Jalaby's Journey

by Duane Alston

  “Sarah, you mark the way back as we go.” Jalaby knew Sarah had better wood skills than anyone in their group and would make a better job of it. “OK, we will need to continue to walk the horses, it is too dark and the forest is too dense.”

  They began to lead their horses and kacks through the woods. Talisbon had been completely silent but now asked, “Jalaby, what about the stone. Is it giving you any warning about what is behind us?” Talisbon genuinely seemed concerned.

  “No, beyond that surge I felt at the dance when we found out that the Fog Warriors were only a few hours away, it seems pretty mild and steady. It's warm, but it has not increased in intensity. I'd say that so far we are keeping our distance from any danger.”

  “Good, good,” was all that Talisbon replied but Jalaby noted the improved tone of his voice. He now seemed calm and more relaxed. Jalaby wondered if the journey's hard traveling was taking its toll on Talisbon. After all, he was probably older than all of them combined.

  “You OK, I mean, it has not been an easy day?” Jalaby asked tentatively, expecting an explosive reply, but to his surprise Talisbon seemed touched by his concern.

  “Thanks for asking. No, I feel quite up to the journey. My kind have always been strong even as old men. When we finally go out, we will go out in a roaring blaze.” Talisbon chuckled oddly to himself but it didn't feel odd to Jalaby, in fact, it actually made him feel, at that moment, that it had been the right decision to bring this man along.

  Jalaby felt more than actually saw that the path opened into a wider area, so he stopped the group.

  “Whoa, this looks like the best we can do. Let’s make a quick camp. Unload the kacks and horses but keep the bundles together and ready to be loaded in a moment's notice. No cooking, no lanterns and keep your voices down to a minimum.” Jalaby said and Sarah squeezed his arm as she past by and he knew she had finished marking the trail. He made a move to return the gesture but she was not there.

  Jalaby knew they were making as little noise as possible but he cringed at each slight noise they made until the camp fell silent.

  “OK, everyone got a spot to sleep, Sarah where are you?”

  “Never you mine, Jalaby, I’ve got my sister’s sleeping bag next to mine and I am a proper chaperon,” at which he heard Sarah laugh lightly.

  “I was just checking to see where folks were.” Jalaby said feeling a bit embarrassed. “I’ll take the first watch, Connel the second, Talisbon the third, followed by Tom and then Sarah. Get some rest, we may need it tomorrow.”

  Jalaby heard a few muttered voices saying goodnight and finally when all was almost quiet he heard Sarah say lightly, “Goodnight Jalaby.”

  “Er, Goodnight Sarah,” Jalaby smiled to himself in the darkness thinking of Sarah and the closeness he had felt as he looked upon her face back at Talisbon’s mill.

  Sometime in the night during Connel’s watch, they were all awakened to distant noises and Connel’s voice.

  “Everyone wake up!” Connel called just loud enough to wake them. “Listen!”

  As they listened, they could hear what sounded like a distant battle with unintelligible shouts and the noise of horses either scared or in pain, they could not tell.

  “Maybe the Militia is battling the Warriors?” Tom speculated as the noises died down as suddenly as they had come.

  “Now is the time we need to be watchful,” Jalaby said. “I will stay up a bit with Connel and we will wake you all at the slightest noise, but we need to get as much rest as possible tonight.”

  “Fat chance of sleeping now!” Tom grumbled but it wasn’t long before Jalaby heard him snoring peacefully and a little while later he turned in while Connel kept guard.

  The rest of the night passed quietly and it was Sarah who woke them up as the light from the sun brought the world around them into view. They realized now they had been somewhat lucky in that just beyond where they had camped was a slight drop off. It might have broken a few bones if they or their animals had walked over the edge.

  They packed up quickly, retraced their steps from the night before and found their way back to the main road where they had made the detour last night. At that junction, they all stood motionless and looked all around them. The area looked like a large battle had taken place. There was armor, weapons, packs and clothing strewn all around them but not one body.

