by D. L. Kramer
Far off to one side, almost sitting by itself, was one of the white temples with red symbols painted on the outside. Nahtan felt his heartbeat quicken when he realized it was one of Jensina's. The building looked deserted, but the grounds surrounding it were obviously well cared for.
"Where's the cathedral?" Nahtan asked Bear and his brother.
"Down there," Tuketu pointed towards the city center.
Nahtan couldn't see the exact building, but noted anything that distinguished the area. He turned to Bear. "Pass the word back that everyone is to stay out of the city," he ordered. "I don't want to turn it into a battlefield. We'll camp back here in the hills until we're ready to advance on the garrison." Bear nodded and turned to ride back and spread the word through the small army. Nahtan looked at Adie. "Care to go take a look at the garrison tomorrow morning?"
Adie nodded. "I'd love to," she agreed.
"Then let's set up camp." Nahtan turned Tyran and led the way back to the previous hill. He took them to the far side where they began to set up their tents. Watches were posted on the nearby hills and the Mo'ani settled in.
Knowing Bear was anxious to find his father, Nahtan turned over setting up the rest of the camp to Adie, then he, Tuketu and Bear removed their cloaks and left to find Liwanu. Bear and Ke would have no problem blending in with their kinsmen, and Nahtan hoped his own skin and hair were dark enough to not draw any obvious attention.
Bear couldn't remember the way, but Tuketu did and took the lead once they were within the city. There were no walls or gates, and Nahtan felt strangely exposed as they walked down one of the outer streets. Children and dogs ran between the small huts, laughing and chasing each other. Weaving looms were set up in front of several doorways, with everyone from young girls to old men working them. At other huts, both Mowik men and women painted ceramic pots with intricate designs.
Even with the apparent ease of the people, there was no denying the air of tension that seemed to hang over the city. As he watched the people, though, Nahtan became aware of something else, too, but wasn't quite able to put his finger on what it was. The closest he could come was that it was a feeling of biding their time. That no matter what had gone on in the past, they would endure until the promised end of the Archbishop's reign. The Mowik had not let the Archbishop seize absolute control of their lives like some of the other cities within Herridon. Their continued faith that Nahtan would come and break the Archbishop's grip on their villages was absolute.
Their passing was noticed by almost everyone, but no one spoke or made any motion towards them. The glances they received were all noticed, though, and Nahtan couldn't help but wonder what they thought. Within several minutes, the three arrived at a low-roofed hut. They walked to the door and Bear nervously shifted his weight as his brother knocked on the wooden doorframe. Nahtan stepped to the back and leaned against a post.
Only a few seconds passed before the door opened on a young woman. Her black hair was pulled in front of one shoulder and hung straight to her hips. Sharp black eyes moved over the three young men and one hand was hidden behind her leg.
"Who are you?" she asked suspiciously.
"Is this Liwanu's house?" Bear asked. "We're his sons."
The young woman looked them over again. "His sons are training to become Mo'ani," she said. "I see no cloaks in the red of Jensina's symbols."
Bear reached into his pouch and pulled out one of the yellow beads of his mother's. He handed it to the woman. "If you know Liwanu, then you know these beads. He gave them to Ke and I when he took us to Bavol Hold nearly fourteen years ago."
The woman's hand closed over the bead for just a moment and she bowed her head.
"Only three people own these beads," she agreed. When she looked up again, there were tears in her eyes. "Has Jensina brought his sons home safely?"
"Yes," Tuketu said. "Please, where is he?"
The woman handed the bead back to Bear and opened the door the rest of the way. Nahtan wasn't surprised to see she was holding a crossbow hidden behind her, though he'd never seen one built so delicately as this.
"He's here," she said. "But he's been wounded and he's healing. Come in."
Nahtan followed Bear and Tuketu through the doorway and the young woman closed and bolted the door behind them then set the crossbow on a nearby table.
"What happened to him?" Tuketu asked.
