8

His family stood around him at daybreak on the day he left. His mother, Falicia, old beyond her years from worry, hard work and child bearing, cried and moaned about her first born leaving her to go seek his fortune. While she hoped he would come back rich, she did not believe in a golden treasure; she only knew hard work.

Next to his mother stood his father, Pontid, crippled from a fall five years ago, hunched over crutches under each arm pit, his knees pointing in, his feet pointing out in opposite directions. He had a defeated and sad look permanently on his face, depressed that his wife and children had to keep him clothed and fed. Jared’s father had tried to kill himself three times over the last five years and had so far been unsuccessful, but he kept trying and had to be watched carefully. Jared was afraid that at some point, his mother would be too tired and exhausted to keep watch. He feared this was what his father waited for, too. Jared’s father looked Jared in the eyes and gave him a nod. Jared walked up to him and gave him a hug.

“Hold on until I get back,” Jared told his father. “It will be better, you’ll see. Do it for me.” Jared looked his father deep in the eyes, but did not get the reassurance he wanted. His father just nodded at him, again. “I will take that as your promise,” said Jared.

Jared had five brothers and two sisters. The oldest, a boy, Stebin, took after their dark father, already showing signs of a beard and with black hair and black eyes, was two years younger than Jared at fourteen and the youngest, a girl, blonde and blue eyed like their mother, named Lucia, was five. These two along with the other boys, Greco, thirteen, Donid, ten, Halbert, eight and Kenid, six and the oldest girl, Catin at eleven, stood around Jared alternating between complete silence and all of them talking at once. Jared hugged each in turn, even Stubin who wanted to leave it at a manly punch on the shoulder.

“Take care of each other and our parents,” Jared said. “I expect you to do your chores everyday without complaint and when I return, we will hire others to do the work for us.” Jared’s brothers and sisters cheered loudly at this announcement.

“We will keep the home fires burning,” said Catin. She gave Jared one of her beautiful impish grins. She took after their father in hair and eyes, both black as coal, but her skin was fair and white like their mother’s. Both of Jared’s sisters, though very different in appearance, were the most beautiful girls in the region. Jared wanted to find his treasure before his sisters’ beauty faded and died they way his mother’s had.

“We will maintain the old homestead,” said Stubin. He gave Jared a double thumbs up and grinned. Stubin had brooding good looks that radiated vitality and strength and lit up a room when he smiled. Stubin told the best jokes and always kept everyone one laughing. Jared wanted to make sure that his brother never lost his sense of humor.

Each of the children were very fetching in appearance and with money behind them, they would all be able to marry up in station, thus ensuring the prosperity of the family for generations to come. Jared himself was a more contrasting combination of his parents in both looks and temperament. He had black hair, smooth and deep as raven’s wings, like his father, along with his father’s intelligence and daring. He had his mother’s crystal blue eyes and her pixyish humor that kept everyone going even in their darkest times.

Jared was well satisfied that his brothers and sisters would work hard as always while he was gone. They were in good spirits and he hoped it was enough to counteract the dull and down faces of his parents. He promised himself he would not be gone long, so that he could get back and make all of their lives easier.

Last for “fare thee wells” was Jared’s betrothed, Rosamund. Jared and Rosamund had been friends since they were toddlers and totally inseparable their whole lives. They were the exact same age, born the same year on the same day, May first. At sixteen, Rosamund was old to be yet unwed, but no one would dream of separating Jared and Rosamund. Rosamund had thick blonde hair but she had green eyes and no one knew where the green eyes had come from. Jared always told Rosamund that she was especially bless by the Oak Gods, for green was their favorite color. Rosamund was raised by a family totally unrelated to her. No one knew who her father was. Her mother had stumbled into town one day, pregnant and already in labor. She had fallen against the first door she had come to. The good wife Sossa and her good husband Harolt opened the door to see Rosamund’s mother in agony. They carried her into their home, placed her to bed and Sossa, a midwife, helped pull Rosamund into the world while her mother died. They never knew the name of Rosamund’s mother as the only sounds she uttered were birthing screams. Sossa and Harolt, never having children of their own, buried Rosamund’s mother, had a naming ceremony for the baby girl they now found themselves with, calling her Rosamund after the Rose Moon shining that May first and raised the girl as their own. Rosamund’s mother had brown eyes.

