A Sun Rose by GB Kinna - HTML preview

Chapter Eight

The next day, after a slow start and although hung over, he managed to get back to his study. Kooringal had made him a large breakfast and made sure he kept the fluids up to him during the day. Hanna felt a little pampered, but he wasn’t complaining. He stayed for the next the two weeks, reading and discussing the stories with Kooringal.

Tooligie and Warooka had visited on two occasions to update the developments on the farm and pick up supplies. Icno had also dropped by on his way to see his lady friend.

As time passed, Hanna absorbed the writings and philosophies of Sheringa. He became more aware of the significance and impact that they were having on his life. Here the texts were reinforcing in his psyche what he already believed to be true, the power of the mind to conquer any problem and any given situation.

Positive thoughts, actions and deeds were the secret to achieve a full and happy life. A positive environment was essential to catalyst that power. One could examine but never dwell on weakness, as positive energies attract and multiply. Hanna could feel this process being reinforced within himself. Kooringal could see it too, allowing Hanna his freedom to grow.

‘Nurturing the seedling as its roots sort their foundations,’ he would say.

The more Hanna’s searched for information, the more he found himself lost in the consumption of the philosophies of the texts. At times, he would have to remind himself as to what he was really looking for, and yet, he continually found himself engrossed in his meditations.

He found stories of peoples in the southwest and references to other strange creatures. It was hard to tell the difference between any fantasy in the stories and the realities. There were several references to the ruins of an ancient city at the end of what; Hanna interpreted as, the dark trail that was the homeland of the Perlumblie.

There had apparently been Five ‘Books of Sheringa’ or so the book’s foretold. When Hanna questioned Kooringal as to why there were only three, he had explained how there were as many legends as to what had happened to the first and last volume’s as there were stars in the sky. Some interpretations were that they were lost forever in the mysteries of time. While others say that, they were only meant for the chosen few.

‘Whatever the reason, time was too important to spend worrying about such things.’ He had said reassuringly.

The winds still hadn’t changed and there was still no sign of Ray and the others. Finally, he decided it was time to return to the farm for a few days and have a break. He told Kooringal and was again, surprised by his words.

‘The journey ahead may be fraught with many spills and chills. The lessons you have learnt here and the lessons you had learnt on your way here are like a cake baking in an oven. It is not until it has finished cooking and cooled down enough for you to eat, do you know if the mixture was right. You must trust your instincts Hanna, for the positive energies that surround you will not let you down. The good will always take over the bad. The right will always fix the wrong. When the energies are placed in their proper order, then all that’s meant to be, will be, that is the natural order of chaos, a simple mathematical fact.’ He smiled and placed his hands on Hanna’s shoulders.

‘Travel well, Hanna York, your path is long but you will succeed,’ he said

**********

Yurla and two border guards joined Hanna on his journey back to the farm. Two packhorses also accompanied them, one with supplies for the farm and the other with supplies for the men who were to relieve the guards that were protecting the entrance to the dark valley. Hanna had met them on that first evening at the tavern, Pirie and Rickaby.

He had only visited the drinking establishment on three occasions during his stay in town and it was all due to Yurla’s persistence. He always seemed to regret it the next day but as much as he enjoyed the taste of ale, he didn’t miss the after effects, unlike of the brew that the northerners drank.

They rode out just after lunch; the strong westerly wind that had been howling through the night had finally eased. They travelled towards the natural arch that crossed the river on their path to the farm. It was a geological marvel as the river had carved its way through the middle of a hill. What must have been an underground river once was now a spectacular land formation and as they rode over it, Hanna looked back towards the two rivers that joined some two kilometres upstream from where they were. As he looked around, he could see the thick jungle that cascaded down the slopes of the surrounding hills. Slowly, they gave way to the grasslands of the valley.

In the distance, he could see several small waterfalls as they splashed their way over exposed cliffs. Birds rang out their songs, echoing through gullies as the wind rustled in the branches as it swept along the top of the trees. Yurla stopped and pointed out some of the landmarks.

‘The river Carpa joins the mighty river Baroona,’ he said.

‘And the cliffs are the wall of restraint, there to the South is the Dark valley and there,’ he was pointing, ‘is the crossing where the Carpa runs shallow and wide. It allows our men to cross and take up their position to guard the entrance to the Dark Valley,’ he said.

Hanna could see the definition in the shape of the land that seemed to be raised above the flood plain. He recognised then the possibility of it being an old road and wondered if there had been a bridge there once.

‘It looks like the land was raised to build a road there. It really is beautiful,’ he added.

After a short while, a small animal scurried its way across their path. Rickaby let out a hoot!

‘There is an old road that leads into the Dark Valley and it’s a bit of a mystery as to who built it,’ said Pirie.

‘Yeah! It’s actually been carved out of the cliff face itself,’ commented Rickaby.

‘Whoever did it sure had a job and a half.

‘What gets me is how smooth the road surface is. It’s like someone carved it with a knife,’ said Pirie.

‘I’d like to see that,’ commented Hanna, his curiosity now seriously aroused.

‘I reckon that those bloody idiot Perlumblie don’t even mean to end up at our end of that road, they just follow the track and bing! There here and let’s face it, not many escape and return to tell the others,’ said Rickaby.

