"Guardian of the East"

Fourth Chapter of "Cloudburst"

“Guardian Of The East”

 

Unlike Rowan, who hadn’t recognised me straight away, the farmhands let out a loud cheer when I joined them to eat. There was over a dozen of them but only three men I really remembered. These men were Lettuce, who yes had been named after the vegetable, Peter and Griff. Lettuce I had remembered for never shutting up, Peter because he rarely spoke, and Griff. I remembered Griff because of the terrible jokes used to make while we fixed fences.

Lettuce was relatively small compared to the other workers but still a deal larger than myself. Peter on the other hand was largest of everyone and was more than a full head taller than me. Griff looked nearly the same as everyone else save for his lack of a beard. For all of the other farmers had bushy brown and black beards save for Rowan with his deep red hair. Griff was smarter and slightly more civilised than his co-workers, this I decided, was why we got along so well.

As was usual with farmers the table was overflowing with all manner of meats and home-grown fruit and vegetables. There was practically an entire cow their in the form of steak and I swear that some of the meat even smelt like wolf. Alongside all this food there was a large amount of alcohol, usually I wouldn’t have drunk, but this was a special occasion after all.

“So where have you been all this time?” Lettuce exclaimed throwing his arms up and spilling beer onto Rowan who swore at him.

“Over the mountains my friend! There’s so very much of the world that you miss out on here in Silvermouth, and the women! Oh the women, they make your women here look like pack animals!”

“Ah but Danny you forget, they’d never go for a small fry like you anyway, they’d want a real man like me!” he laughed and skulled what remained of his beer.

I wasn’t really a “small fry” as he put it, but a lifetime of working on had made all of these men into giants.

“You may have larger muscles than me Lettuce, but we all know what really counts” I winked at him and everyone started to laugh.

Everyone started to dig into the food for a moment before anyone spoke again. I was starving and started off with a colossal piece of steak, devouring it as quickly as I could.

“What brings you back here?” said Peter.

“Travelling is fun” I lied wiping juices from my face “but there’s quite no place like home as they say”

“Will you be staying for long?” Lettuce piped up again.

“A few days possibly, I have some… business, further to the east that still needs resolving”

Rowan shot me a glance across the table over the top of his beer mug. He knew that I’d come to see him about something, now he would be deciding what it was now. He was a smart man after all.

“Well then, you can come into town with us! We’re going not tomorrow but the day after” Lettuce screeched shooting to his feet.

“What for exactly?”

“Forgotten have we? Rowan’s birthday of course!”

The men all cheered and hit their mugs together before drinking in unison. I remembered now, Rowan’s birthday was early in spring, or at least that was when we had always celebrated it. We would always go into town and frequent various houses that were full of “wonderful women” as Lettuce described them.

“Sounds like a good idea, it’ll be just like old times” it wouldn’t really be that good, I never enjoyed it much.

“Tomorrow though, you’ll be working on the farm as per usual”

“That won’t be necessary Danny” Rowan said quietly but forcefully.

“Don’t be like that old man! It’s only fair I do my share of the work while I stay here”

He grinned and brushed a bunch of breadcrumbs from his deep red beard. Rowan knew my story, and I knew his. He had been squired to a knight in a past lifetime as he called it; the happiest part of that life had been spent with a girl. Something had happened though, she had died, and that’s why he had come here and started the farm. Leaving was the only way to keep her off his mind. He had been around twenty. I laughed inside my head, we were the same me and him. Even more so now than when I had first met him.

The rest of the night was a blur of talking to and remembering each of my old friends. I’d probably forget about them in the weeks to come when I resumed my hunt of Symonds. At the moment though, it all gave me something to be cheerful about. After everyone finished Rowan sent them all on their way and sat back down at the table across from me.

“I’m guessing you have a reason for coming back, memory playing up again Danny? Need reminding some things?” he knew exactly why I was here.

“Yes, well that and I have some things to tell me…” I was scared to tell anyone about Symonds, even Rowan.

“We can talk tomorrow night, for now I suggest you get some sleep, you look tired, the spare room’s just behind you”

 “If it’s all the same to you… I’ll sleep in the barn, I miss the old place”

“If you want Danny, I’ll send one of the lads over in the morning with something for you to do”

He finished the last of the beer and stepped towards his bedroom, stopping in the doorway.

“Goodnight Danny”

“Goodnight old man”

I left Pandora tied up with Rowan’s black horse and started off down the track to my barn. I staggered around for the most part unable to walk in a straight line properly. I wasn’t drunk but I wasn’t exactly sober either, plus I wasn’t used to drinking. The road seemed to bend away from me as I went even though I knew it to be straight. It was like a snake slithering away from me.

