by Thomas Rath
“So, what does that have to do with Erl?” Thane asked a bit puzzled.
Jack huffed. “I’m getting there, hold your water. Now, where was I? Oh yes, after the troll fell,” he continued, grinning at Thane, “I heard a tiny whimper come from the other side of the boulder I was hiding behind. I peered over the top and what should I find but a pup about the size of a new born deer. It wasn’t me the troll had seen after all. It was the wolg’s young. I checked the area for more but he was the only one. So, I scooped him up and here we are. Best thing that could have happened to me, I’ll tell you. Why that mangy, old wolg has saved my life more times than I care to count.” Jack reached a hand down to Erl and scratched him behind the ears. Erl’s thumping tail sent up a small cloud of dust.
Both sat in silence again, watching the fire as it crackled in the cold night air. Thane put another piece of wood on while Jack reached over and turned the jerked meat racks. “So, what about you?” Jack said forcing a smile. “Now that you’ve recovered from your wounds, are you planning to return home soon? I imagine you’ve been sorely missed.”
Thane’s face dropped into lines of grief that he tried, unsuccessfully, to mask. “I do not think so,” he whispered.
“Why’s that?” Jack asked appearing a bit anxious.
Thane looked at his newfound friend suddenly feeling a growing desperation. Is he tired of having me around? Maybe he knows. Oh, please great Mother don’t let it be. “Well, I was hoping I could stay with you, Jack, if that is all right? I do not think they would mind back at village.”
“Of course you can stay with us,” Jack sighed as if in relief. Turning to Erl he asked, “What do you say?” Erl jumped up and knocked Thane over covering him with his slobbery tongue. “I guess that makes it unanimous,” Jack laughed.
“You sure it all right?” Thane asked, trying, without success, to push Erl away from him.
“I said it didn’t I?” Jack returned trying not to show the joy that played so loudly in his voice. “It will be nice to have someone around to talk to for once. Erl’s a great companion, but let’s face it he’s not much of a talker. And speaking of which, we’re going to have to work on your language quite a bit more if you are going to fit in with other humans without calling attention to yourself.”
Thane abruptly stopped playing with Erl and then pushed the large wolg off his lap. “Did you say other humans?”
Jack pretended to stoke the fire as if not hearing him.
“Jack,” Thane said a little louder, “what you mean other humans?”
Jack mumbled an answer. “Oh, didn’t I mention our trip to Hell’s End Station in a couple of days? I’m sure I did.”
Thane’s face showed obvious apprehension. “What is Hell’s End Station?”
Jack kept poking at the fire. “Nothing really, just a small outpost at the base of the mountains. They’re a small group assigned to thwarting any attempted troll raids. It’s just a couple hundred men.”
Thane’s eyes widened at the number. “You know I cannot go off mountain. Humans kill Chufa.”
“Now wait just a minute there my pointy eared friend,” Jack said pointing his finger at Thane. “First of all, it’s not ‘off mountain’ it’s ‘off the mountain’ and secondly, how could we kill any Chufa when there aren’t any around?”
“That is what I mean,” Thane retorted. “You already kill them all.”
“It’s killed Thane, not ‘kill,’” Jack said getting up and stomping around in frustration. “Use the past tense. How many times do I have to remind you?”
“So you admit you already killed them all,” Thane said also rising to his feet. Erl quickly grew tired of watching them argue and trotted off unnoticed into the night.
“I did no such thing,” Jack argued halting his pacing to glare at Thane. “I didn’t kill you, did I?”
“Well, no,” Thane said lowering his voice some while diverting his eyes back to the fire. “But that not mean others will not.”
Jack looked at the Chufa boy, suddenly understanding how he must feel. He was far from his home and people, forced to learn a new language and now was being asked to mingle with people who, as legend had it, destroyed his race. Well, most of it anyway, Jack thought. “Listen,” he said in a softer tone, “nothing is going to happen to you. We’re friends, right? Oontildee.”
