Red Leaves and the Living Token

by Benjamin David Burrell

  His anger shifted to the man who was still holding on to the sword. His raised his swollen arm and lifted the solider up into the air then turned to the side and whipped him back and forth against the floor and wall, flipping him around like he was on the end of a string.

  The other soldier crawled out the doorway as fast as he could with his one good leg. The soldier's fear shocked him. He was afraid of him!

  Handers dropped the sword and the man holding it and ran out the door stepping over the crawling soldier.

  His arm. The power of it was frightening. He'd never hurt anyone like that before. It was upsetting. It was upsetting that it felt good. That seemed a bit monstrous. And he was no monster.

  He ran out into the courtyard. The light still glimmered brightly up on the mountain side. He still had time.

  Moslin pushed Emret's chair over the dead fern leaves and pine needles of the forest floor. The underbrush, like the larger trees above them, had twisted itself to point in a specific direction. The lower bushes and ferns had even leaned to the side to form a path for his chair.

  As they moved forward, the forest shifted ahead of them into its new shape, cutting into the silence with an eerie hiss of fluttering leaves and a deep, guttural moan of the thicker trunks and branches. The unnerving sound reverberated behind them as the forest they’d passed returned to its previous form.

  Moslin studied the unnaturally bent branches and leaves around her, touching a trunk with her finger tips as she passed by. "This is extraordinary," She muttered to herself.

  Emret smiled. It was better than extraordinary. It was everything he had hoped for. It was an offering of life. It was proof of the power that would heal him. It was truly going to happen! He thought.

  The chair stopped abruptly. Emret turned back to her. She was staring through the trees down the mountain. "What?" He asked.

  "Shhh." she whispered. "Look!" She pointed in the direction that she was looking. Emret saw movement passing behind the trees. He leaned over his chair and strained to see clearer.

  It looked like Petra. Petra soldiers. Lots of them. He tried counting as they passed through a break in the trees but gave up after the first dozen. "What are they doing up here?" He asked.

  "I don't know." She said.

  SNAP! A branch cracked in the forest above them. They both wheeled around towards the sound.

  A half dozen Botann Militia men dropped down silently from the trees landing in a half circle in front of them. Moslin spun the chair around only to find another group behind them. She tried darting between them into the clear trees. But it was too late. The militia was too close. Before she'd gotten the chair past the first tree, they'd already moved in to cut her off.

  She circled around the chair trying to keep herself in between them and the boy. "What do you want?"

  The Captain of the small band of men, the same that had been watching them earlier stepped forward. "Come with us, please. His holiness has requested your presence."

  "We were just there!" Moslin protested.

  The Captain pointed towards the forest back in the direction of the Shishkameen. "Please. Time is of the essence."

  "Oh is it? And why's that?" She demanded.

  He looked back at his men. "We were under orders to wait for a more comfortable and secure transport to take you back to the city, but the situation has changed. The Petra have arrived. We must get you off the mountain now!"

  Emret tugged on Moslin's sleeve. He didn't like the idea of running into the Petra. They were rude and didn't seem to be to fond of anyone but Petra. On the other hand, going back to the city now could jeopardize everything. "We can't leave yet." He told her.

  She looked down at him and nodded. "I know, I know." She turned back to the soldier. "We appreciate your concern, but we'll take our chances with the Petra. Please tell his holiness that we'll return to see him shortly."

  The soldier stared at her, obviously confused. "We're weren't asking." The circle of men tightened. Two men behind her grabbed her by the arms. Two others grabbed Emret's chair.

  Moslin jerked back and forth. "HELP!" She screamed in an ear piercing high pitch. "HE..." They covered her mouth.

  "That was not wise." The Captain of the small militia scowled. Two of the men lifted Emret's chair and carried him. Another two grabbed Moslin and picked her up. The band of men with their cargo launched into the trees.

  Trees and bushes whizzed by them in a blur. In a matter of seconds, they had lost what had taken Moslin an hour to climb.

  Then a strange blaring horn sounded a little ways beyond the trees in front of them. Their guards froze, jarring Moslin and Emret to a stop. A horrible crashing sound echoed across the forest, like thick tree trunks cracking in half. The entire line of trees in front of them vibrated then fell in unison with the same explosive sound. A column of Petra soldiers marched over the fallen trees, toppling everything in their path. It looked a rock slide, like a column of boulders falling sideways over the forest.

  In an instant they fanned out into a line formation wide enough it’d be impossible to go around.

  “Back! Back!” The Captain of the Milita yelled in a panic.

  But it was too late. Another line of boulders flattened the forest behind them.

  The Captain looked straight at Moslin. "Trust us or not, we risked our position to help you!"

  The impenetrable line of stone in front of them made a horrendous thud. The entire formation of boulderous Petra soldiers stepped forward at once causing the ground and everything attached to it to shudder.

  Distracted by the thunderous march in front of him, Emret didn't notice until they were almost on top of them, four Petra soldiers on their right and left had been racing towards them on a collision course. A collision course with eight massive boulders. They'd be pulverized! He ducked his head, unable to watch. The ground grew into a violent rumble. That alone was enough to indicate how close his death was. He didn't need to watch.

