Abbalar Tales ~ 19

 Abbalar Tales ~ 19 Return to Corvalen 2

By Len Morgan 

   Aldor awoke and returning to his room recovered his few belongings.   He found to his surprise that Orden had left him a newly forged and exquisitely finished weapon.    It was a broad sword with almost perfect balance.   He made some experimental passes and it seemed to anticipate his intent, dancing almost weightless in his hands.   Orden had equipped it with a holster that fitted his shoulders like a glove; allowing the blade to rest lightly on his back without moving, even when he was in motion - behaving as though it were part of him.  This was obviously the special project Orden had lavished so many hours on.    Beside it was a small skin purse containing 500 Okes, and a note which read: 

Please return this purse to my good friend Wizomi, its contents are to cover your expenses on the homeward journey, you should visit the kitchen before you depart, good fortune friend.  

In the small kitchen, Orden had laid on a feast that Aldor could not resist, after his days of fasting.   It took him an hour to eat his fill and to pack as much of what remained, as he could, to provision his journey.   Then having accepted the gifts he carefully covered Orden with his own cape, the one he had himself so recently discarded, and left the Jellonan sleeping peacefully.   Aldor felt humbled and proud to have known such a humane soul, but most of all privileged to call him a friend.   He was a few miles into his journey before his tears stopped flowing.

A few miles beyond 'the Enchanters Wood' he came upon a horse ranch, the last stopping point, on Wizomi's original list of safe houses.   He had intended leaving his horse there, but he was forced to modify his plan slightly because of Skaa.   This time he would stop off, to buy horses, and enquire about the mount Skaa had promised to stable on his behalf.

"What do I owe you for looking after my horse?" he asked.

"Nothing, the old one paid for a month and, said if you returned earlier I should give you the balance.   He was however lame on arrival and is not yet fully recovered."

"Then he should stay here with you, and I will purchase new mounts for my onward journey."   He gazed back at the mountains, "do those three have names friend?"  He enquired conversationally as the rancher wrote him a receipt.

"They are known locally as Ordens pillars, but I know not why.   Few would go much closer than we are standing now.   The woods surrounding them are very dense and most of the locals maintain they can find many better things to do than Climb Mountains."

"You are not from these parts?"

"No!   I am from the Cheilin Empire, just the other side of the Sabre Tooth Mountains.   On a fine day you can see them breaking the distant horizon, he said shielding his eyes with one hand and pointing due south."

"It seems to be a good day," Aldor said with a smile.

"Now those are real mountains, not 'bum boils' like these," he said gesturing contemptuously over his shoulder - towards 'Ordens pillars'.    "I have placed panniers on both horses; they should contain sufficient feed for two weeks, although these mares will be quite happy to browse if you’re not in too much of a hurry."

He thanked the man and rode away in a Nor-westerly direction.   He soon discovered he could ride all day and all night without apparent fatigue, stopping only to feed and water the horses.   He felt a deep sense of anxiety for Genna and Wizomi, and rode on hard into a second night.   He thought because he still felt fresh the horses would be able to match him.   His overriding need was to return to Mandrell as fast as possible.   He allowed his desire to outweigh his own good sense.   He became oblivious to the needs of his mounts both, unknown to him, were fast approaching exhaustion.

Without warning his mount stumbled and fell, on uneven ground, breaking a leg.   She cried out in pain and terror, all her fear and anger aimed in his direction.   The anguish she felt washed through his mind like a douche of ice water; followed by a stream of incandescent lava, at the very moment she expired.   Big though it had been, he had taxed her heart far beyond its limits.   The raw feelings and emotions were totally unexpected, hitting him like a hammer blow.   Suddenly, he realised what he had done.    His mind recoiled, with guilt, unwittingly moving into the mind of the survivor.  He found no forgiveness there.   Receiving instead, the full force of her deep resentment and anger at the burden he had, selfishly and unthinkingly, placed upon them both.   He started to remount, then felt her quiver beneath him, bringing home to him her true condition.   He knew then, that she too had been overtaxed, and the fault was his alone.   She had been ill-used and was badly in need of rest.   She would not otherwise last another ten miles.   He dismounted and they walked on, side by side, at an easy gait for a further two miles.   As they came within sight of a farmstead, she seemed slightly improved.   He was resolved to purchase new horses anyway and leave her to recover fully.

