Chapter 20
Rose awoke the next morning to the sounds of Logan plucking the feathers off the great bird that Jirah had killed the evening before. She got up quietly, so as not to wake the others, and moved over to sit beside the big man.
“Have you been up very long?” she asked
“Just an hour or so; Good morning Rose. You slept well I hope?”
“Yes, I had a great sleep and I have not had any nightmares for a while now.”
Logan nodded and continued at his labour without responding. The great man was a good listener as far as Rose could tell, so she continued to share her feelings. “For so much of my life, my sleep had been haunted by images of those horrible Taints, I wonder why the bad dreams have stopped.”
“Could it be because of your newfound bond with the one who has called you to be his healer?”
“I think you may be right Logan. Ever since I gave myself over to the will of Ya, there has been a strange sort of contentment in my heart. On one hand, I am terrified of the task set before me, but at the same time I know I can do whatever he has asked me to do. Does that make any sense?”
Logan turned and gently grasped the hand of Rose before responding, “That makes all the sense in the world Rose. I have found it true in my life, that Ya will not set a task before me that is beyond my capabilities, as long as I trust him to be my strength.”
Rose squeezed the knight’s hand firmly, as if to thank him for the encouraging words.
“I must confess Logan, I have a hard time seeing you in need of anyone’s help,” Rose said, looking into the knight’s deep blue eyes. “You may be the strongest and most confident man I have ever met.”
Logan shook his head and responded with a grave voice, “I am haunted too Rose. I live with the regret of being far away when assassins came to kill nearly everyone in the cathedral of Jeru.” He began to shake at the thought in spite of how much time had passed since the incident he spoke of.
Rose let go of Logan’s hand and placed both of hers now on the face of the sad knight. She forced him to look directly at her and told him in a firm voice, “You must let that regret go Logan. Ya cannot give you peace in your heart until you make room for it.”
The words that Rose spoke were simple, but what happened in that moment was far beyond normal. Tears began to well up in the warrior’s eyes and he felt a peculiar warming sensation surging from the hands of this kind young woman. Her hands tingled on his face and bit by bit, he could feel the regret seeping from his heart. Big tears began to flow as Rose offered up a short, quiet prayer for the broken man. Her words were a whisper, too quiet for anyone to hear, but the results of her intercession were felt immediately. Where once there was pain and regret, there came an overwhelming feeling of peace and contentment. Once the sensation of the event started to dissipate, Rose withdrew her hands from Logan’s face, her eyes wide with surprise at what had just occurred between them.
“How did you do that?” Logan asked her, getting to his feet. A rustling sound in the room behind them revealed the presence of Gaost, who had most likely seen what had just taken place.
“It would seem that our healer can already work wonders, even without the Staff of Ramah,” Gaost interjected. “She did the same thing to me Logan. In fact, I think we are only just now beginning to see small bits of what Ya’s priestess can do.”
“I really do not know how I did that,” Rose said, shaking her head. “I was just acting on impulse.”
The young woman got to her feet and Logan immediately reached out with both of his long, strong arms to hold Rose in a long embrace. He whispered in her ear, “Thank you sister.”
“Glad to help Logan. You had a part to play as well you know.”
Logan raised one eyebrow and gave her a questioning look.
“She is right, friend,” Gaost said. “You had to let go of what was rotting away your spirit before any healing could be done. Rose just seems to make it easier to let the pain go.”
“I do not know why, but I felt like I could tell you everything about me Rose. Your touch made me feel safe.” Rose’s face was now nearly the same shade of red as her lustrous hair.
“What’s going on?” Jirah asked, finally getting up from her cot and stretching out her sore limbs. “I get the feeling that I just missed something.”
“I can fill you in later Jirah,” Rose told her. “Now that you are awake, you can show me what to do with this massive chicken you killed.”
Jirah moved over to the kitchen area and the ladies were soon roasting the wild bird over the fire and preparing a breakfast at the same time. Logan had to shake Jer a few times to wake him up, but before long, they were all breaking the nights fast with bacon, toasted bread and dried fruit. The small stone room filled with warmth and laughter as the companions took turns sharing funny stories that they knew. After all the serious discussions from prior evenings, it was relaxing to have such a light hearted conversation. Once the meal was done and everything in the small room was cleaned, they packed up their belongings and readied themselves for the days walk.
“When do we get to eat the turkey Jirah killed?” Jer asked.
“Are you still hungry son?” Jirah asked, socking Jer on the shoulder and laughing. “We will have some for lunch and supper. Do you think you can wait that long?”
Jer drooped his little shoulders and seemed very disappointed when he spoke, “Aw, I wanted to try some last night even. I ain’t never had turkey before.”
“You will just have to wait a little more my dear,” Rose said, patting the boy on the head. The boy grumbled a little, but his disappointment was soon turned to glee as Jirah handed him a fairly big piece of cooked meat to snack on as they walked.
Logan grabbed one of the lit torches from the stone wall, opened the passage door, and they followed him down into the dark corridor.
Rose chose to walk close behind the knight so she could talk with the big blond man. He was still such an enigma to her and she wanted to know how he had become such a noble person. In her limited experience, men had always reduced themselves to animals when they were in her company.
“So what made you decide to be a Knight of the Thorn Logan?” Rose asked as they walked.
“It was not so obvious a choice as it might seem on the surface Rose. I grew up on a farm that was fairly isolated from the rest of the world and when I was young, my family had never even heard of the Eternal Ya.”
The passage ahead of them was just wide enough for them to walk side by side, albeit very closely, so Rose moved up to walk beside the big man as he continued his story.