Thane cracked a smile at Jack’s attempt to speak Chufa. “Oonteedi.”
“Yeah, well, whatever. Anyway, it’s not like we’ll be going to the capital city or anything. It’s just Hell’s End Station. They know me well down there. And, with a little more work on your speaking and some kind of hat to cover those ears of yours, we’ll be set. It’s a quick trip. Just a couple of days to resupply and we’re out of there. What do you say?”
Thane could see the sincerity in Jack’s eyes but he still felt apprehensive about leaving the relative safety of the Shadow Mountains. Trolls, he had fought before and did not fear, but what of the HuMans? He suddenly brightened. “Why not I stay here with Erl? You go to station and we wait for you here.”
Jack shook his head vigorously. “No way. That won’t do. Erl always goes with me. And you can’t stay up here alone. It’s too dangerous.”
Thane’s face turned hard as the fire reignited in his eyes. “I well trained Chufa,” he spat hitting his fist against his chest. “I not need protection from you who can only break bow, not shoot it.”
Jack’s face turn red at the insult and Thane suddenly realized that he may have overstepped their friendship. He waited for Jack to come at him with his fists, if not something more lethal but instead, his face suddenly softened and then he burst out laughing.
“You’re right,” Jack mused, “I must have been quite the sight today. I’m sorry. I really have been up here way too long.” Jack approached him and grasped his arm gently. “Listen,” he said seriously, “I know you can defend yourself just fine without me or Erl, but would you please come with me? I know everything will be all right. No one is going to know you’re a Chufa. Even if they did find out, they would probably be too scared to do anything about it anyway. So, what do you say, huh? Will you do me this one favor?”
Thane looked deep into Jack’s eyes feeling the sincerity so easily seen in them. He couldn’t understand why it was such a big thing to Jack but he figured that after so much time together that he could probably trust him. No, I know I can trust him. After all, he did save my life. If I plan to stay with him and Erl I’m going to have to get used to being around other HuMans.
“All right, Jack,” he finally said with a sigh. “You are my friend and I trust you.”
Jack’s face broke into a big smile. “You won’t regret this, Thane. It will be good for us to get a small taste of civilization after all this time up here alone. You’ll see. It will be here and gone before you know it and you’ll be begging me to take you down again.”
“But what about my talking? I no speak very good this common tongue. And I have bad...how you call it...accent.”
Jack’s smile broadened. “Don’t worry about that son. I’ve got it all taken care of.” Jack suddenly hurried over to their supplies and started digging around in his bags. Things were removed and then replaced and then cast to one side as he continued his hunt with increasing fervor.
“What you do Jack?”
Jack held up his hand and mumbled something before delving into another bag. “Here it is,” he said joyfully lifting a long piece of narrow, red cloth from the small sack.
“What is it?” Thane asked, a puzzled look on his face.
Jack approached looking as if he had just found a chest of gold. “I’ll show you.”
Before Thane knew what was happening, he was sitting and Jack was pulling up his hair and wrapping the cloth around his head making sure to cover the tops of his ears.
“What you do Jack?”
“Just hold still for a minute, I’m almost done.” When he was finished, Thane’s whole head was covered with the mat
erial, including the point in his ears, with a tail of cloth left over that hung over his left shoulder and down to just below his breastbone. Jack stood back to admire his handy work with a grin. “It’s perfect I tell you, perfect.”
“What Jack? Why this thing on my head?”
“You, my friend, are now Tjal-Dihn.”
“What is that?” Thane asked touching the cloth wrap gently.
“They’re nomads who live on the Plains of Enn. They wear these funny looking things on their heads called Dihne and their accents are as thick as tar. No one will suspect you are anything but Tjal-Dihn.” Then, as an afterthought, he asked, “By the way, have you ever ridden a horse?”
“What is a hor...?”
“A horse. It’s kind of like a large deer that you ride on.” Thane’s face remained blank. “No matter.”
“Is that important?” Thane asked, the nervousness about their trip returning.
