There were many times that they were forced to dismount, and walk the horses past particularly troublesome areas in the pass where rock slides had blocked the way and the ground was unstable. As a result, it had taken them all night just to reach the only Inn that Kragston offered, and by this time they were all weary and exhausted. At least Jak was beat and worn-out from the night’s journey, but Nicoldani on the other hand, seemed as if he could keep going indefinitely.
As they were dismounting and tying the horses to the hitching post, the Inn door opened and Svenlag the innkeeper appeared. “Master Nicoldani,” he said in a jolly voice. “Didn’t think to see you back so soon, thought those folks up in Elsdon would show you more hospitality than that. Well what do we have here?” Svenlag asked, as he noticed the youngsters. “Strange traveling companions for a man such as yourself, don’t you think,” he said with one eyebrow raised, but he wore a pleasant smile.
Nicoldani didn’t respond, but instead gave the innkeeper a flat look as he strode past him through the door and into the common room.
“Breakfast isn’t ready yet,” Svenlag said as he followed them through the door and took up his position behind the bar. “Should be ready soon though, can I interest you in some hot cider till then?”
“Yes, that would be fine,” Nicoldani said, as the three took up seats on tall stools at the bar. The chairs were still on top of the tables from the previous nights cleaning, so the bar was the only place for them to sit.
Frog had followed Jak into the common room, and he was now flopped on the floor at his feet, asleep almost immediately. The dog looked as tired as Jak felt. The innkeeper didn’t seem to mind, so Jak let the dog stay rather than sending him back outside.
“I’ll fetch the cider for you right now, won’t take but a minute,” Svenlag said as he disappeared though the door to the kitchen.
Soon the innkeeper returned with three mugs and a pitcher of steaming cider. He began to pour the mugs, when he noticed that Gin had fallen asleep with her head cradled on her arms, slumped over the bar. The innkeeper smiled at the sight of the young girl asleep, then handed the two mugs to Nicoldani and Jak.
“So Master Nicoldani, what’s the news from Elsdon?” the innkeeper eyed Jak sideways as he asked. Jak was sure Svenlag knew he was from Elsdon.
Nicoldani sat there a moment sipping his cider, before answering, “It’s gone.”
The innkeepers usual smile froze on his face, he wasn’t sure if Nicoldani was making a jest, or just a bad joke. He swung his head between Nicoldani and Jak, trying to figure out whether to laugh or not. When Nicoldani said nothing more, Svenlag’s smile slid from his face, and he asked seriously, “What are you saying man?”
Nicoldani set his mug on the bar, but kept his eyes down. “Everyone is dead. The buildings are all burned. There is no more Elsdon.”
A lump formed in Jak’s throat that he tried hard to swallow. He already knew what Nicoldani was telling the innkeeper, but hearing it said straight out like this was hard to take. It made him glad that Gin was asleep, and didn’t have to re-live it this way.
“But how?” the innkeeper asked, as his jaw dropped and his eyes went wide.
Nicoldani raised his eyes to meet Svenlag’s, “Yeshada came down from the Saibani Mountains. They overran the village, burned what they could, and even tried to kill us. These two youngsters here are all that’s left of Elsdon,” Nicoldani said, motioning towards Jak and his sleeping sister. “We were lucky to escape with our lives.”
The innkeepers eyes grew wider and wider with each word from the big man’s lips. “Yeshada!!! That cannot be. They have never came this far south before. Truth be told, I wasn’t sure they even existed. I’ve heard stories told of them, but never seen one myself. I thought they might just be a myth. Are you sure everything is gone? Everyone is dead?” the innkeeper asked, not wanting to believe what Nicoldani was telling him.
“Yes,” Nicoldani said somberly.
Jak was thankful that Nicoldani had left some of the details out, like the fact that the yeshada had not killed everyone. That it was really Brigette, or someone looking like her, that had done the slaying. Instead, the big man made it sound like the yeshada had killed everyone.
“I’ve never heard of such a tale,” the innkeeper said. “Are you sure? It was really yeshada, they killed everyone?”
Nicoldani gave him a flat stare.
