The Scarlet King (21 page)

Jeremy spoke up, saying, “We should allow two
hours for proper positioning. The country is fairly open and we
should be able to travel well despite the small moon. The moon will
arise about three hours before dawn.”

Heather but nodded in appreciation and said,
“We will arise with the moon. I pray to the God of the Sacred Water
that all can get some rest yet tonight.” Despite her fatigue
Heather found sleep difficult, and again it was Betty who seemed to
appear in her dreams and bring freedom from her anxiety.

The moon was barely showing its crescent
above the trees when Jeremy aroused the camp. A simple meal of
travel rations and they were on the move. Heather simply followed
the one in the Forest in front of her, knowing not how they found
the trail in the darkness. Scouts came and went, traveling quickly
with their loping run, bringing reports about the terrain ahead and
the status of the enemy’s camp. When they arrived at a point
directly south of the enemy’s camp, those of the Red took the
opportunity to rest, for keeping up with those of the Forest was a
most difficult task. Heather told them, “Wait until the sun is
clear of the horizon and then attack as a spear point. We will need
protection from the mounted troops. Our goal is to destroy the
wagons and the weapons they contain.” She then added, “May the God
of the Sacred Water watch over you.”

Those of the Forest continued moving to the
east and north. The enemy’s camp was coming to life with the
cooking fires becoming visible. They rested but a short time before
Heather said, “I would the sentries be found and eliminated.” Those
of the Forest who were best with a knife discussed amongst
themselves their plan and moved off silently.

The glow of the sun to the east was becoming
visible. Jeremy announced, “Time to move forward.”

Heather but said, “I pray to the God of the
Sacred Water for your safety. If possible, we need to scatter the
horses and spread the fire.”

Jeremy led them off at a much slower pace,
clearing their path of sticks which might have broken when stepped
on. They moved in silence and could hear the snoring of the troops
before the camp itself was visible. Edna stayed at Heather’s side
while Jeremy and others silently entered the camp. Heather sat
motionless, hardly daring to breathe, listening with all her might.
She detected a few soft thuds but no general alarm was yet raised.
With the sun now almost half exposed over the horizon their attack
continued, with the cooking fires used to begin spreading a general
fire beneath the wagons. This was enough to arouse the sleeping
troops and the general alarm was sounded.

With the confusion now evident, some of the
Forest worked feverishly to free the horses. The general troops
reacted slowly, but the mounted troops had a greater discipline and
their officer soon had them organized and running towards their
horses. Those of the Forest were greatly outnumbered but had
surprise on their side. As the enemy worked to extinguish the
fires, those of the Forest flitted behind cover, attacking with
their arrows. The enemy of the East was only partially successful
in extinguishing the fires, and finally formed a defensive
perimeter which limited those of the Forest.

The commotion amongst the horses delayed the
mounted troops but a little. Before the sun was fully above the
horizon, the first of the troops had fitted his horse and himself
with armor and went on the attack. Heather and Edna were providing
the initial backup defense and the rider headed directly towards
them. Edna readied her bow and fired as soon as possible, but the
arrow simply bounced off the armor. Heather, with her sword drawn,
stepped out to take on the charging soldier. Her quickness allowed
her to dart to the side every time the horse charged. The fearsome
creature would rear up and the soldier would strike downward with
the sword. She could deflect his sword thrust but not the ironclad
hooves of his steed. The best she could do was to dive to the side
at the last minute, using her sword to fend off the down stroke of
the soldier’s deadly weapon. This mouse game continued while Edna
repeatedly struck with her arrows, which penetrated not.

Heather was concentrating so hard that she
saw not the small rocks. As she again drove to the side as the
horse’s hoofs were descending upon her, the rocks caught her foot
and ankle. It was not so much the pain of the fracture as the sound
of the breaking bone which seemed to radiate to her inner self.
Unable to rise, she could but crouch with the sword in front for
protection. The soldier reared back mercilessly on the reins,
causing the horse to rear high above Heather, who could only see
the metal-clad hooves which were about to crush her. She was
determined to get one last strike in even if she could evade no
longer, and planned on plunging her sword into the soldier’s
underside even as the horse descended upon her.

