by Alan Black
Tanden said, his voice dripping with sarcasm, “Next time I find dead bodies lying around, I’ll leave them for you to scavenge.”
Tuller responded, “Thanks, I’d appreciate it. You never know what you’ll find.”
The three slid into the water in unison. Again, the current tore at Tanden, but this time he was ready for it. Swimming in unison was much easier with Tuller.
Seenger rode high in the water on his airbag straining his neck to keep his face out of the water. He kicked awkwardly with his feet trying to mimic the kicks of the men. He had no rhythm to his strokes. His actions resulted in splashing water, but his powerful legs propelled him forward with enough momentum that Tanden and Tuller had little to do with him other than guide his direction.
A strong current yanked and jerked at the three swimmers like it was purposely trying to separate them. A sudden jerk snapped the tether between Tanden and Seenger. Before Tanden was swept away, he felt Seenger’s hands grab his ankle and squeeze. He continued pulling at the water though his swimming was much more difficult. Seenger’s hand on his ankle jerked back and forth with the ogre’s uneven kicking motion. The jerkiness caused Tanden to sink and rise, gulping air and water with each forward stroke. Tanden stretched each stroke trying to reach the sandbar he had found earlier.
Tanden’s ankle popped free of Seenger’s grasp. Before he could reach back for the ogre, he was hit from the side, the air forced from his lungs. Twisting and turning in the rushing current, he was pushed underwater and rolled. He felt like he was being pummeled and beaten. Fighting to the surface, he gasped air. Something struck his back and pushed him underwater again.
Just as suddenly as he was hit, he was free of the current. He gulped air, thrashing in the water looking for, but unable to see either crewman. Floating near him in the shallow backwaters was an uprooted tree. Unseen, they had collided with it and it had torn them away from each other.
Tanden pushed himself through the shallow water and up onto the bank. He raced back along the bank searching for Tuller and Seenger. Finally, he found them sitting half out of the water. Seenger was working to untie the straps from around them. The wolfskin float was tattered and torn to rags.
Seenger looked up at Tanden, looming above them on the bank and said, “It isn’t natural. If ogres were meant to be in the water, we would be able to breathe water.”
Tuller looked up silently, as if he agreed.
Tanden said, “I thought I’d lost you both. Thanks to the six gods you’re safe.”
Tuller replied, “You thank those useless gods, my friend. I’ll thank Seenger. I don’t know how we got to shore. Something hit me on the head. The next thing I knew we were here. I think Seenger may have learned to swim at last.”
Seenger shrugged, “I saw the log and shouted, but you didn’t hear me. I grabbed the log and towed Tuller along by the strapping. I floated on it until we came to where I could walk on the bottom. If that’s swimming, then I have indeed learned how.”
Tuller shook his head and spoke to no one in particular, “I think I’ll take up farming.”
“Come on,” Tanden commanded. “We need to get out of the open. We can rest when we get to the grove where I left Durrban and the girl.” Tanden looked about and realized that he didn’t know whether they were up or down river of the others. He sniffed the air. With the wind blowing from the west, if they were down river he should be able to catch the scent of Durrban’s fire. Tanden pointed downriver. The two crewmen followed him as he moved from the open clearing into a clump of concealing brush. He moved eastward looking for the grove hiding his missing people. With a half-concealed smile at himself, he realized he had just included I-Sheera as part of his crew. For the first time he had not thought of her as someone else’s servant.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Tanden stood before his crew. The small, half-naked band was scattered around a tiny smokeless fire in the shade of the riverside grove. “We still have a few hours before sunset, but we’re in unknown and unfriendly country, so I don’t believe we should go stumbling blindly forward. We need to rest, eat, and heal. We may be safe here for the coming night, plus we have a supply of fresh water for all our needs. Other than our dead friend in the water, I haven’t seen any signs of Hummdhars or Coodhars.”
Tuller asked, “What about the White Wind? If we delay, we might miss her at the south point of the isthmus.”
