The Four as One

by R. F. Pace

       After they all got settled, they could still hear the music and the crowd.  The noise finally died down a couple hours later and everyone fell fast asleep.  Jake was awakened by creaking boards outside in the hallway.  He could hear whispering and the boards creaking just outside of their room.  He grabbed his sword and waited for someone to enter the room.  The footsteps continued a short ways down the hall and Jake heard a door open, then close.

       Sara rolled over and asked, “Is everything okay?”  Jake replied, “Yea, I heard the boards outside creak and thought someone might be trying to get in here, but they walked down the hall to another room.”  Sara smiled, rolled back over and was asleep right away.  Jake had a rough time getting back to sleep, but eventually was able to.

   

  ***

   

       The next morning, Jake and Sara were woken by George and Tammy knocking on the door.  Jake said, “Let us get our clothes on and I’ll open the door.”  Sara slapped him.  Jake said, “What’s that for?”  Sara quickly opened the door to George and Tammy laughing.  Sara said, “Come in.”  Jake was behind her, rubbing his arm where she had struck him.  George said, “Let’s eat; I’m starving.”

       Sara was relieved the waitress from the night before wasn’t there.  Instead, a heavy-set, middle-aged woman with flour covering her apron walked over to them and asked if they wanted something to break their fast.  George said, “Please.”  The waitress said, “What a sweet young man,” and pinched his cheek.  She then said, “We have porridge or biscuits covered in gravy.”  Everyone, except Tammy, wanted the biscuits and gravy.

       When the lady returned, George had a bit more on his plate than the rest of them.  Tammy said, “Looks like someone has the hots’ for you.”  Everyone started laughing at George.  George paid them no attention as he dug into his breakfast.  When the meal was finished, the lady returned to collect the plates and asked how it was.  George answered, “That was one of the finest meals I have ever eaten.”  The lady beamed from ear to ear and said, “Well, aren’t you the sweetest thing ever!”

       After the table was cleared, Jake asked, “Now what do we do, just head north?”  Sara replied, “We need to find the entrance back home, that’s what we need to do.”  They all agreed with her.  George asked, “So, I guess, its north we go from here?”  Jake nodded and looked toward Sara and Tammy, who were both nodding with him. Jake excused himself from the table.  “I’ll be right back.  I’m going to the stable for them to ready the horses.”  He turned and walked out the front door.  Tammy, George, and Sara headed to the rooms to pack up and get ready to leave.

       Outside, Jake told the stable boy to get their horses ready, they were leaving right away.  He went back inside and helped collect their gear from their rooms, then returned.  The boy was just finishing up with the last horse when they arrived.  Jake flipped him a silver coin and said, “Thanks!”  After packing the horses and mounting up, Jake looked back and noticed, the boy was still grinning from ear to ear.

  CHAPTER 16

   

       The road heading north was fairly well maintained and looked to be in decent shape compared to others they had traveled.  It was crowded with people walking, riding, and horses pulling wagons.  The traveling was slow going for the first couple of leagues. After passing several areas where roads crossed or split off, the travelers thinned out.  They were soon able to pick up the pace of travel.

       The road soon turned to a rutted, two-track wagon trail, but the ride wasn’t bad at all.  It was like a peaceful trot through the countryside.  With very few stop, the group was making good time when they noticed the sun was starting to dip in the sky.  It was getting late when they decided to stop for the night.  While looking for a site to stop, Jake said, “I wish we had the wolves with us; they were great lookouts.”  George said, “Yea, it would be nice to have them.”  Sara said, “Oh, by the way, how did those wolves sneak up on you?”  Jake said, “They were good!  They were real sneaky.”  Everyone starting to laughed.

       Sara pointed to an old abandoned house that had been gutted a couple hundred yards off the path.  It had two partial sides still standing, so they decided they would make camp in there for the night.  They made two fire pits, a large one outside with a smaller fire on the inside dirt floor.  The bigger fire was for lighting up the area around the dwelling.  The fire inside was only used for cooking the meal, and then allowed to go to coals.

       The watches were set; first Jake, followed by Sara, then George, and Tammy would have the last one.  The group had just settled when a group of four to six people approached the fire.  George was the first to notice them and he alerted the others of their approach.  Sara and Tammy reached for their bows and Jake and George drew their swords and moved out of the house and into the shadows to hide.

       Before long a man’s voice was calling out, “Hello, sorry to bother you, we mean you no harm.”  Jake had snuck up behind the group and noticed it was a man, a woman and four children.  Jake said, “It’s a family, let them come up.”  The woman screeched and the man about jumped out of his skin.  Jake had forgotten he had been sneaking up behind them.  Jake said, “Sorry about that.  We heard your approach and didn’t want to take any chances.”  The man said, “I can’t blame you too much in these parts.  We could see the fire and were hoping for friendly folks as we are down on our luck.  Bandits hit us day before yesterday and left us with nothing.”

       The kids were clinging to their mother who stood just behind her husband.  Stepping forward Sara said, “Bring them up to the house and we can get them settled.”  The lady was relieved to hear another female’s voice. Tammy asked, “Are you hungry?”  Even happier when she noticed there were two females, the lady said, “We haven’t eaten all day and would love a bite to eat.”

