“I had a younger brother, Nereus,” Garrick continued slowly. “We were close enough in age to be best friends, especially since the sons of the king cannot be friends with just anyone.”
When he paused, Aldrick said, “Go on.”
“We lost my mother when he was born. Nereus and I did everything together, played and explored,” Garrick sighed again. “We especially loved going on holiday to Eridun, since it meant we could get out of the palace and explore forests, caves and hot springs.”
“Dathan mentioned Eridun,” Aldrick noted.
“Yes, a wonderful place for holiday…but potentially dangerous as well. Near the hot springs lurk hazardous bubbling bogs similar to these bat’lagh as dagger lady calls them. No one normally goes there, but…they were a great temptation for young adventurous boys.”
Garrick paused, seeing the past come to life in the glowing coals of the fire, and a single tear rolled down his cheek. “My brother Nereus…fell into a bog. I might have saved him…but I…froze.”
“You were just a boy,” Aldrick said in consolation.
Garrick nodded, but it was sometime before he could continue. “Perhaps, but I’ve always felt it was my fault…I froze, after all. I could have saved him.”
“You cannot blame yourself,” Aldrick said. “You might have fallen in yourself, and then you both would have drowned.”
“Possibly,” Garrick sniffed. “My father and a search party found me later. I had been crying for some time, I don’t know how long. But…Nereus was gone.”
“Who else knows about this?”
“Almost no one,” Garrick shook his head. “My father was young and proud then, and ashamed of losing a son as he did. The official story he issued was that Nereus died in a hunting accident.”
“Why would he lie about it?” Aldrick wondered.
“You didn’t know my father,” Garrick shrugged. “He never spoke of the incident again, but in his mind I was the older brother, and responsible for it. You might have thought he had forgiven me, except he never trusted me again. I’m not nearly as reckless or irresponsible as Warren might lead you to believe.” He finished with a weak laugh.
“I’m sorry for what you went through. If it’s any consolation, I lost a brother too.” Aldrick was not certain why he had mentioned this; he had never met his brother, or spoken of him to anyone before. Yet he felt at ease sharing it with the king.
“Not much of a consolation Aldrick,” Garrick gave him a sympathetic smile. “But I’m sorry to hear that.”
Aldrick returned the smile, and Garrick stood and brushed off his pants as if the dried mud was full of bad memories. “Thank you again for saving Warren. He would have died if not for you.”
Aldrick stood and clapped a hand on his shoulder. “I’m glad I was there to help.”
Garrick nodded and yawned. “Let’s check the perimeter. It’s about time to wake the next watch.”
Chapter 12
The following morning they were slow to pack camp and set out. They were still exhausted from their sleepless escape from the forest and its frightening denizens, and a partial night’s sleep had not been nearly enough rest. Other than Warren, they had shared equal time standing watch during the night. Having sustained the worst injury by far, he had immediately fallen back asleep after being awakened, and Dathan had sympathetically let him be. Yet even with the languid pace in which they prepared to leave, by late morning they were mounted, and leaving the picturesque camp behind them.
Their current surroundings of primarily scattered small trees and bushes seemed to offer no immediate threat, so they rode west casually to conserve what little strength they had recovered. After their harrowing ordeal, they simply did not have the fortitude for any more than that. The sunlight, bright after the eternal darkness of the deep forest, streamed pleasantly through the scattered boughs and green leaves overhead. Rolling hills stretched out to the distant horizon, covered with early spring grass that swayed and danced in the light breeze like ocean waves.
They rode in silence for a time, enjoying the quiet and peace of the morning. The beauty around them was so completely dichotomous to the inner forest of Melkor that no one wished to speak, and break the peaceful solitude. By the time they stopped for a late lunch that afternoon, everyone was feeling somewhat more refreshed and cheerful.
Aldrick was reluctant to spoil the pleasant mood, but taking stock of their dwindling supplies as he doled out dried meat, he felt compelled to address the issue.
”We lost quite a bit of food with Warren’s horse, and are running out of meat.”
“I’m sorry Aldrick,” Warren apologized. “Oh, my poor horse.”
“I’m not placing blame,” Aldrick said. “I only meant we need to replenish our supplies.”
Warren nodded in silent thanks.
“We’ll need to do some bloody hunting,” Dathan interjected.
“That was my thought,” Aldrick nodded. “What do you think, Aelianna? Can you help with that?”
The warrior shook her head. “Arm is sore.” Aldrick found her offhand tone strange, but before he could determine her intention, she continued. “I am good hunter, but lost prince should do this. I kill great beast, I find Clavis. You, Aldrick, save Warren. What sly desert fox do? Nothing! It is his turn to…what is word…contribute.”
Garrick frowned, but said nothing. Aldrick suspected he still felt guilty about not helping Warren, regardless of whether his reason had been justified.
“How about it, Garrick?”
