DEEP FOREST - PART 3
While stories take a break for the Summer, I'll still be sharing short fiction - mostly introductory segments from projects I'm rewriting, every other week until August. Deep Forest ends this week, admittedly uncertainly - but we see our villain, and some more ambiguous characters.
When she awoke the sun was high in the sky. Sloth sat in her tree, upside-down on a branch, asleep. Raven was napping quietly, perched high up on the cliff, one eye constantly open. And Wolf was lying down, unconscious, as a portly man in white overalls crushed herbs in a pestle and mortar beside him. Slowly, Rabbit got up, from her position curled up next to the dying fire into a crouch. She drew her knife and crept towards the man.
“It's quite alright, girl,” he said with a smile. “You're not from the forest, are you? Wolf was telling me earlier. You did a good job with the bandages.”
Rabbit squatted, stunned for a moment before she regained her composure.
“You're Master Hog,” she said automatically. The man smiled, taking the mixture from his bowl and rubbing it into the wound in Wolf's abdomen.
“This mixture of herbs should help him recover quickly,” he said. “I hope you don't mind – I found your medicine tin, I took some herbs from there.”
“Not at all,” Rabbit said, dazed. She searched for the words to explain how she felt about this man, this doctor, his sudden appearance today.
“You're not what I expected,” she eventually settled on. She shifted her position so she was sitting more comfortably and examined him. His skin was chestnut brown and he was bristly, his beard a pine-needle mass of whiskery ginger hair which darkened to brown as it reached the top of his head, and his moustache bristled outwards from the force of his smile underneath it. He looked incredibly small for a man who periodically dealt with people like wolf.
“Many people say that,” he admitted. “In truth, a man who reasons with a corrupt king is usually not the man people expect.”
“Will you travel with us?” Rabbit asked. Master Hog looked up, a little shocked, but resumed his work and shook his head.
“I must travel to see the king in Deep Forest,” he said. “The sooner I can reason with him, the sooner the deaths can end.”
“Are you fast?” Master Hog shook his head.
“It will take me some time – I only got back here in a night because Sloth all-but kidnapped me and dragged me back here.”
“Then come with us. We can get you there faster.” Master Hog regarded Rabbit carefully.
“You three could get me there faster than I could walk? I imagine you could barely lift me between you, especially in his condition, but-”
“Four” Rabbit interrupted. “Sloth's coming too.”
“She didn't say anything to me,” Hog said. “And as I recall, she is rather attached to this lake.”
“She's coming,” Rabbit said. “When she wakes up, I'll tell her. But she can fight, and she can carry you; we need her. I want to find some of the big fossils, and they're all the way in Deep Forest.”
Master Hog stared at her, his hair bristling in shock. Deep Forest! This girl? She wouldn't last a day out here! Except, well... she already had, thanks to Wolf and Raven and Sloth. And they had survived too, thanks to her. Hog stood, having done all he could for Wolf.
“If I agree to go with you,” he said, “Sloth will too. She respects me that much, I am sure. Tell her I require her assistance getting to Deep Forest and back; she will be only too happy to help you.”
“Thank you,” Rabbit said. She stood and embraced him.
“Before we can leave,” Hog said, breaking the hug, “you will need a proper weapon. Your dagger is good in an emergency, especially so if you have Raven and Wolf teaching you to use it. But a dagger will be no use against someone with the reach and strength of Wolf, and there are plenty of people stronger, and better equipped to kill. We will need to pass through the bone pile to get to the entrance to Deep Forest; there will be plenty of swords there, I am sure we can find one your size.”
“You are too kind,” Rabbit said. Seeing sloth was awake, she departed to the other side of the lake and spoke to her.
“Why should I go with you?” was the first thing Sloth asked. She hung from her tree, frowning upside-down.
“Because I want you to,” Rabbit said. “Because I need your help.”
“I have my lake and your water,” Sloth said. “I have no more need of you! Why should I put myself in danger for you?”
“I didn't ask you to. I asked you to come with me.”
“And with you travels danger! That bird-man is vying to cut my head off even as he sleeps!”
“You are my ally,” Rabbit argued. “As is he. There will be no more fights between the two of you, I promise.”
Eventually the hushed argument awoke Raven, who wandered over to see what the fuss was about and perhaps to try and drag Rabbit away for some rudimentary training. When he heard his name he was incensed. This... creature, sullying his good name? He rounded on her with a fury!
“I hear my name one more time,” he warned, waving a finger at Sloth's face, “and I will prove to you on the journey why I am Raven the Survivor, Raven the Great!”