“Well of course you’re sure. Not saying you were not telling the truth or anything like that, you know. Just surprised me a bit I guess. Hard to believe something like that could happen so close, is all.” When Nicoldani said nothing more, the innkeeper fell into an uncharacteristic silence.
Everyone sat there in silence for a time, until Svenlag finally spoke up, “I should go check on breakfast. It should be ready by now.” The innkeeper returned shortly with plates of hot food for Jak and Nicoldani, but Gin was still sleeping soundly.
Once his patrons started to eat, then Svenlag seemed to regain a little of his former cheerful demeanor. “Strange things happening these days. There’s a traveler in one of my rooms that came from the west too. Maybe you know him,” he directed his question to Nicoldani. “Says his name is Benjim,” but the innkeeper suddenly barked a laugh. “I guess the west is a pretty big place. Don’t suppose you would know him after all, just a little strange getting two travelers from the west almost at the same time and all. Don’t get too many travelers from the west too often around here. Says he’s a historian, or some such thing. Don’t really know what good that is,” the innkeeper said. “Can’t really make an honest livin just worrying about what already happened, now can you? But he’s a nice enough fellow.
Did have strange news though, from back the way he came. Said there were raids and uprisings happening in many of the towns he passed through. He also said something about the Yeshada coming out of the mountains or some such. Didn’t think anything of it, until you said what you did. Your news was such a shock that I forgot all about him talking about Yeshada too. Whew .. my mind’s all scrambled up, and I can’t think strait. I should have made the connection as soon as you said it. About the yeshada that is.”
The innkeeper continued to ramble on as Jak ate his meal. Jak was thankful for the good food, and was lost in his own thoughts so he stopped listening to what the innkeeper was saying.
Once they had finished eating. Nicoldani and Jak decided they should go to Jak’s grandparent’s farm. They had talked it over, and both thought it might be better to leave Gin with her grandparents, since they lived here in Kragston.
“Is there a room where she can sleep until we get back?” Jak asked the innkeeper, motioning to the sleeping girl. Jak at least wanted to talk with his grandparents first, before just dropping Gin off with them without any warning, and expect them to take care of her.
“Oh of course, poor thing, can you carry her up the stairs? Just follow me. We have a place for her to rest,” Svenlag said as he started up the stairs.
Jak lifted Gin gently in his arms as not to wake her, and then called to Frog to follow. As usual, the dog obeyed immediately, and followed Jak and the innkeeper up the stairs to a small room, where Jak laid Gin carefully on the bed. Jak very much wanted to lie down next to her in the soft bed and go to sleep, but there were things he needed to take care of first. Frog trotted in and sprawled on the floor at the foot of the bed. “Stay with her,” Jak commanded the dog.
“Can you keep an eye on her?” Jak asked the innkeeper. “If she wakes, just tell her that we will be right back, and not to worry.”
The innkeeper agreed that at least his wife would watch over the girl. He had preparations to make, but his wife, Elanor would keep an eye on Gin.
Jak returned to the common room, where he and Nicoldani set out towards Jak’s grandparent’s farm which was located at the edge of town. Jak had never left Elsdon before in his life, and had never been to his grandparent’s farm.
His grandparents had visited Jak’s family a few ti
mes in Elsdon, but the last time was several years earlier when Jak was only ten. He had never been to Kragston, and wasn’t sure where their farm was located. So he had to ask directions from Svenlag.
At first, the look in the innkeeper’s eyes when Jak asked about it was a little strange. But when Jak told the innkeeper that it was his grandparent’s farm, then sadness crept into Svenlag eyes, but he said nothing more. However, the directions Svenlag had given them took them right to the place.
Jak and Nicoldani had discussed the matter during their trip through the pass, and decided that it would be best if they left Gin with their grandparents in Kragston. Well, at least Jak and Nicoldani thought it would be for the best, but Gin had protested vehemently, saying that she wanted to stay with Jak, ……. and Nicoldani. She had taken a liking to the big man, which Jak was glad of. Nicoldani was the closest thing to family that she had left besides Jak. But against Gin’s protests, it was decided that since she was only seven, and the road ahead was long and dangerous, it was no place for a little girl.
