The Transall Saga

by Gary Paulsen

  "His wounds are fatal. Let him die the slow, painful death he deserves." Mark reached for the Merkon’s helmet and placed it on his own head. "Francle will be waiting for us."

  The courtyard was in chaos. The Merkon’s men were running everywhere. Francle and the others were already mounted.

  Mark took some of the powder and poured it on the steps of the stronghold. When he was a good distance away, he grabbed one of the torches and threw it onto the powder. The blast blew logs and men everywhere. The whole front of the building vanished.

  Roan handed Mark his reins. "Not a bad night’s work, outlaw."

  Mark jumped on his mount. "Let’s ride."

  chapter 49

  It was early morning. Mark built up the fire and sat staring into it. There was no question that the Merkon was insane. He was so power hungry he couldn’t see past himself. It had been a waste of time to come to Listra.

  Mark sighed. For now, he and the band of robbers were safe deep in the forest, and there were lookouts posted in case the Merkon’s men tried to come after them.

  The large sacks of tribute still sat where Roan and his men had dropped them the previous night. Everyone was so worn out from the long ride that they were sleeping on the ground, still wearing their weapons.

  Jod had been furious with Mark for not killing the Merkon and Mark couldn’t really explain to himself why he hadn’t done it. Maybe it had something to do with finally finding a real link to his own time.

  Footsteps sounded behind him. He turned to see Roan coming to join him at the fire.

  "You are up early, Kakon. What is the matter? Can you not wait to receive your share of the booty?"

  Mark threw a stick in the fire. "To tell you the truth, I’m not much interested. You guys can split my share."

  Roan cocked his head. "You are different from anyone I have ever met. Not just in the way you look but in the way you think." The young man warmed his hands. "You can trust me with your story, Kakon. I will understand."

  "My story is that the Merkon considers me a threat to his kingdom. And I thought he had some information I needed. It turns out we were both wrong."

  "What will you do now? He is certain to send men to hunt for you."

  "I really don’t know. I guess the only thing left to do is to go on searching for answers. Maybe I’ll go back to my village for a while. There is a girl there ..."

  Roan sat up. "A girl? How can I help? My men are at your disposal. "

  A loud birdcall shrieked through the morning air.

  Roan jumped to his feet. "The lookout. Someone is in the forest. "

  Mark followed Roan through the trees to a thick stand of brush, where they crouched and waited. In minutes a large column of men in heavy armor rode by.

  When they were well out of sight Roan motioned for Mark to return to the camp with him.

  "Did you see the man riding at the head of the column, Kakon?"

  "Not really. Who is he?"

  "That was Mordo, the Merkon’s son. He is even more ruthless than his father. "

  At camp everybody was moving. Francle, Jod and the others had been awakened by the birdcall. They had doused the fire and were preparing to leave.

  "Who was it?" Jod asked. "Do they already look for us?"

  Roan nodded. "It appears so. And Mordo is leading them. We had better move farther back into the woods."

  "You and your men go on ahead," Mark said. "I think it’s a good time for me to be going my own way."

  "What is this?" Jod asked. "You would leave us without your share of the spoils?"

  "He has to go, Jod." Roan slapped Mark on the back. "He does not have time for riches. He has a girl waiting for him somewhere."

  Mark started to explain but then decided not to. Instead he untied his animal. "I have enjoyed your company. You are welcome to make camp with me anytime."

  "And you are always welcome in ours." Roan handed him an extra water pouch. "Take this. You will need it if you are going back through the desert." He watched Mark climb onto his beast. "I hope you find what you are looking for, Kakon."

  Mark waved and turned around. "Me too, Roan. Me too."

  chapter 50

  The trip back across the desert had been uneventful and lonely. Mark had deliberately stayed away from Trisad and visited the sparse water holes only after dark.

  It had given him time to think. If it was true that the blue light struck randomly, then there was very little hope of his ever returning to his family and his own time. He knew he would still search for it but finding it would be like looking for a single grain of sand on a beach. It was time to face the fact that he had to make a life in this world.

