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The Dagger of Heaven at the End of Time -4- by SammyC
🕑 Added 2024-07-14 19:14:08 +0000 UTCThe Dagger of Heaven At The End Time - 4
By SammyC
©2024 SammyC
Under cover of darkness, while Senshi’s squad luxuriated in the oblivion of inebriation, Malcolm led us some 200 kilometers away. In what direction, only he knew. For my part, I was just glad to escape the clutches of that evil woman.
By the time the sun rose in the sky, Malcolm halted the caravan by a shallow stream sequestered in the midst of gently rolling hills. The entire party scrambled down from our mounts to stretch our legs and break our fast with the biscuits we had brought with us and herbal tea we made from boiling some stream water. Malcolm led our Rumperdons and his Hobnob to the stream, where they lapped up water in quiet contentment.
I handed Malcolm a pair of biscuits and a cup of tea when he returned to the spot where our servants had laid down a couple of blankets. In the cool morning, under a cloudless sky, we resembled a party of revelers having a picnic in the wild. But that was far from the truth. We were running for our lives, half a day of riding at most from our pursuers, who were sorely disappointed that we had rejected their hospitality.
“We’ll rest here for two or three hours. Maybe four. The animals have been ridden hard all night—”
“Don’t we risk your sister and her men catching up to us?” asked Merlyn.
“By the time we leave here, they’ll still be a hundred or more clicks away. And our tracks might be hard to find since I made it a point to avoid a route well-traveled and familiar to them—”
Amos gestured to the servant holding the cup of tea to his lips to move it away. “None of the surroundings look familiar to me, and I’ve made the journey west several times in the last two years. Now, in broad daylight, I can only think we’ve traveled due north. You said that you knew a quicker route to the coast.”
“Amos, Malcolm knows these lands better than any of us, your occasional trips to the west notwithstanding.” I turned to our savior with a thankful smile. “I’m sure he’ll get us to our destination in a timely manner. We owe you our very lives, Malcolm.”
“I would not be human if I didn’t try to help you escape. The thought of my sister placing you in the hands of cannibals is beyond the pale. And, although I’ll have to take your word for it, I couldn’t have you miss your wedding to Prince Kelvin and anger The Gods. You probably think my tribe and people outside of the two kingdoms are uncivilized brutes, but I, for one, have always strived to gain spiritual knowledge. Perhaps you could tell me about these Gods you speak of—”
“You’re better off talking to Merlyn. She’s much more conversant with religious matters than I. And she’ll talk your head off if you let her.” I giggled, forgetting myself for a moment, before covering my mouth and regaining a sober demeanor.
I changed the subject. “I’d like to ride on your Hobnob, Malcolm. I’ve never had the pleasure. Anyway, the carriage on top of our Rumperdon is stiflingly crowded with all three of us seated in it.”
Merlyn looked across at me and Malcolm. “Your saddle surely has enough room for me, a skinny old woman. I can hang on to your waist for safety. And I can tell you the fundamentals of our religious beliefs and the nature of The Gods as well.”
“Well…I…” Malcolm gave us a beseeching look.
Amos tapped him on the arm with his splint and laughed.
“Boy, you walked right into that one.”
***
Shortly before mid-day, we resumed our trek through the interior of the continent, still moving due north, as Amos had observed. Although he was still troubled by this, Amos was in no shape to vigorously object. The pain in his two broken arms and his feeling of general helplessness made him sleepy for most of the day’s travel. Now and again, he would lean into me, his snoring sounding more like that of a manchild than a weathered, aged warrior.
I let his head nestle into my shoulder and found it hard to refrain from brushing the backs of my fingers across his cheek. I looked around to see if any of our party was watching us. No one glanced our way. On his Hobnob, Malcolm kept his eyes forward while Merlyn seemed to be talking a kilometer a minute, gesturing with her free hand while snaking her other arm around Malcolm’s waist. I should be scandalized by her. After all, the boy was perhaps a quarter of her age! But, then again, who am I to speak? I’m a boy dressed in feminine clothing, on my way to becoming the bride of a boy half my age. The Gods are crazy!
As we headed farther north, the landscape changed dramatically. The rolling hills and vast green pastures that we had traveled through before escaping from Senshi’s attempted abduction were now a vista of mountains and canyons. Between clearings, you had to crane your head to see the parts of the sky that weren’t obscured by craggy mountainsides and the tops of giant trees. High up in the clear blue sky, large birds unlike those I knew from the Eastern Kingdom flew with wide wingspans.