  “Maybe the Militia discouraged them so badly that we can head back the other way,” Tom speculated. “I mean, certainly that would be the easier way to get to where we are going?” Tom’s voice was hopeful and his bright smile seemed to match the morning light.

  “Maybe.” Talisbon replied softly as he stroked his chin and seemed to ponder the question quite intently.

  “No,” said Jalaby firmly. “Our way is by way of the Woodland Forest.”

  Jalaby looked at each in turn for any further discussion and hearing none, he began to look for a way around the road blockage they had found last night in the dark. He wished he had spent more time looking last night because in the morning light there was an obvious way around, so he mounted and gently kicked his horse to go around some trees and finally back on the Woodland Forest Road.

  Chapter 18

  They rode in silence for the better part of the morning on a road surrounded by forest. Starting sparse and small, the forest trees became increasingly numerous and now were so high they blocked out the morning sun, as their branches arched over them creating a tunnel effect. The road itself was quite good, even though you could tell by the growth of the shrubs and saplings in the middle of the road that few had ventured to come this way.

  Jalaby told everyone to eat while they rode and that they would get only a quick break every couple of hours. To that, Tom and Sarah were pretty vocal in opposition but soon gave in. Connel and Talisbon were both silent on the subject.

  After a while Jalaby noticed Sarah was scanning the surrounding forest more and more alertly as they traveled on and his curiosity eventually got to him, so he rode up to her.

  “Sarah, anything wrong?” With the question, Sarah's eyes seemed to snap away from her preoccupation with the forest and now gazed into Jalaby's.

  “I'm not sure. Just a feeling of being watched,” she said but finally broke into a smile. “I'm sure it's nothing, but this place makes my jumpy.”

  Jalaby looked around and noted how dramatically the forest had now changed. The trees were massive and blocked most of the sun and although they didn't need travel lanterns yet to guide their way, it was getting close to that point. Before Jalaby could reassure Sarah, which was his intent, Connel, who was in the lead, called for everyone to stop and asked Jalaby to come up front.

  Jalaby squeezed past the other riders and arrived to see Connel's strained and worried face in front of him.

  “There, take a look.”

  Jalaby looked forward and wondered why he hadn't noticed it as he rode up. The road ahead of them was no longer dirt but was made entirely of wood. The fallen trees had been rolled together and hand worked, by who knows who, into a continuous roadbed of wood. Instead of the logs being positioned across the road like most bridges Jalaby was familiar with, these trees were laid down in the same direction of the road. What Connel had called Jalaby up front to see was pretty obvious. The road was now a little wider but on either side there were occasional sheer drops. It was as if the road itself was a bridge across deep canyons and these canyons were filled with fallen trees, that in turn were covered with moss and other plants that thrive on decay.

  “It's a good thing this road is wider but it will still be easy enough to go over the edge.” Jalaby's hair blew into his eyes and he brushed it away before continuing. “We should probably walk our horses a bit until we are sure of our footing.” Jalaby was about to lead the way when Connel interrupted.

  “Wait, there's one more thing.” He pointed to a sign that was positioned just before the wood plank road started. “I suppose it must be the name of the road or give directions, but I
don't know the language. Talisbon any clue?”

  Talisbon dismounted with a grunt and ambled forward to where everyone stood gazing at the large slab of wood with black lettering on it.

  “I'm sure it says there's a good place to eat just up ahead with fresh pies and a barrel of sweet beer,” Tom's eyes and smile seemed to sparkle in what little light filtered through the forest canopy in the late afternoon.

  “No, no, that's not it,” said Talisbon not catching the sarcasm or humor of Tom's words. “It's a language I have not seen in some fifty years but I can make it out. It says welcome to the Woodland. Please stay on the road or you will not complete your journey across our land and it is signed by someone called Solitados.” Talisbon's grave delivery seemed to momentarily put a damper on everyone's spirit except Tom and Sarah.

  “Well it wasn't our intention to go off the road anyway,” Sarah said matching the sparkle in Tom's eyes and smile and Jalaby could not help but welcome that family trait at this point in time.

