With the celebrations over, the sounds of the night slipped in to fill the void. Frogs and crickets competed with their calls. Something small splashed in the waters beneath them. Two Elks watched the slow moving ripples through the gaps in the wood.
He knew the boy wanted to talk. Ghile would open his mouth to say something and then stop, unsure of himself. Two Elks couldn't blame him, though he wondered why Ghile didn't speak with Riff. The two seemed close, like oath brothers, always laughing together like children. The boy's people were so protected from things in the valley home under the watchful eyes of their dwarven masters. They were in no hurry to grow up, they didn't have to. Even their manhood tests, which was where Two Elks had first seen Ghile, happened late in life. Two Elks people blooded their boys after their tenth winter. It did not surprise him Mother Brambles sent them along to see to this 'Gwa A'Chook' Stonechosen.
“Dwarf's pet?” Ghile said.
His words shook Two Elks from his thoughts.
“What?”
“Dwarf's pet. You said dwarf's pet.”
Two Elks had spoken aloud, but unconsciously and in his native tongue. Could it be?
“Ghile Stonechosen, can you speak the true language?”
“What language do you mean?” Ghile answered him in perfect Nordinian.
“Do not mock me, Ghile Stonechosen. The language you are speaking right now. The language of my people, the True Language. Where did you learn it?”
Ghile stared at Two Elks for a moment before raising his palms and bowing his head again. He weighed each of his words carefully before responding. “I think it's another gift of the soulstones, Two Elks. I hear your language, beneath words that I understand. When I answer you, I am speaking my language, but I can hear the words coming out as your language.”
Two Elks nodded and made a warding gesture over his heart. “Truly, the Battle God has gifted you.”
“Haurtu, you mean?”
Two Elks made the same warding gesture over his heart. “You are new to the True Language, Ghile Stonechosen, so I forgive your ignorance and take no insult from it. Your honor is clean. But, do not speak the Battle God's name in the true language. It is only ever said in ceremony or as a war cry for battle. Words hold power and names most of all.”
Ghile swallowed and nodded. “I did not mean to offend, Two Elks. Why do you refer to Har…him as the Battle God. I have heard him called the Hungerer and even the God of Learning and Wisdom, but this is the first time as the Battle God.”
Two Elks sat there and nodded as Ghile spoke. He had heard Ghile's people speak of the Battle God by other names and knew they feared him. He had to admit it felt good to be able to speak in his own tongue. There was much the boy needed to know and now Two Elks would be able to tell him.
“The tongue you are hearing is called Nordinian by outsiders, and the True Language by my people because it is the language of our ancestors. The tongue your people speak is Dwarvish.”
Ghile stared at him. “It is? I didn't know that. I'm not sure how I feel about that.”
It was difficult for Two Elks to read the boy's features there in the dark beneath the weeping tree, but it appeared Ghile was tasting his words for the first time.
“The past is in the past, Ghile Stonechosen. Do not dwell on such things. The Battle God called our ancestors to war against the other races. We are still at war. My people do not forget and fight on to this day.”
Two Elks found himself using his hands to add emphasis to his words in the way of his people. He didn't know if the boy would understand the additional meaning, but he slipped into the gestures naturally.
“Your people have forgotten, Ghile Stonechosen. You are like pets, staying where you are put and making gifts for your new masters.”
Even in the darkness, Two Elks could see his words offended the boy. Good, he should be offended. In his culture one might seek blood debt for such an insult. Two Elks knew enough about the Cradler's now to know no such challenge was coming, so he continued.
“You are Stonechosen now, you walk a different path.” Two Elks reached out and patted him on the shoulder to show his approval.
“The wise women of my people, those who have entered the age of the crone, like your Mother Brambles, know when the time of the seeking has come and bring our people together outside the sacred cities. There we compete for the right to be seekers and enter and search for the soulstones.”
Ghile recalled Master Almoriz telling him of the Nordlah Barbarians and how it was a great honor to seek the soulstones. “Wait, the druids know when the soulstones will appear?”
“It is known only the oldest druids, those who sing long, know when the time of the seeking has come. Only they can call the tribes together and keep the peace between them during the gatherings.”
“What happens when one of your people finds a soulstone?”
The boy was leaning forward now, hanging on his words. Two Elks liked this boy. It saddened him what he was about to tell him, but the boy needed to know what his fate could be.
“According to our chanters, few ever return. The time of seeking is rare. This was the only one in my or my father's or his father's lifetime. It is known if more than one seeker emerges they must battle until only one remains. Then that one will be Battle Lord and lead all the tribes against the dwarves.”
“There was a seeking this past season?” Ghile said. “Did one of your people find a soulstone?”
“I do not know, Ghile Stonechosen. I was called to be a Shieldwarden and left my people. But…”
“But?” Ghile said.
“But, if there is a Battle Lord, they will seek you out and kill you,” Two Elks said matter of factly.
The boy looked down. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, Two Elks.”
“It is not the way of my people to twist words. Only the best of my people are chosen to be seekers. It is done so that if they become Stonechosen, they will be worthy to be Battle Lord and lead the tribes. You are a young warrior. Maybe with time, I could teach you. But I do not think we will have that time.”
