The Gully Snipe (The Dual World Book 1) (22 page)

“What about your sons, Exoutur and Encender? What are they... dualed... with?”

“Not all of us have the dualed nature. It has always been this way, though, even in the Balmorean empire. When a boy becomes a man, or a girl a woman, he or she will come into their nature at that point in their life, if they are balmor. Almost as many are not balmor as those that are.”

“So there are the two different kinds of balmors?” asked Gully.

“Yes. There used to be other kinds, in the past, but they were rarer to begin with. We are now almost extinct as a people and no one has seen those kinds in many years,” said the patriarch.

“Forgive me, but why do you not return to your home country and settle there? Why do you live here instead, hiding away?” asked Gully.

“The land where Balmorea was has changed. It is far colder now, too cold to settle in permanently again. When Balmorea fell, it was cataclysmic, and the people that were left behind scattered. The group that is around you, the Mercher clan, numbering less than two hundred, is the largest single group of Balmoreans that are left. There are a few other splinter clans out on their own, but they are very small compared to my clan. We keep in contact with the others as we can, but it is a risk as Iisenors fear us and want to paint us as monsters and cannibals, and the Maqarans merely want to enslave us.”

“So you’ve been here, in these woods, almost since Balmorea ceased to exist?”

“Not here exactly, we have wandered over time and have yet to find a place in which we can permanently and safely settle. Originally, even before I was born, we lived in the northern woods of Maqara. But the Maqarans found us to be a convenient source of slaves. My parents led our clan into the northeastern part of Iisen to escape the ruthless Maqarans before I was born. We’ve wandered in the northeast part of the Iisendom, but have settled here for fifteen years or so since the Ghellerweald is so large.” Here the patriarch sighed heavily, “And yet we find that we are
still
a source of slaves to Maqara.”

“I do not understand, though,” said Gully. “If some of you are bears and some wolves, how can Maqarans capture you? It would seem a terrifying and impossible task.”

“We have a weakness, and the Maqarans discovered it many, many years ago. A binding of silver, no matter how small, severs our dual nature. Even so much as a thin silver ring encircling any part of either body interrupts the connection between the two bodies. It is excruciatingly painful, as Gallun and Gellen can sadly attest, and if left bound long enough, the severance becomes permanent. Many that have been bound this way go mad in the end. It is not like merely having a regular non-balmor human left behind, though. It is quite literally a half a person because the true nature of a balmor is to have two bodies.”

“So that’s why the Maqarans require it! That’s why Gallun and Gellen had the collars of sterling silver! It prevented them from changing into their wolf forms!” exclaimed Gully. “And what purpose does cutting the tongues out serve?”

“None, other than as a barbaric act of dominance for the Maqarans, to show a slave his place,” said the patriarch, his eyes flashing in the light of the fire with anger.

“How many have been taken from you? How many have disappeared?” asked Gully sadly. He glanced over at the two men seated next to him, who were barely picking at their food.

“Fifty-three since we settled here inside the Ghellerweald. There were many more than that taken while we were still within reach of the Maqarans years and years ago. And until you rescued Gallun and Gellen, we had only managed to recover one other before it was too late — my beloved granddaughter, Abella Jule,” said the patriarch.

Gully nodded. He wasn’t aware of any Iisenors that had ever been recovered. At least the Merchers had managed to rescue one. And he felt a warmth inside that he had helped recover yet two more before it was too late for them. For all their good luck, the two men next to him still seemed to have no appetite, however.

Gully said to Gellen, “Are you not hungry? You are not eating.” Gully thought the food was quite good and was far better than what he would have gathered wild for himself if he had spent the evening alone.

Gellen made a pained, doleful face and looked at his brother, Gallun, who had put his food down at his feet.

“It is because of their tongues being cut out so recently,” said the elder as he finished the last of his own food. “My granddaughter, Abella Jule, has gotten used to it, but Gallun and Gellen are still healing from the wound and learning how to eat without a tongue. They are very sore and tend to stay in wolf form most of the time now because of it. They take their human form tonight out of politeness for you.”

