1489 lines
84 KiB
Plaintext
1489 lines
84 KiB
Plaintext
|
|
DDDDD ZZZZZZ //
|
|
D D AAAA RRR GGGG OOOO NN N Z I NN N EEEE ||
|
|
D D A A R R G O O N N N Z I N N N E || Volume 11
|
|
-=========================================================+<OOOOOOOOO>|)
|
|
D D AAAA RRR G GG O O N N N Z I N N N E || Number 9
|
|
DDDDD A A R R GGGG OOOO N NN ZZZZZZ I N NN EEEE ||
|
|
\\
|
|
\
|
|
========================================================================
|
|
DargonZine Distributed: 11/14/1998
|
|
Volume 11, Number 9 Circulation: 681
|
|
========================================================================
|
|
|
|
Contents
|
|
|
|
Editorial Ornoth D.A. Liscomb
|
|
Friendships of Stone 4 Mark A. Murray Naia 6, 1015
|
|
Mute's Song 1 Mark A. Murray Yule 1015
|
|
Mute's Song 2 Mark A. Murray Yule 1015
|
|
|
|
========================================================================
|
|
DargonZine is the publication vehicle of the Dargon Project, a
|
|
collaborative group of aspiring fantasy writers on the Internet.
|
|
We welcome new readers and writers interested in joining the project.
|
|
Please address all correspondance to <dargon@shore.net> or visit us
|
|
on the World Wide Web at http://www.shore.net/~dargon. Back issues
|
|
are available from ftp.shore.net in members/dargon/. Issues and
|
|
public discussions are posted to the Usenet newsgroup rec.mag.dargon.
|
|
|
|
DargonZine 11-9, ISSN 1080-9910, (C) Copyright November, 1998 by
|
|
the Dargon Project. Editor: Ornoth D.A. Liscomb <ornoth@shore.net>,
|
|
Assistant Editor: Jon Evans <godling@mnsinc.com>. All rights reserved.
|
|
All rights are reassigned to the individual contributors. Stories
|
|
and artwork appearing herein may not be reproduced or redistributed
|
|
without the explicit permission of their creators, except in the case
|
|
of freely reproducing entire issues for further distribution.
|
|
Reproduction of issues or any portions thereof for profit is forbidden.
|
|
========================================================================
|
|
|
|
Editorial
|
|
by Ornoth D.A. Liscomb
|
|
<ornoth@shore.net>
|
|
|
|
In case you didn't notice the table of contents, this would appear
|
|
to be a Mark Murray special issue. It certainly wasn't intended to be
|
|
that way, but as an editor with a deadline, you sometimes have to take
|
|
what's available, and all too often I find that what's available are
|
|
stories from Mark.
|
|
Mark Murray joined the Dargon Project in June of 1995, and had his
|
|
first story printed before the year was out. In the three years since
|
|
then, we've printed 25 issues, and Mark has appearred in an amazing 17
|
|
of them, also setting a record of eight consecutive appearances. In
|
|
fact, there are only two writers who have had more stories printed in
|
|
DargonZine.
|
|
Mark has done this through two major story arcs. His longstanding
|
|
Raphael and Megan storyline began as a idea about a man whose lover was
|
|
cursed; in Mark's words: "an old enemy of his using his love as a way to
|
|
torture him". In a lighter vein, Mark introduced two children, Matthew
|
|
and Ben, whose adventures continue in this issue's installment of his
|
|
"Friendships of Stone" series. Then, after having covered serious, sad,
|
|
religious, morbid, and comedy, Mark tries his hand at a love story with
|
|
this issue's "Mute's Song".
|
|
Before discovering DargonZine, Mark had sent a few of his stories
|
|
out to some of the "famous" magazines, as any aspiring writer might. The
|
|
rejection letters he received only discouraged him and, he says, "My
|
|
writing dwindled to a slow crawl. Then I found DargonZine and my writing
|
|
started climbing." DargonZine's purpose, unlike those "famous"
|
|
magazines, is to grow aspiring writers by giving them a supportive
|
|
environment, encouraging them to write, providing constructive feedback
|
|
from other writers, and giving them exposure to a "real" readership. The
|
|
volume and improving quality of Mark's writing are a great illustration
|
|
of what the Dargon Project is ultimately meant to do: grow writers.
|
|
In return, Mark has given back to the group. He is one of the major
|
|
researchers and contributors to the collection of maps that are
|
|
available on the DargonZine Web site. From the start, he has been
|
|
passionate about making it easier for new writers to get up to speed on
|
|
the milieu and the restrictions of writing in Dargon, and he volunteered
|
|
to take ownership of our nascent mentoring program. And about a year
|
|
from now he will begin the preparations for hosting the Year 2000 Dargon
|
|
Writers' Summit. So not only has Mark been a prolific writer, but he has
|
|
served as a model for other writers by developing his sense of ownership
|
|
and taking his share of responsibility for the project's success.
|
|
But we all know that enough is enough, and although you can be sure
|
|
that there's much more coming, I promise that there'll be no Mark Murray
|
|
in our next issue! DargonZine 11-10, the last issue of the year, will
|
|
feature three stories from the people who are benefitting from Mark's
|
|
mentoring program: three brand-new Dargon writers! So watch for our
|
|
Dargon debutant issue, coming in mid-December!
|
|
|
|
========================================================================
|
|
|
|
Friendships of Stone
|
|
Part 4: Weathered Edges
|
|
by Mark A. Murray
|
|
<dragonmark@usa.net>
|
|
Naia 6, 1015
|
|
|
|
Part 1 of this story was printed in DargonZine 10-6
|
|
Part 2 of this story was printed in DargonZine 10-8
|
|
Part 3 of this story was printed in DargonZine 11-2
|
|
|
|
Rachel was busy fixing two mugs of tea, one for her and one for
|
|
Tara, when a knock sounded on the door. As she went quickly to the door
|
|
to open it, Tara got up from a chair to stand behind her. Rachel was a
|
|
hand taller than Tara but that wasn't the only difference in the two
|
|
women. Rachel had short blonde hair while Tara's was brown and long.
|
|
Tara was quiet and introverted while Rachel loved being among people.
|
|
Rachel worked at the Inn of the Golden Lion and Tara worked for her
|
|
uncle, Captain Adrunian Koren of the town guard. What they did have in
|
|
common was a concern for two small children: Matthew and Ben.
|
|
"Who is it?" Tara asked from behind Rachel. "Is it them?" She had
|
|
stopped in to see if Matthew and Ben were home. When she had found out
|
|
they weren't, she had informed Rachel of her visit with the boys to her
|
|
uncle's office at Dargon Keep. Tara believed that her friend, Sharin,
|
|
had been kidnapped, and the boys were the only ones to see the man whom
|
|
she believed had done the kidnapping. It was a surprise to Tara to find
|
|
that they weren't home, as one of the town guard was supposed to have
|
|
escorted them there.
|
|
A large man in a uniform entered. On his breast was the ducal
|
|
crest. Behind him, Matthew and Ben walked into the house.
|
|
"Good afternoon. I am Sergeant Ryal. I was charged by Lieutenant
|
|
Taishent to deliver these two to their home and not to let them out of
|
|
my sight unless a Rachel or an Eileen was here. I'm hoping one of you is
|
|
Rachel or Eileen," Ryal said.
|
|
"I'm Rachel. I watch these boys when their mothers are working.
|
|
Eileen is Matthew's mother, but she's working. When you return, give my
|
|
thanks to Jerid for bringing them home safely."
|
|
"I will," Ryal said, then turned and left. Rachel turned to the
|
|
boys and said, "You've been all over Dargon, I hear."
|
|
"We were," Matthew said, resigned to accept whatever punishment she
|
|
gave him.
|
|
"I've had a *long* talk with Tara. She's told me how you were there
|
|
at Sharin's tent the day before she was kidnapped and how you heard and
|
|
saw a noble argue with her. She also told me about taking you to the
|
|
keep to see her Uncle. A guard was to escort you home.
|
|
"You were supposed to be here bells ago after showing the town
|
|
guards where the tent was, but you went to see Jerid instead." She
|
|
sighed as if she didn't know what else to say. "From what I've been
|
|
told, I can't fault you much." Ben's eyes grew wide and he started to
|
|
say something, but Rachel cut him off, "*But* you should have come to me
|
|
before going to see Jerid. Who knows what could have happened to you
|
|
between here and the keep?" Rachel knelt down in front of the boys to
|
|
look at them on their level. "What would I do if something had happened
|
|
to you?" she asked them. "What would I have told your mother, Matthew?"
|
|
Rachel watched them shift their eyes downward, away from her. She knew
|
|
they wouldn't answer her. Sighing, she stood and took a step back.
|
|
"Tara wants to keep searching for her friend and asked me if you
|
|
could accompany her on her search," Rachel added. Matthew and Ben looked
|
|
up and watched Rachel intently. They had been expecting punishment, and
|
|
now they held their breath waiting to see what Rachel would say next.
|
|
"I'm going to let you go with her," Rachel said, "with one promise.
|
|
You have to promise that you'll stay with her and listen to what she
|
|
tells you."
|
|
"I promise," Ben said, hurriedly. He ran over to Rachel and hugged
|
|
her.
|
|
"Me, too," Matthew added.
|
|
"I've got to go to work soon," Rachel said as she hugged Ben back.
|
|
"Your mother is still working, Matthew. Ben, your mother ..."
|
|
"I know," Ben said quietly, stepping back from Rachel. "She
|
|
probably won't be home all night."
|
|
"I'm sorry, Ben," Rachel said softly. Ben's mother was hardly ever
|
|
home. When she was, she was usually drunk. There was a small pause
|
|
before Rachel spoke again. "If you're with Tara, I don't have to worry
|
|
about you, and you're at least doing something worthwhile. Help Tara
|
|
find her friend, you hear?"
|
|
"Yes," Matthew answered. "We'd know him if we spotted him again.
|
|
We'll find him, and then we'll find Sharin." Ben nodded.
|
|
"Thank you, Rachel," Tara said. "She's the only friend I have, and
|
|
I don't want to lose her."
|
|
"Hey, where's Zed?" Ben asked. "I don't see him."
|
|
"He's home," Tara told him. "If we're going to be searching all
|
|
over the town, I don't want to have to worry about him wandering off.
|
|
Plus, he tends to draw attention, and I don't want that noble seeing us
|
|
until we find out if he's got Sharin."
|
|
"Oh."
|
|
"Thank you again, Rachel. I'll have them back by nightfall. I
|
|
promise."
|
|
"See that you do. Now go on and find your friend." Tara, Matthew,
|
|
and Ben walked out the door and started down the alley.
|
|
"Where are we going?" Matthew asked.
|
|
"I don't know," Tara said.
|
|
"Back to Sharin's tent," Ben answered.
|
|
"Why?" Matthew asked.
|
|
"Because that's where the town guards started. Why shouldn't we?"
