The Long Journey Home (Across The Lake Book 2)

by Doug Kelly

  “Agreed,” said Aton. “But I think that if we wait until your spring festival to deliver what Tarply owes, the transfer of money will exemplify Olar’s power to all the clans gathered for the event.”

  “It sounds like a ruse,” Trahan sneered. “I’m starting to not believe you.”

  “We’ll also deliver our village’s male youth for conscription into the warlord’s ranks. Remember, all of this will take place at the spring festival, and the other clans under your warlord’s control will witness the transfer, leaving no doubt as to your increasing power. It works to your advantage to do this publicly.”

  With gloved hands, Trahan stroked his chin and silently contemplated the strategy.

  “I heard you say that your son is getting married at the spring festival,” said Aton.

  “Yes. An arranged marriage to a very beautiful woman, Olar Regalyon’s daughter.”

  From under his cloak, Aton removed an ornately decorated purse, made from supple goatskin, secured tightly closed with a thin leather strap that he had wrapped and tied into a knot around the twisted neck of the pouch. It was the purse of silver coins that he had won during the previous spring festival, at the archery competition. He had cherished it so much that he had kept it with him during his flight away from home. Inside the pouch, it still had the handwritten note to him from Esina, stating that she loved and believed in him. That very message from Esina had given him hope while he fled Olar’s wrath, and it gave him inspiration during the long journey home. Now, it would be a message back to her, letting her know that he was alive and well.

  “Here is a modest gift of silver coins for the bride.” He gently tossed the purse onto the table, just in front of Trahan.

  “How nice,” said the tax collector, with a tone of condescension. “Who should I tell her this is from?”

  The gears in Aton’s mind turned swiftly, and he rapidly thought of a covert way to get his name to Esina. He said, “Nota,” which was his name pronounced backward.

  “Very well, Nota, I’m sure she’ll appreciate your kind gesture.”

  “We would also like to offer the happy couple a gift from the town, and since we have allied with the hill tribes and have access to many flocks of sheep and herds of goats, would a gift of one thousand healthy animals be an adequate sign of respect?”

  “One thousand!” Trahan exclaimed. His eyes widened like two full moons. “Yes. Of course that will be adequate.”

  “Fine. I’ll have them all delivered by the last day of the festival, but well before the wedding ceremony. I want everyone to witness the generosity of Tarply.”

  “Of course you do. All of you will be honored guests. Please attend the wedding. The ceremony will be right after the festival’s last event, the archery competition. Bring your finest archers.” Greed was clouding his better judgment.

  “Our town accepts,” said Aton. “We’ll bring a team of archers.”

  “Then I’ll make sure your village has the finest pavilion under its banner.” Trahan stood up and smoothed the wrinkles from his clothes with the palms of his gloved hands. “The others would do well to be more like you. Why weren’t you at the last negotiation?”

  Aton thought for a moment and decided to say, “I’m not originally from here, although this is where I currently reside.”

  “Where is your home clan?”

  The crafty wheels of Aton’s mind began turning again. Using another word ploy, he answered, “Nitam,” which was his last name pronounced backward.

  “Nota of Nitam, I like doing business with you.” He went around the corner of the table to look Aton closely in the eyes. “You should know something. Olar is sick. He is going to step down from his position soon. Because he has no son, he is going to give the title of warlord to the man that marries his oldest daughter, Esina. That man is my son, Lanzo. If there is a problem, and I have to return with Lanzo, it will not be under such pleasant circumstances.”

  “We’ll have everything there by the last day of the festival,” Aton assured him. “We want to make sure that you have all of our gifts before the marriage ceremony. Where do we put the flocks and herds of a thousand animals?”

  “Have your friends herd them into the field next to the warlord’s enclosure. That is near to where the festivities will occur and there should be plenty of water in the nearby stream. There won’t be room inside the walls of the warlord’s estate for the animals, because we expect too many people due to the wedding and the following ceremony to transfer power to Lanzo.”