"The BishopLord's men thought to 'speak' with him," the woman said. "But they didn't like the story he told." She led them towards another room but Nahtan held back, not wanting to intrude. She opened the door for them and led them in, then reappeared a few seconds later, closing the door behind herself. "And what manner of spirit are you?" she asked Nahtan.
"I'm not," Nahtan said. "I'm Sewati's closest friend back at Mo'ani's stronghold."
The woman considered him for a moment, then nodded slowly as if accepting what he said only for the moment. "And does this friend have a name?"
"Nahtan," he told her.
The young woman raised an eyebrow. "You're younger than I thought you'd be," she said after a moment.
Nahtan smiled faintly. "I'm younger than I thought I'd be, too," he admitted.
"You didn't know who you were?" The young woman was obviously surprised.
"Not until over a year and a half ago," Nahtan answered. "I don't suppose you'd tell me your name?"
"I'm sorry," the young woman apologized. "I'm Yenene, the elders' healer and soothsayer."
"You don't look old enough to be a healer or soothsayer," Nahtan returned. Yenene couldn't be any more than two or three years older than him. The only soothsayers he'd seen were all very old, and he'd never seen a healer, though he'd heard them whispered about in trappers' camps when he was very young. The woodsmen and trappers seemed to regard the profession with a mix of superstition and fear.
"It wasn't my choice," Yenene motioned to one of the chairs at the table. Nahtan sat down and she sat across from him. "When I was a little girl, I used to climb to Kutci's cave. A group of men out hunting were ambushed by church guards. When they returned, the old healer was dead, and many of them were wounded. Kutci told me how to heal them and she's been speaking to me ever since." Yenene paused for a moment. "Last winter, she told me Nahtan would be coming before the next harvest, and he'd be riding a horse of fire."
Nahtan felt his attention spark at hearing Kutci's name. He chuckled when he heard her description of Tyran. "I guess he could be fire colored," he shrugged.
"You have such a horse?" Yenene's eyes widened.
"Tyran is a gold colored Dwellers' stallion," Nahtan explained. "I'm sure you'll all become very familiar with him before this is over." His eyes met hers. "I'd like to see this cave."
Yenene nodded slowly. "I can take you tomorrow," she suggested. "I want to stay and keep an eye on Liwanu through the morning, though."
Nahtan nodded. "Adie, Bear and I have some things to get taken care of in the morning anyway."
"Bear?"
Nahtan paused, realizing what he'd said. "Sewati," he corrected. "Mo'ani gave him the nickname, and it's sort of stayed with him."
Yenene nodded slowly. They were interrupted when the closed door behind them opened and Bear and Tuketu came back into the main room, closing the door behind them.
"How is he?" Nahtan asked them.
"Weak," Bear answered quietly, but Nahtan recognized the gleam in his eyes immediately. Bear looked at Yenene. "Where are the guards who did this?" he asked her.
"We don't know who it was," Yenene answered. "They left him outside one of the smaller villages."
"I want to know," Bear returned.
"We'll take care of them," Nahtan stood up to face his friend. "Let's go outside." He didn't think what he wanted to say should be said in front of anyone else. Nodding to Yenene, he held the door for Bear and Tuketu, closing it securely behind himself. "Don't do this," he said, facing Bear.
"I'll do what I want," Bear returned, meeting Nahtan's eyes. "They
almost killed him!" Bear started forward, and Nahtan pushed him back.
"Ever since I met you, you've been driven by revenge, Sewati." Nahtan's voice was quiet and even. "Don't fall back into that now." He moved to face Bear straight on. "I need you here," he told him, tapping his friend's forehead. "I need to know I can count on you to do what we need to. I promise you, if I have any say in the matter, there won't be a single church guard left alive here next month."
Bear continued to glare at Nahtan for a few minutes, then turned his head away, giving in. "He could barely open his eyes to look at us," he managed after a moment. "He could still die."
"He won't," Nahtan assured him.
"You don't know that," Bear looked back at him. "You didn't see him--"
"I know who's healing him," Nahtan interrupted. "You told me you call her Kutci. The healer in there is Yenene, she says Kutci talks to her, telling her things that are going to happen and how to heal your people when they're sick."
