Across the Face of the World (13 page)

'Well, boy?' Kurr inquired gently.

'I - I don't know,' Leith stammered at last. 'At least - I do know what I want.' He dropped his head. 'I don't know about Bhrudwo and armies and wars and councils. I just want my mother and father back.' His voice dropped to a whisper; the others strug¬gled to hear him as he continued, 'I don't want them hurt. I keep thinking about what might be happening to them. I keep waiting for somebody to do something. Can't we do something? Can't we get my parents back?' Suddenly his face was too hot and the tears he had been holding back began to make their way down his cheeks.

Kurr bit his lip. How far would he travel for a chance to see Tinei again? What wouldn't he dare for a chance to wrestle her back from the grip of death? Devoted and true-hearted she had been, strong like the ice of Iskelfjorth, never complaining about her ruination as a young woman but bearing up against the constant pain until the years of harsh living had brought her to an untimely end. And now, if by some miracle he was to be offered a chance of having her back, would he not beg, cajole or even force others to give him aid? Would he not tear down the very vaults of Andratan to set her free? He made his way to his seat and sat down, his red-rimmed eyes betraying nothing.

The Haufuth sat on the edge of his chair, watching helplessly as the boy cried. Once again he was powerless to give comfort to one of his villagers. Why did he always fail them? Lines from the Oath of Leadership, that piece of doggerel all Haufuths knew by heart, came unbidden into his mind:

To discharge duties great and small, A village servant first of all.

What was his duty? To save Faltha, or to help this stricken family? He was reminded of wise words heard long ago from Jarel, the old Haufuth: If you take care of the small things, the large things take care of themselves. Perhaps this was the clue he was looking for. Faltha was not his responsibility, but this village certainly was. Maybe in rescuing Mahnum and Indrett, Faltha could also be rescued. But Faltha was not his immediate concern; he could see that now. Perhaps he could take Hayne into his confidence, the youngster he was training to be the next Haufuth. Hayne could look after the village while he was gone. His duty was to these two boys in need, and to two other villagers held against their will somewhere out there in the snow.

Lost in their thoughts, the two men did not notice Hal as he quietly made his way to where his brother was sitting and began to speak softly to him. At intervals Leith nodded his head.

Finally the room lapsed back into silence.

Hal cleared his throat and spoke.

'Leith and I have come to a decision. We are going to pursue our parents. We ask you for help but we do not expect it: your duty may make different demands of you than ours does of us.

All we ask is that our departure be kept secret, and that you aid us with provisions for our journey.'

The Haufuth spoke quickly: 'I will accompany you on the road.'

'The four of us will journey together,' Kurr corrected.

The big man shook his head. 'Madness!' he muttered to himself. 'But what else can we do?'

'Isn't there anyone who can help us?' asked Leith, an urgent edge to his voice. The night was drawing near, they must leave soon or abandon any faint hope of catching the Bhrudwans, and much still remained to be said.

The Haufuth leaned forward and put his head in his hands. 'Not unless you have a private army hidden away somewhere! Whatever needs to be done will be done by us, or not at all.'

For a moment everyone sat silent, listening to the soft noises of a village preparing for the evening meal.

Kurr straightened himself in his seat and took a deep breath. When he had everyone's attention, he asked, 'Have any of you heard of the Watchers?'

Two headshakes signalled the negative. Leith spoke tentatively: 'You said something about them once, I think ...'

'Good to find that you remember something, boy,' growled the farmer in his old familiar voice. 'Listen, now. The Watchers were once very influential in Falthan affairs. Long ago, after the Bhrudwan invasion had been repelled, a number of wealthy noblemen from Instruere met together with the determination to ensure Faltha was never again caught by surprise. They formed a small group to watch the borders of Bhrudwo and keep an eye on Falthan politics, reasoning that if they could keep Faltha strong and keep Bhrudwo out, their own interests would be safe. This group became known as the Watchers.

