The morning was heavy with dew as he stood in a clearing of dead grass surrounded by brush and gnarled trees.
“Are we really going to do this every morning?” Tavis asked as Ayawa walked around Gedris and kicked the back of her foot.
“Your feet are too far apart,” Ayawa scolded. “Now assume the double guard position.”
Gedris stood before them in pants and shirt with a knife in each hand. She shifted her pose to bring her hands to her side with the knives out.
“That is the balanced stance!” Ayawa scolded again as she stepped in and grabbed the woman's hands. She dragged them, so Gedris's hands were before her chest with elbows bent out. Ayawa stepped back and began to walk around her again checking her pose.
“You are leaning too far forward.”
“You told me to lean into my poses so I could use my legs,” Gedris said.
“I said lean into them, not over them, you are giving your balance away,” Ayawa said.
Gedris made a sigh and Ayawa reached out and pushed her slightly from behind, causing her to stumble as she tipped over.
Tavis shook his head as Gedris had to take several steps to regain her balance.
“Do you see all it takes to force you into a compromised position?” Ayawa asked. “Now take the pose again.”
Gedris set her feet and went back to the guarded pose and watched as Ayawa walked around.
Ayawa stopped before her and smiled. “You are doing well. Go and pack the bedrolls and put your armor on.”
Gedris lowered her head and nodded. “Yes, mam.”
Tavis watched her walk off with a sad expression and turned back to Ayawa.
“You're going to make her walk in her armor all day again, aren't you?”
“She needs strength,” Ayawa said. “That weight is evenly distributed and is helping her entire body grow strong.”
“She is miserable walking in it,” he said.
Ayawa turned to face him. “Of course she is, she is too weak to wear it comfortably. She told us herself she seldom wore it while serving, and once she had her temple, she never wore it again.”
“You're being extra hard on her though,” he said, giving Gedris another glance. “Did she need to lean all thirty-seven defense forms at once? Didn't you tell me they taught you those three at a time?”
“I had the luxury of time,” Ayawa said. “And I was never so soft,” she added with a sigh and a glance at Gedris. “I chose to keep her, Tavis. She is my responsibility, and anything that happens to her is on my head. I hate to press her so hard, but she needs to learn as quickly as I can teach her. I will walk her through the forms every morning, noon, and evening until she can assume them without thinking. Then I will teach her how to dance between them to change her stance as needed.”
He sighed and shook his head. “We better get going then.”
Ayawa nodded and stepped into him, wrapping her arm around his head. “I know you hate to see me be so hard on her. But I am doing this for her own good, and she knows it. She would never have made the offer to be my rokki if she didn’t know she needed it.”
He sighed and nodded his head. “Just don’t make her carry her pack in her arms.”
“She needs the weight to improve her arms and chest. Her entire upper body is soft and weak.”
“She cries,” he said looking into Ayawa’s eyes.
Ayawa sighed. I will only make her carry it for the morning. She can tie it to her horse for the rest of the day.”
He shook his head and walked to the horses as Gedris went around a tree to put her armor on. Minutes later they were on the move with Ayawa slowly leading the way with Tavis at her side leading Gedris's empty horse. Gedris walked behind them with her gaze down. She held her backpack up to her chest, struggling with the weight of the rocks Ayawa had put inside.
They walked all morning in this fashion until Gedris started to sniff from the soreness in her arms and Ayawa relented and let the women tie her pack to the horse. She remained on foot in her armor however until Ayawa called a halt in a copse of trees. Here she walked Gedris through all the forms again, making her assume them one at a time, then calling them out at random quickly and scolding the girl when she got one wrong.
The march resumed with Gedris walking behind the horses with a miserable expression.
When they made camp that night, she was finally allowed to take the armor off, and Tavis saw how soaked with sweat she was beneath it. Part of her chores now involved hauling water to clean her armor and herself every evening. This was a point of contention because Ayawa refused to allow the girl to wash where they couldn't see her.
“It’s nothing she didn’t desire you to see,” Ayawa argued back.
Tavis started leaving the camps to give the girl some measure of privacy. He wasn't sure this arrangement was a good thing. He agreed Gedris was not prepared for the conflict that was growing, but he questioned Ayawa's methods. Ayawa herself seemed to be taking some measure of delight in pushing the girl to the edge of breaking. She always said she was doing it for the girls own good, but Tavis hated to see the look on Gedris's face. More so, why did Ayawa even care? She had never shown any interest in training others before. Why was Gedris different?
The one good thing that had come out of all this was the food. Gedris was indeed a good cook, a skill she learned from cooking for herself. Ayawa was quick to point out that Gedris was able to learn and master a skill she put her mind to. It was the first real compliment Ayawa had given since this all started.
Now he sat in camp watching as Ayawa took her through the forms again. Gedris was back in her pants and shirt and moved from pose to pose as Ayawa called them out.
“Good, I won’t have to switch you tonight,” Ayawa joked causing the woman to flinch.
Ayawa stepped in front of her and took the knives from her hands. “Go and pray to your Goddess for a bit. You are to relax for the rest of the night.”
Gedris smiled for the first time in three days and silently nodded to Ayawa.
They parted with Gedris going to her bedroll and Ayawa watching her with a sad expression before walking to him.
When Ayawa sat beside him, she let out a low sigh.
“Having second thoughts?” he asked.
“You know I am,” Ayawa spat. “I hate being so hard on her.”
“You look like you enjoy it to me,” he said.
“She couldn't even hold a saber without hurting her wrist,” Ayawa said.
“She is a country priestess, not a warrior,” he pointed out. “She has talents in other areas.”
“I know what she is,” Ayawa said. “But she wants to stay, and she wants to learn. Our path is too dangerous for a country priestess. I will do her a disservice by being gentle with her.”
“You should have sent her off with the women from the wagon train,” he said.
