The Blind Seer
Page 4
Her heart was pounding, she could sense was her sword arm moving in reaction to each of the blades slashing and stabbing at her. She parried high and swung down low, her body twisted and snaked as she shifted her weight with the blade. There were too many, there must have been at least twenty blades surrounding her. She felt her back explode in pain, an iron boot had found its mark and she lurched forward into the main assault. The goblins jumped back and cried out as their prey collapsed. She rolled belly up as a spear head stabbed down. She rolled and squirmed and screamed as iron-tipped blades were thrust at her.
Click.
The goblins had stopped. They were frozen. The spears, the swords, they were all there, inches away from blinding her and filling her full of holes. She squirmed free from the frozen mass of horror surrounding her body and studied their statue-like forms.
“Terrible,” Ama said from behind the crowd, “you swing your sword like a mountain troll trying to club a cat to death. You swing, and there's nothing there. If you want to win a fight, use your head, woman.”
“What is this?” cried Isolde, “you tried to kill me!”
“Kill you?” Ama laughed, “my dear girl, if I wanted you dead I would just do it. I am trying to help you. I am trying to unleash what you truly are.”
Isolde’s eyes were wide with horror.
“Now, do it again, but this time... Use. Your. Head!" Ama said with a smile.
***
“Dwarves…” Skaldi said, eyeing the short shaft of the crossbow bolt. “You can’t trust them, you know.”
“Right, you bastards come out with your hands up,” cried a gruff voice that was out of view.
Harald could feel his hands sweating. He had heard about crossbows before, they could punch through steel plate armour as easily as cloth. All he had on was fur, he shuddered at what one would do to him.
“We should do what he says,” Skaldi murmured, “just… let me do the talking alright.”
“I’m loading another….”
“Wait,” cried Skaldi, “wait, wait… we are coming out.”
Harald was grinding his teeth, he watched the old man clamber to his feet and waited for the sickening crack and the spurt of blood. But the bolt never came and he breathed a sigh of relief and stood up as well.
“Snorri?” Skaldi said surprised, “son of Slein?”
Harald watched the dwarf turn the words over. He was short of stature, as all his kind were, heavy set with broad shoulders and dull rings of chainmail covering him from neck to thigh. His grey beard was thick and held together with golden rings as the wiry strands weaved amongst themselves down to his belly. The dwarf wore no helm, but kept his bald head bare to the world. He held the wooden crossbow at his hip and had it levelled at Skaldi. Thick grey eyebrows crushed together as the dwarf’s green eyes bore down at the old man. Harald noticed the dwarf’s lips pucker-up under his beard and his brow relaxed.
“Skaldi,” he laughed and lowered his weapon, “nearly killed you didn’t I.”
Harald sighed in relief.
“Snorri Sleinsson…” Skaldi laughed and bent down low to hug the dwarf.
“I heard a rumour that you had passed,” Skaldi said non-chalently and drew his pipe out from his sleeve to fill with tobacco.
“Aye,” Snorri said, “I heard the same about you, more than once too. One moment there Skald.” He turned his head back to the towers from where he had been hiding and called out, “boys, it’s alright, come on out.”
Harald watched in amazement as another mail-clad dwarf came out leading a huge, shaggy black dog. The dwarf had long, greasy, black hair that clung to his forehead and a greasy, untamed beard that fell down his chest. Golden rings pierced his nose, ears, and eyebrows.
As ferocious as the dwarves looked, Harald couldn't take his eyes away from the dog. It was huge, standing as tall as the dwarf leading it and moved in gracious and wary steps. Its enormous head was lowered and its black ears twitched in nervous awareness of the tense meeting. Slowly it snaked its way toward Harald, and he held out his shaking hand to pat the dog's matted fur. But as he reached out, the dog's lips quivered back and it barred its vicious fangs with a low growl.
"I think he likes you," Snorri said with a grin breaking out underneath his beard.
Harald snapped his hand in and took a step backwards, but the dog jumped up and puts its huge forepaws onto Harald's chest so that they could see eye to eye. He could feel his own heart hammering, and Harald thought the dog could sense it too.
