Aurix the Bold

It had almost been too easy. Brill had no reason to distrust either Shlee or Aurix, and while his protective nature gave him a moment’s pause, a moment was all it was. They sat around the table drinking mint water and sharing a bowl of chickseed. Shlee thanked Brill profusely, and told him that they would set out the following morning on foot and would return within a fortnight. Aurix was perplexed by this apparent change in plan until his uncle refused and offered them a braka to ride to Terra.

“Nyx can take you in half the time,” he said, referring to the black braka that had fallen on Aurix during the storm a week earlier.

Aurix already felt guilty enough about lying to his uncle—worse now that they were to take the small farm’s biggest source of income indefinitely. “Maybe we should take one of the others, Uncle Brill. Nyx is valuable.”

“Aye, tis true. But she’s also the fleetest of the bunch, and the most even-tempered,” he insisted.

Aurix held his tongue after that. He wasn’t good at lying, but even he knew that more protest would have seemed suspicious. And it was abundantly clear from the kick to his shin under the table that Shlee wanted him to shut up.

“That is most kind of you, Brill,” Shlee said. “We’ll take good care of the pretty beastie. Is there anything that we can bring you from the market?”

Aurix’s stomach sank even more when Brill gave Shlee several dyne for orders that would never be filled. But as devious as the old man had proven to be so far, he surprised Aurix by refusing his uncle’s money.

“Nay, Brill,” he said, pushing the small purse back across the table. “Consider it payment for use of the boy and braka. Our debt is settled.”

Brill nodded. “Tis good of ye, Shlee. Ye best take care of this lad well, and he ye, or ’twill be the last such trip ye take.”

Aurix spent the rest of the day brushing and beating the stink from Nyx’s midnight fur. It was mostly an exercise in futility, but he figured he’d made progress when he could get near her without gagging. “We’re going on a trip, girl. What do you think of that?”

The braka just looked at him with its big dumb eyes and blinked lazily.

Aurix lined her stall with fragrant flowers from the field outside the barn and hoped that they’d help dissipate the rest of her reek overnight. He wasn’t hopeful.

The squeal of the heavy barn door and a broadening cone of orange afternoon light on the floor announced his uncle’s arrival. Aurix had expected he’d come with words of caution eventually.

“She ready, lad?”

“As much as she can be. She still smells.”

“Be glad of it. Keeps the wolves at bay.” He looked at his nephew, his eyes narrow. “Ye trust ol’ Shlee, Rix?”

“Sure. We’re just going to the market.”

Brill nodded. “’E’s a strange un. ‘E still lives by the ol’ ways. Ain’t seen ’at in a long time.”

“Is that bad?”

“Nay, jus’ diff’rent is all. At least ’e b’lieves in summin. Not many do these days.” He paused and looked around the barn before his eyes came to rest on Aurix again. “Listen, promise me ye’ll be careful, aye?”

“Yes. It’s just a few days, Uncle Brill.” He was a little bit scared at how easily the lies came all of a sudden. “And it’s not like I haven’t made the trip with you before. We’ll be fine. Besides, we’ve got Nyx. Right girl?” He slapped her side.

The braka turned to look at Aurix and huffed her warm, stale breath in his face.

“Ugh, Gods!”

Brill laughed. “Yer so like yer da, lad. E’d be mighty proud o’ ye. Yer ma’ too.”

Probably not if they knew what I was really up to, Aurix thought. But he said, “Thanks.”

“’Ere’s still lots to be wary of, lad. Most are good folks, but ’ere’s always those ’at,” he paused as if looking for the right word, “well, ’at aren’t. Keep to the main road. Keep yer eyes ’n wits ’bout ye.” He reached behind his back and pulled out a leather wrist cuff about six inches long. “’N this.”

Secreted inside the cuff was a small dagger. Aurix slipped it out and turned it over in the light. He could see the many folds in the shine of the steel. The blade was perfectly balanced and razor sharp.

“Been workin at it for an age,” Brill said. “’Bout the best I can do in me smithy.”

“Wow, Brill. It’s amazing.”

“I’ll feel better knowin’ ye has it. Just watch yerself, ’at’ll cut yer nose clean off.”

