by Serena Whynd
*** CHAPTER 8 ***
**”We shall do… what!?” the young warrior asked, after a few moments of sitting in silent surprise. Jacqueline wondered if Shalmar had lost some of her senses in the explosion of the statuette and that it was only now starting to show.
“We shall sail across Midbay and directly to Gondor,” Shalmar replied calmly as if she was suggesting a ride through the country.
The boat sailed discreetly into a bay. Noieh was directing it to the southeast. Jacqueline was just recovering from her injury, but the plan that Shalmar proposed made her think that maybe she was still hallucinating.
“We are heading straight into the country of our enemy?”
“Yes. And to meet no one other than their King, face-to-face.” She paused to check the expression of her younger partner, to see exactly how crazy she found this proposal. Then she continued, “The journey will be long, but to some extent easier than returning to Gilsk. The majority of the Gondorian army is located on the west, on the front line, and we’ll go through the eastern side of their country, where we will likely only bump into the occasional patrol.”
“Just an occasional patrol? All the way to the capital? To the castle? To the throne? Really?” Jacqueline raised an eyebrow.
“Well, all right, it might be more difficult and complicated here and there, but we shall solve these difficulties on the way.”
“On the way? And then what? We stand before the King and just return the statuette to him—simply explain what happened to it? And expect him just to accept it, to forgive us—everything, and to declare peace and let the truce hold true then and there?”
Shalmar luckily had had time, while Jacqueline was sleeping, to convince herself that this was the best plan under the current circumstances. That was why listening to all parts of the plan like this—out loud and coming from someone else’s mouth, with a hefty dose of skepticism, convinced her it was so crazy it could work.
Jacqueline did not expect to hear such bold ideas from the mouth of an experienced Amazon. Shalmar was appreciated as a daring tactician among warriors, ready for all kinds of unexpected challenges and surprises. Jacqueline saw nothing wise nor useful in her partner’s plan to go directly to the enemy’s king. Especially when they had nothing to bring but words which most certainly would not please him, and when his people’s most sacred object was broken in two.
She felt that everything in this expedition had been turned on its head. She was the one that was supposed to behave foolishly, due to her younger age. She would expect her older colleague to act with more tact and restraint.
Shalmar moved from the bow toward the middle of the boat. Jacqueline was now in a seated position. She looked directly into the sapphire blue eyes of her companion. Jacqueline could feel herself get lost in the depth of Shalmar’s gaze. She could feel the connection within their souls, and in an instant, a deep trust passed between them that required no words. Jacqueline had heard about the relationships people had experienced with others. Not the ones of lessons or desire or infatuation, but the type of connection that was brought about by a deep, profound love that had been brought forth with them through lifetimes. An understanding far more knowing and intense—one that most people only experienced once in a lifetime, if they were lucky. Jacqueline knew that this was one of those moments. Shalmar recognized the look in Jacqueline’s eyes and smiled softly. Jacqueline glanced down quickly and then back up at her partner. Shalmar slowly turned away as she started to talk.
“I know the idea seems completely crazy, but I ask you to trust me. If we carry Tarlaeth to Blyst, our Queen will most likely also conclude that the best thing to do is to send a peacekeeping expedition. We would end up bringing the statuette to the King, along with the same explanation that we can give directly. It is possible that at least one of us would be a member of that expedition, perhaps even both.”
Noieh looked at them both, paddling in a moderate rhythm. It had been hours since she had received the order from Shalmar to drive them closer to the shores of the country of Gondor, which was situated at the southeast end of Midbay. She agreed without hesitation, as any citizen of Gilsk would do upon receiving directions from an Amazon Warrior. She did not even see a problem in the fact that she had never visited the place to which she was supposed to paddle.
She admired these two women, although she did not fully understand the details of the events they discussed. Evidently, it was something quite important. She was also aware that there was something much deeper between the two companions than their shared mission and objective. She was intrigued by the look they had shared and was all too familiar with the energy she felt them exchange. The confident postures of both warriors and their willingness to take on such ambitious plans awakened within her a familiar feeling of disappointment. She regretted once again not being selected to attend Amazon Warrior school, instead being designated to serve her local community as an expert hunter.
Jacqueline took a few moments to analyze Shalmar’s plan, to try to reverse the logic presented by her companion. In the end, she concluded that the idea was just daring enough to succeed. The two of them were skilled Warriors, and if nothing else, were at least crazy enough to try it. She smiled and briefly shook her head at the insane mission they were about to embark upon.
A slight change of expression on her colleague’s face was enough for Shalmar to realize that Jacqueline was on board. Shalmar smiled confidently. She had always found it valuable to gain the understanding and trust of her associates. She also felt pride in seeing the boldness of a young intern from her warrior school. Of course, Shalmar was more than able, and had intended to carry out her plan even if Jacqueline did not give her consent. After all, the boat was already reaching the shores of the enemy country.
