SWNOVELS Chapter † 21 - decisions †
White froth splashes wildly over a rock submerged in the river, spraying Gawayn with a faint mist where he kneels quietly, studying the tracks in the soft mud.
Wiping his hand across his face, stubble prickling his hand gently, he looks over to where Dallin crouches under a tree, studying the ground intently.
‘He has a lot of promise.’
Gawayn talks softly to himself as he stands up and moves closer to where Dallin is.
Dusk setting in quickly causes the trees shadows to stretch across the ground, elongated and warped in the weakened light. With the heat of the day lifting a chilly mist air creeps into the air, lifting from the cold river evaporating.
Gawayn stops quietly behind Dallin, who unaware of Gawayn’s approach, starts and jumps backwards as the Protector’s shadow falls over him. Tugging roughly at his belt he rips a dagger from the sheath tied to his belt.
‘Easy there!’ Gawayn orders gruffly, only crouching down next to Dallin when he had relaxed.
‘Did not mean to scare you, but if you want to be a Protector you must be able to listen while you work. Divide your levels of awareness or you will soon be finished.’
Dallin bobs his head, face flushed, ashamed of his lack of
restraint or attentiveness.
‘Now what did you discover here?’
Gawayn tries to move the conversation to a different subject, more for the sake of moving on then being worried about Dallin’s feelings or pride.
‘They sat here. It is hard to discern but I think there are at least three of them.’
Pointing with his finger he indicates some small indentations in the grass.
‘Hmmm... that is very well done! I looked down closer to the river, there are actually four of them.’
‘Four?’
‘Yes. They must have had some help other than just Virian... it was definitely her. I know her footprint well enough to recognize it. But the other person is an unknown.’
Dallin looks astonished at Gawayn, eyes filled with apprehension.
‘So an outsider helped them? Not one of our people?’
‘It would seem to be the case.’
Gawayn folds his feet under him as he sits down, green shirt loosened at the collar.
‘Now we have choices that we need to make.’
Dallin looks sharply at Gawayn, unsure of what he means and sits down roughly.
‘What do you mean choices?!’
Gawayn looks away, his glance gliding over the water and focussing on something in the distance, before he turns back to look Dallin square in the face. Mouth set in a tight line, jaw clamped and muscles tensed he begins slowly.
‘They are going to cross the river. They are leaving the boundaries of Reish.’
Dallin tries to keep his face impassive as he hears the shocking revelation.
‘We must decide if we will pursue them further or if we are returning to Reishod with the news that they have escaped.’
‘Are those the only two choices? What will Beril do if we come back empty-handed?’
Dallin scratches at his head vigorously, anxiously sweating in the heat.
‘Well, you can return to Reishod and report while I continue following them. The other villagers have probably already returned after we had lost them in the forest.’
‘True, but you can not go out there alone. It is too dangerous!’
‘I have too, Dallin! Whatever you decide I must go on.’
‘Why? Why must you go? Come back with me to Reishod. We can forget about this mess ever occurring.’
’I can not Dallin. Understand. I have my reasons to want to go on. I have never been happy spending my days alone in this
forest.’
‘So you just want to use following them as an excuse to leave without questions?’
‘Yes and no. I have a good reason why I need to follow them, but things are changing in Reish, and not for the better of our people. You heard what Beril said! He wants to get rid of the Elders!’
Gawayn looks into the sky, eyes following a hawk soaring high in the air, hot air buffeting its strong wings, lifting it higher.
Feeling a pang in his heart Gawayn looks down, wiping a single tear from the side of his nose.
‘The other reason why I need to follow... I... I... am in love... with Talli!’
Voice cracking Gawayn lowers his head, smothering the last few words in his chest.
‘What!’ Dallin stares at Gawayn surprised, understanding crossing his face.
‘You heard me. I do not expect you to understand... I have loved her for as long as I can remember. Our families were close. I have been waiting for the chance to tell her, but I was ordered to wait by the Elders till after she had been named.’
Dallin whispers softly, his voice barely carrying to where Gawayn sits.
‘I understand why.’
‘I have to find her, even if it is just to keep her safe and not to bring her back here.’
Dallin lifts his eyes slowly, mouth pursed in derision.
‘I will go with you, Gawayn!’
‘What!?’
Nodding his head wildly, Dallin jumps to his feet almost screaming in excitement.
‘I am leaving Reish with you! I will help you find them.’
‘No! I can not allow that. If you leave they will impose banishment on you. I can not have that on my conscience.’
‘Oh, to hell with them and all their rules! I am tired of all these rules and regulations saying what you are allowed to do and what you are not.’
Gawayn stares, mouth agape at this violent outburst, shrugging his shoulders in silent acceptance.
‘So that is settled then. Tomorrow we will start scouring the river bank for clues as to where they crossed over. So far we know they headed in that direction.’
Dallin points his finger towards the darker northern horizon.
Gawayn nods and moves back into the trees behind them, gesturing Dallin after him as he walks.
‘We had better get some wood to make a fire. No need to stay hungry, they already know we are coming.’
Dallin follows Gawayn silently, thinking of the decision he
had just made.
‘Dallin! You collect some firewood while I search for something to eat. I will not be long.’
‘Alright Gawayn. I will set camp up over by the tree we just left.’
Gawayn nods his head and sets off deeper into the forest, eyes darting around as he searches for berries and other edible food. Gawayn disappears rapidly amongst the trees, the thick foliage hiding his green clothes with ease.
Dallin looks around him. The immediate vicinity of forest floor is vacant of loose and dead branches. The forest begins to darken quickly and he rushes off into the bushes, eyes darting around as he searches for wood.
Darkness hangs thick in the air, the gurgle of the river close by a continuous rumble, the ground trembling from the force flowing swiftly past. Firelight casts a circular glow of light on the ground, flickering light dancing across the trees nearby.
