3.It was a cold day. Back in the desert, only the nights were cold. For the people living there, it was impossible to believe the sun could be up in the sky and give little warmth. Adar would have said it was a sure sign the Desert Gods had indeed forsaken the World Without.
Three weeks had passed since Tak’s trading post. At times, sitting alone at night by his small fire, Eagle found himself missing the trader. It was strange to miss someone you had spoken to for so short a time, and it was a testament to Eagle’s increasing loneliness. But Tak had been the first person from the World Without to interact with him and he had been kind. So kind, he had even asked Eagle to come to his land with him.
The lands changed since his meeting with Tak. Gone were the barren hills, to be replaced by tall green grass – so tall some blades tickled Eagle’s face. Walking was difficult, especially with treacherous swamps beneath his feet. Eagle had not encountered swamps before. It was only by luck that he did not experience how deadly they were first-hand.
One evening, when the sun had not yet set, Eagle was disturbed by the distant cry of some animal. At first, he stood rooted to the spot. There was so much despair, so much loneliness in that sound that it pierced him like a sharp dagger. It was the scream of a dying creature that knew it had no hope left and sent one last howl of helpless fury to the uncaring skies.
The next thing he knew, he was running towards the sound, not caring how many blades of grass he tripped over or how hard he hit the ground. He did not pause to think that what he was doing was dangerous, that he had no business involving himself in what was happening there. All he could think of was that wordless plea for help. He was needed for the first time since entering the World Without. He was given a purpose.
Whatever was happening was further than he first thought. The empty lands and his hearing made it feel nearer. It took him longer than he expected to get there. By now the cries had all but ceased. Only the occasional call could be heard now and then, the sound of an exhausted creature beyond help, but still too terrified to give up completely.
Eagle reached a place where the grass was not as tall. He stopped abruptly, as if on instinct. A little further away from him he could see a large grey creature – a wolf, he thought it was, but he had never seen a wolf before, only heard their description in travellers’ tales. The animal was beyond terrified, its eyes wide and red. And no wonder.
As Eagle watched, he could see it slowly sinking into the ground. At first, he did not know what he was seeing. The horrific scene had the quality of a fevered nightmare. It had to be the singular proof that there were indeed demons in the World Without. For surely here was one reaching out with its hand, dragging the terrified creature deep into the bowels of the earth.
Eagle was not ashamed to admit later on that he had wanted to run – to get as far away as he could from there before he too was caught. He did not leave, though. He could not abandon a creature to die a horrible death while he walked away as if nothing was happening. That was not his way.
The wolf must have picked up on his presence. It raised wild eyes towards Eagle. Once again, he was flooded by that strong feeling of kinship, that connection he could not define. He had thought it would vanish when he left the desert. Instead, it was stronger, as if the arrival in the World Without had set loose his full potential. The message the beast sent was clear. It wanted to be rescued. And Eagle intended to do just that.
“Don’t move, friend,” he called. “I’ll have you there in no time.”
He spoke with more confidence than he felt. But the wolf must have picked up on the tone. It stopped struggling. Eagle noticed that now it was no longer moving, just sinking slowly. He thought he had been wrong before. This was no underground demon. It was something else. He made to take a step towards the wolf.
As soon as he put his foot down, he heard a strange, squelching sound, and had the distinguishable sensation that he was sinking. He quickly withdrew his foot. The boot was caked in wet, pasty mud. The smell was so foul, it made him gag. For one instant, he feared he would be forced to admit defeat. He would not be able to save the wolf. The only thing he would succeed in doing was to fall prey to the same trap. He did not think it would help the beast much if it had someone to die with it. But the wolf had gotten some ten paces in the short grass, which meant it had not started to sink until then. There had to be some safe way to reach the animal.
He moved slightly to the left and then took a tentative step forward. He was pleased to find he was on solid, albeit slightly muddy ground. His next steps were more confident. A few times he had to change direction, noticing he was about to sink again. He quickly learned to keep his ears open for hissing, squelching sounds and avoid such places altogether. He was approaching the wolf in a roundabout way, but he was drawing nearer to his goal.
