by Clark Graham
"Good, your first job is to find us some food for breakfast; I will get a fire going," Emily said.
"As you wish," he said and then stood up and walked over to grab his bow.
"No rabbits, I don't ever want to eat another rabbit again, do you hear?" she demanded.
"Fine, no rabbits," he replied, as he headed into the woods.
Using the ashes from the fire Groli started the night before she soon she had a nice cooking fire burning, and was adding some small branches to it to keep it going. Groli came back bearing two squirrels he had shot.
"Eww,” she shrieked, "that's even worse than rabbits."
Groli looked down and said, "No, they taste better, even though there is less meat to them."
"Don't kill anything cute and furry," she said.
He thought for a minute, "They are all furry."
"Fine," she said, "Don't shoot anything cute."
He was really puzzled by that one, "What do you mean by cute?"
"Oh you!" she moaned as she stomped off.
"How about if I just bring you strips of meat and do not tell you what it was?" he called out after her.
"Fine," she yelled back, "I don't want to talk about it ever again."
He smiled to himself as he bent down and started cleaning the squirrels. After he finished cleaning them, he cut them into strips, put them on skewers and cooked them on the fire Emily had built.
After he finished, he handed one of the skewers to Emily. She just shuddered, and gave it back. She couldn't help thinking about the poor squirrels with the bushy tails, sitting dead on the rock, their eyes looked so sad, it was like they were saying, 'Why did you do this to me, I was happy climbing trees and playing.'
Emily ate just some of the bread and cheese that Groli had brought in his pack.
Beginning a Long Walk
After breakfast, they had gathered the gear and were headed deeper in the woods. Groli seemed to know the way so Emily followed behind. Soon they came to a small stream where they filled their water flasks.
Emily took this pause in the hike to ask a question, "When do we cross into the land the Shadow King owns?"
Groli looked surprised at the question. "No one owns the land; the land is a gift to all. You can control part of it briefly, but when you die, that control goes to someone else."
"Fine," she said, "when do you cross into that part of the land that the Shadow King controls?"
"You crossed the border during the night. We have been walking through it all day."
"There are no guards, no patrols, nothing?" she asked.
"The Shadow King in no leader. He is a flatterer, not a commander. He stripped his land of all his farmers, ranches, herders and all kinds of merchants. He put them all in armor and sent them to war. He guards the bridges, the roads where they cross the border and he keeps a small guard around himself. He no longer patrols the forest or the plains."
Emily looked puzzled by this, "Where is his army then?"
Groli got a sad look on his face and said, "The Shadow King’s hope was to destroy the Army of King Gustaff, or the Royal Army of the Red Lion King, for that is what they are called. He put all his forces together for one major battle. The Royal Army knew that they were going to lose. The Shadow King’s army was just too large. But the Royal Army is full of solders, not farmers, and the Shadow King’s forces took heavy losses during the battle. He did not destroy the Royal Army as he had hoped, and the Royal Army withdrew in good order to their castle. The Shadow King’s forces surround the castle, but there is more food inside the castle than there is with the Shadow King’s forces outside the castle. When large groups of the Shadow King’s forces go to find food, the Royal Army attacks the forces that are left and those sent to find food must come rushing back. Soon the Dwarf army will be gathered and we will drive the Shadow King’s forces away from the castle. It’s only a matter of time."
"Why hasn’t the Shadow King attacked the Dwarves then?" she asked.
“He cannot fight both the Dwarves and the Royal Army at the same time. The Shadow King seeks peace with the Dwarves, but we have captured one of his commanders, and he has told us that the Shadow King plans on attacking us after he defeats the Royal Army. So there will be no peace with us for the Shadow King."
Emily seemed satisfied with that answer as they continued on their way.
They continued on with their march after the flasks were filled. It didn't seem to Emily that the forest was as dangerous as the first night she has spent alone in there. It would have seemed strange to anyone that was watching to see a Dwarf and a little girl walking through the woods going deeper inside the Shadow King's Land. The Dwarf was in full armor with a battle-axe strapped across his back and the girl just in a simple dress.
The walked all day, only stopping for a little cheese and some bread for lunch. Emily was satisfied just walking next to the strong, competent Dwarf. Not needing to talk, just walk and enjoy the trek.
When the light was starting to fade, Groli slowed down. The forest was thinning out at this point. Groli looked concerned as he scanned around the forest. "We dare not go further tonight, I will go hunt some food, and you can stay here and build a small fire. A very small fire indeed, as we do not want to draw attention to ourselves. I don't think there are any prying eyes out there but it is good to be cautious anyway."
Emily smiled, she was getting hungry, and even rabbit was sounding good at this point. She got out the flint and the dagger. She then piled up some pine needles and dead dry leaves. Using the dagger against the flint, she sent sparks into her pile of pine needles and leaves. Soon they were alight. She quickly added some twigs and small branches to it. By the time that Groli came back, the little fire was burning nicely.
