Jarek sighed. What could it have been? The flicker returned and he got a better view. This time, it was on the other side of a large pond and swamp grass and it was just a glimpse of red light. No way was he going to set foot in that water. Not sure if the water was stagnant and not wanting to take the chance, he glanced around to both sides. Farther to his left, he saw the border of the water and a way around it. Swatting insects away from his face, he picked his way carefully through the vegetation.
Step by step, he found his way around the pond and glanced across at the row of brush bordering the clearing of the cavern. No problem—he could easily get back. He turned again to search for the light but came up empty. He shuffled back and forth in the small area, pushing branches aside and poking his head through thicker areas of brush.
There! Just ahead. The light stayed constant for a moment and then flashed off. He strode out across the solid ground, through the new line of brush until he hit another pond. This one definitely looked stagnant. “Cogs and gears!” His frustration started to get the best of him. He could see that the only way around was far to his right, very far. But the source of the shiny red light looked to be just on the other side of the water. Sighing, he began moving to his right, focusing on the question—what was the source of the light?
For the next thirty minutes or so, he was reminded of a simple lesson he had learned when first starting as a beam keeper. Nothing is as simple as it seems. Another stagnant pond, a line of thick brush, more swamp grass, and some icky, brownish-gray mud.
And then, there it was, lying on the ground in front of him—a piece of cloth with red crystals sewn into place. They must have been reflecting the sun. But how was it moving? He picked up the cloth and turned it over in his hand—nothing special. He gazed at the muddy ground at his feet—tracks or marks of some kind. Jarek thought the tracks appeared to belong to a bird. Of course, a bird had found this cloth and was probably carrying it around, to make a nest or something.
Jarek wadded up the cloth and stuffed it into his pocket without thinking. He looked around and realized that he had quite a walk ahead of him to get back to the cavern. What a waste of time. Surveying the landscape, he felt that first twinge of alarm—which direction? He made a couple of 360 degree turns trying to get his bearings. But nothing looked familiar.
The sun? Where should it be in the sky? If he knew that, he could navigate his way back since he knew where it was from the cavern and knew the direction in which he’d started out. He could see the orb flickering in and out of visibility with the movement of the swamp trees. The sun was lower in the sky than it should be, unless….
Growing terror replaced his concern. It would be dark within a few hours and he had no idea which way to go. He cursed the cloth in his pocket and his own careless curiosity. Jarek shut his eyes tightly and tried to focus. What to do? Striking out in a direction could get him back, or it could take him deeper into the swamp. Staying put would allow others to find him, provided they were looking. Or it could simply make him an easy target for whatever lived in these swamps once darkness descended. Commander West was going to be furious with him.
He glanced at the sun again, shocked to see it hidden behind tree trunks rather than branches. It hung low in the sky, its light penetrating only in small spurts between the large trees. Insects buzzed louder and swarmed around his head, lighting for a meal now and again. Frogs croaked. The hot, humid air became cooler, moist air. With his anxiety, breathing came harder. His eyes darted from one direction to another.
Jarek felt the sun slip below the horizon. The swamp changed. It came alive in a way that he could not have imagined. Bushes rustled, buzzing and chirping of insects grew into a melodious insect and amphibious symphony.
Cursing his ill-luck at getting caught in the swamp so late in the evening, he decided to look for a place to hunker in overnight. He found and then climbed a sturdy tree with low-hanging branches. He climbed as high was he could, but given his stature and short legs, that was decidedly not very high at all. He just hoped it was enough to avoid the swamp trolls that Mathias had told him about—fierce, ugly things. They would sooner eat the limbs right off you than talk to you. There would be no reasoning with them. Jarek shuddered at the thought.
After about an hour, he adjusted his position on the branch to alleviate some pinching and aching in his legs when he was sure he heard the snap of a twig not far from his hideout. He froze in place. A minute or two more passed without another noise, so he decided to change position again so he could peek out of his tree to see if indeed something was out there.
