.7. A newfound protector.
It was not until dawn the following day that Hanna Ohmsford woke up to find herself three feet away from the strangest man she had ever seen. He crouched as an animal would but completely motionless. He wore pants and a sleeveless shirt but they were torn and dirtied. His large, green eyes flickered continually across the clearing. She stretched groggily from her uncomfortable night's sleep and sat cross-legged on the top of the stump. She was confident of her ability to overcome this strange man with use of her magic, but she was curious as to why he had saved her and what exactly he was.
"Why did you save me?"
"I was asked by my friend to make sure that no harm came to you. I admire him very much and so I agreed."
"Who is this friend?"
"Your father."
Hanna's astonishment must have shown in her expression as she almost thought she saw a slight amusement creep into his face. She had known from an early age that she had been adopted into the Ohmsford household. She had been told that her mother was elven and her name was Sheila. She had never heard a single word about her real father.
"Who is my father?"
"I do not think that he would want me to reveal his identity at this time. I think it would be better coming from him."
Hanna scowled in anger at him and as her as anger rose the wishsong rose in her throat.
"I would not do that if I were you. The creature that tracks you, will find you all the sooner."
Hanna was again astonished that this stranger could sense the wishsong rising in her, yet it died as she felt a new dimension to him, a deep kind of power but unlike her own, it sat calmly within him. Her magic bubbled up in small spurts and tended to come and go exactly as it pleased. A small shard of fear wedged itself into her mind as she began to doubt that she could out do this creature if it came to combat.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Karne." Hanna was less than pleased with his minimal answer but tried to keep her emotions from her face.
"Who is the enemy that tracks me?"
"I don't know. He has great power, but I think that your father would know him."
At a second mention of her father, Hanna scowled again. Karne could indeed see the relation in her and her father's black moods. Karne lifted his head and cocked his head in thought; Hanna watched with a mixture of curiosity and hatred.
"We must go from this place, he is coming."
"No, I'm not leaving. I have to go back and find Matthew."
"That would be very unwise. I did not rescue you from death's clutches only to have you march right back in."
"I have to find him and I'm not leaving until I do." She crossed her arms stubbornly across her chest.
"He is just past the summit of the pass. We will be going towards him when we leave. But Hanna Ohmsford, we must leave now if we are to escape confrontation."
She winced at his remark. Either he had just come to the obvious conclusion that Matthew would carry on towards their goal, hoping to find her a long the way, or he had magic so powerful that he could sense his presence.
Karne led Hanna through a twisting track around the side of the main peak. Hanna knew that without him, she would have no hope of ever finding her way through the maze of rocks and gullies. He knew every time if a particular rock wouldn't hold his weight and despite the countless times she tripped and fell, and all the times he looked back to check she was alright, he never fumbled once.
*** At first Karne's presence infuriated Hanna, feeding her hatred but as the morning wore on and she saw the genuine concern on his face when she fell, she began to grudgingly admire him. He was amazing at what he did and she began to realise just why her father might have recruited him as a friend. Her father's anonymity stuck like a splinter in her mind, plaguing her with guesses and possible clues. But as always, each clue she thought of could easily be a red herring or something she was putting too much value to.
They reached the far side of the mountain at mid-afternoon and sat down to rest. She realised that while Matthew would have gone over the summit of the mountain, they had skirted around the side about half way to meet the main trail on the far side. It had saved them a great deal of time despite the difficulties Hanna had found in traversing the trail. Karne told her that Matthew would be down in a couple of hours and that she may as well rest while she had the chance. At first, she was sceptical as to letting her guard down, but when she realised how exhausted she was, she fell asleep quickly.
Karne sat and watched the druid's daughter for a long time. Sheila had been right, she was her father's daughter. The long dark hair framed and contrasted her small and pale face. Her skin wasn't as pale as Walker's but he didn't think anyone could match Walker's skin colour and also he expected that her constant outdoor activities had darkened her skin slightly. Her mood swings matched those of her father's and sometimes so much so, that Karne almost laughed. This tracker friend would indeed be here in a few hours, but Karne intended to be gone before he arrived.
Karne had thought to try to separate the two, but decided that since he needed Hanna's trust, it would be pointless to try to deceive her, especially with the amount of magic she had within her. It raged inside her like a caged animal and appeared exactly when it wanted to. She needed Walker Boh and soon, or Karne feared she would be consumed by it. Karne only hoped that Walker would hurry in doing whatever he was doing and get here quickly.
As he heard the first footsteps of the tracker's approach, he rose and slipped into the twilight. He would wait until they were some five or so minutes ahead of him then follow silently. He was not clumsy like the demon that tracked them and he doubted greatly that the tracker or druid's daughter would notice his presence. But although he had stealth on his side he would have to watch his front and back and be quick to come to their aid if need be. Despite this, his worse fear was that they would head to the city of Dechtera and Karne would have to follow them in there. There would be thousands of people, Karne expected and they would all be crammed into a small space like sardines. Karne was wild at heart and only felt secure in the mountains and forests. He was trying to adapt to hamlets, as being a companion to Walker Boh often demanded. Never the less, he was going to hate every moment of being in that city, and hoped they didn't dawdle.
