by M. M. Perry
“Get back!” Cass screamed at the party.
Everyone had begun moving further into the wood when Cass’ horse tore past them. There was an enormously loud snapping sound as the gordonna pressed its nose against the tree line, sniffing at the strange creatures there, breaking the trunks of many of the smaller trees. The gordonna snorted, and saliva and mucous sprayed the group as they tried to move deeper into the wood. It stood there for a few seconds, gazing after them before it grew uninterested and it turned its massive head back to grazing in the field.
Cass pulled her horse to a stop. She leaned forward and hugged its neck in gratitude as they both panted.
“That was amazing!” Nat exclaimed, mucous dripping from his chin.
“Ugh. Never. In all my life,” Callan said whipping his hand toward the ground, huge glops of mucous splattering the dirt around in small, wet pools.
“I’ve never seen anyone approach a gordonna,” Viola said in awe. She was the only one who seemed to have avoided the damp spray from the huge creature.
Gunnarr rode up to Cass and put his hand on her thigh.
“Everything still in working order?” he asked.
“Well, I lost my good sword. Which is a shame. But at least I still have a decent back up. We should check the wagon,” Cass said, turning her horse around to look for Inez.
She spotted the wagon, but it looked empty of any passengers. Cass came closer and found Inez lying flat against the bottom of it, her face white.
“Is it over?” Inez asked looking from Cass to Gunnarr.
“Yes. We made it to the other side,” Cass said.
“Right,” Inez said. She sat up and looked around at everyone.
“Well, the next time you should come to my aid in a timelier manner,” Inez said sharply. “I almost died out there. That is what we’re paying you for.”
Cass and Gunnarr exchanged a glance.
“Of course,” Cass said genially before turning back to the party. “Everyone else okay?”
The rest of them nodded, except Callan who gave her a withering look.
“Do I look okay? This is repulsive. Is there anywhere we can stop to clean up?”
Cass nodded, “In a couple more miles we’ll get to the Okola River. We can clean up and rest there. It’ll be about a fifteen-minute ride if we take it easy on the horses, who I think deserve a little break after this.”
Callan grumbled, but fell into line as Cass started the group moving again.
They had travelled the last few miles listening to the non-stop complaining of Callan.
“I’m sticking to my horse now. Somehow, this stuff got between my saddle and my ass. And now, I may be permanently affixed to this horse,” he had shouted up at Cass and Gunnarr as they came close to the river.
“That poor horse,” Cass said sadly as she pulled to a stop. She hopped down off of her horse and sat on the ground, hurriedly pulling her boots off.
The Okola River was fairly wide and swift. It ran all the way south to the ocean that bordered the southern coast of Centria. Thick, identical looking woods flanked either side of the river, but travelers who didn’t know the difference between the two woodlands were likely to lose their lives.
Cass was trying to wipe her boots clean when Callan called out to Nat.
“Boy! I need you to bring me a bucket of water, quickly if you please,” Callan yelled.
Cass looked back to see Callan had arranged a makeshift screen from blankets strung between a few trees, his bare ankles visible beneath the curtains he had erected. Nat fetched the large bucket out of the wagon and ran to the river to fill it. Viola wrinkled her nose as she watched Nat struggle to take the heavy bucket back to the king. Inez leaned back in the wagon and began snoring.
“Why do you let him order you about like that?” Viola asked as Nat joined the rest of the group at the river’s edge to clean up.
“He gives me coin. And he is my king,” Nat said stripping down to his underthings. Nat waded out into the river and dunked himself under a few times, scrubbing himself vigorously with his hands.
Viola crossed her arms and frowned.
“That’s no excuse. You’re a warrior in training. He should treat you with respect,” she said.
Nat looked up at Viola as if seeing her for the first time. He blushed brightly and suddenly felt very self-conscious about his state of undress. As he came out of the water he hastily grabbed up his pants and held them in front of his groin, even though he still had his breeches on.
