Vedientir

by Ivan Hladni

  "Yes. We follow the river all the way to the village Mara. Not only do we need water but that path keeps us pretty far away from the North road and anyone who might have gone after the messengers from Echa. If the terrain does not get worse and we don't make long stops we'll be in Mara by nightfall."

  "Let's move then, towards Mara and dinner."

  Kerkio pulled out his water flask and drank while he was waiting for Dion to put everything back into his bag.

  A little bit more than a day's part passed since they started walking again and the path stopped being easy to tread. There were bushes and ferns on the path where it could still be called a path but then trees grew more numerous and took for themselves the more gentler parts of the earth leaving them only rain-made canals and rough ground to walk on.

  Dion looked at the river every time their efforts brought them really close to it. He tried to see under the surface to check its depth but he soon gave up. The glinting of light on the surface of the water made his eyes tired and confused. He wasn't sure what he saw anymore but he heard a steady noise coming from close by.

  "Rapids," he said while turning his head sideways to make sure he heard right. They pushed their way through the trees and saw waves in the river jumping one over the other, pushing themselves between the rocks in their frenzied hurry to flow downstream.

  They climbed down to the river and found themselves on soft earth dotted by a few large white stones that rose up from it. There were a few such stones pushing out of the river as well, but many more were hiding beneath the surface of the river and were making the water run faster and murmur as it glided over them.

  Dion took for himself a rock that was partly on the bank and partly in the river. He left the bag on the bank next to the stone and then laid on his stomach onto the smooth stone so that his head was above the river. He washed his face and drank, and when he was done and turned towards Kerkio he found him already eating. He liked the idea so he opened up his bag and took out the rye bread and cheese.

  He took a bite of the dark rye bread whose sourness reminded him that he was not really in love with it. The cheese as well was not so satisfying for the second time in a row.

  "Cheese?" he offered it to Kerkio, wanting to get rid of it this time.

  Kerkio kindly refused by waving the offer away with his head and then his eyes got stuck on something on the other bank. He suddenly threw away his food and jumped from the stone on which he was standing towards his spear. Dion panicked and slid from his stone back to the bank. He turned and saw a hairy black animal at the forest's edge ready to run away into the cover of the trees. It was the same kind of animal that the Grey commanded in front of Echa.

  He heard Kerkio's footsteps and then his spear flew across the river. The animal jumped into the forest before the spear got to it and then started screaming as it ran away from the two of them.

  "Let's go. Now!" shouted Kerkio grabbing his bag and jumping onto the nearest stone in the river.

  Dion got his bag also and started running after Kerkio, looking for dry stones that Kerkio already stepped over, being careful not to fall into the river.

  "How?" Dion was shouting after Kerkio.

  "They could not have overtaken us without us hearing or seeing them," Dion continued between frustrated breaths.

  "This one didn't come from Echa," said Kerkio and pulled his spear out of the earth where it struck and then continued running north after the creature.

  "Perhaps it came from the east. From Doros," Dion said running closely behind Kerkio.

  "It doesn't matter," was Kerkio's answer. "We are now between a road on which we know what is happening and the eastern lands where we know that it is bad. We have no choice but to reach Mara before dark, if for no other reason than to warn the villagers of the danger before it is too late."

  The eastern bank of the Naumona was a wide strip of sand and small rocks that rose quickly into a chain of hills covered with much larger rocks and a thin pine forest. They kept on the sandy bank and open space just as the creature they hunted did. It saw they were after it and screamed even louder than before.

  "We have to silence it," Dion tried talking as his legs flew after Kerkio. "It's going to draw who knows what towards us."

  "Yes," replied Kerkio while running as fast as he could. "My plan is to do just that."

  The creature passed the river's curve eastward and for a moment Kerkio could not see it because of a few lush green trees that grew there. They could still hear the creature, but now its screaming changed from constant loud screaming into short bursts of shrieks.

