Fire Bringer (37 page)

Rannoch took a step forward and tilted his head.

‘Their antlers?’

The reindeer nodded mournfully.

‘You mean. . . you mean your hinds have antlers?’

‘Yes, of course,’ said the reindeer.

‘Well, it seems there is a lot I have to learn,’ said Rannoch to himself, shaking his head.

But now Birrmagnur turned his own great head to the west and grunted. Across the snow Willow, Tain and the others were coming towards them. They came nervously through the snow, scenting all the time, their eyes as wide as pebbles.

‘Don’t worry,’ called Rannoch, ‘there’s nothing to be frightened of. His name’s Birrmagnur. He’s a reindeer.’

Tain looked at Rannoch as though he had just stolen the magic antlers. One by one the others came up to the reindeer and eyed him up and down. They circled him slowly and scented him, then, as was natural, the young stags knocked antlers with him. All the while Birrmagnur tolerated this like an indulgent father and when it was over he chewed the air for a while as the others looked on, hardly knowing what to say.

‘Where are you going?’ Birrmagnur asked at last.

‘North, into the High Land,’ said Rannoch. ‘I’m looking for a herd that lives near here. Herne’s Herd.’

‘We’re looking for them,’ interjected Willow.

Birrmagnur stopped chewing and eyed Rannoch with interest.

‘Why would you want to find them?’ he asked carefully.

‘That’s a long story too,’ answered Rannoch. ‘Do you know of them?’

‘Oh yes.’ The reindeer nodded seriously. ‘Any Herla that has travelled in the High Land knows them, for they rule the Herla here. They have always done so.’

‘Have you seen them?’ asked Rannoch.

‘Some of them. But not their home herd. And I don’t think I want to.’

‘Why not?’

‘They are to be feared,’ answered Birrmagnur gravely, ‘for they have dark ways.’

‘Tell me.’

‘I only know what the others told me,’ said Birrmagnur, ‘when they dared to talk about them.’

‘The others?’

‘Yes, a herd near here, in a valley to the east by the red river. I stayed with them for a while when I first came to the High Land. They call themselves the Slave Herd.’

The deer looked at Birrmagnur in astonishment.

‘They serve Herne’s Herd,’ Birrmagnur went on. ‘They collect berries for them and special fungi and in return Herne’s Herd permits them to stay by the red river. Every now and then stags from Herne’s Herd come and take away their fawns. They never see them again.’

The friends’ astonishment was turning to horror.

‘What do they want their fawns for?’ asked Willow quietly.

‘Nobody knows, but there are rumours.’

‘But how does the Slave Herd continue if they are taking their fawns?’ asked Rannoch.

‘They don’t take many. Perhaps two or three a year. For there are other Slave Herds right across the High Land.’

‘But why don’t they fight?’ said Thistle suddenly.

‘I think they’ve forgotten how,’ answered Birrmagnur.

‘Herne’s Herd has held sway for so long, since the ancient times and beyond, that they don’t really know any other way.’

Rannoch looked out from the Great Mountain. His heart was suddenly very heavy. Somewhere inside himself he had hoped that perhaps in the High Land the Herla might be free from the kind of evil that Sgorr was spreading everywhere. But now it seemed that an even greater darkness was gathering around him.

‘Can you tell me where I can find this herd?’ he asked.

‘No, my friend,’ answered the reindeer. ‘I know they are not far. Beyond a high moor. But I couldn’t lead you there.’

Rannoch looked disappointed.

‘But I could lead you back to the Slave Herd,’ said Birrmagnur. ’Then, when they come for the fawns, you could follow them. If you are really determined to find them.’

‘Would you do that for us?’ said Rannoch.

Birrmagnur thought for a while and then he nodded slowly.

‘Yes. It will not take long and it would be good to have some company again. But I will only lead you to the edge of their valley, then I will be on my way. I must get to the coast again and I am tired of the Herla in your land. They are all mad.’

So it was agreed and Rannoch and the others, with their new companion the reindeer, began to descend the Great Mountain. As they walked through the snow and the clouds on the mountain top behind them turned black and brooding, Rannoch began to question the reindeer.

