Chapter 22
Only two days had passed since Rose and the companions faced the pack of Belial’s wolves, and she was already starting to be weary of walking in this thick forest. In fact, Jirah seemed to be the only one of them that was at home in the Murken Woods. Even the adventurous spirit of Jer was beginning to wane and complaints of sore feet and bug bites became a common topic of discussion.
“If one more branch whips me in the face, I’m gonna take Jirah’s axe and chop down every tree in this stupid forest!”
“If you would walk farther behind like I told you Jer, you would not have that problem,” Jirah responded with her typical smirk.
The young thief was having a hard time fighting the boredom they all faced from the endless jaunt through the wilderness.
“I keep forgetting J. How much longer are we gonna have to skulk around in here? Are we gonna reach a town anytime soon?”
“We are getting close to Marah, my home town,” Logan answered, “But we will not be going there as far as I know.”
The small openings in the high canopy of dense trees revealed that the time must be around noon and Gaost was the next to admit that he was tired of walking. “You are not the only one that is weary from walking on this uneven ground Jer. Maybe now would be a good time to stop for lunch anyway.”
“You will feel much better once we get some meat into that bottomless pit you call a stomach,” Jirah teased. “Let us take a break then I guess.”
Logan ordered the young squire to gather dry branches for a small fire, and in very little time, some freshly killed pheasants were roasting over it, casting a delightful smell into the air. Rose was sitting quietly on a moss covered log and thinking of nothing in particular when she felt a strange urging in her mind. Something or someone was compelling her to find a secluded place to pray, so she gathered up the water skins and told the others that she was going to look for fresh water.
“Looking at the lay of the land, there should be a small stream just over there a ways,” Jirah told her. “If you take too long, I will come looking for you dear.”
“I will be careful sister,” Rose said smiling, and she made her way over to the area Jirah had pointed out. Sure enough, there was a small stream of fresh water just shouting distance from where the others were preparing lunch and Rose bent down to fill the water skins with the fresh cool liquid. When she was finished, she rose up, brushed the grass from her leather pants and took some time to look around her before starting a conversation with her new god. She was more than a little startled when a small red fox crept out from behind a large cedar tree to stare directly at her. She could tell very quickly though, that the beast meant her no harm, so she looked at in awe as it moved closer to her. Its bright red hair was nearly the same fiery color as her curly locks and part of her was tempted to reach out and stroke it fur, but she chose rather to stand still. She did not want to scare this beautiful creature off, so she spoke to it in a dulcet tone.
“You are a gorgeous little thing aren’t you?” Rose noticed a bright light in the fox’s eyes and for some reason she did not jump when a voice spoke into her mind. It was as if the fox was speaking to her.
“All that I have made is beautiful because I have willed it. That includes you too my daughter.” It was the voice of Ya himself.
Rose knew in an instant that she was speaking to the Eternal One, and rather than feeling dread, she felt a deep and abiding love.
“I guess I should thank you for all you have done over the last few days,” Rose spoke, bowing her head slightly. “Without your help, we may all be dead. What shall I call you?”
“You may call me Father, for you truly are my daughter.” Ya spoke with such kindness into her mind that she could feel all her pains ebbing away.
“Father.” Rose spoke the word as a prayer, but also as a declaration. She had never known her earthly father, but Ya was her one true father. She understood that fully now, and the thought overwhelmed her soul with gladness. In her heart where there once was a hole, there was a fullness of peace instead. The contentment she felt amazed her, so she took this rare opportunity to worship Ya in all his splendour.
“Thank you Father for all you have done in my life. I am grateful for all the help you have given, but more than that, I am glad that you have chosen me to be your daughter.”
“I have always loved you this way, and I love all of my children just the same. I have called you here today for a specific reason however.”
“What would you have me do Father?”
“I want you and your faithful companions to head south into the region surrounding Marah and rescue a young girl there. A small group of slave traders have taken her captive and I have heard her cries for help.”
“How will we know where to find her Father?”
“I will show you and my servant Gaost the way. As always, I will be with you every step of the way.”
Rose simply nodded in agreement and just as quickly as it came, the fox disappeared into the thick woods.
With a deep sigh, Rose took a moment to gather her thoughts before heading back to the others. It was moments like these that gave her strength to keep moving forward on this perilous quest and she wanted to take it all in. When she did arrive back at the campsite a few minutes later, she right away went over to the Cleric to tell him of what had transpired.
“You have a look about you Rose.” Gaost said inquiringly. “Your time of prayer was more than typical I suspect?”
“How did you know?” Rose asked. She had not said anything to the group about taking the time to pray.
“There is a faint glow surrounding your face whenever you encounter Ya my dear,” Gaost said, scratching his scruffy grey beard. “I take it we have been given some type of instruction?”
Rose felt a little strange being the messenger in this case, because it was usually the Cleric getting the directions from Ya.
“I don’t know why He chose me brother, and I feel rather weird telling you something that you should have heard instead of me.”
“Do not feel like my role is diminishing in any way because of what happened. I am glad that you have grown to the point where you can hear the Father’s voice and learn his will. Tell me, what did he say?”
“He wants us to take a bit of a detour and go to Logan’s old stomping grounds. I guess there is a small group of slavers in the area that have taken a particular girl.”
“Did you get any other details?” Gaost asked
“That’s all I know. I didn’t even get a name.”
