Eilinland- Through the Wall

by Bailey Davenport

  “She sounds lovely,” said Rheen. “How old are your boys?”

  “Ricky’s nine and Trent is eleven.”

  “Do you have family in the city, Rheen?” asked Gillio.

  “No, do you?”

  “Yes, but I actually don’t live there anymore. I have a small place I’m renting to the west of the city; it’s not too far from Bierno’s farm.”

  “He feeds pigs in exchange for a pile of straw to sleep in,” volunteered Jekka.

  “I don’t just feed pigs.”

  “He also cleans up after them,” she said, laughing, and Gillio threw a chunk of biscuit at her.

  “Have you visited your parents at all recently, Gillio?” asked Bierno.

  Gillio pulled his attention back to the conversation. “I did once recently. I don’t remember when – two months ago? Something like that.” A piece of biscuit hit him on the shoulder.

  “So, how do you know when to come up here and what you’re supposed to do?” asked Rheen. She had been trying to piece together what the objective was and was still confused after Jekka and Gillio had halfway answered her question earlier. “I’ve heard rumors about you all coming up here to help people, but I never really understood how the whole thing works.”

  “You mean besides getting arrested and then assigned by the King’s messengers directly?” asked Gillio with a laugh.

  Rheen smiled. “Yes, besides that.”

  “Normally we’ll have a dream or a vision of some sort,” said Gillio. “It’s exactly like having a dream except it has a different feel to it. And it sometimes happens in the middle of the day.”

  “In the middle of the day when you’re not sleeping,” added Jekka. “Gillio did plenty of dreaming during our training, and it had nothing to do with visions.”

  “I resent that.”

  “You resent my comment or sleeping through classes?”

  “Not to cut your argument short,” said Aenin, “but we have trouble approaching.”

  The warriors all leapt to their feet and readied their weapons.

  “What is it?” asked Bierno.

  “Ten sniws,” said Aenin. His eyes were closed as he focused in on their enemy from his view above. “They just came up out of the shadows of the gorge and are circling around to come back in directly above us.”

  “Alright, let’s spread out and surround the cave from the outside. When they drop down to attack, they’ll have an empty cave ahead of them and us behind. If we move now, can we be hidden by the time they reach the edge?”

  “Barely,” said Aenin.

  “Then let’s move,” said Bierno, and they all scrambled out of the cave and hid behind bushes and rocks nearby.

  Rheen had picked a large rock about ten feet to the left of the cave entrance as her hiding spot. She crouched behind it and looked up just as ten shapes came into view, silhouetted against the darkening evening sky.

  **********

  “Drop now!” hissed the leader of the group.

  Ten sets of slimy, torn, bat-like wings folded as the sniws dived down into the gorge. The horses, which had still been munching away at the bushes nearby, bolted into the darkness as the sniws dropped to the ground in front of the empty cave.

  “Where are the southerners?” hissed the leader. “You said they’d be here!”

  “They’re here somewhere,” said its subordinate. “You saw their horses, and there are their supplies. And I can sense their presence.”

  Beside it, two of its fellow sniws dropped dead. One had a silver fletched arrow in its side, and another had a black and white fletched arrow in its head.

  “Spread out, hide! Before they can ready more arrows!” cried the leader.

  The eight remaining sniws scattered, their long, narrow bodies wriggling like snakes as they scrambled out of the clearing on four crow-like feet.

  Rheen had been peering around the side of her rock and now saw one coming straight towards her. She turned to run, tripped on a stone, and rolled down the slope towards bottom of the gorge, dropping her sword on the way. She hit level ground with a jolt that knocked the air out of her lungs. It took a moment to catch her breath and regain her bearings. In that time, the sniw at the top of the hill was able to locate her and start sailing down the slope. She saw it and scrambled to her feet, running the short distance to a cluster of boulders nearby. In hopes of losing her pursuer, she wove through the rocks and didn’t stop for a breath until she’d wound her way around at least a dozen of them. When she did stop, she leaned her back against one of the boulders. The heat of the day still clung to its surface, and the warmth was a comfort.

