by Alan Black
Suddenly, he was clear. Seenger vaulted into the streambed behind him and swept dragonettes away from Tanden’s back and shoulders. Tanden reached up both hands to grab at the bank's edge. He might survive if he could get out of the gully. Hands grabbed at his wrists and arms, jerking him up through the air. Almost before his feet hit the ground, hands plucked dragonettes from his body. Dragonettes flew away into the darkness in all directions.
Tanden spun around to the crevice to see Seenger leaping up beside him.
Gadon said, “I know I said I was hungry, Tanden. But if you’re going fishing for dragonettes, I think you could find an easier way to bait them. Besides, I don’t think I’d like dragonette on a stick. That is if I had a stick and a fire to cook them.”
Seenger said, “Dragonettes are fine, even raw, but these are too skinny even for a good stew.” He turned and began moving southward without another word. They all watched him move away. Tanden was unsure, was Seenger joking or not? The ogre had never shown a sense of humor, or if he had, no one understood his jokes.
I-Sheera asked, “Are you all right? I was so frightened. I’m sorry, I tried to help, but I couldn’t.”
Gadon sneered at the woman, “Yes, she cowered away from you, leaving the rest of us to do all the work. Typical, pampered woman.”
“I’m fine,” Tanden said. Feeling about his arms and chest, he could tell there were more cuts, scrapes, and bites than before. He couldn’t do anything about it now. “It’s done. Seenger is right, let’s move. We have a long way to go.”
They reached the edge of the forest in good time while Deering was still high in the night sky. They had about an hour before it set. The Rose and the Potato were long gone. The stones had given way to a sparse, grassy clearing, with a scattering of shrubs and scrub bushes. Larger animals scurried off through the grass and bushes before them. They stood before large tangled knots of trees.
Tuller asked, “What’s next, Tanden?”
Gadon said, “I don’t like dragonettes and snakes, but I really hate going into a strange forest at night. Who knows what evil demons lurk there. No sir, I’d rather be at home in a warm comfortable bed than here. Maybe we should wait here until sunrise. Or maybe Durrban could use his green magic?”
Durrban shook his head. “I’m not that good with protection spells yet. Not for a group this size. Maybe I can harvest and collect enough magic if you give me a few hours.”
“No,” Tanden said, “We need to find water and food. Sitting still and waiting won’t help us. We need to keep moving forward while Deering gives us any moonlight. There’ll be time enough to stop when it gets totally dark.”
“It looks dark enough to me, right now,” Gadon commented.
The others stood by quietly waiting for directions. They were all battered and bruised, dehyrdated and hungry, exhausted and sleepy. He wanted to rest too. Now was not the time or place to rest. A forest's edge is prime hunting ground for many predators of all types and sizes. They should be reasonably safe if they stuck together. Few carnivores would attack a group of men. Even now, he saw the shining, yellowish eyes of a large creature of some type, watching them from the deep forest foliage.
CHAPTER NINE
Tanden watched as a second pair of yellow eyes joined the first, then another. They would soon face a pack of dire wolves. This would not be a hungry, desperate, unorganized rabble of animals. They would be facing a well-fed, strong, and organized pack. The plentiful supply of dragonettes and other small animals living in the area provided daily nourishment for many predatory carnivores. Such an abundant food supply would feed a larger than average-sized dire wolf pack. While most packs would avoid groups of humans, a hungry dire pack was capable of chasing them down and tearing them apart one by one. They should be safe as long as they stayed together.
Tanden saw no reason to call anyone’s attention to the watching eyes. They would find out soon enough. He noticed Seenger watching him. Seenger’s eyes flicked to the dire wolves and back again. Tanden shook his head slightly, receiving a shrug of acceptance from the ogre.
“We’re a strong group. I know we can all keep moving for a little bit longer. While Deering is up, we can look for water and find a safe place to rest. Just stay together.”
Tuller asked, “Wouldn’t it be more reasonable if we spread out a bit? In this forest, we might pass by freshwater and not know it. If not singly, then maybe we should walk in pairs.”
