Son of Soron (9 page)

Ashuna did not let his face reveal the disgust he felt. The stink of deceit was stronger than ever.  It would be satisfying to cut the lying tongue out of the officer before him. Ashuna’s sharp eyes missed nothing. The duke was truly an idiot to think the village was the source of the bandit problem, but he held his tongue. “Indeed, I was just at the scene of the battle in the bandit village.” The sarcasm in Ashuna's voice was creeping out.  “I hope you don’t mind, but we buried all of the dead including your men." Ashuna put emphasis on the word men.  He had no time to challenge the dastardly duke. Killing the waste of skin would have suited him just fine, but he did not relish starting a war at this particular time.

The duke did not notice the distain with which Ashuna was trying to hide as he spoke. “Thank you. We would have done it ourselves, but with a large group of horsemen coming from the south, retreating to the woods seemed a prudent plan.” The duke smirked and gave a final goodbye to Ashuna sending him off to Salba. The southern warriors leaving now were one more problem he would not have to deal with today.

…

Late the next day, Ashuna and his men reached the city of Salba. Ashuna was brought to see Count Mavane immediately. “Welcome to Salba. How has your journey been?” Word of the events at Elderwood had not yet reached Salba. But none-the-less an emissary riding with fifty warriors had Count Mavane on edge. “The journey has been fine. There was a small delay yesterday. But other than that, no issues,” replied Ashuna, unsure what role the kingdom of Tarnstead had in the recent events. Count Mavane could feel the tension in the room. “Oh did you encounter trouble? Bandits?” asked the count.

Ashuna watched Count Mavane as he explained, “We encountered a battle scene at a small village west of here. The village apparently was full of bandits and then we had a small encounter with a company of the king’s army. They had just finished fighting the ‘bandits’ and were waiting in the tree line for us. Ashuna could see the color leave Count Mavane’s face as he heard the news.

“Did you see these bandits?”

Count Mavane hoped that there was some mix-up here but Ashuna’s next comments completed filling his heart with sorrow and shame. “Well, to my untrained eye, it appeared to be a village full of farmers and berry-pickers. And one northerner who almost defeated the king’s men on his own, but your Duke Evollan assured me it was a marauding horde of bandits. So I can only assume I am mistaken in thinking the king’s army is attacking innocent villages.”

The count had feared that Duke Evollan would do something stupid. But he never dreamed that the man could be so ignorant as to attack the village of Elderwood. The thought of Duke Evollan’s men killing the northerner living there was even more terrifying. “This northerner you spoke of, he didn’t have a blonde woman with him by any chance?” Count Mavane had a hard time getting the words out his mouth was so dry.

Ashuna sensing that Count Mavane was not at all pleased with this news became a little more detailed in his description of the scene he found in the village. “Yes. Not more than twenty feet from where the northerner died was the body of a young blonde-haired woman. She died trying to defend an injured farmer. Am I wrong in assuming you know the place and the people there?”

“I know the northerner and his wife. He was a friend. The village you speak of is called Elderwood and its people are no more bandits than you or me” replied Count Mavane with sadness in his voice. “Your news is quiet distressing, Ashuna. Forgive me, but I am going to need a brief amount of time to deal with this. Then I can join you and your men in a feast to honor your arrival to the kingdom.”

Ashuna understood then that the massacre of the villagers was not a plan for the expansion of the kingdom of Broguth. But an incredibly stupid blunder of the arrogant Duke Evollan that he met on the road. Ashuna graciously answered back, “Take whatever time you need. The sooner this unseemly business is resolved the better.”

Taking his leave, Count Mavane quickly assembled his staff. He directed the scouts to go to Elderwood as soon as possible. He wanted them to confirm what happened and provide any help they could. He sent a rider to inform the king of the tragic news. Next he sent another rider to Duke Evollan requesting he immediately come to Salba. A wagon with supplies and a doctor were to leave for Elderwood as soon as possible. His stomach was hurting as it often did when he worried.  He remembered how many times he had sent for stomach calming potions from the lady Velaina in the village of Elderwood. Then Count Mavane began writing two letters. Two letters he hoped could prevent a war.