Bear's eyes searched Nahtan's with a sense of desperation. "Do you know who Kutci is?" he asked.
"Not yet," Nahtan answered. "But I think she's one of the spirits I remember. Yenene is taking me to her cave tomorrow." He glanced over at Tuketu, who remained quiet while Nahtan talked to his brother. "You two are welcome to come with," he invited.
"I think I'll come back here," Tuketu answered.
"I'll think about it," Bear said.
"Okay," Nahtan stepped back. "Adie and I are going to take a look around the garrison tomorrow about an hour before dawn. I'd at least like you to go, Bear."
Bear nodded his head as they turned away from their father's house. They walked back to the camp in silence. Nahtan left them alone at their tents and went to find Adie. With any luck, she would be able to get them into the garrison within a couple of weeks.
As the day drew to a close, a heavy, perfumed scent filled the air. Nahtan found the scent overshadowed his thoughts, and it took him a few minutes to discover the source was several thick bushes with tiny white flowers. Once he knew where the scent was coming from, he made sure not to walk too close to any of the bushes. The scent was heavy enough to make his eyes water.
He found Adie checking the horses, using a thin dagger to pry small stones from their hooves. Chase was being stubborn, refusing to let her lift his feet.
"Need some help?" Nahtan asked, coming up behind her.
"No," Adie moved to the next horse, obviously fed up with Chase. "He can go lame for all I care."
Nahtan smiled and reached for Chase's mind. He found the problem immediately, Chase sensed Bear's distress and Bear hadn't reached out to reassure the big horse. Calming Chase's mind, he motioned for Adie to come back over.
"I think he'll let you check now," he said.
"If he kicks me, I'm going to hurt you." Adie stepped back to Chase's side and managed to pull one of his huge feet up. Prying a good-sized stone from his hoof, she let the foot drop and checked the others, finding no more problems.
"I'd like to head for the garrison about an hour before dawn," Nahtan said, following her to the next horse.
"That's fine," Adie nodded. "I'm probably going to do some sneaking around tonight anyway."
"I'd warn you not to get caught, but I know better," Nahtan said. Adie smiled at him as he turned to walk away. "So I'll just warn you not to kill any church guards yet," he said over his shoulder.
"Not yet," she promised.
Nahtan made a last walkthrough of the camp, then got Tyran and rode out to check with the Mo'ani standing watch. By the time he got back, it was well after nightfall. He forced himself to go to his tent, telling himself there was nothing more to be done that night. Once he got there, it took him a while longer to settle, but he finally managed to fall into a light sleep.
He awoke again a couple of hours before they needed to leave and he used the time to check their supplies. The air held a damp chill to it, and a light fog had settled during the night. Bear found him shortly after and seemed to have calmed down from the night before. Tiimu wasn't running between his feet for once and Nahtan guessed Bear had left him in his tent, or possibly with Tuketu.
Adie appeared a few minutes later and they decided to go ahead and leave. Taking their horses, they set out on the road that would lead to the garrison some ten leagues away. A short distance before they reached the first watch, they left the road and used the hills as cover to get as close as they could.
About a quarter of a league away, they tied the horses and continued on foot. The church guards obviously didn't expect any resistance from the Mowik, and many of their watches only paid half attention to their surroundings, if that much. Eventually, the late morning sun burned off the last of the fog.
They moved between the last two hills and kept low to the ground so the bushes could help conceal them. The garrison sat almost fifty yards away with no cover between the last of the hills and its gates.
The building itself sat low to the ground, with guard towers at each corner. On the walls between each tower was a single hanging turret, and church guards walked patrols between them. The lowered gate was twisted iron with spikes across both the top and bottom. At the top, they could see a second gate, made of a solid sheet of iron, that could be lowered to further protect the garrison. The two gates were lifted and lowered by the guards standing near the top. The back of the garrison appeared to sit right against a row of hills. They quickly decided the Mo'ani should approach from that direction.
