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Authors: Lee Duigon
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sorry—but would anybody even want him back? What good was a king who ran away? He thought of the chieftains sitting in their black tent, and shuddered. They wouldn’t be pleased with him!
“Wherever you go, I am with you. Whatever you do, I shall protect you.” Jandra said that; but it was really God, using her to speak to him.
Ryons felt the need to pray. He peered into the darkness, in case that was where God was, and said, “Lord, I’m sorry I ran away! I didn’t mean it, and I won’t do it again. Tomorrow I’ll go back, I promise.
“I don’t know why you want me to be a king. I’m not even sure what a king is! But Obst says we have to obey you, and always try to do whatever you want us to do and be whatever you want us to be. And I reckon he’s right, or you wouldn’t have made him our teacher.
“But I wish you’d answer me, because it’s dark out here and I’m lonesome. I used to think I was lonesome, sometimes, when I was a slave, but that was nothing. Now I have friends, and I ran out on them, and it makes me feel sick and sad to think of it.”
He waited and waited for an answer, but no voice, no words, came out of the darkness. Obst must not have taught him, yet, everything he ought to know about how to pray. He was just sitting alone under a fallen tree, talking to himself. Anyone could do that.
Yet even as that last thought slipped away, he also thought of Jandra, who said, “I am with you.” And he believed God’s word and fell asleep on his bed of ferns.
CHAPTER 10
The Forest and the City
Under ordinary circumstances it would have been an easy thing for Helki’s woodsmen to track down Ryons and bring him back to the castle. Helki himself could have done it in a day.
But no, the king’s army had a divine command to go to Obann, and the chiefs were determined to go without delay. Men would have to stay behind to garrison the castle, protecting the settlers from outlaws, but all of the former Heathen would be marching on to Obann.
“I hate to leave him flailing around in the woods, and that’s a fact,” Helki said to Obst.
The old man shook his head. “It’s out of our hands, Helki,” he said. “I love that boy as if he were my own flesh and blood, but God Himself has promised to take care of him. We all heard Jandra prophesy as much. We’ll see him again; I’m sure of it. But not here, in Lintum Forest.”
“I ought to go after him,” Helki said. “It wouldn’t take me long. What business do I have marching with an army?”
“You have the business God has sent you,” said Obst.
So they made their arrangements. Helki’s most trusted woodsmen would stay behind to hunt for the settlement and stand guard over it. Although he’d quelled many of the outlaw chiefs, Lintum Forest was a big place, and there were still bandits in it who had not been reformed by Helki’s rod. Once word spread that he and his army had gone away, there might be trouble in the forest.
The chieftains studied their scouts’ reports and consulted as to the best route to take to Obann. As far as anyone could see, the plain was empty now, the Great Man’s armies all having passed the forest. The fighting men looked to their weapons, the horsemen to their horses, the footmen to their boots. Abnaks busied themselves making pairs of extra moccasins, as many as they could finish in so short a time. Most of them had never seen a city before and were eager to clap eyes on the far-famed walls of Obann.
The old subchief, Uduqu, sharpened his stone axe and put a good edge on his scalping knife.
“I’m getting too old for this—but not as old as you!” he said to Obst. “I wonder if God is just sending us to Obann to be killed. What do you think, old man?”
“Our King Ozias, who wrote the Sacred Songs, was a man of war,” Obst said, “and he knew God as a God of battles. But he also knew Him as a God of peace. ‘How good it is for men to live in peace together! For the Lord has hitched
“Wherever you go, I am with you. Whatever you do, I shall protect you.” Jandra said that; but it was really God, using her to speak to him.
Ryons felt the need to pray. He peered into the darkness, in case that was where God was, and said, “Lord, I’m sorry I ran away! I didn’t mean it, and I won’t do it again. Tomorrow I’ll go back, I promise.
“I don’t know why you want me to be a king. I’m not even sure what a king is! But Obst says we have to obey you, and always try to do whatever you want us to do and be whatever you want us to be. And I reckon he’s right, or you wouldn’t have made him our teacher.
“But I wish you’d answer me, because it’s dark out here and I’m lonesome. I used to think I was lonesome, sometimes, when I was a slave, but that was nothing. Now I have friends, and I ran out on them, and it makes me feel sick and sad to think of it.”
He waited and waited for an answer, but no voice, no words, came out of the darkness. Obst must not have taught him, yet, everything he ought to know about how to pray. He was just sitting alone under a fallen tree, talking to himself. Anyone could do that.
Yet even as that last thought slipped away, he also thought of Jandra, who said, “I am with you.” And he believed God’s word and fell asleep on his bed of ferns.
CHAPTER 10
The Forest and the City
Under ordinary circumstances it would have been an easy thing for Helki’s woodsmen to track down Ryons and bring him back to the castle. Helki himself could have done it in a day.
But no, the king’s army had a divine command to go to Obann, and the chiefs were determined to go without delay. Men would have to stay behind to garrison the castle, protecting the settlers from outlaws, but all of the former Heathen would be marching on to Obann.
“I hate to leave him flailing around in the woods, and that’s a fact,” Helki said to Obst.
The old man shook his head. “It’s out of our hands, Helki,” he said. “I love that boy as if he were my own flesh and blood, but God Himself has promised to take care of him. We all heard Jandra prophesy as much. We’ll see him again; I’m sure of it. But not here, in Lintum Forest.”
“I ought to go after him,” Helki said. “It wouldn’t take me long. What business do I have marching with an army?”
“You have the business God has sent you,” said Obst.
So they made their arrangements. Helki’s most trusted woodsmen would stay behind to hunt for the settlement and stand guard over it. Although he’d quelled many of the outlaw chiefs, Lintum Forest was a big place, and there were still bandits in it who had not been reformed by Helki’s rod. Once word spread that he and his army had gone away, there might be trouble in the forest.
The chieftains studied their scouts’ reports and consulted as to the best route to take to Obann. As far as anyone could see, the plain was empty now, the Great Man’s armies all having passed the forest. The fighting men looked to their weapons, the horsemen to their horses, the footmen to their boots. Abnaks busied themselves making pairs of extra moccasins, as many as they could finish in so short a time. Most of them had never seen a city before and were eager to clap eyes on the far-famed walls of Obann.
The old subchief, Uduqu, sharpened his stone axe and put a good edge on his scalping knife.
“I’m getting too old for this—but not as old as you!” he said to Obst. “I wonder if God is just sending us to Obann to be killed. What do you think, old man?”
“Our King Ozias, who wrote the Sacred Songs, was a man of war,” Obst said, “and he knew God as a God of battles. But he also knew Him as a God of peace. ‘How good it is for men to live in peace together! For the Lord has hitched
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