Chapter 10
Crossing the meadowlands
The four travelers, led by Marlo, left the shelter of the forest. Now they had to hurry as they had quite a while to travel before nightfall. Hopefully, by then they would be at the settlement of Marlo and his father, the great Samtu.
Marlo led the way across the vast dry ‘meadows’. In spring time the ground would have a thin covering of grass, but at this season it was dusty and almost a desert. They started at a canter as they wanted to make up time so they would be assured of a safe arrival before nightfall.
Kodi hung on tightly as he did not want a repeat performance of when he fell from Gardon’s steed and was captured by the enemy. He felt exhilarated, the wind blowing through his hair. He felt excited and apprehensive as he was, once more, going to the unknown. When would this journey ever end? Right now, he was enjoying sitting behind Gardon and riding across the plains, with hardly a care in the world. They rode solidly for about an hour with Marlo standing in his stirrups and looking behind every so often to make sure that only the other two horses were following him and no one else.
Marlo raised his right hand while looking over his left shoulder. This was a signal to stop.
“Is everyone alright?” he enquired.
Gardon answered for them all. “Yes, we do not need to rest as there is no water for the horses anyway. We must make good time and arrive at our destination before nightfall. I will feel better when we arrive at the settlement. It will be good to see Samtu again. There has been much time since we broke bread together, much water has flowed under the bridge. Yes, let us make haste as we have to adhere to lesson number 4 which is to be prepared and always expect the unexpected.”
“Grandfather, lesson number three is also important, isn’t it?” said Kodi, anxious to show his grandfather how much he had learned so far. “Always be cautious when traveling in strange places.”
“Yes, you are right, little one! You learn well,” said Gardon, smiling in recognition of his grandson’s progress.
“Right. Let’s proceed at the same pace for another hour, and then we will rest for a while as there is a small outcrop of rocks for shelter there and we can re-group and discuss progress made,” said Marlo turning his horse and setting off in a full canter.
“Hang on, Kodi, here we go again,” said Gardon.
Kalu hung tightly to Jalu as they rode off once again, trailing Gardon who was following Marlo.
The trio of horses alternately cantered and galloped for an hour at least until, finally, they reached the outcrop of rocks Marlo had described. The horses needed a rest before continuing. It was a shame that there was no water for the horses but they would be replenished later when they arrived at the settlement.
Marlo dismounted with Gardon and Jalu following suit.
Everyone moved to the far side of the rocks, away from any prying eyes that might be following them.
“Good,” said Marlo. “We can never be too careful when crossing this territory as the Misty Mountain marauders are always edging closer to our settlement and are frequently sending out reconnaissance parties. It would be suicide if we happened to run into any of them as I am sure that they intend to wipe out our community as they have done with all the others around here. We must make sure that this does not happen. My people are preparing for the inevitable, and we have not doubt that a full-scale war will happen soon. You will see how we have been preparing. The young boys of Kodi and Kalu’s age are practicing daily with the bow and arrow and we certainly have some excellent archers in that age group. Boys as well as girls.”
“Girl archers?” said Kodi and Kalu in unison and looked at each other in amused disbelief.
“Oh, yes,” said Marlo. “You’ll soon see.”
“Oh,” said Kodi, his eyes widening. “Can I learn to shoot with a bow and arrow?”
“Yes, that is for sure, if you want to. You can also learn many other skills if you are so inclined. Our young boys of your age have learned tracking, hunting, reconnaissance and hand-to-hand combat too. Are you interested in learning all these skills?” Marlo said, knowing he had impressed the two young boys. It was time they learned to be men, he thought.
“How about some refreshments?” Gardon asked, looking at the other four travelers.
“That’s a good idea, Gardon, but I didn’t think you had anything left in your supplies,” said Marlo, staring at the sack.
Gardon smiled, placed his sack on the ground and stared at it for at least a minute, although it seemed a lot longer to Marlo. Finally, placing his hand in the sack, he produced apples for everyone, cheese, dried venison and freshly-made bread.
The five sat in a circle and shared the food. This time there were no crows to do a clean up afterwards because the crows preferred to stay within the forest boundaries as there was not much in the way of tasty morsels in the meadowland. They munched at the apples, chewed the dried venison and broke bread together. Soon the meal was finished and they were ready to resume their journey to the settlement. Marlo was puzzled that a perfect meal was produced as he was sure that Gardon only had sticks and moss in his bag. Oh well, maybe he was wrong.
