Chapter VIII
Tourth
I had to do something. There were no more harvests to give me an excuse to stall. I still had no idea what to decide, though. I had mulled and prayed the past two weeks almost constantly. My mind retraced the familiar arguments. I counted the options as the water coursed down my face.
I could leave, pack up everyone and leave. We had little to live on and even less to take with us, but we could seek our fortune in another valley. However, something within me couldn’t bare the thought of leaving. Despite the fact it was a fraction of what my childhood home had been, it was still my home. The place I had envisioned coming home to every night and where I wanted to be.
Another possibility was what my comrades at arms had suggested. I could stand up and fight. Claiming my inheritance and all that was due me was as risky as leaving was heart wrenching. There was no hope that in my and my men’s strength alone we could withstand Orac’s Enforcer long enough to stake and validate my claim. There had to be a third option.
“Tourth.”
A familiar voice broke through my thoughts. I looked up to find myself standing at the door to the old guard quarters where we lived. I was home. As I thought back I had no recollection of walking the three miles between the farm and there.
“You really need to pay more attention to your surroundings,” Roulf cautioned as he appeared at my side. “I have been trailing you for a mile now, and you didn’t so much as look around. If I had known that you were being this careless I would have come sooner.”
I frowned at him. That sounded bad. “Why?” I opened the door and stepped inside, dripping rainwater all over the fresh rushes Kat had laid down the day before. The smell of slightly burnt meat filled my nose almost instantly.
“The Enforcer has started using press gangs to pick up every available male in the valley. He intends to have his mansion finished for the anticipated arrival of King Orac.”
“When is this to happen?” I asked, sinking to the bench next to the door to remove my boots.
“A day you should know well,” the shopkeeper replied solemnly. “He is coming for the celebration marking the anniversary of his ascension to the throne.”
My hands froze, laces dropped from suddenly unresponsive fingers as my head filled with the memories of that terrible day. Marching through the city streets with my hands bound behind me, the jeering crowds pressing us on all sides, I closed my eyes, but the images were not easily closed out.
“Press gangs?” I struggled to get my brain to think.
“Oh, it is you.” Kat entered the room. “Hello, Roulf, what brings you here?”
“Bad news, I fear,” he informed her, laying a hand on my shoulder. “Are you going to be alright, Tourth?”
I nodded. “Just give me a minute. Some memories are harder to banish than others.” I carefully gathered up my laces and retied my boots. I needed to think, and being shut in doors was not going to help me do that. I thought better when I was in motion, I always had. “I am going to take a walk.”
“But it is raining outside,” Kat protested.
“The press gangs…” Roulf didn’t stop in time to check his words. Kat’s face drained of color.
“What press gangs?” she asked.
I sighed heavily. “I will stay close to the keep and out of sight,” I assured Roulf before leaning over to kiss the top of my sister’s head. “Give Roulf some food and something warm to drink. He can fill you in and the others when they arrive. I need to think on my own for a bit before we decide what to do.”
Kat searched my face for a moment before nodded. “Be safe,” she cautioned before turning to Roulf. “I am sorry to say I have only burnt venison to offer you and some mulled cider.”
“That sounds filling Miss Mynth,” Roulf was saying as I closed the door behind me. He would explain things better than I could and soothe her worry a bit in the process.
I stepped out into the ever increasing down pour and headed out to the east, up the valley toward the tree line. There were no roads in that direction, only wilderness, trees, and wild animals. In this downpour I doubted any animals would be moving about to bother me and the shelter of the thick wood would be perfect for thinking. I turned my face toward my destination and started praying.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wren
He wasn’t a total idiot. I had to admit that. As I stood in the shelter of a rather large pine with more character than its neighbors, I watched Tourth.
Kat was right. He obviously needed to move to think. He paced back and forth along the top of a fallen tree. He struck the side at regular intervals with a stick in his right hand. I couldn’t hear his voice, but his lips moved as though he were speaking to himself or perhaps praying. A fall of sopping brown hair was plastered to his forehead. I was debating whether or not I should interrupt his thoughts when he turned and jumped off the log with a squelch. Frowning down at his soaked feet, he grew still amid the constant uneven tempo of rain dripping from leaf to leaf over our heads.
I stepped from my shelter and approached him. “Have you decided?”
His head snapped up in surprise. “How did you find me?” he demanded. “I didn’t leave a trail.”