He was shaken and disturbed.   Nothing had prepared him for his first contact with the minds of other creatures, or the depths of feeling he discovered there.   That was only the beginning and was as nothing to the angry emotions stirred up in the mind of the farmer on seeing the state of the surviving mare.   He did not know there was a second, lying dead two miles down the road, yet he seriously considered refusing to sell mounts to Aldor.   But, when he observed Aldor looking to the needs of his horse - feeding, watering, and rubbing down - before even asking if he might purchase a hot meal for himself, the man had a change of heart.   He agreed to take the mare and return her to her previous owner on condition Aldor took two mounts in her place.   The horses viewed him with trepidation but, accepted his coaxing and soothing mind contact.

Two days away from Mandrell, he was more mindful of the needs of his mounts.   Although he himself seemed not to require sleep to anything like the same degree he had, prior to his conversion.   He now made regular stops to rest his mounts, pressing on as soon as their physical needs had been satisfied.   In addition, he regularly dipped into the clear shallow pools of their minds, to ensure they were happy, contented and experiencing no stress.   During one such foray, he discovered a sense of unease.   He checked the other mount and found that she too was very skittish.   He cast around using his mind like a net.   Something was there, something that was not to their liking.

A few yards further and they sidled to a halt, nickering nervously, despite the calming influence he was lavishing on their minds.   He could sense three men and their three companions – three large dogs - with common thoughts in their minds, fear and hatred for their handlers.   Scanning the minds of the men was not a pleasant act.   They were cruel and self-seeking; they believed it was their right to take what they desired without regard for the lives or feeling of others.   They were here to kill and rob innocent travellers.   They had been doing so for a number of years, to the chagrin of their parents.   It was plain to Aldor that reason would be wasted on them.   Instead, he centred on the hatred in the minds of their beasts.   He enhanced it just sufficiently, prior to the confrontation, to cause the animals to be difficult and unruly.   He dismounted as the three men stepped into his path, each struggling with an enormous dog on a chain leash, fighting to maintain control.   The horses reared up, backing away.   He made soothing noises, reinforcing them with calming thoughts.   They now stood passively as he carefully wrapped their reins in the gnarled branches of an ancient briar.   He turned to face his adversaries.   No words had yet passed between them.   He entered the minds, of each dog, in turn, planting final instructions.

"Should I appeal to your kindly natures?" he asked.  They didn't reply.   He felt sad.   Two large bull-like men, with piggy eyes, started slowly towards him their features twisted cruelly. 

"I really would like to prevent you from taking any action that you would later regret…" he said.

They grinned mirthlessly.   The third, a small man with rat-like features, and feral eyes smiled.  

"Such beautiful gifts you bring me, just the kind of friends I need to protect me on my long journey," said Aldor in a friendly voice.   "How much will they cost me?" 

The small man ignored him & launched into a well-rehearsed script, "You will place your purse and any valuables on the ground before you and walk back to your horses.   If you with-hold anything we will kill you.   If you try to escape we will kill you," he said.

"And, if I resist?" he asked.   There was no answer.   "Don’t  say anything - you will kill me!   Seems you are intent on killing me, one way or another, regardless of what I do,” he said.

"From your attitude, I will assume you do not wish to make this easy," said the little man.

"I think not," Aldor replied.  "But I will make one last offer to spare your lives if you just turn around and walk away."

"KILL!"   Was the little man's answer, and the dogs were released.  

Aldor smiled, as they turned immediately, attacking their handlers.   One of the big men fell heavily and his throat was ripped out before he could raise a hand to protect himself.  

His twin grabbed his attacker by the throat, despite being heavily savaged.   He jerked its head back and twisted viciously, snapping its neck like a twig.  

The little man struggled and kicked frantically, emitting a liquid gurgling scream.   He succeeded in drawing his dagger, stabbing the beast repeatedly in his death throes, soon man and dog lay still in a macabre embrace.   The surviving dog turned to avenge its dead brothers, but Aldor called him off.

The surviving man circled Aldor, drawing his sword, with a wary eye on the remaining dog.   It sat calmly on its haunches observing his discomfort, smelling his fear.   He gleaned all this from its mind and from that of his adversary.  The piggy eyed giant stood there holding his sword like a toothpick and sweating like an ox.

"Your family will be troubling no more hapless travellers," said Aldor reaching slowly over his right shoulder, to grasp the hilt of his sword.   He read murderous intent, in the man’s mind, long before the attack came.   "Murder?" he thought. One swift cut, he never stood a chance.  He wiped the tip of his sword on the heavy cloak his victim had been wearing.   That was it, he'd taken his first life.   He thought of all the things the man might have accomplished, the potential that had been cut off in its prime, tears blurred his vision.

