by Matt Wilk
“Crow’s father was a grey skin. Your goddess, the Mother Moon. Uhn, she brought you here, to bring him home. Now, the prayer for peace.”
“Yes, Grandfather.”
It was strange how the man had just learned so much about me. They had obviously interacted with the Lanteeni hilts before. His show of power, and that of those Shaman that had come before him, were likely the reason the Chron refused the implants in the first place. I had to shake myself to attention and focus hard to remember the moon worshipper’s prayer. The last time I had heard it, Ambassador Crow was saying goodbye to Johnny the Knuckle.
“Sorry, I’m ready.”
As silly as it made me feel, poor Malta was squirming for me to get on with it.
“Her light shone through the darkness,
And evil was extinguished from the land.
The rivers turned blue and birthed fish,
And the desert waste gave way to the forest green.
Behold I am become peace,
The savior of worlds.”
The simple rhyme had never before struck me so deeply as to cry.
“It’s about him? Was Master Crow the chosen one sir?”
“Many believed. Now, we will never know.”
We waited silently as birds gathered in the sky. The giant crow saw no meat for their bellies, and went off to join the gathering armies. Finally, some song birds arrived to take away the hair in small clumps. Though the hairs would line few nests, the people were very pleased to see the last piece of him returned to their lands. When the birds had all gone, the cry for Roan began. They let out all their anger towards the west, and the call was echoed until no one had another breath left to spare. I helped Malta carry the Master Shaman back down the path. Once back in his covered seat, he quickly removed his false legs, and he waived me back to his side.
“She told me you would come.”
I nodded to the wise one, even though I did not truly believe. To my surprise, he had brought with him a tapered vest made of the same black steed’s leather that the Chron soldiers wore.
“Thank you so much. By the light of day, it fits perfectly!”
One of the attendees looked at me with disbelief.
“Of course it does!”
Most of the people were already telling tales of how stupid the northern grey skins were. They were very animated in their account of my inability to understand the purpose of a spoon. I did not mind, nor bother to correct them. The Shaman looked away to see me from his off-eye, and he nodded at how the vest looked on me.
“Plenty of room to grow.”
“Yes sir. Thank you sir.”
I bowed again as his covered seat on wheels was pulled away. After quite some time, the people were finished saying their condolences to Malta. Only a few heavily tattooed officers remained. One of them took on the responsibility of seeing me safely out of the country. By then, it was nearly sunset. He took me back up the road and borrowed someone’s horned steed. I thought he would ride behind out of distrust. I was wrong. The very moment I was on top of the beast, he clapped its hind, and I was racing north on the hidden clay road. I had less than no control over the thing. Thankfully, it chose not to throw me off of its back. The poor thing was so motivated to be free of me that he kept trotting along even after I had fallen asleep.
The steed bucked hard and it woke me with a surprise. I was dropped flat on my stomach. I tried to breathe and could only speak in between gasps for air.
“Many thanks for the ride, Master Steed.”
The proud creature did not need my reassurance. The full moon was illuminating the night with a thick red glaze and he was tired from running for hours without stop. The road died at a small staging area where the trees had all been cleared. The blood moon seemed seated just a few paces west of the tree line and filled the spacious void with an evil air.
“So, this is where they were hiding.”
Knee-high domes were laid out in a row to protect the border guard during inclement weather. The size of the things made me giggle in my dizzy waking mood.
“You could fit three of me in here, eh?”
The steed did not care for my words, nor for my face. Stretching and chomping on fresh greens was not enough. I tried to pat him down, so he proudly trotted further into the grass. I was about to celebrate the presence of an entire herd. The horns turned out to be those of wooly rhinos.
“Careful boy, don’t get-oh.”
The rhinos paid their wild friend no mind. He laid out amongst them, still kicking with muscle spasms as he tried to let the blood from his legs. I stretched just as he did and laid out my bed roll. Without food and water anywhere in sight, sleeping until the sun rose was my safest option.
Like a child that still fears the dark, my eyes could not help but stare into the empty black void formed by the thick canopy layer. Something was watching, though no pair of bright amber disks were showing. For the life of me, I could not shake that feeling, and the stench of fear caused the biggest rhino to stir.
He kicked and rolled and leapt up with angry eyes. I quickly got on all fours and slowly crawled about like a weak thing. He charged and I froze in place. Luckily, it was a test. The furry giant shook the ground on his way to me but stopped just short. One foot could have easily crushed me to death, so I grabbed up some grass in my mouth to prove I was no threat. As the alphas always do, he ripped the food from my mouth and ate it right in front of me to prove his dominance. Then he smacked his head down on my shell and I flattened out. His dangerously horned head came uncomfortably close, then he blew his nose right into my ear. I had no idea how to react and simply grabbed up more grass in my mouth. The tired beast decided that I was no more than the ugliest turtle he had ever seen and did not wish to cover himself in blood so late in the night.