We stopped for an afternoon break by a rivulet in the shade of a line of those giant trees. More biscuits, dried meat and herbal tea. The animals seemed to be in good spirits as they lapped at the bubbling brook. Was it my imagination, but were they having quiet conversations amongst themselves? Rumperdons don’t growl like Hobnobs. Merlyn tells me they purr like the feline creatures that humans kept as pets on our home world.
“So, Merlyn, has Malcolm proposed to you yet?” Amos almost choked on his tea as he laughed at the thought.
“Amos, don’t tease Merlyn. I think Malcolm has reawakened her long-dormant maternal instincts.” I tried to present a serious expression on my face.
Merlyn blushed and then frowned at us. “You two are such mean children! You need a good spanking!”
“I’m sure Malcolm would enjoy that…from you.” Amos struggled to cradle his teacup between his splints and bring the brim to his lips. I reached across and took hold of the cup, allowing him to lower his head to drink.
“Enjoy what? From who?” Malcolm sat down in a cross-legged pose. “Criss Cross Applesauce.”
“What did you say?” Amos sputtered tea as he asked.
“Oh, that’s an ancient colloquialism from our home world.” Merlyn handed Malcolm a biscuit with a slice of dried meat. “They taught it to pre-school age children. They say it every time they’re asked to sit down in a cross-legged position. Children make everything into a game—”
“And I thought it was something our tribe invented generations ago.”
“Child is father to the man,” Merlyn said with a sage shake of her head.
I was about to explain our teasing of Merlyn just before Malcolm returned from seeing to the animals when the sound of Hobnobs trotting toward our location grew louder and more distinct. I stood up foolishly to see who or what was approaching us. Suddenly, Malcolm pulled me down out of sight.
“Stay down. Everyone! Let me go and see what they want.”
Amos spat out an epithet, his useless arms encased in wooden splints. He moved to shield me. In doing so, my head was buried in his sturdy, taut chest. I felt embarrassed but safe at the same time. Malcolm leaped onto his Hobnob and rode out to meet the intruders.
The riders emerged into the clearing about 50 meters in the distance. They stopped when Malcolm approached, waving his arm. It was a group of men, nearly naked except for what looked like ragged, cut-off breeches. Their chests and arms were replete with tattoos, their faces smeared with war paint. Their heads were shaved.
Malcolm dismounted and said something to the man on the lead Hobnob. After Malcolm spoke, the man also dismounted and came forward until there was about a meter between them. Then, surprisingly, he fell to one knee and bowed his head to Malcolm. Malcolm gestured for him to stand up and, pointing in our direction, said some more words that the man nodded excitedly to. He mounted his Hobnob, saluted Malcolm by extending his right arm straight out in front of him, pulled the reins on his Hobnob, turning it around, and rode away, the other riders following close behind.
We waited with breathless anticipation to hear Malcolm’s explanation of the whole incident as he rode back to our campsite.
***
With only three hours of daylight remaining, Malcolm directed us to mount up and move out. He knew of a safe and secure place to stay overnight we could reach before sundown. As our caravan wound its way through canyons and ravines, I exhorted Malcolm to explain the confrontation he had with those painted warriors on Hobnobs.
“It’s nothing. They’re a local tribe that we’ve traded with often. They recognized me. We exchanged greetings, and they went on their way. They were just curious about a group of strangers in their territory, that’s all.”
Amos interjected, “But the lead man bowed to you. That’s more than simply a friendly greeting—”
“Alright, I’ll tell you the truth. Senshi annexed this tribe two summers ago. They have pledged their fealty to The Two Moons Tribe as a gesture of appeasement to us.”
My doubts about the “good intentions” of both Senshi and her brother rose in my mind again. “Are they truly part of your tribe now or actually slaves who you exercise dominion over? Don’t tell me they live better lives under your auspices.”
“You don’t know the ways of the world, my Lady. You’ve been sheltered from life’s realities. For those who don’t have the luxury of living in a royal palace, life is nasty, brutish, and short.”
“Thomas Hobbes!” Merlyn exclaimed.
“Who?” Amos and I asked in unison.
“A 17th Century English philosopher. He wrote that.”
“Really?” Malcolm gave his Hobnob a firm kick to make it move past our Rumperdon. “I thought I came up with that myself.”
Merlyn held tight to Malcolm’s waist as the Hobnob started to gallop, putting some distance between us.
“I have a really bad feeling about this, Rani,” Amos sighed. “I could handle him easily if I had the use of my arms.”
“What do you propose we do, Amos? We’re probably five hundred kilometers off course. We need him to guide us across the continent.”
