by M E Wolf
She shivered uncontrollably for a moment at the thought of anyone looking at her. Even this Jentus guy who happened to be a devout priest of whatever it was that he was for looked at her wrong. Probably some demonic cult as he did say that he still ate people, now that is a weird way to spend your life.
Either you would have to watch out for people trying to violate you or eat you, neither was a good prospect. At least he had admitted it. She knew very well that most would not admit that they had this weakness because they did not see it as a weakness. Her thoughts were interrupted as Jentus guided her into the building.
“Hello, Jentus and ...” A stout man busy mending a leather jerkin stopped his work to look up at who entered his shop.
He looked at Jentus and then at Alexandra motioning for Jentus to introduce her to him. It almost looked as though he was trying to look beneath the towel, but it was so fast that it might have been an innocent look if there ever was such a thing as an innocent look.
Jentus smiled at the man who seemed to be perplexed and red faced at the idea of someone coming into his shop without much if any clothing on,
“Suurt, you never miss a thing do you. This girl with me is Alexandra. I am to train her in the arts of a hunter for the next six months. We have come here for some equipment for both of us and clothing for her.” It sounded like he had done this many times before and it was boring to him to say it again to this Suurt fellow.
Suurt looked at Alexandra and nodded for her to come over to him. He pulled a measuring tape out of his pocket, but was too hesitant to use it to find out her measurements to make an adequate garment for her, as he always was hesitant at measuring females of any kind. Alexandra thought it funny that people would be so inept at handling the simple affairs of measuring her for a fitting of new clothes, although she was kind of nervous herself.
She giggled as she took the measuring tape from him and measured herself in spots that he directed with a distanced finger. Suurt marked the measurements on a piece of bark as she read off each one to him. Once she was finished she handed the measuring tape back to him. Suurt bashfully accepted the measuring tape and then turned his attentions to Jentus.
“What manner of clothing do you want her to have?” Suurt patiently awaited an answer from Jentus.
Jentus looked at Alexandra and then looked back toward Suurt, “I want her to have something more appropriate for hunting. Being the way she is right now is just not appropriate, especially since I have to be with her for the next six months.”
Jentus and Suurt continued to talk while Alexandra went to look at the clothing displayed at the other end of the shop.
She wondered what they talked about. From where she stood by a clothes rack they seemed to be making clothing and she figured that they were doing it for her and hoped that they would not make too much or too little clothing for her because she preferred to be the way she was, without any at all as long as people stayed far enough away from her.
Alexandra supposed it would be good for a while and people would stop looking at her in their weird ways and it would give her some protection from their advances and just maybe she would have enough training to stop anyone from hurting her like what had happened here five years after she had gotten here.
The clothing in the shop was fascinating, but did not suit her. It was more fitting for a man to wear those things than a woman or a little girl in the eyes of the Dochani that people treated like a woman. She tried on a few to pass the time while Jentus and Suurt were busy making some clothes for her. Most of the clothing that she wanted to try on was either too heavy for her to lift off of the peg or just too big for someone her size. She supposed this was due to what she went through here and the fact that she spent a lot of time reading books the last hundred or so years and not really experiencing things. Before she was done looking Jentus called out to her.
“Alexandra, we have some clothes ready for you to try on. Come over here so that we know if adjustments need to be made before we leave.” Jentus said as he held a garment out in front of him as though he was inspecting the craftsmanship.
Alexandra walked over to the counter where Jentus stood in front of it and Suurt stood behind it. Jentus looked up from the garment in his hands as he heard Alexandra’s bare feet on the worn floorboards next to him. He handed her the garment. She looked at the garment, it was small and she knew immediately where it must be placed upon her. It was to cover her loins by wrapping it around her pelvis and legs in the front and back leaving her legs completely free of any hindrance.
This garment was made of breathable leather that was treated with a sap that prevented the usual shrinkage that was caused by soaking it in water and then applying heat, which was most often likely to be the sun. Jentus attempted to assist her in putting it on, but decided against it when she gave him a dirty look. As if to say ‘“How dare you?”’ and jumped behind a dressing screen out of everyone’s view.
The fabric was cut to allow it to wrap around three times to give adequate protection from the elements and any other dangers that the female of the species would face more than the males of the species. Alexandra held one end of the garment just below her navel and let the rest of the garment fall to the floor while she held it in place. Bending her knees she reached down below her buttocks from behind.
Grabbing the garment she pulled it slowly but tightly through and under the space between her legs and brought it up to cover the crack between her buttocks. Then it was passed over her left hip and down below her navel to fasten the first end to the part coming across with special garment clips. It was continued over the right hip and then over the upper right buttock.
The garment was wrapped around her pelvic area until her entire buttocks were covered and the front covered up to one half inch below her navel. When Alexandra looked up from behind the low dressing screen that was high enough that only her neck and shoulders showed above the screen, Jentus was waiting patiently with another piece of clothing for her to put on. He handed it to her and she examined it before putting it on. On a closer look she could tell that it was for her legs.