“Are you going to torment me over that again?” Ayawa asked as she turned to look at him. “We both know most of those women have been recaptured.”
He couldn't argue the point. It was one they never spoke of around Gedris.
“We could do no more for them. At least we gave them a chance,” he said.
Ayawa looked back to Gedris as the woman sat down with a silver bowl in her lap.
“This is the life she should have,” Ayawa said, pointing to Gedris. “Praying to her Goddess and knowing peace. I hate that I have to take this from her.”
“First, you didn't take this life from her, the Father Abbot did. Second, Gersius will put a stop to all this and restore order between the faiths,” Tavis said. “She will have this life again.”
“But she will be forever changed by the road she had to walk in the meantime,” Ayawa replied.
“This again?” he said. “What is eating you up inside? You have bonded to this girl for some reason, and it's tied to this feeling of loss you carry around.”
Ayawa looked at him with a narrow mouth and firm gaze. “Don't you feel a loss of who you once were? Don't you feel the change all this fighting has brought? How are people like you and I ever going to settle down and have a family? How do we walk off the battlefield tracking blood with our feet and settle down around a hearth to kiss?”
He looked into her eyes and sighed. “Time will lessen the scars, and we will find our peace. You will be the mother you wanted to be, and you will sing again.”
She looked away from him and glanced at the knives in her boots. “She still has a chance to have the life she wants. Her heart hasn’t changed yet.”
“Why are you suddenly so forlorn about this life? You haven't been the same since Eastgate. It's like something changed, and you feel some kind of guilt.”
Ayawa put her hand in his. “I feel a bit like Gersius,” she said. “I am ready to have my family.”
He smiled and squeezed her hand. “So is this what you're doing? Are you mothering a daughter?”
She shook her head and smiled at him. “No, the one I wanted to mother doesn’t know it.”
Tavis looked at her with a raised brow as she turned to look away.
“Ayawa, you have changed.”
She looked down. “I haven't changed. I have felt like this for a while. Most women of my culture are nursing a third child by now, not hiding in some dirty camp like bandits. I should be teaching my daughter how to fight, but I have no daughter.”
“So your teaching Gedris instead?” he asked.
“She ran away from a family that saw her only as a resource to bargain with. Her mother should have taught her these things. She has the right heart, she saw her life about to become a prison, and she ran. She ran and faced the unknown believing she had the strength to make something better for herself. She got lucky and was given refuge by the order of Ulustrah.”
“So she was successful,” he said. “She made it; she doesn't need your help.”
“She found a place to hide,” Ayawa said. She still didn't have a life. She was waiting for some man to come along and take her as a wife and take care of her.”
“So let her wait?” he said.
“She doesn't’ want to hide. She wants to be free to go where she wishes. She wants to be strong enough to stand on her own two feet and not need to be taken care of. I admire her desire to be stronger.”
“Why her though?” Tavis asked. “When you first met her, she was a burden you were trying to get rid of. Now you won't part with her, and you insist on teaching her.”
Ayawa met his eyes and looked away. “I have no children to teach.”
Tavis pulled her in close and looked into her eyes.
“When this business is done, you and I are settling down. You should have told me you felt like this,” he said as he held her firm.
Ayawa closed her eyes and shook her head.
“I didn’t tell you because I was afraid to settle down. I had forgotten what I once felt like until we met her.”
He nodded. “So you're trying to recapture some of yourself and lost time by helping her.”
Ayawa sighed and nodded.
“Maybe we can buy a house down the street from Gersius and Lilly,” he laughed. “You and Lilly could cook while Gersius and I talk about you behind your backs.”
Ayawa smiled at him with a sideways glance. “Lilly and I don’t have that kind of relationship.”
“You could have any relationship with Lilly you wanted,” he said. He saw a twinge of pain cross her face, and she looked away. Once again, Lilly's name had affected her. He wasn't sure what that meant. It was part of what changed at Eastgate, somehow Lilly was involved in it.
“She is a good cook,” Ayawa said, changing the subject. “she knows how to learn something when she wants to.”
“All people can learn when they want to, but learning to cook and learning to be you are two completely different things,” Tavis said. “Do you honestly think she can follow your path?”
“I know she wants to,” Ayawa said.
“I trust you to do what's right,” he said, pulling her close. “But no more bathing in the open, give the girl some privacy.”
Ayawa laughed. “I was only doing that to teach her shame. She has learned that lesson well enough. I will allow her some privacy.”
He studied her as she stared at Gedris across the way. What he wouldn’t give for Thayle to tell him what her light was doing right now.
In the morning, Gedris was up early going through the poses again. Ayawa was now standing beside her matching her pose for pose. She was showing Gedris how to switch between them fluidly in an almost rhythmic dance. Gedris was trying to follow all her changes but failed to capture the smooth precision Ayawa had mastered.
When at last they set out Gedris was once again in her armor holding her backpack to her chest. This time, however, Ayawa was walking beside her talking to her while he led both their horses.
Just after noon she hid them in a small valley by a stream and took Gedris out of her armor. She ran her through the poses and made her practice switching between two of them again and again. When Gedris looked exhausted, Ayawa ordered her back into her armor and on the march.
Now she rode beside him on her horse as Gedris walked some thirty paces behind.
“She looks like she’s dead on her feet,” Tavis pointed out.
“She isn’t tired yet,” Ayawa said. “She will be after tonight.”
“Did you have to train like this?” he asked.
Ayawa shook her head. “Not like this, but it was exhausting, and there were punishments for failing to reach a goal.”
He sighed. “I never did get to learn much about your culture. She seems to know as much about it as you do.”
Ayawa smiled. “Another proof that she can learn quickly.”
“You seem to admire that about her,” Tavis said. “You point it out every chance you get.”
“I am breaking her down,” Ayawa said. “But she has a poor self-image. If I break her down and do nothing to teach her a new image, she will assume she is worthless. I must show her that she can be what she dreams and that I am only removing the things that hinder her.”
