by Ana Salote
‘I didn’t ask for your opinion,’ said Ferralee. ‘Her appearance?’
‘She was less than middle height, brown dress, brown hair with a ruddy tinge and, this is not a proper fact...’
‘I’ll hear it.’
‘Well, I looked at her and I felt quiet.’
‘How you felt is irrelevant,’ said Ferralee. ‘Gavelar. Has anyone else got anything to tell?’ Jefee fidgeted. ‘Jefee, what is it?’
Gritty pinched Jefee’s thigh.
‘It’s not important,’ said Jefee.
‘Tell me. I’ll decide.’
Jefee looked at Gritty. Gritty’s eyes were forbidding.
‘Don’t make me wait,’ said Ferralee.
‘Gritty and me, we saw...’
‘Yes?’
Gritty interrupted. ‘We saw Nanny Ogreen at the saltface. She’s been kicked out of the nursery.’
‘Perched on the overlooker’s chair she was,’ said Jefee, ‘eyes raw, nose streaming like a...’
‘Enough. She’s a horrible creature. I don’t wish to be reminded how she looks. Gavelar, both of you.’
Ferralee announced the next post day. She began handing out paper. ‘One piece each. Keep it short. How many writers do we have?’
Four girls could write. Gritty’s fictitious family were beyond the range of the postdog so she helped Dulcee with her letter.
‘How did you learn to write so fast and neat?’ said Dulcee.
‘My sister taught me,’ said Gritty. ‘She’s the brightest person you ever met. She can get through a book this fat in a day.’
Everyone was looking at Gritty.
‘How come you had books?’ said Dulcee.
‘We didn’t,’ said Gritty. ‘Well, just the one. A book of stories. We found it.’
Gritty was relieved when Ferralee told them to stop chattering and get on with their letters.
Jefee wrote to Yehvo about Nanny Ogreen. Gritty added her own note about the wrongs being done to the Nondul healers. She daren’t give too much away. At least Yehvo would be alerted though Gritty doubted there was anything the old woman could do.
The Sizors were celebrating. It looked as though one of their own would be the next husbind. In Ijaw’s company Bominata behaved with the agitation of a spider preparing to eat its partner. It was all very promising.
Ijaw was hosting a gathering and the girls were called to perform. They would be passing the post window on their return. They practised what they called the post scramble and trooped off to the Sizor quarter. The Sizors were as buoyant in mood as they were heavy in body. Like all Felluns they were so cumbrous and so tight of ligament, it was all they could do to get up from a chair. They ate and drank and praised themselves and their ancestors. The Sizors were known for the strength of their tearing teeth. To demonstrate they took turns ripping into a tough old carcass and backing away with strings of meat trailing from their mouths.
The girls stood by, twitching with energy and listening hard.
The Sizors joked that Bominata was using Ijaw to bait Rigaw. They said that Rigaw was desperate. He brought Bominata ever more extravagant gifts but nothing would save him now.
To end the evening the girls danced. The Felluns laughed at them. Ferralee applauded silently.
It was dark when the Chee began the walk back to their ownquarter along a dimly lit passage which ran next to an outside wall. They had changed into their green drill clothes as a form of camouflage. As they walked Ferralee disected their performance. They would never match her visions of perfection. She stopped her criticism to tell them to get ready; the post window was ahead.
Just then three Felluns appeared at the end of the passage. ‘Ignore them,’ said Ferralee. She passed something to Elfee. ‘Do it.’
Nine girls swarmed into a pyramid and launched Elfee towards the slit window. Elfee’s arm went up and thrust the package through. Up, bang, down. A magician’s hands could not have moved faster. They heard a faint yip from outside and the girls were walking on. ‘Good dog,’ whispered Jefee.
The Felluns tramped past. Somehow they hadn’t seen a thing.
14 Bad or Bad
Gritty was on her way to class. Bad air drifted up from the pits. It was awful to picture Oy there in the dirt and stench. She must make her decision soon: to leave him there and hope that the two of them could escape together, or to leak a rumour that might see him harmed.
Later that day the decision was taken out of her hands. Oy was seen by someone else. In the evening it all came out.
Lahnee and Myonee had been to fetch meat. They had seen a boy. The boy had called to them but they couldn’t hear what he said.