  They heard human shouts in front of them, beyond the river's curve, and then the creature's shrieks stopped.

  "Hide!" Kerkio ordered Dion and waved for him to go into the forest. Dion left the sand quickly and took to the cover of the nearest trees but continued carefully towards the curve.

  Two men stood by the creature. The younger one held onto the pitchfork that was struck into the hairy creature and moved it around to check if it was still alive. Kerkio slowed down and called them. They looked at him and he could see that they recognized the armor he was wearing.

  "Greetings," said a gray-haired, almost bald, man who stood closer to the river. He was wiping away the sweat from his tall forehead with his forearm. "The legion is after it as well?" the man asked.

  "It looks like it," answered Kerkio and extended his arm to introduce himself. "Kerkio. Where do the two of you come from?"

  "Firinor," said the almost bald man, cleaned his hand against his clothes and then shook Kerkio's hand firmly. "Vitelus," said the other man, somewhat younger and with a lot more hair, but he did not shake Kerkio's hand nor lift his eyes from the creature.

  "We come from River Mara. We've been hunting it since early this morning when it tore down Vitelus's fence and gutted all the sheep that could not escape quickly," said Firinor and then looked past Kerkio at Dion who emerged from of the forest.

  "It's not a wolf," said Vitelus. "This is a shrieker. A shrieker slaughtered my sheep," he added with an almost relieved tone now, just as Dion joined their group.

  "I will ask the king for reparations for my sheep when he sees it. He will not be able to say no."

  "Ah, shrieker! Wherefrom?" blurted Firinor in response to his neighbor. The creature beneath their feet was larger than the average village dog and its coal black fur was now tarnished with blood. Its jaw was larger than a dog's as well and filled with sharp long teeth. Dion was now sure that this was the creature they saw in front of Echa this morning.

  "The old wives' tales tell that the shriekers have two legs, not four like this one has. This is someone's very large and very ugly dog," replied Firinor in a voice that gave the impression that they often had quarrels like this one.

  "And you have seen a shrieker on two legs so you would know that this isn't one?" Vitelus continued the altercation.

  "This is actually more likely a shrieker, however strange it is to say it aloud, because it is clearly not a wolf," said Dion and the two villagers got quiet. "Of course, I'm not certain I speak correctly, but they do scream like the shriekers described in the old wives' tales. This one screamed just like the creatures that came with the army that attacked Echa."

  "Not to mention I saw a sketch of it in grandfather's book."

  "You don't say?" asked Vitelus. "Who attacked Echa? How?"

  "They came from Irion," answered Dion with his eyes still upon the shrieker.

  "Are they coming here?" now asked Firinor with the same amount of worry as his neighbor.

  "Hopefully not. The siege will hopefully keep them busy at Echa, but honestly, there is nothing stopping them from coming here."

  "So what do we do now?" Vitelus asked his neighbor.

  "Ah, nothing. We caught this one here and all that we can do now is collect the sheep that survived but got away from you. You see the legion is here, there's no need to worry."

  Dion cleared his throat while thinking about w
hat to say to them next.

  "The rest of the legion is preoccupied," said Dion finally. "The two of us were told to head to all three Maras and speak with the people to set up guard posts in case these creatures show up and by the look of it, we are already too late."

  The villagers nodded, as did Kerkio, helping confirm Dion's story.

  "We are in a hurry to reach Mara," Dion continued, "and I would not like to go back to the rapids to cross over the Naumona. What's the river like upstream? Are there any crossings close by?"

  "It's pretty like this all the way up to River Mara," answered Firinor pointing with one of his hands at the sand beneath his feet. "There are no crossings before the village unless you have a boat, but the village is not far away from here."

  "And my house and farm are the first that you will reach when you get to River Mara, and I own a boat," added Vitelus. "Have one of my sons get you across the river in it. Just tell them Vito sent you."

  "Oh, that's kind of you," said Dion and with those words he and Kerkio continued walking north, but Dion stopped for a moment.

