| Fantasy Fiction posted March 29, 2015 | Chapters: |
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Even Zarbs Deserves Better Than That!
A chapter in the book THE TRINING Book Three
Muddy Knees & Brief Shallow Graves
by Jay Squires
FROM THE END OF LAST CHAPTER:
“Your uniform will be your ticket to safety, Garvin. There is a deep brotherhood among medics of the armies of all the provinces.”
“Yes ... Well,” said Zarbs, “while you go get your uniform on, I’ll have your crossan saddled and ready. We really must hurry. Excuse me, General ...” He spun away from us on his seat and held up his index finger, “Soldier! Yes, you—come here.”
While he was thus occupied, I leaned over and whispered to Garvin, “Braims will take care of you ... if you choose to stay. Tell him I suggested it.”
Garvin pulled back and his eyes whipped immediately to Zarbs, who was still finishing up with the soldier; he turned back to me and nodded, mouthing his “Thank you.”
BOOK III
Chapter Twenty-one
(Part 3)
We took the road angling south from the Triple Rock marker which would lead us to the watering pond. I remembered from my map that apparently went down with Rain Spirit II, that turning in the opposite direction at the Triple Rock marker, and going another five miles, we’d have come upon the road north, taking us to the Castle of Qarnolt.
That would be our return route after we’d deposited the bodies by the pond and dispatched Garvin with Braims Glassem’s letter to the Plain of Dzur.
Casual sideward glances at Zarbs told me something was on his mind and he was probably rehearsing a way to broach it. While I waited, I watched the splotchy gray-to-black land rolling past us beneath the torch, which angled out of its sconce about 45 degrees away from the wagon. Another torch extended out over Zarb’s side of the wagon.
The clopping of hooves was hypnotic, but I didn’t feel comfortable dozing off. So I continued on with my pastime. Zarbs was not aware of my spying on him. He seemed about ready to speak. The corners of his mouth were twitching to near-smiles.
I turned the other way in my seat to look back at Garvin who was in the first rank of soldiers behind us. His medic uniform contrasted him from the rest. I flashed him a quick smile, and then turned back to the front. My movement must have plucked Zarbs from his private thoughts for he cleared his throat. I turned my head to him.
“I remember a part of your letter,” he started tentatively, “about a—a, um—I think you called it an anthem?”
“Okay.”
“Well ... can you tell me about it?”
“I’m sure you have one of your own, don’t you?”
He looked confused. “Our own?”
I stared at him a moment. “I guess that answers my question. We have time—would you like to hear a little story?”
“Well—”
“Sure ... I remember once when we encamped for the night and were readying for sleep, a group of soldiers were humming our anthem, My Kabeez. Well, actually that happened on most evenings, and it was a very comforting and moving experience. On this particular night, though, I was outside my tent, and my courier, who was standing beside me and listening, asked me if I thought the Far Northern Province had their anthem. You see, colonel, he and I knew how important My Kabeez was to unify the troops from all the various camps in the southern province. We became brothers under one overiding symbol. As brothers, any one of us was willing to die for any other brother.”
“I see,” he said, almost dismissively, but I wasn’t about to let the subject drop.
“You know what I told my courier, Colonel Zarbs, when he asked if I thought the Far Northern Province had an anthem?”
“No.”
“I put my hand on his shoulder and said, ‘Engel, I certainly hope they don’t.’ And I must say, Colonel Zarbs, I’m happy to hear you affirm that you don’t. It will make it much easier.”
He cleared his throat and looked out at the road to his right. My eyes focused on the shadowed valley in the pink fold of skin, glistening just above his collar, where his neck joined to his polished dome.
“Even though you don’t know him by name, Colonel Zarbs ...”
His head made several staccato moves back to face me. “Who?”
“That’s what I was going to tell you.... Engel, the one who asked me that question, was the one riding next to me during your ambush. He had it much worse than I. As a matter of fact, this may help you remember him. You said that along with our crossans, your men mercifully euthanized him—you remember—? Because of his head injury ... and because—I think the way you said it was—because you weren’t savages?”
I found myself again staring at the shadow within that pink fold of skin, between his neck and his head.
# # #
When we pulled off the road and approached the watering pond, Zarbs reached out his hand and touched his fingertips to my forearm. I must have stared at his hand curiously, because he immediately jerked it back like he’d been shocked.
“I’m sorry, General Doctrex—I didn’t mean to ...”
“What, Colonel?”
