The Heroes

Countess of Ardour

An hour of walking or so of walking warmed them a bit. The trees thinned away and they saw that they were in another valley, wide and forested, surrounded by the peaks of small but rocky hills that stuck up like a pointed teeth. The sky had grown darker, and the twin peaks vanished in cloud. As the boys began climbing the lower slopes among twisted pines, the wind knifed suddenly at them. They looked around for shelter. A couple of great stones thrust out of the ground above them and they clambered up and found a little space between. They huddled together, knees drawn up to their chins and arms wrapped around their legs. Spears of lightning sizzled on all sides and they could hear the crack of trees splitting.  After what seemed like hours, the storm passed over and went grumbling down the valley. The boys got up stiffly and began to climb once more. When they more than halfway up they came upon a path which twisted among the rocks. It led toward the saddle between the twin peaks. Rich was leading, and all at once he stopped.

“What’s wrong?” asked Jesse, coming alongside him.

A few trees grew around it bearing tiny apples and pears. One of these trees had been broken by the storm and under its branches lay what seem to be a bundle of old clothes.

“It’s a person,” said Rich, in a low voice.

They went forward together, and when they were close they could see that it was a woman, no taller than Jesse. She was dressed in a ragged woolen gown and an apron. She lay on her back, her gray hair straggling about her face, and blood had clotted over a wound on her forehead where one of the branches had struck her .

“See if you can lift the tree,” Jesse said. I’ll try to drag her out. She’s not very big.”

Rich got a good hold on the biggest branch and heaved. His face turned red in exertion, but he managed  to raise the broken tree enough so that Jesse could pull the old woman free. They carried her to her house. A wooden bed was built into one wall and they laid her on it.

“She’s breathing quietly,” Jesse said. “And what I do remember from first aid is that the best thing you can do when you don’t know anything is—nothing. I’ll just pull one of the blankets over her to keep her warm.

It was, if anything, an understatement for she was perhaps the ugliest person they had ever seen. Her beaky nose almost met her pointed chin, from which a few long bristly hairs twisted like wires. Her skin was leathery and lumpy, and hairy brown moles grew on her cheeks. She seemed  to have few, if any, teeth.

“She looks like a witch,” Rich went on. “Do you think she could have anything to do with Skrymir?”

Jesse scratched her chin. “I don’t know. Somehow I don’t think so.

“Well, whatever she is, let’s leave her and get going.” Rich said

Jesse squinted at him . “You mean, leave her here alone?”

“Why not? It’s getting late and we ought to try to get to the Countess’s castle before it gets dark.”

Jesse stared down at the old woman. “I don’t know. It doesn’t seem right to just walk away.

The old woman’s eyelids twitched. Jesse bent forward. The old woman’s eyes were open. They were sharp and bright, and as red as garnets.

“Who are you?” she said, faintly

“We found you under the tree, Jesse explained. I’m Jesse and this is Rich.

I remember no,” she said. “My cat ran out into the storm. I went after it and there came a lightning  bolt. It must have brought down the tree.

The boys saw a fat black cat come in through the half open door.  The old woman offered them dinner for helping her.

The old woman said, “Night is coming. I must get up.” She tried to rise, but with a groan sank back again.  “I’m too weak to face the Horseman,” she gasped. “We are lost!”

“What do you mean?” asked Jesse. “Who’s the Horseman and why are we lost?”

She turned her eyes on him, two piercing sparks. “Every ninth night,” she said, in a voice that chilled him, “the Horseman comes. He casts the brand that will burn up the mountain and all the land of Ardour. Every ninth night I must face him and quench his fire. And this is the ninth night. If he is not met, the mountain will burn and flames will consume Ardour.”

The boys stared at each other in alarm. Rich said, “Let’s get out here. We can carry her with us.

“You will not carry me away,” the woman said harshly. “If the land burns I will stay and perish with it. Nor will it do you any good to flee. For the flames will spread through the whole land, faster than you could run.”

Jesse said, “Is the Emerald Waterfall in Ardour?”

It is,” said she. “All the land hereabouts is Ardour.”

Jesse said to Rich, “Then the—what we want to get to, you know – will burn you up, too. We’ve got to do something!”

He swung around on the woman. “Could we meet the Horseman for you? Could we put out the fire?”

“Wait a minute,” Rich cut in. “What are you--?”

Have you got any other suggestions?” Jesse demanded.

“I guess not,” Rich said, grimly. “But I didn’t figure on being a volunteer fireman.”

The old woman grinned so that her nose and chin almost met. “Bare is back without brother behind it,” She said. “Listen, then. In the middle part of the night the Horseman will come. Do not fear him, he cannot harm you. He will set fire to the earth. Pluck a straw, each of you, form the broom that stands behind the door and with those straws beat out the fire.”

“Beat out a fire with straws?” Rich cried. “You’ve got to be crazy.”

“Believe what I tell you,” she replied, in a stern voice. “Do as I say. Be steadfast. Now, lie down upon the floor and rest, and I will wake you when the time comes.”

Then , in the darkness, appeared a small but brilliant point of light. There was no way of judging how far away it was.

“Look”, he said

Rich said, “I see it.”

It grew larger and brighter by the second. And now they could see that it was a flaming torch. It was held by a man on a great steed. Fire sprang from its hoofs. With that he flung the torch. At once, red flames leaped up in a circle on the mountainside, all around the hut. Rider and horse vanished as the smoke billowed high. Jesse dashed to the opposite side of Rich.  The heat seared his eyes and the smoke set him coughing, but he raised the broom-straw and beat at the flames with it although he felt helpless and even foolish doing so. But at once, blue flames arose. Far from being hot, they seemed to throw out coldness. They lifted above the red flames which died and disappeared. Jesse moved around the circle of fire, striking with his straw. Sweat dripped from him in big drops. But everywhere he went, the cold blue flames danced up and the red fire faded. Both blue and red flames were gone. Then he realized with a surprise that he could see all this because the air was gray with morning. Rich staggered toward him . There were smudges of soot on his cheeks and his eyes were red. They returned to the cottage. The old woman met them at the door. They washed their faces and hands in a bucket of cold water, and sat down at the scrubbed wooden table.

“Thanks to you both,” said the old woman. She thrust a small parcel into Jesse’s hands. “Something for your journey. For I see that you have far to go, and you will need all the strength you have before you come to the end. Farewell.”

She went inside, closing the door behind her. Jesse untied the parcel. In it were a small loaf of bread and a piece of soft white cheese.

“That’s a big help,” Rich scoffed. Jesse tied up the parcel again and stuffed it into his pocket. “It’s better than nothing,” he said. “I guess it’s all she could spare.”

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This is unedited guys so bear with the mistakes . Thank you

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