"Yes," Tiberius said. "I see no reason why the entire tribe can't move north with us. There's safety in numbers, you know."
"Yes, of course I know that. I just don't want you to lose sight of our goal."
"You mean getting Olyva to Sparlan Citadel?"
Rafe nodded.
"If it's important to you, Rafe, it will always be important to me. We started this adventure together."
"And we will end it together," Rafe said, clapping his friend on the shoulder. "I am your man for life."
"And I am yours," Tiberius said. "Now let's get you cleaned up, you smell worse than a dung rat."
Chapter 15
Lexi
Morning came just as the tribe was returning to camp. Lexi expected the tribe to return to their shelters or lounge for most of the day, but instead the people went right to work. The huge creature was set upon by the entire tribe. Some focused on skinning the tough, leathery hide, while others harvested meat. The teeth were pulled to make weapons, the brain dug out through the eye socket to help with the tanning process of the skin, and huge sections of intestines were harvested and then strung over fires to dry.
The tribe worked hard all day, including Lexi. She helped Quntah with the horses, and found clothes for Rafe and Tiberius to change into. Water from the spring was gathered in clay pots and carried away from the watering hole for washing. By midafternoon, Lexi was exhausted. Rafe had crawled into Tiberius’ shelter after cleaning up and fallen promptly to sleep. Olyva stayed far away from the large cooking fires where many of the tribal women were busy smoking and salting the huge slabs of meat from the fallen creature. Instead, she spent most of her time by the spring, her long root-like toes often dipping into the cool water.
Lexi found Tiberius with the Rogu. The tribal hunters had spent the morning helping with the carcass of the monster, but now they were in deep consultation with their Swanee.
“The carrion birds are already circling,” Tiberius was saying. “The smell of blood will have carried for miles. This place will be overrun with creatures come nightfall.”
“The tribe cannot be moved,” Te’sumee was arguing. “There is too much work to be done.”
“All that work is for nothing if we’re attacked by Graypees or some other pack of ravenous creatures.”
“Graypees?” Te’sumee asked.
“Hulpatahs,” Lexi said.
Tiberius looked at her with a mix of surprise and pride. She was picking up the Hosakli language differences quicker than the others. He nodded as a way to thank her for her help and then continued talking.
“We don’t have to go far,” he said. “But we’ll be safer with at least some distance between us and what amounts to a massive feast.”
“The Hoskali have never killed a Draccon before, Tiswanee. We must celebrate your great victory.”
The other Rogu who were gathered around listening to the discussion yelped in agreement. Their high-pitched shouts surprised Lexi, but she couldn’t help but smile at their enthusiasm.
“Can’t we celebrate tomorrow?” Tiberius asked.
“Look around, Tiswanee. Everyone is working. Everyone has much to do.”
“Look,” Tiberius said, pleading his case once again, “we’ve just about run out of fuel for fire. We’ve been up most of the night and all day. Your men will be tired through the long watches of the night. If we stay here, we’ll be especially vulnerable.”
“The Hoskali are strong people,” Te’sumee said joyfully. “Besides we have a great Kuja Swanee and his Velora is a Great One.”
“Velora?” Tiberius asked.
“It means your warrior, or champion,” Lexi explained. “Ummar was Moswanee’s Velora. Rafe is yours.”
“That’s a dangerous position to take,” Tiberius said to Te’sumee. “We can’t protect you from everything. We really just got lucky last night.”
“No, you are a great Kuja, and we are the most powerful Hoskali!” Te’sumee shouted.
The other Rogu joined in. They began jumping and shouting, dancing and laughing. Tiberius looked crestfallen. Lexi knew he was only trying to do what was best for the tribe, but she could see he was defeated.
“Don’t take it personally,” she said as she took hold of his arm and leaned her head against his shoulder.
“It’s insane,” Tiberius replied. “I’m the Swanee, but the tribe never does what I tell them to do.”
