Felek watched the riders approach.
There were seven horses with riders. This was good. No casualties. One horse had two riders. That was bad. Whatever was going on, they had more important things to do than to get involved. He walked past the last wagon, Ruta and Issa taking their place on the driver's bench. He had switched Adanya and the kids to the undamaged wagon, just in case. The wagons would change positions once they got going. He stopped as Anelie reined in.
"Who's our guest?"
The Kikker leaned out from behind the Hussar. Felek blinked.
"You!"
"Yes," Anelie said, dismounting. "Her. I thought I said to get moving."
"Hurried soldiers don't put wheels on correctly the first time, it seems. We're all set now." He watched as the Kikker girl carefully dismounted, unsure of the entire procedure. She dropped to the ground without falling over. "What's the story?"
"Ofure!" Anelie called to the Kikker. She ran over, brown breasts jiggling slightly.
"I'm here! Thank you!"
"Don't thank us yet. Tell Felek why you're here."
Her large yellow eyes widened slightly. Felek looked behind him. Ruta and Issa were standing beside the wagon. He sighed.
"Yes, tell us. Why did you follow us for half a day?"
"I had a dream," she blurted out. "A nightmare! I saw a Polish woman! Without clothing! She spoke to me! Said I had to go back to you! To travel with you! She said it was important!"
Felek turned to Ruta. His love's mouth was open, eyes wide in shock. Both hands clutched her necklace against her chest. This was either confirmation of all she was going through, or crazy coincidence. Anelie let out a sigh.
"We have to get moving. She was being molested by Watu bandits. We can talk about this later."
"One question now," Felek said, eyes on Ofure. "You haven't seen many Poles, have you?"
"No!" She shook her head, shaking. "Only once, and from a distance!"
"OK. You said this woman was nude. What did she look like between her legs?"
The look on Anelie's face was priceless, but he ignored it. What this girl did next was what was important. She frowned, thinking. Felek crossed his arms over his chest.
"She..." Her head cocked, eyes seeming to turn inward. "Fur. She had dark fur between her legs. Almost a triangle."
He nodded. Ruta's magic woman had been a topless blonde, but Ofure had at least seen an actual Pole and wasn't making things up. He looked at Anelie.
"I say we keep her riding double with one of your men. Don't trust her on the wagons yet."
She nodded. turning to remount her stallion.
"Agreed. Let's move out."
****
The delusional girl was quiet as the afternoon wore on, the talkative stalker of the day before gone. Felek liked that change. Traveling off the well used trails was bad enough, without having to deal with questions he might not like the answers to. Later, though. Tonight, they would find out what the hell was going on.
"I'm not impressed with these bandits," Anelie told him, her eyes again sweeping the roadsides. "They're not even trying to stay hidden."
"Well, they know we know they're there. I think they're just trying to encourage us to keep moving, not settle down in their territory for the night."
"I'm tempted to do that, just to spite them."
"But you're too smart for that," Felek added, smiling. She let out a rude noise.
"Doesn't mean I don't want to. I'm afraid they'll try a hit and run, go for one of the wagons. Pursuit through the woods would be difficult."
"Dangerous and risky."
"But are they smart enough to know that? Again, I like my bandits smart enough to not cause trouble."
That seemed to not make them bandits anymore, but he let it go. Names were often fluid things.
"Lady!" Klocia rode up, blonde braid flapping behind her. Felek turned in his saddle. He saw commotion back by the second wagon.
"Halt the column!" He yelled, arm up. Klocia reined in.
"Lady! The boy is ill!"
"Fuck!" Anelie reared her mount around, storming back. Felek motioned to the Hussars behind him.
"You two, ride ahead and see if there's a defensible camp we can use! Lewy, set up a perimeter!"
"Yes, Sir!"
Felek saw Ruta jump from the wagon, running back. He held up a hand to Issa.
"No, stay with the wagon! We may have to move quickly!" Kicking his mount, he rode back.
