It only took a few moments, but by the time the old man returned and pulled Jak’s shirt open, the knife wound in Jak’s chest had stop bleeding altogether. Benjim brushed the partially dried blood away and put the poultice on as a precaution, eying Jak sideways all the while. However, by this time the wound looked as if it was just a deep scratch that had been taken several days earlier.
“How do you feel lad? Are…. Are you alright?” Benjim asked, worry and uncertainty wrinkling the corners of his eyes and furrowing his brow.
Jak stood there staring at the floor before finally answering, “I think I’m …okay.”
Benjim could only shake his head in wonder. Nicoldani eyed Jak suspiciously, as if he were a wild animal, unpredictable, and quite possibly in need of being put down. The big man had still not sheathed his sword; instead he gripped it tensely as if he expected to use it.
After several tense moments, Nicoldani finally walked to the door, saying, “We had better clean this up before the little one wakes. I don’t want her to see it.”
He shoved hard against the doors but they seemed to be barred from the outside. The villagers trap had been complete, except they had not counted on Jak.
Nicoldani put his shoulder heavily into the door several times, but even his substantial size and strength could not budge it. “I can’t open it,” He said dejectedly, as he walked back across the room.
He eyed Jak sideways for a moment, seeming to weigh and judge him, before saying skeptically, “Maybe you can…..”
“Let me give it a try,” Benjim said almost cheerfully, cutting off what the big man was about to say. As the old man walked to the door, Nicoldani exchanged surprised looks with Jak before realizing it and immediately returned to his suspicious glaring.
The old man placed his hands lightly on the doors and stood there for a moment, seemingly doing nothing except peering intently through the slit where the doors met together.
Jak wondered if Benjim was trying to see something outside through the crack. Then suddenly, the old man gave the doors a gentle push and they swung open effortlessly. The large plank that had barred the doors from the outside seemed to be cut cleanly in two. Almost as if someone had sawed it in half with a very fine tooth saw.
When Benjim turned back around, he was greeted by twin open-mouth incredulous stares, but he just smiled a bashful smile and said to Nicoldani, “Let’s get this mess cleaned up before the girl wakes. Jak, you just rest yourself and keep an eye on your sister. I think you have had enough exertion for one night”
Jak realized he was feeling a little light headed and nauseous at the moment. It was almost as if he was floating in a dream, where everything was insubstantial and foggy. Nothing really seemed completely real to him. He stumbled over and sat on the edge of Gin’s bed while the other two men carried out the arduous task of removing the bodies. He wasn’t sure what they were doing with all the bodies, and parts of bodies, but he supposed they were stacking them inside one of the houses across the way.
Jak watched the two men for a time, but found his eyelids getting very heavy. Unable to keep his eyes open any longer, he lay down, curling up next to Gin and was soon fast asleep.
The next morning Jak woke hoping it really had all been a bad dream, but unfortunately, he knew it wasn’t. Gin seemed to be oblivious to it all, other than the fact that no one from the village came to see them off. There was blood all over Jak’s shirt and face since he had forgotten to clean himself before falling asleep. He told Gin that he must have fallen out of bed during the night and hit his face, giving him a nose bleed. Only being half-awake, he had gotten back into the wrong bed and ended up in bed with her. Gin seemed to accept the explanation without question, even though it was a fairly weak excuse.
Frog was lying quietly in the stables with the horses where Jak knew he would be, since that was where Jak had told him to stay. The dog seemed to be in much better temper today, now that all the villagers were dead. Jak realized that the dog had been able to sense the danger and had even tried to warn him, but Jak had ignored the warning. He patted the dog affectionately on the head before readying to the horses.
They gathered their things quickly eager to be gone from this town. All were eager except Gin, she wanted to say goodbye to everyone. It took some effort to get her on her horse and leave town. She grumbled for quite some time about not getting to say goodbye to Kalvan and the others. Jak couldn’t just tell her that the reason nobody came out to see them off was that they were all dead because he had killed them. It didn’t matter that he was forced to kill them, otherwise they would have killed Gin and the others. Well, it did matter, but it didn’t make it any easier to bear what he had done.