“We really aren’t ...”
“What?” I asked, impatiently. “Aren’t what?”
“Sav—" His voice caught. "—savages.”
“Colonel, we’ve got bodies to take off the wagon if you’re going to deliver me to the Almighty Glnot Rhuether before he sends out a search party.”
He sighed and stared down at his fingers crawling like pudgy worms entangled in his lap.
“Will you give your men the order to help me?” I waited, but saw he was disengaged. As an officer, I felt embarrassed for him. I put my face up into his, “Supreme Colonel Zarbs ... your men, colonel! Do you think they don’t see this—what’s going on? You’ve got to take control.”
He made a quick shake of his head, blinked at me and then straightened up. “I need six men,” he bellowed. “Off your crossans and here, now.”
“Make it nine,” I corrected.
“Nine men, then, hurry—let’s go!”
Within twenty seconds, nine men were standing beside him at the wagon in the flickering torchlight.
“You will do as the general tells you.”
“I’ll need three men to a body,” I told them. “You will very gently carry the bodies over there.” I pointed toward the pond where the reeds that lined the back of it had been set in motion by an icy breeze lifted off the flat expanse of plain behind them. A mist swirled on the pond’s surface. I climbed off the seat and hopped onto the ground.
Several soldiers got into the back of the wagon, and carefully pushing and pulling on the sheets covering each body, maneuvered them to the rear of the wagon. A pair of soldiers removed the wagon’s back panel, setting it aside, and then helped slide the covered feet off the wagon and into the waiting arms of the soldiers. As they pulled them further off, three more were there to prop up the sagging hips. Finally, the remaining three gripped them around their shoulders and chest.
“That’s good, men; be gentle with them and follow me.” I led them to a roughly rectangular area, approximately five by ten feet in diameter, at the northeast section of the pond. It was recessed about six inches, the ground spongy from years of composted vegetation. My guess was it once had been part of the pond. Thanks to a medium-sized boulder and some fairly thick vegetation crowding around it, their shallow, temporary communal grave would not likely be seen by a traveler along the road.
The soldiers laid the bodies down outside the rectangle, and while four of them went out to gather reeds and loose vegetation, the other two and I busied ourselves scooping out more of the soft soil. By the time the gatherers returned we had dug out another six inches. Very gingerly, we deposited the three bodies and covered them with the vegetation. We had to make another trip of it before there was enough to fully cover them.
At last the finishing touches were added by spreading the leaves and branches about to look more random.
I dismissed the soldiers, asking one of them to seek permission from Supreme Colonel Zarbs to have Medic Garvin come over. He needed to be aware of where the bodies lay so he could lead the Kabeezan contingent to retrieve them.
I had a hunch the request would not set too well with Zarbs, but time would tell.
While I waited, I looked down at the temporary gravesites, and then I closed my eyes and thought about these young men, none of them over twenty-five. I thought of Engel and the other casualties of the ambush who hadn’t warranted this attention. They had been disposed of probably in a manner not much different from the unceremonious way we disposed of Ziltinaur’s bag-o’-soldiers, or those who poured out of his armored belly and were summarily mowed down as they raced toward our waiting bowmen.
How many of my troops had been destroyed at the site of the ambush I had no way of knowing. Zarbs bravado at the time was no true indicator. Did his men kill them all as he boasted? Or did some of them retreat back to Giln’s troops who were several miles behind us, alerting them of the ambush?
If, or until, I knew for certain, these three: Jed, Karule and Erel, for their mix of courage, weakness and heroism, that was probably a representative mix of all the soldiers, would be buried as a symbol of all the dead unknowns.
I had said my goodbyes to Jed the night he died. To Erel I simply said to myself, “You were a hero it is my loss never to have known.” I kept my eyes closed, and for the longest time no words came for Karule. Finally, I said, under my breath, “A wiser man than I said you weren’t bad, only weak. And I suppose anyone who draws breath can be heir to that.”
Someone whispered my name. I opened my eyes and turned my head in that direction.
“Excuse me, General Doctrex,” Zarbs said, “I hope I wasn’t interrupting.”
Garvin stood beside Zarbs, and watched the grass at his feet.
“Yes.” Still kneeling, I looked at first one and then the other. “I needed to show Medic Garvin where the bodies are buried so he can lead Braims Glassem here.”
“Yes?”
“Didn’t you think Garvin could have found his way over here by himself?”
“General Doctrex!”
