Crown of Vengeance fie-1

by Stephen Zimmer

  “She does not like to eat meat,” Lee interjected quickly, not knowing how else to explain her sour reaction to the woodsman. He knew that the man would likely find it to be a very odd disposition for someone to have. “It is a belief of hers.”

  Gunther looked at her for a moment. “It is not one of the fasting days of the Church, if that is what you are worried about. Second day of the week. You should not worry needlessly.”

  Lee was puzzled for a moment, before comprehending that Gunther had attributed Erin’s reluctance to some sort of religious practice familiar to his own world.

  “No, it has nothing to do with religious belief,” Lee informed the woodsman. “She just… cannot bring herself to eat meat, at anytime. Please do not feel offended.”

  “What a terrible affliction,” Gunther replied, his eyes widened somewhat with surprise. The man’s response was not sarcastic, or in jest, as he had a genuine look of sympathy. “I could not bear to be stricken with such a burden. Your misfortune is truly bad.”

  Erin said nothing, staring glumly down at the bowl in front of her.

  “Well, I do not have such a burden, thank the All-Father,” Gunther said with a shrug, leaning over and taking the bowl back from her.

  He tore off a piece of bread from his chunk and dipped it into the pottage, waiting for a moment to let it soak, before scooping up a nice portion of it with the bread.

  Putting it into his mouth, he chewed on it slowly. After swallowing, he remarked to Erin, “They say that you cannot live on bread alone, but beyond this stew, you will have to do with bread only if you are hungry. Except perhaps for some nuts, I have nothing much else to offer you, until I can scout tomorrow.”

  Erin’s eyes narrowed and her expression darkened. Lee knew what was passing through her mind. She was realizing that Gunther truly deemed her situation to be her own problem to handle, and not his to worry about.

  Out of the corner of Lee’s eye, he saw Lynn shoot Erin a sharp, warning look. He agreed with Lynn’s sentiments, hoping that Erin did not do or say anything to annoy their host.

  Erin’s face relaxed a little, catching the warning glance.

  Lee felt the hard bread, flat and far from leavened, and rather coarse in texture. To his best estimation, it was wheat bread, but he understood quickly why Gunther had dipped his in the pottage.

  The others had made similar discoveries, and imitated Gunther as they tore off pieces of the bread and dipped it into their own bowls. Lee could see why Gunther waited for it to soak for a second, as the bread was harder and tougher than any bread that he had ever been given before.

  The pottage was predominantly a mix of legumes, grain, and the salted boar’s meat. As hungry as he was, Lee was not about to complain. The food was palatable enough. Chewing the bread thoroughly, Lee glanced towards their host.

  Gunther was facing towards Ryan, who had an alarmed expression on his face. Ryan had evidently tried to take a bite without waiting long enough for the bread to fully soften, as Gunther commented to the young man, “The bread is good wheat bread. It is not too old. But you must be a little patient and allow it to soften.”

  Gunther picked up the clay jug and proceeded to pour a dark, rather thick liquid into each of the alderwood cups. Erin sat sullenly, but did not object as the last vessel was filled to the brim and handed over to her.

  “I hope your burdens do not include well-crafted mead, for you will not find a better drink in this area. I had been saving this in a small barrel for a special time. I suppose that this is such an occasion,” he remarked. “It took my best hunting skills to gain enough to trade for it.”

  He passed around the other two cups, letting the others drink first before he took a deep draught himself. Gunther gave a light grin as he smacked his lips, a light foam settling upon his beard and upper lip. He uttered a contented sigh, as he refilled the cup in his hands.

  Lee had taken a substantial sip, but realized that the mead would be an acquired taste, very different from anything that he had ever imbibed. Though made from the honey of bees, and containing a certain level of sweetness, the drink felt very thick as it traveled down Lee’s throat.

  One among their number, however, was more than ready to embrace the beverage. Ryan soon was exhibiting the potency of the beverage, after draining a couple of cups. Lee’s own blood had already begun to tingle after taking just a few more draughts, and he was not in the least bit surprised that the effects were showing quickly on his young friend, who was downing the mead at a much faster rate.

