Sometimes a hill is long and thin, and you can walk along it all day with the land sloping down on both sides of you. Sometimes you might be going up a little bit, or going down a little bit, but you are still on top. When a hill is like that, we call it a ridge. The hill that Garibaldi and Sallina were walking along was a ridge. On their left the land sloped down to the river, and on their right, it sloped down towards the Duke's estate. They followed the path that ran along the top of the ridge.
Neither of them wanted to meet anyone as they went along the path, so they watched the path ahead of them, trying to see if anyone was coming the other way. They looked down the slopes on either side, but they could not see far because the forest was thick with bushes and fallen trees.
Garibaldi looked back the way they had come. "I think we should try to run, if you don't mind."
"Why not ride your horse?" Sallina said.
"We could, but she would soon be tired, and I want to save her strength."
"What for?" Sallina said, "Don't we need to go as fast as we can, right now, so we can get away?"
Garibaldi did not answer right away.
"Well?" Sallina said.
Garibaldi stopped and patted Eliza on the neck. Her brown coat was warm and smooth. "I suppose you're right," he said, and he looked at Sallina. "Okay, let's ride her."
Garibaldi pulled himself up into Eliza's saddle and offered his hand to Sallina. She took his hand and grabbed the back of the saddle. She looked for something to put her foot in so she could step up behind Garibaldi.
"Where are your stirrups?"
"I don't use them," Garibaldi said.
Sallina frowned. He didn't use stirrups? How strange. She jumped. Garibaldi raised her firmly with his strong arms and she found herself sitting in the saddle behind him. Her chest was pressed up against him, and her legs were on either side of Eliza's tummy. She put her hands on the back of the saddle and lifted herself up off the lumpy leather.
"Are you comfortable?" Garibaldi said. Sallina was wiggling around behind him.
"The back of the saddle is sticking into my bottom."
Garibaldi moved forward as far as he could. "How's that?"
Sallina sat down into the saddle and slid forwards. Now she was really squashed up against Garibaldi. She put her arms around his tummy so she could hold on, and rested her head against his neck.
"That's fine," she said, and smiled.
Garibaldi shook his head and squeezed Eliza's sides with his heels. She started to trot, and they went along as fast as child running. Eliza's back went bumping up and down.
After a few minutes, Sallina said, "Can we canter? It will be more comfortable."
It may seem strange to those of you who have not ridden a horse, but going a little faster makes for a smoother ride. The horse starts moving its legs in a different way, and its back stops bumping up and down. So Garibaldi squeezed Eliza's sides again. She went faster, and a little faster still, and her stride changed. She was cantering along the path, going as fast as an adult running. Her back stopped bouncing up and down.
"Thank you," Sallina said said.
Sallina sat comfortably in the saddle and watched the trees go by.
"Will she get tired soon?" she said.
Garibaldi looked back so Sallina could hear him answer. "She'll go for half an hour or so."
Before half an hour had passed, the path they had been following turned off the top of the ridge. Garibaldi and Sallina knew that the path went down through the forest to the Duke's estate. They did not want to go that way. They wanted to follow the top of the ridge and enter the Deserted Forest. But there was no path for them to follow to the Deserted Forest. Garibaldi pulled on Eliza's reins and she came to a stop at the turn. She stood on the turn in the path and panted. Her big lungs filled and emptied underneath the two riders. Her breath came out of her nose in loud snorts.
"We must go into the forest. But we can't ride in there. The branches are too low," Garibaldi said, "I think we should lead Eliza and run."
"Okay," Sallina said. She slid off the saddle and dropped to the path beside the horse.
Garibaldi did the same. He patted Eliza on the neck. Her coat was warm and damp. She looked at him through one of her big brown eyes.
"Good girl," he said.
Sallina looked back along the path, back the way they had come, back towards her home. She thought of her mother and father, and her younger brother. When would she see them again? What was happening to her? What was she doing riding into the Deserted Forest with a chest full of gold and the woodcutter's son?
