The Merchant and the Menace (5 page)

At first, the storm was a nuisance. Kael found it
difficult to keep his eyes on the path as the swirling wind slapped sheets of
rain into his face. His cloak blew open and with his free hand he fought to
keep it tightly wrapped about his body.

Aemmon fared no better. The large lad struggled to
keep rainwater from pouring down his neck and smoothed his matted blond curls
from his eyes.

Battle-ax occasionally fought their progress and
the donkey froze when a particularly loud thunderclap ripped the air.

The path flowed like a small tributary of the
gullies in the surrounding landscape. Each footstep sank deeper and deeper into
the muddy trail and their footing became unsteady. The pair made poor progress.
A flash and a roar filled their senses and a lone oak to their east stood split
and smoldering from the force of a lightning bolt.

“We’ve got to find someplace to get out of this
storm for a while!” yelled Kael over the howl of the wind.

The boy was worried about how much time they
wasted, but fighting through the storm became useless.

“How about there?” pointed Aemmon.

About a hundred yards ahead and nearly two-dozen to
the west stood a small grove of trees. Kael nodded agreement and led Battle-ax
down the road. When they came close to the grove, they left the road and
scrambled through the rain-swollen gullies toward the temporary shelter.
Slipping and straining, they made their way. Finally, Kael clawed his way up
the remaining mud wall and coaxed the donkey behind him.

Aemmon grasped the branches of a thistle, pulled
himself up and tumbled backward as the bush uprooted. His right foot became
lodged in the gnarled roots of a stunted oak he had used for footing.

Kael was tying the donkey to a tree when he heard
Aemmon shout. He hurried back to the edge of the gully to find his brother
dangling down the eight-foot wall. Aemmon’s boot was locked in the oak’s roots.

Kael winced at the sight of Aemmon’s leg twisted in
the wrong direction. He slid down the muddy wall and grabbed his brother by the
shoulders. They struggled with Aemmon’s weight for a few moments before Kael
managed to lift his brother high enough to release the boot from the tree
roots. The pair tumbled into the gully with Aemmon howling in pain.

“Are you all right!” shouted Kael over the wind and
rain.

“Of course I’m not all right,” growled Aemmon
through clenched teeth. “My leg ...... it hurts.”

Kael moved over and pulled his brother’s hands from
the injured knee. He rolled up the pant leg and inspected the injury. Aemmon’s
knee was swollen and discolored.

“Well, this isn’t the best place to wait out the
storm front,” shouted Kael.  “We’ve got to get you up this hill and under
cover.”

Kael stood and grabbed his brother’s hand, helping
Aemmon to his feet. Twenty yards south, the gully’s walls stood less steep.
Kael scrambled up and over the edge and held his hand down to assist his
brother. After considerable effort and grumbling, Aemmon reached the top. Kael
supported his brother as they made their way back to the grove. Aemmon was
quickly propped against a tree trunk.

“How does it feel?” asked Kael pointing to the
injured knee.

“Awful,” replied Aemmon. “What are we going to do
now?”

“Well, you can’t go on. I see no point in trying to
continue. That knee cancelled our journey, and this storm put an end to our
return home.”

Kael stood and approached the donkey. He retrieved
a thick woolen blanket from a pack. Kael spread one end of the blanket over
Aemmon then ducked underneath and huddled next to his brother. Aemmon flashed a
weak smile then pulled the blanket further over his head to keep the rain at
bay.

They sat in the limited shelter of the grove for
nearly half an hour. The wind blew fiercely and the rain poured. Water drowned
the ground about them and soaked their clothes.

“You know,” said Aemmon, “a little distance into
the woods we may find shelter and firewood. We might be able to dry off. I
could easily get that far if it guaranteed a warm shirt and a dry spot to
sleep.”

Lightning flashed through the sky and thunder
rumbled the earth. The downpour doubled its intensity.

“Well, this coming from the man who didn’t want to
set foot in the Nagur,” shouted Kael over the roar.

“Some things are more pressing than others,”
grimaced Aemmon in return.

Kael rose and walked over to Battle-ax. He strapped
some of the donkey’s load on his own back and cleared a spot for Aemmon. The
injured man struggled over and onto the donkey. In minutes the little group
traversed back to the road. The swirling wind whipped rain into their faces and
stung their cheeks. After thirty minutes of slow travel, they reached the edge
of the Nagur. Kael stole a glance back at his brother who winced with every
step Battle-ax made.

Kael led the donkey past the trees and into the
woods. The rain immediately diminished as the surrounding forest and its thick
canopy encased the travelers. The wood held the musty odor of decaying
vegetation. All around them huge moss covered oaks and elms towered under a sky
of dark greens and blacks. Kael couldn’t find a single hole in the darkness to
see the sky above. The Nagur was a world unto itself, its own sky, boundaries
and life.

The brothers found a large elm, recently fallen,
just off the edge of the path. Kael helped Aemmon from the donkey’s back to a
spot against the trunk of the fallen tree. The boy cleared an area for them to
sleep, dug a fire pit, unloaded Battle-ax and tied Aemmon’s leg in a splint.
Kael then collected enough dead wood to feed a fire for the remainder of the
day and night. Aemmon scanned the dark forest as Kael prepared to strike his
flint at the kindling.

