Chapter Four: Following the Marske River
Tranith Argan: Book 3
Land at last, they find themselves on the shore of the Western lands, far away from Elaria.
When Felanar awoke the next morning, he felt more rested than he had for many, many days. He felt in his bones just how uncomfortable it had been sleeping on the logs of the raft, and how wonderfully soft the sand was in contrast. He opened his eyes to a blue sky and gentle waves breaking on the shore. The air felt warm and dry here. He stretched his arms and sat up with a satisfied sigh. Kara heard this and opened her eyes. Seeing Felanar, she smiled.
“What do you think, brother? Are we past the worst of it?”
Felanar, smiling back said, “I certainly hope so. If ever there was a group of poor travelers who deserved to be left alone at last . . .”
They stood up and walked to the raft they had dragged up from the shore the night before. They pulled off the rest of their gear, such as was left. Looking behind them, Felanar said, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Alessa so tired.”
The elf was still sleeping under the shade of a pine tree, breathing deeply but otherwise not moving.
“You’re right,” said Kara, “she is always saying she will take the next watch and do without food and drink. She has worn herself out being helpful.”
“Even elves have their limits,” mused Felanar. “I don’t think she’d had anything to eat for days until last night’s simple meal. Sometimes I forget how young she is for her people. To us she is a wise and mature elf. To her parents, and her elders, and to her people in general she is just a child, and has been sheltered by her parents.”
“She seems so confident,” said Kara, “but it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that she is dealing with our problems the same way we are. She merely has the physical advantage of being an elf on her side, so she can go longer without food or rest, but not even an elf can keep that up for too long.”
Dolen woke up and joined them by the raft, nodding to their greetings.
“Sleep well, my friend?” asked Felanar.
“Aye, that I did,” the dwarf answered, “and long at that. Having solid earth under my feet is all I needed.”
“The fisherman’s life is not for you?” teased Kara.
“Nay, I would not wish such a life upon even my enemy,” Dolen said, shaking his head slowly. “I see no joy in this life. Give me a cave or mountain, or even this beach, and I could happily live my life never traveling on water again.”
“I assure you,” said Felanar, “that the life of a fisherman is not like what we’ve been through. I enjoyed my former life, and its rhythm, but never did we set sail for a week, or stay uncovered in a storm, or go without food, or lie on rough logs, or any of the things we have endured this past week.”
“Aye, this can I understand, and I accept. But not for me is this way.”
“Do not worry,” said Kara, “it is travel by foot the rest of the way.”
“This can I do,” said the dwarf, “for never let it be said that a dwarf complains about using his legs to get somewhere. Great walkers are the dwarves, and it is the rare land that has not seen my people traveling through.”
“Even this land?” asked Felanar with hope.
“Nay,” said Dolen with a shake of his head, “not this far west. My people, it is said in our histories, have never crossed west of Mount Majestic, and even that was rare. We are a people of the eastern lands. The west is for the elves and the barbarians, though which is the worse I cannot say.”
“I most certainly can say,” said Kara, “and I won’t have you insulting our great friend or a people who have proven themselves to us time and again. Dolen, there is a difference between ignorance and betrayal. We are in ignorance of the reasons we got into this predicament, but I will not think ill of the elves until proof is offered with evidence. I will not accept guesses as proof, and I ask you to stop making these comments. They offend me.”
Dolen looked at Kara and then at Felanar, and then slowly said, “I will agree to hold my tongue, queen of men. What you say may be so, but you will understand my grief at my loss, and my desire to find out who betrayed my people and caused us to lose our king, my father, and many brave warriors.”
“I understand it more than you can know,” said Felanar, “for I share your anger. I grieve with you over the loss of your father, and I promise you that when all the facts are known I will act decisively to get rid of the corrupting influences wherever they reside, friend and foe alike. You have my word. Nevertheless, we find ourselves at present in hostile country, and there are but four of us. We must stick together and show loyalty to each other if we are to make it safely home. Will you treat Alessa well? Will you be supportive of the group?”
“Aye, that I can do,” said Dolen, nodding his head. “Despite my words, she is a good person, from what I have observed, and has taken my harsh treatment better than would I have if our situations were reversed. I do not know where blame should lie, yes, I agree with that. So I will hold my tongue and support the group. Never let it be said that a dwarf does not know loyalty.”
“Never let it be said of an elf either,” pressed Kara.
“May it be the case,” said Dolen slowly, “and though I withhold judgment for now, I will act as if your words are truth, and I do so because of the loyalty you showed me in battle. As you stood by me, I stand by you.”
“We ask no more,” said Felanar, “though I wish you will come to trust Alessa on her own and not just because I ask it of you. For now, I accept your promise to treat her well, without regard for the reason of this promise.”
