For three
days the little ill-assorted party followed Rem from hollow to copse and from
shadow to shade. Kath and Rem were well trained in this way of travelling by
now, and Hardacre seemed to find it mildly discomfiting but stoically bearable.
Viola, on the other hand, was definitely not suited to roughing it and walking
such distances. She had scarcely ever left Ortia and when she had it was by
horse or carriage. She was accustomed to being well fed and used to comfort –
the nights hit her particularly hard; she really missed her soft bed.
The pattern was set early on – Rem would lead and Kath would follow
just behind, exchanging the occasional whispered word. Next came Hardacre
walking steadily – he insisted on cooking and every now and then would stop and
pick a useful herb and add it to his little cooking box. Rem was surprised and
gratified by Hardacre’s knowledge – he’d never met a human who knew anything
about plants – and Rem eagerly learned their ‘human’ names. Viola always lagged
behind and several times Rem had to tell her to speed up. She was sulky but
determined and carried on and on, even though her legs were continually aching
and she was increasingly homesick.
To begin with Rem led them east to throw off any pursuers. Then he
snaked the party south west through low wooded ground at the bottom of stream
valleys, where it was boggy but safe.
There was no sign of any pursuit and they saw little on the road except
for a few wild deer, rabbits and crows. They crossed the Great West Road on the
afternoon of the second day but they found that deserted as well. If there had
been any patrols they had managed to avoid them.
They finally hit the old North-South road from Ortia to Melloreis on
the morning of the third day. The road was a vague impression in a sea of
tangled briars, but Rem could find it easily and scouted a path parallel to it
and half an hour’s walk to the east. There was a lot of old Imperial rubble
here – bits of masonry, bricks and broken pillars. Rem began to get a little fretful and Kath
knew exactly why. Soon he would want to leave and she needed to persuade him to
stay.
They stopped for lunch in a glade in a wooded copse. They had only cold
meat and berries to eat, but Rem always insisted that they set up a small camp
and had watches. Viola was sent out on to a surrounding hill top to look out.
Although she could not move very fast, she could move exceptionally quietly and
her eyesight was exceptionally acute. Hardacre was pottering around at the edge
of the woods, in line of sight and in hailing distance.
Rem sat down on a stone and began getting the food out of Hardacre’s bag.
Rem had commandeered the bag when he’d realised how wonderful it was. The last
evening he had spent half an hour filling it with rocks until it could take no
more: it weighed about a third of the weight of the rocks but he still couldn’t
carry it. He wanted one.
Kath approached him, dreading the inevitable conversation about the
future.
‘Rem’ she said, gently.
‘Yes’
‘Are you really leaving when we get to Melloreis?’
Rem fidgeted on his rock.
‘Yes. You not need me after that’
Kath watched him closely. His fidgeting had got worse and he wouldn’t
look directly at her.
‘Of course I do’ she said, ‘I need you for as long as you’re willing to
help. You’re my guide, remember?’
He nodded.
‘And guide has done his job’
‘Will you not reconsider?’ asked Kath, ‘you’re so useful to the group’
Rem grimaced.
‘That place is very evil. If you want to go, I not stop you. But – Rem
is very scared of the place. Old elf and bad Tlaxacan – do not like the mixture’
‘I have to go’ said Kath, ‘I can’t give up now’
‘Your choice. Rem is not forcing you’
‘You can’t be too scared to go can you? You’re as brave as anyone I’ve
ever met’
‘Rem too frightened. All must find their limit to courage’ he said
lowering his head, ‘I’m sorry’
Kath began to well up. She could think of nothing else to say. They sat in gloomy silence. She wondered how
on earth they would manage without him.
Hardacre approached them from the woods, clutching a small herb with
blue flowers.
‘Have you seen this Master Healer?’ he said, walking into their zone of
discomfort.
Rem stared at the herb and then sharply at Hardacre.
‘No time now – later’
Hardacre waited for a moment.
‘That’s a shame – it may well have withered by then’
Hardacre studied them.
‘It’s a mistake to argue,
particularly when there are so few of us’ he said
Kath nodded without enthusiasm.
‘May I ask what you’ve been arguing about?’
‘Rem’s leaving’ Kath blurted out, ‘he’s too afraid to go into Melloreis
with us’
Rem said nothing; his glare just became more intense.
‘Oh’ said Hardacre, ‘that’s very unfortunate. The rest of us had
learned to rely on you so much’.
‘Well, you’ll have to stop!’ said Rem
‘Especially Kath, of course. After everything you’ve done together, it
seems a shame’
Hardacre thought for a moment and then added.
‘It’s such a pity to see a friendship end like this’
Rem jumped up.
‘Not end. This is not the end of friendship. Rem not that bad’
‘Oh right. So you’ll still be friends – good. Anyway, I should go and
find Viola’
He made to turn away, and then stopped, as if a thought had suddenly
occurred to him
‘Of course…’ he said
‘What?’ asked Rem
‘Master Healer – have you heard
of the law of amicable contracts?’
Rem looked up at him and then at Kath
‘What you talk about?’
