As he rode back up the line he heard Margot call out, “That’s mighty kind of you. Wouldn’t do to have that baby on the trail. I’ll tell Madge, you promised we’d be in Witan Jewell on the morrow and I’ll hold ju to that Mr. Boss.”
As they rode back up the line they heard Margot say something funny that made everyone laugh. Ahy leaned into his shoulder. “I’ve never met anyone quite like her. She’s always happy and laughing.”
“Yes, but beneath that mask I think you’ll find she’s got an iron will. She aught to be a great ally in the cause of truth.”
They rode in silence for several moments while he enjoyed the press of Ahy’s breasts against his back. As they once again passed the Quailor wagons, they spotted Herman fitting a new wheel to the birthing wagon. He waived and Sur Sceaf acknowledged him with a nod. When they reached the junction of the Quailor wagons with the Sharaka wagons, Sur Sceaf turned to Ahy and said, “I know a high hill where the golden grasses are soft and from which we can see all of Hrusburg. Do you want to see it with me?”
“Yes, I’d love to.” Ahy said close to his ear.
Sur Sceaf goaded Rekindler into a gallop and Taneshewa clung even tighter as they ascended the hill. The drovers and their cattle seemed like ants below them as they came to the summit of High Top and halted. Sur Sceaf turned and looped an arm around Taneshewa’s waist while lifting her down. Then he dismounted and ground tied White Fire to some deer brush. He took her hand and they made their way through the brush. Soon they came to a vantage point near a wind bent coffee tree.
“I call this place Woseburg, because it is where the Wose often stays when he comes to visit, but there are several hills in these parts we call Woseburg. Look down there. There is the great city of Hrusburg, the center for Herewardi trade and mercantile ventures.”
“Is that where you live?”
“No, not too far off though. See that one peaked, and elongated mountain over there to the right?”
“Yes.”
“Directly beneath it, two miles from where the two rivers converge, is my manse estate.”
A look of amazement crossed her face. “Great Grand Mother Wisdom, it looks like those blankets the Quailor make. You know like the one Madge showed us. Everything is so square.”
“I guess it does look like a quilt. They are square because that is the easiest way to measure the land and allot it so that everyone knows what piece of land is theirs to work.”
“You mean the whole land does not belong to the people the way it does with us?” Taneshewa asked.
“No, it’s not like the Sharaka where everyone owns the land together. Here, each allotment belongs to the individual person to work it the way they see fit. Each individual has his own land with fences and hedgerows as boundaries and those are their stewardships. But there are common lands as well. If you leave your land fallow and unimproved for more than one year then it reverts back to the community and becomes part of the Commons Land.”
“Well, will the Sharaka get squares of land too?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact, they will. They will receive their allotments just like the Herewardi and the Quailor.”
“Each one of us?”
“Each and every household.”
“As chief, your father will be given a lord’s share.” Sur Sceaf then turned and faced her. “I was hoping, Taneshewa, that as my bride you would come under my inheritance and be partaker of all my wealth. I have never felt the love that I have for you.”
“What about your other wives?”
“Of course, I know that this is a difficult concept to understand, but I told you, I love each one of my wives. My love for each is different. I never consciously compare my wives. I never share what intimacies I have with one wife to another. Nor would they expect me to. Each time I am with a wife, it is as if we are totally alone in a self-contained world. My entire focus is on who I am with at that moment. I owe that to each one of them. The more you use love the more you get. At that moment I give each wife my all.” Sur Sceaf turned and pointed to the fields below. “It’s kind of like those patches of land below. Each field has it’s own boundary and each marriage has its own boundaries.”
Taneshewa turned and faced Sur Sceaf squarely on while looking him straight in the eye. “What about me? What about my boundaries? What if I don’t feel like I am getting enough of you? Am I free to ask for more time?”
“Sometimes the wives bargain amongst each other and trade nights or favors. It has worked very well thus far.”