I debated letting on that he had. His trail, though fainter than the one an inexperienced man might have left, had been pretty easy to follow. Settling on a more elusive response, I shrugged. “Kat asked us to look for you. She is getting worried.”
“She sent all of them out to look for me? And only you found me.”
“I figured you would choose somewhere out of the way to think. I had come bearing news, but Roulf said he had already informed you about the press gangs. He didn’t say anything about the Enforcer having an eye for attractive women, but I am guessing that is old news.”
He nodded, retreating again behind a contemplative mask. “That is why Kat rarely leaves the keep.”
Silence settled between us. The shadows, deepened by the setting sun weighed upon us as we stood.
“So, have you made a decision?”
“Part of one.” I raised my eyebrows and regarded him patiently. Finally he glanced my way and interpreted the expression. “Kat needs to go to Lord Eryant.”
“She isn’t going to go willingly.”
“Well, she doesn’t have a choice,” he replied more forcefully as he studied the branch still in his hand. “I can’t protect her anymore, and I am going to need all of my attention and concentration for what lies ahead. Worrying about her safety would be a distraction I cannot allow myself. She has to go.”
I watched the play of emotion in his features: fear, resolve, determination, and uncertainty in almost equal parts. “You are going to stake a claim on your title.”
He pinned me with a dark gaze scanned my face briefly. “Yes. I have no other choice.”
Although a number of alternatives jumped to my mind, I didn’t open my mouth. If all the prayer and thought had culminated in this decision, I was willing to wager that it was Deus’ will.
“How far is it?”
“To Lord Eryant’s stronghold?” I nodded. He shrugged. “A day’s ride.”
“I will take her,” I volunteered. He looked surprised so I explained. “I am the best choice. If you are making a stand, you will need to lay low and keep the other men with you for protection. The press gangs will be roaming the roads. They won’t be interested in two women should they spot us.”
“They might be interested in you for other reasons.”
I shook my head. “I know how to keep them at bay. Trust me. There are a couple options, and I need to speak with Kat to choose which to use. So, how are you planning to make your claim?”
“I was thinking of sending word to King Orac,” he grimaced at the name, “stating that I wish to lay claim to lands. I will say that I have just returned to my home, found it in disrepair and my people being treated like vassals of his Enforcer. I will state that I wish to swear allegiance to his throne and take my rightful place.”
“Then what?”
“Then we wait. I am hoping that when he arrives at the celebration, I will be able to present myself as a mighty leader willing to join forces with the king. To do this I will have to organize the farmers as best I can, gather my father’s former troops, the ones I can, and parade into town.”
“With Lord Eryant’s backing.”
He shook his head. “All I can ask of Lord Eryant is that he protect Kat. This move is imprudent at best and down right foolish at worst. I will not ask him to back my claim at the detriment of his own prestige. He is a good man. I do not want to make trouble between him and the king.”
I watched him throw away his branch. I had no qualms about asking Lord Eryant for his assistance. I would try to speak to him while I was there delivering Kat.
“Kat is not going to go willingly,” he muttered to himself.
“Let me speak to her. I think I can explain it so that she will understand.”
He smiled over at me in relief. “Thank you. I am still not too happy about facing Svhen, Dardon, and Arthus when I return.”
“I thought they were for you taking a stand and claiming your title and lands.”
“Just watch. When I tell them, they will change sides.” He brushed his hands off on his shirt and then stared at it as though just realizing how soaked he really was. “How long have I been gone?”
“Kat said you left two hours before I returned and it has been at least an hour since then.”
“We should go.” He started off in the direction he had come, tramping through the underbrush and pushing aside branches as he fought his way out into the open. I followed at a distance, planning my own strategy on how to help my new found family.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
“How can I do it?” Kat demanded later that evening in the dinky kitchen. Her blue eyes flashed fire at me. “I have never left my brother before and I am not going to leave him now. I have only just begun to see glimmers of the man he used to be. I am not willing to leave. I don’t want him to retreat to the shell that came home from the war.”
There was barely enough room for two. I was thankful for that fact because it had kept the others from follow us in there.
“Kat, listen to me for a minute. I understand your anguish. I too have lost brothers that I sometimes doubt that I will ever see again. I have seen the shattered souls that remain within the eyes of the battle-scarred. I am telling you that this is the only way you can help your brother.”
“How?” Kat flung the word at me. Anger flushed her cheeks and brightened her eyes, but I identified the emotion behind them, fear.