Jacqueline had pictured how the next generations of Amazons, young students, would speak of her. She would be heralded as a young and promising Amazon who—on her first mission—passed the most dangerous parts of the Continent: areas that most other heroines would not get to see through their entire careers and lives… the Zal forest, Cursed Mountain of Ro-Oth, Grall Swamp… And after all that, she had decided to cross the whole kingdom—which was at war with her nation—and to personally visit their King. That seemed like a really great story in which to be a leading character.
Only half the night had passed when their Gilsk compatriot docked her boat along the coast of South Midbay, near Kavarr, the only northern port of Gondor. All other ports were on the other end of the kingdom. Although they were in hostile territory, the landscape finally looked friendly again, like the one they were accustomed to. On the same coast, but on the other side of the border and the Gulf of Stug River, lay Prymor City. They both had had the opportunity to visit it previously, and knew its environment to be quite similar to the one in which they now sat.
They did not have much time to admire the landscape, nor were they able to do so in the dark. They jumped out of the boat as soon as it had touched the shore, in a hidden woody cove. They used the opportunity to thank Noieh, who offered them life-saving help in the most difficult of moments. They agreed that she should immediately head straight to Blyst, and personally submit a detailed report on the events that Shalmar had described to her. The warrior gave her all the passwords necessary to pass the guards and to be received personally by the Queen. The Amazons had complete confidence in her. It was clear that this was a girl with deep-set values, and with full respect and fidelity to her nation and to the crown of Gilsk.
Noieh provided them with some food, wished for the All to be on their side in the journey, and slowly started paddling toward Blyst.
*** CHAPTER 9 ***
“Are you ready?” Shalmar asked, as soon as the boat began to move away.
“Yes. Let’s go.” Jacqueline tried to sound as persuasive as possible, in order to avert her partner’s suspicion of her health and ability to progress. She still felt weak, and knew she would get tired along the way, but also believed t
hat her strength would gradually return. She hardly felt the pain from her wounds; Noieh proved herself to be a skilled healer.
They had decided to immediately start their journey and try to get close to the first inhabited area before dawn. It was evident that they would have to make most of the trip to Prymor during daytime hours, an idea which did not please them. Gondor had enjoyed two years free of battle. Public life functioned normally, and the citizens had come to expect a lot of passers-by on the main road. Despite the war, the country recovered and restored itself quickly. Considerable credit for the restoration could be attributed to the reorganization of authority that occurred when Gondorians lost the battle for their chief city. Yarael Twenty-Seventh had passed all war authority to his son, who was much more well-suited to the position. The Prince was much more interested in military matters, better trained for combat activities and undoubtedly more energetic than the old man on the throne. With his son overseeing military matters, the King was able to pay more attention to civil matters. His son, meanwhile, was responsible for the brilliant twist in the war, with victory being the result for his Gondorian army.
The warriors progressed in silence and with considerable caution, although they were surrounded only by nature and a forested landscape, and were not in danger of being overheard. Although it was easy to find forest paths trodden by human feet, they chose to stay off the paths. They dared not upset even the smallest forest animal; any possible complication was undesirable for them. They hoped to find a farm as close as possible, yet not too close to Kavarr, where they could find some less conspicuous clothes. Their Amazon gear was quite noticeable and needed to be covered to prevent drawing attention to themselves. And if a farmer had at least one horse they could ride quietly out of the barn, that would spare them a great deal of time. They did not have moral doubts about such actions: the task that they set for themselves was too important.
The first trace of civilization—a well-rutted forest lane—appeared a few miles into the journey, as the first rays of sun appeared. Another hour passed before they stood on a more significant clearing which beheld a lonesome farm.
There was a sizeable portion of fenced land on the hill. Just below the hilltop, they saw a wooden house and an old weathered barn. Shalmar weighed the situation in her head. The farm was quite near to a large city, but she felt it was still far enough for them to borrow a few things and disappear before the owner had noticed the theft and alarmed the local authorities.
“Look. The animals are already out.” Jacqueline gestured to the hillside below the property. Indeed, there were three horses already eating the morning grass, still wet with dew. The owners of the farm, besides having some amount of wealth, were clearly used to waking up early. Very soon, a robust man appeared passed through the yard, carrying wood from the sheds to the house.
“Damn, the horses are standing in a clearing. If the owner goes out again, there is no doubt that he will see us walking away with his stallions.”
“I suggest we rid of everyone in the house,” Jacqueline responded matter-of-factly. “No time for tactics. We have to pick up some clothes anyway.”
“That may not be necessary. You take care of the horses—grab them as soon as I signal that I’m clear. I’ll take their clothes, bridles and saddles…” Shalmar explained her plan, already moving away from Jacqueline toward the hill. She climbed through the woods, and then the orchard that stood to the house on the right. Meanwhile, Jacqueline crawled towards to the horses, stopping at the point nearest to the horses from which she remained out of sight of those in the farm. Then she laid down and waited in the tall grass. She had acquired particular skills in training for this sort of thing.