“Yes,” Tanden said. “We might. But it won’t benefit us if we’re too tired to retake the White Wind when we find her. Tomorrow will be soon enough to travel. We’ll make better time if we’re fresh and well fed.”
Tanden could use the rest now, but he needed to make full use of the daylight they had left. He continued, “First, we look to our safety and our needs before resting. Seenger, follow the river downstream as far as you can go, but be back here by sunset. Tuller, scout up river. I’ll range southward. Durrban and I-Sheera stay here and hunt for our supper. Squirrels and rabbits seem to be in abundance. See if you can find edible berries or roots, also. Above all, keep the fire small and smokeless.”
Tanden sighed tiredly, “Everyone, be careful and watchful for any sign of men. I don’t want to send anyone alone in this country, but we must be sure of our surroundings. I think it wise to arm ourselves as best we can.”
For the most part, they were without weapons and tools. Seenger and Tuller patted the bone blades stuck in their waistbands, having abandoned their long staffs on the other side of the river. With quick nods, both moved silently in their respective directions.
Tanden slid his wolf bone axe blade from his trousers and handed it to Durrban, “This may help you make and set snares and dig. Don’t wander too far from this location and be watchful of the girl. Both of you watch each other’s back. Don’t allow anyone to come up on you unawares.”
Tanden ran from grove to grove, stopping often to study the land around him, fixing many of the points of land into his memory. He searched for any high point to give him a better vantage of what lay ahead. Once, he thought he smelled smoke and heard the clank of metal on metal. Without checking farther, he turned aside and gave the area a wide berth.
The groves of trees gave way to broad woods surrounding grassy meadows. He traveled faster keeping to the shadows of the trees and away from the open areas. Many small streams and creeks crossed the terrain, so fresh water wouldn’t be a problem.
Focusing his mind on the task was difficult. His thoughts returned unbidden to the events of the past two days. He allowed his ship to be taken from him. Crewman Nommer’s death was his fault, though the man had given in to mutiny and murder. His leadership failures allowed Nommer to fall prey to evil. Alton was missing—probably drown in the sea. All because Tanden, as captain, had allowed evil to board his ship. His friend Gadon was dead, torn apart by a great dragon. Now, what remained of his loyal crew was wandering through a hostile land. Tanden told himself that if he had been a better captain, he would have chosen his crew more carefully. Other Holdenite captains warned him that he was courting disaster by adding foreigners to his crew, but he had ignored their warnings. Now Gadon was dead. He had lost his friend forever.
Every time Tanden realized his thoughts were wandering, he berated himself. Shaking his head, clearing his thoughts, he concentrated on the terrain around him. As before, pictures of Gadon and the White Wind creeped silently back into his active thoughts.
“Enough,” he said to himself. “I must be too tired to concentrate. I’m being foolish and accomplishing little here.” He turned and made his way back to the small grove by the river.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“I saw nothing,” Seenger said.
Tanden nodded at the ogre while gnawing on a roasted rabbit haunch. He looked to Tuller with a silent question.
With dusk upon them, the three sat close by the fire in the chilled air of the grove. The dampness coming off the river chilled Tanden to the bone. Durrban and I-Sheera stood watch on opposite ends of t
he grove, out of the firelight, yet within hearing distance of the quiet voices.
“I wish I’d seen nothing,” Tuller said. “We aren’t alone. About fifteen minutes walk beyond where we crossed the river, I came upon a camp of men.”
“Hummdhar or Coodhar?” Tanden asked.
“I don’t know. Does it matter?”
“No, not much.” When Tanden and Gadon had gone to war against the Hummdhars, Tuller had stayed home, his father thinking him too young to fight. Tanden said, “Go on.”
“I didn’t get too close, but I counted about twenty men with sauruses. That’s too many for a hunting party and not enough for a battle. There were no women or children, except a couple of camp-following whores. It looked like the troops have been camped there for some time. Paths lead in and out from the camp in all directions. There was a river ford and a break in the rock wall across the river. It looked to me as if they were set there to guard the path.”
Seenger said, “Maybe to protect a re-supply route.”