This time the meat was all cut up into strips so Emily would not know what it used to be. He then put them on skewers and started roasting them over the cooking fire. When it was done, he handed one of the skewers to Emily and ate down then other one. Emily ate it, but it tasted greasy to her.
After a few minutes of silence Emily said, "Rabbit tastes better."
Groli just looked over and without cracking a smile said, "Indeed it does."
After dinner, Groli got his bedroll spread out as did Emily with her blanket. They banked the coals on the fire so they would have some heat against the night's chill. "We will need to walk all day and all night tomorrow. We will be leaving the forest sometime around sundown and then we will be heading across open country. We have to cross the road, so we will do it in the darkness. Hopefully, we can make it to the river before sunrise. There is a lot of vegetation around the river, and there will be berries and fish for us to eat. We can stay there a couple of days, until we are ready to move on," Groli explained.
"I see," Emily said. She stared up at the stars and started wondering about things. "What's it like to grow up as a Dwarf?"
Groli frowned. He didn't know exactly what she was asking and why. "What do you mean?" he asked.
"What kind of toys did you have? What things did your father teach you? Did he read stories to you about princes and princesses?"
Groli smiled at that, "I suppose it was much the same as you except we lived inside the mountain. There were always roaring fires and feasts put on by the King. My father worked in the family mine just as his father did before him. I had a toy axe and other toys. We lived close to the entrance of the mines so I would go outside more often than the other children would. My father taught me how to read and write. When I was older, and I had been very good, he would take me into the mine to work with him. It was a true honor. I have two brothers who are not interested in the mine, so it will be mine when he gets too old to work it anymore. He gave me this the day I joined the army."
Groli handed Emily a gold coin he took out of his pocket. "When he first started mining, he took out his first small load of gold. Out of that first load he put aside just enough gold to make a coin. He then stamped the coin with his name and the date he
first started mining. It is a traditional thing to do and all miners do it. They do not keep the coin for themselves though. It is to be given to the person that they are most proud of. "
Emily could hear a different tone in Groli's voice as he continued, "It was the greatest of all honors that I have received. I was proud that he gave it to me."
Emily handed the coin back, "It is a fine coin. You should be proud that your father honored you in such a way."
"Thank you," Groli said.
Crossing the Plains
Groli was already up and packed before Emily awoke. Breakfast was cooked and set next to her. She roused herself, but found she was stiff and sore. Too much walking and too much sleeping on the ground, she figured. Sitting up, she grabbed the skewer and started chewing. "This is the same greasy meat we had last night," she complained.
"Enjoy it, it will be the last hot food we will be having today. I'm afraid we are going to finish off the cheese and bread before the day is out also. The bread doesn't matter, it was getting stale anyway, but the cheese just gets better with age," Groli said.
"Another long march. I think I would rather be battling with the Shadow King's warriors." Emily commented.
"That will come soon enough, I think it best we avoid them as long as possible," said Groli. "It is time for us to leave; we need to reach the river before sunset."
Emily got up and rolled her blanket small enough to fit in her pack and was ready to go. Groli motioned for her to follow and the headed through the forest. The forest thinned out even more as they walked. They stopped only a few times and once only long enough to grab some bread, and then they continued the march while they ate. Emily could feel her feet getting blisters, so she started to limp a little. She didn't want Groli disappointed in her so she did not complain.
There was still a little sunlight left when they got to the edge of the forest. Emily could see farms and farmhouses across the plain, as far as she could see.
"We will stop here until it gets dark," Groli said. "Let me see your foot."
"My foot?" asked Emily.
"Yes, your foot, you are starting to limp, you must be developing a blister. I have some balm that will help." he said.
Emily sat down and took off her shoe. Groli got the balm out of his pack and rubbed some on and around the blister. Emily could feel it tingling on her skin.
"There, that will have to do for now," Groli said, "Normally I would tell you to stay off of it, but that is not possible."
"Thank you," Emily smiled.
He broke out some of the bread and they both ate it.
"There are a lot of farmhouses here. Won't someone see us if we try to make it across the plain? I mean even at night they can still see a little," Emily asked.
"They have all been abandoned. The women and children did not want to stay out this far during a time of war, and all the men are off to fight. The women and children have fled into the villages and towns. Those women that can't protect themselves anyway. They are protected by old men and young boys. There is safety in numbers."
Emily thought about her family and how they had almost made it to the castle, had not the enemy come upon them so fast. She worried about her mother and father.
When darkness fell they continued their journey. She pulled the blanket out and wrapped it around her shoulders. Emily could not believe how much better her foot felt as she went. They walked by moonlight over fields that had not been plowed or planted. She though that they were supposed to be quiet, but she asked anyway, "How are they going to eat next year if all the fields have no crops in them?"
Groli answered in a normal voice. There was no one close by, "I fear it is the short sightedness of the Shadow King that will cause his people to starve next year. Some fields have been planted by old men to the South of here, but there is not much they can do without the young and the strong."