It probably took a few hours for me to get back in my drunken stupor and I fell asleep almost instantaneously. It had been a good idea to come home. I was almost happy.

 

 

Peter came by my barn in the morning, bringing to me Pandora and breakfast. Apart from me thanking the giant man neither of us spoke a single word until we left. I liked that about him, although not much was said I still felt like I knew him, whether he felt the same way though, I had no idea.

It was a beautiful day outside, the chirping of birds and buzzing of insects could be heard all around. These birds could also be seen flying through the apple trees eating bugs that would otherwise ruin our crop. This was all backed by the silvery mountains which reflected the sunlight with such intensity that it forced me to squint.

“Rowan wants you to go help Lettuce fix some fences, wild horses damaged part of them the other day, and a lot of the others just need replacing from general wear and tear”

“Whereabouts is Lettuce?”

“The cow paddocks, in case you can’t remember just take the road down and around to the left” Peter pointed to the paddocks down behind the apple trees on my left.

I nodded and watched as he rode off leaving only a trail of dirt and dust in his wake.

After he disappeared out of sight we sped off in the opposite direction to him and towards the cow paddocks. It was only a short ride and we arrived to see Lettuce lazing about in the shade of a Megalo tree.

“Well you certainly took your time getting up Danny boy, I can still remember the days when you used to be the one waiting for me” he said in jest.

“And good morning to you too Lettuce, I’m glad to see you’re still going to be a pain in my backside”

Whether I was still drunk from the night before or just tired I slipped while dismounting Pandora and fell to the ground in a cloud of dust.

“We haven’t even started yet and you’re already on your arse!” he exclaimed whilst suppressing a laugh “get up already and grab a bundle, we’ve got work to do”

“Yep” I said lifting myself from the ground “I’ve been looking forward to it all morning”

It took almost the entire day to replace all of the fences with Lettuce, I was exhausted. I hadn’t done any hard work since I had worked as a blacksmith, then though my work had been appreciated and I had had something to look forward to at the end of the day. I had spent the entire day thinking about that, I would be telling Rowan about all that soon.

“Have you ever wondered whether there’s something more to life? Like some bigger purpose or something” Lettuce said sounding more solemn than usual.

“I’m sorry, what?” I was taken aback, he was never usually like this.

“I just mean… well, I’ve spent my entire life here, working for Rowan and occasionally visiting brothels in town where I spend all of my earnings just simply because, but, what if there’s something I’m supposed to be doing with my life, you know what I mean?”

I stayed quiet and perfectly still where I was under the Megalo tree thinking about what he had said. What was my purpose? Was it to kill Symonds and make the world a better place? Or was I just doing that because it was all I knew? I threw the thought away quickly, I had my reasons, and they were enough.

“I don’t know if we all have a purpose, what I do know is that you have to make the best of what you have, isn’t that purpose enough?”

“I guess so Danny I guess so… you looked surprised before, not used to me thinking about things eh?” Lettuce pulled a funny face at me as he spoke.

“Oh no, I’m used to you thinking, just not with your brain or about anything other than your ‘wonderful women’”

He laughed like a madman before getting to his feet, “Speaking of women, I might get going, need to rest up for tomorrow Danny, I’ll see you then”

“Yes I’m looking forward to it” I really wasn’t it had been fun when I was younger but it wouldn’t be anymore, not after everything.

He turned to leave and then stopped, “Oh and by the way, theres some food for you in the pack under the tree, I figured you’d be hungry after working as per usual”

“You guys know me far too well for my own good!” I called out to him as he continued to walk away.

“It’s our job, we’re practically family after all Danny!”

Family, I could live with that.

Once he was gone I went and grabbed the pack, taking it out into the middle of the field. Inside the bag were a few apples and a knife to cut them up with. Retrieving the knife and an apple I cut a slice and chewed it as I looked up into the sky.

Today there were clouds, not like when I had arrived. Clouds had always intrigued me, they just floated by and watched over the land like spectral guardians. They took on many different forms and could be both good and bad, depending on whether they would rain or not. Today they were not rainclouds. And today it was not raining.

The clouds that flew past made shapes, there was all manner of animals and objects. Dogs chasing bones, birds soaring through the skies and a single lone sword that stood away from most of the other clouds. It was pointed directly at the darkest of the clods and was slowly catching up to it.

All the while I just lay there, watching the clouds move and eventually fade into nothingness. We were like the clouds, we really were. One day we too would all fade, and there would be no trace of us, it was depressing yes, but true in any case.