“It’s okay, I don’t mind really. Thanks for looking out for me, but I imagine he would be much more frustrating to travel with if someone didn’t help him,” Nat said as he tried to wash his tunic while still holding his pants against his nether regions.
“I wonder if that’s even possible,” Gunnarr said grinning.
Cass laughed as Viola stepped to the water and looked across at the other side.
“Will we be trying to hail a barge then, to go up river to Chulpe?” Viola asked.
“No, we’ll need to ford the river here. I think Gunnarr can manage it,” Cass said as she began pulling her boots back on.
“That I should,” the big man said standing. He proceeded to take off his armor and strip down to his undergarments.
Cass watched him appreciatively. Viola stared at the other side of the river. Nat pulled on his wet tunic and struggled quickly into his pants while Viola wasn’t looking at him. Viola looked at the mounts and then back to the swiftly moving water. While the shallow inlets they were bathing in seemed safe enough, the bulk of the river rushed by with a force that undoubtedly swept many brave swimmers far downstream.
“I don’t understand. This seems like a far more difficult way to get across, not to mention dangerous. The mounts will have trouble getting across, and I don’t think I could fight against that current… I’d be swept downriver,” Viola said concerned. “And… those woods…”
“One thing at a time,” Cass said heading back to her horse and pulling a long length of rope out of her pack.
She tossed it and Gunnarr caught it easily. He tied one end of the rope around his strong waist and then handed the rest back to Cass. Cass tied the other end of the rope around a thick tree before nodding at Gunnarr. Gunnarr turned and dove into the river. Nat and Viola watched as the huge Braldashadian swum across the river at a sharp angle into the current. His powerful strides were just strong and fast enough to keep him stationary within the current as he inched across towards the other shore. Cass continued to feed the rope out, her hands gripping it so tightly her knuckles had turned white.
It was obvious to everyone that Gunnarr was a superb swimmer, but even so it took him more than twenty minutes to cross. By the time Gunnarr climbed out of the river on the other side, Callan, in a completely new outfit, had joined the group at the river’s edge. They watched the big man slip out of the rope and tie his end of it to a tree on the other side.
Cass let the rope go slack enough that it dropped into the water. Then she re-tied it swiftly around the tree again using a complicated knot, giving it several hard yanks before she was satisfied with her work. She picked up the pieces of Gunnarr’s armor and carefully put them in the wagon around Inez’s slumbering body. Then she began to take off her own armor and put it in the wagon.
“If there’s anything you don’t want to get wet, I suggest you put it in here,” Cass said taking off her boots again.
Viola walked over to the wagon, her eyes unable to tear away from Cass’ tall, lean, fit body. She had never seen such a powerful woman before up so close and with so little clothing. Cass noticed Viola’s gaze and looked down at her skin, caked with layers of sweaty grime from their recent travels that made it look darker than it really was.
“Ah, hopefully the river will clean some of this off. Maybe clear away one or two clean patches here or there,” Cass said joking as she appraised her disheveled appearance as dismissively as anyone who spent so many long days on the road
.
Viola blushed before she turned away and began unbuttoning the long vest she wore. She slipped out of it, carefully folded it up and then gently placed it in the wagon, making sure none of the contents from its many pockets fell out. She took off her boots, revealing bare feet, leaving her only in her skin tight green undergarment. Nat stared openly at her, admiring the elfin girl’s shapely figure. Viola seemed not to notice as she walked past him to the water’s edge.
Nat was watching Viola’s backside so intently he didn’t notice Cass approaching him.
“Easy there lad,” he was startled as Cass’ hand gripped his shoulder, “we can’t have a warrior that easily distracted, now can we?”
Nat felt his face grow hot. He shook his head and mumbled a reply before tossing his boots in the wagon. One landed on Inez’s leg. She stirred a little and snorted, but then went back to sleep.
“Alright, everyone get your saddles off and in the wagon, and we should be ready,” Cass said.
By the time they were finished, you could barely see Inez under all their gear. Nat helped Cass unhitch the wagon and trundle it closer to the river. Viola stood at the water’s edge, shivering a little.
