by RG Long
“Some things can’t be fixed,” Dairn said without any hint of a jest. “I’ve seen enough empire to know that.”
They rode on until the sun was beginning to set. Omioor finally called a halt when they couldn’t see the hands in front of their faces. There was no clearing like they had rest in that morning, but that seemed to serve Omioor well.
“Trees make good cover,” he said. “We’ll need a lot if the empire and Wrents are in the woods.”
“We haven’t seen either after leaving the work camps,” Jassa pointed out.
Omioor shook his head.
“Well, when you learn to look with more than just your eyes you’ll see more worth seeing,” Omioor said. Even though she couldn’t see him properly, Serinde was sure the old elf was shaking his head at them. “Tie the horses up, but give them enough cord to graze a bit.”
“We’ll be cold without a fire,” Dairn observed. “But I guess you don’t want us lighting one because it’ll be visible for any hunters out tonight.”
“Wrong again,” Omioor chuckled as he and his son got to work on their normal nightly routine.
“He’s not seriously going to light a fire?” Dairn asked, grabbing hold of Serinde’s arm.
She wrested it free from his grip and gave him a little push.
“Yes, he’s going to,” she said. “And don’t grab me like that.”
Before long, the party of six was now sitting around the very cleverly concealed campfire, eating some dried fruit and meat and getting ready to lay down for the evening.
“So, it’s three metal plates that surround the fire,” Dairn was saying as he observed the invention. “And you dug a hole to put the fire down into?”
“With a vent coming out here for air,” Omioor pointed out. “So be careful not to step in it.”
He sighed as he leaned back against a tree trunk. They had been able to find space between several trees that hid them well and would make it difficult for someone to sneak up on them without their knowing about it. For a while, they all sat eating and warming themselves by the fire. The cold night air was heavy around them, but there was no snow yet. For that, Serinde was thankful.
“Tell me about the armies you’ve seen,” Omioor said finally, after swallowing a bite of fruit.
Jassa and Dairn exchanged looks.
“I suppose it was a month or so ago,” Jassa said. “A giant army, tens of thousands strong, entered the forest and went west. I think they meant to drive out the wood walkers from the forest. I’m not sure. We were tasked with cutting down the trees to serve the empire.”
Dairn cut in.
“They didn’t take any siege weapons or anything. It’d be too hard to navigate in the forest. Just the emperor and his troops. But they did take a large number of Speakers with them. About two weeks after they went by, ships came up the river. Some looking like they were just carrying supplies to the front, others looked like they had fresh soldiers. Maybe for a new assault somewhere?”
Serinde thought about this. An army marching west. Ships going out to meet them, but more looking like they were ready to assault other areas. Omioor came to a conclusion before she did.
“It sounds like they want to neutralize the Wood Walkers and then move north to Darrion. They’ve already amassed a good number of their troops there. Sending more would guarantee a victory, plus they would have taken care of any threat coming from behind them. Hmm.”
Erilas sat for a moment, tapping her dagger on a rock, apparently without thinking. Serinde made a shushing sound at her.
“Oh,” she said. “Sorry.”
“Thinking about something?” Omioor asked, sitting forward.
“I...” Erilas stuttered, obviously uncomfortable at being so addressed. For all the words they shared together back in Azol and even shortly after they left, Erilas had become quieter and quieter. Maybe it was because every time she talked, Serinde disagreed with her.
“I wonder what the purpose of it all is,” she said. “Why take over the Wood Walkers? Why Darrion? Can’t they just be content with what they have?”
Omioor chuckled a little, but Serinde didn’t feel like it was in Erilas’ direction.
“It’s never enough,” he said. “You’ve seen what it's like in one of their cities. You’ve lived it. The only thing the empire is really good at is stripping a land of its natural resources and war. So, they do the latter to get the former. Irradan only has so much to offer. The empire wants all it has and more, it would seem.”
He sighed.
“The evils of Enoth grow by the day,” he said.
“Doesn’t seem like he thinks so,” Dairn said, pointing at Orin. “He hasn’t said a word.”
Omioor looked from Dairn to his son and back.
“That’s because his tongue was cut out as a child,” he said.
Silence followed this statement.
“I’m...” Dairn stammered. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?” Omioor asked. “You didn’t do it. It wasn’t your fault.”
He sighed deeply.
“It was mine. The empire wanted me to do something that I refused to be a part of. As punishment, they cut out my son’s tongue and gave it to me, as a sign of what would come the next time I felt rebellious.”
He laughed darkly.
“An odd thing,” he said. “It was because of that very incident that I have devoted my life to bringing down this dreaded empire.”
Serinde’s eyes were welling up with rage and sadness. How could anyone be so cruel?
“How terrible,” she muttered.
“It is,” Omioor agreed. “But that’s why we’re doing what we’re doing. To stop this madness so the people of Irradan can live their lives without fear of being murdered for disagreeing with someone or worked to death for an empire that doesn’t care for its own people.”
“And what is it exactly that you’re doing?” Jassa asked.
“That,” Omioor said. “Is our business.”
