In short time he led me to another clearing where the two men had camped. A small fire was central to the clearing with a couple of logs for seats placed nearby. After a quick search I found my backpack empty of its contents lying at the end of one of the log benches next to my bedroll. The contents were gone and I looked around for my stuff. I saw pieces of my equipment lying in piles. They had taken my food and combined it with their own and I hastened over and started cramming whatever food I could find into my mouth and I sucked water out of my water skins. I was so hungry and so thirsty. After a time I managed to stop myself before I was sick.
I lay back and looked around the site. It was a mess. It looked to be mostly my own gear. My herbs were damaged and torn apart and they were wilted and no longer potent and so, with regret, I threw them into the bushes. Everything else was missing. My pots, my tin cup and kettle were used but blackened with soot and greasy with the remains of what looked like a poorly skinned rabbit. My flour and oats had been poured out onto the ground for some reason and ruined. My teas, thankfully were intact and I gathered them up. Nothing I had owned had mattered to these men except I was certain I would find the journal, my money, potions, sickle and coin somewhere nearby. My clothes lay in a pile nearby and I remembered my nakedness. I quickly dressed wincing at the feel of the rough cloth against my wounds. I had to find my other gear and I looked around.
These men had travelled light and I reasoned they must have hidden their gear. After a small search, I found two small waist packs hidden under a fallen tree and I happily rummaged through their meagre possessions. In one of the packs I found my sickle and coin and with a sense of relief I returned the small pouch around my neck. I also found my Life Salt and Daukyns' journal. I flipped open the journal and found the notes he had left me still intact and I wondered if they could even read. The rest of the contents were just some hard road rations, water in a small skin, and some minor equipment such as a flint, a wire saw and my own healing ointments and potions. Seeing my own ointments and potions placed in their packs made me pause but I took them all the same. No sense wasting them and I doubt they tampered with them. The potions were worth a lot of coins.
Lying next to the waist packs I found my own black boots and claimed them back but I stuffed them in my backpack. Lastly, lying next to each pack I was surprised to find two leather whips. They were small, too small to whip anything in practice and I didn't understand their purpose. They each had a leather handle attached to several small whip strands only about a foot long each. Each strand was leather and ended with stone beads. Something about them disgusted me and I discarded them. I wanted nothing to do with their equipment.
I stood up with my hands on my hips. Nothing in the packs hinted at where the men had come from or why they had followed and captured me and then tried to harm me. It was frustrating not knowing what was going on. I felt like I was lost in a whirlwind of events. These men wore the same boots as the assassin in Jaipers and the reaction of the Belger salt shop owners hinted to me they were somehow tied to the Church. It was all I knew.
I used my senses to locate a likely source of water and I found water plants nearby and small minnows. Dog joined me and soon we found a cool, clear stream and I eagerly cleaned myself up. I stripped down and washed my clothes with my soap and laid them out to dry. The dog busied himself with biting at the water and growling at imagined threats and his antics kept me amused. He would stop every now and then and make sure I was watching him. He was like a small child and my heart warmed to him. Eventually, I ended up sitting in the middle of the stream and scrubbed the filth off my body with the sand off the bottom. I could sense the minnows swimming all around and enjoyed the serenity and took my time.
Once I was cleaned up my head felt clearer. I studied the dog and, using my powers, cleared the fleas and lice away with will alone and watched with some disbelief at the sheer numbers of insects that leapt and fell away to hide in the long grass. The dog growled at a few he spotted but then sat and cocked his head at me. He looked like he couldn't believe what had happened.
"Yes," I replied to his questioning look. "All gone, now hold still for a bit, dog."
I reached out with my senses and found all the bite marks and healed them. I found a couple of ticks and urged them away and they fell clear. The dog whimpered with relief and I smiled. I could easily make out the hundreds of nits in the fur and was tempted to crush them with my power but even the thought of it resulted in a feeling of nausea and I stopped the thought immediately. I needed to clear them away the hard way.