“You defeated a monster last night. They are overjoyed. Let them have their celebration. What could it possibly hurt?”
“I don’t care if they want to celebrate. They can feast for a week if that makes them happy, they just shouldn’t do it here.”
“The carcass isn’t too close to the camp,” she argued. “We’ll be safe here, don’t you think.”
“What happens when the creatures that come to feast on the carcass finish eating? What do you think they’ll want to do next?”
“Sleep?” she said hopefully.
“Drink,” Tiberius said. “And we’re camped around the only watering hole for miles and miles.”
“So,” Lexi said, her forehead pinched in thought. “If the wild animals will want water, and we can’t move the camp. What if we move the water?”
“Huh?” Tiberius said, the surprise obvious on his face.
“The tribe has big clay pots,” she explained. “We can fill them with water from the spring, just as we did for your bath. Then we load the pots into the wagon and move them out to the carcass.”
“We could dig a hole so that the pots don’t get broken in the night,” Tiberius said, his excitement for her plan growing. “It might take several trips, but we could get plenty of water moved before dark. It’s a great plan.”
He kissed her so suddenly she was completely caught off guard.
“It might not be perfect, but it should cut down on the danger to the camp.”
“I’m glad you like it,” Lexi said, still a little shocked by the kiss.
“I love it,” he said loudly. “You’re a genius.”
He kissed her again and this time she was ready for him. They held each other tight, their need for one another reflected in the embrace. Then they pulled apart and Lexi saw Tiberius’ face flushed with excitement. She was glad he was in favor of her idea, but she hoped the excitement was for her, and not simply for the idea she’d given him.
“I’ll get started on digging the new watering hole,” he said. “Can you oversee getting the water pots filled? You can send them out in the wagon.”
“Sure,” she said. “I’ll recruit some of the Rogu to lift the jars.”
“And get Quntah to help with the wagon.”
“Alright,” she said with a smile.
“I love you, Lexi.”
Her heart seemed to beat in a strange rhythm as he hurried away. She had never felt so vital to someone’s life before. For most of her life, she had eschewed any sort of attachment to people. She had relationships with people who were useful to her, but she was always careful not to grow attached to anyone. Tiberius had changed that, the charismatic noble-born third son of the Earl of Avondale had been a fun distraction in the city. When he’d poured his heart out to her before the banishment, she’d thought him foolish and naive. His banishment had forced her into making a decision, and she’d decided to trust him, but all the while she had held herself back, unwilling to truly engage fully in their bond. Now, she could see the practical ways that she helped Tiberius. The Earl’s son had become the leader of a tribe of nomadic people in the blighted lands and a wizard, yet he needed her. And even more surprising to Lexi was the fact that she needed him to need her.
She hurried back to the watering hole. The spring was little more than a gush of water, splashing along a rocky track that was no more than a few paces long. Then it dropped into a small pool where it seeped back underground. The water level of the pool never seemed to change until they began filling the large pots. Still, the water continued to flow and so by the time th
e wagon was ready, six large pots were filled with water. It took four men to load each pot, and soon the wagon was rumbling away.
Lexi kept the men working. They made three trips before the light in the mists high overhead began to fade. Lexi returned to the shelter she now shared with Tiberius and the dozen wives of his harem. The thought of any man having so many wives seemed perverse to Lexi, but the thought of Tiberius having so many wives seemed funny. The women were busy preparing food. Bright cooking fires were burning at almost every shelter in the camp. As night fell, the mood turned even more festive.
The Hoskali didn’t have traditional liquor. They were nomadic people and agriculture was foreign to them. Spirits made of grain or other vegetables were impossible to come by, but over time they had perfected the art of turning ox milk, which they had plenty of, into a mild spirit they called Kymis. By taking the ox milk and churning it on a regular basis over the course of the day, the milk fermented rather than spoiled. It was a fairly quick process, depending on the amount of churning done. Most of the female tribe members filled animal skin bags with ox milk each morning and took time throughout the day to shake up the milk. By late afternoon, the Kymis was ready to drink.
