Welcome to my seemingly endless journey.
A trip that will take you to places I might have visited many moons ago.
It´s a tale that came back to me when I meditated on one of my past lives. A life I told you about in my unbelievable true story.
As promised in that story I will now share this story with you.
Chapter 90
“If you ask me, he is reliable. We served together for almost 2 years. Like me, he did this not entirely of his own free will. Although he was more open about it than I was. Probably also because I wasn't aware of it. He was openly critical of the troops who enjoyed the bloodshed."
"The reason he served was also his father. The man had been a great soldier and his son had to follow in his footsteps. Fortunately for Kreytu, his father was weak. By the end of his second year as a soldier, he had to take his father's place as the only son. His father died soon after and he has ruled his father's estate ever since."
"What I don't know is how that affected him. The ownership of these immense grounds may have changed him. Possibly he wants to protect his wealth and supports the government that allows him to do so. But my feeling tells me that if I know someone who wants to support me, it is Kreytu. Especially when he hears about the letter."
"Yet, if it should happen that I am captured, depart and do not return for me. It'll be hard to keep my jaw shut, their methods of making a human talk are terrible. If they know you are still alive, I will try to give you enough of a head start. Then I will feed them a lie. Say that you are still on the coast and I only traveled ahead to investigate whether we had a safe harbor at Kreytu."
"If that happens travel east for two days and then northeast. There are many farming settlements there, where you can go as a worker for the time being."
"Okay enough with the worrying, Kreytu was my friend, and in all likelihood he still is," Dadrie looked into the flames, he sounded confident. But the changes had made him more insecure than before. He had some sense of who he was and who he wanted to be. But still, he doubted, now that he was someone else, would Kreytu be the same?"
As he sat there I could sympathize with him, I too was someone else. I also doubted whether my friends would still be my friends when I returned. But my return would never mean my death, something that Dadrie might have to face.
“I think it would be best if I told him that I deserted for personal reasons. That I helped you escape to distract some of the attention from me. That I was blind, seduced by this devilish woman,” he smiled at Cabilah.
"Who betrayed me as soon as she was out of my grasp. That I am now wandering around lost and have nowhere else to turn. He will be sensitive to that. He has not exactly had luck with women in his life, so it will probably affect him. Then I will use the time to sound him out, to find out if I can tell him the truth.”
“It sounds like a well-thought-out plan, something I have to give you, but be on your guard, it is better to wait too long than too short for certainty. They told me to be patient for now so let's take our time," I spoke calmly as I placed a hand on his shoulder and continued.
“Trust your gut, even if you don't fully trust your gut yet. I believe that you have a good knowledge of what makes people tick, your feelings will do the rest, have confidence, and take your time.”
“Thank you,” Dadrie said softly. "Let's sleep, tomorrow will be a long ride and the entertainment around here is extremely poor," everyone laughed.
I pulled the animal skins over me and fell asleep. Reassured by the fact that Kreytu would bring an answer that we had not thought of. Simply because we didn't ask the right question.
It must have been quite some time later when something woke up, it was Numico. It was his turn to keep watch and he had heard something. With a quick movement, I grabbed my bow and lay flat on my stomach. The fire was still burning, it would be stupid to put it out, that would be to let whoever, or whatever, was there know that we were aware of their presence.
I carefully crawl backward into the darkness and keep the fire between me and the spot Numico had pointed to. Meanwhile, Numico wakes Cabilah and Dadrie who both follow my example.
Then I hear it too, the cracking of branches and rustling of leaves. Then silence again, something was hiding there in or behind those low bushes, Numico indicates that it was coming this way.
There is that sound again, coming closer quickly, just a little while longer and it should reach the clearing and then the fire would illuminate it. But nothing came. “It's probably nothing,” I told Numico. “Probably a fox or something.”
“No, it really came at us,” the boy whispers. "I feel that it's looking for us."
Shrugging my shoulders, I look at Numico, my bow hanging at my body. “I'm going ...,” but I didn't have time to finish the sentence as something jumped Cabilah behind us.
Before I could aim, she was under a huge beast that opened its mouth, a long tongue lapping Cabilah's face. And in the pale moonlight that the leaves let through I saw who it was. “Monta boy,” Cabilah shouted with joy.