“Jasper said fire was acceptable as long as you
didn’t lay an ax to the trees,” said Kael.

He lit the wood and soon a hot blaze roared in the
fire pit. Aemmon settled in against the elm and wrapped the blanket tightly
around his big frame. Kael hung some of their wetter things on a line near the
fire then retrieved a blanket of his own and settled in next to Aemmon.

They sat in silence watching the steam rise from
their soggy clothes. Kael looked to Aemmon and the bigger brother offered a
weak smile. Kael returned it with a wide grin then rummaged through his pack
for the food Cefiz provided.

“Kael,” said Aemmon, “I’m truly sorry I ruined the
trip for you.”

“Aemmon, you didn’t ruin the trip. It was this
storm coming out of nowhere. Don’t fret over it,” said Kael as he handed his
brother a loaf.

“Ironic, eh? I kept hoping you would change your
mind about going to Luxlor. I didn’t want to travel to these woods. I was ... I
didn’t want to face this trip. Now we’re here and it doesn’t really bother me.
I guess you need to go ahead and do something to overcome the fear of it,”
replied Aemmon as he took a bite of bread.

“Well, you certainly have gone and ‘done it’,”
laughed Kael, nodding towards Aemmon’s leg.

“I did at that,” laughed Aemmon through a mouthful
of food. “What a fool I am.”

Kael gave his brother a playful punch to the
shoulder then turned and surveyed the campsite.

“We set up a good camp. Plenty of firewood. Plenty
of food. We might as well stay here for the remainder of the day, and leave for
home first thing in the morning. That storm sounds like it hasn’t died down,”
Kael said gazing up into the trees.

“Uh, Kael,” said Aemmon hesitantly, “There’s still
plenty of time to reach Luxlor with speed and luck on your side.”

Kael turned back to his brother.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Aemmon,” he said, “You can’t
possibly travel to Luxlor. The journey home will be tough enough.”

“I don’t intend on going to Luxlor, although it
would be a nice place to see. I meant,
you
could make it there.”

“And leave you here all alone. I wouldn’t think of
it. Besides, that donkey is too slow. It would be nightfall by the time I got
there and the markets would be closed. It’s pointless.”

“Why take Battle-ax?” asked Aemmon, “What is the
most important thing we are after on this trip?”

“The medicines father needs for the town,” said
Kael, “Also he really wanted the Elven rope.”

“Do you need Battle-ax to carry a couple of lines
of rope and a few pouches of medicine?”

 “No,” said Kael. “I brought her in order to bring
back some carvings, food and any other items that drew our eye.”

“So, you don’t need her. We are stuck here until
tomorrow anyway. Father will be disappointed and a touch wary about sending us
a second time. Finally, I am not a child who needs you to stay here and watch
me. To tell you the truth, even with an injured leg I can protect myself a good
deal better than you. So do me a favor. Give me peace and quiet and go to
Luxlor. I’ll wait here until you return and we’ll say nothing to Sarge about
any of this. That way, he has his rope and medicines and everybody is happy,”
explained Aemmon.

“You’re actually making some sense,” smiled Kael.

”I don’t hear you saying ‘no’,“ grinned Aemmon in
return. “I know how much you wanted this, Kael. I don’t want to be the reason
you miss it. Please go.”

Kael stared at Aemmon for a long time. Finally, he
shook his head and smiled.

“I will,” said Kael, ”but take my bow. Keep it
close by with your broadsword. You should be able to keep any wolves away with
the arrows and the fire. Don’t let it die down.”

“Wolves won’t be a problem. We’re not in the lean
months yet. Don’t worry about me, Kael,” said Aemmon.

“Let me get some more wood for you, and then I’ll
be off,” said Kael.

Kael piled extra wood on the fire, replenished the
stack at his brother’s feet and shook Aemmon’s hand.

“It’ll seem like only moments have passed by the
time I return,” said Kael as he gathered his belongings and headed down the
path.

“Take care of yourself!” Aemmon called into the
darkness of the forest.

The forest swallowed him up as Kael moved deeper
into its interior. A few bends and curves of the path and the exit from the
woods onto the Southlands of Zodra disappeared. As he moved inward it grew
darker. Kael wondered if this were due to the day growing longer or the woods
becoming thicker. He walked on.

The boy lost track of time as he hiked down the
path. The monotony of the forest lulled him. His mind drifted over happier
times in Kelky, when his mother ran the day to day business of the inn and he
and Aemmon spent afternoons playing in the fields around the village. Their
father was often away on business in those days, but had since stayed close to
home in order to raise his boys and keep the inn operational.

Suddenly, Kael sensed strangeness in the wood. At
first he shrugged it off as irrational fears playing in his mind. Then, he convinced
himself something was watching him. However, he neither heard nor saw anything
to add credence to his fears. Kael increased his pace and jogged down the path.
He desperately needed to make up lost time anyway.