Sossa had delivered Felicia of her first born boy three hours before Rosamund came into the world, thus making Jared older than Rosamund, a fact of which he reminded her whenever he felt the need to boss Rosamund around. Of course, she never listened to Jared, as she was head strong and determined and more often than not, right. When Jared told Rosamund that he wanted to marry her and that he needed to seek his fortune before he could do so, Rosamund told him he would be successful beyond his wildest dreams. Rosamund’s positive, encouraging outlook on life was one of the things Jared loved most about her. She gave him the courage to want to go out and slay dragons. She also believed in all of his wildest dreams making him feel like a god.

She stood bravely in front of him, on the day of his leaving, a smile on her face and tears in her eyes. They just looked at each other for many minutes, memorizing their faces for the days and nights ahead when they would be alone.

They recited their usual sayings of goodbye.

“I will not be gone long,” said Jared.

“I will think of you until I see your face again,” replied Rosamund.

“I will dream of you until you are once again before me.”

“It is almost next time.”

Then they fell into each other’s embrace and held each other for a long while, not speaking.

Jared broke away from Rosamund and turned away from her before he changed his mind and decided not to leave. They had never been apart except for at night to go to their separate homes. He knew he was going to be very lonely without her. He wanted her to come with him and she wanted to come also, but they decided that since she was with child it would be best for her to stay home. At least he knew that if he did not come back, he would live on in his child, but he did not want his child to be fatherless and poor. He needed to find the fabled treasure.

He walked away from his family, waving to them as they waved and cheered him on his way. He kept looking back at them until he rounded the bend in the path that led up the mountain. Then, he faced forwarded and strode on with a determined step.

The sun was on its way to mid-day, but with two more hours to go. The day was clear and bright with little wind. Just enough of a breeze blew to keep him cool when the sun got too hot for him. He had only his shirt on right now. He wouldn’t put on any of his other close until dark and when he got further up into the mountains.

For a while, he sang and whistled a tune his mother hang sung to him as a child. Then he just listened to the birds twittering and small animals scampering through the brush. When the sun was directly overhead, Jared sat on a fallen tree trunk and sipped some of the water from the bladder he carried at his waste. At this time, he did not need to take care of his water. He knew there were several streams on the way to the opening of the caves. Right now he only need carry enough to get him up to the peaks. Before going into the caves he would fill the bladder he drank from now plus the other two that were empty right now.

From this resting point Jared looked down the mountain and he could see the tops of the village huts and houses. He could see his family’s hut on the edge of the marsh. Rosamund’s house was three houses in from his. There were twelve other homes in their village of Thorntown. He missed the village already.

Jared got up and started moving again before he had a change of heart. He started telling himself about the treasure again. Gold coins, gold and silver chains, torques and platters, uncut gems, some the size of his fist all waited for the soul brave enough to go and get it. He remembered the day the traveling story teller came to them. He told them many exciting tales and Jared listened carefully and enjoyed them. But when the man told of the treasure Jared really paid attention. When the tales were done for the evening, Jared went to the man whose name was Beando, and Jared asked Beando to tell him the treasure story again. Beando obliged, adding more details than when he originally told the story.

Beando told Jared the treasure was hidden in these very mountains that rose up from Jared’s village. They were deep in a cavern, across a saline lake, placed there by a king of long ago and then forgotten when the king died before he could retrieve his treasure. Beando told Jared that the cave entrance was at the base of the very last peak of the mountain just before the snow glaciers, where the trees stop growing and only scrub grass covered the rocks. After entering the cave, all one needed to do was to follow the single small stream that led down the natural stairs within the cave until the stream became the lake. Once someone swam across the freezing cold salt lake within the caverns, the treasure would be sitting on the other side when they got out of the water. Getting the treasure back would be easier than reaching it as it sat in the boat the old king used to put it there. And once back across the lake the boat acted as a sledge to get the treasure back down the mountain.