  The violent shaking intensified until Emret was sure the soldiers still holding his chair up would be toppled to the ground. Then, it stopped.

  "Put down your weapons and lay face down!" A deep voice rumbled. It sounded like two stones grinding together. Emret opened his eyes. He was staring at the stone belly of one of the giant rock men. And he was still being held a good five feet up in the air. He glanced around. Eight of the giant Petra surrounded them. Each of them carrying a strange stone weapon looking something like a round club.

  He'd never been afraid of a Petra before. But then, Rinacht didn't look like this!

  The Botann carrying him set his chair down and laid on the ground.

  -

  Bedic thumped along on the back of a horse behind one of Lord Valance's giant hired brutes. They had tied his hands at the wrists which made it extremely hard to keep his balance as the horse jerked back and forth up the rocky trail.

  He wondered why they hadn't thrown him in the back of the wagon again. At least there they wouldn’t have had to worry about him falling off the horse. Lord Valance dropped back to ride next him.

  “I apologize we couldn't provide you with your own horse. I hope it's not too uncomfortable.”

  Bedic faked a smile.

  “I regret having to drag you back up towards the… um, storm.” He flicked his eyes up to the dark sky. A flash of lightning streaked through the clouds emphasizing his sentiment.

  "What do you want?" Bedic demanded.

  "I want to talk to you about this Handers fellow."

  Bedic looked away. The last thing he wanted was to have a conversation with someone he despised about someone else that he loathed. Seemed pointless.

  "I'm just curious. There's something I can't seem to make sense of it. I mean, you and I both know what he's done, the irreparable damage he's caused.” He paused. “Why were you helping him?"

  Bedic chuckled. Lord Valance should be asking Sinesh that question. But then in hindsight, after the anger of the situation had cooled, he k
new she was right. He didn't think Handers had done what he did on purpose. He seemed to be a bit misguided but not malicious.

  "How long do you think he spent looking for the Token before he found it. How long did he search for the Temple?" Lord Valance continued.

  Bedic kept his thoughts to himself. He knew what Lord Valance was doing. His own frustration towards Handers didn't need any encouragement.

  "It isn't like it was his life's passion. Not like you. In fact, I believe the ease with which he found the temple is part of the reason he showed it so little respect.

  "You found him up there too. How did you feel to see what you'd spent your life searching for lying in ruins? To actually find what you've so desperately sought only to have the opportunity ripped away because of the destruction caused by this man.

  "No matter how great the differences between us Bedic. This pain we share!"

  Bedic stared at him in horror. His anger towards Handers had allied him with this treacherous man. Yet he couldn't dispel the anger. He couldn't push the events out of his mind. He was trapped in a destructive union with this Valance. The fact made his anger towards Handers even stronger.

  -

  Rinacht sat next on a bench next to a row of Petra Officers. It made him nervous being so close to so many powerful and potentially threatening Petra. He had no idea what any of them thought or knew of him. He was lucky his uncle hadn't instructed them to transport him in a cage. Apparently his uncle truly needed his help.

  The giant stone transport they were riding followed the 12th battalion as they crashed through the mountain forest. He noticed that their momentum slowed and leaned out to the side to see what was up ahead.

  The soldiers had stopped and formed a perimeter around a small group of what looked like Botan soldiers. Strange, he thought. He wasn't anticipating being part of any kind of foreign conflict. This mountain was inside the Petra border as far as he knew.

  As they moved in closer he saw two other people laying on the ground to the side of the Botan soldiers. He squinted, trying to see the details.

  It looked like...

  The transport ground to a stop just outside the large circular perimeter the soldier had formed. Rinach's heart jumped. It was Emret laying on the ground next to Moslin. The boy was alive and looked to be in decent shape. What good news, he thought. Hander’s would be so happy!

  He hoped down from the massive stone transport and rushed over towards the boy.

  “Rinacht!” One of the Officers shouted, then motioned towards two of his assistants.

  Rinacht turned around towards the voice, towards the bench of men sitting on the bench high above him.

  “Lets not get ahead of ourselves.” The officer said, then motioned for Rinacht to return to the transport. Two large Petra soldiers stepped up behind him and gestured in the direction of the transport.

  They still didn’t trust him. He thought. But then he couldn’t blame them. Not after what he’d done.

  -

  Emret lay face down in the forest, waiting. He had no idea how much time had passed, but it seemed like an eternity. He couldn't see what was happening, nor could he hear anything useful. The Petra soldiers standing over him weren’t talking. He didn't understand what they were waiting for. He'd rather get it over with, what ever it was going to be. But waiting. It made it so much worse.

  And then they told him to stop talking. Who did they think they were? Suddenly, he doesn’t have the right to talk? It's not like it would make any difference anyway. They weren't answering any of his questions. They wouldn't tell him why the Botanns got to go somewhere else while he and Moslin had to stay. They wouldn't tell him what they were looking for when they made him and Moslin stand up and empty their clothes.

  He had tried to keep the shining token tucked away in case that wasn't what they were looking for. If they saw it, he was sure they'd want it, so it was best to keep it out of sight, he thought. But they found it anyway and wouldn’t tell him what they wanted it for or what they were going to do with it.