‘You got that right,’ added Yurla. They all laughed.

They had reached a point in the road were a small creek crossed their path and the two relieving guards made their farewells and rode off downstream. Pirie yelled back.

‘Come and pay us a visit on your way back Yurla, we could do with the company. It’s definitely worth a look Hanna. It’s an eerie place but it sure is something to see.’

They gave a wave as they disappeared around the bend. Hanna and Yurla rode on chatting and arrived at the farm about one hour later. As they approached, they noticed that there was no movement, there seemed to be nobody around. Yurla commented that there were no horses in the corral and he urged his horse on, Hanna followed.

As they drew closer, they could see that the work in the fields had been abandoned in mid stride. Tools had been dropped where they were being used and left lying on the ground. Something was definitely wrong here. An air of urgency took hold of them.

Yurla called Tooligie’s name but there was no response. They rode to the main house, again Yurla called; they went inside and looked about. Hanna searched the kitchen and living areas, while Yurla checked the bedrooms. Then Hanna heard his mournful cry.

‘Nooo… oooh!’

Hanna ran to see and there, on the bed lay two bodies, Tooligie and beside her Yaninie. Both lay with their hands folded on the chest with their eyes closed. Yurla stood above them with the corner of the sheet that had covered them in his hand. He pulled the sheet off them to examine their wounds.

Tooligie hadn’t suffered as she had a single mortal wound to the heart, an arrow most probably. Poor Yaninie hadn’t been as lucky as he had multiple wounds slashed and carved about his body. He had fought hard and died a most horrid death.

Hanna was overcome with grief for Yaninie, as he was the youngest of his group. Not much younger than Arno, Tooligie’s son.

‘What horrible evil had robbed this young man of his innocence and youth? Cheated this proud and dignified woman of her right to see her grandchildren?’ He questioned.

Thoughts of the finality and hopelessness of death rose up inside of him, only too familiar with the passing of his beloved Kadina. Anger boiled within him as he looked at the beautiful, peaceful expression on Tooligie’s face.

‘Such a waste, such a horrible senseless waste.’

He felt his blood begin to throb in the veins of his brow. Yurla bent down to hold Tooligie and Hanna, sensing the grief that was overwhelming him, thought it better to leave him alone and walked out of the room, on to the veranda.

He paced up and down to try to clear his thoughts. Then he spat viciously over the rail on to the ground, as if to spit the fowl poison of hatred from his system. As his mind focused, he looked around the area to see if there was any tell tail signs of what had happened. As he did so, he tried to empty his mind of the anger that was fogging his thinking; he took long slow deep breaths. He used self-talk to calm himself down. Now, within some control, he walked around the house and there, out the back, he saw the body of what must be a Perlumblie, lying on the ground about fifty metres away.

Clear horse tracks lead off past towards the woodlands at the edge of the paddock. He looked towards the sun, his hand shading his eyes, and judged there to be at least five hours of daylight left. His mind raced and became razor sharp. He calculated that if the deaths occurred this morning then they would be at least four hours behind the others. He decided that there was no other choice, but to follow, he returned to the house.

‘Yurla,’ he called.

‘I’ve found their tracks. Grab some blankets and I’ll raid the kitchen, they would have left without any thought of provisions.’

It was obvious to Hanna, gauging from the mood and conversation, during their trip out to the farm Yeelanna that Yurla had intended to soon make his intentions clear to Tooligie and the boys. He had discussed how he was thinking about not standing as the master of arms in the next election.

As he entered, the house there had been no response from Yurla. Hanna was suddenly overcome with a mental picture of Kadina’s smiling face. To his surprise, it was clearer that he had ever pictured before. Then it was gone and he held his head as he tried hard to retrieve it. His mind shifted back to the matter at hand.

 ‘Yurla!’

Yet still there was no response. Word power, he would be abrupt and firm.

‘Blankets! Now! We’re going!’ He yelled Hanna sternly.

Thankfully, there was the sound of shuffling feet coming from the bedrooms. Hanna continued in the kitchen, Yurla met him outside with the horses.

‘I saw a couple of bows and arrows in the hall, you grab them and I’ll check to see if there’s anything we’ve forgotten,’ said Hanna, re-entering the house.

He returned to the bedroom to make sure the bodies were securely covered and the door was shut. He questioned, in his mind, the ethics of leaving the bodies unattended especially if they were away for a few days. Again, he put the thoughts aside. They met again at the horses. Yurla looked at Hanna, obviously still dazed, awaiting his next instruction. Hanna gave him a grim smile and a reassuring nod.

‘Right, let’s do it.’ Said Hanna as he mounted old tangle foot and wheeled the horse around the house, Yurla following.

Hanna pulled up beside the dead Perlumblie to examine the scene as Yurla rode on by. He called out for him to hold up as he tried to judge the events that had transpired here. It was obvious that this was the spot where Yaninie had died. It looked as if he had tried in vain to crawl back to the house after he had won his fight with the barbarian. Hanna looked closely at the body of the dead Perlumblie and noticed that the clothes he wore were tailored, a thick leather belt held up his pants. Hanna dismounted and rolled the body over to examine it further.

