Chapter 2 Part 6

"No," Calista cried. "Please, no." She fell into her father's comforting embrace.
There was a murmur in the gathered observers.

"Sam," the first elder continued, "you will be placed in a stone circle at midday tomorrow and there you must remain for three days and three nights tending a fire. During that time you will be visited by the spirit of the land in the form of the Forester. Then you will truly be judged, for the Forester can see into your heart and the truth will be known.

"Cheer up," Armegon, Tyson said later that afternoon. "If anyone can handle himself in the forest I think Sam will do well."

"Tyson's right," Ultrecht agreed. "That boy is part druid to begin with. Besides they’re allowing him to take a tool and they accepted his staff as the allowed tool." He leaned back. "If he gets into trouble the shield will protect him and we can keep track of him through it as well."

Armegon fretted as he paced their lodge room. "I just don't like the idea that he’s getting so independent. He made those decisions in court without consulting us. He’ll face this appeal without us. He is.. he is.."

"Growing up?" Ultrecht offered. "Face it. It’s happening."

"But so fast?" Armegon's tone sounded so regretful.

"The stages are identical to those of human males, but the time periods are more like those for his paternal species." Ultrecht poured himself a mug of wine.

"You know," Tyson laughed. "When Ultrecht told me you’d settled down to raise the kid, I had trouble picturing you as a father. Take some advice. When Sam is out on his own, don't get involved with raising children. It doesn't suit you."

"I just wish they’d let us talk to him," Armegon said slumping down in a chair.

"You will get to talk to him; just before they take him away," Ultrecht said. "It’s tradition. He’s supposed to have his last meal with us tomorrow morning. There will be guards, but you’ll be able to talk to him."

"Do you think we might slip him some mechanical help?" Tyson asked.

"Do you think he would accept it?" Ultrecht countered.

"Your right," Tyson agreed. "That boy is getting a bad case of honesty."

"I wonder if his mother would disapprove." someone said, but it did not matter who. They all had thought it.

The next morning came all too quickly. Armegon, Tyson, and Ultrecht were waiting in the tavern when the guards brought Sam in. He looked worried, but ready. He was dressed in his all weather tunic and fur lined boots. His leather breeches were new. He explained that the village did not want him to die before he met with the spirit they called the Forester.

"I was wondering if this might be the same Forester that we heard about from those people on the road," he asked.

"Many legends come from facts," Ultrecht replied as the meal was served. "It may be so."

"My impression was that the character they spoke of was kind and merciful," Tyson remarked. "The one they spoke of yesterday sounded bloodthirsty."

"Sam," Armegon said. "Don't lose your staff. Remember that your mother's spirit watches over you and should you call upon her in time of need she will protect you."

They ate the rest of the meal in silence. Just as the meal was done, Armegon took one of Sam's hands in his own. "You don't have to do this," he said in a whisper. "We know you’re not guilty. Ultrecht, Tyson, and I can take you away and there isn't a thing these people can do to stop us."

"I know you can, father," Sam said. "But I looked into that girl's soul yesterday and found such beauty that I know now that I do love her. I know I'm not guilty, you know I'm not guilty, but they don't know it. And if I am to take one of their daughters to wife, I must show them what we already know."

Armegon stared blankly at Sam for a moment. "You are wise beyond even the years of many old men," he stammered.

"I had good teachers."

"Sam," Armegon squeezed his hand. "Be careful."

"I will," Sam said as he stood. The soldiers came over from the door to escort him away.

Just before Sam was taken away, Armegon caught the lip movement of the boy. "Yes," he whispered to himself. "I love you too."

Sam had been taken deep into the forest in the direction of the mountains. They had traveled for several hours and as the suns were approaching their zenith, they broke into a clearing. The clearing was ringed by a circle of twelve stones each about two meters in height and weighing several tons. The circle itself was about twenty meters in diameter and near the center was a blackened spot where many bon fires had been made.
Sam laid his pack on the ground in the dwindling shade of one of the stones. He had been allowed to bring one day's supply of water, bread, and two blankets. He had been allowed his staff, even though he had been offered an ax.

