Noctivagant (Chapter 5)

5 - Venator

He sat upright in his carver chair, outwardly calm as he listened to the news his subordinate was recounting, but, inside, he was furious. This was happening far too often to be a coincidence, he thought, yet another suspect disappearing into the night just hours before the brotherhood were due to arrive to conduct their appraisal.

"And no-one saw or heard anything, I suppose?"

"No, Elder Brother, the fisherman said they heard their cat yowl once in the dark hours, but nothing more. When they arose at first light, the child was gone."

"Is he telling the truth?"

"So far as we can tell - he seemed to be terrified of the consequences of not being able to produce his son, far too much so to be able to lie, his woman the same. We questioned them closely, and the sept headman too - he was to have stood advocate for the child - apparently none of them have any idea who has taken the boy, or where he has been taken. We searched the immediate area, but there was little evidence - a ladder had been moved in the rear yard, but nothing else seems to have been disturbed."

"What of the local Clergyman? This is the second such incident in his parish since last midsummer. What did he have to say for himself?"

"He could enlighten us no more than the sept, I'm afraid. He seems to have been diligent in his enquiries since the last disappearance from the Ash sept, but no sign of that child or those who removed him has come to light. Whoever is behind this seems not to be living anywhere near the rivers, on either side. The parishes of John and Levan have been investigated, in addition, and nothing untoward has been found."

"Very well. I will need you to deliver a message for me. Wait in the anteroom, please, I will call you again shortly."

"Yes, Elder Brother."

Once the younger man had left the room, the Elder Brother momentarily allowed his frustration to get the better of him, as he crashed his balled fists against the arms of his chair, but his customary self-control soon reasserted itself, as he reached for his writing materials. Even a man of his status did not write often, and this would have been obvious to a dweller in an earlier time, as he had to take great pains over the composition of his note, poring over the page like a young child might have, in some centuries-past classroom, to ensure the correct formation of the letters and words. The message that he wrote so deliberately, painstakingly, was one he'd vowed never to write, because he felt that it was an admission of failure on his part. He was going to ask for help from one who had done what most considered unthinkable - he had left the brotherhood, withdrawn from the life to which the Elder Brother had dedicated himself totally. But....the one he was writing to was the best. No question. He would be able to solve this mystery, the Elder Brother was sure of it. If he chose to. That was the unknown factor. The Elder Brother sealed the message with a sigh, and called for the young Brother waiting outside to return to his presence. He handed the folded paper over, and watched the disbelief pervade the man's face as he read the addressee's name.

"Are....are you sure, Elder Brother?"

"Of course I'm sure," the older man said sternly. "You know where to go?"

"Y....yes. I'll see to it."

"Thank you. Wait for his reply, if you will. I don't think there will be any doubt about the urgency of the situation. He knows I would never approach him unless it was unavoidable."

"Yes, sir. I'll leave as soon as I can saddle a horse."

"Thank you. Time and discretion are of the essence, I'm sure you're well aware of that. May the light speed your journey." He used the customary phrase of dismissal and farewell. The young man turned smartly on his heel and left the room. Now the Elder Brother had committed to approaching his one time colleague and....friend, if one could be said to have friends nowadays, he hoped not only to find the whereabouts of the missing boys, but the solution to the puzzle of their last-minute disappearances. Someone, it seemed to him, was betraying the Laity. When he discovered who that person was, they would pay, he would make sure of that.

****

Dawn was breaking as the man and boy climbed slowly up the steep hill from the double bridges towards the home area of the Drake sept.

"I'm tired, can we rest soon?"

"Yes, soon, Victor, once we get to the top of this hill, there's a place where we can take a break, maybe sleep for a while. We've got a long way to walk yet, but we'll go as slowly as you need, there's no hurry."

"Where are you taking me?"

"Somewhere you can be safe - somewhere those who want to harm you won't be able to find you."

"Where, though?"

"My home - you'll be able to stay there as long as you like."

"When can I go home?"

The Carpenter looked down at the boy, sympathetically, he hoped.

"I think you know the answer to that question already, Victor."

The boy looked blank for a few moments, then understanding pervaded his young features.

"I can't go home, can I?"

"Victor," the man continued gently, "you weren't tied up naked for no reason. If you went back, it would all just happen again. I know how hard this is for you, because I was once where you are now. I was going to be taken away, and someone came in the night, took me to his home, and looked after me. I was very sad to leave my family, but I'm glad now that it happened, because I've been able to learn about the world, and now I've got the chance to help someone as I was helped. I won't keep you with me if you don't want me to, but if you think about what they wanted to do to you, I hope that you'll trust me to do my best for you."