“I am anxious to reconnect with your father Samtu. It has been quite a while since I saw him. I trust he is well?” said Gardon.
“Yes, quite well, thank you.” Marlo said. “He will be pleased to see you also; I know he will.”
“That is good; it has been many moons and many snows since I last saw my good friend Samtu. I am looking forward to seeing him once more. How is your mother Salana? I trust she is in good health,” Gardon enquired.
“Yes, she is good. She never seems to age at all. After all, she is the shaman of the village and is experienced in all the medicines made from the plants of the plains and forest,” Marlo replied.
“And what of your sisters, and your brother?” continued Gardon.
“Ah, Marta is with child and will deliver when the harvest moon is here. She is with Chalu; he is very good for her and one of the best archers and reconnaissance men we have in the settlement. Then there is Arla, she is just sixteen and is very beautiful. All the young archers look at her, longing for her but she flirts and leads them all on like it is a merry dance. She is not interested in any of them, only the attention she gets, and she gets plenty of attention. I fear she will get burned once day as she does torment them like a fire. Father has spoken to her but she does not listen. She is very good at baking and helps daily in the kitchen when she is not tending the cattle in the meadow. Recently she has taken an interest in the herbal medicines and I think that is where her talents lie. With my mother’s help she will be a good shaman; when the time comes… but now… she prefers not to take life very seriously.”
“I see,” Gardon said wistfully, thinking of how long it has been since he last saw Arla. She was just a small girl then, but now she was a young woman. Has it really been that long? Gardon thought.
“And what of Darla and Cala?” enquired Gardon.
“Darla and Cala, as you know, are twins,” Marlo said. “They are nine years old now and into everything. They want to explore everything and are hard to discipline as they want to go to the edge of the forest to play in the waterfall and pond as I did long ago, but father won’t let them as it is too dangerous. As they can’t go there, instead they worry the young boys who are training to be archers. They really want to learn archery but father told them that it is not for girls. They are secretly practicing archery though. Girls should be preparing for motherhood and being a wife. At the moment this thought does not enthrall them at all. Later they will come around but right now they are quite a handful. You will meet them tonight and then you will see,” Marlo said, smiling and thinking Kodi and Kalu might keep them occupied so they would stop worrying the young archers. This should be interesting, he thought.
“Alright then, we have rested long enough,” Marlo said with authority. “Now we must move quickly otherwise we will not reach the settlement by nightfall and there is nowhere to shelter here on the plains. It gets very cold at night so it’s best we make haste. A hot meal will be waiting for us when we arrive.”
The five, now mounted and anxious to get going, quickly left the shelter of the rocks.
The horses broke into a canter as they sensed there was grass and water ahead. The group was making good time as it was but Marlo always wanted to make extra-good time to allow for any set-backs as he was conscious of Gardon’s rule number four: be prepared and always expect the unexpected.
There was nowhere to hide on the plains and weapons they had few; only what Marlo had and that would not defend themselves for very long if they were overtaken by enemy scouts.
It was late in the afternoon when the hills no longer seemed so distant. There was a cleft in some grand cliffs, with the great mountain behind.
“Look!” said Kodi. “Is that your home, Marlo?”
“Yes, it is, and we have made good time. We shall be there very soon. I am glad that we will arrive before darkness,” replied Marlo.
Anxious to reach the intended destination, Marlo’s horse broke into a gallop. The other horses followed suit. Now they were all anxious to reach the safety of the settlement. Marlo, Gardon and Jalu knew danger would not be far behind them.
Kodi and Kalu were looking forward to reaching the camp. They were quite interested in the young boys and their archery prowess, and less interested in the twin girls who, from Marlo’s description, seemed somewhat problematic.
The sun was getting lower in the sky but it was still warm as there were no trees around to cool them. Now they were higher up the mountain the day had not been as hot as it had been when they started their journey; in fact it had been quite pleasant for traveling and the boys had been enjoying the uneventful journey. It was good that they had enjoyed a calm day as soon they would be embroiled in more trouble than they had ever experienced or imagined.
By the time the sun had begun to set behind them, they entered the settlement. The travelers were tired, hungry and yet exhilarated and happy they had reached a safe place, a refuge. Safe? At least for tonight it would be their sanctuary; offering a warm meal, a place to sleep. Tomorrow would be another day.