However, on his way back to bed, a twig snapped from beyond the hidden tree line. He charged without hesitation. Several trees took a deep impact from his horns as he rammed everything to show off his might. The moaning protests of several felled sloths convinced him to go back to sleep. I, however, was only more afraid. The beast that knew better than to expose his eyes to any light was also capable of climbing trees. Few animals could lift themselves and nearly all were mega predators with giant glowing eyes. I did my best to look away and pretend to be resting whilst actually rolling up my cover and emptying my boots in preparation for a long run. Then the scream of a dying sloth pierced through the forest and echoed back from the cackling blood moon watching from over my shoulder.
The wild animals were used to prey being slaughtered in the night but the noise scared me half to death. I was on my feet yelling at them to run away from the monster. Collectively, the horned beasts laughed at my weak squishy body. I could hear the things breathing, and the wind blew their nasty spoiled egg breath into my nostrils. They were a disgusting herd of killers, anxious for their turn to dig into the sloth meat, and watching me while they waited.
Once the fear had worked its way through, and was replaced by enough adrenaline, my body finally came back under my command. I ran. I ran like I had never run before, faster than I even knew I could. Just as I had hoped, the mountain was beginning to grow out of the ground on the other side of the trees. The road always offered safety from the man eating monsters, however, I could have sworn these beasts walked on two legs. So, they were most likely wild men who would pay no mind to such rules. Mother Moon was still angry about the loss of her favorite son and the red shadow sapped energy from my hilt. I chased the road to the other side of a mountain with a tired body and aching joints. The freezing and slow moving wind of the sea blew against my direction of travel the entire time. The biting cold was better than feeling my own hot blood oozing from my soft parts. Of all the many animals led to slaughter under the evil moonlight, I might have been the only one to properly escape.
Once again, I managed to run while slipping in and out of sleep. The memory of the trip was only recorded in short bursts. I knew enough
of what I had missed due to what I did not see. Obviously, Major Swiftblade had cleared the road all on his own, because I did not stop running for my life until I was out of the east end of the tunnel. I made it all the way to the cart just before sunrise. My sleeping mind decided to hide under it for safety. Without any shame, I slept in my armor again, shivering more from fear than anything else.
“No!”
The monster had chased me all the way back and he had my foot in his massive claws. I shook myself awake and out of my boots. No matter how much I struggled, it did not stop grabbing and pulling until I was out in the open. I hid inside the shell as best I could and called for help.
“Master Swiftblade! Help! The monster! It found me-”
“You summoned this beast fool!”
“M-m, sir?”
It had been Major Swiftblade the whole time. He did not care about some silly nightmare. The moment I stopped resisting, he pulled me up to and over my feet, slamming me into the cart.
“What have you done?”
“No-I-what?”
“You dirty little thief. The Lantos sent orders to give you the mark of shame the very moment when-if! Only if I were to ever see you again. Do you understand?”
“No! I did what they wanted. I barely survived the arrows. Then I took the tribute to the Chron and came straight back.”
“The top knot! You were to deliver Crow’s top knot- nothing more!”
“I did!”
“You stole more than your life’s worth in gold and ran away.”
“No, I gave it to the Chron. They found me and they wanted to know what happened.”
“You idiot! The moment you left the road it was decided you betrayed us after all. Why go through all the trouble of carrying that heavy chest only to have them reject it anyway? So, where is the loot now? Hmm? Where did you bury it- pirate?”
“No, they wanted it. They always use it.”
“They fill an entire dome with the chests and refuse to touch a fortune that the Union desperately needs right now.”
“It’s not true!”
“Then why-”
“The children Swiftblade! They have more children than any nation has. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before. And, they celebrate it. Every one of them is covered from head to toe in gold and pearls and gemstones. And they’re healthy, and gigantic, and happy.”
“This is true.”
The Swiftblade stopped shaking me and turned. There was a grey old woman sitting a few paces behind him on a chair with no backing. She was literally grey, even her skin was the color of Ulfbar steel. Though she was tall as a Chron, she wore none of their tattoos. Her long leather skirt also revealed legs that had never been boiled by a Slorrick priest. She was filling a pipe and patiently waiting for her turn to speak, the way Major Bloodaxe always did. With the silence, and our full attentions, she explained.
“The Chron begin each life as kings and queens. That is why their soldiers never retreat.”
“So, what he says is true?”
“And the tribute will mean much more in such a troubling time as Roan. I have not heard the call to revenge in many a year.”
Major Swiftblade dropped me. My feet missed the ground completely.
“You will deliver this testimony in person.”
“Yes sir.”
“Go at once!”
“Yes sir.”
“No.”
“You have no authority here Dooza.”
“What is it ma’am?”
She pulled a candle from the bag at her feet and made sure to light it and her pipe slowly. I was glad, as it gave time for Major Swiftblade to regain his calm.
“Tell us about the monster boy.”
“Yes, tell me what you were hiding from.”
“What? It was just, the dark and I was tired.”
“I saw you this morning. Fled the tunnel white as a ghost, and on your last breath.”
“Speak plainly Matthius. What did it look like and where is this monster now?”
“They.”
“Mmm, a pack of them you say?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“Go on.”
“The rhinos weren’t afraid, but then, they didn’t stay on the ground.”
