And now that she had finally taken her son and left her brutal husband, Brenia had gained the one thing she thought she would never have: a daughter. It had been nearly two hands of days since they had fled the tribe of Aahk when Kalie had discovered that a girl of about nine years was not the daughter of one of the many women who had followed Kalie into the unknown. Liara had simply walked away from the tent in which she had been a slave since the day of her birth, and joined those risking their lives for a chance at freedom.
Hard-working and silent, Liara had been terrified she would be left behind when her secret was discovered. Instead, Brenia had adopted her, as Kalie had adopted Varena. Such a thing would have been unthinkable to even one as unusual as Brenia had she stayed with her tribe. But now, it seemed, anything was possible.
When the two little boys and the older girl had fallen asleep, and even Varena had been convinced to come lie down beside them in her own blankets, Kalie looked over the mass of humanity who had left everything behind and followed her on this desperate journey because Kalie had promised them a better life in the west.
She prayed that she would be proven correct.
Kalie had just decided that she would check on the watch, and then find her own bed, when Riyik appeared beside her, like a shadow thrown against the darkness by their one fire.
“We crossed farther north last time,” he said, answering the question that had been bothering her since they came to this place. “But it’s the same river. Your home—our home—is not far.”
And Kalie realized that there was in fact one other besides herself and Larren who had traveled this way before. Riyik had been here. Years ago, when he came with Haraak to raid her home. She did not want to think about that now.
Riyik saw her expression and misunderstood. “You fear being so close, that something will happen to take it all away. You would swim that river tonight, if you could. You would run through the forest until you found your people, wouldn’t you?”
So perhaps he had not misunderstood. “We’ve come so very far,” she said. “But until I see a village or town, full of safe, happy people running to welcome us, and not a burned out ruin, I will not truly rest.”
Riyik wrapped his arms around her. Kalie hesitated only a moment, and then melted into his embrace. If Riyik noticed her hesitation, he said nothing. “Come to our furs and I will watch over you until you sleep.”
“But you must sleep as well,” Kalie whispered. “Tomorrow, I shall count on you to watch over us all.”
Riyik kissed her and she did not flinch; in fact, she felt warmth spreading through her body. “Then let us find a way to help each other to sleep.”
As he led the way to their bedrolls, Kalie felt a moment’s uncertainty. Then she forced it down. The monsters who had made the joining of men and women into a thing of pain and dominance would not destroy what she and Riyik had. She would join with him tonight in joy, even if she had to fight a war to do it. But she hoped for the day when there would be no war. When loving a man was as natural to her as it had been before she had met the horsemen.
Chapter 2
The next morning, everyone rose alive and well, and the river, fording spot and trees on the other side had not vanished in the night like a cruel trick. “I’ve got to get home before the strain of this journey drives me mad,” thought Kalie, rising from her empty furs. Riyik was already seeing to the horses, and explaining the crossing to those who were awake to listen.
When they finally lined up to cross, women and children first, men walking their horses behind, things went surprisingly smoothly. Some wanted to argue when Kalie insisted everyone remove their clothing and carry it in bundles on their heads, or allow the horses to carry it. “The air is too cold to travel in wet clothes,” she said firmly. “And the water is cold as well. You’ll want something warm and dry when you reach the other side.”
Kalie and Larren found it amusing that both men and women were uncomfortable crossing naked, although for different reasons. The women had been conditioned from birth to keep their bodies covered—especially when men were present. The men were afraid of unknown water-beasts which might attack their manhood—and of the cold they feared would shrink it.
Eventually, everyone made it across. Laughing and shivering, they dried themselves, climbed back into their clothes—many adding extra layers in the biting air—and hurried to resume their trek. The brisk pace set by the leaders helped everyone warm up. Even Agafa had energy, insisting the cold water and vigorous rub-down Kalie had given her had restored her health.
The going was easy at first. Level ground and sparsely dotted trees—many of which were losing their brown leaves—gave the travelers little trouble. Kalie inhaled deeply of the rich earth scents and felt a sensation that took a moment to identify.
She was home. Perhaps not out of danger; perhaps even bringing danger with her in the form of nearly seventy nomads, many of whom she barely knew. But the sights and smells were familiar. The birdsong was one she recognized. The touch of rough bark and the whisper of falling leaves gave her a sense of peace that she had thought was lost forever. Kalie stopped to wrap her arms around a sturdy oak, and the feeling increased.
Not everyone was so happy. The refugees from the steppes clustered together, walking in silence and staring about the trees as if they expected monsters to jump out of every shadow. Children whimpered and clung to their mothers. Kalie was certain that many were wondering why they had come here, and she hoped to have something wonderful to show them soon.
Still, she was pleased to see that some in the group were gazing about with eyes wide with wonder. Some were even smiling. Varena gaped at every new sight and sound as if they had been designed just for her. Danica peered intently at everything, nodding from time to time, as if confirming a particular story her grandmother had once told her. A few of the bolder children made a game out of jumping from shadow to shadow.
The animals, however, had only squeals and whinnies to contribute.
