From Across the Clouded Range

Dasen was cold. He shivered, reached for a blanket, hugged himself reflexively, began rolling to his side. Pain encompassed him. His back was on fire. His legs cramped. His head throbbed. Every part of him seemed to have a complaint, and they registered them in a collective roar.

  Frozen for fear of encouraging his miseries, he gnashed his teeth and stared up at the broad leaves a few inches from his face. Risking the movement of his head – which ignited a stabbing kink in his neck – he looked to the side. He was surrounded by the stubby branches of an unidentified bush, its leaves stacked in layers to block any view of the sky. He was cold and wet. Big drops of water pounded his bare chest and ran down his stomach to the rough ground where he had slept. But it was not rough ground that held his screaming back. He felt like he was lying on a woolen lump that cast his head back at a horrible, kink-inducing angle. It must be protecting the cuts, he realized. Teth saved me again, patched me up, and pulled me under this bush out of the rain. And all I did was sleep.

  Kicking himself, he listened for his wife. He heard birds, the scuttle of squirrels in the trees, the dripping of water from leaves, but no Teth. Probably hunting, getting water, foraging. Taking care of me. With a sigh, he cast aside his miseries, slowly rolled onto his stomach, and, in grunting shuffles, crawled from his sanctuary.

  Once outside, he sat for a long moment with his blanket-cushioned back resting against a tree and watched the grey sky through the canopy of leaves high above. He looked down at the two strips of cloth that were tied across his chest to hold the folded blanket. The cuts that the makeshift bandage protected burned from shoulder to shoulder as if they had just been made.

  With the thought, he scanned the trees. Maybe Teth put me under that bush for a reason. Maybe I was supposed to stay there. Maybe the forest isn’t safe. Heart rate rising, he watched the trees, studied each shadow, every hint of movement for metal-clad creatures. But there was nothing but widely spaced trees with broad trunks and great, broad canopies.

  Then he heard humming. It was coming from behind him, soft and steady, an after-thought of the hummer. The tune was familiar, but Dasen could not place it until a few mumbled words drifting through the trees,

  So, we sang and danced and ran

  Through the trees and the glen

  On the day of sky and sun

  Then we rested like the rest

  Slept beneath the stars and

  Woke to a world of mist

  Dasen groaned. How could she like that song? "The Season of Sun and Cloud," as he knew it, was one of the sappiest, most manipulative, and most commonly performed songs in the history of traveling minstrels. All screeching high notes and long, dramatic pauses, it told the story of two lovers who ran away when they were not allowed to be joined. They intended to build a life in the city, but the Order punished them with an array of tragedies, and they died in the glen of a forest where two trees eventually grew twinned together. It was meant to be sad but had become such a cliché that it was more of a joke than a tragedy. And that was what Teth was humming? Every time he had tried to hum a song, she had scolded him for not being quiet. But here she was singing (very poorly) the worst song imaginable.

  Building to the climax with intermittent hums and words – all of which were out of key – Teth emerged from the trees, saw Dasen, and immediately fell silent. She blushed, red rising to banish the freckles that stretched from her nose. “You’re awake?” she asked in surprise. “I was just getting something for your back.” She held up a handful of blue moss.

  “The Season of Sun and Cloud?” Dasen did not feel any more words were required.

  “Shut up! I’ll hum whatever I want. We don’t get minstrels in Randor’s Pass very often. We don’t have orchestras, or operas. That’s the song I know, and I like it, so there!”

  Dasen smiled. Even through his miseries, he was happy to see Teth, and, for once, she was the one on the defensive. “Well, that’s one thing we’ll fix when we get to a city.”

  “Or maybe I’ll hire someone to sing it all day. Over and over until you beg to be back in the forest.” Teth stuck her tongue out, smiling around the childish gesture. “Now come over here so I can take a look at your back. I am mad at you, you know.” She seemed to remember herself. She forced the smile from her face, turning it into a frown, but she could not dispel it from her eyes.