Leggings of some sort, only these were made out of a cloth stretchy material that were made to stay fastened until you wanted to pull them back off. She pulled each one on at a time and was satisfied with the way that they hugged her, now well toned, legs. When done Jentus handed her a pair of knee high boots of treated leather. Alexandra liked the idea of having wolves fur at the top of each boot, but for some reason that thought pained her to think that a wolf had died to give her this fur. After slipping them on her feet she walked around behind the dressing screen a bit to get used to walking with them on.
Alexandra walked back to the edge of the dressing screen and Jentus handed her something similar to the first article of clothing, but made from a soft, strong fabric that Jentus called silk and a vest style jacket. She wrapped the silk material around her full breasts and fastened it in the same way that she did with the garment that went on her pelvic area. The jacket was made of deerskin and had three buttons vertically centered on the jacket. After putting the vest on and fastening it, she noticed that it allowed her arms to move freely.
The vest came down to her solar plexus and up to her collarbone. The vest completed her outfit and it was now time to choose equipment. Suurt slid a door to a large cabinet open. Alexandra never saw weapons before accept in books, but figured that that is what these were. Inside she saw many items that she did not know how to use or what purpose they were used for. Jentus patted her on the shoulder indicating that she should step back and let him in to choose their weapons. She let him get at the weapons and he spoke while handing Alexandra her own weapons.
“Alexandra this is a short sword and its scabbard. There is nothing special about this weapon, but it is a good weapon to start with when training someone how to use a sword. The scabbard attaches to this utility belt, which I will also attach item pouches for money, a whetstone, a canteen for water, a knif
e and a hand axe. The belt buckles at the front, now, put it on. Put the short sword in the scabbard there, the whetstone there, the knife there and the hand axe there.
“You will get the rest of the things to put in the belt later. Now, this is a short bow it has a shorter range than the long bow, but it is easier to learn how to use the short bow first. You sling it over your shoulder like this, now you try it. Good. You are learning faster than I expected for a Dochani of your age. Now, you will need arrows in order to use the bow. I will put five in this quiver that is used to store arrows for the ready, so that you can have access to them quickly.
“It can hold twenty-five arrows and each arrow weighs about half a pound. I am estimating that you can only hold about twenty pounds of total equipment. I for one can hold almost eighty pounds of equipment so will be carrying most of the equipment. Our food weighs one pound for each day, with your water skin and four pounds of food you will have all that you can carry without hindrance. Since you are tiny and so young, you could probably make that four days food last eight days.
“I will also teach you how to forage for food when game is scarce. Wild game can be found anywhere, but most of the time they can be found on passing ships. So, you must learn to board a ship and that I will teach you. And Yes, Sailors or Pirates are considered wild game to the L’art’o.”
Alexandra watched as Jentus took weapons from the cabinet and fastened them on a utility belt similar to hers. He took a hand axe, a knife, a sword that was much longer than hers, a whetstone and fastened them to his belt. Jentus slung a bow twice as long as hers over his shoulder and placed forty long arrows in the quiver that he had fastened to his back. He then grabbed two long sticks that had points at both ends. Motioning for Alexandra to follow him and Suurt, Jentus walked to a section of the shop that had different types of equipment that were not known to Alexandra even in the books that she had read.
“Suurt, I will need that small pack over there for Alexandra. I need you to put four days of food in it.”
Jentus grabbed a round metal container that had a small flip top lid that appeared to be watertight. He opened it and filled it full with water. Handing that and the pack with food to her he continued his discourse with Suurt.
“I need thirty days of food, five pounds of salted beef, a pound of bandages, a pound of poultice, a pound of muscle balm and fifteen feet of rope put into that large pack over there.”
CHAPTER FORTY
Jentus put on the pack and paid Suurt. Jentus and Suurt said their farewells as Jentus led Alexandra outside. Once outside Jentus made sure that all of Alexandra’s equipment was secure and then they continued their walk up the hill that the shop was on. They used the over used trail that they had begun their travels on and continued until they came to the bottom of the other side of the hill.
She was being careful not to fall on the huge rocks that once lined the river bed of a great water way, they traveled for a while through a valley that once was a river. Jentus told Alexandra that the river once carried their people from a far away land to where they resided today. Alexandra was fascinated by this and could see a scarce amount of fossilized seaweed. She hoped that they would get to the end of the valley soon because she was having a hard time walking on or around the rocks that remained in their path.
“Pick up your feet a bit Alexandra. I want to get passed this valley of rocks before nightfall. If you pick up your pace a bit we might reach the spot where we are to camp for the night in just over an hour. Nightfall will be here in about two hours and we will need to set up camp before that.” Jentus caught her by the arm just before Alexandra fell to the rocks and helped her up to her feet.
