Once a King Pt. 26

Once a King

Part 26 The Hermitage

"Pawel? Be not afraid I am here to help you. My name is Aynur."

Skryba, I felt I was in a dream when I heard those words. I felt a presence, a closeness, then I lost consciousness.

When I came out of my dream I was clothed, in a garment much too large for me. It was hooded and warm...made of coarse brown wool, and tied at the waist with a knotted cord.

I was on mossy ground, well above the tide line. Dawn was breaking off the sea, and below me on the beach, was my rescuer...or, so I guessed. A tall, slim, lightly muscled, dark, lean man; his hair closely cropped, dressed only in knee length drawers. He strained to pull the watercraft I came in ashore, and put it under cover.

In his labors, he saw I was awake...and granted me a luminous smile. "I must hide the boat, or the pirates will see it and know we have guests. They trouble our guests in hopes of some wealth having arrived with them. The Hermits, they trouble not, because they know we have nothing but our generosity."

I gathered from his speech, that my arrival was not unique. "So you often have guests?"

"Oh no" replied Ayrun. "We rarely get guests and when they do arrive, they are fully clothed!"

"So, you...Pawel, are doubly rare."

"We have little here, but peace. Every few years, a noble feeling of the need for simplicity joins us...pirates have a long memory, so even the slight possibility of profit attracts them. When they come, they claim never to steal, simply levy a tax that is due to them, or rather a tax they are obliged to collect for some mysterious higher power."

This story echoed uncomfortably with what I knew of the Armored Horsemen, the Men of the Bull.

I kept my silence.

"I must get you to the hermitage, so that you may get clothes for yourself. My habit is the only warm clothing I have, and I will need it to sleep in tonight!

"Do not worry, though we have few guests, we do get donations from the local fishermen. They think it is good luck to supply us with an offering on occasion. So far, their catches increase after they leave us offerings on the beach. Sometimes, those offerings include cast-off clothing, or cloth that Sinaver, our resident tailor, can re-purpose.

"There will be something good for you; I assure you, Pawel. The hermitage is just a short walk from here."

Well short for Ayrun, but I was still weak and befuddled, so the short walk took the better part of an hour and was mostly uphill along rocky, narrow trails. There were clear flowing streams along the way, where I was encouraged to drink. Ayrun asked no questions, but it seemed to me, that he had a handle on my history from the Women of the Moon.

I felt for Ayrun, as he shivered in the breeze from the sea. As we climbed higher and further into the interior of this place (an island?) the breeze abated and the sun warmed us both. I offered to return his robe...but it was made clear, that it would not be proper for me to arrive at the hermitage nude.

"Some of the brother's struggle with lust and any naked body would offend their attempts at chastity. All come here of their own volition, and for their own reasons. No one is forced to stay, but all who stay as hermits, abide by the rules of the hermitage.

Anticipating my question.

"Pawel, you may stay with us as a guest, for as long as you wish. If you wish to win us, it will be your choice, and this choice is not a lifelong choice...there are no final vows."

I was actually sweating under the rough robe; I had put back the hood to cool myself, but the thick wool and my exertions sent rivulets of sweat down my spine and between my ass cheeks...I had also overindulged at the springs along the way, and was well past my time to piss.

Ayrun discerned my discomfort. "The brothers, to maintain modesty, squat to pee like a woman here. That is the proper way, and unlike me, you are not burdened by drawers."

Again anticipating my question.

"The drawers are a brother's commitment to chastity. If a brother wishes to commit himself to chastity, he is given three pairs of drawers. One to wear, a spare, and one in laundry. There are other Brotherhoods that issue only one pair which is never to be removed. Our brotherhood encourages good hygiene, so we bathe and launder regularly. The robe is a problem, as we have only one and it is difficult to clean. For manual labor we will often strip to our drawers. Otherwise, the robes are cleaned by smoking out vermin."

We had, at this point, reached a cave just off the path we traversed. There were multiple entrances and from the central one, emerged another hooded figure. As tall as Ayrun, but much broader in the shoulders. Indeed, his robe only reached to his knees, as the material struggled to cover his muscular torso.

"Be well, Ayrun." The greeting rolled out, as a bear would growl. And yet, the eyes that followed the voice were clear, friendly, welcoming.

"Be well, Memet!" was Ayrun's reply... "This is Pawel, our castaway."

"Pawel? Ah...I knew we were expecting a guest, but not Pawel, the castaway?"

Memet's tone was mocking, but in a good-natured way. Apparently these two brothers colluded in a story to obscure my true origins.

Thus began my sojourn with the Brothers of the Rock Hermitage. More of that at a later time.

For now, skryba, this old warrior must rest. Send in a maiden to warm my bed, Ha Ha!

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Many thanks to Kenji Sato my patient editor. More Adventures of Pawel, who was Once a King, to follow.