Treasure of Sorat

by Anthony G. Wedgeworth

Chapter 4

  Leaving

  The next day started off warm and cloudy, much like many spring days in Farbank. It wasn’t far into the day before Thorik and his mother arrived at Gluic’s home, where Brimmelle opened the door to greet them.

  Yawning and rubbing his eyes, Brimmelle opened the thick wooden door. “Hello?”

  “Hello, brother,” Thorik’s mother was the only one that could put a smile on Brimmelle’s sour face. “I need a favor from you.”

  “Absolutely. What can I do for you, my dear sister?”

  “I need you to watch Thorik for a few nights while we take a short trip.”

  Thorik glanced in the home and caught a whiff of what he would term ‘old people smell’ from inside.

  Brimmelle’s face immediately changed back to his annoyed expression. “Why can’t you take him with you?”

  “Because I don’t think it’s safe for him.”

  “Then it is clearly not safe for you, either. Is your lazy husband making you go with him on some foolish slog? I could send him down to Longfield for a few years if you need some time away from him.” As the spiritual leader of the village, he had the power to do so.

  “Brimmelle, I’m asking you for a favor. Can you please do this for me?”

  “The boy?” He glared down at him. “Is he house broken yet? I’m not going to clean up after him.”

  She gently placed her hands on his shoulders. “You won’t even know he’s here.”

  “Oh, I’ll know.”

  “Dear brother, please do this for me.”

  Brimmelle gazed into his loving sister’s eyes and nodded. “Only for you.”

  “I know.”

  Brimmelle changed his focus from her to her son. “But I’ll be expecting him to help me with my teachings of the Words of Order.”

  Smiling, she replied, “I’m sure he’ll enjoy that. He can be your Sec in training for a few days.”

  Thorik scrunched up his nose at the idea. “Can I go play at old man Sammal’s oak tree?”

  Brimmelle puffed up his chest and pushed his chin forward before looking down at his nephew. “No. We have chores to do and studies to recite.”

  Thorik straightened the oversized leather backpack and gave his mother a goodbye hug. “I’m old enough to go with you.”

  “I know, dear, but I’m just not ready for you too. I’ll see you in a few days. Please be good.”

  Thorik glanced in the dark house once again and sighed. “I love you, Mum.”

  “I love you too, dear.” And with that, she left the home and headed to the river to meet her husband and Su’I Sorat.

  Thorik watched until she was out of sight before he turned and stepped into the home. The ‘old person smell’ filled his nose and caused him to sneeze.

  “Are you sick? Is that why you’re not going?”

  “No, I’m not sick. Something just caught my nose wrong.”

  “Well, get used to it. You can set your pack down in the back room. Don’t touch anything in there and don’t bother unloading. You won’t be staying long and I don’t want to be picking up or stepping on your toys.”

  “I don’t have toys,” Thorik mumbled.

  “What’s that?”

  “Yes, Uncle. No toys.”

  “You’re old enough now that you should be referring to me as Fir Brimmelle like the rest of the village does.”

  “Yes, Uncle Fir.”

  “Don’t get a spirited tongue around me, young man.”

  “Yes, Fir Brimmelle.”

  Hours went by as Brimmelle slowly and methodically followed his daily routine of preparing for the afternoon’s teachings of the Mountain King’s words.

  Thorik eventually was able to pull out a single map to review it without being in trouble for making a mess. It was a long dull day until his grandmother, Gluic, arrived. “Granna!”

  “Welcome, by dear. It’s so good to see you.” Colorful leaves and Spring flowers garnished her clothes and hair from her morning walk and daily activities. Small pouches and purses hung from her shoulders, neck, and arms filled with small stones and various plant life. “You’re here for a visit, I see.”

  “Yes, I will be staying with you for a few nights while my parents are on a trip.”

  “Oh my. It’s finally started. I didn’t realize it would start so soon. I could feel the change in the rocks by the river this morning.” As with all adult Nums, Gluic had darker patches of skin called soul-markings throughout her body. Hers were fanciful and playful lines that changed to a darker shade upon hearing Thorik’s news.

  “What’s started? What change?”

  “Brimmelle! Start cleaning out the back room.”

  “Mother, the boy can sleep on the floor in the entry way. He will only be here for a few days.”

  “Yes, that’s what he said. Now make him comfortable.”

  “But mother, I have to prepare for my teachings this afternoon!”

  “It’s the same boring teachings you do every week. Give it a rest this once and let’s just see if everyone starts to run around in chaos from the lack of hearing your dry voice.”

  “Mother! I have a duty to perform. I don’t think you take what I do seriously.”

  “I know, dear. You’ll get over it.”

  Flustered, Brimmelle stormed out of the home, slamming the door behind him.

  “Granna, I think you may have pushed him too hard that time.”

  “No, not yet. I’ll get him there sooner or later.”

  Thorik laughed. “Why do you do that to him?”