He watched her from under his hat as they rode side by side across the wilds. Her mind was ever occupied on Gedris now, and Ayawa glanced back at the woman several times.
As the day drew closer to mid-afternoon, they crested a hill covered in weeds and thin trees. They came to a halt and looked down a the scene below with deep concern.
There were at least two dozen people at a crossroads perhaps five hundred paces ahead.
One was a group of soldiers in mail armor and conical helmets. They were armed with sword and shield and stood at the ready with them drawn. Two of them were in full plate armor and wore red sashes over their shoulders, clearly marking them as priests of Astikar. There appeared to be twelve of them in all, two groups of five militia each led by a priest.
The other group consisted of a collection of men and women. They wore dresses and pants of earthy colors and tones. Every one of them was tall with jet black hair, and dark skin. They too stood with weapons drawn, mostly knives and spears.
“This is going to end badly,” Tavis said as they watched.
“The wind is in our favor,” Ayawa said as she felt the breeze blowing in her face. She closed her eyes and fell into one of the few ancient practices her people remembered. She opened her senses and listened to the wind.
“All of the women will come us!” Barked an irate voice.
“All of you will die on this road if you touch even one of them!” Growled a deep voice that was very intentionally saying the words he spoke. It was clear it was not his first language, and it had a very familiar accent.
“By order of the Father Abbot of Astikar, we are to hunt down all women who fit the description of the outlaw Ayawa.”
“We do not know your Ayawa. We are here to purchase horses from the farms in breakwater!”
Ayawa knew the accent and shook her head. This was going to end poorly, indeed. They were a group of southern warriors traveling for their own reasons. However, they made the mistake of bringing women with them and were now snared in the madness of the Father Abbot. The fool priests of Astikar were arresting any red skinned woman hoping to snare Ayawa herself.
Gedris crested the hill behind them and stopped.
“What’s going on down there?” she asked.
“A patrol of Astikar has crossed paths with what looks like a party of southern warriors.”
“Why would so many southern warriors be this far north?” Tavis asked, turning his horse to the side and straining to look.
“I heard one say they were here to buy horses. They probably want breeding stock of common lands runners. They said they were going to the farms near Breakwater.”
“They are a good fast breed, and breakwater is where they are commonly bred,” Tavis added. “But why stop them?”
“They are only after the women. They want to arrest them because one of them might be me,” Ayawa replied.
“Are those fools just going to arrest anybody who they feel is a threat?” Gedris asked.
“The Father Abbot is a madman,” Ayawa answered. “And knowing Gersius is alive is driving him to ever greater levels of insanity.”
Gedris was silent a moment and looked at Ayawa with a questioning look. “How do you know what they said?”
“Her people have a trick they call listening to the wind,” Tavis said.
“It's one of the few things my people remember from their past. So long as you are downwind you can hear what is spoken ahead of you,” Ayawa said. “Well, sometimes.”
Gedris’s expression changed to one of wonder.
“We need to get back into the brush,” Ayawa said.
Even as Ayawa finished speaking, there was an explosion of motion. Orange lights flashed, and men fell. People began yelling as the soldiers rushed in with swords and shields raised. Blood flew into the air as people began dying.
“We can’t stand here and watch those people be slaughtered!” Gedris cried.
“Remember your place, rokki!” Ayawa snapped. “We talked about this! We have a mission to complete. We can't rescue everybody!”
Gedris closed her eyes and held still as the sounds of people screaming filled the air.
“Surely more people like you would be of great use to Gersius,” she said softly. “He could always use more warriors.”
Ayawa groaned and looked to Tavis for support, but all he did was shrug.
“It is a huge risk,” Ayawa said.
“She is right though,” Tavis said. “And we wouldn't need to care for them like the others. If they are half as well trained as you are, they could care for themselves.”
“Time is short,” Gedris pleaded. “There won't be any left soon.”
Ayawa threw up her hands and cursed in her native tongue before turning on Gedris.
“You are to stay out of this fight!.
“But I can help!” Gedris argued.
“I am giving you an order!” Ayawa said. “You barely know your posses! You're not ready to charge armored soldiers!'
Gedris nodded, and Ayawa turned back to Tavis and with another curse spurred her horse down the hill. Tavis let out a sigh and raced after her leaving Gedris to watch from above.
They rode hard coming to within twenty paces of the side of the battle. The priests of Astikar and their mercenaries had split the southern people into two groups and were driving them apart. They moved as a single cohesive unit with men overlapping shields to present a near impenetrable wall of defense. Already five of the tribal people were lying motionless on the ground in pools of blood.
Ayawa pulled up and dismounted coming to her feet with her bow in hands and took aim. The men were well armored, and the shields made them a force to be reckoned with, but from behind those shields were useless. She narrowed her vision on the exposed neck of a man in the middle of a formation and let loose.
The man cried out and stumbled as the arrow came out his throat. The sudden attack broke the formation and turned the priest of Astikar commanding them around.
Ayawa readied another arrow and fired at him, but his arm came up, and the arrow bounced off an orange shield of light. The priest leveled his sword her way and ran forward just as Tavis arrived.
His hands danced as his voice dipped into strong tones. A red light began to collect around his fingers as the priest ran faster to reach them. When the twisting dance ended with his wrists coming together, a red light raced out as two lines twisting around one another as they raced toward the priest. He stepped back as the bolt of Daghost dented his armor and stopped his momentum.
“Weaver!” the man called out as he stumbled, drawing the other priests attention.
“Hold the line and press forward!” the second priest ordered as he turned to come to the aid of his brother with his sword raised.
Ayawa let loose another arrow, but it too was blocked as was a second bolt of Daghot. The divine shields of the priests of Astikar easily deflecting both.
As the two men closed in, they did the only thing they could. Tavis drew his swords as Ayawa switched to her knives.
