Chronicles Of Tonath Collection

Chapter 5

Brother John stood at the wooden gate watching for the wagons to bring the month"s allotment of provisions from the settlement. It was his duty to escort them in, enter the offerings into the records, and see to the storing. As much as he preferred to tend his gardens, the new Teacher had been kind to place such confidence in his abilities, and Brother John would never disappoint the Teacher. The wagons were late, but he could see the dust clouds billowing from the east, proclaiming their arrival would be soon. One wagon approached more rapidly than the others.

Brother John recognized the driver as the man called Billings and wondered why he was so far ahead of the rest. He smoothed his rough, grey robe which was uncomfortably warm in this climate and tended to rumple easily. It was, he decided, far more suited to the temperate regions of Anoth where the Eastern Star Shift Institute of The Way of Tonath was located. The last Teacher, however, at his final Reading of the Way Book had given the directive to build a new Institute here. The Starshift had ended. The period of mourning for the old Teacher was almost over and The Way Book would be opened again by the new Teacher. It was possible he had already done so as last week"s storm had almost ended the Star Shift. The stars had already moved closer to the Way Reading alignment, or so the more enlightened Brothers informed him. Expectations for the new Readings were building excitement among the Way Brothers throughout the compound.

Brother Calvin was keeping all the lesser brothers away from the Teacher, standing like a shield against all who would intrude. Since Brother John always avoided Brother Calvin, a sharp-tongue and too prudish man, he had not caught even a glimpse of the newly appointed Teacher for the last week.

Brother John, unlike Brother Calvin, enjoyed his cup of ale in the evening and a harmless joke or two. He felt he had given up enough to join the Brotherhood of The Way: the forswearing of all women and material goods. Not that there had ever been much in the way of material goods in his common, working life and since his wife had reached the worthy age, they had executed the Contract of Dissolution and parted. Brother John knew no younger woman would wish to join his Pathway.

Billings interrupted his musings, by pulling the team to a halt and hawking out a yellow stream of dust induced mucus towards the ground. His black hat and simple, grey shirt were soaked and dark-splotched with sweat.

“Better come take a look at what I"m carrying,” he said to Brother John.

Brother John stepped out of the shade of the wooden walls. He noted that Billings was driving a lighter supply wagon as was his right as the owner of the approaching wagon train. Billings climbed down and walked with Brother John to the back of the wagon. He pointed to the human cargo lying on blankets, front side down, the back of the dark head blood-matted and distorted by swelling, one arm crusted with pus and blood. The man wore a Greenie vest and one Greenie arrow protruded from the back and another lodged in the upper right thigh. Any exposed skin was burned to an angry red.

“We found him by the Daybay River. The Greenies were still howling like dementeds from the other side. He had dried, green slime on his clothes and when I pulled one eyelid open, the white showed light green. I can"t figure out if he was storm lost or one of them Halflings.”

Brother John shook his head. “There are no Halflings,” he said firmly. “Sheer folk mouthings.”

“Maybe that"s true,” said Billings and straightened his lean frame to shoot another stream through yellowed teeth. “We would have left him there, but he muttered, "I found the Way" when we asked if he could talk. We figured you and the good Teacher would know what to do with him as he sure won"t live long if he doesn"t get some kind of care.”

At these words Brother John went into action. “Take him to the Healing Quarter. I"ll bring the Doctor and the Healers.” Then Brother John lifted the grey robe and churned his stout legs faster than they had moved in years.