Aurix gave his uncle a fierce hug. He wanted to hold it longer than he did, but was afraid it would seem a bit much for a four-day market run. He marveled that Brill couldn’t feel his deceitful heart slamming in his chest. He wondered if he’d ever see his uncle or aunt again. Or this place. The little town of Dren had been his home for five revolutions and he was about to leave it on a foon’s errand for places unknown and inhospitable. And yet, as scared as he was, he never had a single second’s doubt. Tomorrow, he would ride for Xu’ul.

The next morning, Shlee and Aurix both sat astride the huge black braka. Rucksacks of food and supplies for a four-day journey were draped over her back. If the beast was bothered by the weight, she showed no sign. Her stink wasn’t much better, but she now had a subtle floral aftersmell. Shlee didn’t seem to notice and Aurix wondered if his nearly four-hundred-revolution-old nose still worked properly.

Brill and Jilly watched them until they were out of sight along the path leading to the crossroads north and south. Aurix only turned back once, glad that they were then too distant to see the tears glistening on his cheeks in Shura’s morning light. Shlee said nothing for a long time. He just kept his face forward and hummed softly to himself. Aurix suspected the old man was giving him some privacy to mourn. Or maybe he was mourning too, in his own way.

Nyx was quick for a braka. She was nowhere near the speed of a caple at gallop, but at a trot, perhaps. Her broad back was uncomfortable to straddle for long periods of time, so every now and again, they’d shift and sit with both legs dangling from her side like they were riding on the edge of a giant, furry table.

It took almost two arcs to reach the crossroads. They stopped at a pond and let Nyx drink her fill and Shlee took a handful of oats from one of the rucksacks and held it in front of her huge snout.

“Alright, whelp,” Shlee said, turning to face Aurix for the first time since they’d left Dren. “Last chance to change your mind. I don’t want the legends to say I forced you onto the path of your destiny or doom.” He giggled.

“What are you talking about?” Aurix asked.

Shlee ignored the question. “Choose.”

Nyx finished washing down her oats in the pond and started to move onto the path heading north without being guided.

“Whoa there, beastie,” Shlee said patting her head. “Choose, Aurix, son of none. Your braka is ready to head for Terra.”

“We ride south.”

Nyx stopped in her tracks and started hurling her head into the air. Had she been able to lift her bulk off the ground, Aurix thought she might have bucked them off. So much for her even-temperament.

“Drak!” Shlee swore and had to grab a handful of fur to keep from being tossed to the ground. “Settle down, nag.” He pulled at the thick scruff of Nyx’s neck to turn her. She obeyed but continued to huff and snort and rolled her head from side to side.

“What’s her problem?” Aurix asked.

“How should I know? I don’t speak braka. But something has her worked up.” He looked around, checking the brush at the sides of the path for lurking dangers. “I don’t see anything and predators don’t usually stray this close to the road.”

Nyx gave a final whumph of discontent and then settled. She started south along the dusty path, her head down and her pace noticeably slower than it had been.

“At this rate, it’ll take a damn revolution to get to the Grimvale,” Shlee said. He gave her haunch a soft kick with a booted foot.

She responded with a harooof but picked up the pace a bit.

Shlee reached into the ruck hanging between his knees and took out a small rolled parchment. He handed it to Aurix. Unfurled it was about two hands long and equally wide. “You see Dren there, boy? You can read, I hope?”

Aurix rolled his eyes. “Yes, Shlee. I can read. I see Dren.” He glanced at Terra near the top of the map and let his eyes drift to the right where his hometown of Fennoril was stamped. He wondered if he’d ever see it again, and briefly wished that his path were taking him northeast.

“Look southeast along the road. We’re riding for Midian’s Keep.”

“I see it,” Aurix said.

“We’ll stay the night there and stock up on supplies for the rest of the ride to Grimvale and beyond. I’d suggest we make a few other stops along the way. Ajax’s Shield is a good start, but if we can ride on Xu’ul with more of the Relics, we’ll be much better off.”

“What if he has them all already?”