“We lived on the outskirts of the little town of Marah, a town that was mostly overrun by gangs of wicked men. My father and I would only go to town when there was great need because there was always the chance of being taken as a slave. Young boys and girls were often taken by these gangs to be sold in the port town of Goram, so the folks from that area lived in constant fear.”
“That kinda stuff happens in Jeru too,” Jer interjected, obviously listening in to the conversation. “Young kids that lived on the street would disappear all the time.”
Rose knew exactly what slavery was all about. In her young life, she had seen many little girls taken from the alleys of Sharron, never to be seen again. She nodded in understanding and let Logan continue.
“One day, when I was nearing the age of manhood, my father and I encountered Gaost for the first time. He had run into some trouble with one of the gangs in town and had just escaped with his life. My parents, who were always kind to strangers, took him in and nursed him back to health. It was in those days that we all began to understand the ways of Ya as Goast took the time to teach us. He told me stories about the Knights of the Thorn and it became my greatest desire to one day be one of those gallant men.”
“You are the first gallant man that I have ever met,” Rose said, “aside from Goast that is.”
“The world is in a sad state, truly,” the knight said, shaking his head. “I am finding more and more that it all comes down to choices. A man will choose to live with honour, or without.”
The passage began narrowing in front of them and soon Rose was unable to walk beside the knight. As she moved in behind him, she responded to his bold statement about honour. “What about people who have big decisions made for them Logan? I can’t really say that I agree with you on that point.”
“I think the same Logan,” the young thief now spoke. “My mom and dad died when I was really young. I did whatever I had to too get food, and if that meant stealing, then that’s what I did.”
Logan shook his head and replied in a calm voice, “You both make a good point, and I will concede that many people have very limited opportunities to do what is good, but I still say that one can choose to do good rather than bad.”
Rose did not respond to the knight’s last statement for fear of divulging more information about her past. Only Goast and Jirah knew of her former life and she was not ready for the godly man to hear of all the sins she had committed during her life.
“Well I sorta did make the right choice when you gave me one, right Logan?” Jer asked of his new mentor.
“Very true Jerhard. When the opportunity came, you took up the challenge like a man. You should be proud of that.”
Logan’s word had obviously left the young thief feeling better about his place in the group, but Rose found herself feeling rather flustered. Her attraction for the big man was growing every day, but now she saw that her past would be the one thing that may keep them apart. How would he react when he found out that she had spent the majority of her young life selling herself to evil men for pleasure? Logan could tell from Rose’s silence that he may have said something that upset her, but he was not sure, so he and Jer continued along the narrowing passageway together, talking about life in Jeru, and various other things. Rose moved closer to the back of the line, not by choice, but Gaost moved ahead of her to join Logan and Jer‘s conversation.
After many hours of trudging slowly along the descending cave trail, it was Jirah who finally called for them to stop. “I don‘t know about you guys, but I need something to eat.”
Everyone seemed to agree with the sentiment, because they all quickly stopped walking and soon there was the smell of roasted turkey in the air. They were all glad for the break but they soon got back on their feet to plod down the seemingly endless passage.
“We will be into the open air within the hour,” Logan stated.
The group’s spirits were lifted at the thought of finally getting out from the dank cave.
“That’s good to know,” Jirah said to the knight. “I am beginning to feel closed in by these rock walls.” The huntress had spent most of her life outdoors and all the others could see that she was nervous about being under the mountain rather than on top of it.
Logan picked up the pace and the group soon arrived at another stone door. The bright light of the sun overhead was a welcome sight but they were all most glad to breathe in the fresh air of the forest that lay before them.
“We will travel westward now and stay under the cover of the forest for at least a few days journey,” Goast said. “I suspect that the enemy will have lost track of us because he can no longer find us with his mind.”
“Belial can locate us with his mind?” Rose asked. “That must be why there have been bad guys after us every place we go.”
“The Dark One uses his network of Taints to gather information from everywhere in the world, but till now, he has also had the ability to find us with his mind alone.”
“What has changed?” Logan asked.
“In my prayers this morning, Ya told me that Rose has gained a newfound ability to act as a shield against the mind of Belial, so if we stay out of the reach of his minions, then we should be able to move without detection.”
“That makes sense I guess,” Rose responded. “Ever since I gave my heart over to the Creator, I haven’t had any nightmares. It is disturbing to finally realize that I have been haunted by Belial for most of my life.”
“We are all glad for you dear,” Jirah said to her young friend. “Belial is the last creature that I want invading my mind.”
“It should be noted that the enemy does know exactly where we are headed,” Logan stated. “We should still be wary of his schemes.”
“I am, as ever, always looking over my shoulder for those who would destroy me and hinder our efforts,” Goast replied with a stern voice. “Good advice Logan.”
Jirah took over the duty of leading the party through the thick woods. They wound in and out of the massive trees and around the thick underbrush that lined the forest floor. There was an eerie calmness about the daunting forest and the travelers spoke seldom for fear of alerting the wildlife that was sure to inhabit this domain. Rose stumbled on the rough ground every so often because she kept darting her gaze to and fro. She was sure that she had seen dark figures of unknown black beasts wandering among the trees around them, but she also knew that Jirah must be aware of any possible threats. A chill shot down her spine when she heard an ominous howl from what seem to be right behind her.
“Come to me quickly everyone!” Logan shouted. “It looks like we have company.” Rose quickly moved over to the big knight who had already drawn his swords and Jirah stepped in beside them just as quick, her bow drawn and ready.
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The Staff of Ramah Page 23