“No, we don’t. We can head due south and reconnect with the trade route we were supposed to follow in the first place. But there’s no way four women and an old manservant can disarm him. I’ve failed you, Rani.”
I patted the folds of my riding jacket. “You forgot I still have my dagger. If I can get close enough to him…”
“It’s too risky. He’s a grown man. The same age as me. I wouldn’t doubt he could overpower you pretty easily.”
“Why? Just because I’m younger and smaller? I’m wiry strong—”
“No. Because you’re a girl.”
“I’ll have the element of surprise on my side, Amos.”
“No means no, Rani. I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to you.”
“Soldier’s pride and duty?”
“I love you, Rani.” He turned away. I wanted to say something, but I decided to leave the moment alone.
***
The safe and secure place Malcolm brought us to was a stone edifice that looked to have been in ruin for centuries if not millennia. Rough-hewn blocks of stone were piled on top of one another, remarkably neatly for the level of technology it displayed. After tethering the animals and allowing them to graze on the tall grass nearby, we lit a number of torches and proceeded to inspect the interior of the building.
The large rooms were bare of furnishings, although I suppose most things would’ve disintegrated through the ravages of time. It was eerily empty and silent in there. Luna, Merlyn’s assistant, carrying our blankets, shivered and gave out a small cry.
“What is it, Luna?” I asked.
“My Lady, I’ve heard of this place. My father saw it when he was on one of the Royal Geographer’s survey expeditions several years ago. They think it’s thousands of years old. The ruins of a race of beings native to this planet. My father told me he felt the presence of these long-dead beings in this place, and it scared him within a centimeter of his life.”
“Nonsense!” exclaimed Malcolm. “I see now how superstitious you people are. And you have the audacity to call us heathens.” He shook his head. “Let’s have supper and turn in for the night. We’ll leave at first light in the morning.”
***
I was looking up at the stars that filled the night sky. Wherever we really were, the sky looked the same as the sky back home. Merlyn had taught me to identify the major constellations.
In fact, she claimed that our home world revolved around a star in a specific constellation that the original landing party had named Aphrodite, not because of its shape but its beauty. Beauty because it contained our home solar system. Home sweet home. I often teased Merlyn that she knew the name of the constellation our original solar system was a part of but that the name of our home world itself had been lost to the centuries on this new world.
Malcolm atartled me by speaking from the darkness. “My Lady? It’s good you haven’t retired yet. I need to tell you some important things.” He moved closer behind me. I could feel his breath on the back of my neck.
“What important things?”
“Tomorrow we will reach our destination.”
“Tomorrow? But aren’t we days away from the Western Kingdom?”
“Yes, from the Western Kingdom. But that’s not where I’m taking you.”
I shivered as he placed his hand on my shoulder, gently but intently rubbing. “Wh..where are we going?”
“To the underground people. The ones we barter with. We hand over unfortunate travelers to them, and they give us foodstuffs and goods that we can’t produce ourselves, like metal tools and such.”
“But…you said they might be cannibals—”
“I’m not sure. It’s only a rumor. Senshi pretends not to know. I think she knows. But you needn’t worry.”
“What?”
“I’m not handing you over to them. You see, Senshi would’ve handed you over straight away. She would never let me have you. So, I’m doing this myself so I can keep you for myself. The others will be enough to trade.”
“I won’t go with you! Never!”
“I’m saving you from a miserable marriage to a nine-year-old boy! We can be very happy together. And Senshi won’t be chieftain much longer. It is my birthright, not hers, to lead our tribe. You won’t have to wait too long to be the highest-ranking woman in The Two Moons Tribe.”
“I don’t want to be the highest-ranking woman in your tribe or your bride. You’re insane. You need to leave us. Go back to your nasty, brutish, short life and leave us alone. We can manage to reach the Western Kingdom ourselves. Amos knows the way.”
“Amos? Don’t make me laugh. A man without the use of his arms is of no use at all. Anyway, I won’t take no for an answer from you. You really have no choice, my Lady.”
I was still facing away from him when I felt for the dagger secreted in my jacket. I found it, tightened my grip on the hilt, and, steeling myself, turned around to stare into Malcolm’s eyes as my hand moved as quickly as it could.
The End of Chapter Four
Comments
Michelle Kurtz
I think he was lying about his sister
Julia Miller
I forgot to leave a comment earlier. I’m sure that this planet would have a magnetic field since they wouldn’t have survived all these years. Anyway it’s too bad no one has figured out how to make a compass. I thought we might be able to trust Malcolm but I guess not. Do you think our girl will be able to wound him?