"Dok, he's a friend," Snorri called, and in that moment the dog licked Harald's cheek with a wet, rough tongue and dropped back down to his feet.
"No," Skaldi said with excitement, "you mean to tell me that that is little Dokkur?"
"Aye," chuckled Snorri, "one and the same."
"He was only a pup at the teet when I last saw him."
"That he was Skald, but how long has it been? Ten years? Fifteen, maybe?"
Skaldi nodded in surprise and Dokkur came wandering to the old man and licked his gnarled hands.
"You don't see too many wolf-hounds these days," Snorri said, "might be his the last of his kind."
The dwarf rubbed Dokkur's head and looked up, "oh right," he said, "so I've forgotten me manners, this here is Thodin."
Harald stretched out his hand to greet the dwarf and Snorri quickly stopped him.
"You were lucky with Dok, boy, but Thodin's been known to take hands."
Harald quickly shot his hand back and the black-haired dwarf growled at him. Snorri burst into laughter and Thodin did the same.
"He's just pulling your leg, lad," Thodin said, "bring it in here."
And with that, the dwarf pulled Harald into a tight hug.
"It's good to meet you, lads," Thodin said, "but what would a pair of manlings be doing way out here by Swona?"
"We had to talk to a... friend," Skaldi said.
"Ama?" Snorri asked with a creased brow.
"She is helping us," Skaldi explained, "and now we are heading to Mousa."
"Ooooh," Thodin howled, "Mousa isn't for the faint hearted."
"Full of shadows and death," Snorri added.
"Aye," Thodin said, "I heard that it's cursed."
"Cursed or not," Skaldi said, "that is where we are heading."
"Well," Snorri said as he pushed his chest forward and cracked his back, "just your luck that we are heading the same way. Might be a good idea to share the road as it were."
Skaldi looked back at Harald and tilted his head to the side as if to say, this may be unpleasant, but it's actually for the best.
"We'd love the company," Harald said.
CHAPTER VII
Isolde was exhausted. Her arms burned from swinging her blade back and forward, her wrist throbbed from each blow and parry, and the wound in her shoulder ached from the movement. She cut down goblin after goblin, but it was never enough. Finally, Ama stopped the trialling lesson.
"Time is a deception," the old woman said. "We look at a tree and see nothing but a still, sentient being which is stuck to the spot, forced to sway in the wind. But the tree sees a different world, his roots and constantly moving, slithering like snakes and eating into the earth. His boughs and branches stretch high into the sky and drink the sun's rays. To the tree, we must look like nothing more than flies flittering about before disappearing completely. Just look at my old oak there, he has watched my little cottage go up, seen me live in it, and will watch it decay and disappear, yet still, he lives on and my whole life here will have been nothing but an interesting event for him."
Isolde nodded trying her best to follow what Ama was saying while catching her breath.
"So, you tell me," Ama said, "what is time, if the tree sees it one way and we another?"
"I don't know," Isolde said, "is it a lie?"
Ama shook her head and Isolde could see the old woman getting frustrated.
"Think!" she said, "for once in your life use that brain of yours."
"Time has to be the same for everything," she started slowly, trying to wrestle with the concept in her mind, "or it wouldn't be time. But, maybe it can be experienced in different ways."
Ama smiled.
"Like when you get hit in the head," she said and flicked Isolde between the eyes, "and the world moves slow. The world is still moving at the same speed, but you are experiencing it slower, yes?"
Isolde nodded, that made sense to her.
"Is that how you froze the goblins?" she asked.
"I didn't hit them in the head," Ama said and clucked her tongue, "but I changed the way that we see time."
"If you changed us, and not them, then why are they frozen?"
"Because I sped up our perception. They're not actually frozen, Isolde, just moving incredibly slowly to our eyes. I can't stop time you know, only alter perception... and you can do it too."
***
"So why are you heading to Mousa, anyway?" Snorri asked.