‘We reckon he’s a spy,’ said Myonee.
‘No he’s not,’ said Jefee. She covered her mouth and glanced at Gritty.
‘I hope not for his sake,’ said Lahnee. ‘The last spy had all his teeth pulled out before they let the bears play with him.’
Gritty closed her eyes and weighed the possibilities: better he was thought to be a healer than a spy. ‘He’s not a spy,’ she said. ‘We talked to him already.’
‘And you didn’t tell?’ said Myonee.
‘It didn’t seem important,’ said Jefee, lamely.
‘Where’ve you been, girl?’ said Elfee. ‘You tell everything – everything.’
‘He told us he’s a Nondul healer and Bominata is looking for him,’ said Gritty.
‘I don’t believe it. He’s too young to be a doctor,’ said Myonee.
‘It comes from growing up inside a book hill.’ Gritty bracketed her head with her hands. ‘Brains.’ There, it was done. It was out. There was nothing for Gritty to do but wait with her insides all twisted and see what came of it.
The Chee saying: The eagle beats the horse but rumour leaves both behind proved itself again. Within a day every Chee in the fort and some outside, knew of it. The following night a Chee servant, while removing Rigaw’s boots, delivered the rumour to his master, and was well rewarded. The servant helped the master back into his boots.
That same evening Oy heard stamping and alarm calls. He felt the bristling of creatures under threat. A lamp appeared above the grille and two faces looked down on him.
‘Is that him, that smidge in the straw?’ said Rigaw.
‘Yes, Capun,’ said Burf. ‘He insulted the Fellona – said she was sick. He deserves to be dogmeat, I know. I only saved him to get some use out of him first. Will you be reporting me, Capun? I hope you’ll tell her I only meant to –’
‘Be quiet,’ said the other. ‘Give me the lamp.’
‘Yes, Capun, even more revolting close up he is. Oy! – that’s his name – get up here. Capun Rigaw wants to look at you.’
Oy climbed the ladder squinting into the light.
‘Who are you?’ said Rigaw.
‘Sir, I’m the last healer in Nondula. I thought the Fellona was looking for me. It was just... just something I heard, so I came. I thought... I don’t know what. I wanted to help.’
‘See, Capun. The Fellona would go scorch-haired if she heard him. As though she would have any use for a thing like him.’
Rigaw rubbed the side of his face. He turned to Burf. ‘Find out if he is a real healer. I don’t care how you do it but I want it kept quiet.’ He pulled out a bag of coin. ‘If Ijaw or the other husbeaus come sniffing around tell them there is no Nondul, it was just Chee gossip.’
Burf took the bag. ‘I’m with you, Capun. I always was. Ijaw’s got his backers, but I ain’t one of ’em.’
‘Just do as I say.’
‘I will, Capun. There’s a risk he’ll get mauled.’
‘Whatever it takes,’ said Rigaw as he walked away.
Burf pushed Oy back towards the pit. ‘Mauled or eaten,’ he said.
When it came to mornings Burf was a slow starter. He often skipped them altogether. Oy had spent all night thinking about being mauled or eaten. He waited for Burf with hanging crescents of sleeplesness under his eyes and nothing for br
eakfast but evil smells. But the keeper had chosen that day for his annual wash. Towards midday Burf creaked stiffly by with a cloth round his waist and another over his shoulder. Oy saw thick legs and the underside of a hairy belly. Some time later Burf passed again, this time with a flagon and a slab of meat. Oy walked up and down, up and down.
Burf was picking his teeth when he came to fetch him. ‘Someone’s waiting for you,’ he said. ‘Go. Bear Passage.’
Oy walked ahead till the keeper told him to stop. ‘He’s in there,’ said Burf. ‘Hanging on, half dead but hanging on. I doubt he’s got the strength to do more than stun you, but you never know. He’s played dead before now just to get a swipe at me.’
Below Oy was Bruin, even sicker than when Oy had first seen him. He lay with his head on his paws. There were flies in his eyes and a haze of insects popping around him. Burf pushed a stick through the grille and gave him a prod. The bear didn’t move. The man gave him another jab. Bruin twisted his head. He looked up pitifully, his eyes an opaque gleam between sticky lids.
‘Freshen up this bear meat and Capun Rigaw will see you again,’ said the keeper.
