Our bellies full of snake and our heads full of tales, we were now all laying content ‘round the fire. Tater had gone quiet and was sipping something from a flat tin flask he had pulled out of his jacket pocket. From the way he would screw up his face at every sip I reckon it wasn’t water. Cat was cleaning herself and occasionally swatting at Finn as he flicked her ears teasingly. I was poking the fire with a stick, stoking the flames, when Tater speaks again.
“Now your turn,” he says, pointing his tin flask at us. “What are two fine young people such as yourselves doing out in the middle of nowhere with a tame devil cat? Which by the way, no one is ever going to believe when I tell this fine tale.”
Finn looks at me as if to do the talking. I hesitate. I don’t want to tell this story, not again, but then I figure he just maybe might know something about Littlepass or Lily for that matter. He was a trader after all.
“We’re traveling to Littlepass. Do you know of it?” I ask.
“Do I know of it? But of course. And as luck would have it I too am traveling there as well. What a remarkable coincidence indeed!” He’s smiling at us like it’s the best news he’s heard in years. “And what, pray tell, is your business there?”
“We have to find someone,” I say. He takes another sip and stares at me over the rim.
“Well that’s very cryptic. Does this someone have a name?”
I stare back for a bit before I decide to answer.
“Lily. She’s a healer.”
He thinks for a while then shakes his head. “No…I know many people but a healer by the name of Lily is not one of them.”
Finn is looking all worried. “Maybe she ain’t there no more Tara. Tater says he don’t know her, maybe she moved on and we ain’t gonna find her.”
Tater laughs. “My dear boy, Littlepass unlike its name would suggest, is a thriving metropolis. There are a multitude of people living there, I simply do not know them all.”
I don’t find this funny, not at all. If there are so many people it’s going to be that much harder to find Lily. My heart sinks. Oh gra’da what were you thinking sending me off to find this person.
“But you still have not answered my question. Why are you both out here traveling these dangerous lands alone? Where are your parents? Your families?”
“Dead,” I say bluntly.
Tater looks taken aback. “Oh dear, I am sorry. Sickness?”
Finn answers this. “No was something worse.” He looks to me and I nod. He continues.
“They were men who came from the sand lands in metal monsters…well machines, we know that’s what they were really. There was three of ‘em, real big, black, on wheels. They…they killed all of Tara’s kin and my own with their iron shooters. Cat killed one of ‘em though and now we got his shooter,” he nods toward the weapon that is, even still, lying by my side.
“Ah...” Tater says and I look up real quick. He knows something.
“You know what they are,” I say. I ain’t asking. He nods.
“Yes. And that does explain how the two of you have a pistol of the Prezedants Army.”
“The what?” It’s like he’s talking another language.
“The Prezedants Army? Surely you have heard of this force?” He can tell by our faces we ain’t. He smiles slightly. “I forget how isolated and naive you outlying villagers can be.”
I ain’t sure but it kind of feels like an insult what he’s saying and it makes me mad.
“Tell me what you know of the metal machines!” I say. “And talk in plain words.”
I can see my anger surprises him but he just nods at me.
“Very well. What you two seem to be ignorantly and blissfully unaware of is the very big, very populated and very corrupt world beyond the sand lands....beyond the mountains. There are places you cannot even begin to comprehend. Some of them cesspools of disease, evil, darkness…”
I shiver at what he’s saying, I cain’t help it.
“Some of them, like Littlepass, more civilized but all of them under the control of one man. He calls himself the Prezedant. Ridiculous title if you ask me. King or General would be more suitable….but I digress. He is a very powerful man. He has amassed armies of men…evil men to do his every bidding. They are his collaborators, his henchmen... and his executioners.”
As much as this information surprises and terrifies me, it kind of makes sense. “So the metal machines…they’re his? They carry his men?”
He nods. “Apparently so, though last I heard they were in no way able to travel this far into the sand lands or even past the mountains.” He rubs his mustache thoughtfully. “His scholars must have come up with some sort of fuel alternative for them to be able to travel such great distance.”
There he goes talking his odd language again.
“His what?” I ask.
He shakes his head at me. “Doesn’t matter. What matters is why have they come this far into the sand lands? He has never bothered to go beyond the mountains before…why now?”
“I don’t care why!” I snap angrily. “All I want to know is why he sent his armies to kill my kin…and Finn’s. They never done anything to this prezedant!” I spit out the word like its dirt.”And why did he take the young’uns from my village? Where would he have taken them? And how do I get ‘em back?”
Tater regards me with such a look of sadness that I drop my eyes. I don’t like what that look implies.
“As I have said child, he is a very evil man. As for the murder of your families, I cannot give you a reason why, only that yours is not the first village to meet this same fate. He controls those who oppose him with fear and death. Some have even gone as far as to call him monster…demon. He knows things…. possesses things that could only have come from before the Shift. Some say the man himself lived before the Shift, that he is immortal. That he has walked the land for hundreds of years.”
Finn is staring at the half man in wide eyed disbelief.
“So you’re saying those metal machines we saw….they’re the real moving veacals from the old folk stories. They’re from before the Shift? That the stories are true?”