It took the better part of half the day, but I used my knife and powers to groom the dog and clear up all the matted hair. The dog, at my urging, remained still and patiently waited out the treatment but he would steal a lick at my face if I put it too close to his snout. I then crushed all the remaining nits by hand, using my power to locate them and then using the old tried-and-true method of crushing them between finger and nail. It wasn't an abuse of my powers but it did take a long time to clear them all away. Satisfied, I leaned back and admired the dog. He glowed with health now and he seemed to hold his head higher.
"There," I said smugly. "All done. Now what do I call you, hmm?"
The dog just looked at me and cocked his head again. I think at that point I realised I had bonded with this dog. I looked back at the dog and reminded myself dogs and wolves don't need names. When I was with the wolves they used smell to identify others. Smells were names. But not so for people — people need names for their dogs. So, whatever name I came up with, it would only matter to me. And, I realised, I didn't need to decide now. It could wait.
* * *
I returned to the guard's campsite dressed in my dried clothes and made a small fire and found comfort in returning to a pattern of normal activity. I gave the dog some of the meagre meat I had recovered and then made myself some lentil soup and tea. Soon the food in my belly drew my eyelids down and I collapsed on my hastily laid out bed roll and slept the sleep of the dead.
When I woke it was morning. I felt the unfamiliar form of the dog curled up tight against me and I smiled. I relished the feeling of security of having a dog by my side and I remained still so as not to disturb him. It reminded me of my days with the wolves. I would be by myself most of the time and sleep where I felt safe. I would wake with one or two wolves pressed up against me like the dog was now.
As I lay there I took stock of my condition with my powers. I explored my numerous bites and pushed the liquid that was causing the itch out through the bite marks. I knitted the bites closed and calmed the swollen areas and then basked in the absence of itching. Now with the itching gone I could tell just how bad it had been. I don't know why I hadn't fixed myself earlier. The infections from the rope burns were actually a simpler matter and in time my skin was unmarked and back to normal. I was getting better at using my powers. They took far less thought and more of just a focused will. Intuitively I knew what needed to be done within my body. I also did not feel as drained as I used to. I was now able to use my powers and simultaneously draw from the earth. I was pleased with my progress and I sensed the earth was pleased, too.
I could almost no longer ignore the need to pee but I opted to remain there for a little while longer. The events of the past few days were still foremost in my thoughts and would remain so for a long time. It was not long ago that I had survived the attack by the assassin. I had to be sure I was whole in mind and body and so I methodically went through the events and assigned blame where it belonged. I would not be the victim this time. One thing was certain, I had to focus on understanding my powers and how they worked. I couldn't be the victim again and Jergen and Munsten offered the greatest hope I had of finding the truths I needed. Since the night outside Jaipers at my camp when the assassin had nearly killed me I had been out of control. I knew it wasn't my fault but I could tell I was suffering from the results. I was reminded of a phrase Daukyns would say sometimes. He said: "There are in nature neith
er rewards nor punishments, there are consequences". I never understood that until now.
I found determination easier to arrive at than I expected and, feeling smug, I nudged the dog. Dog raised his head, startled, and looked around with confusion plain on his face. It was such a human expression that I laughed and the dog immediately focused on me, darted his head forward, and licked furiously at my face. I pushed him away, sputtering, and sat up. Already I could see dogs were much different than wolves. They cared more for one thing. Especially about people. I looked at this strange dog and wondered again what he could be doing out here with the wolves. Dogs and wolves did not mix. He was a puzzle.
"Right you, dog," I said sternly. "Let's break our fast and get cleaned up for the road, shall we?"
The dog, now sitting up, lolled a long tongue out of his mouth and snorted, his tail thumping on the ground.
"I'll take that as a yes," I laughed and rubbed his head as he chased my hand with his tongue.
Twenty-Five
On the Road to Jergen, 900 A.C.