Cass gestured to the wagon, “I’m sure it will float, but we’ve loaded it up pretty good. Can you give it a little extra buoyancy?”
Viola nodded. She went to the wagon and rummaged under the saddles until she found her vest. By touch alone, she was able to navigate the many pockets until she found what she was looking for. She pulled out a little jar and opened it. A strong scent of pine filled the air as Viola stood very still with the jar in her hand.
She began chanting low under her breath. Nat noticed her hands began to shimmer a little. Then Viola walked around the wagon, tilting the jar onto her fingertip. A sticky substance came out with each tilt, leaving a thick string of the stuff leading back to the jar. Viola touched the finger with the substance to each side of the wagon, and finally, bent down and touched the underside.
Nat stared at the little spots Viola left behind as she made her way around the wagon. His eyes widened as the spots began to grow, spreading across the surface of the wagon until it eventually coated the entire exterior surface with the shiny, sticky stuff. When Viola was done, she stoppered up the jar and reached in to the wagon to put it back in her vest. Nat touched the wagon curiously. The surface was not sticky anymore. Instead, it felt slick like enamel.
“That should water proof it,” Viola said.
“Good. Let’s get started then. Viola, you first,” Cass said.
Viola stepped into the water and grabbed the rope. She had started wading deeper in to the river when she suppressed a shocked gasp as she felt someone wrap their body around hers protectively. She turned to find Cass cradling her, reaching around her to grip the rope.
“Alright, here we go,” Cass said, “Just follow my movements, slow and steady.”
Viola did her best to concentrate on moving her hands in time with Cass. The water was pressing hard against her. Although she’d thought she could cross the river on her own with the aid of the rope, it was comforting to feel Cass’ strong body shielding her from most of the current. About three quarters of the way across, Viola’s hands slipped on the rope, and for a panicked moment she felt herself being pulled under by the current.
“Oh no you don’t,” Cass said gripping Viola strongly around her waist. “Grab the rope, girl. That’s it.”
Viola gripped the rope more tightly after that, her palms worn raw with the effort. They made it the rest of the way across without incident. Gunnarr helped Viola out of the water while Cass quickly moved back to the other side. Callan watched apprehensively as Cass got behind Nat and helped him across the river. When she came back and gestured for him to enter the water, he grimaced.
“I can probably do it myself,” he said.
“You probably can. But if you can’t, you’ll end up being swept down the river. You probably won’t stop until you get to the Sullen Sea. It would take us weeks to find you. If you want to take that risk, be my guest,” Cass said. “Or… I can switch with Gunnarr if you prefer him at your back.”
“No,” Callan said, looking across at the huge man, who was smirking at him derisively, “You’ll be fine.”
Once across, Callan trudged up out of the river, his clothes streaming water behind him. He looked down at the clothes he had just changed into and sighed. He tried to wring some of the water out of his shirt, but the effort appeared hopeless. It seemed as if his velvets had sucked up half the river and were now dripping it slowly down his legs.
Gunnarr turned to Nat, pointing at the rope, “It’s up to you to make sure this end stays tied up. We’ll get the horses and the wagon.”
Cass and Gunnarr made their way back across the river as Viola looked nervously into the forest behind them. She knew she would feel better once she had her vest back.
Getting the wagon across was a much quicker affair than Callan had anticipated. Cass and Gunnarr worked together, the rope between them and the wagon, the current pressing the floating contraption with Inez in it against the warriors. They moved it along with synchronized thrusts against the current and towards the shore in less time than it had taken Gunnarr to cross initially. Once they got the wagon across and firmly on shore, Nat and Viola grabbed their gear and started to get dressed. The horses were mostly fairly easy. Gunnarr, Cass and Viola’s mounts proved to be very strong swimmers, only needing a little aid from Gunnarr and Cass to keep them on course. Nat’s pony required a little more attention, its little legs unable to keep up with the current.
