tracks on the ground. The tracks didn't belong to Adar or Karn; he knew their boot prints well enough by now he could tell at a glance. As he exami
ned them more closely, he determined that there were a great number of them. Because the boot print wasn't one he recognized, he guessed that a band of Ou Qui had been through here recently. Jorad wished he had noticed what Ruder's track had looked like. He'd been so enthralled with the man's disguise and had noticed little else.
The forest on this side of the clearing was thicker. As he tried to guess how many Ou Qui could be hiding nearby, he considered taking his sword out and stabbing it into the ground. Adar had explained Ruder's actions when he'd stabbed both of his short swords into the ground in the woods outside Neberan. The Ou Qui were serious about their customs. It was a great crime among their people to kill a person who'd disarmed in that fashion. He thought better of it and decided he would rather have his sword in hand, in the event they needed to flee.
The air here was a bit cooler because of the thicker foliage, but he couldn't see as far. A small breeze rustled the branches of the tree up ahead and he turned and regarded it suspiciously. If the other tree limbs around him wouldn't have started to quiver from the breeze at the same time, he would have signaled the others to stop while he investigated.
Leron approached. “I wasn’t supposed to come on this trip, you know.”
Jorad noticed with chagrin that Leron was barely sweating. It made Jorad want to give Leron some of the rations Jorad was carrying.
“Look alive, there's Ou Qui about.” Jorad continued to keep his eyes peeled, afraid something would happen to the people in the meadow.
“I took my father’s place when he broke his foot.” Leron held his bow up, but didn't look alarmed. “People are counting on you to make a claim, you know that, right? Most believe that Adar fled to protect you and always meant to send you back. They know your father would never abandon them.”
Jorad wasn't surprised to hear this but it increased his anxiety. He'd already been feeling a lot of pressure because he'd assumed this already. There was a big difference between knowing and assuming. It felt as though the large weight pressing down had just doubled.
“Protect me from what?” Jorad asked, his curiosity getting the best of him.
Xarda was walking beside Soret, whispering something into her ear. He was glad that Xarda was trying to comfort her but he wished they would hurry.
Leron looked surprised. “You don’t already know? Abel. His jealousy is the stuff of legends! Some say he murdered your mother. Many fear for the life of Cor.”
People thought Jorad's grandfather had killed his mother? Certainly, that couldn’t be true. Adar hadn't talked about Abel much, but Jorad had never heard anything like this.
“Cor?” Jorad asked as he turned toward a bird that took off from the branches of a nearby tree. He didn't get a good look, but was certain that the bird was a crow. He exhaled and tried to relax. Worry would cause him to make mistakes.
“Abel’s other son.”
That got Jorad’s attention. “Adar has a brother?”
“Abel remarried shortly after you guys left.”
Jorad felt a surge of hope. Was there somebody else who could make a claim if something happened to him? The hope was fleeting though. Cor couldn't possibly be old enough. “What is he, fifteen?”
“Fourteen.”
It would be five years before Cor was able to make a claim. It was good to know there was somebody else if Jorad failed. The only problem was that the war would be over by the time Cor was old enough.
Lous was the first to join them, looking as aloof as ever. He was closely followed by the others. Jorad pointed out Adar's warning. While they waited, Xarda and Lous both drew their swords. Wes pulled out a dagger and Soret got closer to Jorad.
“I’m sure it’s nothing,” Jorad mumbled so only she could hear. She didn’t say anything. Her eyes were big with fear. He let go of the arrow and patted her on the shoulder. “It’ll be okay.” As soon as he said it, he wished he hadn’t. It wouldn’t ever be okay again.
When Tere and Tarner caught up to them a few minutes later, they noticed Adar's warning carved into the tree. Without speaking, they drew their weapons.
When the silence started to become overwhelming, Jorad had to restrain himself from pacing. It was the last thing he needed to be doing right now. The others had gravitated to hiding places among the thick foliage. There was a small chance that a band of Ou Qui wouldn't notice them, but pacing would draw attention.
Xarda was several feet away, crouching beside a bush. She was looking more concerned by the moment. Jorad knew her well enough to know that it was for Karn.
It was almost an hour later and Jorad had been about to suggest that Tere and he scout ahead when Adar and Karn appeared. Adar was covered in sweat, but Jorad knew that he'd be able to go for hours still. There was a smudge of blood on Adar's face, but otherwise he looked the way he had when they'd started earlier in the morning. Karn was covered in sweat as well and looked a touch more fatigued than Adar.
“We're smack dab in the middle of several traveling bands of Ou Qui,” Adar said in answer to the expected question. “They’re moving the same direction as us. They’re traveling too fast and there bands are much larger than normal, otherwise we wouldn’t have noticed they were here. We’ll need to travel more closely together.”
Soret paled and Wes muttered something about wanting to keep both his ears. The others took the news with stoic resolve. The Ou Qui were skilled warriors and there were many stories of their exploits.
Tere’s face tightened when he looked at Adar but he kept silent. Jorad wasn't certain if Tere was bothered because Adar had assumed leadership of their group or if it was Tere's hatred keeping him agitated.
Jorad hadn't stopped scanning their surroundings, when Adar and Karn returned. He noticed that there was a bush rustling nearby. There were a number of trees in between him and the bush. He might not have noticed it if he hadn't been looking that direction when it had moved. The rustling wasn't being caused by the wind this time.
“We have company,” Jorad pointed towards the moving bush. As the figure came out of the underbrush, he was followed by several others. They were all dressed in the same manner Ruder had been. Tree branches and grass were woven into their disguises. Their camouflage was incredible and Jorad couldn't help but think about how useful camouflage like that would be. If he could hide that well, Hunwei would walk right past him and never know he was there.