She shook her head. "Money is the root of all evil."
Garibaldi was looking back down the path as well. His father would soon find out what had happened, and figure out what Garibaldi and Sallina had decided to do. For some reason Garibaldi was sure that his father would smile at the thought of his son going off with Sallina and a chest of gold. But Garibaldi would miss his father. Their days in the forest together were good days. He looked back down the path and he felt like crying. There were tears in the corners of his eyes. He looked at Sallina, hoping that she had not seen them. She was crying herself, and wiping her nose on a blue handkerchief. She looked up at him. "Oh, Garibaldi, what is going to happen to us?"
Garibaldi watched a tear slide down the smooth skin of Sallina's cheek, and looked into her eyes. He did not know what to say. But as he looked into her eyes, his heart beat faster, and he felt that he did not care where they were, or where they were going.
Sallina looked away and wiped her nose.
Garibaldi wondered what he should say. What did she want him to say? What would his father say? He remembered sitting with his father the night before, at the dinner table. His mother was standing in front of the fireplace with one hand on her hip, and the other hand holding a wooden spoon. His father was smiling across the table at Garibaldi. His mother said, "You know they all wish they had a man like mine." His father looked at her. "What kind of man is that, my dear?" She pointed the spoon at him and said, "You know what I'm talking about."
What was his mother talking about? Garibaldi did not know.
"I don't know what's going to happen to us," Garibaldi said, "But we made our decision. We have to keep going, and we have to go as quickly as we can. So let's go."
Garibaldi started walking into the dark, quiet forest, leading Eliza by her reins. Sallina waved goodbye to the path that led back to her home, and followed him.
On and on they went, along the ridge, up and up, and then down and down again, pushing their way through the plants that grew beneath the trees, and leading Eliza around the pine trees with the lowest branches. They saw no-one, and heard nothing but the chirping of a bird here and there, and the rustling of small animals among the dried leaves on the forest floor.
"Is this the Deserted Forest?" Sallina said.
"No, we must cross a stream and a plain of grass first."
They kept going. In a while, they came to the stream. Garibaldi took his socks and boots off, Sallina took her sandals off, and they waded across. Eliza following on the end of her reins. They climbed a gentle slope. At the top of the slope there was an open space covered with grass. There were several deer standing in the grass, but when they saw Garibaldi step out of the trees, the deer ran away. Their white tails bounced up and down as they went towards the forest on the other side of the grass.
"Wait a second," Sallina said, "Lets stay back in the forest for a minute to see if anyone else is here."
They waited, but they saw no one.
"We should cross the grass as quickly as we can," she said, "Let's ride Eliza."
"No," Garibaldi said, "She might get her foot stuck in a rabbit hole, or twist it on a rock. The soil is rocky here, that's why there are no trees. With us both on her back, she might fall over and break her leg."
Sallina looked at the grass and the rocks. "Well, let's run, then."
They ran.
By the time they reached the forest on the other side, they were hot and tired. Sallina stood in the cool shade of the trees and breathed deeply. She looked around her. She was standing beneath a huge tree with leaves like green slivers. Many old leaves had fallen on the ground beneath the tree and turned brown. Nothing seemed to be able to live under the tree, with all those sharp, dead, little, brown leaves. She looked into the forest. There were many of the same type of tree. Nothing grew beneath them. She could see a long way through the forest under the trees.
"What spooky trees."
"They are yew trees," Garibaldi said, "and they often grow in graveyards."
Sallina shivered. "I suppose this must be the Deserted Forest."
"Yes, it is."
"Must we really go into it?"
"If we cross the forest, we will come to the sea, and there, we can take a boat to somewhere far enough away that the Duke won't find us."
Sallina took a deep breath. "Okay, let's go."
They walked into the forest. Soon they could not see the sun shining on the grass behind them. The trees stretched out in every direction, as far as they could see. Garibaldi stopped and looked at the ground. There was a large brown lump there with some flies sitting on it.
