Razkar wanted nothing more than to lie on the cooling grass, which was fortunate, since he did not have the strength for much else. They had both eaten when they returned from the caverns, cramming nearly-raw meat and vegetables into their mouths, tasting nothing, merely needing fuel for a ravenous fire. Then, sated, hunger vanished.
But duty remained, and as he lay on the grass and looked upwards at the darkening sky, he knew they still had one.
"Nearly done is not the same as done, Wolf," he said, using his nickname for her, turning to her with a half-smile, "And until it is, you need to come back to Taloba. Besides, you'll feel better watching my back as I blunder through the foliage, right?"
He could see the anger rise slowly in her eyes, wanting to snap back at him for trying to order her, so he kept his voice... soothing? Yes. That would be the word, and only she and a handful of others would hear the tone.
"You know I'm right, Wolf. You know it makes sense, and must be done thus. You can return here once your service is done, and when The Temple learns of the taint infecting this place, even with the Dhani gone, I'm thinking they will insist that you return."
He sighed deeply, looking up at the budding stars as if trying to divine the future in them. He'd heard that barbarians thought you could do that: read the alignments at the right time and see the future. He'd shaken his head at such hubris and pointless superstition, then... then he'd learned the desperation that could lead to it. Wanting some comfort, some certainty in the chaos of the world.
Because Razkar knew he was betting on long odds, and he hated to gamble. Compromises? No more deals with those unfit? Those had been his words, but wasn't he doing just that? Would it not be better to scourge the Dark Water and make way for a new clan, a better clan, a more worthy clan? But he did not know. He could not read the future...
Lucky for him, the world of Mizahar has, shall we say... a flair for dramatic timing.
Rustling in the treeline next to the river. Even with their wounds and ailments, they both heard it... though they couldn't move very fast to react. Grunting and gasping, both of them got to their knees, hands on weapons... and saw a line of two-dozen armed Dark Water emerge.
They were young, Razkar noticed right away. None of the Elders were among them and they all had that insulted grimace he knew very well. One in the middle, with hair braided down to her waist and tattoos marking her as having served in the army of Taloba, stepped forward.
Razkar fought to control himself. Two dozen... they would swamp them. He would have to buy her time, throw himself at them and she could... no... it was hopeless.
The female stopped, drew a dagger... and cut his palm.
Razkar and Tinnok blinked, in both tandem and shock. The rest of the Dark Water clansmen did likewise with their own weapons, a chorus of steel hissing on leather and flesh being sliced ringing out softly.
The female held up her palm, and drew it from forehead to chin. The rest did the same.
"I am Zilopal of the Dark Water," the female said, earnest intensity stark and unmistakable in her eyes, "I speak for the War Party of the Dark Water. We are shamed. Our Elders made a truce with monsters, and poisoned our lands. We lost friends today. Mothers. Fathers. Kin."
She stepped forwards and smacked her hand across her chest, leaving a bloody print. A round of slaps sounded out as the War Party did the same. Zilopal lowered her gaze, glaring out from under heavy brows as she spoke again.
"By Dira, and Navre, and Caiyha, and the Goddess-Queen Myri above all... we shall make this right."
That was all, and Razkar knew nothing else need be said. One by one, with the intense female leading the way, the War Party turned and walked back into the trees to the village. They were silent and deadly serious, blooded and marked in the light of their kin from Taloba and the eyes off the Goddess-Queen herself. Razkar just stared in amazement.
We shall make this right... well... we shall see...
"Perhaps there is hope..."
He muttered the words and barely realized he had said them, then found himself collapsing back to the grass. He heaved air into his lungs and stared upwards. Night fell fast. The stars had multiplied and now were pinpricks, everywhere, from bright single torches to clusters of dots. Razkar smiled up at them.
Tinnok was next to him, and he turned to her. She had taken a risk today... and he was not talking about her acting in the cave. How strange that those words to him just now must have taken as much courage for her as holding up a facade to a monstrous Dhani High Priestess. But it was the truth of it.
He reached out and squeezed her hand, just once, then let go and let it flop onto his chest. Sleeping under the stars... yes... that appealed to him tonight, now that he knew the Dark Water would be less of a problem.
Or, he added to himself, perhaps a little smugly, simply too terrified of the Sole Survivors to try anything stupid.
"To seek, to strive, to find... and not to yield." He smiled as she turned to him quizically. "A quote from a barbarian philosopher I heard a long time ago. Very... poetic. I thought it was the stuff of parchment, Tinnok."