All this time, the wolf kept sinking, although more slowly now that it was still. It watched Eagle’s progress unblinkingly, a hopeful glimmer in its eyes. Eagle found it strange that a creature which had quite likely never seen a human before could choose to trust him so completely. Or maybe not so strange, since Eagle was a Light-tender. He had always wanted to explore in more depth the bond Light-tenders had with animals. The Priests claimed it was only an accident and that no one should trouble with it. But Eagle had never believed that the Desert Gods, who did nothing by chance, could create such a bond without a good reason behind it.
Very soon, he found he could advance no further without sinking. He could reach out and touch the wolf now. Yet he could not drag it out with his bare hands. He rummaged in his pack and found a rope. He tied it like a leash around the wolf’s head. The animal was surprisingly docile. It had entrusted itself completely to Eagle. The Light-tender pulled at the rope. He strained in vain at first.
He was starting to fear he would break his back. and still the imprisoned wolf would keep sinking. Then, something gave way in the mud. Slowly, the wolf was coming back to the surface. Later on, he would realise they had both been lucky. Had he arrived only moments later, the wolf would have been too far under, and nothing would have gotten it out again.
The animal was now out and lay at Eagle’s feet, shivering and whimpering. Eagle leaned down to pat the muddy fur.
“It wasn’t your best day, was it, lad?” he asked softly. “I can hardly believe you came this far. You must have known what this place can do to you.”
The wolf looked faintly sheepish. It made Eagle wonder how much the animal could understand of his words. It was a pity it could not talk back. They stood for a while recovering from their ordeal. Eagle was afraid to linger too long there, though. He could hear the water squelching beneath his feet. He was afraid that if they did not move soon, they might start to sink again. He bent down to pat the grey fur once more.
“Come on, laddie. We should be away from here. Let me take you back to where it’s safe.”
The wolf struggled to sit up. After a few failed attempts, it managed to stand. Without protest, it hobbled after Eagle as the Light-tender carefully retraced his steps away from the swampy patch. Once they were back on solid ground, Eagle expected the wolf to go its own way and ignore its rescuer. Instead, it kept fawning around him, with no apparent intention of leaving him. Eagle grinned down at it.
“You want to keep going with me, laddie? It might be difficult, that. I don’t really know where I am going.”
The wolf whimpered slightly and pushed its head in Eagle’s hand. Eagle laughed and patted it fondly.
“I think you’re quite right,” he said. “It would be good to have a companion, if only for a little while.”
4.Three more weeks passed. The wolf was still with Eagle, faithfully following him wherever he went. Eagle named it Grey-mane, due to the animal’s shiny grey coat – after Eagle had washed the mud from the wolf’s fur, he realised it was quite a beautiful animal. He did not know if he found a lifelong companion or if Grey-mane was simply seeing him off. But he was glad of the company and dreaded the day they might have to part.
The marshlands were endless. He was starting to wonder if the entire World Without did not look the same. He knew better, of course – he still remembered Run and his enthusiastic descriptions. But what he had seen so far of the World Without did not encourage him much. As time passed, he found it was getting easier to elude the swamps. All he needed to do was keep his eyes and ears open. Since he was blessed – or cursed – with good hearing and eyesight, it was not that hard. It was not hard for Grey-mane, either. In fact, Eagle was surprised the wolf had gotten stuck in that marsh in the first place. Perhaps they had been meant to find each other. Or maybe there was a less mystical explanation. Maybe Grey-mane had been chasing some prey and failed to realise how close to the swamps he was.
Grey-mane’s presence made it easier for Eagle to get food. When Grey-mane hunted, he made sure he caught food for the both of them. Apparently, the wolf’s gratitude towards Eagle for rescuing him from the swamp went quite far. The wolf was, indeed, a blessing for Eagle. He could not speak, but Eagle found they could understand each other all the same. Grey-mane obeyed Eagle’s orders to the letter. In the evenings he sat patiently by their small fire - when they did manage to light a fire – and listened as the homesick Light-tender spoke about the desert. The way he looked, it was as if he could tell what Eagle was talking about. He probably sensed that Eagle needed to unburden himself and allowed the young man to do so.
