Once a King Pt. 08

Once a King

Part 8: The Bandit Clan

(Thanks to my editor Kenji Sato!)

Nik had more clan secrets, but to show me we would have to travel a distance from our squad's camp. "Pawel, I would take you myself, but it is a long journey at the edge of the lands we are familiar with. I have not been there in some time and when I went, I traveled alone. A lone man may be invisible to enemy eyes. The two of us may be vulnerable. It is a small chance, but I am a cautious man."

"I would make this the training raid for the clan. We are not used to doing this. We will be traveling with the coicie, who have not trekked long distances on the stypia. I have talked to Filip, who will join us with a horse he has chosen to pull the sanki, that we will need later to return our profit from the raid to the rest of the clan."

Filip, our clan's dozorca koni, suggested that we leave with the entire squad and join up with Jadzia and her pick of the coicie to accompany us. The location of the clan's secrets was beyond the camp of the coicie. Filip chose the horse, Adria. Adria would pull the sanki, and Filip would accompany us, in the hope of obtaining more horses. Since we had previously not found the settled peoples' horses useful, I found this strange, but said nothing.

The squad was as it had been when first described to you, skryba. All had aged more in that time, than the settled peoples do in a decade. Although most were young by your standards, skyrba, they walked like old men; tired, resigned to their fate, hobbled by injuries. But all were healthy, with no festering wounds or persistent coughs. All were now bearded, their tunics stained with sweat and blood. Since we were not hunting, Nik thought it best they not bathe, their decrepit appearance and foul smell might add to the terror we hoped would let us rob farmers without hurting anyone.

In addition, Nik had a trick prepared. It could be like the sorm uprowadzenie, a bit of teatr. How this was possible, he did not share. We all respected him enough not to question him.

From the squad's camp, the land rose very gradually to that of the coicie. Beyond their camp, near the horizon was a line of very low hills--that was our goal for the day. Although the coicie were fine runners, they rarely strayed far from their camp. Nik felt it would be best to prepare them in short stages, for the tedious treks that required one to travel over the stypia to the settled peoples.

The camp of the coicie was not a great distance from that of the squad, and we were expected. We could see, as we approached, the camp of the coicie in the early morning mist. As the mist burned away, two of the coicie were waiting for us. One was Jadzia as was expected. Her choice of the coicie to accompany the first raid of the Eagle Clan was: Alla! Alla's shift was bound with the stypia grass as before; she carried her sling in her hand, and had two objects hanging from her shoulders: a pouch for her sling stones and a gourd for water. She beamed as one does, on starting a new and strange adventure.

Jadzia wore a look of practical concern; she understood the great change this journey would signal for the clan. She held a staff that would use as a walking stick and a thrusting spear. She also carried a gourd for water. The men had only their weapons. They would drink whatever the stypia offered. As the initial part of the journey was short and led to the hills beyond the camp of the coicie, it was known that that area was greener than the stypia and richer in water.

Ludek, Jurek, and Nik arranged the squad plus the coicie, for the trek to the distant hills. No trouble was expected, but the men with some little fighting experience thought it best that we should start our practice as raiders early. As I have told you, skryba, many times we have no overall leaders: those who are the best at something have the greatest influence at those times.

Nik was the wisest, but not a fighter. Ludek carried the short sword, only a man of great confidence and experience would do that routinely. Jurek was our most-skilled killer and collaborated with Ludek to set, what I would be told by a foreign mercenary, was our 'order of march'.

Hirek, our best scout, would lead. He was capable of spotting game and danger long before the next best of us. In case of game, he would locate the game precisely for Jurek to come forward and make the kill. Ludek would follow, if the game was large and needed to be finished with the sword.

If Hirek spotted danger, he would fall back to Ludek and Jurek to set up an immediate defense. Nik and I would come forward to confer with the three leads of the squad on the best course of action.

Jadzia would be with Nik to lend her wisdom. Alla's role on the trek would evolve, but for now, she was paired with Jacus, nominally our cook but an experienced hunter, and calm at all times. Godek was to follow at a distance, to secure our retreat and watch for anyone or anything that might follow. He was able to hang back and collect forage for us in the event that we were not able to provide enough meat for our "raiding party." Later, he would be joined by another of our group, as other opportunities presented themselves. More on that later.

