Gefforen followed her heroine up the narrow spiral stairway and pushed past the similar door located at the top. The doors on the opposite side of the corridor were all open, like the ones downstairs, so Eshezy walked through the nearest one. Inside, she found a carved wooden framework with two levels of smallish beds on the left wall, matched by a similar but slightly larger structure on the opposite wall. Between the beds, the view out through the large window there showed the well down below and the line of townspeople, now much shorter and of course foreshortened, still waiting for their water. Many of the townspeople were sitting in the now flattened, finer grass near the house to the right, across the rectangle of grass near to the opposite wing, or below and left, near the wing where Eshezy and Gefforen were now situated.
Eshezy found the window latch, and working it, pushed the window outwards, as it was hinged at the top. “Hey, Basrillene!” The shaggy mop of black hair moved as the lad stopped mid-pour and looked up, finding the two faces in the upper floor window.
“Eshezy, the well water is fantastic!” He gestured to the cart, where Jeraldanine was now sitting up. The redhead turned, smiled and waved. Larkandert was still in attendance and he waved too.
“Good! Bring two who can look afar and meet me at the back door – where I went in.”
Basrillene nodded, passed the ‘water boy’ responsibilities to one of those whose thirst he had already satisfied and jogged over to the original structure, gesturing for one of the cart-pullers to join him and grabbing Shenanik too.
“Gefforen, go down and bring them up here. I’ll be down at the far end – the end facing towards Neechaall.” Eshezy saw her young helper back into the spiral staircase and then walked down to the far end. She was impressed, yet again, by the number of paces this took. Once there, finding a slightly larger than usual window on the end wall in the last, larger bedded room, in addition to the one facing across towards the other wing, she stared out over the grasslands, down the flattened section of trail which led back towards the town and the soon-to-return and therefore soon-to-be-alerted soldiers. How did I not see this as I was approaching? She shook her head, and then grinned wryly as the answer came to mind: I never looked up!
Seirchaal
Far away – he watched Earth again, but this time it was with a portion of admiration, for the creature whose paw prints he observed had stalked and killed dozens of humans, using its claws, teeth and wits. If I chose to become an animal, I would be a leopard! They are so fast, so strong, and they fear no one. Aaaah! To savour the moment of destruction! Sometimes I would grant a quick death, complete with screaming, pain and lots of blood, of course – oh, that would be a new high, no matter how fast it occurred, one I could savour, too, over and over again. We think alike, this leopard and I, though with the closing in of the game keepers and police, this creature’s days must be numbered. Perhaps I could rescue it, too? Ha! What panic if would produce, if released in Terraless! The life they have there, it is far too easy… this will change!
I will prepare to capture this beast – though with such a fast mover, it will be a great challenge… a challenge I will succeed at, of course! Terror will be more, not less, in Terraless, if I have anything to do with it!
Chapter Four
SomeOne
“Eshezy, this is a truly wondrous place!” Basrillene knelt before Eshezy as soon as he had traversed the long corridor. His expression of wonder made him look like a pilgrim arriving at a holy site. “You have changed, in truth the most amazing change that has ever happened to us…”
Shenanik and the other as-yet unidentified but bright-eyed cart-puller stood a little nervously behind him, looking at the walls and windows without moving their heads.
“That’s because I was not brought here by Seirchaal.” Eshezy was uncertain about the intelligibility of the young lad’s statement – or whether it was in fact an attempt at a complement – but she did feel a sense of another layer suddenly peeling away from the mystery that tantalised her every waking moment. “Now, we must be ready for the soldiers, as no doubt they will return to Neechaall and follow the trail we have left to this Fortress.”
While she was speaking, the diminutive steps of a runner could be heard coming up the passageway. Jeraldanine – for that was who it was – pushed past the two older youths, and Eshezy could see that she had brought her bow and quiver with her.
She bowed her head. “I thank you for your magic well, Eshezy, and wish I could bring you a gift of thanks of my own creation, half as powerful as your bow and arrows.”
