The six made their way northwards through the forest. The trail that led the way to the building extended no further northwards and the travelers had to navigate the untamed terrain. Bassett led the way followed by Morna and the rest. Valentin hovered towards the back feeling content to be as alone as he could manage provided the circumstance.
However, it was not long before eyes trained themselves upon the straggler. Despite his attempted silence he could not conceal his presence from the leader of the group. Morna gestured at him with her hand to move further up the line.
“Quit walking back there and get by me. You never know when your pursuers may try to set an ambush,” she cooed, ushering him forwards.
But you said you found no signs of them.
Valentin kept this thought to himself and hurriedly caught up to the woman. She placed a firm hand on the boy’s back and pushed him forward so that he would be a half step ahead of her. Valentin had a squeamish feeling inside about the gaze that was drilling into the back of his head and into his spirit but he did not wish to turn around and confront the owner. Instead, he watched Bassett in front of him and tried to match his footsteps as best as possible.
Behind the knowledgeable feet of one that knew where they were going, the forest that Valentin had languished inside for days became far less intimidating. From every turn down to each step felt perfectly timed and intentional. Valentin couldn’t help but feel as though his dash through the woods was akin to a baby wandering through a field.
“We are not much further,” Morna announced mostly for Valentin’s benefit. “It is convenient that almost every village along this coastal stretch is less than a day’s walk apart. I’ve been told by some of the Lutant villagers that it was intentional but they didn’t give me a good answer as to why. Bassett, do you know why?”
“Hmm?” Bassett looked over his shoulder at the woman waiting expectantly for an answer. “I was told that the villages before the Uprising used to be a part of a confederation and the distances between villages was to allow for warriors to quickly support a battle. However I have never seen the tribal unity that has been passed down in our stories so it is likely that the people of Lutant have forgotten.”
“So this entire forest used to be a nation? What a pitiful little thing it seems to be,” Robert remarked.
“I heard that the whole world was once a collection of pitiful little nations,” Bassett responded, no longer meeting his eyes with any that followed. “Ours was never conquered by the Novesse, regardless of how it appears now.”
“Thank you for the answer, Bassett,” Morna replied graciously. “I had not heard that version from the other villagers but it makes more sense than the alternatives.”
Bassett opted for a route that brought the party winding up a steep rock face. The tree cover had disappeared upon the bald stone and Ortus’ heat beat down heavily upon the group despite the coolness of the air. Valentin reached for his water skin and drained it quickly. His leg muscles burned from the sharp incline but he fared much better than the three encumbered men that struggled and huffed behind him.
Morna looked unbothered by the exertion. She took up the rear and admonished any of the men that started to trail too far behind. Her body seemed to glow faintly and her steps appeared unburdened.
“Is this the best you all can do?” Morna asked critically of her subordinates. “If Hubert sees you sucking wind like this, he’ll make you run until you pass out.”
“Not all of us are as blessed as you, Vice Deggan Morna,” Robert complained. “We see you using favor in your steps.”
Valentin, despite his strict desire to separate himself from Morna as much as possible, couldn’t help but show interest in the warrior’s movements. It also seemed as though she had a supernatural sense as to whenever he was looking at her. Her head snapped in his direction and a grin spread across her face.
“Are you interested in my power, Valentin?” Morna wondered almost bashfully, spreading looks of confusion on the other three.
Valentin didn’t have to answer before Morna bounded up the steep surface with the nimble steps of a mountain goat. With each hop and jump, sparks splashed off the bottom of her boots. She came to a stop slightly above Valentin and looked down at him.
“How did you do that?” Valentin nervously asked, his curiosity winning out.
“It’s so easy that anyone can do it,” she replied triumphantly, giving the stragglers dirty looks. “As you know, we mostly use our powers of lightning to augment our own bodies. I just keep cycling favor into my feet and create small bursts whenever I step down. Like this.”
To Valentin’s surprise, the warrior wrapped him in an embrace. Sparks shot out of Morna’s feet, splashing Valentin’s legs with heat. Valentin felt himself get lighter as he went airborne with the woman. She easily leapt twice the height of Valentin before landing gracefully near the top of the rock formation.
“I’m amazing, right?” She said triumphantly and put Valentin back down.
Once the rest reached the top of the formation, they rested. The heavily encumbered warriors continued to breathe ragged minutes after stopping, their chests heaving while they reached for rations to chew on and emptying the contents of waterskins on their faces.
“I don’t remember it being nearly this bad on the way over,” grumbled Gervin between large swigs of water.
“The south side is much steeper than the north. This slope will lead us all the way back to the village,” Bassett responded to the gripe. Though under his breath and only to the benefit of Valentin directly next to him he whispered, “It’s a much easier climb when you are running for your life.”