Garrick looked skeptical, but he nodded. “Of course I can help. We have to eat.”
Dathan swallowed a bit of dried meat and gave them a thin smile. “I need to clean and redress Warren’s bloody leg.”
Warren made a sour face. “Very funny.”
Aldrick stood. “No better time than the present. I saw a small herd of white-tailed deer grazing to the north not too far back. I’ll go with you.”
Garrick seemed on the verge of arguing, but simply nodded and climbed onto his horse. “Fine, let’s get this over with.”
Aldrick mounted as well, and they wheeled about.
Garrick was quiet as they rode; yet if the king was distracted, that was no great surprise. Aldrick knew that reliving the painful memories of his childhood the night before must have been difficult. Besides, the weather was agreeable, and the sky so clear that he found it difficult to feel anything other than pleasant, so he rode unperturbed by the silence.
Spotting the small herd grazing in the distance, they dismounted and tied the reins of their horses to a small tree. Garrick freed his small utilitarian bow from its straps on his saddle and quickly restrung it. With a sigh the king strapped on a quiver, and without a word they quietly walked north. They reached the crest of a gentle rise overlooking the grazing herd, and crouched behind a small copse of delicate birch and tall grass to study their intended prey.
Aldrick pointed to a tall eight-point buck that stood grazing proudly on the near side of the herd. “That one should do nicely.”
Garrick nodded and nocked an arrow, squinting against the bright sunlight. When he did not shoot but continued to gaze out over the herd as if in a trance, Aldrick whispered, “What are you waiting for?”
“Nothing,” Garrick muttered, and pulled the string back.
He released, and the bowstring twanged as the arrow zipped towards its unsuspecting target. Aldrick held his breath in anticipation. In a flash, the crimson-feathered shaft sailed harmlessly over the back of the buck, and then was lost in a large cluster of bright green ferns. Startled, the deer raised its head and looked about, but soon returned to grazing.
Garrick cursed under his breath and retrieved another arrow from his quiver.
“What was that?”
“Just a moment,” was his only response.
A second shaft sped after the first, straight and true. This shot was closer, although still off the mark. The shaft barely nicked the back of the buck before joinin
g the first errant arrow in the verdant foliage.
The buck felt the near miss this time, and raising its head, cried out a warning to the rest of the herd. At his signal, the others began to scatter off to the north, quickly disappearing over a grass-covered ridge.
“What happened?”
Garrick stood and sighed, his bow hanging loosely in his left hand. “The truth is I am not very good with a bow.”
“I don’t understand,” Aldrick said as he stood to join the king. “Your shot to stop Khelvar from kidnapping my son was legendary! At the time I assumed that the emotional turmoil of killing a man, regardless of his crime, was more than enough to explain your lackluster performance afterward.”
“No, that wasn’t it,” Garrick replied. “I have difficulty seeing anything at a distance, so I spent the majority of my time growing up training with the sword. I simply could not see the targets all that well, so I avoided archery as much as I could.”
“But your shot...through Khelvar’s throat was...” Aldrick stammered.
“Pure luck,” Garrick replied with a shrug. “I was aiming for his leg.”
“Aiming for his leg...” Aldrick repeated. His confusion slowly transformed into anger. “My son! You could just as easily have put the arrow through my son’s throat!”
Garrick took a step back and held his hands out in a placating gesture. “I’m not that bad, Aldrick. I have had some practice after all; a prince must know archery.”
“I don’t care if you are trained,” Aldrick fumed. “You could have killed my son.”
“You were the one begging me to stop him, and I believed I could make the shot. Anyway, it’s over and done with now. Your son is fine!
As angry as he was, Aldrick could see his point. The Tournament was long over, and his son was safe. Logically there was no point in holding a grudge against the man now; after all he had saved the life of his son, even if it was apparently by accident. There were more important matters to worry about now; he would consider forgiving Garrick at another time.
“Promise me you will never shoot another arrow at my son,” Aldrick growled, sounding angrier than he was.
Garrick gave him a thin smile. “That’s a promise I believe I can make.”
Aldrick nodded, and then grunted, “We should get back.”
Garrick glanced back to where their escaped dinner was presumably grazing again, alive and, for the most part, well. “It would take too long to chase after that lot.”
They walked back to their horses and remounted, riding back to rejoin the others in silence. Aldrick was still upset by how close he had come to losing his son in the Tournament, but it had been he who put Garrick on the spot, begging him to stop Khelvar. Garrick had done what Aldrick had asked and nothing more. That he had been unaware of his limitation with the bow was not the fault of either of them. And as the king had said, it was now over and done with. Someday he might even find the situation amusing, but not today.
They returned to the others to discover the carcass of an Illyrian wild boar, freshly killed and still bearing the arrow that had accomplished the task. Aelianna was taking a large drought from one of their recently refilled water flasks, but watched their approach out of the corner of one eye.