"There's a black bear nearby," he said.
"Is it dangerous?"
"Not unless it smells food, like cheese or ham. They love ham."
"Well we don't have to worry, then. We have no food." She frowned. "I left my shopping basket behind."
Garibaldi started walking. Liza stood still, her head held low, until Garibaldi pulled firmly on the reins.
"We will be hungry by the time we get to the sea," he said.
"I'm already hungry," Sallina said. She took a few quick steps and caught up with Garibaldi. "And thirsty, too."
They walked on into the forest. It was getting dark when they came across a small stream. Garibaldi put a handful of water in his mouth. He sloshed it around for a while and swallowed. "It's okay to drink."
By scooping up water in her hands, Sallina drank until she was no longer thirsty.
"That's better," she said, "Now it's time for supper. Where are we going to sleep?"
"I don't know. Let's keep going for another half an hour and see if we can find a good place."
Soon after, they found what they thought was an animal trail. But when Garibaldi looked at it more closely, he saw shoe prints, and brush-marks on the dirt.
"Someone has been this way today," he said. He pointed at the brush-marks. "He was out gathering wood. He dragged a branch along the path."
"I thought this forest was deserted."
"So did I."
"Shall we follow the footprints to his house?"
"I think we should," Garibaldi said, "If he drags firewood, he's probably a hermit or something. He may not want to see us, but he probably won't hurt us, and he won't know about our gold, or the Duke chasing us."
"And perhaps he has some food."
"I'm sure he will have some food. Let's take some money out of the chest right now. We can use it to pay for supper and a place to sleep."
They took four gold coins out of the chest, two for each of them, and followed the footprints. After a few hundred paces, they rounded the bottom of a steep hill and saw a clearing in the forest. In the middle of the clearing was a small stone cottage. Outside the cottage were some vegetable patches, some young corn stalks, and a few chickens. Behind the house was a little stream of clear water. Outside the front of the house was an old man sitting in a big wooden rocking chair, smoking a pipe. He looked at them and smiled.
Sallina and Garibaldi stood still.
"Do you think he is a sorcerer or something?" Sallina whispered.
"No, I think he's an old man who lives in the woods," Garibaldi said.
The old man said, "Greetings, strangers," and took a deep puff on his pipe. He blew the smoke out in a big, gray cloud.
"Good evening, sir," Sallina said, "We are traveling to the sea, and we were planning to sleep in the forest, but perhaps we could purchase some food from you, and a place to sleep under a roof for the night."
The old man took another puff on his pipe and rocked on his chair. He looked first at Sallina and then at Garibaldi. He took his pipe out of his mouth.
"Two young people going to the sea," he said, "And perhaps with other people chasing them. You must be frightened and hungry." He smiled. "Of course you can stay here. I will be glad of your company, and if you want to tell me your story, I will be glad to listen."
"You are very kind," Sallina said.
The old man went inside and came out again with some corn for Eliza. Garibaldi and Sallina took off Eliza's saddle, brushed her coat, gave her the corn and a bucket of water, and went inside. The old man was making supper.
"Will you tell me your names?" he said.
"I am Sallina, and this is Garibaldi."
The old man looked up and nodded. "My name is Ephistra."
Ephistra made rabbit stew with onions and potatoes. After their long day, Garibaldi and Sallina thought the stew was delicious, and the three of them together ate all there was in the pot. Afterwards, the old man lit his pipe. They sat around the fire with a candle on the table to give them light.
"So," Ephistra said, and blew a puff of smoke into the air. The smoke curled around the candle, and drifted towards the ceiling. "Are you being followed? I ask because I would like to know. Some visitors I like, but others I do not. Angry fathers and mothers, or policemen, are the sort of visitors I don't like."
Sallina reached into her pocket and took out her two pieces of gold. She held them out to the old man. "Here, these are for you. Please take them."
The old man took the coins and held them close to the candle so he could see them better. He looked at both sides of each coin carefully. "Hmm. These are old. This is the face of Duke Bloggwater, who died over a hundred years ago." He put the coins in his pocket. "Thank you, young lady."