  A sniw landed nearby on one of the highest rocks and squinted into the shadows.

  “You can’t hide forever,” it hissed.

  It saw something dart from one rock to another. It hopped a few rocks closer.

  “You can’t outsmart me, either,” it said.

  The figure darted across an open space again. This time the sniw was able to pinpoint exactly which rock it was behind. The sniw dropped to the ground and moved forward slowly, savoring the moment.

  “I have you trapped now. What are you going to do about it?” it sneered.

  Finally, it jumped forward to attack. It froze when it was greeted not by a human as it had suspected, but sharp, bared teeth and the piercing golden eyes of a predator.

  Rheen had heard the sniw moving around and talking, but she was taken completely by surprise and jumped when a wild beast snarled ferociously not very far away. The sniw screamed and then was silent. She sat frozen to her spot for several long minutes before standing shakily. She peered around the side of the boulder but didn’t see anything. She rushed to the next hiding spot and then the next, each time looking around for any sign of the creature that had made the noise. After getting about thirty feet from where she started, she came across the body of the sniw. It looked as if something had grabbed around its shoulders with sharp claws and then bitten down into its neck. Heart pounding, she wove her way through what remained of the cluster of boulders, and she sprinted across the open space and up the slope to the cave as soon as it was in sight.

  “Rheen! You’re alright,” said Gillio when she was in view. “We were starting to worry about you.”

  “Yes, I’m fine,” she said.

  “Did you lose your sword?” asked Bierno.

  “Oh,” said Rheen. She’d forgotten about it. “No, I just dropped it. It’s just down on the slope. I’ll go get it.”

  “Let Gillio get it,” said Bierno. “I think all of the sniws are dead or gone, but I’d prefer not to send you out unarmed at this point, just to be safe.”

  “Where is it?” asked Gillio.

  “I was behind that rock there,” said Rheen, pointing to her first hiding place. “I fell down the hill and dropped it somewhere along the way.”

  “Okay!” said Gillio, bounding off.

  Rheen was a little embarrassed about the situation. She’d planned to tell everyone about the wild animal, but now she didn’t want to sound like she was scared and overreacting. She wasn’t sure they would take her seriously, considering the fact that she’d just fallen down a hill and dropped her sword. Besides, now that she was safe with the others, she began to wonder if she actually had been overreacting. She didn’t know all of the sounds sniws were capable of making, so maybe the sniw had made the snarling noise. Maybe the size of the wounds on its neck had been an illusion brought on by the darkness and her fear.

  The others were quickly settling back into their meal, so she did the same. When Gillio returned a little later with the missing sword and reported no other encounters with sniws, Aenin called his horse, Qisk, with a low whistle, and the beautiful white animal crested the slope a moment later with all of the others following him.

  After finishing their meal, Bierno set up a schedule for a night watch starting with Aenin, and they all said goodnight. Bierno’s thoughts drifted off to a certain little cottage west of the City of Eili
n and Jekka wondered if the King intended for Rheen to join their group permanently or if it was just for this one mission. Aenin wondered where Rheen came from, Gillio wondered about Rheen in general, and Rheen herself was so exhausted that she fell asleep immediately.

  Chapter 4

  Rheen only thought about the creature a few times the next day as they travelled the remaining length of the gorge and then back out onto level ground. At that point, she figured they’d left it far behind and there wasn’t any danger of running into it again.

  In the late afternoon, they entered a sparse, dead forest. As they walked under the thick canopy of dry sticks, Rheen wondered how all the trees hadn’t fallen over yet. It looked like they had been dead for years.

  After several more hours of riding, Jekka led them off the path to the right. A ways into the woods there was a clearing and a fire pit.

  “Rheen and Aenin, can you go gather firewood?” asked Bierno. “Jekka and Gillio stay here and help set up camp.”

  Rheen nodded and wandered her way into the woods. Gathering was easy because all of the wood was dead and broke down easily, but she took her time about it, mostly because she was so sore from riding. She had just lost sight of the group when a raspy voice came out of the dusk behind her.

