Five of Wands

Chapter 3
Five of Wands

“'Twas in another lifetime, one of toil and blood

When blackness was a virtue and the road was full of mud

I came in from the wilderness, a creature void of form

'Come in,' she said, 'I'll give you shelter from the storm.”

-Bob Dylan

      The leader of the little band of interlopers told everyone to take a few moments to eat and rest. Her crew dropped their packs and settled to the ground without a word, pulling out water, bread, and cheese as they did so. After they had settled in a bit she walked over to them and began to eat as well, taking her food and drink from what they offered her.

      Meanwhile Kriss helped Elly to her feet and she silently began to look around, surveying the destruction. There was nothing recognizable but the two sisters held hands and picked their way through the splinters and scorched wood anyway hoping to find something to take with them to remind them of home. There was nothing. Nothing but that horrid stench that Kriss would never quite forget until Elly, with a little squeal of excitement, kicked aside what may have once been part of their dinner table. There lying burnt, brittle, and devoid of string lay her precious bow. She let go of Kriss's hand, snatched it up quickly, and held it over her head with a little smile that held both pride and hope.

      To both of their dismay the bow cracked right in two and smashed to pieces as it hit the ground. Kriss swallowed hard once as Elly slowly lowered her arm and seemed to notice for the first time how badly burned they were, as if she had been oblivious to the pain all along. Whatever delusion had kept the pain at bay was suddenly shattered at the sight. Kriss watched Elly take one long breath which she then released with such awful cries of pain that Kriss and the entire party winced. As Kriss rushed to comfort her sister Elly fought her off with cries of, “Don't touch me! It hurts!”

In an instant the Discordian leader was shoving Kriss aside and as she reeled to keep her footing on the tricky mound of debris she saw a look in the leader's eyes that she did not like at all. There was a mixture of contempt and boredom on her face as if all of this work were far beneath her. Kriss got the feeling that she did not like children at all.

      “Enough!” she shouted at Elly but little balding girl with burned arms would have nothing of it. Her eyes widened remarkably as she began casting her gaze wildly around as if truly seeing everything for the first time. When she noticed all the blood and gore that was hanging from the trees her keening reached inhuman levels of both pitch and amplitude. Kriss watched in wonder as birds rose in massive numbers from the forest around them, chattering and diving about in a frenzy. In the far distance she would have sworn she heard wolves howling their lament.

      “E-NOUGH!!” the blue-robed woman shouted and stretched out her hand. A thin, blue snap of electricity arced from her fingers to the center of Elly's forehead. She was instantly silenced as she crumpled to the earth, Kriss rushing to her side as she did so. Elly seemed to be breathing and none worse for the wear, nonetheless Kriss was regretting her rush to alliance with these strangers. At the time she had only thought, “If they were going to kill us they would have already.” That and the word Discordian stuck out in her head as if something she should know. Her instincts about these things were usually spot on so she had not hesitated. Now, however, she began to wonder if she had allied with the wrong people. It was a tenuous alliance at best and Kriss knew that once they were safely in the woods she and her sister could run away. Kriss knew the woods, knew survival, but Elly was hurt badly and now unconscious not to mention they had no weapons and little knowledge on how to make them.

      Kriss quashed her desire to rush headlong at the lady in blue who stood silently studying Kriss with narrowed eyes. Kriss narrowed her own eyes as she slowly got to her feet and studied the woman in return. Behind her she was dimly aware of the rest of the blue-robes standing up and gathering their belongings. “What did you do to my sister?” Kriss spoke slowly and deliberately letting venom drip off of every word. Her mind, however, was racing like the chickens Elly used to keep in the yard, flitting from thought to thought, tallying up the mistakes she had made so far. Like it or not she was now locked in with these people.

      The blue robed woman spoke softly but Kriss could hear the frustration in her voice.“She is unharmed and no longer in pain. She will sleep soundly until we can make camp and tend to her wounds. I cannot stress enough how quickly we must be off. For her sake. For all of us.”

Kriss cocked her head slightly. “Not yet. Your names. You have us at a disadvantage, after all.”

The woman's face softened a little at this. “Forgive me, but in the rush to find you many things were overlooked. I am Nora, High Priestess and messenger for Eris, goddess of Discord and thrower of the Golden Apple. For you, Kallisti...” Nora produced an apple made of pure gold from somewhere in her robes and offered it to Kriss. Etched into the side of the fruit were the words, “To Kallisti.” When Kriss took the fruit she was surprised to find that it wasn't truly made of gold at all but instead held fast in some sort of illusion. “Taste it.” Nora smiled softly. Kriss took a bite and came to the quick conclusion that it was the most delicious piece of fruit she had ever tasted. She did not show it on her face, however, and chewed in silence waiting for Nora to continue.

      “The rest of us you can meet along the way. We really must be going.” There was an urgency in her voice and Kriss began to wonder what could possibly make such a strong wielder of magic retreat in fear. She decided that was something she really didn't want to know and nodded her head in silent assentation, taking another bite of apple as she did so.

      “Patawpha will stay behind and cover our retreat.” Nora indicated a young man who bowed deeply. Kriss could hear the creak of leather from under his robes as he did so, an indication of the armor he wore hidden there. As if on cue, Patawpha grinned widely at Kriss and began to pull an impossibly wide variety of wicked weapons from robes, deftly stashing them around his person with a little flourish .

