Deeds of Their Past - 5. Chapter Five

Nathan awoke to the sight of sunlight streaming through the boughs of tall evergreens. His body ached. Sitting up to rub his backside, a startled doe with her fawn raised her head, drinking from the stream. Holding perfectly still, he met their gaze, allowing them to resume with caution.

The peace was short-lived. The loud report of a snapping branch spooked them, and they bolted off. Heavy steps continued down the slope of the ravine, trudging through the undergrowth. Dagger in hand, Nathan crouched down near the base of the tree in wait to see who, or what, it was.

Carefully peeking around, he caught sight of a large man carrying a sword, bloody with gore. Upon reaching the stream, he tossed the sword aside, dropped to his knees and dunked his bald head into the water. Nathan recognized him from the dungeon cell, and he pondered how many men lost their lives trying to bar the big man’s way.

Holding still, Nathan continued to spy the man scrubbing his face with his hands. But then he suddenly stopped, as though feeling Nathan’s gaze upon him, and turned to his direction. Scrambling to his feet, the man grasped the sword and marched toward Nathan with deadly intent.

“You’re real persistent,” he said through clenched teeth, wiping water from his eyes with a free hand.

Nathan nearly fell backward at the sudden aggression toward him, but quickly realized all the man saw was the guard’s armour he was wearing. Dropping his dagger, he raised his hands to his side.

“No, it’s me! The guy from the cell.”

The man faltered, lowering his sword slightly and peered closer at Nathan’s face.

“Gods, I didn’t recognize you.”

Nathan bent over to retrieve his dropped dagger, and proceeded to unbuckle the straps holding the armour in place. “This gear has served its purpose. I think wearing it now will only bring me trouble.”

“I can’t believe I found you,” the man said, stepping toward him. “I wanna thank you.”

“For what?”

“Saving my life.”

Nathan stopped a moment and glanced at him. “What are you talking about?”

“If you hadn’t been in that cell, got the key from that guard, I’d still be down there.”

Nathan continued to strip himself of the armour. “I’d hardly call that saving someone’s life.”

“They were gonna hang me.”

Nathan laughed under his breath. “It would seem our dear Lord Helmsley enjoys hangings.”

He shed the last of the armour and padded underclothing, down to his loincloth. The big man averted his gaze, cheeks reddening, lamely looking everywhere except Nathan’s direction. Rooting through his rucksack, Nathan found his own clothes and quickly got dressed. Quietly lamenting that he was unable to bring his boots during the escape, he donned the guard’s leather boots instead. Seeing that Nathan was dressed again, the man closed the space between them and offered a meaty hand in greeting.

“The name’s Brohm,” he said with a crooked little smile.

Nathan tried to ignore the fact that he found the smile disarming, and quickly shook his hand. “If you plan on keeping a sword, you might as well take this. I certainly can’t use it,” he said, offering the guard’s scabbard and belt.

Brohm accepted it, and pulled the sword free. From the corner of his eye, Nathan watched him test its weight, and swing it about with obvious skill.

“No good with a sword, yuh? You the sneaky type?”

Nathan ignored the question and shouldered his pack. Gathering the rest of the armour and his waterskin, he stepped over to the stream. After filling the skin, he dropped the armour into the water. It sunk to the bottom amid the rocks and branches, and he was confident that unless someone was standing right there, it would go unnoticed.

“Safe travels, Brohm.”

The big man, cinching the belt around his wide waist, glanced up bewildered by Nathan’s short goodbye, and ran up beside him.

“So, where you headed?” Brohm asked nonchalantly.

“Away from here. You should probably do the same.”

“Uhm, what I meant to say was: where are we headed?”

Nathan stopped in his tracks. “Look, you seem like an okay guy, but I travel alone. Sorry.”

“Well, right now there’s only one way to go,” Brohm said, gesturing west. “I reckon south leads to cliffs. Everywhere else is mountainside. The only way out from here is to travel the road.”

Nathan looked about. He didn’t know the area very well, but it seemed Brohm did.

“Could we just stick together until we reach an inn or town or something?” Brohm asked. “If we run into trouble, two is better than one.”

Nathan knew he was right, and it seemed the man could hold his own in a fight. “Alright. We’ll travel together until we reach a settlement of some kind, and then we’ll part ways.”

Brohm nodded with a smile on his face, and they continued to walk west alongside the stream.

They travelled in silence for most of the morning. On occasion, Nathan cast sidelong glances at his new companion. He couldn’t deny his physical attraction to the man, yet tried his best to keep his thoughts and feelings in check. It would be best once they parted ways.

They came upon a clearing in the ravine, allowing the warm sun to beat down on them. Brohm stretched his arms above his head and breathed in deeply.

“Ah, it’s good to feel the sun and smell this clean air,” he said. “That cell was awful.”

“How long were you in there?”

“Not that long, really. But I reckon even a day in there is too long for anyone,” he said, chuckling.

Despite his best wishes, Nathan continued to surreptitiously watch the big man. He found his demeanour interesting. At a glance, Brohm was a simple guy, yet underneath, he saw a sentinel searching the area for trouble. It seemed so casual, like an automatic response he wasn’t aware of, and it impressed Nathan.

