Lost and Found

by Mary Hamilton

The two fell silent as each went about his tasks.

  As Tovi finished adjusting the straps, Papaw and Myhrren emerged from the hut into the mid-morning sun. They said their goodbyes to Myhrren and he gave them a blessing for a safe journey before patting Tovi on the head. “I am certain we will meet again, Tovi Gloam of Pangrove.”

  “We are ready, boys?” Tovi noticed that Papaw had addressed them both this time.

  His son stood and shouldered his load. “Yes, Papaw.” He turned in the other direction. “Growl, ready?”

  The beast stood, stretched, and eased over to Klunk’s side.

  Tovi wasn’t sure whether to address the other two dogs who had been lying nearby. They had accompanied him, but they were not his pets. In fact, he had no idea what they were other than two random dogs that had saved his life. Once again, though, events unfolded without any action on his part. The two animals rose, almost as one, and leisurely ambled over to his side. He shook his head in continued disbelief. Nothing made sense.

  Klunk seemed to take it all in. He reached up and scratched the side of his head and he stared at the two dogs that had taken up station beside Tovi. “I must also tell you, Growl convinced me. He led me to the edge of the kraal. He stared to the east and then back at me. He growled and walked to the east. It was pretty easy to see what he wanted.”

  Tovi gazed up at the large beast, who stood taller than he did. “What about these two?” He gestured toward his newfound companions. “How did this happen?” He hoped Klunk understood what this meant.

  The ogre shrugged. “I do not know.” He put his hand on Growl’s head. “But maybe this one had something to do with it.”

  As they turned and waved one last time to Myhrren, the three travelers and their assortment of animals fell into an easy stride. Well, easy for the ogres. Tovi struggled to keep up, alternately walking and then breaking into a trot. But somehow, it felt good. When he ran, he felt strong—strength like he’d never known before.

  After about an hour, they came upon the site of the battle. Two large oval-shaped piles of stones marked the area. Papaw brought the group to a halt. “We buried them here to keep the animals from eating them.”

  The very notion of wild animals eating the bodies nauseated Tovi. But for the help of the two dogs, both he and Papaw would have been lying dead here as well. And the animals might have eaten their bodies. His mind wandered to the kraal, to Klunk’s mother, who most likely knew nothing of what had happened. “Do their families know yet?”

  Papaw knelt beside one of the graves. “Not yet. Someone must journey to their kraals and tell them. It is a sad task, but it must be done.”

  It struck Tovi that this would not happen until after they finished at Klunk’s kraal and then the journey to the homes of the two fallen might take days. Until then, they had children and wives that awaited the return of the father and husband, a return that would never happen. Sadness washed over him. “Since Klunk and I are going anyway, we will bear the sad news.” It only made sense. Tovi’s shoulders heaved in a big sigh.

  Papaw glanced up, nodded, and then bowed his head again.

  Tovi gazed out across the desert. “How many kraals are there?”

  Papaw stood and straightened his coarse cloth tunic. “Many hundreds. Even I do not know them all.”

  Alarms went off in Tovi’s head. “If you don’t know them, and if Klunk doesn’t, how will I find them?”

  “It will be not so hard, I think. We can tell you where the ones are nearby. When you go there, they will tell you about others, who will tell you about still others, until you know them all.”

  The answer seemed absurd at first thought. But as he considered it, nothing else made sense. His mind wandered back to the two dead ogres. “Were they your friends?” He pointed toward the two graves.

  Papaw shrugged. “No. They were… I worked with them.”

  Myhrren’s words came back to Tovi. The ogres in the different kraals were not friends. Nor were they enemies. They all existed in this world, doing what they needed to do to get by. The enormity of the task that lay ahead shook him to his soul. He must somehow convince all of the ogres in all of the kraals to become something more than just ogres that happened to live in the same world. They would all have to become friends.

