Wielder's Awakening

by T. B. Christensen

  By the time the sun had begun to set, he was no longer thinking of adventure. The whole lower half of his body was in pain from riding for so long. The inside of his legs were raw along with his backside. He was not sure if he could keep doing this every day for a month. Thank goodness he had these new, thick traveling pants. He didn’t want to think about how his legs would be feeling if he had been wearing his old, threadbare breeches. The forest slowly began to thin and then abruptly disappeared altogether. Traven pulled up Dapple at the edge. It made him nervous to be this much out in the open. He felt strangely exposed. Now he was not only uncomfortable with the feeling in his legs and backside, but he was uncomfortable with his surroundings. In The Wanderings of Gelan, Gelan had never mentioned being tired and sore. He began to think that adventure was not really as much fun as he had imagined it to be. Taking a deep breath, he continued out into the open. Several minutes later the small community of sheep herders finally came into view.

  Traven rode slowly down into the small community with the sun already masked by the soaring mountains behind him. At first all that he saw were a bunch of sheep, but then he picked out someone hurrying from the nearest field to greet him. The person turned out to be a boy of about ten carrying a shepherd’s crook. He was dressed in wool and almost blended in completely with the sheep on account of his light, curly hair. He stopped when he reached Traven.

  “Are you Traven?”

  “Yes I am. And who might you be?”

  “I’m Johnny. My dad told me to watch for you. He said to send you to our house so you can get rested up and be fresh for the remainder of the journey to Kavar. I wish I could travel with you men to Kavar. When I’m a man, I’m going to take the load of wool to the city.”

  “Oh, don’t be too excited about traveling, you might be disappointed when the time actually comes.” Traven gingerly patted his rump for effect with a grimace. The boy started laughing, and Traven asked which house was the boy’s. Still laughing, Johnny pointed toward a modest, brick house a little farther up the road. After thanking him, Traven slowly rode toward it. He grimaced with every step that Dapple took toward the house. After what seemed an eternity, he was able to lower himself from Dapple and unsteadily walk towards the front door. It swung open before he even had a chance to knock.

  “You must be Traven. Come in, come in. Supper is just about ready.”

  Traven followed the bubbly woman into the house being careful not to let his legs rub against each other. His nose was greeted with the smell of lamb chops, potatoes, and fresh bread. His stomach rumbled, embarrassing him. He had not even realized until now just how hungry he was. His mouth began to water as he glanced around the room. On one side there was a fire glowing in the hearth. On the rug in front of the fireplace sat two little boys rolling a ball back and forth. They glanced up at him when he came in but quickly returned to their game. On the other side of the room was a fairly large table surrounded by chairs. It was already set for the meal with a steaming loaf of bread in its center.

  “Oh, I’m Mrs. Crand. I forgot to mention it. Oh well, I’m always forgetting things. You can go wash up while I finish setting the table. I’m sure Joyce would love to show you where.”

  “Mother!”

  For the first time, Traven noticed that someone had come in the front door behind him. As he turned, he saw a pretty girl probably about a year younger than he. She had light curly hair like her brother and her face seemed slightly flushed. She seemed embarrassed about something, but he had no idea what. He followed her as she led him to the back of the house where there was a water pump. He thanked her and began to wash the dust from his hands and face. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed her still standing there staring at him. It made him slightly nervous, but he continued on as if he hadn’t noticed.

  When he finished, she was still there and offered him a rag. He dried off his hands and then his face. As he lowered the rag from his face, he was met with the image of Joyce still eagerly gazing at him with a smile on her face. It was then that he actually noticed her. She was not just a girl with curly hair but a young, attractive woman with big green eyes and rosy cheeks. She looked rather striking in the dim evening light, and she was staring straight at him. He accidently dropped the rag and hurried to pick it back up. When he straightened himself, she giggled and started back to the house without a word.

  “I see you’ve met my daughter.”

