by Watson, Tom
The large hut sat close to the palisade on the side which abutted a hill, affording safety. This allowed the group to enter without traversing the entire village. With an apologetic look, she checked that no one was around and motioned the group to follow. Each person carefully crept to the back of the hut. Sv'en and Ven'Gar each moved off to one side of the hut to ensure all was secure, leaving Ember, Aya, and Tor'kal behind. Ember pulled out her obsidian dagger and slit a tiny hole in the hut to take a peek. She saw Brigdha sitting, tied in a corner with only an older woman there to watch over her. Ember was painfully reminded of her earlier encounter with similar treatment.
Aya moved to the edge of the hut, out of the way. She was pretty sure Ember was not going to make a move on Ven'Gar, but she was not sure the same could be said for Ven'Gar, or that really fully she trusted Ember. As Aya stood plotting halfway around the hut from the group, she heard a "thunk" sound and an odd sputtering sound from around the corner. She moved to the edge of the hut and peeked around. Before her was a man on one knee. He reminded her of the priest Duruth. Behind him, stood another man with a club. It looked as though he had just hit the kneeling man with the club. As she watched, the two men exchanged short words with each other. Aya couldn't hear the club man very well as he spoke with a seething in his voice, but the voice sounded familiar. His face was masked by shadow from the hut, but he was the same height as Ven'Gar. Her lover must have moved around the other side of the hut and taken down the evil priest! Finally, he had done something noteworthy. She rushed forward to ensure she was by him when the others came to see.
* * *
“You will not live long enough for help to come Duruth,” Peerth said mater-of-factually as he slowly walked forward with his club. Suddenly a young woman came rushing from behind the hut directly at both men. Duruth tried to yell at her to run for help, but his head was still very dizzy and he was having trouble keeping conscious. Peerth looked unsure, as well.
A...w...k...w...a...r...d..., he thought. This was simply not in his plans, but he was open to change. He lifted his club ready for another victim. As the woman approached, both men recognized her as one from the group from Tornhemal.
“What are you doing here?” Peerth asked, “The Gods told me nothing of outsiders!” The girl came to a halt with recognition suddenly clear on her face.
She knows, Peerth thought, she knows what I am. She has been sent to me as another sacrifice. This must be a new task! I understand and obey! He moved forward with his club passing Duruth, who was still too stunned to stand.
* * *
Aya froze in her tracks. She had thought the man was her lover, but it had been some random farmer. Worse, the club in his hand and the crazed look in his eyes told the story all too clearly. This was the true killer, just as Nor'Gar and Ember had predicted, just a man. He stalked forward with a club in one hand and a rabbit fur in the other. Aya stood there gripped with fear. The man approached and lifted his club. He stared so intently at Aya that she was fixed in his gaze.
“Aya, drop!” yelled Ember. For once in her self-absorbed life Aya, did what she was told, more out of fear than anything else, and dropped to the ground. As Aya fell, Peerth's eyes started to focus on the woman behind Aya; a woman with bright green eyes and an angry expression. When Peerth's eyes focused, they started tracking an object coming towards him at high speed. His brain determined that the new woman had thrown something and that he should move, but a moment too late. A hand sized rock smacked into his face breaking his teeth and sending blood spewing from his mouth. The man stumbled backward clutching his ruined mouth and into the waiting arms of Sv'en.
“Hello!” Sv'en said, and quickly put a flint dagger across his neck opening it to the night air. Sv'en pushed Peerth back towards frightened Aya and stood there with a victorious look and a blood soaked dagger. Peerth came to a stop and stood, blood pouring from his mouth and neck looking at everyone around him. He slowly dropped to his knees and then to the ground.
* * *
Duruth watched the scene before him and waited his turn to die. Ember walked over to Duruth and knelt beside him. Ember looked the priest in the eyes and plainly spoke.
“His-will, not-the-Gods,” she said, indicating the dead man. “I-give you, Duruth-life, for, her-life. Trade?” Duruth understood Ember. These people from up north drove a hard bargain, but he now saw that Brigdha's life was not meant to be forfeit. This had been staged by the Gods for some reason, but he would have time to uncover that later, if he agreed.