  There was just one place he wanted to go now. Back to the village. It was the only semblance of a home that he had on this strange new Earth. He wanted to go there and see all the familiar faces he had left behind. And then he wanted to sleep. Sleep for a week.

  He rode with slack reins and let his beast have its head. They were getting close. The red valley loomed before him. It was all he could do not to break into a run.

  A hunting horn sounded from behind a boulder on the mountain. The sound made Mark smile. It was good to be back.

  As he approached the village wall there was another blast from the tower horn, identifying him as a friend.

  Mark rode through the gates and up the main street. Everything was just as he’d left it. Tybor the blacksmith was busy working in his lean-to and the people were attending to their daily chores.

  Everyone waved and shouted greetings as he passed. Tybor wanted to know what had taken him so long to come back.

  A cloud of dust came flying at him from the other end of the street. A boy on a gray beast pulled up in front of him. "I knew it was you," he burst out.

  Mark squinted in mock disbelief. "Could this be Barow? I can’t believe it. You’ve grown into a warrior while I was gone."

  Barow sat up a little straighter on his mount. "It will not be long now, Kakon." He turned and rode beside Mark. "I have taken care of all your things as you asked me to. I think you will be pleased."

  "Mark. You are back." Leeta waved at him from Tanta’s storehouse. She put down her supplies and hurried over. "It is so good to see you. I was worried because you have been away so long. Any news about the light?"

  "The light strikes where it wants to. Finding it is a hopeless dream. That part of my life is over. I’ve decided to put it behind me and get on with my new life. How have things been with you?"

  "Good. I have become accustomed to living with the Tsook. I have been put in charge of many things. One of them is keeping an eye on your young friend, Barow. He gives me fits, though, and it is almost impossible to watch him now that you have given him that beast."

  Mark winked at Barow. "Every warrior needs a beast."

  "Hummp. You are a bad influence." Leeta pretended to be upset. Then she smiled. "I must get the things from the storehouse. I will see you later. We will have a long talk."

  "Sounds good." Mark turned to Barow. "How is Sarbo? Did he make it?"

  "Come and see for yourself, Kakon." Barow urged the gray into a lope. Mark followed him around the storehouse to a large cabin near the village wall.

  Yonk was sitting on the porch carving a stick. When he saw Mark he jumped up. "Master, it is you. Wait until Sarbo hears." He darted into the cabin.

  In seconds Sarbo stepped out the front door. He had a wide grin on his face. "So you have returned. It is probably because you found you were unable to finish your quest without me."

  "It’s a long story. After I’ve rested I’ll tell it." Mark looked at his friend. "It’s good to see you well. I thought you said you were coming back here to die."

  Sarbo cleared his throat. "I never said that. You must have heard me wrong."

  "No, that is what you said, Master Sarbo." Yonk squeezed past him and came out on the porch. "In fact, all the way across the desert you talked about being buried and the songs you wanted."

/>   Sarbo made a face. "As you can see, I still have not figured out a way to get the runt to shut up. Even giving him his freedom did not work. Now he thinks he can talk all the more."

  Mark turned. "I’ll be back, Sarbo. There is someone else I need to see."

  "Who is that, Kakon? Can I come too?" Barow trotted down the street after him.

  "I suppose. After all, we are going to your house."

  "My house? Oh, you want to see my father. think he is in the field today."

  Mark didn’t comment. He turned off the main street and rode up the dirt path to Dagon’s cabin. He slid down and handed his reins to Barow. "Take care of my mount. It’s had a long hard trip."

  Mark waited until Barow led the animal to water and then knocked on the front door.

  It opened wide.

  "Kakon!" Megaan exclaimed as she stepped outside. "I am so glad to see you. Sarbo led us to believe you could be gone for quite some time."

  "Are you really glad to see me?"

  A soft look came into her eyes. "Of course I am. I was not sure if I would ever see you again."

