“He is who he is,”philosophized Arik. “Neither of us is a simple creature, why shouldhe be?”
The boys sat quietly gazing at thecampfire. After an hour had passed Garth returned to the campsitelooking refreshed. “There is a stream out that way about a quarterof a mile in case you are in the mind for refreshing in themorning,” Garth said. “Now it is time for us to retire. Tomorrowwill be a hard day for you. I assume that Tedi will be receivinglessons as well. We will begin in the morning with learning to ridea horse properly. After breakfast, you will get a chance topractice on the trail as we move south from here. Tomorrow eveningwe focus on caring for the horses and simple self-defense. Goodnight.”
“Shouldn’t we set a sentry?”Arik asked. “The Dark Riders are not that far away.”
“It won’t be necessarytonight,” assured Garth and then he disappeared behind the wagon.The boys were tired enough to have no problems fallingasleep.
The boys woke at early light and lookedaround the campsite. Nothing seemed to be moving and they rose andgathered their blankets into a roll. Tedi was startled when Garthwalked in from the woods without making a sound.
“Good morning,” Garthannounced. “I hope you are ready for your lessons.
Arik stifled a yawn and seemed to belooking around for something to eat. Garth gathered the two horsesthe boys had rode in on and led them towards the pile of saddles.For two hours the boys learned the rudimentary facts of horsecaring and how to properly mount and guide the horses, beforeKalina called that breakfast was ready.
Kalina served a bountiful breakfast ofsome kind of eggs, too large for chicken eggs, and bacon that wassaltier than any Arik had ever tasted. Only the bread was adisappointment, being hard and crusty. Coffee was served with ahalf lemon and Arik watched how Garth devoured this beforeattempting it himself. Biting into the lemon was like a shock tohis nervous system, but the taste of the coffee afterwards wassuperb. Arik couldn’t help comparing it to the wonderful relief youfelt after pulling out a hook that was stuck in yourhand.
After breakfast everyone helped toclean up the campsite and Garth hitched two horses to the wagon. Healso tied two horses to the rear of the wagon, a beautiful whitemare and the dun stallion he had acquired from the Dark Riders. Theboys rode the geldings that Garth had given them to escape on.Arik’s was solid black and Tedi’s was black with a white blaze.Garth, of course, rode his black stallion.
There wasn’t much of a trail at first,but Garth led them slightly southwest until they hit a seldom usedbut decent path southward. For hours they rode mostly in silencewith only the sounds of the birds or an occasional word from Garthon their riding skills. Kalina passed out some dried beef andcrusty bread and they ate lunch while riding. Just as the sky beganto darken, Garth shot forward without explanation. Ten minuteslater, he returned and spoke with Kalina and then announced thatthey would be stopping for the night.
Garth led them to a clearing alongsidea brook and motioned for the boys to follow him as Kalinapositioned the wagon where she wanted it. Garth dismounted andinstructed the boys on their duties in caring for the horses andthen jogged off to collect firewood. After the fire was started andthe animals tended to, Garth produced a couple of wooden lathswords and started instructing the boys in the basics ofswordsmanship. He worked the boys for an hour before Kalinaindicated that dinner was ready.
The dinner consisted of fried rivertrout and turnips and some more of that leafy green vegetable. WhenKalina saw the boys examining the trout, she laughed.
She nodded towards the brook andchuckled. “You didn’t think I was darning socks while you menplayed with your swords, did you? They are probably a bit smallerthan your typical salt water fish, but I assure you they are quitetasty.”
After dinner Garth lit a pipe andleaned his back against a large rock. “We’ll rest a bit before westart instructions again,” Garth announced. When the boys stifledsmall groans, Garth looked at them with an arched eyebrow. “If youwish me to make warriors out of you before you leave, we do nothave much time to spare. Why, you already spent most of the dayjust sitting.”
Tedi actually chuckled until he triedto change his sitting position and the pain shot through histhighs. “I’m not sure what is worse,” he said, “being killedoutright by the Dark Riders or being killed slowly byyou.”
Garth just smiled and leaned his headback against the tree. “The first few days are the worst,” heoffered softly. “You’d be surprised at how quick the body adjuststo accept pain. You’re not going through anything that your fathersdidn’t go through.”
“My father never had to ride ahorse or swing a sword,” laughed Arik.
Garth leaned forward and looked at theboys. “Your fathers did both and I’m sure they did itwell.”
Both boys looked in amazement at Garth,but it was Tedi who took the bait. “What do you know about ourfathers that we don’t?” he asked.
“I know that they were bothsoldiers before they took up fishing,” Garth stated. “And from thecourage they both exhibited, I would think they were very goodsoldiers.”
“How do you know that?”inquired Arik. “And what courage are you talking about?”
“And now I can tell that theyare not boastful men,” Garth laughed. “As for them being soldiers,it is obvious. When a man enters an army, the army breaks the mandown to subservience and when he has learned to obey, they bringhim up to leadership so he knows how to command. This conditioningmarks a man for life. He will never slouch again. He will neverwalk down a street in a daze oblivious to his surroundings. Hiseyes will learn to evaluate without conscious thought. Both of yourfathers learned their lessons well. As far as their courage, notmany men would mess with the likes of me, yet Master Markelshadowed me for an entire day. He knew that I knew he was watchingme, yet he refused to be scared away. Very admirable andcourageous. Master Clava walked into the Fisherman’s Inn and sat ina seat that no one else in the entire town would sit in. The seatright across from me.”
Garth was amused at the shock on theboys’ faces. Their fathers were good men and the boys were so closeto them that they did not see it as other men saw it. “Oh,” Garthcontinued, “did I forget to mention that Master Clava threatened tokill me if I harmed his son or his son’s friend?”
The boys’ jaws dropped and their eyesgrew wide. They knew that Arik’s father went to talk to the bandit,but threatening to kill him? Had he really done that?
“Don’t look so surprised,boys,” Garth said seriously. “Your fathers love you very much andthey would die to protect you. You should be proud to be theirsons.” Garth’s eyes clouded over and he looked away.
Kalina suddenly came over and enteredthe conversation. “Garth said that Master Clava recounted theincident with the bandits and that your mothers were taken away.When did that happen?”
Arik looked from Garth to Kalinawondering what open sore Garth was trying to hide. “It was aboutthree years ago,” he replied absently. “The four of us were outfishing at the time. When we returned to port, our fathers left usat the inn and went out to find them. They returned weeks laterwith no news.”
“You have my sympathies,”Kalina assured them. “The loss of a loved one is a very bitterfruit to swallow. Do you think they still livesomewhere?”
Arik’s own eyes started to water andTedi rose and walked away towards the horses. “I don’t know,” Arikconceded. “I hope they are and that they are well, but I reallydon’t ever expect to see them again.”
Kalina nodded sympathetically. “Yourfathers must have been devastated as well as you. To lose your wifeand have to work all day and still look after a young boy is noeasy task. How old were you when it happened?”
Tears were forming in Arik’s eyes now.“It was hard on them. Probably even harder than on us although wedidn’t realize it at the time. Taking care of us probably wasn’tthat bad on them, though. Even though we were only fourteen, wewere still able to help with the fishing, but Tedi’s father took itespecially hard. It was only this last week that he finally cameout of it.”