Tavis took one into combat as quickly as he could. The man fought with obvious skill and pressed Tavis back. Tavis struggled to find an opening that would allow him to strike a weak spot. All he could do is block and deflect blows and keep the man turning to wear him down until an opening presented itself.
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Ayawa found her opponent a challenge. He held her at bay with the reach of his sword and used his armor as a weapon. Whenever she stepped inside his reach, he rushed her using the armor as a ram. She was thrown back twice as she tried to reach his throat, and the second time nearly cost her her head.
She cursed the foolishness of battling heavily armed and armored soldiers again when all of a sudden, the man cried out. He staggered as the plants around his legs began to grow rapidly and stumble him.
Ayawa wasted no time in daring inside his defense while it was compromised. He couldn't batter her back and soon found her knife at his throat. He fell to the ground as she turned to help Tavis.
Tavis was holding his own and trying to tire the man. Ayawa ran in and joined the fight forcing the man to wheel about even more to manage them both.
Once again, vines began to crawl up the man's legs, and he growled in anger. This man called on divine strength, however, and tore through the vines with ease. It was here they heard a cry of alarm and Ayawa risked a glance at Gedris.
The woman had abandoned the hill and now stood twenty paces back, holding her knives. It was clear she had intended to avoid direct battle, but two men had ridden up behind her on horseback. They looked to be dressed like the infantry but wore green cloaks. Ayawa realized they were probably scouts returning to report and they had caught Gedris by surprise.
Ayawa duct out of the way of a sword cut as Tavis stepped back. Now that the priest had called on divine might it was foolish to try and block his blows. The strength behind them would push through any such defense. They resorted to jumping out of his reach and hoping the effect would fade soon.
Ayawa scrambled to her feet and stole another look at Gedris who had turned to face the horsemen and assumed the guarded stance.
“No!” Ayawa cried as Tavis looked round to see what she was yelling about.
“Go!” he yelled. “I will keep him busy!”
Ayawa nodded and sprinted at the women who was even now standing her ground against two charging horses. She pumped her legs and arms as the horses raced down on Gedris with spears leading the way.
She leaped into the air and tackled the woman carrying her to the side as the horses rode through the spot she had been standing in a moment ago.
“You are a fool!” Ayawa barked at Gedris as they tumbled in the weeds. “I told you to stay on the hill!”
“I couldn’t stay on the hill!” Gedris cried.
Ayawa scrambled to her feet as the horsemen wheeled around.
“Why couldn’t you stay on the hill?” Ayawa demanded.
“Because more men are coming from the west!” she shouted as she stood back up. “I can see them from the hill. They will be here in ten minutes!”
Ayawa felt fear climb her spine. “How many?”
“Another thirty, at least!”
One of the horses kicked into a charge his spear leading the way, but a green light appeared in his path as Gedris channeled a shield. The horse braced to a stop to avoid colliding with the shield and threw the rider who landed practically at Ayawa’s feet.
She ended the man's life mercilessly and turned to see the other rider racing down on Gedris again. Gedris tried to get another shield up, but there wasn't time, and she caught the spear in the chest plate. She was thrown to the side as the man rode past her.
“Gedris!” Ayawa yelled as she ran for her.
She tried to run to the woman, but the horseman had already turned. Ayawa ran into his path with her knives out and met his charge head-on. She raced to his left as he went by and with a fluid motion jumped at the man and tackled him from the saddle. With a crash, they hit the ground tumbling and cursing. Ayawa tried to stab him but beat at her with his armored arms clubbing her back.
She took a blow to the face that made her dizzy, and she fell off him. He quickly rolled over and drew a dagger from his boot, raising it high to strike and gurgled as Gedris's knife went through his neck.
Ayawa saw the man fall and looked up at Gedris who stood motionless with a blood-covered dagger in her hand. The look on her face was one of pure horror as she looked down at what she had just done.
There was a cry of pain to the left as Tavis was kicked back by the remaining priest. Ayawa didn't have time to comfort Gedris and scrambled to her feet. She rushed in and tackled the man toppling him over. Tavis wasted no time dealing the final blow.
With the priests down they turned on the lines of soldiers. They had dropped another four of the southern warriors, but three of their number were dead now. The two lines had fallen back and rejoined to link up their strength and were now fighting a significantly reduced number of southern warriors.
They went to race in, but even as they closed on the men, more vines began to crawl up legs and snag feet. The formation of soldiers found it harder and harder to maneuver as the ground beneath them tried to tangle them. As Tavis and Ayawa reached them, they were overwhelmed by the rest. In moments it was over, and Ayawa looked into the faces of her people.
They had eyes full of pain, and most of them quickly set about helping the wounded, dragging bleeding men and women to the side to begin bandaging or holding their hands to ease their passage.
“We need to get Gedris!” Tavis said. “She can save them!”
Ayawa nodded as the shock of the moment wore off. She turned to see Gedris standing motionless staring at the knife she carried.
Ayawa quickly ran to her and pulled the bloody knife out of her hand.
“Gedris!” Ayawa barked to get her attention.
‘I killed him!” Gedris cried.
“Gedris you need to listen to me,” Ayawa started.
“I killed a man!”
Ayawa wrapped her hands to either side of the woman’s face and looked deeply into her eyes. “You did what you had to do. You didn’t start this war or choose to fight in it. The war came to you and forced you to act.”
Gedris looked at her with wet eyes.
“There will be time for you to grieve later. Right now, I need the gentle priestess of Ulustrah. There are people who are badly injured and need healing.”
Gedris nodded, and Ayawa grabbed her arm and pulled her away.
Ayawa dragged her to the southern warriors who were angrily cursing and crying as they dealt with their wounded and dead.
Two had been placed to the side as a woman held a hand of each one to comfort them as they passed.
“Here,” Ayawa said as she brought Gedris over to the two fatally wounded men.
“What are you doing?” the woman who knelt with them asked.