The band of travellers had been making good time with the fair weather. The sun was out and the rains had backed away. The rolling hills were before them but still, the mist remained settled within the valleys. It was an eerie experience, one Harald could feel deep within his bones. At the crest of each hill, he could see out for miles all around, but when they descended into the mist, all was lost beyond his own outstretched hand. It was so thick, in fact, that the company would lose each other until they began their ascent of the next ridge.
Harald looked at Skaldi not knowing whether he should tell these strangers of their quest. But the old man nodded as if to say they were among friends and Harald felt reassured.
"My friend is sick," he said. "We took her to Ama's and the old woman said she needed water from the King's Fountain in Mousa."
Snorri nodded and his great grey beard scrunched under his neck.
"Old Ama's a witch, but she's alright, she knows what she's doing," the dwarf said.
Dok padded up beside Harald and he scratched the huge dog on the head.
"And what about your eye?" Snorri asked.
"You going to interrogate the poor lad all day?" Thodin chimed in.
"I'm curious," Snorri said to his friend, "no harm in asking."
Thodin grumbled and began the descent down into the mist and the others followed.
"It's alright," Harald said, "I lost it trying to save my friend."
"The same friend?" Snorri asked.
"Yeah, the same one."
"Gods," Snorri said impressed, "he owes you now, doesn't he?"
"She..." Harald said.
"Oh," Snorri laughed and Thodin turned around.
"She's your woman is she?" Thodin asked over his shoulder.
Harald sighed and looked to Skaldi for help, but the old man simply smiled and shrugged his shoulders.
"Uh oh," Snorri said, "looks like trouble in paradise!"
Both dwarves burst out in laughter and began elbowing each other in cheer. Harald felt his blood rising and burst out.
"Enough, she's not my woman."
The dwarves were silenced and looked at Harald in shock.
"No harm intended lad, tell us about it," Thodin asked.
Harald sighed and began to walk down the grassy hill.
"We grew up together," he said, "and I've always loved her, but she's the daughter of a Jarl, and I'm low-born. She never saw me, you know. She always thought I was the one who needed saving, all the time. Hell, she didn't even want me to come here with her."
He looked up at Skaldi when he said it and the old man nodded.
"Isolde can be quite... stubborn," Skaldi said.
"Go on lad," Snorri said, "tell us what happened."
"Well, Skaldi took her up to find this witch Orlog and I tagged along. I saved her from some wolves and she thanked me for it. Those woods, those were the best days of my life. Finally, she saw that I was worth something, she saw me for more than just a pity case, she even kissed me. But then we met Erik."
Harald nearly spat the name.
"There was this battle with raiders, she would have died if I didn't jump in. That's how I lost my eye."
"You're a good lad," Thodin said, "she owes you more than her life."
"That's not all though," Harald said. "She ran to this Erik as soon as she saw him. But he was bad news, I warned her over and over but she didn't listen. He took her back to Ravenscar. She would be dead or worse if I hadn't come for her."
Snorri put his heavy hand on Harald's shoulder.
"Don't sweat it, lad," he said. "All girls are trouble. She'll come around if it's meant to be."
Harald hadn't realised how deep into the valley they had gotten. Already, the thick mist had swallowed them whole, he could see Dok as a black shadow flittering back and forth ahead but Skaldi and Thodin were lost. He turned back to Snorri and he too had faded into the mist, and all of a sudden, Harald was alone.
"I'll tell you one thing," Thodin's voice came from somewhere ahead, "you wouldn't be the first to have lady problems. The last woman old Snorri talked to answered back with a fist. Ain't that right, Snor?"
Snorri bellowed a laugh, but it was distant and faded.
"Aye," Snorri faintly replied, "but don't get me started..."
Harald's heart skipped, and he quickened his pace to try and catch up. But the faster he walked, the thicker the mist around him built up.
"Hey," he cried out, "slow down!"
Where have they gone?... He stuck his hands out in front of him, but it was no use, he couldn't see more than half way up his arm. His toe caught a rock and Harald felt his body jar forward. There was no choice but to slow down.
