by Helen Gosney
“Rasa the what?” Cris said in amazement. He looked at the great beast’s jaws that were so close to his face, and hastily stepped back a little.
“Rasa the direwolf, and before you ask me, I’ve never seen one and I don’t know anyone who has. I’ve only ever heard of them the once, years ago. I’d completely forgotten about it till now. The g’Hakken say the Gods are protected by a bloody great wolf, the direwolf…” he shrugged, “They also say ‘tis only a tale to frighten children with… and I’ve never heard anyone else mention it. Have you, Moss?”
“No. I do not know of it, but perhaps she guards the Gods in the same way that Amarga guarded my Bridge,” Moss said thoughtfully. A statue of the great warrior Amarga had stood guard at the end of his Bridge, just as this one of the direwolf did.
“Mmm… well, let’s hope so. I don’t think I’d like to meet her in the flesh, with bloody great big teeth like that. Especially if she’s feeling a bit hungry,” Rowan said as he patted the statue’s head and peered carefully into its mouth.
“Do you really think she could be here somewhere, Rowan?” Rose looked at him carefully. It was obvious Rowan truly had only just remembered about this… this ‘Rasa’. Obvious too that he wasn’t sure what to make of it.
“I don’t know, love. But we’ve seen no signs of her here in the crater, or in any of the buildings, have we? Except for this statue of course… maybe she’s just a children’s tale after all…” Rowan shook his head as he looked around again.
“But we’ve followed a children’s tale to get here, haven’t we?” Rose persisted. She didn’t think she’d like to meet up with the direwolf either, though she knew that most wolves were shy of people. Knew too that Rowan could likely handle it just as he had the cave lion, and he’d be daft enough to do it too.
“Aye, love, we have. I truly don’t know what to think, except we’ll just have to be very bloody careful…” Rowan frowned in thought. “Wolves aren’t generally solitary animals though; surely we’d have seen some signs of a pack here, heard them howling at night, perhaps, even if it was only a small pack?” He thought some more. “And I don’t think this crater could sustain a pack of wolves or even a single wolf that size, as well as the cave lion. I can’t imagine Puss sharing the territory either.”
“No, cave lions do not like to share their territory with others, and the crater is not overly large,” Moss said, thinking hard too. “I believe thou art right, Rowan. We would have seen some signs of their presence were she or a pack truly here. I think Rasa is a guardian as Amarga was.”
The excitement and concern about the direwolf died down as they all thought more seriously about what Rowan and Moss had said, and they decided if Rasa was somehow here, against all odds, then they’d simply have to deal with her if and when they had to.
**********
“You know, I thought we’d find a city here...” Cris said after supper that night. He’d lived in Gnash all his life, and had expected that Plausant Bron would be, well, somehow similar.
“Perhaps we have,” Rose said, adding hastily as she noticed the odd looks she was getting from the others, “Well, what I mean is... maybe other people have different ideas about what a ‘city’ actually is. Maybe not all ‘cities’ do have cobbled streets, and shops and inns... and temples and, er, and markets, and... and sewers...”
Moss thought about it. “Perhaps thou art right,” he said finally.
Cris was still following his original idea. “And we haven’t really found anything that looks like it could be the Great Pavilion of the Gods, have we?”
“What about that building that was all white columns and no roof?” Rose suggested half-seriously, “Or perhaps that dark, dingy one with all those steps?”
Rowan had been very quiet for some time.
“’Tis neither of those... ‘tis on the island...” he sounded very sure.
“What? Why do you think that? It’s a tiny island, and there are only trees there...” Rose said, surprised at the certainty in his voice.
Rowan shook his head. “I know it looks that way... but that’s where it is, I’m sure of it. I don’t even know why I think that, truly, but I’m going to go and find out in a moment.” He braced himself for the inevitable argument.
“You’re what...? We’ll be able to see what we’re doing much better in the morning, can’t we wait till then?” Rose cried.
