Wose looked it over thoroughly. “This is very thoughtful. Thank you.”
“Wear this till your oath be fulfilled, my love. Then cut off the letters W and E, the beginning and the end. Finally in the core you will find your center and you will be able to live again in the Now. Place the cut off letters in a consuming flame, but keep the core letters always near your heart. Then rejoin us here and your life will be made happy, by OS. Os-Frith until we meet again on the distant tide of time.”
Wose felt a knot in his throat, tucked the scarf in his shirt over his heart, and took up the reins again.
***
Night was falling quicker than usual. Anticipating that it would be dark before he reached the rendezvous point where Mendaka and Elf Beard would be waiting, Sur Sceaf procured a lantern from its secure holding on the beached whaler. By the time Sur Sceaf, Mendaka, and Elf Beard arrived at the incline leading to the mouth of the large sea cavern, darkness had settled in and a brilliant orange moon was appearing on the rise of the skyline. The glow from the arched cave mouth shone bright, lighting their way up the incline.
“Damned if that cave doesn’t look mighty cozy,” Elf Beard said. Then raising his eyes exclaimed, “Powerfully big too! Never saw one this size before.”
Mendaka declared, “I saw one close to this big in the Arid Zone. It was full of bats and rattle snakes.”
Entering the high arched mouth of the cave they found themselves in a large circular chamber which Sur Sceaf estimated to be fifty yards in both width and depth.”
Elf Beard blurted, “Damned, if this don’t look like the makings of some giant bread oven.” He swooshed his hand in front of his nose, “But a bit skunky smelling, don’t you think?”
Sur Sceaf had to agree. It was unlike anyplace he’d ever seen before. Bamboo culms and large smooth boulders the size of beds were strewn about on a smooth red clay and sand floor. Shadows danced on the cave walls from the several fires the crew had built and on one wall were curious letters of some unknown alphabet, probably from the Amerikans.
The baskets of food were all placed neatly along a wall of the cave near the entrance and the barrels of mead were carefully stacked nearby. Furs and blankets had already been laid out for the beds. In the middle of the chamber, the crew sat around the fire in what appeared to be a contemplative melancholy mood. Ilkchild was sorely missed.
One of the barrels had been tapped, as the crew was sipping from krugs while waiting for the meal being prepared by Elijah and Hartmut. Fairchild was passing out strips of jerky to hungry crewmen. The crew members had stripped down to their underwear and loin clouts, and draped their sodden clothing over makeshift drying racks made of driftwood. But Fromer chose to remain shivering in his sea-sodden shirt and wool trousers.
Although the cooking odors filled the briny air with additional sweet aromas of comfort and relief, the men sat silently, the air was heavy with grief for Ilkchild. Mead krugs were drained by the weary travelers and most everyone moved around in silence.
Muryh spake first, “Now that you are here, Sur Sceaf, we can finally fill our bellies.”
“Well, you never waited to eat while out at sea, master builder.” Xelph jeered.
Hartmut stood with ladle in hand, “We were chust waiting for thee before we broke bread, my lord.”
Mendaka and Elf Beard greeted the others, who made room for them around the fire. Sur Sceaf blew out the lantern and sat down between Muryh and Xelph. Elijah poured him hot sassafras and ginseng tea in a mug. “Or would you prefer mead, my lord?”
“No, I prefer the hot tea.”
Hartmut prepared a plate with acorn, barley, and honey bread and handed it to Sur Sceaf.
“Honey bread! Is this really honey bread?”
“It is. Brother Elijah baked it on a large rock.”
Sur Sceaf took a sizable bite and pronounced. “This is heavenly. What is it you call it Elijah—Manna.”
Hartmut announced, “I’ll have some leek soup ready in another half hour.”
Once all the plates had been passed around, Elijah and Hartmut took theirs and sat with the crew.
Elijah looked around, “May I give thanks for our lives and this food?”
Although most of the men had begun eating, no one objected.
After the blessing, the meal was eaten in the same heavy silence.
