Chapter 2: April Arrives

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Cyrus Oldman had spent much of his adult life wandering aimlessly through the hills and forests of Marntz. It was as much his home as any place in the world had ever been. When his wife had died in childbirth many years before, he had laid her to rest, along with their stillborn child, in a tomb he had laboriously constructed of stones. He had spent many days and weeks collecting the stones from the hills surrounding his home. Once that task had been completed, he had pretty much lost interest in the society of other people, so he spent most of his time hiking in the forests of Marntz or in the nearby mountain reaches of Stell. He learned to live off the land and never stayed for long in one place. Cy gave in to the relentless wanderlust he had felt since his wife's death, but the presence of the young woman presented him with a problem. He knew how to take care of himself, but caring after the young woman and trying to find out where she came from would be a difficult proposition.

 

"She must have a name,” Cy said out loud to himself. “What do I call her?"

 

His habit of thinking out loud was a source of constant embarrassment. Once again, he caught himself doing it, and thought to himself, "One day, Cy, your mouth is going to get you into a world of trouble," and he went on collecting firewood.

 

With as much wood as he could carry in his arms, Cy headed back to the center of the clearing, his thoughts still on the young woman and the strange marks on the ground. He had come to a decision during the time he had spent gathering the wood. He knew he had to find out who she was and how she had come to be in that clearing; and although he had no clue how to do that, he knew his search would would have to start in the place he had begun the day before, in the city of Marntz. If he hoped to find any answers, he knew he would need help, and he was sure his old friend Jepp would be up to the task. Jepp had sources of information and ways of finding out things that were beyond Cy and his own capabilities. With this decision made, Cy strode purposefully back toward his camp.

 

The young woman was sitting on the ground softly singing to herself as Cy neared the camp. The song she sang was hauntingly familiar to Cy. He recognized it from many, many years before, and the memory disturbed his already faltering peace of mind. Her voice had a wonderful, lilting quality, and Cy couldn't help but be drawn to her singing. He remembered that his wife, C'elaine, had also possessed a beautiful voice, and her death was still, despite the many intervening years, a painful, poignant memory to him. Even now he couldn't think of her without tears welling up in his eyes. For the ten-thousandth time Cy cursed the fate that had taken her from him.

 

"I'm glad you're back," the young woman said brightly, but Cy didn't reply. He was still lost in memories of C'elaine.

 

"Cy…?," she spoke again, a hint of concern crept into her voice.

 

Cy looked at her and smiled, thinking how much she reminded him of C'elaine.

 

"Are you alright, Cy?" she asked.

 

He just nodded and smiled, unsure of what to say to her. He set his load of wood on the ground and looked at the young woman. Wanting to assure her he was fine, he couldn't find the right words, so he said, "I still don't know what to call you."

 

He looked at her for a moment, thinking of the new leaves and the bright flowers that blossomed in C'elaine's favorite month, and said, "I could call you April."

 

Looking into her green eyes, he went on to explain himself, "because you remind me of spring."

 

She gave a lovely, little laugh that sent a tingle of excitement down Cy's spine. Another memory of C'elaine rose up in his thoughts, of a birthday party given to her by her parents when she had turned thirteen. He had given her a necklace made of small beads made from stones he had collected, and her delighted laugh had thrilled him more than anything he had ever known.

 

"You can call me April," she said, smiling at him, "and I think it's a lovely name."

 

Cy looked down at the ground. He was a little uneasy with the feelings somersaulting around inside of him. "You're acting like a young pup," he thought to himself. "Get a grip."

 

Kneeling down by his traveling pack, Cy looked over at April and asked, "Are you hungry? I have some bread and cheese and a little bit of dried fruit."

 

It wasn't much, but the idea of sharing came naturally to Cy. Even the children of Marntz knew how generous he was. They knew that any time Cy came down to the hill city, a rare occasion though it was, he always had small presents and treats for them. Usually it was nothing more than small toys for the boys, animal shapes that he had carved from the dark wood of the tabine trees that were only found deep in the hill country Cy loved so much. For the little girls it was usually tiaras, made from wildflowers he had picked and dried, to wear in their hair. It was always such a pleasure for him to see the smiles on the faces of the children who received the presents.

 

"Thank you," said April, "I can't believe how hungry I am. I feel like I haven't eaten in days."

 

Cy smiled and opened his pack to withdraw the small box that held his meager supplies. Handing it to April he said, "I'll get some water for us."

 

He grabbed his water pouch, and walked over to the little stream. April opened the box and laid the contents out on the flat top of the rock, then she watched him bend down to fill the pouch in the running water of the stream and thought to herself, "How lucky I am, under these circumstances, to have met someone as generous and caring as this man."

 

Cy came back and sat down beside April. Silently they ate and enjoyed the tranquility of the forest around them while April scattered crumbs on the ground below them. Small birds came to enjoy their small feast with them. Cy was about to speak when an ear-splitting noise blotted out the gentle murmur of the stream and the leaves rustling on the ground. The flock of small birds took flight as the ground beneath them shook frantically, and off in the distance, in the direction of Stell's Peak, a huge billow of black smoke rose into the early afternoon sky.

 

Cy looked at April and asked, "Are you okay?"

 

"Yes," she answered. "What in the world was that?"

 

Cy looked at the column of dark smoke still rising above the trees and said, "I don't know,” and thought to himself, “but I don't like the looks of it at all."