In service to a foreign lord, I would later learn that it was also wise to put out flankers. These would have to be scouts nearly as talented as Hirek. We had no such persons in our small group, and no experience doing that...we survived nonetheless...for now.

We reached the low hills by mid-afternoon. Hirek had found some game, a large doe, which Jurek dispatched of quickly. Jacus came forward to be sure the meat was prepared properly. Anyone of us could quickly gut and skin the animal, but Jacus was very particular; he often complained that when others gutted an animal, they neglected to save the liver and heart, leaving them in the gut pile for the stypia wolves.

He butchered the carcass, and efficiently retained the heart and liver in a grass basket he had woven on the spot. The rest of the animal was divided, so that any one person of the party was not unduly burdened. Only Hirek, the scout, and Godek were left unburned by meat. Godek was carrying a large burden of seeds and fruit he had gathered on the way.

Filip had insisted we be careful of Adira, our horse pulling the sanki. She was not used to the work yet, as we had rarely used the sanki, except for the rare times we needed to haul extremely large game back to camp. Tales are told from well before my time, of the forest bison that had been chased onto the stypia by wolves. The bison had escaped the wolves, only to fall to Jurek's bow. That is why the sanki was not used for our kill. Adira would have worked enough on the return journey, we hoped, and Filip hesitated to tire her early.

The goal now, was to find a suitable camp for the night, with good water and some shelter from the stypia winds for sleeping, and to keep the fire hidden.

Nik was most familiar with the area, but he did not interfere with Hirek's scouting.

At midday, we rested in a shady spot on the way...there was a faint game trail up to the hills...a trail, Nik had followed many times. Hirek rested a long-bow shot ahead of the group, and Godek remained in his trailing position. Both men had good fields of view for some distance, so that the main body of our group could rest undisturbed. Jacus and Alla stayed paired, with Alla absorbing Jacus' knowledge of food preparation. Jurek and Ludek, like many active males, lost no time in finding some shade and soft moss to lie in and were soon fast asleep. Nik, Jadzia, and I squatted together and assessed how the first few hours of our clan's new direction had gone.

Jadzia was the first to speak and she spoke bluntly. "The decision for the men not to bathe was a bad one. It is difficult for the coicie to be near you...I am blunter...Alla has been very forgiving, or Jacus does not stink as badly as the rest of you."

Nik laughed uproariously, "Indeed...this was one of the stupidest ideas I have ever had...on two counts. One we had others with us, who were not used to our ways, and also that the stench of our squad may have made finding game more difficult. Only Hirek's and Jurek's skills have saved us. Of course, we do have the bounty that Godek has collected. We should do well this evening, when Hirek finds us a good place for the night out of the wind and near good water."

They both awaited my assessment. I was unused to my ideas being so important to the welfare of a group. As a young man, I thought with my buc which was surprising, since I normally paid it no mind, unless I needed to make water, or was influenced by a coicie.

"I think we need to be aware how the men and the coicie sleep tonight. The men are not used to being in the proximity of the coicie, unless they have been summoned by one. This is unknown ground for them. Also, the women are perhaps overconfident in their power over the men...their power is traditionally based on summoning the men to them. Today, they have walked with the men all day. They have done private things near them, and the men, even though they have attempted to be private, have loudly urinated not far from the coicie."

"Pawel has a point which we must not ignore." Jadzia looked meaningfully at Nik, perhaps knowing his affliction...perhaps Nik had lost the empathy for the feelings of unaltered men.

Skryba, as I have said before, the clan, especially the men of my squad, with whom I was most familiar, projected a proper, respectful front. Their language and manner was formal and correct. We strove not to give offense. But our behavior was based on common, expected usage. Nothing we were doing this day was in the experience of any of our men, and not of the coicie, either.

As the initiators of our first raid, Nik, Jadzia, and I were determined that all our people would remain respected. All traditions could not be maintained; the men and two coicie traveling together, were evidence of that.