|
|
Ben replied. Tara looked at Ben and smiled.
|
|
"Yes, why shouldn't we?" she echoed.
|
|
|
|
They didn't find anything new at the tent. Ben looked over the
|
|
ground several times looking for something that would lead them to the
|
|
noble. It was on his pass inside the tent that Matthew stopped him.
|
|
"Ben, it isn't any use. We aren't going to find anything new." Ben
|
|
looked up from the ground to stare at his friend. A couple of tears were
|
|
forming at the edge of his eyes.
|
|
"You heard what they said," Ben cried. "She's probably gone by now!
|
|
You heard them!"
|
|
"Ben!" Matthew yelled. "That isn't what they meant!"
|
|
"It is so! And you know it."
|
|
"It isn't!"
|
|
"Stop it!" Ben screamed. "It is so what they meant!"
|
|
"They said they'd find her!" Matthew yelled.
|
|
"Who said she's gone?" Tara interrupted, concern covering her face.
|
|
The boys looked like they were going to fight.
|
|
"That town guard said some things, but he didn't really mean what
|
|
Ben said," Matthew explained. "Did he Ben?" Ben looked at the ground.
|
|
"Yes, he did," Ben muttered. "There's no way around it. That's what
|
|
he meant even if he didn't say all of it out loud."
|
|
"Mean what?" Tara asked, moving to kneel beside Ben. "What did he
|
|
say?"
|
|
"Ben," Matthew pleaded. He knew Ben was right, but he didn't want
|
|
Tara to know.
|
|
"She should know," Ben replied, his boyish nature seemingly gone.
|
|
"One of the guards said that whoever took Sharin was probably taking her
|
|
out of Dargon quickly. He thought she was gone by now."
|
|
"Who said this?" Tara asked, her voice hard and edged.
|
|
"I don't remember his name. He was one of the town guards that was
|
|
picked to search for her."
|
|
"Describe him," Tara ordered. "I'll have him thrown in a cell for
|
|
even thinking that! I'll have --"
|
|
"Tara!" Matthew interrupted. "We'll find her."
|
|
"I'll have him whipped," she continued, her voice breaking up.
|
|
"I'll ... I'll ..." Her voice trailed off a bit and then she started to
|
|
finish her sentence, but instead moaned, "Oh, I'll never find her."
|
|
"We'll find her," Ben said.
|
|
"No," Tara cried. "It's me. I always lose those closest to me. I
|
|
lost my family, I almost lost uncle Koren, and now I've lost Sharin. It
|
|
happens to everyone that's close to me!"
|
|
"You haven't lost her yet," Matthew said. "But if we stay here all
|
|
day, we will."
|
|
"Maybe Zed could follow her scent?" Ben asked.
|
|
"I don't know," Tara replied, wiping the tears from her face. "He's
|
|
never done that before."
|
|
"Besides," Matthew added, "he'll draw attention. And if we find the
|
|
noble, he might spot us. We don't want that to happen. We need to follow
|
|
him to where he has Sharin."
|
|
"It's just the three of us, then," Tara said.
|
|
"And four of the town guard," Matthew added, "who should have told
|
|
the patrols. And Jerid, who has the keep's guards looking. Why, with all
|
|
that, this noble doesn't have a chance."
|
|
"Unless he's gone already," Ben whispered.
|
|
"Ben!" Matthew and Tara yelled at the same time.
|
|
"Come on," Ben said, leaving the tent. "Let's go look for this
|
|
noble." Matthew and Tara followed him out, and the three of them went to
|
|
the marketplace.
|
|
|
|
It was just after midday when they completed their round through
|
|
the marketplace. Tara wanted to eat at a shop there, but the boys wanted
|
|
to go home to eat.
|
|
"Don't you like eating here?" Tara asked.
|
|
"Yes," Ben replied. "Sometimes. Last time we ate here, the food was
|
|
really spicy."
|
|
"Well, we don't have to get spicy food this time," she told him.
|
|
"I'd rather eat at home," Matthew stated.
|
|
"But why?" Tara asked.
|
|
"We don't have enough money," Ben told her.
|
|
"We don't have any money," Matthew corrected him.
|
|
"Oh," Tara remarked. "That's a good reason. And I don't have enough
|
|
for all three of us." She brought out her coins from a small bag that
|
|
hung from her belt. Spreading them out, she realized that she would
|
|
barely have enough money for her own lunch. "Would you mind company for
|
|
lunch?"
|
|
"I don't mind. And mom and Rachel aren't home," Matthew said,
|
|
smiling. They left the marketplace and went to Matthew's house to eat.
|
|
It was a small lunch consisting of soup and biscuits. Finishing up his
|
|
soup, Matthew asked where they should look next.
|
|
"Back to the marketplace?" Ben asked, stuffing the last of his
|
|
biscuit in his mouth.
|
|
"Zed does hunt," Tara replied to some unasked question.
|
|
"What?" Matthew asked.
|
|
"I was thinking about Zed. He uses his nose to hunt. Maybe he could
|
|
find Sharin."
|
|
"It's worth a try," Ben said. "Do you have something of Sharin's so
|
|
that Zed can smell it?"
|
|
"Lots of things. Sharin and I trade clothes all the time."
|
|
"Back to the tent again," Matthew sighed. Tara and Ben giggled.
|
|
|
|
The three of them, accompanied by Zed, walked toward the
|
|
marketplace -- again. They took Zed to Sharin's tent and let him wander
|
|
around it. Zed was a shivaree and drew attention most places he went.
|
|
His body was long with long brown fur covering it. He had a long busy
|
|
tail, a long snout, and short upright ears. Shivarees were wild
|
|
creatures and sometimes hunted for their fur. Most people had never seen
|
|
a shivaree, which was why Zed drew stares. He sniffed the ground around
|
|
the front of the tent and then lifted his head high into the air. His
|
|
nose twitched and he sniffed quickly. Lowering his head back down to the
|
|
ground, he turned and started walking up the Street of Travellers.
|
|
"This is a long street, isn't it?" Ben asked.
|
|
"Yes," Tara said. "It goes from the docks through most of Dargon on
|
|
this side of the river, through the business district, through the
|
|
marketplace, over the causeway, and to the keep."
|
|
"Why is it called the Street of Travellers?" Matthew asked.
|
|
"I don't know," Tara replied. "Maybe because it connects all the
|
|
main places that travellers find themselves going to?"
|
|
"What's that?" Ben asked, pointing to a painted sign on the front
|
|
of a building. The sign showed a trio of candles, of various shapes and
|
|
sizes, burning brightly. Above the candles were the words, "Trills
|
|
Candles". Zed ignored the building and kept walking.
|
|
"It's a place that makes candles, Ben," Tara answered. "There are
|
|
several places like this throughout the business district. There are
|
|
also tanners, weavers, tailors, herbalists, bakers, and all sorts of
|
|
other businesses."
|
|
"We are in the business district?" Matthew asked.
|
|
"Just like the marketplace, there aren't any real defined boundries
|
|
for the business district. It's just a general area that expands or
|
|
shrinks depending on the year."
|
|
"The year determines if it's big or small?" Ben asked. "That's
|
|
weird."
|
|
"It isn't the year that does it, but how the year goes."
|
|
"Goes where?" Matthew asked. They were slowly walking down the
|
|
road. Zed was crossing back and forth in front of them.
|
|
"If there are a lot of ships or trade caravans that come here, then
|
|
the year goes fairly well for businesses. But if storms or raiders
|
|
hinder ships and caravans, then the year isn't so good for trade."
|
|
"Why is there a business district and a marketplace?" Matthew
|
|
asked.
|
|
"It wasn't always that way. When the ships came in and merchants
|
|
wanted a place to store supplies, they built the warehouses on the
|
|
docks. When they wanted to sell things, they couldn't use the docks. It
|
|
smelled bad all the time and there was always some activity dealing with
|
|
ships and repairs and such going on, so some merchants moved away from
|
|
the docks. That's when the business district started."
|
|
"What about the marketplace?" Ben asked. He was looking down at the
|
|
street and kicking rocks at random. He kicked a rock and it lifted high
|
|
off the ground and he watched its flight.
|
|
"The farmers started that, really. When the farmers came in to sell
|
|
their crops, they wanted a place to do that. Since they usually couldn't
|
|
afford the buildings in the business district, they gathered at an open
|
|
crossroads to sell their crops. That's when the marketplace started."
|
|
"Look at that bread!" Ben shouted. He had noticed the bread while
|
|
watching the rock fall. The discussion of economics was forgotten as the
|
|
three of them stared inside an open door of a baker's building. The loaf
|
|
of bread was easily twice as large as a normal loaf, maybe three times.
|
|
"You'd have to have a big oven to bake something like that," Tara
|
|
said.
|
|
"And a big belly to eat it," Matthew replied. Ben giggled.
|
|
"Straight," Tara said, pulling them away. "We've got a noble to
|
|
find, not a loaf of bread."
|
|
"And Zed," Ben added. "I don't see him anywhere."
|
|
"Get out of there!" a man yelled from somewhere up the street.
|
|
"Oh!" Tara snarled. "That's Zed, and he's gotten into something."
|
|
They ran, looking for Zed or the man who was yelling. There were
|
|
three people staring inside a building. "He's got to be there," Tara
|
|
said, heading for the people. When they got there, they found that Zed
|
|
had located a place where meat was smoked. It looked as if he had tried
|
|
to grab some of the raw meat and the owner had caught him in the act.
|
|
"Zed!" Tara yelled. "Get out of there!"
|
|
"This is your beast?" the owner asked, anger tinting his voice.
|
|
"He's mine. I'm sorry if he's caused any trouble."
|
|
"Aye, he's snatched some of my beef from the rack."
|
|
"How much?" Tara asked. This sort of thing happened all the time to
|
|
her when she took Zed out.
|
|
"A Sterling."
|
|
"He couldn't have eaten that much! Five Floren."
|
|
"It was good beef. Eight Floren."
|
|
"Six.
|
|
"Seven.
|
|
"Done," Tara replied and dug the coins from her purse. "Come on
|
|
Zed."
|
|
"Was he following the smell of the meat all along?" Ben asked.
|
|
"Most likely," Tara answered. "I told you, he's never done this
|
|
sort of thing before. I don't think we'll ever find her."
|
|
"We'll find her," Matthew said. "Look, Zed seems to have picked up
|
|
another scent."
|
|
"I know," Tara said, but she didn't sound as if she believed
|
|
herself. They continued following Zed up the Street of Travellers toward
|
|
the docks.
|
|
"Where are we going now?" Ben asked.
|
|
"We're going to the docks," Tara said. "Or at least Zed is going
|
|
towards the docks."
|
|
"We aren't walking towards the marketplace?"
|
|
"No. Look up at the sun. See, it is on our left. That means we're
|
|
walking north, or somewhat north."
|
|
"Oh," Ben said. "And the docks are north?"
|
|
"Yes," Tara answered, but didn't say any more.