‘Freshen him?’ said Oy, puzzled. ‘Wash him?’
‘Heal him, get him perked. Make him sweet for eating. Better get in and do some examining.’ Burf raised the grille.
Oy climbed half way down the ladder. He leaned out cautiously.
‘You won’t see much from there. Go on, all the way down. I won’t be too far off. If he takes a swipe at you shout.’ Burf laughed to himself and closed the grille.
Oy picked his way round a trail of faeces. The bear seemed aware but it didn’t move. Oy edged around to its front end. Its breathing deepened. It managed a low growl. Oy took a step back, but pity gave him courage.
‘I’m Oy. A stranger gave me that name. And strangers have named you Bruin. I don’t know if bears have names for themselves. I never used to have a name, not for a long time.’ He paused. ‘Another thing we got in common is we’re both scared. Me, of everything, you, of these Felluns. Now I know you wouldn’t be scared one on one, but they got all the power here. I want to help you.’ The bear’s eye softened. Oy moved closer and crouched in the straw. He put out his hand and moved nearer still. ‘Dear bear.’ He touched the massive head just in front of the ear. The bear breathed a long bear sigh. Oy stroked the head and ear very gently. He moved in close.
‘I want to help you but it’s for you to decide. You ain’t at all well, I can see that, and you’re like to die in this pit. P’raps I could get you better but you know what would happen then don’t you?’ Oy stroked the long nose. ‘It’s horrible, but they want you for... for table. Which would you rather?’ Oy waited again. ‘I know. It’s bad or bad. Good or bad’s easy; good or good don’t seem to happen much.’
15 Linnet’s Adventure
Gertie thought she would go mad waiting for news of Gritty and Oy. Bagla flew to Fellund almost daily. But the messages she brought back were always the same, there was no sign of Oy.
Then, two days after full moon, they heard that the new tumblers had arrived and that one of them was called Grittee, but there was still no news of Oy.
Alas also found the waiting hard. Linnet watched him. When he was about to burst with frustration, she told him what she wanted to do. He said it wouldn’t work and it was the most foolish thing he’d ever heard. He asked how she intended to get there.
‘I want you to carry me,’ she said.
‘Linnet, I can’t do that.’
‘I’m not heavy, you’ll barely feel me on your back.’
‘That’s not the point. It would very likely kill you.’
‘What does that matter?’
‘You want to be here when Oy comes back don’t you?’
‘Alas, I’ve got this little bit of time left. Please, let me use it how I want.’
He couldn’t argue. In a way, he didn’t want to.
Rigaw had begun sending men into Kithvale to test the rocks for mining. Alas waited for the next sighting then he went to fetch Linnet. He made a blanket into a sling. Linnet hung from his back, no heavier than a knapsack. Alas ran with her to the Kith. He ran for more than half a day with barely a pause. There were Felluns on the way below them, but they were slowed by narrow passes and bridges which would not bear their weight. Alas and Linnet reached the Kith just ahead of them. The track they were on was edged with flowers and nodding seed pods. Linnet slipped from Alas’s back and stood in the middle of the path. She held her dress away from her like wings and looked to the forest. ‘I hear laughing bells,’ she said.
‘I hear hoof beats,’ said Alas. ‘Say the word and I’ll have you out of the way in a flash.’
‘We’re here now. Let’s do it.’
‘Lay you down then.’
Linnet lay on the soft grass. Alas wrapped the blanket around her and started to walk away. He couldn’t. ‘Linnet, I can hardly see you lying there. There’s nothing of you, and Felluns are near blind anyway. It’s too dangerous.’
‘Go! Please, Alas. They’re coming.’
Alas dragged a rock onto the path. ‘It might slow them down,’ he said.
‘Go!’
He backed away.
If it wasn’t for the rock Linnet would certainly have been trampled into a smear. As it was, the leading horse slowed and swerved around her. The second rider saw Linnet on the path. ‘Stop!’ he called. ‘Something down here.’
Linnet flicked her blanket to one side. She groaned and gurgled. The man turned his horse in panic. ‘Vapids,’ he shouted. ‘Stay back everyone.’
Alas came out of the scrub. ‘Is she still alive?’ he said. ‘That’s the tenth I’ve seen today. I’m Lyre.’