When Lexi returned to the shelter, the other wives gave her a cup of the sweet drink. Lexi sat by the fire with Olyva, who seemed to be growing more accustomed to having fires at night, although she was careful not to get too close. They watched as men and women passed by the shelter. They were obviously waiting for Tiberius to return. Lexi sat back, drinking her Kymis and slowly slipping toward sleep.
Olyva was awake, but quiet. Lexi normally would have felt the need to carry on a conversation with her, but Olyva was difficult to talk to in the best of circumstances. At night, the noble-born girl was best left to her own devices.
Food was brought to Lexi; a large platter with a huge serving of stringy looking meat. She was hesitant to try it, knowing where it came from, but the smell was more than tempting. The meat had been cooked slowly, simmering with herbs and drizzled with a sweet berry sauce. Lexi expected the meat to be tough and gamey, but she was pleasantly surprised. It was tender and flavorful. In fact, she couldn’t remember a meal that she preferred. There was also wild greens, wilted in the fat from the meat with wild onions. And of course the mealy bread that was a staple of the Hoskali diet.
Lexi had wanted to wait for Tiberius, but in the end her hunger overcame her sentiment and she ate without him. She was sitting on a mat and leaning back on cushions watching the tribe members dance around their fires when Rafe came crawling out of the shelter. His eyes were puffy and he stretched his arms up toward the sky, arching his back and breathing long slow breaths.
At first Lexi thought he was acting like Olyva, who could spend hours during the day with her arms held up, just soaking in the bright amber sunlight. But Rafe exhaled and let his arms drop.
“Something smells good,” he said.
“The beast you killed happens to be delicious,” Lexi said, before taking a long slow drink of the Kymis she was enjoying.
One of the Swanee wives brought Rafe a plate and he settled between Olyva and the fire. Then, after picking at the plate of food, he tried it. Lexi could tell by the look on his face that he was doubtful and she couldn’t blame him. He had crawled up the creature’s nose to slay the monstrous beast after all and she had been close enough to smell the blood and mucus that had covered him after his grisly work. But his face soon turned into a smile once he tasted the food.
“I told you it was good,” she said.
“It’s better than good,” Rafe said. “This is better than the food on the Earl’s own table. Speaking of which, where is Tiberius?”
“I don’t know,” Lexi said. She thought she should be more concerned, but she felt so relaxed it was hard to care about anything.
“You don’t know where he is?”
“No, he went to put out water near the carcass. He should be back soon.”
“How long has he been gone?” Rafe asked.
“A few hours.”
“And you aren’t worried about him?”
“He had several of the Rogu warriors with him. I’m sure he’s fine,” she said sleepily.
“I better go check on him.”
“Suit yourself,” Lexi said.
“What are you drinking?”
“It’s called Kymis. It’s fermented ox milk, and it is really delicious.”
“I think you’ve had enough.”
Lexi thought about that for a moment. She didn’t feel drunk. She didn’t like being drunk, it made her sick and slow, and worst of all, clumsy. This was different. She just felt relaxed and happy.
“I’m fine,” she said, and couldn’t help but smile.
“You don’t seem fine,” Rafe said.
He was wolfing down his food and staring at her.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine, I’m just relaxing. I didn’t sleep all day like some people.”
“Hey, I killed a monster last night. What did you do?”
“I took care of your girlfriend, you big jerk,” she said with a giggle.
“Well, stay here,” he told her. “I’m going to go find your boyfriend.”
That made Lexi laugh even more. Tiberius, son of Aegus, was her boyfriend. She’d never had a real boyfriend before. There had been crushes, but she had never let herself get close to anyone in the past. Now here she was, in the blighted lands, eating the meat of the biggest creature she’d ever seen, drinking fermented ox milk, and in love with Tiberius. Life was strange, but good she thought. And then she drifted off to sleep.
