WORRLGENHALL (54 page)

“
A stray arrow aimed at no one finds its way into his side, and a lizard of all creatures poisons him,” Baric finally spoke, as he shook his head in disbelief, “Your Ovfren is one for worry.”

Ogorec nodded, never taking his eyes off Ovfren.

“Be steadfast in your faith he will be well,” Baric said sympathetically and he put his hand on Ogorec’s shoulder, then left.

Steadfast Ogorec was, and just as Tela
’s grandmother instructed, put the paste on his wound and gave him more of the foul mixed goop to drink, and at first spilling it out each time, slowly Ogorec got him to swallow it; then lay beside him, and held him.

Finally, Ogorec fell asleep
, but after what seemed only moments later, he heard Ovfren moan and move. When his eyes opened, they were to Ovfren looking at him.

“
Ogorec,” Ovfren asked, in a raspy voice, “Did you sleep past your time?”

Relieved he spoke, Ogorec inhaled deeply; then held Ovfren tightl
y before he tenderly spoke. “It is you who slept pass his time.”

Slowly, Ovfren tried to raise himself.

“All my muscles are stiff,” he said right way when he did; “And it hurts to move.”

“
Lay down,” Ogorec said, as he pressed him back down to the bed, “Does it come to mind what befell you?”

“
An odd looking speckled lizard.” Ovfren now remembered, “Was crawling close to my hand as I pulled water from the well to look at it. I tried to brush it aside, and it bit me, so I killed it.”

“
Then what?”

“
All that comes to me is the water pale fell from my grip, and I fell over onto my side and could do nothing else but lay there. I could hear you speaking to me, but I could not answer,” Ovfren answered, as he groaned when he tried to turn more to Ogorec.

“
I could feel that you were trying.”

“
I wanted to answer, yet I could not.”

“
You answered by coming back to me,” Ogorec said tenderly.

“
Oooooh ouuuuuch,” Ovfren groaned, as he tried to move again.

“
Try to do nothing,” Ogorec said, at once, “I will do it all for you until you are well again.”

Just as he vowed, Ovfren did nothing for himself.
 Ogorec lovingly helped him to the chamber pot, each time carefully cleaning him afterwards; feed him; washed and clothed him, and at the end of the day lay beside him to keep him warm, until finally Ovfren began to be himself again.  

“
Such a sight you look with your hair out of place all over your head, and your beard grown out,” he said affectionately, as they lay to sleep while he recovered, “And still your face has me in awe of how handsome you are.”

Ogorec smiled, and pulled him close to him.

“Go to sleep.” He urged, “And I will hold you.”

“
When I am myself again, “Ovfren said softly, “I will wash, shave, and care for you, as you have done for me.”

“
Sleep.”

Ovfren closed his eyes as if to sleep, but when a thought came to him, they sprang back open.

“Ogorec,” he said, as he looked at him lovingly.

“
Yes, Ovfren, “Ogorec patiently said, as he held him in his arms.

“
When I did not come to bed,” he asked, “Is it why you looked for me?”

“
Yes,” Ogorec answered, and lovingly teased him, “You know well, I cannot sleep without the warmth of you beside me, or without hearing the silly sounds you make in your sleep.”

“
Again you saved my life,” Ovfren said, through a smile and slightly laughed at his affectionate tease, “If I did not already love you greatly, I would fall in love again.”

“
I saved my life, “Ogorec said, as he thought of almost losing him, “Is not your life my life as well?”

“
Yes,” Ovfren answered, and this time closed his eyes to sleep.

**

Reminded of how much he missed hunting from hunting with the Vells, Baric decided to hunt again in the Grey Forest of Worrlgen as he did long ago and when Ovfren was well again, and Ogorec able to leave him, arranged a hunt.

As all eagerly gathered, including Laad and Loth, early in the morning, they decided to hunt wild boars and rode deep into the for
est, then when they spotted two adult boars, divided to hunt them.

“
How is he faring?” Baric asked Ogorec, as they rode side by side.

“
He is faring well,” Ogorec answered cheerfully, “And now moves without pain and dreads he is not riding with us.”

“
It is good to hear it,” Baric said; then pointed, “Look!”

Their boar right ahead of them, they gave chase.

“You go to the left,” Baric said to Bayl, “And I to the right,” and divided.

Baric and Ogorec behind the boar they chase; Laad and Loth followed, but stayed farther behind able to see both groups clearly, and when Loth saw Laad take out his bow, teased him.

“Long has it been since you used it. Do you remember how?”

“
I remember well,” he teased back, “Such that I may have to teach you again.”

“
We shall see,” Loth said, spurring his horse.

As they rode, Laad saw Bayl turn to the right.

“My lord,” he called out, “Where do you ride, it is ahead of you?”

“
A deer,” Bayl said, and more interested in it, changed his course after it, “I saw a deer.”

Belon immediately turned to stay with Bayl.

“Be wary, my lord!” he yelled, well aware of dangers in the forest if you got of course, “Of what lurks in this forest and on the paths!”

Certain Bar
ic and Ogorec would be fine, Laad decided to follow Bayl.

“
Where do you ride?” Loth called out after he noticed he suddenly turned his horse in a different direction.

“
To follow Lord Bayl and Belon,” Laad quickly answered.

Without a second thought, Loth tu
rned to follow Laad.

“
Why do we change course?” he questioned, “It was right ahead of us.”

“
Lord Bayl saw a deer,” he answered, as he rode, “And is going well off course and deep into the forest after it.”