'Eventually their preoccupation with the borders waned in favour of involvement in Falthan politics. These men soon found themselves snared in struggles for power behind the thrones of many Falthan countries. They infiltrated the Council of Faltha. Soon they controlled the movement of goods, the policies of nations and, with these things, thousands of lives. They were invis¬ible men, working where they would not be noticed. They forgot their reason for existence - the strengthening of Faltha - and the Watchers became a name hated by the people of the Sixteen Kingdoms.'

'All very interesting,' the Haufuth puffed, 'but what—'

'Be patient and listen to what I have to say!' Kurr shot back, his grey eyes flashing. 'The Watchers were outlawed throughout Faltha, and many who were accused of belonging to the group were tried and imprisoned, or simply murdered. The idea of moving against the corrupt Watchers found favour with king after king, who had long resented their interference. Their lands were confis¬cated, enriching the royal coffers. Many kings were extremely zealous in their persecution of the Watchers, using their existence as an excuse to separate many an honest landowner, unconnected with the group, from his lands. This only increased the hatred that people felt against the Watchers.

'But not all the Watchers were killed, or even dispossessed. True Watchers continued to do what they could, albeit tenuously for a while, to protect Faltha from the rapaciousness of others and from her own complacency. The irony was that success in the former meant failure in the latter. No one prepares for war during long periods of peace. Indeed, the Watchers spent most of their time trying to keep Sna Vaztha in check. They could not save Haurn from being overrun in 1006, but they were instrumental in saving Asgowan from Sna Vazthan expansion three years later. And by this time no one even suspected their continued existence. As far as most people knew, the Watchers had perished four hundred years earlier.'

The Haufuth began to look at Kurr intently.

'But to this day our group has continued to exist. We do what we can in the name of stability and peace. We have horses, we have messengers, and we have a network of people whose busi¬ness it is to know what is going on and to keep us informed of it. We had heard vague rumours that something was happening in Bhrudwo, and the general feeling was that it was just another internal struggle. But I felt uneasy. We also knew about the tumult at the Court of Firanes, and it seems that Firanes was not the only court at which strange goings-on have been reported. But none of us had put things together. Even Kroptur himself does not suspect that Bhrudwo is behind the power struggles in palaces around Faltha. However, he knew something was amiss. Remember what I said at the Midwinter celebration? How I warned that no peace lasts forever? That we had grown sleepy, and were unprepared for war? Those were his words—'

The Haufuth was now leaning forward, pointing a finger at Kurr.

'So you're one of them?'

Kurr ignored the interruption. 'We can help! Horses, supplies on the journey, eyes and ears!

All I need to do is send a message, and Watchers in Firanes, Plonya and beyond will aid us in our search for these Bhrudwan killers. What hope have we alone? And when we reach Instruere they will aid us in gaining the ear of the Council of Faltha. These Watchers, I promise you, are men of integrity. They can help us!'

'How many are there?' asked the Haufuth suspiciously. 'What are their ages? Can they fight?'

Kurr looked a little shamefaced. 'I didn't say they were an army. Unfortunately, the Watchers are few and far between in this part of the world. We are so far from the borders of Bhrudwo, you see. We are few and we are old, but we still have eyes and ears and wits to use them.

How else will you track the killers? We can watch every eastward trail. Do you have influence with kings and governments? Some of us have.'

'But will even the Watchers believe that Faltha is threatened? It's been such a long time . . .'

'I don't know,' said the old farmer. 'I truly don't know. They might, and they might not.

Kroptur will know. But the word of an old man from the edge of the world, even one such as Kroptur, may not carry much weight. However, we can only try.'

'All right, all right,' the Haufuth moaned. All this talk, all this responsibility, all these new revelations, were gnawing away at his fragile confidence like rats at the autumn harvest.

Andratan, the Destroyer, the Council of Faltha, and now the Watchers. What did it all mean to a headman from lowly Firanes? What next? Would the Most High appear before him in a cloud of smoke and charge him with the safety of the west?

He laughed out loud. It was all so improbable and yet it was happening. It was all he could do to keep himself from giggling nervously, a habit he had rid himself of in childhood.

'All right then. Let's say for now that we ask the Watchers to help us. Any real help will be a relief.' He sank back into his chair.