The boy nodded slightly, but then his face crumpled into a mask of anguish, and the tears came, flooding down his cheeks, almost silently, and all the more heart-rending, The Carpenter thought, for that silence. The man drew the youngster close to him, to offer what comfort he could. After a short while, the boy began to calm down again. The Carpenter gently released his embrace, and, squatting on his haunches to bring himself to the boy's eye level, gazed steadily into those eyes.

"Come along, little man. Let's go and get some rest, and then we can talk, if you want to. I know you're struggling to understand what's happened to you, but you really are safe now. I promise you that."

****

In the morning light, a rabbit sat, alert, looking all around for any sign of danger. Then, as if from nowhere, a hissing sound, and before the animal had a chance to even breathe, still less move, the arrow ploughed into its skull, bringing instant oblivion. The archer emerged from his hiding place behind the rocks of the tor, and walked towards the lifeless creature with satisfaction.

"Sorry, rabbit, but needs must," he said, as much to himself as to the spirit of the animal, "man cannot live by bread alone, as they used to say."

The archer was a mid-sized, middle-aged man, strong and weather-beaten, reminiscent of the rocks surrounding his eyrie on these high moors. After withdrawing the arrow from the rabbit's body, and cleaning the blood from the projectile, he added the animal to a number of others in a bag he pulled from his shoulder. A good morning's hunting, he thought, enough meat for more than a few days. As he prepared to make his way home, his keen senses detected something out of place in this environment - a sound, not heard for many a long day up here. A horse's hooves, at close to a gallop, if his ears didn't deceive him, the archer thought. A galloping horse, he knew, meant just one thing in his world. A messenger, riding out of his former life into the present. If they thought he was going to be drawn back to that former life, they must be even more foolish than he had imagined. He slung his bow and bag across his shoulder, turned on his heel, and strode across the tussocky grass, heading for his cottage.

The young man had arrived at the place he'd been sent to, to find it deserted. It was difficult to tell, at first glance, whether the cottage had been unoccupied for an hour or a year. He knew he'd come to the right place, because he'd been here once before, as part of an escort to the Elder Brother, one of the first missions he'd undertaken after graduating to the Laity, some three midsummers ago. He was wondering whether he should wait, look elsewhere in the area, or return to the Cloister and report his errand a failure, when he gave a violent start. A strong hand had fallen on his shoulder, and spun him around. He found himself looking into the cold, steel-blue eyes of a man much older than himself, but one who looked as though he could easily take on the young man, and three or four others besides.

"What are you doing here?"

The young man swallowed nervously, but recovering a little of his self-possession, managed to answer.

"Robert, of the Stock sept, I have a message for you from the Elder Brother of our Chapter. I am to await your reply." He handed the older man, who had released his grip, the letter he'd been entrusted with.

Robert knew that the letter was from the person the young man had said it was before even opening the sealed paper, recognising the painstakingly neat script as that of his former assistant and one-time friend. The short note within was to the point.

'Robert
You know I would never normally approach you, but the situation is critical.
Large numbers of Noctivagent children are being removed from their homes in this area before they can come to justice. We have no clue as to who is responsible, but I strongly suspect that the Evil Ones have infiltrated the Laity. As your friend and former Brother, I appeal for your help in tracking down the person or persons responsible. I know of no-one better qualified to do so. This is a matter of life or death for our organisation - you know, as well as I do, that these abominations will spread their evil message wherever they can, they may call it 'education', but I call it subversion. They will destroy us if they are given the opportunity, and the more of them that there are, the more likely they are to achieve their goals. We must eliminate them before they kill us all.
If you agree to accept this mission, your former position and privileges will, naturally, be restored to you.

My best regards

Cuthbert'

Always the passionate pessimist, Robert thought wryly. But he was right, of course - for the Laity to survive, an educated counter-culture had to be avoided at all costs. Did he care enough anymore? Probably not, but the temptation of being a detective, of the thrill of the hunt was a strong incentive to him. He'd sat in splendid isolation on his hill for five years now, maybe it was time to reengage with the world....with his world.

On that afternoon, as Victor woke, and looked sleepily into the caring eyes framed by the lined young-old face of The Carpenter, some twenty miles away, the messenger left for the Cloister with a verbal reply of a but a single sentence.

"I will accept your commission - I will be known as Venator."

And I will hunt them down, and destroy them all, he thought, as the horseman disappeared from view.

****

To be continued.

****

Love & best wishes to all

Sammy B