Red Deer Courtesy Wikipedia 

Tor awoke when a shaft of sunlight came streaming through the opening to the hut, striking a partially opened eye. Outside the opening, he saw Shin lying there in a protective mode for his master. Seeing movement, he yawned and looked at Tor. He looked as though he felt much better.

Tor took inventory and knew that he stunk from all the lovemaking, excess food, and drink. He saw that Silva was sleeping peacefully, and he didn't want to disturb her. But he had to go. All that food needed to get out, and so did he.

With Shin following, only in his loincloth in the chill morning, Tor was glad that no one was up and about, not even the children, as he sought to get away as far as he could from the camp. Most camps had a place for doing it, but he didn't have time to look for it, so he just went as far as he could. Finally, a discrete distance away, he squatted down and relieved himself of all that excess food that he had so eagerly eaten the night before.

The lake beckoned, so he skirted the camp and reached the water to feel its bracing cold water, its buoyancy and wash off. Shin gladly joined him, swimming with his tongue out and a big grin on his face. Tsen did not join them, but munched on tender new grass near the shore.

Out of the corner of his eye, looking into the sun to the east, Tor saw something moving in the trees toward the lake. It was a red deer stag. The sun backlighting partially grown, velvet covered antlers. Tor slipped from the lake as quietly and quickly as he could, and without saying a word, admonished Shin to keep quiet as well. Barefoot, he moved quickly through the trees back to Silva's hut where he had left his gear the night before.

Tor hadn't had time to repair the blood stained arrows from the pigs the night before. There were only two usable ones left. He grabbed them and his bow. Headed back into the forest, moving as quickly and stealthily as he could. Shin, limping and whimpering a bit from his sore wound, followed close behind.

Tor found a spot along the animal trail that the deer came in on and waited. It wasn't long before he saw movement coming along the trail and he put his hand on Shin's neck to keep him quiet as he crouched behind an ancient deadfall covered with moss. When the stag appeared, stepping cautiously into an opening in front of him, sniffing the air, sensing someone was there, Tor let loose his first arrow just behind the front leg into the deer's rib cage, the shock of the arrow cutting into his flesh caused the buck to accelerate and pass close by Tor just as he launched his last arrow into its neck.

There was a blood trail to follow. But the stag was nowhere in sight. Fortunately, following the blood trail, Tor came upon the massive animal, close by and dead. He was elated. And, once again, his commotion in the early morning had brought to attention some of the clan who came happily with knives to butcher the deer. 

By the time he was through gathering his arrows, the commotion had led several of the youngsters from the clan to join him. They begged, so Tor promised to give them rides. He picked each one of them up and placed them on Tsen, and then, either walked or rode them up and down the trail along the lake near the encampment. Silva appeared, threw her arms around his neck, hugged and kissed him. And then retreated to the shadows out of the sunlight to watch the others ride.

Yahn also appeared. He reached out his spindly pale hand again to pat Tor’s shoulder in greeting and said, "We can help you save time on your journey. The Bandor brothers are excellent boatmen. They can paddle you across the lake in one half course of the sun. To go around…" He motioned eastward to the far end of the lake, and then, around it, following the shoreline. "… On foot, will take you two courses.”

"But what about my horse, Tsen?"

"Can he swim?"

"Like many animals, yes. But I don't know how far?"

"You only know if you try. Those young men are more than willing to help you."

After filling his belly again with gathered grain gruel, enjoyed as a change from his almost singular diet of meat and leafy vegetables, Tor was ready to set off by boat across Lake Geneve. It would be a long journey, and he hoped that Tsen would be up to the swim.

Near the encampment, the Bandors were already preparing the round boat, made by weaving interlocking willow saplings in a circle and for a bottom like a very large basket. And then, filling all the cracks with melted and hardened pitch from pine, sealing it from the water. The boat was small, but could hold the three of them.

The short, but muscled men produced a long rope made from interwoven hides. it was very strong but stretchable when wet and slippery. Tor tied it around Tsen's neck, and then, handed the other end to the boatmen. They tied that end to the boat so that Tsen would not be able to stray very far from them as they crossed the lake. Tor knew that he would swim close.

To start with, Tor mounted Tsen and they both entered the water together with Tor pointing the way. Before very long Tsen's hooves were no longer solidly on the lake bottom and he was swimming, his head high and his nostrils flaring, taking deep breaths. Very soon he had outstripped the pace of the paddlers, leaving the boat behind him, and was pulling it.

Tor sensed his steed's frantic exertion and slid off his back, into the water swimming and holding on to the slippery rope. Before long, he had slid along the rope to the boat and let go. The boat soon outpaced him and he had to swim fast and hard to catch up and climb on with very little room for them all. The Bandors were still paddling vigorously, but Tsen was clearly pulling them along. Water was trying to come over the rim of the boat and wet his belongings. They all move opposite the rope to keep that from happening.

Panting heavily, Shin was having difficulty keeping up, too. Tor called to him and when he got close, grabbed him behind the neck and pulled the wet dog into the boat as well. Shin immediately started shaking the cold, heavy water off. At such close quarters everyone was sprayed.

Out in front, Tor realized that Tsen was struggling. He could hear his snorting to clear his nostrils and his struggled breathing while pulling such a load. There was no way that Tor could convince him to swim slower or back alongside and not pull the boat. The horse's eyes bugged out and showed his fearful anguish, struggling onward with the boat in tow. Frantically trying to swim to the other side and solid ground, far off.

Sensing that he couldn't make the other side, Tsen made a long, arching turn back toward shore. Speeding up his fear filled frantic swimming as he did. Before long, he reached solid ground again and bounded up on the bank where he collapsed on the grassy bank, panting furiously like a dog, his chest heaving up and down. Tor feared for his life as the brothers paddled to the shore as fast as they could.

Tor and Shin jumped out ahead of the boat and ran onto the bank in unison to the struggling horse's side. Tor rubbed his neck and his ears and looked into Tsen's wild eyes. The horse calmed down. In a little while, he regained his feet, shook a little bit, and despite all the attention clans people wanted to give him, began grazing again to replenish what all that exertion had lost.

Silva came out of the shade and hugged and kissed Tor once more. As much as he longed to stay, he had to go. Waving goodbye to everyone once again, he walked away leading Tsen so that he could rest with Shin limping by his side. Travelers, once again.

They reached the east end of the lake that evening and made camp. Had ample provisions, but caught a fine fish from the lake and ate that before going to sleep. Dreaming of his experience with Silva and knowing that he would never forget her, ever. Thoughts of almost losing Tsen never crossed his mind. Such was the way of the wild. Death could come at any time in myriad ways. The gods ordained it. There was no escaping their evil ways. One had to be vigilant and know how to thwart them.

With Tsen recuperated the next morning and with  Shin limping less, they made it all the way to where the trail once again, headed up into the mountains. Along the way, they encountered an encampment of normal-looking people. Tor remembered them from the year before. He also remembered that they were friendly.

While these people were also impressed by seeing Tsen like the others, he wasted no time there, telling those people he was on an urgent mission to reach his mother. That evening uphill from there along the trail at a good camping spot by a stream that he remembered stopping before.

That night, knowing he would find another cache just ahead for the mountains, Tor thought about his losses, fixing his arrows by firelight, so many in just a short year, and had difficulty getting to sleep. He forced himself to think of Silva and finally drifted off.

Copyright 2020 © Ronald W. Hull

5/20/20