Tanden responded, “That’s a valid point, Tuller, and a valuable suggestion. However, I think that in the dark we might also lose one another and walk in circles. Daylight may give us the opportunity to spread out more effectively. Does anyone have a flint with them to start a fire?”
No one answered, but from the looks they gave each other Tanden knew the answer was no.
Durrban said, “I’ll start a fire if someone has a string or a length of cloth. It’ll take longer than a flint, but it’ll work.”
Gadon snorted. “Surely you can condense enough magic to start a little fire. There are enough trees and grass here to set the whole coast on fire.”
Durrban shook his head. “I will not make fire. Encouraging red magic by sparking a fire will muddle my green magic. Fire itself is okay, but I can’t bring it to pass by magic. The old way will work just fine.”
I-Sheera tore a length of cloth from around the bottom of her robe, then she sat, watching in fascination as Durrban moved about fashioning a small bow to build a fire by friction.
Tanden said, “Gather some short limbs, knot grasses and vines for torches. Deering’s moonlight might be sparce inside the forest. And men,” Tanden tried to make this sound like an afterthought and not as important as it really was to their survival, “we might as well see if we can find clubs or staffs. You never know when you might need a weapon.”
Gadon looked quizzically at Tanden as if to ask, “What are you talking about?” He said, “Oh my aching back. I’m tired and this man wants me to carry firewood through a forest.”
As he spoke, Gadon kneeled down and grabbed a young sapling at its base. Without even a grunt, he straightened his legs, ripping the small tree from the ground. He knocked the dirt from the rootball and stripped the small limbs away from the trunk. A quick snap took off the top section. He then tossed the ready-made four-foot long club to Tanden and stepped over to a second tree to make a weapon for himself.
The other men followed suit, each finding a weapon of some sort. Tuller found a long staff for himself and a club for Durrban. Seenger armed himself like Tuller, although his staff was double the length and twice as thick.
Durrban’s fire didn’t leap to life or roar into tall flames. It flickered slowly and grew larger as he fed it small leaves and grasses first, twigs next, and then the larger sticks handed to him by the girl. Tanden saw the watching yellow eyes blink out. The dire pack silently withdrew at the first flicker of flame.
Seenger’s eyes never left the forest’s edge. Tanden looked everywhere but at the fire, knowing he would lose any ability to see at night if he let the fire get into his head.
Tanden had studied the four elements of the world in his schooling at Allexia. Of the four–earth, water, air, and fire—he was sure fire was the most dangerous to man. Water was dangerous, but Tanden made his living on the water and had learned to make it his friend. Not like a blue wizard would make friends with the wind driven waves, collecting, condensing and storing the magic hidden there, but friendly enough that the oceans didn’t try to kill him more often than a couple of times each sailing season.
He had seen fire act all too often like it had a mind of its own. He knew it could get in a man’s mind to drive him crazy. It was that power that drove the red order to seek their magic from the flames.
Tanden said, “Gadon, Tuller, Durrban, each of you carry a torch and a second unlit spare.” He watched the men light their makeshift lamps. Durrban and Tuller then kicked dirt over the fire. As soon as the fire was out the eyes of the dire wolves
reappeared as if out of thin air.
“Girl,” said Tanden. “You needn’t carry a weapon, but stay close to me.”
She stepped close to Tanden and opened a tiny bundle she had made from part of her robe. Inside she had a dozen sharp shards of rocks and a two-foot strip of heavy cloth, “I’m not very good with a sling, but, I can use one if you need me to. I’ll stay close to you.”
“For now, everyone stay close together and watch one another,” Tanden said. He motioned Seenger to lead them into the forest. He was startled when Seenger tilted his head back and bellowed like a raging, angry bull, his fangs and tusks glittering in Deering’s pale light. The watchful eyes in the forest darted away noiselessly.
Seenger moved forward without a backward glance. The others followed closely behind him, each with a questioning look to the others about Seenger. Tanden brought up the rear, pushing I-Sheera ahead of him.