He nodded and said, “Good-trade”. Ember gave him a smirk and left for the front of the hut. She would be in and out quickly before the commotion alerted everyone.
* * *
Brigdha sat tied and without hope. She had considered biting her tongue and killing herself, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. The pain would be great, and she was too frightened. She had prayed and prayed to her Goddess, one of the Gods of her people to the far north west. In the end what did the gods matter. If they were worth any of this, she would have been freed. Her thoughts were interrupted when the old woman watching over her suddenly coughed and choked, so startled she was. She had been chanting, loudly, for a long time and Brigdha was glad she had stopped. Looking up she saw five people burst into the room! Had the villagers come to killer her themselves? Her tear soaked eyes had trouble focusing. Suddenly, the people were on her! One of them was a woman, holding a dagger of some sort. She held her neck open hoping it would be quick, and then suddenly her hands were free. She opened her eyes in surprise! The woman was now cutting her feet free. These were not villagers... these were people from that recent trade group! A sudden hope filled her as she was hoisted to her feet by Ven'Gar.
Sv'en sat beside the old woman wagging his finger in her face and holding a bloody dagger.
“shhhh... Always be quiet... shhhh...” he said with a smile.
Chapter 17: The Greatest River
Crime, murder, betrayal; these are common facets of humanity. In all of the years since Ember's time, little about the nature of humans has really changed. Humans have a taste for violence and a need to exert our will over others, often in a marshal way. Luckily, our violent side is both tempered and contrasted by our loving and compassionate side. Humans have the capacity for great acts of kindness and selflessness. The choice Ember and her friends made to save the condemned girl from death was just such an act of compassion and kindness. It is important to keep in mind that ancient humans were still humans and much like people of today. Perhaps the understanding of the fundamental nature of humanity will give us hope for the future.
The next morning, the rescue party met with the rear-guard of the main group, three hunters. They were led to the main group and Nor'Gar quickly. Everyone stopped for a quick break and to ensure everything had gone well before continuing. Everyone had hiked pretty fast to get far from the village before the rescue was discovered. Nor'Gar had found pursuit unlikely, given the nature of the people of Nes. He had explained that they would likely call a meeting to determine the proper action and those deliberations could last for a few days before action. This was the way of larger villages.
Ember was not completely convinced. She had been followed and ambushed before and was untrusting of Duruth. She was not sure that Duruth would keep his word, or that he could keep the people of the village of Nes from seeking immediate revenge.
As everyone sat and took a quick break, there was little discussion of the rescue. Food was passed around and water poured. Brigdha sat beside a tree wearing her knee-length thin leather tunic. Her feet were covered in simple leather shoes; sole-shaped leather hide the foot rested upon, and laced to the foot with leather thong. The shoes afforded the soles of the feet protection when walking, but did little in the cold. Brigdha took a hunk of dried goat meat and some cold wheat tack made from dried wheat porridge. She was hungry and ate the simple meal quickly.
Ember and the rest of the group quickly ate their food and prepared to jour
ney again. Unexpectedly, Aya stood and walked from her lover towards Brigdha and Ember. Aya came to stand before Ember, looking down in a serious manner. Ember looked up at Aya with the full expectation of some mean comment, but Aya had a serious and sad expression. The two women simply stared at each other for a short moment. Aya examined her enemy's face over for a moment and then nodded her head once. Her words seemed forced, but sounded genuine.
“Thank-you,” she said. Quickly, Aya walked away with a blushing face. She needed to be alone after having admitted her own wrong feelings. Kis’tra and Ember glanced at each other with stunned looks. Ember was unsure what had overcome Aya, but she suspected it was shock from her near death experience. Sv'en stared at the scene with his mouth wide open.
The little badger finally relaxed. Ha! he thought.
After the short meal and a moment to relax, the group resumed their travels north. Initially the group walked without much talk. They needed to put more distance between themselves and the tribe, if possible. No one spoke other than to be polite to Brigdha out of respect for her privacy and to give her time to come to terms with the horror which had almost consumed her. She was weary and mentally exhausted, but her body was strong and her will rejuvenated. Brigdha's body had also become more comfortable when she was provided extra clothing before the group had resumed walking.