  Traven jumped. He had been so preoccupied he had not noticed the man that had come to stand next to him by the water pump.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.” He bent over and promptly washed up also. Traven needed to pay more attention to what was going on around him. “My name’s Hank. My brother and I will be leaving with you tomorrow to take a load of wool to Kavar. And if you don’t mind, I’m a little hungry so let’s go in and get some food.”

  He didn’t need any more encouragement and hurried to follow Hank into the house. By the time Traven and Hank walked through the door, everyone was already sitting around the table waiting for them. Hank sat down at the head of the table and motioned for Traven to sit down and join them. The only chair that was left was one directly across from Joyce. Traven plopped down in the chair forgetting how sore he was and stifled a groan. He hoped no one had noticed. He instantly forgot about it as Mrs. Crand plopped a large potato and lamb chop on his plate. Joyce handed him a thick slice of bread from across the table with a smile on her face. He immediately began devouring the food from his plate. He had already downed half of it before he realized that some of the others had not even been dished up yet. He slowed down realizing how rude he was being.

  The meal was quite interesting. The food was absolutely delicious. It reminded him of his grandmother’s cooking. Traven tried to listen to Mr. and Mrs. Crand talk about shearing sheep between bites, but the two little boys were so loud playing with their food that he could barely follow the conversation. On top of that, every time he looked up he would notice Joyce staring at him before she dropped her eyes. It was very chaotic, but all of the noise and excitement were welcomed after the monotony and silence of the ride from Oak Tree. After a while he worked up the courage to ask for a second helping, and Mrs. Crand gladly dished him up another serving saying that it was wonderful having someone over who appreciated her cooking. Mr. Crand just rolled his eyes making Traven feel almost at home.

  When the meal was over, Mr. Hank Crand led Traven over to a chair in front of the fireplace where they could sit and talk. After they left the table, Mrs. Crand and Joyce cleared it off and went into the kitchen. The two little boys ran off into the dark to take their older brother his dinner while he was taking his shift watching the sheep. Traven had been surprised that he had not joined them for dinner but had learned that each of the older boys in the community took one night to watch over the flocks. Wolves were known to wander out of the forest and try to snatch a sheep or two. Since the boys had started keeping watch at night, they hadn’t lost so much as a single lamb to the wolves. Traven grimaced again as he settled into the hard wooden chair in front of the fire.

  “I couldn’t help but notice that your backside is a little raw. I guess you haven’t ridden very much?”

  “Why do you say that?” Traven asked somewhat embarrassed. “Is it really that obvious?”

  “I just noticed you sitting uncomfortably at dinner and sitting down rather carefully just now. It’s pretty obvious to me but that could just be because I’ve gone through the same thing. The first time I made the trip to Kavar and back, I couldn’t sit down for a week. I’d give you something to help sooth it, but it’ll be better if you just let it toughen up. Don’t worry about it. You’ll be in pain for a few days but after that your skin will toughen up and it won’t bother you anymore. As for now, you’re going to wake up very sore in the morning.”

  Hank chuckled to himself and lit the pipe that he had pulled from off of the mantle. He offered it to Traven, but he politely refused it. Hank just s
hrugged and took several puffs on it. Traven had tried his grandfather’s pipe several years back and had almost choked to death. He didn’t understand how people could enjoy them, but many people seemed to. They sat for a while in silence just enjoying the warmth of the fire until the two little boys burst back into the room. They were struggling with Traven’s pack as they made their way toward him and dumped it at his feet. He couldn’t believe that he had forgotten to take care of Dapple and bring all of his things inside with him.

  “If you’ll excuse me, I need to take care of my horse. I guess I forgot to in my eagerness to eat.”

  “Oh don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of him. You need to get some sleep.”

  Traven tried to talk Hank out of it, but he insisted and finally Traven gave in. Mrs. Crand came into the room and said that she would show him to her oldest son’s room. Fortunatley, he was watching the flocks tonight, so Traven would have the room all to himself. He picked his pack up off of the wooden floor and followed Mrs. Crand as Joyce came into the room and began ushering the two little boys towards their room. Traven followed Mrs. Crand into a small room at the back of the house. She quickly lit the candle that rested on the small desk that was next to the bed.

