by Tim Chaffey
“Interesting.” A smile raised one half of his mouth. “Well, good for them to be spending time together. You know” — he paused for effect — “I had a similar intent in mind.”
“Oh?” She laced her fingers in his and smiled up at him, feeling as if she was the young girl who had fallen for his dark eyes shortly after they met.
“I’d like to have some time with just you. There’s something you need to see. Do you have time for a walk?”
“Yes, the bread doesn’t need me for a while.”
“Come on, then.” He guided her out the back entrance of the barn and parallel to the river. Emzara put a hand above her eyes to block the sunlight. Behind them, in the malid grove, Elam and Rayneh played in the soft, tall grasses. Based on her movements, it seemed like she was trying to catch a small insect. Each time she pounced, her curly hair tried to keep up with her movements.
“There’s something about seeing a father take care of his little girl,” Emzara said.
“So are you disappointed we’re having a son?”
Even though she knew he was teasing, she shook her head. “I can’t wait to watch you be a father to him.”
For several moments the world stood still as Noah embraced her.
“I may have to say that more often,” she said. “Four hundred and sixty years and you can still leave me breathless with your kisses.”
“I can’t believe you remember the number.”
“Well, I can’t believe you still tease me for forgetting number 392.” She flashed a saucy smile at him, enjoying the opportunity to tease him. “You’ll probably think it’s funny for the next 500 years.” She turned and walked ahead through the orchard.
“Oh, and now you think you know where we’re going?”
His steps quickened behind her and a giggle escaped her lips. “Well, we’ve been walking parallel to the river. Are we changing direction?”
“Definitely.”
She stopped. “Really?”
“Yeah. Our little one will be born soon. That’ll change everything.”
She softened her voice. “I can barely think about anything else.”
“I can’t wait to take him on his first overnight trip.” He locked her arm in his. “We’ll look up at the stars, and I’ll explain how grand their Creator is. Then I’ll tell him stories about all the adventures his mother and I had.”
“Hmm. I can’t wait to tell him about how his father looked a daggertooth in the face and shouted, ‘I’m not going to die today.’ ”
“I said that to Naamah.”
Emzara held up her hands. “I said daggertooth. I just didn’t specify which one.”
Noah smiled and shook his head. “So many great things we’ll get to share with him.”
“And he’s going to be curious. If he’s anything like his father, he’s sure to try some crazy stunts on his own.”
“Are you scared?” Noah asked.
“You’d better believe it. Now if we were having a daughter,” she shrugged, “then probably not.”
“We’re not in this alone, and you’ve had centuries to perfect your skills.” He winked at her.
“Careful. Are you calling me an old woman?”
He gave one of his carefree laughs and she joined with him. Suddenly, he quieted and held his hand up to her mouth. He leaned close to her ear. “We’re here. Look.”
Her eyes widened and she stared. Nearby, a keluk stuck out its long tongue, and she watched in fascination as it helped itself to a mouthful of leaves, chewing slowly and methodically. Its lower jaw moved in opposition to the upper one. She walked closer, grabbing Noah’s hand and pulling him with her.
“Hey, sweet one.” The animal turned and blinked his long lashes at her.
“I think you’ve made a friend.”
“He’s coming this way. Look at the graceful way he moves.” She giggled. “Only his knobby knees counteract his poise.”
“And you don’t think those four furry stubs coming out of his head are strange?”
“Not at all. Those and his gorgeous eyes make him simply adorable.” She refused to take her eyes off the creature.
“And to think you used to say such things about me.”
She briefly pulled her gaze away from the animal as Noah pretended to be hurt to his imaginary audience. “Maybe now you can see why I like them so much. Guess there’s some resemblance.”
Noah gave her a goofy grin in response. She could tell his excitement for showing her the animals nearly matched her own joy at seeing them.
“I can’t believe it’s taken you almost 500 years to make good on your promise to show me one of these.”
“Five hundred! You’re trying your hand at numbers again. Four hundred and sixty is hardly almost 500.” He winked. “But who’s counting?”
She straightened and cleared her throat, but realized the keluk had resumed eating and was no longer alone. Three others had joined him. “And there’s a baby one!”
“What are you waiting for? Go closer.”
Emzara’s heart had longed for this moment, and she needed no further encouragement. She joined the little group and headed straight for the center. One of the shorter ones nuzzled her on the shoulder. She reached up and gently felt the knobs on top of the female’s head. The baby ambled up to her, and she plucked some leaves and held them out to him. As he accepted the food, she looked up and grinned at Noah, wanting to make sure he saw. He beamed while she laughed at the tickling of the little one’s scratchy gray tongue tasting her arm to see if it held any further treats for him.
“Hang on, baby.” She scratched behind his ear with one hand while reaching with her other one to get a second helping of leaves. His huge eyes were even cuter up close. She took in the keluks’ movements, felt the muscles in their necks, and memorized the contours of their bodies so she could draw them in better detail. The animals lumbered slowly around her, sometimes lowering their heads to take her in as well. It seemed as if they were in a dance, with each movement choreographed. Giving in to the sheer joy she felt inside, she raised her hands — palms up — and circled around in their midst.
