by W.O. Cassity
Chapter Eight: No Way To Home
As day began to break against the horizon, Adam could see Donadeir had walked off the shock, confusion, and pain he had experienced during their grand escape. Propelled to find safety by distancing himself from the goblins, it was obvious to him Donadeir had quickened his pace no matter how much his body complained. Adam strolled smoothly beside him, and Talia kept close to their rear. He heard the sounds of pursuit behind them, but after several wolves howled in the northeast, the goblins voices became more distant.
Adam felt safer each time Talia would take to higher ground to check the goblins’ progress. Much to his relief, she had reported several goblins had stopped their pursuit and returned to the direction of their camp. It wouldn’t be long before the goblins lost their strength in numbers, along with their confidence.
By the time the sun had risen, no other signs of pursuit remained. Adam felt better as the three survivors managed to clear the foothills and began their slow ascent into the mountains. They were careful and followed the safest routes.
The hunger in Adam’s stomach began to gnaw at him as exhaustion began to set in. None of them had spoken to one another since the goblins gave up their pursuit. He was relieved because he didn’t really want to speak to Donadeir anyway. Adam spotted a large tree with scarlet colored berries. He reached for one and plucked it. The berry looked safe enough to eat. Curious about the taste, he absentmindedly popped a berry into his mouth.
“Don’t eat that, River Rat,” Donadeir panicked. “The Yew berry seed is very poisonous.”
“What do you know?” Adam complained. Out of an abundance of caution, he spat the sugary gloop from his mouth. “And why do you do that, Donadeir? Why do you continue to call me names? Didn’t I just stick my neck out to save your life?”
“You’re right, Adam,” Donadeir corrected himself. “I’m very grateful you helped me. The least I could do in return is not let you kill yourself eating something poisonous. I know a great deal about herb gathering. My mother taught me when I would help her gather herbs for the shop.”
If they planned to survive here in the wild without assistance, Adam knew if what Donadeir was saying was true, he could be helpful. He didn’t want to like him, much less trust him, but he knew deep down Donadeir had no reason to see him come to harm. Best if everyone just tried to get along.
“So you can help us find other food we can eat?” Adam inquired.
“That and more,” Donadeir replied. “Look there, you see that pinkish lavender flower? It’s called foxglove, and it can be used to heal heart problems. And over there is the pasque flower. You can use it as an early indicator of spring, as well as to cure a headache.”
“Adam, since we are standing next to a Yew Tree,” Talia started. “Can you climb up and I will help you find a suitable branch we can cut to make a bow? I have this gutstring I retrieved from the village.”
“That’s a good idea,” Adam replied. “Donadeir, could you see if you can find something to eat while I climb up. We are going to need our strength. From what I have learned about the mountains here in the spring, some of the streams leading into the river are prone to flooding and white rapids as the warmer days melt off the snow. Even a gentle stream can be a sudden danger. The last thing we need is to walk around so hungry we can’t think straight and stumble into a dangerous situation like a flash flood.”
“I see several things we can eat here,” Donadeir replied. “I’ll gather what I can.”
“Just get enough to hold us over a bit,” Adam continued. “If we can find a stream near shelter, it would be a good place to stop. If we are stuck out here till the summer, then the trout and salmon will swim upstream to spawn their eggs. Old fisherman down the river say they go there to die. I’d rather have them die so they can be eaten instead.”
“Ohh, fish sounds like it would taste so good right now,” Donadeir said, licking his lips.
“Careful, Adam. Let’s not get Dona worked up or we will never get out of here,” Talia laughed.
Adam turned to see Donadeir with a sheepish grin stretched across his face, and he couldn’t stop himself from joining with Talia’s laughter. After the last few days, a good laugh was exactly what he needed. Adam thought back to how Donadeir was in the village. If Adam had dared laugh at Donadeir before, it would have ended with hostilities. Now, Donadeir’s mouth stretched even wider as he laughed at himself with them. Still, he knew to remain mindful of Donadeir’s demeanor. He hoped Talia was right about Donadeir turning over a new leaf.
Climbing the tree, Adam made his way through the branches with ease as Talia guided him to the branch she wanted. He wasn’t sure what had changed inside of himself, whether it was the fresh mountain air, or the challenges of surviving in the wild, but Adam had never felt better in his entire life.
The trio was exhausted, but none bothered to stop more than a few minutes to catch their breath as they pressed on, continuing to look for shelter along the way. Adam had hoped they would discover another cave by now. Unfortunately, a hibernating brown bear already occupied the only one they managed to find. Thankfully, Talia was careful not to disturb it when she went inside to explore the location, much to Adam’s relief.