       Over the next hour, the ladies were fixing food for the family, then got the children settled down for sleep.  The guests introduced themselves as Franz and wife Maria.  Franz explained how they left their home and were traveling to Tumed Osto because of all the attacks to their village and surrounding areas.  He told how bandits ambushed them and took their wagon which contained everything they had.  Franz volunteered to help stand watches, but was told he should get a good night’s sleep.

   

  ***

   

       The night went by without incident and when morning arrived, Tammy had the fire going and breakfast cooking.  Maria was the first to awaken and started helping her with the various chores.  Tammy enjoyed the early morning company and decided to allow everyone a bit more time to sleep.

       Soon the others had awakened and headed over to get their breakfast.  The children wolfed the food down as if someone was going to take it away from them.  Jake pulled Sara off to the side and said, “I want to help them out.  We can give them a bit of food so they will not go hungry until they reach Malta.  We also have a good bit of gold and can spare some.”  Sara agreed and they informed George and Tammy of their idea.  Everyone agreed.

       Jake called Franz and Maria over and said, “We are going to give you some food for your travels.”  Franz immediately said, “No, we cannot impose on you like that.”  Sara said, “You’re not imposing on us; we have more than plenty.”  Franz and Maria were both very thankful.  Jake said, “One other thing,” and handed Franz a small coin bag.  Franz opened it up and looked in it and said, “This is way too much for me to take from you!”  Jake responded saying, “We have plenty and can spare it.  This should allow you to get a horse and wagon, along with a good night’s stay in Malta.  When you get to Tumed Osto, I need you to find a Mr. Ralph Stronghold in the upper city and let him know we are safe.  Please tell him we sent you and we asked for him to assist you.”

       Franz was speechless and when he showed Maria the bag, she began to cry.  The kids d
idn’t know what was wrong with their mother.  Maria just hugged them and told them they were tears of joy and everything was going to be all right.

       The group packed up and bid their farewells to the family.

   

  The twelve eyes were still watching.

  CHAPTER 17

   

       After two days of hard riding, George spotted mountains in the distance.  They were a welcome sight for the group.  They rode most of the day at a slower pace, before they arrived at the town of Oron Ostar. The buildings were located at the bottom of the mountains and looked weathered.  As the group rode into the town, they received a lot of bad looks from the people in the streets.  Jake whispered back to the rest, “They must not trust strangers here.”

       They stopped in front of one of the two inns that were located in Oron Ostar.  The Falling Rock looked a bit run down, but appeared to be just as good as the other inn.  Jake walked in and asked for two rooms.  The innkeeper was not the friendly type and said, “Two silver per room.”  He took his money and handed Jake the keys without even saying another word.

       Jake walked back out and said he’d gotten two rooms.  They found a stable a short distance away and paid to board the horses.  They went to the general store to replenish their supplies and inquired about the weather over the mountain.  The storekeeper assisted in gathering the supplies requested.  He told them that it got very cold in the mountains and was a dangerous place to travel.  He then showed them some of the blankets that would help them in the colder climate.

       The group purchased some heavy winter cloaks, several heavy blankets and some additional food and supplies.  Jake looked at Sara and said, “I would love to have my winter sleeping bag for this trip over the mountains.”  Sara smiled and added, “A portable heater and a good tent, too.”  Jake tried to purchase a tent but the storekeeper said they didn’t have any.  Instead Jake bought 20 feet of heavy canvas and some small rope.  “We can make our own tent,” he said.  They took their gear back to the room, then dropped the horses at the stable for the night.

       They returned to the dining area for their evening meal.  The Falling Rock was nothing like the Frog’s Leap.  The crowd here was a bit shadier and looked rough.  When the four finished their meals, they headed back up stairs.  It was a big step down from where they had stayed in the past.  Once again, they split one boy, one girl, in each room.  The room looked secure, but Jake put a chair behind the door to prevent anyone from being able to gain access.

       No one got a good night sleep that night.  They not only seemed to be worried about the climb over the mountain, but also all the seedy characters hanging around.  It didn’t help any that they were uncomfortable about staying at that particular inn.  The next morning, everyone was half asleep during breakfast, which was porridge and not very good porridge at that.  Tammy said, “I sure do miss your girlfriend’s cooking back at the Frog’s Leap.”  George bumped her and about knocked her out of her chair.  Sara just frowned, then continued eating.

       When they gathered their horses, Jake inquired about the mountain trail.  They were told there was only one trail over the mountain and not to venture too far from it.  When they returned to the inn to collect their gear, there were several rough looking guys standing across the street watching them.  Jake and Sara went upstairs to retrieve their gear first. When they returned, George and Tammy left to do the same.  After repacking the horses, they mounted up and headed out of town as quick as possible.  “I didn’t like the looks we got from those guys standing across the street when we were loading our gear,” remarked Jake.  Shivering, Sara added, “They were rather creepy, if you ask me.”

