by Marius Thue
Suddenly, he spots a ravage standing on a boulder the height of at least four men. With two daggers raised in both hands, and a face filled with insanity, he runs toward the edge. Jumping at the final moment, he soars through the air, daggers raised above his head.
Thoke draws his spear over his shoulder before sending it flying toward the ravage. It hits him midair, right in the chest, causing him to fall with a loud thump right in front of Thoke.
“Where's your camp?” Thoke grabs the skewered man by the shoulders, shouting in his face.
Blood begins to fill the man’s mouth as he struggles to breathe. He spits some out and begins to laugh uncontrollably. Thoke looks at him in horror while the laughter cuts through the air. The ravage smiles while coughing up blood then laughs some more. Blood begins flowing faster than his laughter. It ends with his life, and the man is forever silenced, still with a smile on his face.
CHAPTER 15
Mekar walks silently through the woods. In his hands he holds his bow with an arrow ready to find his target. Since dawn he's been scouring the forest, hunting birds. A crow has caught his eye, like so many this day.
The bird rests high on a branch while Mekar approaches silently. As soon as Mekar gets to just the right distance, he readies his arrow. Mekar never pulls his string and aims. He simply locks on with his eyes, trusting that his arrow will find what he's looking at.
In one fluid motion, he pulls back the string, lifts the bow, and releases the arrow. With a sharp flint tip, a stick made of birch, and steering feathers made from the same bird it's headed for, the arrow whizzes through the air.
The birds goes flopping toward the ground as the arrow piercing its heart. It's dead before it even hits the forest floor. Pleased with today’s catch, Mekar adds the bird to the other three caught earlier in the day.
Garnek wobbles around the campsite, frustrated at not being able to join the hunting or patrolling. Mekar walks up with his birds tied to a string.
“They have been gone for a while,” Mekar remarks.
“I don't like it. They need to come back now,” Garnek answers, holding his walking stick tightly. The spear simply doesn't cut it anymore so Garnek finally had to make a real stick to support him.
“They'll be back soon. Thoke knows what he's doing,” Mekar says.
“One would think so.” Garnek's tone doesn't exactly bleed positivity.
“They're probably on their way back already.” Mekar uses a different tone than his old chief, more hopeful. “Hiro will spot them soon. He likes it up there, makes him calm.”
“Did he say that?” Garnek's words sounded more like a spitting cough.
“No, of course not.” Mekar lays his birds down on a large flat rock and begins to gut them. “My brother has barely said a word in years, not even to me.” Mekar looks at his brother, who stand ever vigilant at his post.
“I wonder why sometimes,” Garnek says suddenly, words Mekar did not expect from him.
“Only he knows. His tongue sits right as far as I know.” Mekar sighs. There's not much meat on these crows, and Mekar never liked the taste. Still, meat is meat. He throws the guts in the embers of last night’s campfire. Someone must reignite it soon.
“Gods be damned. Come on now.” Garnek's eyes remain fixed on the mountainside, where Thoke and the others traveled. “Perhaps we should just break camp now and head toward them. Renai's been gone for too long as well. This whole thing stinks, I tell you.”
As Garnek utters the last words, Hiro seems to have spotted something. He moves his head trying to get a better angle. Maybe the hunters have returned.
Hiro looks at Janeg, whistles, and signals for him to check it out. Hiro narrows his eyes and stands on his toes. The wind would have been blowing the bald man’s hair had he any. Even though the wind blows fiercely in his face, it doesn't show at all.
Shadows move between the trees, but they don't seem to come any closer. This can't be the hunters returning. A silence falls over the camp as everyone shuts their mouths and stands looking into the woods. Even the children become silent.
The wolves begin to growl toward the trees. Clearly, they don't recognize the beings in there. A sense of dread flows over Mekar.
Garnek looks around, feeling worried. The wolves suddenly run into the forest, snarling. Everyone else remains silent, not moving a muscle. Garnek follows the wolves with his eyes when he notices the smoke of frost coming out of his mouth.