“We may be able to protect you long enough to reach the sacred city. You may find another soulstone and grow in power. But, if a Battle Lord has emerged from the plains, they will find you and you will die.”
“Then why are you even here?” The boy's voice was strained. Two Elks could hear the fear and anger mixed behind the words.
“I am here, Ghile Stonechosen, because it is my duty. I was chosen to be a Shieldwarden to a Redwood Druid. The first of my people to ever be bonded to one of your druids. I was to be a seeker, but I was chosen by Mother Brambles and so I went. It was my duty. “
“Mother Brambles? She was in the Nordlah plains? Why would-”
“The past is in the past, Ghile Stonechosen. For whatever reason you are now stonechosen. It is your duty to seek other soulstones, to grow and learn. To find other stonechosen and defeat them,” Two Elks said.
“What if I choose not to? What if I don't want to seek out other stonechosen or fulfill this stupid prophecy? I left the Cradle because my family was in danger if I stayed. There is nothing stopping me from leaving right now and going wherever I want to. Who would stop me? Would you stop me, Two Elks? You and Gaidel? Would Riff?”
The question hung there between them. Ghile strained with the effort of getting the words out and not allowing all the emotion he seemed to barely have in check from pouring out with them.
Two Elks took no insult from his words. The boy was afraid. It was understandable for a Cradler.
“It is during our tenth winter that we take our manhood tests. The All Mother tests my people most heavily in winter. She sends winds and snows to cull the old and weak.”
“Answer me!” Ghile said.
Two Elks held up a hand and when he spoke it was with an inner calm his people held when they spoke of important things.
“I am answering you, Stonechosen. Will you listen to my words?”
Ghile began to answer and then stopped. He finally nodded.
“Our tests not only require us to evade those who hunt us, we must also hunt. We must bring food back to our people to show we are not only strong warriors, but also able to provide for the tribe.”
“During my test, I was blessed by the All Mother and found fresh tracks. Elk are prized by my people, second only to the great tuskers. I had found two, two young bucks, I discovered later. It was near a stream that I finally caught up with them.”
“I chose the one I would take and closed the distance as they drank from a break in the ice. Again the All Mother blessed me with favorable winds and none of my tribe nearby. It was a clean kill and a feat which normally takes many hunters. I would bring honor to my family with the kill.”
“But, the other elk did something most unexpected. It did not flee when I struck the first one down. It did at first, startled by my attack, but then it turned and stood its ground. It refused to leave. It is not my people's way to take more from the All Mother than we need. I tried scaring it away, but it refused to go.”
“Others of my tribe found me then, standing over my kill and screaming at an elk to leave.”
“What…what did you do?” There was no more anger in Ghile's words.
Two Elks pulled his furs to the side, showing a long deep scar running from his chest down along his side. He couldn't help but smile.
“I was honor bound to only take what I needed and that elk was honor bound to stay by its friend and deny me my prize. I have no better words for it. I would not kill it even though it did its best to kill me.”
“The other hunters intervened on my behalf once I fell and did not get back up. They killed the other elk to protect me and returned me to the tribe.”
“But, they caught you. Did that mean you did not pass your test?” Ghile said.
“No, Ghile Stonechosen. I passed the tests. You see, none of the hunters would claim having taken me.” Two Elks could still see the pride on the faces of those men as they stood over him. “The druids will tell you balance above all things, but I think they are wrong. I think honor, doing what is right because it is right, is most important. You will do what you must because it is the right thing to do. It is what you must do, as will I. I protect Daughter Gaidel and will do as she asks of me if it is within my ability and will not bring her to harm.”
Ghile didn't seem to be listening to those last words. “Is that how you got your name…Two Elks?”
Two Elks nodded. “Yes, my man's name.”
Ghile leaned back and the two of them stared into the night. After a time, Two Elks felt sleep calling and left Ghile beneath the weeping tree.
He wasn't sure, but as he left he thought he heard the boy whisper, “Duty above all things.”
13
Gone
“They're gone!” Riff said.
He pushed his way past the villagers who crowded around Gaidel. The news traveled quickly that morning and there had been a steady stream of villagers, both curious and concerned. At Riff's arrival, Gaidel broke off her conversation with Craluk, the village leader.
“What do you mean they're gone?” she said.
“Which word confuses you?” Riff answered in an irritated tone.
His chest was rising and falling, hair damp against his head. He must have ran through the entire village. The sun was barely above the green boughs of the Deepwood, but the morning mists had long burned away and the day promised to be warm.
Riff slapped at one of the many insects trying to land on his face. He still refused to use the protective mud. The man was so stubborn.
She didn't answer him right away, fighting down the first response that sprang to her lips. It would have been too easy to direct her frustrations at Riff. After his idea of combining his powers to free the boy, Ollin, from whatever strange magic that possessed him and simultaneously adding her powers to heal him, Gaidel thought Riff was finally taking his role in their group seriously. But, he went right back to carousing with any girl who raised an eyebrow his way, even if she was swathed in mud. Now he seemed back to his old self and taking any opportunity to annoy her.
