William glowered at Jack. “Well, I’m not. Not only did you over pack this thing, but it’s off-balance too. And I’m not used to this cloak. It’s too long, and it catches on my sword hilt. And this sword…I wish I had a steel one instead of this bronze hunk of junk.”
“Why didn’t you ask Sir Kevin to lend you a good one?”
“Jack, you don’t ask to borrow another man’s sword, even a spare one. That’s too…personal.”
“Whatever, Grump. You take this sword stuff too seriously. Look, there’s Rachel. I don’t see Steve though.”
Maya called out a greeting to Rachel, who stood at the crossroad waiting for them. Who was Steve anyway, and when would he get here? It offended him that yet another person had joined the group without his being consulted…and then didn’t show up on time. On the other hand, the more people they had the safer they would be. The only downside would be another mouth to feed, which might slow them down. But if he was a hunter like Rachel…
A blur of black and gray distracted him. “Oh, King’s blisters,” he said, his voice shaking with panic.
“What?” asked Jack. “What’s the matter?”
Maya was ahead of them, walking with Charlie. A giant dog bounded from behind a hedge and loped toward Maya, who froze in place. William realized with alarm that Charlie wasn’t reacting to the danger. William dropped his pack and sprinted, though he had no chance of reaching Maya before the beast did. He was still several steps away when the dog lunged toward her face. He launched himself, hoping to push the dog away before it harmed her, but he tripped on his cloak and hit the ground with a painful thump and skidded to a halt. He rolled over to see the dog’s mouth bearing down on his face. He raised his hands to protect himself but the dog pushed its massive head through. William closed his eyes and braced himself for the worst.
The bites never came. Instead, his face dripped with drool as the dog licked him while Rachel and Maya laughed hysterically. Rachel could barely get the words out, “Will, meet Steve. Steve, meet Will.”
“So…Steve is a dog,” said William as he reached up and scratched the hound’s ear.
“Half dog, half wolf.”
“Nicely done, Will,” said Jack as he helped William up. “That could have been Maya’s face being licked. You totally saved her.”
“King’s backside,” said William. “Give me a break.”
“That shield sure worked. It’s a nice one. Where—”
“Don’t say it, Jack.”
“Here’s your pack. Why’s it so heavy?”
He gave Jack a dirty look and turned to Rachel. “Half wolf, you say?”
Rachel stroked Steve’s head as he sat panting beside her. “I had a female hunting dog a few years ago. She got lured away by wolves one night and came back pregnant. Steve was the only pup that survived. Easiest dog I ever trained, smarter than most people I know. So now he’s my only hunting partner.”
William reached out and felt the soft black and tan fur on his back. “He’s beautiful. Where was it?”
She narrowed her eyes at William. “Where was what?”
“I mean, where were you when your other dog got lured away?”
“Somewhere far away,” she said. “You don’t need to worry about wolves around here.”
William turned away slowly. What exactly was her problem, anyway? He was just trying to get to know her, after all. Still, he knew better than to push the matter, especially after the lecture Cairns had given him. If she chose not to reveal her past, that was her business. As long as she did her job and didn’t risk the mission in any way he couldn’t complain. Besides, Maya trusted Rachel, and he trusted Maya. Even so, it made him uncomfortable to depend on someone who had secrets to hide.
Jack interrupted the awkward silence. “So which way are we going?”
“We’re going upstream,” said William. “What did you think?”
“I mean do we stay on this side, or cross the river? The south side looks easier to travel on. Why don’t we take a barge across?”
William lifted his pack onto his shoulders. “We’ve worked it out already, Jack. Did you think we didn’t plan this?”
“We have to stay on this side,” said Maya. “There are lots of streams running into the river from the north. That’s what makes this area so marshy.”
“But that’s my point,” said Jack. “We can go faster on the other side because it’s bare rock and sand.”
Maya shook her head. “We need to test each stream as we cross it. The river is too wide for us to test from the other side, and it might be impossible to cross the river when we need to.”
