The next day's ride was painfully slow. It felt as though we were never going to get thhere. The most interesting thing we saw was a giant in the distance, herding along a small collection of docile mammoths.
Finally, the spires of Fort Grey appeared in the distance. Just head of us on the side of the road was a crucified man, who had clearly been there for a week or more. Hammered to his chest was a banner made of bearhide, with bear paw painted in red warpaint on it.
My mouth dropped open in shock. I recognized the signature banner of the barbarians. But I couldn't believe that the Barbarians would leave a man's body out like this. Even they knew the
As we neared the body, the smell began to get overwhelming. I held the sleeve of my dress up to my face and tried to breath as little as possible until we had passed the corpse.
"Looks like we'll have to go around after all," I said, motioning with a wave of my hand in the direction that that Baleford river flowed. "There will be a bridge across at Maverith." Dread settled in my stomach like a brick. I was not ready to return to Maverith. I was not ready to face where I had lost everything.
Marius glanced back at me. I could see a faint frown on his face. He looked forward once again, before beginning to steer his steed off the road.
"Then we go to Maverith. Let us hope nobody has claimed that region either."
And so we skirted around Fort Grey, following the edge of the forest until we again reached the Baleford's edge. We stopped a bit earlier, so that Veran could hunt down dinner. Calavius decided to go with him, to help carry anything he catches.
I poked at the chunks of wood in the fire, carefully turning them over. The fire crackled and popped. Marius and I sat in silence. I watched him quietly polish his blade. After a few minutes of that, I closed my eyes, and tried to remember the way things used to be. I tried to remember the pink leaves of the trees around the castle. They would be in full bloom about right now. I tried to remember my handmaiden's face, -only the gods knew where that poor girl was now. But most of all, I thought about my parent's faces. The way mother's face was thin and angular, her sharp nose, the small scar over her lips that she never told me how she got. I pictured father's rotund form draped over the throne, his upturned round nose, his never-ending smile,- except when he had serious matters to attend to, and the ginger beard that reached his collar bone.
I pictured him, cracking jokes to whoever was guarding him that day. Most of them would laugh along, except the one named Rob. Mother liked him best.
It revived my hatred for Nautilus. I rubbed the small bump of a scar that remained on my cheek from where he had slapped me.
"A denar for your thoughts?" I heard Marius quietly ask. I looked over at him, to see his full attention now on me.
"I'm just trying not to forget." A small lump formed in my throat, and I felt the urge to cry roll over me like a wave. I bowed my head, hiding my face in my hands. If I cried, I didn't want to be seen while doing so.
"Trying not to forget what your family looks like? Sounds like?" I could hear Marius sheathing his sword. "I can understand. My sister has been across the sea for seven years now. I can't even recall the sound of her voice, the details of what she looks like. All I remember is her long blonde hair. Even longer than yours." Mine reached down to the base of my back. I couldn't imagine how impossibly long his sister's hair was.
"You never mentioned your sister," I replied. I finally managed to swallow the lump, and brushed away the tears that began to form in my eyes.
"No, I haven't. She's at the Western Isle of Dalreen. Father married her off in a feeble attempt to bring peace. Or, at least that's what he told everyone." There was a bitter tone to his voice now. "She was smart, even as smart as Alderas's greatest philosophers. She knew the ancient language like few others, and taught me a good chunk of it."
"So, your father married her off to get rid of her?"
"Exactly." Marius huffed. "If I ever make it to Dalreen, I will find her and I'll take her back home, where she belongs."
I frowned. "When all this is over, I would help you bring her back." I paused for a moment. "I'm not sure how I would help, truthfully, but you have my support." He has shown nothing but kindness to me thus far, so I felt that I should at least return the favor.
"That is kind of you, but I would not hold you to such a promise. We should focus on one thing at a time. A wall is best climbed when you don't think too much about the height."
"You're right. Still, I won't forget it," I said, stoking the fire once more. We fell into a comfortable silence after that. I turned my gaze skyward, admiring how the oranges of one horizon slowly blended with the deep indigo and blue of the other horizon.
Soon enough, Calavius and Veran returned with some squirrels and hares. We ate well that night.
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