James lay on the grass, trembling, brown blotchy skin now more of a dark orange. Ruta threw herself down beside him, Adanya and Jaromira already there. Bogdi stood over them, arms wrapped around the crying Zuza. His face was blank.
"You're going to be OK, James!" his mother was saying, hand caressing his sweating face. "Just stay calm. It'll be OK!" Her head swung up. "I need the basket!"
Zuza shoved herself away from her father, leaping up into the covered wagon. She was out the back a moment later, tan woven basket in her hand. She sprinted to them, almost throwing her burden to Adanya as she too dropped to her knees. Her mother caught it instinctively, opening the lid as she brought it down to the grass.
"Water. I need a cup of water." Jaromira held one out, producing it seemingly from nowhere. Adanya took it. "Thank you!" Placing the wooden cup between her knees, she pulled a folded leaf from the basket. Opening it, she removed a single dried red flower with an orange center. Carefully, she dipped it in the cup, swirling it once. James' breathing came faster. Zuza grabbed his hands.
"It'll be OK! It'll be OK!"
"What... what's wrong?" Ofure's voice broke the hypnotic spell which had overtaken Felek. He looked at the girl, now standing uncertainly away from the others. Everyone was speaking Polish, so obviously she'd be confused. He moved to her.
"He's sick. Both kids. That's why we're traveling. We have to find a cure."
"Drink this." Adanya gently lifted her son's head up, cup pressed to his lips. The water dribbled into his mouth, down his chin. He swallowed. Adanya looked up, eyes fierce.
"We need more flowers. I'm down to two. Don't care where you find them, or how much they cost."
The boy's trembling lessened. Pulling his hands free from his sister, he took the cup himself, lifting himself up on one elbow. He took a longer swig, swallowing hard.
"I'm sorry, Mom," he said, tears in his eyes. "I didn't mean to do this!"
"It's OK, it's not your fault. You have to tell me when it starts, right? Just tell me when you start to feel ill, and we'll use your medicine."
"It was just a twinge before. I didn't think..."
"It's OK, Honey! Just lay back down! We'll rest for a few minutes then we'll get back on the wagon."
Felek moved over to Bogdi. Ofure came with him.
"You couldn't stock up more before we left?" he asked, softly. Bogdi shook his head.
"We brought what we had. The shaking is rare. It..." His voice lost all emotion. "There usually are only a few attacks before the end. The flowers are from Ajani."
Felek grimaced. That meant they now had a deadline.
"How long?" he asked. Bogdi let out a sigh.
"A month, maybe. If we have enough flowers."
****
They traveled another six hours, pushing past their normal stopping time. What good that would do, when they did not know how close their destination was, Felek couldn't say. They just had to make up time. The boy seemed OK, for now. At least, no more news had come from the wagon. That was probably the best he could hope for as the shadows lengthened around them.
The Kikker girl had not spoken since they had moved on. Even during rests, she kept to herself, eyes taking all of them in. He was starting to believe her, for all she had not given more proof. Surely she was among them despite the children, despite all the Polish around her. Something strong had compelled her to race along through wilderness to find them.
He hoped it wasn't evil.
Two riders appeared up ahead, coming around a bend in the barely marked trail. They were not hurrying, which was good. Hurrying scouts were the prelude to danger. Anelie raised her arm beside him, bringing the column to a halt. Looking behind, Felek saw all eyes on the forest around them, wary.
"There's a rise just around the bend, Lady Anelie," Kazik told them, reining in. "It will make a good defensible camp."
"Good. Lead the way." She turned to address the column. "We make camp ahead! I want fortifications thrown up, and we double the guard!"
"Yes, Lady!" Bogdi yelled back. She turned to Felek.
"While they're breaking their backs, I think we have some talking to do with Ruta and our guest."
"Agreed."