He screamed as he lost his balance and tumbled through the air, hitting a powerfully-built creature just before sliding to the ground.
Chapter 49: Jarek
Jarek had his eyes closed and was rocking in a fetal position when he heard a man’s voice, a familiar voice at that.
“What the blazes are you doing, Whit, and why did you jump on me?”
Jarek grabbed Virgil and hugged him, reluctant to let him go. “I’ve never been so happy to see anyone in my life. I thought you were a swamp troll.”
Virgil looked over Jarek’s head toward Mathias and glared. “Swamp troll?”
Mathias flashed him an ear-to-ear grin and then shrugged his shoulders.
“In any case, you’re a long way from home, Master Whit.” He wrenched himself free of the Azyrean’s hug and said, “Come on, let’s go. We’ve got a long walk back, and you have a lot of questions to answer. By the time Commander West is done with you, you might be wishing for swamp trolls.”
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Commander West, flanked by Captain Virgil and CeCe, stared at the downtrodden Azyrean. “You could have died out there, or worse, been found by the others. And honestly, I don’t care so much about your dying. But your reckless disregard could have cost some of my people their lives and I care very much about that.” She tapped her fingers on the wooden box sitting in front of her. “I thought that I was quite clear with you about leaving the compound. What part didn’t you understand?”
Jarek stared down at the floor, shuffling his feet as he searched for an answer. There were actually two problems for him. First, he wanted the words that would satisfy West. But more important, he needed to know for himself why he had done something so utterly stupid. He had wandered off into the swamp, of which he knew nothing, chasing what turned out to be an insignificant red bauble. He decided to try honesty, since he couldn’t think of anything better.
“I am sorry. Yes, I understood your warnings. I saw a flash of red light. I thought it might be something helpful in our search. I was wrong.” He glanced up briefly and then shamefacedly lowered his eyes.
CeCe entered the interrogation, “And just what did this red light turn out to be?”
Jarek pulled the cloth from his pocket. “Just this. I guess it was the sun reflecting off the small crystals.” He pointed out the affixed stones. “I saw some bird tracks in the mud so maybe it was carrying the cloth around. I don’t know.”
Virgil looked as though he was working to stifle a grin. He kept silent.
CeCe persisted. “What you did was totally irresponsible, you know that, don’t you?” She glared at him.
Jarek nodded. “Yes. I am sorry.” There was nothing more to say.
West eyed him for a moment before speaking. “I will say this again, Jarek, so that there is no misunderstanding. I would see you dead before I allow you to be captured by the king. So if you want to kill yourself, I don’t care. But if you try to set foot outside our compound without escort again, I will have to kill you myself. Is that clear?”
“Yes, Ma… Commander.” He closed his eyes and sighed, willing this meeting to end.
“That’s all.” West nodded to either side at her companions. “Get some dinner and then prepare for tomorrow.”
CeCe and Virgil stood and strode away toward the main section of the cavern.
“Hold for a moment, Jarek.” The commander watche
d the two others pass out of earshot. “Sit, please.” She gestured toward the seat vacated by CeCe. “I know you are under a lot of pressure. I know you are a long way from home and feel yourself without friends. And believe me, I bear you no ill will. Neither do I wish any harm to come to you.” She glanced out toward the main area.
“But you must understand that there are dangers out there. You have just come to us so you have no real knowledge of things. But please believe me when I tell you death can come from places that you least expect. I will try to guide and protect you, but you must listen very carefully to what I tell you—every word.”
Jarek shifted his gaze to the main area of the cavern, the area that had caught West’s attention as she issued her warning. Surely, she hadn’t meant to imply that any danger lurked here.
Chapter 50: Marzi
After Ryshara and Ellemareth left the house, an idea came to Marzi. Her parents had told her more times than she cared to remember that opportunity often lurked in the most unexpected and sometimes annoying places. She would make the most of her limited time alone with Ran to get directions to the cliffs, close to where she had been deposited by the green moonbeam. All she had to do was feed his ego.
