The Chronicles: Three Sisters 13

THREE SISTERS Chapter 13

Two of the older women, and one elderly man refused to leave the Hill. They knew that they would be nothing but a burden to us, and suspected - with good reason - that they would not survive such an arduous journey.

As it was, we would still have three pregnant women, three older women, two toddlers and five more children under the age of 10. We had no horses, no pack animals. Everything would have to be carried on our backs.

Yevna finally revealed one of her secrets: a narrow track through the tangled forest to west of the Hill.

- "I found the first stretch a few years ago." she said. "Dengelle and I found the second part while hunting, last year. We used swords to hack our way through the undergrowth, and connect the two trails."

- "Were you going to share this secret with the rest of us?" I asked. "Eventually?"

- "No."

- "No? Why not?"

- "It would only take one traitor to give us away. I didn't want the wrong person to find out about it." she said.

It was a hot, humid day, when we struggled along the narrow track. The uneven ground made progress difficult for our oldest travellers, while the dense brush caught at our packs and weapons, or snagged at our clothing.

It took us the better part of the day to cover two leagues.

The alternative, of course, would have been to carry Mother Nadesti (and several others) down the southern slope of the Hill. After that, we would have faced a long walk south and west, before turning north. By the end of a long day, we wouldn't have been much further ahead than we were now.

Also, much of that walking would have been in the open. As unpleasant as this dense forest was, it did afford us cover.

There was nowhere along the path to stop for any length of time, and nowhere we could make camp, until we reached the edge of the wood.

- "No fires." I said. "No fires." We spread the word.

Yevna went off ahead, in the gathering dusk, to scout. If there were Izumyrians out there, on horseback, we would have no choice but to return the way we had come, and await our fate on the Hill.

WhiteHair came to stand beside me.

- "How's the Duchess bearing up?" I asked him.

- "Fairly well. She's a proud woman. Stubborn. She'd have made a good trooper." he said. "What will it be like tomorrow?"

- "Eight to ten leagues of open ground[1], until we come to the skirts of Myeva."

- "Myeva?" he asked.

I pointed at the mountain. "The first - and highest - of the Three Sisters. The going gets rougher, and steeper, after tomorrow."

- "Well," said WhiteHair, "a bit of open ground doesn't sound so bad, after today."

- "Unless the Izumyrians catch us out there." I said. "Then we're done."

- "So we'd better hope that there aren't any Izumyrians about."

- "That's about the size of it."

Sulcen was exhausted. She had done most of the shepherding of her mother, trying to help her along the narrow path through the forest. Hedyn hadn't been able to do much for his wife, either. Everyone had had to struggle along that tangled trail, all by themselves.

Many of the oldest folk were asleep before we had finished feeding the children.

Tanguiste was invaluable. She checked up on everyone, to make sure that they were being looked after. Yevna scouted, while Guenna planned for the next day - and the days after that.

- "I feel like a bump on a log." said Vingoldas, as our paths crossed.

- "You'll be needed, before we're done." I said. "More than once."

- "You're probably right."

- "Listen - can you do me a favour?" I asked. "Keep an eye on the Lowlanders, when you can. Especially if you see that Iduallon around Guenna."

Vingoldas nodded. "Done."

Many of our folk were unable to sleep, that night. The young children were excited, as if this trek was some kind of grand adventure that had been organized for their benefit. The adolescents, all of them Watchers, wanted to do something important - staying awake was just the beginning.

Our fighters weren't about to sleep until Yevna returned. We had no idea what was out there. Sulcen and Tanguiste and some of the younger women were still busy, looking after the older and most pregnant of our party.

My oldest daughter was gone a long time.

- "She'll be back." said Dengelle.

I gave her a sidelong look, complete with raised eyebrow.

- "Father One-Eye?" I said. That was exactly what Dengelle had said to me when Guenna was trying to convince me that we had to leave the Hill.

Dengelle grinned. It was the closest thing to a smile I had seen on her face in the past year. It made her seem younger.

- "You're like a father to all of us." she said.

- "Does that mean you'll obey me?" I asked.

- "As much as Yevna does." said Dengelle, with another grin.

- "That means not at all."

Dengelle laughed aloud.

I decided to check on Mother Nadesti. Sulcen looked up as I approached. She seemed tired and halfway defeated already. But the old woman was still awake.

- "Hammerfist." she said, softly. "This wasn't a good idea. I don't know if I can walk, tomorrow."