  "And would that have bothered you?"

  Megaan frowned. "Did you come back just to fight with me?"

  "Actually"—Mark stepped closer and put his arms around her—"I came back for this." He leaned down and kissed her.

  chapter 51

  "Is it true that you are going to marry my sister?" Barow had a look of disgust on his face.

  "Who told you that?" Mark measured off one corner of his land and pounded a stake into the ground.

  "Everybody in the village has been talking about it for weeks. Is it true?"

  "To tell you the truth, have been thinking about it. See, if I marry Megaan then you and I will be brothers. I thought it might be worth it just for that. What do you think?"

  "I think you are crazy. Nothing would be worth marrying Megaan. She is too bossy and mean."

  "Did I hear someone talking about me?" Megaan said, coming up behind them.

  Mark turned. He put down the rest of his stakes and wiped his hands on his pants. "Barow here was just giving me a rundown of all your faults. He thinks it would be a big mistake to marry you. You being so hardheaded and all."

  Megaan folded her arms. "Barow, Grandmother wants you at the cabin. She needs help with the vegetables."

  Barow’s lip went out. "You made that up just to get rid of me."

  "Get going," Megaan ordered.

  They watched him climb onto the gray and ride away. Mark faced Megaan and took one of her hands. "Barow says everyone in the village is talking about us."

  Megaan flushed. "It is the way of the Tsook. They look forward to all celebrations."

  "And ours is going to be the greatest." Mark took her other hand. "I just wish I had some crops planted. Things might be a little tough for us for a while."

  Megaan’s chin went up. "I am not worried. You are a good hunter. We will not go hungry."

  Her compliment filled him. He had thought himself too young for this, too young for marriage or being with another person, but it all seemed so ... so right. According to the Tsook customs, both of them were already past marriage age. "Speaking of hunting, your grandmother asked me to bring back some fresh meat for her today. If I don’t get started it will be dark before I get back. Why don’t you come with me?"

  Megaan pulled her hands away. "You know I cannot leave the village and be alone with you. It is not done."

  "You’re alone with me now." His arm went around her shoulders. "And I remember a time not so long ago that you rode out to look for me when I was wounded. We were alone then too."

  "That was different. We were younger then." She tried to pull away. "Kakon. You will embarrass my family."

  Mark gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. "We can’t have that, now, can we?" He untied his beast and swung on. "Tell your grandmother I will be back soon. If I don’t find anything for her stew pot today I will keep looking until I do."

  "Kakon."

  "Yes?"

  "I think it would not be good for you to be gone too long."

  Mark sat back. "And I think Barow was right. You are bossy." He kicked his mount into a run.

  The dirt clod missed him by only a few inches.

  chapter 52

  Mark settled down next to his small fire. He was wishing he hadn’t been so greedy but had gone ahead and taken the two rabbit creatures he had seen earlier. Because he had wanted to impress Megaan and her family he’d let them go and searched for larger game. But he hadn’t found any.

  Close to dark he had come upon the fresh tracks of a tragg, a large elklike animal. But now it was too late to track it. He would have to try to pick up the trail again in the morning.

  He leaned back on his elbows. Life in this world wasn’t so bad. He did what he wanted and went where he pleased. He was a Tsook warrior and in a few months he would have a wife. They could start a family.

  He had deliberately squeezed out all thoughts of his other life. He calculated that he was somewhere close to seventeen now. In this world that was a grown man. Sarbo still teased him but treated him with more respect than he had before.

  Dagon had seemed pleased that Mark had chosen to ask long talk about Mark’s run-in with the Merkon and decided that if the Overlord or any of his men ever came to the village again they would simply be told that Mark had never returned.

  Mark closed his eyes and was about to drift off to sleep when he heard a branch break. Silently he reached for the crossbow near his fingertips and rolled away from the fire into the shadows.

  "Ho, the fire. I am a weary traveler looking for food and a place to spend the night."