‘Don’t get any closer,’ the Fellun warned.
‘I’ve had no chills or fevers yet,’ said Alas. ‘I don’t think I’m contagious. I got lost on the mountain and ended up here. I’d eaten and drunk with them before they told me there was vapids among ’em, else I would have moved on. It’s spreading like a scrub fire and no one to doctor ’em. All their healers have gone. They didn’t tell me where. I don’t suppose you could give me a ride out of here?’
‘Get away. This area is shut down. Understand? No one enters or leaves.’
‘That’s all you can do I suppose,’ said Alas. ‘The vapids lives in the ground and water for lifetimes once it’s got a hold. It don’t care who it picks on. Even a bear with vapids can turn white overnight.’
The Felluns were already backing away. They told Alas not to follow. He could take the disease back to his own people, but all trails leading to upper Nondula and Fellund would be blocked.
Linnet mustered the biggest gurgle she could manage. The bubbling depths of it chased the Felluns down the road.
Linnet let go with her old throaty laugh. Alas sat down on the path next to her. ‘I thought it would kill you,’ he said, ‘but...’ – Linnet laughed even harder – ‘but it’s done you...’
‘Done me good,’ she laughed, ‘I never felt better.’ They laughed and laughed and half-cried and laughed themselves calm.
Then, as quietly as they could, so as not to disturb the children, they went into the forest.
Gertie was worried sick. No one knew where Alas and Linnet had gone. Then a Fellun came with a new edict. The top of Kithvale was sealed due to virulent contagion with the vapids. There would be no movement in or out until further notice. The Nonduls were baffled. Gertie guessed that her friends were behind it. She was almost ready to go to the Kith herself when they returned and told their story. The Kith was isolated but at least it was saved. The Nonduls had breathing space and time to think. Gertie was cross that they had taken such a risk without telling her, but she was proud of what they had done. A string of visitors came to thank Alas and Linnet. All agreed that the Porian knack for action was something extraordinary.
Alas was quieter and calmer for days after their trip. Linnet had a soft shine to her. She was happy. She had seen and felt th
ings that were whole and sufficient and needed no healing. She was still fading and shrinking, but the struggle had gone.
Then in one day came two pieces of news. Bagla brought a message from Scriberd. A Nondul child was being held in the slorter pits. It could only be Oy.
A Fellun confirmed it. He came with a note in Oy’s handwriting. He gave it to Ede and waited for an answer. Ede ran to the Sajistry. Emberd called for the waifs and the elders. They gathered in his office.
‘It’s from Oy,’ said Ede. ‘A prescription for risslane and picup at thirty times the usual strength.’
‘What’s it for?’ said Alas.
‘It’s for starvation or pining,’ said Ede. ‘Bominata’s the last person to do either. It must be an error.’
‘Not surprising,’ said Gertie. ‘He’ll be scared witless.’
‘He took it on himself to go there, didn’t he?’ said Alas. ‘That says something. Back to the wall, Oy comes through.’
‘At this strength it’s enough to kill someone,’ said Ede.
‘In his place I’d be tempted,’ said Alas.
‘Oy wouldn’t harm the flea on a fly,’ said Gertie, ‘not if he was the fly’s mother. He must’ve got it wrong.’
‘The Fellun is waiting,’ said Ede. ‘We have to decide.’
‘You could send it at a weaker strength,’ said Gertie.
Ede looked to Per. ‘His jenie is most single,’ he said.
‘Trust him then?’ said Ede.
Per’s stare went beyond the room. ‘There is no error,’ he said.
‘Hang on. Too much trust could get him killed,’ said Alas. ‘Write on the label, Ede, in your fancy pothick language. Make it so Oy will understand that what he’s asked for is lethal.’
Ede sent the medicine.
When Ede had done with it, Gertie and Alas showed the prescription to Linnet.
‘I want to be properly sat up for it,’ she said. Gertie eased her slowly up the bed. Linnet smoothed her hair and straightened her nightgown. ‘I’m ready.’ She looked at the writing. ‘It goes that way, then that way. He’s afraid but he’s trying to find a way through it. And he ain’t afraid for himself so much, as of letting people down.’ She folded it, looked away, unfolded it and touched the words with her fingertips.