‘In Eth – the law that binds friend to friend’ Hardacre said evenly and
started to examine his botanical find more closely. Rem stared up at Hardacre
intently, his eyes blinking.
‘A law?’ he asked
Hardacre nodded and began to walk slowly away.
‘I do not understand. I have not that law with Kath’ said Rem
Hardacre, who had moved about ten feet away from them, looked back
vaguely.
‘No, of course you don’t. Anyway – Ethian law. You don’t have to worry
about it’
‘What do you mean – ‘contract’?’ asked Rem, his brow furrowed
Kath remained quiet – it was a real effort.
‘A legally binding agreement’ explained Hardacre, making to walk away
again
Rem’s expression was a struggle between exasperation and concern.
‘Rem didn’t sign anything’
Hardacre smiled
‘It can be verbal – a spoken agreement’
‘Agreement to do what?’ asked Rem, raising his voice slightly
‘Well, in this case, I suppose – agreement to help a friend until the
friend was out of danger… say’
Rem’s face fell.
‘That not agreement. Agreement is we get to Melloreis…’
Hardacre was walking back towards the edge of the little glade
‘That’s fine then. A few more hours and you’re done’
Rem looked at Hardacre, at Kath and then back at Hardacre again.
‘This not true’ he said, ‘you try to trick Rem. No such law.’
Kath had glued her lips together. She knew that whatever she might say
would spoil it.
Rem shouted at Hardacre as he
walked into the trees
‘You call me Master Healer – I now have new name for you – I call you
Master Liar!’
There was one broken step in Hardacre’s steady tread and then he had
disappeared into the woods.
Rem walked to where Kath was sitting and sat down next to her with a
thud.
‘I know that is nonsense’ he mumbled, ‘he is a liar’
‘No agreement. Not to go that far…’ he continued.
Kath busied herself looking for a very important nothing in her bag.
Rem’s voice trailed away.
‘Rem will come for while at
least’, he said and then paused, ‘I don’t want to. But I will’
He pondered for a second.
‘That human liar is bloody clever’
Good use of idiom, thought Kath, but still didn’t say anything.
Rem growled under his breath and glared at Kath.
‘Say nothing!’ he commanded
Kath looked startled but did as she was told. She just leant over and
held his hand until he quietened down.
They were both sitting silently
when the other two returned.
***
Viola was very excited - she talked while they cleared the camp and
covered their traces.
‘I saw it’ she exclaimed, ‘I swear that I did’. Her Ethian, although
very good, tended to strain under the weight of her accent at times like
this.
‘No you did not’ said Rem, ‘We’re still many mile away’
Viola took objection to this.
‘How do you know?’
‘Too far to see, elf, obvious’
‘I saw a ruined city in the
distance and a tower’ Viola insisted.
‘A tower?’ said Hardacre, ‘I thought the whole city was razed to the
ground’
‘Exactly’ said Rem, ‘no tower’
Viola threw her stuff into her pack.
‘How would any of you know?’ she muttered, ‘none of you have ever seen
Melloreis before. ’
‘Have you then, Viola?’ asked Kath, neutrally
Viola’s voice became a lot quieter.
‘I’ve seen the maps, but not the actual city’
Hardacre laced up his shoes and buttoned his jacket. He was ready to
go.
They had begun to move along the road again, with Rem setting a very
fast pace. They were walking to the rhythm of his anger.
‘You have regular patrols, though, don’t you?’ Hardacre asked Viola.
‘Well, not exactly regular’
Viola replied, ‘but we have some’
‘What does that mean?’ asked Kath
‘It means that they are very scared of evil city too’ shouted back Rem
with some satisfaction.
Viola frowned. She was dropping behind again.
‘We don’t get very close’ she panted, ‘but close enough to see that old
bell tower’
Hardacre stopped for a moment to allow Viola to catch up.
‘Why is the bell tower still intact while all the other buildings have
fallen? That’s odd’
‘I have no idea. Maybe the Tlaxacan used it as a look out post?’
suggested Viola
Rem looked back. ‘Walk, don’t talk’ he ordered.
Viola shrugged and went back to concentrating on walking. They moved
on, and Hardacre’s long strides naturally took him to catch up with Kath. She
looked at him.
‘Thanks’ she said
Hardacre acknowledged this with a slight, but very polite, nod of the
head. They walked on in silence for a few minutes.
‘Although’ said Hardacre, eventually, ‘I think that I had overestimated
Master Healer’s ability to understand metaphorical language’
Kath laughed inwardly.
‘Yes, perhaps’ she said
‘I almost thought for a second there that he took me literally’
‘I’ll have to apologise to him…’ he continued, ‘…at some point’
‘I think he’s fine’ said Kath, ‘or will be’
They walked on again, chasing after the rapidly advancing Rem.
‘Of course’ said Hardacre, ‘if this were
a contract…’
Kath finished his sentence for him.
‘...I’d still need to fulfil my part of the deal’
‘Yes’ said Hardacre, ‘you undoubtedly would ’
