Even with the warm pulse of Shira's moonstone tingling next to my skin, I
couldn't take my eyes off the Zo. All we could do was run while Kalten
stood his ground, holding five Wendeka at bay while she tried to keep the
rest of us standing. Five Wendies, whose skins we now had gathered and
bundled into a parcel for the journey home, thanks to him. Kalten was
bleeding badly too, but waited with his axe readied some 20 yards farther
down the path.
I'd never seen courage like his before. There are heroes and fools, but
the fire in Kalten's eyes as he stared at the rocks toward the bend betold
an unshakeable -- almost blind faith -- that he could handle whatever the
gods sent our way or gladly die trying.
While Shira's spirit sealed my wounds and the four others waited patiently
for her aid, Kalten muttered something toned like a curse and glanced back
once our way. "Run" was all he said, whether to us or to his own feet, no
one could tell. We'd seen enough by then to guess though. The others
headed north up the path, but I couldn't help following Kalten when he
bolted south toward the rocky bend. His own howl drowned out the echoing
grunts of wendeka as he rushed toward them.
"We're clear, Kalten!" Shira yelled.
"She says we're clear, Kalten!" I repeated.
He moved forward. I saw the fangs of two more tear deeply into his arm,
but the Zo just bit back into the one and hacked his axe deep into the
other.
"We're CLEAR!" I shouted again, but the Zo wouldn't back off. An agile
sidestep brought the two wendies crashing against one another while he spun
to place his blade just above the shoulder blades on the one, causing it to
drop on the ground. He gnashed his teeth with the effort of freeing the
blade. The other wendeka gashed him hard on the hip, and Kalten faltered to
one knee. I thought at first the force of Kalten's howl had blinded me,
until I forced myself to look through my own clenched eyelids.
Kalten stood -- now over the bodies of both wendeka -- and forced his femur
back into place. My gaping mouth betold the wierd mix of horror and
jubilation that swept over me. Kalten's lip raised in a snarled smile, and
he barely limped back north up the path.
"Let's go, Nubbin," he said as a chudkle. My Halfling sensibilities
weren't offended in the least. Neither fool nor hero, that one.
The trip back to town was without event, save for the idle vermine which
even I could easily handle. I'd determined to buy the Zo a Beer o'
Gratitude at least for saving our hides -- and that of now seven Wendeka too
-- single handedly there in the passes. Kalten obliged me, an honor and
worth every single coin I had in my rathide pouch -- even if he'da downed a
keg and not just a dozen beers.
Somewhere between the third and the seventh, I finally mustered the mettle
to ask him about his courage. Somewhere between the eighth and the tenth,
he finally looked up at me and answered, "Tor."
"The Purple Tor?" I asked.
"No," Kaltan said as his head shook from side to side. "S'in the heart of
the Tor."
"Courage?" I inquired.
"S'a peaceful little critter, but you don' wanna stir 'im up. Tor's got
lotsa guts, and backs it up with what only two teeth he's got."
I nodded quietly, feeling bad I'd stayed while he got that drunk.
"The Shamen see it. Asa boy, they told me," he explained. He held his
finger up to his lip and sprayed a ssshhhhhhhh in my face.
"You want courage?" he said, as he stared uncomfortably long into my eyes
waiting for my answer.
I nodded. "Sure, I suppose everyone wants courage."
"Courage in the Tor. Gotta do...." Kalten held up two fingers. "Two
things. One. Break open his shell. Two -- and fast -- grab his still
beating heart and swallow it. Then you'll have his courage. Tor courage.
That's my courage." He replaced his finger back on his lips and sprayed me
once more.
The whole idea seemed too gross to me. Swallow a still beating heart?
Anyway, I've tried asking him about it later when he was sober, but he
wouldn't claim to even remember what we talked about. No other Zo admits to
having ever heard such a thing, but most of 'em just glare at me when I ask.
I dunno whether it's true. But that's what I was told about courage from
the most courageous fella I knew.