Another quiet day and I was ready to finish the tale of the Golden Sheep. It was a grand but short quest that took some time upon the return that I did not have time to complete. I would have to shorten the conclusion of the story to make it fit the three days but the most important part of the story should be able to be completed. Maybe one day I could return and finish the story.
As the Sand Weaver gently entered the sand of the beach the crew held great ropes tying them to stone and tree to anchor the ship in place and waited for the tides to recede to the point where they could start the repairs of the great ship. The men began to busy themselves with cutting down and shaping the wood with the tools that every ship carried by their shipwright. The loss of Allay was heavy on the hearts of the men. Who could chop trees down in record times in order for them to be harvested.
The new captain approached as the last one had been killed by that massive beast that stopped the ship with its attack. He spoke reverently and with great respect, “Please great warriors we thank you greatly. Without you we would have never survived the attempt to reach the island. We will need food while we repair the ship with proper materials. If it is not too much to ask of you, could you find proper water and food for the men. We must save our sea rations for the return trip otherwise we will not have the strength to return.”
Dionicia nodded to the man and motioned for the others to come together. “We must stick together, we need not an errant boar to gore one of us and die to rot and fester. Silax and Horal, you two are the greater ones and scouting so you will lead the way. I will gather a boar spear and head out with you. If we cross a beast that needs the spear I will kill it. If you two can take it out with a sling we shall do so. Our biggest priority though is finding water. How might we do so?”
Silax, the more experienced scout, spoke first, “We must travel further inland and see where there might have been places for rain to pool and fill. We might find ourselves lucky and find a spring of fresh water. Where there is water there will be signs of life on this island that we may harvest for the hungry sailors. I would not lie and say I could do without some meat. I wish we had wine as well, to lift our spirits.”
Dionicia motioned and Silax took point. Horal walked behind and to the left of the group keeping his eyes peeled in that direction while Silax scanned the other direction. The land was full of small game trails and the sounds of birds and rodents echoed through the tangled forest. The trees had great large leaves that draped down nearly touching the earth as others towered high with gnarled and twisting branches.
Life here was vibrant and beautiful. The birds were dozens of colors and flashes of nearly metallic feathers reflected the light. The mice were quick and climbed trees in search of morsels of food. High up in the trees sat berries and nests that might be full of eggs. Who could know what mating season these birds might have. One could hope that they would by like chickens and produce them all year. Silax stopped dozens of times making traps and snares to capture what wildlife they could to eat with the sailors. Every morsel might help keep the men fed and well taken care of.
It was far into afternoon when they stumbled through the foliage and arrived at a great lake of water. Fish jumped in the water throughout the expanse of it, Horal knelt and scooped water into his mouth and tested it. His voice was hopeful and alive, “It is fresh. Has no taste of the sea upon it.” He stood and stretched his arms out. “I’ve never felt so refreshed by water before. There is something special about this.”
Silax and Dionicia knelt and sipped at the water and they too felt refreshed by its cool crisp flavor. Quickly they marked where they had found the lake by scoring the trees in a line back to the boat. On the way they checked all the traps that Silax had set up and he had managed to snare a rather large bird that stood upon two legs as tall as the shoulder of a man. Its big feathers poofed in all directions as it dangled by the neck. Hauling that on a makeshift pole they returned to the boat and noticed the men had built a fire upon the shore and hauled out one of the water barrels that were aboard the boat. The men scooped water out and tested it before spitting it out into the sand.
“The water was tainted by the sea and the blue blood. We must dump it into the ocean and refill it. I hope you have good news with that large bird upon your shoulder.”
Silax spoke for the trio, “We do, we found a water that does not taste of the sea and has fish that we might catch for food. We can refill the barrel for those that will be here shaping and repairing the boat the best they can when the tides allow it and the rest can start preserving fish and rations for the trip back. Who knows how far the storm has pushed us from the lands we came from.”
The captain nodded as the men rolled the barrel to the sea and began to dump it out. The ration master approached and looked upon the bird. He nodded for the men to bring it aboard the ship so that he might use his tools there to start preparing the meat to be spit and roasted over the fire for the meal they would have that night under the stars. That night though they were in for a surprise.
As the fire crackled upon the sand and men settled into a quiet ready for sleep the warriors felt the most weary they had ever felt. Even with the refreshing waters of the lake in their system their battle had truly taken the fight out of them. Only Dionicia remained awake to watch over the camp. Just as they were about to fall asleep a man emerged from the forest they had scoured.