  “It might take a lot of people from the Greenhill tribe to transport the animals. The field will be crowded.”

  “That shouldn’t matter. We’ve never had a problem with them before. They are very peaceful, very gentle people.”

  “Then you won’t mind if we extend your invitation to all of them?”

  “Not at all.”

  Trahan gave Aton a weak slap on the shoulder. “It’s getting late, we need to leave.”

  Aton extended his hand and said, “I understand. We’ll see you at the festival.”

  “In honor of your village, I’ll have the finest pavilion waiting for the people of Tarply.”

  When Trahan gripped Aton’s hand to shake it, Aton thought that the tax collector’s handclasp was like holding a limp dead fish.

  As soon as Trahan left the room and was well on his way to the village stables, Larn and his associates huddled around Aton.

  “Why have you promised him things that we can never give?” asked Larn.

  “Because I don’t intend to give him anything, except destruction,” said Aton, then he abruptly exited Larn’s house.

  While going back to his log cabin, Aton saw Tig celebrating in the dwindling crowd. Others of the Greenhill tribe had joined the festivities, too, and were still mingling with the citizens of Tarply. Aton hastily grabbed Tig by the arm.

  “Tig, I need your help!”

  “Anything for you,” replied the tall tribesman.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Smoke rose from the chimney of every blacksmith’s forge in Tarply. The tall, dark plumes leaned sideways with the breeze as they billowed from the smokestacks and stretched across the sky, like soaring pillars that had tried to reach the highest clouds, but angry gods had pushed them aside when the columns of rising smoke ascended too far. A hailstorm of hammer strikes rang from many anvils as strong forearms wrought the glowing metal into deadly spear tips for the hill tribes.

  While the village blacksmiths forged new weapons, the unified tribes relayed Aton’s request for help throughout their federation. Representatives of the allied hill people visited Aton and obtained the details of his bidding. It was time for battle. As their leader during wartime, he invoked his martial authority. After promising their allegiance to Aton and to the secrecy of his plan, he shared with them what he desired. To initiate his strategy using the pretext that they were delivering goats and sheep as wedding gifts for the marriage of Esina and Lanzo, he intended for the hill tribes to travel to Olar’s stockade, which was near the unhappy village of Oberlin. Sometime during the festival, Aton would signal for the attack, and the allied forces of Tarply and the hill tribes would overtake everyone loyal to Olar and the tyrannical father and son, Trahan and Lanzo Brill. Without question, the allied hill tribes agreed with his plan and offered their unconditional assistance. Over the following weeks, each visiting tribe left the village of Tarply with walking staffs that the town’s blacksmiths had transformed into steel-tipped spears with long metal foreshafts.

  Although Aton had promised Trahan that Tarply would deliver its young men for enlistment into Olar’s armed forces, the village did not intend to deliver their youth for conscription into the warlord’s service; what they did plan was to deliver a group of young men who would act like a hive of stinging bees, armed with swords. According to Aton’s plan, Hauk would teach the village youth how to use their swords.

  On the first day of sword training, Hauk had all the young
men of Tarply, those who were willing and able to fight in armed combat, assemble outside the protective barrier where they would practice swordplay and discuss various wartime strategies. Many of them had attended Aniku’s one-room schoolhouse. Now it was Hauk’s turn to teach them something, but instead of helping them read, write, and understand simple math, as his wife had done, he would indoctrinate them into the brutal reality of hand-to-hand combat by teaching them how to preserve their lives on the field of battle, and how to maim and kill their enemies.

  At the training field, dozens of anxious youth coalesced into unorganized groups. They nervously waited for wise instruction from the former slave soldier, who had an elegant sword in the scabbard dangling at his side. To inspect his troops, Hauk stoically paraded by each young recruit, looking into his eyes, assessing his faults like only someone who had experienced and survived countless battles could do. He wanted to reveal their individual weaknesses, not to degrade the young men, but to educate and protect them. By exposing fatal flaws, he would make one and all aware of possible lethal mistakes, and advise them how to take advantage of the same when engaged with the enemy. Hauk took a few steps away from the crowd, because he was ready to speak with the entire group, and the throng of anxious men spread into a semi-circle around their instructor. He began the lesson.