In the years to come, Eagle would have no qualms in admitting that Grey-mane had probably saved his sanity in those first dark months. He was sure he would not have made it out of the marshes alive and sane without his unexpected companion. There were days when it was Grey-mane that urged him to move forward. It was Grey-mane who led. Eagle did nothing but follow him, not really caring much about where they were going.
Their advance was slow in the treacherous marshlands. Often, they had to change direction or retrace their steps to find safer routes. It was hard to tell where they were going in such circumstances. But Eagle was an experienced journeyman. In the desert he had been able to tell directions from subtle clues of the land and skies. It was harder in the World Without, but he was learning.
It did not take him long to realise they were going North. He did not mind. He would have picked that direction himself. Grey-mane must have somehow picked up on that desire. There were times, however, when Eagle felt there was more to it. There were times when he thought Grey-mane was responding to some outside force, urging him to keep leading Eagle northwards. He often wondered what would happen if he decided to change direction – or to retrace his steps altogether. Would Grey-mane still follow him? Or would he leave? Or perhaps he would find a way to lead Eagle North again, because that was where Eagle was supposed to be going. He did not test that theory. It was dangerous to retrace his steps in the marshes.
One night, as they stopped to rest, Grey-mane was upset. His fur stood on end, and he got up a few times and started growling. He would settle down for a while, but then he would begin again. Eagle strained his hearing, but he could find nothing amiss. He could see nothing wrong, either. Grey-mane’s senses were better than his, but not by much. If there had been something near, then he would have picked up on it too. But maybe it was not sight or hearing that told Grey-mane they were not alone. Maybe it was something else entirely. Eagle had heard plenty of times that dogs could sense the spirits of the ancestors when they visited the land of the living. Perhaps that was what Grey-mane could sense now. Something that did not belong to the mortal world.
Whatever it was, he was too tired to care much. He had a long day and he wanted nothing more than to sleep. If Grey-mane wanted to spend his rest period awake and on guard, he was welcome to do it. Eagle was not going to stop him. He was not going to join him, either. He lay down and fell in an uneasy doze, always aware of Grey-mane’s agitation. And just as he was about to fall asleep, it dawned on him why his companion was afraid.
He sprang up, his breath coming in harsh pants. He knew now. The sounds Grey-mane must have heard were not coming from the spirit world. He knew because he heard them too. They were coming from underground.
5.Eagle looked at Grey-mane in horror. The wolf looked back, and it was like an understanding passed between them. Eagle looked down again. He could hear it clearly now. A strange commotion that did not sound like a natural phenomenon. He lay down again and put his ear to the ground. He closed his eyes and listened. The sounds were muffled, and it was hard to distinguish what they were. He thought, at first, that he might have been wrong. It could be nothing more than an underground river. But that did not explain Grey-mane’s panic. He closed his eyes tighter, trying to block everything but what he could hear from underground.
Never before had he strained his senses so desperately, not even with the sand-siren all those years ago. He doubted he could accomplish much. His powers were, after all, limited, and he had never been more aware of it than tonight. In the end, he thought he began to discern a pattern. Either he had gotten a hold of his powers, or the sounds were drawing nearer. Beyond a doubt, there were voices, harsh and guttural. Two of them, he was sure of that. He could hear words, but he could not make out what they meant. They were probably in some dark language that he could not understand.
He sprang up again, shivering as badly as Grey-mane. There were creatures underground, right beneath his feet. They could only be demons, enemies of the Desert Gods. Eagle had seldom felt more vulnerable. His first instinct was to flee, to get away from there while there was still time, before those below were aware of him. But it was dangerous. He could not run around in the dark while in a swamp. Even with his eyesight and with Grey-mane’s keener senses, it was risky. He stood unmoving, with Grey-mane shivering beside him. This was to be the end of his exile, then. And it had lasted less than a year.
In front of Eagle’s horrified eyes, the ground was moving somewhere ahead, as if someone was trying to dig a hole. But whoever it was worked at lightning speed. In no time, the ground opened, and two dark shapes appeared. Grey-mane started to growl, but Eagle shushed him quickly. There was a chance that the creatures would be too busy with their own devices and would fail to notice them unless they moved or made any sounds. He took in the two unusual shapes. He had never thought such creatures could exist. No travellers had mentioned them. They were taller than men and bulkier. They were covered in something grey and hard. They had great tusks. But they walked on two legs, like men. One of the figures was taller than the other and the second deferred to it. He had to be the leader, then.