He was wrapped in a long toga of golden fleece. In one hand was the crooked staff of a shepherd and upon his hip a sling made of fine thread spun from gold. His skin was immaculately tanned without blemish or imperfection. No spot of freckle upon it. He walked barefoot towards the sleeping men. Dionicia pulled up his spear and readied it into battle but before he could speak the man held up a hand and an unnatural sense of silence and calm washed over the camp, silencing everything. He approached Dionicia and snaked through the sleeping forms of the sailors and other warriors and pushed his spear aside with the crook of his staff despite the best efforts of the renowned warrior.
The man’s voice was like honey, soothing and sweet beyond measure. “What brings you to the paradise that was given to me by my father and mother?” There was no budging against the strength of the man. Dionicia even tried to pull his spear back but it was bound in an instant and could not budge.
Knowing when words were better than any blade Dionicia relaxed his hands upon the spear and let his body straighten as he stared respectfully at the stranger. “I am Dionicia of the lands of the gods. A rot and fester has been plaguing the wounds of the men of my land and we have been sent by our masters to come and find the sheep that your robes are spun from. It is said that the cloth of gold could heal any wound and prevent any sickness.” The spear was released by the crooked staff and Dionicia continued. “If you are the master of this island I beg you, release us one of the Golden Sheep so that we may return and use it to better the lands.”
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“Yet you do not ask my name. Shameful, but I will let it go as you seem tired beyond measure. I am known only as the Shepherd. I am born from the gods and a mortal they chose to bear me into this world. I am the protector of the sheep and I will not part with them in any circumstance. Before you challenge me, know that I have smitten giants and monsters like flies. I give you this warning, stay at the lake and shore and I will not bother you. If you truly wish to try and take one of the sheep I will take from one of you. If you would like to trade more words go to the lake and put a coin into the water I will only speak to one of you. I will come to speak to you and should I deem it to be entertaining. I will hear another one of your people’s pleas.”
Dionicia stiffened, as he did the Shepherd placed the crooked staff against his head and the man fell asleep in an instant. In the morning when he woke up ashamed to have fallen asleep on his shift he looked to warn the others but saw no tracks upon the sand. As if the man had never been there. A brief flitting thought suggested it might have all been a dream. That could be why he felt so powerless against the being. Still with this knowledge he went to his brothers in arms and told them of the vision.
After speaking to one another they decided someone else would go and speak to this mysterious figure should he truly exist. The others would find another meal for the men to eat. So, Horal took a single coin and brought his thin blade and sling into the forests. Dionicia watched him leave before grabbing his spear and heading into the forest with Silax to hunt.
Silax spoke in the hush of the forest. “Why do we not try to ambush him while he speaks to Horal? We could gain the upper hand.”
Dionicia shook his head, “No, he moved so quickly I could not even see him. In an instant he bound my spear in a shepherd’s crook and I could not budge it as if it was against a mountain. We will let Horal speak to him and see if he can sway him to our cause. We will hear from him after.”
When the evening came Horal returned with a bushel of fish caught from the river. The men of the camp celebrated his success and Horal bid his brothers to come and speak with him on the matter of the Shepherd.
“I went to the lake as you said and placed a coin in the water. It floated on the water as if by magic and floated across the lake. Soon after right when I thought he would not come and it was just a vision he arrived. As you said he was dressed in golden fleece and had a crook and sling like any shepherd would. He spoke to me and I told him of the rot and fester and how it had been ravishing our lands. I begged him to part with just a single sheep. One that we could learn to shear and harvest from like the people of the last island. But he cut me off. He warned me that the sheep would bring more destruction than it would ever help. The world would go to war if he were to part with a single sheep and it would cause great ruin. Said I was short sighted but he could forgive a mortal for such a discretion. Then he placed his staff upon the water and the fish I came with literally swam to shore and put themselves upon the ground. He looked at me and gave me a warning. Should we try to come for him with violence, he could herd us as easily as the fish and have us walk into the sea to drown just as the fish drowned upon the land.” Horal was almost shaking as he ended the talk. His eyes distant as if haunted by the image of the fish willingly gasping upon the ground. “He told me to take the fish to the camp and feed the men. If he could avoid it he wanted no death of a man upon his shores. That it would taint the land and he would need to cleanse it. I do not know if we can finish this quest, brothers.”
Dionicia nodded and gripped Horal’s shoulder. “You did your best. I will go and speak with him tomorrow. I will offer everything we have in exchange for even a single shearing of a sheep. I will promise shipments of riches and foods he has never tasted. Anyone mortal can be tempted with the right things.”