  “Hello, Rheen.”

  She spun around and dropped most of her wood. The sniw guffawed, which was the closest thing to a laugh it could manage with a forked tongue and beak.

  “Don’t worry, I’ve only come to take you home.”

  “I don’t have a home,” she stated, eying it suspiciously. Its wings were folded crookedly over its back and its talons scraped along the forest floor as it walked slowly towards her.

  “You have forgotten already? And in such a short time. It’s a pity how easily people forget things. But I haven’t forgotten. I remember when you had friends, when you had freedom, when you ran around doing what you pleased, causing all sorts of trouble.”

  “You mean…Vree?”

  “Ah, so you do remember. So, I’m sure you’ll want to be coming now. Your friends will be happy to see you. They’ll want you to go plundering with them again.”

  She relaxed a little and suddenly craved for news. “So they haven’t been caught? I figured after I left it was only a matter of time before someone made a stupid mistake and I wouldn’t be there to cover for them.” She paused and looked closely at the sniw, still unsure. “Why aren’t you trying to kill me? You know I’m working for the King now.”

  “You aren’t one of them; we can sense it,” it said.

  “What about last night?” she asked.

  “An unfortunate misunderstanding,” it said. “After the confusion of the fight, those of us who were left pieced things together. You’re not one of them; you’re their prisoner. I’m here to give you your freedom back. Are you coming?”

  Rheen looked in the direction of the camp where she could just make out the dark silhouettes of the warriors moving around and then back at the sniw. Its eyes glazed over strangely and its mouth opened, but only a soft wheezing sound came out. Then it fell at her feet, dead. Aenin walked up and calmly pulled a silver-fletched arrow out of its side.

  “Are you alright?” he asked.

  She nodded.

  “I suppose it wasn’t very hungry,” she said as she picked up the wood she’d dropped.

  They walked back to the camp in silence: Aenin, wondering what the sniw had said, and Rheen, wondering if Aenin had heard.

  She was even more concerned when they got back to the camp and Aenin pulled Bierno aside for a brief, private conversation. She busied herself laying out her bedroll and trying to get warm by sitting inside it with it pulled up around her shoulders, but she tried to hear what she could while doing so. All that she was able to catch were the words “sniw,” “shot,” and Aenin saying “I don’t know,” at the very end of the conversation.

  “We’ll light the fire for long enough to cook dinner and get warm, but we’ll snuff it out before going to sleep,” Bierno announced when they came back. “Aenin and Rheen came across a sniw in the woods. It might have been travelling alone, but there may be others nearby.”

  After Aenin started the fire, everyone settled in comfortably around it. Bierno, Aenin, and Jekka discussed plans for the next few days while Gillio put together a soup. Rheen paid little attention to the conversation. It mostly had to do with supplies to get and people to talk to when they got into town the next day. After the soup was cooked and Gillio had finished serving out bowls, he took his own and sat next to Rheen.

  “Are you alright?” he asked. “You’ve kind of been staring off into the distance.”

  She half smiled, looking down at her spoon swirling through the red broth. “Yeah, I’m just worn out, I guess.”

  “Bierno said you saw a sniw. Did it attack you?”

  “No,” said Rheen.

  “Did it say anything?” he asked.

  She looked over at him. On his face was the most kind and concerned expression she had ever seen on a person before. How would he respond if he knew more about her though? It wasn’t worth the risk of losing his friendship.

  “It started to talk but didn’t get much of a chance before Aenin came,” she finally answered. “I’m fine. What I really can’t handle is all of this riding. I feel like if I sit in any position for more than a minute, my legs stop working.”

  Gillio relaxed. “You will adjust,” he said reassuringly, “and after tomorrow, we’ll get a break from riding for a while.”

  “That is good news,” said Rheen, trying to sound as relieved as possible. She looked ahead and was surprised to briefly meet eyes with Jekka who immediately snapped her gaze back to her own conversation.