Gedris laid her hands on one of them and opened her heart to the divine with a musical song. Golden light spread over the man's skin, closing a wound in the chest.
“A healer!” the woman called as she stood up, drawing looks from the others.
Gedris quickly moved to the other man who had taken a cut to the neck that flayed him open. She felt sick to look at it and promptly went into her song calling on the Goddess. As the wound began to close, Gedris felt the strain.
One of the southerners walked up. He was a tall man with chiseled features. He stood like a statue before them with blood on his tan shirt.
“Who are you?” he demanded as Gedris pulled her hands away.
“She is with me,” Ayawa said, standing to meet the man's gaze.
He studied Ayawa up and down with an impassive expression. “What tribe?” he said in a firm tone.
“Does it matter?” Ayawa asked. “There are more soldiers on the way. You can't stay here, and we can help.”
The man furrowed his brows as his face sank slightly in a frown.
“This one's as healed as I can make him without overtaxing,” Gedris panted. “I can heal a couple more maybe.”
“Which ones are your most seriously wounded?” Ayawa asked.
The man's proud face glared at her, and he turned around with an aggravated wave.
He led them into the others where a woman with a terrible gash down one arm cried as they tried to wrap it.
Gedris quickly knelt beside her and went into song healing the wound and stopping the bleeding. Another man had been cut so severely in one leg it was barely attached. She felt sick as she went back into her song and felt pain as she pushed herself.
“One more, maybe,” she panted as she got dizzy.
There were at least four more injured, but a woman with a clearly broken arm was chosen, and Gedris sang her song through gritted teeth. She was barely able to straighten the bone but left the woman with a badly bruised arm. She had to let go and cease as she reached her limit.
The man reached down and grabbed her forcefully by the hair.
“Finish your healing rokki!’ he growled. He froze and glanced up as Ayawa put a knife to his throat.
“Let her go!” Ayawa said with raging eyes. “She’s mine.”
“You let your slaves do as they please?” he spat.
“She has done all she can for now,” Ayawa said. “She would do more if she could.”
He glared at her with rage in his eyes but took his hand away.
Gedris visibly shaken stumbled to the side, and Tavis Immediately pulled her away as Ayawa stepped back.
“There are thirty more soldiers a couple of minutes away!” she said in a dire tone. “You need to get on your feet and run!”
“Those two are not even awake!” the man pointed to the two previously dying men.
“Put anyone who can’t walk on our horses,” Ayawa said. “Quickly, we have no time to waste!”
The man whirled around and barked a command in a language she hadn’t heard in many years. The people got up and began to move with haste gathering up bags and belongings and helping wounded into saddles. They had two pack animals of their own that they rounded up and quickly set off to the east.
Ayawa looked around and silently took notice that four of their number were still motionless on the ground. They were dead before the battle ended; there was nothing to heal.
She turned to see a trembling Gedris falling apart as Tavis tried to comfort her.
They grabbed the two horses from the scouts as well and escaped in haste down the road away from the approaching soldiers. Once they were well under way, she came to Gedris's side and put her arm around the woman who shook visibly in her armor.
Tavis gave her a glance that displayed his disapproval, and Ayawa looked away. She sighed and leaned over to whisper to her.
“You did well,” she said.
“I killed a man,” she whispered.
Ayawa closed her eyes and took a breath. She knew this was going to happen, but in her heart, she hoped Gedris would never have this day.
“You won't train tonight,” Ayawa said. “I want you to spend your time with your Goddess.”
“I don’t want to go before my goddess with blood on my hands,” Gedris started to cry.
Ayawa glanced at Tavis, who was giving her a look of pure contempt.
Ayawa felt a pain in her heart and gave Gedris a gentle shake. “Your Goddess knows you did what was right. You didn't choose this battle. You only wanted to help. You risked your life to save others and pushed your healing to its limits.”
“That man looked at me like I was worthless,” Gedris whispered.
Ayawa nodded. “He sees how I have marked your hair. Some of the southern tribes see a rokki as an honored title. You are dedicating your service to another as a form of self-sacrifice, but other tribes see them as less than slaves. I will deal with him if he can't see you how I see you.”
Gedris rubbed at an eye and Ayawa searched the group for the man that was clearly their leader. When she found him, he was already glaring watching her with Gedris.
“I need you to look after her a moment,” she said to Tavis.
` “I don’t like how that man looks at you,” he said as he moved to put his arm over Gedris.
“I don’t either, that’s why I am going to go talk to him,” Ayawa said.
Ayawa steadied herself and walked towards the man who watched her approach with eyes that spoke of anger. She hoped this wasn’t going to be a mistake.
Ayawa approached the man whose jaw was set firmly and whose eyes watched her every move. He walked at the side of the others as if shepherding them down the road.
“Do you lead these people?” she asked him.
He glared down at her with an emotionless expression.
“I am Twocrows of the oak tribe. I am the chosen leader for this expedition,” he said with a deep voice.
“I am Ayawa of the Su Niem tribe,” she replied.
He raised a brow at her name and scowled at her. “You are the one they are looking for. It is for you that my people are dead! Tell me, why are my tribesmen dying for you?”
Ayawa shook her head. “There is a land to the west that is fighting a great war. The man who was leading the western people is a master tactician. He has seen the enemies strength, and he knows he can't win. He set out on a mission to save his people, and I was helping him.”
Twocows was silent as he waited for the rest of the story.
“He found what he was looking for, but his brothers betrayed him and tried to kill him. He managed to escape with his prize and fled into the wilds. He is planning to return and bring war on his brothers. They know he will come, and they are desperate to find him before he grows too powerful. I am a well-known friend of his, and they know I will be able to lead them to him.”
“And my people bleed for it,” he said.
“I had no idea there were any southern tribesmen here at all,” Ayawa said. “I have seen two of my people in the ten years I have been here.”