  “I think I will come to like this very much,” Ryan announced, the foam giving him an artificial moustache of his own. He looked to be a little lightheaded as he spoke to Gunther, “Can I have more?”

  “A man with some good taste,” complimented Gunther, who appeared more than happy to oblige the young man. His serious expression was brightened by the trace of a mischievous smirk. “It looks like the mead has chosen to give you the moustache of a Saxan thane.”

  Ryan, his mouth full with a large bite of bread sopped generously in the porridge-stew, replied slowly, in a muffled voice. “I think I could get very used to this.”

  Gunther shook his head, and let another amused smirk escape. “We will not always be able to drink so well, though you are fortunate that I am a good hunter, and can hunt these woods freely.”

  There was no arrogance in his voice, the tone simply being that of a statement of fact. The woodsman then shot a quick glance towards Erin. “Meat is much more scarce in the villages, and I get good trade value for it. Mead, on the other hand, is a real luxury. Elfrida, wife of Leodulf, from the village near Dragon’s Back Ridge in Beordenshire, is most skilled in the making of mead. Ale is much more common in these lands. I live with no woman, so I have learned to make my own ale. I will give you some of it soon, so that you can judge my skill for yourself.”

  Ryan finished off another cup of the treasured mead.

  “Slow down, young lad,” Gunther cautioned Ryan. “You may not yet realize the full power of that mead. Elfrida puts great strength into it. Nonetheless, I do wish to provide you all a good welcome feast, as best I can.”

  Taking another mouthful of food, Gunther stood up and took the empty pitcher over to a corner of the room, where he refilled it from the contents of a small wooden barrel. Returning back to his stool, he leaned over and refilled Ryan’s cup again, up to the brim, with a little sloshing over the edge.

  “If it would okay to ask you, where does that door go to?” Lee asked Gunther, as the woodsman settled back down, pointing over towards the closed door in the back of the room.

  Gunther nodded slowly to Lee, his mouth occupied for a moment as he took another prodigious draught of the mead. He set the cup down upon the trestle board, glancing briefly towards the door as all of his guests waited expectantly for his answer.

  “To the abode of the Unguhur. It is the reason why I chose this place to build my home… once I made myself known to them, and knew of their presence here,” Gunther began, as his eyes took on a more faraway gaze.

  “I discovered it all only by the whims of fortune. I had heard of them in tales before. The Stone Hides, they were once called, dwelling in a forested land populated by an alliance of tribes, which lies to the east of the Gallean kingdom.

  “Better yet, not long after I discovered them, I was able to befriend them. Not an easy thing, when they diligently keep to themselves in their underground world, and do not concern themselves with the surface kingdoms of humankind.

  “Rest assured, they know of the door. It would not be there if they objected to it, believe me,” Gunther commented, with a low chuckle. “In a way, I guard an entrance into their world. They do not have to worry about the smaller minds among us, who might try to go down to attack or hunt them, though it would be great folly to even try to do so.”

  “What are Unguhur?” asked Lynn curiously, posing the question that was on Lee’s own tongue.

  “They are a strong race th
at dwells under the surface of the world. A very strong race… of fierce appearance, but quite gentle in nature. You will see for yourselves soon enough. Much taller than a man, and so much stronger. Thick skin… almost like a leather jerkin for a man. There is a good reason why those tribes called them Stone Hides, believe my words. There is a world under this world, and the Unguhur are no small part of it,” Gunther informed them.

  “Do you go there often?” asked Ryan, nearly finished with his next cup of mead.

  Ryan’s head was evidently feeling much lighter, as he was swaying a little, and a silly smile was now beginning to emerge upon his face. The young man would have to be cut off from quaffing more mead before much longer.

  “I go there when I may. Sometimes they have even let me hunt and fish within their realm,” Gunther replied. “That is no small wonder, for one who naturally inhabits the surface world.”