  “We will discuss many things today, and everything I have to say might save your life. It is critically important to always be ready when you are thrust into combat. If you hesitate, you’ll die. Therefore, before you engage the enemy, quickly draw your sword, because it will take longer for you to brandish your weapon to oppose a flailing blade than it will for your experienced opponent to strike you dead. In time, if you practice, and if your sword and scabbard are suitable for a quick draw, this can be a great surprise attack, but your adversary could also use a surprise attack against you. Be aware and never hesitate. Always remember that if you hesitate, you’ll die.”

  Now that he had spoken a few words of wisdom to the group, Hauk was ready to identify individual weaknesses in his potential warriors. A slight tremor in the hand of the young man closest to him revealed his anxiety. Hauk looked into the youth’s nervous eyes and said, “You’ll be under a great amount of stress, but you must relax. It’s perfectly understandable to tense in combat, but you must make every effort to stay calm, keep your muscles loose, and regulate your breathing. If you are tight, you can’t act with speed and agility, which can be fatal.”

  The young man took a deep breath and relaxed. He knew Hauk was correct. Just next to that anxious conscript, a recruit took a clumsy step backward, and he tripped on a stone. He was Hauk’s next example for the crowd.

  “In the heat of battle, never stumble, and especially, never fall. Keep your body balanced so that you can strike or parry without letting the enemy contact you. Always place your feet shoulder-width apart, and when you move, shift your stance so that you can spread your legs wide. When moving, never cross your feet, and when you stand still, never place your feet close to each other, because a narrow stance is unstable. Hold your sword with two hands, so that you can handle it with ease. Watch your opponent's movements. Determine when he will move in to attack. Then, preemptively strike and kill him. To do this, you must be quick. When you parry, keep your blade close so you don't stretch out to block, and always try to counter your opponent’s offensive movements. Your footing and proper stance are key for balance. The flatter your feet are on the ground, the more stable you will be. This will give you greater strength with your attacks. To keep your balance when circling your opponent, try to slide your feet rather than lift them from the ground. Leaning forward and lifting your heels also reduces your stability, so be cautious with how your feet are placed and used during each strike, because you could give your rival a great opportunity to knock you to the ground, or at least make you stumble. Keep your posture straight and your chest and torso forward. That’ll keep you from losing your balance during your swings, which would allow you to easily avoid your opponent’s blade with just a simple right or left twist of your body rather than having your torso turned sideways, so don’t slant your body. That would lock your upper body, and you would only be able to evade an attack in one direction.”

  While lecturing, Hauk had noticed an inattentive participant turn clumsily to watch some sheep grazing in a faraway pasture. The daydreaming recruit’s awkward movement caused him to trip in a rabbit hole, making him stumble backward, and the novice laughed at his own ineptitude. By not being focused on his training, Hauk concluded that the young man had not only tripped physically, but had also stumbled mentally, because he was not taking the lesson seriously, which was just as dangerous. Hauk went to the giggling youth, called him to attention, and startled the trainee when the seasoned warrior barked a warning at him.

