A Vow Tested

A sarabaite was a type of monk that often lived in pairs or trios, sometimes continuing in the ascetic tradition, acknowledging no monastic superior, sometimes dwelling in or near cities, but not always.

In a war abused world, weapons of destruction have wreaked carnage and much of the once thriving earth lies in destroyed waste. There are pockets of normal if technologically various civilisations. The wastelands are pitiless, scavengers abound, bandits are common, few good men remain, and even less faithful ones we could surmise.

Everyone wants to survive but few know how to live.

Some way distant from civilisation a pair of sarabaites live in a hillside cave in a wasteland. Prayer is their bread and butter, and faith is their meat and drink. People come to them with questions about life. Life comes to them with questions about people. So they help others by the service of wisdom. A would be disciple of theirs who lives in the city helps them by sending them food.

Perhaps amazingly bandits have never raided their cave and robbed them. Or perhaps they know a pair of ascetics have nothing worth taking, or nothing they can take, for how do you raid the central keep of the heart and lay hold of its store?

Often by a woman for a man.

Chapter One

‘There is a whole host of reasons we can’t go to Ninidom, including the fact we have vowed to never lay eyes on women again, or are you conveniently forgetting about that?’ said Gamallio the Old Faithful to his younger companion, Centen the Good Fool.

‘Brother, we haven’t had our usual delivery for weeks to supply our victuals, and very little water left now. I make it twenty two days since we last had bread. We must leave our cave to find food. It seems we have been forgotten, abandoned, or something untoward has happened to our delivery support. We have to get to Ninidom and ask for food, for here we are in this desert waste without so much as a berry bush or clump of grass around us. And besides our vow to never gaze at a woman again, I can’t think why else we can’t leave,’ said Centen.

‘It’s too far and my legs are too old.’

‘But here we are and we die of starvation if we don’t make the journey.’

‘Have faith, the deliveryman will come soon.’

‘I think we have waited too long.’

‘The vow stands.’

‘How about if, when we spot the city from a distance, we don a blindfold? And we’ll make it the rest of the way there, being close enough, hopefully?’

‘A blindfold? I don’t know, we might meet a woman on the road, and that would betray our vow.’

‘Then we’ll wear a blindfold from the point of leaving the cave and make our way there, I know it’s eastward.’

‘You know it’s eastward? But it’s a two day journey by foot, how do you suppose we navigate?’

‘Have faith.’

‘Brother, if you think you can navigate the road blind then you go, I am going to have faith that a deliveryman comes with food.’

‘I beg you come with me, brother, for without you by my side, how will I resist temptation, what if I am not strong enough without you and when I hear the sweet and charming voice of a young lady, I unbind my blindfold and gaze at the honey that falsely promises to satisfy, and that I have sworn never to taste? What if I sin grievously, falling afoul of the fornicator’s sin? You must come with me to keep me true, without you by my side, I’ll be too sorely tempted and stray.’

Gamallio paused for a moment, thinking, then said, ‘you’re right, Centen, you need me with you, you’re too weak and fickle.’

‘So we’ll go?’

‘If you would have mercy on my legs you’d have the faith our bread delivery will come.’

‘Brother, my faith is not strong enough for that.’

‘But its strong enough to guide us blind on a two day journey to the city?’

‘Yes I have enough faith for that.’

Gamallio paused again thinking, then said, ‘very well, we’ll go.’

‘Thank you brother, blessings upon you!.’

‘You’ll have to lead the way and I’ll follow, I don’t have your kind of faith to take the fore blind.’

So the sarabaites made some blindfolds from old rags they had lying about, and proceeded to leave their hillside cave to go to the city before they starved to death.

It was an especially grey day, any hint of sun was lost in the overcast misery of sky, the wasteland itself was ash grey grit with lots of glum grey rocks scattered about, near to the cave was a gravel grey road going in the direction they had to take. There was joyless drizzle, seeming set for the entire day, and a hint of mist, but far from adding any mystery to the day it clung to it like a film someone wasn’t fussed to peel off an uninteresting package.