 

The clouds Cy had seen earlier hadn’t produced any rain. Fire was now a relentless threat in the forests of Marntz. The rains that had once nourished the region had failed again, as had happened so often in recent years, offering only an occasional, meager shower instead of the heavy downpours that had sustained the lush forests of Marntz for many centuries.

 

"That's not good," Cy thought to himself.

 

The pillar of smoke began to drift with the wind, and something told Cy they needed to get going, that he and April should to leave as quickly as they could. Stuffing gear into his pack, he looked at April and asked, "Can you walk?"

 

"Yes, I think so," April replied.

 

Cy leaned over and picked up the remaining part of the food April had laid out on the flat rock. "Here," he said and handed her a thick slice of bread folded around a slice of pale yellow cheese. "You can eat while we walk. I'll carry our things."

 

After putting a few last items in his pack and rolling up April's quilted blanket, Cy closed his pack and set it and the blanket down by the rock. Then he began to kick dirt over the remains of the fire. He followed that with a heavy dousing of water from the stream. With all that done, he picked up the blanket and shouldered his pack and said, "It’s time for us to go."

 

April smiled wanly, then reached out and took his hand as she said, "You're a good man, Cy. If I had to be lost, I'm glad you were the one who found me."

 

Smiling broadly, he said nothing but squeezed April's hand in response. Lots of people, his best friend Jepp included, had told Cy he was too nice, that people would try to take advantage of him because he was so kind and generous. Cy didn't care; he enjoyed giving and sharing. For him there could be no other way.

 

Cy and April walked, hand in hand, out of the tree-ringed clearing and headed down the forest path that had brought him there the night before. Behind them, in the rocky ravines of Stell's Reach, a threat far worse than fire began to move among the fissures and boulders at the base of Stell's Peak. The dark clouds massed above the mountain promised a storm. Little did Cy know the terrible nature of that storm.

 

Stopping to rest from time to time, Cy and April walked on into the late afternoon. Birds sang in the trees, and insects danced in the slanting rays of the afternoon sun that filtered through the trees. Searching for some hint of her identity, Cy asked April what she last remembered before the light had shone outside her windows.

 

"Not much," she replied. "It's all just a blur. No matter how hard I try, I can't seem to focus on the details. I know I had a family, or, at least I feel like I did."

 

She looked away from Cy and up at the smoky skies that were visible through the forest canopy, then she continued, "but I can't remember their faces or their names. I can't even remember my own name."

 

Tears were welling up in her eyes as said to Cy, "What am I going to do?"

 

Reaching out, Cy grasped her hand again with both of his and came to a stop. Looking into her eyes he said, "We'll figure it out somehow, and I won't give up until we do. You have my vow."

 

When Cy took a vow, he did not do so lightly.

 

As they started walking again, April looked at him and said, simply, "Thank you, Cy. I hope you know how much that means to me."

 

Slowly, as they walked, the sun dropped below the trees, and the early dusk of the forest began to overtake them. They were nearly at the limits of the great forest but still a long way from Marntz. He had thought they would be able to reach one of the farm houses that dotted the lower slopes of the hills, but April, while recovered somewhat, still was not able to travel as quickly as he had hoped. As was his nature, Cy was patient and understanding. He knew April's recent experiences must have been harrowing and that, in her condition, she shouldn't be pushed too hard. In the fading light, he spotted a familiar rock overhang that jutted out from the hillside. It promised shelter from the cold and rain the clouds overhead might yet bring.

 

Pointing at it, Cy told April, "Let's head for that overhang."

 

They left the path and walked toward the rock formation. Letting go of her hand, Cy reached around his shoulder to open a small pocket on the side of his pack and took out a short, green rod, a little longer than his hand and about the thickness of his thumb. Reaching around to the other side of his pack, he removed a small pouch. Dipping his finger into the pouch, Cy withdrew a pinch of powder from the pouch and touched it to the rod. Immediately the end of the rod flared with a pale, green light, just bright enough to illuminate the opening in the hill. Turning to April, he saw the frightened look on her face.

 

"April, are you alright?" said Cy.

 

No response.

 

"April?"

 

She stared into the glow emanating from the end of the rod, transfixed and motionless. The hairs on the back of his neck began to prickle as Cy reached out to touch her but decided against it. Looking down at the glowing rod in his hand, Cy hesitated only a moment before he dropped his pack and pulled his water pouch out of it. He poured some water into his hand and grasped the end of the light rod and its glare dimmed, then went out.

 

In the last fading light of dusk, Cy stood up and looked into April's eyes. Though they were wide open, it was plain that she was no longer conscious of his presence. For just a fleeting instant, he caught a glimpse, as if seen through clouded glass, of a hooded figure, and he heard sinister laughter. The chilling sound of it seemed to echo in his ears for a long time.

 

An image slowly began to form before his eyes as Cy gently lifted April off her feet and carried her the last few steps to the shelter of the overhang and gingerly laid her on the leaf-littered ground. He quickly took off his pack and unrolled her strange, silvery blanket. He spread it out and carefully moved her onto the blanket. The image seemed to grow more solid. In the deepening gloom of the night, Cy moved away and dug into a small pocket on the outside of his pack to retrieve his flint and steel. A chill wind had sprung up, and Cy knew they would need a fire to fend off the cold and dark of the forest night.