They were on the road for an hour or so, when they came to a side road, which ran off to the east. Nicoldani and Benjim had stopped and were discussing something, as Jak approached. The two men seemed to be disagreeing about something, but Nicoldani stopped in mid-sentence when Jak came near, giving him a suspicious look. Benjim fell silent as well, but did not glare at Jak the way Nicoldani did.
“What’s going on?” Jak asked Benjim.
Benjim glanced briefly at Nicoldani before answering, “Down this road, it is rumored, lives a prophet who can foresee the future. We were just discussing whether or not we should take a small detour and to travel to see him.”
“It’s a waste of time,” Nicoldani protested, “We can’t afford to spare the time for this wild goose chase. We don’t even know if there really is a prophet, from what you said, it’s only a rumor.”
“Well, we do not know for certain where we are heading as matters stand now. We are not even certain where she is,” Benjim replied, with a knowing glance towards Jak. “A few days more or less will not hurt, and they could quite possibly help.”
Nicoldani shook his head. “I for one don’t think we should waste the time, but if you think it will be worth it, then…. I guess we can spare a few days.”
“Good, then it is settled,” Benjim said in satisfaction. “East it is.”
“What?” Jak asked in surprise, “but she is south of here, not east.” He immediately wanted the words back after he spoke. Both men turned towards him to regard him intently.
“Who is south of here?” Benjim asked with a gleam in his eye, the anticipation was plain on his face.
“Ahhh …I….I think the woman from the cave……the witch…. went south, not east.” Jak tried to cover his slip.
“Why would you think that? ………Do you think she is south? Or do you know she is south?” Benjim asked with raised eyebrows, plainly demanding a straight answer.
There was no way out of it now without an outright lie. “I know she is south,” Jak answered, his head and shoulders slumping. “I ……I can………..feel her.” He supposed it was too late to try and hide things now, especially after last night.
“Wonderful!” Benjim said almost gleefully, “I suspected as much. This way we will not have to speculate where to find her. We will know how to find her, or at least Jak here can find her. So we can go east to the prophet, and not loose her trail. A few days more or less will not hurt.”
Jak didn’t share the old man’s excitement. For that matter Nicoldani didn’t seem to either, he just eyed Jak even more suspiciously than before.
But I do think that sometime soon,” Benjim continued thoughtfully, “it is time we all sit down and have a long talk together. I think we all have our secrets, and it is time we come together if we have any hope of succeeding in this.
With that, they turned and set off down the east road.
######
A young man with dark hair that fell to his shoulders, and dark eyes, sat on a buckskin gelding, just behind a thicket of trees. He had been shadowing the small party since Cag, or Gloryvane as they now called it. Now they were stopped and seemed to be arguing about something. From the looks of the four travelers, anyone would think that the large man with the sword was the dangerous one, but after the previous night the dar
k haired man knew differently.
After a few moments, the small party turned east and headed towards the Achi Mountains. Once they were well out of sight and earshot, the young man kicked his horse and set out at a full gallop, south down the North Sanchi Road.
Chapter 9
The road that led east over the mountains, towards where the prophet was supposedly located, started out much the same as the North Sanchi Road had been over the past few days. However, the road quickly began to change as it ascended the foothills of the Achii Mountains. Soon it dwindled, and became not much more than an overgrown cow trail. It was readily apparent, that not many people ever traveled this way. From the looks of the trail, it didn’t seem like anyone had traveled it in quite a long time.
The small party continued east, following the small trail as it climbed upwards further into the mountains. Jak still wasn’t sure they deserved the name, mountains, but he supposed they could be considered little mountains, at least compared with the mountains around Hlifglynn, that he was familiar with.
