by F M Andrews
Anssan was used to being a man of action and his mind was racing even if his emotions were still floundering. “There is one thing you may have forgotten,” he replied gently. “You are a powerful wizard. Once you pass that boundary you will have powers that we can only dream of. Errin will not let you go unarmed. I know you have never met her but she is the most trustworthy person I have ever met and if she thinks you are capable of this task then you will be.”
Hezrill, still staring at the river, took a deep breath, her shoulders rising, before she slowly, released it.
“Besides,” Anssan added with forced joviality, “we can teach you how to fight, read a map, track somebody and even how to sneak up on them. After all, you are travelling with some of the most accomplished knights in Feld. Who better to teach you?” He grinned at her as she stared at him wide-eyed. “We will start tonight,” he declared. He was not quite sure how to interpret the look on her face as it was a strange mixture of excitement, relief and fear.
“Thank you. You are a very kind man.”
Anssan did not trust his voice enough to reply so he just smiled what he hoped was a reassuring smile, and nodded. Standing, he reached down his hand to help her up. It was a new beginning.
#
No one was surprised that Hezrill was a quick study. There was no point teaching her how to wield a sword as she did not have the strength to use one effectively, so instead they concentrated on knives, both throwing and close-quarter combat, and archery. They were lucky enough to have experts in all these areas within the troop and it soon became the evening's entertainment watching the training sessions. There was lots of audience participation as everyone had something to offer. Anssan assigned himself to the woodcraft aspect of her training and together they would make their way stealthily through the woods, across barren hills, through stone littered gullies or whatever the terrain happened to be when they stopped for the evening. She quickly became so adept at sinking into the landscape that often Anssan would lose her completely. He also taught her to track, something he had learnt when he was a child on his parents estate from their gamekeeper, a dour man who did not suffer fools lightly but a tracker without peer in the realm. It took her longer to master this as there were so many aspects of it to experience and remember, but eventually Anssan decided that she was ready to put her skills to the test. The premise was simple. He would use all his skills to hide from her and she would use all her skills to track him.
It had been a windy day with high overcast cloud and bitter temperatures. Most had ridden huddled in their cloaks deep in their own thoughts. They had made camp early, mainly so that they could light a fire and keep warm, and Anssan decided that it would be as good an opportunity as any to carry out the test. They were passing through a small forest in the foothills of the Tes mountain range. The area was dissected by gorges cut by a myriad of streams that ran off the steep mountain flanks making it perfect for this exercise. The terrain was difficult to negotiate but equally difficult to track someone across. Anssan had used every trick he knew, climbing vertical banks and tall trees, walking down the stream beds, doubling back, and so many more that he was positive she would never find him as he selected a large tree to rest under. He figured he would give her until the sun hit the top of the mountains before he went to look for her and bring her back to camp, and smiling, he settled down to wait.
The prick of metal at his neck made him freeze. Bandits! His first thought was for Hezrill’s safety. Instinct took over. He turned on his knees away from the knife, reaching for his own knife in his leg holster. Ducking his head and leading with his elbow he turned to face his attacker. It was all a confused blur of movement. He felt his elbow connect, not with a jaw as he had hoped but somewhere lower in the body and to his surprise there was very little resistance as he felt the attacker fall over backwards.
All his training screamed at him to follow through with a quick stab to the heart, yet something just did not feel right. This had been too easy and he pulled up short at the very last moment, his knife quivering over a familiar chest. All went still, two bodies breathing hard. Anssan looked into Hezrill’s terrified eyes, wide with shock, and began to shake. He felt sick. It had been a very close thing. The knife fell from his fingers and he sat back on his haunches, running his fingers through his hair to drag it off his face. He could have killed her.