|
|
|
|
The docks were fairly large and spread out. Commercial Street
|
|
intersected the Street of Travellers in a T fashion near the docks.
|
|
Around the docks, the whole area was granite cobbled. Commercial Street
|
|
also ran alongside the docks and widened up to become not only a street
|
|
but also an area for the loading and unloading of ships.
|
|
They searched the open areas next to the actual docks first. It
|
|
took them some time as the area was heavily congested, Zed went over
|
|
areas several times, and they had to keep out of the way of the workers.
|
|
After that, they moved inward some and searched around the fronts of the
|
|
buildings and warehouses facing the sea. It took them less time to
|
|
search the areas behind the buildings, and in the end, it was fruitless.
|
|
"She's gone!" Tara cried out as she sat down on the ground. Zed
|
|
curled up next to her and used his nose to pry her hand away from her
|
|
body. He moved back and forth under her hand, and she unconsciously
|
|
began to scratch behind his ears.
|
|
"We don't know that," Matthew said.
|
|
"Have we found her?"
|
|
"No, but --"
|
|
"No, we haven't," Tara sighed. "She's gone."
|
|
"Maybe the guard found her," Ben added.
|
|
"And maybe not!" Tara snipped. "She's gone, I said! Don't you
|
|
understand that?"
|
|
"You don't have to yell at Ben," Matthew told her. "It isn't his
|
|
fault, you know."
|
|
"If he hadn't wanted that stupid dragon, then maybe that noble
|
|
wouldn't have found her," she replied.
|
|
"You can have that 'stupid dragon' if it'll get Sharin back!" Ben
|
|
said, tears forming on his face. "I never wanted it back as much as
|
|
her!" He turned around and began crying.
|
|
"You didn't have to say that," Matthew told her. "If he didn't want
|
|
that dragon, no one would have gotten a look at the noble. Your chances
|
|
of finding her would have --"
|
|
"I'm ..." Tara started. "I didn't mean that. Ben? I'm sorry, okay?
|
|
I just don't want to lose my best friend. I've lost too many people in
|
|
my life already."
|
|
"It's okay," Ben whispered, barely loud enough for them to hear.
|
|
"I'd feel the same way if Matthew disappeared."
|
|
"Quiet!" Matthew ordered.
|
|
"What now?" Tara asked.
|
|
"Shhh!" Matthew hissed. Tara shut up and Ben turned around.
|
|
"It's him," Ben whispered as he heard what Matthew had heard. "I'd
|
|
know that voice anywhere."
|
|
"Yes, that's his voice," Matthew agreed. "Now be quiet and let's
|
|
see if we can find him."
|
|
"Without him seeing us, first," Tara added. They crept along the
|
|
alley to peer out into the open area of Commercial Street. Zed appeared
|
|
curious as to what they were looking at. He started forward to see, but
|
|
Tara held him back. Listening to where the voice seemed to come from,
|
|
they found a group of men clumped together talking.
|
|
"That's him," Matthew said.
|
|
"Which one?" Tara asked.
|
|
"See the man on the far left?" There were four men with their backs
|
|
to the group, and they seemed to be talking about a ship.
|
|
"Yes. Is he the one?"
|
|
"No, but the one to his right is." Matthew pointed to the second
|
|
man from the left.
|
|
"How can you tell? His back is to us."
|
|
"I just know that's him," Matthew answered. The men turned around.
|
|
The man that was second from the left wasn't the noble. However, the man
|
|
third from the left *was* the noble. "Well, I knew it was one of them."
|
|
"If he's still here, then it's likely that Sharin is still here,"
|
|
Tara whispered.
|
|
"Do you think she's on a boat?" Ben asked.
|
|
"I don't know," Tara replied, turning to look at him. "I hope not,"
|
|
she said finally.
|
|
"He's leaving," Matthew said. "We've got to follow him." It wasn't
|
|
easy for them to follow the noble. He didn't walk, he rode. They had to
|
|
walk quickly to keep up with him, sometimes running to keep him in
|
|
sight.
|
|
"You think he knows we're following him?" Tara asked.
|
|
"I don't know. You'd think he'd run or confront us or something if
|
|
he did," Matthew said. "He's just riding along as if nothing was wrong."
|
|
"I wonder where he's going?" Ben asked.
|
|
"We'll find out as long as we don't lose sight of him," Matthew
|
|
replied. They managed to keep up with the noble. Zed seemed to enjoy the
|
|
fast pace and made a game of it. He would twine in and out between the
|
|
three of them without making them trip.
|
|
The noble went through the business district and the marketplace.
|
|
He rode down the Street of Travellers and just before the causeway, he
|
|
turned onto the Duke's Highway. It was the road that ran parallel with
|
|
the Coldwell. The local farmers used it to bring their tithings to the
|
|
duke, their crops to the marketplace, and the merchants used it because
|
|
it was a well-worn road. The main gates to Dargon stood across this
|
|
road. No one guarded the gates, though, as they were always left open.
|
|
The wall around the city wasn't finished and it was useless to guard the
|
|
gates.
|
|
The noble rode down this road for a league and turned off onto a
|
|
path that led to a medium sized house. There was a small porch on the
|
|
front, a few windows around the sides, and slate tiles on the roof.
|
|
Overall, it looked like a well kept house. Beside the house was a large
|
|
field of newly sprouted wheat, and behind the house stood a grove of
|
|
pine trees. After the noble tied his horse to a wooden post, he entered
|
|
the house. Matthew, Ben, and Tara looked for a spot to hide that was
|
|
close.
|
|
Most everything around the area was flat. The wheat was just
|
|
beginning to grow, the grove of trees was on the other side of the
|
|
house, and there was nothing near the road.
|
|
"There's a small ditch over there," Ben said, pointing. Matthew
|
|
looked to where Ben pointed and nodded.
|
|
"It'll have to do for now," he said. They moved to the ditch. "What
|
|
now?"
|
|
"We call the guard," Ben said.
|
|
"We see if she's in there and if she is, we get her out of there,"
|
|
Tara said. "And soon."
|
|
"How are we going to do that?" Matthew asked.
|
|
"One of us goes to the front door and draws their attention, while
|
|
the other two go to the back door and look to see if Sharin is there,"
|
|
she explained.
|
|
"What's this one at the front supposed to do?"
|
|
"I don't know. You'll figure something out."
|
|
"Me?" Matthew asked. "Why me?"
|
|
"Because Ben is going to go with me," Tara answered.
|
|
"I am?" Ben asked. "Why am I going with you?"
|
|
"Because I may need someone to help free Sharin once we get
|
|
inside."
|
|
"Why can't I go in the back door with you?" Matthew asked.
|
|
"Because it's my plan!" Tara hissed. "You get to go to the front
|
|
door."
|
|
"I think getting the guard is a better idea," Ben remarked.
|
|
"You can run and get the guard, then," Tara snapped. "I'm going to
|
|
free Sharin."
|
|
"No, I want to help free Sharin, too," Ben muttered.
|
|
"What am I supposed to tell them?" Matthew asked.
|
|
"I don't know. Think of something. Give us some time to go around
|
|
back and then knock on the front door. When we hear you start talking,
|
|
we'll go in the back door," Tara said. "Keep Zed here until we're around
|
|
the house. He should stay in the area, but I don't want him following me
|
|
into the house."
|
|
"Okay," Matthew said as he watched the two of them run around the
|
|
house. Zed had found something interesting and hadn't noticed Tara
|
|
leave.
|
|
|
|
Matthew got up, walked over to the front door, and knocked. A
|
|
large, burly man answered. It wasn't the noble and Matthew wondered just
|
|
how many people were in the house.
|
|
"What'ya want?" the man asked.
|
|
"Um, well ..."
|
|
"Spit it out boy!"
|
|
"Have you seen a dog around here?" Matthew said, his voice just a
|
|
bit louder than normal. "I lost my dog, and I was wondering if you've
|
|
seen it?"
|
|
"What'cha yellin' fer?" the man asked. "And I seen lots of dogs
|
|
'round here. What's yer dog look like?"
|
|
"Well, he's kind of, um, small. He's brown and --"
|
|
"Looks like a brown dog over there," the man said and pointed
|
|
toward Zed. "Now go away!" the man started to shut the door. Inside,
|
|
voices started yelling, and Matthew could hear Ben and Tara. He pushed
|
|
the door open and ran past the man into the room. "Hey!" the man yelled.
|
|
"Come here, you!"
|
|
Matthew ran from that room into the next, where he saw Ben and
|
|
Tara. Two men were holding each of them. He was about to say something
|
|
when he felt hands clamp around his shoulders.
|
|
"What's the commotion?" someone yelled from upstairs. Matthew and
|
|
Ben recognized the voice as the noble's. Sounds of feet on the stairs
|
|
told them he was coming down.
|
|
"Children!" the big, burly man yelled. "I think they were trying to
|
|
steal from us."
|
|
"Children?" the merchant asked. "What would they be doing here?"
|
|
"They look like they've been living in the streets. They're all
|
|
covered in dirt and their clothes are torn," the man replied.
|
|
"Not all of them are children," the merchant said as he walked into
|
|
the room. He eyed Tara up and down. "Not all, indeed. Clean you up some,
|
|
and I'll bet you'll fetch a good price at a slaver's auction."
|
|
"I'll --" Tara began.
|
|
"You'll what? You're dirty, unkempt, and probably don't have a
|
|
living relative," the merchant interrupted. "Take her to the food cellar
|
|
with the other one."
|
|
"What about the other two?"
|
|
"Get rid of them," the merchant said. "I don't want them to
|
|
interfere with anything else. Understand?"
|
|
Matthew and Ben were silent trying to follow the conversation to
|
|
find out if Sharin was in the house. Matthew almost asked who the other
|
|
one in the cellar was, but held his speech to see if he could learn
|
|
anything more. He noticed Ben look over at him with a questioning look.
|
|
"I want extra for this," the man said.
|
|
"Fine, I'll throw in another Sterling, but get it done. You can
|
|
bury them in the pine grove."
|
|
"Bury me?" Ben asked. "What do you mean? You're going to bury us?
|
|
Alive?"
|
|
"No, you dense leech," the merchant snapped. "He's going to slit
|
|
your throat first, and then bury you!"
|
|
"No!" Ben yelled. "He can't do that! You can't kill me!"
|
|
"Oh, shut him up!" the merchant complained. "And take them out back
|
|
now. I don't want to hear their whining!"
|
|
Ben started to kick and scream. The two men beside him had to
|
|
readjust their hold, but they got his flailing arms stopped. Ben's legs
|
|
continued to lash out at anything and everything.
|
|
Warned from Ben's activities, the two men holding Tara tightened
|
|
their grip and led her out of the room. The man behind Matthew picked
|
|
him up and carried him outside. The two men and Ben were out the door
|
|
already, and down the steps. Ben was screaming, but Matthew was silent.