  "We don't plan on staying in your village long. Will you speak with your neighbors about what I told you and set up a watch in your village?"

  Both villagers looked at him and readily nodded in acceptance.

  "First we must skin this evil and find the sheep that got away. Can we do it in the afternoon?" asked Firinor.

  "That's all right," confirmed Dion and then ran after Kerkio.

  "Did you see that the shrieker was branded?" Dion asked Kerkio when he was certain that the villagers could no longer hear him speak.

  "It looked like the letter R in the old language," recalled Dion. Kerkio looked at him from under his eyebrow.

  "Does that mean something to you?" Dion asked after he caught Kerkio's look.

  "No. Except that you can read the old language," Kerkio replied.

  "Grandpa never gave up," said Dion and sighed. "What else was there for me to do but to learn it?"

  Kerkio smiled warmly.

  "A good thing those two came by when they did," continued Dion. "I am not sure that we would have caught up to the shrieker otherwise."

  "I maybe would have, but I doubt you would. You're a bit slow on your feet for someone so young."

  "Oh, yes?" replied Dion and started running like crazy.

  "You aren't serious?" shouted Kerkio after him but all he got was a silly laugh in return.

  Dion slowed down after Kerkio overtook him, after maybe a half-mile run.

  "Enough for today, my feet are starting to object," said Dion.

  "You're not in as bad a shape as I thought, but you're not legion material yet."

  "Legion material?" asked Dion. "Did my father say something to you about that? Does he want me in a legion?"

  "Don't worry," he said noticing Dion was quite distraught. "We didn't talk about it, but why not? What's wrong with being in a legion?"

  "Nothing, but somehow I do not see myself as a potential legionary. You may laugh at me, but I was thinking that I would be more useful as a treasurer in Echa."

  "You are right," Kerkio said and laughed at him. "You're too young for that. That's for old men who can no longer lift a sword so they lift a feather."

  It took them more than a day's part of walk at a quick pace to reach the first house of the village River Mara.

  "Vitelus's farm," recollected Dion when they saw what lay in front of them.

  "It must be," confirmed Kerkio.

  In front of them stood a long wooden fence made out of pieces of bark and assorted pieces of wood. It was breached and broken in several places. Behind it was a pasture now filled sheep blood.

  "One shrieker couldn't have done all this," said Dion. "I hope."

  They entered Vitelus's farm through one of the breaches in his fence. Two dark-haired boys were approaching them slowly. Between them walked a donkey that pulled a small empty cart. The boys' shirts and trousers were rolled up, and their hands and feet were covered with blood and sheep fur.

  "This is Vitelus's farm, isn't it?" Dion chose that to start a conversation with the boys. One was tall and looked almost as old as Dion and the other somewhat shorter and sixteen at most.

  "Yes it is. Who are you?" the older boy answered and asked.

  "Dion. This is Kerkio, and you must be the sons of Vitelus, aren't you?"

  "Yes. Norik," said the older son and extended his hand for a moment before he remembered it was all bloody so he pulled it back.

  "We met your father on our way here. He captured the thing that has killed your sheep."

  "It was a wolf, no?" asked the younger son.

  "No," said Dion, and what little smile was on the boy's face was quickly gone when he found out he wasn't right. "You'll see soon," added Dion before turning back to speak to the older son.

  "You father said that you can transport us to the other side of the river."

  "I can, but I have to finish this first," Norik said and waved with one of his hands to show that he was talking about the pasture.

  "Come on, while dad is away. So he doesn't have to do it," Norik called his younger brother and pulled at the donkey's reins gently and positioned the cart next to many pieces of flesh that once belonged to two lambs, but the younger brother did not listen to him.

  "I'm going to tell mom," he answered his brother by shouting back across the pasture. He was already running north towards the house. Norik threw one lamb leg into the cart and looked only for a moment after his brother, but then bent back down and continued working on his own.

