Fio

by Andy Marr

and say to the others “of Ex freaking Gruin.” under his breath. Which got muffled chuckles as he bit his fist.

  It was now midday and Kaiver started moving about doing some cooking. “Are you fit to eat something Fio? You look thin enough to sway in the breeze, should one blow.”

  Brewr quietly put down what he was mending and wandered over to a section of the camp rustled about in a pile of gear pulled out a book and started reading.

  Still a bit dazed with exhaustion Fyodor asked for more water to which he was promptly thrown a full costrel which plopped and slid up next to his head. His arm extended towards it as he slapped his hand down on it pulling it towards his mouth. Turning over and putting his head down he watched the flames dance, he listened as the three cooked, planned and bantered for most of the day in between his restless sleep.

  Fyodor had had time to inspect himself and garner some sense of his freedom, this sense made his injuries easier to bear. His legs were torn badly, the burn from the rope ties still burned at his wrists and the scars over his back from the beating although bandaged now would start bleeding again if moved too much. With a hollow face and limp stare he slowly began to rub his wounds and in the company of his new fellowship his starvation of any sense of good surfaced a little.

  “Best we equip him?” Pell said with eagerness as he walked about the camp winding down and unpacking from a day out. All the while Pell watched Fyodor attempt to gather himself again.

  “Are you kidding he could barely carry a bolt let alone some armour.” Brewr said coming into camp.

  Pell sitting on one of the logs leaned back and pulled out a sack from which he grabbed a fistful of food and walked over to Fyodor handing him the dried dust bat cakes. “Eat at your leisure Fyodor.” He said reassuringly pressing his hand on Fio's shoulder.

  Fyodor didn’t bother checking his food there wasn’t much to it. He took one bite of the dried bat and his entire body was filled with hunger, his teeth wetted, he gulped it down. Pell laughed, the other two turned and started laughing also. Kaiver non-chalantly got up and just plopped the whole sack of bat by Fio and they all went back to what-ever it was they were doing. Fio moments later started rolling about with his hands on his stomach with indigestion but also with a smile of contentment.

  Pell was tightening a bow when he noticed Fio looking and gave a smile. “You know how to shoot a bow do you Fio?” Fio had too much to say to this and found himself numb in the head. “By the time were finished with you, you will be able to shoot a falling pine cone.”

  It turned out their main camp the one they almost always came back to was on one of the higher sections of the rugged terrain that surrounded the base of the mountains. It still had quite dense forest but it was rough terrain almost maze like it gave a good advantage, however the mountains behind didnt give the quickest nor the most options as far as escape routes were concerned.

  Traps and barriers at primary points had been set, some by Fyodor who was now up and well enough to pot about of which he mostly spent looking after himself and maintaining the camp. Born into slavery he had been well educated in being resourceful as was required but outside of the city he grew up in he knew very little other than the way of an empire. Kaiver had been taking great delight in telling Fyodor about the world outside. He spoke of wondrous things: so many different civilisations, continents, animals, things called machines, natural wonders, he also liked talking about women and he talked about his own life a little. He said that having a rough life was not uncommon, not at all, at least not outside the places known as the Citadels. At least not that he knew of. "Not that I have been there." He said with a humph looking into nothing only to turn his gaze about looking for something to crash his train of thought.

  Every day the three would leave letting Fyodor carry on doing daily chores. He would often rest sitting stoking the fire. Feeling the cold playful breeze wisp past his ears, watching dappled sun light filter through great boughs moving in an illusory dance as the forest swayed in its chiming sounds of nature omnipotent.

  Fyodor awoke on his side vision blurry as he watched the fire embers pulse. They looked to be keeled over on their sides vaguely musing how gorged they were contently puffing plumes of smoke mumbling senselessly to one another. Shaking lose his thoughts he got up and continued to work.

  He checked again where they had told him to embed some extra spikes and went about digging holes for them after which he began digging out the last bits of the living space.

