THE DELVING--3
Where am I now?
I cannot see.
Please tell me how;
I'll climb your tree!
But pray don't make
Me sit in that:
An awkward rake,
And I'll go splat!
-- Song of the Lost Traveler
Chapter 3: Flail of Ralsoth
Jake Daly groaned in pain as his eyes began to focus. He did not remember who he was, nor did he know where he was. His beard itched intensely. Another pair of eyes looked into his--eyes that were full of caring concern. They were green, or brown--he couldn't tell for sure, but they were set in a face of warm loveliness, and were slanted slightly upwards--Jake thought of Indian maidens--and abundant, rich brown hair framed it all.
She spoke: "I was worried about you, World-man. I think you must have fallen on the stone stairs in the Well, and knocked yourself out. You were lying there, and you did not move, even though I called out. It is a good thing I had my horse, or you would still be there--I'm not strong enough to lift you out by myself."
Jake turned his head slightly. On their left was the most magnificent horse he had ever seen--black as midnight, and not too large, but with powerful muscles. The horse neighed softly as if he knew they were talking about him.
"Where am I?" Jake wanted to have some questions answered. He was beginning to feel a little better, but he was still very confused.
"You are in Earthwithin," she answered. "I am Annalyn, Flail of Ralsoth, and I have been sent to welcome you. I was told that a World-man would come to help rescue Ithuriel. The quest is in my charge." She indicated a bit of jewelry which hung on a gold chain around her neck--a small but cunningly-smelted golden sun. "Was there not a woman who came with you?"
Jake's head swam. "There was Nancy... but she wasn't supposed to come..."
"Perhaps you should rest a bit longer."
"Maybe if you tell me more, it might jog my memory. I don't think I know what's going on--it's like a bad dream--waking up after a bad dream--except this is another dream, even if it is a good one, maybe...."
Annalyn sighed. "Ralsoth is not pleased. Tam Lin and Ithamar were supposed to wait until you and the woman arrived. Ralsoth said that Tam Lin would not exercise good judgment in this matter--his feelings about her would prevent it. But he and Ithamar departed by themselves. Nothing has been heard of them for seven days. They were last seen heading toward Firefly Landing, on the Green River, where an entrance to the Delving is known to exist."
The warrior-woman stood up, towering above Jake, a simple, close-fiting tunic of soft blue-green making a pleasant contrast with her tanned complexion, descending from short cap sleeves to a point above her knees. Her legs were long and powerful-looking; she wore supple leather moccasins. Two grim black hatchets hung from her belt, one with a head like a sharpened five-point iron star, and a black bow with green-feathered arrows peeked out from a quiver slung over her back. A bright red choker, twisted of the same soft cloth as the tunic, circled her neck. Struggling, Jake raised himself up on his elbows.
Annalyn began to smile. "You are recovering!" she enthused. "It is a good thing, for we must travel far before nightfall."
"But wait a minute," said Jake. "Where is Earthwithin, and where did I come from? Who am I?" He was beginning to feel a bit silly.
"I was told that you might feel confused," she replied. "You come from another world, which is a part of ours--it is one and the same world. But it is different. There are two or three of them--I do not know from which you came. And as to who you are, do you not think that is a question which you should be answering?"
Jake's brow wrinkled, and his head started hurting again. "I don't know," he said. "My name is Jake Daly, but that's all I can think of. Have you ever heard of something called amnesia?"
"No, I have not," she replied. "Tell me of this amnesia."
"It's when you hit your head, and lose part of your memory. You can't remember who you are, or where you came from. All that comes to me is that it was dark, and we were on an articulated family coach, and there was some shooting, and Nancy...." Jake sank back to the ground, feeling exhausted.
Annalyn's face became serious again. "I'm sorry that this happened to you, but we really must go. The Nequam were following me last night, but I outran them. They will be arriving soon; they always keep close watch on the Well."
The World-man looked the other way. He could see a huge, circular defile in the grassy plain, perhaps a hundred feet across. Sounds of disturbance echoed from its depths, as of giants boiling eggs, he thought.
"It is Twilintarn, the Well of the Moon and the Sun. You came out of a door about halfway down the shaft--Ralsoth said you would come the same way as did the other World-man, Beckman. You were lying near the top when I first saw you. I tied my rope around my horse's neck, and he held fast with all four legs while I descended and attached it around your waist. With his assistance, I was able to draw you out, although I'm afraid you got a few scrapes on the way up. But we must go."
