The High King: A Tale of Alus (7 page)

As Gerid listened with half an ear, he noticed that all the dogs were suddenly surrounding him and sometimes jumping up on him. Several began barking even as others would try and lick his hands and face. Though a slight surprise, he had found that, even back home, animals seemed to have a natural liking for him.

"What did ya do, boy?" one of the guards asked. "You roll in a meat market before we bought you or somethin'? I've never seen these critters take to someone like this before."

"Jack!" the man who had driven cart addressed the guard. "Get those mutts out of here. They've done their job already."

"Right, Leoltus," Jack answered as he shooed the animals away.
The slaves were led inside the building by Leoltus, an older man with gray hair and scruffy beard. Inside were mats, with hay underneath the covering, laid from one wall to another with a corridor made between them. Gerid counted thirty mattresses of hay in all. They were large enough for at least two or three people if need be. He figured the Holtein masters must be extremely wealthy if they needed this many beds. The Aramatheas hadn't needed to be able to provide for that many on their whole farm including their own household.
There were three people waiting within at the far end of the building. They stood near the fireplace at that end. The fire was lit within the hearth, though the weather was fair enough outside to forebear such a waste. It seemed odd to Gerid. He thought that he could guess the reason for such a blazing fire, but prayed that his hunch was wrong.
"Come forward, slaves. Picar and Menty are here to give you your final reason to forget about escaping."
Gerid followed the others in a knot near the two men mentioned by Leoltus. When the first slave neared the men by the fireplace, they took hold of him firmly and pulled him near. "This is the mark of Holtein," the man known as Picar stated gravely. Menty took a metal pole out of the fire. The new slave's eyes went wide with fear. He was screaming even before the flaming tip was pressed against the back of his hand. Once it was laid on his skin for a couple of sizzling, pain filled seconds, a second scream was ripped from his throat. The scent of burnt flesh quickly made itself known on the air causing Gerid’s nose to twitch at the sickening smell. A young woman took the slave's hand quickly and poured a little salve over the fresh burn. The man quieted pretty quickly as the ointment seemed to immediately ease his pain.
The other three new slaves backed away unwilling to be next to suffer. With his anger to brace him, Gerid stepped forward disdainfully and stuck out his hand. To himself, the young man knew that no outward mark could brand him as anything but who he truly was. Taking the brand this way, proved that it would never hold him. Though the newest slave would follow their rules for a time, there would come a time when Gerid would no longer allow himself to remain their slave.
He winced as the extreme pain of the super heated brand was set against the back of his hand. Gerid was proud of himself. He had managed not to cry out in the least despite the burning pain. The woman took hold of his hand and applied the salve. His pain lessened greatly and nearly dissolved in just a few seconds thanks to the miracle dressing.
Gerid looked at the young woman's face as the distraction of the brand disappeared. Soft, blue eyes stared up at him cautiously from beneath blond bangs. At his intent look, she lowered her eyes shyly and blushed darkly.
"Bravo, lad!" Leoltus exclaimed not noticing the exchange between the two. "What is your name, boy?"
"Gerid," he answered flatly.
The older man seemed not to notice his tone for what it was… defiance. He turned to the other slaves and said, "You other men can learn from this lad. Be strong and come forward. It's not so bad. The pain is short and we have a healing salve for the pain besides." He turned back with a small smile tugging at the edges of his mouth and added, "Tabitha, you can let go of the boy's hand now, girl."
The young woman blushed even deeper as they realized that she still held his hand gently in hers. The girl let go quickly and Gerid took a last long look at her pretty face before he turned to Leoltus. "So what are we supposed to do here?" the giant asked bluntly.
Leoltus' brow raised slightly at the young man's interruption and replied, "Ah, our first question is from Gerid then?" The graying, old man showed nothing as he continued, "The Holtein's do three things here mainly. Herding, farming, and training soldiers for his majesty, King Colona. At this point, you men will be engaged in one of the first of those duties."
The first of the slaves screamed as the iron was applied to him and Gerid moved to stand outside with the first man still holding his wounded hand and waited.

Gerid hold on a short while longer after the branding committee had left the barracks with the other men, some of whom were sick from the pain of branding. They were all brought food soon after that was nourishing to those willing to eat, but it was rather tasteless. Though the kingdom of Marshalla dealt with very little spices in their diet either, the young man thought that it would still be awhile before he would get used to the different food here.

It was a short time later that Gerid noticed that Leoltus had returned to watch over the new slaves. He rose and went over to the overseer to ask, "When do we get to work?"

The overseer raised an appraising eyebrow and said, "We usually let the new servants have a day to get to know the holdings while getting over the pain of the branding."

"Your masters paid good money for me. They might as well get their money's worth out of it. I'll get bored if I just have to sit here all day. I did enough of that on the slave ship."