  “Wake up! Shrewd fighters always strive to be aware of their surroundings. Always know your assets and liabilities, and those of your opponent. Assess the situation. Be aware of the terrain and use it to your advantage. Sending a foe tumbling backward over an obstacle will surely help you during combat, so don’t let your enemy do that to you. Placing your back to the sun can cause your enemy to be momentarily blinded, thus opening them up to a fatal strike. Ideally, you should take note of the terrain and environment beforehand. Quickly look for stones, rabbit holes, and in which direction the sun will be in your eyes. Use that information to know in which direction to turn your opponent. That will allow you to trip him with a natural hazard or blind him with bright sunlight on cloudless days. Try to get an idea of how your adversary fights. Is he brave, or is he cautious? Skilled or a novice? Everyone has a weakness. For instance, tall people have a longer reach, but they often leave their legs exposed. It may be that you won't have time to come up with an elaborate plan, so try to think as fast as possible. You must understand beforehand all that you can about the weapon that your opponent is using. If fighting an adversary who has a smaller, faster sword, don’t let its appearance fool you. A weapon like that probably has a moderate amount of bend and specializes in piercing wooden shields without breaking. On the other hand, if your foe is using a large heavy sword, he is probably planning to end the fight with one or two strikes. In that case, stay as far away from your opponent as possible, and wait for him to become fatigued from swinging his heavy weapon during battle for a while.”

  Hauk’s diatribe had convinced the giggling daydreamer to become alert. Hauk could see solemnity in his eyes. “Do I have your attention now?” he sternly asked.

  With a serious tone, the young recruit simply replied, “Yes.”

  “Good. I might have saved your life.”

  After that instruction, a wave of fervent attentiveness riveted Hauk’s students. A frenzy of heightened emotions had overtaken one of them so much that he was partially lifting his new sword from its scabbard, then pushing it back down, repeatedly. Each time the hilt struck the steel sheath, the impact made a loud metallic rap. The young man seemed too eager for battle. Hauk had a special warning of intelligent restraint for him.

  “Engage your opponent with cautious optimism. If you charge at him recklessly, especially against a well-trained soldier, he may just wait and let you impale yourself on his sword. By engaging carefully, you’ll be better able to maintain control and keep your focus. This will also allow your best defense, which most of the time is just sidestepping your opponent’s attack, potentially saving your life and allowing the opening for your winning slash or thrust. During battle, you’ll need two things: confidence and a strong defense. Missing one block or parry could be fatal, so you must skillfully protect yourself. Maintain your sword in a position that runs from the bottom of your torso to the top of your head. This is the middle position, suitable for any skill level. It will enable you to respond to an attack with reasonable speed while offering you many angles for your own strikes.”

  Near the back, trying to hide in the crowd, one in the group was holding his sheathed sword with the scabbard,
because he had not attached it to his belt. All the others had come prepared with their equipment ready for training, but this one did not seem organized, nor willing to learn, even though his very life could depend upon it.

  Hauk shouted through the crowd at him, while pointing an accusing finger, “Keep your weapon ready!”

  The unprepared student’s comrades moved away from him, leaving him in the center of an expanding circle, exposing him to everyone, isolating him at the gathering after Hauk had singled him out. Hauk cast his stern gaze at the untethered scabbard. The unprepared young man quickly secured it to his belt, as he should have already done. Now that Hauk had the youth’s undivided attention, he continued his instruction, with a normal tone of voice.

  “You should extend your sword a comfortable distance away from your body and toward your opponent's throat, or perhaps his eye if you are good enough. Don’t hesitate to keep him on the defensive. This can be quite intimidating, especially to an inexperienced fighter. Remember, they must get past your sword to get to you. Use every part of your sword as a weapon to prevent that. Use the point, each edge, the handguard, and the pommel. Your body is also a weapon, and anything around you can be a weapon, too. There is no reason a swordfight should be restricted to your blade. Use whatever is at your disposal to win. Always remember to keep your elbows bent and close to your body. An inexperienced fighter tends to stretch out his arms to keep his opponent farther away, but this will hurt your ability to quickly thrust and parry. If you notice your opponent using this bad technique, he will be easy prey. Only extend your sword toward your adversary, not your arms. Positioning of the body is as important as positioning of the weapon. While you keep your sword arm pointed toward the enemy, keep your body perpendicular to his. This narrows the profile of your torso and makes it a smaller target, protecting many of your vital organs.”