  Chapter 87: Tovi

  Tovi watched the reunion between mother and son unfold and wondered what the reunion with his own mother would be like, if that ever happened. Ogres were different from the people in Pangrove. But families, well, they seemed the same.

  Klunk tried to reason with his mother, “Mamaw, please understand. He is my friend. I had to go.”

  “I told you before, you must look among your own kind for friends, just as he must look to his own people.” She stood with arms folded, glaring at her son.

  “But he is not with his kind. He is stuck here and wants to go home. Who will help him if I don’t?”

  “That is not your problem. That is his.”

  Tovi wanted to disappear into the walls. These two were talking about him as if he weren’t even there. It was almost as if Mamaw hated him. He hadn’t done anything to her. Why would she feel this way? But he didn’t ask the questions. He stood silently.

  Papaw intervened in the argument. “Be still, both of you.” He shook his head and paced the small room. “If not for Tovi, I would be dead, and you would not even know about it. And the little one is right. These crystals will be our undoing if we do not act.” He turned and approached his wife. “Whatever you may think of him, we need him. Myhrren himself said so.”

  Mamaw shrank back from her husband, but the glare in her eyes left no doubt in Tovi’s mind as to her thoughts. She had lost the argument but had not changed her mind. “Then take him to the chief.” She spat the words out as if they were a bitter root.

  ◆◆◆

  Tovi kicked at a pebble as he sat on the front stoop beside Klunk. “Why does she hate me?”

  “She does not hate you. She hates change and she is afraid.” He glanced over at Tovi and then returned his gaze to the ground. “Here, in the kraal, we survive because we work and live as one. No one is special. No one is above anyone else. The chief is our leader but even he must be a part of the kraal. Mamaw feels that when I came upon you, it singled me out as being different. And it did, kind of. The others look at me as different now. I do not mean that as a bad thing. It just frightens Mamaw that things might change. That is all.”

  Growl lurked nearby, and Klik had disappeared under the hut. The two dogs that had saved his life had parted company with him when they approached the kraal. The two friends sat waiting for Papaw to return from the chief’s hut. He would tell the tale to the leader. The rest would be up to Tovi—the crystals, and the humans, along with the need to band together.

  “I’m scared, Klunk.” He had actually been afraid to say that, but somehow it felt better just getting it out.

  Klunk nodded without looking up. “I know. Me too. But we must have faith in Myhrren that he knows what he is talking about. And that he would not ask us to do anything wrong.”

  For an instant, Tovi toyed with the idea of telling Klunk everything—the voice, its visit, and its instructions. But, no. That would be for later.

  The covering across the chief’s doorway swung aside and Papaw emerged. He stopped on the small porch and beckoned toward the two.

  Klunk stood. “Should I go in with you?”

  Tovi dusted himself off and shuffled forward. “No. I have to do this myself.” He stopped and looked back. “This way, if it goes really bad, at least you won’t be in on it.”

  ◆◆◆

  Tovi stood before the chief, who sat in a chair looking down on the relatively tiny Azyrean.

  “I am told that you have things to tell me. So, speak.”

  Starting slowly at first, Tovi poured out the story beginning with the discovery of the power of the shard and ending at the meeting with Myhrren.

  The chief’s eyes did not betray emoti
ons. He fixed his eyes on Tovi and sat in silence as the revelations came forth. When Tovi finished, the leader reached up and scratched the side of his head. “I am confused by this. After all, Myhrren teaches kindness, compassion, and tolerance. Why would he then want all ogres to band together to make war?”

  Tovi gazed down at the floor, shuffling his feet as he tried to come up with an answer that made sense. One thing he had learned since being whisked away from his home was that bluntly arguing didn’t help much. He thought in passing that he might have done better back in Pangrove if he’d behaved a little differently. “I don’t mean any disrespect to anyone. I’ve been told that I don’t belong here. That I am from another place. That is true. And I’m just a kid. So I know that maybe nobody wants to listen to me. I admit that I don’t know anything about Myhrren or what he teaches or what’s in his book.” He lifted his head and met the chief’s gaze.