Rachel patted her bow. “The hunting will be better on this side too.”
“We’ve planned everything already, Jack,” said William.
“Well, sorry for trying to help,” said Jack. William clenched his teeth. As much as he respected and admired his friend, he was tired of Jack’s attempts to control everything. Was it wise to let Jack continue? Sure, he would be an asset, but would they still be friends at the end? He wouldn’t have much time to decide; if they went too far, it would be too late to send Jack home.
Jack lagged behind as they trudged through the muddy ground. It wasn’t until they reached the first major stream that Jack appeared to get over his hurt feelings. Maya unpacked her equipment, and as William and Charlie had done before, Jack displayed great interest in the process. “How do you test the water?” he asked her.
“Well,” said Maya as she prepared to lecture. “If I were back home, I’d use a flame test. I’d boil the water to concentrate it, then I would soak a splint in it. After it dried I would burn it and the color would tell me what was in it.”
“Why don’t you do that now?”
“It takes too long. Besides, I’ve devised a shortcut based on the fact that the poison appears to be acidic. Not as acidic as vinegar, but enough that it reacts when I add one of these.” She showed them a tiny white tablet. “This is a strong base, the opposite of an acid. Acidic water will foam when I do this.” She dropped the tablet into the sample of water and waited a moment. “No reaction. So no poison.”
“Very cool,” said Jack in an awed whisper. “So it’s safe to drink?” He cupped water from the stream with his hands and brought it to his mouth.
“I didn’t test it for germs,” she said as she picked up her pack and walked away. William laughed at the look of surprise on Jack’s face as he stopped mid-slurp. Jack tossed the remaining water in William’s face in retaliation. Apparently he wasn’t sulking anymore.
They made good progress along an abandoned road. This area had been cleared for farming decades earlier, but only grass and reeds remained now. The grass grew tall, even this late in winter, but the river’s edge was bare. Maya explained it was probably due to the river’s acidity. Normally the river banks would be covered in the same weeds that plagued the docks in Marshland Crossing, but now there was only mud.
They reached the woods by mid-afternoon. Here was the edge of civilization, where human activity ended and the world of wild things began. William had never crossed that boundary before, and it gave him a strange sensation, not entirely bad. He was probably the only one in the group who had never done so, and once again he wondered why Cairns had named him the leader of this mission.
Rachel’s prediction of better hunting proved accurate. She shot three pheasants in quick succession, and William admired both her shooting and the disciplined way Steve flushed and retrieved the birds.
They made camp in late afternoon. Rachel prepared the birds while Maya led the others in a foraging expedition. William understood hunting, even if he wasn’t a hunter himself, but foraging was something he knew nothing about. He was glad to have an expert to learn from. “What exactly are we looking for?” he asked.
“Edible roots,” said Maya. “There’s not much growing above ground yet.”
“So how do we know which ones we can eat?”
“There’s a simple rule
you can follow,” she said. “It’s completely fail-safe.”
“Really? What is it?” He leaned forward, eager to know the secret.
“If I point to a plant and say ‘we can eat that’, you’ll know it’s safe to eat.” Jack laughed as William’s mouth hung open. Maya continued. “Will, there’s no way I can teach you everything I know all at once. You’ll learn with experience, the same as everyone else.”
William looked sheepishly at the ground. “No, I know that.”
“Seriously, Will. It took me years to learn what I know, and I still needed to do more research at the Library to find out what grows inland. Like those, for instance.” Maya pointed to a thick mat of green leaves floating in a gentle part of a stream.
“Those look like lily pads,” said Jack.
“Close, but not quite,” said Maya. “Here, Will. Go through this book and tell me what they are.” She handed William a book he recognized as the one Melissa had worked on. As he turned the pages he almost forgot what he was looking for. He came to a page with the most delicate, beautiful flower he had ever seen, in either real life or on paper. His fingers traced the flower’s outline, the gentle curves reminding him of how his hand had felt on the small of her back only a few hours earlier.