As though to prove a point, Brohm glanced over and gave him the same crooked smile. “You don’t talk much, but you sure enjoy watching, yuh?”

Nathan felt his face flush. “I apologize.”

“It’s no problem, though it looks like you want to ask me something.”

“Well, uhm . . .” Nathan felt like the man was reading his mind.

“What’s wrong?”

Nathan sighed. “For reasons I’m not going to get into right now, I find it best to keep to myself.”

“You’re a secretive person. I get that.”

“It’s because of what I do. The less someone knows about me, the better.”

Brohm laughed. “Okay, you can’t say that, and not expect me to ask what you do.”

“I’m serious,” Nathan said. “I lost someone who knew too much, who . . . got too close.”

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

“It’s okay,” Nathan said. “It was a long time ago.”

They returned to silence as they continued their trek through the ravine.

An hour later, Nathan glimpsed a high bridge above the ravine, and they clambered up the south side one hundred metres from the road.

“Stay low. I’m going to check it out,” Nathan said once they reached the top.

He sprinted the distance through the shorter pines and scrubby brush, slowing down as he approached the road. All was silent except for the odd bird call, and wind whistling through the trees. Examining the path, it was clear from the fresh hoofprints that a number of patrols had passed recently.

When Nathan returned to Brohm’s location, he found him nearby urinating on a tree. The big man bashfully turned his body away, and Nathan politely stepped farther out, waiting for him to finish.

“So, what’d you find?” Brohm asked, walking toward Nathan.

“There’s no question they’re looking for us.”

Brohm offered him a worried look.

Nathan continued with his plan. “It’d be safer to travel in the bush, but since the trees are all bunched up, it would be slow-going. I think we can walk the road and hide if we hear someone coming.”

Brohm nodded in agreement, and they headed back to the road. Confident it was clear, they stepped out of the trees and started walking south at a quick pace. The hot sun beat down on them directly overhead, throwing short shadows at their feet, and soon Brohm was dripping with sweat.

“It doesn’t look like you’re used to this sort of thing.”

“I’ll be fine,” Brohm said.

“Just try to keep up,” Nathan said with the faintest hint of the smile.

“Don’t hold back on my account.”

Nathan quickened his pace, glancing over at Brohm with a grin.

“Oh, come on!” the big man said, laughing.

Nathan untied the waterskin from his belt and handed it to Brohm. “Here. Drink some water before you faint.”

“Thanks,” he said, taking the skin and drinking a swig. Cupping water into his hand, he splashed it onto his face. After handing it back, Nathan took a drink and retied it to his belt.

“So what’s your plan?” Brohm asked.

“I haven’t a clue. For now, I need to meet some folks in Remich and Summerton. What about you?”

Brohm shrugged. “I reckon lay low for a while.”

“Do you know this area well?”

“Sort of. Why?”

“I’m wondering if there’s an inn between here and Remich.”

“Nah. The road is long and there’s nowhere to stop for the night. I reckon we’ll be sleeping under the stars tonight.”

“I find it strange that the keep is in such a remote place,” Nathan said.

“When you’ve got lots of coin, paying extra for supplies to be carted in isn’t a problem.”

“It must be nice not to worry about such things.”

By the late afternoon, the road and surroundings gradually changed to a rocky terrain. Evergreens grew sparsely, and Nathan knew if a patrol came by, there would be nowhere to hide. The road beyond switchbacked down the southern slope, overlooking a sea of evergreens below.

Nathan glanced over to Brohm, a twang of guilt in his chest. It was clear the big man didn’t want to travel alone, and was pushing himself to keep up to Nathan’s pace, sweating profusely and breathing heavy.

“Once we reach the bottom and back into the trees, we’ll stop and find shelter for the night,” Nathan said. “You okay?”

Brohm gave him a weak nod. “Don’t worry about me. Let’s go.”

They quickened their pace down the steep road, careful to keep steady footing on the loose rock, and managed to arrive at the mouth of the vast evergreen forest unseen. They hiked east into the cover of trees. A gentle, fragrant breeze cooled their faces, and Brohm sighed audibly from the reprieve of the sun. Fifty metres from the road, they came upon a shallow downward slope.

“This should be fine. We’re clear of anyone seeing us.”

“Good,” Brohm said, slumping down against a tree.

“You rest. I’ll see if I can find anything to eat.”

Brohm rubbed his belly. “Yuh? I can help. I’m starving.”

“Stay put and rest. You’re exhausted.”

Brohm didn’t offer any resistance, and nodded his thanks.

Nathan decided to head north-east, soon coming to the face of rocky cliffs from where they’d come. Along the ragged edge, bushes with small red berries grew in abundance, and he stepped closer to investigate.

Picking one and hesitantly chewing it, he winced at the bitterness, but knew they weren’t poisonous. Picking a few more and popping them into his mouth, he continued east along the ragged mountain wall.