“Get me an audience with Lord Eryant.”
“What? How will that help my brother?”
“He is not willing to ask Lord Eryant for help in his claim, but I have no such restraints. I intend to speak with the man and ask for the support that Tourth so desperately needs.”
She considered this. “If you ask in the right way, he will listen. I cannot guarantee he will do it though.”
“We won’t know until we try,” I pointed out. “We can’t try unless you go, and go willingly.”
“If Tourth figures out your plan, he will stop you.”
“Then don’t tell him.” I held out my hand to her. “I want to help you, Kat. Will you help me?”
She regarded me for a moment. “You truly are an unusual woman.” She smiled and took my hand. “Now how are we getting over the mountain?”
“Ah, I have a few ideas.” I smiled mischievously. “Shall we be old women, young men, or lepers?” Her eyes widened in surprise. “Don’t worry. This will be fun.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wren Romany - © 2009 Rachel Rossano
I had to do something. There were no more harvests to give me an excuse to stall. I still had no idea what to decide, though. I had mulled and prayed the past two weeks almost constantly. My mind retraced the familiar arguments. I counted the options as the water coursed down my face.
I could leave, pack up everyone and leave. We had little to live on and even less to take with us, but we could seek our fortune in another valley. However, something within me couldn’t bare the thought of leaving. Despite the fact it was a fraction of what my childhood home had been, it was still my home. The place I had envisioned coming home to every night and where I wanted to be.
Another possibility was what my comrades at arms had suggested. I could stand up and fight. Claiming my inheritance and all that was due me was as risky as leaving was heart wrenching. There was no hope that in my and my men’s strength alone we could withstand Orac’s Enforcer long enough to stake and validate my claim. There had to be a third option.
“Tourth.”
A familiar voice broke through my thoughts. I looked up to find myself standing at the door to the old guard quarters where we lived. I was home. As I thought back I had no recollection of walking the three miles between the farm and there.
“You really need to pay more attention to your surroundings,” Roulf cautioned as he appeared at my side. “I have been trailing you for a mile now, and you didn’t so much as look around. If I had known that you were being this careless I would have come sooner.”
I frowned at him. That sounded bad. “Why?” I opened the door and stepped inside, dripping rainwater all over the fresh rushes Kat had laid down the day before. The smell of slightly burnt meat filled my nose almost instantly.
“The Enforcer has started using press gangs to pick up every available male in the valley. He intends to have his mansion finished for the anticipated arrival of King Orac.”
“When is this to happen?” I asked, sinking to the bench next to the door to remove my boots.
“A day you should know well,” the shopkeeper replied solemnly. “He is coming for the celebration marking the anniversary of his ascension to the throne.”
My hands froze, laces dropped from suddenly unresponsive fingers as my head filled with the memories of that terrible day. Marching through the city streets with my hands bound behind me, the jeering crowds pressing us on all sides, I closed my eyes, but the images were not easily closed out.
“Press gangs?” I struggled to get my brain to think.
“Oh, it is you.” Kat entered the room. “Hello, Roulf, what brings you here?”
“Bad news, I fear,” he informed her, laying a hand on my shoulder. “Are you going to be alright, Tourth?”
I nodded. “Just give me a minute. Some memories are harder to banish than others.” I carefully gathered up my laces and retied my boots. I needed to think, and being shut in doors was not going to help me do that. I thought better when I was in motion, I always had. “I am going to take a walk.”
“But it is raining outside,” Kat protested.
“The press gangs…” Roulf didn’t stop in time to check his words. Kat’s face drained of color.
“What press gangs?” she asked.
I sighed heavily. “I will stay close to the keep and out of sight,” I assured Roulf before leaning over to kiss the top of my sister’s head. “Give Roulf some food and something warm to drink. He can fill you in and the others when they arrive. I need to think on my own for a bit before we decide what to do.”
Kat searched my face for a moment before nodded. “Be safe,” she cautioned before turning to Roulf. “I am sorry to say I have only burnt venison to offer you and some mulled cider.”
“That sounds filling Miss Mynth,” Roulf was saying as I closed the door behind me. He would explain things better than I could and soothe her worry a bit in the process.