It seemed that Birrmagnur had travelled to the Great Land two summers before, inside one of the carved trees that Rurl had told him about. It had been a bitter voyage and several of his number had perished on the way. But when they had reached the land – somewhere towards the west, as far as Rannoch could make out – there had been twenty-seven of the reindeer left alive. They had been herded ashore and placed in a wide stockade where humans had come to stare at them and marvel at their strange antlers and great, shaggy coats. Then the Norsemen who had first captured Birrmagnur on the icy plains of his northern home, had filled their carved trees with human food and hollow stumps full of red water and had sailed away again.

As Birrmagnur talked, Rannoch listened quietly and thought of his own time with the boy. But he also thought of what Rurl had said about the men from the north and their king; about bloodshed coming to the Great Land.

Birrmagnur had been kept in the stockade for a summer and a winter and when Rannoch asked him how he felt and what he thought of the humans, the reindeer shrugged his shoulders and told Rannoch how in his land man and reindeer often lived together. Although Birrmagnur told Rannoch proudly that he had been born rangifer or free, there were many of his kind who lived in great herds that were looked after by men called Lapps, who drove them across the snows and relied completely on them to live. They took their milk, and wore their coats and used their antlers for tools. They even used them to pull wood across the ground which they would then ride on. As Birrmagnur spoke of this relationship with man it seemed more natural to Rannoch, though he recalled the deer park too and shuddered.

Birrmagnur explained how, one day, a storm had come and broken down part of the wooden fence that had held them in and the reindeer had escaped. Not all of them, for some had become too tame. But Birrmagnur had persuaded the others to join him and together they had set out towards the north. Soon after they had been attacked by wolves. Two of their number had been killed and Birrmagnur had been separated from his friends. He had wandered for several suns looking for them, but without success, and eventually had started to travel east, avoiding the signs of man as much as he could and thinking all the time of some way to get home. He had been alone for two moons before he had come to the Slave Herd and joined them.

Rannoch soon realized he could learn much from the strange deer, for Birrmagnur knew many things. He knew about the sea and the mountains, the rivers and the waterfalls. He knew about winter and summer pastures and the spirit of the storm. But above all he knew about snow. He told Rannoch how in his land they had fifteen different names for snow. He told him how to recognize when it was coming and how long it would last. How to avoid the deep drifts and how best to forage for food. How, in the terrible blizzards that swept the northern lands, the reindeer could survive by scraping out shallow holes and lying down, huddled close together, until the storm passed.

Rannoch was deeply impressed by the reindeer and his admiration turned to wonder when, just a sun after they came off the Great Mountain, one of Birrmagnur’s great antlers dropped from his head. The second followed only a sun later and the strange deer looked even more peculiar as he led them towards the Slave Herd. When Rannoch expressed surprise that he was shedding in winter, Birrmagnur just shrugged calmly and explained that reindeer always shed in winter and, indeed, that he was surprised his antlers had fallen so late. Apparently reindeer normally shed just after the rut, at the very beginning of winter, but with no females around the process had been delayed.

In turn, Rannoch began to tell Birrmagnur about all that had happened to them since they had left the home valley all those suns ago. When he came to the mark on his head and the Prophecy, Birrmagnur did not laugh at him as Rannoch had feared he might, but shook his head gravely and looked closely at the oak leaf.

‘So that’s why you want to know about this herd?’ he whispered.

Rannoch nodded.

‘Rannoch,’ said Birrmagnur suddenly, ‘the deer from Herne’s Herd are said to have a prophecy too. I don’t know exactly what it speaks of, but they are waiting for something and it is connected with the fawns.’

That night something strange happened that unnerved Rannoch. They were sheltering from the snow in the lee of a hill and Rannoch was trying to find what food he could, when he fancied he heard a sound in the darkness above him. He wandered up to where he had heard the noise and though there was no one there, he saw deer slots in the snow. This was the route the friends had travelled, so he couldn’t be certain they hadn’t made them themselves, but the slots looked larger than their own and here and there the ground was scuffed away as though a deer had been standing there for some time.

Two suns later it had started to snow again when Birrmagnur led them to the bottom of a narrow valley with a river running down the middle of it. The deer now understood why Birrmagnur had called it the red river, for its water was a livid rust colour and when they drank from it, it tasted strange and brackish.