|
|
He knew he couldn't get away, so he didn't fight. He was hoping the man
|
|
would relax his grip so he *could* try.
|
|
The five of them, three men and two boys, entered the pine grove.
|
|
"Kill them," one of the men holding Ben said.
|
|
The man holding Matthew quickly plunged his knife into him. Ben
|
|
stopped kicking and screaming as he saw his friend fall to the ground.
|
|
Matthew groaned as he collapsed. Ben started screaming for help as he
|
|
knew he was next.
|
|
|
|
========================================================================
|
|
|
|
Mute's Song
|
|
Part 1
|
|
by Mark A. Murray
|
|
<dragonmark@usa.net>
|
|
Dargon, Yule 1015
|
|
|
|
Part 2 of this story appears later in this issue
|
|
|
|
Duchy of Dargon
|
|
A few leagues outside of Kenna
|
|
|
|
It was a crisp summer's morning high in the mountains of the Darst
|
|
Range. Snow had fallen in the night to leave a trace of white on the
|
|
ground. Nicodemus opened the door of his one room cabin and swept the
|
|
small amount of snow from the doorway. Setting the broom against the
|
|
wall, he smiled as he felt a familiar presence draw closer. He walked a
|
|
few paces, saw that the snow hadn't covered the ground everywhere, and
|
|
stopped to watch the path that went by his home and wound itself along
|
|
the top of the ridge. A stag slowly came into view. It was a young stag
|
|
with a small set of antlers on its head and it walked calmly towards
|
|
Nicodemus. Nicodemus watched as the stag drew nearer and felt its
|
|
presence grow stronger in his mind.
|
|
"Food?" was the pervading thought from the stag.
|
|
"There's some hay left," Nicodemus thought as he turned and walked
|
|
around to the back of the cabin. He moved large pieces of bark to
|
|
uncover the hay. The stag followed him around the back of the cabin and
|
|
nudged Nicodemus' elbow. Nicodemus thought that the stag enjoyed his
|
|
company more than the food because food was still abundant in the
|
|
forest.
|
|
"Eat," he thought and received what he had labeled as a thanks. It
|
|
was sometimes hard to tell what animals thought or felt. Even after
|
|
"speaking" with them for years, Nicodemus still did not understand many
|
|
things. He brushed a scattering of snow off a large log and sat down to
|
|
watch the stag eat. He didn't understand why he could communicate with
|
|
most animals, but he couldn't communicate with people -- even his
|
|
parents. He had to point and show most of the time, since he couldn't
|
|
speak. It had been frustrating, especially since the animals understood
|
|
his thoughts.
|
|
He learned many things from his parents, though. His father helped
|
|
him build this cabin and taught him how to take care of it -- fix the
|
|
roof, mud the holes in the logs, and various other small tasks. His
|
|
mother tried to teach him how to cook, but he was never as good as she
|
|
was. She showed him how to patch the holes in his clothes. It never
|
|
worked, however, and he always brought them to her. Since the snow
|
|
wasn't as deep as he had thought, he decided to make the trip and visit
|
|
them. It had been awhile since he was last there and they were always
|
|
glad to see him.
|
|
A loud squawking startled him. He looked up and watched as a
|
|
squirrel descended the large oak tree above him. He felt the squirrel's
|
|
happiness at seeing him. It reached the base of the tree and ran over to
|
|
Nicodemus.
|
|
"Scratch," it said as it climbed into Nicodemus' lap and brushed
|
|
against him. He laughed as he scratched the squirrel's back and neck.
|
|
"Pushy, aren't you," he told the squirrel.
|
|
"Scratch," it said as it enjoyed Nicodemus' scratching.
|
|
"Go on," he told the squirrel, finally. "I have work to do."
|
|
Deciding that it wasn't going to get scratched any more, the squirrel
|
|
twitched its tail and jumped to the oak tree. After the squirrel left
|
|
his lap, Nicodemus went back inside the cabin. He packed his clothes
|
|
into a small sack and grabbed his walking staff. Shutting and latching
|
|
the door, Nicodemus said good bye to the stag and started down the
|
|
mountain.
|
|
|
|
It wasn't a long trip to his parent's home. It took him less than a
|
|
day to walk it. The shift in weather as he walked down the mountain was
|
|
amazing. The lower he got, the warmer it became. It still filled him
|
|
with wonder at how a shift in height could cause such changes in
|
|
weather.
|
|
As he neared his parent's home, the wind carried the smell of
|
|
cooking to him. His mother's food always tasted good, but the only thing
|
|
he had for comparison was his cooking. Thinking about the food, he
|
|
hurried to the door. As he reached it, he remembered the last time he
|
|
had burst into their home. It would not be good to catch them in a
|
|
loving embrace again. That had been one of the most embarrassing moments
|
|
in his life. His father had turned a bright shade of red that day.
|
|
Thinking about it now, he smiled and knocked on the door.
|
|
"Nico!" his father shouted as he opened the door. "Come in. Delia!
|
|
Nico's here!"
|
|
"Nico?" his mother called. She emerged from the kitchen and hugged
|
|
her son. "You knew I was making pies today, didn't you?" He shook his
|
|
head no, but smiled at the thought of her delicious pies.
|
|
"Nico, I heard of a man in Dargon City who teaches languages," his
|
|
father said. Nicodemus looked at his father and cocked his head in
|
|
question. "Not just any language, Nico. He teaches something called
|
|
'handspeak'. I was talking to a traveler some time ago, one thing led to
|
|
another and this traveler told me about an amazing sight that he saw. He
|
|
saw mute people talking to each other using their fingers!" Nicodemus'
|
|
eyes went wide. He held up his hands and wiggled his fingers. "Yes,
|
|
using fingers," his father said. "We have a small bit of money saved,
|
|
but if you're interested, we'll send you to Dargon City to learn it."
|
|
Nicodemus looked at his father in amazement.
|
|
"They would spend their life savings on me!" he thought. Nicodemus
|
|
shook his head no. "I just can't do it," he thought. "Not with their
|
|
money."
|
|
"Oh, Nico, we don't mind, really," his mother said knowing her son
|
|
all too well. "We're happy here and the money hasn't been touched in
|
|
years." Nicodemus turned to his mother and shrugged as he pursed his
|
|
lips. "You think about it," she replied.
|
|
"We're planning on spending some of that money day after tomorrow.
|
|
There's a festival in Kenna. Would you like to go with us?" his father
|
|
asked. Nicodemus nodded his head.
|
|
"A festival!" he thought. "I wonder if they'll have singing
|
|
people?" Nicodemus always enjoyed listening to people sing, especially
|
|
his mother. She had a beautiful voice. He couldn't believe all the
|
|
amazing sounds that came out of her mouth when she sang. It was the one
|
|
thing that he wished he could do. He always stood in awe as he listened
|
|
to someone sing.
|
|
When alone, he tried to make sounds come out of his mouth. All he
|
|
ever got was air rushing out. He finally gave up after years of trying,
|
|
but he never stopped thinking about the singing.
|
|
|
|
Dargon City
|
|
Home of Gilliam Hytheworde
|
|
|
|
The room was dark and she hated it. She hated him. She thought
|
|
about her last attempt to escape his imprisonment as she waited for
|
|
someone to unlock her door. There were still bruises from the beating
|
|
she had received from his bodyguard, Darrin. She didn't get many chances
|
|
to run, but she took them when they appeared. He always kept a close
|
|
watch on her, though.
|
|
"Eliza, I'm coming in," Darrin warned as he opened the door. She
|
|
sat on the bed and waited for him. Darrin opened the door and peered
|
|
inside. When he saw that Elizabeth was on the bed, he entered the room.
|
|
He was a large man. Cords of muscle ran down his arms and each leg was
|
|
as thick as her waist. She had learned the hard way that he was very
|
|
quick for his size.
|
|
"He's ready for you. Remember, when you serve the tea, touch the
|
|
guy. If he's telling the truth, you don't have to say anything. If he's
|
|
lying, then you ask Gilliam, 'Is that all, M'lord?'. Don't mess this one
|
|
up. It's important."
|
|
"Is that all, M'lord?" Elizabeth asked mockingly. Darrin raised his
|
|
hand to slap her, but remembered that she needed to be presentable this
|
|
time. He smiled as he reached over and touched her instead. She felt his
|
|
finger and a small shock went through her. Then his thoughts hit her.
|
|
"Raffenraker scrud sucker! *Whore*!" Before she could recover, his
|
|
emotions tore through her. His lust mixed with smug gloating overpowered
|
|
her. She could feel his lust course through her. It pried into every
|
|
corner of her soul and she tried to shake it loose. She lost her breath
|
|
as she fought for control.
|
|
"No!" she screamed as she scrambled back.
|
|
"You should learn to respect me," Darrin said.
|
|
His thoughts and emotions were gone, but the memory of them
|
|
remained. She fought to forget them and concentrated on her breathing.
|
|
"Breathe in," she thought. "Breathe out."
|
|
"Come on! We don't want to be late," Darrin said. She crawled off
|
|
the bed as Darrin backed up. He motioned her to the door. She walked in
|
|
front of him down the hallway. Opening a door, they walked into the
|
|
kitchen. The cook had the tea prepared and ready for her. She took the
|
|
tray and went into Gilliam's study. As Darrin opened the door for her,
|
|
she saw two men seated at a table. Gilliam was sitting with his back to
|
|
her and the other merchant was facing her. She walked into the room and
|
|
stood by Gilliam.
|
|
"Ah, the tea is here," Gilliam said. "Charles, would you like
|
|
some?"
|
|
"After that delicious cake, I believe I would," Charles answered.
|
|
Elizabeth set the tray down on the table and poured a cup of tea.
|
|
"So, Charles, you're not trying to sell me broken merchandise at a
|
|
high price, are you?" Gilliam asked as Elizabeth moved to set the tea
|
|
down by Charles. As she set the tea down in front of Charles, she
|
|
touched his hand. There was a small shock and his thoughts filled her
|
|
mind. "... merchandise is of the highest quality. And a high price? I'm
|
|
barely making a profit, you old rat ..." His emotions followed next, but
|
|
she was prepared for them. "Breathe," she thought. They filled her mind,
|
|
but she held control. Injured pride. Pompousness. Arrogance. Vanity. She
|
|
straightened and set a cup of tea by Gilliam, careful not to touch him.
|
|
Taking the tray, she went back into the kitchen followed by Darrin.
|
|
"You did good this time," he told her. "Gilliam should be pleased."
|
|
They waited at a table in the kitchen for Gilliam to conclude his
|
|
business.
|
|
"Splendid!" Gilliam said as he entered the kitchen. "Sweet Eliza,
|
|
tell me!"
|
|
"His merchandise is very high quality. He's not making much of a
|
|
profit on this deal. He's vain, pompous, and arrogant," she stated.
|
|
"I thought so, but I needed to make sure," Gilliam said. "Darrin,
|
|
put her in the guest room. Let her have a book or two; she deserves it.