  Mark stayed in the shadows. "Come forward and lay down your weapons."

  A man wearing armor walked out in the opening and leaned down to place his sword on the ground. When he did there was a rustling in the brush behind Mark.

  He rolled but it was too late. A large man jumped on him and wrestled the crossbow out of his hands. Mark struggled but it was no use. He was pinned solidly to the ground.

  The other man. picked up his sword and walked over. "Well, well, what have we here? It appears to be our young outlaw. Let him up, Francle. I think we know this one."

  "Roan?" Mark scrambled out from under his attacker. "Is that you? And Francle? What are you doing way out here?"

  "Looking for you." Roan helped him to his feet and Francle patted his shoulder apologetically. "Of course we never expected to find you camping out in the hills. Why are you not in your village keeping company with your girl? Did she throw you over?"

  "No. In fact, we’re getting married in a few months. I’m just out hunting."

  "Not having much luck, by the looks of things."

  "Never mind about that. You said you were looking for me. Why?"

  Roan walked to the fire and sat down. "I am afraid we come with bad news. Jod and the others are all dead. Mordo caught them at the trader’s on the other side of the river. He killed everyone, including the old trader and his family. Francle and I were guarding the camp or we would have been with them."

  "I’m sorry, Roan." Mark sat beside him. "Look, the two of you can come live with me. I have a good cabin in the village."

  "There is more, Kakon. Mordo has taken his father’s place. You wounded the Merkon so severely that he stays in his rooms now. Mordo has vowed revenge on you. He burned the forest looking for you and now he and most of his father’s army are on their way here to find you."

  Mark swallowed. It took a few seconds for the impact of Roan’s message to sink in. Mordo was determined to kill him. And he would stop at nothing to see that it was done.

  "I have put my village in danger, Roan. I never should have come back." Mark began kicking dirt on the fire. "I have to warn them and then I will leave ... forever."

  "Where will you go, Kakon? The Merkon’s son will hunt you no matter where you run."

  Mark stopped. "I will run only so long as it pleases me. Whe
n the Merkon’s son is in my territory, then I will fight."

  "Now that sounds more like it!" Roan said. "It just so happens that at the moment Francle and I are homeless. We would be more than happy to come along."

  Francle nodded vigorously.

  Mark shook his head. "It is my fight. I can’t ask you to risk your lives."

  "Who is asking? Besides, I owe Mordo. He is the one who turned me in. Remember?"

  "You are a good friend, Roan." Mark’s voice was dangerously cold and even. "But this is something I have to do alone."

  chapter 53

  "Please try to understand, Megaan. I’m leaving because I care for you and your people. As long as I am here you are all in danger. Mordo will burn the whole village and kill everyone in it. He doesn’t care whom he hurts as long as it gets him closer to me."

  "But our warriors will fight for you. They have taken a blood oath. My father says we will fight to the last man if necessary."

  "Don’t you see? If I leave here no one else has to die. There’s no other way."

  "Let him go, Megaan." Leeta stepped out on the porch. "Kakon has chosen the right way. If you care for him you will not hold him back."

  Megaan buried her face in his chest. "When this is over..."

  Mark held her close. "When it is over."

  Barow brought up the silver mount. "You have much food and supplies, Kakon. Your pouch with the black exploding powder is wrapped to keep it dry."

  "Thank you, Barow." Mark took the reins. "I’m going to need you to take care of things for me again. Especially watch out for your sister. Even if she is a little hardheaded and bossy." He smiled down at Megaan.

  Dagon stood up from the bench where he was sitting with Sarbo, Roan and Francle. "I wish you much luck, Kakon. And remember, this will always be your home."

  Mark nodded. "I’ll remember."

  "Good-bye, infant," Sarbo bellowed. "I have decided I do not care for funerals much. Come back alive."

  "I’ll see what I can do."

  Roan cocked his head. "Are you sure Francle and I cannot come? We would welcome the opportunity to pay Mordo for his treachery."