"The rules are quite simple," the sheriff explained. "By day you may hunt, fish, or do what you like. But you must not return to the village nor must you have contact with any of the farmers or trappers in the vicinity. By night you must raise a bonfire before full darkness, and it must be kept going all night long. We are high enough in the hills that the fire is visible from the village. This will undoubtedly draw curious creatures from the night and it will be part of your test to defend yourself and the fire. The fire will undoubtedly consume a lot of wood, so you will spend the better part of the day gathering wood for the fire. For three nights you must keep this vigil. Then we will return. If you survive, you will be cleared of your crime. If you are injured or maimed, you will be judged guilty, but penance was paid. If you are dead..."

"And if I don't stay?"

"A bounty will be taken out against you. With your looks that would not be too difficult. When you were caught you would be slain without trial or question." The sheriff smiled.

"That assumes of course that you made it out of the woods. The Forester has never missed a runner. Often those who run we find beheaded near the village."

"And the guilty?"

"Those we find here are usually mauled and beheaded. Almost as if the decapitation was done to put the victim out of its misery."

Sam nodded. "Well I guess I had better gather up some wood."

The sheriff turned to go. "Good luck," he said then he disappeared into the woods.
Wood was not really that difficult to find. That part of the forest seemed to be relatively untravelled and dead wood was in abundance. Probably because of the creatures that inhabited it, Sam thought. He had heard many stories about what could become of a lone person in the forest at night. It was well before sunset when he had gathered enough wood to last throughout the coming night. So he sat in the shade of one of the stones and consumed his ration of bread and water.

The next order of business, he decided, would be to locate some edible plants and set some traps. That did not prove very difficult either. He located some wild onions and even some berries. "Snowberries," the people of the village had called them when he had asked as they walked up the mountain. They had paused for a rest and he had observed a guard picking some. The guard confided in him that they were very edible and even tasty during the winter season which was how they got their name.

Sam did not pick the berries, but marked their location. If he was not gluttonous, he would not need to trap meat to eat. The onions he would take for the night, and the berries he would save for tomorrow. If he had some luck, he would find something else to eat for the last day later.

Sam could not find any water nearby so he descended to the lowest spot he could locate in hopes of finding a collection of water. To his dismay, he combed the nearby valley thoroughly only to find it dry. Sam would have gone further, but the suns had long passed behind the mountain peaks and the eastern sky was growing dim. The time had come for him to light the bonfire. He would just have to be thirsty tonight.

Starting the fire was no problem. The wood was dry and old and as the sky grew dark, the fire sent crackling embers and tongues of flame spiraling upwards. Sam stood facing east with the fire at his back. He could barely make out the pinpoints of light that were the village off on the horizon.
Sam settled down with a blanket folded into a pillow at his back and the other wrapped around him for warmth. The night passed slowly. The fire only died down twice and that was easily remedied by the adding of wood.

As dawn approached, Sam had slept very little; an hour at the most. He was beginning to see why this task was so demanding. The fire was both attractor and defender. Wild animals would not approach, but intelligent belligerent creatures might. By staying awake to keep the fire, he was losing sleep and therefore getting tired. Then there was the lack of water. That too could affect a person given enough time.

Sam decided that since he already knew where food was, and the eating of that food would only make him thirst more, and since there was wood left over from last night and it too was in abundance, procuring water would get first priority. He also decided that he could not waste time searching for it so he decided to take the direct approach. To the west the Orkon mountains rose cathedral-like into the sky. A goodly ways up, but not unreachable, was the snowline. There, Sam knew, was water. He estimated that the climb up and back down would take most of the day, but it could be done and it was necessary.

The climbing itself Sam found was not very difficult, although the loose stones were treacherous. Sam was only a fraction of the way up the rocks when midday approached. In frustration, he realized he would never make it to the snowline and back before dark.
He seated himself on an outcropping to think on the matter. Absently he picked at a pebble until it came loose. He studied it momentarily then tossed it off to one side. He was wondering about the possibility of trying to catch the morning dew the next day as he watched the pebble fall. It skidded off one cliff face and tumbled into a deep shadow behind a small chimney. When it emerged from the shadow, there was a flicker of light; almost as if it were wet.

Sam scrambled down to a point nearby where he could peer into the darkness. Yes! There in the deep shadow, the suns' heat and light were blocked off and the snow from a previous storm had settled in a drift and had been melting at a very slow pace. Sam was excited. It had not occurred to him, but he had climbed high enough that the air temperature was about that of freezing. Blind luck had saved him.