  “So, what brought you here? To this… place…” Ryan asked, his inhibitions lessening. “You don’t live in a village. Just out here by yourself, with all of your creatures… out in the woods. What made you want to live here? Why not around people?”

  For a brief moment, Lee could have sworn that Gunther’s eyes misted over. If they had, the woodsman made a quick recovery, but he also made it abundantly clear that the question concerned a topic that he did not yet want to address.

  His voice was low and steady as he responded to Ryan. “We will speak of it perhaps another time. Good fortune seldom drives a man to live by himself. That is all I can say, and want to say at this time. Do not press me further on this.”

  Ryan nodded, his mirth curtailed somewhat by the somber tone of their host. Ryan was not so far gone into his drink that he was unable to retract the grin on his face. Lee felt quite relieved for that lingering sensibility, as he could tell that the subject was very sensitive to the woodsman.

  “And your creatures? Do you raise them?” Lynn asked, clearly sensing the need to change the subject of conversation between them.

  “The Jaghuns? I have raised every one that you have seen here, from their birth,” Gunther remarked with a flare of pride in his voice and expression. “The only ones you will see anywhere, except for where their kind naturally lives within the Shadowlands.”

  “The Shadowlands?” queried Ryan.

  “A very dark and brooding land… very, very far from here, to the east. My travels carried me there, many years ago… such a dark and dangerous land… I was fortunate to get away from there,” he told them, staring off with a grim look on his face, as if remembering old fears that had rested dormant in him.

  He paused for a few moments, swallowing a mouthful of food, and taking another drink out of his mead cup, before resuming. “I found two Jaghun cubs stranded in the wilderness. Their mother had clearly been killed, as I would have likely been dead to come upon two cubs otherwise. In that terrible land, they stood no chance… I decided to take mercy upon them, and I took them with me. To my later fortune, one was a male, and one was a female.

  “It was a long journey back, fraught with many perils, but they made it to Saxany alive and healthy with me. Those special two have since departed from this world, after living a full measure of life, but their blood still lives on within Ave. Their blood has grown and multiplied with me here in the Saxan woodlands, and they will never be forgotten.”

  Lee greatly desired to question Gunther further about the Shadowlands, but held his impulse back in order to respect the woodsman’s earlier admonishment to avoid asking questions regarding his past. He would have to be content with the information that Gunther was willing to offer, though he hoped that it would not be long before the woodsman was more favorably disposed towards indulging his curiosity.

  Lynn then ventured a safer question, which still addressed some of his curiosities.

  “So, what are the lands surrounding your home?” she asked him, dipping another piece of bread. “We really have no idea where we are right now.”

  “The Kingdom of Ehrengard lies to the west of Saxany, connected by a narrow stretch of land. To the north, across the ocean waters, is a land of dense forests and hills, populated by tribal people. A few of these tribes formed a kind of alliance, known as the Five Realms. They have a fierce love of their ways and land, and I am certain that they are not very favored by the Unifier,” Gunther said, as an inkling of a grin played about his face. “I truly admire their heart, and my hope is that they are left to their own will.

  “Gallea rests along the western borders of those tribal lands. It is a large kingdom, and powerful. Avanor was once a province of that land, giving fealty to Gallea’s king, though the Unifier recognizes no sovereign. The Unifier holds His court in Avalos, the great capital city of Avanor, which lies on the western edge of Gallea.

  “To the south and east, across ocean waters broken only by scattered islands, is Midragard. The people of Midragard are masters of the sea, and few can match their prowess in arms and war. They were fearsome raiders, whose terror spread far and wide. Even these lands felt the wrath of their plunderers at one time.

  “It is good for all lands that strong kings began to rise among the Midragardans, and that a very good and powerful king’s influence is felt there now. He is a man of wisdom, who desires different ways for his people other than raid and plunder…

  “Kiruva lies across the ocean to the east. A massive land. Many rivers… which cross through many great, grassy plains. An abundance of forested flatlands, too. It is a land whose rule I do not understand well, with many princes, and one that is recognized as a Grand Prince.

