Aeolia 1

Brother Jon had not been amused when I told him of my plans. He had plonked the plate down in front of me and spilled gravy into my lap. A lecture on the wicked ways of the world and a few tips on how to take care of myself and that was it. I had expected full- blown wrath, but instead I got a whimper. It was almost disappointing until I realized he had spent the greater part of my life in trying to enforce a way that was not of my calling. He was giving in gracefully. Twelve years I had spent among the Brothers, most of them very happy. Just the occasional hiccup along the way like anyone else but now it was time to leave. I had given Brother Jon a chance to change my mind but he just wanted me to do whatever I decided. He gave me a backpack as a final farewell
So within the week I left. Brother Edd gave me a stout staff to help me along the way and Brother Jorge had given me a small but highly detailed map of Aeolia. I still have it and very useful it has been.
I wandered around the local vicinity for about a week getting used to the idea that I was out and about in the big wide world all on my own. Survival was not difficult as I had been hunting ever since I could remember and the area was rich in wildlife. I popped back to the village a couple of times for a few items; a knife and small axe, a length of rope and the like but I didn't go and see Brother Jon, I had closed the page on that chapter of my life.
I will always be grateful to the Brothers for their care and comfort when I became orphaned at the age of three. A fire had taken my parents and the last thing my father had done was to throw me out of the window into the arms of the helpless villagers below. Now it was time to sever the ties and go out into the world by myself.
I wandered far and wide. Stopping here and there at various villages and townships, I would make myself useful by being a hunter-gatherer and exchanging my efforts for a resting place or a meal. Mostly I prefer to live by myself and camped out, self-sufficient and alone.

Outside in the crisp night air a vixen gave voice and I heard another answer from across the valley, the cry echoing in the stillness. Frost penetrated into the makeshift tent and bit the end of my nose. I shivered and decided that there was little point in laying on cold ground shivering so I shrugged out of the sleeping-bag and dressed quickly. The few biscuits I had left were hard and the water I swallowed was coated with a thin film of ice which made me shiver again.
I crawled out into the pre-dawn night. The cold penetrated through to the bone and I started to run. The ground sloped slightly upward and within a few hundred yards I was breathing heavily but I kept going, determined to get the blood warmed up somehow.
At the top of the rise a copse of trees grew and I had to detour round them as they loomed up in the bright moonlight. The fox yapped again from away to my right and I answered with a whoop of my own simply for the hell of it.
I was beginning to enjoy myself. My heart pounded in my chest and the blood coursed through my veins and finally bringing feeling back into my limbs.
As the ground began to level out once more I slowed the pace to a gentle lope and bounded the rest of the way to the river with a series of giant, soaring leaps that seemed to keep me floating along the track with the minimum of effort. I swam naked across the river, raced round an old oak-stump and swam back to where I had left my jump-suit.
With this cold weather there was no point in staying out here looking for any more mushrooms so I might as well get back to a bit of comfort. While I still could.

The secret now it was out would not stay a secret for long and it might mean it was time to move on again. I did not really want to go because it had only been three weeks since my arrival and I had been hoping that I could stay until the end of winter before starting out again, it would be a lot warmer then.
The trot back to the tent, via the traps I had laid gave time to think it through and by the time campsite came into view I had made up my mind to go as soon as I had been shopping. The late Autumn harvest had been good and I reckoned I would get at least five hundred apiece, and I had managed to find thirty nice juicy, fat ones! There were also a couple of Coney in the bag that would make cooks eyes light up. At least I could afford to buy some essential supplies if it came to it.
It did not take long to gather my few bits and pieces; a bedroll and a canvas bag do not take long to put together and the mushrooms I had been gathering were already inside the bag, carefully covered with duck-down gathered from a few dozen nests to keep them warm.
Problems always arrive if you keep secrets, I wondered sometimes if I should adopt a forthright manner and look and dress a bit more girlish but the result is the same eventually; sooner or later some dirty old sod will want to take liberties. So I just don't say much. I have a fairly deep voice so people generally assume that I am a young man and I try to do nothing to make them think otherwise.
Deceitful? Maybe but I don't care really, people will be what they are no matter what and I am not in a position to change them. They can take me or leave me, I don't mind as long as they don't get any funny ideas.
It took a full days of hard walking before I got back to the village and as I made my way up the hill beside the stream I could see that the wattle fencing had grown considerably during my three week absence. There had been a lot of talk of wolves over the last few months and I would be expected to report to the Elder of the village about how many I had seen. I did not relish this task.
Jerald who was the current Elder, was a big man with a loud voice who had more than once broken a mans jaw for not telling him what he wanted to hear and somehow he had got it into his head that wolves were all around us and we must do what we can to protect ourselves. Load of hooey if you ask me, I get about quite a bit and I have never seen wolves this far south in all my days of wandering and this latest mushroom-gathering trip was no exception. I suspect that his advisors had a lot to do with it but I try not to get involved with village politics because it always leads to trouble. Whatever, he was not going to be pleased if I said he was wrong. As it turned out I would have to wait for my audience with him as he had gone hunting.
Determined to make the best of things I headed for the Trade square to see how much I could get for my harvest. The answer was good, six-fifty each, and the highest price for a long time probably due to nobody wanting to go out into the wild with all those wolves about. The cook was delighted to see the rabbits, paid well and gave me a good handful of dried jerky as a reward.
I picked up a few essentials on the way round the square and was well laden by the time I got back to my room where I dumped everything before heading off for supper in the eating house. Halfway through the meal Jerald returned and it was instantly apparent that he was in a bad mood, his hunting had been poor.
The heavy door flew open with a crash and he bellowed for mulled wine as he stomped to his table near the fireplace. Those of us that were still eating tried to make ourselves invisible as he cursed about the cold, the meagre heat from the fire, the lack of wine and anything else that came to mind. His wine arrived and was not to his liking and he hurled it into the fire and cuffed the server round the ear and tore at the meat on the plate placed before him in the hope of finding something wrong with it, luckily it was as delicious as the meat I had been eating and with a grunt he tucked in.
While he ate his eyes darted around the room looking for something that he could find fault with and my luck was out as his gaze settled on me. He chewed a few times then called me over.
So, you are back. I thought perhaps the wolves had eaten you. He laughed at his little joke and one or two others joined in. Well, what news. He demanded.
Should I tell him the truth? To do so would not improve his temper. "Well sir, the southern wood seems clear at the moment but the northern fringes have signs of their presence and I think I saw a pack of them heading toward the lake near Flathill." It was nearly true, I had in fact seen a herd of deer ambling across a clearing without a care in the world. The only wolf near here was the skull of a vagabond that had been killed five years earlier and hung on the door of the herbalist across the main street.
"Huh! You didn't pay much attention. I have been told of plenty of them in the south wood. You will go out tomorrow and search properly. What else did you see? Any sign of deer or boar?"
"None sir."
"You are a useless hunter. It is time you started making some sort of contribution here or else find a home in other parts. Do you understand?"
"Yes sir." It was definitely time to leave this place.
I made my escape as he called for more food and headed off to find somewhere quiet to digest the heavy meal. I begged a jug of ale from cook then made my way to the rear of the smithy. A shed that had once been used as a stable backed onto the main building up against the forge and the end wall was always warm and it had become a favorite spot. It provided a warm shelter in the dark and with a sigh I leaned back and closed my eyes.