  “OK you two, your optimism is catching but let's think about now. It's late, but I would travel on if I could be sure that we wouldn't have to sleep on this narrow roadway tonight. What say Sarah and I take a slow trot beyond that curve up ahead and see if there is a better place to stop for the night or we'll have to bed down here just before the wood road starts.”

  “Well it's a good thing we're stopping, my buns are getting flatter by the hour, but as official chaperon I'm not sure I'm liking you going off together. I suppose I can see pretty good from here. Go ahead, but I got my eye on you,” teased Tom.

  Seeming to ignore Tom's last comment, the others just dismounted and began to stretch, while Jalaby nodded to Sarah and they rode off slowly.

  The roadway sounded solid underneath their horses' hooves but it was not like the sound you would expect on a bridge.

  “I expect it has been packed down over the centuries and this type of tree, beneath us, is known not to decay for a thousand years, according to Talisbon,” Jalaby said, not expecting a response from Sarah.

  “I've been in the woods all my life and have never felt so uneasy as I do now. Something or someone is watching us. Don't ask me how I know, but I do know.” Sarah's reply, with such an abrupt change of subject, fit the distracted mood they all must be feeling, thought Jalaby as they continued on.

  They rounded the corner and despite their hopeful anticipation, the road looked pretty much the same, but for some reason it sounded a little different. Jalaby dismounted and was peering over the edge when it happened. Either he tripped or the horse nudged him, Sarah was not sure but she heard a strange muffled cry. Thinking about it afterward, she did not think it was made by Jalaby, but supposed it had to be.

  “Jalaby!” Sarah shouted, threw herself off her horse and leaped to the edge to peer down. Jalaby was only twenty to thirty feet down but it was hard to see. To Sarah he looked badly hurt. He wasn't moving and she began to immediately yell for Tom and Connel to come and hurry. In an instant they were all there, including Talisbon.

  “What happened?” Tom asked, his face now pale despite all the sun he had seen in the last many days.

  “Later, get a couple of ropes and tie them to my horse, I'm going down,” said Sarah in a voice that Tom knew would brook no argument, so he offered none.

  Sarah tied one rope around her and asking Connel to feed the rope out slowly, she began her short descent down to where Jalaby lay motionless.

  Once down, she quickly checked him over. He had a pretty good gash on the back of his head and his breathing was good, but despite mumbling a bit, he was not conscious. Sarah's first plan had been to use the other rope to hoist him back up to the road above, but looking around she was amazed to see a large area under the road that extended fifty feet or so beyond the width of the road, making a large cave into the layers of large fallen trees. The floor of this area was fairly flat and it looked as though, at some time in the past, someone had made a fire. The remnants were there. Sarah knew from talking with Talisbon, that not only was a good part of these woods made up of trees that did not decay, they also did not burn like traditional wood. You could actually use normal wood and make a campfire on top of the Woodland wood. The Woodland Wood underneath the campfire would only glow slightly, even after several hours.

  “Hey, there's a place to sleep down here tonight,” Sarah shouted to those above. “We had better not move him much. I think he's slowly regaining consciousness.”

  “Are you sure? Are we all going fit and what about the horses and kacks?” Asked Tom, not sounding the least bit enthused.

  “Wait a minute, let me look around to see if there is a better way down here.” Sarah slipped off her rope and began to explore the area. On the opposite side of the road from where Jalaby fell, she could see a ramp-like path slowly rising to the road above. Sarah followed the path and it came up level with the road after about fifty feet. Sarah came from behind some brush that seemed to be there just to hide access to the camp area below.

  “Over here! Connel, Tom, come and help me get Jalaby under the road. He's a bit tangled in the branches and vines so we need to move him carefully.”

  It wasn't long before they were situated under the roadway and out of any potential rain that might come. Even though they could not see the sky, due to the canopy of trees above them, they knew from the wetness all around them that it must rain frequently.

  Jalaby began to come around a bit. “What happened?” He started to rise but Sarah quickly grabbed him and held him down on the pallet of blankets she had just made for him.

  “Oh no you don't. You're going to stay right here until I say so. You put me in charge of medical on this trip so I'm calling the shots.”