“Never was a girl more deserving of being restored to health! Let me see your leg.” Eshezy knelt by her and checked the wound, smiling with relief as she noted that the redness had almost entirely disappeared. Jeraldanine hugged her and was squeezed tightly in return. The others waited as Eshezy stood again.
“You may have been brought here by Seirchaal.” She directed her words to the small group now assembled before her. “But as of now, I claim you – I claim all of you, for… Someone Else…” Here Eshezy paused, hoping for the name to come to her, for in the same way as she had somehow discovered that the cruel taskmaster known as Seirchaal was not her ‘benefactor’, she had simultaneously felt, deeply, indisputably, and of course impossibly, that there was ‘Somebody’ far greater, Someone with a deep interest in the humans within Terraless. “I’m sorry, but I cannot tell you Her name.” As she said this, a wave of chills ran up her spine, her head pounded, and a burst of heat filled her chest, making it hard to continue.
Jeraldanine reached out and grasped her heroine’s elbow to steady her, as she saw her sway. “Should I get you some well water, or will ‘She Who Has Not Been Named’ restore you?”
Eshezy grinned and stabilised herself with her hand on the child’s shoulder. “She Who Has Not Been Named has given me you to help me!”
Jeraldanine blushed and looked at the much taller youths around her with a new feeling of belonging and the three lads looked at her in turn with a new measure of respect.
A great calm descended, as each person present pondered on this revelation, flowing into an interlude without words.
“We have never seen such marvels as your bow and your arrows.” The as-yet un-introduced youth finally ventured to comment, echoing Jeraldanine’s earlier remark and moving away from the mysticism which had overawed and temporarily silenced them all. “But somehow we all seem to know what they are called and how they would work…”
Eshezy looked at him as her state of balance was gradually restored; she saw a lad about her height, with dark, shaggy, unevenly cut hair, a gentle, somewhat boyish face and eyes of a piercingly bright blue. “Basrillene has not given me your name, but I can see that I will have no difficulty remembering you – both for your perceptive words and for your eyes.” Here Eshezy could not think of a worthy adjective.
The lad smiled and looked even younger – if that were possible – though Eshezy knew he had been helping to move the cart with the supplies, so she felt sure he was older than he looked. “My name is Athanashal, and my eyes can indeed see a great deal…”
“Good! How soon can we expect those soldiers to get here?” Eshezy turned to Basrillene, finding his grey eyes easier to focus on.
“It is time to eat again now, and then to sleep – but if they come as soon as they get back from the mines –”
“Yes of course, they will take less time to get here than we did, with our slow-moving carts.” Eshezy considered this for a moment, then continued: “Look out here.” She took them the couple of paces to the window looking back along the trail. “I want everyone inside before they get here, but there’s one more thing that needs to be done before that.” She looked at Shenanik, taking in his attentive demeanour.
“I can see well, too.” He offered. As if to prove this, he stepped up to the glass and stared. “There!” He said after a moment, and pointed.
Athanashal and the others looked dutifully, but only the piercing blue eyes o
f the afore-mentioned found the point of interest. “Yes, from up here, you can see a bit of the darker, tree-topped hills behind the mine.”
Eshezy looked and found to her amazement that she seemed to be able to zoom in as she concentrated. Her hand found Jeraldanine’s shoulder again and she squeezed the child unthinkingly. The smudge of darkness resolved itself into a few dozen trees, deep green, pointy… “Pines!” Or something similar. “I want the two of you – Shenanik and Athanashal – to be stationed - one in this spot, and the other one over there.” (Here she gestured to the window on their right, through which they could see the corresponding window and wall of the other ‘wing’ of the Fortress which stretched towards the distant but no longer observable Neechaall, now hidden in the slight dip where it resided by the river). “I want you, Jeraldanine, and another – perhaps you could find one, Basrillene – to be their ‘runners’, and to go and tell Basrillene as soon as the soldiers are spotted. Now, I must go to find the miners and offer them sanctuary.”
