Mica knew that a villager’s life was a fragile one; their sheep, goats or cattle were the only thing that kept them from starving. The meat from the animals supplied them with food, the skins clothing, and what was left over could be traded for other goods that they did not have. It was good that she had purchased extra food for the journey. She wouldn’t have liked to impose on these people too much.
“When did this happen?” asked Yost’s mother, pulling away the bandages that covered the wound.
“Two days ago,” replied Lucy.
Thora put her nose to the bandages, there was no odour of infection. The wound looked a little puffy and red. “It seems to be all right. I will make up a poultice.” She felt the hot clammy skin of his stomach. “He has a fever.”
“I have some medicine that will help,” said Mica, holding out the bag in which she kept her herbs.
Thora took the bag and looked inside, instantly recognizing the herbs and the coloured bottles of ingredients. “I’ll make the poultice while you make the broth,” she said, leading Mica to the fire.
Outside, Gabriel, Adar, Elijah and Gordy stretched their legs under the watchful eyes of the villagers who had gathered. They waited for Yost to unload the spare horse of its baggage. Lola eagerly helped. “What did you buy me?” she asked.
Yost always brought presents back when he went away. “You must wait until your sister returns so that I can give you all your gifts together.”
“What is the news, Yost,” asked an old man holding a staff to prop himself up, his thin wrinkled face and bony hands exposing his age.
“There is much news, Dugan, some of it good and some of it bad. I will come to the Fire tonight, all should know of this,” said Yost, holding onto the reins of his now bare horse.
The old man nodded and peered around at the crowd that had gathered. “There is news,” he repeated. “It will be told at the Fire tonight.” The crowd began to slowly disperse as they spoke to each other, whispered and wondered what the news was.
Yost led his horses on to another round building; the others followed him. The doorway to this building was bigger than the house doors, inside was a stable and corral. “This is where we keep the sheep at night away from the jaws of hungry wolves that prowl the hills. I’m afraid this is the best we can do,” said Yost, tying his horses at the wooden rail, polished by years of use. He gave the horses some fresh straw. The others did likewise.
“Well, the aromas are challenging,” said Gordy as he sniffed the concoction of odours in the barn.
“Adar like smells, remind me of younger days. I live in barn all the time.”
“It is not my preference,” coughed Gabriel.
“You’ll get used to it, Gabriel,” said Elijah as he slapped him on the back.
“Never, I prefer the smell of the woods, grass and open air.”
“You can set up in the corner over there,” said Yost, pointing to an open space up against the stone wall. “Don’t get too comfortable, if my father gives me his blessing we will have to move out tomorrow, it will be necessary if we are to beat the worst of the snows.”
“So you are going to take us to Santomine?” said Gordy.
“Maybe, it depends on what Father has to say.”
Gordy did not press the matter. The young man, no doubt, had his reasons for wanting to talk to his father first.
“I must go,” said Yost knowing full well he would have to face his father sooner or later and it might as well be now.
Yost made his way back to the house where he found Stan being fed some broth by Lucy. His mother fussed with the bedding, making sure Stan was warm while Mica stood watching. His father sat at the fire trimming some leather, not looking at anyone.
Mica felt the tension increase in the room, it had been there before but now it had increased to a point where it was unbearable. “Lucy, why don’t we take a walk and have a look around,” said Mica.
Lucy went to complain, to say something, but the look that Mica gave her made her change her mind. She passed the bowl of broth to Thora and stood up. “Yes, I think a walk will do me good.”
“It seems there is discontent within the family,” said Lucy, stepping up onto the grass beside the muddy track that led through the village.
“Who knows what is in their past, what causes their unhappiness,” said Mica, standing on the grass beside Lucy. A cart passed them loaded with thatch, the horse led by a young man who paid them little heed, his thoughts somewhere else.
“Will Stan be all right?”
“Yes, but he will not be fit to travel for some time.”
“You mean we might have to stay here?”
“I think it is for the best. Thora will take care of him and you as well when the child comes. I don’t know what we will face in the mountains and in Santomine. I would feel much better if you and Stan stayed here for the winter.”
“I hesitate to agree, Mica. We chose to come with you, chose to put our destiny in your hands.”
“Then listen to me, understand my reasons, destiny chooses its own path even though we might not understand it. Stay here for the winter, have your child and I will send word of our whereabouts if you should choose to follow.”
“I will miss you, Mica.”
“And I you, Lucy.”
Thora was the first to speak. “Yost has brought us money, food and clothing, it will see us through the winter,” she said, trying to lower the tension between father and son.
It was true, for the last three years Yost had kept nothing for himself. Everything he earned, everything he acquired, came back to the family.
“It matters not,” said his father dropping the leather he was working on into his lap. “He has brought strangers into the village, lowlanders. You know how I despise lowlanders; they can’t be trusted. If it were not for them, my brother, your uncle, would be alive today.”