It was about the most boring, happiness hating scene of a day to imagine with not a lot of anything about except all that wasteland grit, the rocks, and rocky hillside, a few trees here and there too, leafless and dead as slaughtered livestock, but so tall they were flirting with the clouds, OK not really, but fairly tall trees. Someone might walk past one and say, ‘that tree’s trying for triumph.’ Well, OK they probably wouldn’t and I’ve never heard anyone say that about a tree, but fairly tall nonetheless, about the most spectacular thing to see out here; but since this story isn’t about fairly tall trees, we’ll get back to the sarabaites:

‘Eastward’s that way on the road,’ said Centen.

‘That is the right way isn’t it? It’s been too long since we’ve ventured far out,’ said Gamallio.’

‘Yes, I think it is.’

‘You think it is?’

‘Have faith that it is, brother.’

Gamallio sighed, then said ‘well let’s don our blinds and you lead the way then, brother.’

So they donned their blindfolds, and to keep Gamallio guided behind him, Centen tied a rope around Gamallio’s waist and held onto it.

‘First, let’s make it to the road, we’ll know we’re on course as long as gravel and not grit is beneath our feet,’ said Centen, and began walking.

After a few moments walking Gamallio said, ‘we’ll be in trouble if we can’t even make it to the road.’

However this first part of their journey they succeeded in admirably, making it to the road without so much as stumbling over a stone, you’d never think the blind could accommodate lack of vision so well. But the road was only ten yards from their cave; the rest of the two day journey probably wouldn’t be so impressively accomplished.

So they began walking on the road, hopefully in the right direction; and, not long travelling, Centen tripped on a solid rectangular object.

‘Do you stumble brother? said Gamallio.

‘I trip on something, I’ll feel for what it is,’ said Centen, picking the object up and running his hands upon it.

‘It’s a phone. That’s lucky, a rare thing these days. Could be lucky anyway. I know the Mayor of Ninidom’s number, if it’s working I can call him and explain our predicament and I’m sure he’ll come to our aid.’

‘Don’t remove your blindfold,’ said Gamallio.

‘It will be rather difficult to use the phone if I don’t.’

‘The screensaver might have a picture a beloved woman such as a wife or daughter.’

‘I didn’t think about that.’

‘It is a good job I’m with you, keep your blindfold on and try to operate it.’

‘Er OK,’ said Centen, ‘it won’t be easy though.’

‘Have faith.’

But it soon became apparent he wasn’t going to be able to operate the device in his blindfolded state. ‘Well leave it on the road then if you can’t figure out how to do it,’ said Gamallio.

‘Perhaps I’ll eventually figure out how to use it while we continue on our way,’ said Centen

‘No, leave it, whoever dropped it might come back for it.’

‘I didn’t think about that either.’

‘Respect that somebody might search for their lost property.’

‘Very well, I’ll leave it here.

So they continued on, slowly making their way in the drizzle. After a while they heard hoofbeats coming from behind them.

‘Brother, someone approaches, this could be good fortune!’ cried Centen.

‘We shall see,’ said Gamallio.

‘Ho there travellers,’ a man shouted, the hoofbeats coming to a stop near them, ‘you look an odd pair, blindfolded, in habits, one behind the other, the blind lead the blind, eh?’

‘We must go blind for we have vowed never to look upon a woman again, and we cannot chance seeing one on the road by accident’ said Centen.

‘That’s some vow, when was the last time you saw a woman?’

‘Twenty years ago.’

‘Twenty years? That’s a while to go without so much as seeing a jar of honey.’

‘What the eye doesn’t see the heart doesn’t want,’ said Gamallio.

‘But I see you could really do with some help getting to where you are going; where are you going?’

‘We’re headed to Ninidom, to beg for food, for we die of starvation in the wasteland.’

‘I would give you bread but unfortunately I’ve been robbed of all my food, but I’m headed there too, and I’ve got a carriage, I could give you two a ride there, and get you some food when we arrive.’

‘That would be a life saver if you could do that!’ said Centen.

‘However, I’m a cabbie and I’m travelling with Helena de Gorgessica, renowned as the world’s most beautiful woman, and she’s naked to her underwear, baring smoothest suntanned skin, elegant neck, graceful rounded shoulders, slim arms, curvy thighs, soft calves, slender slightly toned waist, and ample bosom supported by pink lace, so you’d have pretty company, but you can keep your blindfolds on.’