Shlee chuckled. “Trust me. He doesn’t.” He waved the Ring in front of Aurix, the air folding and rippling and twirling around it. “I’m still alive. If he already had Ulixes’ Helm, my bones would already be dust on the wind.” He blew through the few teeth he still had in his mouth and waggled his fingers as if he were mimicking his end. He laughed so hard, it sent him into a fit of violent coughs.

For the first time, it dawned on Aurix that this journey was almost certainly a death sentence for Shlee. Xu’ul would come for the Ring of Anaraxus regardless, and the old man was doomed if Aurix couldn’t find a way to defeat the king. He was the hope on which Shlee’s survival lay.

“You could die,” Aurix said.

The old man shrugged his bony shoulders, then gave a polite wave to a rider heading the opposite direction at a fair clip. “We all die, boy. And I’ve lived far longer than most and better than many. Death doesn’t scare me. It will be a welcome rest. But don’t count my barrochi eggs just yet. That’s what you’re here for.” He dropped Aurix a wink. “When we get to Midian, we’ll say you’re my grandson and we’re passing through on our way to Glynn. I know a few fellows there, but not well enough that any of them would know better. I’ll work them for any information I can get on Xu’ul. Midian is much livelier than Dren. They may know more there than we do.”

“Are we going to gather an army?” Aurix asked.

“Gods no. You know how well that worked last time. We’ll go in as quietly as we can, but if we make it to Glynn without Xu’ul knowing about it, I’ll eat Nyx’s fur. No, he’ll be waiting.”

“Then what?”

“Ha! How do I know? If we have the Shield, we’ll challenge him.”

“And if we don’t?”

“Well, we’d better have something, whelp. If not, there’s no point in riding for Glynn at all. This Ring alone isn’t going to help us with the king. You’ll have to have the Shield, the Helm or the Armor. Maybe the Boots or Gauntlets, if you’ve a damn good plan to go with them. We can’t count on the Tear, since we have no idea what it does. But bear in mind, if Xu’ul gets the Helm, everything will become much more complicated. It’ll take more than a little luck.”

“Maybe we should ride for the Helm first,” Aurix pondered aloud. “Since we know for sure he doesn’t already have it.”

Shlee gazed at the long road ahead of them over Nyx’s giant noggin. He said nothing, but smiled into the soft breeze created by the braka’s trot.

Their first night passed without incident. They stayed in a small wooded copse just to the east of the road. Aurix had never realized how dark the night could be until he was out of familiar surroundings and away from the family that had always kept him safe. The starglow wasn’t nearly enough to cut through the pitch once both Nova and Shura set. It was a chilly late summer night, though far from the cold that would arrive in a few months time. They stayed plenty warm huddled against Nyx, her snorts and snores sending up plumes of embers from their small fire. They gnawed on bread and jerky and drank honeymilk from skins while Shlee told Aurix stories of the past four centuries—they sounded as if they’d been much happier times, at least by Shlee’s reckoning.

The second night, Aurix was awoken by the sounds of wolves. He tried to wake Shlee, but the old man slept precisely as one might expect someone to sleep after 381 revolutions—very like the dead. After deciding that the wolves were too distant to pose a threat and listening for what seemed like arcs to be sure, he finally fell back into a fitful sleep.

When he woke next, Nyx was no longer stretched out on the dirt beside his blanket. The waning fire cast long dancing shadows over Shlee and him. And though Nyx blended almost completely into the darkness, he couldn’t see her anywhere in the glow of their dying cinders. He knew she couldn’t have gotten very far—the damned beasts weren’t known for their agility or grace.

He rose with a wide yawn and called to her in a whisper. “Nyx, you dumb quatch. Where’d you get off to? He walked in widening circles just outside of the fireglow with his arms in front of him so he didn’t crash into her camouflaged body. In the distance he could hear the wolves snarling and snapping at one another. They sounded much closer than they had earlier.

Aurix’s stomach knotted in the first twinges of fear when he realized he couldn’t smell the braka either. Their steed was missing, the fire was nearly out and the wolves were closing in. Rather than wander off into the darkness away from the camp, Aurix decided it would be smartest to stoke the fire first. If he tried to search for Nyx without a reliable beacon to return to, he may well find himself hopelessly lost in the long arcs before Shura rose. He knew the stars well enough and could navigate by them, but he couldn’t be certain that they would be unobscured by clouds when he needed them. Within ten minutes, Aurix had a good blaze going that would survive until morning. He was reluctant to leave the warmth, but Nyx might have lumbered her way into trouble, and he wasn’t fond of the idea that they might have to resume their journey on foot.