The wolves are gone, and it seems even Hiro can't spot them any longer. Janeg looks up at him but is met by a shrug. He moves toward them with his spear in hand. Frozen heather crackles under his feet as he goes. Unsure of what's out there, Janeg passes some trees that block his view.
His heart skips two beats as he comes face to face with four armed men. They're bare chested with black stripes covering their bodies. With a dagger in each hand, they just stand there silently. Janeg begins to run back toward the camp.
“The ravages!” he screams.
Mekar can hear a low whistling sound somewhere behind him. From the other side of the camp, out of the forest, a spear comes flying. It is as if time nearly freezes for a moment, like it would in a dream. The spear glides elegantly through the air, in the direction of the boulder. His entire body jerks forward as he tries to reach out and grab the spear.
Almost soundlessly, the spear hits Hiro in the back. He releases a low whimper as he falls to his knees. Slowly, he looks down to his stomach and the bloody spear sticking out of his gut.
Blood runs down from the corner of his mouth as Diseni cries out in horror. The cry grows ever louder as her man falls lifelessly forward and down to the frozen heather below.
Mekar is about to run over to his brother but stops when a horrifying roar engulfs the camp. It is as if the vibration can be felt in the air. They've heard this roar only once before.
Rhekir stands paralyzed. He tries to call out for Larii, but no sound seems to come out.
Janeg pulls out his dagger, holding it in his left hand, his spear in his right. The four ravages in front of him scream loudly before running to him at full speed.
Mekar reacts quickly and picks up his bow. His quiver still rests across his shoulder, having not yet taken it off. With a few quick jerks, he sends three arrows flying. The first two hit nothing but tree trunks, but the last finds the closest man’s right shoulder. He stops, tears out the arrow, and keeps running. Mekar grabs for his quiver but finds nothing but air. He pulls out his dagger and runs to Janeg.
Garnek begins wobbling toward them as well but then eyes the man who must have thrown the spear. It's no man at all, but a beast. Rarely does Garnek have to look up at someone, but this time he must crane his neck to gaze up at the massive antlers.
The beast stomps across snow and heather with his empty black eyes, moving directly toward Garnek. This must be a true demon, like Horvag spoke of all those years ago. Garnek shudders at the thought. Garnek searches for his spear, feeling every step the beast takes drumming against the ground.
Janeg and Mekar are standing side by side while the four ravages approach.
“I'll take the two on the left, you take the ones on the right,” Janeg says, met by a nod from Mekar.
They run toward each other and meet right inside the tree line. A battle ensues, and Mekar and Janeg do what they can to defend themselves. The ravages hacks and slashes toward them while Mekar and Janeg keeps their distance with their spears.
Suddenly three more men come running out of the forest. They seem to target the women and children, but they will not find an easy challenge in Diseni and Sevi.
“Rhekir, bring Dirma and Loomi. Take the children and run!” Diseni shouts before readying her spear.
Gerak’s woman, Dirma, and Terot's woman, Loomi, help Rhekir get the total of eight children to safety. Four have to be carried.
As they flee toward the woods, Larii stops. She turns and is about to run back into the camp. Mareks grabs her hand at the last moment
, pulling it back. The fear in his eyes convinces her she must protect them.
Garnek thrusts his spear toward the beast, but it simply grabs it with its left hand before striking Garnek with the back of its right. He stumbles on his bad leg but manages to keep himself standing. Garnek looks up at the beast, his eyes blurry from the blow. Blood trickles down from his brow. He wipes it away and looks at the blood inside his hand. With fury, he lunges out, throwing punches at the beast.
Meanwhile, Janeg has gotten himself into a good position. The ravages get separated when Janeg steps in between two huts. With his spear, he stabs one ravage in the gut as he runs around the hut. The other one then rushes him. Janeg throws his dagger, hitting the ravage in his right eye. Janeg baffles even himself with that throw.
Mekar struggles and finds himself backing up into the forest. The ravages seem cautious and nearly calm. Every time they make an attack, Mekar simply holds out his spear and backs away.