As they ascended, the air began to get cooler the higher they climbed, which Jak was grateful for. He was accustomed to the cool fresh mountain air and didn’t like the hot thick air of the lowlands. The trees and bushes that surrounded the trail, started to become more familiar to Jak as well. There were oak and aspen trees dotting the hills, which grew thicker and denser the farther up they climbed. After a time, Jak looked ahead over the tops of the smaller trees and he could see that they would be entering the tall pine trees soon.
The trail began to get much rougher and harder to travel, until it eventually started winding and twisting back on itself as the climb got steeper. The going was quite slow by this time, with the party needing to stop and let the horses rest on occasion from the strenuous climb. There were even places they had to dismount and walk the horses since it was too treacherous to ride. One slip and they would tumble down the steep slope. Jak reconsidered, and began to think that maybe these could be considered mountains after all.
They were well into the tall pine trees by midday; at least Jak supposed it was about midday. The trees were tall and thick, making it difficult to see very far in any direction, but the sun seemed to be almost directly overhead. The large sprawling branches shaded the travelers most of the time, blocking out the sun, and making it hard to tell the time of day. Jak was hoping they were almost to the top, but it was hard to tell, in the thick tall trees, how much farther it was before they reached the pass.
Occasionally, through a break in the trees, Jak would catch a glimpse of tall peaks which appeared to be partially covered in patchy snow. Impatience began to gnaw at him and he just wanted to hurry up and be done with this. It was a waste of time in his mind anyways, why did they need to try and find this prophet or whatever he was? What good would it do even if they did find him? Jak was just anxious to get back on the road that led to Brigette, and off this “wild goose chase,” as Nicoldani had called it.
As they rounded a turn-back, Jak noticed an upright stone just off the path a little ways. Moss covered much of it, and leafy vines encircled the base, but it looked like a marker of some sort. When Jak pointed it out to Benjim, the old man seemed quite interested in the stone. They stopped and dismounted to take a closer look, all except for Nicoldani. He wasn’t interested in a stone and just wanted to keep going, not wanting to loose time. Jak shared the big man’s opinion, but his curiosity got the best of him, and he decided to see what this strange stone was that Benjim found so interesting.
After they approached the stone, it was apparent, once they removed some of the moss and vines, that there was some sort of inscriptions covering much of it. The pillar was about four feet tall, and severely weathered with age and the elements. The inscriptions were nearly worn away in most places, with some spots being entirely smooth from rain and wind. Jak thought it must be extremely old for it to have worn away that much.
Benjim and Jak finished clearing away the entwining vines, and brushed the stubborn moss away with their hands as best they could to expose the inscriptions that cover the stone. Then the old man studied the strange object for quite some time, peering at it as if it were a puzzle.
“What is it? Jak asked, after several moments.
“I am not entirely sure,” Benjim answered, pursing his lips and shaking his head.
That was a shock to Jak, he never remembered the old man saying that he didn’t know something. Benjim seemed to know just about everything, so it was almost comforting in a way to discover that the old man didn’t actually know everything.
“It is a marker of some sort…that I am relatively certain. But I can not make out most of the writing, since it is too worn and weathered,” Benjim said, still not taking his eyes from the strange stone.
“I can only identify just a few letters of the message. I am not certain if it is some sort of war marker or memorial. Or perhaps it might be a grave stone of some sort for some person of importance. I do not really know.” The old man seemed troubled by not knowing.
“I have never seen anything this ancient before, at least not out in the open like this. People tend to take old things, to hoard them or put them on display. Most items this old have long since been snatched up by someone thinking to get rich. It is somewhat odd that this particular artifact remains here.”
Jak couldn’t understand what the big deal was; it was just an old rock with some carving on it that looked like a child’s scribbling to him. Why would anyone want to carry it off? For that matter who in their right mind would think they could get rich from such a thing. The large stone looked like it would be very heavy and that it would be hard to move. Not to mention, getting it back down the path they had just traveled would be extremely difficult. Jak figured, that was probably the reason why no one had taken it before now.