Shalmar a similar tactic, moving in short but rapid bursts. She moved to one and then another hidden place at intervals of not more than a few seconds. She jumped over the fence on the right side of the house in a sudden rush, and was almost immediately leaning against the house. She took a short pause, and then ran up and stopped under the window. Separately, both women came to the same conclusion that the folks were probably eating breakfast, as nobody had come out for a while. The experienced Warrior listened for a full minute under the window, concluding that they were indeed eating. Voices revealed the presence of three persons: a man, his wife, and their son, of a young age.
Just as she was ready to make her move—to fly through the door to the room and stun everyone present at the table—she suddenly heard a loud rattling noise and horses whinnying. A chariot, pulled by two horses, suddenly appeared from around the bend of a dusty road that was just below the hill and behind Jacqueline’s back.
“Ahoy, landlord!” shouted the man who steered the chariot, holding the reins in one hand and happily waving his hat over his head with the other. He looked to be a joyous man. “Are we awake already?!”
“Oh, by All…” Shalmar muttered quietly to herself. She could not believe this was happening. A man’s voice—presumably the farmer’s—replied from within the house, “Ahoy!” The coachman forced his horses to turn off the road and onto the path that went up to the farm. Jacqueline, still lying in the grass, gazed up at this strange character in confusion, not knowing what to do.
“Jacqueline, horses! Quick!” Shalmar yelled. It no longer made sense to delay. In any case, the crazy coachman was moments away from noticing her crouched under the farmer’s window with a sword. Indeed, the second rider of the carriage—a joker—suddenly noticed the slender figure of a woman disappearing into the house. He pulled the horses to an abrupt stop. At the same moment, the younger warrior jumped to her feet and dashed over to the animals.
Shalmar found herself in front of the broad kitchen table, and the family, caught off guard, did not even have time to wipe the smiles from their faces. She placed the blade directly under the farmer’s chin.
“Nobody move,” she ordered in a low voice. Her sharp gaze passed over the faces of everyone present at the table. “Who is this lunatic yelling from outside?”
The head of the family, although a healthy male, remained silent and stiff as stone. His wife kept calm and was the first to react.
“He is... he is our neighbour... from the next hill. He is of the habit... of stopping by… this way…” the woman looked at Shalmar with remorse, as if she was apologizing on behalf of the man outside.
Shalmar did not feel pleased by the woman’s words. She was so angry at the timing of the neighbour’s appearance. She maintained her composure and reminded herself that they had not embarked on this mission to take out their rage on innocent citizens, even if they were members of the hostile party.
“From this day on, remember that your neighbour almost made you lose your heads.” She spoke with fury, just enough to leave a trace of her anger lingering in the room. Then she backed towards the door, her sword still drawn.
During this time, Jacqueline had already raced to the house on the back of a horse, which she had managed to take by surprise. The other two horses had scattered within seconds, so she had not managed to capture another. Without a saddle or a bridle, it was harder to control the animal, who was not used to his new rider, but fortunately, she was trained for unexpected situations. She raced the horse towards the farmhouse, passing by the carriage and the neighbour who had created this whole mess, and who was now also confused by the events occurring around him. She halted the horse in front of the door. Shalmar mounted the horse quickly, climbing behind Jacqueline’s back. “Let’s get out of here!”
“No clothes?” Jacqueline asked quietly as they rode down the hill.
“No clothes, no horse equipment.”
“Are we taking another horse?”
“There's no time! Ride on!”
The family soon shook themselves and stood up, coming out of the house to watch with disbelief as the girls rode onwards along the main road, to the south. They did not hear any of their neighbour’s questions.
The plan to obtain the necessities for further travel had been ut
terly ruined. Indeed, it could not have turned out worse, for they had secured only one horse. And he was a stubborn little thing, apparently more often used for towing than for riding. Every few moments he bucked, displaying his yearning to get rid of the double burden on his back. In those moments, Jacqueline had to pull him firmly by the mane.
If nothing else, they could now make steadier progress. Despite the horse’s disagreeable nature, riding was still quicker than travelling by foot. The warriors, who were now thieves, could not hide their conspicuousness, which meant they needed to bypass main roads as often as possible. Anyone who saw them would be apt to alert the authorities. And there was no doubt that the owner of the farm or his neighbour was about to do that very quickly. They expected that very soon, a chase patrol from Kavarr would come after them.
They managed to bypass the big city, moving around its outskirts. The road from Kavarr to the next largest town, Kjell, was located in the valley, so cavalry horses would have had an advantage over the stout quarter horse they had stolen. The low-lying region did not offer many places suitable for hiding. They galloped by several hay wagons and a few groups of walkers on the main road. All watched in amazement as they rode by. Two women riding a horse was not a typical sight in these lands.
Half an hour later, they found a denser area near the road where they could hide and wait for the search party to ride by. Shortly thereafter, six riders rushed their horses along the road in the direction of Kjell, apparently trying to make up for the time they had lost. The Amazons had had a head start, after all. Crouched in the bushes with swords in their hands, the Warriors were prepared for the possibility that the soldiers would stop and search the brush. Fortunately, that did not happen. Even the horse remained calm and steady for those few critical moments, as if it consciously cooperating.
“We’ll probably have to go around Kjell because these men will alert the city’s army,” said Shalmar when they continued their journey.