He turned to her fully.
"Now I know different."
They faced the stars together, and spoke no more.
But duty remained, and as he lay on the grass and looked upwards at the darkening sky, he knew they still had one.
"Nearly done is not the same as done, Wolf," he said, using his nickname for her, turning to her with a half-smile, "And until it is, you need to come back to Taloba. Besides, you'll feel better watching my back as I blunder through the foliage, right?"
He could see the anger rise slowly in her eyes, wanting to snap back at him for trying to order her, so he kept his voice... soothing? Yes. That would be the word, and only she and a handful of others would hear the tone.
"You know I'm right, Wolf. You know it makes sense, and must be done thus. You can return here once your service is done, and when The Temple learns of the taint infecting this place, even with the Dhani gone, I'm thinking they will insist that you return."
He sighed deeply, looking up at the budding stars as if trying to divine the future in them. He'd heard that barbarians thought you could do that: read the alignments at the right time and see the future. He'd shaken his head at such hubris and pointless superstition, then... then he'd learned the desperation that could lead to it. Wanting some comfort, some certainty in the chaos of the world.
Because Razkar knew he was betting on long odds, and he hated to gamble. Compromises? No more deals with those unfit? Those had been his words, but wasn't he doing just that? Would it not be better to scourge the Dark Water and make way for a new clan, a better clan, a more worthy clan? But he did not know. He could not read the future...
Lucky for him, the world of Mizahar has, shall we say... a flair for dramatic timing.
Rustling in the treeline next to the river. Even with their wounds and ailments, they both heard it... though they couldn't move very fast to react. Grunting and gasping, both of them got to their knees, hands on weapons... and saw a line of two-dozen armed Dark Water emerge.
They were young, Razkar noticed right away. None of the Elders were among them and they all had that insulted grimace he knew very well. One in the middle, with hair braided down to her waist and tattoos marking her as having served in the army of Taloba, stepped forward.
Razkar fought to control himself. Two dozen... they would swamp them. He would have to buy her time, throw himself at them and she could... no... it was hopeless.
The female stopped, drew a dagger... and cut his palm.
Razkar and Tinnok blinked, in both tandem and shock. The rest of the Dark Water clansmen did likewise with their own weapons, a chorus of steel hissing on leather and flesh being sliced ringing out softly.
The female held up her palm, and drew it from forehead to chin. The rest did the same.
"I am Zilopal of the Dark Water," the female said, earnest intensity stark and unmistakable in her eyes, "I speak for the War Party of the Dark Water. We are shamed. Our Elders made a truce with monsters, and poisoned our lands. We lost friends today. Mothers. Fathers. Kin."
She stepped forwards and smacked her hand across her chest, leaving a bloody print. A round of slaps sounded out as the War Party did the same. Zilopal lowered her gaze, glaring out from under heavy brows as she spoke again.
"By Dira, and Navre, and Caiyha, and the Goddess-Queen Myri above all... we shall make this right."
That was all, and Razkar knew nothing else need be said. One by one, with the intense female leading the way, the War Party turned and walked back into the trees to the village. They were silent and deadly serious, blooded and marked in the light of their kin from Taloba and the eyes off the Goddess-Queen herself. Razkar just stared in amazement.
We shall make this right... well... we shall see...
"Perhaps there is hope..."
He muttered the words and barely realized he had said them, then found himself collapsing back to the grass. He heaved air into his lungs and stared upwards. Night fell fast. The stars had multiplied and now were pinpricks, everywhere, from bright single torches to clusters of dots. Razkar smiled up at them.
Tinnok was next to him, and he turned to her. She had taken a risk today... and he was not talking about her acting in the cave. How strange that those words to him just now must have taken as much courage for her as holding up a facade to a monstrous Dhani High Priestess. But it was the truth of it.
He reached out and squeezed her hand, just once, then let go and let it flop onto his chest. Sleeping under the stars... yes... that appealed to him tonight, now that he knew the Dark Water would be less of a problem.
Or, he added to himself, perhaps a little smugly, simply too terrified of the Sole Survivors to try anything stupid.
"To seek, to strive, to find... and not to yield." He smiled as she turned to him quizically. "A quote from a barbarian philosopher I heard a long time ago. Very... poetic. I thought it was the stuff of parchment, Tinnok."
He turned to her fully.
"Now I know different."
They faced the stars together, and spoke no more.
