“Where would you rather face your death, Oaka?” Basha asked, aware of the worried looks passed between Monika and Gnat. “What might be our best chances for survival, facing Goga, or facing the cold?” Basha asked.
Oaka hesitated for a moment, glancing back towards Monika and Gnat and beyond, to where Goga would be coming from, and then looking forward towards the mountains. “The cold, I suppose, though it is a lousy way to die.” Oaka muttered. Monika and Gnat nodded.
“It’ll be okay, Oaka, we’ll keep ourselves warm,” Basha said, patting Oaka on the shoulder. “And we won’t go so high up, we’ll go just part of the way. You won’t even get to see the summit.” He said.
Oaka grumbled, passing by Basha, who turned back towards Gnat and Monika. “Is that all right with you two?” He asked nervously. “That we climb?” He did not want to neglect the girls in this decision.
“I suppose so,” Monika said, nodding. “I don’t know much about the terrain in this area, but I imagine that you are right about Goga’s direction, he would go around the mountain.” Monika gestured. “Some of the mountain passes are narrow, I imagine, barely wide enough for a person to traverse, often with a sleep slope heading downward, and occasionally there are avalanches from above, rock and snow.” Monika swung her hand down as Basha winced. “He wouldn’t take the risk of climbing the mountain, especially if some or most of his men are mounted.” Monika said, hoisting her pack further onto her shoulders.
“Right,” Basha said, a little nervous now. “Have you ever climbed a mountain, Monika?”
“Once or twice,” She said, walking past him.
“Once or twice?” He mouthed at Gnat before following after Monika. When did she do that? He asked himself.
“What is her story?” Gnat whispered to Basha.
“I don’t really know.” Basha said, frowning to himself. Curiosity, the desire to find out more, the need to find out more, had been something he had professed to having in the past, especially when it came to himself and to the truth. But when it came to others, and to the true nature of the unknown that had frightened him most of all, sometimes he had blocked out the memories of those encounters, blocked out the questions that he had that would surely bring him horrendous answers. He did not want to know, could not bear to know, that which would change his perspective of others forever. That would be frightening most of all.
“Gnat doesn’t have any warm clothes.” Monika remarked back towards them.
“I’ll be fine, Basha.” Gnat said, as Basha realized he had neglected her.
“You can have…” Basha paused a moment, remembering propriety and gender differences, and then asked, “Uh, Monika, could you give Gnat a shirt or something she can wear?”
Monika laughed, and said, “Fine, Basha,” as they continued. He would be fine, they would all be fine, it was just a little while further.
“There is a pass!” Fato cried, coming back towards them as they looked up. “It looks passable for a walk in certain places, although there are some steep places.”
“That’s fine, Fato,” Basha said, ignoring some of the troubled looks tossed in his direction with his fear confirmed. “That’s fine, we’ll manage!” He said.
“Where is Lord Fobata’s flag?” Hava asked, staring up at a field of sable presenting a white bear in salient pose, hanging slightly down from the pole held aloft by the flag bearer striding along below. Hava and Goga rode alongside each other through the dwindling forest, with about half of Goga’s men riding as well. The rest were on foot, scouting ahead or along the edges of the forest path. The mountains and hills rose before them, unwelcoming and unrelenting with frozen peaks that merged with the sky, seemingly unpassable.
The white bear in salient pose seemed oddly appropriate here, Hava thought to himself and did not care to admit, as surrounded by the blackness of the unknown. Fobata’s black bear in salient pose would have dwindled amidst the white space.
Captain Goga laughed and said, “This is my personal flag, Hava, my coat-of-arms, as second son of a Duke of Coe Aela. Lord Fobata would never allow me to wave this flag inside Coe Aela, but now that we are away from its walls, I can wave it as proudly and as boldly as I like.” He smiled.
Hava grimaced to himself at this show of vanity. “We should still have Lord Fobata’s flag with us, captain, much as you despise him, especially as we cross onto Lord Lagotaq’s land. We have the authority of Coe Aela’s lord behind us, we should show it.” He said.