Tuller nodded, “It looks that way and there were a few saurus-drawn wagons. I tried circling around to see what was farther north, but there was too much traffic coming and going along the paths, so I came back here.”
Tanden said, “We have to stay together as much as possible from now on. Through the night, we need two on guard. Durrban and I will watch the first half of the night. Seenger and Tuller, you take the second watch.”
“Captain?” I-Sheera’s voice floated softly out of the darkness, “Let me watch, so you can sleep. I’m more rested than you.”
“Damn it!” Tanden cursed. “Why are you questioning me? Do you think I’m incapable of standing a simple night watch?”
I-Sheera strode into the light to stand over Tanden. “No, sir.” Through clenched teeth, showing her anger, she added, “I’m not as strong as you or any of these others, but I can watch, even though you question my ability.” She took a breath, calming herself, “You saved my life. I can help. Please.”
Tanden was taken aback. His temper had flared at her insolence, but her evident desire to help surprised him. She was just a woman and could not be trusted with much, but one watch should be safe enough.
“Stand watch then. If I catch you sleeping, I’ll turn you over my knee and whip your backside until you can’t sit down. Durrban, you and the girl didn’t stand watch last night. Do so now. And Durrban, I must ask you to do double duty tonight. Seenger and Tuller will take the second watch. Tuller, wake me and Durrban for a third watch into the morning.”
With no more questions or comments from anyone, Tanden lay back to rest. Staring up at the canopy above him, he thought, “What is the matter with me? I just cursed at a woman for no reason other than she wanted to help. I better get control of myself. Gadon’s council always kept me from becoming too full of myself.”
Tanden fell asleep with his thoughts on his dead friend.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“Move over,” Gadon said.
Tanden drifted in sleep, not wanting to awake. Dreaming of Gadon was pleasant.
Gadon said, “You leave me nothing to eat and build such a small fire to warm these old bones that I practically have to lay in the flames to dry out. Then, like a lazy lay-about, you hog the best place to sleep. Tuller, wake up and help me roll Tanden away from the fire before he cooks.”
A quick jab in the side woke Tanden with a start. Before he could move, he heard a whoop from Tuller. Two bodies pounced on Tanden, rolling over him and each other. He grabbed a head in the crook of each arm and yanked the two apart. In the dim firelight, he could see it was not a dream. Gadon was here and he was alive.
Tanden squiggled loose from Tuller and grabbed Gadon in both arms. He hugged him tightly, rolled on top of the heavyset man. Tanden locked his hands onto Gadon’s ears and kissed him on the forehead. “I thought you were gone forever. Thanks be to the life after this one that you’re alive.”
“You can also thank my old Uncle Gall. When I was a child, he told me about hunting dragons. He said that if you fall down and play dead, the dragon will leave you alone. He claimed the large dragons aren’t carrion eaters and only eat what they kill. It worked. The old monster pushed me around for a while and sniffed at me until I thought I would die from his bad breath. But I’m alive. Now, I’ll thank you to get off me. Tanden, you smell like an old goat—that’s fitting since you look that way. Tuller, get away from me. You don’t smell any better. The way you two act, you’d think that no one had any confidence in me to outsmart a dragon. Then you run off and leave me to track you down through the night across wild country. I’d have passed you by altogether if Durrban hadn’t seen me moving by the river’s edge.”
Tanden sat up beside his friend and pulled Gadon to an upright position. Gadon’s clothing was torn and twisted, but the man looked healthy enough. Tuller sat beside his older brother, grinning like a sailor on a three-day drunk, overjoyed at the resurrection of his favorite sibling.
A crash of brush around them jarred Tanden’s attention away from Gadon to the grove surrounding them. Durrban stood before him, his grin frozen on his face. The night shadows around them moved and formed into armed men stepping into the firelight.
A dark-haired youth stepped forward from the men circling them. He spoke the guttural language of Hummdhar, with a sneer to his voice, “Hold! Don’t move or you’ll die. I do hate to break up such a tender reunion, but it’s late and I miss my warm bed. I would just as soon kill you now rather than take you back to Father.”