The ride to the farm wasn’t far, taking less than a half an hour. As the pair walked their horses through the gate and down the long pathway that led to the main house, Jak noticed that the farm was somewhat in disrepair. He knew his grandfather to be a fastidious man with little tolerance for inadequacy or imperfection. What Jak saw here was not what he would expect to see at his grandfather’s farm. He wondered if the innkeeper was mistaken, and sent them to the wrong place. As they approached the house, he could see several loose singles on the roof that needed repair, and some of the storm shutters were hanging askew.
The two sat there on their horses for a moment, but Nicoldani made no move to dismount. Instead, he said, “I’ll just wait here, you go ahead and visit with your family.”
Jak nodded in ascension, then dismounted and walked up the wooden steps to the door. He wasn’t sure if he should just walk in or knock. In Elsdon, no one ever really knocked unless it was very late and night and the residents were sleeping. But Jak settled for knocking, since he had never been here before. After a few moments, a man answered the door, wearing an irritated look on his face.
“Who is it? What do you want?” The man looked at Jak, then at Nicoldani sitting on his horse and his eyes went wide, and then narrowed to slits before he turned his attention back to Jak. “Well boy? What do you want? I’m busy.”
“M-My name is Jak. I-I’m from Elsdon. I’m Martia and Karl’s son. I was told this is where my grandparents live, Lula and Edard?” He said it all in a stammering rush.
The man at the door looked a little slovenly and unkempt, with his shirt half tucked and hair sticking up in places. He eyed Jak up and down before saying, “Martia’s boy Eh? Can’t say you look much like her, but then again last time I saw her she’s only fourteen or so. Ain’t seen her since.”
Jak was confused because he had no idea who this man was. “Is this where my grandparents live?” he asked pensively. “Am I at the right place?”
“Yeah, yeah, this is the right place. C’mon in, I guess,” the man said as he turned and lumbered into the house. Jak hesitated a moment, then followed the man through the door to find the slovenly man had already flung himself down in one of the chairs, with his feet up on a small chest and drinking a mug of ale. Jak couldn’t imagine his grandfather putting up with this type of behavior from one of his hired hands, if that was indeed who this man was. Jak wasn’t even sure if his grandfather had any hired hands, but who else could this be?
“She’s in the back bedroom,” the man said, motioning absently towards a small hallway.
The confused look on Jak’s face, as he stood staring at the man was enough to prompt the man to speak further. “Lula ….. your grandmother, she’s in the bedroom,” he said impatiently. “Go on back yourself, I ain’t gonna hold your hand.”
“Is my grandfather out in the fields, or in the stables?” Jak asked, still a little confused.
“What! You mean you haven’t heard? The sloppy man barked between swallows of ale, “He’s dead, died this past winter.”
The blatancy of the way the man said it, let the words slide over Jak without completely sinking in.
“Who are you?” Jak finally asked.
The man barked a laugh. “Ha! Well I suppose I’m your Uncle….Garmir.”
“Uncle?” Jak exclaimed in disbelief.
“Yeah that’s right, you deaf or something? I married your mother’s older sister Julii. So I guess that makes me your uncle, now doesn’t it?” Garmir said with a wolfish grin. I thought you came to see the old woman, not waste my time with stupid questions. I’m busy, be off with you boy.”
The man was obviously not busy doing anything but drinking ale and lolling about. From the looks of things when they approached the farmhouse, there were plenty of things the man could be doing. Jak decided right then he didn’t like this man.
Jak turned and teetered down the hallway to the back bedroom. He stood there staring at the closed door for a moment, before finally knocking softly on the door.
“What do you want?” a woman’s voice barked from inside.
“I – My name is Jak. I’m here to see….” The door flung open before Jak had a chance to finish. A woman of middling years and portly build stood threateningly before him in the doorway. Jak assumed it was his Aunt Julii, but it was strange that his mother had never spoken of having a sister. Jak had not even known her name before now. Even stranger was the fact that this woman looked to be younger than Jak’s mother, but she was much larger and harsh looking, not to mention there was not much family resemblance that Jak could see.