- "You won't have to walk." I said. "I'll carry you."

Guen Nadesti opened her eyes a little wider. That was just for effect; there was nothing wrong with her vision - not at close range, at any rate.

- "Doesn't sound very practical." she said.

- "There are only practicalities, from this point on." I told her. "We have to cross this open stretch in a day. We can build a sled for you. Don't fight me on this, Guen. I have enough trouble with the Lowlanders."

- "Another thing I have you to thank for." she whispered. "You seem to create problems wherever you go. Bad luck follows you like a shadow."

I smiled at my beautiful wife. I reached out and took Sulcen's hand.

- "No, Guen. Sometimes my luck is very, very good."

I got the old woman to sleep, finally, kissed my wife, and went back to waiting for my daughter. Dengelle and Nameless waited with me.

Yevna returned. She looked tired, but happy.

- "No sign of trouble." she said. "Hoof prints to the north, but four days old, at least."

- "Are you hungry?" asked Dengelle.

- "I could eat." said Yevna. She gave me a quick nod - all I needed, to know that she was alright, and that we had a good chance to cross the open ground undetected.

***

There was little to gain by waiting - resting - on the edge of the forest. The weakest of our travellers were exhausted from yesterday's hike. Admittedly, the trail had been moderately difficult. But no amount of rest would prepare Mother Nadesti or Hedyn's wife for eight to ten leagues, which we had to cross in a single day.

The forest would provide the means. With axes and hatchets, we cut almost two dozen pine saplings, or branches which were long and solid, but not too thick. We lashed two branches together, with leather straps, about two feet from the end. Then we tied a third branch across the first two, forming a three-sided shape.

We stretched a fur across the gap between the three branches, and tied it to the poles. In the Uplands, these devices were known as worriks.[2] A cart pulled by horses would have been better, but we didn't have a cart - or horses, for that matter.

It wasn't an ideal way to travel, either. Even with padding, it couldn't have been very comfortable for Guen Nadesti, or for Hedyn's wife. The little children, on the other hand, saw it as an adventure, and Hedyn's two toddlers could be safely bundled up together.

It was fairly painful for Sulcen's mother, though. I'm sure that rattling about on a wooden frame wasn't one of her favourite things to do. But she was a tough old bird, and she wasn't about to be the first person to complain openly.

She did curse under her breath, though. Most of it was directed at me, as I pulled her worrik. I don't know if she kept it up when Vingoldas spelled me for a while.

Hedyn dragged his pregnant wife, and waved off offers of help. Odma did good work, and so did Yorun and DownyBeard. I caught Giedra's eye, and jerked my head in their direction. She frowned, but didn't make a comment.

As Prosquetel had said, the Duchess was a remarkably stubborn woman. She refused to ride on a worrik. That meant that she slowed us down. It took some time before WhiteHair could persuade her to try it. Gerimir and Iduallon took turns pulling her. Both tried to pretend that she was light as a feather.

Guenna led the way, with Nameless. Yevna would normally have brought up the rear, obliterating our tracks as best she could - but it was pointless, with the sheer numbers of our party, and the worriks leaving deep gouges in the earth. Following our trail would be child's play. Our only hope was to travel fast, and get into the hills without running into trouble.

Luck was with us, until midday.

We had stopped for a short rest, when four horsemen appeared to the southwest.

There was nowhere to hide - no cover at all. The open ground between the forest and the foothills was a featureless plain.

The horsemen couldn't possibly have missed such a large party. They began to trot towards us.

- "Archers." I said. "Pass the word. Everyone with a bow to me." Sulcen passed me my bow, and I chose the best arrow I had.

There were at least a dozen of us. Yevna and Guenna. Vingoldas. Dengelle and Nameless. Seva and Weyl. Giedra, Libot, Yorun and one of the women from the east.

The Izumyrian horsemen should have been more careful. They came far too close. Each man wore a rounded helmet, with wide cheek-pieces. Their armour was a studded leather jerkin, with chain mail covering their shoulders and upper arms. All of them carried small round shields, and spears. I noticed, too, that they all wore greaves on their lower legs. Finally, they had high boots.

- "Ho err oo." called the leader. Unlike the others, he wore a full shirt of scale mail, and had a horsehair crest sprouting from the top of his helmet. I believe he was trying to speak Hvadi - to say 'Who are you?'.