****
The low hill was about fifty yards long, its southern end about half that distance wide. While the slope from the road was gentle, the eastern face was somewhat steep, providing an annoyance if not a barrier to intruders. Felek nodded to himself in approval as he walked the edge. Comfort wise, it would be better to be at the bottom of the hillside, protected from the now increasing winds from the west, but it was bandits they needed shelter from.
The sound of axes biting into wood filled the air. As the four female Hussars alternated between standing watch and tending the horses, most of the men cut down the smaller trees around them. They could not do much, with so few men, but even the act of fortifying could keep away trouble. Perception was as important as reality when it came to war.
With leadership, too, and Felek not taking part in the physical labor around them could possibly come back to bite him. He would help later. Take a watch that night. Now, though...
Anelie was waiting, sitting on a folding stool beside a wagon. Ruta sat beside her, hands fiddling with her necklace. Felek took the empty stool across from them, eyes glancing at Adanya, Issa and Jaromira setting up the kitchen fire. Both kids sat in the grass nearby.
"Ofure." Anelie's call brought the girl to them. She stood in the empty space between Felek and Ruta, almost as if it was the redhead she was most frightened of. Anelie's eyes swept over the three of them. "OK. We need to figure this the hell out. Ofure, tell us, exactly, what happened."
"OK." Her eyes were on her feet, hands clutched before her. Felek caught Issa glancing over, out of her sightline. "Well... you see, after I left you yesterday... and I'm sorry about that!" She looked at them, eyes pleading. "I mean it! I had just never seen children like that! It scared me!"
"Just tell us what happened," Felek said. He wanted her story before they told her theirs.
"Well, I know you saw me after that. I tried to just pretend I didn't see anything. Be with my friends. But... I couldn't. So, I went home. Went to bed." She sat down on the grass, legs folded under her.
"I had a dream. A... yes, a dream. Vision. I saw a Polish woman standing on an island. Water all around. There... there was a tower behind her. White stone. Beautiful. I... I was flying over the water towards her. Even as far away as I was, I could hear her. In my mind, all around me. She... she said she was a spirit. A spirit of Healing. Rebirth. Life, and Death."
Felek felt a chill go through him. That... did not sound good.
"She wore no rope skirt, nor the fabric you all wear. Her skin was light, smooth, bare. I honestly couldn't tell if her hair was black or brown. I think black. She stood in the grass before the tower, bare to the world. A... a bird of some kind landed on her shoulder, then flew off. As I came closer, her voice came again. She..." The girl closed her eyes. "She said, 'I have watched you, my child. Watched you, and loved you. You will serve me. Help me bring healing to this world, which so sorely needs it. Others I have called to me. Those who have served me in the past, and so shall serve me again. You must go to them. Join them. Help them to come to me.'" Ofure's yellow eyes opened. "I knew she was talking about you. That all of you were going to her. So, when I woke, I ran to my Uncle's inn, but she sent me away!" She pointed to Anelie. Felek flicked his eyes to her. Anelie scoffed.
"Crazy lovesick girl comes up to me before dawn wanting to join us. What else would I do?"
He nodded. That couldn't be blamed on her, and now it mattered not anyway. He looked at Ruta.
"Tell us your dream again, Ruta."
Anelie leaned forward. Felek wasn't sure she had heard it before. Ruta shook her head.
"It... it's fading. I honestly think it may be a dream now. It was real THEN, though!" she protested, seeing his reaction. "I know what I thought it was, but the details keep changing! Like... I don't know." Her shoulders sagged.
Felek took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.
"Ruta had a vision in her room," he told the others, his memory of her words clear. "A vision, as she prayed to Mother Mary, of a woman at the foot of her bed. She was blonde, clad in blue." He looked at Ruta for confirmation, going on as she nodded. "Her dress bared her breasts." Anelie's eyebrows went up. Felek shrugged. "One reason I suspect it wasn't the Virgin Mary. Anyway, the vision told Ruta she would guide the children to her, to an island on a lake, and that she would save them."