‘This is where I will leave you,’ said Birrmagnur.’You will find the Slave Herd up there. They are harmless enough, though odd in themselves. They’re led by a hind called Liath.’

‘A hind?’ said Thistle with surprise.

‘You will see,’ said Birrmagnur. ’Now I must be on my way again.’

Rannoch felt sad and disappointed, but he could hardly protest. Birrmagnur had already done more for them than they had any right to expect. So they took their farewells.

‘Goodbye, Rannoch,’ said the reindeer as he turned away,

‘I hope you find what you’re looking for.’

As the deer walked on up the valley they soon began to scent the new herd’s musk boundaries and spy their droppings. Almost immediately they saw four deer coming towards them. They were hinds, but when they reached the friends they completely ignored the stags and the leading hind went straight up to Willow.

‘Herne’s Hope to you,’ she said curtly.

Willow hardly knew what to say to this strange greeting.

‘Herne’s Hope,’ repeated the hind gruffly when Willow didn’t answer.

‘And Herne’s Hope to you too,’ said Willow coldly.

‘Feed well until the Coming,’ said the hind.’Where do you come from?’

Willow had taken an instant dislike to the deer. She felt like turning and giving her a kick with her hoof. Thistle came forward but Rannoch stepped in his way and nodded to Willow.

‘From the south,’ answered Willow.

‘Hmm. That’s well,’ said the hind.’For a while we thought your stags were...’

She paused.

‘But it would have been too soon for another collection, ‘she went on. ‘Where are the other hinds?’

‘There are no other hinds,’ answered Willow, ‘except me, Peppa and Bracken.’

‘So you lead the herd?’

Willow looked at Rannoch, who nodded very gently again.

‘Yes.’

‘Good,’ said the hind.’My name is Liath.’

Willow hardly cared to answer but she decided on tact.

‘Mine’s Willow. This is Rannoch. He—’

‘This is Hoy, Scappa and Aith,’ said Liath, interrupting Willow and still ignoring the stags. ‘If you come with us we will show you the herd. You are welcome enough, I suppose. At least our stags could do with some help.’

‘That’s very kind of you, I’m sure’ said Willow sharply, holding back her anger, ‘but I must ask my friends. Rannoch has been very—’

‘Do you lead or not?’ snapped Liath.’Perhaps you have been too long alone. Bring the stags and we will put them with the others.’

Liath and the hinds turned away disdainfully, leaving the amazed party alone again.

‘What cheek,’ said Willow.’I’d like to box her muzzle.’

‘I think I’ve seen everything now,’ said Tain.

‘It’s very strange,’ agreed Rannoch.

So the party followed, with Willow, Bracken and Peppa taking the lead. The Slave Herd was grazing further up the valley, around the banks of the red river. It looked a safe enough spot and there were good vantage points to spy for predators. But as Rannoch spotted the Outriders topping the hills, he realized that they were all hinds.

The main body of the herd, hinds again, were bunched together by the waterside drinking or grazing or sitting down to ruminate, and as the group approached some looked at the stags coldly or turned their backs on them, while others stared with interest at their antlers. Liath was waiting by an old wallow and she addressed Rannoch for the first time.

‘You,’ she said. ‘You’ll find the stags up there. Ask for Haarg. He’ll tell you what to do.’

Rannoch’s temper was beginning to fray but he decided to bide his time. So, with only a wink to Willow, he led the stags off up the hill.

The main stag party was a long way off. There must have been forty of them and as they approached Bankfoot gasped.

‘Rannoch, l-l-look at their heads.’

‘They haven’t got any antlers,’ said Tain.

It was true, or partly true, for though it was far too early in the year for shedding, most of them stood bareheaded – hummels – while others had the beginnings of antlers that that had grown into strange, gnarled shapes.

‘W-w-what’s the matter with them?’ said Bankfoot.

‘I don’t know,’ answered Rannoch, ‘but there’s some mystery about this place. Come on.’

He ran on up to a stag that was standing on his own.

‘I’m looking for a stag called Haarg,’ he said.

The deer blinked but said nothing and instead pointed vaguely with his head. Haarg was higher up still, chewing on some old bracken that he had uncovered beneath the snow. He can only have been about six or seven but his eyes looked tired and sad.