I HAD MADE a small fire and boiled tea and made oatmeal from what I could salvage from the ground. It was a lovely meal and I found myself relaxing. Returning to old habits gave me comfort. While I was finishing my tea, the dog came whining into the clearing with the rope in its mouth. He dragged it to the edge of the fire and dropped it out of his mouth. The dog started tearing up tufts of grass and I realised he was trying to clear the taste from his mouth.
I tried to sense the rope again and recoiled at the horrible feeling it gave off. I looked at the fire and stoked it with more wood and then quickly gathered the rope and tossed it on the fire. The rope emitted a deafening high pitched keening sound and I collapsed to the ground holding my hands clamped to my ears. It was an ethereal scream and it seemed to reach into the core of my being. The dog was on the ground pawing at its ears and after what seemed an eternity the rope burst into flame and the sound cut off.
I lay on my back panting and the dog did much the same. I sat up and stared at the remains of the rope. Black oily smoke drifted up into the air and the smell was horrible: not unlike what I imagined a burning rotten corpse would smell like. I decided then I needed to take the time to try and do something with the two dead men and the dead wolf. It was the right thing to do and Reeve Comlin in Jaipers would approve. I also knew this was going to be easier said than done.
I took my time clearing up the site and washing my pots. I packed my backpack and looked around the small campsite before returning down the path to the clearing. When I arrived at the edge of the clearing I stood there for a long time staring at the bodies. They looked so fragile there. They were people who no longer breathed and the lack of chest movement gave them a sense of not being right. They were too still. Flies were now buzzing thickly in the air but, thankfully, I couldn't smell the sickly sweet smell of rot from the bodies — it was too soon, but it wouldn't be long with the summer heat. These men had hunted me and strung me up like a pig to be drained. I had done nothing to them. Or, to anyone. I was a young man trying to earn a living in a quiet corner of world. They were to blame. Not me.
I stood there and did a bit of soul-searching as I looked down on them. I went from rage to anger to sadness. As much as I hated them somewhere they must have mothers who loved them and would never know how they died. They deserved some measure of respect despite their treatment of me. I settled on feeling pity.
It took me a little bit of time to get the nerve to finally approach the men and even longer to finally touch them. I had never touched a dead person before. At least not intentionally, I thought. Having the assassin fall on me that time didn't count. This was me touching them on purpose and it repelled me and filled me with trepidation. They stared sightlessly and unblinkingly and I found their open eyes frightened me more than anything else.
I slowly became aware of the sense of confusion from the earth about my fears. I frowned, finding it strange the earth should be sensing me so keenly. I think I knew at some level the earth was watching me all the time now. Its confusion was interesting and I realised the earth was trying to teach me something. I suppose death means little to nature. We all die and return to the earth, don't we? I grimaced and tried to accept that but couldn't. Death represented to me only the tragic loss of life. I sighed. The truth was I wanted to be a healer and being a healer meant death would always be part of my life and work. I sensed acceptance from the earth and I moved to each man and closed his eyes. They were oddly cold to the touch. At least they wouldn't be staring at me now, I admitted to myself, and I did feel better.
I made a quick search of their pockets and found they each carried a red gemstone. They were exactly like what the assassin in Jaipers had carried. I pulled my small pouch from around my neck and added them to the sickle and coin. I was keeping them until I understood what they represented. Remembering how the Reeve had dealt with the assassin I grudgingly stripped off their clothes and put their black boots into my backpack. I was startled to see multiple scars across their backs. Lines and lines of angry red scar tissue stood out in stark contrast to the rest of their skin. I could see a few lines were recent and immediately thought of the two small whips I had found with their possessions. Why would they whip themselves, or each other? It made no sense. I had to bury these men, and the wolf, and I had no digging tool. I could build a cairn but it would take days to gather the rocks needed.