Three days passed before the arrogant Duke Evollan finally arrived in Salba. He purposely had taken an extra day to arrive, angered that a lowly count had presumed to summon him.

”Count Mavane, I thought I made it clear I did not want your involvement if this matter. I have already encountered and defeated a large number of bandits. Now I would like to get back to the task. Why have you dared to summon me?”

Count Mavane’s scouts had already reported on what they found at Elderwood so the count did not have to swallow any of the duke’s lies. “No. What you have done is slaughter the majority of an innocent village. Not only did you slaughter innocent farmers and berry-pickers, Men, woman and some children. But you also, through your sheer stupidity, killed Soron Stoneblood, northern prince and his wife Velaina, a princess of the kingdom of Balta. You have single-handily placed the entire kingdom in jeopardy of war with the villages of the western lands, the southern kingdoms and the entire North.” 

Duke Evollan, still too arrogant and stupid to understand what was happening, replied snottily. “Impossible, I dealt with one village of bandits and peasants. That rabble? They were hardly worth mentioning, except for the one northern bandit who killed a fifth of my men.”

“That one northern bandit that you speak of was the village blacksmith. If armed with more than a hammer and a knife he probably would have killed half your men. But he was not just a blacksmith. He was Soron Stoneblood, son of Theron Stoneblood king of the northern tribes. He and his wife had been living in that village for thirteen years,” said Count Mavane.

The reality of the situation finally started to sink in for Duke Evollan. This campaign, to gain him favor and riches, was a disaster. War with the kingdom of Balta would be costly if it came to pass, but war with the north would leave the kingdom in ruins. The northern clans were a fierce nation and with slain prince for cause, they would pillage the entire kingdom. The duke would be lucky if the king didn’t have him executed for this.  “I suggest you head back to Progoh as soon as possible. Beg the king’s mercy because you are going to need it Duke Evollan.” Count Mavane spoke with utter distain. The actions of one man had ruined the lives of many and threatened the lives of countless more. Count Mavane turned on his heel, walking away from the duke, unwilling to look at evil one moment longer than necessary.
 

Chapter sixteen

IT’S NO WONDER father sent us here, Nathan thought to himself as he led the girls through the treacherous lands. The Great Swamp was a group of marshes, swamps and ponds that intertwined in the lowlands among the forest at the base of the Applomean mountain range. This meant that there were large areas of firm, solid land hidden within marshy areas, muskeg and quicksand. Travel in the Great Swamps was a dangerous business if you did not know the territory or were in a hurry.

Anyone coming looking for them would likely be unfamiliar with the area and have to move slowly. Some of the trails that Nathan was taking were so narrow you needed to walk single file, else risk being sucked into the thick swamp waters.

Looking up into the trees, Nathan could see the glowing hues of red and orange. The sun was falling over the horizon in glorious color. This beautiful sight was a warning that that darkness would soon follow. Nathan encouraged the girls to pick up the pace. They were not too far from their destination, a small island of high ground only a few hundred yards deep and a quarter of a mile long. The island, secluded and dangerous to travel towards, was a perfect place to stay.

They arrived, tired and wet, at the small island late in the afternoon. Nathan and Ava worked together to build a small camp fire. Nathan encouraged the girls to eat some food. He explained that they would be staying there for days, so they needed to make themselves a shelter to stay in. Ava nodded in silent agreement; she kept her fears and trepidation over the fate of their families to herself. Rose questioned why they had to come to the forest but seemed to accept that it was the safest place to be. The girls were young and scared but old enough to understand, and it seemed Bends had told them what to expect and how to act.

As they sat around the fire, Nathan organized his thoughts about how to deal with this situation. Ava, the older of the sisters, was the same age as Nathan while Rose was much younger. Nathan, not sure how much the nine-year-old understood about what had happened in the village, hoped to avoid talking about it. No point in worrying the girls even more by thinking about things beyond their control, he thought to himself.

Much like her older sister, Rose was loud, boisterous, bubbly and happy. Even today, she was trying to find positives in the situation. “Camping is fun. Are we going to do any exploring?”

Nathan smiled at her glad to have her thinking of anything but the village and her parents. “First. we are going to build ourselves a castle and then we will explore.”  Nathan gave Ava a wink, while Rose perked up.

