Belford's Heart

Chapter 6: Man of Stone

Belford fell in line with his fellow competitors. Three men and a woman of Barker stood tall. Each was covered in well worn cloth, their trousers a splattering of torn holes and stains; shirts much the same. Though smaller than Belford, they would tower over most living to the North and many living near the coast. Their bodies were built for the forest. Long arms to provide the torque needed to fell the towering trees around them, strong shoulders to hoist the lumber back to the village, and a visual familiarity with the oncoming competition he had been pulled into. He had decided, then, that victory was not necessary for the day to be a good one. In truth, he was thankful for a welcome distraction from the nightmare that had morphed itself into reality in Stratos.

In order, the competitors named themselves. Horace began, bowing in remembrance of his victories from the previous several years. To follow was Jormun, a man similar in age to Horace but considerably more aged in his appearance. The creases on his face would make one believe him ten years Horace's senior, that and the gray beard that actually matched the gray hair atop his head, but they appeared to be long friends by the way they bantered in their introductions. Forest followed them, a younger man with more fingers than hairs protruding from his face. His mother, or a woman that most certainly seemed to be his mother, cheered louder than all others from the front of the gathered crowd.

At Belford's side stood Maren, the woman he still couldn't keep from surveying. Her figure was defined well by her clothes and her shoulders had him shifting his eyes back and forth between his own. He had thought that perhaps swinging his ax for the motion alone would be the missing piece for the definition he had envied in that moment. There were no voices to cheer for Maren, but it did not seem to bother her. In fact, she seemed perfectly pleased to smirk at Horace with an unwavering confidence.

Belford quickly searched the crowd for Evelyn. The people of Barker had kept her hidden until a glint of violet shined onto his face. Her face emerged from the tall-standing people of Barker and she smiled at him. He was hopeful that he did not seem too eager to return it, but he was also thankful to have found her. Still, he had thought this competition a terrible waste of time. Tharum's men could be heading steadfast toward them from Stratos. Though Grimbo and Thunderfoot ran to near exhaustion from the city, and they had the benefit of never having spoken their true names to the man, it was still a concern worth having. Belford had decided to allow for the day to continue in whatever semblance of normalcy the world would now allow him to experience..

His body was shining with lakes of sweat that had not left him since embracing the lowlands. In the brief waiting for his fellow competitors he had drank water as if he had found refuge in the middle of a desert. He wondered how the people of Barker could stand the heat as they did. Still, he felt determined by the confident smile of Evelyn that remained held upon him. Even if the sun was determined to melt him away he would do all he could to not embarrass himself.

An older woman took center to the competitors and the entirety of Barker who had gathered around them. Her hair flowed in dim grays and whites overtop a brown shirt and trousers. Her eyes were green in a shade that seemed to have been colored by the forest itself. She glanced over to Belford and smiled with amusement. He thought she must be something of this village's All-Knower. Her eyes held on him longer than Belford would have cared for, but he was emboldened by a mysterious force keeping him steady to join the competition. So, his feet remained still.

"Summer embraces us once again." She said, her smile widening at the shirtless and sweaty torso of Belford as he took heavy breaths in his place. She laughed, and continued, "Some much more than others, it seems. I see we have a new challenger to our games, Horace?"

Horace nodded. "That we do, Merda, that we do. The man's name is Belford, and he would like to join us today."

She held her smile, brightening it, and looked back to Belford. She was certainly nothing like Fulgrem. It made him feel a moment of frustration. If it were that leading people did not require you to be cold and insufferable, then why would you do so? She paused for another moment to take in the image of him, and said, "There may be no record of a Goliath ever standing in these woods, Belford. I would not ask you of your travels, for any that would carry a man such as you away from his home could not be spoken in a way that would not delay the embrace of Summer. Instead, I would ask you of your experience working lumber."