Captain Goga shook his head. “That wouldn’t help us, not on Lord Lagotaq’s land. We’re trespassing, Hava, but I cannot wait for Lord Lagotaq’s permission to cross onto his territory. We must find the group, and then get out of here before we are caught.” He said.
Hava grimaced again. “You are taking a big risk, my captain. I fear what will happen.”
“Just write it down, Hava,” Captain Goga said, turning to Hava. “Write it down, and keep your mouth shut. I do not stand for cowardice. I can take impudence from you, I can take your probing questions, I can even take your timidness, but I will not stand for cowardice from you. If you follow me, you will show me no fear. You march into battle with me, or I will leave you behind, out here in the wilderness. Does that sound fair to you?” He asked.
It was unfair. Hava had not been asked to take on this assignment with Captain Goga, he had been ordered to do so back in Coe Aela, but he could not turn back now. For one thing, he was miles away from Coe Aela already with no clue as to how to get back, and he was afraid of getting killed out here by himself, due to savage men and animals, or due to his own carelessness, lost for days out in the cold without food and water. He could not lose Captain Goga, who was his lifeline back to Coe Aela, who knew the terrain and knew what direction to take, not to mention the force at his disposal--Hava needed to stay with Captain Goga and his men to feel safe.
And for another thing, he was surprised to find that some small part of himself was excited to be on this mission with Captain Goga, perhaps even enjoying it, to a certain degree. He did not want to turn back now. He wanted to continue on with the mission, no matter how tough it might be on him with the captain’s anger, the rowdiness of the guards, and the excrutiating pain he felt traveling all day and into the night with little rest, and hardly any food except for some crummy mush. He wanted to experience the adventure, and the thrill of the chase. The capture and arrest of the group who had escaped Coe Aela might be enough to satisfy him, although he wondered how Captain Goga might treat them.
“Okay, Captain Goga, I will be brave. I will keep my mouth shut, write it down, and continue on with you. Sounds fair?” Hava asked, holding out his hand as a peace offering.
Goga grabbed the hand, and shook it briefly. “Sounds fair. And stop calling me captain. Call me sir.” He said, shaking his head. “I could have been a knight at least if not for Fobata’s insistence that I stay on at Coe Aela, under his watchful eye.”
“Is it common knowledge that you and Lord Fobata are--”
“We try to keep it to ourselves,” Goga muttered. “It’s embarrassing for us both to think that we are related to each other. There are some who know of it, of course, you can’t keep a thing like that secret forever, but I don’t advertise it, and neither does Lord Fobata. We keep to ourselves and to our present company, occasionally meeting to exchange news of a professional nature, a drink, and maybe play a game or two. Nothing personal or fraternal.” He admitted.
Goga had departed Coe Aela with eighty-five men, if you counted Hava, about half of its force. He had split his forces further into roughly four groups of 21 men, not counting Hava, to cover the compass in search of the group, north, south, east and west. He wanted to be thorough. He instructed his men that they should go as far as they could in each direction, and then sweep the area to a certain degree. If the group was not found within 12 days, a random number that Goga had chosen, then they should head back to Coe Aela.
Goga, followed by Hava, had chosen to go with the
southward group, knowing in his heart and mind that this was the direction they would have chosen to get away from Coe Aela, heading for Coe Wina and beyond. They had been traveling from the north, heading south when the Black Wolves had chased them, likely enough they would continue with their trip. He was not quite sure why they were traveling or where they were heading, but he thought that it might be important enough to stop them from reaching their destination. Certainly he would try to stop them from reaching Coe Wina, by any means necessary.
They heard a man’s scream a short distance away in the forest, and paused to turn their heads. “What was that?” Hava asked, nervous.
“Trouble.” Goga smiled, and turned his horse in that direction. When the animal would not move, trembling, Goga dismounted and kicked at the dirt before continuing on towards the forest. Hava reluctantly dismounted and followed, not certain why, perhaps because he had little else to do besides witness Goga’s actions, but he stayed several paces behind Goga in case whatever had attacked the guard might attack Goga first. That way, Hava could flee then without losing face.
