The only good thing was that they had seen no other people, although that might have been a welcome relief, and importantly, they had seen no sign of the Glee.
“All right,” Richard said, “I don’t know how this can be possible. It makes no sense, but it makes less sense to keep doing what clearly isn’t working. We have to do something different.”
Kahlan could see how frustrated he was. “Like what?”
“There are a number of ways to make sure you are maintaining your direction of travel. The best way is to use landmarks to keep you on course. A prominent ridge or mountain are a good way to keep your bearings. Even high ground can give you sight of some landmark to use, even a distinctive tree. But in these woods, we can’t see anything like that. We’re going to have to do something else.”
Berdine made a face. “What else is there to do then? With the clouds we can’t be sure of the direction of the sun. We can’t see any kind of landmark except these trees, and they all look the same.”
Richard didn’t argue the last point. “We are going to have to use plot lines to make sure we are going in a straight line. These woods are fairly open, the ground is relatively flat, and without much vegetation down low we can see for quite a long distance.”
“How does that help us?” Vika asked.
“There are nine of us. That is an advantage we can use. We need to spread out in a straight line. When the last person in line can see at least the next two are lined up in a perfectly straight line ahead, then the next person goes out ahead. Guided by hand signals, they will go left or right so that the ones behind can ensure that they are positioned in a straight line and that the people in front of them are always in a direct line of sight. Everyone has to be lined up with at least three people visible ahead to make sure our line is straight.
“Once all of us are strung out in what we know to be a straight line, then the last person in line can go forward and take the lead, with the first few of us in line making sure they are positioned properly on that straight plot line. In that way we keep leapfrogging a line that we know to be straight, and we can keep it straight going forward.
“I don’t know what the problem is, but for some reason these woods are confusing us—confusing me—and we aren’t traveling in a straight direction. I don’t know the cause, but this should solve the problem. It will be slower traveling, at least for a while, but once we get beyond this problem area, we should be able to spot landmarks. When we do, then things will return to normal.”
Shale gazed around at the woods as if scrutinizing them for the source of trouble. “Do you think it could be magic of some sort causing this strange aberration?”
“I don’t know what the problem is,” Richard said. “But by doing this we should be able to get beyond this troublesome area to where we need to be traveling, no matter the cause. That’s the solution.”
Once they had a plan, they wasted no time in implementing it. Richard was right, it did slow down their progress, but going around in circles was not really progress. Kahlan was glad that everyone seemed pleased by this new tactic. It also relieved the monotony of the long days of travel only to keep discovering that they weren’t getting anywhere.
After they kept leapfrogging along their line for a number of days, Kahlan noticed that the terrain began to change. There were more rock outcroppings and they were larger, indicating that they were making it out of the strange woods. They eventually came to a small lake they had never seen before. After being in under the gloomy canopy for so long, they were all relieved to look out over the water and up at the open sky.
They dismounted by the shore to have a quick meal and a brief rest. Kahlan sat close to Richard. They were all relieved to simply be able look out at a new landscape as they ate some travel biscuits and dried meat.
Farther on, they came to some deadfall that again opened up the forest to the sky. The heavy clouds persisted, but at least the rain and mist had stopped.
The next morning, Richard took a deer with a clean shot with his bow. It took some time to skin and clean the deer, but they were all eager to give up a morning of travel in order to have some needed fresh meat. Travel biscuits and dried meat were getting old.
After riding for the rest of the afternoon and as darkness began to gather, they finally stopped to make camp for the night. Kahlan was more than relieved to finally be able to get down out of the saddle. She walked around a bit to get the circulation moving better in her legs. Her pregnancy was beginning to make riding a horse uncomfortable.
As with every night so far, even though they were at last in a seemingly new place, there was no especially good defensive place to camp, so they had to again settle on a flat place among the trees. After picketing the horses and giving them some oats, they all trampled down the ferns and scraped the ground clear of forest debris to make spots for their bedrolls. There had been ample small streams for water whenever they made camp in the strange woods. Fortunately, now that the were out of those woods, all the recent rains meant that the streams were both plentiful and full.
“Why is it, do you suppose,” Shale asked as she trampled some of the small plants, “that we came to that same rock again, with your mark on it, but we have never come across one of our campsites again? Doesn’t that strike you as odd?”
Kahlan could tell that Richard’s patience was wearing thin, and he had a time keeping his composure at the question.
“Your guess is as good as mine,” he finally told her. “I need to collect wood.”
The Mord-Sith noticed his quiet annoyance and busied themselves with clearing the ground for a place for the fire and collecting stones to make a fire ring. Kahlan knew they were all hungry, but no one said so. The mood was tense and none of them wanted to test Richard. For that matter, neither did Kahlan. She knew that something was bothering him.
Richard stacked wood for a fire over strips of birch bark and small sticks wiped on pine sap for kindling. He looked up at Shale and gestured. She knew what he meant and, with a flick of her hand, ignited a healthy flame in among the kindling. After the fire was burning hot he added new wood and after a time raked some of the glowing coals to the side and used them to cook some of the meat.