  Dasen watched her. Her mud-streaked face was pale. Hair was plastered across her forehead and along one cheek. It stood in the back, longing to be tamed by the hat she had apparently lost. Her clothes were damp and muddy, clinging to her where they were not stiff, and generously stained with blood. Mine, Dasen realized. Nonetheless, she was a welcome sight. Even beyond the fact that she had saved his life yet again, he was suddenly overjoyed that she had not left him, that he would have another chance to make things right.

  Teth’s eyes caught his. Her forced frown faded to indecision. Her bottom lip crept under her teeth. She looked down at herself. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

  “I’m happy to see you,” Dasen said honestly. “I thought you’d left me with the forest masters.”

  Teth laughed. “You can’t get rid of me that easily. Besides, without me around who would keep saving your sorry life? Now get over here. I’m mad at you, so don’t push your luck.” She tried to make her voice stern but she had neither the will nor energy for the effort. She sighed instead, revealing the crushing fatigue that she was just barely holding at bay. She suddenly looked like she had not slept in days. Her eyes glazed, and she looked like she might fall asleep where she stood. Then she snapped back, shook her head, and yawned. Finally, she motioned to Dasen, so he slowly, painfully pulled himself up and walked haltingly to her.

  “Serves you right,” she said as he approached. "First you get yourself captured by the forest masters. Then you tell them who I am, tell them I’m a girl.” At this, her anger returned in earnest. “After I specifically told you not to. And as a result, I have to spend the whole afternoon dodging those idiots. No food, no fire, no sitting by a tree for me.”

  “So why didn’t you just come out? So they knew you were a girl, they’re on our side. You could have trusted them.” The statement sent a pang through Dasen as he remembered the slaughter in the camp. The distorted, dying faces of the officers flashed before his eyes, and he felt his knees wobble, his stomach churn.

  “You alright?” Teth asked, pulling him from the horror of his memories.

  “I was just thinking about what happened in the camp. Those things . . . those . . . creatures killed them all. Right before my eyes. And I would have been next. By the Order, it was . . . .”

  “Stop it,” Teth commanded. “If you keep dwelling on it, you’ll be stuck there forever. Let it go. They’re gone. We’re alive, and if we want to stay that way, we can’t let the dead pull us down.” She paused and sighed, looked like she was suddenly feeling the same remorse she had told him to ignore. “Milne always said, ‘ghosts can either teach us or chase us, and you get to pick which.’” She stopped again, closed her eyes, and mumbled to herself. “In any case, they’re gone,” then under her breath, “and just as well.”

  Dasen was appalled by the last. “How could you say that? They served the Kingdom’s loyally, had fought the invaders. They didn’t deserve to die like that.”

  Teth laughed. “Are you always this naïve?” she sneered. “Somehow you think all men are like you, that they are all kind and honorable, that they wouldn’t ever hurt an innocent girl they find in the forest. Well, we’ve clearly had different experiences.”

  “What did you think was going to happen? They’re the forest masters. They exist to protect people.”

  Teth just laughed again, but it held no humor. “Whatever you say, my husband. I’m just a humble woman who’s lived with the bastards my entire life. Clearly I don’t know what I’m talking about.” With that she untied th
e straps that held the blanket to his back. Unleashed, most of it fell to the ground, streaming down from where it was stuck to his back like a cape. The pain that tugging ignited in his back cut off his attempt to ask what had happened to produce such loathing for the men who were sworn to protect her. Clearly they didn’t like her either, but she seemed to honestly hate – and fear – them.

  “Turn around,” Teth ordered. “Let me take a look at it.” As soon as he did, Teth started pulling painfully where the blanket clung to his back, cutting off any attempts he made at speech.