Edna was frantically trying to penetrate the
armor of the mounted soldier. She drew her last arrow, which was
one of the slicing arrows they had found at the previous battle
site. She again drew a bead on the chest of the attacking soldier,
and then a calmness seemed to settle on her as she heard Betty.
Without knowing why, she raised her point of sight from the chest
to the soldier’s neck and let her arrow fly. The arrow penetrated
the soft space between the soldier’s helmet and his chest
protector, severing the carotid artery in its passage. Blood poured
forth from the wound and the soldier screamed but a little before
collapsing.

As the pressure on the bit relaxed, the horse
also relaxed and seemed to turn slightly to the side as he returned
all four hooves to the ground, just missing Heather. Blood from the
soldier continued to pour forth for a little longer, staining both
the side of the horse and Heather, but she cared not. She tried to
stand but her foot would not hold her weight. With Edna’s help they
dragged the soldier from the saddle and Heather, using her good
foot, pulled herself up on the horse.

By now those of the Red had fully entered the
battle, and although they outnumbered the enemy of the East it was
a hard-fought battle. Those of the Forest withdrew slightly and
surrounded Heather, who said, “We need to save one of the wagons to
transport our injured.”

Edna spoke up, saying, “Concentrate your
arrows on the neck of the enemy, for they will penetrate not their
body armor.”

Those of the Forest with remaining arrows
joined with those of the Red in the attack, and in a short time the
battle came to an end. Heather glanced at the sun, which seemed to
be racing across the sky and was now halfway to its highest point.
She said only, “We must leave our dead behind and use the wagons as
a funeral pyre. Save one of the wagons for transport of our wounded
and prepare to depart.”

It took not long to select one of the few
undamaged wagons and gather enough horses, but longer to pile the
wagons, some of which were actively burning. Those of the Forest
brought two of theirs to the funeral pyre and those of the Red
contributed many more. Heather said out loud for all, “May the God
of the Sacred Water take you safely back to the Forest.”

They were emptying the one salvaged wagon and
Heather asked, “Can the horses handle both our wounded and one of
the tubes?”

Jeremy shrugged and said, “If we travel at a
slower pace.” After thinking a bit more, he added, “We will need to
travel slower anyway because of our walking wounded.”

By the time they had crossed the river the
dust of the approaching mounted troops was visible in the distance.
Their travel was impeded, for they had no road for the wagon to
travel on. Scouts of the Forest kept coming and going, bringing
back reports. The mounted troops had traveled hard when the smoke
became visible, but when they arrived the fire had progressed and
was consuming all they had hoped to protect.

They followed the trail of those of the
Forest to the river crossing, but stopped at the water’s edge and
conferred. Their leader was obviously unwilling to risk his troops
facing a force of unknown size with the likelihood of ambushes.
They turned around and returned from whence they had come, but at a
much slower pace, for their horses were now fatigued.

Heather and her troops traveled but a little
further before Heather called a halt. She needed help dismounting
the horse and was unable to stand on her left foot, which was
turned at a funny angle. Despite her efforts, a small cry escaped
as she tried to support herself, and she needed the help of others.
They made their camp early and did the best they could for their
wounded. Edna carefully strapped Heather’s foot and ankle but the
foot was still rotated outward. Jeremy began crafting a crutch out
of branches for her, wishing Daniel was there to practice his
craft. They had accomplished their goal but little celebrating was
done, for the cost had been high.

Chapter 11

The mood aboard Captain Cook’s ship was
solemn as they sailed away, leaving Heather and the others of the
Forest behind. Only Betty seemed cheery enough as she played with
the two young boys. Other than some rough water rounding the Great
Cape, the journey was without incident and they arrived safely at
the home of Larby’s people.