Janeg looks to Diseni and Sevi, who lie motionless on the ground with a dead ravage between them. The final one runs at Garnek. The big man stops punching the air in front of the beast and turns slowly on his bad leg to face his other attacker.
With a massive blow, the beast pounds Garnek in the back of the head, making the old chief fall face-first onto the ground. Without realizing it, Janeg has already begun running to his brother’s aid. He jumps and punches the beast in the chest, but it does nothing. Returning the favor, the beast sends Janeg falling back with a single punch to the chest.
The ravage sits on top of Garnek, pulling his dagger over his head. Out of the hut behind him comes the once mighty Sernak. He runs to his sons, looking like a young man from his movements.
The tip of the ravage’s dagger touches the back of Garnek's head when Senak stops it. He grabs the ravage’s hand and pushes the dagger into his gut. Huge hands surround his throat as the beast hoists the old man in the air. Janeg looks up then down as the beast smashes his father into the rocks below with a sickening crunch. It sounds like every bone in Sernak’s body turned to dust.
Janeg gets up and realizes Mekar is still under attack. He's bloody and seems to be on the losing end. Janeg shakes some sense back into his head and runs to help when a strange cry is heard from the forest.
Fearing more attackers, Janeg nearly gives up right there. The two remaining ravages seem to react to the sound and runs off into the woods. Janeg looks for the beast but it has also run off between the trees.
Janeg and Mekar share a look. They're both covered in blood, some of it their own and some the ravage’s.
Mekar quickly makes his way over to his woman, Sevi, who still lies motionless. Janeg does the same to Garnek, who is similarly affected. Diseni has gotten up and sits crying over her lifeless man, Hiro. She holds his hairless head in her arms, bobbing back and forth while the tears flow uncontrollably. With the spear still sticking through Hiro, it scrapes the ground as she holds him.
As soon as Sevi wakes, Mekar goes over to his brother and places one arm around Diseni. Garnek sits up, looking confused and bewildered.
“Where are they? What happened?” he asks while stroking the back of his head.
“They ran, for some reason,” Janeg answers.
“Is everyone okay?” Garnek tries to stand but only manages to get to one knee.
“Hiro's dead and one more …” Janeg turns to look at his father. His frozen eyes stare up at the sky and to the gods he once adored.
Garnek struggles to hold back tears. It’s something an old warrior is quite accustomed to. He looks at his brother and signals for him to close their father’s eyes. With careful fingers, Janeg swipes his father’s eyelids shut for the final time.
“Where are the children and the others?” Garnek asks.
“Sevi and Diseni sent them off. They ran into the woods,” Janeg answers. Garnek grabs his arm by the elbow.
“Find them, Brother. Find them fast,” Garnek's eyes are as intense as ever.
Sevi leads Janeg through the forest. First they come across the three wolves, bloody and dead, lying in a patch of red snow. All three have two sets of arrows lodged in their breast and belly. They were the first line of defense and the first to fall.
“If the ravages had bows, why did the attackers not use them?” Sevi wonders. Janeg shakes his head and frowns.
They begin to call deep into the woods for Rhekir and the others. Behind a large fallen oak tree sits the young women, Dirma and Loomi, with the five-year-old and six-year-old Meeri and Tromo in their arms. Both seem to be in a state of shock.
“Are you all right? Where are the other children?” Sevi asks as she bends down to check if they're hurt.
The women look to their left with a mix of sorrow and despair in their eyes. Some ways over stands Mareks and His in a small clearing. They stand staring down at the ground. The snow has begun to fall in thick lumps down to the heather. A sign that the winter has not intended to release its grip quite yet.
The children jump up as Janeg's long ponytail hangs over them.
“What happened here?” Janeg asks, barely able to finish the sentence without his voice crumbling.
“The scary men tried to take the small ones,” Mareks stutters. “Larii tried to stop them.”
Larii lies on her side in the snow. Janeg already knows, but still bends down to feel her breath and listens for a heartbeat. Their absence fills Janeg's chest with a stinging pain. For the second time today, he must do what he dreads. With gentle fingers, he closes her icy-blue eyes. Silence is broken by Mareks and His's sudden sulking.