|
|
Oh, and Darrin, get the carriage ready. We're going to be taking a trip
|
|
to Magnus."
|
|
|
|
Kenna
|
|
Main Street
|
|
|
|
Nicodemus walked with his parents down Kenna's main street. He
|
|
remembered a few years ago when Kenna wasn't big enough to have a main
|
|
street. The Kenna family had picked a good place to build a stopping
|
|
port for the river boats. The place had grown slowly at first, but when
|
|
a few of the farmers brought their goods to the Kenna family to sell,
|
|
the town grew rapidly. More boats started docking and buying local goods
|
|
to take to Dargon City to sell. Merchants opened businesses on Kenna's
|
|
land and the area became a village. Now though, Kenna could be called a
|
|
town. Nicodemus looked around in wonder as he noticed many new shops,
|
|
inns, and streets. "And the people!" he thought. Maybe it was just
|
|
because of the festival, but there were a great number of people in
|
|
Kenna.
|
|
A crowd had gathered in the middle section of main street.
|
|
Nicodemus grabbed his father's sleeve and pointed to the crowd.
|
|
"I'd like to see what's so popular, too, Nicodemus," his father
|
|
replied. "Delia, are you coming?"
|
|
"I'm going to the store. I haven't seen Mariel in some time, and
|
|
since I don t see her around, she's most likely to be there," Delia
|
|
answered.
|
|
"We'll be over here, then," Hank said pointing to the crowd. "Come
|
|
on Nicodemus, let's see what's so exciting." Nicodemus and his father
|
|
walked to the outside of the crowd. It took them a few moments to make
|
|
their way far enough in to see. There was a man in the center. The crowd
|
|
had given him some space, and he was jumping around. No, Nicodemus
|
|
corrected himself. He was doing more than just jumping around.
|
|
Nicodemus' eyes opened wide in disbelief as the man jumped, rolled, and
|
|
did many flips in the air. Nicodemus couldn't believe that anyone was
|
|
capable of doing what the man did. He would run a short distance, jump
|
|
in the air, and do two or three flips before landing on his feet. The
|
|
man moved to one side of the crowd. He flipped forward again and again
|
|
until he was right in front of the crowd on the other side. The crowd
|
|
tried to move back, but Nicodemus saw that there was no need. The man
|
|
flipped to his feet right in front of the crowd and instead of flipping
|
|
forward, he did a high backward flip to land on his feet. The crowd
|
|
cheered.
|
|
"Truly amazing, isn't it Nicodemus," his father said. Nicodemus
|
|
nodded assent as he tried to hear what the flipping man said.
|
|
"... jumps, flips ... show, another one is set for tomorrow ...
|
|
Balor ..." was all Nicodemus could catch because the crowd was noisy.
|
|
Nicodemus watched as the man -- Balor something, he guessed -- left and
|
|
Elijah Kenna stepped in. The crowd quieted.
|
|
"What an amazing show! That was Balor Hardwin, friends and folk. I
|
|
want to thank everyone again for coming to our first annual anniversary
|
|
of becoming a village. Now, we didn't have a set day that we started
|
|
calling this place the village of Kenna, but me and the wife decided to
|
|
celebrate the growth of this place with our marriage anniversary.
|
|
"The next performance that we have for you is from three very
|
|
special young women. They've traveled all the way from Magnus to sing
|
|
for us ..."
|
|
Nicodemus couldn't believe his luck. There was going to be singing.
|
|
He wondered what kind of songs they were going to sing. He had heard a
|
|
man sing in an inn one day, but the only woman he had ever heard sing
|
|
was his mother. She sang short verses of songs that her mother had
|
|
taught her. She always had trouble remembering all of the song, so she
|
|
mostly sang the chorus and a small bit of the verse. Nicodemus'
|
|
attention shifted back to the center of the circle as the three women
|
|
entered it. Two of them looked a lot alike, and he concluded that they
|
|
must be sisters. The third woman stepped in front of the other two.
|
|
They hummed separately, briefly, before they started. Their humming
|
|
blended together and then the woman in front began to sing. Her voice
|
|
was rough and a little deep, but she sang well. She was singing a ballad
|
|
of some sort and the two sisters were echoing some of the words behind
|
|
her. It was a song about some people and their deeds in the war. The
|
|
ballad suited her voice Nicodemus decided. When the song ended, the
|
|
crowd haloo-ed.
|
|
One of the sisters stepped forward. She was thinner and taller than
|
|
the other one. He wished he would have listened more closely and gotten
|
|
their names. "Silly chipmunk," he chided himself. The sister cleared her
|
|
throat and began. She sang a quick tempoed ditty. Her voice was high and
|
|
sharp. She danced around as she sang. The two in the back twirled around
|
|
and grabbed each others hands as they danced.
|
|
When she was done singing, the three of them sang a ballad
|
|
together. Nicodemus couldn't quite hear what the last woman's voice was
|
|
like. The other two covered her voice up most of the time. When they
|
|
were finished, the crowd haloo-ed again. The third woman stepped forward
|
|
and the other two took a step back behind her.
|
|
When she started singing, Nicodemus was instantly enchanted. Her
|
|
voice was soft and melodious. There was a haunting echo in it and she
|
|
sounded like two people singing at the same time. The other women were
|
|
humming in the background to match her singing. Her voice seemed to
|
|
stretch from her soul and waft out to embrace him. She was singing a
|
|
slow sad song about the children caught in the attack on Magnus. Her
|
|
voice cried out in tears as she sang about children dying. She sang of
|
|
Stevene looking on Magnus and of his sadness at the cruelties of men.
|
|
She sang from the depths of her soul and when she was done, silence
|
|
covered the area.
|
|
Nicodemus sighed and found himself leaning forward as if to catch
|
|
her every word. He settled back and knew that if he could speak, he
|
|
would ask her to sing again. The crowd shuffled and whispers could be
|
|
heard. The woman turned and walked away. The crowd parted to let her
|
|
through and the other two women followed. Elijah walked into the open
|
|
circle.
|
|
"Brings tears to yer eyes, it does. While we set up for the
|
|
wrestling, we have horse races on the other end of town that are going
|
|
to start soon. There's gambling on the ship from Magnus -- sorry, I
|
|
forgot her name. You can't miss it, though. It's the biggest one there.
|
|
And for you young, strong men, the wrestling contest starts right here
|
|
as soon as we can clear the crowd out some."
|
|
The crowd slowly broke up. Nicodemus stood where he was and let the
|
|
woman's last song replay in his mind.
|
|
"That was sad," Delia said from behind them. Nicodemus turned
|
|
around and saw his mother with a basket in her hands. His father turned
|
|
also, and then took the basket from her.
|
|
"There's horse races starting up," his father said. "Care to watch
|
|
them, Delia?"
|
|
"Yes, but no gambling," she replied. "And we can t stay long into
|
|
the night."
|
|
"No, I don t want to stay late, either."
|
|
|
|
Kenna
|
|
North side of town
|
|
|
|
"There's something going on in Kenna, sir," Darrin said.
|
|
"What?" Gilliam asked.
|
|
"I don't know. There are a lot of people standing in the middle of
|
|
the road. We won't be able to get through them, though. There should be
|
|
side roads to go around them, sir," Darrin answered.
|
|
"No, I'm curious," Gilliam said. "Kenna was just an annoyance on
|
|
the road before. If there is something here to draw these people, I want
|
|
to know. I had heard some merchants mention Kenna before, but they
|
|
weren't important people and I dismissed their conversations. I remember
|
|
them and it looks like I may have to pay them a visit when I get back."
|
|
"Shall we stop the carriage here, then?" Darrin asked and at a nod
|
|
from Gilliam, he turned to the driver and said, "Mick, we'll stop here."
|
|
"Eliza, would you like to accompany us," Gilliam asked. Elizabeth
|
|
looked at him and decided that his request was genuine.
|
|
"Yes," she answered.
|
|
"You'll give us no trouble?" Gilliam asked.
|
|
"No," she said.
|
|
"Good! Darrin will accompany you as always, though," he told her.
|
|
The three of them climbed out of the carriage and walked toward the
|
|
slowly dispersing crowd.
|
|
"Whatever it was, we must have just missed it," Darrin said.
|
|
"Excuse me, what happened," Gilliam asked a man who had come from
|
|
the crowd.
|
|
"You didn't hear that?" the man asked incredulously.
|
|
"No," Gilliam said impatiently. "We just arrived."
|
|
"You missed the most beautiful singin' I ever heard," the man said.
|
|
"This is Kenna's annual festival and Elijah's brought in some performers
|
|
from all over --"
|
|
"Thank you, Gilliam said interrupting the man. Is there an inn
|
|
here?"
|
|
"Two of them. The River's Edge is just over there," he said
|
|
pointing. "The other one's on down the road. It's a little more costly,
|
|
though. The name of it is the Wayside Retreat."
|
|
"I believe that's the one we want," Gilliam said as he started
|
|
walking down the road. "Darrin, take Eliza and bring the carriage. Get
|
|
rooms for us. I'll be along shortly. I want to find out more about this
|
|
Kenna. It may prove a better route for shipping our merchandise."
|
|
Elizabeth walked back to the carriage with Darrin. She looked at
|
|
the village as they rode to the Wayside Retreat. It was a small village
|
|
but there were so many people here that she wondered what was special
|
|
about it. She could only guess that being on the Coldwell river at the
|
|
edge of the Darst Range brought in farmers and trappers with their
|
|
goods.
|
|
The Wayside Retreat was a fairly nice inn for being in a small
|
|
village. It wasn't as nice as some of the inns in Dargon City or Magnus,
|
|
but it had an air of home about it. The only problem was that all the
|
|
rooms were taken.
|
|
"I'm sorry sir, but all the rooms are full," the innkeeper said.
|
|
"You know of no one leaving soon?" Darrin asked.
|
|
"No sir, I don't. Most of the guests are here for the festival."
|
|
"I need two rooms. One of the rooms must have two beds in it. I'll
|
|
pay you a silver more if you can get two adjoining rooms for me," Darrin
|
|
told the innkeeper. The innkeeper's eyes widened slightly.
|
|
"If you can wait but a moment, I'll check on some of my guests. I
|
|
think a few of them are almost ready to depart." Gilliam showed up
|
|
before the innkeeper's return and found them sitting at a table waiting.
|
|
"The inn is full?" Gilliam asked and Darrin nodded. "How much?"
|
|
"A silver," Darrin answered. Gilliam sat and contemplated Darrin's
|
|
answer for a moment.
|
|
"Acceptable. It's an interesting town and may prove useful. Offer
|
|
two silver if you need to," Gilliam said. "Have you ordered food?"
|
|
"Yes. They had a busy evening and had to prepare more food. I've
|
|
ordered us some stew. And a wine for you," Darrin told him.
|
|
"Wine?" Gilliam asked in surprise. "They have wine here?"
|
|
"Only one kind. A local farmer makes it. I thought you would want
|
|
to try it."