I finished the apples and got up. It was about to start raining. I could remember doing something similar to this when I had not been a broken man. Memories of that past life were better left unthought-of. In any case though, it was due time that I went and had a talk with Rowan about my life after leaving the farm, I knew he would understand.

The sun had already set by the time I arrived with Pandora at Rowan’s house. He was waiting for me on the porch in his old wooden rocking chair with a pipe in his mouth. Every so often a perfect circle of smoke would issue from his mouth followed by a small ball that would sail through the centre of the circle.

I called out to him, “You’re getting far too good at that, you must have way too much spare time old man”

He laughed and beckoned me over with his hand, motioning for me to take a seat. He offered me a pip which I took and he lit for me, the sweet tobacco that he kept always soothed my nerves.

“So Danny, what really brought you back?”

“Honestly I don’t know where to begin, so much has happened… and I don’t remember a lot of things anymore”

“We can start there then, how much do you remember exactly?” he pulled the pipe out of his mouth and blew another ring of smoke.

I could remember with clarity most of what had happened after the farm which Rowan wouldn’t have been able to help me with anyway. Mainly it was just my parents and my home.

“Who exactly am I? Where am I from? My parents, who are they? Just everything like that” I asked nervously.

I didn’t know whether I actually wanted to know or not, someday though I knew that I would go home, and I guess I did want to know. I waited for Rowan’s answer while he puffed on his pipe slowly, taking his time, in no hurry whatsoever.

I had no idea what I wanted him to say. The best thing probably would have been to tell me that my family had been poor. Maybe that would have excused my father’s drinking problems and his abusiveness. But, as with all things in life, nothing is ever that simple.

“Your full name is Danariel Le Pelletier, or Lord Danariel Le Pelletier have you, we always just called you Danny for short, you always preferred to be called Daniel though”

“Lord?” I laughed at the prospect.

Me, a lord? Who wouldn’t have laughed at that, I had spent a large part of my life on the streets starving half to death.

“And my parents Rowan? That would make them nobles of some kind wouldn’t it then?”

“Yes, your mother I don’t know much about, no one does really, but your father, Lord Pelletier rules over a large amount of land”

I started to remember things at Rowan’s mention of my father.

“He fought in a war yes?”

“Correct, Lord Pelletier is known to many as the Guardian of the East”

“Guardian of the East…” this brought back even more memories “…you gave me a book about him once”

Rowan nodded slowly and leaned back in his chair, looking at me as if he was a wolf and I a rabbit.

I remembered everything. My father had been just a normal soldier at first, no that’s not right, he had held some rank, nothing great though. He had spent the first year of his career only fighting on the small scale, dealing with renegades and such, putting down uprisings. That was all before the barbarians had come to invade from lands far to the east.

I wasn’t exactly a genius at geography but I knew the basics of it all. We were on a large island that was divided into three provinces or so, we were situated in the middle of these. To the east were the Badlands, or at least that’s what I called them. They were described in books a horrific wasteland, filled with fire and ash, the plants and trees had all withered and died there. This is where the barbarians had come from.

My father had been selected alongside a whole battalion of men to go to the east and fight against what was believed to be a small group of renegade barbarians. This turned out to be a full scale invasion which we were not ready for. The leader of my father’s company was slain in battle and so he was forced to take charge.

There were many accounts of his various battles against the barbarian hordes. Some of these included defending a village for three days straight, however that may have been a slight exaggeration. The first of his two main feats though, had been holding back the barbarians for long enough to allow the rest of the army to arrive.

After their arrival he had lead a series of covert attacks against a barbarian occupied stronghold. These covert operations enabled the army to attack and retake the strategic fortress. His final act in the war though, had been what had really earnt him his title and grand esteem.

After re-taking the fortress my father had spearheaded the final assault into the Badlands. The battle started to go sour and the barbarians gained the upper hand, defeat looked inescapable. That was when my father found himself in single combat amidst the chaos with the king of the barbarians. Striking down the Barbarian King he rallied the troops and routed the barbarians, and thus, winning the war.

My father was proclaimed by our king to be “Guardian of the East” after this victory. He was then built a castle from which he would keep the barbarians in check and protect us from the Badlands.

It was all for show really, after the barbaric war his days of guarding were well and truly over. The land and castle built for him in the east near the Badlands wasn’t really to watch over them from. People just always need something like that, something to make them feel safe. And a hero, everyone needs a hero to aspire to be like. That just made it all the more depressing for me. He was no hero.

“I remember,” I said, fiddling with the pipe between my fingers “though I’m not exactly sure whether I wanted to know or not”

“It’s always best to know Danny, never doubt that face” He smiled and blew a ring of smoke. It floated on the air and collided with my forehead, somehow, it made me feel a little better.