Brigdha was supplied this spare warm clothing from anyone who had extra gear. She wore a strange mix of clothing as a result, but she was at least warm. She wore an old beaver skin cap from Sv'en, brown furry mittens from Kat'ja, thick leather leggings and a long breechcloth from Ena. Her warmth was aided by the otherwise mild cold season. The weather could never be predicted, and even the Gods were probably caught up in unexpected rain, or so Ember supposed.
The weather was indeed calmer than usual for this time of the seasons. The ground had a light coating of snow, but nothing too thick. The wind blew only a little and the sun provided a little warmth to the skin. The warming sun would set soon and was only in the sky for a short time each day, though this time was growing. Due to the light snow and calmer weather, the group made good time through the temperate wilds as they traveled towards the Great River, at least two ten-days or more to the north east. The distance between the group and the village of Nes slowly grew.
* * *
Duruth stood before the tribe that morning, helped by a younger man. He wore the wounds of the previous night.
“Last night, as I finished performing my rituals I stepped out of the ritual hut for some air. As I took in the night, I suddenly saw good farmer Peerth struck down by the Gods themselves!” There were gasps from the villagers as he continued to theatrically describe the smiting in detail. Behind him, one of the elder women made a smirk, but she had been told in no uncertain terms that if she spoke she might be found to be “possessed”. She kept her mouth shut and watched the show as Duruth continued.
“...and so I check and saw that he had been killed! I knew what had to be done, so I immediately entered the hut and killed the woman right then and there. Had I waited, someone else might very well have died this morning!” With luck, the people were buying his story. He had dragged the man into the hut where he would “examine” the body and have it buried before anyone could see. He hoped the people would accept his answer. Peerth would receive a proper burial, which he might not have deserved, but then again, Duruth had a hand in his wife's death, if only by chance... it was all quite sordid. Mostly, he hoped that the will of the Gods had actually been settled.
* * *
The third day into the trip, the group arrived at a sheltered area between a forest and a steep hill. The wind was broken by trees and the hill. This made a good place for a stop. The group stopped early, after having moved farther than usual in the past few days. Most of the group made open-air camp around a central fire, while Ember and Kis’tra made a quick lean-to hut against a large rock using the poles Ember carried. The women placed mats over and below to ensure a comfortable sleep. A fire was setup quickly, and many removed their boots and let their feet warm by the fire. Drying of feet and keeping footwear dry were extremely critical tasks to any traveler. Failure to keep your feet dry could result in a multitude of terrible illness and sicknesses.
Before doing anything else, Ember took a few moments to stretch and just breathe. Humming a soft song under her breath, Ember flexed and bent each muscle. Afterward, she quickly crawled into the hut and removed her boots. Ember took Kis’tra's boots and placed them beside hers. She quickly sang a short prayer to the fire spirits to clean the boots of any negative spirits they might have picked up from the ground. Ember knew that such prayer could be of great importance when ensuring feet stayed warm and dry.
Ember quickly expanded her lean-to with additional poles and hides from Gar'ath and invited E'lyse inside. E'lyse was in a generally acceptable state given the rapid hiking. Gar'ath had carried her load as well as his own while she cared for the baby. Luckily, breastfeeding the baby provided all it needed for the first few seasons. E'lyse placed water in a pot by the fire to warm so she could clean little Vander, who had developed a most unsettling odor. Ember watched the general gore being removed from the bottom parts of the baby with a rapidly growing nauseation.
I cannot imagine having one of those. They are only deceptively cute, she thought.
Needing fresh air after witnessing the gore, Ember left the lean-to and walked over to Brigdha who sat by herself. As she approached, Brigdha looked up at Ember with cautious eyes. She had been saved, but no one had said much of anything to her in days. She didn't know what her place was with these strange people. Brigdha hoped that she would have a chance to speak with this red headed woman, named Ember, who now approached. She seemed to also be from somewhere else.