The warrior sat on a pad near the door, sipping a talonberry nectar drink, seemingly lost in his own thoughts. The young Azyrean could think of nothing more annoying than Ran, with his immature bragging and know-it-all attitude.
I can make this work. “I guess I was lucky that Ryshara found me. After all, that was a long way from the Bough. She must be a really good tracker.” She cocked her head and smiled at the young elf.
He shrugged and leaned back against the wall. “She’s okay.”
Marzi teased out a little more line. “Yeah, I bet most of the young people around here couldn’t find their way out that far. Most would get lost, don’t you think?”
“What, you mean down south? It’s not that bad.” He took another drink.
Marzi’s eyes widened. “Really? You think so? Have you ever been there?”
Ran smirked. “Of course, I have.”
She almost had him. “How do you find your way. I mean, everything looks the same. I could never have found my way. Do you really know that area?”
He leaned forward and set his cup on the floor. “It’s not so bad if you know what you’re doing. The southern paths are one of my regular patrol routes. I could walk them in my sleep.”
Marzi put on her best look of amazement. “I didn’t know. You must be a great tracker.”
He nodded, his eyes bright with enthusiasm. “The patrol route is complicated. New warriors and scouts are not allowed in that area. But I’ve been doing it for three years now. The trick is to always stay within sound of the stream.” He gestured toward his left. “Once you reach the low brush, you have to use a combination of hearing and smell. You know you are near the ocean when you begin to smell the salt air and hear the pounding waves. Once we reach that part of the dark forest, we patrol along the edge and then turn back. Beyond that is scrub brush and then the cliffs.”
Marzi had it. Follow the stream south until she heard the waves. That area was where the portal dropped her. “I guess that you’re the one I’d want with me if I ever got trapped out in the woods.” She tossed the compliment, which was not completely unfelt.
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Marzi decided that she would probably need about four or five days’ worth of food. And rather than raid the cache and get all of her food at once, she had taken a little each day and stowed it in a pouch, hiding it beneath her clothing. She would take a water skin with her and refill it along the way since she’d be following a stream. So far, neither Rys nor Lothran had invaded her privacy. She felt a twinge of guilt, but, given that she was being held prisoner for no good reason, it seemed okay.
On the fourth day after making her decision to leave, Marzi awoke a full hour before dawn. Darkness cloaked the room and she could hear Ryshara’s steady breathing. She listened for a few minutes before easing out from under her covers. She had packed her old clothing the night before, and she now donned the new tunic that Elle had crafted. She reached next to her sleeping pad for her shoes. They were not where she had left them. Marzi tiptoed quietly into the main room of the house and realized that her shoes were nowhere to be found. She could not go out into the forest, or anywhere, without them. She wanted to scream with frustration at the top of her lungs, but knew that it would wake up the household, and perhaps even the entire Bough. She padded softly back into the bedroom she shared with Ryshara, where she placed her pack behind her pillow unseen, then lay down and commenced to wait out the night until the occupants of the house awoke. Marzi found no sleep though. She puzzled and seethed over her missing shoes.
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Along with dawn came the gentle sounds and homey smells of morn—a neighbor sweeping off her terrace walk, another cooking breakfast meat and toasted bread, and the soft laughter of children. Her own hosts, too, had arisen and begun their day—Marzi could smell Lothran’s favorite morning drink, talonberry tea, brewing. She had feigned sleep while Ryshara first stirred, then arose and dressed. But now that Marzi could smell delightful aromas of bread and venison coming from the kitchen, she decided to get up and join her hosts. The first order of business, though, finding her missing shoes. She had just greeted them in the kitchen and was about to query them about her shoes when there was a knock at the terrace door.