All too soon they started to move on. She patted the youngest member one last time and tore herself away from the tiny herd. “Noah, that was—” She let her misting eyes do the talking for her.
“Enchanting — watching you with them.”
She intertwined her fingers in his as they headed back. “And well worth the wait. I just wish we weren’t leaving tomorrow morning, or I’d come back here.”
“Maybe we’ll find more where we’re going.”
“I hope so. That was a wonderful surprise. Thank you. I can’t wait to draw them in great detail when we get back. The only problem will be settling on the best pose.”
“You’ll have several days on the boat. You can sketch all of them if you like.”
“Maybe I will.”
He rubbed her midsection. “Shall we call our little one Keluk?”
She giggled. “I don’t think our son should have such a graceful name.”
He shook his head and smiled. “I won’t tell Purlek you think his name is borderline graceful.”
“Oh, that’s awful. Purlek and Keluk is a stretch even for you!” She punched him playfully on the arm before sobering. “So do you think he’s going to go with us?”
“I don’t know. He hasn’t said, and we leave tomorrow.”
“And if he and Evet are bonding, maybe he’ll make the choice to stay here with her.” Her voice carried the sadness she felt at the prospect.
“I think he might stay behind and help Jerah with the farm now that father and grandfather are coming with us.”
“Jerah sure wasn’t happy with you for taking them with us.”
“It was their decision. He could’ve come, too.”
“I know.” She leaned her head on his upper arm and they walked in silence for a time.
As they neared the barn, he slowed. “You go on ahead. I’m g
oing to stop and chat with Purlek.”
“Noah, thank you.” She kissed him on the cheek. “It was wonderful.”
Chapter 14
Kadel — Noah’s 500th year
Approximately two dozen torchlights of Kadel flickered in the evening as light snow flurries whipped across Noah’s view. He rewound a blanket around his shoulders and head as a chill shook his body.
Garun rubbed his hands together rapidly. “Iri Geshem may be more dangerous for us, but it sure has better weather.”
Noah chuckled and his fingers fumbled as he adjusted one of the ropes holding the ship’s main mast. “Indeed. I certainly miss the year-round warm air and sunset strolls on the beach with Em.”
“I hope our destination won’t be this cold.”
“It shouldn’t be. We’ll be heading southwest for a little while once we get off this boat. And the farther south we travel, the nicer it’ll be. Besides, I think snow is pretty rare here. It looks like we just arrived at the wrong time.”
“What do you think it’ll be like?” Garun put his hands together in a ball and blew into them.
Noah shrugged. “Uninhabited, I hope.”
“How about full of godly shipbuilders?”
“Even better.” Noah smiled and shivered again. “Would you tell the others that we’re here?”
“Of course.” Garun strode across the deck toward the large cabin behind them and entered it.
An entire whole moon had passed since they had left Iri Sana. Jerah had ridiculed the idea even up to their departure but stuck with his agreement to help Bivel take over the farm in Lamech’s absence. To Noah’s pleasure, Purlek and Evet had decided at the last moment to join the crew. Under the young woman’s care, Purlek’s leg had regained most of its strength, but that was not the only thing that grew stronger. Every passing day, the relationship between nurse and patient blossomed, and Noah rarely saw either of them without the other present. Tubal-Cain would’ve liked her. She’s tough and spirited.
The journey had been slower and more difficult than expected. The narrowing of the river generated a quicker current to battle, and the cold spell over the past week made each day seem longer, since most of the group remained in the warm cabin. Still, the thrill of a new adventure and the enjoyable company of his father and grandfather kept his morale up.
Garun returned from below deck and readied two ropes as the boat neared the tiny pier already holding three much smaller vessels.
Noah carefully guided the ship to the first mooring on the wharf so that the current would push his boat away from the others. “I don’t think they’re used to such a large boat.”
“This will probably be the biggest one they’ve ever seen.” Garun jumped onto the pier and quickly looped the ropes around two of the moorings.
“Hopefully that fact will entice someone to buy it or trade for it.”
Garun shrugged. “If we’re going where the Creator wants us to go, then I’m sure it’ll work out.” After returning to the deck, he moved toward the back of the boat. “I’ll drop the anchor just to be safe.”
“That sounds good.” Noah stretched out his arms and legs as he yawned. “So you’ll remain with the others here while I go into the village with Elam and Purlek?” He knew Garun could protect the women and older men better than anyone else on board, and taking two men with him, especially the burly blacksmith, would discourage confrontations with any ruffians.
Garun sighed. “Yes, I’m stuck on the boat again.”
He rarely complained, and Noah picked up on his sarcasm. Somehow, Garun managed to find something positive in nearly every situation. “Hey, at least you get to be around some lovely ladies.” Elam and Purlek exited the cabin and walked toward Noah. “And I’m stuck walking around with two smelly men.”
Garun nodded toward them. “Well, when you put it that way.”
“Want to trade places?”
Garun smiled and shook his head. “No sir.”
Noah gestured to Elam and Purlek. “Let’s go.” He looked over his shoulder at Garun. “Be safe.”
“Same to you.” Garun waved.