Just before he could be off, Shlee stirred. “Gods, whelp! What are you doing? That fire is hotter than Amezduleq.” He shielded his eyes and turned his head away with a scowl. “And brighter than Shura.”

“Nyx is gone,” Aurix said, a hint of hysteria in his voice. “I’m going to go look for her.”

Shlee made a sound of disgust and fell back onto his blanket. He seemed more annoyed than concerned. “That giant oaf can’t have gotten far. She can’t even get her rump off the ground without us heaving at her.”

“I know. But she did and she’s outside of the fireglow. I don’t see her. And there are wolves nearby.”

That got Shlee’s attention. He stood up, suddenly spry. “You should stay here. I’ll go find her.”

“No way. I’m not just going to sit here and let you go out there by yourself.”

“Someone needs to stay with our things, whelp. There are thieves in the night, both man and beast. The fire will dissuade them, but not if it’s unattended. You’ll be safer here, in any case. Trust me, I’m old, but not helpless.”

Shlee retrieved a dagger from a belt that lay in the grass near him. In less than a minute, his hunched silhouette escaped the realm of the firelight and disappeared into the night.

Aurix’s stomach turned nervously. He strained his ears, but everything was muted by the roar and crackle of the blaze he’d built. He paced around the fire as far away as he dared, but the night was still. Even the wolves had gone, or grown silent, or their snouts were otherwise occupied. Aurix refused to think it might be with a meal of braka. Or old man.

After what seemed arcs, he thought he heard a voice carried on the wind. He exhaled a long breath that he hadn’t known he’d been holding and tried to get a sense of where it was coming from.

“Shlee?” Aurix called. “Is that you? Did you find her?”

“The woods to your left,” came the response.

Aurix took off at a cautious run. He found Shlee trying to coax Nyx into a standing position, his back pressed into her hindquarters.

“Get up, foon! Get up.”

Aurix laughed. The sound rang with the release of his panic and tension. He leaned into Nyx’s haunch, and the beast awkwardly rolled into a stand with a loud hmmph.

“How in the world did you get all the way over here?” Aurix wondered aloud as she lumbered back toward their fire.

“Foon,” Shlee repeated, yawning. “We have a few arcs yet before dawn, thank the Gods.”

By the time they made it back to camp and got Nyx settled again, the fire had died down quite a bit.

Aurix pressed himself into the smelly warmth that Nyx provided and put his head atop her leg. She wouldn’t be able to sneak away so easily again. He was still perplexed as to how she’d managed it in the first place.

Shlee began to snore softly.

Aurix sighed, jealous at how quickly the old man drifted off. But in less than a minute, he was snoring as well.

The trio was back on the road not long after Shlee’s morning prayers. The only accommodation he’d made for the trip was that he now performed them clothed—an adjustment for which Aurix was grateful.

There was much more traffic on the trail as they neared Midian. Wagons, braka and caples, laden with supplies headed north. There were even a handful of Valerians on foot, visiting from small, nearby villages.

Aurix rode in front atop Nyx’s back. He turned back toward Shlee. “Something’s not right. You feel that?”

The old man shrugged, mostly ignoring Aurix, instead making eyes at an old woman riding on a small wagon hitched to two stallions coming up alongside them.

Aurix rolled his eyes. “Whoa, Nyx. Whoa.” He grabbed at the thick fur of her neck and pulled. To Shlee’s disappointment the old woman and her entourage pulled ahead of them, but not before he got in a sly little grin and wave.

“What’s the problem, whelp? I mighta found me a girlfriend if you hadn’t stopped.”

“She’s limping,” Aurix said and hopped down. He inspected Nyx’s legs. On the back of her rear right leg, he found dried blood mottled in her black fur, and she pulled away when he tried to touch it.

“What is it?” Shlee asked.

