by C. Mahood
From the crowd, Garrett triumphantly stepped forward. “You’re free to go now, we’ve arranged for the Renir to collect you at the dock where you’ll pay for your crimes.”
Oisin’s eyes flare with anger. “What crimes are these? It’s you who has committed the crime of false imprisonment.”
“Oh, I must have forgotten to mention. I made contact with the men who chased you into this clearing. Men of Renir, and they have identified a wealth of your possessions as having been stolen from them. But you should also know that even without their intervention, I recognized the make of your gold when first I laid eyes on them.”
“You tricked me! You scoundrel!”
Garrett laughed at this. “You may be a master thief, but you underestimated my people. Do you think I did not recognise you? You served with my father, I know that you tried to over throw him. This coin belongs to the Guild in Renir. You stole not only treasures but the lives of all the guild members. You punishment can not be too sever. My father told me Many tales of you! The Ambitious and fearsome Oisin. I see the truth now, you created legends and stories yourself to make people fear you. We have all seen you for the fool that you really are.”
Oisin seemed more resigned to his fate by then, slumping in a corner of the trap. “What a terrible fate it is that brought me here, stumbling into you lot of deceivers? I have never despised a race more than you Louchropan. Smug, do-gooders.” He laughed looking at his feet in defeat. “I did not create all the stories. I have been on the road a long time since I fled Renir. Visited many places and met many people. Tales are told of me in the Great city of Shann, there I am loved!” he looked up again at the gathering crowd, “But here I am despised.” His eyes narrowed on Garrets now. “Only, you have not yet got a reason to despise me so. I will give you that reason when I return. I will have vengeance and rid Northland of you knee-high vermin. Restoring it back to beauty and human kind one more. I Pity you rats! Rats, RATS!” He spat the words at the crowd who were now leering and hissing at him in his cage.
Garret remained calm. A smile on his face, Smug and full of self-righteousness. He was basking in a victory now, against all his father had taught him but he basked still “I can’t say for certain. But I know from experience that but one wrong turn often undoes the fullness of our progress. Your quest of thieving ends here, Oisin.”
The crowd continued to hiss at Oisin as he was pulled from his cage. He fought and kicked While still screaming at them. Calling them vermin and rats, swearing his revenge and cursing families and taking extra time to curse the mothers of every luchorpán present in colourful and descriptive ways.
I felt a pulling then. Like someone waking you from a dream. The bright and contrasting colours faded to pastilles then to a dim white. I saw them being ripped from my vision plunging me into darkness. The smell arrived again, old book, library, sand and sea water. The sent of the ocean breeze began to stale, like ice cream curdling in the sun in fast time. The smell became putrid and the aroma of urine and old pub returned. My body gagged and I stepped back. My eyes opened just as I began to fall backwards onto the wooden decking of the Rat bottle Inn floor. Abe gasped and rushed to see me, not that he could have been any real help. If I were to have landed on him it would surly have been his hour to meet his death. Fortunately it was a table and a banister that caught my fall. I grabbed out with instinct and managed to steady myself before I reached the floor. My legs were numb at first then pins and needles awoke my senses. Tessa barked and ran over to me licking my hand and jumping up with her paws on my shoulders, she licked my face and put her forehead up against mine. “Its k girl, I was only gone for a moment!” I re-assured her,
“Less than a moment to be precise” Commented Abe and he pulled a stool up to the table I was slumped over. He knocked on the wood, vibrations running into my head. My teeth chattered every time he pounded on the table.
“Do you see now, does it makes sense?” He said softly.
“I’m trying to make sense of it all Abe, Its just a bit much you know?” I sat up, resting against the banister. Tessa had calmed down and was sitting at my feet, curled up into a ball. “So, ok. Oisin escaped the prison here, He blames you and Garret for all the bad things that happened to him?” Abe nodded, I went on, it wasn’t all done, “Then, after I met him, he was on his way to the village to seek revenge on your son. Garret must have bumped into Sarah at the same time he was being pursued. So you think Sarah is With Garret and being hunted now by Oisin? That’s it right?” I gasped for breath, I felt like I was explaining the last two weeks of Coronation street drama to someone new to the show. I would like to take this moment to irritate the fact that I do not now, or ever have, watched Coronation Street religiously, or any other soap opera for that matter.