Gully thought of how much his own missing tooth hurt. A tongue, ruthlessly cut out, would be far more painful. He brightened and said, “I can help with that some! I have some obsidian nettle with me and can make a tea with it. It is very good at alleviating this kind of pain!” He began to dig around in his pockets looking for the pouch that still contained the leaves of the plant.

The patriarch looked alarmed and said, “You jest, of course! Obsidian nettle is poisonous! You cannot be serious about drinking it!”

“No, no,” said Gully. “I mean, I know that the adult leaves are poisonous. But if you use only the young, tender leaves and shoots, they make a tea remarkably good at relieving pain. I will drink some before you if you do not trust me. I lost a tooth not too long ago and it has helped with the pain so that I barely even notice it! My father taught me many things like this when I was growing up in the woods.” Gully turned to Wyael and asked, “Do you have a pot of water we can heat on the fire?”

“Yes, sir,” said the young boy, anxious to be helpful, and he ran off to retrieve a pot of water.

“Are you sure of what you are doing?” asked the patriarch.

“Very sure! I used some of these same leaves less than a week ago for this same purpose.”

Wyael returned with a pot of water and set it into the fire to warm. Gully went ahead and tipped the pouch of nettle leaves into it to steep as the water heated.

“May I ask why your son seems to be so scornful of Gallun and Gellen?” asked Gully. “They seem like very capable fighters to me, I would think either as wolves or as men.”

Gallun smiled kindly at him and Gellen’s jaw set firmly and unhappily.

The patriarch said, “Those trained as fighters in our society occupy a special and venerable place, even more so now because of our precarious position as a clan. Gallun and Gellen have found themselves dishonored among us because they failed to protect themselves from being captured. And a fighter that cannot even protect himself is far less capable of protecting the rest of us. My son, Encender, has expelled them from the Mercher fighters because of their failure.”

The two brothers’ heads hung in silent shame at the patriarch’s words.

“However,” said the patriarch more directly to the two brothers, “as I have told you before, it is not an unforgivable lapse. We are all aware of the almost impossible standards to which my son holds all of his fighters.” More to Gully, he added, “But it does cause most of the clan to lose faith in them. Losing faith in those trained to protect us causes us to lose faith in our ability to survive for much longer.”

Gully said, “It is not my place to say so, but that seems rather harsh. People make mistakes, and these were trained Iisen soldiers that specifically had silver collars at the ready to capture people like you.” He said to the two brothers, “I’m sure it took but a moment of distraction for your fate to be almost sealed.”

Gallun nodded sadly and put an arm around Gully’s shoulder to thank him for the words of encouragement.

Gully used a stick to take the tea out of the fire and Wyael brought out three cups from which to drink. Gully poured his own cup first, blew on it to cool it a little, and then drank from it. He nodded at Gallun and Gellen to let them know it was good. He was expecting the two brothers to wait a while to see if he would begin to vomit and convulse, but Gellen held out his cup almost immediately, as if wanting to take any opportunity to prove his worth and bravery. Gallun looked less sure, but followed his brother’s lead. Gully poured for both of them.

While Gully was pouring the tea, the patriarch asked, “Soldiers? It is not soldiers committing these crimes against us. They are robbers and highwaymen in league with the Maqarans.”

Gellen looked at his tea nervously for a moment while he blew on it to cool it as Gully had done. Gallun was decidedly more nervous about drinking anything made from obsidian nettle. Gellen poked his brother in the side with an elbow and Gallun began to blow on his tea as well.

“It is good, my lost tooth hurts less already,” encouraged Gully. To the patriarch, he said, “I know Iisen soldiers very well, sir. My foster brother in Lohrdanwuld is a lieutenant in the Guard. These men were disguised as robbers, but they are, without a doubt in my mind, corrupt swordsmen of the Kingdom Guard. That is probably the only reason they were able to get the upper hand and catch Gallun and Gellen unaware.”

Gellen tipped his cup back and drank the entire cup in one awkward swallow. Gallun continued to blow on his a few more seconds, nervously watching both Gully and Gellen.