“Is that what you call yourself?” Sloth scoffed. “Well, we shall have to see what marks your sharp stick out from my power! I imagine you would rank lower than I if we tallied our kills against King Deer's army in Deep Forest.”
“Hah!” Raven spat. “You would see yourself surrounded by fallen bodies against my sword before you could blink! I say we make it a wager – my finest coat and scabbard against what? What of yours is value enough to go against my riches?”
“A skein of the draught from waterfall's top,” Sloth wagered. “Said to bring eternal strength – I just so happen to have a measure of it about me at all times.”
And with that, she took a leather bag from around her neck – hidden in the rags of her clothes – and showed its contents to Raven, whose breath caught in his throat as he saw the vial in the pouch.
“A fair deal,” he said, stretching out his hand.
“Not so fast,” Sloth said. “This is worth more than a simple coat and a scabbard – mere fineries, what can be done with them? What else can you offer me in this wager?”
“Well I happen to have a finer sword than this,” he muttered, but Sloth's ears caught his speech and she laughed.
“A finer sword? That would be some trinket! It is not often a man of such riches offers a sword! The deal is struck!” She offered her hand, and Raven took it grudgingly.
“But know this,” he warned, “the fine sword is a sword forged in darkness. At its core lies cold steel, unfeeling, unforgiving. It attacks without empathy, and you will too if you wield it against another creature. Are we understood?”
“I understand,” Sloth said. “Such swords are legend; how did you come by it?”
“I have killed many wolves,” Raven said. “Such swords become commonplace when that is your daily occupation.”
That day was spent with Hog watching over Wolf, Sloth scratching at the rock of the cliff face to sharpen her claws, and Raven teaching Rabbit how to fence. With her dagger it was difficult, but in a matter of hours she was able to block the simplest of thrusts and slashes easily, deflecting them away or dodging aside quickly.
“Very good,” Raven said after she leapt aside one last time, avoiding a lightning-fast blow. “But you are staying too far away – you have a knife, get in close! Get so close they cannot use their sword, get so close they can't swipe at you with claws, get so close you can feel the heat of their breath! There will be many chances to practise out in the woods, but wouldn't you rather be prepared for this now?”
“Okay,” Rabbit said, “but you've got to fight as hard as you can – I don't want you to go easy on me because I'm a small Rabbit. Go fast, Raven, I will dodge them all!”
And so Raven slashed and thrust quickly, and though at first Rabbit found it difficult to keep up – indeed, she was cut a couple of times, nicked by the flashing blade – she quickly adjusted and after a minute was able to dodge in close, past Raven's fastest attacks.
“Very good,” Raven cried, ducking back as he felt the dagger's point at his breast. “That was very good, I'm impressed! You are fast, Rabbit; use that speed to your advantage. Get in close, get in fast, and you will be a furious warrior.”
Rabbit blushed and thanked Raven, and then Hog kindled a fire and made dinner from herbs and root vegetables as the light began to fade. Wolf awoke suddenly, feeling much refreshed, and Rabbit told him all about her fighting practise.
“It was so exciting!” she cried. “I got a few cuts, but then I figured it out and I managed to get Raven! He says I'm fast; if I can use that, I'll be unstoppable!”
“That is good,” Wolf said with a smile, “but you must remember: there is more to fighting than speed. Raven is a good teacher with edged weapons, but his style is very rigid and there are a lot of openings. They are small openings but, as you discovered, they are there. Tomorrow I shall show you have to use your strength and fluidity in combat, because you are fast but you are also strong, and that small knife of yours is a potent weapon if it finds the right spots.”
“Thank you Wolf,” Rabbit said. “Come, sit by the fire. We shall have some stew and turn in for the night.”
And so they sat, and ate turnip stew made by Master Hog, and when everyone had eaten their fill Sloth clambered up into her tree and snored, Raven dozed high up on the cliff, and the other three huddled close by the fire, Rabbit on one side of Wolf and Hog on the other, keeping him warm so that his wounds might heal faster. And when Rabbit awoke, shivering in the night, she found herself warmed slightly by the possession of Raven's jacket. She stole a look up at him in the moonlight; he was shivering slightly, in his dress shirt and a waistcoat, but slept soundly.
The next morning they were heading off, deeper into the forest. Here the cliffs grew more frequent and ever more difficult to climb down, though Sloth had very little difficulty with the jumps, and was able to catch Rabbit and Wolf as they leapt down. The way they had chosen, Hog said, would take them through the bone pile, a place no creature would ever dare enter alone. Here was where the wolves encroached, building their own small empire within King Deer's, a sanctuary for the wolves when even they felt threatened by the big king's presence. The five of them entered, weapons drawn. Wolf's axe was raised against the threats from the front, Raven's sword protected from the rear, and Rabbit watched up and down the cliff faces which enclosed them as they walked.