They were ridiculously close. Perhaps they didn't realize that our women could be dangerous. It took them far too long to see that we were carrying bows, with arrows loosely nocked. Perhaps they were distracted - one of the riders caught sight of Prosquetel's white hair, and his unusual armour.

"Now". I said.

We fired a dozen arrows at them.

In hindsight, we should have decided in advance which archers were targeting which rider.

The foremost horseman - the one wearing the scale mail - was struck three times. But none of the hits were fatal. He reeled in the saddle.

The man to his left was hit three times, as well - once in the throat, and once in the mouth. One of those arrows was mine. I believe that I hit him in the shoulder.

The third rider was struck only once. In the eye. He toppled from the saddle.

The fourth rider was hit once, too. In the arm. It was a serious wound, but not enough to incapacitate him. The Izumyrian yanked at the reins, and turned his horse. He bent low, and spurred his mount away.

We might have been able to hit him again, except that Scalemail's horse had been hit. The beast reared, and his rider struggled to keep his seat - with arrows sprouting from him. He blocked our line of sight - intentionally or not - and allowed his companion to escape.

Three more arrows struck him, and Scalemail slammed to the ground, on his back.

The first and second riders were dead. One of the horses bolted. The second shied away, but stopped some twenty paces later. We didn't go after it. We're people of the lake, and the mountains - not horse riders. Besides, where we were going was no place for horses.

Scalemail was badly wounded, and seriously injured, in the fall from his mount. It was Gerimir who ran over, and spoke to him.

The Lowland Hvadi, it seemed, had learned quite a few Izumyrian words. Merchants, and the Izumyrian entertainers known as jongleurs, or menestrels, had become frequent visitors in the town of Hvad.

I don't know what Gerimir said to him, or what Scalemail answered.

- "His back is broken." said Giedra. She slit his throat.

- "AAH!" shouted Gerimir. He leapt back, as the Izumyrian's blood gushed across his hand.

"WHAT is WRONG with YOU?" he screamed.

Giedra merely shrugged. "Were you going to bring him with us?" she asked.

- "Gerimir." I said. "What did he tell you? What did you learn?"

The young Lowlander shook his head, as if to clear it.

- "Only the name of his commander." he said.

- "Which is ...."

- "Count Seaglitz." said Gerimir. There was something about the way he said it.

- "Is that bad?" I asked.

- "Oh, yes." said Prosquetel, behind me.

"It's very bad."

***

"Do we turn around? Back to the hill?" asked WhiteHair.

- "No." said Guenna. If there's a large number of these horsemen on this side of the river - or even north of the lake - we won't make it."

"Our only hope is to reach the hills."

- "They'll see our tracks." said Gerimir.

- "Doesn't matter." said Yevna. "In the hills, we have a chance. Out here ..."

- "Let's move, then." I suggested. "Less talking, more walking."

No one needed to be told what would happen if a large body of cavalry appeared. We would take a few of them with us, but it was more than likely that we would all die. There was nothing to do but forge ahead, and pray.

- "You'd go faster if you didn't have to drag me along." said Mother Nadesti.

- "Don't talk nonsense." I said. "You think Hedyn's going to leave his wife behind? You're light as air. Get on, and be quiet."

I would like to say that we made good time, or that fear lent us wings. We just plodded along, as slowly as before. But we suffered in silence. No one complained - not even the Lowlanders.

And just after dusk, we reached the hills.

I had a brief word with Vingoldas, and with my daughters.

- "We can't stop." I said. "Not here."

- "People are exhausted." said Tanguiste.

- "Better exhausted than dead." said Yevna. "We have to go further."

- "You lead." said Guenna. "I'll take the rear. With Nameless."

- "A moment's rest - then we move." I said.

Hedyn's wife was close to tears. Mother Nadesti must have been in agony. People like to think that their grandparents were tougher - that previous generations could outdo us in many ways, especially when it came to toughness, or endurance.

That may be so. But I like to think that if Payl had been with us, that night - as we dragged those poles uphill, as old women, pregnant women, and little children kept on putting one foot in front of the other - I like to think that Payl would have been satisfied with our efforts.

When we reached the tree line, Yevna came back to halt us.

- "Look back." said Tanguiste. "Everyone - look back! Look how far we've come!"

The river seemed very far off - and well below us. We had climbed quite a bit. Most of our people had no idea how much more we had climbing we had to do. But it was a good idea to let them enjoy a feeling of achievement.