  “You better try to get as much rest as you can tonight. Hank’s a nice guy, but he’ll wear you out on the trip to Kavar. Everyone else takes four days to get there, but he insists on making the trip in three days. And don’t worry about Joyce. There aren’t many travelers who pass through here so every time someone does, she gets all googly eyed. I guess she can’t help it, but when I was young I at least didn’t stare at strangers so blatantly. Oops, I guess I’m getting carried away. Anyway, I’ll be back to wake you up early tomorrow morning, so sleep well.”

  As soon as she was out of the room, Traven slumped down onto the bed. It had been a tiring day. It seemed so long since he had woken up and received his birthday presents. The events of the morning now almost seemed like a dream. He was ready to get some sleep. He set his pack at the base of the bed and blew out the candle. He undressed slowly, being very careful while removing his pants. Traven then slumped down into the bed. It felt so great to be lying down on a soft bed. He knew he was going to have trouble getting up in the morning. He closed his eyes. He liked the darkness. With his eyes shut he could pretend that everything was normal and he was back in his own bedroom.

  The only thing that spoiled the illusion was the unfamiliar warmth of the stone on his chest. He had managed to forget about it until now. He opened his eyes and glanced down at it. He could barely make out that it was glowing in the darkness. That was so strange. He had never heard of a gem changing color and definitely had never heard of one glowing in the dark. Maybe the gemstone was something really special after all. He had always liked to think that it was incredibly valuable since his father had been gripping it when he had died, but there had not been anything to really make him believe it until now. Maybe it really was a very valuable stone. Traven finally drifted off to sleep with the stone clutched in his hand and his head full of thoughts of his father.

  He was awakened long before the sun rose by someone tapping him on the shoulder. He was blinded by the light of the candle in front of his face as he opened his sleepy eyes and couldn’t remember where he was at first. As his head unclouded, he remembered he was in the Crand’s house and that Mrs. Crand had said she would be waking him up early. As his eyes adjusted to the light from the candle, he was startled to see that it was not Mrs. Crand holding the candle; it was Joyce! Traven hastily pulled the sheet up over his bare chest and felt his face grow hot.

  “My mom told me to get you up. Dad wants to get started soon so hurry up and get your shirt on.”

  After she left the room, Traven could hear her giggling as she made her way down the hall. As soon as she was gone, he jumped up to put his breeches on and almost fell over. His legs were extremely stiff and sore from the ride from Oak Tree. He pulled on his breeches and gingerly tried to massage his legs as best he could. He then threw on his shirt and picked up his pack. By the time he got outside, Dapple was already saddled and his waterskin had been filled.

  “Hurry up son! We need to get going if we’re going to make good time.”

  Traven hurried to strap his pack behind the saddle as Hank was saying goodbye to his wife and daughter. He then went over and thanked Mrs. Crand for her hospitality, trying not to make eye contact with Joyce. He could feel his face heating up again as he swiftly turned and carefully mounted Dapple. Hank was already in his saddle, and they started away from the house. Hank and Traven turned in their saddles to wave one last time as they made their way toward Hank’s brother’s house. Despite the distance and the dark, Traven was able to clearly make out the two women blowing kisses to them.

  “That’s funny. Joyce usually doesn’t blow me a kiss when I leave, just her mother.” Hank turned back to look forward after giving Traven a quick smile. It was a little chilly outside without a cloak, but Traven was glad for the chill wind that cooled his cheeks.

  They were soon in front of Hank’s brother’s house. He was also saying goodbye to his wife. When he saw Hank and Traven, he kissed his wife and got up on the seat of his wagon. The whole back of the wagon was piled high over the lip with top quality wool. The man introduced himself to Traven as John, and then the wagon slowly began to roll down the street. Two horses pulled the wagon, and they were shortly moving along at a respectable speed. They soon were out of the community and heading down the road toward Kavar.