Slowly Hezrill sat up, not taking her eyes off him for a moment. “I... I…” She stopped and looked down, her chin trembling, her eyes welling up with tears. “Such a stupid thing to do,” she whispered. “I just saw you sitting there and I kind of dared myself to see how close I could get before you noticed me. I never thought I would actually be able to touch you.” She held up her hand as if it were something strange that she had never seen before. Anssan realised then that what he had though was a knife was just her fingernail grazing his neck as she placed her hand on his shoulder. “So stupid, so, so stupid.” She was mumbling now, sniffing loudly and looking anywhere but in his direction.
Anssan’s emotions were raw but all he wanted to do at this moment was to comfort her. He had come so very close to killing her. Instinctively he reached for her and once again she melted into his embrace sobbing. Ironic, really, he thought: the only time I get to hold her is when she is crying.
With her nestled against his chest like this it would be so easy to tell her how he felt, how she had changed his world and how he wanted to be with her every moment of every day but he knew it was not the right thing to do. What if she does not feel the same? It would make the rest of the journey very awkward for them both. He decided that he was a coward and would rather have her friendship than lose her completely. Even if by some miracle she did feel the same, she had a mission to complete and she certainly did not need the added complication of a new relationship and all that entailed to distract her.
Gently he held her shoulders and pushed her away so that he could see her eyes. “It was not the most sensible thing to do but also I should not have reacted the way I did without first making sure who it was. To be honest, I never thought that you would be able to find me let alone sneak up on me like you did. I was arrogant and I should have known better; after all, you were taught by the best.”
She touched her forehead in a mocking gesture as she gave a shaky laugh. “Thank you, kind sir, I am in your debt.”
Anssan gave her shoulders a small, tender squeeze and let her go. “At last you recognise my greatness. Just don’t forget it in the future.” He chuckled, glanced up at the sun sinking behind the mountain tops, stood and brushed the leaves from his trousers “Time we made our way back before it gets dark,” he said, reaching down to help her up. “One thing's for certain, though: there will be no escaping from you now.”
She smiled up at him, her face dirty except for where her tears had made clean tracks to her chin. “Maybe I don’t want you to escape,” she quipped as she turned and began the trek back to camp leaving a completely flustered and bewildered Anssan staring after her.
#
“Look out!” Myssan cried as he grabbed Turrin and whisked him through the barn door a fraction of a moment before two horses thundered past. Both Myssan and Turrin peeked round the door frame after them, curiosity overcoming the fact that air was now chokingly full of dust. They were sure it would be the twins but they could not predict just what these crazy girls would be up to this time. Life had certainly become much more ‘interesting’, not to say slightly more dangerous, since the girls had arrived three days ago, dragging a bedraggled, exhausted Fenrick behind them. It had only taken them a day before they had looked like they owned the place. An obstacle course had been set up in the paddock next to the cottage and an archery range, complete with a straw man who bore a remarkable resemblance to Fenrick, now occupied the space behind the barn. The first Turrin had known about it was when an arrow narrowly missed his ear as he was carrying a bale of hay out of the barn. It was a miracle that no one had actually been injured.
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The only person who seemed to be able to exert any control over them at all had been Errin. Food was her tool of choice. The girls were always hungry and Errin was an amazing cook. Turrin had noticed that the girls were only still for any length of time when they were eating. Errin utilized these brief moments to their utmost, and quietly but surely began to get her message across. Turrin was impressed. Rather than the careful measured instruction she had given Myssan, her approach with the siblings had been all about setting challenges, each challenge building on the last. It had worked a treat as they were naturally competitive, with the world and with each other, and in no time they were keeping pace with the prince.
Myssan coughed, waving his hand in front of his face to clear some of the dust. “It was the girls’ horses but I didn’t see anyone riding them. Did you?”
Turrin squinted at the fast disappearing beasts. Side-on it looked as if they were riderless but as they turned past the cottage he could see two shapes in between them. Turrin let out an explosive snort of disbelief. Impossibly, it appeared as if the girls were suspended between the horses, effectively doing the splits between two racing animals. Turrin was green with envy; he would love to be able to ride like that.