  “But I know what I saw. Those humans, they fought with the ogres. They killed two of them. They would have killed Klunk’s father. And they stole the crystals. I saw all of that with my own eyes. And I believe Myhrren when he says that more humans will follow. If they came for crystals, then they probably know about the mines. They will come, and they will make war whether the ogres want it or not.”

  The voice returned and injected itself into Tovi’s thoughts. “Those are exactly the right words, my little friend.”

  He wanted to tell the voice to shut up and leave him alone. Having a conversation with the chief was hard enough without having someone, or something, else in his head. The voice fell silent.

  The chief strode over to the doorway, pulling back the cover. He stood and stared into the midday sun. “And you are going to take this message to all of the kraals, and you are going to convince them? With me, you have an advantage. You saved the life of one of our members and you have proven yourself respectful here in the kraal. But you will not have such an easy time elsewhere.”

  Tovi’s heart sank. “Yes. I know that.” Then he wondered if maybe the chief might be able to help him. “I would be happy if you could tell me some things to say and do. How could I make them understand?”

  The chief turned and smiled. “Such wisdom from a child. It seems Myhrren has chosen wisely.”

  Chapter 88: Tovi

  A few streaks of deep crimson and purple painted the eastern sky in the dawn half-light. The brighter stars held on tenaciously while the dimmer ones flickered out for the day with a promise to reappear that night. Tovi had slipped quietly out of the hut and finished securing his pack. Klunk had remained inside to say goodbye to his mother and father.

  Growl lay beside the stoop, his red eyes glowing brightly. Klik sat atop his back, perched on hind legs. Tovi eased over beside the large dog and put his hand up on the beast’s back. “Thank you.” He knew that the animal was somehow involved in his fortunes, just as he knew that his two companions from the previous trip did not appear randomly. This all fit together somehow. But it still didn’t make any sense.

  The large beast growled low and then closed his eyes.

  “I guess that’s as close as it comes to you’re welcome.” Tovi chuckled. Klik leapt onto the Azyrean’s shoulder and assumed his traveling stance.

  The door covering parted and Klunk joined Tovi outside. He handed Tovi a small package wrapped in leaves. “Mamaw made us these cookies for the road.” He opened his pack and put his own parcel inside. He knelt down so that the two were nearly face-to-face. “She does not often say she is wrong. Well, mostly she’s never wrong. But she wanted you to have these.”

  Tovi felt his heart ache. He wanted to see his own mother. He wanted to hug her. And he never hugged his mother. And a part of him wanted to hug Marzi if he only knew where she was. “Thank you.” He tucked the cookies in his pack and turned to face a bright part of the sky where the sun would no doubt rise. “Okay, so, where do we go first?”

  Klunk squinted as he gazed out toward the brightening horizon to the east, where the sun would soon rise. Turning to his left, he pointed. “We must first journey there, to the north, and speak with the families of the ones who fell.” He shifted around to face the west. “After that, we go to the kraals away from the sun. They are closest. After that, I do not know.”

  He shouldered his pack. “For now, though, we go.” As he and Tovi struck out across the desert, Klunk broke into song.

  Kraal to kraal and band to band

  Rising up across the land

  Klunk and Tovi travel far

  Sleeping underneath the stars

  Ogres rise up in the night

  Ogres come and join the fight

  Myhrren calls us one and all

  Ogres rise and heed the call

  Chapter 89: Jarek

  “Jarek, wake up.”

  He emerged from sleep to the sound of an urgent voice and a gentle shake to his shoulder. “Ugh. What?” He blinked his eyes open, but the combination of low light and the just awake blur obscured whoever was talking to him. He had only just returned from the trip to the monastery two days prior, and his body still needed rest.

  “Get up. Here.” A steaming cup appeared in front of his face.