Basrillene looked concerned, though he knew she had already determined to do this. “What is the other thing?” He questioned finally, admitting his ignorance.
“This tall grass is a great hiding place, and would also burn very well.” Eshezy saw some understanding in the group and of course Athanashal was almost instantly in complete accord with her. “Tell them what is needed, Athanashal!”
“Well.” He began a little hesitantly, as he felt awkward speaking before her and knew Basrillene was his de facto leader. “The grass should be cut and brought inside – that way we can harvest the grain from it and clear the view and the fire hazard in one move.”
Eshezy smiled. Again, a feeling of clarity swept over her, though this time she managed not to sway. “There is a room – I’m sorry, I don’t know which – that has a stock of scythes in it.”
“I’ll bring everyone in, get most of them assigned rooms and send some of them to search.” Basrillene responded. “We’ll find the scythes and have it done before the soldiers could possibly get here.”
“Excellent!” Eshezy nodded and took her bow and the quiver. “I think it’s on the ground floor. And find a room suitable to put the two soldiers in – there will be at least one with bolts on the outside.” The certainty of this was indisputable to her. “When Carranavak wakes up, you can tell him to look after the other one. I’ll figure out what to do with them when I return.”
“I’ll put Larkandert in charge of that.”
“Now, I must find Gefforen and get going.” She left the little gathering and went back to the circular stairwell located about halfway back along the passageway. As she descended, she noticed that the reason why she could see in this otherwise solid tube of precisely hewn, carved and fitted rocks was because the roof above was partially glassed and the steps underfoot had gaps built into them to let the light filter down. At the bottom she almost tripped over Gefforen, crouching in the gloom. “Oh dear! Sorry! Are you alright?”
Gefforen grinned nervously. “It felt safe in here…”
Eshezy looked at her, worried that she would be asking too much of her, but knowing that she needed the young girl’s skills at hiding if she was to avoid ‘bumping into’ the soldiers on her journey. “I want you to help me to find my way back to Neechaall, but not along the path.”
“I can do that.” Gefforen’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as she agreed to help despite her anxieties. She noticed the quiver now slung over Eshezy’s shoulder. “I wish you had those other arrows.”
Eshezy sat down on the steps as clarity enfolded her again. Incredible! She knew instantly that there was a box full of arrows in the armoury and could even see the outer surface of the box in her mind’s eye. “Don’t worry so much, Gefforen! Let me show you something before we leave.” She stood up again, pulled the door in and stepped out into the lower corridor. Funny, it seems so empty now, but in a few minutes, it will be teeming with life!
Gefforen followed as Eshezy led her back to the great room with the massive fireplace, and – on the other side of the equally massive front door – found herself facing a bronze-overlaid panel, which swung inwards as her fearless leader worked the dragon-head handle.
“Come on in.”
Gefforen stepped into the gloom and looked around in increasing wonder as her eyes adjusted and the treasures became visible to her. “Oh Eshezy, you are so powerful!” She touched one of the helmets and then the pommel of a sword.
“And here.” Eshezy pulled at an eagle head carving on the wall behind the hatch. “Is a huge box of arrows.”
“I’ll put as many as I can in your quiver,” Gefforen offered as she began doing just that. After she had squeezed a further eight into the space and taken one out because she realised it was too tight, she stepped back and looked around some more.
Eshezy watched her young friend. The first person I met, and the only one that succeeded in scaring me! She recalled the screams with a wry amusement. “Come on! We’ve got to get something to eat, something from my Fortress, now that we don’t have any loaves.”
Gefforen followed her heroine back to the kitchen and was amazed yet again when another hidden compartment opened with Eshezy’s deft touch and revealed a block of pink, glistening material with a white haze over it. The scent of the meat wafted up to her a moment later, and her mouth started to water. “What is that?”