|
|
They were halfway through their meal when the innkeeper finally
|
|
returned. He told them that two guests had suddenly decided to stay
|
|
elsewhere and two adjoining rooms had opened up. After paying for the
|
|
rooms plus a silver, the innkeeper sent a boy to take their bags to the
|
|
rooms.
|
|
"The food was rather good," Gilliam said as he finished his meal.
|
|
"The wine, however, was not. Eliza, shall we retire for the night?"
|
|
"It wouldn't matter if I said no, would it?" Elizabeth asked.
|
|
"No, it wouldn't," Gilliam answered. "Would you rather have me just
|
|
order you around?"
|
|
"It is what you do normally, be it a question or a command," she
|
|
replied.
|
|
"In the years that we have been together, you still impress me.
|
|
There's a fire in you that I doubt I could contain. If you weren't so
|
|
valuable, I would try, though there may come a day when you aren't so
|
|
valuable, Eliza. Remember that," Gilliam warned. "Now come, we're
|
|
retiring for the night." Gilliam got up from the table and went to his
|
|
room. There were two beds in the room. He moved his bed to where it was
|
|
in front of the door.
|
|
"It is the same as always when we're on the road, Eliza. You have
|
|
your own bed as long as you don't try to escape. If you do try, you'll
|
|
sleep next to me. Are we clear on that?"
|
|
"Yes," she said as she crawled into the bed in her clothes. She had
|
|
gotten used to sleeping in them rather than give him any pleasure. It
|
|
was awhile before she heard Darrin enter his room. She could tell he was
|
|
drunk and that he wasn't alone. She decided that there was one advantage
|
|
to being in Gilliam's room while they were traveling.
|
|
|
|
The next day turned out beautiful. They had gotten up late and
|
|
Gilliam had even given her some privacy to freshen up. She washed and
|
|
changed clothes while Darrin stood outside the door.
|
|
"Eliza, I'm coming in," he told her. She smiled as she waited for
|
|
him to open the door. Ever since she had hit him with a table leg, he
|
|
was cautious entering her room. She was sitting on the bed as the door
|
|
swung open. Darrin looked in at her and then waved her out. They ate a
|
|
large breakfast and then went outside. The activities had started and
|
|
they made their way toward it.
|
|
They made their way to the crowd, and Gilliam seemed genuinely
|
|
interested in the town. She could tell he was thinking of how to turn
|
|
the town into a profit for him. As they approached the center of town,
|
|
she saw a man doing flips and rolls to one side. He wasn't part of the
|
|
main activity (she couldn't see what that was because of people), but he
|
|
looked to be practicing for it. She watched as Gilliam walked toward the
|
|
man. Darrin was looking at some woman in the crowd and he didn't notice
|
|
the man, either. She didn't know what to do. Should she warn Gilliam
|
|
that he was walking right into the flipping man's path? She decided not
|
|
to and waited for the outcome.
|
|
Gilliam walked right into the man as he landed from a flip. Both
|
|
went down tangled together. She watched as Darrin reacted and reached
|
|
for the man. Her brain screamed, "Run!". She did. She ran as fast as she
|
|
could.
|
|
"After her!" she heard Gilliam shout. She glanced back and saw the
|
|
flipping man and Darrin get tangled up just as Gilliam had. She had no
|
|
time to wonder about her strange luck as she turned a corner and ran.
|
|
There weren't many buildings, but she used them as cover as she headed
|
|
out of town. She didn't know where to go, but anywhere was better than
|
|
with Gilliam. She gave a silent thanks to the flipping man when she
|
|
stopped running. She didn't know where she was, but she knew that she
|
|
was safe. More importantly, she was free.
|
|
|
|
The Thorne's Farm
|
|
A few leagues outside Kenna
|
|
|
|
It was late when they reached their home, and Nicodemus decided to
|
|
stay overnight. His parents readied themselves for bed quickly, and he
|
|
was awake long after they were asleep. He replayed the songs in his mind
|
|
over and over again until sleep finally overtook him.
|
|
|
|
"Nicodemus?" his mother called and the sound brought with it the
|
|
smell of freshly baked bread. He smiled, stretched, and got out of bed.
|
|
Standing, he realized that he had slept in his clothes from yesterday.
|
|
"There's water in the basin for you," his mother said. She must
|
|
have checked on him earlier this morning. He found the basin of water in
|
|
the main room and took it to his bedroom. After washing, he changed to a
|
|
clean set of clothes and joined his mother in the kitchen. His father
|
|
had gotten up earlier to get ready for work in the fields and was gone.
|
|
Nicodemus knew that both of his parents had eaten then, so he ate
|
|
breakfast alone while his mother sewed.
|
|
"Nico, are you leaving today?" his mother asked. He nodded yes.
|
|
"Your father thought you would. He gives his love," she told him and
|
|
stopped sewing to look at him. Nicodemus nodded and placed both hands
|
|
over the middle of his chest. "I'll tell him," she said and started
|
|
sewing again. He watched her sew as he ate breakfast. She looked like
|
|
she was making a shirt for his father. It was a sturdy, rough material
|
|
and she cut out large sections of it to sew -- much too large to fit
|
|
her.
|
|
When he finished, he went to his room and packed. His mother came
|
|
in and gave him some biscuits and smoked meat. She hugged him once and
|
|
then went back to her sewing. She never did like good-byes. Nico took
|
|
his pack and walked outside. The sun was just above the horizon and it
|
|
looked to be the start of a beautiful day. He started walking for the
|
|
foot of the mountains, mentally humming the songs from yesterday.
|
|
|
|
The ground was getting hilly, and he followed a stream that came
|
|
from deep in the mountains. He had traveled this way back to his cabin
|
|
many times and it was almost second nature to him. Because of this and
|
|
because he was remembering the singing, he wasn't watching where he was
|
|
going very carefully. As he topped a hill, he almost ran into a woman.
|
|
She was looking back over her shoulder and didn't see Nico in front of
|
|
her. Her clothes were dirty and torn, her hair was tangled with bits of
|
|
leaves in it, and her arms had long, thin red scratches. Nico was about
|
|
to step out of her way, but she tripped in his direction. He put his
|
|
arms out to catch her when she turned her head around. Her arms went
|
|
forward automatically to protect herself, but when she saw Nico, her
|
|
eyes went wide and she tried to pull her arms in. She got them halfway
|
|
back to her body before she fell into him. Nico saw fear and horror in
|
|
her eyes as she fell. He didn't mean to scare her, but he couldn't just
|
|
let her fall on the ground and hurt herself. As he caught her, he
|
|
watched the terror leave her eyes and then she passed out.
|
|
|
|
The Darst Range
|
|
A few leagues outside Kenna
|
|
|
|
Elizabeth knew she had been lucky to get away from Gilliam, but now
|
|
she was in the wilderness and lost. She had never been in the forest
|
|
before and she jumped at every sound. When a deer had bolted from right
|
|
beside her, she screamed, tripped, and fell down the hill into a briar
|
|
patch. Cursing her luck, she picked the thorns out of her skin and
|
|
continued on in a direction that she hoped was away from Kenna.
|
|
Night fell and she found a level place to sleep. She curled up into
|
|
a ball and settled in for the night. When an owl hooted, she bolted
|
|
upright. Just when she settled back down, a branch broke close to her.
|
|
She could hear something walking in the darkness, but she couldn't see
|
|
it. As the noise of the animal faded away, Elizabeth relaxed slightly.
|
|
When she started to fall asleep again, the owl came back and woke her.
|
|
It continued throughout the night, and when morning came, she hadn't
|
|
gotten much sleep.
|
|
When the sun came into view, she started walking again. She didn't
|
|
really want to go out of the mountain because she knew that Gilliam
|
|
would be in the valley looking for her, but she knew that she couldn't
|
|
stay here long, so she started making her way down to the valley. As she
|
|
walked through the forest, she felt like she was being watched. She
|
|
looked around, but didn't see anything. The feeling never left her, and
|
|
she would periodically look around. It was at one of these times that
|
|
she tripped. She started to fall, and when she turned her head back to
|
|
the front, she saw a man standing there. His arms were out to catch her.
|
|
More than the fear that he was connected to Gilliam was the fact that
|
|
she was going to touch him.
|
|
"No!" her mind screamed. She tried to pull back but it was too
|
|
late. She felt the familiar jolt go through her. "... can't let her hurt
|
|
herself," she heard him think. She prepared herself for what was to
|
|
follow next -- his emotions. A wave of something washed over her, but it
|
|
wasn't what she had expected. Instead of rough, raw emotions, she got
|
|
something warm, soft, and relaxed. It was as if she was floating on a
|
|
cloud that softly wrapped itself around her to protect and comfort her.
|
|
She felt safe in that cloud, so she gave in to it and passed out in its
|
|
loving embrace.
|
|
|
|
========================================================================
|
|
|
|
Mute's Song
|
|
Part 2
|
|
by Mark A. Murray
|
|
<dragonmark@usa.net>
|
|
Duchy of Dargon, Yule 1015
|
|
|
|
Part 1 of this story appeared earlier in this issue
|
|
|
|
The Darst Range
|
|
A few leagues outside Kenna
|
|
|
|
Nicodemus cradled the woman in his arms and then gently laid her on
|
|
the ground. He didn't know who she was or what she was running away
|
|
from, but when she tripped into his arms, he saw fear in her eyes. As he
|
|
knelt beside her, he felt a presence in his mind. It was an animal -- a
|
|
very dangerous one -- that was near. It was hungry and was watching
|
|
them. He wondered if this animal was the cause of her fear. Nicodemus
|
|
looked around and did not see anything in the forest, but he knew that
|
|
the animal was close.
|
|
"Friend," he thought hoping that whatever was out there would leave
|
|
them alone. He had always been able to hear what an animal was thinking
|
|
and to send his thoughts to the animal. He didn't know how he talked to
|
|
the animals, just that he thought of images, he thought of the animal,
|
|
and it understood him.
|
|
As he looked around, he saw several birds flying around and
|
|
singing. A tree rat hopped out from some brush and started moving toward
|
|
Nicodemus. He jumped, because his first thought was that it was
|
|
dangerous. He knew differently, though, since the thoughts he got from
|
|
the dangerous animal were separate from the thoughts he got from the
|
|
tree rat, and the tree rat was very small and skittish. It couldn't
|
|
possibly be dangerous.
|
|
Suddenly, there was a blur of movement. Nicodemus stood frozen in
|
|
amazement as he stared at a very large wolf. He hadn't heard or seen the
|
|
wolf move; there had been just a blur as the wolf had snapped up the
|
|
tree rat in its mouth. There was a crunching of bones as the wolf chewed
|
|
and then swallowed the rat.