So they rested that night upon the shores and the men feasted on fish. The wood of the island was pliable and easily shaped as if it wanted to be part of the ship. The men thought it would only take a week for them to be able to finish the repairs but could not promise anything. For the tides here were strange and almost seemed to give them more time than it should to accomplish the repairs.
The next day Dionicia walked through the forest and came upon the lake. He set his coin upon the waters and it floated there like Horal had said it would. It drifted on an unseen wind and traveled across the lake. Time went and the sun moved across the sky as Dionicia waited. Then coming around the shore was Shepherd. With him came a boar placed and quiet. Gone was its wildness as they approached.
Shepherd moved to a tree and it shaped itself as if by will to be a seat for the man. The boar lay at his feet. It was fat and large, its muscles shifting under its skin. “You’ve returned but know that I am a busy man. This will be the last you can visit me for three days. Then you may send one more to meet with me. That will be the final time I will see you and your people. My time is precious and I have an island to tend to. Now speak your mind.”
Dionicia sat upon the ground before the Shepherd and began to speak, “I cannot offer you much now but we can manage a trade deal. Let me go with a single fleece shearing and we will bring back boats full of every spice and delicacy the world knows. We will bring gold and gems a hundred times the weight of a sheep and trade for it. We will bring the finest women of our land and they will obey you as if you were a god. We will pray to your divine mercy. Please tell me this will suffice. We can offer you the world.”
Shepherd frowned down at Dionicia, “What good is the world to me. I have paradise here upon this island. The fruit’s flavor is ever changing upon my tongue. When I crave meat an animal that meets my exact craving will come and lay upon my butcher's block. When I desire eggs a bird will land upon my sill and gift them to me. I need or want for nothing. The only creature I desire is one who would live as long as I. One that could entertain me for near an eternity. If you find me one I will trade you a spool of thread I have woven from the fleece of the golden sheep. I desire you to sit with me today. Speak to me of your people and the changes in the world that has come that you may entertain me for my time. Do so and you may have this boar to feed your men. It will give them the strength to work throughout the day without stopping to hasten your repairs upon my lands. I already desire you mortals to leave me.”
Dionicia sat and told the great godling of the wars he had lived through and fought in. After though he returned with the boar as the sun set and everyone was exhausted from their day. He told the other warriors of what had happened and they thought in silence while the boar was served to them. The meat was the most delicious thing they had ever tasted in all their lives and the vigor they woke with the next day was enough to shake the earth. The boar seemed to have endless meat and fed them for three days. The warriors helped provide hands in shaping and harvesting the woods to repair in and on the third morning Silax came to them.
“I will go this time. Let me negotiate with him and see if he will listen to my request.”
Dionicia looked at him in puzzlement, “We have told him of our plight. We have offered him the world. What more can we do?”
Silax shook his head gently, “I will think of something. I hope it works, for the world’s sake.”
Taking a single coin Silax went into the woods. He was not heard of that day. The night passed without his return, then the next day he was gone. The warriors and men went where they could looking for him and saw no signs of him being anywhere. The Shepherd came to them when they approached the other side of the lake and with a wave of his staff they turned and walked away without thought and found themselves back at the shore. A sense in their minds settled that they were not allowed back to the lake.
As the repairs finished the Shepherd returned. In his hand was a single spool of golden thread. He walked towards DIonicia and placed it upon his hands. “As the deal is made, none of you will ever return to this island. You will not seek the golden sheep again and all will be turned away. I will not tell you of what has happened to your companion but he has satisfied one of the things I seek to enjoy. Your ship is repaired, and I do not wish to see any of you again. Go with your lives and gratitude.”
With the mystery of the fate of Silax the rest of the crew boarded the ship and the tide lifted Sand Weaver and pulled her to sea. The food stocks were full. The water ready, the oars went to the sea and they returned to the land. They did not speak of where they got the thread no matter the demands of the leaders of the world. The thread seemed to be able to be used to heal any festering wound. If it was sewn into a wound even just a sliver of it could bind the wound as if it was unending. Dionicia went from hero, to poet, to leader of the realm. However, ruin came one hundred years later when the other countries of the land learned of the thread and came for it. Just as Shepherd had said. The story though has been carried through time as a warning. Sometimes the gifts of the gods can cause such jealousy that it leads to more destruction.
I had stayed with Shepherd for one hundred years telling him stories every night. I had never felt so powerful as when I was with him. He was my lover, and friend for those years. However the sheep aged and died. The paradise withered and he was called back to the gods leaving me upon the earth. The legend of Silax of the sling still carried to this day.