The Heart of Valor

Section 7: Swift Birds

The 54th of Spring, 879

The group had taken refuge in a camouflaged shelter behind a
natural circle of birch trees and thick barbed bushes, known
to Northern Foresters as "laavus".  This one, in particular,
had been prepared, beforehand, by Fairka as to provide some
sense of "real adventure" to her clients.  Of course, with a
band of goblins on their footsteps, they already had all the
sense of "real adventure" that they have ever dreamed and then
some.

Fairka attributed their life and freedom to some miracle,
perhaps in the form of a friendly goblin debate on who would
eat their corpses.  Still, with her five clients, none in any
particularly good shape and three of them obviously fat, she
had to rely on hiding rather than fleeing for their continuing
survival.  The "laavus" would shield them from prying eyes
through the night, and tomorrow she'll just choose some random
direction; hopefully to fool their persecutors.

As night fell, and her clients, cuddled together to keep their
warmth, felt asleep, Faika stepped out of the shelter.

"Mom, is something wrong?"

"Hush, Pip, follow me. I'm out for singing." Had Fairka showed
a sacrificial dagger with Pip's name inscribed on it, he would
have followed her out, just the same.

Laika walked to the utmost point of the "laavu", a wall of
bushes spotted with wildflowers, that were fading to brown
under the moonlight.  Then she sat cross-legged on a carpet
of leaves and moss. Pip, who did the same but had much thinner
clothes, felt the cool wetness of the ground but made no
complaint.

"Hush Pip, it's soft magic we are going to make, you and me,
we'll sing, sing with no sounds, just look at my lips and sing
it as well."

In his brain, or perhaps in his soul, but not in his ears,
Pip listened to their shared song, feeling these were words
of magic: "Arai, aa, aai, aai. Lebai, baa, baai, baaai."  A
little grebe, wet from the lake, flew over the bushes and
landed by Pip's feet.  Then a forest pigeon, perched on Fairka's
legs, then a swift came about and hanged itself from Pip's
tunic. The boy's heart was pounding with joy, but he kept
himself perfectly quiet. Finally, a young black stork, landed
by Fairka's side

"Kiss your bird, Pip, I'll kiss mine. Softly, it's soft magic,
like a dance".

Pip did, getting a lucky tick in the process, one he didn't
notice, right then.

"Nice. Now tie these laces I'm giving you, one on each leg."

On those were written, Fairka had done but one year of school,
"!!! goBleens army near old ruind farm. Thend help."

The 55th of Spring, 879

Earlier than dawn, Fairka woke everybody up, abandoning the
"laavu", leading the party higher into the hills.  That did
not fit well with her clients, who thought she was either
going Northwest or Northeast and neither felt particularly
safe.  Didn't she know the cities lay to the south?  Pip, on
his part, just stuck to her, with the greatest smiles on his
face. These could be the last hour of his short and sad life,
but boy, what an adventure!

Two hours went by as they pushed themselves through the wooded
hill.  Fairka had stopped several times to check their back
for pursuers but, when she finally ordered all to stop, she
was looking forward, as if listening to the maple trees.

"Hush all. Lay down. Ambush. ...waiting for us. Hush."

One, two, three, four...

"Hush."

Five, six...

"After me, follow me, even if you think you can't. Just follow
me."

To their left, the hill fell into a steep slope, of the kind
that looks scary just to walk them down.  Fairka took it
running, with Pip following close behind, as fast as he could.
One by one, fighting doubts and fears, the clients went after
them, as silently as that lot could, for three eternal minutes.

Fairka stopped then, to allow the youths to catch up with her.
Looking up, she discovered the beige skin of the goblins,
their poor padded armor, their fierce faces, their green oblong
shields and their bundle of javelins.  What to do?  Run! Where
to go?  Anywhere they could barricade themselves, they would
never outrun their persecutors.  She fought her instincts to
go and tell Pip to run for his life and surrender if everything
else failed, but not to get himself killed, no time for that
either.  Then she saw it, salvation!

"To that cave! Follow me!"

Neither Doredai, Arteen, Bawa, Caud or Aeliar could  believe
their eyes.  That cave lay just above a rock with the shape
of a bat, just like in their treasure map from their childhood.

"The heart of valor!" They posh kids shouted out, leaving
Fairka puzzled and Pip worried about their sanity.   But then,
with the first very quick strides, all was forgotten, for the
goblins were pressing in, closer and closer.