Chapter 16
Tiberius
They were all tired, so they took turns digging the hole. The Hoskali didn’t have traditional tools and rarely dug anything more than small pits for fires. They used small tools to break up the soil and then what looked to Tiberius like Tamaka bones, perhaps part of the large animal’s skull, to scoop out the dirt. The clay pots were short, so they didn’t have to dig too deep, but the holes had to be wide enough. By nightfall, they had excavated a long trench and placed all the water pots inside the ditch.
In the gathering gloom, they could see shapes moving toward the large creature’s carcass. Tiberius guessed that most of the animals had been waiting for nightfall to come claim their share of the abundant feast unexpectedly provided for them. They watched the animals until it was too dark to see, then they made their way back toward the camp, which was a bright spectacle on the wide open but very dark plain. When they got back, Tiberius sent the others to their shelters for rest, while he took the first watch.
He was standing a short way from the nearest shelter, outside of the firelight behind him, peering into the gloom. The Hoskali were making music. There were drums and flutes and singing in the camp, making it impossible for Tiberius to hear anything moving toward them in the darkness. He was sure they were being watched, but he hoped the animals would stay by the carcass, eating their fill and drinking from the water they had placed nearby. If the animals were full, they wouldn’t bother the camp, at least Tiberius told himself they wouldn’t.
His back ached and his eyes burned with fatigue, yet he couldn’t make himself return to the camp. He was happy with Lexi’s plan, but he still felt the tribe was taking an unnecessary risk staying so close to the only source of water in the region. He didn’t hear Te’sumee coming up behind him.
“Tiswanee!” the hunter called out. “What are you doing? The Swanee does not stand watch. That is the Rogu’s task.”
“I just want to make sure we aren’t in danger,” Tiberius said.
“You should come, take the seat of honor. Your wives will have prepared a great feast for you. The tribe wants to show their appreciation.”
“I can’t do that,” Tiberius said. “How can we feast and celebrate when we’re poised on the edge of danger?”
“Don’t try to convince him, Te’sumee,” came Rafe’s famil
iar voice. “Once he has his mind made up, there’s no dissuading him.”
“Please, Tiswanee. Let me stand watch,” the Rogu hunter pleaded. “On my honor, I will not let any harm come to the camp.”
“Listen to him,” Rafe said to Tiberius. “I slept most of the day. I’ll relieve him at midnight.”
“You should let me do it,” Tiberius said, hating himself for wanting to give in. “I won’t be able to rest, not knowing what’s out there.”
“You are new to our way of life,” Te’sumee said. “The Rogu will keep the tribe safe, have no fear of that.”
Tiberius wanted to argue. What if another monster came charging toward the camp? What if an entire pack of Graypees attacked? Could the Rogu, with their wooden clubs and stone knives, really do anything but die trying to keep the tribe safe? But he knew if he voiced his doubts, it would crush the hunter and demoralize the entire tribe. They were not children that needed to be minded, and he couldn’t possibly do everything for them. They had adapted to life in the blighted lands, and Tiberius would just have to adapt to his new role as well.
“Alright,” he said, slightly ashamed at feeling so relieved. “I’ll go. Just make sure we have our best warriors on this side of the camp.”
“I will see to it, personally, Tiswanee. It will be my pleasure,” Te’sumee said.
Rafe fell in beside Tiberius as they walked back toward the camp.
“It looks like you’ve been busy,” Rafe said.
“The entire tribe has been busy. It seems they never killed one of the larger creatures before.”
“What do you think that thing was?”
“I don’t know, but there was something different about it.”
“Different from the creatures we fought in Avondale?”
“No,” Tiberius said. “I wouldn’t say that. I never engaged one of those creatures.”
“Nor did I.”
“But this one responded to my magic in a way I have never experienced before. I wish I knew why.”
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