“Now, you wanted to tell me about everything that happened after you left yes?”

“Well not all of it exactly, there’s things… well one thing in particular, that I’d rather not talk about” I looked out into the darkness that had crept in on us. I could hear noises out there, the sound of horses running free across the land. One day, one day I too, would be free like them “And where to start…”

“Just go from the top” he said, grabbing my hand, and raising it to my chest “speak from in here”

It was much the same as the first time I had talked with Rowan about me life. Or at least it felt a lot like it. I told him about Piers, and everyone else who I had lead to their death. I also told him about Symonds, although, I didn’t tell him why I wanted to kill the man, I just didn’t feel like talking about it. He had seemed to draw into himself, and away from me, when I had spoken about Symonds soldier. I was sure that if I was he, that my reaction would have been the same.

There was a long moment of silence after the conclusion of my story. I attempted to blow circles of smoke as Rowan did during this time, they always fell apart on the tip of my lips though. As the last of the tobacco burnt away, I took the pipe from my mouth, and set it back down on the table.

“Danny” Rowan looked extremely troubled, was it something I had said…? “Do you really believe that you’re going about this the right way? This whole Symonds business that is”

“What?” I stopped looking out at the darkness and stood to face Rowan “he’s a murder Rowan, as bad as my father, if not worse! You always taught me to do the right thing, if I want to do the right thing here then he needs to be brought to justice, and nothing is going to stop me from getting to him”

“Are you even listening to yourself boy?” Rowan got up from his seat to meet my gaze “how is torturing a man for information the right thing?” he sounded as angry as I felt.

“He was one of Symonds men!”

“Yes Danny, he was one of Symonds men, but he was a man nonetheless, do you even know if he’s still alive?” he asked sounding slightly calmer.

“Yes old man, he was still breathing”

“Are you sure?”

I hesitated before responding, I had no idea why, “o-of course I’m sure”

“Did you even have to hurt the man?” his calm tone of voice was really starting to get to me “couldn’t you have just asked around?”

“N-n-no one knew what I to know, I h-had to do it” I kept stuttering and stumbling over my words. It started to rain.

“What about his family?” Rowan asked quietly.

“W-w-who’s family?” I coughed hoping that it would keep my from stuttering but it didn’t.

This was crazy, I had done the right thing, I always did the right thing didn’t I? I was the victim in all of this after all. I was the one who had lost everything, I was the one who Symonds had broken, I was the one who had nothing. I was the good… Wasn’t I?

“The man you killed, what about his family?” Rowan stepped out and away from his house towards the road “how do you expect them to survive without him? What if he has kids?”

“I didn’t k-kill him old m-man!” I screeched out to him in the darkness for the whole world to hear.

I walked out towards him, making sure that my strides were slow and purposeful, I didn’t want to appear aggressive despite the way I was speaking.

“Someone came by the other day, there’s a bounty on your head for the murder of that man Danny” I sank to my knees beside Rowan “the description he gave to me fits you, they’ll be after you soon”

“N-no, but I… I didn’t kill him?” I couldn’t understand, I had left the man alive, he had been breathing, I had let him live.

“Are you certain?” Rowan took a step away from me, as if too ashamed to be at my side now.

“I d-didn’t kill him Rowan, y-yes I had punched him to quiet him down, and y-yes I also shattered his knee w-with that hammer... Then there had been the wedge of wood in his leg… and I had severed a few fingers with the scythe blade… And then… and then I had punched him once more and left him alive… I left him alive Rowan” I could feel the corners of my eyes start to moisten.

“I do-“

“No” I cut him off, and the rain became heavier than I ever remember it being “I r-remember, the l-last, I didn’t punch him, I sliced his throat open”

I gasped for air between ragged sobs, and shook uncontrollably with my face buried in the dirt. I was a murderer. I had killed him, worse yet; I had enjoyed it, all of it, and it was clear to me now. I didn’t hate violence, I loved it, and I had savoured every moment of that man’s pain.

“You’ve been lying to yourself the entire time lad, just because deep down you know you can’t accept what you did, after everything you’ve done are you really any better than Symonds? Are you really any better than your father?”

My tears started to drip onto the red dirt beneath my head and form tiny puddles. They were like little raindrops. I had been better off without my memories, now they had only gone to cause me even more pain. Rowan moved towards the house, walking away from me once again.

“Stop walking away from me Rowan!” I howled, glaring at his back “h-help me, what do I do?” I lifted myself up onto my hands and knees “h-how do I stop? Stop doing bad things, s-sometimes I just can’t help it”

He sighed deeply and glanced over his shoulder at me, I’m sure he meant to say something, but there were no words, only a look.