‘Surely it’s not appropriate she travel dressed only in her underwear,’ said Centen.

‘Brigands came upon us demanding all our food and valuables, as she wore an extravagant dress studded with jewels they demanded she give it to them or they’d violently ravish her, swearing not to if she gave it to them. Honestly I was afraid they’d go back on their word once they saw her bare beauty, but fortunately they were good to their word.’

‘And you wouldn’t give her your own jacket or cloak for the sake of her decency?’ said Gamallio.

‘As I’m a dwarf, it would hardly fit her.’

‘I see, you’re lucky they didn’t take your horses, and leave you stranded,’ said Centen.

‘They said for pity’s sake they’d let us reach our destination,’ said the man.

‘Does the world’s most beautiful woman not travel with armed guard?’ said Gamallio.

‘She does but they were outnumbered and outmatched, so swiftly enough were dispatched,’ said the man.

‘Well, it’s out of the question that we travel with the world’s most beautiful woman stripped to her underwear,’ said Gamallio.

‘But you’ve hardly got a chance of getting to Ninidom walking blindfolded, it’s not just one straight line there, there’s turns and adjacent roads to take,’ said the man.

‘I’ve got faith we can get there,’ said Gamallio.

‘Yes I suppose we do,’ said Centen.

‘Well good luck to you then, sirs!’ said the man

‘You don’t happen to have a phone we could use perchance?’ said Centen.

‘Helena had one, but the brigands took it of course, but I chanced by one on the road not long ago, and have that.’

‘Well that could be lucky, perhaps you could call Ninidom’s mayor for us and explain we are in need of aid, and can’t have yours?’ said Centen.

‘That would be an idea but I only discovered the phone because one of my horses trod on it with a heavy step and the thing’s beyond any use now,’ said the man.

‘I see,’ said Centen, ‘perhaps you could advise the route to Ninidom to us?’

‘You have to keep going straight, for, ooh, a good long while, then you will come to a crossroads, do not go to the left nor the right, but continue straight, then about three miles from that point there is right turn you need to take, it’s next to a phone box, perhaps you can make a call from that to get some aid, if not take that right turn and keep going until you come across a bridge–‘

‘Is that troll bridge, if I remember right?’ said Centen

‘Yes that’s right, troll bridge, no, no it’s not troll bridge anymore, it’s trollop bridge now, so go over the bridge–‘

‘Wait, trollop bridge?’ said Centen.

‘Yes that’s right.’

‘Why’s it trollop bridge.’ said Centen

‘Well you can imagine why.’

‘Yes, but why?’ said Centen

‘I heard the troll wandered into the wildness to meditate on the deep mysteries of life, ever since a promiscuous sorceress took residence of the bridge, she has a love nest near it now wherewith she exacts a fee for crossing.’

‘How vile, and doesn’t she exhaust herself from all the strangers of the road?’ said Centen.

‘You’d think she might, you men of the cloth will have to think of some way to circumnavigate her demand, it probably depends on what mood you catch her in.’

‘Where do we go after the bridge then?’ said Centen

‘Then it’s straight on for three miles and a left turn next, there’s a phone box there too, so perhaps you can make a call from that one if you couldn’t from the last one, then down that road you’ll come across an inn, the Wyrm & Troubadour; and I’m afraid you’ll have to ask for the rest of the directions there, because I only remember the rest of the way when I actually see it. Of course it will be hard enough for you to journey that far even with my directions, given your blindfolds.’

‘With faith all things are easy,’ said Gamallio.

‘Perhaps, but it doesn’t always seem so,’ said the man.

‘Abandon your uncertainties and it can,’ said Gamallio.

‘I’ll abandon my uncertainties when cease doubt’s activities!’ said the man

‘Heaven help you with that,’ said Gamallio

‘And I bid heaven help you, you’ll need it.’

‘Thankyou for your help, God’s speed to you,’ said Centen.

‘And God’s speed to you, you’ll need it!’

With this the man set off with his carriage towing Helena de Gorgessica, and the sarabaites continued on their course, setting back off with a fervent prayer’s force.