His ears perked up, hearing a small trickle of water. Peering through the bushes, he found a hidden cave, and pushing a shrub aside, tentatively stepped into the darkness. The sound of water was clearer now, and the walls and floor of the cave were glistening wet. He cupped his hand against the dripping stone wall to taste the water. Satisfied it was clean, he filled his waterskin until it brimmed over.

Straining to see further into the darkness, he carefully felt his way deeper until he found the floor ascended very slightly. It was dry and relatively clean. There was no way to know how far it went, but it seemed an excellent place to sleep for the night.

Stepping into the afternoon light, he headed back to where he’d left Brohm. All the trees looked similar, and without any landmarks to fall back on, he walked slowly and scanned the area. Finally, Brohm’s legs came into view on the ground, still sitting against the tree. Nathan stepped up to him, pointing in the direction he’d come.

“I found a—”

Brohm instinctively jumped up in a flash, laying a hand on the hilt of his sword, but upon seeing Nathan’s face, relaxed his stance. Nathan couldn’t fathom how the big man moved so quickly, and was again impressed.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to come at you from behind.”

Brohm waved a dismissive hand. “Man, I must be tired. I was falling asleep and you caught me off-guard.”

Nathan handed him the waterskin. “I found a cave we can sleep in. It’s safe and out of sight.”

Brohm’s brow wrinkled. “A cave?”

“Don’t worry, it’s empty. No bats or anything.”

“That’s not my worry,” Brohm said quietly to himself.

Nathan was already heading back, calling back to Brohm. “Come on, it’s not far. This way.”

The big man trailed behind, dragging his feet, but eventually caught up to Nathan who was picking up wood and branches from the ground.

“I found a huge patch of jorniberries too.”

“Hmm, never heard of them. Are they good?” Brohm asked, helping Nathan pick up wood.

“They’re awful, but they’re better than nothing.”

They arrived at the mouth of the cave, and Nathan shouldered his way through the shrubbery with Brohm reluctantly in tow.

“Careful. The water makes it slippery,” Nathan warned.

“I’m not sleeping in a wet cave,” Brohm whined, standing at the entrance.

“It’s dry up here. Just step carefully and you’ll be fine.”

Brohm stood still, seemingly stuck in place.

“What’s wrong?” Nathan asked. “Are you afraid of the dark?”

“No, it’s just that . . . I just don’t like the idea of all that rock above my head. What if it comes crashing down on us?”

“This cave has been here much longer than either of us. It’s not going anywhere.”

“Maybe. But I . . .”

Nathan carefully stepped back to Brohm and laid a hand on his shoulder, leading him into the cave. It was then he realized the height difference between them. Brohm was easily a head taller, and his added bulk compounded his imposing nature. Nathan smiled inwardly at the idea that a man of his stature could be afraid of anything.

“You see? It’s not so dark once you get in here,” Nathan said.

“I told you, I’m not afraid of the dark. I just don’t like small spaces.” Suddenly, the big man tripped on a small outcropping of rock, nearly falling over.

“Forget this!” he cried. Dropping the wood, he stormed out of the cave, almost slipping again on the wet ground. Nathan sighed, gathering the mess of wood into a pile, and exited the cave, finding Brohm with his back turned, leaning against a tree.

“Sorry,” Nathan said.

“Don’t be,” Brohm grumbled under his breath. “It’s my problem, not yours.”

Nathan wanted to console him, but didn’t know how, so he left him to his thoughts.

* * *

After laying a campfire in the cave, Nathan stepped outside to find Brohm inspecting the jorniberries.

“Are you sure these are okay to eat?”

“Yeah. Like I said, they taste awful, but they won’t kill you.”

Brohm fumbled to pick one of the small berries with his meaty fingers, but squeezed too hard causing it burst into a juicy mess. After successfully picking another berry, his face scrunched up at the taste.

“I guess it’s an acquired taste,” he said, laughing.

Nathan was glad Brohm seemed back to his usual self. They picked and ate berries into the evening, and before long, the light of the sun was lost in the forest.

“So, I take it you won’t be joining me in the cave?” Nathan asked.

“No. I’ll sleep out here,” Brohm said resolutely.

“Aren’t you going to be cold?”

“Nah, I’ve been told I give off heat like a blacksmith’s forge. I can’t remember the last time I was cold. I’ll be fine.”

Nathan shrugged his shoulders. “Okay. I’ll see you in the morning then.”

“G’night. Enjoy your cave,” Brohm said with a smirk.

Nathan waved, making his way into the darkness. In short time, a small fire was burning and warming the area. Wrapped in his cloak, he lay back, thinking about Brohm.

Nathan enjoyed his easy-going nature, and felt a strange pull to him. Despite his statement that morning, the idea of parting ways with Brohm seemed foreign now. All the while, his mind screamed to fight back the growing affection he had for the big man. The rule he’d made for himself was paramount, but he was tired of fighting it.

Regardless, reason still had a firm grip, and he found himself conflicted between what he wanted, and what was ultimately best for both of them. Yet the factors that culminated to that horrible event from his past didn’t seem to apply now.

Brohm was different, and that changed everything.