Emily did not ask any more questions for the rest of the night. When they came across the cobblestone road, Groli paused to listen. He could hear a clipity clop of a horse pulling a cart on the road, but the sound was fading, so he deemed it safe to cross.
They had gone miles and miles by this point, and Emily's foot was starting to hurt again as the balm was wearing off. But it was starting to get light, so instead of slowing down, Groli was increasing the pace. Emily could see the trees and vegetation that grew around the river from a distance. She quickened her pace too because the sooner she got there the sooner she could rest her feet. When they got to the edge of it they slipped in between two trees and onto some tall grass. Without a word to each other they both lay down and were soon asleep.
The River and Rest
Emily awoke to find that Groli was still asleep lying next to her. When she sat up she noticed that he had taken off her shoes sometime during the night, without her noticing it. He had rubbed balm on her sore feet. She then noticed that his shoes were off and he had done the same thing to his feet. Emily smiled at that.
She was hungry but there was no use looking for either the bread or the cheese, because they had finished them both off during the night. She saw a berry bush a little ways off so she crawled over there and starting eating. She hoped that they weren't poisonous, but she was so hungry she decided to chance it. The berries melted in her mouth. Some were a little green and bitter, but she just spit those out and moved on to the ripe ones. She turned to notice that Groli had awoken and had followed her example in crawling over to get some berries.
He looked over and said, "Not too many, they will make us sick," then turned back and ignored his own advice. When they had both eaten their fill, they crawled back over to where their packs and shoes were. Groli got out his bedroll and promptly lay down and went back to sleep. Emily curled up in her blanket and did the same.
When she woke up the second time, Groli's bedroll was still there but he was gone. He somehow had managed to get his shoes back on. Emily looked at her red and swollen feet and realized that putting her shoes on was not a possibility.
Groli came back with an armload of wood and some dried reeds. He began making the reeds into a makeshift twine by twisting them together. Taking the newly made twine, he started lashing the wood together. Soon they had a small lean-to shelter. He then pulled out clumps of the tall grass to thatch the roof of his shelter.
Emily was confused as to why he was doing all this. “Are we staying here a long time?” she asked.
“No, just a few days, just long enough for the river to go down low enough for us to cross and for your feet to heal,” he answered.
“Oh, I didn’t know the river was up,” she said.
“It is not, but I see rain clouds in the distance, so it will be. You need time to heal, so I built a shelter to keep us dry, then when the river goes back down, we will cross,” he responded.
Groli then dug out a pit with his axe, lined it with stones and pulled out all of the grass around it. Emily crawled into the shelter just to try it out. It was like having a play house, she thought. Groli then left again without explaining where he was going. When he came back he had an armload of firewood and some meat. After putting some of the firewood in the pit he had dug, he started a fire and cooked the meat.
When he handed Emily a skewer of it she looked at it funny. “It’s white and round,” she said finally, “What is it?”
Groli hesitated to tell her, but she had asked so he did, “Snake, with no fur.”
He was chewing on his piece when she replied, “You can eat snakes?”
“Try it,” he replied.
She took a big bite and chewed it down. “That’s good. A lot better than the greasy stuff we had in the forest. I don’t even want to know what that was.”
“You’re right; you really don’t want to know what that was,” Groli replied.
After they had eaten, Groli rubbed some more balm on Emily’s feet, and they both settled in, relaxing by the fire as the darkness settled in around them. It was quite pretty down there by the river. E
mily had not seen the river but she could hear it rushing by, in the distance. The trees were tall and the grass was soft to sit on. Bushes and scrub brush surrounded them and, to Emily, it felt quite safe. Groli would look around from time to time. Once in a while he would walk around just to be sure there was no one else near them. But they were miles away from any settlements and houses. Anyone seeing the fire would probably not even bother to investigate.
Emily sat there thinking and then finally verbalized her thoughts, “Why are you helping me?”
Groli looked up from staring at the fire, “Why wouldn’t I?”
“It just that when I want to go on some grand adventure or do something dangerous at home my parents won’t let me. Now I am here in the middle of an enemy territory, doing something very dangerous indeed and you are not only letting me, but helping me,” Emily said.
Groli smiled, “That is because you were not raised as a Dwarf. When we are young we are taught that our size will never limit our ability to do great and wondrous things. Our parents know that sooner or later we will cross paths with the world of men. When we do, it is very intimidating to us because they seem so tall and strong. So when I was a child and wanted to go on a grand adventure, or do something dangerous, they would help me. Yes, I got hurt a few times, but they were there to make sure I wasn’t hurt badly. I found out what my limitations were and what they were not. One time I told my father that I wanted to trek across the lands we are now in. He came with me and for two weeks we explored in and around this place. That was before the rule of the Shadow King, so we were not mistreated by those people we came across. That is how I came to know this area so well.”