I wished I could have called back my words. Seeing Zarbs’ body stiffen, and his face blanch, a wave of guilt washed over me. Even Zarbs didn’t deserve to be publicly embarrassed in front of one of his men. I had exploited my position of strength and I did it because—because I could! If it were anyone else, I would have immediately apologized. But it was Zarbs and I needed to keep him off balance.
“Anyway, you’re here, Medic Garvin,” I said, “and here in front of me are the graves you are to direct Braims Glassem to.”
Garvin glanced at me. “Yes, sir.”
I stood and turned toward them, brushing away clumps of mud from my knees.
Zarbs’ mouth flew open as he gaped at me. “Sir ...” he whined. “General Doctrex! Your—your—”
“My what? My knees? They’ll dry, Supreme Colonel Zarbs.” I smiled at his consternation.
“But—we’ll have to go back to the camp to clean them, sir. And we don’t have time. We are already late. What am I—” His eyes welled up.
Garvin angled his shoulders to face the pond.
“Look, Supreme Colonel Zarbs,” I said, “you have water in the wagon. I’m sure there’s a rag there somewhere. We have several hours before we get to the castle. I’ll clean off the worst of it before we get there. Okay?”
Zarbs gave me a quick couple of nods, blinking his eyes. He sniffed. “Yes, let’s do that. Shall we go?”
“Yes,” I said. “Medic Garvin, do you have the letter?”
“In my saddlebag, sir.”
“Supreme Colonel Zarbs, may I thank Medic Garvin for all the help he gave me?”
“I suppose.”
I wanted to hug Garvin the way I hugged Jed the night I gave him my blessing for leaving me as my courier and becoming an AIM. Zarbs was facing us. Was he thinking I’d whisper a covert message in Garvin’s ear? I figured he already knew what his options were once he delivered the letter to Braims Glassem. Just now, I sincerely wanted him to feel something that transcended one hand grasping another. That could only come with an embrace.
That was not to be though. I extended my hand, and he his, while Zarbs watched, blinking.
“Thank you my friend.”
“Thank you, General Doctrex, sir.”
FROM THE END OF LAST CHAPTER:
“Your uniform will be your ticket to safety, Garvin. There is a deep brotherhood among medics of the armies of all the provinces.”
“Yes ... Well,” said Zarbs, “while you go get your uniform on, I’ll have your crossan saddled and ready. We really must hurry. Excuse me, General ...” He spun away from us on his seat and held up his index finger, “Soldier! Yes, you—come here.”
While he was thus occupied, I leaned over and whispered to Garvin, “Braims will take care of you ... if you choose to stay. Tell him I suggested it.”
Garvin pulled back and his eyes whipped immediately to Zarbs, who was still finishing up with the soldier; he turned back to me and nodded, mouthing his “Thank you.”
“Yes ... Well,” said Zarbs, “while you go get your uniform on, I’ll have your crossan saddled and ready. We really must hurry. Excuse me, General ...” He spun away from us on his seat and held up his index finger, “Soldier! Yes, you—come here.”
While he was thus occupied, I leaned over and whispered to Garvin, “Braims will take care of you ... if you choose to stay. Tell him I suggested it.”
Garvin pulled back and his eyes whipped immediately to Zarbs, who was still finishing up with the soldier; he turned back to me and nodded, mouthing his “Thank you.”
BOOK III
Chapter Twenty-one
(Part 3)
We took the road angling south from the Triple Rock marker which would lead us to the watering pond. I remembered from my map that apparently went down with Rain Spirit II, that turning in the opposite direction at the Triple Rock marker, and going another five miles, we’d have come upon the road north, taking us to the Castle of Qarnolt.
That would be our return route after we’d deposited the bodies by the pond and dispatched Garvin with Braims Glassem’s letter to the Plain of Dzur.
Casual sideward glances at Zarbs told me something was on his mind and he was probably rehearsing a way to broach it. While I waited, I watched the splotchy gray-to-black land rolling past us beneath the torch, which angled out of its sconce about 45 degrees away from the wagon. Another torch extended out over Zarb’s side of the wagon.
The clopping of hooves was hypnotic, but I didn’t feel comfortable dozing off. So I continued on with my pastime. Zarbs was not aware of my spying on him. He seemed about ready to speak. The corners of his mouth were twitching to near-smiles.