  **********

  The next day, after another a long, quiet morning covered in a canopy of twigs and clouds, Aenin announced they had bad weather on the way.

  “I can see a storm blowing in from the ocean,” he said, his eyes closed. “It’s coming in quickly, and there’s likely a lot of rain.”

  They picked up their pace, but they were still an hour’s ride from Welton when it started to pour.

  They were all relieved when they finally spotted light streaming from windows and street lamps illuminating red brick buildings and cobblestone streets. Soon they were racing their way through a very large town. Houses and businesses lined the streets, but all of the inhabitants were hiding away from the storm inside of their warm houses. The riders had travelled many blocks before they finally turned off of the street to the right, stopping under an awning in front of a stable. They dismounted and sloshed through the steady stream of water rushing along the brick underfoot. Steam rose off of the horses’ backs. They passed single-file through the door into the light, warm interior where they were greeted by several of the horses already being stabled who poked their heads over their stall doors to stare at the newcomers.

  Inside of the door, there was an open space just big enough for the horses and riders to stand together. They all looked around drowsily.

  “Where is the stableman?” asked Aenin after a moment.

  They were able to locate him quite easily after Jekka identified a snoring noise coming from the straw pile. Bierno tried talking to him, tapping his shoulder, and finally shaking him, but the old man would not wake up. A few empty ale bottles lying about gave a likely explanation as to why.

  “Well, I think we’re best off just putting our own horses up for the night,” said Bierno.

  They walked down the aisle and found enough empty stalls for all of their horses. Hay, water, and bedding were already in place, but Bierno went off in search of towels to use to rub the horses down.

  “I’m almost tired enough to just fall asleep right out here,” said Gillio. “Maybe that stableman doesn’t have such a bad idea.”

  “I’m sure you’ll change your mind once you’ve smelled the food inside,” said Aenin.

  “I for one just need to get into some dry clothes,” sai
d Jekka.

  “It’s just a little water, Jekka,” said Gillio. “I don’t see what all the fuss is about.”

  “Oh really?” she asked, sending a spray of water his way with just a flick of her cloak. “Just a little water?”

  “Are you sure you want to start that?” laughed Gillio, grabbing a bucket. It was empty, but it still made Jekka jump back when he faked throwing water at her.

  Bierno soon returned with some towels and they finished caring for the horses. A few minutes later, they were standing under the awning outside, laden with their packs and staring out at the rain.

  “Shall we go on the count of three?” asked Gillio.

  “One, two, three!” said Rheen quickly, and they all dashed through the rain across the space between the stable and the inn next door.

  For a moment, as they filed through the doorway, the driving rain outside was starkly contrasted with the light and warmth that welcomed them inside. Then the door was closed and the storm outside was quickly forgotten.

  The lower floor of the inn was a tavern, and it was quite busy with a loud crowd of friendly-looking villagers. A woman at the counter to the left waved at them from across the room. Her bellowing voice carried easily over the din.

  “Bierno! Friends! It’s good to see you! Have a seat; I’ll bring out some hot soup for ya!”

  Rheen followed the others, who were now smiling, through the tables and right up to the bar stools where they dumped their soggy bundles onto the floor and took a seat. The woman came out of the back kitchen moments later with a platter full of soup bowls and fresh bread.

  “That’s quite the storm blowin’ out there, isn’t it?” she asked. “How long have you folks been ridin’ in it?”

  “It hit us about an hour ago,” answered Bierno. “It could have been much longer, but Aenin saw it coming this afternoon so we quickened our pace.”

  “Ah, yes.” She turned towards Rheen. “He’s a star, you know. Last time he was here, or was it the time before? Anyways, he comes in here one day and says ‘Lassa, you’d best get about eight or nine rooms ready. There’s a big group a comin’ into town and they’re gonna want a place to stay.’ And you know what? About an hour later they come in here and I was all ready for them! Thanks to Aenin here. I’m Lassa by the way. I don’t think I’ve seen you before.” She held out her hand to Rheen.