Zara the Wolf

by C. R. Daems

  "Are you staying with Ethel?" a woman asked, looking from Ethel to me. Ethel also looked to me. She had mentioned yesterday that she thought most if not all would back out if I didn't stay.

  "I'll stay awhile, with the understanding that you will provide me with the knowledge I'll need to live in civilization." I didn't think I would enjoy life in the community, and if I didn't stay, I would need to understand the world I would be traveling. Besides, I felt responsible for Ethel. Ironically, saving her life made her dependent on me, and she would need my help.

  Ethel stayed five more days talking with the families and negotiating shares in the community, common rules, resolution of conflicts, and potential growth. I spent each night with Ethel; her son, Joh, age four; and her daughter, Wina, a hand plus two—learning to read and write as she produced the community's bylaws. I concluded the Ojaza's symbols were a lot easier.

  * * *

  In the end, one less than two-hands of families joined the community. They were comprised of a hand and four each adult males and females and the same number of children. I had talked to each family to determine what they could contribute to my education. They were a diverse group, and I was looking forward to working with them. Ethel was a teacher and would help me with reading, writing, and numbers. Dejan had worked in a small store and volunteered to teach me about the price of goods and how to bargain. Dana had worked with a physician and would help me with herbs and treating injuries. Although I might already be an expert myself, she would know other techniques that were better. Likewise, Aron had travelled a lot and would help with the cost of inns, food, stables, and the like. Elmo was good with animals and would work with me on maintaining a horse. The others would just tell me about their lives in the hope that would prove useful. For my part, I had agreed to stay and help in any way I could. In truth, they just felt my presence made them safer, which it didn't. I had agreed to stay at least a complete cycle.

  * * *

  "Zara, I'm Corporal Aldo," a tall, thin man said as I left the house that morning. It was our second day back from Oberon. "This is private Dino and private Lech. We were wondering if you wouldn't mind telling us about the warriors from the tribes. I was told you lived with them." The three must have been waiting for me to leave the house.

  "I would not only be glad to tell you about them but to show you their techniques and to work with you so you will know what to expect if you encounter them. But in exchange, I would like for you to help me learn about a soldier's life and tell me a little of your experiences," I said, having decided the best way to transition back into society was to get people to tell me about their lives. Not the same as doing but better than wandering around without a clue.

  "That's a fair deal," Aldo said to nodding heads.

  "First, we will need some practice swords. I'd like mine to look like the warriors' swords, which are slightly shorter, curved, and wider at the tip. I'll get you one that the warriors left behind to copy," I said to grins. I went into the burned out barn and collected the first one I found and brought it back out and handed it to Aldo. "I want to start with a demonstration, so we'll start when you have them ready." He nodded, and the three wandered off in the direction of the maintenance building, heads together talking.

  While I waited, I wandered around the property, acquainting myself with the new arrangements and talking to those I met. Everyone was busy. Beside what the tribe had stolen, they had destroyed a lot in the process: windows, furniture, dishes, doors, etc.

  "Zara," Aaron shouted and waved. He and Dejan were examining the wooden fence that surrounded the compound, which had several sections that had been destroyed during the raid. "What kind of a fence would you suggest for protection?" he asked as I approached. I smiled to myself. This was my contribution to the community. They needed someone to give them a realistic assessment of the dangers—things they should be concerned about and things they shouldn't, like this fence.

  "You can't build a fence or wall that will keep the tribes or even mercenaries out. It's mostly to keep the animals, cattle, and children in and to delay a raid. So the current fence is adequate if you fix the missing and weak areas."

  "We thought ... " Dejan's face paled as he looked from the fence to Aldo to me and back again.

  "This fence might stop men like yourself who are not war-like, but it wouldn't stop a tribe of warriors or a large group of raiders. You'll have to look at other options."

  "Learning how to fight?" Aaron asked hesitantly.

  "Yes and no. If men come to rob or kill, you will have to fight. But you don't have the ability or killer instinct to meet them one-on-one, so we will have to think of something to even the odds."

  "What about the soldiers?" Dejan asked.

  "They can help slow them down and give you time to get ready, but you can't expect them to defend you when they are outnumbered five to one or more. We can discuss alternatives over the winter. Nothing is likely to happen before summer. I doubt you will have anything to worry about from the tribes for a least a couple of years, if then." Just then I saw Aldo approaching, waving a wooden sword.

  "Bylun made this for you. He sure is good with his hands. We have our own practice swords. You think a warrior is as good as a well-trained soldier?" Aldo asked, smiling as he examined the sword.

  I took the sword and banged it against the fence several times, testing its strength. When I felt satisfied it wouldn't shatter in a fight, I nodded. "Come with me." I led the three soldiers back to the gate. "Consider this a real fight. Don't worry about hurting me, because I won't be worried about hurting you. Prove to me you can defend this compound and yourself. Prove to me you're better trained than a savage—like me—because I don't think you are," I said, trying to get them to take this seriously. "Dino, you stand at the gate like you're guarding it. When I yell and start running, you can try to close it, and if you can't, then try to stop me from entering." I grabbed Lech by the arm and waved Aldo to follow. When I had gone about twenty steps, I stopped. "Lech, this is your position. When you hear me yell, you can run and help Dino at the gate." I waved to Aldo and walked another twenty steps and stopped. "Aldo, when you hear me yell, come running."