“You can see Lutant from here, Valentin,” cooed Morna from the cliffside and beckoned the boy over to her.
Valentin obeyed and joined the warrior at the overhang. On the waterfront, nestled within the dense foliage of the forest, Valentin could spot a smattering of huts that extended towards the coast. Further inland, he sighted a massive rooftop that dwarfed the rest of the scenery. Valentin could only speculate as to the enormity of the structure.
“It’s huge. Is that a longhouse?”
“Yep, almost the entire village lives inside of it, and it is where we are headed.” Morna adjusted her armor and began walking down the slope. “Come on you louts, I want to get back before dark.”
Morna’s endless energy practically dragged the rest along with her. The group reached Lutant as the waning rays of Ortus’ light settled over the ocean, leaving a multi-colored afterglow as a parting gift. The longhouse of Lutant was much more impressive up close despite the impression it had made from afar. Lights from the fires blazing within made soft glows outside that gently revealed the intricate wooden carvings that ordained the support beams of the longhouse. Boisterous sounds from within rumbled out and gave Valentin a clear idea of the liveliness within.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
As soon as they had reached the longhouse, Morna’s three attendants disappeared. Only Valentin and Bassett continued to accompany her. Warriors of the same colors as Morna acknowledged the warrior’s return from their post in from the main entrance of the longhouse.
“So will I be meeting Ferron inside?” Valentin asked expectantly. He was looking forward to moving on from this entire ordeal and expressing some choice words about his escort.
“Ferron isn’t here,” Morna announced to the surprised boy. “He was summoned by High Tiarna Fidell and will be spending some time in Atch Killan. In the meantime,” the woman licked her lips and smiled at Valentin. “I will need to take care of you for a bit longer.”
“Do you know when he’ll be back?” Valentin asked in a panic.
“I do not,” Morna replied apologetically and waved her hand dismissively. “You know how these nobles can be. Routine visits can drag on for so painfully. He’ll have to be back by the time that the snow thaws on the Pitanabre Pass. So perhaps the entirety of Faur at the longest.”
“All of Faur?” Valentin’s shoulders slumped with the reveal. Was he truly meant to endure this woman throughout all the short days? Are they strong enough to keep him safe without their leader?
Morna pouted, “You seem unhappy to spend more time with me. You make me feel like I said something wrong. It is true that I can’t keep you too close during the days because it would arouse suspicions. Bassett, you keep an eye on him in the meantime.”
“Yes, Vice Deggan,” Bassett responded with a bow.
“Good, now show him around while I take care of some tasks.” The warrior disappeared into the light and sound leaving the two boys at the entrance.
“Come on, let me introduce you to everyone,” Bassett said excitedly to his companion.
Valentin placed one foot into the maw of revelry. The large canvas curtains parted and the sound of inside poured out into his ears. He felt Bassett grab onto his sleeve and yanked him further inside the structure.
He was assaulted by the cacophony of the conversations inside of the longhouse. A thick covering of smoke from many cook fires hung in the air of the longhouse. Valentin’s eyes watered briefly upon entrance but soon acclimated to the acrid air. Slits in the top of the longhouse walls gave an extra avenue for the smoke to ventilate outside of the main thresholds to the outdoors.
People drank ale from large oak barrels and slammed their mugs together. Children scurried around the cushions that men and women spoke boisterously from. Bassett led Valentin around and over the mass of bodies. Valentin gingerly placed his feet inside the ever changing gaps on the floor. Every ill placed step was met with anger and a fast apology from Bassett. Valentin felt like a left-footed outsider of an intricate dance.
Bassett’s destination was a small gathering of ratty children. Even in the room full of humbly dressed common folk, this arrangement of youths had more affinity with the soil upon which everyone sat than their fellow man. The group was headed by a large, broad shouldered boy who towered over the others even while seated.
“Bassett! You’re back!” The leader noticed Valentin’s servant and hailed him. His loud voice cut through the background conversations. Some of the nearby groups looked at the boy with slight disdain before returning to their own conversations.
“Were you bored without me, Darri?” Bassett sauntered over. The children adjusted the circle to allow Bassett to seat himself next to Darri. “Was he fine without me, Maeve?”
“Only as loud and headstrong as he ever is,” replied the girl sitting on the other side of the massive boy. She had a small knife in her hand and was carving sigils into a piece of wood. She offered a guarded look towards Valentin before continuing her work.
“I behaved,” complained Darri. It was then that he had noticed the dirtied but well-dressed boy that still stood near them. His face hardened in anticipation of unwanted complications. “And who is this Tiarling?” Darri questioned Bassett, his voice doing a poor job and veiling his defensive malice.