I stood with my hands on my hips looking down at the men and imagined two large holes for them. I shot an inquiry to the tree on a whim and was startled when I felt joyous acceptance. The earth suddenly boiled around the men and I saw roots writhing and loosening the soil around the bodies. Slowly the men were pulled into the earth and they disappeared from sight leaving only the disturbed earth to mark where they had been.
Dog ran over and sniffed quickly all over the new graves and then, grinning up at me, raised a leg and let loose a stream of urine to land expertly on both graves of the men.
"Dog! Stop that! Have some respect," I said, but my laugh gave me away.
I couldn't help myself and let myself laugh in earnest. The stress of the past few days seemed to melt away from me and I welcomed the tears of laughter as they escaped me. I knelt and pulled Dog into my embrace and murmured thanks into his ear. I felt the laughter in Dog in return and stood feeling whole. Dog and I stayed that way for a time before I saw the corpse of the wolf nearby and I stiffened.
"That wolf died saving me, Dog. It sacrificed its life for mine."
Dog whined.
"I spent a long time with wolves, did you know? I know a lot about them. I know, for example, they would not understand my feelings on this. The wolf they knew was gone. They probably already mourned him and moved on. That's their way. The wolf they knew is gone, and what remains is a part of nature and is returned to the earth"
I patted the head of the wolf and thanked him silently. After a moment, I rose and hoisted my backpack on my shoulders and squared it.
"Alright, Dog," I said turning to my new companion. "Let's hit the road. We've a long way to go to get to Jergen." I sensed Dog's agreement and he moved a few feet in one direction before stopping and looking back at me.
I looked over at Dog, smiled, and pointed in the other direction. "That way, Dog."
Dog lowered his head and walked past me in the direction I pointed and disappeared into the brush.
"Oh, and you're called Dog now, did you know that?" I yelled at where he had disappeared. A soft woof was the reply and I felt the acceptance of the name. I walked over and placed a hand on the tree and gave thanks. The tree ignored me.
* * *
Dog and I walked at an easy pace for the rest of the day and stayed well clear of the road, keeping to the trees and hills. Eventually, the trees became sparse and ahead of us I could see grasslands and flowers growing from horizon to horizon. I could see the river a good distance away at times and contented myself with making my way farther and farther away from t
he graves of the men. Admittedly, I enjoyed being amongst the trees and fields more so than on the road. The solitude was welcome and knowing I would not run into caravans or brigands this far from the road relaxed me. I watched as Dog loped ahead of me and gave chase to rabbits. He would return to me for praise before bounding off once again. He never barked and I was thankful.
Once during the day, I sensed the wolf who had saved me keeping pace nearby for a spell. I sent it thanks and felt a sense of amused acceptance. Later in the day I spied the wolf squirming on his back in front of Dog, belly exposed, looking excited and happy. Something passed between them and I felt a small mixture of sorrow from Dog. Whatever their association, it was clear the wolf and dog had been companions of a sort. Perhaps, like me, Dog had been adopted by the wolves. I would have to ask him later about it. Whatever his history was, I owed him some respect if the wolf recognised his position in the pack as being Alpha.
I soon discovered having a travelling companion made all the difference in the world. Dog would range ahead and report back to me when the way was clear and this allowed me to relax my vigilance. Some part of me knew the men I needed to fear were now gone and the way was clear for me all the way to Jergen. I thought more and more about what I would discover there in the book I sought. My powers had been growing and I had become much more comfortable with them.
I seemed to be in constant communion with the earth now and felt the female nature of her. She nurtured and protected, but I knew there was much more to her. I was only seeing a part.
"Dog, is she uncaring?"
As soon as I asked the question I knew I was not correct. She cared, just not in a way I understood yet.
"Maybe we don't have words for how she works? What do you think?" Dog just stared at me. "She cares nothing for one person's life. She cares only about the whole. But. But! Of all that she does care about she also cares for the one, but almost accidentally. Right? Always the whole and the whole is her." I looked to Dog but he was watching a flight of birds wing by.
Leaf and Branch (New Druids Series Vol 1 & 2) Page 41