  Seeing that several people had come out to watch, I stopped. "Please, keep everyone—especially the children—away from this area." I turned and walked back through the gate and some forty paces into the field, where I lay down. I lay there for a long time, waiting for the three guards to relax. When I saw the guard at the gate turn to look back at something, I lunged to my feet, yelling an Ojaza war cry as I raced for the gate. Dino whirled around, froze for several seconds, and then leapt to slam the gate shut.

  I ran toward him as hard as I could.

  When he saw he wasn't going to get the heavy wooden gate closed in time, he jerked his sword from his scabbard. Just as he raised it, I reached him. I swung my blade into his side as I ran past. Lech had covered half the distance. He stopped and raised his sword. I slashed as I reached him. My speed and the weight I threw behind the strike drove down his sword. I slammed my shoulder into his, spun him around, and backhanded a slice cut across his chest.

  I dashed toward Aldo. When we met, he lunged at me with a downward slash. I sidestepped as I swung at his legs. He stumbled to his knee, and I laid my sword across his neck.

  There was a deadly silence. Those watching stood with mouths open, or with hands covering their mouths, or just frozen in fear. Dino and Lech came walking toward me, looking dazed.

  "If you think I was fast, believe me when I tell you the slowest warrior is faster than me. And I'm not better than the average warrior. Anyone of them could do what I just did."

  "No wonder Mitch and the other two didn't survive. How do we defend against that?" Aldo asked, rubbing his thigh.

  "I will teach you if you are interested. You are already better equipped to fight them now, because you know what to expect. The problem is that soldiers and warriors don't train or think alike. You have matches against one op
ponent. You spend time testing your opponent and looking for a weakness. A warrior is an excellent sword fighter who has trained for many years, but he charges you in a win or lose clash. Even if you manage to stop him, he knows another warrior is right behind him and that warrior will kill you on the way by. He doesn't care if he doesn't kill you. He is content to wound or cripple you for the next warrior.

  "We need more soldiers!" Lech shouted to nodding heads from the people standing around watching.

  "And taller and stronger walls and—"

  "The baron isn't going to give you more soldiers, and the time you would take building stronger walls would be better spent learning to compensate in other ways, while I’m here to help.

  * * *

  The winter was a busy time for them and me. I found that life as a slave warrior had been difficult but simple, while life as a settler was comparatively easy but impossibly complex. Money was a perfect example. The Ojaza had no money. They bartered for everything, either trading one thing for another or providing a service in exchange.

  The settlers used coins: gold, silver, and copper. A gold coin was worth ten silver ones and one hundred copper ones. That was easy. But the gold and silver coins could be broken into pieces, and determining their worth was subjective. Worse yet, nuggets of gold and silver could be used as money. That required you to know gold and silver from look-alike metals and to be able to accurately estimate the weight, which was another problem. The weight of many things determined its price. Of course, that was also true with the Ojaza; however, the number of items the settlers dealt in was beyond count.

  And then there were numbers. The Ojaza used hands as their basic number. The settlers had a unique number system that used two-hands as their basic number.

  "How do I remember all these numbers, six, seven, eleven, twenty, thirty?" I whined several weeks into Ethel’s introduction into numbers.

  She smiled in sympathy. "Like many things, you just have to memorize them and practice using them. Most of us are taught them when we are young and our minds open to new things. Reading, writing, and numbers will require memorization and more importantly, using what you have learned. I will give you books to read, which will help with reading and writing, and we need to let everyone know to test you on numbers."

  True to her word, each member of the group, including their children, took every opportunity to quiz me on numbers or asked me to read something or other. The first moon … month, I went to bed each night with my head spinning: five equals a hand, twenty-one equals four-hands and one; thirteen equals two-hands and three … The second month, I realized I needed a quiet mind like with the Ojaza, and I forgot about hands. That made the numbers real. Ethel was right: the more often I read or performed sums, the easier it got.

  "How large is the Ojaza?" Dejan asked one night at dinner.

  "Two tribes," I said reflexively.

  "How many in a tribe?" he asked. I was tempted to answer in hands, but forced myself to think in tens.

  "One … hundred."

  "Then two tribes would be two times one hundred, or … "

  "Two … hundred." I felt an honest sense of pride as he and others clapped. I was making progress thanks to these people. I decided to stay another four seasons … a year. Their world was very complex, and I would need the time to adjust. If I left alone and before I had an adult’s knowledge, I would be a rabbit in a forest of hunters—like sending an untrained child out to qualify to be a warrior. I wished to be like the wolf I had been named after—cunning. To succeed, I would need to be trained in the ways of surviving in the civilized world.