Tanden was familiar enough with Hummdharian to understand the boy, but none of his crew could speak that language. Gadon and Durrban only spoke Holdenish. Tuller also spoke Eastern and Geldonite. Seenger only spoke Holdenish and his own tongue. As for I-Sheera, he knew she spoke Holdenish well enough to be understood, but he had no idea what other languages she understood and spoke. Tanden couldn’t see Seenger and I-Sheera.
Tanden didn’t dare translate. He was sure they would understand without being told. They had fallen into the hands of an enemy tribe.
The youth turned to a man near him, “Build up that fire, Seekin. Let’s see what we’ve caught.”
The man tossed handfuls of wood on the fire until it blazed. Tanden looked at the young man. He could not be more than nineteen or twenty, yet he spoke with authority. He had long, dark, greasy hair falling in the long braids of a Hummdhar warrior. The boy had the evil look of a one who enjoyed hurting others for the sake of the hurting.
The man called Seekin was older, a warrior wearing old battle scars across his twisted face. He was thin but had the look of strong leather. His eyes blazed in the firelight as a man whose life was fueled by long smoldering anger. A half dozen other men stood around them weapons at the ready.
Tanden decided the older man was much tougher than his size indicated. The major cut scaring his face would have killed a lesser man. The twisted slash had been poorly sewn shut many years ago. Even in the firelight, Tanden could see it had not healed properly, it oozed even now.
One man hit Durrban in the back of the head, knocking the little man to his knees. Surreptitiously, Tanden looked around for Seenger. He still could not see the ogre or the woman. Maybe they got away.
“Seekin,” the youngster in charge sneered, “we have all four.”
“Yes, Bransch. There were three here before this fat fool led us right to them.”
Seekin stared at Tanden with glaring recognition. Tanden could not remember ever having seen the gnarled face before.
Seekin said, “You don’t recognize me do you, Holden dog?”
Tanden didn’t reply. He thought it best not to let on that he understood their language.
Seekin said to Bransch, “Well, Nephew, we’ve done well this night. Before you is one of the Holdenite cowards who killed your mother and little sisters. This is the very pile of pig shit that reformed my face.”
Looking into the face before him, Tanden saw nothing he remembered.
B
ransch grabbed Tanden by the hair and twisted his head back to light his face better. “Are you sure, Seekin? It’s been many years.”
“I swear by my sister’s cold grave. I’m as sure as this scar across my face. Rather than fight like men, this was one of the cowards who burned the forest hiding our women and children. We caught up with them and in the fight to slaughter them, I stood face-to-face with this dog. Had I not lost my footing, I would have gutted him then and there. Instead, he gave me this.” Seekin jabbed a finger at the scar on his face. “Your father and the others tracked down and chased the Holden cowards into a blind canyon and slaughtered them. How this one escaped is beyond me!”
Seekin said to Tanden, “I’m glad you’ve survived until now. The gods have smiled on me this day. You’ll die once for my sister and once for each day I’ve felt pain because of your blade.”
Tanden held his face as passive as he could make it. He remembered the incident clearly, but in the heat of battle, he did not take time to study the face of every man who challenged his sword. He had not commanded the group who burned the forest that day, but if he had, he would have made the same decision. Risking your own men is foolish if another method is available to kill the enemy. The women and children who died in the fire were no more dead than the Holdenite women and children killed by the Hummdhar raiders who started the war.
“Seekin,” Bransch said, “Father will want his revenge as well. Let’s take these scum back to camp where we can treat them as they deserve. Tie these foul creatures up and send someone ahead to tell Father about our catch. He’ll be pleased with us this night.”
The smile on Bransch’s lips did nothing to hide the look in his eyes. Tanden could readily see the boy was happier to have someone to torture than he was to take prisoners back to his father. Tanden held a dispassionate face as two men roughly tied his hands with strong leather cords. The Hummdhars dragged the four bound men from the fire to sit in the shadows.