Leoltus winced at the mention of the ship as if he had tried to forget how the slaves were originally taken. The old foreman replied quickly, "If you want to work that's fine, I guess. You'll be doing work in the fields for a long time before you get this chance to take a break from it again. You might want to reconsider enjoying a last day of leisure."

"No, this will also give me something else to think about besides the fact that my brother and I are now lost to each other in slavery. It'll also help me to try to push back the thoughts of my lost lands and those that died from fire there. It may even make me forget, if for only a small while, the fact that my sister lays buried there as well because of a stupid mistake!"

Leoltus blinked at the pain filled words of the young man and the pain laid bare before him. He had no true knowledge of Gerid's past, but many slaves of the Holtein's had once been free men, before the slavers had caught up to them. Some, like Gerid, had even been men of position or wealth from other lands. The older man took a breath and nodded. "All right, you and I can bring in the bales from the main field for the barns. I had planned to have you and the others do it tomorrow anyway. We can get it started today and finish the rest tomorrow."

Gerid half smiled as he followed the overseer outside. Perhaps if he began to show the strength that he possessed, Gerid could draw Holtein's attention as well. If he performed well beyond anyone's dreams, perhaps the young man could even find a way to negotiate his freedom. He figured that being a good slave would be the quickest way to do so and safer than trying to run away from the farm.

The two men went to the nearest barn. Gerid soon learned that this land was just one farm in the Holtein's vast holdings. Their barns and barracks were spread over enough land that some lords could only wish to rule such vast holdings. Two other slaves joined them as they prepared a stout looking wagon and they all journeyed to a field that was nearest the barn. There were dozens of bales of hay that would require two of the three men to be able to lift one into the wagon. The wagon itself could probably only hold four of the bales for each trip. Gerid jumped off the wagon and moved to a bale. He sized it up determinedly.

"Jatan, Baitram, give Gerid a hand with that one while I turn the wagon and secure the break," Leoltus ordered the other two slaves, who moved to obey immediately.