Once the meal was finished and all was tidied up, the krugs were refilled, and this time Sur Sceaf accepted one. He noticed that once their bellies had been filled, a dampened spirit came upon everyone at the absence of Ilkchild. Sur Sceaf found his heart was very much weighed down by a heavy grief he couldn’t rise above. He had so hoped to raise his cousin’s seed back to their original strength and glory. Now his hopes were dashed.
Sensing the mood, Red Fox suggested, “Sur Sceaf, may we join in a prayer circle in unison for the safe journey of Ilkchild to the Spirit World and to his loved ones.”
Sur Sceaf gave him a grateful look, “Yes, that would be proper.”
Rising to their feet, the crew formed a prayer circle around the campfire. Red Fox led the prayer, pausing after each phrase to allow the others to repeat what he had just said, “Oh Father and Mother of Nations, ... we, a small, and mixed band of thy children... call upon you for deliverance this day...Remember our good brother,... Ilkchild the Fair...Deliver him safely to his loved ones...and grant him a safe journey to thy halls on high... Comfort those that mourn. Make it so!”
After the prayer the Sharaka shaman sang an ancient Sharaka chant designed to soothe the grief of those left behind. Amidst the chant, Black Khem suddenly let out a hoot that shook everyone from their solemn revery. As the others stared at him, Khem motioned with his hand toward the mouth of the cave. His eyes huge and his mouth agape, he stammered, “The—the—the ghost of Ilkchild!”
To Sur Sceaf’s shock, a ghastly pale image of his son was framed in the mouth of the cave with the moon at its back.
Xelph yelled, “It’s a ghost! By Queen Hell, it’s a ghost!”
Fromer yelled, “It’s a demonic schnallygaster. Don’t go near it.” He commenced muttering a prayer in Teutsch.
The specter’s mouth opened and said, “If I am a ghost, then I am a damned hungry one.”
Everyone froze and quiet fell so heavy that the surf went silent.
Sur Sceaf said, “Ilkchild, is it truly you?”
“What’s left of me,” the specter drew nearer, walking with a pronounced limp. “After I cut myself out of that sea wyrm I hope I am alive!”
For a moment Sur Sceaf could not move. Could it be? In a heartbeat, Sur Sceaf sprang over to Ilkchild and embraced him with tears of relief and joy.
“God love you my son. I thought you dead. O Ur Father, blessed is your name above all living gods! You have preserved the life of my son to me this day.”
Red Fox inserted himself. “The All Father and All Mother are pleased with us this day. I swear, this is to be taken as great medicine.”
Sur Sceaf slapped him on the back. “Sit Ilkchild, eat your fill. This confirms that you are truly of the holy race of the Elves, for no man could have survived what I with mine own eyes witnessed you undergo. Never has my heart rejoiced more over any matter than this, your redemption from the belly of Hell itself. Praise Elf Father, and all the Holy Elves, for I could not be happier if my own soul had been saved.”
Several of the men stood to touch Ilkchild for themselves, still fearing he was an apparition.
Red Fox appeared transfixed. “It has been shown unto us that this island is holy and shall be holy unto all generations after us. The gods require a holy name for this island.”
“Then we shall have to give it much thought, Reddy, but for now I just want to eat until I can eat no more. I am truly famished. I thought I was hallucinating when I smelled sassafras all the way out to sea. By the time I made it to shore, and saw firelight coming from the cave, I prayed it was you and not some cannibal tribe. I was not eager to be eaten twice.”
The gloom that had filled the sea chamber before was replaced by merrymaking and loud boisterous talk. Once again the krugs were filled and held up to the young blood for toasts.
Sipping his second krug of mead and enjoying the upbeat mood, Sur Sceaf said, “It would seem, that Ethelfleda’s dream had substance, son. For did she not say she dreamed you were swallowed into a cave of bloody bone slivers?”
Ilkchild looked startled. “That she did?”
He looked into Sur Sceaf’s eyes before taking another bite of the honey cake. Despite the fire Ilkchild began to shiver and Sur Sceaf noted the exceeding whiteness of his body.
Crooked Jack observed in his gravelly voice, “Looks to me like frostbite before it turns black and your skin falls off.” He shook his head. “That’s got to hurt.”
Ilkchild nodded, “It’s beginning to sting like a jelly fish.”