I turned the other way in my seat to look back at Garvin who was in the first rank of soldiers behind us. His medic uniform contrasted him from the rest. I flashed him a quick smile, and then turned back to the front. My movement must have plucked Zarbs from his private thoughts for he cleared his throat. I turned my head to him.
“I remember a part of your letter,” he started tentatively, “about a—a, um—I think you called it an anthem?”
“Okay.”
“Well ... can you tell me about it?”
“I’m sure you have one of your own, don’t you?”
He looked confused. “Our own?”
I stared at him a moment. “I guess that answers my question. We have time—would you like to hear a little story?”
“Well—”
“Sure ... I remember once when we encamped for the night and were readying for sleep, a group of soldiers were humming our anthem, My Kabeez. Well, actually that happened on most evenings, and it was a very comforting and moving experience. On this particular night, though, I was outside my tent, and my courier, who was standing beside me and listening, asked me if I thought the Far Northern Province had their anthem. You see, colonel, he and I knew how important My Kabeez was to unify the troops from all the various camps in the southern province. We became brothers under one overiding symbol. As brothers, any one of us was willing to die for any other brother.”
“I see,” he said, almost dismissively, but I wasn’t about to let the subject drop.
“You know what I told my courier, Colonel Zarbs, when he asked if I thought the Far Northern Province had an anthem?”
“No.”
“I put my hand on his shoulder and said, ‘Engel, I certainly hope they don’t.’ And I must say, Colonel Zarbs, I’m happy to hear you affirm that you don’t. It will make it much easier.”
He cleared his throat and looked out at the road to his right. My eyes focused on the shadowed valley in the pink fold of skin, glistening just above his collar, where his neck joined to his polished dome.
“Even though you don’t know him by name, Colonel Zarbs ...”
His head made several staccato moves back to face me. “Who?”
“That’s what I was going to tell you.... Engel, the one who asked me that question, was the one riding next to me during your ambush. He had it much worse than I. As a matter of fact, this may help you remember him. You said that along with our crossans, your men mercifully euthanized him—you remember—? Because of his head injury ... and because—I think the way you said it was—because you weren’t savages?”
I found myself again staring at the shadow within that pink fold of skin, between his neck and his head.
# # #
When we pulled off the road and approached the watering pond, Zarbs reached out his hand and touched his fingertips to my forearm. I must have stared at his hand curiously, because he immediately jerked it back like he’d been shocked.
“I’m sorry, General Doctrex—I didn’t mean to ...”
“What, Colonel?”
“We really aren’t ...”
“What?” I asked, impatiently. “Aren’t what?”
“Sav—" His voice caught. "—savages.”
“Colonel, we’ve got bodies to take off the wagon if you’re going to deliver me to the Almighty Glnot Rhuether before he sends out a search party.”
He sighed and stared down at his fingers crawling like pudgy worms entangled in his lap.
“Will you give your men the order to help me?” I waited, but saw he was disengaged. As an officer, I felt embarrassed for him. I put my face up into his, “Supreme Colonel Zarbs ... your men, colonel! Do you think they don’t see this—what’s going on? You’ve got to take control.”
He made a quick shake of his head, blinked at me and then straightened up. “I need six men,” he bellowed. “Off your crossans and here, now.”
“Make it nine,” I corrected.
“Nine men, then, hurry—let’s go!”
Within twenty seconds, nine men were standing beside him at the wagon in the flickering torchlight.
“You will do as the general tells you.”
“I’ll need three men to a body,” I told them. “You will very gently carry the bodies over there.” I pointed toward the pond where the reeds that lined the back of it had been set in motion by an icy breeze lifted off the flat expanse of plain behind them. A mist swirled on the pond’s surface. I climbed off the seat and hopped onto the ground.
Several soldiers got into the back of the wagon, and carefully pushing and pulling on the sheets covering each body, maneuvered them to the rear of the wagon. A pair of soldiers removed the wagon’s back panel, setting it aside, and then helped slide the covered feet off the wagon and into the waiting arms of the soldiers. As they pulled them further off, three more were there to prop up the sagging hips. Finally, the remaining three gripped them around their shoulders and chest.
“That’s good, men; be gentle with them and follow me.” I led them to a roughly rectangular area, approximately five by ten feet in diameter, at the northeast section of the pond. It was recessed about six inches, the ground spongy from years of composted vegetation. My guess was it once had been part of the pond. Thanks to a medium-sized boulder and some fairly thick vegetation crowding around it, their shallow, temporary communal grave would not likely be seen by a traveler along the road.