Gerid held up his hand, not even taking his eyes from the bale, and stated, "No, I've got this one."
The two men looked at him in surprise before quickly turning to grin at each other. They had moved this type of bale many times before and knew of their true weight. The taller man, a well muscled, blond known as Baitram laughed, "A goot joke. Gerid, make a goot joke, yes?" he asked of the other man in his thick accent and resumed coming to help.
Gerid squatted immediately and took hold of the large bundle before they could join him. It was easily the heaviest bale that he had ever tried to lift before, since this farm bundled their hay in thicker bundles than at the Aramathea farm. With a grunt, he hefted it over his head and onto his shoulders in one smooth maneuver. Slightly crouched to maintain his balance, Gerid made the short trip to the wagon and laid his burden inside with a powerful thump.
Leoltus half jumped with its impact and he turned to stare at the giant, young man. "Very impressive, boy, but I don't want you doing that again," he said in a voice that had to strengthen from a whisper as he continued. "You'll wind up killing yourself and we'll lose our entire investment. Lifting heavy bales like this is a great feat, especially when they are heavier than yourself. I am glad that I was able to get you for the masters, but I won't be looked very favorably upon if you kill yourself doing that again."
With a tight smile, Gerid turned to get another bundle. Baitram and Jatan moved to try and help him, but Gerid was too quick for them. Heaving the bale up like its predecessor, he ordered the men away. "Get your own," the boy said arrogantly through gritted teeth proving his bravado despite their beliefs. "I used to carry bales by myself at our farm all the time. I don't see any reason why I can't do the same here. If you'll get your own bundles, we can get this job done today maybe."
He had his second bale placed by the time he even finished the statement. The slaves turned to Leoltus who shrugged even as he stared at Gerid striding confidently over to yet another bale. "Maybe we should get another wagon. If I had known that I had two teams of workers out here, I would've brought a second wagon right away," the overseer said watching the quick progress from the wagon's seat. "Jatan, go get Mateil and have him bring out a second wagon from the west barn. Master Carter will be pleased to find the field cleared early."
The next hours moved by quickly. Gerid worked as hard as he ever had in his life. Putting his mind into the task, he tried to forget everything of his past, present, and all the possible futures, if only for a little while. The wagons were continually moving back and forth between the field and the barn where Jatan and Baitram unloaded the bales. He heard that Baitram and Jatan were complaining that it was almost too much for them to keep up with his pace. Several times, Gerid would have to ride back to the barn to help unload as well when the men fell behind his pace too far.
As the day began to darken, one of the wagons bogged down in the soft mud of the field. "Damn the luck!" Leoltus cursed loudly. "This'll take forever to get out of this infernal bog. Gerid, run and get the others. We're going to have to unload `er to get the wagon free."
Gerid wiped a dirty hand across his sweaty brow. Though he was beginning to finally tire, he looked at how deep the front wheels had sunk and came to a quick conclusion. "Before we waste time, let's see if my helping the horses can move it first."
Leoltus shook his head incredulously. "You are strong, boy, but let's be serious. You'll kill the team and yourself long before we ever get those wheels free, especially if we don't unload it first."
"We can take a moment to at least try, right? You grab hold of the team, while I brace myself behind."
Still sure that the effort was futile, the overseer did as he was asked and took his place in front of the animals. Gerid braced his feet in solid earth and leaned his back against the wagon. Feeling for the most stable place to rest his shoulders against it, he thought on this again. All four bales remained in the back of the wagon. The weight of them added to the weight of the wagon itself which was easily six times his own weight and well over anything he had even foolishly tried in Marshalla. The horses would be helping though, but a good portion of the effort would be his to shoulder through this endeavor.
Taking a couple deep breaths, Gerid grunted as he started to put tension on the back of the wagon. "Go!" he half snarled and shoved hard against the back of the wagon. He was quicker than the response of the horses. Surprising himself, the wagon budged significantly with just his considerable strength. A new jerk could be felt as the team's strength was added to his own. The wagon held for only a moment in the soft earth before rolling quickly free.
Gerid lost his balance as his support left him rudely. He had actually never expected that they would be able to free the wagon so easily. When the horses had tugged, the wagon had been virtually free from his lift and they were able to pull away with little effort. The young man landed on his backside. On the ground, he could see the wagon move away, led by Leoltus, who turned to see him sprawl laughing in the mud.
He smiled afterwards. This was sure to draw attention to himself. Gerid didn't know why his strength was so great, but the young giant did know that he had become easily as strong as two or three men by now. Given time, he would win his freedom one way or another.
That evening found Gerid with nearly thirty slaves in a large meal room on the first floor of the main house. The whole of the east field had been cleared making everyone talk of the incredible feats of strength. Leoltus, Mateil, Jatan and Baitram had all found their way to sit near him. While he ate, they asked many questions of him. The meal was only half over by the time Jatan and Baitram had dozed off to sound sleeps from all the earlier exertion. Gerid was nearly as tired, though as he ate, his body began to feel a slight second wind.
He watched the room like a hawk as they spoke with him. The other slaves would often look over at his table, some even pointing before they were caught by his gaze as they tried to hide their gestures. The rumors were already flying through the entire household about the great feats of strength that he had shown that day.
One admirer caught his eye as the evening progressed. Tabitha, the young woman that he had met earlier was caught staring more than once at him. She was at another table directly across from him. At one point, he had caught her staring very intently and she seemed unable to try and look away. The woman seemed less amazed than truly mesmerized. Gerid smiled and she returned the gesture.
Leoltus caught the exchange and spoke up, "Ah, you've found an interest in Tabitha, hey?"
Gerid turned to look at his addresser. "What kind of rules do the Holtein's have concerning the interactions of slaves?"
The older man chuckled quietly and shook his head in amusement. "Interactions, is it? That's a good word for it. You don't seriously have enough energy left to try romance this night, do you? Mateil and I only ran the wagons and we're exhausted. The horses looked ready to pass out by the time we got them to their stalls. Jatan and Baitram gave up being awake long ago as you can see. How do you do it, Gerid?"