  “This is a fine mess,” she mumbled. “I save you yet again, and do you thank me? No, you run through the forest like a mad man. Did you even think that I might be trying to keep up with you, that you might get lost, might sprint off a cliff, might run yourself to death?” She stopped and looked around him, stern eyes pounding. “I didn’t think so. I had to tackle you because I couldn’t keep up any longer. Then what did you do? You, by the cursed Order, fell asleep! You went to sleep and left me to clean up the mess in the pouring rain.”

  She paused. Dasen opened his mouth, but she tugged on the blanket, transforming his words to a gasp, and spoke over him. “There was blood everywhere. I didn't think I was ever going to get those cuts to stop bleeding, and the rain wasn't much help. I finally just tied a blanket to your back and rolled you over. I could barely stay awake, but I had to drag you out of the rain, tend your wounds, and make sure you didn’t bleed to death. You’re lucky I didn’t leave you lying where you landed.” Teth was now decidedly upset. The joking affection from a few minutes before was forgotten in the listing of his transgressions.

  Dasen remembered running from the camp. He remembered feeling in control of his body like never before, but to have outrun Teth left him stunned. He did not know what to say. Despite her tirade, he was smiling. He was so happy to see her, so happy they were both still alive that even a scolding was welcome.

  “What are you smiling about?” Teth looked at him. “Do you think it was funny? Well, see how funny this is.”

  Ripping pain flashed through Dasen. He staggered to his toes, arching his back in an attempt to escape his own body. The pain was so sudden and absolute that he couldn’t even scream. He gasped, clenched his teeth, and felt tears welling in his eyes. “By the holy loving Order . . . why did you . . . Shit! That . . . that really . . . why did you . . . ?” Dasen was so overwhelmed that he could not even form a sentence as he staggered about the clearing with his back on fire.

  “It had to be done,” Teth said without remorse. “I had to have the blanket off to clean it and put on the medicine. Trust me, if those get infected, it will be a lot, lot worse. Now sit down so I can tend those cuts. They’re bleeding again.”

  Dasen could feel that. His entire back felt sticky and damp. The pain had subsided, but it still burned to no end, and despite himself, tears were streaming down his cheeks. He glowered at Teth, but she showed not the slightest remorse. “You could . . . by the Order . . . you could have at least warned me. Hilaal’s balls that hurt!”

  “Just sit down, you baby,” Teth reprimanded. “If you hadn’t run away so fast, if you’d have stopped before you collapsed, if you’d have stayed awake for ten minutes, I probably could have found some blue-lace moss and dressed it properly, but as it is, this is what you got. Don’t blame me. You brought that on yourself. So stop whining and sit down.”

  Dasen scowled at her but made his shaking way to a nearby log and sat.

  “This will kill the infection,” Teth explained as she dabbed the blue moss painfully along his back. “It should even ease the pain.” She worked on the cuts for a while longer, picking and dabbing at them until his teeth felt like they might crack. Any thought he had of missing Teth or apologizing was forgotten. “These aren’t as bad as I thought,” she eventually concluded. “They’re such clean cuts that they should heal quickly. You know, they’re in almost the same place as your first set. Maybe, you should stop showing the things your back. People are going to think you’re a coward.” She laughed, but Dasen failed to see the humor. He was starting to remember why he had spent the last week barely talking to his wife.

  Teth paused again, and Dasen could hear the tearing of cloth. As she had promised, the moss had eased the pain to a dull roar, and he was beginning to recover his senses. He wiped the tears from his cheeks, blew his nose on the ground, and took a deep, shaking breath. When he looked back, he saw Teth ripping the small blanket apart.

  “You’re lucky I had this in my satchel,” she said. “Otherwise, we’d probably have to use your pants, and you’re already showing more than I want to see.”

  Dasen did not respond, did not feel like participating in her repartee.

  She spread moss over each of the cuts, covered them with a strip of blanket, then covered the whole thing with a large square. Finally, she created three longer strips that she draped around him. “Here hold these,” she said as the strips fell across his chest. Dasen held them together with his hands until Teth came around to his front. “Now stand up, so I can tie them.” Again he complied. Teth came in close, head just under his chin to tie the strips. Her bottom lip had crept under her teeth again, and she seemed uncertain.