He looked away as if he was thinking and folded his arms.
Ayawa felt she needed to break the tension, so she asked a question.
“Why are you traveling so far to the north?”
“Our people wish to trade furs for horses. We are going to the farms where they can be purchased. We have already arranged the trade, and we are on our way to deliver to furs.” He paused and looked over the assembled people to his left. “This land has been hostile to us ever since we set foot in it. The men they call priests of Astikar are mad with fear. They see us as spies or enemies of another man they call the traitor. This must be the man you protect.”
She knew they were here for horses, but she wanted to make sure they had no other motives. She looked over the remainder of his group as she walked beside him. They were mixed men and women in clothes meant to make them blend into the north. The men wore pants and shirts, and the women wore colorful skirts of oranges and yellows. Many of the women wore braided hair that showed titles or rank within the group. Most of them walked somberly with downcast faces and haunted looks to their eyes.
“I know of your tribe, your all excellent archers. Why didn’t you use your bows?” Ayawa asked.
“We did not think they would attack,” he said. “We intended to walk past them on the road. When they stopped us, they drew weapons immediately. Our bows are in the packs on the horses. We find the people of these lands are fearful when we carry our weapons openly.”
Ayawa understood. They were trying not to cause alarm or suspicion and had packed the bows away. There was no time to retrieve them when the soldiers stopped them.
“So what are you doing in this northern land?” he asked. “And why do you have a northern woman as a rokki?”
Ayawa sighed. “I no longer live in the south. I was aiding the priests of Astikar as a scout in their military alongside my husband.”
“And what of the woman who heals?” he asked.
“We rescued her from the same kinds of men who stopped you. They are arresting all the woman who belongs to her order. The leader of their order supports the man I do. Thus the priests of Astikar have declared them outlaws.”
“So why is she a rokki then?”
“That is a long story. She was just a girl hiding in a temple when the war came for her. She thought she knew how to take care of herself but found she was sorely lacking. She begged me to train her and teach her how to be strong. I turned her down. I didn’t think she had the heart to commit to such a path. She bent her knee and offered her service to me to prove her commitment. I accepted her.”
He glanced over at Gedris as she limped down the road.
“And the north man is your husband?” he asked almost with disgust.
“Tavis is a noble man of great power. Don't underestimate him. It has gotten quite a few fools killed,” she said with a note of annoyance in her voice.
Twocrows smiled and nodded his head as if amused by her response.
“The price for a northern woman would be very high in our lands. Especially one as pretty as she is,” he said.
Ayawa frowned and turned her head to glare at him.
“She is not for sale!”
He made a light “hmm” and smiled again. “Perhaps I won't pay for her. There are other ways to acquire her.”
Ayawa stopped in her tracks and turned to face him, bringing him to a halt. The others beside him noticed the sudden stop and looked up.
“If you challenge me over her, I will slit your throat and refuse to let her heal you!” Ayawa growled.
He leaned toward her, his arms still firmly crossed. “I am not of your tribe. In the oak people, a woman cannot possess a rokki. If I wanted her, I would take her.” He smiled broader, and his eyes caught the motion of Ayawa's hands as they crept for her knives.
“I will die before you touch her!” Ayawa growled.
“Keep your slave,” he said. “We are not in our lands, nor are our people in conflict. I will honor your aid to us and respect your right to have her. I ask only that you honor me by considering an offer of trade.”
“She is not for sale!” Ayawa said again.
“So there will be no honor between us then?” he asked.
Ayawa gritted her teeth and glared at him. If she refused him his right to make an offer, she would show disrespect to him. He had already made it clear he would not respect her claim to Gedris unless she did.”
“Fine, I will hear your offer tonight,” she said as they began to walk again.
“You will sell her,” he said confidently. “When you see what I have to offer, you will gladly give her to me.”
Ayawa shook her head and walked back to Tavis.
“What was that about?” he asked. “You looked ready to draw blades.”
“He is using my people's code of trade to force me into a negotiation,” Ayawa said.
“A negotiation for what?” Tavis asked.
Ayawa looked at the woman who still shook and seemed uncomfortable.
“He wants to buy Gedris,” she said.
Gedris snapped her head up with wild eyes.
“What?” she gasped.
“Easy!” Ayawa said with a hand patting the air. “I only have to allow him to make an offer to appease his honor. I don’t have to accept anything.”
“I don’t like where this is going,” Tavis said. “We should part ways with them as quickly as possible.”
“We need to camp with them one night, so I can talk to them about helping Gersius,” Ayawa said.
“What if they don't want to help?” Tavis asked. “If this man has his eyes set on Gedris, we might be putting her in danger.”
“No one is going to harm Gedris,” Ayawa said then turned to look at her. “You are to stay under my thumb while we travel with them. You will sleep beside me until I say otherwise.”
Gedris nodded and made a pained face.
“Are you alright?” Ayawa asked.
“I am fine,” Gedris replied. “I just need a rest.”
Ayawa looked to the sky and saw the sun on its way down. “We need to put some distance between us and that battle. We can camp after the sun sets.”
Gedris nodded, and they walked on uncertain of what lay ahead.
They made camp well off the road in a gap between two hills. The tribe's people had small tents that they set up in a half circle around a small fire. Both of the injured men were now awake and sitting beside the fire as they were told who saved them. Ayawa and Tavis camped a good thirty paces away, ensuring they were separate enough and to keep Gedris well apart.
Ayawa went over to speak to Twocrows again to tell him about Gersius and the coming war, but he refused to speak until after they had traded.
She gave up trying to speak to him and decided to work with Gedris instead. She walked back to the girl who sat silently beside Tavis.
“Come, get that armor off and let’s go through the forms,” she said.
Gedris moved slowly with a pained look on her face.
“Come, girl, you can move faster than that,” Ayawa scolded.
Gedris pulled the straps that held her armor off and let the metal plate fall to the ground. It was then that Ayawa saw the blood on the mail underneath.