Jack looked at him for a moment and then turned towards the fire. “Well, it might be. The Tjal-Dihn breed the best horses to be found anywhere. They’re also the best riders anywhere.” Jack watched the flames as if in a trance. Just then, Erl came trotting into camp licking blood soaked jowls and curled up contentedly by the fire. He had obviously found another meal. Jack stared at him for a moment before a smile suddenly crept onto his face.
Thane watched him warily having learned enough about Jack to know that he was up to something; something that would probably make Thane’s life more interesting than he cared it to be. It reminded him of the look Dor used to get when he had one of his bright ideas; ideas that usually ended with them both in trouble.
“We’ll use Erl!”
To Thane’s chagrin and Erl’s uncooperative attitude, the entire next day was spent trying to teach him how to ride using Erl as his horse. At first, the huge wolf would not even let Thane onto his back. When he finally did consent, he almost immediately threw him off. Jack wouldn’t give up, though. No matter how hard Thane pleaded to stay behind Jack would not relent. He insisted that Thane get back on. So, up he would go and off he would come, almost in the same motion. After a while, Erl seemed to be enjoying this game. Up and off, up and off.
Thane glared at him. “You could at least try to help me stay on.” Erl just wagged his tail and dumped him again as soon as he got on.
By the end of the day, Thane was a mass of bruised and exhausted muscles. All he wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep for the rest of the week. “Oh no you don’t,” Jack’s voice bellowed just as Thane was about to get in between his blankets. “We need more fire wood, and it’s your turn to get it.”
“Please Jack. You get wood tonight and I get your wood two times.”
“Sorry. It’s your turn and that’s the end of it. Anyway, the cool night air will do you some good.”
Thane glowered at his so-called friend before throwing back his warm covers and heading out into the darkness. The cool air did waken his senses, but it did nothing to improve his sore muscles. His body ached with cramps and bruises, especially his backside, making it almost impossible to walk. “This is useless,” he mumbled in his native tongue while sitting gingerly against a large rock. The echo of Jack’s bad singing, carried over on the wind, touched his sensitive ears. He curled his face up in disgust. “It’s bad enough I have to kill myself trying to ride Erl and then get the wood, but do I have to endure your bellowing as well?”
Thane leaned back and closed his eyes letting the day’s activities slip from his mind. He was so tired. Why did he have to learn to ride anyway? If what Jack said was true, they would be in and out of Hell’s End Station before he even had the chance to ride one of those horse things he kept talking about. With a scowl, he pushed it all away not wanting to think about it anymore.
A gentle breeze brushed his face as if inviting him to follow on its journey to tomorrow. He relaxed and let the feeling wash over him yearning to chase the wind as it took with it the pains and worries of the day. The gust picked up speed and soon he felt as if he were actually in motion, gliding gently on the night air rising higher into the sky. He felt so alive. He wanted more. Suddenly, the gust shot up from behind and he felt himself hurled faster and faster into space. The rush was incredible. All the day’s aches had suddenly been forgotten as he seemed to float along, gliding through the night sky. The sensation was so realistic that he actually felt like he was ridding along large streams of air as they rushed for the distant horizon.
He thought he could sense the passing of trees and meadows below as the land slipped under him no longer having claim to him. He was free. Free from the physical world. Free from the limitations of his painful body. He wanted to open his eyes and see what he sensed around him. He wanted to skim gently over the treetops that felt so real beneath him. He wanted to experience it all but knew, in doing so, he would end this dream into which he had somehow fallen.
Then, like the lightest touch of a feather grazing the skin, he sensed the presence of something familiar. It brushed against his senses ever so faintly like an itch in the back of his mind. He focused on it, willing himself toward it. As he did so, he felt as if he suddenly turned sharply to the right. The familiar presence grew quickly in strength and it wasn’t long before he felt that it must be directly under him. Willing himself down, he could feel the earth come up and the branches of trees swing past his face. It was as if he were entering a grove, dropping down gently from the sky above. He could feel the swirls of wind circling around him, holding him inches from the ground, and he knew that the presence sat right in front of him. Who or what could it be? The urge to open his eyes and see it was incredibly strong but he resisted, not wanting to lose it to the dreams of the night.