“The horses are afraid,” commented one of the warriors.
“They don’t like this strange place,” said another, looking nervously at the trees, and making the sign against evil.
“Look, nuts!” said Larren.
Kalie looked up. Larren had found a walnut tree. It was late in the season, but a large quantity of edible nuts still clung to the branches. Although wary, the people of the steppes were also hungry, and eager to supplement their nearly all meat diet with something familiar. The variety might be new, but nuts themselves were something they ate back home.
Some of the more resourceful members of the party began looking for fallen branches to knock down the few on the lower branches. Kalie and Larren grinned at each other. “That’s not how you do it,” said Larren, grabbing a low-hanging branch, and trying to hoist herself up.
“Don’t even think of it, Larren,” Kalie said, putting a restraining hand on her friend’s arm—and another on her protruding belly. “Next year, all right?”
Larren pouted, but Kalie knew it was half in jest, and delighted in the change she saw in the woman. The resignation and despair that had filled Larren’s soul just a moonspan ago were gone, and the woman she had been before was peeking out like a sun long hidden by clouds.
Kalie grabbed at a branch and leapt up to crouch on the one beside it. Years out of practice, and not nearly as gracefully as she intended, it felt good none the less. This is freedom, Kalie thought almost giddily as she continued to climb. “Get out some baskets,” she called down, but Larren and Varena were already getting them. With their food nearly gone, empty baskets were plentiful.
Kalie began picking nuts and tossing them down to the women below. Soon, Varena tried to follow Kalie up. After two failed attempts, Riyik lifted her up, and held on until she was nervously perched on a low branch. “Just be careful,” he told her. “I promised your mother I’d get you to her home in one piece.”
Next, one of the older boys tried, and showed i
mpressive skill for one who had never climbed a tree before. Two more boys followed, and then a girl hitched up her skirt and joined them, moving as nimbly as a squirrel. Her mother’s scandalized shouts to get down fell on deaf ears, perhaps because there wasn’t a man to back her up.
“That’s enough for one tree!” Larren called, as more began to climb. “We don’t want to break it.” She pointed to a second nut tree. While not as rich with food, it gave the remaining bold adventurers something to do. The children soon had a competition going, each trying to gather the most nuts. Most of the adults who braved the climb were more interested in getting a good view of this truly new world.
Nearby, they found a nice spot to rest and eat their prizes. A spreading beech tree crowned a low hill, its branches still covered with golden leaves, and a small spring flowing nearby. As the travelers settled beneath it, the air was soon filled with the sounds of shells cracking open, food being shared and people exclaiming over the abundance and sweetness of water in this land.
One of the men gingerly plucked a leaf from the tree, examined it closely, and then threw it away in disgust when he saw it was just a leaf.
Riyik and some others laughed. “Were you expecting real gold, Durak?”
The young man, only just initiated into the ranks of warriors the year before, looked angry at being laughed at. “Haraak told me that gold grew on trees in this land,” Durak said defensively.
Riyik’s laughter vanished. “Haraak was a liar and a traitor,” he said coldly. “And those were not even the worst of his faults.”
“But there is gold here, isn’t there?” asked another warrior, older than Durak, but clearly oblivious to the tension that had just manifested. “That is why some of us came. Well, one of the reasons, at least.”
Riyik and Kalie exchanged a glance, and Kalie found her good humor slipping away.
“We came here for many reasons, Zanal,” Riyik said, meeting the eyes of each of his men. “But all of us came looking for a life we could not have amid the violence and deceit of the tribe of Aahk. Kalie and I explained the rules before we left. Perhaps now would be a good time to review them.” He gestured for Kalie to speak.
Wonderful, she thought. It’s cold and everyone wants to move. We need food and shelter, and we’ll need the help of other people before winter sets in. She looked at the sky and saw the rainclouds moving in from the north. The weather would turn tonight; tomorrow at the latest.
But Riyik was right. They would meet people soon, and they could not risk any kind of misunderstanding. Kalie rose to her feet.
“The land you have entered is filled with many treasures.” She gazed at Durak, then Zanal, boldly meeting their stare until both men looked away. “Gold is one of them, but not the greatest. If you wish for gold you may have it, but only if follow our rules. Touch nothing without asking. Then ask what you must do to acquire what you want. If the person you ask does not know the answer, he will tell you who does. Just remember: that person will as likely be a woman as a man. That is our most important difference from your world. “
Everyone had heard this before, but there was still some shocked laughter and nervous whispering. Then Danica asked, “What other treasures will we find?”
Kalie smiled. The woman was shrewd. Danica knew what Kalie was going to say, and had no need to hear more. But for many in their party, the land in the west was only vague myth and children’s tales. Now that the running was over, they needed to understand what their decision to come here would bring them.
Kalie took the half-full water-skin she had been drinking from and went to the little spring to fill it. “Never going thirsty again, for one,” she said. “And food in plenty, although I can’t promise you will never go hungry. But you will live with people who will share their food through good times and bad. People resourceful enough to solve any problem that comes their way. You will have freedom—not just from slavery, for there is no slavery in this land and never will be—but the freedom to choose how you will live, what dreams to pursue, what you will contribute to the community. That, I think, is the greatest treasure of all.”