The soldiers laid the bodies down outside the rectangle, and while four of them went out to gather reeds and loose vegetation, the other two and I busied ourselves scooping out more of the soft soil. By the time the gatherers returned we had dug out another six inches. Very gingerly, we deposited the three bodies and covered them with the vegetation. We had to make another trip of it before there was enough to fully cover them.
At last the finishing touches were added by spreading the leaves and branches about to look more random.
I dismissed the soldiers, asking one of them to seek permission from Supreme Colonel Zarbs to have Medic Garvin come over. He needed to be aware of where the bodies lay so he could lead the Kabeezan contingent to retrieve them.
I had a hunch the request would not set too well with Zarbs, but time would tell.
While I waited, I looked down at the temporary gravesites, and then I closed my eyes and thought about these young men, none of them over twenty-five. I thought of Engel and the other casualties of the ambush who hadn’t warranted this attention. They had been disposed of probably in a manner not much different from the unceremonious way we disposed of Ziltinaur’s bag-o’-soldiers, or those who poured out of his armored belly and were summarily mowed down as they raced toward our waiting bowmen.
How many of my troops had been destroyed at the site of the ambush I had no way of knowing. Zarbs bravado at the time was no true indicator. Did his men kill them all as he boasted? Or did some of them retreat back to Giln’s troops who were several miles behind us, alerting them of the ambush?
If, or until, I knew for certain, these three: Jed, Karule and Erel, for their mix of courage, weakness and heroism, that was probably a representative mix of all the soldiers, would be buried as a symbol of all the dead unknowns.
I had said my goodbyes to Jed the night he died. To Erel I simply said to myself, “You were a hero it is my loss never to have known.” I kept my eyes closed, and for the longest time no words came for Karule. Finally, I said, under my breath, “A wiser man than I said you weren’t bad, only weak. And I suppose anyone who draws breath can be heir to that.”
Someone whispered my name. I opened my eyes and turned my head in that direction.
“Excuse me, General Doctrex,” Zarbs said, “I hope I wasn’t interrupting.”
Garvin stood beside Zarbs, and watched the grass at his feet.
“Yes.” Still kneeling, I looked at first one and then the other. “I needed to show Medic Garvin where the bodies are buried so he can lead Braims Glassem here.”
“Yes?”
“Didn’t you think Garvin could have found his way over here by himself?”
“General Doctrex!”
I wished I could have called back my words. Seeing Zarbs’ body stiffen, and his face blanch, a wave of guilt washed over me. Even Zarbs didn’t deserve to be publicly embarrassed in front of one of his men. I had exploited my position of strength and I did it because—because I could! If it were anyone else, I would have immediately apologized. But it was Zarbs and I needed to keep him off balance.
“Anyway, you’re here, Medic Garvin,” I said, “and here in front of me are the graves you are to direct Braims Glassem to.”
Garvin glanced at me. “Yes, sir.”
I stood and turned toward them, brushing away clumps of mud from my knees.
Zarbs’ mouth flew open as he gaped at me. “Sir ...” he whined. “General Doctrex! Your—your—”
“My what? My knees? They’ll dry, Supreme Colonel Zarbs.” I smiled at his consternation.
“But—we’ll have to go back to the camp to clean them, sir. And we don’t have time. We are already late. What am I—” His eyes welled up.
Garvin angled his shoulders to face the pond.
“Look, Supreme Colonel Zarbs,” I said, “you have water in the wagon. I’m sure there’s a rag there somewhere. We have several hours before we get to the castle. I’ll clean off the worst of it before we get there. Okay?”
Zarbs gave me a quick couple of nods, blinking his eyes. He sniffed. “Yes, let’s do that. Shall we go?”
“Yes,” I said. “Medic Garvin, do you have the letter?”
“In my saddlebag, sir.”
“Supreme Colonel Zarbs, may I thank Medic Garvin for all the help he gave me?”
“I suppose.”
I wanted to hug Garvin the way I hugged Jed the night I gave him my blessing for leaving me as my courier and becoming an AIM. Zarbs was facing us. Was he thinking I’d whisper a covert message in Garvin’s ear? I figured he already knew what his options were once he delivered the letter to Braims Glassem. Just now, I sincerely wanted him to feel something that transcended one hand grasping another. That could only come with an embrace.
That was not to be though. I extended my hand, and he his, while Zarbs watched, blinking.
“Thank you my friend.”
“Thank you, General Doctrex, sir.”
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