Myssan shook his head despair. “I just hope they don’t kill themselves before Errin needs them,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. Turrin came back down to earth with a thump. No matter how exciting the girls made it look, the fact remained that they would soon be asked to put their games aside and take on a very big responsibility. He hoped they would be able to understand this when the time came.
Excitement over, Turrin continued on his way towards the vegetable garden; however, as he rounded the side of the barn he stopped once more and squinted down the road as a single horse rounded the bend. It was walking at a steady pace and something about the way the rider sat his horse tugged at Turrin’s memory.
“Hexrick!” he yelled, dropping his basket and pounding down the road. As he came closer he noticed a small boy perched on the saddle in front of his friend and a stupid stab of unexpected jealousy pinged in his heart. Shoving it forcibly to one side to be examined later, Turrin grabbed Hexrick’s stirrup and bent over to catch his breath, before straightening and grinning up at the two of them. “You made it!” Hexrick’s usually stoic countenance dissolved as a wide grin invaded, slowly working its way down from his eyes.
“It’s a pleasure to see you too, Master Turrin,” Hexrick said giving Turrin a small bow. “May I present Master Lutex,” Hexrick added placing a protective hand on the boy’s shoulder. Turrin could now see that Lutex was really rather small and quite young. It was obvious that he was putting on a brave face as he inclined his spiky blond head at Turrin in an imitation of Hexrick’s bow. Turrin immediately felt bad for his moment of jealousy. This boy was about the age he had been when his parents were killed and he knew just how devastating it had been to have their protective love taken away. Hopefully, when all this was over, Lutex would return to his family but at the moment his only friend in the world was Hexrick, a hardened knight of the realm.
Hexrick lowered Lutex down off his horse with surprising gentleness and then dismounted himself. Turrin caught Lutex’s eye and asked, “Did you have a good journey? Can't of been easy travelling with him, I know for a fact he snores, loudly.”
Lutex looked at Hexrick, a smile warming his face and then he turned back to face Turrin. Turrin was struck by the genuine joy that shone from the boy, almost as if it were a visible thing.
“Lutex will not talk with words but you always know what he is saying,” Hexrick murmured as he drew the small child close, ruffling his hair, which sprang immediately back to its original configuration.
“Oh!” Turrin exclaimed, not sure just what to say next but fortunately his manners reasserted themselves. “Errin will be so pleased to see you both and you’ve arrived just in time for dinner.”
#
The next day the final member of the small but select group of searchers arrived in style, with Anssan and Hezrill riding at the head of a double column of knights kitted out to impress. Hezrill, even wearing her riding clothes, still managed to look as if she was the lady of the manor and the twins took an instant dislike to her, turning their horses and riding off before any introductions could be made.
For everyone else it was a happy reunion. Faces were wreathed in smiles, backs were thumped and hugs were given all round. Old jokes were laughed at and new experiences shared. That night they all ate in the stables as there was just too many to fit in Errin’s cottage, but there was no shortage of food or Errin’s famous mead. Even the girls seemed to be enjoying themselves, that was until Errin discovered that they had been secretly tapping the mead barrel from her storehouse. From that moment on Hexrick was assigned to look after them.
Turrin took a moment to examine the two newcomers. Lutex, ever Hexrick’s shadow, now sat on the knight’s lap eying the world from within those huge, protective arms but Hezrill appeared self-assured and confident. Anssan was never far from her side and often Turrin would catch them sharing a quiet moment or a shy smile. Oh well, he thought, shrugging his shoulders: it was none of his business really, they were both adults and more than capable of making their own decisions. However, he soon forgot all about them when Fenrick began to regale everyone with tales of his adventures with the twins.
His tales caused so much hilarity that there wasn’t a dry eye around the table. The twins were quite taken aback by the fact that people thought them funny, and at first they looked quite offended, but slowly proud little smiles appeared and they sat a little straighter; after all, they were now the stuff of legend.