But it was the donkey Barnaby that almost got the warriors washed down river. First he kicked at them as they tried to coax him into the water. Then he bit clear through the rope halfway across the river. Luckily, Gunnarr had fast reflexes as his arm shot out to grab Cass, and she had managed to wrap her other arm around the stubborn ass’ neck. The rest of the trip across had been accompanied by a lot of grunting and what Nat could only assume was Braldashadian cursing.
As soon as his hoofs touched solid enough earth, Barnaby scrabbled forward and out of the water. Gunnarr helped Cass drag her weary body from the river, and they both collapsed against the wagon.
Callan yawned and stretched.
“About time. Now, can we be on our way?”
“No,” Cass panted. “Now we wait.”
“For what?” Callan asked irritated.
“It won’t be long,” Cass said. She shifted the contents in the wagon around before pulling out an unusual looking tube.
She blew into it, and it made the strangest noise Callan had ever heard. She waited a moment, her lips close to the end of the pipe, waiting to blow again. Then they all heard an answering call from somewhere deep in the woods, two long, slow notes in answer to Cass’ first. Cass blew two more times and then put it away.
“I think we’ll have time for some dinner first, so let’s get to it,” she said cheerily.
Chapter 7
They sat around a small fire that Gunnarr had started, so small it gave off little heat but it did at least keep the gathering gloom at bay. Callan had not missed the fact that neither Gunnarr nor Cass had gone into the woods to gather fuel for the fire. Instead they focused on driftwood along the banks of the river. He glanced up into the rapidly darkening forest they had so obviously avoided. For the life of him he could not see a difference between these woods and those across the river.
“What’s in the forest that you’re so worried about? Is it those insects you mentioned? I thought you said your special perfume would do the trick,” Callan said, rubbing his arms to keep warm.
“You’ve never heard of the Forest of No Return?” Viola asked incredulously.
“Forest of what?” Callan said.
“No return. Well, it used to be called the Forbidden Forest, but apparently that was too subtle a warning, as people kept going into it anyway.” Cass said, poking at the fire. “The king of Chulpe had it rename
d to discourage people from entering.”
“Okay, I’ll bite. What’s so much more deadly about this forest than the one on the other side of the river?” Callan asked.
“Several things, actually,” Cass said cryptically.
Callan waited, but Cass didn’t elaborate any further. This made Callan even more frightened of the forest than if Cass had just told him what waited inside. He inched away from the forest and closer to the river as inconspicuously as he could.
“So I take it that horn thing you did, that called us a barge or a ferry, right?” he asked watching the forest intently.
“No. We won’t be taking the river. We’ll be going through the forest,” Cass said.
“What?” Callan and Viola said at the same time.
“Wow! I can’t believe my luck!” Nat said. His face lit up with delight. “No one will ever believe these stories!”
“You can’t go through the Forest of No Return,” Viola said petulantly, “and you obviously know why.”
“The forest is only deadly to outsiders. We’ll have a guide, so we’ll be okay,” Cass said.
“You’re talking about Spider Walkers!” Nat exclaimed. “I’ve heard of them, but it’s so rare for someone to see one, most people think they’re just a myth.”
“Spider… walkers?” Callan asked meekly. His imagination conjured up a series of images, all focused on enormous spiders crashing out of the forest any moment.
No one responded to him.
“Nat, those people are a myth,” Viola scowled at Cass, “no one lives in the forest.”
“That’s not true. Right, Auntie?” Nat asked Inez, who was still out of sight in the wagon snoozing.
“They exist. I’ve seen ‘em,” Inez said sleepily from the wagon.
“See?” Nat said to Viola, a triumphant look on his face.
Viola just shook her head in disbelief.
“In any case, our guide should be here shortly. So be polite,” Cass said, “and save some room for dessert.”
As the sky dimmed from early evening gloom to full dark the group grew restless. There wasn’t much room to move around on the river bank without risking going too close to the trees on one side or sinking into damp earth bordering the river on the other. The horses were whickering their displeasure with the lack of grazing materials within reach. Cass had tied them up very near the river to keep them from wandering too close to the woods.