The Heroes

The Daughters of Eryd

Half an hour’s walking brought them to a flat, open space carpeted with short springy turf. On either side the peaks soared another two or three hundred feet to rocky points which stood out sharply against the sky. From the side of one of them water gushed out of a crack. It streamed down a channel in the rock until it struck a broad ledge and from this it burst out in a wide splash and fell straight down in a torrent green as the grass. At its foot was a gap into which the water vanished, thundering. They gazed at this sight in wonder. The path led them to the walls of the castle, and soon they stood before its gates. They were open. The boys walked through and into a courtyard. There was nobody in sight. No one stopped them or challenged them. But suddenly, the notes of a trumpet rang out sweetly. A high double door swung open on the far side of the courtyard. Rich led the way. They entered a great hall. High above their heads were gilded rafters. On the walls hung tapestries in faded colors showing the hunt of a unicorn. They walked forward. A woman sat there with her elbow on the arm of the seat and her chin on her fist. Her golden hair flowed over her shoulder almost to her lap, half covering her gown of white embroidered with silver flowers.

“Welcome,” she said, in a low , musical voice. “I am Arkad, Countess of Ardour.

Rich glanced at Jesse and, clearing his throat to get the words out, said, “I’m Rich Dennison. He’s Jesse Rosen.

“I know of you,” she said. “Word has come to me of your errand.” She studied Rich , and went on, “So you are the hero who was promised? And this other boy, is he your squire?”

“Well, no, not exactly,” Rich said. “We’re in it together.”

“Ah, I see. But every venture there must be one who leads and one who follows. For when I send my knights forth I must have a captain to command them. Is that not true?”

“I guess so,” Rich mumbled.

“Let us go to dinner,” said the Countess. “And after you have eaten, I will tell you how to find what you seek.”

“The third strand?”

“Just so.”

“But I thought you had it,” Jesse put in. He was feeling shut out, and it made him speak just a shade too loudly. He put her hand on Rich’s shoulder and steered him to a wide door which opened as they approached. They entered a dining room as high- ceilinged as the hall. A long table stood before a fireplace in which a fire of sweet-smelling logs was burning. The Countess clapped her hands. Servants in green and silver entered with platters of food and crystal pitchers of white wine.  The boys began to eat. She said, speaking to Rich, “When I was told you were coming, I could not credit that mere boy would dare to face the Wolf. Also, you have a power over animals.

“There wasn’t much of it,” Rich said. “I’ve always liked animals. I’ve had a lot of pets. He tried to sound careless, nut his face was shining with pleasure.

“Modesty befits a Champion,” said the Countess.

The Countess gave complements to Rich . And that made Jesse jealous and all the attention  that was being paid to Rich, and irritation at being treated like a child, he couldn’t  help himself. The Countess so clearly interested in him

She stood up. “Now,” she said, “You will rest and recover you strength. They realizes that the high windows had darkened and the stars could be seen twinkling faintly outside. The Countess led them through a long corridor to a pair of rooms connected by an arched door.

“Until tomorrow,” said the Countess and left them. They had come almost face to face. Their eyes were blazing, and all the hatred they had had for  each other, long ago, had come to the surface. They no longer knew what  they were arguing about. And Rich, unable to say anymore, put his hand against Jesse’s chest and shoved.  They went to their own room . Jesse awoke feeling strangely cold and stiff. The bed under him seemed very hard and he turned over and opened his eyes with a groan. He sat up, wide awake , his heart thumping with terror . There was no sign of the room, of the castle , of Rich, of any human being. He was lying alone on the bare rocky mountainside. Jesse struggled to his feet and stared about wildly. His scalp crawling. His  first thought was that he must have been taken out of the castle and left somewhere in the open . But even with the thought he knew he was wrong. He recognized the spot. There were twin peaks, there was the track down which they had come, here was the place on which the castle had stood.  He remembered, with shame, the quarrel he and Rich had had. It seemed so pointless. There had been no reason for its except his own hurt pride. And he realized, with a shock, that he was sorry deep down inside because—yes, because he like Rich. He shook his head. It all seemed very complicated. And there was no use thinking about it because they had parted with a fight and now Rich was gone. Something too strange to explain had happened. Then, as if a clear little voice had spoken in his head, he heard Mr. Crump say, “If you are ever separated you will be able to find each other again by following the pull of the stones.” He rose and began to walk in that direction, down the hillside. He was, he saw, following the path again. North was where the Wolf lay. The path led him into a long sloping valley through which a trickle of stream flowed. He sat down, very warm from walking and conscious of his hunger. Then he remembered the parcel the old woman had given him. He ate half of each , and drank some water from the stream.  For the next three days he walked through a desolate land without seeing a soul. He walked numbly, aware of nothing but weariness and the stone in his hands pulled him onward. . On the morning of the fourth day, he plodded over the top of a ridge and found himself in a garden. Jesse stood for a moment enjoying the warmth, the sweet smells , and the bright colors, so delightful after the endless cold gray. He followed one of the walks and it led him to a bed of tall-stemmed yellow roses where a man was standing, leaning thoughtfully on an ivory walking stick. Jesse hesitated, uncertain whether to run or stay . Without looking at him, the man said, “Good morning. There’s nothing to be afraid here.” Then he face him . “My name is Eryd”

“I’m Jesse Rosen”

“A strange name. And even your clothes are strange to me.” Eryd look sharply at him. “I see there is a story here. Let us go and sit down in peace together.

He fell into a step beside Eryd and they walked along the path to a low-roofed, rambling house on the edge of a large pond. A porch on pilings thrust out from it like a pier above the water. On it sat a girl with clear yellow skin. She was playing a lute, abd she laid it aside when Eryd appeared.

“My dear,” said Eryd, “go and fetch some refreshment for our guest.” Very soon, the girl appeared, and with her two others . one fair and freckled, the other brown-skinned and black-haired. They set down a small table and on it put a basket of flat cakes. The three girls smiled at Jesse and returned to the house.

“My daughters,” said Eryd.

“The Daughters of Eryd,” Jesse said. “Of course; I should have guessed. I was told that they are holding back the Wolf. Eryd nodded . Tell me what are you are doing wandering alone in these dangerous lands.

“My friend is gone” said Jesse. “We were staying with the Countess of Ardour and we had a-a kind of argument. The next morning he was gone. He vanished into thin air.Not only him, the Countess too- the whole place.

Eryd sat bolt upright . “Arkad gone? He said, dismayed. “That indeed ill news for Ardour and for all of us. It’s the Enemy’s work, no doubt of it.

Jesse drew out his jade stone. “This tells me where to go “ he said . “It’s like a magnet pulling me to wherever he is.”

“I will do what I can help you . Guard the stone well. Well, I will send  daughters to guard you.

: 5t'= ight:0in;margin-bottom:16.75pt;margin-left: 0in;line-height:15.05pt'>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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Intramurals is approaching so this means no updates next week but if I'm free I'll an update . ;-)

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