      “Ufff!” Nora snorted at Patawpha. “Please tell me you did not bring that audacious scythe with you.”

      Patawpha spread his arms wide and shrugged. “Wherever would I keep it?” His brown eyes were bright with delight as he exchanged words with his superior.

      “I know precisely the place.” Nora retorted. She was unamused. Turning to the rest of the party Nora began barking directions. No one else looked at her like Patawpha did who was still grinning and chuckling quietly as he went to task setting snares around the perimeter of the little clearing. The rest kept their heads low and followed every order to the letter, marching orders, who was scouting ahead, and who was carrying Elly were amongst the many directions Nora spit out quickly.

      The latter fell to a small, attractive blonde woman just a few years older than Kriss herself. She smiled warmly and introduced herself as Kem, politely declining Kriss's offer of help as she effortlessly lifted little Elly into her arms. She was strong yet very careful with her slumbering cargo. Kriss liked her instantly but felt it better to keep that information to herself for now. Before long the whole party, minus Patawpha, were setting off into the forest at a rapid pace. Unencumbered as she was Kriss had no trouble keeping up and easily fell into step besides Kem who greeted her with a welcoming smile. Before she knew it Kriss caught herself smiling back at the pleasant girl, chiding herself as she did so and forcing the smile from her face with a wicked scowl. Kem politely looked away and pretended not to notice.

      It wasn't long before the pace they set had taken Kriss far from the small circle of territory she knew around her home. Her father had promised to start taking her further afield on her next birthday. The very thought of him hit her in the gut like one of Patawpha's cruel morning stars. Try as she might she could not keep her tears from betraying her and soon she was wiping them angrily from her face as if swatting away a swarm of stinging ants. She was startled when Kem's hand slid slyly into one of her own and gave a little squeeze before releasing her grip and leaving Kriss holding a soft piece of blue cloth. Kriss smiled weakly in thanks and wiped the tears from her face. Quite frankly she could have used something to blow her nose into but the cloth was nicer than any she had ever seen and smelled faintly of some heavenly perfume. She folded it carefully as if it were a precious artifact and offered it in return to Kem who simply smiled, shifted Elly gently in her arms, and shook her head. Kriss was struck with the fact that other than the clothes on her back this was now her only possession. After dabbing away a few more tears she secreted the cloth away determined to never let it go.

      The little party continued their rapid march through the woods without pause until darkness threatened to close completely in around them. From her time in the wild with her father she knew that it was well past time to get a fire going with any type of ease. Still, they marched on for another hour or so stopping only when it was too dangerous to be lumbering around in the dark. Although Kriss did not relish spending the night in the wilderness without a fire she was too exhausted and numb to truly care.

      Nora gathered them all in a little circle, explaining how they were now far enough away to build a fire. Building a fire seemed very important to Nora but Kriss didn't know how in any goddess's name she could accomplish the task. With surprising swiftness a little camp was thrown together and Nora indicated for Kriss to sit on one of the logs surrounding the quickly growing mound of kindling, sticks, and large dead branches. One tall lady in particular seemed especially good at finding things in the dark, disappearing into the blackness only to emerge moments later with armloads of wood that should have taken a long time to gather in the bright of day. In an errant shaft of moonlight Kriss noticed the tall lady's eyes shining in the dark like Elly's cat. “Interesting...” she thought and soon she was drying her eyes again with the little blue cloth inwardly chastising herself for crying over Elly's mangy cat.

      When everyone was finished with their duties, which included gently stretching Elly out on a soft blanket, they gathered themselves and sat around the huge mound of wood that loomed menacingly in the dark. Nora stood and walked to the center of the circle, stopping abruptly and spreading her arms out wide. “ALL HAIL DISCORDIA!” Her voice was deeper than normal and full of power. Kriss rocked backward and would have been unceremoniously unseated if it weren't for Kem who caught her gently but solidly with a hand to the small of her back. Grateful yet embarrassed Kriss stared at the ground hoping no one else noticed. Either they did not or simply did not care because they were all now intoning, “All hail Discordia,” in return.

      Nora took a deep breath and began to speak. Her words were deliberate and clear and it began to dawn on Kriss that she was about to hear a speech of some sort. Inwardly she groaned while keeping her face as emotionless as possible. The weariness of the day was hitting her hard and all she wanted now was to go to sleep. Nora's eyes locked with hers and would not let them go as she continued to speak.

      “When one of our flock is missing we must light a fire to guide their way home. This fire must be big and this fire must strong and this fire must burn until they come home.” Kriss felt Nora's sing-song words begin to lull her to sleep but she forced her eyes open as best as she could. She knew the tug of magic when she felt it and it angered her to be so helpless under it's sway. Nora was now in full chant and Kriss could not fight it any longer. The last thing she remembered was an explosion of warmth and color as the fire instantly raged into a conflagration.

      Again Kriss was knocked backwards and again there was Kem's comforting, solid hand at the small of her back. Gently Kriss was helped to the ground and covered with a blanket. With her last ounce of strength she forced open her eyes and looked at her sister sleeping soundly beside her. She wanted to hold her hand but was afraid it would hurt her.

      That night she dreamed of her father, her mother, and that mangy little cat. More than once she thought that Kem was wiping tears from her cheeks and telling her to hush..to rest...but in those vacant hours who can tell what is real or dream? At last she slid into a fitful slumber devoid of dreams, just Kriss drifting effortlessly amongst the stars.