“Most stories are based on truth boy,” Tater says and takes another sip of his ‘water’.
“How do you know all this?” I ask, still not trusting his words. “How do we know what you’re saying ain’t a bunch of shite? You mean to say this prezedant is hundreds of years old and we’re supposed to believe that?”
He studies me, this half man. His piercing black eyes watch me for so long I begin to fidget under his gaze.
“You believe what you want child but I think you know I speak the truth. All I’m saying is this. I was born in Skytown, the place the Prezedant calls his home. I have seen him twice in my lifetime. Once when I was but a lad, no older then Finn here, and again at a public execution just four years back. Now during that time I have grown old and weary. My eyes have seen far more then they have wanted too, but the one thing they are sure of is this. The Prezedant has not changed his appearance, not one little bit during those years. He looks exactly the same. How is that possible? You tell me.”
“Magic,” Finn whispers and Tater nods his head.
“There ain’t no such thing Finn, don’t be foolish.” My words are to Finn but my anger is directed toward Tater, daring him to argue that with me.
“If he’s so all powerful and magical whys he gotta send out men with iron shooters to kill people? Why don’t he just do it with his magic?”
Tater stares at me for a bit, then unexpectedly points at me and laughs.
“You truly are an irksome child. If I knew all the answers I could tell you why. I could also tell you why the sun is in the sky or why the birds fly through the air but I do not know why.”
He leans back against a dead log and crosses his short legs.
“Are you sure you are ready to hear of the fate of your young kin?” He don’t give me a chance to answer, to change my mind, he just goes right on talking.
/>
“As I have said there have been numerous villages in the past that have had the misfortune to fall under his notice and all have ended up the same....murder, pillaging, abduction of the children. It is said he takes the children to work his iron mines and to be servants in his residences. But there are whispers of other ….uses. Some believe he consumes them, their youth and vitality…their very souls. They say it’s what keeps him immortal you see.”
Tater’s eyes gleam at us eerily through the darkness and a faint shiver passes over me. Finn gives a strangled little yelp and his face goes all white, noticeable even by firelight.
“That is enough talk for one night,” I say, more so to stop from hearing any more terrible words. Like the boy, I am terrified at what Tater is telling us and it’s almost like he done it on purpose. Why would he want to scare us like that?
“We need to get some sleep. I want to get an early start in the morning.”
“I wholeheartedly agree my dear.” Tater is all smiles again now. “And if you don’t mind I would truly love to accompany you to Littlepass. I have done the journey many times. I could show you the way, cut maybe weeks of walking off your journey.”
I don’t want to but I agree to Tater’s company. I still have a lot of unanswered questions. I want to talk to him some more, alone. I get an uneasy feeling that he knows a lot more than he’s letting on to. But for now we need to sleep.
Mountain Gulch
The trees seem to go on forever. Sometimes they’re so tangled and snarled I don’t think we’re ever going to get past ‘em but Tater always seems to know the way around. Most times when I truly believe we’re lost and walking in circles he assures me he knows exactly where he’s going. He says to me, “Not to worry my dear. I have been traveling these particular woods for many years, far more then I would care to admit. I will not lead you astray.”
He always says it with his toothy smile but it irritates me some. His constant silly way of talking irritates me most times. And to make matters worse there’s these tiny flying biters that keep buzzing round our heads and nipping at our skin. Sometimes they’re so damn bothersome I wanna scream. Tater calls them ‘maskeetos’ but I just call ‘em annoying. They seem to be pestering me more so than the others. Tater says it must be ‘cause my blood is so sweet but he grins all strange every time he says it, like he ain’t joking at all. I still don’t trust him, not one little bit. But I got to admit, he is a real entertaining storyteller. And real good with the musical flute. Lou used to play too but he weren’t near as good as Tater. When he plays at night while we’re sitting ‘round the campfire, the night just don’t seem to be as dark and scary no more. And he does make Finn laugh so I guess he’s not all bad.
There ain’t been much chance to talk to Tater alone, and I’m still full of questions. Finn sticks as close to the little man as a berry to its bush. But today’s travel had been a hard one, and Finn had immediately fallen asleep the minute we made camp. The ground we’ve been walking all day had been sloping down, making it an effort to stay on our feet at times. Well for me and Finn anyways, Tater seemed to have no trouble. I still think he’s more mutie than man. So with Finn already sleeping on the other side of the fire, I reckoned this was my chance to talk with Tater alone. I push aside my own weariness. There were things I needed to know, no time for sleeping just yet. I eyeball Tater who’s lounging against a fallen tree sipping his usual drink. I stare ‘til he finally raises a shaggy brow.
“Well as my dear mother used to say you look as if you have a bee in your bonnet. Spit it out girlie,” he says.
“Who exactly is the Prezedant? Why is he sending his men out into the sand lands to kill villagers and take young’uns? What’s he do with them when he takes ‘em? Why don’t the people of Littlepass and Skytown and every place else just stop him if he’s so evil?”
The words just pour out of me, I want to know all the answers. Tater stares at me for a bit then laughs all quiet like so as not to disturb Finn.