The deer on view, Bayl rode harder to catch up wi
th it, not paying attention to the path, even as Belon tried to warn.

“
My lord!” he again yelled, “Watch the path!”

His mind and eyes steadfast on the deer he had in his sight, Bayl was determined to catch up to it, all the while thinking of its size and
the size of its antlers to show his father.

Cautiously, looking to his left and right, Belon tried to stay with Bayl.

“This is madness,” he said, cautiously bending under the low thick branches, “Watch for the low branches, my lord!” he then yelled out.

“
It is just head!” he took his eyes off the path to yell, but just as he turned back, a large tree branch in front of him caught him by the neck and swept him off his horse. 

Bayl gasping for air when he hit the ground, Belon jumped from his horse and hur
ried to him, but when he reached him, his face looked horrorstruck, as the fear of what he yelled only moments before came to fruition when he noticed thickets from it lodged in Bayl’s throat.

“
Lord Bayl!” he cried out, as he kneeled and put his hands on his neck, the blood from it flowing over his fingers as steadily as crimson looking water over rocks. 

Once they reached him, both Laad and Loth did the same, and kneeled beside Bayl frantically trying to stop the bleeding.

“Blow the horn!” Laad yelled to Loth.

Quickly, Loth went to his horse to get the horn and blew fiercely until he had no air left in his lungs, and when Baric and Ogorec heard it, broke off headed towards the sound.

“What could be wrong?” Baric asked Ogorec when they quickly turned.

Bot
h riding hard to the sound of the horn, when they saw the others kneeling over Bayl; Baric jumped off his horse and ran to him; then dropped to his knees.

“
Noooooo!” his anguished howl, as he put his brother’s head on his lap and looked at his face, “Nooooo! Brother – speak to me!”

Blood still spewing from Bayl
’s neck, as he cawed and gasped for air, when Baric saw the faraway look in his eyes, knew he was quickly losing him; then, as suddenly a surreal silence came over him, the light in his eyes went dark.

As a silence fell over them all, Baric broke it with another anguished howl, which reverberated above the tallest trees, before he burst into tears while Belon closed Bayl
’s eyes, and bowed his head.

At once, Ogorec went to Baric and put his hand
on his shoulder, as he kneeled beside him, and as Laad and Loth watched, they to bowed their heads.

For a long time, no one said a word out of respect; then Ogorec closest to Baric, squeezed his shoulder.

“We must take him to your father,” Ogorec said, as he stood, pulling Baric up with him.

Slowly, Baric stood, yet his eyes did not leave Bayl, then Belon, Laad, and Loth made a pallet to pull him, instead of draping him across his horse, which had stopped farther down.

“Who shall give word to the king?” Loth asked.

“
I shall,” Laad said at once; then jumped on his horse.

Quickly, Laad rode ahead, then just as he did when he was a messenger, made his way to the king, who when he saw him coming towards him covered in blood, got off his throne a
nd meet him halfway.

“
It is Lord Bayl, great king,” Laad said somberly, “He is dead.”

At once, King Rone let out an anguished howl of his own equal in emotion to that of Baric
’s.

“
Nooooooo!” he cried out, “Where is my young son?”

“
As we speak,” Laad said, as he stepped out of the way, “They return with him.”

King Rone ran from court towards the outer doors where he saw Loth and Ogorec pulling Bayl, and when Baric saw his father, he stopped.

“Bayl! Bayl!” King Rone lamented loudly while falling to his knees, “What befell him?”

“
Father.” Baric’s voice cracked. His face just as ghastly pale just as his dead brother’s was, “He broke from the path and a tree branch caught in his throat, and knocked him from his horse!”

As he spoke, Liha ran from the door and fe
ll to her knees in front of Bayl, and as she let out a high-pitched scream, Seda rushed out and held her to console her.

“
Take him inside,” King Rone ordered, “That others not see my son in such a way.”

After Belon and Loth took him away, Laad looked to
Ogorec.

“
This day is done.” He knew, preparing all for the great sorrow that would fill Worrlgen border to border, “Have the guards and servants ring the bells of mourning until the king orders them to stop.”

After Laad ordered the bells of mourning rang
for Lord Bayl, Ogorec ended his day and went to his cottage. When he walked inside, as soon as Ovfren saw him bloody and heard the bells, he hurried over to him.

“
Ogorec,” he worriedly asked, “Are you hurt? I hear the bells. What has happened?”

“
I am not.” Ogorec sighed loudly, and sat down at the table “And the bells are for Lord Bayl, who is dead.”

“
Dead!” Ovfren looked at him shocked, “How Ogorec, how? You all went hunting for Boars?”

“
A tree branch caught his throat as he rode in the forest,” Ogorec answered, as he looked down distressed and shook his head in disbelief, “And as he gasped, he was unable to speak his last words.”

Right away, Ovfren put his arms around him to comfort him.

“A great loss this is,” he said, “He will be greatly mourned.”

As
he spoke, Ogorec stood, then held Ovfren and kissed him hard.

“
Why such a kiss?” he asked concerned, “I welcome them, but this one it is not like your others.”

“
I will not breathe my last with no last words to you of how much I love you,” Ogorec said, as the thought of it bothered him, “Or you, your last with no words to me of the same.”

“
We know them.” He tried to ease his mind. “If we could not speak them, still we would know them well within us.”

“
Ovfren you have become my life,” Ogorec said, as he pulled him closer saddened, “Such sadness was before me, yet what plagued me more was what if it was you? If you had been well you would have been with me…”