The foliage was thick and hard to walk through at first, but the deeper they moved, the thinner the underbrush became until they found themselves in the forest proper. The thick canopy blocked out all of Deering’s glow. The three torches now provided all their light. Seenger forged ahead just at the edge of the light.
The group moved away from the bay in a southerly direction. Tanden had no clear knowledge of area’s interior. Farther to the west, he and Gadon had fought the Hummdhars near the banks of the DuVall River, chasing their enemies back into the mountains.
He believed they were crossing the isthmus of a large peninsula. Only to himself would he admit he was not positive of their location. He knew little of the terrain beyond the Black Sea’s coastal shores. He would have to trust the ogre to locate water and a place to rest. He hoped Seenger would find it sooner than later.
Durrban’s torch flickered and died out. Rather than re-light it or light his spare, the man kept walking. The little sailor was almost asleep on his feet. Time was short, but they could not afford to stop yet. Without water and an easily defensible position, they would not last the night against the forest’s predators, whether dire wolf pack, fellosaur, or giant sloth.
Without missing a step, Gadon reached across relieving Durrban of his torch, tossing it to the ground. Taking Durrban’s spare torch, he lit it from his own light. He turned and thrust it into the hands of the servant girl. I-Sheera took the light without comment and followed Gadon as he turned again to follow Seenger.
Suddenly, Seenger was gone. He dropped out of sight before anyone saw him leave. The group rushed forward at the sound of crashing bush and breaking tree limbs. They heard the ogre cursing strange gods and thrashing about, but they could not see him.
Tuller was the first to reach the edge of a small downward slope. Stopping, he waved his torch high above his head to light the area below him. Trees were sparce along the slope and the brush grew thicker. The others joined him quickly. There were no sounds coming from down the hill. Gadon and I-Sheera’s torches lit up the area, still, they could not see Seenger anywhere.
Tuller, cursing his own foolishness, dashed down the hill, following the path of crushed bushes and broken limbs. His feet churned to keep up with his headlong rush. There was nothing for the others to do but chase after Tuller and Seenger.
A small stream ran through a clearing at the bottom of the slope. In the middle of the stream, Seenger stood surrounded by the dire wolf pack. The ogre was barely keeping the wolves at bay by swinging his great staff in wide circles.
The wolves danced in the waning moonlight, splashing and spraying water everywhere. They snarled at the ogre, seeking an opportunity to leap forward and take him off his feet. The water was only mid-calf deep on the tall ogre. It was enough to slow the wolves, yet not deep enough to give Seenger an edge against so many dire wolves. He was already running out of time as the pack circled closer.
Tuller plunged barehanded through the pack without hesitation, having lost his staff running down the hill. He kicked the side of one wolf and jammed his torch into another, burning hair and scorching flesh. The wolf he kicked whirled around snapping at him. Tuller thrust the flaming torch into the wolf’s open mouth. The flame went out, but the wolf knocked two others down in an effort to escape the searing heat inside its mouth. Others in the pack raced after the wounded wolf, obviously not hungry enough to continue attacking the pair.
The remaining wolves ringed Seenger and Tuller as they stood back-to-back. Seenger waved his staff in the faces of the animals while Tuller brandished the remains of a torch in one hand and held a hastily grabbed rock in the other. It was a toss up whether or not the two could withstand a coordinated attack. The animals turned to flee at the sight of more humans rushing into the clearing.
One dire wolf wasn’t fast enough as it sped past Seenger. His staff slashed down across the neck of the wolf, snapping it cleanly with one stroke. The dire pack whirled about, ready to protect one of their own. Seenger bellowed a challenge, his fangs and tusks flashing a grim warning. He set himself to charge the wolves, but a rock whizzed past his head striking a large male wolf on the nose. The wounded animal yelped, snarled, and bit at the air. A second rock flew into the pack sending another wolf yowling into the dark, limping on three legs. The large male spun about and raced after the injured wolf. The pack followed closely on his heels.
Seenger looked back at I-Sheera, who had loaded her sling with a third rock and was swinging it about her head looking into the shadows for another target. He nodded to her and put a hand on Tuller’s shoulder as if to say thanks.
Gadon stared at the woman, “Very good aim. You’ll have to show me how you do that.”