|
|
The wolf had black fur with grey streaking through it, especially
|
|
around the muzzle, scars on its body, and one torn ear. As it turned
|
|
toward Nicodemus, he saw intelligence behind the wolf's eyes. The wolf
|
|
growled and walked toward him. It was challenging him in some way, but
|
|
Nicodemus didn't fully understand how. He could hear no thoughts coming
|
|
from the wolf, but he could feel its presence in his mind. He watched as
|
|
the wolf walked closer. The wolf growled, wrinkled its muzzle back, and
|
|
bared its teeth.
|
|
"Friend," Nicodemus thought hopefully as he stared into the large
|
|
jaw. He knew he had no chance against the wolf, but he didn't shy away.
|
|
The wolf stopped in front of him, lowered its head, and sniffed the
|
|
woman. Nicodemus froze and watched it from the corner of his eyes. The
|
|
danger was still there, Nicodemus knew, but he also knew that the wolf
|
|
would not attack them. While he still couldn't hear any thoughts from
|
|
the wolf, he noticed that the wolf wasn't outright threatening them. Its
|
|
ears were forward and alert to sounds, it wasn't baring any teeth, and
|
|
it moved in a smooth relaxed manner. The wolf gave a low mumbling growl
|
|
as it turned to walk back to where it had appeared. It looked back
|
|
before it moved into the brush. Nicodemus saw that it looked at the
|
|
woman and not him.
|
|
Nicodemus watched it disappear into the woods and felt its presence
|
|
fade as it moved away from them. Only when he could no longer feel the
|
|
presence, did he move. Standing, he wiped the sweat from his face.
|
|
He had come across bears, devil cats, packs of dogs, and other
|
|
predators before, but none of them had been as dangerous as this lone
|
|
wolf. All of the predators he had seen had shied away from him and he
|
|
had sensed their fears of him. This wolf had shown no traces of fear. He
|
|
had even come across a small pack of wolves, but they had run from him
|
|
before he got very close. He hadn't even seen the wolf kill the tree
|
|
rat. It had all happened in the blink of an eye.
|
|
The woman moaned and began to stir. Nicodemus looked down and
|
|
watched as her eyelids opened. He smiled and stepped back as she sat up.
|
|
"Who are you?" she asked. Nicodemus pointed at his throat, opened
|
|
his mouth, and shook his head. A whisper of air escaped his throat.
|
|
"You can't talk?" she asked.
|
|
He nodded yes.
|
|
"Do you live around here?"
|
|
He nodded.
|
|
"I got lost in the forest," she said as she stood. "Could you show
|
|
me the way to the nearest village?"
|
|
He nodded and pointed in the direction of his parents' farm. He
|
|
turned and began walking that way with the woman following him. They got
|
|
to the house and Nicodemus opened the door. Hearing the door, his mother
|
|
came from the kitchen to see who it was.
|
|
"What are you doing back -- Oh!" Delia broke off the question when
|
|
she saw the woman beside Nicodemus. "Who are you?"
|
|
"I don't normally look this way," Elizabeth said, taking a twig out
|
|
of her hair. "My name is Elizabeth. I ... I was lost in the forest. I
|
|
guess I wasn't watching where I was going when I tripped and fell into,
|
|
um ... I don't know his name."
|
|
"Nicodemus, and I'm Delia. Come in to the kitchen and I'll fix some
|
|
tea. There's a wash basin in here where you can wash some of that dirt
|
|
away." Elizabeth followed her into the kitchen with Nicodemus right
|
|
behind.
|
|
"Some men came by here not long ago," Delia said fixing the tea.
|
|
"They were looking for a woman, and offered a reward for her return.
|
|
They were looking for you, weren't they?"
|
|
"Yes."
|
|
"Why are they looking for you?" Delia asked.
|
|
"I was being held against my will by a wealthy merchant from
|
|
Dargon," Elizabeth replied. "I know it sounds bad, but it's the truth. I
|
|
want you to know why I need help. I escaped from Gilliam -- he's the
|
|
merchant -- in Kenna, and ran into the forest. He wants me back, and I
|
|
doubt he'll ever stop looking." Elizabeth sighed as she looked down into
|
|
the water in the wash basin. She caught her reflection and stared at it.
|
|
The dirt on her face and her matted hair made the reflection look like a
|
|
stranger to her.
|
|
"I don't know what to do or where to go," she said finally. "He has
|
|
contacts in most towns. No matter where I go, he'll eventually find me.
|
|
I think my safest choice is to stay outside of the towns. He rarely goes
|
|
into the fields or mountains, but he'll send other people to search
|
|
them."
|
|
"I'm not going to stop working just to go to Kenna and tell those
|
|
men you are here. If there's no dinner, I'll never hear the end of it
|
|
from Hank -- my husband. You're welcome to stay the night," Delia said.
|
|
"That is, if you don't mind helping me out with some of the work around
|
|
here. Stevene knows I could use it. Can you cook or sew?"
|
|
"Both," Elizabeth answered. "Thank you for letting me stay."
|
|
"When Hank gets home," Delia replied, "he can decide to let you
|
|
stay longer -- or not. Nicodemus," Delia said turning to him, "go clean
|
|
up your room and get the blankets. We'll wash them and Elizabeth can
|
|
sleep in there. You ... well, we'll find someplace for you to sleep."
|
|
"I'll help wash the blankets," Elizabeth said, and followed
|
|
Nicodemus to his room. They gathered the blankets and went outside to
|
|
the back of the house. There was a small well where they gathered
|
|
buckets of water to pour in a large wooden tub.
|
|
"You caught me as I fell, didn't you?" Elizabeth asked. Nicodemus
|
|
nodded yes and dumped a bucket of water in the tub. Elizabeth remembered
|
|
the feelings she had before she passed out, and started to reach for
|
|
Nicodemus. She remembered a peaceful and warm feeling when she was in
|
|
his arms, yet she couldn't remember what he was thinking. Ever since she
|
|
was a child roaming the streets of Dargon, she had always known what
|
|
people were thinking and feeling when she touched them. But she couldn't
|
|
remember his thoughts before she passed out in his arms, only the
|
|
feelings.
|
|
Before she could touch him, she jerked her hand back in fear. "What
|
|
if those feelings weren't from him?" she thought. "What if it was just
|
|
my being exhausted?"
|
|
|
|
Nicodemus watched her in puzzlement, and then turned to get more
|
|
water. Elizabeth sighed and started to soak a blanket. As Nicodemus got
|
|
the water, Elizabeth instinctively kept out of his way and his touch.
|
|
While washing the blankets, she did the same. After hanging them to dry,
|
|
they both returned to the house. Two cups of tea were on the table
|
|
waiting for them, and Delia had returned to her sewing.
|
|
"The garden needs to be hoed," Delia told Nicodemus. He sighed,
|
|
took his cup, and went back outside. He knew she wanted him out of the
|
|
house so that she could talk to Elizabeth alone.
|
|
"You want to know all about me, don't you?" Elizabeth asked after
|
|
Nicodemus left.
|
|
"Yes," Delia answered. "I want to know so I can decide what to do
|
|
if those men come back."
|
|
"A merchant in Dargon was holding me against --"
|
|
"What merchant?" Delia interrupted. "Why was he holding you?"
|
|
"His name is Gilliam Hytheworde. He kept me because there were
|
|
things I could do that no one else could. Things that helped him in his
|
|
business."
|
|
"Nothing is simple with you, is it?" Delia asked.
|
|
"No," Elizabeth said. "I can tell what people are thinking when I
|
|
touch them. That's the curse that I've been carrying ever since I was
|
|
little."
|
|
"Thoughts?"
|
|
"Yes."
|
|
"I ... I'd like to know for sure," Delia said. "Do you mind?"
|
|
"Let me have your hand." Elizabeth said, moving over to where Delia
|
|
sat. She braced herself for the rush of emotions she knew she would get
|
|
and then touched Delia's hand. She jumped slightly at the initial shock.
|
|
"Does she really know what I'm thinking?" Delia thought.
|
|
"Does she really know what I'm thinking?" echoed Elizabeth, and
|
|
then Delia's emotions flooded her. She was braced for them, but what she
|
|
got wasn't what she had expected. There were no invading emotions, but
|
|
instead there was calmness, wonder, and a trace of fear. She missed part
|
|
of what Delia had thought in her own amazement.
|
|
"... husband's name is Hank," Delia thought.
|
|
"Husband's name is Hank,"
|
|
"No," Delia hissed. Her chair upset as she backed away from
|
|
Elizabeth. Delia's eyes were wide and she rubbed her hands against her
|
|
apron, trying to clean them of some invisible dirt. "No more," she
|
|
repeated.
|
|
"Gilliam kept me and used me," Elizabeth tried to explain. "He used
|
|
me," she reiterated. "I would find out what the people he was dealing
|
|
with were thinking. If I didn't comply, he would lock me in a small
|
|
empty room for days. Sometimes he would let Darrin touch me. That was
|
|
worse than the room."
|
|
"I'm sorry," Delia said. "It's just that I don't like magic, and
|
|
... and I was rude. You seem to have been through enough that I don't
|
|
need to add more suffering to it." Delia smoothed out her apron and
|
|
moved the chair so she could sit in it once again. The chair wasn't as
|
|
close to Elizabeth as it had been, though.
|
|
"Thank you," Elizabeth replied. She went around the table and sat
|
|
across from Delia.
|
|
"How long were you there?"
|
|
"I don't remember how long, but I do remember that I was a child
|
|
living on the streets when Gilliam found me. I was begging and not doing
|
|
very well. I could always tell what people thought when I touched them,
|
|
so I thought I could make some money that way. For a Common, I'd tell
|
|
them what they were thinking. Gilliam came to me and I did what I said.
|
|
He was impressed enough to give me five Commons. That evening, he sent
|
|
someone to get me."
|
|
"To get you?" Delia asked.
|
|
"Two men came and dragged me off the street."
|
|
"You didn't fight back?"
|
|
"I tried, but it was useless. There weren't any town guards around,
|
|
either."
|
|
"You never ran away from him?"
|
|
"He kept me locked in a room most of the time. I would run away,
|
|
and he would catch me. The punishments always came ... quickly. But when
|
|
I was good, he would reward me in some way -- nice clothes, good
|
|
dinners, things like that -- but I still tried to run away. He finally
|
|
bribed me -- he told me that if I didn't try to run away, that he would
|
|
teach me to read and write and that he would give me a job in his
|
|
business; something other than touching people to find out what they're
|
|
thinking."
|
|
"Sounds like a merchant," Delia snapped. "Bartering and bribing is
|
|
all they know how to do."
|
|
"I believed him," Elizabeth said. "For awhile, I ... did what he
|
|
wanted, and in return, he taught me to read and write. Much later, I
|
|
finally realized that he wasn't going to ever let me go. I was too
|
|
important to him, and that's when I started trying to run away again. I
|
|
finally made it, and now I don't know where to go."
|
|
"We'll talk to Hank when he comes home," Delia said. "I'm not
|
|
promising anything. Hank's a bit of a hard man, except where Nico is
|
|
concerned. But I think he'll let you stay for a bit. Nico seems to like
|
|
you." Delia smiled when she saw Elizabeth's eyes widen.