  “We’ll stop in an hour or so to eat when the sun starts to come up. My wife packed us some freshly baked muffins for breakfast. I want to get as far as we can before we stop. If we don’t cover enough ground, we’ll have to eat in our saddles.”

  “He’s a slave driver Traven, a slave driver!”

  Hank chuckled at John’s comment. Traven tried to stay awake as they rode along. He wished he could have slept in a few more hours. He was still tired from the day before and extremely sore. His legs were already on fire, and the day had not even really begun yet. He knew that it truly was going to be a rough three days to Kavar.

  4

  By the time the sun finally rose, Traven felt like he had already been riding for a whole day. Hank told them they had made better time than he had anticipated, and he led them off the road to the base of a small hill. Traven slowly dismounted from Dapple and stretched his cramped legs. He then settled down on the soft grass in the shade of the small hill. It felt wonderful to just lie down and rest. After a few minutes Hank pulled out the large muffins and gave one to Traven and John. Traven tried to make the muffin last, but it was soon gone. It didn’t fully satisfy him, but he figured he better get used to not always having as much to eat as he wanted. He was sure that there would be times on his journey when he might hardly have any food at all. He took a large drink from his waterskin and decided to walk up to the top of the hill before he got too stiff.

  It was hard to get his legs to take him up the hill, but once he reached the top he was glad he had made the effort. For the first time, he had a chance to see all of the surrounding countryside. Back to the east he could faintly make out a dark line in the far distance that must have been the edge of the forest. Above the forest he could still see the towering mountains that had always dominated the skyline back at home. To the north, Traven could only see uninterrupted rolling plains. Not too distant to the west, he could see a thin silvery line winding its way through the plains. He could see that the road wandered slowly towards the silvery line and eventually followed alongside. Traven decided that it must be the Blue River if he correctly remembered the map he had seen. It seemed strange to be so out in the open, but he happily noted that it didn’t make him uncomfortable anymore like it had the night before when he came out of the forest.

  “Traven! Hurry up and get down here. We are on a schedule. We have had a long enough break.”

  Traven hurried down the hill the moment Hank called his name b
ut still had to rush to scramble atop Dapple so as not to be left behind. They were soon back on the road and making their way around the base of the hill. He could still barely make out the silver line in the distance far ahead of them and asked if it was in fact the Blue River.

  “Well, the Blue River is in front of us,” John replied wrinkling his forehead. “You can see it from here?”

  Traven nodded. John squinted in the distance and shook his head.

  “We’ll reach it sometime around midday. Once we get to it, the road will follow it all the way to Kavar. That’s one of the good things about the road to Kavar, you never run out of fresh water.”

  It took them longer than Traven thought it would to reach the river. He was learning that it was hard to tell distances on the plains, because he could see so far unobstructed. As they finally pulled alongside the Blue River, Traven gazed down into the water. He had heard that it was called the Blue River because the rocks that lined it were dark blue, but the rocks seemed more black than blue to him. He guessed that people would rather drink water from a blue river than a black river. The river flowed along swiftly and was several arm spans across. He was amazed by the size of it. He had never seen a body of water larger than the creek at Oak Tree.

  “What are you staring at Traven? It’s just a small river. When you see the Adrinavelle you won’t even remember this little thing.”

  Traven wasn’t sure if Hank was serious or not, but he ripped his gaze away from the river. They continued on at a steady pace down the road. As the day continued on, it became hotter and Traven became sorer. Hank and John kept arguing about something having to do with whether or not they had gotten more wool this trip or the last. Traven only half listened as they bantered back and forth between each other. They never really had anything interesting to say, but he definitely preferred traveling with them than traveling alone. Whenever he tried to ask them about the city, they would just tell him to wait and see for himself. Hank would always say that the anticipation of what the city was like would be far more interesting than the city itself. However, John said that the city was truly amazing and that Traven would love it when they finally reached Kavar. When the sun was directly overhead, they stopped to eat quickly and fill up their water skins.