“You haven’t asked me about my side of things. You’ve only considered your own needs. In my culture if you wish to marry someone, you go to their parents and request their hand in marriage. You have not done that. You expect me to fit into your world, but you have to fit into mine as well. I’m not at all ready to make any commitment on those terms.”
“I’ll do anything you require. It’s just that I have a protocol to follow before I can do that.”
“Like what?” Taneshewa demanded skeptically.
“Like, first you must petition my wives to become a member of their covey. Then if they accept you into the covey we have an eighty-eight day waiting period before the marriage rite can be performed.”
“What! I have to pass an inspection like cattle or something. Are they going to be studying me for beef qualities or milking conformation?”
“Please, Ahy, I know it sounds trying, but the Herewardi have done this for generations. Let’s not throw away what we have. Lana’s response was much the same as yours. You could benefit much from asking her how this goes.”
“I suppose that would be fair enough.”
Sur Sceaf took her in his arms and kissed her.
“The love we have. I do love you, Surrey, and I’d like to be with you, but I’m still not sure. It’s just all too new and strange to me.”
* * *
During the midday break Lana came upon Fritz Walner sitting in his wagon. “Fritz,” Lana said, “Thank God thou and some of our brethren have escaped the knife of the Pitter. When we thought thee dead, I remembered all the Sunday school lessons thy father taught me and I wept much for thee.”
Fritz acknowledged her with a nod of gratitude. With a piteous look he swung his gaze in the direction of a young woman, of about sixteen winters who was crying and rocking back and forth.
“Lana, I am so grateful to God for our deliverance, but Sister Scheible here is not doing that well. It seemeth the past doth stay present with her and we cannot convince her all is well now and that the schweinhunden are gone.”
“Dori, art thou glad to be back in the safety of thy community?”
Dori stared straight ahead as if she hadn’t heard a word Lana said. Lana turned a questioning gaze on Fritz, who explained, “Don’t be offended Lana. She giveth no response, not even to her family. Methinks they broke her soul.”
“It is not difficult for me to imagine all she hath been put through. I sure hope she may make it right in her heart. Mother told me that thou didst come by to tell them thou hast seen the foul Pitters take away a band of young children. I must have faith that Gott will save them.”
“Gott maybe, that is if he useth Sur Sceaf as his arm the way he did at Woon Stone. The moment I laid eyes on him, I knew our deliverance was at hand. The way he set his horse, the cold fire in his eye, and his fierce barbaric use of force, made the enemy flee in terror. It was almost as though the gentle man I knew was another man, so changed had he become during the battle. But straight away after the battle, he returned to his gentle self again.”
Lana remarked, “I have heard this before, but I have never seen that side of him nor do I care to. If there is anything we can do to help, let us know Fritz.”
“Thank you, Lana. It helpeth to talk with someone else. The family is chust too focused on helping Eva to help Dori. Fare thee well, Lana, and do see us again.”
“Thou canst bet I will. Dori, I pray thou wilt get well. We all love thee.”
&
nbsp; As Lana proceeded to Sagwi and Little Doe’s wagon, she sent up a heartfelt prayer for Dori’s recovery. She came upon her friends talking with the Apache medicine man and tracker, Coyote.
They were sitting around the fire cross legged and so engrossed in conversation that they didn’t see her approach.
Lana politely cleared her throat. “If you have company, I can arrange to come back later.”
Sagwi turned and beckoned her closer. “Don’t ju be troublin yerself like dhat, now Lana. We’s just listenin to Coyote tell us all dha things dhat half-blood Govannon be doin. He be soundin like what ju calls a wizard. Coyote done said he be a magician wif metals, weapons, and medicine.”
“That he is,” Coyote said, “How fare you, Lady Lana?”
“I’m doing very well, Coyote. More than I can say about some of the poor wretched souls that Surrey rescued from those Pitter hell-rats.”
Coyote placed a hand on one of his many knives. She saw one in his hat, two strapped to his leg, two on each hip, and one on his arm. Those were only the knives she saw. She had heard from Sur Sceaf he usually carried close to twenty on his person.
Coyote shook his head. “Common sense should have told those white eyes it was foolish to paint themselves with blood in the midst of wolves.”