Sitting silently, his knees pulled up to his chest, dark eyes glistening and sparkling as he stares unblinking into the depths of the fire, Dallin sighs.
Crickets chirp softly in the forest behind him, their endless song scratching at his tensed nerves.
Crashhh!
Jumping up Dallin looks around him, searching with fire
blinded eyes into dark night.
‘Who... who’s there?’
Voice trembling he reaches for his dagger, his fingers shaking uncontrollably.
‘It is only me. Relax Dallin.’
Gawayn comes walking from the dark forest, a brilliant white smile stretching from cheek to cheek.
‘My but you are jumpy. You have to learn to be more at ease with your surroundings.’
Gawayn eases the mocking from his voice as he adds more gently, ‘Every day you are with me you will learn something new. How would you like that?’
Dallin looks askance at Gawayn, unsure if he is as sincere as he tries to sound. Not noticing any maliciousness in his demeanour, Dallin nods his head in agreement.
‘I would like that, Sir. I would give anything to be a master tracker... one day, perhaps be a Protector.’
‘You have the skills for it. You just need some training and direction.’
As Gawayn moves closer to the fire, Dallin notices that his arms are laden with various roots and tubers.
‘What are those?’
Gawayn looks down to where Dallin is pointing, amusement in his eyes.
’These, my boy, are what we Protectors would call, travelling
food.’
‘Yes, but what are they? I never thought one could eat any of those fruits.’
Gawayn drops the collection of food on the ground next to the fire and kneels down on one knee.
‘This one’, holding up a longish brown tuber, ‘is the fruit of a Lango Tree. Sweet, but not very tasty. It has fast amounts of sugar in it, good for when you are low on energy.’
Gawayn drops the Lango fruit down next to two others of its kind, picking up a round greenish fruit.
‘This is a Baro and is very similar to an orange. The small thin roots are Birt roots and they have a lot of starch in them. The small black berries are Nightdrops. They have a tangy taste to them and can actually be quite bitter if they are not ripe yet.’
Dallin nods dutifully as Gawayn explains the different qualities of the food, then sits down on the soft grass beneath him as Gawayn rummages through his pack and pulls out a pot.
Gawayn stands up and walks to the river close by, returning with the pot filled half way and places it inside the red hot coals. Kneeling down next to the pot, he picks up the Birt roots, dropping them into the pot as he slices them into small pieces.
Satisfied he sits back and looks over at where Dallin sits,
quietly taking in everything he had just done. Both men stay
still as the water in the pot begins to sizzle, steam rising into the air.
‘Gawayn?’
Gawayn looks up at Dallin, a quizzical frown creasing his brow.
‘Yes, what is it Dallin?’
‘How did it happen? I mean... when did you... when did you fall in love with Talli?’
Gawayn looks into the fire, lips pursed; jaws clenched tightly; cheek muscles jumping from the force. Dallin looks into the fire ashamedly, regretting the question.
‘I am sorry. It is not my place to pry.’
Looking up sharply, Gawayn’s eyes flashes angrily, before it soothes out into silent acceptance.
Silence hangs heavily in the air between them, the boiling water and river the only sounds floating through the air.
Gawayn looks over at Dallin and regrets his stoic silence and reluctance to answer the question.
‘I... I saved her when she was younger.’
His voice comes halting and soft, barely audible over the boiling water.
Dallin looks up from the fire, sees the anguish in Gawayn’s eyes and stays quiet.
’She has always been wild and free. Some say she is a little too wild for her own good, but that is what I find most
attractive in her.’
Gawayn pauses, reaches forward with his knife and stirs the roots boiling in the pot, before adding sliced Baro into the stewing water.
‘She was alone in the forest one day, playing or chasing something, when she startled a wild pig feeding in a glade. The wild pig stormed her and gouged her open along her ribs. Luckily I was close enough to hear her scream.’
Gawayn stops talking as the scene flashes in his mind again.
’She was so beautiful, so alluring. Even though she was badly hurt she had the strength of will to stand and fight. That was how I found her. Knife in one hand, face in a wild grimace, eyes blazing angrily.
The pig was circling around her, looking for an opening to attack. That was when I shot it.’
Dallin shakes his head, admiration shining from his eyes.
‘That was how we met. We became friends after that, but ever since that day I have been waiting for her to come of age so I can pledge my love.’
Gawayn goes silent, pained eyes dropping back to the fire as he sighs.
‘That is why I have to follow them.’
‘I understand better now.’ Dallin says softly as he nods his head.
Silence falls over them again, each one immersed in their own thoughts.
‘Let’s eat and then get some sleep. We need to rise early tomorrow if we want to catch up to them.’
Dallin shuffles forward hastily, his stomach growling loudly as he catches the aroma drifting from the pot.
Moving forward very slowly, early dawn brightening their surroundings vaguely, Gawayn follows the tracks indented in the mud.
Fat gobbets of water fall to the ground, his green clothes still wet from having had to cross the river earlier.
‘Here! Here is where they crossed over.’ He calls back to Dallin following sullenly behind.
Excitement ripples between them at the discovery, all thoughts of being cold pushed aside.
‘It looks like they are heading into the north reaches.’
Gawayn rubs his thickening beard before setting off after the fading tracks.
‘What is there?’ Dallin asks excitedly, jogging closely behind Gawayn.
’I have never been this far, but I have seen maps of this area. Almost forty leagues north-west from here lies a great lake. Ashar Lake to be exact. And further north from there, the mountains. Let us hope we catch up to them before they
reach that. Or else all hope of finding them is lost.’
Dallin smiles happily as he follows Gawayn further away from the river, the roar fading as they crest a small hill. The thrill of adventure coursing through his body, Dallin whistles lively, a bounce in his steps.