It was lonely, Harald had never felt isolation like this. The sun and sky were lost far above him, and his body disappeared from the waist down. The thick mist was all there was and he felt like he was living in a cloud. He shuffled forward, one foot after the other, and cried out again. Silence answered him, no wind, no echo, his voice just left his throat when he cried out and nothing replied.
The axe on his back was a comfort, and Harald ran his hand over its razor edge while he shuffled onward. His eyes burned from squinting, begging to see anything ahead of him. The ground had levelled out at least, his feet told him that much, but the ascent up never came. He kept walking on and on, trying to hold his breath to make out any sound that might show him the way.
That's when he heard it. Like dry autumn leaves rustling in the wind, or the sound of scraping bones. It was faint, but with the absence of anything else, the sound felt like it came from right behind him, and the hairs on his neck pricked up. Harald spun around and whipped the axe from his back. He kept circling slowly, his breath held, waiting for the sound to return.
Where are you... Where?... his mind was racing and the dry wind returned. He felt the sound rush right past his ear and swung back. His eyes widened with terror and he nearly tumbled as he stepped back. From out of the mist, glowing blue gems emerged. Burning a brilliantly like a clear summer sky. They gleamed out of blackened skin hanging from ancient bone like dusty parchments in a forgotten library. Eyes... they were dead, yet so alive. Draugr!...
There was no time. The deathly creature shuffled forward and swiped out at Harald with a bony hand, its claw like fingers only narrowly missing his face. Harald spied the glint of steel and saw the other hand wielding an antique blade. The draugr swung it up, but Harald ducked under and gave the thing a blow from his own axe. His blade arched up, but the draugr wasn't as slow as Harald had expected. The skeletal warrior ducked back, and Harald's blade caught its unarmed hand, and its palm to exploded into dust.
Its toothy jaw gaped wide and a hiss like scraping sand left its throat. Harald felt his heart hammering and threw the weight of the axe up and felt the blade cleave deep into the draugr's skull. Another moan came from its deathly mouth, but the thing
didn't drop. It swung its free hand with the blade in a wide arc and Harald caught it under his arm. They were face to face, Harald's one good eye staring into the clear blue of the draugr's. Harald could see the hate, he could feel the menace swirling in its crystal like iris.
In one smooth motion, Harald pushed the draugr back and wrenched out the axe from under its skull. He spun his body and raised his axe high, and before the fiend could find its footing, Harald brought the axe clean through its neck letting the skull fly off. The body slumped to a heaped pile on the ground, and the skull rolled to his feet. Harald looked down, it's jaw was chattering open and closed, and he watched as it's blue eyes dimmed out.
He took a deep breath and the sound of dried leaves rustling replied. Harald felt his heart stop and straightened his back. Another dry breath, and then another sounded off. I can't fight them all... from out of the mist, another draugr dived at him. Harald ducked out the way, but a second crashed into him from behind. He felt the wind get knocked from his lungs as he crunched to his knees. But there was no time. He lurched up and ran. With no way of knowing where he was going, he ran and ran, as fast as he could into the unknown.
CHAPTER VIII
No matter how hard Isolde tried, she couldn't get the goblins to freeze. Ama kept yelling at her "just click your fingers and believe," but nothing seemed to work. Every time she tried to focus, the goblins would rush at her with their razor teeth and iron blades and she would freeze up or panic.
"It's no use," Isolde screamed and threw her hands into the air.
"It's not easy," Ama reassured her, "maybe you don't have the strength your mother did."
The words burned into Isolde's mind and she felt her teeth grind under her tense jaw.
"Again," Isolde ordered.
Ama snapped her fingers and the goblins sprang back to life. They were screaming and squawking, barring their needle teeth and glaring with coal-red eyes. Isolde saw them rushing, their iron blades intent on the kill. She took a deep breath and clicked her fingers. But nothing happened, the greenskins whooped, they were only seconds away, she felt her heart falter and clicked again. Nothing. It was too late, she whipped her sword from its scabbard and slashed out at the goblins. The first slash opened up the face of the leader, and the second sent blood spraying out of another and into the grass. And then they stopped. Ama had clicked her finger and the goblins were motionless, frozen in action, each ready to slice or stab her.