94 No farewells

Within a couple of hours of walking, the fog had lifted and the winter sun shone in an uninterrupted blue sky. My request had been answered. Mentally I bowed to the Heavens for their generosity. 
The sound of hooves approaching from behind pulled me from my revelry and reaching for my two knives, which resided permanently at my waist, I spun round.
In an instant I relaxed. It was Hàorán.
Stopping, we waited for him to catch up.
"Good, I was hoping to catch you around here." With that he grabbed both reigns in one hand and vaulted down to the floor.
"I'm looking for Officer Bǎo?" He looked around and saw a man approaching him. "Ah, you must be Officer Bǎo," he bowed toward him, "let me introduce myself, I am Hàorán, the chief scout and messenger for Young Colonel Chen. He wanted me to ride with you so we could arrange a suitable point to pull off the road and avoid the Mu Army as it passed."
Bǎo nodded to him, "do you have any suggestions? I presume you've ridden out here?"
"Yes I do, and yes I have. Been looking in the area since I knew of our departure. I have somewhere in mind but I'd like you to cast your eye over it and see if it would house the whole caravan?"
Bǎo nodded. "Lead on. It can't be too far, the incoming troops won't be that far down the track now and we have to tuck the whole Chen group out of sight." He paused and thought of the injured, "possibly staying put for a couple of days."
Zǐmò looked at the two men. "It's a long way back home, those men must be resettled in their litters before we expect them to cover the distances we've got ahead of us." 
He stopped and thought for a moment before he continued, "there's also the issue of the Mu men coming out to hunt us down as amusement, sport, I know them. Nasty lot."
"Makes sense. If we can use an alternative route for a while? It would be useful." Hàorán looked at him. This young man was officer material in the making.
"Attach shrub branches to the backs of the carts and obliterate our tracks." Zǐmò muttered. "I've done this in the past and it's very successful."
Bǎo smiled. This man would go far, if he wanted to that is.
"Then lead the way Hàorán, let's find this place of refuge and then explore an alternate route."

The progress was slow. The men were angry and dispirited. They'd done most of the fighting and taken the losses, far out weighing the Zhang army. 
They were two hours out of the garrison town. It was time to tell the truth. Second Master held up his hand and drew the convoy to a stop.
"Gentlemen. Listen up. Orders are as follows. We are leaving the garrison and the town permanently."
A cheer went up from the troops.
"We are not, repeat, not off to new barracks, we are heading home."
The cheers were deafening. Men hugged each other, some weeping with joy.
Second Master held up his hand and the troops fell silent.
"We will stop shortly and pull off the main track, covering our actions as we go. I will assign Officer Chen Hao Yang to oversee this. I want to make sure no-one, I repeat, no-one knows where we are or that we have left."
The cheers gave way to chatter. They knew something was up and looked toward their colonel for answers.
"The answer to your question is, the Mu troops are within a day's march of here. I want us off the track and out of sight before they reach us. We are not in any fit state to fight them and I wish for no more injuries."
The men listened and nodded. Yes, this made sense.
"I know you're next question is, when do we leave the track? The mercenary group are ahead of us. They will direct us when to turn off and lead us to a perfect spot. In the meantime gentlemen, let's move out!"
Second Master turned his horse and squeezing him forward, resumed his forward position. The air of optimism wafted toward him. 
He smiled.
We were on our way home and for the first time in over a year, he allowed himself to think of his wife, his children and his home hearth.

I saw where the three men were aiming. It was a narrow track, wide enough for carts but not so wide as to be obvious. I followed on keeping an ear out for noises coming from behind. I could hear the Chen caravan approaching. 
Noisy!
Too noisy!
If the approaching army are close enough.....
"Bǎo the Chen caravan is too noisy, I can hear it from here! I know I have sensitive hearing but...."
Hàorán looked at me. "You can hear them?"
"Yes."
"Then they're closer than I expected. Let's check this track out, is it suitable?"
Bǎo went ahead with Zǐmò.
"It should do. There's room to tuck right in and as long as everything is kept tight....." he was already thing logistics.
"Actually," Zǐmò said, "this track goes further up. It opens out onto a wooded area. This is better."
The men moved forward to check. Yes, this was further from the main track and better hidden. It would be tight, but there was room to spread out and most importantly, places to tie the animals and feed them. 
"I'll ride back now, " and with that, Hàorán jumped on his horse and disappeared round the corner. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

79 A long night

Xin and I walked back to the border fort. We'd stopped off by a small herd of reasonably sized deer and taken two out of the group. "Good eating." Xin was as tired as I was and we were reduced to minimal chatter.  "Agreed," I shifted my load, " am hungry." "Me too." For the rest of the walk we travelled in silence. We weren't the last back, groups were still staggering in, each unit as exhausted as the next. The images of us must have been gruesome, each of us with varying layers of congealed blood.  One unit arrived and it dripped on the floor as they walked. They'd been busy. "All of you, wash house. Clean up, eat and return for a debriefing."  The officer turned to the two of us, " a large tub has been prepared for you in the side room here. I hope you're happy to share the same tub? It's a large one." He gestured the direction and we silently sloughed our way in. "Do we have cleaner clothes?" ...
Read more

1 In the beginning

The night was dark and still. The moon hung in the sky bathing the world with its stark light creating illusions and spinning stories. The families were asleep save one; the midwives had gathered, a birth was about to begin. My mother pushed hard and within a couple of hours I was born into this world, this time, this place. It seemed strange to be here and I starred around the room and looked at the faces. I didn't cry, I took a breath and looked expectantly. All that squishing and being ejected had taken its toll. I was tired. I rolled over to sleep. The midwives looked at the child just delivered. She was unusual. Her hair was silky black and long, well past her knees. Her skin was dark, a mahogany tint shone in the light of the fire. The girl had been born without eyelashes or eyebrows but her hair crested forward in a peak like a bird. Her features were already that of a grown child, her facial features more akin to an adult rather than a new borne. No big eyes, no rose bud mo...
Read more

6 The recluse

It had been a few months since the incident in the clearing and my thoughts had long since left speculation behind. I walked with my guide and we talked. He taught me how the natural world moved, how the interrelationships between animals and plants held the fabric of the natural world together and how the seasons effected this. He then told me the power of water, wind, fire and air and I meditated on these as I walked. It was during one of these times I came across a small shack nestled deep within the woods. It was run down and looked abandoned. Intrigued, I wandered forward to take a look. I smelt no sign of people nor fire so, presuming abandonment, I pushed open the window shutter. "Come in," a voice said from inside, "I have been expecting you. Don't be shy, I won't hurt you, and your friend would alert you if I would. Come in, come in and close the door after you. Keep the heat in." My friend? I travelled alone. The only 'person' I spoke to li...
Read more