Red Fox went to the medicine chest that had remained intact inside the whaler. He retrieved a brown bottle. “Here, we shall rub whale oil and honey on your skin. That should help stop the acid of the monsters stomach.”
He uncorked the bottle, poured a generous amount of the oil into his hand and gently rubbed it over Ilkchild’s snow white skin.
Old Grokk covered Ilkchild with a large fur robe. Ilkchild had lost his hair claw and his braids hanged loosely over his shoulders like a horse’s mane.
“Well I am not at all surprised he’s alive,” Old Grokk jested. “I’ll bet that damned monster died from choking on a hairball.” The crew roared with happy laughter.
While Ilkchild wolfed down a half dozen cakes and two bowls of soup the men discussed the wonders and miracles of the day. With the reversal of their previous tragedy, the night had turned to day in Sur Sceaf’s heart.
“It is like the tale of the Lake Manitou,” Red Fox declared, “where a young man drowned and three years later the Manitou brought him back to his people.”
Fairchild put a hand lightly on his friend’s shoulder. “Now that you’re done wolfing down half of our honey cakes, tell us what it was like in the belly of that monster.”
Ilkchild finished off the mead and handed his krug to Hartmut for a refill. “Tight! It was like being inside a swinging rope or whip. It was as tight in there as when you pull a lamb, darker than any cave, stink like rotting fish, and as you see it’s gut juices burned my skin like the hottest sun after a winter shut-in.”
The men were fascinated.
Sunchild asked, “How could you cut yourself out if it was so tight?”
“Fortunately,” Ilkchild said, as Hartmut handed him a krug. “Before I was swallowed I had grabbed my elf blade to scrape some pitch off the sunstone. Tight as it was, I managed to slice through its gut little by little. It was like gutting an enormous bear. Hardest part was holding my breath and enduring the burning slime all over my skin. I closed my eyes when I felt the first sting, so they were not burned, though it appears somewhat cloudy in here. Next thing I knew, I felt the blade pierce the skin and the gut rip open, like when you cut the bladder of a sheep. I was spilled out into the dark deep where I groped forever for the surface. Just when I thought my lungs would burst I broke into the clear. The salty air was never so sweet to my air starved lungs.”
Sur Sceaf became aware that Fromer was giving Ilkchild the fish eye. Ilkchild finished his drink and held out his krug.
Hartmut said, “Here drink mine. The barrel is empty. Hartmut attempted to hand his krug to Fromer to pass over to Ilkchild. But Fromer had gradually crept closer to the fire, as he shook and shivered.
Fromer shook his head. “I’m not going anywhere near that schnallygaster. He’s deceiving us. That’s not Ilkchild. Look well thereon, it ist as white as death itself. If he touches you, he’ll steal your souls.”
Disgust showing thoroughly on his face, Hartmut took Ilkchild’s krug and filled it with his own.
Ilkchild took a long swallow and then continued. “Praise be to the Ur Mother, there was a full moon, so I could see what looked like land ahead. I swam to shore, all the while, thinking another wyrm might attack me. It was a long swim and there were times I felt like giving up. I would just float then. While I lay floating at sea I looked up into the moon and all I could think of was my two dear wives.” He paused before his face broke with a huge grin, “And the other wives I plan on having.” Amidst the laughter he continued. “Then I swam like Beowulf til I struck shallow surf and the beach.”
Elf Beard said, “It would give me the creeps to think that a wyrm was swimming right under me the whole time.”
Ilkchild raised a brow. “When I touched the security of the sand beneath my feet, I felt such relief, even though I was exhausted. As I laid there gasping like a hooked fish, I got whiffs of the sassafras and honey cakes I had smelled when I first surfaced. At first, I thought I was hallucinating, but when I looked up I could see firelight coming out of the mouth of this cavern. God was I hungry, tired, and spent when I got here.”
Exhausted as they were, they talked late into the night, loaded the fire with driftwood and bamboo culms, then one by one fell off to sleep except Sur Sceaf, who had first watch.
* * *
Mewing gulls and cawing ravens opened the ears of the sleepy heads. Sur Sceaf rose early and dismissed Khem the Black and Red Fox from the last watch, while Muryh prepared a hearty breakfast for the still exhausted and weary crew.