“They chose this place,” Wolf said, “because even King Deer cannot bash his way through such cliffs. It is a good, defensible spot, and it is King Deer's arrogance to assume that he will hold sway over the wolves when they have secured this place.”
“Is that so, friend?”
Wolf turned. Off to one side, digging happily through a pile of corpses, was a small, ginger-haired man with a cheerful face and mischievous eyes. Wolf growled and approached him.
“Whoa, whoa!” the man said. “Please, no need for that. I'm here hunting is all, hunting for old friends.”
“Hunting what for old friends?” Wolf asked, raising the axe above his head. The man ducked underneath his legs and ran to Rabbit, whom he hid behind.
“Hunting information, actually,” the man said. “Nice to meet you, I'm Fox,” he added to Rabbit. “You're not from round these parts, are you?”
“I'm Rabbit,” she replied. “From the meadow. And I'm armed.” She drew her dagger, slicing at Fox's hand; he gave a yelp of pain and scurried back to Wolf.
“She's armed, Wolf!” he cried. “You could've warned me, old friend!”
“You're no friend of mine,” Wolf replied. “Now hold still, while I split your head!” Fox leapt aside and the axe clove air. He disappeared into the bone piles, laughing.
“Great,” Wolf muttered. “We must hurry; Raven, find a sword befitting Rabbit and then we shall press on!”
“What's the rush?” asked Rabbit as they walked on, their pace now hurried.
“Fox is a spy for King Deer,” Hog said. “He often wanders these areas, looking for something to report in return for a free meal and the King Deer's mercy against himself. Fox is a selfish creature, you would be wise to ignore him – or better yet, kill him – the next time you see him.”
Rabbit shivered; when even Master Hog was telling her to kill something, the danger it carried while it still lived must be tremendous!
“Here are some swords!” Raven cried at that moment, displaying several with a flourish. Rabbit examined them all. Some were ornate, crafted carefully and encrusted with jewels, but they looked too heavy for her; some were old and made of ancient materials, they were all falling apart or blunted. That left two. The first, Rabbit picked up and swished through the air half-heartedly. It whooshed and whoo-ed as she did so, but it felt heavy, dead. The second one, however...
Rabbit almost felt it dancing in her hand. It seemed filled with light, straining to move ahead, and when she gave some thrusts and swings it thrummed through the air happily.
Rabbit dropped it in fright.
“What is it?” the others cried in shock. Wolf was most confused; surely that was the finest weapon she could have! Why did she shy away from it?
“That sword wants death,” Rabbit said, quivering. “I felt it in the metal and in my arm and in my heart. If I choose that sword, much blood will be spilled.”
“So no sword?” Raven asked.
“I will take this one,” Rabbit said, picking up the first one. “It may be dead metal, and ready to dull in an instant, but it is better suited to the task of defence. This is my sword.”
So Raven quickly crafted an exquisite scabbard out of twigs and bark, into which the sword fitted perfectly, and they set off once again as fast as they could.
As the sun began to set they found a clearing and, with Wolf declaring that there were no enemies nearby, they set up camp. Master Hog's huge cauldron soon bubbled over a roaring fire as he cooked up a fine dinner – while he did so, Wolf and Rabbit sparred, trading punches.
“You have a lot more in your arms than you show,” Wolf said. “Stop pulling your punches – knock me down!”
Rabbit's punches were faster, but weaker than Wolf's, and she found he was anticipating her dodges and intercepting with feints almost faster than she could block. By the time dinner was ready her arms were sore and she was bruised. Wolf was too, though less so, and she was pleased to announce, as Hog tended her wounds and listened politely, that she'd managed to land a few feints herself.
“Fighting is not just about speed,” Wolf said. “It's about flow. You showed some of that tonight, but it is something we will work on. Tomorrow you begin training with both of us, on the move. We will see how you adapt to the fight.”
The next day was indeed more difficult – Rabbit found herself outnumbered, armed only with her sword and her dagger, and though she knew Raven was intentionally missing with his blade, and Wolf was definitely pulling his punches that first day, she was still terrified. Often she found herself backed into a corner.
“Find a way out,” Master Hog would instruct from the sidelines. “There are two of them, but there are infinite possibilities in movement!”
Slowly but surely, with Hog's help, Rabbit was finding her feet in fighting. Her eyes became sharper, piercing the treetops as she spied out Raven. Her ears picked up the tiniest sound, listening to the soft pad of Wolf's feet as he whispered through the underbrush, wraithlike. By the middle of that day she was keeping pace with the two of them, one at a time. She used her sword more and more, Raven was pleased to note, and on one occasion when Wolf's axe-swing was too vigorous and excitable he was impressed with the speed and grace with which she moved that blade. Nobody did believe him when he said that was all intentional.