Sam shucked his pants. There was no need to be modest; no one was around. He scooped as much of the packed snow and ice into the leather breeches as he could and carefully carried it back to the stone circle. There he fashioned a spout out of one of the pants legs and took a deep swallow. The ice was melting in the warmer air below the mountain.

The suns had long disappeared behind the mountains, but Sam still had time, and he scurried off to the berry bush where he ate his fill of berries. On his way back he checked the few traps that he had set. A wild hare had been caught in an improvised net, and a badger had fallen into a pit. He released both unharmed and destroyed the traps. It appeared he was going to survive this after all.

By nightfall, the fire was roaring and Sam was feeling much better. His only wish was that he could put his pants on, but the ice had melted a great deal and only the leather of his pants would store the water. Instead, he was wrapped up in his blanket. He silently wished that if the Forester were coming, it would come already and get this over with.

It was well after midnight when Sam snapped out of a doze. He did not know what it was but something had startled him. Slowly, without making any sudden moves, he gripped his staff which lay at his side. With eyes born of a night creature, he scanned outside the fire's illumination.

There deep in the shadow of one of the stones was another shadow. It was massive but low to the ground. Sam watched the shape for several long moments, but it seemed to make no moves, hostile or otherwise.

A flutter sounded to his rear and Sam whirled. There perched on one of the stones were a pair of harpies. The monsters had the heads and busts of an old woman, but the rest of their bodies were that of a large birds. "Well what have we here?" one cackled. "Why it's a boy."

Sam jumped to his feet and placed one of the stones to his back. A quick glance to his left showed the thing in the shadow was still there. At his right the harpies ruffled their feathers.

"Ho ho," a the harpy laughed with a creaked voice. "It is a boy with no pants." One of the harpies launched itself and fluttered towards Sam. He ducked and rolled to place the fire at his back. To his right the thing in the shadow could not be seen due to the stones, but one harpy was perched directly in front of him and the other was to his left now..

"Well, now from what I can see, I think 'boy', is a title that no longer applies. Let us say a young man with no pants." The harpy squawked at its own joke.

"It won't matter," the second cackled. "He may not taste as good as the young ones do, but he will feed us well all the same."

Sam brought the staff up to the guard position, "Then ladies you will certainly excuse me if I put up a fight."

"Oh, my!" the one to his left exclaimed in a mocking voice. "It seems he has two staffs with which to deal with women."

"Oh, whatever shall we do?" the other laughed.

Keeping Tyson's instruction in mind, Sam knelt close to the ground. A quick glance to his right still showed no sign of the third visitor. It was also possible that the harpies were unaware that the three of them were not alone.

Sam returned his attention to the harpy on his left. Kneeling in front of the fire as he was, he was pretty certain the one in front of him was not going to swoop to attack unless it was ready to fly through the fire at his back.

The attack came as predicted. The harpy to his left swooped down with talons extended. Sam rose to his feet while simultaneously driving the staff into its midsection. There was a rush of air and the harpy climbed into the dark night sky. The second harpy leaped from the stone and clawed its way towards him on the ground. It sidestepped slightly to his left.

Sam turned to follow the movement. Tyson had always told him that experienced fighters will use wasted motion to learn about their adversaries, but inexperienced fighters will only use wasted motion for trickery. The sidestepping had to be some kind of trick and Sam easily guessed what it was. The harpy was manipulating Sam into turning his back away from the fire. He watched the harpy closely. There would be a clue at the right time. Ah! The monster's eyes flicked ever so slightly over his shoulder.

Instantly Sam whirled to the right in a full circle. The staff's metal head reached out and caught the other harpy on the side of the head and neck. There was an audible snap and the monster fell to the ground near the fire.

Sam turned back to the first monster just in time to see a talon reach out at him. A twisting dive and he too tumbled to the ground, but he had not managed to avoid the injury altogether. A deep cut had sliced through his shoulder.

With agonizing slowness, Sam rolled over. He was dazed. He looked up into the sky and saw the moonlight illuminate the harpy as it dove down on him with claws reaching. Blood loss was making him weak, but in a last ditch effort he threw his staff up to ward off the blow. "Help me mother," he cried. "Help me, Marlena."

As his vision faded, Sam saw a shimmering light before his eyes. He saw the harpy snap to a halt as if hitting a wall, and then the monster rebounded into the fire.