  Dasen was tempted by the proximity but was too upset at the way she had pulled the blanket off and even more at what she had said after to do anything about it. When she had tied the knots almost painfully tight, she stood with her hand on his chest, her face mere inches from his. It would have been the ideal time, Dasen realized, to say the things he’d planned while he was tied to the tree in the forest master’s camp. It would have been the ideal time to kiss her, to tell her that he understood and would try harder. But he didn’t do any of those things. He kept his head high and thought about the easing throb of his back.

  “Well, that should take care of that.” Teth cleared her throat and stepped back into the clearing. “Now, just leave it alone.” She slapped his elbow to keep his hand away.

  “Thanks. I think.” Dasen finally managed. “I’m . . . I’m sorry I ran like that last night. I don’t know what happened. I . . . I wasn’t myself. I had some kind of a . . . revelation, I guess. I don’t really remember now, but I just felt like I could run forever. Then you tackled me and it all came apart. I’m also sorry about the forest masters. I should have thought.”

  Teth looked at him with a strange longing, like she wanted him to continue, like she knew that he had more to say, but he couldn’t bring himself to say anything more. He turned his eyes to the trees. “Do we have any water? I am absolutely dying of thirst.”

  “Ah, no,” Teth looked away. Her voice was husky and soft. “Almost everything we had was in your pack. I still have my bow, a knife, and a few other things, but it’s going to be a long trip to Thoren without that pack.” She sounded deflated but not because of the pack.

  “You know, you’re right,” Dasen began, trying to recapture some of their lost good humor. “I should go back and get it. I’m sure it won’t be a problem. I’ll just walk into the camp and say, ‘excuse me blood-thirsty, chaos-worshiping demon, but you seem to be standing on my pack.’”

  The joke earned a forced smile. “Well, if we weren’t five miles away, I might consider that. As it is . . . .”

  Dasen did not hear what Teth said after that. He was overwhelmed. I ran five miles last night. It felt like a mile at the most. How fast was I going? What happened to me?

  “So, are you coming?” Teth asked from in front of him. Dasen snapped out of his thoughts and followed, trying to recapture what she’d just said.

  “Can I have my shirt back?” he thought to ask as a chill struck him. It was a cool, breezy morning, and the low clouds threatened more rain.

  “It’s over there, if you want it.” Teth pointed to a muddy heap at one side of the clearing. Through the mud, Dasen could see a brown crust that he
knew was blood. The thought of wearing it was repulsive.

  “I guess I’ll pass.”

  “Here, you can carry the satchel. Maybe that will keep you warm.” Teth pulled the bag off and threw it toward him. It felt empty, but Dasen threw it over his shoulder, keeping the bag at his front to protect his back.

  “Come on. We’ll find some water soon enough and maybe some berries. All I got to eat last night was dried woodchuck. Not very appetizing or filling.” She paused then continued almost to herself. “We may even find the end of the forest today. The trees have really changed, and I have to believe we’re getting close.”

  “That will be a welcome change. We shouldn’t have any problem finding a farm. And even if they don’t believe who we are or what we’ve seen, they’ll at least give us something to eat.”

  “That’s if the invaders haven’t already taken everything they have to eat. Or worse.”

  Dasen gulped. He suddenly remembered what Captain Hobbleswood had told him. “The invaders were in Rycroft six, now seven, days ago,” he blurted. “The forest masters told me. They fought them there.”

  Ahead of him, Teth took a deep breath. “So they are going north.” She paused as if absorbing that then shook it off. But to Dasen, it looked like another stone added to the mountain already sitting on her back. “There’s nothing to do about it now. We knew that was a possibility. In any case, I think we keep walking and see what we can see. You agree?”

  “Yeah,” Dasen sighed. “Let’s go.”