“I chust feel so sorry for them. I passed Fritz and there sat the youngun, Dori Scheible, whom everyone always knew to be such a bright and cheerful child. Today she could have passed for a simpleton or some crazed person, the way she chust rocked back and forth with no life shining out of those eyes. She hath nothing left in her, but a shadow spirit.”
Little Doe adjusted her feet under her. “By the Thunder Beings, Lana, you have come at a fine moment. I have seen Coyote bring many people back from the soul-death. Perhaps he could aid your friend.”
“Some of the Quailor will probably accuse him of necromancy,” Lana apologized. “But if he can breathe the true spirit back into her and expel the shadow spirit that haunteth her, then I shall rejoice and intercede in his behalf.”
“Be assured, Coyote has a special gift for healing the souls that have been crushed by war and grief.”
Lana felt a flame of hope leap in her breast. “Well, Coyote, might I prevail upon thee to work thy magic on Dori?”
“It is always a great benefit to me to help a soul find its way out of the living darkness. The Great Spirit would want me to do so.”
“I’ve only ever known thee as Govannon’s assistant, but it would seem you come under the tongue of good report as a healer as well.”
“Of that, you may be sure,” Little Doe exclaimed, “You shall see. He has done his works in our camp before. Even healed Lizard Killer from his outbursts of anger.” Little Doe lifted her brow. “But you surely came for some other reason?”
“Oh, I chust found some alum in my wagon and brought it to the little fellow, Going Snake, so that he can tan the buck hide Sur Sceaf gave unto him.”
Lana took the cotton sack hanging from her bejeweled girdle and handed it to Little Doe.
“Thank you Lana, that was very thoughtful.”
“Now, Miss Lana,” Sagwi said, “You sit jerself down here and eat som dis venison Dak got fur us dhis mornin. And afta we be fillin our bellies, ju can take Coyote to fix dhat poor girl up.”
* * *
After Sur Sceaf had escorted Taneshewa back to her family, he bade her goodbye, made sure his lieutenants were all ready to roll, and rode to the head of the wagon train. Raising his arm and throwing his hand forward, he gave the call to move on, “Yeoh Wah! Wagons ho!”
A few minutes later Mendaka, Snake Horse, and Redelfis rode up to join him.
Mendaka said, “Everything has been made ready for the final day of our journey tomorrow, my lord.”
“My people are so excited to see the see of the Herewardi Kingdom. They are already talking about your father. I’ve told them the All King is as wise as Onamingo, as well as a healer, and a man who is much traveled.”
“My father is all that, and as I have learned, much more.” Sur Sceaf smiled. “Indeed, I debated whether we should arrive this evening or go into Witan Jewell tomorrow and I think it best to go tomorrow. There were no glitches with the wheels, which Herman fixed in his usual efficient way, and the Quailor baby that was born safely this afternoon, but still, I just think it will be better to enter Witan Jewell in the morning. The people will be more rested and it will give them far more daylight to settle in with.”
Mendaka nodded, “As you say, chief. Little Doe said Coyote met with the Quailor girl, Dori, who wasn’t all there. He managed to bring her to a flood of tears and washed away her shadow spirit. Coyote told Little Doe, there would be some bouts of crying, but that she should be close to normal within two more moons.”
“Coyote has long worked under the tutelage of Govannon. He is skilled beyond most in the medical arts. And Face-of-Stars and Xelph are emerging as quite the healing team as well. They did a great job of keeping Jakob’s mind fever from spreading. It’s our good fortune that we have these healers traveling with us.”
A denser fog came in as the afternoon grew darker. Fortunately, they only had three miles to cover before darkness would settle in. By that time they would be camped on Deer Creek.
Snake Horse declared, “A lot has turned to good, but from the moment we left Salem, the Quailor were having difficulty sticking to their original agreement. They managed to rouse some ugly feelings among the tribes with their harsh judgments. I hope these flames of conflict don’t return to haunt us.”