“Rowan, what am I?”

He didn’t answer.

“Get some sleep Danny, I know you’ll leave either tomorrow or the day after, depending on whether you decide to tell me the whole story or not, if you do, just know I’ll be ready to listen, after that though, I doubt we’ll ever see each other again”

He left and went inside, but I didn’t move. I barely knew who I was anymore; I wanted to be good I really did, but Rowan was right. In almost every way I was just as bad father, if not worse, at least he had known what he was doing despite the alcohol. I was doomed to follow in his footsteps.

Despite all of that though, there was still some good I could do in this world. There was one good deed, the likes of which I could still perform. If anything, realising all of this had made me even more suited to this deed. The deed of killing Symonds.

Reviews

[Alleyway Rover]

Overall: This chapter seems to pitch and stagger like a drunk on a Tilt-a-Whirl through most of the chapter. The ending is fantastic. Danny’s quest is complicated by the fact that he is now a wanted man and his internal conflict has grown as he realized he violated his own moral code. This all made for a gripping ending, but getting there is a bit of a struggle.

It felt like you weren’t sure where you wanted to take this chapter through most of it. Your main character kinda bounces around the farm with no purpose, ideas come and go… I couldn’t get a real sense of what your main character was trying to accomplish by coming here. I think I asked this question a couple chapters back but, why come back to Rowan now? He has a lead, why not pursue it instead? What does he hope to gain by seeing his foster father and family?

Like I said, the ending is good, but there just so much other stuff in between and I get the feeling that it’s not all necessary to the story. I suggest reading through this chapter again and cutting anything that doesn’t involve whatever your main character came here to do. Whether or not he accomplishes that thing, focus on it. It is the motivation that is driving this story forward.

Additional Notes:

“He grinned and brushed a bunch of breadcrumbs from his deep red beard. Rowan knew my story, and I knew his. He had been squired to a knight in a past lifetime as he called it; the happiest part of that life had been spent with a girl. Something had happened though, she had died, and that’s why he had come here and started the farm.”

This is telling not showing. Consider a way to bring this thought into the present. If this information is important at this point in time, find a way to show us. For example have Rowen tell about, “the time I was squired to a knight,” or, “The only time I was happy as a knight was when I spent it with…”

‘“Have you ever wondered whether there’s something more to life? Like some bigger purpose or something” Lettuce said sounding more solemn than usual.”

I’m not sure why a farmhand would suddenly get all philosophical. It’s an interesting aspect to a character but, according to Danny, it seems to come out of nowhere and for no reason.

‘“Who exactly am I? Where am I from? My parents, who are they? Just everything like that,” I asked nervously.
I didn’t know whether I actually wanted to know or not, someday though I knew that I would go home, and I guess I did want to know.’
I’m not sure where this came from either. He hasn’t hinted or talked about any memory problems in the past. On the contrary he’s all too aware of where he came from. So what prompts this now? Is this really why he had to here now? If so I think you need to rethink the first chapters a little.
“I wasn’t exactly a genius at geography but I knew the basics of it all. We were on a large island that was divided into three provinces or so, we were situated in the middle of these. To the east were the Badlands, or at least that’s what I called them. They were described in books a horrific wasteland, filled with fire and ash, the plants and trees had all withered and died there. This is where the barbarians had come from.”
This strikes me as information we don’t need right this moment and it feels kinda jammed in where it doesn’t belong. I get the feeling that we are going to find ourselves in this wasteland soon enough.
“My father had been selected alongside a whole battalion of men to go to the east and fight against what was believed to be a small group of renegade barbarians. This turned out to be a full scale invasion which we were not ready for. The leader of my father’s company was slain in battle and so he was forced to take charge.”
Your probably getting tired of me saying this, but again, too much backstory. Remember your focus should be this story, the story you are writing this book to tell us. Every time you go into long tales about the past, you take us out of your story in favor of another.
‘“No” I cut him off, and the rain became heavier than I ever remember it being “I r-remember, the l-last, I didn’t punch him, I sliced his throat open”’
I like everything about the ending except this part. The fact that he had no conscious memory of this act or that he did it without intent kind of absolves him in my mind. He’s not to blame, he didn’t mean to do it. He might still feel bad about what he did but, bottom line, he didn’t violate his moral code. However, I feel like it would be so much better if he actually murdered the man, intended to murder the man and now has to deal with that fact. For one, it makes me care more about Danny. I might find what he did absolutely repulsive and brutal, but those strong feelings are what make a reader connect with the character.