Just FYI.
Abe smiled, a creepy smile that spilled across his face like the head of a badly poured pint, spilling over and running down the side. He was impressed I believe. I am sure that he knew this was a lot for me to take in and to catch up with. I can’t imagine anyone else dealing with this much shit being thrown at them over such a short time period. My head swam like…To be honest swam wasn’t really the correct word, Drowned would fit better in this analogy. My head felt as though it was drowning in the possibilities and the still-to-be-done. It was slightly re-assuring to have options before me. I had a direction and a clear line of sight to where I should be heading. Maybe not physically but I knew who I was searching for. If I were to find Garret, or Oisin, I am sure that I could find Sarah.
Abe was still looking at me, waiting for me to say something. I could have said something deep, something inspiring, something morale building. I Could have…but I didn’t.
“Fuck sake Abe, what the bloody hell are we waiting for you numpty! Come on!” Is what I blurted out. On my feet before the sentence ended. I looked for my makeshift staff but it was nowhere to be found. I don’t even remember dropping it or loosing it. I couldn’t remember if I brought it with me after it was plunged into the eye of the pig faced man. Screw it, who cares. I have just seen the first actual evidence and lead to where my wife is. Maybe this nightmare would be over and I could hold her in my arms. The hope filled me like an injection of adrenaline strait to my heart. I could feel it beating faster than it had in a long time. I was getting flashes of her face again. Her red lipstick from our wedding day, the black cloak she wore down the isle before the took it off to reveal the most beautiful wedding dress I have ever seen. My nostrils were now clear from the stench of piss and instead filled with the hint of her perfume. My fingertips were no longer dry and dirty, they could almost feel her silky blonde hair running through them as we lay on the sofa, her head on my chest as we watched mad men, game of thrones or walking dead. I felt hope again. It was infectious. Like a viral reaction it spilled from my insides to the outside. My face was flush with colour, my teeth showed from within my smile, my eyes wide and my chest out. No more humped depression and worry. I felt strength, determination and the blanket that covered all these emotions, Victory. I felt that I was on the down-hill trek now. The hard part behind me and walking with arms swinging triumphantly down the mountain of strife towards to pub of victory. This is not an actual place by the way, but the anchor in Newcastle county down is a close second.
I had made my way to the middle of the bar. Abe was scrambling around, collecting things from various chests, wardrobes, cupboards, under tables and crates. Tessa was chasing him and sniffing absolutely everything he lifted out. She was feeling the bleed effect of our excitement. The AOE of hope you mite say. Well you would only say that if you were an unashamed geek that played too much Baulder’s Gate or world of Warcraft.
He was finally ready, I started toward the way I had arrived. Past eh square plunge pool toward the thick wooden door leading to what seemed like a corridor of nothing, no light emanated from it, it looked darker than black, like space without the stars. No need to hold onto the banisters this time. I felt a new man, on a new day, in a world I was no l
onger afraid of. It was a world created by me and I was ready to embrace it now!
I heard a whistle from behind me, Abe stood where I had left him on the wooden stage on the far side of the room.
“Uh, and where are you heading son?” He said, the pint spilling smile still on his face. I said nothing. Feeling a little embarrassed to be honest . “Its this way, up here.” He pointed at a ladder behind the bar I had not given two thoughts about. I assumed it was the way up to another storage room.
How wrong I was, once again. I didn’t let it deflate me however. I took it in my stride, turned on me heels and headed toward to ladder. I made my way up the steps and followed Abe to the ladder, he bounded up it like a child at a play park, fast and easy. It was only about eight feet high. Too high for me to jump and grab the ledge but not as high as I had assumed. Abe made it to the top and turned at the lip. He reached down for me to lift Tessa up to him. I lifted her by her waist and passed her up with my foot on the first rung. He grabbed her easy enough by the scruff on her neck and lifted her to safety. Both of them disappeared from sight. Then a familiar furry black and white face emerged with a pink tongue looking down at me. She really was enjoying it here. I put my hands on the ladder and was just about to lift my second foot on to begin my decent when a familiar voice came behind me.