They'd been here for over an hour and the Ou Qui had been watching them the whole time.
Jorad increased the tension in his bow. Ruder hadn’t wished them any harm, but that wasn’t a guarantee that these would feel the same way.
“Lower your weapons,” Adar said, “the Ou Qui love to fight. If they were going to attack, we wouldn’t have known until it was over. They want to talk.”
“Thought you were tracking them. You’re losing your skill.” Tere glowered at Adar.
“These came from behind.” Adar drew his sword and stuck it in the ground. Beside it, he set his quiver of arrows and his bow. He walked around the trees until he had closed about half the distance between the Ou Qui and their party.
Jorad removed his own weapons, leaving only his hidden daggers and caught up to Adar. His father turned as he approached but didn't say anything. Jorad was glad Adar didn't try to get him to turn back. He wasn't about to miss another opportunity to study their camouflage close up.
“Better hope you’re right,” Jorad said.
“I don’t recall inviting you.” Adar folded his arms and waited.
The strange men didn’t move for several long minutes. Jorad was looking back at their own group, checking on Soret, when one of the men started to approach. He removed his short swords and stuck them into the ground, then came over to meet them. His camouflage wasn’t as intricate as Ruder's, but the arrogance, which was typical of the Ou Qui, was evident. He acted as if he had an army at his back. Upon reflection, Jorad realized that the man probably did.
The Ou Qui stopped wh
en he was a few steps away and they stood in silence for several moments. Jorad examined the man closely, trying to learn more about the disguise. He remembered how part of Ruder's disguise came off as he moved around. This Ou Qui's camouflage didn't look as fresh and it struck Jorad that the gear required constant upkeep. They were probably always replenishing it with fresh branches, leaves and grass. As he examined it, he noticed the same netting he'd seen in Ruder's disguise. He also noticed strips of dark colored fabric. It varied in color from dark earthy green and blacks to several other lighter tan and brown colors as well. The darker colors were towards the bottom of the man, while the lighter colors were towards the top. Jorad was about to open his mouth when the Ou Qui spoke.
“I’m Kinib Jemmir,” the Ou Qui said.
“I’m Adar Rahid, this is my son Jorad.”
Jorad was surprised that Adar had used their proper last name. In fact, Jorad couldn't remember a time when he'd ever been introduced as a Rahid. He supposed it didn't matter now since the people they'd been hiding from had found them. He wasn't uncomfortable, but he did realize that it was going to take some time to adjust to openly being a Rahid. Kinib had an air of authority around him. Was that a flash of recognition on Kinib’s face when he heard the name Rahid?
“When was Neberan attacked?”
Jorad was taken aback. Ruder had asked the same question, but that now seemed part of another lifetime. So much had happened since then that it felt like it was years ago.
“Nearly a week ago now,” Adar said. “When was Wasat attacked?”
The Ou Qui grimaced, or at least it looked like a grimace. The mud on his face made it hard to tell. It was either that, or a smile. Jorad doubted Kinib had much to smile about.
“You are well informed. Wasat was indeed attacked several weeks ago. The ships that took your people went north too?”
“Yes, all the ones we saw.”
“In the past my people have been at war with all and it kept us strong. While we hunt the Hunwei, we can't afford to be distracted. Please accept my gifts and promise. While we are in your lands hunting the Hunwei, we won't harm you.”
It happened fast. One moment, there was nothing. The next, two black handled daggers quivered in the ground before their feet. Without hesitation, Adar responded in kind with one of his own daggers. He looked at Jorad until Jorad contributed one as well. Jorad missed sticking the blade into the ground. A patch of grass kept it from skidding. He felt a little embarrassed but put the thought out of his mind.
“Please accept our offering of peace.” The Ou Qui put his hands out, both palms up.
“We accept.” Adar picked up one of the daggers. “We promise not to attack but cannot speak for the other inhabitants of this land.”
“Are you not a Rahid?”
Adar nodded. “We can speak for Rarbon, but not for this land.”
“So be it. Our truce stands with all those from Rarbon.”
“Agreed.”
While the Ou Qui picked up his new daggers, Jorad retrieved the remaining Ou Qui dagger. When he pulled the blade up, it was covered in mud. He wiped it on his pants, only to realize that it wasn’t mud. Jorad examined the blade. The black residue that covered it seemed likely to prevent him from using the blade to cut anything. He tested his finger on the blade, and sure enough, the residue made it quite dull. Why cover a weapon with something that made it useless?
“Where are you heading?” Adar asked.
“North,” Kinib said. “We mean to get our people back.”
Adar started to speak and then changed his mind as he looked at his dagger. “Can this weapon kill them?”
Kinib shrugged. “Depends on the man.” He left and returned to his short swords. Several other figures moved to join Kinib. One of them was smaller than the others, but still dressed in the peculiar Ou Qui camouflage. That figure looked curiously at them. As Jorad watched the child disappear, he couldn’t help but wonder how many just like him had been captured by the Hunwei and taken north. The child reminded him of Joney Baron; it was hard not to imagine the Ou Qui child suffering the same fate.
“We’re not the only ones that prepared for the return of the Hunwei,” Adar said. Prepared was a generous word, considering the Neberan massacre, but Jorad didn’t argue. Neither the Ou Qui, nor anybody else could fight the Hunwei. They could only run or die.
“You don't believe this dagger could kill a Hunwei do you?” Jorad asked as he peered closer at the blade of his dagger. It reminded him of tar, only it was hardened and Jorad doubted there was anything he could do to get rid of the residue. He was down to one functioning dagger now.
“If one get's close enough for us to use it, we'll be desperate enough to try it.” Adar smiled grimly. It was his usual tight smile; it was gone just as quick as it registered.