- "One more league!" I called out. "One more league, and we can rest in safety."

Relative safety, I should have said, if I was being honest. Tanguiste went from group to group, encouraging, and praising. We dared not let people stop for long - we would never get them started again.

That last stretch was an ordeal.

The ground was too steep, and too rocky for the worriks. We untied the poles, and had the older children and unencumbered warriors carry them. Virtually everyone had to take on some extra weight.

In my case, it was Sulcen's mother. I carried her piggy back, with a sling supporting her backside. I could hold the ends of the sling over my shoulders, like a backpack, or put my hands under her legs, with her weight on my hips.

The old lady didn't weigh very much; it wasn't very difficult for me. But sitting on the sling could become quite painful for her, after a relatively short time. I had to stop, frequently, and put her down, to let the blood flow back to her legs, or switch to carrying her in my arms.

The children were willing, and they tried, but most couldn't maintain the steady pace we needed. Our pauses became full stops, and they grew more frequent.

Nameless had little Vialla riding on her shoulders. Tanguiste carried one of Hedyn's little ones in her arms. Sulcen took the other.

- "Just past the rocks." said Guenna. "See the gap - the cleft between the rocks? Just past that, and you can stop." She repeated that to everyone, as she strode up and down the trail, encouraging us, asking for one more effort.

When I passed between the rocks, and lowered Mother Nadesti to the ground, she would have fallen, had I not lowered her gently. She lay on her back, breathing softly, but otherwise not moving.

Sulcen passed me Hedyn's little girl, and knelt by her mother, to massage the old woman's legs.

I was exhausted; I could feel the muscles in my legs trembling. I delayed sitting down, though, for fear that I might not be able to get back up.

- "Rest, Papa." said Guenna. "Yevna has the watch."

- "She'll need to be spelled." I said.

- "Nameless and I will be there. You have to rest."

***

I must have taken Guenna's advice, because when I awoke, a beam of sunshine was shining through the forest canopy, straight onto my face.

Sulcen was lying only a few feet away, with her mother between us. Yevna lay on her back, snoring, on my other side.

From the position of the sun, it was well past dawn. I rolled over, and levered myself to my feet. I groaned, feeling all of my accumulated years - and an extra twenty in the stiffness of my joints.

Down at the gap between the rocks, Guenna and Dengelle were watching.

The cleft was a natural wayfaring point, an obvious stop for anyone travelling around Myeva. For one thing, the climb to this point was exhausting. For another, a person only had to turn around, to be treated to an amazing vista: we could see down the slope for the better part of a league.

Beyond that, the trees hid much of the view, until the ground dropped away suddenly. We could see the open plain, the marsh next to our Hill, and the river. After that was a seemingly endless expanse of thick forest.

- "Bottom of the path." said Guenna. She didn't point. I had taught her not to.

- "Morning." I said. "Morning, Dengelle. What am I looking at?"

- "Six of them." said my daughter.

- "I see them now." Half a dozen of the Izumyrian horsemen, well below us, were keeping their distance. After what had happened to three of the first four of their brethren that we had encountered the day before, I couldn't blame them.

"Is that all?" I asked.

- "For now." said Dengelle.

- "Did either of you get any sleep?" I asked.

- "I did." said Dengelle.

- "I'm fine." said Guenna.

- "Go get Vingoldas, and send him to me." I said. "Then find a comfortable place to sleep. You're staying here with me. I'll wake you the moment you're needed."

"Dengelle - find Giedra, and send her here, too. Tanguiste, too, if she's awake."

They must have been tired - neither one protested or complained.

When Vingoldas arrived, I explained my plan to him. Giedra caught the second half of it, but I had to repeat the whole thing for Tan's benefit, so the others got to hear it twice.

Vingoldas made a fuss. "That doesn't make sense, Veran. Why don't you go on? I'll stay here."

- "Because you're wounded." I said. "Your leg isn't fully healed, however much you'd like us to think so. If there's a fight here, I don't trust your leg. And if we have to run ... I don't trust your leg."

- "But you're exhausted." he said. He was going to add 'and you're old', but wisely forbore.

- "I'll have time to rest, before they do anything. I'm not giving myself the hardest task. I need you to drive them, Vingoldas. You have to push them. Everyone is exhausted, and they won't understand why they have to move again. But they do."