Forsaken At The Crossroads

by Joe Sniezek

  Eniyan called out, “Let’s get to shore. It sounds like rapids ahead.”

  It was too late, the river had opened up into a lake and there was nothing close enough to push against. The lake was deeper than the length of their longest pole. The raft drifted helplessly with the slow current. As they grew closer they saw the source of the rumble; two large boulders blocked the river, forming the lake. The water’s only path was to shoot out with great force from between. Ikvig was confident he could use his pole to halt the raft from passing through the narrow gap.

  But luck was not with them that day. Ikvig underestimated the force of the water. As he pushed the pole against the first boulder, the raft pivoted around and turned perpendicular to the flow of water. The raft was unstable and top-heavy; It rolled over and dumped them all into the water. Stunned by the coldness of the water, Wilfer struggled to recover and swim to shore. The flow of water was too strong this close to the rapids. Below the surface layer of water, there was an undertow that sucked Wilfer and his friends down. They were not only battling hypothermia and fighting for air, they were soon to be bashed against the rocks with bone-shattering force.

  ∞∞∞

  Wilfer awoke on the shore next to his companions. He looked around to make sure everybody was alright. As he looked, he saw Ike emerging from the water grasping their packs with his tentacles.

  Ikvig said to Ike, “That’s the second time you’ve saved my life.”

  Wilfer gave his thanks to the squid, “Thank you, Ike.” The squid made his squishy noises and waved a tip of one tentacle in acknowledgment. In that instant, Wilfer’s mind was filled with an image of Ikvig, Eniyan, Zumi, and himself with their arms raised up holding a tentacle as if they were each being declared the winner of a race. Wilfer laughed at the sudden image, and it occurred to him that this is how Ikvig and Ike have been communicating. Apparently, the squid could now connect with each of them, since it had saved their lives as well.

  Wilfer turned to Ikvig and said, “So that’s what you mean.”

  “Yes,” was all the large man said. Wilfer now understood. It was a subtle thing. The images quickly flashed through his mind. They were easy to ignore because they ended as quickly as they began. However, Wilfer wasn’t sure he could stop them from entering his mind if he chose.

  They slowly recovered and one by one, they brought themselves to their feet. This was a poor resting place; it was too exposed and the noise of the water was too loud to hear anybody coming. In fact, the conversation had to be at a louder than normal level just to be heard. They naturally continued to follow the river until the roar of the rapid had faded in the distance.

  “We really need a fire,” Zumi said with her teeth chattering. Her fingers, ears, lips, and even the tip of her nose had a distinct bluish tinge.

  After starting another small fire on a bark slab, Ikvig stripped his clothes off and hung them on a nearby branch; Wilfer did likewise. The giant seemed impervious to the cold. In fact, steam was rising from his shoulders. Eniyan’s wool robes and wooly hair and beard did a good job of repelling water; he was damp but warmed and dried quickly. Zumi was struggling against the cold. Wilfer picked small pine branches from the nearby trees and piled them around her to keep the heat in and the wind out. It may have been itchy, but it worked. Eniyan took her clothes and wrung them out as best he could and positioned them around the fire.

  Wilfer said, “Floating down the river was a mistake.” Ikvig grunted in agreement.

  “We traveled maybe four or six times what we could have on foot. We left no trail to be tracked, and although we sank, we are unharmed,” Eniyan pointed out.

  Wilfer was not able to find anything to disagree with. Instead, he said, “We lost our raft. I think we should continue on land rather than build another one.”

  “Agreed,” Eniyan said. Wilfer wondered if Eniyan would have agreed, no matter what choice he had made.

  Before Wilfer could formulate a reply, he had a sudden mental image of a man creeping through some bushes. Ikvig, Eniyan, and Zumi had simultaneously swung their heads around to peer uphill into the forest. Ike had detected a spy and sent mental warnings to them all.

  “How far, Ike?” Wilfer asked, but Ike just replied with a shaking of his tentacles and confused mental images that changed rapidly. There were significant limitations in communications; Ike was simply too alien.