“Well done! You found it.” Maya grabbed the book and startled William out of his daydream. “These are lotus flowers. They don’t bloom this time of year, but we can still get the roots from the mud at the bottom. And by ‘we’, I mean you guys, of course.”
Jack and William grumbled as they removed their cloaks and rolled up their sleeves. Charlie did so in silence. As they reached into the frigid water to feel for roots, Maya continued her lecture. “These were considered sacred plants in India, back on Earth. They called it ‘Padma.’”
“Hey!” said Jack. “My ancestors were from India.”
“I thought you were Gypsy?” said William.
“Both. Besides, Gypsies supposedly came from India. Or so my dad says.”
“Anyway,” said Maya, as she tapped her foot on the ground.
“Maya,” said Jack. “We’re positively dying to learn more about the lotus plant. Could you please tell us more?”
She ignored his sarcasm. “They considered the lotus sacred because it symbolized great beauty escaping the foul mud.”
“Big deal. It’s just a flower,” said Jack as he pulled another root from the stream.
Maya took the root from Jack and placed it with the others. “It may be just a flower, but it has special meaning for us, too. When we see these growing on the banks of the Faywater again, we’ll know the poison is gone.”
With both pheasant and lotus roots in hand, it fell to Maya to cook their evening meal. William’s mother was a good cook, but when he tasted the pheasant he had to admit Maya was at least her equal. The others were equally impressed, and Maya basked in the praise they heaped on her. “I like to experiment,” she said, with just a bit of humility. Charlie especially enjoyed it, and put away three helpings. William was alarmed by the display of gluttony. If he ate like this all the time they would waste a lot of time hunting and foraging. Maya took it as a compliment, though.
Maya’s hidden talent surprised William, but Charlie’s shocked him. After the meal was devoured and the pot licked clean by Steve, Charlie pulled a flute from his pack and played. Nothing about Charlie suggested to William that he might have any attributes other than size and appetite. But there it was: the man could play. Everyone clapped and sang along, and William even dared hope that Charlie wasn’t just a big, dumb oaf after all.
Eventually they tired, and William looked for a secluded spot to relieve himself before unpacking his bedroll. As he finished he was startled by a sound behind him. Charlie had come looking for him. “Will, can I ask you something?”
“Sure, Charlie. What do you need?”
Charlie was fidgeting, and looked torn. What could be so difficult to bring up? After a moment he broke the silence. “Can I take the first watch?”
So that was it. Charlie, the experienced Guard, was embarrassed to have to remind William to set watches. Rather than say so directly, he had made it sound like he was asking for a favor, sparing William his own embarrassment. Yes, there was more to this quiet giant than first impression suggested. “Of course,” said William, playing along with the ruse.
“Thank you,” said Charlie with more relief in his voice than seemed reasonable. William searched Charlie’s face for clues, and the gentle giant seemed to crack a little under the scrutiny. “It’s…it’s the dark. I don’t like being the only one awake.” Charlie looked at his feet while William stood in stunned silence. This was the protection Mattice had given them? A Guard who was afraid of the dark? William remembered his meeting with Mattice and finally understood what had happened. It was too late to do anything about it now. If they returned it would look like a failure, especially since they had only been gone a day. No—he would succeed or fail with the resources he had, even if one of those resources was more likely to starve them than protect them.
“Fine,” said William, not quite hiding the anger in his voice. “I’ll set the watch schedule. Thank you for reminding me.” He wasn’t sure why he added that last comment, since it let Charlie save face. It wasn’t as though William felt generous towards him, but it kept the peace. He took the second watch himself, and assigned Jack the third and Rachel the last. He refused to give Maya a watch, telling her she could stay awake if she wanted, but not alone. No one argued with him, or asked why he was angry.
Although any original literature describing the pre-Colonization efforts of Esperanza has long since been lost, it is known that most flora and all fauna are actually native to Earth. In a process called “terraforming,” species were introduced in reverse order of predation, beginning with plants and followed by herbivores, omnivores, and finally apex predators. Where humankind has not yet settled on this world, a natural balance presumably still remains.