Rowan reached over and took her hand. “No, Rose, love, I really can’t… and please… I know you’ll hate me for this, and I’m truly sorry to ask it, but I must. Please, my heart, I want you to stay here with Cris and Moss out of harm’s way and, and wait for me…” he looked very sad for a moment, “Rose, I promised Pa that I’d keep you safe, but I’m not sure that I can if you come with me now. I’m not sure I can keep any of us safe. Please, just stay here.”
There were immediate protests from the others. Rowan let them say what they would, and it took them quite a while before they ran dry, but their words had no effect on him. When their arguments had finally died away, he shook his head unhappily.
“Truly, ‘tis not what I’d wanted either, but I… I just don’t think I can protect us all now. I can use either hand, that’s not the problem, ‘tis this cursed knee, it feels… it feels not right. I just think ‘tis too dangerous if we all go. Please, just wait for me here.”
He looked around at them all, his hazel eyes suddenly thoughtful.
“Cris, do you remember when we found the troll twins?” he said unexpectedly.
Cris gave him a blank look and opened his mouth to say something, when finally he understood. He closed his mouth again and stared at Rowan for a moment, then nodded reluctantly.
“Yes, I do... I do remember that,” he said soberly, “You were right then... and maybe you’re right now, too. You go... I’ll explain it to Rose and Moss.”
Rowan smiled at him as he secured his sabre snugly against his back.
“Thanks, Cris,” he said, “I’ll call you if I need to be rescued from a beastie. Oh, and if the cave lion happens to come by, just throw him a rabbit or something and he’ll leave you in peace.”
And if you should see Rasa, do the same, climb the nearest tree and hope for the best, he thought. He truly didn’t think there was such a creature skulking about, and certainly not here in the confines of the crater.
He squeezed Rose’s hand, and leaned across and kissed her. Then he slipped his gold and silver ring into her hand, closing her fingers around it. “Look after this for me, please, Rose love. I’ll be as quick as I can,” he said, as if he was just going to the next village to trade for horses. Then he got to his feet and walked towards the edge of the lake, his long oaken staff in his hand and a small pack of food and water over his shoulder.
“But… but what if this, this ‘Rasa’ is real, Rowan? What if she’s somewhere over there on the island?” Rose began, standing quickly, determined to save her daft brother from himself this time. Really, he couldn’t be trusted out alone, she thought.
Rowan shrugged.
“If she’s there, then she’s there, Rose love. Nothing I can do about it. But I truly don’t think she will be. I think she’s just a bogey to frighten children with, as Crann said,” he said softly. He’d soon find out anyway, because the island was where he was going. Right now.
“But Rowan, you daft bugger! You can’t... you’re still limping!” she persisted.
Rowan turned his head again.
“I know, Rose. ’Tis why it must be this way,” he said quietly. He sighed and shook his head but he kept walking.
Cris put his hand on her arm and held her back.
“No, Rose, let him go...” he said quietly “He’ll do what he feels he must, one way or another; you can’t stop him... none of us can stop him. We’d have to chain him up too.”
Rose looked at him, her eyes wide.
**********
“What did he mean about when thee found the troll twins?” Moss asked quietly.
/> “He thought he’d seen something then, but he wasn’t sure, and he asked me to stay behind, to let him investigate it. He said there was no sense in both of us going out into the rain when it would probably turn out to be nothing...” Cris said slowly, watching Rose’s face carefully as he spoke, “And at first I thought, ‘no, you can’t go by yourself, there could be anything there’... but then I realised that I wouldn’t be much help to him anyway, if there was something really dangerous; I’m a rat catcher, not a warrior... and I realised that he didn’t want to expose me to any danger that he mightn’t be able to protect me from... that he knew he could look after himself, but maybe not me as well. Like he’s just said now. Anyway, I thought I might get in his way... so I waited where I was...”
“But... he’s hurt, his knee is...” Rose began.
Cris shook his head. From all that he’d heard of Rowan, and seen for himself, he knew that nothing would stop him once he’d made up his mind. Certainly not a minor detail like an injured knee that he could still walk on, even if it didn’t feel right, but he wouldn’t endanger anyone else. And Rowan had said himself that beasts didn’t generally bother him, and he’d tried to explain the Whispering business to him, Cris. The little ratcatcher hadn’t really understood it, but the experience with the cave lion had been the proof of it. Somehow Cris thought the direwolf – horrifying as it seemed – wouldn’t harm Rowan either, if he should run across it. And it wasn’t as if his friend was utterly defenceless after all.