Then he deliberately sheathing his sword, and wiped his eyes, "Come!” he called.

The dog followed as he walked towards the horses.   He turned and the dog came to him, at his mental command, the horses skittish and nervous, he calmed them and introduced the dog whilst petting it fondly.

"Well, what shall we call you?" he asked delving into its mind.   It had been known as 'Bdagg' but it became distinctly nervous when Aldor spoke the name.   "You need a new name," he said watching the big animal gambolling in a verge of large aromatic, late flowering, daisies.   Aldor realised suddenly this was probably the most freedom it had ever been given.   It was then he came to a decision, "Blossom!"   He smiled at his small joke but the dog came running, to the sound of his new name, as though he had never had another.   After a moment’s reflection he spoke, "Ladies, meet our new companion - Blossom!"

 He seemed perfectly happy with the name, and with his new friends, so Blossom it would be.   As he idly stroked the dog he entered its mind, hoping to discover something of his past.   Aldore winced at the cruelty he discovered had been inflicted on Blossom and his kennel mates.   He tried to discover more about the owners, without causing distress, by uncovering unwanted and painful memories.   He travelled slowly back to the dogs earlier years when suddenly he experienced great waves of sadness.   He found himself in a forest glade.   Two enormous dogs the image of Blossom and three tiny pups had been surrounded by a seven-man hunting party armed with bows and spears.   As he watched, the two large dogs were killed and the puppies chained, muzzled, and taken to the hunters' village.

Aldor felt sad, but he knew that packs of wild dogs were dangerous to humans and posed a real threat to isolated communities.   Culling their numbers in this way was therefore not uncommon.   Many hunters would have wiped out the whole pack, including the pups.   In this case, they had at least been afforded an opportunity to live.   What was less admirable was the use they had been put too.   The question was, should he visit their lair and exact retribution or, were these three simply rogues, and not representative of their community.   If so, they would not be missed.   If however, the community was rogue, they would follow and hunt him down, and then at least only the guilty would suffer.   This was after all not his country.

The decision came down to experience and therefore was not really difficult to make.   His priority was, helping his friends, who even now, were captives somewhere in Corvalen.   At the pace he could set, limited only by the speed of his horses, nobody would be capable of catching him.   He was, therefore, a little surprised when a man strolled into his camp, that Blossom recognised on sight.

"You will be joining me I hope?" said Aldor hospitably, proffering a steaming bowl of stew.

The figure stopped beside him, smiled and accepted, "Thank you, I will," he replied.

They sat and ate in silence.   His guest produced a fine bottle of wine and two tumblers.   They wiped out their bowls with rye bread and both had a second helping, washed down with the wine.   After eating their fill they lay back and rested against their packs, silent and content.

Finally, his visitor spoke, matter of fact, in a rather off-hand manner.   "You had a meeting today with two of my sons and their cousin.   You also briefly met the other two members of Blossom's litter…"

"Blossom?   But, how could you know?"

"My name is Ragesh.   You are the 'beast master', I have known of your coming all my life.   I have relived this day hundreds of times since I was a child, it was a recurring dream.   I came here to await your arrival, following the night of the dry storm."

"Ah!" said Aldor.

"They are all dead," said the man continuing.

"I'm sorry Ragesh," said Aldor, gazing down sadly.

"I know how it begins, but not how it ends…   I have killed you many times in my dreams, and at other times I have accepted their loss and gone my way, the ending is never the same, you have never once done harm to me.   When I think on it, I have come to terms with my loss, I am here simply to tell you - It was not your fault!   I know that you shed tears, after killing them, and that is more than I or their mother will do.   We have warned them countless times to mend their ways.   I particularly pleaded with them before coming here.   In the end, it was their choice to attack you," he added.   "You mourned their wasted potential but, just think on the potential of those they would have killed, in the future, had you not taken the action you did?"  

"Thank you for your kindness and understanding" Aldor replied.

"I came here because I wanted you to know, you acted correctly, you are blameless!" said Ragesh.   "Now I must go, I have kin to bury; Blossom will accompany me if you don't object."

"I would consider it to be his decision," Aldor replied, his mind touched briefly with Blossom’s mind the warmth of feeling he displayed, for Ragesh, was undeniable and overwhelming. 

 Aldor bid them both farewell, and watched until they eventually disappeared from sight.

(to be continued)

Copyright Len Morgan