Children of the Wildings Bonus Scene: On the River
Garis paused in poling the raft down the river between the close-spaced canyon walls to wipe sweat from his face with his forearm. Though it was only mid-morning, their second day on the river, the air in the bottom of the canyon was already hot, even in the shadows. Poling the raft downriver was mainly a matter of making sure it didn’t bump up against one or the other of the sheer, rocky canyon walls, but it still got to be strenuous after a few hours, which was why he and the others were taking turns.
Fortunately, they should leave the canyon and reach the settlement on the river by about midday. From there, they would transport the prisoners to the nearest town with a proper jail, then head back to the dragon canyon, and finally travel home by dragon. Garis hadn’t been away from Halna this long in all the time they’d been married, and he yearned to see her again.
He glanced at the heap of outlaws in the center of the raft, bound hands and feet and to each other in such a way that if one tried to stand or roll over, they would all end up in a tangle. The occasional expeditions to the edge of the raft so they could relieve themselves had nearly ended with all the captives in the river. But Blake had said, Don’t kill them if you don’t have to, which Garis took to also mean, Don’t let them die if you can help it, and so he and the others made sure none of the outlaws fell in.
Other than a few near-mishaps, the outlaws had been no trouble at all, not even a contrary peep or so much as a twitch in the wrong direction. Besides being all tied up, they were clearly intimidated by their guards – two Vendines, another famous mage from the Chardonikan War, and an A’ayimat. Akkim almost seemed to enjoy giving the outlaws menacing grins, white teeth bared in his dusky-blue face surrounded by the wild braids of his long white hair, while he fondled the hilts of his sheathed swords. Garis got the feeling that he himself scared them the most, with his A’ayimat hair and weapons and his Vendine name.
Akkim stood from where he was crouched near the heap of outlaws, watching them while he ate a piece of flatbread. Stretching, he came over to Garis. “I’ll take over now. You rest.”
“Thanks.” Garis handed him the pole and went over to sit down near Collen, who was also keeping an eye on the prisoners. Torrin Ardiss sat across from them, the three of them forming a watchful triangle around the captive outlaws. Garis couldn’t deny his excitement at working with Torrin, who along with Akkim had been among his boyhood heroes.
“So you got the last laugh on Blake,” Collen said to Garis, his mouth full of jerky. “Wiley Wedlin, the notorious outlaw, scamming all of us with those dragons, and Blake goes and marries his daughter.”
They both laughed. “Blake made it clear he didn’t think much of me getting married so young,” Garis explained to Torrin. Akkim, manning the pole, looked on, listening as well. Though here on the water he couldn’t use the magic in the earth to understand languages, he had learned enough Granadaian that he could understand well enough without magical aid. Garis went on, “I’m glad he finally found something to care about besides catching bad men.”
“He always looks like he got smacked upside the head when he’s around her,” Collen said. “I hope I don’t look that much like a stunned fish when I find the right girl.”
“You mean, when the right girl finds you,” Torrin said. “That’s how it goes. She sets her hook in you and lands you, and that’s it. Take it from me.”
“Yep, that’s right,” Garis said, thinking of how Halna had set her eye on him the very first day he came to stay with Akkim’s clan. “By the way, who’s this ‘Betita’ I heard Mama mention?”
Collen’s face darkened with a flush, and Garis and Torrin laughed and even some of the outlaws chortled, as the raft continued floating down the river.
* * *
Garis paused in poling the raft down the river between the close-spaced canyon walls to wipe sweat from his face with his forearm. Though it was only mid-morning, their second day on the river, the air in the bottom of the canyon was already hot, even in the shadows. Poling the raft downriver was mainly a matter of making sure it didn’t bump up against one or the other of the sheer, rocky canyon walls, but it still got to be strenuous after a few hours, which was why he and the others were taking turns.
Fortunately, they should leave the canyon and reach the settlement on the river by about midday. From there, they would transport the prisoners to the nearest town with a proper jail, then head back to the dragon canyon, and finally travel home by dragon. Garis hadn’t been away from Halna this long in all the time they’d been married, and he yearned to see her again.
He glanced at the heap of outlaws in the center of the raft, bound hands and feet and to each other in such a way that if one tried to stand or roll over, they would all end up in a tangle. The occasional expeditions to the edge of the raft so they could relieve themselves had nearly ended with all the captives in the river. But Blake had said, Don’t kill them if you don’t have to, which Garis took to also mean, Don’t let them die if you can help it, and so he and the others made sure none of the outlaws fell in.
Other than a few near-mishaps, the outlaws had been no trouble at all, not even a contrary peep or so much as a twitch in the wrong direction. Besides being all tied up, they were clearly intimidated by their guards – two Vendines, another famous mage from the Chardonikan War, and an A’ayimat. Akkim almost seemed to enjoy giving the outlaws menacing grins, white teeth bared in his dusky-blue face surrounded by the wild braids of his long white hair, while he fondled the hilts of his sheathed swords. Garis got the feeling that he himself scared them the most, with his A’ayimat hair and weapons and his Vendine name.
Akkim stood from where he was crouched near the heap of outlaws, watching them while he ate a piece of flatbread. Stretching, he came over to Garis. “I’ll take over now. You rest.”
“Thanks.” Garis handed him the pole and went over to sit down near Collen, who was also keeping an eye on the prisoners. Torrin Ardiss sat across from them, the three of them forming a watchful triangle around the captive outlaws. Garis couldn’t deny his excitement at working with Torrin, who along with Akkim had been among his boyhood heroes.
“So you got the last laugh on Blake,” Collen said to Garis, his mouth full of jerky. “Wiley Wedlin, the notorious outlaw, scamming all of us with those dragons, and Blake goes and marries his daughter.”
They both laughed. “Blake made it clear he didn’t think much of me getting married so young,” Garis explained to Torrin. Akkim, manning the pole, looked on, listening as well. Though here on the water he couldn’t use the magic in the earth to understand languages, he had learned enough Granadaian that he could understand well enough without magical aid. Garis went on, “I’m glad he finally found something to care about besides catching bad men.”
“He always looks like he got smacked upside the head when he’s around her,” Collen said. “I hope I don’t look that much like a stunned fish when I find the right girl.”
“You mean, when the right girl finds you,” Torrin said. “That’s how it goes. She sets her hook in you and lands you, and that’s it. Take it from me.”
“Yep, that’s right,” Garis said, thinking of how Halna had set her eye on him the very first day he came to stay with Akkim’s clan. “By the way, who’s this ‘Betita’ I heard Mama mention?”
Collen’s face darkened with a flush, and Garis and Torrin laughed and even some of the outlaws chortled, as the raft continued floating down the river.
* * *