“I can see this is going to be a long evening,” he says. He thinks for a while, takes a sip of his drink, then finally speaks.
“Who the Prezedant truly is I cannot tell you. That’s all he is known as. He has ruled for as long as I can remember and longer than that. He is a very powerful man…magician, immortal, as I have said. He is believed to have done things no human should be capable of doing. While the rest of the world’s lands are barren and dead, his lands are prosperous, alive, fertile. How is that possible? The people, they whisper about his so called ‘powers’ but no one can explain. I have heard many stories in my years. Some say they have witnessed the man bringing dead trees to life with a touch of his hand or make a dried up spring run again with just a breath.”
I scoff at Taters words. That was pure shite if I ever heard it.
“Do not dismiss the stories girl. As I told the boy, every story stems from truth. And do not dismiss his power. His armies are massive and they follow his every command. To them he is their god. And not just his armies. There are many, I fear, who blindly follow the Prezedant. Lost souls who have become as dark and depraved as the man himself. I warn you girl, the things you will witness in Littlepass, in Skytown…they will change you.”
He stops talking. His words chill me but I nod at him to continue.
“As for stopping him, some have tried. There have been a few brave souls who have tried to destroy him over the years. But their efforts have been in vain. He hunts down those who dare oppose him and publicly executes those who disobey. He holds no regard for human life. His lands are cesspools of depravity, debauchery, unspeakable horrors for most. For others, the scum of mankind, the twisted lowlifes, they are a haven. Children are sold into slavery, put to work in his iron mines, in his residences, sometimes far worse. I will not lie…the young kin you are worried for has most likely already met this fate.”
Even though I don’t understand all of his words I get the meaning of what he is saying and it fills me with utter despair. It feels like there’s ice in my belly and its coldness is seeping slowly through my veins. But I need to know more.
“There must be some good people….like this Lily. Surely gra’da wouldn’t send me to such an evil place on purpose. Surely not everyone is this way. Gra’da said Lily would help me. She cain’t be all bad,” I say, not wanting to believe everything Tater is telling me.
“Do you not know who this Lily is girl? I assumed her to be your kin… your family,” Tater says, surprised by my words. I hesitate. I don’t want to admit it to him but finally I shake my head.
“No. Gra’da….before he died, it’s like he knew what was gonna happen and he told me I had to go to Littlepass and find her. To tell her who I was and she would help me.”
“Help you to do what?” he asks.
“I…I don’t know. I’m hoping maybe she can help me find Ben and the other young’uns.”
Tater ponders this for a bit.
“So your gra’da was from Littlepass then? How is it that he knew of the Prezedant, his army but never warned you of the dangers?”
I shake my head again. “No gra’da and the others they lived in Rivercross…well their whole lives I guess. Same as me. If he had known he would have told me of this evil.”
Tater’s “Hmph,” bothers me some.
“What do you mean by that?” I say.
He shrugs. “I didn’t take you for a fool girl.”
“I ain’t no fool!” I say sharply.
“Then why are you acting the part?” I open my mouth to argue, my cheeks burning hot from my anger, but he cuts me off.
“Your gra’da sent you to Littlepass for a reason. He knew of the place, he even knew of someone who resides there, it just goes to show that he was very aware of the outside world, of the Prezedant. And any village, no matter how remote, that has had traders pass through would most certainly have been told of the news from the other side of the mountains. No, trust me your gra’da and all the other old folk of your villa
ge, they knew of the dangers. They had just fooled themselves into believing they had gone far enough into the sand lands. That they would be unnoticed and passed over. That they would be safe. Seems now nowhere is safe.” He says these last words almost to himself and takes another drink. I don’t want to believe what he is saying. There ain’t no way gra’da and the others had known about this danger and not warned us. Not prepared us. But in the back of my mind I hear Molly’s words as she was running from the dust cloud.
“They found us!” she had said, and gra’da telling me ‘they cain’t be stopped’. I think of all the times us young’uns had been sent away from the campfires while a trader was visiting ‘cause the old folk wanted to ‘talk’ and I know deep down in my heart Tater is speaking the truth. They had known.
I can feel the anger and resentment growing in me at what I have just come to realize. How dare they not warn us, not protect us from this Prezedant? They had known everything, yet had in no way prepared us, and now Ben and Jane and young Thomas were in the hands of a madman! I don’t even want to think of what they may be going through right now, what they may be suffering. I take my anger out on Tater.
“Why don’t he kill you lot then! You traders! Why do you get to live and travel the sand lands free from his punishment?” My voice is getting louder and Finn stirs in his sleep. I stop talking, I don’t want to wake him but I’m simmering mad. Tater stays quiet for so long I don’t think he’s ever going to answer me but finally…
“I am not proud to admit this but I assume we provide a service to him. We are his harbingers of death. Nothing creates more fear….more obedience in the populace than tales of the villages and people he has destroyed. Through us his legend grows so the people, they become more afraid of him. They stay. They obey. They serve and give everything they grow and produce to the Prezedant. They live in fear and despair while he and his elite live like kings. But they live.”
Awaken Page 7