Chapter 81
‘This is all I could get, Riley, and I will ask for no more. Really, you need no more than this.’ Aerlid said. Before him were three items. The first was a stylized sun that looked like it was made from beaten gold. It looked like it could be hung on a hook. The other two items were similar to each other, they looked like small spheres, or perhaps small sculptures of the moon.
Riley gazed at them. ‘They will stop the ehlkrid but not us?’ she asked.
His mouth formed a thin line. ‘These are just shields. They’ll stop everything. Making them to stop some but not all is much more complicated, I would not be able to do it myself. But it’s also unnecessary. This,’ he pointed to the sun, ‘can keep the ehlkrid away from the mountain even during the night. This draws on the power of the sun, not sunlight. Even if the sun is not visible, it is still there. These,’ he pointed to the orbs, ‘will be able to block off some tunnels, but they won’t be able to protect the entire area.’
‘And you can’t turn the shields on and off?’ So far it was still safe to venture outside the caves during the day. Of course, only warriors were allowed out at this point, and even they only in groups.
‘It did not take the Queen’s daughter so long to get one piece of fruit from a tree because she’s incompetent, Riley. It does not work like that. For myself to even get the sun shield working will be very difficult. I certainly can’t turn it on and off at your command. The moon toys… will be easier.’
‘Toys?’ She frowned slightly.
‘They weren’t made to be shields. But they’ll function that way once I get them working, though they can’t block off anything more than a tunnel.’
‘Riley,’ he began again with a sigh after looking at her face, ‘what you want is a door. The humans were never given things like that last time the ehlkrid came. They were given walls. Shields. They could no more pass through them than the ehlkrid. But they had a choice whether or not to use them. There aren’t any doors lying around the city. Only walls. Nor are there any shields like what we gave the humans. Those weren’t like these,’ he gestured to the items, ‘we made them specifically so the humans could use them. But I don’t have the knowledge to make shields like that myself.’
Riley frowned darkly. Then she nodded. Perhaps she could force him to find something better, make something better, but that wasn’t really what she wanted to do. And it wasn’t really fair, considering what he had brought her would protect them from the ehlkrid. But staying locked inside the mountain wasn’t something she wanted to do either. She could fight the ehlkrid. She could survive out there in that changed world. Perhaps even thrive.
But she also couldn’t think just of herself.
Riley nodded curtly. ‘Alright. The gemengs will choose for themselves whether they want to use those shields or not.’
Surprised murmuring filled the cavern. Surprise at the artefacts they were shown. Surprise that they were all asked to make a choice. Surprise at what the choice was.
The cavern was filled with most of the gemengs of Riley’s tribe. All of the warriors were there, and some of the older children that were not yet warriors.
Riley explained the situation to the gemengs. They could use the valkar shields to protect themselves from the ehlkrid and stay locked inside the caves. Or they could not use them, and continue fighting the ehlkrid every night, as they had for the last two weeks.
The procedure for voting was somewhat involved. The gemengs would never vote to use the shields if anyone else knew what they were voting. And so a system with stones, blindfolds and another large cave was concocted.
The meeting was adjourned, the gemengs filed out of the cavern in a disorderly manner. When they were gone only the council was left.
Voices were quickly raised and answers demanded as confusion abounded.
Riley silenced them. ‘This is not a choice I can make alone, for all of you. The ehlkrid are not a threat to me in the same way they are to you. I will not be voting, or giving you my opinion. You need to decide how you want to live. The voting will begin tomorrow morning. It will continue until everyone has voted, however long that takes. I will require your assistance organizing it.’
The voting lasted three days. When it was done, Riley entered the cavern. It was a cave that split off into two parts. Voting had involved a gemeng entering alone and throwing or placing a rock in one of the two offshoots of the cave. The gemengs were blindfolded, and no one else was allowed in the cavern with them. They were allowed less than a minute to make their vote, in case any attempted to move the rocks around.
When she entered she was not that surprised at the outcome, the support of it however… She rubbed her forehead. She glanced from one side to the other. She had thought at least a few would vote for a shield. But one side was brimming with stones, while the other was completely empty.
Riley exited the cavern and walked the short distance to the cavern where the gemengs were gathered and waiting.
Her voice carrying easily around the echoing space she said, ‘the shields will not be used.’ She was quiet as a roar filled the air. The gemengs whistled and hooted and clapped and pounded their feet. It took some time for the noise to die down. ‘The shields will be kept in case of an emergency. Another vote will be carried out in the future.’ She did not know when, but perhaps the situation would change.
The address was soon over. Riley quickly found Aerlid. ‘Aerlid, those two moon shields, can you set them up in the upper and lower secondary entrances?’
Aerlid nodded. His agreement obtained, Riley’s attention was instantly drawn back to the preparation for the nightly fight.
She didn’t mind. A part of her enjoyed it. Her concern was for the gemengs. Every night many were injured, and deaths were unavoidable. There were a number of couples now, and that number was growing. Even so, gemengs did not breed so quickly that this could be sustained forever.
The Lord of the Plains Page 83