Chapter Five: Past and Present

{Present Day, In The Mountains}
Ambers long brown hair glowed in the sunlight, the air was heavy with the scent of spring. Calloway flowers upturned faces soaked in the sun, there pink and white petals dusted with morning dew shown like the facets of a jewel. Amber’s soft blue eyes swept the horizon, the traders must be coming soon. A bird just waking to the morning started his enchanting song. It was a starrow, a bird of warning. According to the legends Starrow’s could sense danger, betrayal, love, almost anything, at some point in every Starrow’s life it attaches itself to one person who it will then fallow and helps until the day it dies. Amber was not sure if she believed the legends but it didn’t hurt to be cautious. Three summers had passed since the trader’s last trip into the mountains and a lot had happened in that time.



Darrow had been in Tazarna on a trading expedition for a friend and had missed the last three trips into the mountain ranges. The last time Darrow had gone to the mountains he was seven summers old, riding in his father’s caravan, the winter had been extra-long that year and frost still covered the dark sides of the hills while flowers blossomed in the sun. And there was a girl, he couldn’t remember her name. The humming in his ears had not gone away, sometimes it would be a quiet whisper and other times it would fill him up so that he could no longer think or speak.
It was late in the day when the village came into sight. A slight breeze stirred the grass. A few birds sang. The village was still. No one in sight. The traders brought their wagons to the village square. No one spoke. It was obvious that the village had been abandoned and that whatever had happened it had happened with order and had happened a while ago. Some of the men wandered off to check houses but no one was there to find and the houses where empty. One of the women started a small cooking fire and put the beginnings of a soup onto it.


Amber was watching. As the sun set she silently made her way down to the village to get a closer look. The Traders would be blind to anyone standing in the shadows because of the bright fire they had lite and they had posted no sentry. Amber slowly circled the group, checking every face carefully, she had to be shure of who they were before making her presents known. One more to go and she would make a decision. Amber moved three more feet to her left, the man was young, around her age if she was to guess, he looked familiar and Amber found herself taking a step toward the circle of fire light. Forcing herself to be still she listened.
“ There’s no sign of attack, no bodies, it’s like they all just disappeared.” Said a man with red hair that seemed to stand straight up. “ Darrow, in the morning I want you to take a group of the men and search the area around the village we need to find out what happened.”
Amber stepped toward the light entering the circle silently. “ That is unnecessary. I will tell you what you need to know.” She said startling the entire group. Several of then drew there boot knifes looking into the darkness around them for more unexpected visitors. Amber walk toward Darrow and reached for the amulet around her neck and held it so the light could reflect thru it. Darrow stood slowly and reached for the amulet around his neck. Amber smiled placed her open hand on his medallion and hummed something quietly. A bright silvery light wound out of the medallion and up her arm and across to the medallion in her other hand. The humming in Darrow’s mind grew louder and louder and then it was gone. Then she hugged him. “ I missed you.” She whispered.
The rest of the night was uneventful. Amber refused to answer any questions until the morning insisting that they needed to sleep and that they would be very sorry if they stayed up all night just to satisfy their curiosity. So they slept. Amber sat alert thru the night. She at least new the dangers they faced in these mountains.


When the traders awoke the next morning the fire was going steady with a pot of something wonderful smelling boiling atop it. The girl appeared from around a corner carrying bowel filled to the brim with meat. Dropping it into the stew she beckoned Darrow forward. “You should eat. Today will be very long for you.” She said handing him a bowel.
Darrow still couldn’t remember the girl’s name. They had been friends, and she obviously still considered him a friend. That was what was bothering him. How could you just accept someone as your friend after fourteen years of not seeing or hearing from them. He had been a little boy and known her for three or four days, now he was full grown and she acted like they had known each other there entire life’s. He didn’t known her.


The girl was silent. Some of the other traders tried to talk to her to get some answers. She just looked at them and smiled answering the same way each time. “ All questions get answered eventually, the answer will not come sooner than it ever needs to though.” The one person she did actually respond to was Darrow. When he went about a task she would fallow and watch, she would ask questions and make jokes. She was quiet but not silent. By lunch time the other traders started to make jokes about his new found friend. Her attachment to him was very obvious and considerably funny for them to watch.