  Eniyan had a better response than Ike. He said, “We know he’s there. He might not know where we are and if he does, he doesn’t know that we are already aware of him.”

  “So, do you have a plan then?” Zumi said as she and everybody else were putting on their clothes, which have not yet fully dried.

  “I think we can capture him. Get some answers for Wilfer,” Eniyan said gesturing towards him.

  “Could it be that the mighty Eniyan had made a decision?” Wilfer said dripping with sarcasm.

  “I just suggested a plan, the decision is yours.” Eniyan smiled, completely unoffended.

  “I have the crossbow,” Zumi said as they all turned to her in surprise. “I will creep up and force him to surrender from the safety of hiding.”

  “Ok. I will go with you,” Wilfer said.

  “No. Two people will be too loud. I will go alone.”

  “Bad idea,” Ikvig said. Eniyan said nothing but scowled heavily.

  Zumi grabber her bow, loaded a bolt, grabbed her quiver, and disappeared into the woods. Wilfer, Eniyan, and Ikvig sat quietly around the fire. They continued with their tasks of cooking or drying and cleaning the wet supplies but remained alert for any trouble.

  “That seemed unusually brave of her,” Wilfer said, giving a twitch of his head in Zumi’s direction, “Not to say she’s a coward, but she hasn’t shown that kind of initiative before.”

  After silently staring into the flames, Eniyan said, “There’s more than meets the eye, with that girl.”

  “What do you mean by that?” Wilfer asked intently.

  “Oh, nothing more than what I said.”

  Wilfer pressed, “Is that truly all you meant?”

  Eniyan chuckled. “I wouldn’t say I am suspicious, but an old man gets hunches.”

  “And what is your hunch?”

  “I think we will find out that she knows more about things than she says she does,” Eniyan said.

  “I definitely have that hunch too,” Wilfer said.

  “She stayed by your side through danger and that is the only thing that matters,” Ikvig said, firmly ending the conversation.

  ∞∞∞

  Something was approaching from the forest. Ikvig heard the occasional twig snapping and the crunch of dried pine needles. Most of the time, animals run from the smell of a campfire, but sometimes the animal grows curious and draws near. However, it soon became clear that it was Zumi returning. Wilfer readied himself to help; he assuming she would have a prisoner in tow or would soon lead them back to a prisoner bound in the woods, but Zumi returned alone. She sat down by the fire to warm herself and said nothing. Of course, everybody was eager to hear what happened and peppered her with questions.

  “I wasn’t able to trap him. He died,” Zumi said grimly.

  “What?” Wilfer asked shocked and disappointed, “Well where’s the body. Maybe we can get some clues from it.”

  “He fell. Over a ledge. I couldn’t spot the body from above, and it was too steep to climb down,” Zumi said with embarrassment.

  “No problem. We can go find it in the morning. We’ll come up from below,” Ikvig suggested.

  “I’m not sure I can find my way back again. And the worst part is I don’t think he had anything to do with us. I think I killed an innocent man,” Zumi said and put her head in her hands and cried. Ikvig crossed the campsite to put his arm around her for comfort. He said a few soft words about accidents and fate. Eniyan and Wilfer exchanged looks of wariness and suspicion over the campfire.

  Twelve

  “We need more firewood,” Eniyan said and headed i
nto the forest to gather some.

  “I’ll go too,” Wilfer said. Everything in this place was wet at this time of year. The green wood would not easily burn, which is why Ikvig was able to use the bark as a base for the fire. In fact, the ground was so wet, it would snuff out a fire burning directly on it. Even the pine needles with all their resin, just pop, sizzle, and pump out thick acrid smoke. Luckily, their fires had to be small for stealth, so they did not need much fuel to begin with.

  As they collected wood, they talked. “What do you think about Zumi? I don’t buy her story,” Wilfer said.

  “I think, Eniyan paused, “It really doesn’t matter.”

  “How could it not matter?”

  Eniyan continued collecting wood. “Do you think she might shoot you in the back or push you off a cliff?”