Moving back into the hills again, Nahtan, Adie and Bear quickly circled around to the back of the garrison. Here there were only a few feet between the foot of the last hill and the garrison's wall. Except for the occasional passing guard overhead, there was no sign of life. Seeing everything they could, they made their way back to the horses.
"What do you think?" Nahtan asked Adie.
"It shouldn't be too hard," Adie decided. "How long it'll take will depend on their patrols and how often that gate's opened."
"Hopefully they stick to a routine and we can get it down pretty fast," Bear commented.
Nahtan nodded. "I want people out here watching every side of the garrison starting today," he told Bear. "I don't care who, but I don't want them spotted. I want to know when the watches are rotated, how many church guards stand each watch, and whenever that gate's opened."
Bear nodded. "I'll make sure we have plenty of volunteers," he said. "Not that we'll have any shortage."
"I don't think there'll be a problem either," Nahtan agreed, taking Tyran's reins to lead him away. The Mo'ani who came with them were all more than eager to start this war.
When they put a few more hills behind them, they pulled themselves into their saddles for the remainder of the way back to the camp.
Six - "He has come?"
With the Mo'ani watches in place and Adie doing her own scouting of the garrison, Nahtan saddled Tyran and went down to the city. Once again, he felt strangely exposed from the lack of walls and gates. He had left his cloak behind at the camp, but carried his sword hidden under his saddle and packs. His only visible weapon was the skinning knife in his boot.
He walked along the streets, leading Tyran and hiding behind the tall horse whenever they approached any church guards. He still didn't want to have to kill any church guards unless he absolutely had to.
He passed through the marketplace first. Tables piled high with different varieties of fresh fish were the most abundant, while others offered fruits, vegetables, cattle or poultry from their farms. Nahtan moved through the crowd, listening in on the various conversations. He wasn't surprised to learn that the majority of the Mowik were unhappy under the BishopLord's rule. None of them appeared to give any resistance to the church guards around them, and Nahtan once more got the feeling they were just biding their time. Learning what he'd wanted, he made his way to the city's center.
He got as close to the cathedral as he dared. The Mowik tended to avoid it, so he couldn't get too close without drawing
attention to himself. He noted where the church guards stood and the farthest distance they'd move from the altar.
Seeing all he could, he turned and walked toward the temple he'd spotted from the hills when they first arrived. No church guards were anywhere near it, and the doors were chained and locked. Letting Tyran loose to graze in the well kept yard, he circled around to the back, his fingers running over the red symbols on the wall.
At the back, two cracked stone steps led to another door. This one wasn't chained, but looked like it hadn't been opened in decades. He laid his hand on the door for a moment, then turned away. Leaning over, he picked the few wildflowers growing by his boots and set them reverently on the stone stairs.
"For you, Jensina," he whispered. He turned to walk back around to the front. A scraping sound from the temple stopped him, and Nahtan turned to see a hunched old man standing above the steps. His white hair hung nearly as long as Bear's, but was unkempt and in several lengths. One eye was clear while the other nearly white.
"He has come?" the man asked, his voice a hoarse whisper. His accent was thick, but Nahtan had no trouble understanding him. "Jensina's son among the mortals is here?"
Nahtan stepped back towards the man. "You know me?" he asked.
The man nodded. "She tells me he is coming," he said, beginning to rock back and forth on his heels. "Coming on a horse of fire and with a blade of finest, heavy steel. Coming with a cloak of Her red. Coming with a Bear to answer the questions of a death." He stopped, fixing his good eye on Nahtan. "Coming with the name She gave him."
Nahtan found himself immediately drawn to the old man, especially since he knew about Bear. While Mo'ani had stopped aging in his long life, this priest could easily be as old as him, but showed every day of it. "What else do you know?"
"Come inside," the priest invited. "The serpent's guards think this place deserted. She protects it, but only while the door is barred."
Nahtan walked up the steps and followed the old priest into the temple. The moment the door closed behind him, Nahtan could feel Jensina's presence in the temple stronger than he ever thought it would be.