  * * *

  Time seemed to fly. Although I had no specific duties, I was always busy. I accompanied Dejan and his wife into town to bargain for supplies. Elmo called me every time an animal appeared sick. He would talk me through the possible causes and then begin to eliminate them one by one until he arrived at the most likely. Part of my responsibility would be to help nurse the sick horse or cow back to health. And he gave me responsibility for grooming and inspecting the communities’ five horses. Bylun taught me how to repair the horses' tack as well as clothes and weapons. Dana called me every time someone was hurt, no matter how minor, emphasizing that small cuts can kill if they are left untreated. I knew that from the Ojaza, as well as which herbs to use, but she had remedies that could be purchased and carried with me.

  From Baron Dietrich's guards, I learned about the military the royalty employed. They explained their training, duties, fighting tactics, salary, and life in general.

  Three years had come and gone before I felt comfortable in my new world. As part of the community, I shared in the profits and had money of my own. In the beginning, I used small amounts to bargain for meals and other small items just for the practice. In the third year, I used the money I had been saving to purchase a small desert horse and tack. Although small, the breed was known for its stamina. I named her Greystone.

  "Are you getting ready to leave us?" Ethel asked one evening after everyone had left and the children had gone to their room.

  "Thanks to you and the others, I feel like an adult in your world," I said.

  "It’s your world too," Ethel said, giving my arm a squeeze. "Everyone loves you … "

  "I was born a farmer’s daughter and therefore part of this world, but it’s not that simple. Where do I fit? Life in the tribes is simple. You are a warrior or have special talent or you are nothing—you rank just above the slaves and camp dogs. But here there are thousands of people and many hundreds of positions. Where do I fit?"

  "You fit here," Ethel said, squeezing harder.

  "Do I? I have no function. I’m a crutch, little better than an Ojaza spirit, and only because I can talk." I gave a small laugh. "You and the others have been wonderful to me, and I’m grateful. But I need to see where I fit—if I do. I’m comfortable here, but I don’t feel … Maybe the Ojaza named me correctly—Zara the Wolf."

  "Wolves are intelligent and social; they run in packs."

  "Yes, and they roam large areas and are wary of humans." I patted Ethel’s hand. "I haven’t decided what I’ll do next or on a time, but you and I have always known I’d leave at some point. I may find this community was the right place for me. I hope I could return, if I do, to visit if nothing else."

  "You will always be welcome. We will not ask you to forfeit your shares if you leave, whether you return or not." A tear trickled down her cheek, making my heart ache. I might have saved Ethel’s life, but without her help I doubt I would have survived.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  A New Beginning

  A week later, I decided to ride into town. We were well into spring, which meant the traveling merchants would be visiting Oberen, and I hoped to find work with one. I had no place I particularly wanted to go and decided to let fate determine the destination. I didn't know if I was searching for a place, a people, or a profession. All I could do was wander the country and hope I’d know it or them when the time came.

  I spent the first night off to the side of the road after finding an area hidden from view by enough brush and ground debris that I would likely hear any intruder long before he or she reached me. I had heard enough stories from the folks at the compound to know the hazards of traveling, especially for a woman alone. Ironically, I didn't feel like a woman. More like a female wolf, I mused.

  I made Oberen early in the afternoon, and went straight to the market area, which appeared busier than the other times I had visited. I stopped at the entrance to view the notices: help wanted, sales, new venders, and other general information. One caught my attention:

  Experienced guards and a cook wanted for a caravan headed to Calle. Good pay. See merchant Raigosa at the Wandering Hole Inn.

  Sounded interesting, so I decided to see Raigosa and headed for the inn, which was only five minutes away. From my lessons with Aaron, I knew Calle was on the other side of Aesona at the western ocean, about three months’ travel. When I arrived, there was
a line of men near the rear of the inn near the stables, and I decided that was what I was looking for.

  "Well sweet thing, you looking to be the cook for Raigosa?" a tall middle-aged man with a weather-beaten face asked good-naturedly. The couple of men in front of him seemed interested in the answer, judging by their grins.

  "Depends on the pay," I said, not wanting to discuss my intentions with these men.

  "I'll bet you could earn plenty on the side," the larger of the two men, who were both grinning, said. He was big and muscular, but didn't look as dangerous as the other man standing next to him. That one’s grin somehow felt evil, and his eyes had a predatory look. I ignored the remark, knowing from talks with Ethel that I couldn't avoid these encounters and it was best not to comment, as it tended to encourage more. I took out a strip of beef jerky and stood chewing as I surveyed the area. The line had nine men and ended at an older man sitting at a small table. A tall lean man stood behind him. He looked like an experienced fighter based on his sword, dagger, worn scabbards, and clothing. His eyes scanned the waiting men and paused for a few seconds when he came to me before going back to the man currently being questioned. It took an hour for my turn at the table.

  "Well ... girly. Cook?" the older man asked as I stepped up to the table. From his finer clothing and softer, slightly overweight body, I assumed him to be a merchant.

  "Or guard," I said, catching the fighter's eyes as he surveyed me.

  "What do you think, Lutz?"

  "You need two guards, and there are four, maybe five that qualify. Be good to see them fight."

  "You know they’re going to take pleasure in hurting you," the merchant said with real concern.

  "Nothing new," I said, stepping to the side away from the others who were waiting.

  He shrugged, looking at Lutz, whose lip twitched for a second. He waved for me to follow him as he walked toward the waiting group.