The young warrior bent down and scooped Daly up in her arms as if he were a rag doll. He wondered how she could have had any trouble getting him out of the Well, but he supposed it might have been farther down.... She flung him across her horse's back.
"Now I've saved you the trouble of mounting. I don't know if you've had any experience with horses; I hope you can at least sit up straight."
Jake hadn't had much experience with horses, but he managed to twist himself around and sit up. He didn't know how long he could stay that way.
"Scoot yourself back. I need to be in front."
Daly complied, although he just knew he would soon be sliding down the horse's tail to the ground. Annalyn vaulted lightly onto their mount's back, somehow not touching him; her next command surprised him.
"Move up close and hold onto me tightly. We can't risk having you fall off."
Dazed, he reached forward and encircled her body with his arms; at first he felt overwhelmed, but suddenly he felt a great sense of peace. Instantly the horse leaped forward, and their flight began. Daly could not believe how easily the horse galloped, even among the trees of the forest which they soon entered. His fear of falling off left him.
As they flew along, the warrior maiden commented: "We are in Lorningwood. It was the most dangerous wood on the Earth, but since the Reunion was accomplished, all the Lornings are gone. I have made a hideaway for myself not far from the entrance to their cavern. Because of their reputation, it is still a place where few travel." Daly digested this information as they continued their rapid pace for a few more minutes.
As they slowed, the World-man could see that his impression of impossibly tangled branches had been correct, and he was even more amazed that they could have covered so much distance in so short a time. But here the trees were much closer together, and even their reduced pace was soon slowed to a crawl as Annalyn dismounted and reached up to help her companion down to the ground. She then led her horse through narrow spaces between massive trunks, talking to him gently when he hesitated. At last they arrived in a tiny clearing with an unusually tall tree at one end. Tethering her mount to an iron ring in its trunk, she swung easily into its branches. "I'll let down a ladder for you," she called, and in only seconds her promise was made good. Daly did not think he would be able to manage a rope ladder very well, but to his surprise he ascended easily. The rays of the setting sun penetrated the branches of the tree, which towered above the rest of the forest.
Toward the top of the tree there was a narrow circular platform all the way around its trunk. A few small, iron-bound cabinets with recessed locks were affixed at a convenient distance above the planks. But what was truly amazing was the radiating series of hammocks which extended in every direction, completely encircling the tree. Jake guessed that there were about a dozen of them. "They're not all for sleeping," explained Annalyn. "The cabinets are just for smaller things. Anything that takes up a lot of space, like hay or oats for my horse, goes in a hammock." She indicated a nearby example, which seemed to be divided halfway between the ends by a band of canvas about two feet wide. "You can have a seat in the near end of this one. I'll bring us something to eat and sit in the far end."
The rope ladder had been no problem, but Jake maneuvered carefully to ease himself into the hammock, which was made entirely of a heavy, dark green fabric, blending flawlessly into the foliage surrounding it. Keeping his back to the tree trunk seemed the only reasonable thing to try, but he was still very uncomfortable even after he had assumed a sort of semi-squat. He winced and thought he was going to fall to his death when Annalyn, wearing a brown apron, lightly tripped along the branches, tray balanced on one hand, and took a seat in the other end, facing him. She quickly placed food and drink on the canvas swath between them, and bowed her head to utter a prayer of thanksgiving to the Creator. Jake mumbled his assent and sat facing her steady gaze when she was finished.
There were leather pouches filled with a satisfying liquid that tasted slightly of apples. Daly found that it took him most of the meal to finish his off; the skin, slumped against the curving surface of the "table," held more than he had estimated. Deep-cut wooden bowls contained dates, a rich cheese, and chunks of dried beef that were solid, yet tender. As they ate, and the fireflies came out in the gathering dusk, the visitor found himself feeling more and more at home, as if he had been here all his life. His companion said little until he had eaten his fill, but then she began to inform him.
"When our last visitor from Worldwithout came, his Quest, along with a certain Fir Darig, was to save the Stag, which contained in the form of a deer all the vital energy of both halves of Earth. The Huntsman sought to kill the Stag, but after many days, the two companions, aided by other members of the Quest, achieved Reunion, and the Huntsman was defeated. But during that time, Scratch, the evil Demon Man of the Woods, kidnapped Ithuriel, twin of Ithamar, to be his bride, quite against her wishes and to the great dismay of Tam Lin the minstrel, who hoped to marry her himself."
