Chapter 7: Chapter 6: Trial?

Bard twitched as his friend’s pacing began anew. He waited, hoping for Kai to stop on his own, but sighed in defeat when Kai began pawing at his cell floor. Bard rose from his comfortable spot in his own cell and looked over at Kai.

“Enough Kai. It’ll be alright,” Bard said, gaining the attention of the wolf-like mount. Kai raised one of his eyebrows in effect saying “how is this okay”.

“Just be patient, my friend. Whatever Sen did seem to have pacified them for now, and I’m content for the moment to trust her,” Bard said.

Kai humphed and then turned and plopped down in defeat.

It was the morning following Elwood’s ‘interview’, and the incident which had Sen stop her father from killing Bard. After Elwood had given Bard Father Tree’s token, no one had come to see him since.

Bard stayed looking out his cell. The early morning light was shining through the leaves that were starting to turn, and he knew autumn would soon be here.

The scene looked peaceful. If it wasn’t for the uncertainty of his situation and the discordant harmony of the forest, it would have been a rather pleasant place to find oneself being held captive in. He chuckled to himself.

“I bet you weren’t expecting me to end up in a place like this, huh, father?” he mumbled to himself, placing the token charm to his lips. Inwardly he was grateful that he had managed to regain Father Tree’s token, despite the very uncompromising Dryads, who insisted he relinquish his belongings, almost down to the skin of his back. Just thinking about it, made his skin crawl, and an involuntary sigh escaped his lips. At least one Dryad seemed kind. He looked up at the tree which formed his cell.

“Just what happened to the forest?” he asked, looking at the tree. He didn’t have much time to think about it, as a low growl from Kai indicated that someone was coming. Bard quickly tucked Father Tree’s token in his shirt and walked over to the edge of his cell to see who was coming. A small group of Dryads approached him, led by Amir, who was followed by Elwood and a small procession of guards. Bard tried to read their expressions, to judge what their intent might be, but they each had a well-kept mask of neutrality. Although, there seemed an air of formality in the way they moved. They stopped about ten feet away from his cell, and Amir began to sing a command to the tree holding him. The bars of Bard’s cell lifted and Amir called out “Teka Bard, step forward”.

“He used my name, that’s a good sign” Bard thought to himself as he stepped a few feet out of the cells and gave a bow to Amir. It was hard to tell what he was supposed to do, but Father Tree had always taught him to act in respect no matter what situation he found himself. As he raised his head back up to notice a small, almost imperceptible nod of Elwood’s head and guessed he had made the right choice.

Amir took a step forward and said. “In accordance with our laws, any who have been pledged to a child of the woods must stand to be judged by the Elder Tree of the forest. Your trial will be in three days time.” Amir took on a more serious tone as he continued “Elwood has informed me that you are not much of a fighter, so I would recommend you make the most of those three days War Tree is not an easy opponent. We will provide you with a weapon of your choice and a sparring partner to practice with.”

As he spoke, a couple of guards walked forward carrying a large rolled up cloth, and they placed it in front of Bard. As they started to unroll it, Bard saw that it contained a large array of weapons, swords, axes, bows, javelins, you name it and it was there. Bard stared in shock at the large array of weaponry.

“What kind of trial is this?” Bard asked, a little bewildered.

Elwood looked sympathetically at Bard and asked, “Did Sen not tell the process that was involved with the pledge?”

The truth was Bard didn’t know a thing about this pledge, and certainly nothing about a trial. However, this was the only thing that seemed to be keeping him alive so he couldn’t say that, “Well, I think she may have left out a few details,” Bard finally admitted.

Amir took a deep sigh and muttered just loud enough for Bard to hear, “It’s bad enough that she jumps into things without thinking about it, and now she's having this boy jump into something this serious without telling him what he’s getting into.” He then turned to face Elwood “Father, fill the teka in on the details.”

Elwood walked over to Bard and asked in the human tongue, “Did Sen tell you anything about this trial?”

“No, I’m afraid not” Bard said. Elwood turned to Amir, “This is going to take a minute, Amir,” he called out in Asternum.

“Just get on with it,” Amir said with obvious frustration.

Elwood started to walk a short distance away from the group and gestured for Bard to follow. Once they were far enough to afford them a small degree of privacy, Elwood turned to Bard

“Listen carefully, Bard, Before anyone can marry a child of the wood…” Elwood began, but Bard cut him off, “Marry! Wait. Is that what a pledge is?” His outburst was a little louder than he intended, and several of the guards looked in his direction.

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“Keep your voice down” Elwood reprimanded him. “Sen clearly didn’t tell you much, but I don’t have time to explain it all now.”

“Oh…sorry,” Bard said.

Elwood continued, “Before anyone can marry a child of the wood they must first be proven worthy to be called a child of the wood, and only the Elder Tree can make that judgment.” Elwood looked at Bard, who nodded that he understood. Elwood continued, “War Tree, values one’s abilities as a warrior above all else, so your trial will be one of combat, and you will be facing War Tree.”

Bard thought for a moment then shook his head “Wait that doesn’t sound right. Every Elder Tree I have met has hated all of this fighting. Why would War Tree value it so much?”