Maybe you will help me, Ember? she thought.
Ember examined Brigdha in closer detail as she approached. Brigdha was a very slim with delicate features, but her sleeveless tunic revealed arms with decent muscle definition. She had spent several seasons working in the fields most of the day. She had long brown hair with hazel eyes and features perhaps closer to Ember than either the people of the south or Tornhemal, though her lips were thinner and her chin was pointy. Around her neck, she wore a necklace with a gold pendant depicting a triple swirl pattern crudely etched on it. The pendant was most beautiful and very costly to have obtained.
“Where you-get, pendant?” She asked in trade tongue, which she was now quite fluent in. Brigdha looked at her for a moment, and then forced a weak smile.
“It my-husband, Mohdan. He-trade for-it, when we-come. He-want bring many-back to-my-home.”
“Where you-from?” Ember asked, as Tor'kal and Sv'en, several lengths of a man away, stared at her in taboo-induced horror. It was too early to bother Brigdha with questions, as the people of Tornhemal judged things. Ember wasn't bound by the rules of etiquette of the people of Tornhemal. Brigdha looked at Ember for a moment as if thinking of how to answer.
“two, ten-day, north, one west, over Great River. Trip over Greatest River, at end-of-world. Last-land,” Brigdha said.
Ember was taken aback. Her suspicions had been correct! Here was a woman from possibly where she was supposed to go! Could this be the task at the end of the world? She had to know more, but the language gap made things difficult. Ember needed to know for sure, and so she pressed on using hand gestures to aid her speech.
“What-is at end-of-world?” Ember asked. Brigdha thought about Ember's question for a little while and then slowly explained.
“Great River end. Become Greatest River. Wide, far, deep,” Brigdha said as she drew a line in the sand indicating it to be the Great River. She drew the shore of the lands and wavy lines to show the Greatest River. Ember sat wide eyed. If what she drew was correct, the Greatest River was hundreds of times as wide of the Great River! It appeared that the Great River actually became the Greatest River. More specifically, it seemed like the Great River suddenly became hundreds of t
imes as wide and was then called the Greatest River.
Brigdha drew a small shape, like an island in the river, not far from the mouth of the river.
“My-people call-land, Inn'bry'th. Some call-land more-names. My-people name Isen'bryn. My-name not 'Brigdha', my-name Brig'dha,” she said, stressing a pause between the first and the second part of her name.
“Where, you-go from-here, Brig'dha?” Ember said using the correct pronunciation of her name and pointing to the ground to indicate, “here”. Given the lack of some words, Ember was impressed by how easily Brig'dha was able to understand her half verbal and half gestured sentences.
“I-want go home. Must-follow you,” Brig'dha said, pointing to the group.
She doesn't know that I am also from someplace else. She wants to go home, but not alone..., Ember thought, a plan already forming in her mind.
“I-go to Great River, then I-go West, to end-of-world. We-go to Inn'bry'th, together,” Ember said joining her hand and Brig'dha's hand to symbolize togetherness. Brig'dha looked at Ember's face as if searching it for truth. She replayed the words and gestures in her mind over and over to be sure that she understood Ember.
“Truth? You-go I-go? Walk-together?” Brig'dha asked.
“No!” Ember said, to which Brig'dha suddenly looked confused and hurt.
“No-walk. We-float, with boat!” Ember said with a sudden smile and making a rowing motion with her hands.
“I-have boat,” Ember said. Brig'dha sat there with a confused, but slight smile on her face. It had been so long since she had smiled that she didn't even remember what it felt like. She would have to remember not to take this Ember person so seriously.
The trip to the ends of the very world frightened Ember. She wondered what Fire Blossom and Kanter would think if they knew how far Ember had come. Ember spent the long days talking with Brig'dha about her home land as they walked. After a while, Kis’tra joined into the conversations and the three women worked on learning even larger vocabularies. Brig'dha was extremely good at learning new words and interpreting gestures, quickly. Before long, she was able to speak with many of the group, who eventually opened up to her as their customary “cooling off” period ended. The group came to learn much about Brig'dha over the next few ten-days.