With that, he rolled over and laid down on his pad with his blanket. The great thing about the metal that they put around their fire each night wasn’t just that it kept the fire hidden from most prying eyes, it also radiated heat towards them. Serinde adjusted so that the cool spot of her was now facing the fire.
“Aren’t you going to set a watch?” Jassa asked, seeing Omioor and Serinde lay down.
“Of course we are,” Omioor laughed. “Erilas first, then Orin, then Serinde for the last watch. I get to sleep peacefully tonight should all go well.”
“What about us?” Dairn asked. “We could help with the watch.”
In the dark, Serinde thought she heard Omioor make a sound like a snort, but he quickly replied.
“We met you today and you’ve earned our trust so far as we won’t kill you,” he said. “I’m not quite ready to have you watch over the camp while the rest of us sleep.”
20: To Barter Passage
For a week, they traveled north. From Memoor to the interior coast was a two-week journey by horse. They were on schedule to meet up with their contact.
Who that was, what they would do after that, and in what direction they were to head, Omioor was keeping very close to his chest. He had explained something of the plan to the four of them. Now that they had included the two new additions, Omioor kept everything to himself other than the day to day directions, distribution of food, and where they would rest at night.
Serinde was beginning to smell the changing air as they approached their point of meeting. The sound of the water also came to them through the winter breeze. She wasn’t sure whether or not she would be glad to see the water, however. Riding on the boat to Memoor was an experience she did not care to relive anytime soon.
The trees were growing thicker now. These weren’t the saplings they saw when they had first entered the forest from the borders of Enoth. Ancients sentinels that stood as tall as any tower Serinde had ever seen and as thick as houses now filled the forest around them
. They didn’t have to look far each night to find a place to rest. The giant trees provided plenty of cover for them once they got off the path.
“Should be just over this ledge,” Omioor said as they approached a rise in the terrain. The ground rose in a steady incline for several strides before Serinde could see over to the other side. She gasped when the sight met her eyes.
The ocean to the south where they had sailed to Memoor was green and turbulent. These waters were as blue as a summer sky and softly lapping against the shores. Beautiful clouds floated blissfully over the waters that Serinde could not see the other side of. She had thought, foolishly now she realized, that she might see the other shore of the Great Sea if she just looked far enough. Now she knew that not even the best sighted elves could see the distant shores. The water ran on and ran, just like the ocean. But, unlike those waters, these held land on the other side.
Where ever that may be.
Dairn was looking from east to west as well.
“I’ve never seen the Great Sea,” he said. “Only the ocean by Tawic. This looks much different than what I remember.”
A sudden thought hit Serinde.
“How long have you been away from Tawic?” she asked. In all of Omioor’s questioning, this fact had escaped them.
“Twenty years,” he replied without any commentary.
Serinde wanted to ask more, finally feeling curious about the elf she had shared a horse with for a week, but her train of thought was interrupted by Erilas.
“Is that who we’re supposed to meet?” she asked, pointing out to the sea’s edge.
The rise in ground declined straight to the water from the point their horses stood. While Serinde and Dairn had been looking out to the waters beyond, Erilas’ gaze had been down to the shore where a small boat with a single sail was pushed up against the shore.
“Oh no,” Serinde said as she saw that this boat was even smaller than the one she had sailed on and would, more than likely, be tossed on the water just as badly.
Omioor and Orin were already halfway to the boat on their horses, so Serinde prodded hers onward. They arrived just in time to see Omioor embracing an elf who looked as old as he did. They smiled at one another for a while before speaking.
“Never thought I’d see you, old friend,” the sailor said. “It’s been, what, seven years?”
“Ten. at least!” Omioor replied. “How are you Gillan?”
“The rebellion is going well,” he said, looking up at them. “Or, so I heard. If that’s the case, I couldn’t be better!”
He looked at their company once more and furrowed his brow.
“Though, I was only expecting four, I must say.”
Omioor looked at their group and sighed.
“We picked up two coming through the forest,” he said. “Runaway slaves from Tawic.”
“Tawic?” Gillan repeated. “That’s an awful long way to run.”
“And a longer tale than we have time for,” Omioor replied. “At least for now. What’s the latest?”
Gillan cleared his throat after looking for a long while at Dairn and Jassa.
“Emperor Rophilborn has his troops retreating from the west. I don’t think things went how he expected when he faced the Wood Walkers. It seems either he had more of a fight than he wanted or the Wrents came in and helped fight them, or at least disrupted the fight that had been going on.”
“More Wrents?” Omioor asked.
“More than I’ve ever heard of this far south,” Gillan replied. “But they seem to have broken up a bit after meeting the elves.”
Omioor just nodded and then looked back at Dairn and Jassa.
“We don’t have far to travel,” he told them. “But from what I heard from you two, it won’t be far enough. You’re looking to leave the continent as soon as you can?”
Jassa nodded.
“I don’t see any better alternative,” Dairn said, shrugging his shoulders.
This statement stung Serinde a little. They had spent a awhile talking about the rebellion and what they had been able to accomplish and how their efforts were making elves who had been enslaved all of their lives finally free from the oppression of Enoth.
Serinde saw several better alternatives, none of them including leaving Irradan.