  The design of the main camp was now that of a low lying beaver’s nest Fio was astonished at just how well it blended with the forest it was he decided after much glaring from around about it that it was invisible. Getting to the middle of it you had to go through a shallow maze of narrow paths once in far enough you would come across the inner core which was split into three circular sections in the form of steps. The first step they slept on about an arms length below ground level each with their own bed of leaves on a bed soft dry soil. The next one held the equipment, weapons and supplies. The last one and arguably the largest had been made for the fire; a well worked stone hearth with well used drying racks, spit, comfy places to sit and a good supply of logs and kindle.

  Fyodor's new friends were skilled teachers and by far the hardest thing he had yet learnt from them was to hunt. It was on his twenty second night of training that they finally asked him to join them for a real hunt.

  Up before dawn they ventured out amongst the greenery, stone, trees, brambles to somewhere deep in the forest. Finding 'the spot' they organised themselves into positions; Brewr had the crossbow and as such sat the closest to the animal track. They had been hiding for a long time now. Brewr glared at Kaiver as his gaze swam gaily about the forest watching its ebb’n flow; as he called it. His gaze eventually crashed into Brewrs glare. It was becoming lighter amongst the trees like a candle taking its time to light and soon enough there was a constant glow this was the time when things most often appeared.

  Pell signalled with a slight bird call checking their readiness; all became as still as rocks and trees they hid behind.

  Pell and Fyodor’s sweat ran on the raw fibre of their bow strings. Kaiver’s steady grip on the leather wrapped handle of the throwing axe tightened.

  They heard something coming most likely a deer from the way it made almost no sound at all upon the forest floor. If it came close enough it would smell the danger. Their reflexes focussed-in for the kill staunch like clock springs. Kaiver on the opposite side of all of them waited to hear the animal pause to sniff or listen. It did neither so he put his finger on the rock he was behind and very carefully pressed and slid it down. The deer immediately snapped its ears and eyes in his direction while at the same time pushing down on its front hooves ready to spring away. Brewr had already hung the crossbow around the tree he was hiding behind and pulled the trigger. Pell and Fyodor loosed their arrows. Kaiver burst from cover hearing the bolt loosed swiped his axe across its neck twirling it across and back over plunging it into its skull. Its scream didn’t even get out it fell limp upon the ground. Kaiver and Pell gave Fio a pat on the back only to hear Brewr give a very blunt “hurry up” to help him move the deer onto forked branches and drag it away to somewhere less open to properly clean its carcass.

  They were faultless every time as far as Fyodor could tell unless it was flying which really didn’t count as most flying targets were not serious attempts more of running jokes.

  Awakening to the warm ghostly beams of light piercing through the trees with the noises of the cool forest chiming Fio got up. As per usual the three had up and gone already. The deer would last awhile so they would most likely be scouting for smaller prey, gathering berries, roots or any other of the numerous things that grew about. He was never really sure sometimes what they got up to they would come back not with much and they would have been gone most of the day, almost always most of the day.

  Fyodor checked the fire stoking it and tossing on a fresh log and ran
a hand through his chalky, greasy, smoky hair giving a yawn before thinking of the day ahead. Grabbing a cloth he went up the hill towards the spring that came from out of the mountain and washed himself down sniffing the morning air and revelling in that cool breeze as his scars began to sting.

  The small spring trickled out of the mountain into a crystal clear icy pool it was their main source of water. He filled some costrels and grabbed some meat for breakfast from the stash behind the very base of the spring where it was icy cold. He looked up the side of the mountain on his way back down to camp and thought it wouldn't be long till he could attempt a climb. He mentioned it to Kaiver and he promptly said that none of them had any interest in venturing any further then they had been up already.

  Pell was the scout of the three now four and had gone up high enough to know a way in to their depths and seen the lay of the land and that was enough for them. Although Pell said admittedly out of curiosity he had tried to venture a little bit further than this and the mountains were much more treacherous than he thought.

  Fio was throwing more kindling on the stock pile as Kaiver came up the hill "I am back early Fio!" He smiled waving. "Best you get on with some