Yost knew the story, it had been told a thousand times. His father and uncle had been in the army fighting to keep the lowlanders from their lands. They had cornered some two thousand men of Thomas Letcher’s army and had them surrounded. His uncle had gone to them under a white flag to discuss their surrender. The king’s men had cut him down, slain him under a flag of truce. The Manutes attacked and killed all those that were standing. Those that yielded, and the wounded, were given no mercy. The heads of their leaders were sent to the king.
“And then you have the audacity to lie to me, claiming they were attacked by bandits and implying that you just happened along. They would not have made it into the land of the Manutes if someone had not led them here.”
“They have a pass from a High Priest,” said Yost, trying to stay calm, trying to quell the anger within him. All his life he had never shown disrespect to his father, had never challenged him. He had always been the obedient son.
“The green scarves will kill them if we don’t do it first,” he said with bitterness in his voice.
“The girl, Mica, is a formidable warrior and she would not be easily taken.”
“You defend these people, our enemies!” said his father raising his voice.
“They come in peace, Father. They have no wish to fight us,” said Yost keeping his voice subdued, although it was demanding all his self-control to stay so.
His father stared at him, saying nothing for a moment or two; then he asked the question that Yost was most dreading. “Why are they here?”
“They are going to Santomine.”
“To go to Santomine they will need someone to lead them, to take them over the mountains.”
“Yes,” replied Yost.
“You intend to take them?”
“I would seek your blessing first, Father.”
“And if I don’t give it?”
This was the moment, the moment when he would have to defy his father for the first time. Whatever happened now would be in the lap of the gods. His destiny was in their hands. “I will go anyway,” he said, boldly.
There was a sharp cry from his mo
ther as she buried her head in her hands, her body trembling. She would say nothing while Yost and her husband spoke, it was the custom. Yost at that very moment felt for his mother; she was to lose another son.
It was then that Lola came into the house. She stood still in the doorway, aware that her father and Yost were having words.
“You would disobey me!”
“I’m not a child anymore, Father. I have a will of my own.”
“So it bloody well seems. What will you do out there? He raised his right arm and pointed outside. “You are a cripple, no one will have you. You are no use to anyone.”
“The woman warrior, Mica, she wants me to go with them, she has faith in me, which is more than I can say for my own father.”
“Then go with them!” he said, raising his voice. “You no longer belong to this house.”
Yost wanted to plead his case, wanted his father to understand, but it was useless. The gap between them had widened, maybe to never close again. “Tonight I speak at the Fire, it will be my last contribution to this village,” he said, his voice trembling, from anger and from the hurt within him. He stormed from the house, brushing past his sister, his limp seeming worse than it had ever been.
Yost made his way to the barn. Elijah met him as he came in. “We leave in the morning,” he said.
“Your father has given his blessing?”
“Not exactly,” said Yost, pushing past Elijah to see to the horses; his experienced young eyes told him they would be well rested by morning.
Elijah followed him, watched as he checked each horse making sure there were no injuries from their fight with the bandits. The others had heard Yost’s reply and were listening, waiting to see if there was some sort of explanation. “Stan is not fit to travel,” said Elijah.
“He will have to stay here, along with his wife. We must leave as soon as possible, if the heavy snows come we will not reach Santomine.”
“I thought you might want to spend some time here with your family, a few days at least.”
“This is the last place I want to be,” he said, standing up after looking at one of the horse’s hooves.
Lola had run from the house with tears in her eyes. Yost was leaving them. How could this be happening? She ran through the village and up the sloping meadows to where her sister Eva was minding the herd. Eva would know what to do, what to say. She was the smart one in the family and did not fear her father. By the time she reached the top of the hill, where Eva stood watching her approach, she was out of breath and crying.
Eva was tall, broad of shoulder and could easily be mistaken for a man except for the long dark hair that fell to her shoulders beneath the fur-lined hat she wore. Her striking blue eyes missed nothing. She immediately noticed Lola’s distress. “What has happened this time?” she asked angrily.
“Yost is leaving us, he and father had an argument,” she sobbed.
“Yost is here?”
“Yes, he arrived about an hour ago. He brought some strangers with him.”
“Mind the herd, Lola. You can bring them down in about an hour they will come then.”
By the time Eva reached the house the anger was boiling over in her, she brushed the furs aside that covered the door and stepped inside. Her mother was sitting on the floor, crying. Her father was pacing the hut with a scowl on his face. On one of the beds was a stranger, who was obviously ill as he was quite pale and wrapped up in blankets. Her eyes met her father’s. “What have you done this time, Father?” she demanded.
“It is nothing. Yost seems to think that he can do as he wishes.”
“And why not, he’s a man, Father, not a little boy anymore.”
“He is a cripple.”
“That’s the problem isn’t it?” she said stepping closer to him as he stopped pacing the floor.
“Yost was supposed to be the one to join the army, to carry the flag so to speak, to seek out your enemies and make them pay for something that happened so long ago. But when he injured his hip all your plans went out the window, you were stuck with a cripple and your second son was drafted into the army. It is not Yost’s fault that he injured his hip, it was an accident.”
“He took the horse when he wasn’t supposed to!”
“He did it all the time and you knew that,” yelled Eva.
“No matter, I am the head of the family. I have to be obeyed.”
“Bullshit.”