“By the earth mother!” Ayawa gasped. “I forgot! You took that spear!”
Gedris tried to pull the mail but couldn’t lift her left arm high enough.
“Tavis, help me!” Ayawa said, coming to Gedris's aid. They lifted the mail together to expose an undershirt stained dark red.
“She was struck?” Tavis asked as Ayawa began to roll the shirt up gently.
“One of those horsemen caught her with a spear at full charge. It hit her breastplate and threw her aside. I was so focused on the battle I forgot to check. I assumed that since she was up and walking, she was fine,” Ayawa said as she rolled the shirt up.
Gedris covered her chest with her arm as the shirt came away.
Her left shoulder was bruised, blackened and weeping blood all across its surface.
“Why didn’t you heal yourself?” Ayawa demanded.
“There were people who needed it more,” Gedris wheezed as Ayawa inspected the wound. “We are not strong healers. If I had healed myself, that woman would still have a broken arm.”
“Tavis get my pack, I have bandages,” Ayawa said as she helped Gedris sit down.
Tavis returned in a moment with her pack, and she fished through it for a bundle of square cloths and began to pack them on to Gedris's shoulder.
“I am sorry you were injured,’ Ayawa said as she carefully covered the wound.
There was a sudden commotion from the other side of the camp where the Oak tribe was sitting. Two of the women were arguing with Twocrow and pointing at them. He yelled back, and they heard him say the word rokki, but the women stood their ground. He threw up his hands and walked away, and one of the women can running over, her long skirt of oranges and brows flapping.
“She is hurt?” the woman asked as she knelt beside Ayawa.
Ayawa looked at the woman who had sad eyes but a pretty smile.
“She will live, but she won't be using her arm for a while,” Ayawa said.
The woman looked over the shoulder and nodded. “We have tarmas with us. We will share it with you for your rokki. It will speed her healing.”
Ayawa nodded and tried to show a grateful expression. Tarmas was a paste her people made from special herbs. It was an excellent way to heal injuries from bee stings to wolf bites.
The woman fished in a bag at her side and produced a wooden bowl with a leather seal. She opened it up and dabbed her fingers into a gray paste and gently began to spread it on Gedris’s shoulder. She peeled back some of the cloths to get at the skin and worked carefully.
“I am Yillis, of the oak tribe,” the woman said. “We are grateful for your help and the healing of your rokki.”
Ayawa nodded. “I am glad we were there to help.”
“I understand that it is you those men are looking for,” Yillis said as she worked. “You seem like a noble spirit. What have you done to anger the common landers so?”
Ayawa looked at Tavis, who nodded to her, and she spoke.
Tavis and I work for a man who is about to wage war all across the common lands and what these people know as the old dragon empire.”
“Ah!” Yillis said as she dabbed her fingers again. “So they wish to stop this war.”
“The war can't be stopped!” Ayawa said firmly and then took a moment to get control. “The only way they can stop it is to kill him. If they can capture me, they can learn his location. They need to kill him before he can gain enough strength.”
Yillis nodded. “They must be desperate to seek you so fervently. They would not see reason when we tried to persuade them on the road.”
Gedris flinched as Yillis worked and the women smiled down at her.
“How did you ever get a north lander as a rokki?” the woman asked.
Ayawa glanced at Gedris and smiled. “She begged me to take her.”
“She must have seen something in you she wished to know,” Yillis asked. “It is a wise woman who kneels in order to grow.”
“She can be wise when she wants to be,” Ayawa smirked.
“Hmm,” Yillis responded. “She saved several lives and prevented a crippling injury.”
“Your Twocrow doesn’t seem to think much of her,” Ayawa said.
“He is not in his best mind,” Yillis replied. “We have been harassed several times by men on the road. We have been able to pass them all with words, but this time they demanded all the woman go with them. He was put in charge by the tribal elders, and he feels responsible for those who have died.
“They are looking for me, and they are arresting all the women of her order and marching them off into captivity,” Ayawa said gesturing to Gedris.
“All because of this man who wishes to wage war?” Yillis asked.
Ayawa shook her head. “He doesn't' want to wage war at all! He set out to end a war in the west at considerable personal risk. He almost accomplished his goal, but those he called brothers turned on him. Now the war in the west rages and he is the only one who can stop it. He can't even begin to stop it unless he fights his way across the whole of the common lands and into the empire.”
“So his tribe has turned on him?” Yillis asked again.
“He belongs to the holy order of Astikar. He went on this mission for them, and when he was about to succeed, they struck and tried to kill him. He escaped, and now they are desperate to find him. They know I can lead them to him, so they are looking for me. “
Yillis resealed her bowl and set it back in her bag. “They sound like a people with no honor,” she said.
“They are being lied to by a man they should be able to trust,” Ayawa said. “Even the man I work for trusted him until he betrayed him.”
Yillis nodded. “I heard you try to speak to Twocrows about our aiding this man, but he has only a mind for these horses and for her,” she said nodding to Gedris.
“I will hear his offer, but I won’t sell her,” Ayawa said.
“Perhaps you should not have asked for help first,” Yillis said as she got up.
Ayawa watched her walk away and return to the camp. She turned to Tavis, who had a suspicious look in his eyes. They had little time to react before twocrows himself walked their way.
“You stay where you are!” Ayawa said to Gedris firmly and got up to meet him.
“So are you ready to hear my offer for the Rokki?” he asked.
Ayawa nodded. “Make your offer so I can refuse you.”
He smiled and let out another, “Hmm.”
He waved to some men by the tents, and they carried a small chest with heavy iron bindings out.
“I treat with you fairly and lay my desires bare. She is a northern woman that alone will make her a prize in our lands, but she is beautiful and a healer. She will be worth the fortunes of a whole tribe.”
“I hope you brought yours with then,” Ayawa said coldly.