The thought of how she had gone from a simple tavern girl in Redwood Village to a druid guarding one of the stonechosen still staggered her. A stonechosen who had now disappeared.
She contented herself with staring daggers at Riff. It would have to do. It would not do to let him get under her skin at this moment. She turned her attention back to Craluk. More of the villagers appeared, the throng growing around them.
“Craluk are you sure no one saw Ghile or the hounds this morning?” Gaidel asked again. “It is still early. Maybe someone who stayed awake late into the evening who is not yet awake?”
Gaidel tried to get an idea of how many villagers gathered around them. It was difficult to do since she could barely see over their heads. Though the numbers had increased, she was sure there were still more at the celebrations last night than were here now. Someone had to have seen him.
How could Ghile leave in the middle of the night with those hounds and not be seen? The three had been in the hut when she fell asleep. Two Elks said Ghile came out to take watch and that was the last anyone had seen of him. It was not until Riff returned to the hut in the early dawn that Ghile's absence was discovered. She spared a sidelong glance at the sorcerer. She didn't want to show the discord in their group to the entire village, but she would box his ears if he complained of being tired.
“Ain't none seen the boy fer certain, Daughter Gaidel,” Craluk said. He made a few intricate motions with his hands and a couple of the nearby men pushed their way out through the crowd. “But, we look again since you is ask'n.”
“There is no point, I've already looked. They are gone,” Riff said.
She had been so angry with Ghile when he finally woke from the Dreaming. Now, not even a day later he was missing. She was doing a fine job of protecting him. What had happened to him? It couldn't be the dwarves. They were never subtle in their actions. If cullers had found them, they would have attacked the village in force. The Dead Ones?
“Craluk, when the Dead Ones come, do they take some and leave others? Could they have taken Ghile?” She asked.
Craluk was shaking his head before she finished. “Ain't like um, Daughter Gaidel. They go about in packs. Don't be misunderstand'n, they can be right sneaky, but only until they attack. They be right fearful of fire and we ain't ever had any come into the village proper. If'n it was them they would have tried taken the lot of ya and killed dem hounds. Ain't never heard of dem taken no critters.”
“Gaidel, his bedroll and pack are missing. Ghile left, he wasn't taken,” Riff said.
“Are you sure?” Their hut had slowly filled with gifts left in the doorway by villagers thankful for what they had done for young Ollin. It started with food, but progressed to bowls, blankets and carved wooden figurines, as if each was trying to outdo the one before. There had even been some metal items, but those quickly disappeared into one of Riff's many pouches. There was more than they could ever carry. The hut was so cluttered she hadn't even noticed.
A space cleared next to them as Two Elks, head and shoulders taller than the rest, stalked in with a purposeful gait. “Found tracks, Little Daughter.”
Two Elks lead them over the final bridge, the vines complaining loudly against the weight as everyone followed behind him. No sooner than clearing the bridge's securing posts, Two Elks veered off the trail and through waist high reeds. The barbarian began pointing at various broken or bent stalks and then stopped to kneel down.
Gaidel knelt down next to him, the others crowding around looking to where he pointed. She could see the depression he was pointing at, but how he knew it was Ghile, she had no idea.
“This one, Ghile,” Two Elks said, pointing to a nearby track. He motioned a short distance away, “There, one of his hounds.”
“Him be a'sneak'n.” Lotte's grinning face appeared next to Two Elks,
he was studying the track intently.
“Lookee, hea. He not waring boots and he was all up on his ball n' toes,” Lotte said.
Two Elks nodded and gave the young villager an appraising stare.
“That doesn't make any sense,” Gaidel said.
Lotte jumped up and moved deeper into the reeds, following the trail.
“He da best tracker in da village,” Craluk said with more than a little pride in his deep voice.
“It doesn't make any sense,” Gaidel repeated.
“Sure it does,” Riff said. “He has set off on his own.”
Gaidel shook her head. Why would Ghile sneak off in the middle of the night? He didn't have any supplies other than the meager contents of his pack. Was he even able to hunt or forage for his own food? Where was he headed?
A short distance away, Lotte called, “He put on his boots over hea and started a runnin.”
Craluk shook his head. “One of da men woulda seen a torch a bobbin through dem trees.”
Two Elks grunted. Gaidel looked to Two Elks and knew what he was thinking. Ghile didn't need a torch to see at night.
The truth settled into Gaidel's gut and lay there like a stone. Ghile had left them. After everything they had been through to get this far. Gaidel could see Mother Bramble's disapproving face if she returned, having lost the young stonechosen.
“Can we catch him?” She asked Two Elks.
“Why should we, Gaidel? He obviously doesn't want our help?” Riff said.
He stood a short distance away from her, Craluk and Two Elks. The villagers who had followed them waited on the bridge and trail, watching.
Riff motioned towards them. “He wants to run off and get himself killed, fine by me. Craluk has offered us a place here.”
At that the leader quickly smiled and nodded his agreement. “Y'all would be most welcome.”
“They need help with these dead ones. They have lost others from their village. We could help turn them human again. At least we could be helping someone who wanted our help,” Riff said.
Time of the Stonechosen (The Soulstone Prophecy Book 2) Page 16