Planet of Hope: A History of Esperanza
William sat near the fire, his bare feet propped up on a log. The last two weeks had been agony. His legs weren’t sore anymore; he had gotten over that in three days. But the blisters still pained him, despite Maya’s expert treatments. “Your feet are developing calluses,” she said. “These should be the last ones you get.”
“Feet?” he asked. “I should hope so.”
“Blisters, silly.” She bandaged his foot and handed him a cup. “Drink this,” she said. He winced as he swallowed the bitter brew. It was hard to force down, but without it he couldn’t sleep, let alone walk, and he cringed at the thought of what the others must think of him.
“I can understand a Librarian getting blisters,” said Rachel. “But what’s your excuse, Mister World Traveler?” She gave Jack’s shoulder a playful punch.
“I’ll have you know I travel by ship most of the time,” said Jack. “I may not be tough in the boots, but I can ride out a storm, and I never get seasick.”
“A lot of good that does you on dry land,” said Rachel.
“Well, I’ve ridden horses, too.”
Rachel laughed. “Which makes you tough in the—”
“Also, I’ve ridden in plenty of carts and carriages. Not much walking, though.”
“Wimp,” said Rachel. “Why not have your servants carry you?”
Jack shook his head. “Now that would just be showing off.”
William closed his eyes and retreated into his thoughts. He preferred to be left alone, at least until Maya’s medicine took effect, but Charlie chose this moment to sit beside him. William fought an impulse to pretend to be asleep. He opened his eyes and gave the Guard a reluctant smile.
Charlie looked at William’s feet. “Don’t worry. It gets better.”
William let out a deep sigh. “Are you sure, Charlie? It doesn’t feel like it. If anything, it’s worse than yesterday.”
“Same thing happened to me on my first patrol. It happens to all the recruits. It
lasts for a while, then one day you stop getting blisters.”
William groaned. “Please, for love of the King, let that day be tomorrow.” Rationally, he knew his blisters would eventually go away. But what about Charlie’s malady? Pain…that was reasonable to avoid. But how strange and unsettling it was that someone could be afraid of something so intangible as mere darkness, and Charlie only made it worse every time he tried to ingratiate himself to William. He had sought William’s approval ever since his admission that first night, and William could not bring himself to grant it. But he was the leader of this expedition, at least in name. He couldn’t just ignore one of the team, no matter what he thought of him. “At least the rain’s stopped,” he said.
Charlie nodded, happy to get the attention. “Sergeant Hawkins says dry feet are healthy feet.”
“Rain or no rain, my feet will be wet, Charlie. These old boots won’t keep out the morning dew, let alone creek-water.”
“Maybe I could waterproof them for you. I’ll ask Maya if there’s leftover grease from the pheasants.”
“That’s kind of you to offer, Charlie, but it’s not worth the effort. They’re worn through in too many places. I’d be happy if the water wasn’t so cold though. Shouldn’t it be getting warmer now that the rains have stopped? Back home they must be planting the first crops by now, but I don’t remember it ever being this cold at sowing time.”
“We’re gaining altitude, Will,” said Rachel, who had overheard him. “It’s colder up here, especially at night. I thought you went to school.”
“Oh right…I forgot,” he said, blushing again. It was true they had climbed a fair bit. The trees had thinned out, and the ground was rockier, and fewer streams flowed into the river. They tested the river water at the bottom of each set of rapids they passed, and still the water was foul. Their destination, wherever it might be, was still upstream, but how much farther could they go? Blisters were not the only thing holding them back. Game was getting harder to find, and they’d gone through much of their preserves. Charlie’s appetite threatened to make short work of those, so they were forced to slow down while Rachel did her best to provide fresh meat, augmented by the occasional lucky find while foraging.
The Defender of Rebel Falls: A Medieval Science Fiction Adventure (The William Whitehall Adventures Book 1) Page 9