Lowering the flask, she asked loudly, “How was hunt? Why I not see your kill?” The smirk on her face announced louder than words she had known they would return empty-handed.
“Well...” Aldrick began, not wanting to embarrass Garrick.
Before he could continue, the king interrupted him. “The herd scattered to the north, and we did not wish to make all of you wait while we chased them down. We agreed there would be more hunting as we traveled, and what do you know? We were right!”
Aelianna grunted in disbelief, but let the matter drop. “If you not bring meat, you help clean this kill.”
Garrick held his hands out in protest. “Sorry, I cannot help you there. I grew up in a palace. I have never prepared or cooked a meal in my life.”
Aelianna scowled, all trace of amusement gone. “Lost prince is useless! What you good for?”
Garrick grinned widely and winked broadly at her. “Let me set up my tent and I will show you what I’m good at.”
Her scowl deepened, and her face reddened. “Sly desert fox put tent far away,” she pointed off into the distance. “My tent there,” she added, pointing in the opposite direction.
Garrick shrugged. “Suit yourself. You’re the one who asked.”
“I...not...” the warrior stammered. Abruptly, she spun and forcefully ripped the arrow from the dead boar so hard that the shaft broke. Muttering under her breath in Kemettan, she stalked away.
Garrick snickered, but then addressed the rest of the group more seriously. “Are we stopping here for the night then?”
Dathan yawned. “We’ll need some bloody time to clean this damn boar.”
Aldrick nodded. “We might as well stay here. I’m sure we could all use the rest.”
Chapter 13
That night the glittering stars slowly disappeared behind an invasion of dark angry clouds, and by morning the sky was a solid drab grey, and the air was much cooler. Before they finished packing camp it had begun to drizzle, and darker, more ominous clouds crouched on the western horizon, presaging worse weather yet to come. Riding through the increasing downpour was unpleasant, and before long they were soaked to the bone.
To make matters worse, the darkening sky brought even colder air, and although it was not quite cold enough to snow, they were soon shivering. The cheerful temperaments they had enjoyed the previous day disappeared with the warming sun, and they grumbled and cursed the change in the weather.
Still they pushed forward, feeling compelled to make recompense for the time lost in the Haunted forest of Melkor, and the slow progression of the past two days. There were no discernible roads on this side of the forest, so they traveled across country through increasingly heavy rainfall, and as the day progressed they found themselves struggling through low-lying flooded areas.
“Are you certain we’re going in the right direction?” Aldrick shouted over the downpour. It still seemed strange to place their fate in the hands of this unusual woman, but after their meeting with Merrek, Aldrick felt comfortable with the decision. Deep down he knew it to be the correct choice. And besides, he was terrible with direction, anyway.
“Yes!” Aelianna shouted back.
They considered seeking shelter until the storm passed, but the sheets of water cascading down around them obscured their vision. The rolling hills of sodden grass and scattered small copses of birch and diminutive deciduous trees they saw, provided no real protection from the raging storm. Yet, they could not maintain this pace; the storm was picking up strength as the day progressed.
“We’re gonna need to find some bloody shelter unless this damn storm ends!”
“It won’t,” Garrick shouted. “I believe it’s going to get worse!”
“There is no shelter!” Warren yelled. His eyes were nearly shut as rivulets of water streamed down his face.
“There has to be,” Aldrick called back. The storm seemed to be gaining intensity even as he spoke. “We cannot continue in this!” The horses neighed in protest and hung their heads, as they struggled forward reluctantly. The wind picked up, and torrents of rain slashed at them head on.
“This is intolerable!” Warren shouted, but the wind whipped away his words even as he spoke them.
Aelianna was ahead of them leading the way, but now she suddenly loomed directly in their path, materializing out of the deluge like a specter.
“We go no further!” she shouted, her hand out to stop them.
“We must!” Aldrick replied. “We need shelter!”
“Look!” Aelianna pointed behind her. “Ground ends!”
Aldrick slid down from his horse and landed with a splash in running water. His boots were instantly filled with cold water, and he groaned as he trudged over to look where she had poin
ted. He tramped forward, lost in thought as he followed the small stream caused by flash flooding. They could not stay out in this torrential storm much longer; they simply had to find shelter.
Even knowing the danger, Aldrick nearly stepped over the edge of the cliff. The land ended so abruptly, and the face of the cliff was so sheer, he was momentarily struck by vertigo. Squatting and shielding his eyes against the driving rain, Aldrick peered over the edge of the cliff, which dropped straight down and disappeared far below in a wall of thick mist. From what he could see, they might as well have reached the end of the world; there simply was no more.
“Amazing,” Aldrick muttered as he stood and edged back from the sheer drop. “We must have gone the wrong way.”
The Key of Creation: Book 03 - The Temple of Kian Page 10