"She said nothing about serving her," Ruta said, gaze focused on Ofure. "There was no price given."
"It would be foolish to think there was none, though," Anelie said. Behind her, Felek saw Adanya pause in her work. "I mean, Jesus asks that we pray to him."
"We have no reason to think they are the same woman," Ruta said. "I saw a beautiful blonde. She saw some dark-haired slut. It could have been... Satan. A temptress. We don't know."
"Mary was dark haired," Anelie told her.
"In one of the books," Felek added, mind recalling some of his more unauthorized reading, "Jesus appeared to people differently. As a child to one, or a woman to another. If this IS Mary, or someone similar, it could be the same thing."
"Queen Catty said it can't be Mary," Ruta said, bitterly. "That neither our gods, nor hers, had followed our peoples into this world."
Anelie blinked. Jaromira's head shot up from behind Adanya. Felek waved that aside.
"That's for later. Let Brother Ofim and the Elf Queen battle about that. We just need to decide if Ofure here had the same vision as you. If she really should accompany us."
"Did she tell you where we had to go?" Ruta asked. "How far away we are?"
"No," Ofure said, shaking her head. "Nor how to get there."
"Wonderful."
"Ask your magic necklace," Anelie said, just a touch of sarcasm coming to Felek's ears. "You're our guide."
"It doesn't work like that." There was a hint of anguish in Ruta's voice. "I wish to Mother Mary above it did, but all it does is point. That's all."
Felek could read the expression on Anelie's face. There wasn't much difference between the two stories, at least as far as silliness went. They had no proof Ruta was leading them in the right direction... except, perhaps, for her having led them to this girl. And, Ofure HAD seen the spirit on an island. That had to mean something.
He stood.
"You can come with us, Ofure." She jumped up, Felek raising a hand to calm her. "Just make yourself useful. Help with the meals, the kids, whatever you can."
"I will! Thank you!" She practically jumped over Ruta, plopping down next to the now lit cooking fire. Whether Ruta's expression was because of the leap, or because she had seen directly between the Kikker's legs, he wasn't sure. He rotated a shoulder.
"I'm going to see if the men need any help."
"I'll come, too," Anelie said, standing. "I've sat enough for one day."
****
A firm shake woke him.
"It's our watch."
Felek blinked, raising up onto his elbows. Cyla knelt on one knee beside him, already dressed and armored. On the other side of the fire, he saw two soldiers getting under thin blankets.
"I'm up," he said, as if words would make it so. He sat up, to prove the point.
The night was quiet as he dressed. The other two soldiers on watch were already at the far end of the hill, watching the forest and the road ahead. Strapping on his sword, Felek picked his way among the sleepers, following Cyla. She pointed to a good spot on the eastern side of the hill, the hardest approach. She made her way to the more likely avenue of attack.
He sat on a not quite flat rock, eyes taking in the night. Some said the Watu were nocturnal, that so many of their kind became bandits because of this, Poles and Kikker all the more vulnerable at night. Felek thought this was likely Elfshit. Those who came to Nowy Warsaw were as active under the sun as any other, and it was only because the Watu tended to exile criminals that a large collection had gathered on the borders. Certainly King James had dealing with such a situation as one of his goals. The forts, like Shanna's, were part of this.
The King. His sister. He missed her. Missed the kids. His niece Anne had a birthday coming up. He'd miss it. He'd have to find something for her. For all the kids.
There was movement in the shadows of the trees. Felek stood. Yes, he was exposed, silver armor reflecting what moonlight there was. He did not think they would attack, though, if they saw preparations. While the angle from ground level could not show the minimal extent of the log walls laid down, they could see they were there. They could see him watching them, compare his steel armor and weapons to their more ineffective gear. If they were smart...
The Watu stepped out of the shadows, looking upward at him. After a moment, he turned, vanishing again into the trees. Felek sat.
They would not be bothered this night.