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Hunted

He was vehemently shaken by his arm. He must have slept for a while, because rosy-fingered dawn already appeared in the east. His new bond servant was pulling on the rope tied to his wrist. When he wanted to complain, she gestured him to be quiet, and then he heard galloping horses, approaching quickly.

Ida fiercely tore on the rope, and moments after he gave in and followed her beneath heavy shrubbery, a whole troop of mounted warriors arrived at the scene. Areus' eight companions camping under some trees a few steps away, apparently having failed to install proper night watch, were immediately overwhelmed, and Areus, tied to the woman, at arm's length watched them being slain to death. The enemies exchanged some shouts in their cawing voices, mounted their horses and rushed away.

All this went by in the blink of an eye, like an apparition. Areus felt horribly. What had he done? Like the lowest coward he had hidden under a shrub, while his friends had been slaughtered. He even had watched. Not until now he realized that he - like the woman - was pricked all over and bleeding from bramble berry thorns. They freed themselves from the brush and crept to the place of the carnage. The Kurgan hadn't taken anything, but had slashed and destroyed the water skins.

"You saved my life. Thanks. We're even now", Areus said without any gratefulness in his heart. His rescue by a slave had brought nothing but dishonor. He opened the knot connecting the two of them and shouted: "You have permission to leave. Leave!" - He waved her off. He touched some of the bodies as if to wake them up. These were lads as young as fourteen years old. As the oldest and highest member of the troop it was his responsibility to bring them back home. How could he ever face their families? He started to scrabble the solid ground with his bare hands, as if he wanted to bury his companions that way. Ida however didn't move and said: "Stop it. The brutes will return soon. They know they haven't gotten all. They went south to the foot of the mountain bordering your valley. There they will realize their mistake and turn around. In a few hours they are back." - Areus sat up and stared at her: "How do you know?" - "I speak the language. I lived among them for five years, if you call it living. Now let's go. The more traces you leave with your pawing, the faster they will realize that we are close by. They will search and kill us. You in any case."

They were trapped. From the south, where Areus wanted to retreat across the pass into his home valley, they expected their pursuers any moment. Zakton in the north was too far and out of reach; in a few hours the riders would catch up with them. In full daylight the shrubbery around them didn't provide sufficient cover.

Now Areus remembered the junction they had passed on their way to Zakton: "Down to the sea", he exclaimed. On the steep climb down to sea level the persecutors would have to dismount their horses. Below there was a small fishing village, just a fist full of huts. There they might seek shelter. Ida just looked at him and waited for an explanation, so he added: "Let's go east, down to the sea. Maybe they don't search for us there." - Together the odd couple, leaving all provisions behind and the dear companions unburied, went on the run along the stony and partly overgrown trail eastward through the plain, until they reached the almost invisible turnoff to the left.

Soon they approached the rim of the plateau and faced a steep slope with a thin serpentine path across it. Far down, between the cliff and the blue sea in the background, a small plain was penned in, and on its far side they saw a small village on the shore: Polichni. From behind, horse's hoofs clattered.

They ran, jumped, clambered for their life. They looked back and with horror saw the horsemen dismount and with shrill screams, leading their horses, speedily rumble down the slope, coming after them. How many they were, they couldn't tell and didn't have time to count. They stepped into thorns, lost a sandal or two, bumped their feet bleedingly into rocks, and after an hour of a wild and dangerous hunt they had reached the plain, covered with head-high umbrella palm, without having increased the distance to their pursuers. Areus and Ida ran for their life; as soon as the horsemen were on the plain, they mounted their horses again; in a few moments they would have hunted down their prey.

Running desperately toward the village, with Ida being surprisingly fast and not trailing Areus at all, they saw the ship, almost hidden behind trees, next to the buildings of the village. Their pursuers also noticed the Keftiu war ship and slowed down their hunt, when they were in ear shot of the village. - "Help! Help! Help us please", the two shouted and then they saw, and heard, arrows hissing past them, aimed at the horsemen. Most arrows failed, but one hit a rider in his face and stuck in his left eye. Roaring he fell off his horse, was snatched by one of his fellows, pulled up to this rider's horse, then they all jerked their horses around and galloped away through the high grass and up the slope.