“Good luck Chris, I hope and prey you find her safe and unharmed.” I turned to see a racoons face blinking at me. She had her mask back on but I knew who it was. I stepped down and turned. Taking two large steps in her direction I wrapped my arms around her and lifted her from the ground.
“Thank you for everything. You truly saved me. My direction was lost until I followed you. I owe you so much!” I could not see her eyes clearly because of the mask covering it but I am certain to this day I heard a sniff. The kind you hear in the cinema at the end of a late night chick-flick.
She said nothing as I set her down and stepped back. She simply turned my shoulder around so I was facing the ladder again and pushed my forward with a hard, but friendly kick to the back.
I never saw her again. I looked for her many times as the three of us made our way out of Renir. We passed through shop fronts while the owners had backs turned. We waited at building corners as the guards passed, letting us creep the opposite direction. Tessa stuck tight to my leg as we moved from street to street. She lay and sat when told to. She could fit under the cloak Abe had stolen for me at a passing seamstress stall. The moon was low and light was breaking over the trees on the horizon. The air was still crisp and cold but a little of the morning warmth was cutting through the bite of the evening. I knew I should have been tired once we finally made it through the front gates. Fear and excitement kept me alert, the alertness kept me awake.
The six guards that should normally patrol around the gates were not to be seen. Two of them were sleeping, three were playing cards in the guard tower. We saw through the little arrow slit as we passed. Abe fought every urge he had to mess with them but I think he knew better. I would have slowed him down, if we were to be caught it would most definitely be because of my many faults. The sixth guard was pissing on the exterior of the wall outside the gate. His shield and spear lay on the corner of the wall as we sneaked past it. The Renir Siegel on the shield had been worn down slightly. There were no definite marks or splinters in the wood so most likely from being sat on. They all looked very out of shape. I figured that Renir hadn’t been under any form of attack or had any trouble worth mentioning is the past few years. Peace and complacency makes people bored. It also makes them fat but the look of things.
Tessa eyed the wooden spear for a moment too long before catching my eye. She knew I would not be throwing that stick for her. I signalled her to go on ahead. She had been craving the open spaces and bounded over the road and the grass on either side. It seemed as though every time I looked up from the ground the air was brighter. The sun was rising in front of us as we headed east toward to Rebels rest. It was as thought the early morning, awakening sun was greeting us like a wave from a relative when drawing closer to the house.
We walked the right fork on the path away from the Inn. Much of me would have loved to call in again. Even just to thank everyone one more time (and savour another fine pint) but the reason for our fast pace was much more important. We needed to find Oisin. I Couldn’t shake this feeling of eyes on the back of my head. Since we left the gate of Renir I felt a presence in my peripheral. No it was not meant to sound as...well...weird as it does, I kept getting these flashes of someone following us. A hulking, great figure stalking us just out of view.
The thought was a constant knock in my head. Every time I would stop to admire the scenery or saviour the smells of fields rich in early harvest, I was reminded of Sarah. It is really true about knowing the thoughts and the heart of your significant other. Anyone who is married and truly in love will know what I mean. I got the sense that she was feeling lost and worried but I knew in my heart she was not fearing for her life.
For now…
Nine
The big tent
Our journey was long and mostly uneventful. Nothing that will benefit anyone by its scribing any way. I could tell you of the extreme beauty of the coastline from the distance. Or the vision of mountains growing from the ground as we walked further to the lip of the horizon. Or the song of the many species of birds we listened to while trenching through forestry. Perhaps I could waste pages telling you of the feeling you get, walking over the crest of a hill and descending to a valley full of fields separated by crumbling stone walls. Patchwork effects created with greens, yellows and browns or the harvest. I could go on about the signals made in smoke, unaware to the tenants of the cottages. How the chimneys seemed to be conversing in the sky over vast distances apart. The smell of turf and peat that burns from them fills the air and mixes with the wet grass early in the morning. I could spend a chapter on the tastes we indulged in. The vegetables that boiled down into a broth, the rabbit we turned over the fire at night or the eggs we bought and fried from the farms we travelled through.