Logan, who had heard the entire conversation, spoke, “I have a pretty good idea where these slavers might be. They take the same route back and forth from Goram when they pass Marah. It should not be too hard to find them.”
“I hate those rotten slavers.” Jirah spoke as she came over.
“Agreed,” Logan said with firmness. “I for one do not have to be convinced to deal with their kind.”
“We will change our course then and head towards Marah,” Gaost said firmly. “Do you know the way from here Jirah?”
“I will have a good idea where we are once we get out of the woods,” Jirah answered. “Logan will be able to help too, I’m sure.”
“I would suggest we stop in at my parent’s farm for at least a night,” Logan said, “and I am sure that I can find someone who can tell us whether the slave caravan has passed through.”
It only took a few short hours for the travelers to reach the edge of Murken wood and the sun was still in the sky above the western skyline, warming their hearts. Walking through the open plains and crossing the rolling hills was a welcome change for everyone after spending so many days under the cover of thick trees. Rose found her spirit lifting when they began to see the occasional farmstead and the cattle roaming the countryside. This place made her wonder what it would have been like for Logan to grow up in such a secluded farming region, so she moved cl
oser to the big man to talk.
“This is a beautiful part of Terros Logan. Did you like living here? I would never have thought of you as a farm boy.”
“I am sad to admit that I never really appreciated the value of this place until I moved away to the big city. When I was young, all I wanted to do was move away from here and see the great big world.”
“Could it be that Ya was calling you to a higher purpose Logan?” Rose gently placed her hand in his.
The big man tightened his big arm muscles ever so slightly at the touch, but he soon relaxed and held Rose’s little hand tenderly.
“Again you speak wisdom beyond your years,” he said with a big bright grin. “It may very well be that I would still be a farm boy rather than a knight of the thorn if Ya had not put a yearning in my heart for more.”
The two of them walked on this way through the high grass and wild flowers and anyone watching them from a distance would understand that this man and woman cared deeply for each other. In her heart, Rose simply wanted to draw closer to this man; gain in return some of his passion for Ya and learn more of his past. There was a secret little fear inside her heart still that made her wonder if such a dedicated knight would like her at all if he knew of her past.
Logan continued with his dialogue about farming and growing up near Marah, and Rose listened intently, only speaking when he asked her a question. To her surprise, when they had just crested one of the rolling hills in their path, the bright red fox she had seen in the forest only hours ago ran across the path in front of them. Rose’s heart leaped at the sight and she took it as a sign. Maybe now was the time to tell Logan everything about herself. It was with this newfound confidence she finally spoke.
“I have something I need to tell you Logan.” She spoke looking right into his deep blue eyes, tightening her grip on his hand. “I want you to know the truth about where I came from and what kind of life I lived before meeting Gaost.” Rose started then to tell the full story of her life, right from her earliest memory. She looked away from his kind face, not wanting to make him feel uncomfortable, but she also was trying her best to not cry.
Logan did not ask her any questions or interrupt her rather, he listened very carefully to every word she spoke. When Rose shared stories of the abuse and shame, he would make small sighs, as if he was feeling the pain himself, but mostly he just listened. Rose continued to share for what felt like hours when it was actually only one, but Ya seemed to be making time itself stand still for her. The red sun was just starting to set over the western landscape in front of them when Rose finally looked back to the face of Logan. Great tears were welling up in his eyes and compassion exuded from his kind face and he too turned to look directly at her. Not knowing what to do, Rose quickly bowed her head as if to hide from the great emotion that was igniting this precious moment. Ever so tenderly, another big hand touched her chin and pulled her gaze back up to his and they both stopped walking. There was a crack in the big man’s voice as he spoke, but the words were nothing less than pure love itself.
“My dear Rose, you are the perfect picture of grace.” He gingerly put his big strong arms around her shaking frame and held her close. Rose began to weep openly, but with each tear that fell on the knight’s chest, she could feel a little more of her past disgrace seeping away. She was wrong to think that this gentle man would be anything other than forgiving and kind to one such as her. Reluctantly, the two separated from the tender embrace and they once again joined hands to walk with the others.
“Thank you for sharing your life with me dear sister,” Logan said. “My only regret is that you never thought me ready to hear your story sooner. I admit that one of my biggest faults is a lack of compassion for those who have never know Ya most of their life like I have.”
“I understand Logan,” Rose said with a warm smile. “I care so much about what you think of me, so I was too scared until this moment.”
They walked on together in quiet for just a moment longer before Rose asked him, “What exactly is grace Logan? How am I the perfect picture of grace?”
“I am just now beginning to understand what grace truly is Rose,” he answered. “To put it simply, the love of Ya is greater than all of our sins and shame. In your life you have seen so much that is negative, but Ya can take all of that and turn it into something he can use. Does that make any sense?”
Rose thought about it, and then responded, “I think I see what you are saying. I was once a worthless being in the eyes of everyone around me. Ya saw me not for who I was, but for who I could become.”
“Exactly my dear,” Logan said, his handsome face now beaming. “When I see you, I will never see the woman you once were. I will only see the woman that Ya is changing you into. I see his fingerprints in your life, as it were.”
Rose sighed deeply with contentment as she heard those last words. It meant the world to have this compassionate man at her side, and there was no enemy that could stand in her way, as long as he was close. The two walked on together in silence for the remainder of the evening, still holding hands and only occasionally daring a quick glance into each other’s eyes.
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The Staff of Ramah Page 27