The patriarch watched the two brothers closely to make sure they were faring well with the tea, but said, “That would explain why they are so well organized and why we rarely seem to be able to catch them in the act. Iisen soldiers are well-trained, unlike typical highwaymen.”

“What’s more,” said Gully, “Lord veBasstrolle, head of the veBasstrolle fief and all of East End, is a part of this conspiracy! I, uh... came across a letter to him admitting as much, but in an indirect way. I was only able to piece it all together when I realized Gallun and Gellen had had their tongues cut out and had silver restraints holding them.”

The patriarch’s forehead knitted for a moment as he thought about what Gully had said. Gellen’s face looked surprised and he held up his cup to both Gully and Gallun, nodding and smiling for the first time, indicating that the tea was working. Gallun immediately drank his own tea.

Gellen reached around and slapped Gully on the shoulder appreciatively and then smiled at the patriarch while nodding again.

“Your father taught you very well and was obviously more knowledgeable than even we are about the beneficial uses of forest plants,” said the patriarch. “You say the young leaves will work this way?”

“The younger the better. Once the leaves have turned black and glossy, you must avoid them,” said Gully.

“I would like to go back to something you said earlier, please, though,” said the patriarch. “Why would you approach men you suspected of being highway robbers? At night, I might add.”

Gully frowned and fought to come up with a lie that would pass. He gave up when he felt the patriarch’s eyes fixed on him and admitted, “I have occasionally acted as a thief in the past. I thought two robbers in the woods would be fair game after they fell asleep from too much wine. When I saw them up close, I suspected they might be soldiers, but could not be sure until I went through their bags. It was only later that I found Gallun and Gellen tied to the tree away from the fire. But I
swear
to you that I was not coming here tonight to—”

The patriarch held up his hand and Gully stopped. He said to Gully, “You need not affirm your intentions amongst us. You saved two of our best men and, now tonight, have helped them again with the tea. Perhaps you have stolen in the past, but you are not without merits to outweigh that.”

He added with a twinkle in his eye, “Besides, Abella Jule is a balmor transmute that takes the form of a hawk. You cannot hide from her eyes. And Raybb is a master tracker, in both forms.”

“Aye!” said Gully with a laugh. “He is at that! He managed to sneak up behind me without any warning at all, and I am
very
attuned to my surroundings. Usually, anyway!”

Gallun and Gellen seemed in much better spirits as the tonic effects of the tea worked more deeply. The two of them split the remainder of the tea in the pot and drank it.

The ocelot stood and approached Gully. The idea that the animal was one and the same as the patriarch was something with which Gully was still struggling. The ocelot stood a few feet away and sniffed at the air around Gully.

The patriarch said, “Forgive my rudeness, Bayle. You smell faintly of the marshes and bogs south of here. Do you spend time there?”

“Yes, patriarch. That is where I grew up. My father had a cabin, and I still spend time there when I can. It is mostly unreachable because of the bogs, unless you know the specific path, and that is where I was raised.”

“Your parents, do they still live in the cabin?”

“No. I never knew my mother. My father disappeared over ten years ago,” said Gully. His hand wanted to reach for the pendant, but he kept it still in his lap.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” said the patriarch. “He is, I suppose in your Iisen view, a star in the sky now.”

“No,” said Gully firmly. “My father is still alive, somewhere, Maqara probably, with many other Iisenors and Merchers, and is therefore not a star.”

“Hmm... yes, possible,” said the old man thoughtfully.

“He never followed the Iisen religion, though, anyway. I’ve never fallen in with it myself, either, as a result. My foster brother is quite faithful to it, however, and prays to his mother and father almost nightly.”

Aian the Patriarch grew silent for a long time, and took no notice as Exoutur and the human half of Raybb approached the fire. Exoutur asked, “May we join you, father? You have been in conversation for a long time.”

“Yes, yes, my son. We have had much to talk about. And now I am curious about something else, something that stirs in my mind for some reason,” said the patriarch, almost distantly.

Exoutur and Raybb sat across the fire from Gully, Gallun and Gellen, and held hands. It caused a fresh set of questions to pop into Gully’s mind, but the patriarch spoke before Gully could ask them.

“Did your father ever speak of your mother?” he asked Gully.