  “Beyond the east of Kiruvar, across another sea, are the Shadowlands that I have spoken already to you of. There are many other lands and peoples in this wide world. Saljuka, Fahtma, the Coastal Kingdoms established in the First Holy War, the Empire of Theonia… all are in the Sun Lands to the far north. Lambar, Paleria… to the farthest west… It is even said that there are lands of great splendor and exotic ways located to the farthest east… homelands to an ancient and honorable race of men. And who knows what other lands might not yet be known of?”

  For a moment, Gunther appeared to become lost in his thoughts. The mention of the far eastern lands had summoned up a mixture of emotions, the nature of which were shrouded within the mind of the woodsman. His mouth tightened, and he stared down into the cup in his hand, though Lee knew that the woodsman was not looking at the mead that remained within the drinking vessel.

  When Gunther finally continued, it seemed almost as if he was talking aloud to himself. He slowly shook his head.

  “At one time, I wanted to be one of the few to see those lands to the far east… I wanted to travel the Rising Sun Road. But I was held back, right on the cusp of doing so… Maybe I should have gone ahead and taken that road anyway, right from the beginning. Might have been a better path for me to take.”

  The woodsman’s chest heaved with a long, slow intake of breath. “You see, to get to those far eastern lands, you would have to journey through Theonia. An empire forged of the natures of both east and west. I called Theonia home for some time, though that time is many years past. Theonia. A land I most want to return to… and a land I least want to find myself in. Creates quite a problem for me, if ever I wanted to try and go to the far east, does it not?”

  A deep sadness clung to the slight, bittersweet grin that came to his face, and his voice had suddenly seemed laden with a heaviness of heart. He drew into himself further, for a few moments becoming much more distant.

  Whatever the woodsman’s past contained, it was clear that Gunther still carried an open emotional wound in regards to Theonia, something that Lee quietly took to heart as he looked upon the man’s weighty, pained expression.

  Gunther then looked over towards Lee, as he slowly came out of the momentary trance. His voice lightened a little. “What is done is done, but I still am fascinated with thoughts of the far east. It is hard not to be. I have heard it spoken that the lands in the far east are
rich and bountiful lands… filled with a proud and wise people, with spectacular, huge cities teeming with all kinds of splendor. All manner of different and amazing creatures are said to live within those lands as well.”

  Gunther paused as he continued to gaze upon Lee, as if making some sort of appraisal.

  “From what few of those people that I have seen, it would seem that they are indeed akin to yourself… the hue of your skin, the angle of your eyes. I know little else of their mysterious realms, only what is said, and that is often several times removed from the few adventurers and merchants that have made the great journey on the Rising Sun Road.”

  “All of it sounds fascinating,” Lee said, highly intrigued to hear of the open comparison to himself in regard to the eastern lands.

  “And I have only told you of some of the lands that exist within Ave… There is the great island of the Northern Elves, the strange lands of Yanith, with its towering forests, the green bounty that is Gael, the lands to the north of Kiruva, where some titanic creatures dwell, and many, many other amazing places,” Gunther responded, with an air of reminiscence. “Ave is filled with strange and incredible sights, and a great many lands, whose call pulled me as a youth from my own homeland. Lots of absolutely enthralling places, many that I have seen, and many that I have not.”

  “Lotsss offf placesss… verrry niccce… verrrry niccceee…” Ryan murmured with a dazed expression, a significant slurring to his speech.

  The mead was now exhibiting a potent, highly visible effect. Ryan wavered back and forth, his eyes fluttering, before his head nodded down heavily with a noticeable thud on the trestle table. He just missed plopping his face into his largely emptied bowl of porridge, by just a few mere inches.

  “I think he has had enough mead for now,” Lee quipped, unable to stop a grin from forming. The image of Ryan’s stupefied expression was emblazoned on his mind, pushing out some open laughter even though he was a little nervous as to how Gunther would react to the display.