  “Because he has so much potential to help others with his knowledge and instead he lets his arrogance get in his way of truly reaching the people he’s trying to help. Don’t worry, dear. He has a long journey ahead of him and today is the start of it.”

  “Is he going someplace?”

  “Yes, dear. In fact, you are too. We all are.” With that, Gluic went into the back room and started tossing Brimmelle’s childhood items out the door into the main room of the house. “He kept a jar of his fingernail clippings? That boy has issues.”

  Gluic continued to toss out all of her son’s memories from his past in order to make way for a clean room to be used by Thorik. Even at her age, she was able to keep Thorik hopping as the boy moved the items from the doorway to the pile just outside the front door.

  This went on into the evening when it began to rain, and thunder could be heard in the distance. Within minutes, Brimmelle made his way home before a downpour began. Once he arrived he was appalled at stack of his items near the front door. “Mother!”

  The sound of the lock could be heard from the inside of the door. “Yes, dear?” Gluic’s voice was pleasant and uplifting.

  Attempting to open the door, he knew he had just been locked out. “Open this door, mother!”

  “Not with that tone in your voice, dear.”

  “You have got to be kidding me! It’s raining out here!”

  “Yes, it is. And I think it will get worse soon.”

  “Then let me in! I’m getting soaked and all my treasures are being destroyed before my very eyes!”

  “It’s time to put your past behind you.”

  Lightning flashed and a loud rumbling of thunder rolled across the village.

  “By destroying them?”

  “No, dear. Your memories are not in those objects. They are in your heart and head. Those things before you are not important. They are just things. It’s time for you to start caring more about the Nums in this village instead of hoarding objects.”

  Another flash snapped across the sky and was followed almost immediately by the crack of thunder that caused Brimmelle to jump flat against the door. “Why are you doing this right now?”

  “Because it’s time. And the fact that it’s very dangerous out there makes you more open to being persuaded.”

  Another flash ripped across the sky, close enough to make the hair on Brimmelle’s arm to stand on end from the static charge. “Mot
her! You win! Let me in!”

  The sound of the door being unlocked snapped behind him was too soft compared to the heavy rain and thunder. The door flung open, causing him to fall into the home, slapping his wet body onto the floor.

  “Don’t just lay there, dear,” Gluic mused. “Close the door before we catch ourselves a cold.”

  Brimmelle reached over with one leg and pushed the door closed.

  “Thank you, dear. Welcome home. How was your day?”

  Panting from fear of being struck by lightning, he continued to lie on the floor. “Same as usual.”

  “As expected.” She set three bowls of soup at the table before sitting down next to where Thorik had been quietly watching the events unfold. “Supper is ready. Get some dry clothes on before joining us.”

  “Yes, mother.” He then slowly rolled to one side and stood up before heading to his bedroom.

  Thorik took several slow sips of soup before addressing her. “Granna, it’s raining very hard out there.”

  “Yes, dear. It is.”

  “My parents are out in this. I hope they will be safe.”

  “I know, dear. It’s natural to be concerned for their safety, just like they are concerned about yours.”

  Brimmelle returned in a dry robe while still drying his hair with a towel. Unlike his mother’s whimsical soul-markings, his were broad strokes of darker skin that flowed from his left hand up to his strong jaw. His dark shades of hair surrounded his round face as well as his thick bushy eyebrows. “Where are your parents going anyway?”

  Thorik swallowed his spoonful of soup before answering. “They are helping Su’I Sorat find a lost treasure.”

  “Su’I Sorat? That’s the outsider that came to town yesterday, isn’t he?”

  “Yes.”

  “He’s dangerous! I told him to leave us and to never return. There would be nothing here for him in Farbank.”

  “Apparently he did as you asked and headed upstream of Farbank before finding us.”

  “This is not good. What did he want?”

  “They are in search for the Mountain King’s Runestones.”

  “What? There is no such thing. He must be leading them into a trap. I knew I should have told her that I wouldn’t watch you. Then she would have been forced to stay.”

  “Then my father would have still gone with him and he’d still be in danger.”

  “Yes, but that would be his fault for listening to an outsider.”

  “If my parents are in trouble, we need to save them!” Standing up from the table, Thorik wanted to begin the search right away.

  “Or at least my sister.” Brimmelle began grabbing gear for a trek as they talked. “Where were they headed?”

  “It’s unclear. It was kind of a riddle of instructions.”

  “They had to know where they were going to start!”

  “Yes! They headed across to the far side of the King’s River and then past Spirit Peak. They were hoping to find a ghost or a spirit who would point the way and then follow the grazer’s path to some giant mouth.”

  They both reached the front door with arms filled with gear just as a loud snap of thunder shook the entire home.

  Still sitting at the table enjoying her soup, Gluic looked up at the two. “I’d wait until the morning.” She then took another sip.

  The heavy rain slammed against the roof and walls and worked its way in under the door. The storm was getting worse.

  They both looked at each other and nodded. “Agreed.”