Rys answered it to find Ellemareth standing there. She held two very small pairs of shoes—one was Marzi’s old pair, and the other was a new pair of tan leather boots. Marzi, observing this, eyed Elle, then the small shoes she held, then back up to the elf. The Azyrean felt an immediate upswell of rage.
“You!” She pointed and stared daggers at Elle. “You stole my shoes.”
Ellemareth at first looked aghast at Marzi’s outburst, but she then handed the shoes to Ryshara and responded, “In our world we have manners and know the importance of showing gratitude to others.” She nodded to Lothran and Ryshara. “I will speak to you later, Rys.” She then turned and left the house.
Marzi could swear she heard Elle say something under her breath to Rys before leaving. It sounded like “… ill-mannered, spoiled little ingrate.”
“Marzi, on Elle’s behalf, she did want to ask you about your shoes before ‘borrowing’ them, but you had retired early, and neither Father nor I wanted to wake you up. And we knew that she would have them back to you first thing this morning.” Rys seemed saddened and dumbfounded by Marzi’s behavior.
She sighed as she went into the kitchen to continue breakfast preparations. “Elle must have spent hours of her free time last night making those boots. They were meant to be a nice surprise.”
Marzi did not want to offend her hosts, who had been kind to her, so she did the next best thing—she said as little as possible. But her day was ruined, and her well-thought out plans had all been for naught. She had lost an entire day and would have to go about her daily chores as if nothing happened. Who in the name of Pangrove would be grateful to someone who so thoroughly messed up their plans? Her journey south would now have to wait another day. Ingrate indeed! Before heading toward the bedroom for the night, Marzi heard Rys say, “That was really rude, you know. I thought you were better than that.” And then a big sigh from Rys as she walked past the kitchen and out the back door.
◆◆◆
Once again, Marzi arose before dawn, and, after arising from bed, fully clothed in her trekking togs, she slipped on her shoes. The new boots made by Elle were tucked into her pack, but she swore to never ever wear them. Marzi slung the water skin across her shoulder and tied the food pouches around her waist. Stealing across the room, she paused at the door, looking back in sadness. Rys had been good to her—the best friend she’d ever had. But really, was she anything more than just a nice guard? She willed the threatening tears away and eased through the house and across the threshold, softly closing the door behind her.
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The water, at first invigorating to walk in, quickly began to chill her feet through the old shoes. But hiking in the stream assured that she’d leave no telltale signs for the trackers. With the coming of daylight, she eased up on the bank and away from the stream. Surely, she had gone far enough so that picking up her trail here would be difficult.
Marzi took a swig of water from the skin and a bite of dried hare before moving on. She had no idea how far it was to the sea. Perhaps if she’d strung Ran on a little longer, he might have told her. On the other hand, she had been pretty obvious. Any more and the obnoxious boy might have caught on. No, she would just have to keep moving and trust that it was no more than a one-day journey. After all, when Ryshara had found her, they had walked less than a day to get to the Twilight Bough. At least now she was in better shape and had a purpose.
The sun found its way to a position in line with her direction of travel—south. Marzi reasoned that the time must be around noon. The elves of Twilight Bough would have by now surely noticed that she was gone and were likely scouring the woods for her. She wondered, with a pang of regret, if Ryshara would get into trouble. Marzi shook it off. She’d dealt with the arguments already. It was too late now.
Just as the sun began to move into the western sky, she came upon a low bluff. The stream cascaded down a gully of stones and resumed its journey below. A good place to rest for a moment and have something to eat.
Marzi took a long drink from her skin and then refilled it in the stream. Easing down with her back to a small sapling, she took out her food pouch and tore off a couple of strips of smoked venison and pulled out some talonberries.
As she chewed on the savory meat, she became mesmerized by the sunlight dancing on the coursing water and the glistening of the wet rocks. She suddenly felt overwhelmed with fatigue. She’d been up since before first light and had been moving constantly. A nap would be nice, but she dared not.
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