“I am trying to move as fast as I can. Ow, you are hurting my arm.” Alexandra screamed as Jentus pulled her to her feet. She gave him a dirty look as she rubbed her arm where he had grabbed it, more out of the hurt that still remained inside than any hurt he could have caused her from yanking her arm.
“Would you rather I let you fall to the rocks. Come, let’s move.” Jentus said with authority.
CHAPTER FORTY ONE
After about an hour and a half later Jentus and Alexandra left the valley, and climbed the thirty-foot high ridge that was formed long ago by the legendary river that once was here. The wear over time left it the way it was now. Jentus led Alexandra over to a small outcropping of bushes away from any well-traveled area and leaned his pack against one of the bushes.
“We will camp here tonight and then continue on our journey towards the place we need to be for your training. Now, let’s set up camp.”
Jentus instructed Alexandra to go and find some small rocks so that he could surround the fire and keep it from spreading during their slumber. Alexandra went into the forest to look for some rocks, leaving Jentus at the campsite. She found that she could see pretty well even though the light was very quickly being depleted by the fast departure of the sun. Night would soon be upon them and that did not leave them with much time to get the campsite ready.
A few moments after entering the dense forest, she stopped. From her position she could see some appropriately sized rocks down an embankment a ways in front of her and slightly to the left. She would need to scale the side of the hill to get down there and once there figure out how to bring the rocks back up to her current position. Remembering a large sack that Jentus had given her before she went into the forest, she immediately set about climbing down the side of the hill.
Tying the rope that Jentus lent her to a tree at the edge of the embankment, she let it unravel and fall to the ledge where she would gather the rocks that Jentus instructed her to get. The end of the rope hung just above the ledge. Alexandra got a hold of the rope and shimmied down the side of the hill. Once at the end of the rope she noticed that it did not reach all the way down and she had to drop a good ten feet to the ground.
Not being prepared for the landing and never having been trained how to do such a thing, she twisted her left ankle. Alexandra’s legs buckled from the impact causing her knees to be brought up and into her chin. Blood rolled lightly through pursed lips shortly after she bit her tongue. She grimaced in pain and momentarily forgot the injury to her ankle. She paused for a long moment in her crouched position to get her bearings and then attempted to stand. It was then that she remembered her ankle.
Pain shot up from her ankle and tormented her thoughts with daggers that twisted and tortured her mind. Never had she experienced pain like this in her entire life, it only paled to the night of the inauguration. It was unbearable and nothing could be accomplished while it remained. So, she sat in pain for a long while, sweat and tears running together with the effort of bearing the pain. At last it was too much for her and she collapsed lying still on the jagged rocky ground.
It was unfortunate that her consciousness would not leave her and an hour passed while she waited for the pain to go away, but it would not. She wished the pain would go away and some how it did. Alexandra felt an incredible heat pass through her and realized that that heat was somehow linked to her spirit. It was something she never could understand and all but blocked it out of her mind when it happened the first time long ago when she was only shortly out of her egg.
She was remembering how she was able to heal a scratch on her finger. Her friends had told her to forget about it ever happening because if people knew of her gift they would burn her at the stake, despite the fact that she came from a large egg and to them coming from an egg was okay. Alexandra never knew why that would be so because she felt that healing was a key part of all the Sevlin, even though she knew that that could not be because she was not Sevlin and was actually Dochani.
Alexandra longed to find someone that was like her. Her ankle was still tender and not completely healed, but at least she was able to stand. Unfastening the large sack from her pack she got ready to collect rocks for the fire. She collected the rocks in the sack and approached the dangling rope. It was ten feet above her head and she would have to climb
the embankment part of the way until she could reach it. Scraping and bruising her hands she managed to climb the necessary distance up the embankment.
Just as Alexandra grabbed the end of the rope she slipped on the side of the hill and wrenched her shoulder out of the socket. She tried to heal her arm, but she seemed unable to mend it in the least amount. Deciding to figure out the reason for this later, she grabbed the rope with her other hand and slowly climbed up the embankment. By now her shoulder was throbbing and the pain was quickly getting worse. Alexandra gathered the rope and untied it from the tree.
Tired, in pain and with a lack of understanding of her reacquainted healing abilities she headed back to the camp. Many times she tripped and fell along the way and despite all of the pain and lack of light she eventually made it back to the camp. She handed the sack with the rocks in it to Jentus and he set them in the middle of their camp in a circle, placed some twigs and chunks of wood in the center and lit it with a spark from something that looked like a stone and a piece of steel.
The fire started slowly and eventually caught on the rest of the wood. It blazed in blue, orange and yellow hues. Jentus handed Alexandra a thick wool blanket. It was huge compared to the size of blanket that she would need for her size. Getting beneath the blanket so she could take off all of her clothing except that which covered her pelvic area and breasts she wrapped herself up tightly. Alexandra, now warm and completely covered by the blanket, fell fast asleep.
CHAPTER FORTY TWO