“It is called meat. I ate some with the loaf you left for me, but for now we must eat it without any bread.” Eshezy grabbed the bronzy knife and sliced off two hunks, realising – as she had expected – that the block was somehow complete again. Amazing, but still, I knew it! The fairly substantial portion she had chopped off just the previous day and then carved into bite-sized slivers on the cutting board had somehow ‘grown back’, or otherwise been seamlessly replaced. “We’ll take these with us and tell Basrillene to organise a meal for everyone else as soon as the ground outside is cleared.”
A few minutes later, Eshezy and Gefforen found themselves walking into the tall grasses to the right of the huge path down to Neechaall and nibbling at the meat as the Fortress disappeared from view behind them. Each of them had two leathern pouches full of well water hanging from their belts; Eshezy held her short sword in one hand as she clasped the meat with the other.
The meat was soon gone, and, after Eshezy cleaned her hands with a little of the precious well water and dried them on the cloth she had hung beside her scabbard, she plucked one of the thirteen arrows at random and laid it in place on the bow, where her ‘bow-hand’ kept it from slipping away. That feels better. I know this is my best fighting skill.
“Eshezy?” Gefforen spoke quietly as she led the way, barely a half step ahead of her fearsome leader. “How is it that you are here? And… I do realise you are not the same Eshezy that lived here before.”
“Ah yes, you did not hear what I told the others.” Eshezy recalled the conversation at the newly designated look-out station, unconcerned, now she had become comfortable with the moniker, that she was not the original owner of it. “There is One whom I cannot name, who is deeply concerned with all of you. I believe – no, I know – that She brought me here to help you… There may be other purposes, too.”
“She Who Cannot Be Named is good!” Gefforen cut through the mystery and found the key to the knowledge that had been imparted so unexpectedly.
“Yes, She is. She is nothing like Seirchaal. She watches over us and it was She who changed this Fortress, not me.”
Gefforen looked at her, recalling the things she had seen Eshezy do – things Gefforen knew were far beyond her own abilities. “But there is much that you have done. You freed all of us, you defeated four of the hated soldiers, you can make a rope attach to a bucket without looking at it, you know the secret healing power of well water, you have marvellous meat to feed us, the windows of your Fortress are filled with clear walls to keep the wind and rain out, you can open locked doors… You… You are Her arrow!”
Eshezy shook her head, embarrassed by the confidence Gefforen had in her. “The stuff in the windows… It’s called glass.” She looked around at the all-surrounding grasses, higher than her head and creating an enigmatic atmosphere for her environment, and briefly back at the faint path which, if taken, would bring them back to her Fortress home. “I can’t tell if there are soldiers hidden in this, just waiting to pounce on us; I can’t be with all the rest to protect them from the soldiers that are coming and go and rescue the miners at the same time; I –”
“You are the Messenger of She Who Cannot be Named!” Gefforen knelt before her, looking up at her with her deep blue eyes wide open, her face a picture of adoration.
“Get up.” Eshezy grinned to take the abruptness out of her instruction and put a couple fingers briefly under the diminutive chin to urge her back to her feet. “We must hurry – and I expect you are getting tired. This is supposed to be your sleep-time.” She looked into the still-bright sky, searching behind the little fluffy clouds for the source of the light. Sure enough, as she found the brightest cloud, she was rewarded with a brief glimpse of the actual… whatever it was, as it seemed to drift sideways. She screwed up her eyes, finding that she could see more details, and then her zoom-focus kicked in and the tentacles that she thought she had seen before came into clear view. This is not a sun… Here she was pleased to recall the name of the light in the sky from … before… but did not let this distract her. It is … alive!
Sudden rustling at her feet pulled her attention back to her perilous circumstance and she had the bow at full flexion by the time Rauffaely bounced up onto her shoulder. “Well, hello friend, I wondered when I would see you again.” She reached to rub his ears, but then noticed he was staring at the sun-creature – his ears fully forwards - and seemed to be listening intently. “What is it?” She tried to focus her hearing in the same direction and found there was something, close to the limit of audibility. “Gefforen. Can you hear that?”
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