  Jalaby just nodded agreement, which proved the wrong thing to do and his aching head made him moan as he laid back down.

  It took a while to get everything in order but pretty soon the horses and kacks were brought down to where they had set up a picket line to secure them. They also got a fire going and found that, as strange as it seemed to burn wood on top of wood, it worked well enough. The only problem was finding enough regular wood.

  “Well this is cozy,” Jalaby said and they all turned to see him sitting up.

  “About time, you've been missing all the work, what the heck happened anyway? Sarah said you squawked like a chicken, then jumped over the edge,” Tom said seriously.

  “Tom!” Laughed Sarah. “That's not what I said.”

  “Well, you're a lucky one,” Connel said solemnly. “A few feet to the right or left and you would have gone down another fifty feet. Glad you made it.”

  “Me too, I'm a little wobbly but much better. You set up a watch schedule?”

  “Sarah's seen to that, just relax. Guess having her in charge of medical was smart.” Connel managed a grin.

  “Funny, I don't remember doing that, but I'll pat myself on the back just the same.” Jalaby broke into a grin.

  “I'd like to give you a kick rather than a pat and somewhere else besides your back. My sister's a tyrant,” said Tom hotly, but Sarah wasn't around to contradict his words because she had moved up the ramp path and was out of sight.

  “Hey where's Talisbon?” Jalaby realized he had not seen him since being knocked out.

  “Oh Sarah's got him feeding the horses and kacks. I think he's a little afraid of her in some respects.”

  “Say, where was that lovely sister of yours going anyway. We should always do things in pairs. There are Fog Warriors on our trail you know,” Jalaby said seriously.

  “She said earlier that she would be going down the road a bit to see past the next corner. She'll be back in a bit,” Tom said lightly.

  “Hey that's what happened to me you know, just went to check out what's around the corner. Go and make sure she's OK and stay with her. Tell her I sent you if you want.”

  “OK, I'll tell her you're pining for her return or something like that.” Tom mumbled as he picked up his sword and jacket and
headed up to the road.

  “Hey don't say that, I ….,” Jalaby's voice trailed away. He had not been quick enough to respond before Tom was up the path and out of sight.

  Jalaby dozed off a bit and when he awoke everyone seemed to be there. He felt hot but figured it was the nearness of the fire.

  “Hey back with us again,” Tom laughed. “Say you never did tell us how you come to go over the side.”

  “Well I'm not sure myself. It felt like I stepped on something, that rolled my ankle and the next thing I knew, Sarah was there,” Jalaby finished by wiping his brow.

  Sarah noticed. “You're looking overheated. Connel, Tom, help me get Jalaby a little further away from the fire.”

  But as Tom rose to move, he fell backwards and an odd creature, who let out a strange squawk, materialized from the surroundings. The creature was about three feet high with small horns protruding from a round human looking head, that is, except for a large flat nose that covered most of its face. It was also covered head to toe with brown hair. It had feet which were barely discernible because of all the hair.

  “That's the noise I heard when Jalaby fell!” Sarah shouted accusingly.

  The creature made a few unintelligible sounds and it was Talisbon who spoke next, as Tom finished picking himself up.

  “I have not heard that dialect in years. That is the same language as the sign we read earlier. It's called Olandie, after the people of the same name.”

  “Well Talisbon, if you can communicate with him, I want some answers,” Jalaby said forcefully but Sarah noticed a barely perceptible weakness in his speech.

  “Yes I can but only in a rudimentary capacity. That mumbling you heard a minute ago was him expressing how big we are.”

  The creature then let go an exuberant speech that lasted several minutes to which Talisbon attentively listened.

  “He, and it is a he, wants to apologize for being the cause of Jalaby and Tom falling. He said his people all have the ability to blend into the surrounding foliage such that to most people they are invisible, but he forgets that others can't see him and sometimes he gets too close and in the way. He must have been in Jalaby's way and tripped him or got stepped on, such that Jalaby got unbalanced. He seems sincere enough.” Talisbon continued to stare at the creature in case of further talk but the creature was silent.