  CHAPTER 18

   

       The day was dreary and overcast, with heavy clouds hanging low, threating rain.  They were relieved to put the town and the people behind them.  Looking back, the town was ominous and the people didn’t help make things any brighter.  One good thing was the trail was well-marked and looked to be heavily traveled.  On the other hand, the trees were so thick, they were blocking what limited sunlight there was from reaching the ground.  At the start of the trail it was still dirt, a few muddy areas, both with small rocks throughout.  Further up the trail would be a different story.

       The climb was steady, but wasn’t too steep. The trail wound around and over the mountain.  They reached the top in less than half a day.  The view was absolutely gorgeous.  The only problem was this was but the first of many mountains… the farther away one looked, the higher they got and most of those appeared to be covered with snow and ice.

       The trail going down was just as smooth as it was going up, which allowed them to make even better time.  They decided to try and make it to the top of the next mountain before they rested for the night.  They had about an hour left before it got dark when they finally decided to stop and made camp.

       Just a short distance from the trail they set up a fake campsite.  This was a safety precaution with the warning they learned from Franz.  They tethered the horses to a rope between the trees near this site.  Moving a bit further off the trails they climber higher up and put the mountain to their backs.  This gave them a good view of the area in front of them.  They made a small cook fire about one hundred feet from their campsite, which was quickly doused after dinner was made.  With the clouds blocking out the stars and moon, the area was too dark to see very far after putting the fire out.  Making their way back to the fake campsite, a small fire was made for appearances and to illuminate the area.

      They decided to pair up for the watches while in the mountains.  Jake and Sara would go first, then George and Tammy.  Jake and Sara’s watch was close to being over when they heard two men talking and sneaking up to the fake campsite.  Sara awakened George and Tammy, and everyone went to their prearranged position.

       The two men turned out to be three.  As they drew closer to the fire, Jake recognized them as the ones across the street from the inn when they were leaving Oron Ostar.  Everyone had their bows ready and watched to see what the trespassers were up to.  The three men had their swords drawn and were getting ever closer to the fake campsite.  They must not have been the brightest guys, as they kept looking around to see where the campers were sleeping, but couldn’t find them.  They started using their swords to poke into dark areas.  Jake had seen enough and signaled for everyone to shoot.  Two of the arrows flew true and two of the men were dropped within a second of each other.

       The third man watched his friends drop and rushed toward his attackers.  Jake and George met him halfway.  George was in the lead and the bandit took a swing at him.  The two swords met with a resounding clank of metal to metal.  George and the bandit went toe to toe for several minutes before the bandit got the upper hand.  George received a slice across his upper sword arm, which caused him to drop his weapon.  The bandit was about to strike George down when Jake intervened, stopping the bandit’s sword from striking George.

       The bandit took a wild swing at Jake, which was easily deflected by Jake and left the bandit vulnerable.  Jake took advantage of this and was able to slice the bandit in the midsection.  Jake swung again, which landed on the bandit’s shoulder, dropping him for good.  Jake turned his attention to George, who was holding a deep wound on his right arm.  The cut wasn’t fatal, but did require immediate attention.  With some direct pressure, the blood flow had slowed, but not stopped.

       Sara and Tammy rushed over to where George had leaned against a tree.  Tammy placed her hand over the area where his was applying pressure to the wound.  Warmth began to flow into George’s arm and the bleeding stopped.   Tammy kept her hand there for a while before she removed it.  When she did, the wound had closed, but there was a nasty scar.  When George saw it, he blurted out, “That looks nasty!”  Tammy tried to comfort him by saying. “I’ll be able
to heal it more, later.  When I’m done, you’ll never know it happened.”  When they returned to the campsite, Jake and Sara volunteered to continue with the watch.  With George being wounded and Tammy exhausted from healing, Jake instructed them to get some more rest.

       Jake and Sara back tracked to the area where the three men had come from.  Moving carefully, they kept an eye out to see if there were any others they had to worry about.  The only thing the bandits left behind were their horses, so Jake and Sara took the three horses back to camp.  When they arrived back, Jake placed the bodies around the fire as if they were asleep.  The additional horses were tied near the fake camp site.  The fake camp now looked as if it were a real one. Jake told Sara to go get some sleep, he would continue to keep watching.  The rest of the night went by without incident.

   

  ***

   

       After sunrise they decided to break camp and move down the mountain before eating breakfast.  They collected the bandit’s horses and took them along.  George was feeling better and Tammy had recovered.  No one seemed to have an appetite after the incident the night before, so they rode for about two leagues before they decided to stop and eat.  It was a quick meal of dried meat and cold biscuits, but it hit the spot.

       The rain started shortly after breakfast and looked like it was going to be a long, miserable, wet day.  The trail was no longer dirt, it was now muddy with water running down it like a small creek.  They had made it down the mountain and back to the top of the next mountain when they decided to stop.  Jake was dead tired and ready to fall from his horse. The weather was causing the trail to become a total mess, so everyone agreed to make camp early.  They found a huge evergreen tree and set up beneath it.

       Jake and George hung the canvas over several of the branches above them to stop the few drops of rain falling through the tree.  They made a small fire near the base and the smoke funneled up the tree trunk.  It took them a good while to shake the dampness from their bones, but the warmth of the fire and being out of the rain soon made them all feel much better.