At first, his plan appeared to work. He thought the creatures would move on without noticing them. But then, all of a sudden, they both halted. The first one looked at Eagle. There was no doubt it had seen him. Grey-mane drew back, ready to strike. Eagle, too, pulled out his sword, uncomfortably conscious of how unskilled he would be with it. But the two creatures could not know that. One of them, the tallest, raised its arms in a universal gesture of peace. Eagle, however, did not lower his blade.
“We mean you no harm, traveller,” the creature said hoarsely.
“Do not come any closer,” Eagle said, refusing to lower his sword. “What is the meaning of this, coming upon us in the middle of the night?”
The two beasts exchanged amused looks. They did not approach him, though.
“I assure you, lad, we mean you no harm. We only came to the surface to see how far we had to go. We will take to the tunnels soon enough. We are Mountain Ogres, after all.”
Eagle frowned.
“That is a strange name,” he remarked. “There are no mountains here.”
The two Ogres laughed outright.
“Which is why we do not enjoy this place too much. We are far from our caverns. We are returning from a council in the Merchants’ Citadel. Perhaps you have heard of that, even though you have not heard of us before. But come, lad, lower that sword of yours. We are friends of all good people. I am Lothar, a chieftain of the Mountain Ogres, and this here is my brother, Halmar.”
The second Ogre bowed low in greeting. Eagle lowered his sword slightly but did not drop his guard. He wanted the creatures to know he would attack at the first hint of a threat. Grey-mane stopped growling, yet he remained tense. The two Ogres had to earn their trust.
“I am Eagle,” the Light-tender said. “I come from the desert.”
“We thought you might be,” Halmar spoke for the first time. His accent was harsher than his brother’s. “For one thing, you do not appear to know what we are – let alone who we are. Most people, when they hear Lothar’s name, greet him with more enthusiasm. He has been chieftain but one year, yet he has done much to improve our relations with other races. There will be peace between the Mountain Ogres and humankind for many years to come.”
Eagle lowered his sword entirely. Grey-mane relaxed too. Eagle was sure he would still attack at the first sign of danger. But he was beginning to think there would be no need.
“What else told you I am not from around here?” he asked curiously.
The two Ogres chuckled.
“No one who knew this place would have entered the marshes so boldly. They are dangerous. People usually go around them, even if it does take a while. I am surprised you made it this far, although there are no guarantees your luck will hold.”
Eagle lifted his chin defiantly.
“Perhaps I am more skilled than you think. I believe we can manage. I have no intention of backing out.”
“We do not doubt your skill,” Lothar said pacifyingly. “Or your heart. But you do not know this place. No one does. Not really. The swamps have a mind of their own. They shift. They swallow paths that used to be secure. They might have let you be so far. But sooner or later they will spring a trap on you. They always do.”
Eagle thought of how he had found Grey-mane stuck in the marshes. Perhaps that was what had happened to the wolf.
“I can hardly go back, though,” he pointed out.
“We are not asking you to,” Lothar said quickly. “But there are other ways to cross the marshes. We know of one and we will gladly take you with us through our tunnels. Where is it that you are going, Eagle?”
Eagle was too proud to admit he did not have a destination in mind.
“I am going north,” was all that he said, hoping the two Ogres would not press him for more.
They did not, showing themselves satisfied with his answer.
“We are going northwards, too,” Lothar announced. “We will take you through our tunnels until we find the edge of the marshes. From there, you can continue your journey on the surface.”
Eagle hesitated. He looked at Grey-mane. He could not leave his new friend to face the marshes alone, especially with what the Ogres said about them.
“Oh, he can come with you,” Halmar assured him. “If you can get him to follow us. You might have a hard time of it, though.”
Eagle grinned inwardly. Anyone else might have had a hard time, but not him. He was a Light-tender and he was sure he could get Grey-mane to follow him anywhere.
Copyright Simina Lungu 2022
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