It was nearly mid-day when they heard the sounds of a rushing stream. The group picked up their pace, seeking to quench their thirst. Walking up the slow rise, they came across a rocky clearing, split by raging water. It was not wide enough to call a river, but it was obvious to Adam this was no lazy brook either. He noticed a trout jumping against the currents made stronger by the water cascading down the steep rock outcroppings bordering the northern end of the clearing. Adam made a mental note of the driftwood that laid fifty meters away from the bank. He knew they needed to pay attention to any increases of water flow caused by the snowmelt high above them.
The rim of the mountain’s western side provided a safe haven for the stream and the surrounding area from what Adam could see. A large cave opening receded into its rocky face, overlooking the rock foyer and the mountain runoff snaked its way south and back into the plains below. The tree line on the eastern side of the clearing was several hundred meters away. This would be a safe area, close to water and food sources, and a cave for them to make camp.
Adam saw an expression of relief come over Talia’s face as she dropped everything she was carrying and made her way straight to the small river, its churning water making whitecaps as the currents broke against the rocks. She dropped to all fours and bent her head low to quench her parched mouth. He knew she had the right idea and followed her lead. The water tasted sweet on his tongue, and the clarity of it amazed him. The clearness of the water disguised its depth, though. When he reached to touch the bottom, which seemed only a hand’s breadth away, he realized it was deeper than the length of his arm.
He saw no one needed to tell Donadeir it was safe to approach. Alongside of him, Donadeir felt like a shadow following his every step. Donadeir neared the stream’s edge, lowering himself down so he could wash his face, hands, and arms, and then he joyfully pulled up his robes to drop his feet and legs into the clear water. Adam imagined how quickly the chill of the cold water penetrated Donadeir’s skin and muscles. Adam had discovered for himself how welcoming the chilled waters were as he too put his legs into the stream. He felt the relief in his aching heels and calves.
Adam continued to take in the sight as he watched Talia and Donadeir take full advantage of their refreshing discovery. He knew they were not accustomed to long days of repetitive tasks as he was. He had built up a considerable endurance working so many hours loading and unloading river rafts and tending to people’s needs, as well as odd jobs including upkeep, maintenance, and repair. The hiking and traveling almost felt like a vacation compared to his typical day. Adam carefully took in the layout of the beautiful mountain stream and sighed with relief. This would be a good place to regroup and work out a plan. Adam turned his head, and his eyes fell to the gaping cave entrance.
The key to this area being safe relied mainly upon the cave being unoccupied.
The sun was straight above, so when Adam moved closer to the cave’s entrance in the side of the mountain, its darkness felt cool as the slightly moist air seeped toward him from the cave’s mouth. Adam’s nostrils were thick with the rich earthen smell emanating pleasantly from within. The cave didn’t look too deep, and there were no noticeable tracks—animal or human—to be found in the rocky soil at the entrance. Adam was glad to see the cave opening wasn’t as narrow as the first cave he had crawled into when he fled the village. There was no way Donadeir would have made it up the rock slide, much less squeeze through its narrow opening. He knew this cave would accommodate their needs.
Talia joined Adam as he inspected the cave from the outside, while Donadeir continued to focus on washing himself clean. “Do you think this place is safe for us?” Adam inquired to Talia.
“Time will tell,” Talia replied as she nervously examined the entrance and tried to peer into its depths.
The way Talia shifted made Adam wonder if the three of them had any chance of surviving out here on their own. It wasn’t like Talia to react with uncertainty. If she was having doubts about their chances, what hope did they actually have? What did any of them really know or understand about survival or adventuring?
“Well, if this cave is safe, then we can come up with ways to catch fish from the stream,” Adam stated. “Two things we know for sure are we need fresh food and water. This spot will give us both. If the cave is safe, then we will also have shelter.”
“Well, it is a good start, but this would also leave us open and vulnerable to discovery,” Talia retorted. “In the meantime, we should at least prepare to stay overnight. We should focus on starting a fire, and then we can make a couple of torches so we can explore inside the cave. The last thing we want to do is invade the territory of another sleeping bear.”
“Just my luck,” Adam jeered.
Adam scoured the area looking for small pieces of driftwood to start a fire. Turning, he could see Donadeir had caught onto what he was doing and walked downstream to do his part and retrieve as much firewood as he could. After a short while, they had managed to gather a decent size pile near the cave entrance, and Talia used her flint and tinder to start a small campfire. If the cave were safe, they would be able to build a larger fire and set up camp. Adam and Talia took a couple of burning branches from the campfire and walked a short distance into the opening. The cave only extended about a hundred feet before it came to an abrupt halt, and they could see it had been empty for some time.