“That whole mess is like a brush fire.” Sur Sceaf declared, “You think you’ve got it all out and a wind comes along and whips it all back up again. I’ve still got a lot of reservations about Brother Fromer. He could be that smoldering spark that singes our hope of acting as one people. I have put Elijah and his high priests on guard, but the truth is Fromer is a serpent.”
“Methinks your problems with that slithering fellow are just beginning,” Snake Horse said, his eye cocked. “It seems like an almost impossible task to harmoniously blend all these people. I do not envy you, my lord.”
“Well, at least we won’t be in risk of any Pitter hell-rats coming down the Umpqua Trail anytime soon. From now on the passes are frozen shut till spring, but if any Pitters do get through, I have scouts manning the towers until spring when the fyrd returns.”
Sur Sceaf turned in the saddle to make sure all was moving in concordance. “Although I am grateful we redeemed some of the Quailor Retrenchers, it angers me and troubles me that we did not find Isabelle and the other girls. At most we were only given a best guess. If only I knew with a certainty their fates and destinations.”
Mendaka said, “Well, if anyone can find them, it will be Lizard Killer and Elfhere.”
“Until they do, I can only pray the gods watch over them. We have no idea why the Growlings want such young girls, no good for work or sex. It just doesn’t add up. Some travelers report they drink their blood, others that they grow them and then defile them. Still others say they experiment on them. The very thought of Isabelle and the other girls in their hands, makes me sick to my stomach. These are strange times. Never before have the Pitters ranged so far and so wide through the West to glean the maidens from the slave trains. And I can’t figure out why, which only serves to make me more unsettled.”
Mendaka raised his arms to the sky. “I, too, shall make prayers for her, that the Great Spirit fetch her home to her father.”
* * *
The sun was close to setting when they reached the outskirts of Hrusburg. Sur Sceaf called a halt in the prairie before the city. They were only four miles from Hrusburg and ten from Witan Jewell. If all went well, they would reach the prairies of Garden Valley in Witan Jewell by mid morning of the following day.
By this time everybody knew what to do. They pitched camp and Surrey rode the line to see that all were settled in properly. People were gathering around their campfires, laughing and filled with
excitement and expectation for the morrow. Many had never seen a large fort or any large mercantile district. Most had never set eyes on a Herewardi city before and had only ever heard tales.
The light was going fast when they arrived in the meadows of Deer Creek. After helping Sagwi set up camp, Taneshewa walked to fetch water from the creek. Brilliant blue chicory flowers lined the path. She hit them gently with her walking stick as she went. As she filled the first one leather bucket from the swiftly running stream, she mulled over the conversation she had with Sur Sceaf on High Top during the afternoon. She always expected to have been married by age eighteen, and soon after the Dark Moonth she might be. Her greatest desire was to marry Surrey, but he came with so much baggage. Will I ever be able to love somebody else this much? Or will I have to be satisfied with someone lesser like Sagwi did, sleeping in a cold bed til my death and always pining the man I truly love?
In truth she really didn’t know why she loved Surrey. She only knew that when he was around, she felt better. And by talking with him, her troubled heart calmed. She remembered the Herewardi teachings about how everyone had lived eons before this life. She wondered if she had formed some mystical bond with him in that distant past, a bond more powerful than any force she had known in this mortal life. Am I kicking against the currents of a love that has far deeper roots than I can now possibly comprehend?
As she lifted the water-laden bucket, the binding on one of her moccasins gave way. She had two sets of knee-length lady moccasins, which she repeatedly mended along the trail. She sat on a nearby rock to fix the binding. As she was finishing, she felt a presence, and turned to see Sagwi standing at her side.
“Good dhing Lord Surrey has stopped dha train early dhis evening so’s we can be fixin for ourselves to meet dha Herewardi.”
“I think these moccasins have reached their last days on this leg of the journey. I’ve been saving my best pair and my beaded dress to wear when we come in to Witan Jewell. Do you think if I marry Surrey, I will have to dress in all those clothes the Herewardi women wear, especially those hard leather shoes?”
Witan Jewell Page 2