Jared had asked Beando why Beando had not gone after the treasure. Beando said he had no need for such riches and just as soon would leave it for a young man who had a future and big dreams. Jared told Beando, that he, Jared, was just such a man. Beando said he thought Jared just might be the one to do it. Jared wanted to know why no one else had gone looking for the treasure and Beando told him no one else believed the story. Beando also told Jared that for a silver piece now, Beando would tell Jared a special secret that would make retrieving the treasure easier. Jared thought a silver piece invested now was well worth a huge treasure for the future, so Jared ran home and got his savings and gave the silver piece to Beando. Beando leaned into Jared and whispered into Jared’s ear. Jared’s eyes were wide with astonishment and wanted to ask Beando what the secret meant. Beando told Jared he could not explain, but when the time came, Jared would know what it meant. And Beando reminded Jared to keep the secret a secret or its power would vanish when Jared needed it most.

So, Jared kept his secret but made plans to go after the treasure. At first, every one thought he was crazy. The only person that believed in him was Rosamund. The others still thought he was crazy but they became resigned to his going as he gathered the things he would need for his trip. Now here he was on his way to the last mountain peak. It would take him three days to get to the top.

He was passing the spot where the blueberries grew. There were still many on the bushes, so he stopped and ate his fill. When he had eaten enough for now he picked more to go with whatever meat he caught for the night. He filled one of his empty pouches then began walking again. This part of the mountain was fairly easy going. The path was well worn as this was the same way the shepherds went for summer pastures. They had already come down as snows were threatening to fall in the mountains.

Jared would camp at the first alpine hut tonight. It would still be light enough by the time he got there for him to place one the traps always kept there and to look for wood for a fire. By the time he got a good fire going, he should have something caught to eat. A nice mountain hare would make a great roast to go with his blueberries.

Jared was thinking himself into a good hunger so he picked up his pace. He reached the hut in record time and with plenty of daylight left. Jared placed his pack in the hut. He took one of the small game traps that hung on a hook from the hut’s wall. Jared went out into the bush and using some of the blueberries as bait, he set the trap. Then he went to the woods on the other side of the clearing to look for fire wood. There was plenty of wood to be had lying all over. Jared made four trips to get wood so that he’d have enough to cook his food and keep himself warm all night, plus there would be extra for the hut’s stores. He would burn plenty of wood tonight and stay very comfortable because he did not know how many comfortable nights he would have on this journey.

After getting a good fire roaring in the pit, Jared went back to check his trap and he had a big fat hare in the noose. Jared cut the rabbit down and took it to the stream that ran behind the hut. There he skinned the animal and skewered it on a branch. He took the hare back to the fire and put it on the spit. While the rabbit roasted, he went back and cleaned the hare’s skin then stretched it on one of the frames he found leaning on the side of the hut. He checked his fire and his roast, went back to the creek to clean his tools and himself and then went back to the hut. By this time it was dark so he sat by his fire waiting for the rabbit to finish cooking.

Jared didn’t have long to wait for his dinner. He took the rabbit off of the fire and pulled it apart. He enjoyed his fill of the hare with his blueberries for afters. He had plenty of both to break his fast in the morning. He covered the outside fire pit with dirt to put out the fire. He brought the remainder of his food inside the hut, closed the door and hooked the rope latch over the peg on the door frame.

Jared hung his leftover food from the rafters. He added wood to the gently glowing coals in the fire pit. He laid his leather cape over the relatively fresh straw in the sleeping corner, laid himself down and covered himself with his woolen cape. He was asleep as soon as he closed his eyes.