I could describe all of this. If I had the words. My vocabulary does not extend to the extremes of description all of these things truly deserve. Justice would be failed if I were to try. So I will not. I ask you to only imagine the feeling you have felt when discovering a place of outstanding beauty. Or the first bite into a meal you did not want to end. A perfume or after shave of a loved one that triggers emotions beyond your control. This is how Northland is felt. Extremes of wonder as Abe so beautifully put it.
Our journey brought us from the forests of Renir, past battle lake. We stuck close to the side of stream worn that lead us to the valleys of the central hills. The very heart of Northland. Abe knew where we were to go and I followed him without question. He knew his way through the hills and valleys of the central peaks and we passed many fields of Sheep. Endless hills as far as you could see all of similar heights, separated by stone walls and iron gates. There was no order to it was so randomly cordoned off. Walls went over hills and bridges over the streams in the dips. Cattle were speckled all over standing out beautifully on the green with black and whiter glory. We would get milk and berries from the bushes by the walls on our way through there. I introduced Abe to the many joys of a smoothie then. Well it was more of a berry crush in a warm milk but if you imagined it right you felt as though you were back at Jens on the Lisburn road. Well if you really stretched you imagination and hypnotised your taste buds then perhaps you could pretend that.
Our journey then led us north. We clung tight to the river bank once more. The first joint of River superior that lead us from the mountains to the coast. Abe was leading us to the Luchorpán village that Garret had first met Oisin. He was sure that was where we would find answers. For several more days we travelled onwards. Keeping true north. I could begin to see mountains ahead of us. Larger than anything I had ever seen. I have been skiing in the Alps in Austria but they would only be hills in comparison to where
we were headed. The peaks were breaking through the clouds. I could not see the top of any of them. Abe told me we were heading into the forests just east from the mountain range. Most likely another two days walk if we kept a steady pace. The Rain had started a few days into our journey and in true Irish fashion, it did not stop. It was not a heavy downpour however. More of a constant, relentless, restless, drizzly, light rain. The kind that just felt like a mist in your face and seemed to blow in every direction. It didn’t soak the three of us the whole way to our bones but it kept us in a constant state of moist unpleasantness. The side of the river was like a deep marsh land or bog. It took me twice as long to get anywhere as my weight kept sinking me down, I felt as thought I spent more time trying to free my boots than actually walk. If your looking for a new workout routine I recommend the bog walk. Burn two thousand calories in only two metres. Print that in women’s own magazine!
We kept heading north. The ground hardened as we continued farther. The land flattened into great plains of green. Like an ocean of grass as far as you could see. Only mountains on the horizon broke the green flat surroundings. There was a very odd shape on ahead of us. It looked like a series of tents as we approached. Tessa was spending longer and longer away from us, exploring the vast, endless grass, Even though there was not a tree in sight, she still managed to bring several sticks of various shapes and sizes to our feet. Much to our amusement and amazement.
When we were about a mile from the tents Abe signalled us to lye in the grass. He told me to wait while he scouted on up ahead to see what was ahead. From what we could tell, the round tents with pointed roofs were those of a circus. The blue and white or red and white stripes had faded on the material and the paint on the signs had run from being beaten by the weather it must have faced over many, many years. They now read ‘Amazing fly--- men’ and ‘Worlds S------ Face’ most worrying however was simply a smudged sign with an empty trapeze and the only clear word at the bottom of the sign was ‘Death’ I don’t know what way that was supposed to look but it sent chills down my spine when I saw it. Just plain creepy, saying that there didn’t seem to be much of a smudge of fade from above those letters. I’m not really sure what it was supposed to say then. I do now.