  “No. I don’t think so,” Wilfer said and smiled. He felt that Zumi might be up to something crafty, but she didn’t seem dangerous, and she has already had the opportunity if that was her plan.

  “A more useful thing to think about would be the man in the woods,” Eniyan said.

  “Yeah, I wish we had gotten some answers from him,” Wilfer lamented.

  “If we don’t take Zumi’s words for the truth, we have four possibilities. The man might be alive or dead. He might have been spying on us or not.”

  “Makes sense. So what does that mean to us?”

  “I only mention it to show that it doesn’t matter. We can’t prepare for those four, very different possibilities. What is there to do besides be extra careful and alert? We should be doing that anyway,” Eniyan explained.

  “We are always alert,” Wilfer said, although he realized that maybe Eniyan had a point. They had been startled and unprepared each time. Well no more. He decided to fully expect another soldier to catch up with them again soon. It also occurred to Wilfer that even though the old man didn’t over-analyze things, that didn’t mean he didn’t notice them.

  ∞∞∞

  Wilfer returned to camp and dumped his armful of firewood. He asked Ikvig, “So tell me about this town we’re going to.”

  “Hof,” Ikvig said, “is a fishing and trading town. Strangers are not uncommon. I do not know if they have seen many little folk or not.”

  Wilfer laughed to himself at being called little folk, but that’s exactly what he was for Ikvig. “Sounds great. What should we do first, trade the extra swords?” Wilfer asked.

  “They won’t be worth much. They are in bad shape after getting wet. Maybe we can trade for some leather, but it won’t get much. May not even get us a meal,” Ikvig warned.

  “Just sitting in a chair with a roof overhead would be nice,” Zumi said.

  “Hmm,” Wilfer said, wondering if it was even worth the exposure or going into town at all. But then he remembered something, “What about the jeweled pendant?”

  Ikvig said with a sheepish smile, “Of course. We will have to put out feelers. It is too much for anybody in town to buy.”

  ∞∞∞

  The riverbank slowly turned into a trail, and the trail widened into a road. They could see several other roads coming from different directions. A few people were travelling to and from town with carts filled with various goods. People entered the town with furs, and even partially butchered animals. Boats with nets filled with fish came in from the harbor. Wilfer realized that their meager stash of stolen weapons would seem very small in this well-supplied town.

  Ikvig raised an arm in greeting to other travellers, and they returned the gesture. None of the locals stared at them or shot curious glances. Although they didn’t seem to stand out, that didn’t mean they weren’t noticed, so Wilfer remained cautious.

  The town was little more than a collection of houses and a few other buildings. There was a watermill turning next to a bridge that crossed the river. There were no city walls or other fortifications, nor did Wilfer see any guards. The townsfolk had to provide for their own safety.

  Ikvig took the extra swords and instructed his friends to wait at the edge of town. He suggested they lean against the wall of a building and look like they belonged. Then, Ikvig walked over to a merchant’s cart that had weapons hanging on display.

  Wilfer watched Ikvig talk to the merchant. She was a tall woman with two long blond braids. They only exchanged a few sentences before she was shaking her head. Ikvig showed her the swords; she did not look impressed. He closed his sales pitch by pointed back at the group. The woman looked over, shrugged, and handed him a few coins.

  Ikvig returned and showed them the four silver coins in his hand and said, “This will get us some beers and a place to rest our feet for a few hours. There is a tavern over there.” He pointed down the side street.

  Ike pulsed and wiggled a few tentacles from the river. Wilfer had almost forgotten about him, he was ashamed to admit. Ikvig jogged over to the squid and showed him the coins before he slipped back under the water. Ikvig returned and translated for them, “Ike says swimming is better.”

  ∞∞∞

  Inside the tavern, no one looked up as Wilfer and his companions walked over to the chairs near the fireplace and sat down. There were only a few other patrons in the hall sitting at the long table drinking their beer. Ikvig approached the proprietor standing near the kitchen door and ordered three beers. The proprietor brought the beverages and set them down on the low tables next to the chairs and walked away without another word. Ikvig immediately drank half his beer in one gulp; the others took time to relax. It felt good to get out of the sun and wind. It felt good just to sit in a chair.