In the stillness they heard the sounds of people moving up and down the lane, then quick footsteps on the terrace outside. A girl's voice could be heard: then, before anyone could react, the door burst open and Stella bustled in.

'Here's the cheese you wanted, Merin!' she called; then, seeing the brothers, she stopped abruptly. The tray dropped from her nerveless fingers with a clatter. Stella took a step backwards, and her hand went to her mouth. The Haufuth put his head in his hands. Merin came in from the kitchen and stood at the doorway, shaking her head. For a long moment no one spoke.

Kurr was the first to recover. 'Sit down, girl,' he said quietly.

She sat in an empty chair, not once taking her wide-open eyes away from Leith and Hal. Four fingers were now stuffed in her mouth. Behind her, Merin walked over to the front door and pushed it firmly closed. She drew the bolt.

'No, they're not ghosts,' the farmer assured the frightened girl. 'They are very much alive.'

Stella drew her hand away from her face, took a couple of steadying breaths, and said, 'Then who . . .'

'We buried no one,' the Haufuth said in answer. 'Not that day, anyway,' he added, glancing sideways at Kurr.

Suddenly the old farmer stood up. 'I have a few errands to run,' he grated, then turned to the Haufuth. 'Back in a while. I'll leave the explanation to you.'

'Of course. Take as much time as you need. But it looks as though we'll need to talk as soon as you return.'

Kurr grunted, then strode out through the back door. 'Keep the door locked!' he threw back over his shoulder.

The Haufuth nodded, then turned to the white-faced girl sitting nervously on the edge of her chair.

'I - I want to go now,' she said.

'You'll stay where you are for the moment. I'm not having you rushing around the village telling everyone what you've seen.'

'My mother is expecting me home. She'll come looking for me soon. You can't keep me here!'

Her voice skirled towards panic.

The Haufuth thought frantically for a second, then relaxed.

'Your parents will be told that you're visiting us for a few hours. I was supposed to drop in and see you later this week, to talk with you about announcing your betrothal to Druin. Let's just say that I have taken the opportunity to talk with you now.' He turned to his wife. 'Merin,' he said, 'will you go and see Pell and Herza? Stella will be joining us for the evening meal, at least.'

He paused for a moment while Merin left the room.

'Now,' he continued, 'don't you want to hear about Hal and Leith?'

Knowing she was cornered for the moment, the girl nodded her head cautiously, then cast a glance at the two youths as though she expected them suddenly to disappear. Hal returned her gaze calmly; Leith, however, was anything but relaxed. Of all the people to uncover their ruse! The daughter of the village gossip, the girl who had spurned him, Stella Pellwen! And what was this about announcing betrothal? As she turned to face the Haufuth, Leith risked a glance or two in her direction. She wore a simple fur-lined garment fashioned from brown leather, on to which cascaded her lustrous black hair. Her skin was dark for one of the northern lands, unusual but not unique. But it was the wonder of her eyes that had attracted Leith: pools of mystery behind which anything might swim, and in which anyone might drown. It had been a long time since Leith had dared to look in those eyes, for fear of reading further rejection there, or worse, indifference. He did not dare now.

What next? he thought. Well, at least the secrecy will be over. No one could keep Stella's mother quiet. Now at least he could say goodbye to a few friends.

Stella sat in her chair, half listening to the Haufuth as he gave her an abridged version of events. For a moment she had been truly frightened by seeing the brothers she had supposed dead, but then she realised that they were just the same two boys, Hal with his twisted side and Leith with his blushes and clumsiness. Now her fear drained away, anger rushing in to take its place. They were not allowing her to leave! How dare they! What right did they have to keep her here? She tried to keep her hands from shaking as she listened to the headman.

Kurr was away for the best part of an hour. He returned looking thoughtful, and called the Haufuth aside into an adjoining room. While they were away Leith endured an uncomfortable few minutes, not quite knowing where to look, trying to ignore the burning feeling in his chest and the butterflies in his stomach. Why was it, he wondered, that he wanted so much to be near her but couldn't stand being around her?

After what seemed hours the kitchen door opened and in filed Kurr, Merin and the Haufuth.