“We can get you to a ship that will take you to Ruyn or Redact,” Gillan said. “I doubt you’ll want to go anywhere else.”
Dairn nodded.
“Thanks,” he said. “So now what?”
“All aboard,” Gillan replied with a smile on his face.
SERINDE WAS RIGHT ABOUT one thing. She hated being aboard a ship. Especially such a small vessel.
“Are you sure the horses will be ok?” she asked as she held onto whatever seemed to be solid for dear life. They were sailing along the coastline, always keeping it within view, and heading east. The plan was to make port at a Darrion city, one Omioor wouldn’t reveal, and then get resupplied and figure out their next move. If Rophilborn came east, they would find him and his troops. If he moved north, they would sail for Lone Peak and wait for him to appear.
“I’m actually surprised our contact wasn’t here to pick them up,” Omioor said as he sat cross legged on a barrel, smoking a pipe. Since boarding the ship, he had become much less grouchy and concerned. He was a bit more himself now that the first leg of the journey was over.
“We’ll send word once we make port,” Gillan said from the wheel of the ship. “To ease your mind, young one.”
Serinde snorted.
Young one? Certainly not her! She had a few years on Dairn, at least; that ought to qualify as something. But Dairn and Jassa were both too happy to care who got called young. They were on a boat.
Before they had been carted off to chop wood for the empire, it had been their job to fish, Jassa had explained. Now that they were back on a boat, Serinde could tell that they felt more alive than they had in decades.
Throwing ropes back and forth, tying off the sail, adjusting other bits that Serinde had forgotten the name of three times, they seemed at their ease.
“I can see why you want to work to get off the continent,” Serinde muttered, hoping that the act of opening her mouth wouldn’t allow the contents of her stomach to come boiling up.
“It’s what I do!” Dairn said, as he perched himself atop the sail, like one who sits in the crow’s nest of a much larger vessel.
“What do you see?” Gillan asked as he observed the elf scanning the horizon.
“Blue skies and good winds!” Dairn replied.
“Excellent,” Gillan answered.
They sailed the rest of the day and on into the night. The little ship had quarters for sleeping under the ship’s stern. A small area for food storage and other goods was in the prow.
“’Prow’ means the back, right?” Serinde asked, trying to think of things other than waves and moving and churning things.
“The back is the ‘stern,’” Jassa answered. He was more kind in relaying the names of things to Serinde than Dairn. She imagined that he was too happy to be bothered with terms and questions. “The front is the prow.”
Serinde nodded, not wanting to feel her dry mouth open again for a moment.
“Please move Serinde into the stern of this ship before she hurls whatever is left of her dinner,” Omioor advised.
Erilas, who never had trouble in either of the boats they had traveled in, kindly helped Serinde navigate the distance between the rail and the small stair that led down to the sleeping area.
It wasn't much, just two rooms, one on each side. Gillan said he’d be fine sleeping on the deck and even showed them a little covering he had rigged up to let him be out without being uncovered. Serinde and Erilas had been given the room on the right, while the others were in the room on the left. It was cramped, but it was better than sleeping on rocks.
At least, Serinde was sure the others felt that way. By now, she’d prefer the rocks.
“I really hate t
raveling by water,” she said as Erilas deposited her onto a small, low bed. It was built into the wall, so if nothing else she didn’t have to worry about being flung out or moved across the room. The very idea of a hammock made her want to vomit.
Erilas sat on her bed and just looked at her sister for a while. Serinde could feel her stare, even with her eyes closed and her stomach in knots.
“What?” she asked, half annoyed, half glad she hadn’t just run back out of the room and back up to the deck.
“You know we may not survive this,” she said. “In fact, it’ll be a miracle if we do.”
Serinde sighed. She knew her sister was right. This was going to be a dangerous mission. It was already. They had fought off Wrents and accepted two strangers into their midst that she wasn’t quite sure they could trust yet.
“We will,” she replied, stubbornly. “And, when this is all over, we’ll find a home. A place to settle down.”
Erilas scoffed, but said nothing. There was wind picking up outside and it sounded like Jassa and Dairn were reorganizing the deck. A few clumps and bangs echoed above their heads, but they ignored them.
“What?” Serinde challenged.
“You haven’t stayed in one spot long enough to even consider settling down since father...”
Erilas’ voice trailed off.
“It’s only been a few months,” she said, her voice holding together. Serinde knew that her sister was on the verge of tears, though. She could always tell.
“We haven’t even been without him for a year and I miss him so terribly,” she continued. “And all you’ve got in your mind is revenge and death and stopping Enoth.”
“I do want to stop...”
But Erilas cut across her, not something she did very often.
“You want to avenge father,” she said in a little bit louder voice to talk over Serinde. “But I don’t know if you’ve even felt the full weight of him being gone.”
“You know he’s gone,” she said, raising her hands to stop Serinde’s retort. It was stopped by the sudden movement she made to sit up anyway. Her stomach did three flips and she lay back down. “But you’ve let your heart get so full of anger that I don’t know if you’ve even accepted that things won’t be the same after we do this. If we can even do this at all! This won’t bring back father. And it won’t make it easier to go back to Azol later, either. You’re just...”