Hava halted when Goga did, and stretched his neck out as carefully as he could to see what Goga did, when there was a guard lying on the ground, his left leg twisted and mangled, blood splattered everywhere with bone showing. The man groaned. Hava gagged, and then froze when they heard a growl emanating from the bush in front of them.
“It came out of nowhere.” The guard whispered, delirious with blood loss and fright. “Like a ghost.”
Goga frowned, staring down at the quivering guard, and then turned towards the bush. “Show yourself,” Goga said, withdrawing his sword. “Apologize, or give us a good excuse. He is one of my men, after all. He is on your side. Why did you attack him?” He asked.
The Black Wolf emerged from the bush, gobbets of blood dripping down his saber teeth still as Hava felt faint. The haggard animal circled round, eying the captain, the injured guard, and Hava in turn.
“We are hungry, we are angry. We had no choice.” The Black Wolf growled, turning to Captain Goga. “We wanted to send you all a message.”
Hava yelped. “It talked!” He cried.
“Of course it talked, what did you expect?” Goga said, eying Hava. “Did you not know you could hear it?” He asked.
“I did not know. Why would I?” Hava asked.
“Pay attention to me!” The Black Wolf barked as Hava and Goga froze, shivering. “Respect me as you would respect my master,” The Black Wolf said, “I am here to bring you all a message from Doomba!”
“Of course we are paying attention to you. I am sorry for any disrespect felt. I want to apologize for my friend,” Goga said, as Hava glared at him. “He is impudent and ignorant.”
“As are you, Goga.” The Black Wolf said. “Impudence and ignorance may lead to your downfall. You have no idea what you are dealing with now.”
“I have some idea.” Goga said, nodding and bowing his head. “I have more of an idea now than I did once. I apologize for what my brother and I have failed to do in the past. We will not fail again. We had no idea once, but now that we know, for certain almost, we will not fail again.”
“I hope so, for your sake.” The Black Wolf said, licking his lips. “This is your last chance to prove yourself as a Follower of Doomba. Agasint his better judgment, the Wolf packs are standing by, awaiting further orders. They will not attack, but will wait for you to fulfill your mission, and capture the group on your own. Proof that you can accomplish a mission successfully.” The Black Wolf practically sneered.
“I can handle it.” Goga said.
“If you succeed and deal with the threat, the Wolves will stand down, but if you fail, the Wolves will have at them. Show them no mercy, Goga, or we will show you no mercy.” The Black Wolf insisted. “You have 12 days to accomplish the task. Does this sound fair to you?” The Black Wolf asked.
“It does. Just one question.” Goga asked.
“Yes?” The Black Wolf said, turning to Goga.
“Do you know which one wields the Black Sword?” Goga asked.
“The Black Sword?” The Black Wolf bristled, growling. “I do not know.” The Black Wolf admitted, his ruffled fur going down. “Keep your eye out, and see which one does.” The Black Wolf said, turning away. “I leave this man in your care. Fare you well, Goga.” The Black Wolf said, leaving behind the injured guard, groaning softly as he faded into unconsciousness.
Hava shuddered. “Why did you have to provoke it?” He asked.
“I just wanted to know what was known about this group that we were supposed to be on the lookout for at Coe Aela,” Goga said, bending down to look at his injured man. “Apparently, not much. Hava, take this side. We must carry him back out onto the path.” Hava came over to help. “One of the horses will have to be used to carry him, unless some of the men can bear him up along on a stretcher.” Goga paused in his conversation as he and Hava hoisted the injured guard up, and carried him back towards the halted guards.
“Actually, a horse might be better. It would be too unwieldy to carry him around on a stretcher all of the time.” Goga said, before he ordered one of his men to dismount, and surrender his horse to bear the injured man.
“What about--” Hava gasped, a little winded after having helped carry the injured man, and heaving him up onto the horse’s back. “What about the Black Sword? And the--Black Wolf not knowing much?” He asked.
“Either the Black Wolves do not know much about the group, which is likely if Doomba doesn’t want word to spread about them being potential Knights of Arria,” Goga said, strapping down the injured guard as best he could to the horse’s back, “Or not even Doomba knows much. This also could be a possibility, though disturbing.” Goga said, turning to Hava.
