Whispers Of Peace And War

6

"What do you want us to do, old man? Learn this language and read it?" Gythryn had no compunction against touching the stones. Her hand reached out, a finger tracing one of the carvings. "The Monastery taught me to read, but I'm not good with that sort of thing. I prefer hitting things."

"Read? No. Not yet." Leaning down, the old man tugged at a tuft of grass, pressed against the base of the monolith, with a grunt. He handed the grass to Mythrd. "I want you to clean the stones for me. They're filthy and I'm a Priest, not a Steward. And you, child, I want to practice with that lump of a sword you found."

"Child?" Gythryn's shriek of annoyance almost broke Mythrd's ear drums. She balled a fist, her face red in anger. "I'm not a child! I'm of age! And why should I practice with a sword because you say so?"

The old man turned towards Gythryn, squinting one eye, his jaw moving as he chewed upon nothing. He held her eyes until Gythryn flickered them away, her hand relaxing as she released her fist. After a few seconds longer, Gythryn dipped her head. Even Abbot Llwnthrn had never had that affect upon Mythrd's oldest friend.

"It's what you want, isn't it? You want to learn how to use a sword?" The old man continued to look at Gythryn and she gave a little nod. "To learn the way of the sword, you must understand it. Its weight, its balance. How it swings in your hand. Practice that before you learn how to fight. And you, young fool, want to know more about the stones. To do that, you must see them. And the Islander? He wants rest."

Reaching down, the old man lifted Mythrd's arm with the clump of grass and shook it near the monolith. Letting go, he patted Mythrd on the shoulder and began to walk away, towards the outer circles of the henge and the forest beyond. His staff thumped into the ground with every step.

"Where are you going?" Mythrd realised he had started rubbing the muck and dirt from the monolith and stopped as he called out to Kaninzir. "What should we do if the Gaeradine find this place?"

"They won't. Not yet." Calling over his shoulder, the old man continued walking. "I'm going to clear up the mess you made in the forest and then to see what our Islander friends are doing. I'll be back before nightfall. Clean. Practice. Rest."

Shaking his head, Mythrd had no idea what to think of the old man. At times he appeared as serious as any adult Mythrd had met. Other times, the old man could show an almost child-like way of seeing things. Looking at Gythryn, he could see she had no better understanding of the old man than he did.

By the time the old man had disappeared from sight, Gythryn had moved to pick up her sword. She gave him a little shrug as she bounced the blade of the sword in her hand. Mythrd looked at the clump of grass in his own hand and wondered why the old man set these tasks for them. They should, Mythrd felt certain, have started discussing moving Agarang somewhere safe. Instead, they had started doing nonsensical chores.

Still, he had to admit, now he had seen the deep carvings under the dirt of countless centuries, he wanted to see more. Using the grass, he cleared away another patch of dirt, revealing more of the writing. He couldn't understand a word of it, each letter made up of lines in various patterns. Some looked like letters of the common tongue, but he had only ever learned a little writing.

He had always intended doing as others expected. Joining the army as soon as he came of age. Do his duty for Iibar and the King. Learning how to read had never seemed something worth doing. Until now. The little pieces of knowledge, that the old man had imparted like leaving a trail of petals in his wake, had caught Mythrd's imagination and, if these stones held more of that knowledge carved upon their faces, he wanted to learn more. He wanted to learn how to read them.

"Do you get the feeling that old man knows more than he's telling?" Swinging her sword in arcs around her body, Gythryn jerked her head in the direction that Kaninzir had taken. "Even when you said the Gaeradine are sending trackers, he never seemed even a little worried. I'm not certain I trust him."