"You're welcome. Thank you for supper."
The old man nodded.
"We're not running off to get married," Garibaldi said.
"You don't plan to get married?"
"No, of course not," Sallina said.
"Why of course not? Don't you make a good pair?"
"That's not why we're running," Garibaldi said.
He and Sallina told the old man their story.
When they were finished, he said. "I can see that you are both frightened, and you have told me your story because you wanted my advice. I am an old man, and you probably think I am wise. Perhaps I am. But I can tell you that in the future, you must keep that chest of gold of yours a secret. In the places you are going, there will be many people, perfectly nice-looking people, who would kill you to take that gold away, if there really is as much of it as you say."
"There is," Garibaldi said.
"You probably want to know if I think you did the right thing. Do you?"
Sallina and Garibaldi nodded.
"I don't think you did."
Sallina let out a sigh, and Garibaldi looked down at the floor.
"You should have kept going to the Duke's house after your fight with the three ruffians. But the fight frightened you, and the words of their leader frightened you. So long as you brought the gold to the Duke, you would have done nothing wrong, so there would be no reason to throw you in jail, no matter whether the Duke believed the three ruffians or not."
"I knew it!" Sallina said.
"You knew it?" Garibaldi said, "You wanted to run as much as I did."
"Stop!" the old man said, "Stop, and listen."
Garibaldi and Sallina sat back in their chairs.
"You also wanted to keep the gold, and you had to think quickly. You decided to run with your treasure. Now that you have started to run, I don't think you should go back. If you go back, the Duke will know that you tried to run with the gold, and he will know that the reason you came back was because you decided the gold was not worth it. He may not want to punish you, but he will have to. He will have to show his people that they should not steal from him. A Duke must make his people frightened of him, or they will not obey. Believe me, I know."
"How do you know?" Sallina said.
"I'm not going to tell you my story. We are talking about your story. And I have more to say about it. You must go on. You should go west to Godiva, and take a boat to some far-away place. You could try Troka or Belgorash on the other side of the sea, or you could go north to Plantinak."
"Plantinak," Sallina said. The name sounded exciting.
"Tonight, you must sleep in here with your chest of gold. I will sleep on my chair outside and watch for anyone coming after you. I doubt they will catch up with you today, but they will find you tomorrow. They will send their hounds after you."
Sallina frowned. Send the hounds after them? That sounded terrible.
That night, Sallina and Garibaldi lay upon two thin, straw mattresses on the floor of the cottage. They each had a blanket to cover them and they each wore all their clothes. Garibaldi did not even take off his boots.
The chest of gold rested on the floor between them. Ephistra was outside, sitting on his rocking chair in the dark, smoking his pipe. Eliza was outside too, her reigns tied to a tree.
In the darkness, Sallina said, "How can we trust him?"
"I'm too tired to worry about it," Garibaldi said.
"Is he still outside? Or has he gone to get the police?"
"He's not going anywhere through the forest at night. I trust him. Why would he lie to us?"
"He wants the gold, too," Sallina said.
"I'm sure he does, but he can't have it, except for another two pieces that I'll give him tomorrow."
"What if he sneaks in here in the middle of the night and tries to kill us?"
"I'll wake up, I wake up very easily," Garibaldi said, "which is a pity, because otherwise I would be asleep right now, instead of being kept awake by you talking."
"Honestly, is that all you can think about? Sleep? Our lives could be in danger right now."
There she goes again, Garibaldi thought, making fun of him. But he was so tired, he did not care. He and his father had been chopping down trees since the sun came up, and now... now he did not care about anything but rest. Moments later, he was asleep, dreaming of his father teaching him to hold an axe.
Sallina tried to stay awake, but with the sound of Garibaldi's slow, steady breathing beside her, she found she could hardly keep her eyes open. How could he sleep at a time like this? But before long, she was asleep herself.