Chapter 5
The sun was just starting to sink below the far off mountains as the two weary travelers approached a run-down farmstead. Joshua broke the silence, “This farmstead belongs to a woman named Jirah. She is a skilled hunter and tracker that I have known for a few years.”
“Well she must not be much of a farmer by the looks of this place.”
“She lost her husband to a vile sickness only two years ago, so please do your best to be kind. I may have to do a lot of persuading to convince her to join us on this quest.”
Rose brushed herself off and shook out her long hair as Joshua knocked on the front door of the small house. There was no answer. The Cleric knocked again, louder this time. Just then with a whoosh and a sharp thwack, an arrow stuck into the door nearly two inches from Joshua’s head.
“Who are you and what do you want.” said a rather caustic sounding voice behind them.
Rose turned to see an averaged sized woman clothed in what looked like animal skins. She had her long black hair tied back in a ponytail and a bundle of dead rabbits hung at her side. Her plain face did not look too pleased at the arrival of guests.
“Jirah, I am the Cleric of Ya. I see that you still boast a precise use of your bow.”
“Not so much.” Jirah retorted, “I was aiming for your head. Sorry brother, I didn’t know it was you.” She lowered her bow and approached the house with long, agile strides.
Rose was taken aback for a moment. This huntress was obviously very fit as could be seen from her tightly wound frame and the only real sign of age on the woman was the slight wrinkles at the edge of her eyes. Rose had always considered herself a decent judge of character. In her life it was beneficial to be able to read people but this woman was an enigma. She seemed to be very sorrowful, yet she had strength just under the surface. Jirah was nothing like her, but Rose was strangely drawn to her at the same time.
Joshua continued, “I am truly sorry Jirah that I have not been by to pray with you for a long time. I have been quite busy traveling. May we please come in and rest a while? We have been traveling from Sharron and are weary from walking.”
Jirah looked now at Rose questioningly, “Who is this woman you have with you? As I understood, someone in your position is not allowed to marry.”
“You speak the truth sister. I am bound to serve Ya and have never taken a wife. This is Rose from the city of Sharron.” There was a short silent pause while Jirah looked her up and down carefully. Josh spoke again, “She is the one that I have been searching for.”
With that, Jirah lowered her bow and stepped to the front porch. “Come in then. Don’t expect a fine feast from me. I didn’t have much of a garden this year.”
As they entered the small farm house, Rose drifted over and sat in a chair by the fireplace. She still felt a chill in her bones from the Taint’s attack. Jirah began to busy herself in the kitchen while Joshua started a fire. Rose sat silently and pondered the day’s events and all that was said. What did Josh mean when he said that he had been looking for me? How did this widow know of Joshua and whatever he was up to? She still had so many questions.
“Dinner is going to be a while girl. If you want some clean clothes there are some in the bedroom. They’re not as grand as that dress you’re wearing, but they will be better for traveling.”
Sensing that Jirah wanted to speak alone with Joshua, Rose got up and went into the bedroom to get changed. “Thank you.” she said quietly, still not knowing how to act around the woman. As Rose closed the door behind her, she could hear the two old friends talking quietly in the kitchen and she wondered if they were talking about her.
“So what are you calling yourself now Cleric?” Jirah asked.
“Rose knows me as Brother Joshua for now. She already knows of my power too since the attack in the woods.”
“Attack?”
“We were set upon by a group of a dozen fallen ones. Not a big concern for me, but she was very frightened.”
Jirah frowned as she spoke, “I have not felt the Taints around these parts for quite some time now. You seemed to have brought trouble with you Joshua.”
Joshua shrugged in response, “The Taints bother me wherever I go, just not in great numbers usually.”
Jirah moved over to the fire to stir the rabbit stew she had made that was now bubbling away, wafting its spicy aroma through the whole house. “What all have you told this poor girl? Does she know what she’s getting herself into?”
“She knows very little right now and that is the way it should be. If I reveal too much of her destiny at one time, she will no doubt be overwhelmed.”
“Well I have enough troubles of my own, so I won’t be bothering her with a bunch of questions.”