  He propped himself on an elbow and looked up. “CeCe? What?” He glanced around the cavern. “What time is it?”

  “Early, Master Whit. Very early.” She knelt next to him.

  “What? Why?” He took the coffee, sniffed it, and then took a sip.

  “I have come into some information. I know where we can get your crystals. But we need to leave now.”

  “Why?”

  “The mine is a half-day trek. If we wait until morning, we could not make it there and back in one day, assuming you would need some time there. If we leave now, we can be there just after first light. You can search the place, find what you need, and then be back in time for dinner.”

  He took another drink of coffee. “I don’t know. The commander was very angry the last time I wandered off.”

  “I’ve already spoken to her and she cleared this mission. Besides, you’d be with me and I know these swamps like my own back yard.”

  Jarek shook his head, trying to clear the cobwebs of sleep. “Maybe I should check with her just in case.”

  “No!” The word came out harsh. “She’s asleep right now. If you go over to wake her, others will see you.” CeCe paused and lowered her voice even more. “Remember what I told you about trust? Jarek, we have a spy in the group. I’ve known it for some time but haven’t been able to identify them yet. That’s what happened to Corny. We can’t take a chance that whoever it is will see us leave. It would put us both at risk.”

  “But who?”

  “As I said, I don’t know for sure, yet. But I have some suspicions.” She shook her head. “Now’s not the time for this discussion. We need to leave quickly, get those crystals, and return in time for dinner. Now, let’s go.”

  ◆◆◆

  The transit out of the swamp was surprisingly easy. CeCe navigated the twists and turns with certainty. They emerged into a broad field with large scattered trees in near-perfect darkness. The night sky was peppered with twinkling stars and there, high in the western sky, hung a brilliant, silver half-moon. Jarek paused to take it all in.

  CeCe turned back to check on him. “We are clear of the swamp if you need a rest. The journey will be easier from here forward. There are only a few hours left until dawn, which should be plenty of time to reach the mine.”

  “No, no. I’m fine. It’s just that I’ve never seen so many stars in Pangrove. This sky is quite impressive.”

  “It’s true, my friend. The heavens are indeed impressive. But, let us move. We would not want to be late for dinner.” She chuckled, and they resumed their march.

  Jarek fell in behind her once again, his legs pumping to keep up. As he settled into the rhythm of the hike, his mind turned again to the crystals. He hoped there would be different colors in the mine. Which ones did he need? Of course, as many as he co
uld get, but at least green and blue and maybe a clear one if he could find it. Would there be other colors? He tried to recall the different filter crystals in Pangrove. Yes, there were yellow, purple, and some odd color—something between red and yellow but more intense than a regular orange. The name quite escaped him.

  His thoughts moved from the crystal to Burns. Maybe he should have awakened her and told her where he was going. She’s going to be very angry this time. He recalled their last conversation about him wandering off. Friends don’t do that. Friends. Yes. He should have told her. He would have to find a way to make it up to her.

  Chapter 90: Jarek

  Not being familiar with the human world night sky, Jarek could only guess at the direction they were headed. As the sky to his left began to lighten, he reasoned that they were moving south. The landscape was still dark, so he could only make out shapes nearby. “How much farther?” He called ahead.

  CeCe paused and turned. “I make it about another half-hour. We will clear this next copse and then follow a small stream. There is a hut about ten minutes from the mine. We’ll stop there and wait until it’s full daylight before moving on. It could be dangerous trying to pick our way around in the dark.”

  Curious. It would be dark inside a mine in any event, any time of day. Jarek assumed that they would light torches or something. Why wait until daylight? Oh well. I’m not a miner. She knows better than I.

  The trek continued. The sky lightened as the two encountered the stream, where they stopped to fill their water skins and to eat. Three hours of walking had generated an appetite for the Azyrean. “The cold meat tastes surprisingly good.” He munched on the breast meat as he sat back against a tree listening to the gurgling of the water.