Sur Sceaf ordered, “Hartmut and Elf Beard, go to the beach and see if the Raven perchance has arrived in the night. If not, bring back some more drift wood for the fire.”
Several men collected water in flasks and cooking pots from the cavern’s cold stream, while others took turns bathing in it. Elfwin stoked the fire, which had been banked for the night, and laid new wood on it. Fromer still shivered in his damp coat which only added to his disturbed sleep and constant complaining. Elfwin simply ignored his moaning and went about preparing a strong enough fire to dry him.
When breakfast was ready, Sur Sceaf roused Red Fox and Khem from their brief slumber.
Khem yawned and stretched. “I chust had a dream. I dreamed my wife, Annie was warning me not to go on this expedition. I ignored her and left in a boat on the sea. I cast over a net. All of a sudden, a spout of water shot us up into the air and spun the boat completely around so that we faced south east. There was lightning and thunder and great squalls. When I lifted my net from the sea there was a squirming creature in it. Annie was suddenly at my side and we unfolded the net to reveal the net was filled with black mermaids. Annie and I were so happy we began to dance. Do you think this has a deeper meaning?”
“A black mermaid!” Xelph exclaimed. “Aren’t they supposed to be green?”
“When you get home, maybe Annie will have a little surprise for you.” Yellow Horse declared.
Khem grinned. “I hope she is with child, but so far no luck. Now, all I can do is miss my wife and imagine I’ve got a little girl coming.”
“Ain’t no baby comin, just sounds like you’re horny, to me,” Elf Beard teased.
The talk of wives gave Sur Sceaf pleasant contemplations of Taneshewa and his other wives. He reflected at how well she was adapting to her bride-sisters and how well they had enfolded and mentored her into the bride-covey. Above all, he was grateful his wives had always been so compatible with one another. He knew plenty of men who took to the woods to avoid the contentions in their homes and he had sworn early in life not to allow that to happen. The key, he thought, was in the selection of a proper faery-queen, for she was the keystone to holding all the others in place. And because of that, his swannery had chosen wisely his seventh bride, Ahy. He knew Ahyyyyokah was bringing something to him he had never realized he needed. Whatever it was, he knew it fulfilled him at a ve
ry deep level.
In his mind, he could feel all their hands sandwiched between his in the due-guard of a royal lord. He considered that, at this very moment, they might be holding a prayer circle for his welfare. Indeed, he felt something powerful was happening with his wives. He just couldn’t tell if it was a good or a bad premonition, but the Ur Fyr was telling him something momentous was occurring.
Chapter 9 : The Sisterhood
Taneshewa was shocked at what a dust trap a house was. She had just dusted the week before, and now she had to dust the furniture again if her house was to be as dust free as Paloma’s was. It was so much easier in the tipi. Still, she very much enjoyed the comfort of her new home. She liked the pictures on the wall, the curtains, the amount of privacy, and the space to store things. She was even coming to prefer the Herewardi clothing. Especially, the silk garments that were so light and cool, and more especially the negligee that Swan Hilde had gifted her.
Paloma had taken her to the new house and explained that in this space Ahy was the absolute queen and could alter or change anything to her liking. So far, she couldn’t imagine wanting to change anything. Though she wished she had not said she needed no servants. Such a large space needed more hands to keep it clean. I suppose I will go to Paloma and ask for help. My pride got the better of me. I never thought I would have to humble myself to ask for servants!
When her mother and sister visited they were simply enthralled by all the beauty and space. Her mother marveled at the kitchen with a sink and hand pump for water at anytime one desired, a stove to heat and cook with, and plenty of space for stacks of dishes and utensils. Her sister was astounded that she had a wooden ice box to keep milk and cheese cool even in the summer. Ahy explained to her that the Herewardi would mine the ice from the glaciers on the Three Brothers and transport it in wagons loaded with straw and sawdust, keep it in ice houses, and saw it up to fit into the ice box as needed.
As soon as her family departed she realized she was late once again. The Herewardi do everything by the medicine wheel and she could not get used to being on time.
The Isle of Ilkchild (The King of Three Bloods Book 4) Page 13