"Does this Scratch have on one of his legs a horse's hoof instead of a foot?"
Annalyn was startled. "How did you know that? I thought you said you had this... this... amnesia?"
"Oh, I still do. I don't know how I knew about the horse's hoof--it just sort of popped into my head."
The mistress of the hammocks was silent for a time. But then she resumed. "Many people thought that when the Huntsman was killed, Earth would have peace. True, it is better, but Scratch has begun to take the Huntsman's place. It is rumored that he has been moving his forces into the Delving, a vast underground stronghold, and strengthening his alliances with various bands of Igullus Nequam."
"Nequam--they can fly, right?"
Annalyn paled. Her deep, serious eyes regarded the World-man intently. "If this amnesia of yours is some kind of act, Jake Daly, then you had better stop it right now."
"No--it's not an act. You said I had fallen and hit my head."
"So I thought--but perhaps you were only pretending."
"I wasn't pretending." Jake reached up and touched a spot on the side of his head; it had been throbbing for some time, and now he realized that he had quite a goose-egg there. It was mostly hidden by his thick hair, but it seemed to be getting larger. He felt a wave of nausea sweeping over him, and he grabbed the sides of the hammock, leaning over the edge with the sensation that he was about to retch. The hammock yawed precariously, even with Annalyn's expert balancing, and one of the wooden bowls slid off the canvas table and clattered through the branches below.
Annalyn quickly swept the remaining items into a large pocket in her apron and sprang to the circular platform. Seizing Jake by the shoulders, she extracted him from the near end of the hammock and slung him over her shoulders, placing him in another, higher up and on the other side of the tree, where he could stretch out. Examining his head, she murmured a fervent apology and reached into one of the cabinets for a glass jug of amber liquid. This she poured on the lump on her visitor's head, gently fanning it with her hands. The liquid burned like fire, and yet within a few minutes Jake could feel a delicious coolness spreading over his scalp. Returning to the cabinet, his hostess withdrew a crystal decanter and offered her patient a draught of delicious peach flavor; its effect was calming and warming; the color began to return to his cheeks. As he began to feel better, he noticed that Annalyn was sitting beside him; this hammock was twice as wide as normal, with two compartments instead of one, and two ropes at its head, extending up to branches above. Observing his surprise, Annalyn explained: "This was to be my wedding hammock. We were to spend our first night together here." She had put a black cloak over her cyan-hued tunic, and she drew it tightly about her.
Jake was taken aback. "I'm... I mean, what happened? Why didn't you use it?"
"He was betrayed and sent into an ambush of thirty Nequam. He slew eighteen of them before they overcame him."
"Who betrayed him?"
"Earthwithin's most treacherous villain--one of Scratch's henchmen--you'll find out about him soon enough."
Daly didn't think he should say anything more. The last bits of twilight were almost gone, and it was getting hard to see, but Annalyn's sweet, serious face was still clear in front of him.
"You'll be more comfortable here than anywhere else; this hammock can't turn over. You can put your pack on this side. I'll leave breakfast for you next to it--I have some errands to run early in the morning. Don't leave this tree without me--there are still dangers in this wood, and you are unarmed."
"Don't you have a sword or anything here that I could use?" Daly could see Annalyn's smirk in the gathering darkness.
"Those who do not know swordsmanship frequently injure themselves."
"I have a feeling I could use it."
"There you go again, amnesia-man."
"I'm sorry--I'm not used to being looked after like that."
"Maybe you had better get used to it."
Daly decided to leave well enough alone. "Good night, then, and thanks for your help and hospitality."
"Good night. May the Creator grant you sweet sleep." Surprising Jake again, she leaned over and held him close for a moment before she left. She then covered him with a light blanket, and stepped easily from the hammock onto a branch. Despite his pains and the puzzling circumstances, the World-man soon slept peacefully, but not before he heard muffled sobs coming from another hammock about a third of the way around the tree, and above him.
CHAPTER 4
MILEPOSTERS
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
MILEPOSTERS
The Allegheny Trail Alliance Web site has maps
and many links to information on trails in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, and West Virginia.
Messages: carolinaivy AT juno DOT com