Chapter 16

“What did you tell them?” Ezhno asked as Mato returned to the little fire.

“Everything?”

Ezhno’s eyes widened. “Everything?”

Mato nodded, and Ezhno set his mortar and pestle aside to scrub his face with his hands. “Did you tell them I am showing Leelee how to make the tincture?”

“No.”

He sighed and patted Mato’s foot. “Then you did not tell them everything. Exactly what did you tell them?”

Mato related the conversation, as close to word-for-word as he could remember.

“I wish you had not given them Elki’s name.”

“Why, Teacher?”

“Because Elki is at least as bad as Ice Foot, and he is a close friend of Tupi. Tupi will want to kill all of the thema, hide the story, and may well attempt to assassinate us before the journey is complete.”

Ezhno worked the ingredients in his mortar for a few minutes.

“Leelee, do you understand that showing this recipe to you is heresy? That they will kill me if they find out?”

She stamped a foot. “I do not know how you tolerate your own people.”

Ezhno sighed and nodded. “Will you allow us to show the baby to our priests?”

“We do not want it, as should be plain. Do what you wish.”

“I am simply trying to deal with these problems without making them worse,” he said.

She sighed. “I can see that, Ezhno Trail Master. You have some gratitude for that. Not much, but a little.”

The tincture worked. Deedee drank it, and an hour later she went into labor. The sun fell to her cries, and Mato found himself sitting on a log, leaning over his knees while tears dripped off the end of his nose.

Sometime around midnight she quieted, and Mato knew it was done. Ezhno helped Leelee make her comfortable, mostly by providing several cups of the water of life. Then he lit his small lantern and sketched the child.

It was a boy, with fat cheeks and thick black hair. He had five fingers, and hooves instead of feet. There were two nubs on the sides of his head where horns would grow.

“Give me your sword,” Ezhno said.

Mato drew the blade, then passed it to his teacher. Ezhno carefully folded the drawing around the back side of the blade, then replaced it in Mato’s sheath.

“No one will check there. Even if we are killed, this will likely be carried back to Abo. The Great Spirit will see to it that it arrives in the right hands.”

“If no one will check there, how would anyone know to look for it?” Mato asked.

“The other trail masters know.”

* * *

Ezhno carried the child back, wrapped in a rough blanket. They found the wisdoms sitting on their bedrolls and Ezhno motioned upstream.

Once they were away from the seekers, Ezhno laid the blanket down and unwrapped the contents.

“Heresy,” Tupi breathed. “Apostasy. Betrayal.” He turned to Ezhno. “Is it your evaluation that Elki really did what he is accused of?”

“Yes,” Ezhno said. “Clearly that is not proof, but she described him. She even knew about a birthmark on his thigh, where his pants should have covered it.”

“What do you recommend?” Poplar asked.

Ezhno held his hands out, palms up. “I was hoping you would have a recommendation. This is priest’s business. I will testify, if you want me, but as to the right course of action, I cannot say. Whatever your recommendation, Mato and I will abide by it.”

Tupi drew his blade and studied the runes for a few seconds. Then he turned it over and studied the glyphs. Runes, glyphs. Runes, glyphs. Over and over.

The hair on Mato’s neck stood up. He wanted to get back, ideally to run. Ezhno stood, outwardly unbothered. Poplar put a hand on Tupi’s shoulder.

“Thoughts, Wisdom Tupi?” Poplar asked.

“He betrayed his faith, his king, his people, his friends and family. He betrayed me. Me! I have been his friend when no one else would.”

Tupi raised his head and made eye contact with each of them. His gaze was bright with fervor in the light from Ezhno’s little lantern.

“We will bring him before Sotsona, and we will testify. Our king will decide what to do with him.”

He put his sword away, then swept the bundle up and with an anguished scream he hurled it into the gorge.

“Well,” Ezhno said. “I was going to burn the body, but this is much faster, and the seekers will still not see it.”

Tupi tuned back and stabbed a finger into Mato’s chest. “Who will you tell about this, Mato Stone Foot?”

“Only those present and Sotsona. No one else.”

“See that you remember,” Tupi said. Then he whirled and stocked to his bedroll.

“I am proud of him,” Poplar said. “I was sure he would make a plan to hide this crime.” He turned and followed Tupi.