He smiled and nodded to the chest. The two men opened the clasps and lifted the lid. Ayawa’s eyes went wide as she saw the contents of the chest.
“Do I have your interest?” Twocrows asked as he stepped back and reached into the box. He drew out two long-bladed daggers with silver handles and green blades. They were made of a rare stone found only in the mountains in the far southeast of their lands. But even so, it was only ever used for arrows or ornaments. Rarely was there ever enough of it to craft blades.
“These are the greenbriars. The twin blades of the Warrior Maiden Sha’thalla. The queen of warrior maidens of your people.”
“How do you have those?” Ayawa gasped.
“We have settled in the south and begun to dig in the ground around the ruins. We have found many things of our past that were long buried,” he said.
Ayawa shook her head to see the fabled weapons of the once queen of her people. Lost so long ago, they were sure that the story was fantasy.
“I will trade these and one other thing for the Rokki,” he said.
Ayawa stood tall and locked her jaw. “What else do you offer?”
“We will aid your Gersius and join your army for the attack on this city,” he replied. “So the daggers and our aid for a simple rokki. Surely you are getting the better trade.”
Ayawa shook with rage as the man held his aid to ransom. She glanced at the artifacts that were in the man's hand and scowled. If she could return with those, she would be a hero to her people. Nothing she had done in the past wouldn't be forgiven. She could go home, and they would even welcome Tavis with open arms. She stared at the weapons speechless until a voice behind her spoke up.
“I will go with him,” Gedris said.
Ayawa turned around in shock. “You will do no such thing!”
Gedris stood up slowly and walked toward her. She clutched her arm over her chest as she approached and smiled at Ayawa. “I have no idea what those daggers mean to you, but I can see your aura. You are twisting inside to possess them. You are also angry that you will lose his aid for Gersius. I have been nothing but a burden to you ever since I joined you. I will go with them, and you will be free of me and have the things you desire.”
“I am not selling you!” Ayawa said in a determined voice.
“I can see your aura,” Gedris said. “I told you I wanted a man to take care of me. I will get what I wanted, and you will be free of my burden and have your prizes. What good am I going to be in war? These people are like you; they can fight. They will make a huge difference in the coming battles. I can make this sacrifice and add their strength to your cause. I will finally be doing something to help.”
“The rokki speaks well, accept the trade and we will march to your cause,” Twocrows said.
Ayawa looked into Gedris's smiling face and shed a tear.
“Sell me,” Gedris whispered. “I will make this sacrifice for you.”
Ayawa reached up slowly with both hand and cupped the sides of the woman’s face. She bowed her head and rested her forehead to Gedris’s and took a deep breath.
“There will be no trade,” she said in a hoarse voice. “This one is priceless.”
She leaned back and looked into Gedris’s shocked face. She planted a kiss to the woman’s forehead and smiled at her. “Go sit down and wait for me.”
Gedris nodded and walked back to her bedroll glancing over her shoulder at Ayawa, who smiled at her the whole way.
“You refuse such a trade?” Twocrows asked.
Ayawa turned around and took a breath. “I would never give up such an honorable woman. She is more valuable to me than all you carry with you.”
Twocrows leaned back and flared his nostrils as he set his jaw. “I agree,” he said. “She is strong of character for a northerner. Her price would be too great to sell. None would be able to afford the cost. The tribes would fight wars to possess her.”
Ayawa nodded and took a last lingering look at the daggers the man held.
He handed them back to his men and folded his arms as he considered her.
“You are strong of character as well. I offered you a prize that would have made you a tribal leader, maybe even a warrior queen. You have strong and noble blood in your veins, and you see the value of others. Were we in our homelands I would challenge your husband for your hand.”
Ayawa smiled and nodded her head. “I would kill you if you did.”
He smiled back. “So two women of great value and I will possess neither.”
Ayawa stood tall as he studied her again.
“You and your house have saved our lives, and healed our injured even though your healer was herself wounded. I have two fewer deaths to my shame, thanks to you. I will put your request to my people. Any who wish to join you will be free to go. If they all agree, I will lead them myself.”
Ayawa nodded as he turned around. He paused a moment and turned back to regard her. “I will keep an eye open for something of value. I will find a way to buy that rokki yet.”
Ayawa shook her head. “You would have to bring me a dragon's hoard, and even then, I would hesitate.”
“A dragon is a dangerous foe to face, but she is worth the risk,” he said and went back to his camp.
Ayawa felt weak as she turned around and looked back to where Gedris sat beside Tavis. She walked to them both and knelt in front of the woman who looked down.
“Look me in the eyes,” Ayawa said.
Gedris looked up and met Ayawa’s gaze.
“That was very brave of you to do,” she said. “I knew there was something about your character I liked, but I had no idea how strong your heart was.”
Ayawa reached out and clasped the woman's head again and rested her face in her hair. “But know this, you are mine, and no man has enough wealth to buy you away from me.” Ayawa held her tight as her tears fell into the woman's hair. She kissed the top of her head and then sat between her and Tavis as the stress of what just happened washed over her.
“So they are going to help?” Tavis asked.
“He is going to let his people decide,” Ayawa said. “He has been given a task to complete a contract. He will likely seek to do that first and then head north.”
“Well at least they will have horses,” Tavis said. “They will travel much faster.”
Ayawa nodded and took a deep breath. She leaned into Tavis who put his arm around her and steadied her. She, in turn, reached out and took Gedris's hand determined to hold on to the gentle rokki.
She felt the woman shake, and she glanced over to see tears forming in her eyes.
“What is bothering you, my rokki?” Ayawa asked softly.
“I killed a man,” she said with a pained voice.
Ayawa released her hand and carefully reached up and pulled her over and laid the woman’s head in her lap.
“Now is your time to grieve,” Ayawa said. “I will share it with you. I will share everything with you.”
Gedris let her tears flow as Ayawa stroked the side of her head.