At some ungodly hour before daybreak I was rudely awakened by a guard. "Get up, Jerald wants to go hunting and you are leading. So Move!" He emphasized the order with a prod from his spear.
I mumbled curses under my breath while I struggled to wake up and move at the same time. The damned ale had addled my brain, I hadn't heard the guard coming. I pushed him out while I shrugged into my jump-suit and then joined him out in the cold morning.
There was little point in argument, it would only bring out the dogs involving a long chase. In my current state that was not something that appealed.
Wild boar! That's what he wanted and I had been chosen. It would 'show my worth to the village'. I wanted to argue but I couldn't. he was intent on it and ready to go.
In no time at all I found myself on horseback and galloping out through the main gates. He was quite a good horseman for a big man but I saw a couple of times that he used his weight only to bully the horse into submission.
"Did you have somewhere in mind Sir?" I asked as there did not seem to be any particular direction to the mad flight across the pastureland that lay around the village.
"What? What do you mean?" he spluttered drawing slightly on the reigns.
"I mean sir, that I have no idea where we are going. Do you?"
He drew sharply to a halt. I reigned in and circled back to join him.
"I thought you said you were a hunter." The snarl on his face was not pretty.
"I am sir. But not like this." I waved a hand. "If you want boar we are in the wrong place."
I thought he was going to hit me. His face turned purple and he spluttered a bit before taking a deep breath and yelling for the column to halt. He turned to me and asked where exactly we should be going.
"The forest would be a good start. Preferably in silence when we get close." I looked him in the eye and saw them narrow. Perhaps I had pushed a bit too far.
"Very well. The forest it shall be." He spoke through gritted teeth. He called for his attendant and gave a few crisp orders. "Perhaps you would care to lead the way." His sarcasm wasn't lost on me.
We approached the outer fringes of the trees a couple of hours later. Jerald called for silence and motioned the column to spread out. We slowly made our way into the thicker cover. I hadn't been paying attention to what was going on around me, my mind was focused on the idea of getting this bunch of rabble into the thickest part of the forest and leaving them there whilst I made my escape. I doubt that I would have done such a thing but it gave me comfort inside to think about it.
I was aware of the rustling in the undergrowth and I saw a brown blur come in from the right and take out both Jerald and his horse. The commotion that followed caused the boar to swiftly about-turn and trample Jerald again, this time to deadly effect. I lifted my spear and threw with all my might at the drooling creature.
The business end caught in his flank and he twisted round in agony, his bone shattered. One of the followers let loose an arrow swiftly followed by another. Both found their mark and the beast dropped to the ground, the arrows jerking less and less as the life disappeared from the beast.
Our return was slow and silent. I was horrified, a man had died and I had supposed to be leading the hunt. Losing the chief of the village was not the ideal way to encourage good relations.
Messages must have sent ahead because as we approached the gatehouse it seemed the whole population had come out to watch our passing. They removed their caps and hats as we rode through and lowered their eyes to the floor in silent respect.
We came to a halt outside the main hall where the Chiefs body was immediately taken inside and almost as quickly out again and carried across the intervening space to what passed as the village square. Here his body was laid. Orders were given by the Accountant and people ran off in all directions. The Elders gathered together and whispered amongst themselves for a while before calling to me and and few of the attendants who had witnessed the events.
It became clear that I really had outstayed my welcome in the village. Whilst I was not entirely to blame it was felt that I could have done more to prevent this awful tragedy and I was asked to leave.
Having delivered the verdict on me the Elders then went away to elect a new Leader. When it came to political shenanigans I have always kept myself apart and whilst I now had no choice but to leave I was glad to be away from it.
Within the hour I was on the road.