“Why do you think that it’s a war monument or a gravestone?” The big man’s voice came from over Jak’s shoulder, startling Jak, since he had not even noticed Nicoldani coming up behind. Apparently, the big man had grown tired of waiting for them, and had dismounted to see what all the fuss was about.
“I can make out a few letters….W..A ….R …..and there is something else I cannot see clearly. Then further down, where it was protected more from the weather, it says, “always be vigilant, and abide in the light”, it is just too worn to know for sure what exactly it did say,” Benjim answered in a disappointed tone.
After a few more moments, when it was clear that they would learn nothing more from the strange stone, they mounted their horses, and continued their trek up the mountain.
Finally, just before evening they topped a ridge, and the trees parted to unveil a beautiful little valley that was nestled between two tall peaks. Everyone was weary from the climb, and agreed it would be the best spot to stop for the night. It seemed at first sight, like a particularly peaceful, serene little valley. There were several tiny creeks trickling down from the peaks and converging in the valley to form a small river that ran off to the east. It wasn’t really big enough to be called a river, since you could easily step across it. It was more like a creek, but it was bigger than the small tributaries that merged to form it. Some of them being little more than small trickles.
In the center of the valley was a lush green meadow encircled by tall trees. There were wildflowers growing in patches throughout the green carpet of grass that covered the valley floor. Jak did notice there was still a small about of snow in many of the shaded crevices and gorges on the tall peaks. In a strange way, it was almost like being home again being among the familiar surroundings.
There was still more than an hour of daylight left after they unsaddled the horses, brushed them down, and setup camp. Nicoldani was agitated, and seemed to be on edge about something. The big man had been acting differently towards Jak since last nights events in the village. Nicoldani had been wary of Jak, and been casting suspicious glances towards him, but Jak couldn’t really blame the man. After all, if the cir
cumstances were reversed, he wouldn’t want to be anywhere near the other man. Jak supposed the big man’s edginess was because of him, or rather what had happened the night before.
Just wanting to be alone, at least for a little while, Jak decided to go for a walk. He even told Frog to stay with Gin. Jak walked aimlessly for a time, slowly making his way up the northern slope of one of the peaks. After a while, he found a small overhang of rocks where the view was not blocked by the tall trees. One of the larger rocks jutting from the side of the mountain made for a fairly comfortable chair. Jak stretched out on the seat to relax, and soon he was lost in his own thoughts.
After a time, Jak noticed from his elevated vantage point that he could see a long ways in both directions. The Sanchi River, where they had just traveled from, lay far below to the west. To Jak’s amazement, he could see a tremendous body of water off to the east. Was that the East Sea? It had to be, he supposed. He had never seen such a large body of water in his life. It stretched all the way to the horizon with no end in sight. He hadn’t realized they were so close to it. From what he could see, the eastern foothills of the Achii Mountains bordered the gigantic body of water.
He was enjoying the beautifully serene view, which thankfully took his mind of his troubles, when he began to have a nagging feeling of being watched. He scanned the surroundings but couldn’t see anyone or anything close by. Nevertheless, he still couldn’t shake the feeling that there were eyes upon him….watching him.
Perhaps it was the souls of the people he had killed in Gloryvane, come back to haunt him, Jak thought morbidly to himself. He didn’t really believe it was, but it still troubled him greatly that he had killed anyone. It was true, that they would have killed him and his friends if he had not killed them instead. Well, at least they would have killed his friends and Gin, but the villagers had seemed to want him alive to give to Allysix, whoever that was.
After a several moments, with the feeling of being watched not abating, Jak decided it was time to head back to camp. The sun was already down and it would be full dark soon. Even though he could find his way in the dark almost as well as the light, he didn’t want the others to worry about him. So he set off back to where the others were camped.
The Blood Witch (The Blood Reign Chronicles Book 1) Page 20