“Where are the four smallest ones?” he asks once he calms himself.
“The men took them,” Mareks stutters, tears welling up in his eyes. “Larii tried to stop them, then we hid after.”
“Rhekir, then?” Janeg almost forgot about him for a moment.
His fights through the sulking to say, “He ran in front of us. Then he was gone.”
Janeg sighs and shakes his head. He then lifts the limp little body off the ground. Snow covers Larii's long blond hair as it hangs toward the ground. Janeg begins walking back to camp, and the only thing that remains in the clearing is a small snowless patch of heather.
CHAPTER 16
Terot skips through the forest, far ahead of the others. Over his shoulder, he proudly carries his very first catch. Finally, he's succeeded and passed his test as a large caribou fell on the plains. The mood among the hunters has reached a new high and is getting higher with every step closer to home.
Thoke and Neera moves in close to Terot. They share a smile. Terot has been talking about showing off his catch ever since they got it. Being gone from their families for so long is never easy.
Thoke can hear voices buzzing at the campsite. The new snow is dry and light, making it easy to walk in. Thoke tries to listen for children playing or even crying. Any familiar sound would all be welcome at this point.
He stops, the snow almost up to his knees. The lack of life in the camp worries him.
“It's strangely quiet over there,” Thoke remarks.
“We'll have to hurry, then,” Neera states. “Pick up the pace. We're approaching!”
They all begin to run at full speed. Thoke can see movement past the trees. Then he spots Mekar curled up on the big boulder.
Garnek gets to his feet as the hunters enter the clearing. Thoke stops and looks at him. The expression on Garnek’s face tells him something bad has happened. Everyone is huddled together, sitting completely quiet. No one runs to greet them. The wind in the trees is the only thing Thoke can hear.
Thoke spots three covered up bodies near where they sit. They're all covered by large pelts. Two large bodies and one small lie in the snow.
“The ravages attacked midday on the day past,” Garnek begins, melancholy in his voice. Hiro, my father, and one of the children were killed. They also took the four smallest ones. Rhekir ran away, and we still haven't found him.”
Terot drops the caribo
u into the snow. Everyone but Thoke and Neera run to their families. Part of them must know why Garnek never mentioned the small one’s name. Thoke won't believe it, though, but every time he denies it, he's confronted with the truth.
Neera begins walking slowly toward the dead. A stiff and empty look fills her face. Thoke still looks at Garnek, hoping he will tell them it's not true. Garnek nods to Janeg, who removes the pelt covering Larii's face.
Neera moves calmly toward her daughter without making a sound. She sits down beside her and takes her in her arms. Then the tears find their way out. They burst out as Neera begins to scream and cry.
Thoke can’t move. A chill moves down his spine and freezes him where he stands. His gaze is still locked on Garnek, as if there's still hope. The sound of Neera crying burns in his ears. He feels dizzy and has to hold his knees so as not to fall.
Their little girl. This cannot be. Thoke longs for the sound of wind in the trees, but all he can hear is crying. The entire tribe grieves and not one eye remains dry.
Thoke finally gathers himself and manages to get over to Neera and Larii. He falls down on his knees, releasing a deep sigh as he does. It feels as if someone has stabbed him in the chest. With a gentle hand, he strokes her small, cold cheek and draws his fingers through her bright hair. A teardrop falls to the snow.
In the corner of his eye, he sees Rhekir standing in the edge of the forest. Thoke wipes his tears away with the back of his hand, kisses Neera on the forehead, and walks over to his son. Rhekir is trembling like a leaf in the fall and his eyes are bloodshot.
“What happened?” Thoke asks with a lump in his throat. Rhekir looks down, seemingly not knowing what to say.
“I-i-i-t was the beast,” Rhekir stutters. “He truly was half-moose and half-human. No one can beat him. I was scared and I thought Larii was right behind me.”
Thoke shakes his head and goes back to Neera without saying a word. Rhekir remains standing at the edge of the forest, not daring to enter the camp again.