“This is good,” Talia remarked “We can ride it out here for a few weeks and get our plans in order.”
“Hearing the stream rushing by,” Adam began, “I might actually be able to catch some sleep here. I miss the sounds of the river putting me to sleep at night.”
“It will be hard to hear anyone approaching, so we need to plan an escape route. Also, the entrance is too wide and animals could simply wander in. We should think about barricading the entrance so only a small area remains for us to exit and return,” Talia said.
“Just as long as I don’t get trapped on either side of it, one way or another,” Donadeir joked as he joined them in exploring the cave.
Talia laughed. “Yes, we will make sure we all can get in. Let’s get some rest, and tomorrow we will figure out what we need to do,” she responded.
“In a few more weeks, the days will start getting longer,” Adam added. “I think we should wait until then to return to the village. It may be safe by then.”
“That would not be a good idea,” Talia said after a deep sigh.
“I am afraid to find out,” Donadeir added.
“It’s only been a few days, but I don’t think we should go back by ourselves, so we need to agree on a plan.” Talia continued. “Let’s get our supplies and firewood in here. The cave ceiling is high enough to allow the smoke to escape through the front, so I think we have enough space to have a fire inside it.”
“I’m looking at our so called ‘supplies’, and I think using that word is a major over exaggeration,” Donadeir noted. “What I wouldn’t give for a nice, soft bed. Even a pauper’s blanket or sleep roll would be a blessing at this point.”
Adam looked around at their belongings and realized the same thing Donadeir had, but neither of them had the heart, nor the courage to speak aloud about how precarious their predicament had really become. Supplies were practically nonexistent. Donadeir had shared some of the nuts and berries he had gathered, but none of them had had anything proper to eat in days.
“Can I borrow your knife, Talia?” Adam inquired.
“Sure, but don’t lose it,” she replied. “What are you planning to do?”
“If the two of you can move everything inside and get the fire going, I can make a pike and try to spear us something to eat from the stream.”
Donadeir’s stomach heartily agreed as it grumbled his reply. “I would be happy to help move our stuff,” Donadeir eagerly commented back.
Adam was taken aback at how agreeable Donadeir was. He fully expected Donadeir to point out all of the things too far beneath him. The last few days had certainly humbled Donadeir, and Adam was truly grateful the three of them were here together. Besides, it made sense. Who in their right mind wouldn’t want a good nourishing meal after having lived off scraps these past few days?
After retrieving the knife, Adam made his way to the north side of the clearing, farther upstream, where several large boulders aligned to form a natural dam. He easily skipped over the stones to the east bank and made his way over to the forest’s edge. Although the trees were not as old or as thick as the Berring Forest near the village, they were strong, mostly the type that stay green during all seasons. Adam searched until he found the longest and straightest tree limb he could, eventually coming across one almost twice as long as he was. With some effort, he managed to scale up the tree, and he used the knife to hack and cut away at the long limb until it broke free and fell to the ground. Once he had descended the tree, he retrieved the limb and trimmed away the extra sprigs, creating a long, narrow pole. He then used the knife to sharpen the thicker end to a sharp point.
Adam returned to the boulders he used to cross the stream and found a good place to settle himself and wait. The fishing pike was long enough for him fire it and still hold the narrow end so the stream wouldn’t carry it away along with his catch. His aim wasn’t as good with this improvised pole, but he did manage to return to camp with four cleaned fish.
He returned to find Donadeir and Talia had made a fire with a small spit for them to cook on. Adam handed the fish over to Donadeir, who eyed them hungrily. He watched as Donadeir worked at the meat with some of the scavenged seasonings and then watched Talia use a couple of well-shaped rocks to grind the herbs into a powder, under Donadeir’s instruction.
After cooking a fine meal and getting their fill, Adam’s eyes grew heavy.
“I’ll take the first watch of the evening,” Talia said.
“If you wake me up when you get tired, I’ll be happy to take over watch after you,” Donadeir offered.
“I tend to be an early bird, so I will take the last watch,” Adam added. “Besides, sunrise is the best time to get more fish.”
“Dona, I will wake you in a few hours,” Talia said. “And then you can wake Adam for the last watch. Don’t overextend yourself if you feel tired though.”
Adam was grateful to be warm, clean, safe, and full. He gently drifted into deep sleep knowing Talia was watching over them.