After that, there was a murmur, as people spoke, sometimes to Kalie, sometimes to each other. “I was never a good warrior,” one man was saying. “I wanted to learn to heal, not kill.” “I want to learn how to make food come from the ground.” “I want my baby to live.”
And so it went, until they all stood up to resume the journey.
The discussion was well-timed, for that afternoon they began to find signs of human habitation. A footprint in the carpet of fallen leaves, a scrap of cloth torn from a garment by a thorny bush. Then they came to a well-used track through the woods, and from just beyond, in a grove of apple trees, the sounds of laughter and challenges, and the dull thud of fruit striking baskets. Nearly full baskets, if Kalie’s ear was not too far out of practice.
She was about to suggest that only a few of them move forward, when there was a sudden silence, followed by a flurry of movement. Then a group of children emerged from the trees, and froze in amazement at the sight of a large number of strangers, accompanied by huge animals none had ever seen before.
Then they all disappeared down the track at a run.
Chapter 3
At Kalie’s insistence, the women and children walked in the front of the group, the men walking the horses behind. It was the opposite of how things would have gone in the land from which they had escaped. There, it would have been mounted warriors approaching the camp or settlement, women and children far behind, or hidden. “They were afraid,” said the woman beside Kalie, almost accusingly. “You told us strangers were welcomed, and that your people feared nothing.”
“The children have only gone back to their village, Tarella, to tell the adults that guests have arrived,” said Kalie. “So they can prepare a welcome.”
“Or a defense,” said Durak.
Kalie and Larren exchanged a worried look. Neither of them knew what had happened here over the last year. Children would normally show more curiosity than these had.
When they reached the village, however, Kalie and Larren both sighed with relief. Standing before a neat collection of rectangular wooden dwellings, a group of two men and three women stood unarmed and smiling, ready to greet their guests. Behind them were gathered the rest of the population—including the children who had been picking apples.
The oldest man and women stepped forward, both wearing the brown and green robes of the priesthood. “Greetings in the name of the Goddess,” said the woman.
“Welcome to the village of Green Bower,” said the man.
Their smiles were genuine, but strained. Taking another look, Kalie could see why. Behind her were nearly seventy people, and over half that number of horses. The village of Green Bower contained barely more; perhaps one hundred people. Even if their harvest had been good—and Kalie seriously hoped it had—she could not possibly ask them to strain their resources by feeding and sheltering this many.
Beside both the priest and the priestess, an acolyte stood, each holding a large jug of what Kalie guessed would be fruit juice, or perhaps whatever fermented specialty this place had to offer. Both the man and woman seemed at a loss to know who to offer it to first, or what to do when it ran out.
Smiling, Kalie stepped forward. “My name is Kalie, and I have just returned from a long…stay…in the east. I have returned with many good people who seek a new life. For now though, we seek only a night’s shelter and a place in your temple for a few who are sick. We have sheep and goats to contribute to a meal we might share tonight, and many stories to tell.”
“Of that, Kalie, I have no doubt,” said the third woman, who stood a little to the side of the four clerics. Unlike priest’s robes, this woman wore a short-sleeved dress of white linen, a heavy blue shawl thrown over her shoulder for warmth. “You left Riverford, with thirty women, yet here you are with many more. And most, I’d dare say, are not of this land.”
Kalie
stared, but could not recognize the woman who spoke.
“I am Shula,” the woman in white said helpfully. “A healer. I was in Riverford to help with the crisis, which I am sure you well remember.”
“I do indeed,” said Kalie. “Forgive me, I do not remember you.”
“You had much on your mind,” said Shula. “And I was not one who supported your mission. I called it madness and left the city soon after you and you followers did. Where are they now?” she asked, eyes searching the crowd.
Larren, who had been standing with two other pregnant women, stepped forward.
Shula started to speak, but the priestess cut her off. “These people need a place to stay and a proper meal,” she scolded gently. “And shelter from the storm.” At that, everyone looked up at the looming clouds. We made it just in time, Kalie thought. But how much can a place like this spare? The two acolytes began working their way through the crowd, offering each person a sip from the pottery jugs they carried.
“And you said there are sick among you?” Shula’s pale skin was red with embarrassment. “Please bring them to the temple. Follow me.” Whatever else the healer said was drowned by the orders of the other leaders, as the warriors were led to an area outside the village, but sheltered by trees, to set up the tents. Women and children were sent in groups to various dwellings. Kalie and Larren assisted the sick to the temple.
Kalie glanced back once, and saw an eager group of children following the horses, and pelting the warriors with questions. Most of the men were patiently answering, while at the same time managing to keep the children away from sharp hooves. There was none of the yelling or hitting that would have been viewed as normal in the tribe. It suddenly struck Kalie that she was home, and it had not changed. Even if she had, this world was welcoming her—and the people she had brought. She wanted to weep and laugh at the same time.
Keepers of the Ancient Wisdom (Kalie's Journey Book 3) Page 2