Rose emerged from the bedroom to sit by the warm fire. She wore leather pants and a deep blue shirt that complimented her fiery red hair. Instinctively she began to curl a lock around one finger as she often did when she was nervous.
“Thank you for the new clothes Jirah. I did not want to ruin the dress Josh bought me.”
They all moved over to the table and sat down to eat some bread and cheese while the stew finished cooking on the fire.
Rose was the first to break the silence. “Tell me more about the Taints Josh. Do they follow you around wherever you go?”
“To be honest Rose, I have not seen that large of a group for quite some time now. It makes me wonder a bit. Why do you ask?”
Feeling braver from being in this warm house Rose finally confessed, “I have dreamed of them all of my life. They have haunted me in my sleep ever since I was a little girl.”
Now the Cleric understood why she had been so frightened by the unseen enemy they had encountered. “Maybe that would explain the greater numbers then. They were there for you.”
This was not the answer Rose wanted to hear. Why would they be after her? Was it some kind of punishment for the unsavory life that she had been living up till now? As if reading her mind, Josh responded.
“I will give you some of the answers you seek Rose.”
Jirah dished out for each of them some of the savory stew as Josh began to explain.
“I believe that you are the chosen one of Ya, destined to bring healing to our broken land. It would seem that the Enemy believes the same.”
A long silence followed as Rose did her best to soak it all in. How was she supposed to react to this? It would take a long jump in reasoning to get from worthless whore to chosen one of Ya.
“Not that I believe you Josh, but what is it that you think makes me so special?”
Joshua thought quietly and scratched at his scruffy beard before he answered, “It is your blood, plain and simple. You are a direct descendant of Yeshu, the first chosen one who lived many years ago.”
How could this man know so much about her past if she did not even know who her real parents were?
Joshua continued to explain, “Ya has revealed to me that now is the time to rise up against the darkness that is overtaking our land, and you are to be his chosen instrument in this task.”
All this information did little to settle Rose’s troubled thoughts; rather it raised more questions for her. One response would be to run away and try starting a new life somewhere, but there still was that small inclination inside her soul that wanted to be something more. She wanted to matter somehow.
Right then and there, Rose resolved in her spirit that she would stay with Joshua for the time being. In truth, she found herself beginning to rely on his quiet yet powerful presence. All she had known up till now was a miserable life of abuse. If there was a chance to make something out of this mess, she was willing to try her best.
“If it is any consolation Rose, you will never be alone in this.” Joshua reassured her. “I never intend on leaving you, and there is still one more companion we must enlist before we get too far.” Joshua looked over to Jirah a
nd asked, “Would you also be willing to aide us in this quest, sister? We have great need of one with your skills.”
“I will have to sleep on that one Cleric. I am not one to rush off into danger. You do not have an easy road before you I would imagine.”
Josh rose up from the table, “Thank you very much Jirah for the fine dinner. I would like to go off by myself now and pray for direction. May I use the shrine out back for the night? I will sleep there as well I think, to give you two some space.”
“That would be fine with me priest. The shrine is not clean mind you. I have not been in there since losing Justus. He was the one who was faithful in serving Ya, not me.”
Rose could not relate to the widow’s obvious pain but she still could not help but feel sad for her.
Joshua quietly left the house, leaving the two women together in the kitchen. Rose ventured an encouraging word to the sad woman. “I am very sorry for you, losing your husband and all.”
The two of them spent the next two hours sharing their stories. Rose spoke freely of her life on the streets of Sharron while Jirah shared her very different story of being married and running the farm with her loving husband. They were two very different women, but they found enough common ground to slowly grow fond of each other.
Finally growing tired Rose asked, “I would like to sleep in front of the fire tonight if that’s alright. I still feel so cold in my bones from those cursed Taints.”
“That would be just fine, dear,” Jirah answered with a slightly crooked smile on her face. “I will be in my room if you need anything at all. Sleep well, and if Ya really loves you, may you have good dreams tonight for once.”
“Thank you.” Rose answered simply, hoping for the same.
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The Staff of Ramah Page 8