They were welcomed as family and Larby’s
mother insisted that Betty and the two little ones stay ashore with
her. They celebrated in the fashion of Larby’s people, and even the
dignitaries of the North and South kingdoms participated in the
celebration. The food was that which the sea provided, and although
foreign to the visitors’ taste was pleasing enough to the palate.
The wine was made from the berries of the giant kelp plant and had
a strong bitter flavor, but served its purpose well. The feast
started with a few simple words from the elders, which Larby and
the young priest translated for the rest of the guests.

The food was served in bowls made of dried
leaves of the giant kelp plant and eaten with fingers or a simple
spoon carved of wood. The honored guests were centered around the
fire with rings of villagers circling around on the open beach.
Those of the Red who manned the lookout kept together on the outer
edge. The fire was allowed to burn low, and then the coals were
scraped from the underlying pit, which contained a whole young lion
of the sea which had been slowly roasting for about two days.

Music began to emanate from simple drums
from one of the outer circles, as with great ceremony the beast was
lifted from the pit. The beat of the drums gradually increased in
tempo and volume until the beast was carefully set before the
elders, who each sampled a slice of the meat. As they nodded their
acceptance, the drumming stopped and the general applause went
up.

The fire was rekindled from the coals, and
with great ceremony the beast was skinned with their simple knives
and generous helpings served first to their visitors. Jason and the
others watched carefully the elders who ate not until all had been
served. When the elders ate, all others began eating. Daniel was
amazed that the meat had lost most of the fishy flavor that he
remembered from the last time that they had eaten the lion of the
sea, which now seemed so long ago. The vegetable dish was a mix of
greens harvested from the shallow water and steamed over an open
fire. It had a strong salty flavor and was somewhat chewy. The wine
was served in small bowls made of the dried leaf of the giant kelp
plant, which had somehow been molded and seemed to resist getting
wet. Each serving of wine was not much more than a single swallow,
but someone always refilled the bowls as soon as they were
empty.

In the darkness of night, the fire provided
the only light. When the last of the elders had finished eating, a
more formal welcome was proclaimed by one of the elders. Jason
stood, and although his great bulk had been much reduced, he still
appeared a giant amongst Larby’s people. With the help of Larby and
the young priest, he thanked the people for their kindness. He
said, “We were once a single people living in peace. I would that
time would came again and peace would be restored with regular
trade amongst all.” He added, “Only the God of the Sacred Water or
your God of the Sea knows what will be, but I pledge to support
your people and work for the protection of all.”

The stories then began in earnest, with
Larby and the young priest working hard to translate so all could
understand. Without Jeremy the stories had a bit less drama but
were well heard. Jason was most interested in the stories of the
beginnings of Larby’s people. He much wished that he had enough
light to record the stories but instead hoped the young priest
would remember. Like his own people, these people had only a hint
of their true origins, which were traced back to the Great City now
controlled by those of the Red. Daniel was content to just listen
but much missed his bride, and the thought of her brought back
great worry for her safety.

In the morning many were slow to fully
awaken, for the wine had great power that was not perceived by
those unfamiliar with it. It was only after breaking the fast that
Daniel asked of the Listener who had accompanied them on the rescue
mission. Larby explained that he and many others had left to
explore the route to the island where Jason and the others had been
marooned.

It took several days to restock the ship and
still no one was ready to depart other than the delegates from the
Northern Kingdom, who continued complaining and wished to return to
their homes. Jason, despite the demands of the delegates, always
found another reason to delay a bit longer.

Finally Jason had enough of their
complaining and announced, “You are prisoners not and free to go as
you wish. If you wish to travel aboard our ship, you will leave
when we are ready.” His tone left no doubt but that he would
tolerate no more complaining. Daniel kept himself busy with his
healing, but his thoughts returned to Heather and the danger she
faced whenever his mind was not occupied.