“I can’t see it, but she’s definitely wounded. This leg has been bleeding and its bothering her.” Aurix worked at Nyx’s fur to try to get a look at the damage, but it was like trying to find a knot on a tree in the Wraithwood. It didn’t help matters that she kept yanking from his grasp. He ran forward, grabbed her by the thick fur under her chin and guided her just off the road so others could pass.

“She’s a tough beastie. She’ll be fine,” Shlee said. “We’ve less than a day before Midian. We can have someone take a look at her there.”

Aurix had a bit more compassion for their shaggy companion. He gazed off into the distance, circling until he found what he was looking for. “I’ll be back in a few minutes,” he said, and ran off toward a field to the east, leaving Shlee with his frustration and bewilderment. When Aurix returned, he held a flat stone with a thick gob of yarrow paste on it.

“You’re a soft one,” Shlee said, and spat a mouthful of chickseed shells into the thick mix of grass and weeds next to them. “She’ll be fine,” he repeated, unconcerned.

“Maybe. But if you’re wrong, it’ll slow us down, and according to you, we can’t afford that. Besides, I don’t want her to hurt. She may be a dumb animal, but there’s no reason for her to be in pain if she doesn’t have to. This will help.” Aurix held a hand up for Shlee. “Now jump down and give me a hand, geezer.” He smiled.

Shlee looked bemused, but he didn’t argue. Silently, he climbed down, using a combination of support from Aurix and Nyx’s fur.

“I need you to pull her fur out of the way so I can get at the wound.”

Shlee hesitated. “I can put it on her.”

Aurix tilted his head and wrinkled his brow at the old man. “I’ve got it, Shlee. Lift her fur, please.”

His withered hands grabbed the fur around her leg and pulled it up. His pursed lips suggested he wasn’t happy about it, but he still said nothing.

“Higher.”

“This is silly, whelp.” He said it without conviction.

“Higher, Shlee.”

Shlee did as he was told.

Aurix sucked in a breath when he saw the wound on Nyx’s leg. It was just below her knee joint. The punctures weren’t terribly deep, but they were ugly and oozing.

“What in Xod’s name…?” Aurix said, and gently began to apply the green paste onto her leg with his fingertips. “This is a wolf bite, Shlee.”

Shlee shrugged and muttered, “That’s strange.”

“Wolves shouldn’t have been that close to our camp. And they don’t like the smell of braka anyway, according to my uncle.”

“I’m not sure what to tell you, Aurix,” Shlee said. “Animals can be unpredictable. Maybe a lone wolf was wandering in the woods near where we found her. Hopefully she gave it a good kick in the face.”

“I think I would have heard that.”

Shlee shrugged again. “Maybe not.”

Aurix could tell that there was something the old man wasn’t telling him. “What’s going on, Shlee?”

“Nothing.”

“Right. And that’s why you just called me Aurix instead of ‘whelp’ or ‘boy’?”

Shlee’s face reddened. “How about you trust me? You’ll find out soon enough, but now is not the time.”

“I don’t like being lied to.”

“No one is lying. There are just some things you don’t yet know. And I am asking you to trust my judgment about when you need to know them. Can you do that? I am risking my life for you, after all.”

Aurix continued to dab the salve on Nyx’s leg. She twitched under his fingers, but let him work on her without raising too much fuss. Aurix pondered the situation. He had more reason to trust Shlee than not. The old man had shown him the Ring and it’s incredible power. But Aurix was also no foon. Though Shlee was risking his life on this journey, doing nothing was just as dangerous. The old man’s only real hope was to bring the fight to Xu’ul before he brought it to them. But Shlee had wanted him on the journey, God’s knew why. Maybe he was the only one crazy (and angry) enough to ride headlong into the raga’s den.

“I am more risking my life for you than you for me, Shlee, though I would have done so with or without you.” He took a breath to calm himself. “Fine. Keep your secrets. But don’t you dare put my uncle’s braka at risk, or I’ll ride on alone.”

Shlee seemed to shrink a bit at the rebuke, but nodded once. With a boost from Aurix, he climbed back up onto Nyx. “Foon,” he muttered again to the braka.

Aurix led her for a bit as they made their way back onto the road. Her gait wasn’t quite back to normal, but the limp was noticeably better. As he tugged gently on the fur at her throat to guide her, she nuzzled his ear with a cold, wet nose.