It was agreed that if a suitable spot were found this evening, one that provided not only for drinking and cooking, the men and the coicie would bathe together. The men would wash their tunics as best they could, and the women rinse out their shifts. If we stopped early enough in the day, our garments should be dry by nightfall. If not, then we would build more fires and huddle around them in small groups to keep warm. This is what the men did on long treks...on cold nights we would pile together for warmth. It was life and we needed to survive. No one thought it strange. However, we were only men then...how this would work with the coicie, was unknown.

Hirek was good at his job. Ranging ahead of the main body he came loping back to our midday rest to report to Nik, Jadzia and myself. Although Jurek and Ludek were the leads while we were moving, they were still napping and our little group made the decision on the suitability of the site that Hirek found for our end of day camp.

Hirek described a place only an easy hour's trek further into the hills. It was below the highest ground and faced back the way we came. Any fires would be shielded from view of any settled people by the elevation beyond. There was natural shelter under the trees and plenty of dead wood for fires. A clean-looking spring traversed the site ending in a small pond surrounded by tall reeds, which were particularly dense on the downhill side where the water spilled into a small marsh. As the water flowed freely, it should be safe to drink; there was also adequate grazing nearby for our horse, Adira.

Filip joined us just as Hirek shared the grazing information, he nodded gravely. Despite his often solemn looks, he was very happy with Adira. "You would think she had been pulling the sanki all her life...she barely noticed the burden. Let us see how she does when it is full of loot. At that, he guffawed in a very uncharacteristic way. Nik and I exchanged worried glances, Jadzia merely looked quizzically. As Filip left to tend to Adira, I asked Nik what he thought of Filip's behavior. Jadzia leaned in to hear better. We kept our voices low, so as not to be overheard by the rest.

"I am just remembering," says Nik, "I think Filip was a bandit in another life...and he enjoyed that life." At that, Jadzia and I both had giggling fits. It seemed unlikely that it was true. But, still...?

Jurek and Ludek joined our conference. They accepted with good grace, the 'council' decision about the campsite for the end of the day's trek. They then took responsibility for organizing the rest of the group for the final push of the day. Although we had barely an hour to trek for the day, we were arriving at the edge of our usual territory.

As in everything else, the clan did not believe in ownership, but this was the edge of our customary range for hunting and gathering. We had never found any enemies out this way, but also this was one of the least-frequented areas that we ranged.

Hirek was reinforced in his scouting by Ludek. The land was more broken by small hillocks and patches of dense forest...although the stypia trees were small here, their foliage was abundant. If trouble appeared, it would be close and Ludek's fearsome energy would be useful.

Again because of the close nature of the country, we kept closer together. After Ludek and Hirek, the council, Nik, Jadzia, and I followed as a tight group. Alla and Jacus followed, just keeping the council in sight. Jurek, the bowman, faded back to be with Godek, alert for any that might follow us, although that prospect seemed small. Skryba, I see you are puzzled by our dispersion. Have you not been in a desperate fight with cunning enemies? I thought not. This is no dishonor to you, skryba. It is best to avoid these sordid affairs. No good comes from strife, only one side is slightly-less damaged, but all are wounded one way or another.

Sorry, skryba, for being so long-winded. If the group is dispersed a bit, and this is the critical element, but not be spread too far. A dispersed group cannot all be hurt in an ambush...unless the enemy is truly overwhelming, then there is no hope. But if a small part of your people is ambushed the rest can assess whether or not, they can attack to surprise the ambushers, or flee if there is no hope for their comrades; at least that way, some will live.

It is a grim calculus...

We arrived at the site that Hirek had found, and found it perfect...the best campsite ever. Nik claimed to have passed this way often and missed this site, but the stypia is tricky. Changes in light, the way the foliage grows in one season and how it dies in another, can hide things from a less-than-sharp eye. Nik was a wise man, but he was no scout.