I-Sheera looked at her feet sheepishly. “I’ve only seen them used by shepherd boys. I’ve never used one before. I don’t know how to aim.”
Gadon smiled as he said, “Well, damn my own eyes! You’ll have to show me anyway. And you,” he turned to Tuller, “what kind of idiot stunt was that? Racing off on your own! You’re sure one pitiful excuse for a younger brother. It’s not as if I don’t have enough to do without having to come along and save your sorry butt. Hey, Seenger! Thanks for finding water.” Gadon spread his arms wide and slapped both Tuller and Seenger on the shoulders, stretching tall to reach Seenger’s shoulder.
I-Sheera jammed her torch into the bank and flung herself down by Durrban at the water's edge. Tanden knelt upstream, near them to drink. Both the green acolyte and the woman sucked greedily at the water, gulping great quantities to quench a day old thirst. Tanden slowly lifted the water to his lips one handful at a time, always keeping his eyes on the others and the forest’s edge.
Gadon sank his torch upright in the bank on the other side of the creek. He stretched out beside his brother to bury his face neck-deep in the cool running water of the stream.
Tanden watched Seenger as the ogre knelt by the carcass of the wolf he had killed. Seenger lifted the water to his lips as he watched and listened to the night about them. Tanden nodded to himself. There was more to this Huzzuzz ogre than he knew.
Tanden said, “Seenger. What are you planning for that wolf?”
“Supper, I think, or breakfast, maybe both,” Seenger replied with a shrug.
Gadon lifted his head. “I wonder if dire wolf tastes anything like dog.”
Seenger said, “Somewhat, but tougher to chew.”
Tanden said, “Enough water for now. Too much at one time and you’ll make yourselves sick.”
When the others looked up at him, he continued. “This close to the coast, if we move downstream, we could end up back at the bay. We’ll move upstream for a while and locate a defensible place to rest before continuing south.”
“Uphill?” Gadon complained. “I swear, my whole life has been spent walking uphill. Are there no downhill paths in this wide world?”
Seenger stood and shook himself like a wet dog. Reaching down, grabbing the carcass of the wolf, he draped it across his shoulders. Using his staff as a walking stick, he stepped to the far shore. Ever watchful, he stood quietly, waiting
for the others to gather themselves together.
Tanden helped Durrban to his feet and up the bank. The little man was almost at the end of his strength, yet, at no time did Durrban complain.
Gadon and Tuller rebuilt the three remaining torches with new grass and vines. Once all three were re-lit, Gadon handed the woman a torch, a bit more gently than before.
Staying together as much as the terrain permitted, the small group moved upstream. Tired as they were the water revived their spirits, with the exception of Durrban. Gadon and Tuller took up a two-decade-old argument as to who had stolen whose wooden toy sword. Unasked, Gadon moved to put an arm around Durrban as the older man stumbled sleepily. I-Sheera quietly followed on Tanden’s heels.
Tanden moved to position himself next to Seenger and asked, “What happened back there? How did you get separated?”
“I got foolish,” Seenger said. “I was tired and didn’t watch where I stepped. One minute I was fine, the next I found myself tumbling down a hill, crashing through the brush. When I came to a stop, I heard the wolves about me. I ran to the middle of the clearing, jumped into the stream. The rest you know.”
“It’s my fault, Seenger. We’re all too tired. I should’ve tried to find a place to rest sooner. But it’s done and I can’t change the past. I’ll try not to let it happen again. We only have a few days to gain the coast or we’ll miss the White Wind, but I shouldn’t throw our lives away needlessly. We’ll retake our ship if we have to follow her to Tunston itself.”
The group hadn’t gone far when they came to a rocky outcropping where the stream cut through a hillside. A small, three-sided canyon would provide protection for them through the remainder of the night.
Durrban sank to the ground, snoring before the dust settled around him. Tanden could not put the man on night watch, nor the woman. He looked at her. Her eyes told him she was almost asleep on her feet. He motioned her to lie down where Durrban lay. Quietly, she slid to the ground next to the sleeping man.