They decided to let Alessa sleep longer, so Felanar stayed behind to stand guard while Kara and Dolen wandered off to find food for breakfast. When they returned an hour later, Felanar went to wake Alessa. He knelt beside her and paused to stare at the elf still sleeping, not stirring even when Felanar’s shadow crossed her face. She is so beautiful, he thought, and so youthful in appearance. Not a line marred her face. If he had not known better, he would have said she was sleeping without a care in the world. He reached out and gently touched her shoulder.
Alessa murmured and opened her eyes. Seeing Felanar staring down at her, and seeing no fear in his face, she smiled and did not immediately sit up.
“What is the time?” she asked.
“Mid-morning,” Felanar replied.
Alessa sat up in alarm. “Mid-morning! How could you let me sleep so late? I have done nothing helpful this morning and you have probably thought me lazy and unmannered.”
Felanar laughed, “I think no such thing. You were tired, we all were, and we all got a long night of sleep for the first time in quite a while. You needed it as much as we did, and I’m glad you slept long.”
“I was tired,” she agreed, her face turning serious. “I did not notice it building, but I felt a weariness I have never known. It is a most unusual feeling, at least for someone with my life.”
“I can well imagine,” he said, “for you are the daughter of the leader of your people. You have been treated as royalty all your life, have been pampered, even sheltered, and have never known severe hunger or fear that I am aware of. This past week has been quite an education for an elf who wishes to learn the ways of others!”
“Some knowledge comes at high cost, is what you are saying,” she said. “I think I can agree with that, and wonder how much more education I will receive on this trip.”
Felanar reached down to help her to her feet, but she did not take his hand and instead nimbly jumped up.
“Thank you,” she said, “but when an elf needs aid in standing, it is a serious matter indeed.”
“How do you feel?” he asked.
“Better, so much better. I feel ready to fly across the land.”
“That would be ideal, if it were possible,” said Felanar wistfully. “We will have to walk instead, and hope we meet no more than a mild ‘education’ along the way.”
“Ah, but there are those who can fly, and they can bring back messages to my people,” Alessa said. “Let me see if I can help our cause that way.”
She scanned the sky for birds, and then the trees, until finally she saw a raven high atop a pine tree nearby. She called to it and it flew down to meet her, landing on her outstretched hand.
“Greetings, night-colored one of the forest,” she said in bird tongue, “how handsome you look today.”
The raven squawked but said nothing more in return.
“Do you know of my people, the Llaráin Findára or Llaráin Erenár, the elves who live in forests or who sail the seas?”
The raven cocked his head but said nothing.
“Do you not understand my voice?” she asked, curious as to the cause of this reticence.
The raven shifted its weight, and said nothing.
Alessa stared carefully at the raven and then suddenly lifted her arm in a rush and let it fly off. She watched it warily as it flew directly to the south and kept going for as long as they could watch.
“It is as I feared,” said Alessa solemnly.
“What?” asked Felanar in alarm. “Why did the bird not speak to you?”
“I cannot be sure,” she replied, “but something in his eyes worried me. It was a cold look, colder than a raven should be, and even a malevolent appearance, if I am not reading too much into it.”
“What do you fear?” Felanar asked.
“It flew south,” she said. “The autarch lives south of here. It may be that the birds of this land are loyal to its ruler. That is why I released the bird without asking anything else. I do not wish to reveal our plans to our enemies. I hope I have not already done more harm than good.”
“We won’t be staying in this spot long,” Felanar reassured. “It is some distance to the Tri-Cities, is it not? We can be already on our journey before the news reaches there, even if that is what the bird’s intention was. We will be all right.”
“Maybe so,” Alessa said, “but I will be more cautious in these lands. They are not my own, and I do not know where loyalties lie.”
“Then we are on our own in this land,” said Felanar, “with no aid from birds as messengers to your people.”
“For now it would be the safer course,” she quietly replied.
All four sat for a meal, and then it was time to begin their long journey home. Alessa and Felanar pooled their knowledge of this land from memories of maps they had seen. The peninsula upon which they landed was rough and rocky, with forests of pine trees sprouting from the sandy soil inland. The peninsula rose to a moderate height in the middle, but was otherwise without much contour or detail.
They decided to stay along the coast and follow the land down to the Marske River. They would attempt to cross it where it was narrow or shallow enough to allow the attempt, or failing that to the source of the Marske at the base of the Red Mountains and then to the Great Plain beyond. This would allow them to avoid the land around the Tri-Cities, and presumably keep them in sparsely populated areas as much as possible. Once in the Great Plain, they would be relatively safe.
It was noon when they set off and spent the rest of the afternoon walking undisturbed over the dry land and seeing nothing more than trees and rocks and the shore to their left. In fact, they saw nothing of note that night or the following day. Only the land slowly rising and falling in a gentle hill pattern, and the great sea always to their left. The land grew gradually less rocky as they walked, and more smoothed out and sandy. The air was warm during the day and cool at night. They made good time.