I stepped out into the ever increasing down pour and headed out to the east, up the valley toward the tree line. There were no roads in that direction, only wilderness, trees, and wild animals. In this downpour I doubted any animals would be moving about to bother me and the shelter of the thick wood would be perfect for thinking. I turned my face toward my destination and started praying.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wren
He wasn’t a total idiot. I had to admit that. As I stood in the shelter of a rather large pine with more character than its neighbors, I watched Tourth.
Kat was right. He obviously needed to move to think. He paced back and forth along the top of a fallen tree. He struck the side at regular intervals with a stick in his right hand. I couldn’t hear his voice, but his lips moved as though he were speaking to himself or perhaps praying. A fall of sopping brown hair was plastered to his forehead. I was debating whether or not I should interrupt his thoughts when he turned and jumped off the log with a squelch. Frowning down at his soaked feet, he grew still amid the constant uneven tempo of rain dripping from leaf to leaf over our heads.
I stepped from my shelter and approached him. “Have you decided?”
His head snapped up in surprise. “How did you find me?” he demanded. “I didn’t leave a trail.”
I debated letting on that he had. His trail, though fainter than the one an inexperienced man might have left, had been pretty easy to follow. Settling on a more elusive response, I shrugged. “Kat asked us to look for you. She is getting worried.”
“She sent all of them out to look for me? And only you found me.”
“I figured you would choose somewhere out of the way to think. I had come bearing news, but Roulf said he had already informed you about the press gangs. He didn’t say anything about the Enforcer having an eye for attractive women, but I am guessing that is old news.”
He nodded, retreating again behind a contemplative mask. “That is why Kat rarely leaves the keep.”
Silence settled between us. The shadows, deepened by the setting sun weighed upon us as we stood.
“So, have you made a decision?”
“Part of one.” I raised my eyebrows and regarded him patiently. Finally he glanced my way and interpreted the expression. “Kat needs to go to Lord Eryant.”
“She isn’t going to go willingly.”
“Well, she doesn’t have a choice,” he replied more forcefully as he studied the branch still in his hand. “I can’t protect her anymore, and I am going to need all of my attention and concentration for what lies ahead. Worrying about her safety would be a distraction I cannot allow myself. She has to go.”
I watched the play of emotion in his features: fear, resolve, determination, and uncertainty in almost equal parts. “You are going to stake a claim on your title.”
He pinned me with a dark gaze scanned my face briefly. “Yes. I have no other choice.”
Although a number of alternatives jumped to my mind, I didn’t open my mouth. If all the prayer and thought had culminated in this decision, I was willing to wager that it was Deus’ will.
“How far is it?”
“To Lord Eryant’s stronghold?” I nodded. He shrugged. “A day’s ride.”
“I will take her,” I volunteered. He looked surprised so I explained. “I am the best choice. If you are making a stand, you will need to lay low and keep the other men with you for protection. The press gangs will be roaming the roads. They won’t be interested in two women should they spot us.”
“They might be interested in you for other reasons.”
I shook my head. “I know how to keep them at bay. Trust me. There are a couple options, and I need to speak with Kat to choose which to use. So, how are you planning to make your claim?”
“I was thinking of sending word to King Orac,” he grimaced at the name, “stating that I wish to lay claim to lands. I will say that I have just returned to my home, found it in disrepair and my people being treated like vassals of his Enforcer. I will state that I wish to swear allegiance to his throne and take my rightful place.”
“Then what?”
“Then we wait. I am hoping that when he arrives at the celebration, I will be able to present myself as a mighty leader willing to join forces with the king. To do this I will have to organize the farmers as best I can, gather my father’s former troops, the ones I can, and parade into town.”
“With Lord Eryant’s backing.”
He shook his head. “All I can ask of Lord Eryant is that he protect Kat. This move is imprudent at best and down right foolish at worst. I will not ask him to back my claim at the detriment of his own prestige. He is a good man. I do not want to make trouble between him and the king.”
I watched him throw away his branch. I had no qualms about asking Lord Eryant for his assistance. I would try to speak to him while I was there delivering Kat.
“Kat is not going to go willingly,” he muttered to himself.
“Let me speak to her. I think I can explain it so that she will understand.”
He smiled over at me in relief. “Thank you. I am still not too happy about facing Svhen, Dardon, and Arthus when I return.”
“I thought they were for you taking a stand and claiming your title and lands.”
“Just watch. When I tell them, they will change sides.” He brushed his hands off on his shirt and then stared at it as though just realizing how soaked he really was. “How long have I been gone?”
“Kat said you left two hours before I returned and it has been at least an hour since then.”