“It’s all the more reason for him to think he mightn’t be able to keep us all safe, Rose. He wouldn’t have said it if he didn’t truly believe it. But even so, I don’t think there’s much that he couldn’t handle if he had to, if he’s only got himself to worry about. If we three rushed him right now, he’d turn us inside out and be gone before we knew what had happened to us, never mind his bad knee, or his shoulder... haven’t you seen him playing with his staff? And he’s taken his sword as well,” he said, “You know, we asked him once why he still carries it and does the drills every day, when he hates the thought of ever using it against anyone so much… and he said… he said he’d protect you, Rose, no matter what it takes. He thought there might come a time when he’d have no choice about whether or not he used the sword to defend us or himself, and if things were that desperate and there was no other way to do it, then he’d need all the skill he had, so he’d best maintain it. I think he believes that time might have come now, but I don’t know why. But you know, if there really is some danger that he can’t deal with... I honestly don’t think we’d be able to do much about it either.”
“But we could help him…”
Cris shook his head again and sighed. He wished he hadn’t promised Rowan that he’d explain all of this, but he had.
“No, Rose. You’ve seen him fight in Tournaments and things; you told me yourself he’s a Weapons Master. How could any of us be anything but a hindrance to him in a real battle? We’d only be in his way,” Cris said, hating himself as he said it, but knowing it was true. Even more so now perhaps, with Rowan not fully fit; he simply wouldn’t need the distraction of wondering if Rose was safe or not. Mind you, Rowan’s ‘not fully fit’ was still very bloody fit indeed.
Moss considered it and nodded. He could see this was the only way for Rowan to keep his promise to keep Rose out of harm’s way now, short of turning around and going home again. And he thought pigs would fly before Rowan would do that.
And, incredibly, the man was a Beast Master, a Whisperer … the cave lion hadn’t harmed him and Moss believed the direwolf – if it actually existed, which seemed unlikely – wouldn’t either.
“Truly, I think thou art right. I am strong, but I am not a warrior either... I have seen Rowan wield that g’Hakken sabre in practice and he is… astounding. I do not see how we could possibly help him in any conflict…” he put a careful arm around Rose’s shoulders.
“But his knee may just slow him down enough that he cannot look after us as well as himself. Rose, as hard as it is, I think we should wait for him here as he asks.”
She looked up at him, then sighed as she looked down at Rowan’s gold and silver ring glistening on her own hand. She didn’t want to think about why he might have left it with her. She could only hope that he’d be back to reclaim it. And as for Rasa - if she wasn’t some figment of a dwarven grandmam’s imagination - well, Rowan was a Whisperer after all. No beast would harm him.
“Oh, of course I don’t want to put anyone else in danger if I go... and you’re right, he could still tie us all in knots any time he wanted to. He wasn’t named Weapons Master just for his pretty face. The skills are almost instinctive with him, and I truly don’t think he’s lost any of them. But if he believes this is the only way to keep his promise to Gran and Pa…” she thought about things unhappily for a moment, thought about Rowan and his incredible ability with the sabre. She and everyone else had been stunned into silence at his expertise at the Champions’ Trophies. And though she knew how very hard it had been for him after Messton she also knew there’d be very few who could stand against him now. But only Rowan could know the full extent of damage from his fall.
“Rowan is many things, but he’s not a fool,” she said at last. She gave a reluctant nod. “Yes, we’ll do as he asks…”
Moss squeezed her hand very gently.
“No, he is not a fool, and as thou hast said before, he is very stubborn; he will do as he will do…” he hesitated, “Still, I cannot let him go just yet...” and he turned away and strode quickly to the end of the bridge, where Rowan stood gazing across at the misty, tree-covered island.