|
|
|
|
Kenna
|
|
Wayside Retreat
|
|
|
|
"No one's seen her," Darrin told Gilliam.
|
|
"She can't be too far," Gilliam said. "She doesn't know the area,
|
|
she's not used to being on her own, and she doesn't have anywhere to
|
|
go."
|
|
"Do you want me to make another search of the farms?"
|
|
"No. I want you to find help here in this area. There has to be
|
|
hunters and trappers. Find them and use them to track her down."
|
|
"I don't understand?" Darrin asked.
|
|
"Hunters track animals in the woods, don't they? Trappers do
|
|
sometimes when an animal gets away from a trap. Tracking an animal isn't
|
|
much different than tracking a lost woman in the forest."
|
|
"I understand now."
|
|
"Good! There is one more thing that I want you to do. You are to
|
|
break her spirit. I don't care what you do so long as you don't kill
|
|
her."
|
|
"I'll find her," Darrin said, smiling as he left.
|
|
|
|
The Darst Range
|
|
A few leagues outside Kenna
|
|
|
|
Darrin had found two people in Kenna who hunted and trapped for a
|
|
living. One of the two men in front of Darrin had a large dog on a
|
|
leash. The dog kept its head to the ground as it ran.
|
|
"You sure that dog can find her?" Darrin asked, trying to keep up.
|
|
"She'll find her. My Ferra can find anything, anywhere," Petyr, the
|
|
man holding the dog, said. Petyr was a tall man with many scars and
|
|
scratches on his body. He had brown hair that was cut short and his face
|
|
was clean-shaven.
|
|
"It's been near two days since she ran," Darrin said.
|
|
"Ferra's found men five days after a thunderstorm covered their
|
|
trail. Don't you worry, we'll find her."
|
|
"Heh!" Garett spouted. "Twas two days after a light rain." He was
|
|
the second man that Darrin had found. He was a big man, although not as
|
|
large as Darrin, and wore a sword and long knife on his belt in worn,
|
|
well-used scabbards. He had light-colored hair with a scraggly beard.
|
|
"We'd better find her," Darrin replied. The pace they kept was a
|
|
near run. Ferra only stopped when she seemed to lose the scent, and even
|
|
then it wasn't long before she started off again. They climbed into the
|
|
mountains and followed Ferra as she led them to a place that looked like
|
|
it had been a small camp. It was old, but the sticks and rocks were
|
|
still brushed aside and a pile of branches lay in the center, unburned.
|
|
"Could have been her," Garett said. "Someone tried to make a fire.
|
|
Doesn't look like they did, though. No ashes or burned wood anywhere
|
|
around."
|
|
"Looks to be a week or so old. Not more'n two weeks, I'd guess,"
|
|
Petyr said. "It'd be about the right time. I'd say it was her that was
|
|
here. Come on," he said as Ferra pulled him along, "she's got the
|
|
scent." The two men had little trouble keeping up with Ferra. They'd
|
|
done this many times. Darrin, however, wasn't used to running through
|
|
the mountains and had a rough time keeping up with them.
|
|
They ran through the woods as Ferra followed the scent up and down
|
|
the mountain. There was no pattern to the trail they were following.
|
|
Petyr and Garett knew that the girl had been lost -- experience told
|
|
them so. It was on a downward slope that Ferra stopped. The woods had
|
|
cleared a little on top of a small hill. Ferra circled around a clump of
|
|
grass, sniffed left, right, and then went down the hill a bit. She came
|
|
back up to follow a second trail around the hill.
|
|
"At least two trails here," Petyr said. "Looks like she's been in
|
|
this area more than once. Which one, Ferra?" The dog looked up at Petyr
|
|
and cocked its head.
|
|
"Which one's freshest?" Petyr said, unleashing the dog. "Scent!"
|
|
Ferra stood, looked both ways, put her nose down, sniffed at two trails,
|
|
and then sat back down.
|
|
"Looks like we'll have to decide," Petyr told them. Before anyone
|
|
could choose, they heard a female voice off in the distance. They
|
|
couldn't make out the words, only that it sounded female.
|
|
"Could be her," Petyr said. "Not many females out in these woods.
|
|
Chances are it's her -- or some high pitched boy."
|
|
"Trail along the hill?" Garett asked.
|
|
"I think so," Petyr replied. "Let's go." Petyr started Ferra on the
|
|
trail and she took off with Garett and Darrin following. The trail wound
|
|
along the hillside through the forest to open into another clearing. As
|
|
Petyr broke into the clearing, he saw two people in front of him -- a
|
|
man and a woman. The woman, he hoped to be the one they were after, but
|
|
he didn't know about the man standing to her right.
|
|
He told Ferra to sit, but didn't get to do much more as Garett and
|
|
Darrin ran into the clearing behind him. He saw the girl's eyes go wide,
|
|
and she ran.
|
|
Petyr, Garett, and Ferra chased after the girl. Darrin, not wanting
|
|
to be left behind, took off down the path where the others had run. The
|
|
man, who had been standing to the girl's right, looked puzzled and
|
|
confused.
|
|
Petyr and Garett raced through the brush. The girl wasn't watching
|
|
where she was going as she ran into a large patch of thick brambles. She
|
|
was just getting free of them when Petyr grabbed her. They were binding
|
|
her hands when Darrin found them.
|
|
"Eliza," Darrin huffed. "You shouldn't have run away. Gilliam is
|
|
not happy with you. In fact, he's quite angry. Angry enough that I get
|
|
to teach you a lesson. A lesson that you will never forget." He started
|
|
toward her when Garett stepped in front of him. "What --?"
|
|
"You will not touch her," Garett told him. "I don't go for harming
|
|
women. You wanted us to bring her back to Kenna. That's what we're going
|
|
to do."
|
|
Darrin's face turned slightly red as he turned away from Garett to
|
|
lean close to Elizabeth. "Later," he whispered to her. "Let's get her
|
|
back to Kenna, then," he disgustingly said to Garett.
|
|
|
|
Nicodemus couldn't believe what he had seen -- what had just
|
|
happened. Those had to have been the men searching for her. "But how did
|
|
they find her so fast?" he thought. "She must be very important to
|
|
someone." He stood there, fixed to the ground, undecided on what to do.
|
|
They were going to take Elizabeth back to Dargon, and he knew he
|
|
couldn't let them do that. The short time he had spent with Elizabeth
|
|
was enough to let him know that she was special. Although she never
|
|
talked about her past to him, she also never treated him like he was
|
|
dumb because he couldn't talk. She spoke to him as an equal -- as
|
|
another human being. He couldn't let them take her away; he was
|
|
beginning to like her. Like her more than just a little, he realized.
|
|
But there were three of them. Before he could decide on a course of
|
|
action, though, the men returned.
|
|
"Are you going to try to stop us?" Garett asked as he stepped in
|
|
view. Petyr, Darrin, and Elizabeth were behind him. Nicodemus nodded
|
|
yes.
|
|
"Just you?" Garett asked smiling. "You're a brave one, I'll give
|
|
you that. You do realize --"
|
|
Nicodemus wondered why he stopped in the middle of his sentence
|
|
until fur brushed his elbow. He looked beside him at the large wolf
|
|
standing there. Hackles raised, lips curled back to show large curved
|
|
fangs, and a low rumbling growl, the wolf inched forward.
|
|
"*Ol's balls!*" Petyr hissed. "Where did that come from?" Garett
|
|
grabbed the hilt of his sword, and the wolf's growl grew louder.
|
|
"Are you trying to get us killed?" Darrin asked.
|
|
"Don't move, Garett!" Petyr pleaded. "That thing'll tear you in two
|
|
before you can scream in pain."
|
|
"Look at it!" Garett hissed! "It's going to kill us no matter what
|
|
we do." Garett started drawing his sword from its scabbard. The wolf
|
|
sprang with a loud snarl. It knocked Petyr down and then turned to
|
|
Garett. Darrin moved out of the way as fast as he could and prayed that
|
|
Garett would kill it, but not wanting to stay and find out, he kept
|
|
running.
|
|
The wolf started to jump as Garett stabbed at its head. Faster than
|
|
Garett could react, the wolf dropped low, turned a bit, and lunged. Its
|
|
mouth closed around Garett's side and there was a crack as its maw
|
|
closed, crushing ribs. Garett cried out and dropped his sword from the
|
|
pain. The wolf snapped again and tightened its grip. Garett screamed and
|
|
tried to pull away. The wolf twisted and knocked Garett down where it
|
|
ripped open his throat.
|
|
Petyr got up, looked at Garett's bleeding body, and started to run;
|
|
Ferra was nowhere to be seen. He ran a few steps before a large weight
|
|
crashed onto his back. Dirt flew into his eyes as he hit the ground. He
|
|
didn't see the large jaws go around his head, but he felt them as they
|
|
crushed his skull.
|
|
Nicodemus watched everything in horror. The wolf had torn the two
|
|
men to shreds with little effort. It could have been Elizabeth and him
|
|
when they had first encountered the wolf. He hadn't realized just how
|
|
close to death that they had been until now. The wolf turned from where
|
|
Petyr lay and walked towards Elizabeth. She stood there paralyzed with
|
|
fear. Her hands were tied, but her feet were not -- still she didn't
|
|
run. She knew she could not outrun the wolf.
|
|
Nicodemus watched the wolf and saw its features change. The hackles
|
|
went down, there were no bared teeth, and it seemed more relaxed. He
|
|
hoped that they were in no danger, now. The wolf got close to Elizabeth
|
|
and sniffed. It licked her hand once and then turned to look at
|
|
Nicodemus.
|
|
"Friend," he got from the wolf, but there was something about it.
|
|
It was in a tone laden with sarcasm and contempt. It was like the wolf
|
|
was far above him, knew more about the world, and was laughing at him.
|
|
Sarcasm, contempt, and a deriding tone -- but no anger. He started to
|
|
reply, but the wolf was gone. It had slipped back into the forest
|
|
quietly and quickly.
|
|
Nicodemus walked over to Elizabeth and started to untie her hands.
|
|
She jumped slightly as he touched her, but he was too busy with the knot
|
|
to pay attention to it. He got the knot undone, freed her hands, and
|
|
looked up into her face. She was crying. He lifted his hand to wipe the
|
|
tears from her face when she took his hand in hers. He saw her jump
|
|
slightly, but then she smiled as she held his hand in hers.
|
|
"You are so beautiful," he thought. "I wish I could say that I love
|
|
you."
|
|
"You can," she said.
|
|
"What?" he thought.
|
|
"I can hear what you're saying," she told him. "It's a curse that I
|
|
have. I can feel people's emotions and hear their thoughts when I'm
|
|
touching them."
|
|
"You can hear me?" he thought, incredulously.
|
|
"Yes. And I love you, too," she said as she hugged him close.
|
|
|
|
========================================================================
|
|
|