Eric--Part Thirty-Two

Splog # 146

Thirty-Two

   Before they could begin to ascend the steps, a sound caught them both and they turned to see what it might be. The first thing they saw was the deer and the rabbit scampering into the woods in different directions. Then, as the hoofbeats of horses made themselves known to Eric, three people rode into the clearing surrounding the large tree. They came from a different path than the one he and the man had followed and no sooner had they emerged into view than Eric recognized two of them. The man in front, with the light skin and long straight blonde hair, he didin't know, but the person on the second horse was Bev and the third rider was Nol. Before they had dismounted, Eric was willing to bet that the blonde man was Cor, and how anyone could have gotten the two of them mixed up was beyond the reach of his imagination.

   The three riders, after dismounting, did no more with their horses than to throw the reins back over their necks and then slap them affectionately. Eric wondered whether the horses would just stay in one place until they were needed again. But he forgot about the horses when the three newcomers strode right up to him and the man. They stood in a line and, in unison, said, "Much time." To which the man replied, "No waste." Then all four gave a perfunctory little bow. After which the three crowded in on the man and greeted him less formally. Eric couldn't make out the odd name they seemed to be hailing him by. Log or Fog or some such. This only lasted a moment before the man interrupted the merriment and directed them towards Eric.

   "I think you may know my young friend here, though you may not recognize him."

   Eric felt fairly self-conscious when three pairs of eyes turned to him. He folded his arms across his chest and wished he had another shirt with him.

   "Much time," the three murmured, not quite in unison this time.

   Eric started to respond, "No..." and then he went blank. "No..." What was it the other man had said?

   But before he could call it to mind, Bev blurted out, "Eric!" and came up to him. But when she reached him, she too stopped suddenly as if unsure what was proper on such an occasion.

   "Hello, Bev," Eric said.

   Bev turned to Nol. "Nol, it's Eric," she said birghtly. "I'm so glad Splog found you," turning back to him. "Last night was so eventful and when you took the sword, I knew Cor was there but I wondered where you were..." She turned back to the man. "Wherever did you come across him, Splog?"

   The man looked at everyone for a moment and then said, "Eric is very hungry. And so, for that matter, am I. I'm sure the three of you didn't come to Lon's merely to chat. Now, Cor, have you something in your saddlebags that will make this young man feel less like a skinned rabbit?"

   Without a word, the blonde man turned to his horse and started rummaging in his bags. As he did so, Bev let out a yelp and the others watched as she ran towards a tree from behind which a rabbit had just lazily hopped. "Ran," she cried as she bent down and the animal hopped into her arms. "Where have you been?"

   "He's been with us for most of the morning," the man replied for the rabbit. "And quite an eventful morning, too. I see we all have a lot to confide to each other. Ah, thank you, Cor!"

   The man called Cor had brought over and handed to Eric a pullover shirt of a deep rich green. Eric held the shirt for a moment and then the man came and took it from his hands so he would be able to first remove the knapsack from his back. Nol took the knapsack from Eric and the man gave him the shirt. It was quite large on Eric's slight frame and fell nearly to his knees, while the sleeves, although cut short, extended beyond his elbows. It felt warm and smooth and smelled freshly cleaned. He regarded everyone with a pleased smile on his face.

   "Shall we?" the man said and they all headed up the stairs. Nol followed the man and Bev rushed to climb beside Eric, still holding the rabbit in her arms. "I'm so pleased you're here," she began, but Eric interrupted her.

   "What did you call him?" he asked in a whisper.

   "Who?" she answered quietly.

   "The man I came here with. What's his name? In all our conversation, I haven't been able to get it out of him."

   "Splog. That's Splog," Bev replied.

   "Splog?" Eric asked, incredulously.

   "Yes, Splog. Why not?"

   "Well, I don't know. There's nothing wrong with it. I just - Wait! He said it to me earlier but I thought it was a greeting of some kind. I think he said, 'Splog' and shook my hand or something. And I said - I don't know - 'Splog to you too.'"

   Bev let out a giggle and Eric laughed a little too in his embarrassment.

   Splog turned his head a little and said, "Did he tell you his sheep riddle?"

   Bev gave Eric a questioning glance and he shrugged his shoulders.

   By this time, they were quite high up in the tree. Eric saw that the trunk had split into two large branches and, while they climbed the stairs spiraled around one branch, he could catch glimpses of the other where he saw someone descending every so often. There was no more conversation and Eric was overwhelmed by the vastness and complexity of the world he found up in the tree.