“A castle?” she asked.

In the middle of the small island was a small cedar grove. Nathan had spotted one large cedar that had two dead tree trunks leaning up against it. With some smaller tree branches and limbs they could easily build a good sized shelter that would keep them dry and warm. “You see that tree?” Nathan pointed towards it. “We are turning it into a castle.”

Working fast to take advantage of the little remaining daylight, Nathan and the girls gathered sticks and branches. Using bigger, older pieces to build an outer structure around the dead trees that leaned against the towering cedar. Then they used smaller, still-green branches to make a roof. Within a few short hours, they had a well-built little lean-to with two rooms: one for the girls and one for Nathan. The shelter was warm and cozy. The crisp, clean smell of pine needles filled the space, a refreshing change from the, at times, nauseating smells of the swamps.

Nathan was exhausted physically and emotionally, and was ready for sleep. Having said goodnight to the girls, he retired to his little section of the shelter. He was almost dead to the world when Ava came to him. “Are you awake?” she whispered.

“Barely, I am almost asleep now. How are you?” said Nathan groggily.

“I’m ready for sleep, too. I just wanted to say goodnight properly, now that Rose is asleep.” She gave him a big hug, holding him for what seemed like forever. Nathan felt Ava disengage the hug. As she lifted herself up and away from him, she stopped to place a gentle kiss on his forehead. She whispered “thank you” before retreating to her bed and a well-earned sleep.

The next morning they ate a breakfast of berries and some of the biscuits that Bends had packed for them. Rose demanded to know when they would start exploring. Nathan explained, “After breakfast we are going to explore. While we are exploring, I am going to teach you some of the lessons mother taught me.”

Rose was curious. “What kind of lessons, Nathan?”

Nathan looked around and spotted a good plant to use as an example. “See that big purple plant with the pink flowers?” The girls looked to where Nathan was pointing and both nodded. “What can you tell me about it?” asked Nathan.

Rose’s forehead crinkled as she studied the plant “I’m not sure…, but it’s very pretty.”

Nathan smiled. “Yes, it is. Ava, how about you? Can you tell me anything about the pretty purple plant?”

Ava gave Nathan a funny look. He knew from all their walks in the forest together that she cared little for what flowers were called or good for. “Nope, but I agree with Rose. It is very pretty.”

Rose smiled when her big sister agreed with her.

Nathan gave a small laugh. “Well I, too, agree it is a pretty plant. But it is not just pretty. It is a violet brettal bush. If you were to eat its berries you would get very sick. On the other hand, brettal bush leaves can be very useful. I am going to teach you as much as I can about every plant we see while exploring.”

Nathan worried about keeping the girls minds busy, distracting them from thinking about all the bad possibilities of what transpired in the village while they fled to the swamps. He would use all the lessons and knowledge his mother passed onto him to fill the days they would stay there.

Rose smiled and lifted her hand like she were in a class room “violet brettal bush, don’t eat the berries but keep the leaves. Got it”

Nathan was glad the girls were receptive to this. “Excellent, now let’s go explore.”

Every day they would walk through the swamp trails, Nathan would explain which plants were edible, which were poisonous and as many uses as he knew for each one. Then he would quiz the girls, occasionally trying to trick them up by miss-identifying a plant. However, the girls were both smart and quickly caught onto his tricks. By the end of a week, the girls knew more about the swamp then most adults.

It was a few days before Nathan and Ava had a real discussion about the attack. Nathan reassured her that it was likely her parents were not even in the village when the attack occurred; she knew this was mostly wishful thinking but left it alone. Instead she mentioned his parents and her fear for their safety.

Nathan wasn’t sure what to say, should he be honest as to what his fears were or continue to pretend like thing would all be okay. He decided he should be honest with her, he would try being gentle about it but the truth was going to be hard to deal with now or later. Nathan looked to make sure Rose was out of hearing distance. She was safely out of listening range, chasing butterflies. “Honestly, Ava, I think something happened to my parents. They know where we are and would have come for us by now. Bends knows we are here but really only my mother and father know to look for us here. Everyone else has to wait for us to return." Nathan paused for a moment, having finally said it made it feel more real and he knew it to be true. His parents were gone now. Tears began to flow.