  Wilfer sipped his beer. Ordinarily, it would be one of the worst beers he has ever tasted, but after the long trip, it was the most delicious beer in memory. He drank deeply, and when he had his fill, he asked the others, “Should we camp outside town as you look for a buyer for the pendant?”

  “Ike is going to have a look around first,” Ikvig said simply. Wilfer wasn’t sure what that meant, Ike didn’t bother to send any thoughts his way, but he assumed it meant fishing again.

  ∞∞∞

  Wilfer watched with curiosity as his large friend left the tavern and walked over to the river to talk to Ike. Through the window, Wilfer saw the giant and the squid speak at length in their own special way. The squid brought up some rusted pots and jugs. Ikvig answered back and showed the coin in his hand. Then he pulled out his jeweled wasp pendant and pointed out a few features – likely to show the color of gold, and possibly what jewels were. The squid gave a gesture of agreement and slipped back under the water. Ikvig tossed the rusted pots. The giant returned to the group and said “Well, if there’s anything to be found in the water, Ike will find it. He says there’s not much fish to be had; the water has been heavily fished.”

  The others were content to rest at the inn and just let time pass by, but Wilfer was getting restless. He sat next to his giant friend and asked softly, “What do you think?”

  “About what?” the giant responded with surprise and looked around to see if he could spot the subject of Wilfer’s question.

  “Wilfer laughed softly in reassurance, “Just about our situation.”

  “Our situation,” Ikvig said. Ikvig could see that Wilfer was tense, so he wanted to help him. “We have little money. Towns are a place for money. I don’t know how we can get more. What are we going to buy?”

  Wilfer sighed, “I don’t really know. Food and shelter for now. I wanted weapons and armor but I realize that was just for peace of mind, it won’t really help us.”

  “We don’t need it,” the giant agreed. Then he stood up and patted Wilfer on the shoulder and said, “Ike says he found something.”

  Ikvig returned from speaking with Ike and told the group, “Ike found a string tied to a small bag of gold. The string led up out of the water to a rock on shore under the bridge. It must belong to someone. If we take it, someone may come looking for it. What do you think?”

  Eniyan said, “Take just a little. If the person goes back f
or it and finds it, but it’s less then they remember, they will doubt their memory.”

  There were twelve pieces of gold in the bag. Ikvig removed four and gave the rest back to Ike to return.

  “How much is a room for a week at this inn?” Wilfer asked Ikvig.

  “One gold should cover it.” Ikvig talked to the proprietor and he showed them up to their room. They were relieved to see four beds in the room, though even the floor would be better than the cold ground of the forest.

  As they got comfortable in the room, Wilfer, sitting on his bed, leaned forward and asked, “So what’s the plan, friends?”

  The group looked at each other and shrugged. Eniyan leaned back and said after a moment, “I think we’re best off just staying here for as long as we can.”

  Zumi spoke up and said, “You already know what I think. San La is best.” Wilfer twisted his mouth in a rueful expression. He could have guessed she would say that. He could have guessed Eniyan’s response as well. To Wilfer, neither idea seemed very compelling.

  As he looked expectantly at Ikvig, the large man said, “I am enjoying this adventure. Stay here or go elsewhere, both are good.”

  “Alright,” Wilfer said with a yawn, “We will stay and rest a while.” The others were relieved at his decision and relaxed. But Wilfer did not think they would enjoy an extended stay in this town. Likely, they just need a good night’s sleep. This wasn’t a very hospitable town and they were truly strangers here. This place would never feel like home to them.

  Eniyan, Ikvig, and Zumi occupied themselves by checking and mending any tears and holes in their clothes. They emptied, cleaned, and repacked their gear. They inspected, cleaned, and sharpened their weapons. Everything they owned had gotten pretty dirty after being submerged in the river. Their iron was rusting. Zumi’s crossbow needed recalibrating as the wet and dry cycle had changed the tension of the bowstrings.