Ezhno leaned in and whispered in Mato’s ear. “Do not think this is decided. They have many days left to change their minds.”

“I will watch closely.”

* * *

Morning came too early. Ezhno tapped Mato’s head, and then the two of them slipped back into the forest toward the thema. This time there were calls among the trees, but no one opposed them.

They found Leelee making tincture, carefully following the motions Ezhno had taken.

“Ah. Trail Master. Welcome. Please tell me if I get this wrong.”

“Of course. It is ill news that you need another dose so soon.”

She gave them a tired smile. “It is not needed. I am merely ensuring that I remember how it is done.”

Ezhno sat near her and smiled. “That is good. This is one of those medicines that it is better not to need.”

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“Yes.”

He watched her work, giving advice here and there, and passing on a pair of rhymes to help her remember the steps correctly.

“My scouts tell me your priests have decided to bring Elki before your king.”

Ezhno nodded silently.

“You have done everything you can to bring us justice. You have aided my daughter, and saved a child from a life of hatred. We will allow you to travel our lands. There is a trail about six hundred paces upstream from the bridge. Please do not deviate far.”

“That is better than we deserve,” Ezhno said. “My hope was that our efforts would make you amenable to trade, but you have given us what we need.”

She finished packing her kit, then stood. “You have given me a powerful new medicine. That has great value. You understand why I do not wish to make you stronger?”

Ezhno bowed his head. “I do.”

“Mato, draw your blade.”

Mato drew his sword and laid it across his palms. She pressed her thumb on the blade, and light shone from underneath.

It took a few seconds, and then she withdrew her hand. “Please repay my people with kindness, Mato Stone Foot.”

“I will,” Mato said in a whisper.

There was a brand new rune at the base of his blade. Then she brought out a brush and carefully painted a glyph on the inside of his wrist.

* * *

The forest grew taller as they climbed. Mato had been impressed with the sheer number of trees when they had reached Nambe, but this was something else.

These trees grew hundreds of feet into the air. Their trunks were so wide that it took twenty seekers to encircle one of the largest.

Ezhno taught them about the great trees, and how they needed fire to spread their seeds. How they lived so long that this very tree in front of them was older than the Abo people. The Great Spirit, he said, loved these trees. Perhaps more than any other. They needed to take great care. Fires in the litter on the forest floor could burn for months, or even years, rising up to take the lives of these ancient wonders.

“But don’t they need fire?” one of the seekers asked.

“Yes, but it is better to let the Great Spirit decide when and where,” Ezhno said.

Mato found his first snake, a rather terrifying moment where the thing coiled around his foot while he was taking his morning squat. It had rough scales, and strange spiky scales over its eyes. Its tongue had black tips, and an orange base.

He shifted to keep his balance, and the snake promptly jerked its head up in the air. The end of its tale shook violently, giving off a buzzing sound.

“Still, still. Everything is okay. It’s just a nice morning. No biting, okay?”

Calling for Ezhno seemed like a good idea. Some snakes were venomous, and he had no idea if this was one he needed to worry about. The problem was getting any volume without spooking the snake.

“Ezhno?”

He waited for a few moments, then tried again.

“Ezhno?”

Ezhno appeared at the next tree over and waved, then pulled his own pants down and squatted.

“Morning, Mato. Sleep well?”

“I have a snake around my foot.”

“I slept like a baby. Something about these trees is so peaceful.”

“Help?” Mato asked.

“Was thinking about putting on some swordsmanship classes for the cohort. What do you think?”

“Snake,” Mato said.

“That’s what I thought too,” Ezhno said. “I’m going to do it.”

He finished cleaning himself up, then walked over, bent down, and picked the snake up. “Good morning. You’re a big one, aren’t you? You know what I’m going to name you? Breakfast.”

It felt kind of good to eat the rattlesnake.

“Threaten my life, will you?” Mato asked, then took another bite.

After breakfast Ezhno watched, offering small bits of advice, as Mato etched the essence glyph into his blade. The two symbols glowed for a couple of seconds, and then settled back to their normal black lines.

“Is that good?” Mato asked.

“Don’t know. I’ve never seen that before. Don’t mention it around anyone else.”

That was a given. Leelee had either not known what the rune was, or hadn’t been willing to say. She’d just smiled and said it matched his character.