On the morning of their third day in this western land, they saw the coastline branch off as the sea was fed by the mouth of a great river. They had reached the Marske River, second in length only to the mighty Arenton far to the east. The current was swift and full.
“We shall not cross it easily this far north,” said Alessa, as they stood and surveyed the plain beyond the river. It was without feature to their eyes, just a brown expanse beyond the blue of the water. The river itself was quite wide, some stretches extending beyond the horizon. From those points, all they could see was water. Only as they walked further on, and the river’s width narrowed somewhat, could they see it was just a river and not another sea.
“I could swim across,” said Alessa, “once we reach a spot where the current is not as swift, but I am not sure Dolen would be able to as well. Excuse me, for I do not mean to offend, and perhaps dwarves can swim better than I have been informed.”
“Nay, lady,” said Dolen kindly, “you do not offend, and informed correctly you have been. My people do not play in the water, and have no need of swimming. At least until this moment.”
“Then swimming across will not be an option for us,” said Felanar, “even if it were possible. To be honest, as good a swimmer as I am, I’m not certain it would be as easy as you think, Alessa. That is a great distance to cross, and the current will not make it easier, even if it lessens as we travel onward.”
“So be it,” said Alessa. “We are a team, and we will stick together.”
They followed the bank of the river as they headed south. The trees grew more luxuriously now, fed by the fresh water of the Marske, and for better travel they avoided the forests that lined the river and kept to the shore as much as possible. They saw or heard nothing beyond the rush of water.
The fourth day was overcast, though not with threat of rain. They ate their breakfast, including fish that Felanar caught from the river, and then continued their march south. At mid-morning, the humidity was building and they felt warm, truly warm for the first time in weeks. The proximity of the river beckoned, and after lunch they decided a swim in the river would refresh them. Alessa and Kara walked toward a hidden bank while Felanar and Dolen stayed by their makeshift camp. They removed their clothes and splashed into the water, Felanar swimming to a deeper current while Dolen remained close to shore so that he never stood in more than waist-deep water. They each soaked their heads and rinsed the travel from their bodies. Felanar heard Kara and Alessa giggling around the bend and he was glad that they had found a brief respite of happiness in their travels.
Laying on his back in the water he closed his eyes and felt his body relax. His feet felt so cool and clean. Dolen said his beard was clean now too. “I'm surprised you've not mentioned it,” he said to Felanar. “It must have smelled by now.”
“No,” said Felanar, “it has not bothered me. The smell of my body probably blocked it out.” They both laughed.
Felanar continued to float in the water, his cares drifting away with the tide, when he suddenly felt a tug on his elbow. He opened his eyes and found Alessa neck deep in the water by his side holding up her hand to indicate silence. Dolen saw her as well and sunk deeper into the water.
“What is it?” Felanar whispered.
“I hear people ahead,” she whispered back.
“Where, on the river?” asked Felanar.
“I think so,” she replied. “Let us move up to the reeds over here and wait.”
They swam quietly over to the shore where Kara awaited. The bend had many reedy plants thrusting up from the river, and it was here that Alessa directed them to wait to see what would develop. A few minutes later they all heard the voices, and shortly after that they saw a fishing boat sailing north. It was a small family boat, not unlike what Felanar and his father had used on Lake Brindle. On board were three men, laughing and talking as they tended to their nets. They looked like Brindledown folks, thought Kara. They could be just like us. When the boat drifted beyond their sight, they exited from the river and got dressed. Alessa confirmed she heard no other voices.
“They will return later,” said Felanar, “and we should be prepared to be spotted.”
“Are these people dangerous?” asked Dolen. “Those fishermen seemed harmless to me.”
“I do not know,” said Felanar. “Who do these people show loyalty to in this land?”
“This whole land looks to the autarch,” said Alessa, “though this far north it would not surprise me to learn that there are small villages who are concerned only with themselves except when the autarch’s men ride by. Still, we do not know for sure, and spies could be anywhere. They may be harmless, or they may lead us to danger. I, for one, do not wish to be taken to the autarch.”
“I have heard he is not a cruel man, this autarch,” said Felanar.
“No, not cruel,” said Alessa, “but no friend to elf, and he works with the saarks. That is all I need to know.”
“Agreed,” said Felanar, “let me meet him someday as king with the support of my troops. Not as a traveler in the wilderness. We will try to avoid the autarch, and in this land that means avoiding contact with people, no matter how peaceful they may appear.”
“We will reach their village sooner or later,” said Kara. “That boat sailed from somewhere along the water.”
“At least we march with clean bodies and hair,” said Dolen who was still squeezing water from his beard and hair as it dried slowly on this humid day.