He felt weak, his limbs heavy, no strength in his muscles, the way he felt after running dozens of miles across the open steppe.
Berun looked around. Other than himself and Perch and a few butterflies fluttering through the grass, no one was around. No sign of Sauk and his men, nor of Lewan. The last thing Berun could remember was the earth creature attacking, seeming to swallow him and push him down into the earth. Then the green light and Chereth's face. Berun, you must help me.
And then he understood. Somehow, even from his prison far away, his master had sent him aid. Sauk would have killed him. Berun had little doubt of that. Even if Berun managed to best Sauk-and he knew the unlikelihood of that-that still left the other assassins and the tiger. He never could have beaten them all and escaped with Lewan. So Chereth had summoned some sort of earth spirit to save him.
He raised his eyes and looked to the east. Higher hills lay between him and the steppe, and beyond, a thick haze. He could not see Sentinelspire. But from where he sat he knew it was well over a hundred miles as the crow flies. Over the hills and valleys on foot, it was probably closer to two hundred. His supplies were gone. His knife, his bow, Erael'len… everything but the clothes he wore were either with Sauk's band or buried in the earth. And the clothes wouldn't count for much. He brushed at the mud on his sleeve to try to get the worst off, and the fabric ripped. His pants and boots, filthy as they were, were still useable. His shirt was a loss. The dirt grinding him down had done it in. The mud was probably the only thing holding it together.
Berun, you must help me. Had it been a panic-induced dream? Berun didn’t think so. Besides… Lewan. Sauk had taken Lewan. As far as Berun knew, the boy was still alive.
His limbs still trembling, Berun pushed himself to his feet. He winced. Mud and grit had filled his boots. He'd have to find a stream very soon and clean himself up, or walking the first mile would rip all the skin off his feet.
Berun sat down and removed the boots. He'd go slower barefoot, but until he could find a stream, he had little choice.
'Let's go, Perch,' he said, 'and let's hope we don't run into any spiders too big for you to handle.'
+++++
A stream wasn't hard to find. The little creeks running between the hills were loud and full. Berun cleaned himself up as best he could, but as he'd feared, washing the shirt ruined it. The homespun fabric fell to pieces in the stream. He saved enough strips to braid a small roost he could sling around one shoulder on which Perch could sit. With no shirt, if the lizard insisted on riding the whole way, he would tear Berun's skin to shreds. The job done, he let the final remains of his shirt float away, finished cleaning the rest of his clothes and boots, then set out.
He returned to the place where he and Lewan had spent the night. He searched for a trail but found nothing. The rain had ruined any signs, washing away even the blood. The bodies were gone.
As he stood there in the wood, cursing his ill luck and worrying over Lewan, he considered searching for the portal of which Valmir had spoken. He knew they'd spent the day heading up into the mountains. It had to be up there somewhere. But unless he managed to find their trail, he could spend months looking for the portal, and even if he found it, without the proper key, it would be useless to him. And the farther he went up the mountains, the more dangerous his path would become. With no weapons, he'd be no match against the larger spiders-and there were worse things than spiders in the Khopet-Dag.
'East it is, then,' he said, more to himself than Perch. If he ran, he might make it to Sentinelspire in a tenday- if he didn't have to spend much time foraging for food. Once he hit the steppe again, he might be able to beg or steal a horse.
He searched long enough to find a good, stout stick. Not great in terms of a weapon, but it was better than nothing. The sun was riding high in the sky, approaching midday. Berun turned east and started running.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Dusk found Berun in the last of the true foothills. The land was not as steep, but this meant going back into the Shalhoond, and the woods thickened. Dark would come fast. Thinking of Lewan, and with Chereth s plea still fresh in his mind, part of Berun wanted to push on. But he knew that he had to pace himself. He wouldn't be much help to either his disciple or master if he showed up at Sentinelspire half-dead, so he began to look for a place to spend the night.
As the last light was fading from the sky and the east was deepening to purple, the brightest stars came out in force. Berun found a quiet glade, partially open to the sky. A massive oak, its branches sprouting new spring leaves, dominated the glade. It had starved out most of the nearby trees. Two of the oak's roots spread out, and between them a stream ran down the hillside to feed a quiet pool. With the thickest of the spider country behind him, Berun had re-entered a part of the wood where insects and birds were more plentiful. Fireflies played over the water, and the evening was alive with the sound of crickets and night birds. Seeing the great oak, hearing the breeze whispering through its leaves, and surrounded by the scent of healthy greenery and clean water, a profound sense of peace settled over Berun.
He sat down beside the pool, and it wasn't until he was still that he realized how exhausted he was. His hands shook, and his arms and legs felt empty. It was too dark to have any hope of catching a fish in the pool or stream, and it was still too early in the season to forage for acorns. The thought of a supper of fireflies, crickets, and earthworms didn't excite him, but he had to keep up his strength.
He shook his shoulder to wake the lizard, who had been dozing. 'Hey, Perch.'
The lizard twitched. Seeing that they'd stopped, he scrambled down Berun's back and began rustling through the grass.
Berun closed his eyes, widening the link he shared with the little lizard, and sent one strong image-Eggs. He didn't like the idea of robbing nests, but without some nourishment soon, he wouldn't even have the strength to search for food.
Eggs-round-round-breaks-eggs-in-trees-eggs?
Eggs, Berun told him again. In trees, yes. Bring eggs. Try-try-try not to break.
Through the link, Berun sensed that Perch had detected a cricket that had strayed too close. The lizard lunged and snatched the insect in his jaws. He crunched and swallowed it down, then shot off through the grass. Berun listened to the sound of his claws as they scratched against the wood of the oak, then Berun began unlacing his boots.
Perch returned not long afterward, when Berun had just finished a long drink from the pool. The lizard had a small egg in his jaws, and wonder of wonders, it was unbroken.
Good, Perch! More, please. More eggs-in-trees.
The lizard took off again, and Berun used his thumbnail to crack open the top of the egg. He sucked out the inside, grimacing at the taste, then opened the shell and licked the inside clean. Going back and forth, Perch managed to bring another four. It wasn't much, but it would last Berun until morning, when he could forage or maybe even catch a fish.
The breeze picked up, and shirtless as he was, Berun knew it would be a cold night if he couldn't get a fire going or find something to cover himself. Leaves wouldn't be much, but they would be better than nothing. If he could find enough dry grass, he could stuff it inside his trousers for insulation, maybe even find enough to put a layer between his bare skin and a blanket of leaves. Still…
Something about the pool called to him. Light still lingered in the sky, but the surrounding woods were mostly varying shades of shadow. Most of the pool seemed black, shaded as it was by the oak canopy. But on the far edge there was a sliver of water that reflected the first evening stars, and with the fireflies, it almost seemed as if some of the stars had come to life and danced over the water. He was suddenly very conscious of how filthy he was. Running most of the day, he'd poured sweat, and the sweat had accumulated every bit of dust and dirt he had touched or passed. Pushing his way through the brush, his skin felt raw with hundreds of tiny scratches, and some of the leaves made him itch. Cool or not, he knew he'd sleep better if he were clean.
Perch had gone off to hunt, hoping for a juicy spider but content with the crickets and fascinated by the fireflies. Berun pulled off his boots, then stood and stripped away the rest of his clothes. The grass by the shore felt wonderfully soft between his toes. He stepped into the water. He wished he could dive right in, but he had no idea