“If it climbs, it is a bear.”
“But with no growl? And a bear would not have hesitated to charge the clearing and eat me whole. Regardless of what the rhinos chose to do, it would not have thought…”
“Not a bear? Must have been lions.”
“It thinks, eh? Next you’ll say it walked-
“On two feet? Yes, exactly! They climbed up to escape the rhino, and back down to eat a sloth.”
“Definitely a lion.”
“But, with no eyes. The moon was full and I was searching for eyes.”
“Then, it is decided.”
“What is decided woman?”
She capped her pipe and blew out the candle to save the rest. After her bag was properly resorted, she closed it up and leaned all around until her legs stood straight. The chair folded up neatly, and she threw the sling over her shoulder.
“You were in a clearing filled with hovels?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“And you were surprised the border guard hid themselves from view?”
“Yes. No doubt they heard you coming some distance off”
“But, no. They weren’t men at all.”
“Of course not boy. We believe you. Now, I must get back to work.”
“But I-”
“And you must get on the road. Come, I will take you to the tree line so as not to waste an entire day watching you walk. Only to have you trampled by the woolies.”
“But sir.”
“No.”
“I must bathe at the very least.”
“There will be time on your journey. Prepare the cart, I will fetch Eso.”
“Yes sir.”
The steed was ready before I was. Evidently, having to watch his future mate burn had filled him with as much rage as it would any human. He wanted us on the road looking for trouble and took control of steering through the migrating hordes aggressively. Though it was more dangerous, Major Swiftblade sat in the cart bed with me. I recounted the tale of laying Ambassador Crow’s soul to rest in his homeland and he seemed genuinely interested. He then explained that his people had a similar burial process of letting the body drift into the ancient rivers. Once those hungry beasts had had their fill, the other animals were made safer by the human sacrifice- if only for a short time. The blood moon, he assured me, would be interpreted as a clear sign that the gods also demand revenge. The Chron Commanders would have spent the night swearing in donors to their cause, and taking on fresh volunteers for their standing armies.
The open plain east of Ram’s Peak was filled with even more life than before. The only beasts not simply traveling through were all shedding. Massive wooly elephants and bison rubbed their winter coats off on the trees. Stags and steeds sharpened their horns on stones and tested them out on each other. The trip would have taken two days on foot. By the time I returned, mating season would be in full bloom.
I was staring into the forest, with more and more sadness the closer we came. I just got finished running for dear life, twice in a row. Unless I ran most of the way back to Embraun, it would take many more than eight days. And, of course, I was still hungry, dirty, and dead tired.
Once we reached our destination, already late afternoon, Major Swiftblade immediately turned Eso around. He blessed me with food and soap powders, but that was not all. Many skins were laid out flat before he rolled up the rest of his cargo for me to carry. All three swords and the rest of his loot, plus the weight of the skins themselves, made for a long and heavy roll. At least he did me the service of tying the roll tightly closed. He also issued a final warning, to bring back his string at full length, or suffer the consequences. Then they were off, and I trudged east alone.
“This is quite far enough,
thank you very much.”
My reflection did not exactly speak back. The moon was still brightly shining and the weather was warming up. No matter, I walked only as far as the first stream. The high walls just before the crossing felt secure and I tunneled into the south side hoping the monsters might lose my trail. Even if it had truly been the border guard haunting me the night before, the scent of spoiled eggs and death was haunting. The smell had to have followed on something’s back. Just in case I was smelling myself- a horrible thought that was completely within the realm of potentiality- I bathed.
“Oh yes, finally.”
The stream was deep enough to become completely submerged if laying down flat. The icy fresh water felt great in the sticky heat that chased behind spring’s advance. I made a small alcove by sticking my shell into the south wall and did not even need to start a fire. The powder bags mixed into a paste without heat and I was plenty used to that. In the mines, however, it would have been seriously watered down. The potent and gritty mixtures did not taste nearly as good as they would have in a soup, regardless, I had no cooking pot. The meal was quick, and I had all the clean water I needed to fill me up the rest of the way. I was settling in for an early morning when the creatures of the night decided to go silent. The smell of rotten eggs came back so thick in my nose that it made me gag.
“Whoever you are, listen closely. I can smell you, I can hear you, and I know you’re there.”
My warning echoed west and east along the paved road. I expect they thought I would give up and go to sleep before long. They were wrong.
“I can still smell you! And not even a toad dares to burp in your presence! If you were a man at all you would show yourself!”
Shouting into the darkness yielded nothing. My ears were deafened by the thumping of my own heart and my shallow breathing filled my muscles with blood. There was no sleep to be had under such conditions.
“This is your last chance, fool!”
Impossible, I heard laughter. I swatted the false visions away, but the Lantos were not involved. My eyes did not glow gold from their presence. My instincts told me the beasts were nearly human, as every shift of weight was done one foot at a time. If they had feet like us, then they were indeed the Opa. The Sheek-tee had warned Ambassador Crow about a monster chasing them down from the closed pass between the glaciers. So it was, with this tribal empathy in mind, that I attempted to bargain with them.