They used their knives to make long, sharp poles from young saplings in order to skewer and cook pieces of meat. Richard sliced off generous portions of the venison backstrap. It was the tenderest cut and everyone was eager to eat, but they merely said thanks when Richard handed each of them a piece and stuck them on their skewers. He set a number of chunks aside for anyone who wanted more. A few of the Mord-Sith hardly charred the outside of their pieces before sinking their teeth into the meat. They all moaned with pleasure and rolled their eyes at the taste.
The meal did as much for everyone’s spirits as it did for their stomachs.
31
“Thank you, Lord Rahl,” Vika said, “for providing us this meal.”
“Yes, thank you,” Berdine added. “It’s delicious!”
Between chewing, the rest of them chimed in with their thanks. Even Shale voiced her gratitude. Richard didn’t say anything, but he did smile at them all, even if Kahlan thought it looked forced. Now that it seemed they were finally moving into new territory, no longer in the strange wood, and back on course, as well as having a good meal, everyone was feeling better.
“Although we’ve spent a great deal of time with you,” Richard said to Shale without looking up, “we actually don’t know much about you. Are your parents still alive?”
Kahlan instantly went on alert. His recent mood suddenly made sense to her. Although it was an innocent enough question, and no one else would have thought it was anything unusual, she recognized the subtle difference in Richard’s tone of voice. That single question told her that Richard had asked that question not to make casual conversation, but as the Seeker.
It also told her that he knew the answer before asking the question. She didn’t know what he was up to, but she knew she would fi
nd out soon enough.
Shale’s gaze shifted uneasily among the rest of the group gathered close in around the warmth of the fire. The nights were getting colder and the wet chill seemed to go right to Kahlan’s bones. The only real relief she got from shivering was when she could cuddle up against Richard during the nights.
“No,” Shale finally answered. “My father passed a few years back.” Her gaze drifted down to the flames. “My mother when I was younger.”
Kahlan glanced around at all the faces watching the witch woman. “Mine too,” she said into the uncomfortable silence. “My mother died when I was young. I know how terrible that is.”
“Your mother was a witch woman, right?” Richard asked in a quiet voice, still without looking up. Again, Kahlan was aware that he already knew the answer, but for some reason he asked it anyway.
Shale nodded and devoted herself to pulling meat off with her teeth and then chewing. She clearly looked uneasy.
They all ate in silence for a short time.
“Tell me how your mother died,” Richard said at last.
Kahlan glanced up. There it was.
She had been right about her instinct. This time, though, it was not a question, it was a command.
With their heads down, the Mord-Sith shifted their eyes among themselves. No one said a word. The death of a mother was not a pleasant subject for any of them, and not something they talked about. But they all recognized this as something different.
“What does it matter?” Shale finally said. “She’s dead. That’s all that really matters.”
Richard didn’t look up as he used a finger and thumb to pull a strip of meat from the chunk on the skewer.
“She was burned as a witch, wasn’t she?”
Shale swallowed. “Lord Rahl …”
“Tell me what happened.”
“Why do you wish to bring up such terrible memories?”
“Tell me what happened,” he said in the same flat tone, still not looking up. The command in his words was clear, and Shale knew it.
Kahlan looked around at the Mord-Sith. They were all trying to look invisible. Except Berdine. She was watching attentively.
Kahlan reached over and put a hand on Shale’s knee. “You are among friends. Sometimes it helps to talk about such things among those who care about you.”
After a time, Shale finally let out a deep breath.
“All right.” She leaned her skewer with a large chunk of meat ready to be eaten against a rock. “It was a harsh time in the Northern Waste. The crops had done poorly, so there weren’t going to be enough reserves for the coming winter.
“The migration of the caribou had moved too far away that year for some reason, and the hunts were unsuccessful. The rains had swollen the rivers, and so catching salmon, the way we usually did, didn’t go nearly as well as usual. Ducks and geese were nowhere to be found. Elk, bighorns, black bear, antelope, deer were all scarce. Even the rabbit population had been nearly wiped out by people desperate for food.
“It is said that such times come along every once in a while. The animals seem to know it will be an especially harsh winter, so they change their usual habits.” She shrugged. “It is the way of nature. The animals for some reason pick a different route, a route they think will be better, or start sooner, and as a result the people in the place where I lived couldn’t find enough meat or fish to salt or smoke for the winter.
“My father went to try to see what he could do to help. You know, go to other places to try to barter for meat, offer his services in return for supplies we badly needed. My mother was a healer, so she stayed to take care of people.
“My father had a hard time finding any kind of help anywhere close, as they were having similar troubles, so he had to travel farther. He was gone for a long time. So long that people thought he had left for good. People started to whisper that he had run away from my mother.”