The three men entered the village on the road from the pier. Known as the final outpost on the river, Kadel reminded Noah, at first glance, of many other river towns he had visited, particularly in his younger years. A collection of old wooden buildings lined each of the roadways, and a couple of loud drinking establishments stood close to the river.
“We’ll want to avoid these places if possible,” Noah said as they neared one of the drinking halls. “They can get pretty rough.
“Do you think anyone here will really have what we need?” Purlek asked.
Noah shrugged. “Adventurers stop here to outfit their trips, so this town may be exactly what we’re looking for. We’ll know soon enough.”
Two women walked hurriedly toward them from the opposite direction. Appearing a century or two younger than Noah, they each wore only a basic wrap and seemed immune to the cold.
“Excuse me,” Noah said. “Can you tell me where a merchant or outfitter might be at this time of night?”
The women stopped, and the shorter one with long straight hair smiled at him and then measured Elam and Purlek with her eyes. “Wurnu’s place is on the edge of town.” She pointed back the way she had come. “Continue on this road and then left on the last street. You’ll know it when you see it. You can’t miss it.”
“Thank you,” Noah said as he turned to leave.
“Young man.”
Noah stopped and faced the women again.
“No, not you.” The taller woman strutted toward Purlek. “I was talking to the young man.”
“Can I help you?” Purlek asked.
“You certainly can. Why don’t you join us for a drink?” She flashed him a seductive smile. “And then you can keep me warm tonight.”
Purlek shook his head. “No thank you. Your drink can keep you warm.” He turned and walked away with Noah and Elam while the woman called for him a couple more times. Eventually, the women laughed, called Purlek a few inappropriate names, and entered the drinking hall.
“I hope Wurnu has more integrity than that,” Elam said.
“Yeah, that’s not really the best way for a town to make a good first impression,” Purlek said.
Noah put a hand on the blacksmith’s shoulder. “I’m proud of you for handling that appropriately.”
“Thanks, old man.” Purlek chuckled. “I’m not interested in a woman like that. And even if I were, can you imagine what would happen to me when I got back to the boat? Evet would kill me, if Ma-Zara didn’t do it first.”
Noah laughed. “I think Evet could probably do it, too.”
“Yeah, she’s pretty tough.” Purlek wrapped his arms around his chest and pretended to shake in fear.
“You should’ve met her grandfather — strong as a grendec.”
As they marched toward their destination, they kept their heads down and pulled their wraps tight to minimize the effect of the biting wind. Noah told Purlek a couple stories about Toman and speculated about how different his life would have been if Toman’s brother had taken him on as an apprentice.
At the top of the hill, they turned left at the intersection. Thankful that the buildings to his right blocked the freezing gusts, Noah scanned the road before them.
“There it is.” Elam pointed toward a building on the right that displayed a storefront similar to the other shops on the road but attached to the rear of the structure stood a large barn. A wooden sign hung above the door, identifying the place as Wurnu’s Outfitter and Livery.
“Let’s hope they have what we need,” Purlek said.
“I’m glad they’re open.” Noah turned toward them and stopped. “I think it would be better if you didn’t call me by my name in here. If he documents his transactions, we don’t need to leave any records that I was here.”
Elam glanced at Purlek and shrugged. “If you think that’s best.”
; Noah hurried toward the door. “Now let’s go. I’m freezing out here.”
Purlek smiled. “It’s not that cold, Farna. Must be an old man thing.” He opened the door for Noah and Elam.
Noah playfully elbowed him in the stomach as he stepped into the shop. “Is that why you stayed in the cabin all day while Garun and I braved the elements?”
Purlek pulled the door shut behind him, making sure it latched so that the wind did not blow it open. “No, I stayed inside because I was taking care of the ladies.”
“I think you mean one particular lady.”
“Evening peace, travelers!” A throaty voice interrupted them from behind the counter to their left. “How can I help you?”
A fireplace crackled in the back and emitted enough heat to warm the fairly large room. The proprietor stood about a handbreadth shorter than Noah. A large bald spot on top of his head gave way to long, frizzy, gray-and-black hair that dropped to his shoulders. He wore some sort of spotted animal skin over his midsection and another skin around his lower body. “Are you Wurnu?”
“Depends on who’s asking,” he said with half a smile.
Noah tipped his head toward the man. “A customer who needs to make a large purchase or trade.”
“Then yes, I’m Wurnu.” The man stepped around the counter and greeted each of them with a firm shake of the forearm. “What’re you looking to purchase?”
A chill ran through Noah’s body, and he glanced back at the fireplace. “Can we talk over there?”
Wurnu chuckled. “Of course.” He led them toward the hearth. “You must’ve come from the south. Can’t handle this cold. Truth is, it rarely gets this cold, but the past week has been rough.” He gestured to some benches. “Please.”
“Thank you.” Noah chose the seat closest to the fire. “Much better.”
Wurnu nodded and held out a palm toward Noah as if to ask him to continue.
“Well, we sailed a large boat up the river, much larger than anything we saw docked here, and we’d like to trade it for several items.” Noah loosened the wrap from his shoulder a little. “We need three wagons, beasts to pull them, and food for a few whole moons.”