“Why?” Hava asked.
“Doomba does not know what he is facing.” Goga said. “Doomba could be facing his end if the Knights wield the Black Sword against him. And that is disturbing.” Goga muttered. “Call in the other guards!” He called out to his men. “We’ll be leaving the area shortly, en masse!”
“What? But they’re just children.” Hava sputtered.
“We’ve established this, Hava, interrogating Janus.” Goga insisted. “They’re not just children, they’re growing up. They have the potential for violence, and that is disturbing.” Goga said. “I don’t think they’re as innocent as Janus would have led you to believe. Especially if they have the potential to unman and overthrow Doomba. That would be chaos for us Followers and Servants of Doomba, because we need Doomba, our leader and our protector, because without Doomba we would be powerless, nothing. Life would have no meaning, and we would be directionless. He gives us our meaning, our power, our direction and--”
“Okay, okay.” Hava said, turning back to his horse.
“You are a Follower of Doomba, are you not?” Goga said, grabbing Hava. “You made the oath to Doomba, you swore to obey him, and you kissed the ring, did you not?” He asked, turning the other man around to face him.
Hava shuddered. “It was disgusting. Imagining how many mouths might have--”
“Never mind that.” Goga said. “You kissed the ring, did you not? And did you--feel something--”
“What, like a--” Hava frowned as he tried to describe it. “Like something was sucking the wind out of me?”
“Exactly. That is part of the ceremony.” Goga said, nodding as he clasped Hava tightly on the shoulder. “And that part--kissing the ring--that is an exchange between you and Doomba. You owe him as much as he owes you. You have a part of him in you as much as he has a part of you in him.” Goga emphasized the last.
“Yes, yes, they said that in the ceremony, but--” Hava gasped. “They mean it, don’t they? That I have a part of Doomba inside of me? And he has a part of me? That is disturbing!” Hava cried.
“Calm down, Hava.” Goga said, patting him on the shoulder. “You made the agreement with your oath. You are a Follower of Doomba now, no matter what.” Goga circl
ed around Hava from behind him. “It’s a spoken agreement, one sealed by the kiss and the exchange of spirits, as one may say. It’s binding even if you break it, Hava.” Goga said, turning to Hava as the other man looked nervous. “You will be a Follower for the rest of your life and even beyond, with a part of your spirit lingering inside of Doomba. Be proud of that.”
“Proud? I’m…Goga, how could you accept that, knowing what you know?” Hava asked, changing the subject. “You made an oath like that, gave away a part of your self…you wouldn’t have done that if it was Fobata who was accepting your oath!”
“You are right about that.” Goga managed to say, staring at Hava. “I made the oath with Doomba when I was a young man, yet I knew what would happen upfront, because my father had told me about the ceremony beforehand. But it was because I knew what would happen that I decided to do it. I did not want to stay forever in my brother’s shadow. I wanted to stay in Doomba’s shadow forever. I made a choice about what I wanted to do for my future, and I was proud of it.” Goga said.
“I would obey Doomba, not Fobata. And for that, I would be a better man, a stronger man than he was. For Fobata obeys only himself, and no one else. Even when he participated in the ceremony and kissed the ring, I knew that Fobata held a part of himself away from Doomba. His lips touched the ring only slightly, just enough for him to seal the deal and not reveal too much of himself to Doomba. I kissed the ring fully and embraced Doomba into myself. I felt joy in that moment. The purest joy that I have ever known. I had no qualms about becoming a Follower of Doomba. Not like some members of my immediate family.”
Hava grimaced, shuddering again. “Whatever you say, Goga.” He said.
“Certainly.” Goga’s grin seemed hollow, void of emotion, yet all the more menacing. “Whatever I say.”
“Just one question,” Hava said after a moment, when they had mounted their horses and continued on with the rest of the guards, “Do you think the Black Wolf was speaking as himself, or was Doomba speaking through him, as a part of the Black Wolf?”
Servants and Followers (The Legends of Arria, Volume 2) Page 31