He concentrated harder on the form that called so strongly to him. It was so familiar yet, somehow changed. Then it struck him like a bolt from the sky. “Tam!” The sound of his voice echoed in his ears and his eyes, unable to resist any longer, shot wide open. There, two feet below him, was the figure of a young girl tied hand and foot to a tree.
“Tam?” he breathed. “Is it really you?”
The young girl stirred and then lifted her head revealing a wretched looking face smeared with dirt and covered with small cuts and bruises. Her hair was a twisted jungle of mangled knots overflowing with tiny lice running up and down the long strands. Her eyes were dull, having lost their shine of life, and seemed not to be able to focus properly. She opened her mouth as if to say something but no voice came out.
“Tam, it’s me, Thane!”
A faint glimmer of recognition flashed across her filthy face but was quickly gone. Then, without the slightest warning, she started to scream. The shrills shattered the silence like the final cries of a dying animal and a large number of footsteps were heard coming up from behind. Thane whirled around and faced the towering forms of ten giant trolls crashing down on him. He threw up his hands and braced for the impact but the first troll passed right through him. The wind surrounding him was suddenly disrupted tossing him violently to the side and through the body of another approaching troll. His head began to spin and he tried to will himself higher to avoid any more collisions but the wind was beginning to fail, losing its strength with every crash of a passing troll. He felt stretched out with the dissipating wind feeling as if his body would be pulled apart in a hundred different directions. He turned towards Tam just in time see one of the trolls grab hold of her shirt and hurl a shattering back hand against the side of her head.
Thane wanted to scream, wanted to attack the trolls that went about mercilessly abusing her but he felt as if his own body was being torn apart. The pain was excruciating and he knew that this dream turned reality would soon destroy him, ripping him into little pieces. Suddenly, he felt himself jerked to the left with bone crushing strength and then he shot through a rushing void of darkness.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Thane slowly opened his eyes as Jack’s voice penetrated the dark abyss that had almost claimed him as
an eternal victim. The blurry image sharpened gradually turning the wavy lines into Jack’s concerned face and Erl’s wet nose as it sniffed furiously about his face and body. A wall of pain crashed down on him and he quickly rolled to the side and emptied his stomach.
“Thane, it’s Jack. Are you all right? What’s going on? What happened to you?”
Thane pushed himself up with a great amount of effort and breathed deeply trying to settle his stomach.
“Answer me boy,” Jack’s voice boomed, ringing in his ears. “What happened to you?”
He opened his mouth to speak, letting out a raspy noise. He fought to form the words. “Ee CheeloNok.”
“What? Speak common Thane, I can’t understand you.”
“A...a dream.”
Jack was taken aback. “A dream? You’ve got to be kidding me. A dream did this to you? You act like you’ve been beaten to a bloody wad. That must have been some dream.”
“Yes.” Thane whispered then gasped for more breath.
Erl finished sniffing him, having covered his whole body and suddenly moved off to search the area. Jack watched the wolg for a moment, looking for any sign of alarm, before turning his attention back to Thane.
“What happen?” Thane asked still unable to get his voice above a whisper.
“That’s what I’d like to know. You were gone for only a few minutes when I heard you yell something.” Jack scratched his head and furrowed his brow as if trying to remember. “Now let me see, it sounded something like ‘tan’ or something.”
Thane grabbed his friend’s arm. “Tam?”
“Yeah,” Jack said with a concerned look, “I believe that was it. I thought you were in some kind of trouble the way you started to shout in that language of yours. I thought I recognized a couple of words, but you were spitting them out so fast, I couldn’t be sure. So, Erl and I came out looking for you and here you were sitting like you were dead or something. Nearly scared me to death.”