Jacus, with the help of Alla, went to work preparing our meal for the day. Alla gathered firewood, while Jacus finished preparing the meat; the hide would be left here to dry...it was a risk, but it was not such a good hide that it would not be any great loss if it were damaged by vermin. The meat was helped by herbs that Godek had collected along the way. For the time it took for the meal preparation, Jacus was the master of our group. He had secreted a bit of precious salt on the sanki.

Filip had freed Adira from her burden...checked her shoulders where the sanki had been attached to her, and was pleased that there were no sores or bruised areas...merely spots where her hair was matted down. As all people of the stypia know, the horse gets the first drink of any water...after her thirst was sated, Filip took a mouthful of the cool pond water for himself, and led Adira down a hill below the marshy area, where there was excellent grazing on succulent grasses. Adira was not hobbled, as some people do to their animal. This way, she was free to run if predators came in the night. She would return to us when the predators were down, and she had gotten over her fright.

Filip returned just as the others had begun to share out the meat that Jacus had seasoned and cooked. There was little fat on the animal, yet the meat was moist and tender. Jacus had secrets, secrets he had shared with Alla on the journey. And not all the secrets were culinary.

Godek's herbs had helped the meat, but Jacus had the talent on the fire and application. The two coicie had never enjoyed the venison as much as they did that meal. The men realized again what a treasure Jacus was. His talent was feeding them and keeping them healthy. Jacus got the majority of the praise. And still we all understood the debt we owed to Godek. At the rear of our group, always out of the way, so he did not spook the game, yet patiently gathered the seeds and berries that helped us stay alive.

We were all stuffed and lazy after our feasting. Nik had to remind us to bathe. In addition to the cooking fires, we built five more fires to warm us in our small groups and smoke and dry our clothes.

We stripped and washed the clothes first. There was no gawking at the coicie when they stripped, the men had no interest in each other's naked bodies, they had seen them all too often for many seasons. In some cases, there was sadness to see how young, strong bodies, now bore scars and disfigurements from hunting injuries, accidents and illness.

The men pretended to be blind to the two coicie because they were unsure how to react to a coicie who had not summoned them. Therefore, the coicie had no power over the buc, for now they were simply comrades on the journey, on the clan's journey to becoming a bandit clan.

With the clothes washed, or at least rinsed, clean of the foulest stains and drying on tree branches near the smokey fires...smoky to drive out any insects that might have invaded the garments.

The group proceeded to bathe. It was a time for horseplay, splashing and pretending to be children again. Of course, we had ceased to be children some time ago; we were men and women now.

But we acted as innocents. Or at least, almost all of us. I was cursed by nature to observe people. Sometimes this is good, you get a person's true self revealed to you in an unguarded moment. There was a fondness between Jadzia and Nik, yet I knew they were never lovers. She had no power over the buc with him. She knew his altered nature and he knew some deep wound in her.

Hirek and Godek were the most opposite and the strangest grouping, they hardly spoke, but diligently groomed each other. Hirek was still mostly hairless, although he had been summoned by some of the coicie. We knew this, but we could not know who. Godek had a closeness to the coicie by his talents; it was said he was summoned by one who was also an expert forager and gatherer of herbs, again just rumor, confidences shared as the clan was dying and there was no point to the secrets.

Jurek and Ludek carried on their talk of hunting and weapons and tactics. They were the epitome of the males who were 'side by side companions' doing things together, but not sharing otherwise.

Filip preferred the company of horses, bathed economically, and then went off to care for Adira. He would dry his clothes by the fire he made near her, which also kept predators at bay.

Finally, Alla and Jacus...what I wished not to see...what I had no business knowing and if I knew well that was the woman's power, she could transform the buc, and that at bathing time, she chose Jacus. In front of everyone, well with everyone, but in the deep water near the tallest reeds, almost in the area where the overflow of the pond fed the marsh below.

I searched for her...since I had been captured by her spirit, unfair I know, she had the power of choice, she could choose the male she wanted. I had no choice; I could only be with a coicie that summoned me. But how does the summoning work on the trail? I saw, as she looked at Jacus...at a distance, I saw but I knew the meaning, I had looked into those eyes and yearned to have her look at me. Alla was looking at Jacus.