Hanging from the belt was an empty sheath, the leather had been intricately engraved; Hanna looked around for the missing weapon and saw what could be a dagger, half protruding from the brush about ten metres away. He retrieved it and returned to the body as he examined the ivory handle.

It had been carved into a beautifully fashioned sculpture of a naked human female with wings that spread over the knuckles to protect the user’s hand. She stood on a large yellow gemstone; the blade shone and well kept. Although not comfortable to hold, he looked at the larger, thicker hand of the dead Perlumblie and could see they it would be a better fit.

‘Sharp enough to shave with,’ thought Hanna.

He looked at the dead Perlumblie and saw that he was not much more than a youth. Although his pants were made of leather, the Perlumblie’s shirt was of a thick weave with pockets tailored into it.

Hanna examined the contents of the pockets and found in one a small leather bag that contained a jumble of polished gemstones, small bones and some aromatic herbs. In the other was a leather parchment. Hanna unfolded it and immediately recognised the Walls of Restraint and the Dark Valley marked clearly on a map.

The lands of Androssan were undetailed and plainly unexplored but the lands of the Perlumblie and beyond were well marked. There were a number of townships marked on the map that Hanna recognised from the books he had studied.

‘This was a prize,’ thought Hanna.

He collected all three items and the sheath, packed them in his saddlebag and rode on after Yurla who was waiting for him to catch up edge of the woodlands.

When he reached him, Yurla indicated towards the south western horizon where balls of smoke were drifting into the sky.

‘Pirie and Rickaby have either got trouble or judging by the time, I’d say they’ve found it. The Perlumblie can only get in and out through the Dark Valley. I’ve thought about the possibility of them using your boat concept on the river Baroona to travel to Androssan, but I think that it’s a bit farfetched. One way or another they’ve got to return up the Dark Valley.’

‘So we either head them off at the pass or follow the boys, what do you think?’ said Hanna, relieved to find Yurla was thinking again.

‘The town watch will see the smoke signal and send troops out to the valley entrance. The town will go on full alert and prepare its defences, the walls are impenetrable. Preselected groups, mainly relatives will head out to the surrounding farms like Tooligie’s and if all goes to plan; they’ll meet them half way. If not, they will arrive to find what they will and then signal if they find anything wrong. Where there is that thick black smoke… there is trouble. We add a tree extract to the fire to create it.’ He paused

‘Tooligie’s father is in for a big shock,’ said Yurla, looking back towards the house, the pain of helpless distress clear in his eyes. Hanna was quick to change the subject back to the present.

‘But there was no smoke this morning,’ he said.

‘They’ve made a half-hearted attempt to light a fire in the pit back at the house. I saw a stack of half burnt fresh branches there, but I’d say they were too impatient with that strong westerly wind this morning.’

‘Yes, of course, I’d forgotten,’ commented Hanna.

‘They’ve done the right thing in the circumstances and stuck together as a group. There’s strength in numbers. And that’s probably our best option, to catch up and join them.’ he added.

Hanna agreed and they rode off. They easily followed their tracks through the scrub and after about two hours, they came upon a creek crossing were the horses were tied up to some trees. The Perlumblie were smarter than Hanna had expected as they had headed up a steep, slippery hillside to stop the horses from following. This would slow their pursuer’s right down; Hanna knew that with Warooka hot on their trail there was no escape, it was only a matter of time. Yurla had dismounted and was about to start on up the hill when Hanna called him back. Indicating the other way, he wheeled his horse to climb the hill on the other side of the creek. As he gained height, he was able to get a perspective of the surrounding terrain.

He could see that if the Perlumblie were to head back towards the entrance of the Dark valley, then they would probably have to cross the creek again further downstream. He rode back down towards Yurla and explained his theory. They both then followed the steam down though the valley as it wound its way through the hills.

With their senses on full alert, Hanna could hear the birds singing in the trees about them. The occasional small animal scurried through the bush as they passed. Leaves rustled as the horses trod their way through the forest litter that lay about the ground. Several times, they had to cross the creek and once the horses had to swim through a large pool. Hanna was just about to doubt his judgement when he thought he could hear some noise coming from around the next bend, he looked to Yurla and he acknowledged that he had heard it too.

They dismounted, secured the horses and slowly crept from rock to rock around the bend. Finally, they saw exactly what they didn’t really want to see. There in an open space beside the creek, was a camp of around ten Perlumblie soldiers.

They were shorter that Hanna had pictured in his mind, yet stockier and more fierce to look at. Their skulls were larger than a human, the jaw line protruding with a big, wide, flat nose that almost over hung their mouth, brows protruding with bright red hair. Hanna was surprised as he almost found them comical to look at. He checked himself as to the seriousness of the situation. Then it struck him, they looked, for all intent and purpose, like Neanderthals.

**********

To Be Continued in

The Wells of Paradigm

ISBN-13: 9781500887063

ISBN-10:1500887064

And

The Ark of Corporeity

ISBN-13:978-1500887285

ISBN-10:1500887285

By GB Kinna Books 1 and 11 in the

The Paradigm of Time Saga