“Oh this is Valentin. Morna has tasked me with looking after him. It’s vital that he has a pleasant time while he stays with us,” Bassett implored. He beckoned to Valentin. “Come sit next to me, Valentin.”
“Morna?” Darri looked as though he was trying to make sense of the order while Valentin found himself a spot next to Bassett. “If he’s so important that he needs to enjoy himself, why is she giving him to you?”
“That’s a secret, Darri. I just want you to keep an eye on him like you do the rest of us.” Bassett shot Valentin a reassuring smile.
Darri made a complicated face and took a long drink from his mug. He swallowed the contents contemplatively. “You’d tell me what’s going on if you could, right Bassett?”
A hand slapped the large boy’s arm playfully. “Of course I would, Darri. But I can’t, not this time. So help me out.”
Darri sighed. “Alright, Valentin was it? I’ll help you out but you have to promise me to at least try to keep attention off of yourself. I’ve heard that rich boys like you always have personality issues. If you want my help, then you need to be meek and quiet.”
Valentin nodded as a response to show how capable of silence he was. Darri looked to be a capable person and from up close, Valentin could see just how strong the boy was. He had the build of a person that has performed heavy physical labor since they were young and even one of his arms made Bassett look exceedingly small.
“Good,” Darri nodded with satisfaction.
“By the way, Darri.” Bassett rose up to whisper in the boy’s ear. Upon the delivery of the message, Darri’s eyes went wide and he whipped his head in surprise at Valentin.
“You went through the village?!” Darri began to rise and Bassett grabbed onto his clothes in an attempt to get him to return to his seat. “Did you see anyone? Did anyone return?”
“Darri,” Bassett interjected and shook his head solemnly. “He also found Sirro’s corpse.”
“You lie,” Darri sneered. “You must have been mistaken” The boy shook his immense hand at Valentin. “There’s no way that Sirro just died like that.”
“I think it’s something that we knew for some time now. You saw what the spirits said when I asked them,” Maeve responded softly, also trying to calm her friend down. The smaller children looked scared by the sudden outburst and Darri looked away from the results of his actions.
Darri stood up and left the group, making his way towards the exit. Maeve and Bassett looked at each other before Bassett got up and hurriedly followed Darri outside. Valentin was left in a group of strangers.
After Darri had left, the smaller children seemed to start to curl up together for sleep leaving Valentin and Maeve alone in their awake state.
For a time only the sound of shaving wood was shared between the two. Valentin knew he had already gotten off to a poor start with the group he was meant to blend into and wondered what he could do to fix things. Perhaps when Bassett returned he would ask.
“Forgive Darri,” she eventually requested, breaking the silence. “Now that we know that Sirro is dead, Darri has to come to terms with the fact that he is the oldest survivor from our village. Whether he wants it or not, he’s our chieftain.”
“Bassett never saw the body, maybe it wasn’t Sirro,” Valentin offered hopefully.
“Was he found outside of the village with javelin wounds?”
Valentin found the inquiry oddly cutting as though he were being accused of something. “So it would be obvious that it was Sirro then?”
Maeve nodded. “He was wounded trying to get us to flee toward our hunting lodge and his injuries slowed him down. He told us to keep going north and not come back.” She placed her hand reassuringly on the head of one of the children sleeping next to her. The child snuggled more closely in response. “We all in some way feel guilt for not going back for him and none feel it more powerfully than Darri.”
“I’m grateful to Darri for helping me and Bassett seems to trust him.”
Maeve made a thin smile. “Darri is a dependable person despite his stubborn nature and foolish tendencies.”
“You said you asked the spirits,” Valentin started his question without quite knowing the proper words to finish it. He timidly held his knees to his chest. Maeve did not bother to inquire what he tried to ask. Instead, she turned back to her work allowing only the sound of shaving wood to persist between the two of them.
As time passed, more groups retired for the night, sprawled out on the ground where they sat. The torchlight dimmed and in the low light, a large shadow lumbered towards Maeve and Valentin.
“I’m sorry I yelled at you,” the towering shadow apologized.
“Oh, it’s alright Darri,” Valentin muttered back.
“Great,” Darri said as he made his way back into the middle of the group to join the pile of sleeping children.
Bassett sat down next to Valentin. “It seems that Morna won’t be coming for you tonight. So you can sleep with us for the time being. Right Darri?”
The massive lump just grunted. Valentin joined Bassett on the ground surrounded by other children. He stared at the ceiling and tried to make sense of what had happened to him. However, his mind was too frazzled and foggy to focus on any one thought for long enough to matter. He fell asleep to the soft sounds of breathing.