Eva turned to her mother and saw the pain in her eyes. She looked back at her father. “As the head of the family you should show wisdom, but in that area you fail miserably. If it were not for mother and Lola, I too, would be leaving this day.”
She walked over to her mother and gave her a hug. “I will speak to Yost. Find out what has brought this on.”
“It is the strangers, the woman warrior has bewitched him,” said her father.
“I will judge for myself,” she said, glaring at her father.
Elijah saw a young woman of about sixteen enter the barn, her blue eyes were angry as she stared at Elijah and then shifted her gaze to the others and then back to Yost. “Who are these people, Yost?” she demanded.
“I’m pleased to see you too, Eva.”
At those words the angry face crumpled and she hugged him. “Yost, is it true, are you leaving us?”
“Yes,” he replied, pushing her away. “It is time for me to go. You and I both know that it would have happened sooner rather than later.”
“Even so, I don’t want you to go. Who will I talk to? You and I, we share so much.”
“And we will in the future, but for now, I must leave.”
“Why, what is so important that you have to leave now?” she asked.
“Yost has agreed to see us to Santomine,” said Elijah.
“You are going to Santomine?”
“Yes, Elijah here and his friends need to reach Santomine and I thought it would be a good opportunity to try and find out something about our brother.”
“It would be good to know some news of Gavin,” she replied.
“Eva, this is Elijah and over there is Gordy, Adar and Gabriel.”
They all said ‘hello’ to Eva, and then turned to unpacking their bedrolls.
“The man in the house is Stan, he was injured when bandits attacked us. His wife is Lucy, and of course there is Mica.”
“I only saw the man; there were no women in the house.”
“They must have gone for a walk. You will like Mica, she is much like you.”
It was then that Lola turned up driving the thirty odd sheep into the barn, the smell increased tenfold.
“How in the hell are we supposed sleep with that smell and the bleeting,” grumbled Gabriel.
“We have little choice, unless you want to sleep outside,” replied Gordy.
Meanwhile, Adar was helping Lola corral the sheep. It was something he had done before, he knew about the eccentricity of sheep, knew how stupid they could be at times. When the sheep were finally locked away Lola came over to where Eva and Yost were standing. “Are you still leaving?” she asked looking at Yost.
“Yes, I have made up my mind.”
Eva could see the tears welling up in Lola’s eyes. “It is all right, Lola, Yost is taking his friends to Santomine and once there he hopes to find out something about Gavin. You would like to know that Gavin is all right, wouldn’t you?”
“Yes, of course,” she replied with a sniffle.
“Come,” she said, holding out her hand, “we will go and have something to eat.” Lola took hold of her hand.
“Are you coming with us, Yost?”
“No, I will eat here with my friends.”
“There comes a time in everyone’s life when you have to leave all that you love. Sometimes it is forced upon you, sometimes it is an urge buried deep within that just won’t go away,” said Elijah, watching Yost’s sisters leave the barn.
“Yes, Elijah, it is my time, I know that much now.”
Elijah knew that
Yost had taken that first vital step in becoming a man. He had just brushed off all that tied him here and he would now seek his own fulfillment in the world.
Mica and Lucy returned to the house to find Lola there with her sister Eva. Yost’s father was nowhere to be seen. The sleeping arrangements had been made for them. Lucy and Mica would bed down in the confines of the house while the men would sleep in the barn.
Eva immediately took a shine to Mica. She was the type of woman Eva would like to be; strong, confident and brave enough to wear a sword amongst men, to be their equal. “You are going to Santomine?” she asked.
“Yes,” replied Mica as she spooned some of the delicious hot lamb stew from her bowl.
They were sitting on rugs on the floor in a circle. It was the way the Manute family meal was eaten in these far off villages. Tables and chairs were something that couldn’t be afforded here on the slopes of the mountains. All their money and energy went into surviving, there was nothing left over for luxuries.
“Why are you going to Santomine?”
“Well, Eva, much is happening in the lowlands, it is a time of change, a time of new beginnings. I am taking this news to Santomine.”
“Is that why Yost is speaking at the Fire tonight?” asked Thora.
“Yost is speaking at the Fire?” exclaimed Lola, with some surprise.
“What is the significance of the Fire?” asked Mica.
“It is a place where boys can become men; those whose deeds demand telling. They can tell them and receive respect from the village. It is something that every man, woman or child dreams of doing, speaking in front of the people at the Fire,” explained Thora.
After eating their meal, everyone rugged up as it was cold outside. Lucy stayed with Stan. The Fire was just that, a fire in the middle of the village where everybody congregated. There was much chatter as the villagers gathered. Yost stood in the centre of the throng with an old man who was holding a staff. He held up his free hand and a hush came over the crowd. The flames from the fire cast eerie shadows through the darkness. “Yost Vargan has declared his time to speak at the Fire. You know the rules, no interjection or disturbance is to be tolerated. To speak at the Fire is a time-honoured regime, a moment of utmost respect,” said the old man. He bowed to Yost and then sat down at the front of crowd.
The Orphan and the Shadow Walker Page 21