Turrin scanned the faces around the table and felt a tingle go down his spine. Here he sat amongst the very people who were going to change the world. No matter what the outcome, they were going to be at the pivot point. History would turn around them, and he was part of it, on the outskirts certainly, but still close enough to feel included. He tried to paint an impression in his mind of the tableau before him to keep forever as, deep down, he wondered if this was the last of the sunshine before the world descended into darkness. He gave himself a quick shake to dispel those morbid thoughts and reached for another slice of Errin’s roast lamb. Tomorrow was soon enough to be serious, tonight he would just enjoy the company.
The next morning Turrin wandered down the stairs, yawning, to find the kitchen full of people. Elarick, Emarick, Lutex, Hezrill and Myssan were all listening intently to Errin, who was explaining carefully the purpose of the mission. All had made the decision to become a seeker and knew the facts but Errin felt it was important that she fill in the details, add her personal perspective and let them know how important they all were to the survival of everyone in Feld. Fenrick would have been envious of the spellbound attention she commanded.
“How bad can this guy be? I mean, he doesn't seem to be able to win any of these battles. Is he really worth risking Feld for?” Emarick asked looking for support from the others. Everyone just stared at Errin waiting for a reply.
After taking a deep breath she scanned the table making eye contact with them all. “It is difficult for you to comprehend how dire a world he has corrupted can be, as you have lived in the peace and prosperity of Feld all your lives,” Errin finally said, rubbing her forehead as if to dispel an ache there. “I have worked very hard to make Feld a pleasant place because the more joy and happiness I can create, the more powerful I become. I have been here for a very long time, and as a result, you all know very little about war, famine, corruption, instability or fear, but believe me this ignorance is rare in the many worlds I have visited.
“In my long absence from the universe he will have become very powerful. The more worlds he can corrupt the more powerful he will become. He is knocking at the boundary as we speak and these troll-like creatures will be here because he has sent them. I have no choice but to act, and I have no choice but to use every tool at my disposal and that,” she paus
ed looking at each of them in turn, “I am afraid is you. The stronger I can make you the more chance we have of achieving our goal. So before we leave the safety of the boundary I need to make sure that each of you will be able to use all your talent when required. Ema, Ela and Myssan have begun their training and I think the easiest way to get Lutex and Hezrill up to speed is if you train each other. Ela and Ema can you train Hezrill and Myssan would you take on Lutex?”
Turrin chuckled to himself; this was pure genius. This arrangement would give the girls the feeling of superiority over Hezrill but their competitive nature would not let them fail, whereas Myssan’s quiet, contemplative nature would be a perfect match for the shy Lutex.
“We will meet at the end of the day and see how everyone is going,” Errin concluded as she stood and began clearing the breakfast dishes.
The day had been sunny with clear blue skies, yet the sun had lost a lot of its power and the temperatures never rose above cool. That night, as requested, the five seekers met with Errin for a debrief. It appeared all had gone extremely well. Lutex had turned out to be a natural and already had Myssan’s admiration. Hezrill had used her innate intelligence and played to the twins’ need to be taken seriously. She had listened intently, not shining too brightly and, gradually, begrudgingly she had won the girls over. After all, she had a lot of practice at this sort of thing growing up with two sisters. Errin, being Errin, had provided a hearty meal and now all were sitting before the cosy fire finishing off a jug of mead. It was amazing to Turrin that he had only met these people such a short time ago but already felt as if he knew them well. Errin was in her favourite chair with Lutex snuggled next to her. Thad was purring thunderously on Lutex’s lap, the three of them made quite a tight squeeze in one chair. Thad had appeared the moment Lutex’s feet had touched the ground and had never left his side since. Turrin was a bit miffed at this to begin with, until Errin had quietly explained that Thad probably knew that Lutex needed him more than he did at the moment. Turrin could cope with this as it was only going to be a temporary thing. Myssan was reading, as usual, one of Erin's books on healing, and Hezrill was just sitting with her legs tucked under her, staring into the fire. Remarkably the twins were also quiet, lounging in a tangled mass of arms and legs on the rug before the hearth.