It was not until dawn the following day that Hanna Ohmsford woke up to find herself three feet away from the strangest man she had ever seen. He crouched as an animal would but completely motionless. He wore pants and a sleeveless shirt but they were torn and dirtied. His large, green eyes flickered continually across the clearing. She stretched groggily from her uncomfortable night's sleep and sat cross-legged on the top of the stump. She was confident of her ability to overcome this strange man with use of her magic, but she was curious as to why he had saved her and what exactly he was.
"Why did you save me?"
"I was asked by my friend to make sure that no harm came to you. I admire him very much and so I agreed."
"Who is this friend?"
"Your father."
Hanna's astonishment must have shown in her expression as she almost thought she saw a slight amusement creep into his face. She had known from an early age that she had been adopted into the Ohmsford household. She had been told that her mother was elven and her name was Sheila. She had never heard a single word about her real father.
"Who is my father?"
"I do not think that he would want me to reveal his identity at this time. I think it would be better coming from him."
Hanna scowled in anger at him and as her as anger rose the wishsong rose in her throat.
"I would not do that if I were you. The creature that tracks you, will find you all the sooner."
Hanna was again astonished that this stranger could sense the wishsong rising in her, yet it died as she felt a new dimension to him, a deep kind of power but unlike her own, it sat calmly within him. Her magic bubbled up in small spurts and tended to come and go exactly as it pleased. A small shard of fear wedged itself into her mind as she began to doubt that she could out do this creature if it came to combat.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Karne." Hanna was less than pleased with his minimal answer but tried to keep her emotions from her face.
"Who is the enemy that tracks me?"
"I don't know. He has great power, but I think that your father would know him."
At a second mention of her father, Hanna scowled again. Karne could indeed see the relation in her and her father's black moods. Karne lifted his head and cocked his head in thought; Hanna watched with a mixture of curiosity and hatred.
"We must go from this place, he is coming."
"No, I'm not leaving. I have to go back and find Matthew."
"That would be very unwise. I did not rescue you from death's clutches only to have you march right back in."
"I have to find him and I'm not leaving until I do." She crossed her arms stubbornly across her chest.
"He is just past the summit of the pass. We will be going towards him when we leave. But Hanna Ohmsford, we must leave now if we are to escape confrontation."
She winced at his remark. Either he had just come to the obvious conclusion that Matthew would carry on towards their goal, hoping to find her a long the way, or he had magic so powerful that he could sense his presence.
Karne led Hanna through a twisting track around the side of the main peak. Hanna knew that without him, she would have no hope of ever finding her way through the maze of rocks and gullies. He knew every time if a particular rock wouldn't hold his weight and despite the countless times she tripped and fell, and all the times he looked back to check she was alright, he never fumbled once.
*** At first Karne's presence infuriated Hanna, feeding her hatred but as the morning wore on and she saw the genuine concern on his face when she fell, she began to grudgingly admire him. He was amazing at what he did and she began to realise just why her father might have recruited him as a friend. Her father's anonymity stuck like a splinter in her mind, plaguing her with guesses and possible clues. But as always, each clue she thought of could easily be a red herring or something she was putting too much value to.
They reached the far side of the mountain at mid-afternoon and sat down to rest. She realised that while Matthew would have gone over the summit of the mountain, they had skirted around the side about half way to meet the main trail on the far side. It had saved them a great deal of time despite the difficulties Hanna had found in traversing the trail. Karne told her that Matthew would be down in a couple of hours and that she may as well rest while she had the chance. At first, she was sceptical as to letting her guard down, but when she realised how exhausted she was, she fell asleep quickly.
Karne sat and watched the druid's daughter for a long time. Sheila had been right, she was her father's daughter. The long dark hair framed and contrasted her small and pale face. Her skin wasn't as pale as Walker's but he didn't think anyone could match Walker's skin colour and also he expected that her constant outdoor activities had darkened her skin slightly. Her mood swings matched those of her father's and sometimes so much so, that Karne almost laughed. This tracker friend would indeed be here in a few hours, but Karne intended to be gone before he arrived.
Karne had thought to try to separate the two, but decided that since he needed Hanna's trust, it would be pointless to try to deceive her, especially with the amount of magic she had within her. It raged inside her like a caged animal and appeared exactly when it wanted to. She needed Walker Boh and soon, or Karne feared she would be consumed by it. Karne only hoped that Walker would hurry in doing whatever he was doing and get here quickly.
As he heard the first footsteps of the tracker's approach, he rose and slipped into the twilight. He would wait until they were some five or so minutes ahead of him then follow silently. He was not clumsy like the demon that tracked them and he doubted greatly that the tracker or druid's daughter would notice his presence. But although he had stealth on his side he would have to watch his front and back and be quick to come to their aid if need be. Despite this, his worse fear was that they would head to the city of Dechtera and Karne would have to follow them in there. There would be thousands of people, Karne expected and they would all be crammed into a small space like sardines. Karne was wild at heart and only felt secure in the mountains and forests. He was trying to adapt to hamlets, as being a companion to Walker Boh often demanded. Never the less, he was going to hate every moment of being in that city, and hoped they didn't dawdle.