"You must be tired. You used my name that time instead of calling me, boy. Either that or you are impressed," Gerid replied sarcastically but with a smile to let him know that it was a joke. Changing the subject back, he said, "I can't answer questions of my strength anymore than I can the why of my hair being white. It's just what I am."
"And what are you?" Leoltus replied giving him a shrewd glance.
Gerid stared at him flatly. "I am a man enslaved by your master right now. I am a man who wants to be free to one day find a way back to my homeland. I am a man who wants to one day find my brother back and then make evil King Merrick pay for what he has done to my family." Leoltus was driven back by his passion as the young man allowed some of the anger to come to the surface. Gerid had managed to keep his voice fairly quiet, but still several of the others nearby turned to stare at the feelings on display. "I am also a man who wants to know if there is any reason that I can't see if that woman wants to... interact," he added with a wink.
Leoltus let out the breath that he had been holding unconsciously in the face of the young man’s passion. The man was stunned only a moment longer before he broke into a shaky bit of laughter that strengthened quickly. Many stared or turned to stare at the overseer. He quieted and answered Gerid, "We're not allowed to marry. Many of the women are also visited by the masters and sometimes by the guests that they entertain. Some are given to the soldiers on their return in the fall. We may... interact with the women, but it has to be in secret for the most part. That's the unwritten rules anyway.
"So you like Tabitha that much, hey? How are you going to make your move, boy?" the old man asked emphasizing the word boy in a teasing way.
Gerid finished a last gulp of his food. He then stood over the empty platter and looked down at Leoltus. "Easy, old man. You may watch, but it is an art that I cannot teach to you, so don't ask," the youth said smiling.
Gerid stepped over the bench and walked around the table even as many of the eyes watched his movements. He moved directly to Tabitha, who looked up at him wide eyed. The young man placed his hands on her shoulders gently and bent down to whisper in her ear, "Meet me outside the hall, please." With that said, Gerid continued to walk out of the entry way, even as the other eyes continued to watch and whispers were exchanged. He didn't even look back to see Tabitha looking confused and undecided still in her seat.
There was a bench set several feet away from the hall underneath a tree. Gerid sat down to wait and leaned back against the tree for a rest. Looking up, he could see the stars bright above him though they were slightly changed from the arrangement as they were seen from Marshalla so far to the north. The moons of Epsilon and Turas were above him, one sat far to the west looking nearly golden while the other glared redly in the east. The third moon, Gelinas, a bright white moon, would show itself late in the night before dawn. They were said to be the brother gods. Epsilon and Turas were the harvest and war gods respectively, while their currently unseen brother heralded death and life itself with the time of pre-dawn. The sun, Arcturas, was said to be the father of all and giver of life. He was the one who gave hope to all with his light.
A long time passed. Several of the slaves, both male and female had come out and passed him by looking at him sitting there. He would smile and nod as they continued to the barracks. Gerid closed his eyes briefly. The memories of his burning home came unbidden and the man was forced to open his eyes again with tears forming behind his lids.
"Why is there so much pain in your eyes?" a soft voice asked from before him. The faint smell of flowers carried to his nostrils. It was the perfume of her. Focusing his eyes again, he found Tabitha's silhouette haloed by the moons' light. Even in the dark, the blue of her eyes seemed to shine brightly on him.
He let out a breath that Gerid had not even known that he had been holding since hearing her voice. His hands trembled at his sides as they braced against the bench's surface. "I have lost much to get here only to become a slave of the Holtein's... and you," the youth said quietly though there was none to hear save her.
"Me?" she questioned in surprise, though not strongly.
Gerid stood slowly and took the woman's right hand. He bowed low over the delicateness of her and kissed the back of her fingers lightly. "They enslave my body, while you can enslave my heart and soul."
She giggled. "You honor me, sir. I have never heard such a poetic line, especially given to me."
He stepped to her side, the sadness forgotten, and gently pulled her after him. "It's how I feel. Where can we go to be alone?"
"Go? I hardly know you. I haven't slept with any slave here and many of them I know well enough. Why should I go with you now?"
The young man smiled warmly. "Because your heart tells you to do so. I can see it in your eyes. I just want to talk to you tonight though, so we can know each other truly. Then we shall see from there."
He could hear Tabitha swallow hard in the darkness. The woman's breathing became ragged. "This way," she stated and pulled him away from the buildings.
The two of them moved off to the east field as Tabitha guided him. They found a dry bit of grass to sit on and began talking. They spent several hours there. Gerid spent the entire time memorizing her face and the curves of her body beneath the folds in the cloth of her soft lightweight dress.
At one point he could no longer help himself and he leaned forward to kiss Tabitha fully on the lips. She tensed briefly before quickly softening. Her hand moved to caress his cheek and hair.
She broke the embrace first. "Not tonight," she implored. "I need time."
"I can wait. It took me seventeen years to find you. What matters the exact day?"
He lay back onto the soft grass and the woman nuzzled her head into his shoulder. They fell asleep shortly after as exhaustion and the late hour caught up to them.
Gerid awoke late in the night. Epsilon and Turas had waned and lonely Gelinas now held court in the sky gazing down upon them. It shone white and Gerid gazed up at his favorite of the moons, with the duality of both the inevitability of death but also his hope for new life.
He turned his head and found Tabitha still asleep on his shoulder with her arm draped across his great chest. Gently Gerid slid from beneath her. He moved to let Gelinas' light illuminate her face. The young man had met many beautiful girls in the past few years, but none had found a way to dazzle him the way this simple slave girl could. A girl stolen from Rhystia nearly a year ago, she had told him, and brought to Rhearden only to be bought by Madame Maitra Holtein to be one of her daughter's servants.
They had both come from so far away, he thought, but they had managed to find each other here. Gerid could hardly believe how strange fate could be. To lose so much and yet to gain this much so quickly again. The young man looked at the moon god, who was patron of beginnings and ends, of life and death. Perhaps Gelinas, a god of such conflicting sides, followed his life and guided his path in such a way that he had not realized.