As the day gave way to dusk they spotted King Deer.
Raven gave a shout and they scrambled to the bushes and hid, watching him as he strode through the forest, his enormous antlers shadowing his stocky body as he forced trees aside. A large oak stood before him, unbowed as he forced his head against it; Rabbit watched, and gasped as he turned his shoulder into it and, with one more gentle step, uprooted it.
'His mind is concerned only with power,' Master Hog murmured. 'He strives constantly to become stronger, so that his power may extend over ever greater reaches through Deep Forest.'
'You don't say?'
The group turned as one. Fox was reclining against the bough of a tree behind them, tilting his face to catch the sun on his chin. He paused as he found Raven's sword at his throat.
'There's no need for that,' he said, his voice wavering. 'I was just repaying your favour-'
'Favour?' Wolf asked. 'I've half a mind to let Raven run you through! We've done you no favours!'
'You gave me information,' Fox replied, his voice barely a whisper. 'But we must be quiet, or King Deer will hear you, and he knows nothing of your being here!'
Wolf seemed, for a moment, taken aback. Raven's sword drooped slightly and he started. But as Rabbit turned to Master Hog she saw him smiling, and she leaned forwards.
'You want to repay us with information,' she said. 'Why not something else?' Fox leered at her.
'Now what could you possibly be asking, my dear?' he grinned.
'Join us,' she asked. 'Come with us, help us through the Deep Forest to the fossils I have come to find.'
'Sorry love,' Fox replied. 'Not my style. Smacks too much of allegiance, and I am ally to no one. I simply pay my way, barter with words.'
'Then what will you tell us?' Fox smiled.
'I'll tell you,' he said, 'that you can find the best fossils in the sinkholes around the Great Redwood at the centre of Deep Forest. But I will also tell you, King Deer's castle is in the trunk of that tree, an enormous tower hollowed out of the inside. There is no way in that is not guarded by wolves, and the sinkholes are all watched carefully. You cannot hope to see these fossils, much less take one, without King Deer visiting his wrath upon you; he has assumed ownership of those caves and their contents, and he permits no one to see them.'
'This is all very useful,' Wolf said. 'But that is a lot of information in return for the amount we gave you. What are you asking in return?' His eyes narrowed, and the axe seemed to be resting less relaxed at his side.
'Aha! That is the thing, isn't it?' Fox grinned wickedly. 'I ask nothing of you, but I ask a few, perhaps, of young Rabbit here.' He turned to Rabbit and leaned in conspiratorially, speaking in hushed tones.
'What do you wish to know?' Rabbit asked suspiciously. Fox looked at her, deadly serious.
'Who is the strongest person in the Meadowlands?' he asked. 'Who protects them?'
'That would be Mister Ox,' Rabbit said quietly. 'But he is certainly not as strong as King Deer, and if Wolf is any sort of a benchmark he'd have a time even defeating the Deep Forest wolfpacks!'
'That's okay,' Fox said. 'This information is going nowhere near King Deer or his followers. Now, my next question: does anybody know you have come here?'
'My mother may suspect,' Rabbit said, 'but she probably thinks me dead by now, and the whole meadow may be looking for me around the forest's entrance.'
'Your mother; does she look like you?' Rabbit looked into Fox's eyes, and she was surprised to see concern etched on his face. He bit his lower lip in worry, and Rabbit nodded.
'She has the same eyes, the same beautiful brown hair,' she smiled wistfully. 'And the way she moves as she picks herbs and flowers near the forest, the way she smiles.' Fox nodded and clasped her hands in his.
'Thank you,' he said, 'I think I get the picture.' Fox stood and, seeing King Deer had gone on his way, flashed a wicked smile.
'In truth,' he announced, 'I have been following your progress far longer than you think, and I have learned much! Your friend's information has been... most useful, and I thank you for your time.' And with that he was off, scampering into the shadows as the dusk turned to pure, purple night.
'We cannot make a campfire here,' Raven said. 'King Deer is still nearby, if he saw the light he could well send someone after us.'
'Not here, perhaps,' Master Hog mused, 'but I imagine there are caves nearby.'
'There is a large, sheltered one an hour's walk,' Sloth said. She pointed, away from the uprooted Oak. 'That way, straight over the trees.'
'Many of us will have to run,' Wolf said. 'How twisty does the path get?'
'Don't worry,' Sloth said, climbing into the trees. 'No one will have to run.' And with that she picked up both Wolf and Master Hog in her toe claws, and began ambling along the branches.