Shale stared off for a time before going on. “Rumors fed on themselves. Gossip led to yet more gossip, all the time getting wilder with ludicrous ideas.”
“That’s a dangerous stew,” Richard said. “So then they started to say that it was all because of a witch woman in their midst?”
Shale smiled sadly. “Yes. They said that she drove all the animals far away. Other gossip said that her incantations and spells had deliberately driven the fowl and fish away.” She looked up briefly. “My mother didn’t do ‘incantations,’ but that made no difference to them. They said she did and so people believed it.”
“Why would they think she would do that?” Berdine asked. “You know, chase the animals away. If she was a healer and helped them, why would they think she would do such a thing?”
Shale shrugged self-consciously as she rubbed her arms. “My mother had always cared for their needs. She was a kindhearted woman. Too kind. They began to see her kindness as somehow sinister. They said she was devious, hiding her cruelty behind a smile and her offers to help, when really, she intended them harm.
“As winter closed in, the rumors grew worse. They said that she had caused some of the new babies to be born dead, or their mothers to die in childbirth. They said that those things could only have been my mother’s fault.”
Kahlan slowly shook her head as she held the skewer over the fire, roasting another piece of meat. “Those aren’t rare occurrences. Birth is a difficult process. Newborn babies don’t always live, and mothers sometimes die in childbirth.”
“True enough, but people refused to see it that way. Once they got it in their heads that it was a witch causing their troubles, there was no changing their minds. It was easy to blame her when there was no way to know the real cause. Soon, everything bad that happened had to be the witch’s fault. There could be no other explanation, and none were sought or tolerated.
“My mother only had kindness in her heart and was horrified by the things they accused her of. She wept in despair. Her whole life, she had worked to show people that as a witch woman, she could be of help to them, that she could be a good part of their lives, that witch women needn’t be feared. She always taught me that as witch women it was our duty to serve the needs of others, that we must devote ourselves to their betterment.
“She didn’t believe it was necessary or much use to argue with people. Quarreling wasn’t in her nature, and besides, she was aware that it would do no good. She had done good and expected her actions to be enough proof of her true nature. When she didn’t wish to argue with people to deny the accusations, they somehow saw that as proof that she was guilty. When she finally did deny some of the more horrific accusations, they somehow saw that as proof of wackiness. Nothing my mother said would dissuade them of their beliefs.”
She fell silent and stared into the flames, into the memories.
“So they burned her alive,” Richard said.
Those words jolted Kahlan. This was where the Seeker had been headed. She just didn’t yet know why.
Shale nodded as she continued to stare into the flames. After a moment she cleared her throat.
“There came an unexpected warm spell that lasted weeks. During that unusual weather people started coming down with a sickness they had never seen before. Some of the weaker people, old people, and infants died in delirium from the fevers. They wouldn’t allow my mother to attend to the sick, saying that she was actually the cause of it. With every death, anger grew.
“In the middle of a dark night, they showed up and dragged my mother and me out of our home.” Shale glanced up. “I was a witch woman, too, after all. I was being trained in the evil ways of a witch by my mother, they said. Everyone was yelling and screaming to kill the witches. I was terrified.
“My mother pleaded with them—calling most by name, as she had healed many of them at one time or another, saved many of their lives before, birthed their children—that she would admit to anything they wanted if they would simply leave me be.
“They were having none of it. They said both of us were witches and
we both needed to burn.
“They threw me in a wood box, where firewood was stored, and nailed it shut to make sure I didn’t get away until after they were finished with my mother and could come back for me. The sides had open slats for air circulation, so I could see out. Inside that dark box, crammed in atop the firewood, I watched what they did. I can still remember the smell of that firewood box.
“The men tied my mother to a long wooden rail and made her wait there on the cold, wet ground, helpless, as they built a huge, roaring fire in the center of town. The whole time she called them out by name, begging them to spare her daughter. That was all she cared about. While the men built the fire, women surrounded her, calling her names as they spit on her.
“And then three or four men lifted each end of the wooden rail and walked it over to the roaring fire. As everyone cheered, they heaved that rail with my mother tied helpless to it atop the blaze.
“In my dreams, I still hear her screams.”
Shale stopped then, working to maintain her composure.
“Then, after my mother’s screams finally stopped, they came for me.…”
Shale stopped there, and it seemed she might not go on as she stared into the flames, seeing dark memories. Her face was stone.
“Then,” she finally said, “I taught them why they should fear witches.”
“How many of them did you kill?” Richard asked.
Shale shrugged. “I didn’t keep a count. Once I broke out of that box, with my mother dead, I knew my life had changed forever. Her lessons of kindness had earned the hatred of people and gotten her murdered.
“I first took down the ones who had been guarding me to make sure I didn’t escape. Once I started in on the rest, some managed to run and get away. But I knew who they all were. After I finished with those I caught near the fire, I hunted down every last person who had taken part in murdering my mother. I saw to it that not one of them had an easy death.”
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