“We should go.” He started off in the direction he had come, tramping through the underbrush and pushing aside branches as he fought his way out into the open. I followed at a distance, planning my own strategy on how to help my new found family.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
“How can I do it?” Kat demanded later that evening in the dinky kitchen. Her blue eyes flashed fire at me. “I have never left my brother before and I am not going to leave him now. I have only just begun to see glimmers of the man he used to be. I am not willing to leave. I don’t want him to retreat to the shell that came home from the war.”
There was barely enough room for two. I was thankful for that fact because it had kept the others from follow us in there.
“Kat, listen to me for a minute. I understand your anguish. I too have lost brothers that I sometimes doubt that I will ever see again. I have seen the shattered souls that remain within the eyes of the battle-scarred. I am telling you that this is the only way you can help your brother.”
“How?” Kat flung the word at me. Anger flushed her cheeks and brightened her eyes, but I identified the emotion behind them, fear.
“Get me an audience with Lord Eryant.”
“What? How will that help my brother?”
“He is not willing to ask Lord Eryant for help in his claim, but I have no such restraints. I intend to speak with the man and ask for the support that Tourth so desperately needs.”
She considered this. “If you ask in the right way, he will listen. I cannot guarantee he will do it though.”
“We won’t know until we try,” I pointed out. “We can’t try unless you go, and go willingly.”
“If Tourth figures out your plan, he will stop you.”
“Then don’t tell him.” I held out my hand to her. “I want to help you, Kat. Will you help me?”
She regarded me for a moment. “You truly are an unusual woman.” She smiled and took my hand. “Now how are we getting over the mountain?”
“Ah, I have a few ideas.” I smiled mischievously. “Shall we be old women, young men, or lepers?” Her eyes widened in surprise. “Don’t worry. This will be fun.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wren Romany - © 2009 Rachel Rossano
posted by Rachel Rossano at 3:23 PM
4 Comments:
Wow. That last paragraph gives me shivers of anticipation. Great chapter. I half expected the press gangs to capture Tourth as he wandered in the woods.
I'm loving it Rachel!!!
See what happens when I turn off my subscription to Romany Epistles. Silly girl, what were you thinking?
This world feels very much ALIVE. Some fantasy worlds just end up as carbon copies of the same, quasi-Middle-Earth generic fantasy setting. I think there are still things you can do to give us a better sense of geography (Although that could just be me...I'm not getting a good sense of how far away the mansion is, how far the village is, the distance between the various farms. I even missed the fact that there was a mountain there. So, yeah, it probably is just me). But this is definitely a world where, when it rains, puddles form, soil turns to mud, and you get in such a fog you don't feel like moving.
As for Wren...if she were real, I would be a little intimidated of her, but once I got past her reserved exterior, I bet she would be one of my close friends.
For "The Companions": They have lots of personality, and are great characters. I love the way you play them, one off the others. I look forward to their interactions in each chapter.
And Tourth.
What to say about the leading man... He certainly has depth and complexity, and I love the seriousness in his manner toward his people.
You can feel it coming, can't you... the big word "but..."
Okay, here it is...
Tourth is almost too serious. He doesn't laugh, he barely smiles. I know this is a tense situation, but when things get tough people need something to ease the tension. Arthus, Dardan, Svhen, and Kat all have each other, but Tourth seems set apart from them. He needs to relax a little. Too much stress will tear a person into pieces.
I care about Tourth. That's why I'm saying this. I don't want him to be torn into pieces. I just want this reluctant hero to turn into something more.
And that includes a sense of humor. :-)
Alright, I think I've said enough. I'll talk to you again next chapter.
Thank you all for your comments. Thank you, especially, Michelle. Your comment really helps a lot.
I will see what I can do about adding more of a large scale setting to the story. I will try to go back and add it to the previous chapters in my master file too. Yes, I agree, Tourth is way to serious and preoccupied about all of his troubles. I am sure Wren sees it and is planning something to make him lighten up, or at least open up with his friends. They are there for him afterall. :)
I am glad the 'family' of characters have come to life. I wanted to be sure to make them vibrant and unique, with each a purpose and personality that comes across in their actions and words. It is nice to know that I am achieving a bit of that.
I can't help smiling at your observation of Wren's exterior reserve being hard to get past. She is a bit distant. I am hoping she will begin to open up as the story progresses. :)
Thank you all again.
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