  A new Petra voice, loud and bossy, brought Emret out of his thoughts. Gauging by the way he was talking to the others, he was probably somebody important. That was a good sign. Maybe they’d get things moving, he thought.

  After a loud discussion with some other Petra, he could hear the bossy one coming towards them. To Emret’s surprise, the man suddenly dropped down on his knee, so Emret could see his face.

  "I apologize for the rough treatment,” He said. “There must have been some kind of misunderstanding." Then Emret felt himself moving. Strong hands had lifted him up from behind and set him on his feet.

  He glanced over his shoulder and saw an enormous mass of stone working to untie the knots on his wrists. "Thank you." He said. Another helped Moslin to her feet a little ways off.

  This new man asked the Petra that were guarding him a few questions about the Token. They told him how they had found it tucked away under his clothes. It was weird hearing people talk about him when he was standing right there.

  And he couldn’t believe they just took it. Big stupid rocks! It wasn't there's! It took a lot of work to find, and he and Moslin took a lot of risk coming up into the mountains. And they just take it? That wasn’t right. He told them that when they took it, but they just ignored him. Typical adults. Just because he’s a kid, nothing he says matters, right? He bet they’d listen to Moslin’s explanations. If she offered any. So far she’d hardly said anything.

  "Lets get you both a warm meal and a comfortable place to stay for the night. Its getting rather late. We can make further arrangements in the morning if you don't mind."

  "Sir, do you think I could have my little tree back now?" Emret asked the important man with as much of a pitiful look as he could make. Sick, helpless kid, was the only thing he had going for him.

  The bossy Petra chuckled. “You don’t have to call me sir. My name’s Commander Paklin. I'll see what we can do. Maybe we can talk more about it after you've had a nice meal." He walked beside Emret, escorting him towards a group of soldiers who were waiting for them a little further down the sloped forest. "It’s truly a remarkable thing, you know. How did you come into possession of it, if you don't mind my asking?

  Emret was reluctant to explain. He was shown were to find it by an imaginary tree. Certainly, that gave him more right to it than simply being the one who found it lying in the forest. He was guided to it. He was supposed to have it. How could he explain that to this man? It wasn't just something he found. It was something he was meant to find. Yet if he told the man that, there’s no way he’d believe him. But then if he lied, it may not sound like he had much of a right to keep it.

  Perhaps he could give only some of the details. "I was told where to find it by someone trying to help me." He said, still making his pitiful face.

  That seemed to work. The Commander raised his eyebrows. "That's really interesting. It must be pretty important to you then," he said.

  "It is! I wouldn't be up here if it wasn't." Emret pointed at his wheel chair. “Not exactly easy to get around.”

  "No I supposed you wouldn't. I wouldn’t want to be pushing around up here in a wheel chair either. You seem to know much more about this than I do. Maybe you could help me understand. Why did you need to find it? You said someone was helping you? What is it that you need help with?"

  "Oh, well...” He liked that he looked sick and pitiful and maybe he could use that. But what he didn’t like was actually talking about being sick. It reminded him that he was actually sick instead of just an act to get people to do what he wanted. "I got sick a little while ago. I need help to get better."

  "I'm sorry to hear that, young man. I hope you do get better. If there anything we can do to help you, let us know.”

  “Well, you could give me the tree back.” Emret said boldly.

  “The tree's going to help you get better?”

  “Well, that's why we're here.” Emret answered.

  “That's
remarkable. How will it do that?” The commander asked. Then he reached into his front pocket and removed a small bundle. He unwrapped it and held it down where Emret could see it.

  Emret’s eyes lit up. It was his tree carving. He reached up for it, and as he did, it started to glow. The tall grass around his feet started to react, to bend into the shape of a path extending out in front of him.

  The Commander’s face went wide as he noticed the grass moving in front of him. “How?” He stepped back in a jerk reaction.

  Emret pulled his hand back. Great, he thought. How was he going to explain that? How was he going to explain any of the rest of it? Where the little tree was taking him, why he thought he would be healed when he got there. "Its sorta taking us to a place that can make me better." He tried to explain.

  The Commander recomposed himself, masking his previous wonderment. "So someone told you that this little tree was up here on the mountain. And you came up here to find it because it's going to take you someplace to make you better?"

  Emret nodded.

  "How did you know it would do that? Did this friend that sent you tell you that?"

  He supposed that would be right. He saw himself being healed during his episode in the Red's plaza. Red Leaves, he could say, told him where to find the token. The rest he just kind of figured out. He nodded again.

  “This friend sounds like a really great person.” The commander said. Then he leaned in closer as if he was going to tell him a secret. "You know, I don't tell many people this, but I have a little sister who's taken ill herself. I've been trying to help her, but I didn't know what to do. Do you think, maybe your friend might help her too? Could she meet him?

  Well that made things tricky. He didn't know if the man was lying. He was making the face that adults make when they’re talking to kids and think the kids are idiots. But then maybe he was telling the truth. Maybe he did know someone who needed help like he did.

  "Maybe I could help her when I find what I'm supposed to find." He offered.