  Dion gave Kerkio an unhappy look and handed over the standard to him. He took off his bag and gave it to Kerkio as well.

  "I can't order you to do this," he said quietly while he was rolling up the sleeves of his shirt. "I'll help the older brother. You go and introduce us to the lady of the house."

  "Certainly," answered Kerkio with a look of sincere interest, but Dion could not interpret what it meant.

  "I'll see you at the house," said Dion and went after Norik who was already on his way towards the next lifeless furry heap.

  ✽✽✽

  "Finished," said Norik when he and Dion appeared at the gates between the pasture and the yard. Unlike the pasture, the yard was devoid of grass. Feathery reasons for that ran around and clucked incessantly. The west side of the yard was packed with hen houses and stables that now stood empty. In the east side of the yard was Vitelus's wooden house, built on low foundations made of stones of varying sizes.

  In the middle of the yard was a well. It was built from the same stone as the house's foundation. Its stones were covered in thick moss and the boards that made its small wooden roof were dark-gray from age.

  Kerkio just pulled a bucket of water when Dion joined him.

  "The carrier of the battle standard has the right to ask anything he needs. Of course, he might not always get what he wants, but you could have ordered me to gather the remains on the pasture instead of you," Kerkio said with a smile.

  Vitelus's younger son was running into and out of the house behind Kerkio, busy carrying food and more chairs out to the table he was setting in the yard.

  "Now you tell me?"

  Dion's voice showed no anger. He bent next to Kerkio and extended his hands forward.

  "Cold, cold, cold," went through his mind while Kerkio poured the cold well water over his hands.

  "Young lord, sit please. The table is set. You have come just in time for lunch," said the boys' mother.

  He realized that the woman was talking to him only when he raised his eyes from his hands that he washed with care, trying not to disturb his wound.

  "Kerkio obviously introduced me differently than I would have done myself."

  "We really need to continue on our path," Dion replied to the woman, but understood Kerkio's gaze quickly. He accepted. "I hope this is not all because of us," he said and sat at the table.

  Vitelus's sons were already eating heartily as was Kerki
o who took a bit of everything that was offered, freely as if it was his own home.

  "I think the sheep ruined my appetite," he explained to the woman who looked at him, waiting for him to accept what was offered.

  "Then have a beer at least before you go."

  "I want one," said the younger son, but his mother's reaction showed otherwise.

  "Water, thank you," said Dion and Kerkio had to intervene once more. "Beer is fine. Beer."

  "What do you mean, water?" he asked Dion. "Be serious."

  Dion laughed and went to the well where he left his bag that was now of prime interest to two hens. He got rid of them with a piece of bread and then got back to the table, just as the woman returned from the house.

  They received two simple wooden mugs, reddish in color from the oil used to treat the wood. Thick and tall white foam almost spilled out of them. They both took a drink and Kerkio finished his mug while Dion was still struggling with the foam.

  "Give it here, you'll choke," he said to Dion and quickly finished his mug as well. Dion pushed away his plate and in its place put two coins he took from his bag.

  The woman looked at the silver that was now on the table.

  "What is that?"

  "King's aid for the loss of your flock," said Dion, and both Kerkio and Vitelus's sons stopped eating.

  "We cannot take that," she replied.

  "I understand what you are going through," said Dion. "I will tell the king of his debt to me when I see him next time."

  She thanked him now. He could tell in her eyes that she knew he was lying, but she didn't allow herself to say anything more.

  "I will tell Vitelus what you did for us," she said and then Norik spoke. "Yes. Thanks," he said shortly but then his mother smacked him over the shoulder. The son looked at her, not knowing what he did wrong, and then she finished: "Thank you, young lord."

  "Thank you for the food and drink," said Dion and got up.

  "Father said to take them across the river," said Norik to his mother and got up after Dion.

  "The boat is tethered there," Norik pointed north beyond their yard toward gray-green willow leaves. He waited for Dion and Kerkio to gather all their belongings and then took them towards the river.