**********
Rowan stood looking at the little island as he tried to keep calm. He could hear his friends speaking, hear Rose, and he shook his head. Please, Rose love, don’t push it, he thought. Just stay here. He knew he could turn around and go back to his friends, simply walk away from this… except that he couldn’t. If the Gods really were on that island, he still had things he needed to say to them. And if Rasa was there too, then so be it. He’d worry about her if and when he found her. His deep smouldering anger flared for a moment as he thought about just why he was here. No, he’d travelled too far, been through too much, lost too much to simply walk away now, Rasa or no Rasa. He forced down his rage and spun to face the troll he heard coming up behind him.
**********
37. “… the other end of that bridge is not in this world of Yaarl...”
Rowan turned, perfectly balanced in spite of his knee, and so swift that just for a moment the troll was reminded that Rowan did indeed have all a champion warrior’s instincts and skills, even if he’d hoped to never use them again. Moss saw the fire in his friend’s eyes and had the uncomfortable feeling that he really might find himself turned inside out before he could take another step. He was relieved to see Rowan take a deep breath and relax a little.
“Rowan, wait! Thou must take care, that bridge is not as it seems...” he said urgently, “It does not end here...”
“What do you mean?”
“I... I do not know exactly...” Moss hesitated, “But I am a Bridge troll... and I can tell thee that the other end of that bridge is not in this world of Yaarl... I do not understand it, but it is so.”
Rowan shook his head, not really understanding the troll’s meaning either, but clear in his own mind of what he should do.
“Moss...I think... I think that’s where this whole journey has been heading and I must go wherever it takes me now. You know I’d wanted to have you with me, but I just…” he looked up at his friend and saw the understanding in his eyes. He sighed with relief. “If I can, I’ll come back, but...” he gripped the troll’s wrists tightly, “Please, my friend, please see that Rose is safe, no matter what... if you see anything coming back over that bridge that isn’t me, promise me you’ll run.”
The troll stared at him, aghast.
And if I don’t go right now, Rowan thought unhappily, I might nev
er cross this bloody bridge that ends… where the hell could it end if not here in Yaarl?
“Rowan... Cris and I will look after her, of course we will, and we will run too, I swear it… but take this with thee... It is of Yaarl, as is thy staff; perhaps it might help thee to return somehow.”
Moss pressed something into Rowan’s hand. It was the stone from his lost Bridge.
Rowan smiled up at the troll for a moment and gripped his great wrists again, and then he turned away and headed across the hump-backed bridge. To Moss’s eyes he seemed to hesitate for a moment at the wispy mist in the centre of the bridge, then he simply vanished.
When he reached the other side, Rowan looked back. He could see Moss quite clearly, if distantly, but it was obvious that the troll could neither see nor hear him. He looked up, but the stars seemed to be obscured by clouds and he still didn’t know where the bridge had brought him. Rowan shrugged and walked on, silently making his way towards the crest of the island and into the misty grove of trees they’d seen when they first emerged from the tunnel into this crater. Strange trees, they were, like nothing he’d ever seen... tall and spindly, with long lank leaves hanging motionless. The undergrowth was thin and lank and dry looking and there was no sound of birds or anything else to be heard. The rise to the centre of the island seemed to become much steeper than Rowan had expected, but he kept on until he came to a great wall at least twice his own height.
Where the hell did that come from, he wondered, frowning. Certainly it hadn’t been visible from the other side of the bridge. He looked around and thought he saw an opening to his right. Sure enough, a gateway yawned there, its heavy, ornately wrought gates securely chained. Let’s see how secure you are against this, he muttered and drew his sabre. A slashing cut showed that the chains weren’t as strong as their makers had undoubtedly thought, and certainly no match for good g’Hakken workmanship. He stepped through the gates to find himself in a great stone maze.
Don’t play bloody funny buggers with me, he thought savagely. I’m truly not in the mood for it. He swapped his sabre for his clan knife and neatly carved the Siannen rune for his name in the left hand wall, pleased to see that the stone wasn’t too hard. He really didn’t approve of those who defaced things like this, but he excused himself – just this once, mind - by the fact of his being fed up with the Gods and their nonsense and he’d need to mark his progress through the maze anyway.
