Chapter 31

Into the Desert

We walked at a steady pace until the sky had given up most of its light. Surrounded by hills and cliffs, we stopped. Arsenius showed us a wide, shallow cave at the bottom of an imposing escarpment where Yarrl and I would have some shelter for the night.

He disappeared as we dropped our blankets, and returned after dark with an armload of silvery-green shrubs which he piled near the cave. I wondered where Arsenius found those branches. Nothing grew nearby, so there must be underground water somewhere.

Yarrl and I each ate a wedge of hard bread soaked in salt water. We offered to share, but Arsenius declined. Abba Moses had told us the most ascetic monks were often in a state where they didn’t much care about eating and rarely did so. We didn’t mention food to him again.

While we ate, Yarrl surprised me with remarks about the flavorful, spicy food and smooth ale we’d had at the Horse Head Inn. He also mentioned how much he missed that evening fellowship with the other librarians. Relaxed, talkative and in a good mood, I realized he must feel safe with Arsenius. As did I.

When Arsenius instructed us to make sure we’d found comfortable places to sleep; it was cold and the moon had already begun to climb the sky. We grabbed our blankets and chose a wide, sandy spot in the recess he’d selected. We were ready for sleep; the day had been long, the desert walk tiring and the food not very tasty. As we lay down, Arsenius brought over some of the plants he’d collected earlier.

“Here, strip the leaves off these twigs. Then crush everything and scatter it around yourselves. I do not want you to be alarmed, but there are hideous demons in this part of the desert that could scare you if they happened to come around. I’ve dealt with these demons many times, so do not worry; I have power over them.” He was relaxed, his voice quiet as we worked on the twigs.

“Arsenius, please tell us about these demons.” Yarrl asked right away. Hearing of possible demons, I think we were both curious and a little nervous.

“Don’t fret, I’ll take care of them if they come around here and bother us.” Arsenius sounded quite confident. So although that vague response didn’t reassure Yarrl or explain anything; we remembered he had our trust and believed he intended that no harm should come to us.

“I actually spend more time in the desert than the monastery.” Arsenius continued in a calm, quiet voice. “So I’m comfortable with everything about this place, and I think you will be, too. I like the solitude here and the spirit of the Great One is very strong. I lived with greater danger during my previous life in the city, where there were people who wanted to harm me.

“Ever since I left the city, the Ultimate One has led me, and it was by way of many visions that I discovered this isolated place of safety. That may be true for you also, to be led and protected by the Great One.”

He continued to talk for a while in a way that helped us slide toward sleep, in this place that was sometimes visited by demons.

“We’re not far from large caverns that could easily handle the Library collections already here. Some are big enough to hold a small village. Be assured Yarrl, we are in the right place for taking care of your concerns until the brutal treatment of non-Christian scholars has ended, and knowledge is once again respected.” After hearing those words, Yarrl’s shoulders dropped as he relaxed. His biggest fears had vanished.

When the twigs and leaves were all crushed and scattered, their bitter odor was strong all around us. Yarrl noticed that Arsenius had left his blanket outside of our little shelter and did not afford himself the same protection.

“Why do you not have leaves, Arsenius?”

“Don’t worry,” he said. “The demons know my scent and fear me. One day, you also will feel safe and confident on your own.”

We lay down, by the light of the full moon we could see Arsenius a short distance away as he sat cross-legged and chanted. Confident he would watch over us, we fell asleep.

 NEXT.....Chapter 32
A Desert Demon