“Excuse me a moment,” Ezhno said. He drew his sword and dashed into the middle of the seeker camp, then sliced at something the size of a pine cone that shot through the air at him. Another darting movement, and another slash. Then one of the boys started screaming.

Mato backed up against a tree and drew his own blade. Something came into view in his peripheral vision, and he slashed at it. It promptly turned toward him. He batted it with his hand, and it hit the ground nearby. A leap brought him down on it with a crunching stomp. Mato stepped back.

It looked like a bee, but meaner. It was black and burnt orange. It had jaws big enough to take bites out of him, and it was a full hand long.

Buzzing made him turn around. He swiped at another one, missed it, and slapped it down hard with his hand. Another stomp took care of it.

He turned in a slow circle. No more buzzing sounds, no more darting movements. Mato tried to relax. Every twitch in the corner of his eye made him spin to see what was out there.

Three of the seekers had been stung, and they were all screaming and thrashing on the ground. Ezhno opened his pack, pulled out a new jar of something, and went to them. In moments the screaming subsided.

“Monsters?” Tupi asked.

Ezhno shook his head. “Just big, mean hornets. Not sure why they came into camp like that. Normally they attack when you enter their territory, but I don’t see a nest.” He looked around on the ground. “Looks like we killed about a dozen. A good nest should have more than that.”

He pointed south. “I thought they came from that direction. Anyone disagree?”

“I thought so too,” one of the seekers said.

“Mato, come with me. We’re going to take a little walk.”

“What if they come back?” one of the seekers asked.

“I will protect you,” Tupi said.

“Can I help you look for the nest?” the seeker asked.

“No,” Poplar said. “You will help make stretchers so we can carry your friends. We don’t want to lose the entire day.”

They walked about two hundred yards into the forest, moving around underbrush, hopping over fallen limbs that were too big to be trees in other places. Mato kept his head in constant motion, trying to look for prints in the ground, more hornets, or anything else of concern.

Ezhno stopped in a beam of sunlight, then pointed to a small tree a few paces west. “Good morning, Leelee.”

She stepped out from behind the tree. Some sort of amulet was clutched in her hand.

“Do we need to worry about more of this?” Ezhno asked.

She stood silently for a while. “Not today.”

Ezhno laughed. “I suppose that’s something.”

“I thought we were friends,” Mato said.

“We are,” Leelee said. “Were either of you stung?”

“Come, Mato, we need to chase her now,” Ezhno said.

“Oh?” Leelee asked, and raised the amulet.

“Don’t do that,” Ezhno said. “Just run away, and let us claim we chased you off.”

She lowered the amulet, then bolted. Mato tried to catch her, just to see if he could. She bounded over logs that were taller than he was, and accelerated away in open spaces. Within a few seconds she and her little white tail were gone.

Mato turned around and found Ezhno grinning at him. “You can’t catch the deer thema in a fair chase.”

“I noticed that,” Mato said as he walked back. “How did Elki do it, then?”

“Don’t know. Didn’t think to ask. I guess if I wanted to do that, I would set a trap, then jump them when they couldn’t run. They’re faster than we are, but they can’t move sideways very well. A good swordsman is worth several of them in a fight.”

“Do you think we could have beaten them, with the help of the priests?”

He wobbled his hand. “Maybe. Risky to try it so far from help. Much better to keep the peace.”

Mato decided to argue for the Deep Spirit. “But if we killed them, or drove them away, we wouldn’t have trouble with future cohorts.”

Ezhno gave him an irritated frown. “We can argue about how a fight might go all day long. Would you like a fact that no knowledgeable person can argue against?”

“Of course.”

“Leelee gave you a rune, and a recommendation for a glyph to pair with it. I think there were about eighteen of them in that little village. If you killed them all, it wouldn’t be enough to build up the energy for a rune. You got more power, and some new knowledge by taking the peaceful route.”

Mato nodded thoughtfully. “Is that how it usually works?”

“With thema? Absolutely. With anathema? Depends on the circumstances. With monsters? Always fight them.”

“Good advice,” Mato said. “And I’m really glad there’s no good reason to fight them. I like them.”

Ezhno gave him a thumb’s up. “Agreed. Just remember not to say that around anyone else.”