The woman’s perturbed expression and hand on one hip, spurred Jak to speak quickly. “I’m Jak, Martia’s son. I came to see grandmother. Is she here?”
The woman had the same disbelieving and suspicious look on her face as her husband had given Jak. She stood there for several uncomfortable moments, studying Jak through squinted eyes and pursed lips. Finally she said, “I guess it won’t do no harm…. but no good either. She’s got the forgetting sickness. Can’t remember hardly nothing anymore. Sometimes she don’t even know who I am, let alone who she is.”
Something wasn’t right here, but Jak wasn’t sure exactly what it was. These people had a way of talking unlike anyone in Elsdon. Jak’s mother had lectured her children on the importance of speaking properly, and not sounding brazen. She would get after Jak often enough for it. Jak’s grandparents had been well spoken, at least from what he remembered of their visit six years ago. It was strange that these people spoke in this manner. It occurred to Jak, that both his aunt and uncle sounded….well, they sounded gritty and tawdry. He couldn’t believe his grandparents, who were both proper in manners and well spoken, would tolerate this way of speaking from one of their children, let alone the slovenly appearance and behavior. It made Jak uneasy and nervous about the whole situation.
The large woman only stepped aside slightly, making it necessary for Jak to squeeze past her sideways into the room, before she closed the door behind him loudly. The bedroom was a mess and smelled awful. Jak could see bedpans lying about that needed changing, and soiled bed sheets piled in a heap in the corner of the room. The sight and smell gripped Jak’s stomach like a vise, and he felt decidedly ill. This was completely unacceptable!
Jak’s grandmother was sitting placidly in a chair with her head lolled to one side, staring blankly out the window. Her hair wasn’t even brushed, looking matted and in need of washing. The dress she was wearing was askew, stained, and badly wrinkled. She looked much older than Jak remembered. As he approached, she slowly turned her head to stare at him with a blank, unknowing look.
“Grandmother,” Jak said softly, “it’s me Jak. I’m Martia’s son from Elsdon. I’m your grandson.”
The old woman stared in bewilderment, not speaking a word.
“I told you. She don’t remember nothin’ most of the time,” Julii said disgustedly. “Ain’t good for nothin’ nei
ther, just takes all my time to feed her and clean up after her.”
Jak gave the other woman a baleful glance, which she ignored. He didn’t like the way this woman spoke of his grandmother. It might be her mother, but the woman had no right to treat her own mother like this. Jak realized then, that he had changed his mind about leaving Gin here. There was no way he would leave her with these horrible people.
Jak felt the old woman’s cold wrinkled hand grasp his own, and he turned back to his grandmother. Her eyes seemed a little clearer and more focused than they had a moment ago. “Jak, oh yes, Jak, how are you dear? My, you have grown since the last time I saw you. What was it, five or six years ago? You were just a little lad then.”
“Hello grandmother. It’s good to see you again. I’m sorry about grandfather,” Jak said diffidently.
“Whatever do you mean?” she asked, as her eyes seemed to haze over, and become distant again. “Where is Edard?” the old woman looked around puzzled, then at Julii with a question in her eye.
“He’s DEAD!! Old woman, you already know that. We’ve been through this over and over. He died goin’ on nine months now. Why can’t you get that through your thick head?”
“Wh - What?” tears welling up in the old woman’s eyes. “My Edard is….. dead? OOOh No! I miss him so much, my sweet Edard. Why did he leave me?” With the last words, the old woman broke down into sobs.
“Now see what you gone and done?” Julii said with exasperation. “Now I’ll have to listen to this blubbering for hours. You just need to get out.”
Jak ignored Julii, and turned back to his grandmother. Gently he took her hands in his and gazed intently into her eyes. “I know you are in there grandmother. Come back to me,” he said wordlessly, not knowing if what had worked on Frog and the wolves would even work on a person.
The old woman’s sobs subsided, and her eyes became sharp and clear once again. “Jak! I didn’t know you were here, my word, you have grown since I last saw you. You were nine or ten weren’t you?” Her face turned serious, “Did you hear the sad news about grandfather?”
The Blood Witch (The Blood Reign Chronicles Book 1) Page 12