Elwood took a long breath before he spoke. “It didn’t use to be that way. But this war has been long and this forest has lost more than most because of it.” Elwood’s gaze seemed distant as if remembering some distant past. Elwood shook his head as if to shake off those thoughts. “We have all been effected by this war including the Elder tree. In fact War Tree isn’t his original name, but it is what he wants to be known by now,” Elwood said.

“Are you done yet?” Amir called over.

“Almost,” Elwood shouted over his shoulder. Bard saw Amir throw his hands in the air obviously getting impatient.

Elwood put a hand on Bard’s shoulder and looked him in the eye “Bard look at me. War Tree hates the teka. If you were a Dryad he would just be trying to test your skill, but you’re not. He won’t be holding back, and you will be fighting for your life. Do you understand?” Bard merely nodded. “Good, then let’s head back before my son loses his temper.” They started walking back. As they did, Elwood said “You will only be allowed one weapon so choose wisely,” and then he walked back over to stand next to Amir.

“About time,” Amir muttered, as his father joined him. He then turned to Bard.

“Alright Teka, you may choose your weapon, but know that you will only be allowed to have it when you are practicing, you will be given time each day to train starting an hour after sun rise. At which point a guard will come and get you and bring you to the training grounds, and you will be led back to your cell once your training is complete each day.” Amir paused, his expression becoming more serious. “Be aware Teka… I do not trust you. I will ensure the safety of my people, and if you so much as point a weapon at any of them or make a false move, I will not hesitate to kill you,” he warned. Bard had the suspicious feeling that this Dryad would be watching him closely.

“I understand,” Bard said with a simple bow. “I have no intention of harming any of your people.”

Amir’s eyes furrowed as he studied Bard intently. “Now choose,” he said suddenly and indicated with a slight nod to the weapons on the ground. Bard noticed out the corner of his eye, the slight shifting of the guards as they watched with great interest in his actions. He had a slight inclination that they were curious about his choice, since it was rare for any of them to see the thought process of a teka in choosing a weapon.

Bard began to stroll next to the carefully laid out weapons. He noted long shafted weapons, shiny blades of long length, short length, and even some that reminded him of kitchen knives, but more sleek and meant for killing. He mentally shook his head. His eyes roamed over coils of ropes, some with three orbs attached to one end. The others had assortments of stones or nasty flesh biting metal imbedded into them. Again he internally sighed and shook his head. He had no idea what any of these were, let alone how to use them. Certainly he had seen a few in some encounters with the humans and the dryads, but he was at a loss of how to address the developing situation. He was no warrior.

“Think Bard,” he said to himself. “What’s the point here… I’m here to prove my worth to this elder tree. Even if I was forced into this situation, it seems I have to play along if I am to live.” He sighed. “All these were meant to impress an elder? I am certain all the elders are tired of the wars, so why a fight?” He knelt down near some small items. Looking over them, he could feel the intensity of the stares from the Dryad guards, and if he was honest, the leader and Elwood as well. Finally, he shook his head. “I’ll die if I use these, my best bet is to go with what I know.”

“I’m sorry, but can someone bring me something else?” Bard said at last. Amir was surprised, same as his guards. Elwood cocked his head to the side, as if curious.

“These are all the types we have, Bard. We’ve accumulated these since the wars began, from both sides,” Elwood said, breaking the unfolding silence. Bard remained silent and eventually Elwood sighed. “What is it you require?”

“Actually, it’s something from my personal belongings.” Bard said, leaning back comfortably in a manner that spoke of his acceptance to his solution.

“A weapon,” Elwood said, hiding his surprise, as he cast a side glance to Amir. He had personally seen all the items. There hadn’t been a weapon among them, unless he was wrong. Was there something he had overlooked? It would make sense, he decided, that Bard would have some defenses for his journeys, but what was it.

“You could say it’s a weapon of sorts,” Bard replied.

“And what does this weapon look like?” Elwood asked

“It stored in a case of this shape,” Bard said as he stooped down and began drawing the outline of the fiddle case.

Amir and Elwood shared a glance before Elwood asked, “One of the relics?”

A look of worry and concern crossed over Amir’s face. “I don’t know,” he began, and Elwood knew he was imagining the worst outcome.

“We did say he could use a weapon of his choice,” Elwood prompted. Amir stiffened. Ordinarily he wouldn’t have an issue with this, except this was a pledge for his daughter, with a teka, without his consent. Mainly it was because there was a teka in his woods, but there was also a sense of protection that father’s get for their daughters, that made it more difficult. Of course, it was also a pledge, something of great significance, and a task not to be brushed aside, despite his personal reservations and judgments. He would have to keep to his word, the word of countless generations of dryads and decorum. How he wished he could run the teka through and be over this, but he had promised his daughter to give the teka a chance.

“So be it.” Amir said and turned to one of the guards. “Go retrieve the weapon. Then meet us at the training grounds,” Amir ordered. The guard brought his finger to his chin and bowed his head in the same manner that Bard had seen a few days earlier, before turning and running off into the forest. Amir watched the guard go before turning back to Bard. “Alright teka, follow me, it's time you meet your sparring partner,” a smile broke across Amir’s lips as he said this. Bard didn’t know who this sparing partner would be, but the smile on Amir’s lips held an obvious amusement that Bard was not sure he liked.