Oh'Dar's Quest

by Leigh Roberts

Oh’Dar fingered a beautiful piece of deep Red Jasper. It was smooth and shiny and hung on a piece of dyed leather. He had made it for his mother, though few of the People wore any decorations.

  There was a woven basket in the corner where he had kept the locket and the blanket. There, he had placed the presents he had made for Honovi, Is’Taqa, and their children. He was not sure how to get the gifts there but had made markings identifying for whom each one was. He thought the likenesses were similar enough that whoever found them would work it out.

  He would be leaving within days. Oh’Dar buried his face in Kweeuu’s soft fur. He could not take the wolf and wished he could explain to him why.

  Oh’Dar’s heart was breaking. His earlier suffering over not belonging was nothing compared to the pain now in his soul. It had been hard to feel he did not fit in, but he would give anything not to have overheard Khon’Tor’s comments.

  Finally, the day came. Oh’Dar put on his new wrappings and moccasins. He collected the locket and the blue blanket with the designs on it. He tucked the locket in the leather bag he had created and then stuffed the blanket safely into a basket he had designed to wear on his back.

  In the basket with the gifts, he purposefully left the bear he had cuddled so many nights. Oh’Dar hoped his mother would take comfort from it, just as it had comforted him so many times.

  He placed a large sheet of painted birch bark next to the basket that had been holding the locket and blanket, and which now held his gifts. He knew it was the first place Adia would look after discovering he was gone.

  Kweeuu was with Nootau and Nadiwani, with whom he had started staying on and off. There was nothing left for Oh’Dar to do but close the door of his workshop behind him and leave. It would be daylight soon. With any luck, it would be the next day or the day after before anyone discovered he was gone.

  Oh’Dar was already committed, and though he knew it was forbidden, the only way he could leave unseen was to take the route he had overheard it said that his mother took when she left Kthama in secret many years ago.

  He cringed as he entered the female’s bathing area, confident that no one would be there at this hour, but uncomfortable at doing something so wrong. He quickly found and followed the exit stream as his mother had done. He could not follow the Mother Stream because it led in the wrong direction.

  He stood and looked around, trying to get his bearings because he did not know exactly where the stream came out. Rocky overhangs projected just enough to block any watcher’s view, giving him the privacy he needed to get far enough along the path. By the time he emerged where any watchers could see him, they would assume he was just out doing some early morning scavenging.

  Having gotten his bearings, Oh’Dar adjusted his direction and set out toward where, last spring, he and Honovi had seen the two Waschini riders cross. He picked his way carefully along the path. A twisted ankle would be the end of his plans. As it was, Oh’Dar was deeply handicapped by his slow travel. Any of the People would have made it to the field hours ago.

  He shifted his pack and forged on until he was finally standing in the planting field he and Honovi had begun to prepare last spring. Bittersweet memories came to mind, and he brushed his hair away from his face as if trying to brush the memories away as well.

  Squinting against the midday sun, Oh’Dar climbed up the hillside to the path the riders had followed and continued on his way.

  It was nightfall by the time he came to the clearing Acaraho had mentioned. Without being able to see the path, Oh’Dar had no chance of crossing the open field in the dark, so he let his back basket slump to the ground. He found a soft patch of moss and prepared for a long night. From his bundle, he took out a sack of pine nuts, dried fruits, and his woven water container. He had experimented many times before he had gotten the weave tight enough to withstand being jostled about without leaking.

  A bit later, he lay thinking. I wonder if they know I have left? Will they understand my messages?

  Oh’Dar knew he had done the best he could to make it clear that he had left of his own accord and that they should let him go.

  At the first break of light, Oh’Dar was up and back on his way. He took his time, making sure that he did not vary from the very faint trail left in the open grasses. He let out a huge sigh of relief when he spotted the first tree break in the woods ahead.

  The rest of the path was difficult to travel. Brush snapped back in his face, and tree roots tripped him several times. One day turned into the next, and the next. To extend his supplies, he ate violets, dandelions, the blossoming redbud tree flowers, and whatever else edible that he came across.

  Oh’Dar had planned well. He had extended the duration of the times he slept in his workshop, so no one noticed his absence immediately. It was only at the morning meal several days later that Nootau mentioned how odd it was that Oh’Dar had not come to take Kweeuu for a romp outside.

  Adia had experienced an unsettling feeling for a day or so, but she chalked it up to being overprotective of her relatively frail Waschini son. But when Nootau mentioned it, her heart sank. It had been days. She was immediately angry with herself for being so preoccupied with her desire for Acaraho. She stopped eating and sprang up from the table, Acaraho and the others right behind her. They flew down the corridors to Oh’Dar’s workshop. Acaraho shouted his name several times, and then, receiving no answer, flung the wooden door open, shattering part of it.

  The interior was empty. Acaraho surveyed the room quickly, taking in every clue. The sleeping mat was undisturbed, and there were no leftover foodstuffs anywhere. It looked as if it had been straightened up and intentionally left in good order.

  In the corner was a large piece of birch bark propped up against a storage basket. Acaraho laid it out on top of one of the nearby hide stacks, smoothing out the corners to flatten it as much as possible. There was an unmistakable drawing of Adia, Acaraho, Nadiwani, Nootau, and Kweeuu in front of a large cave. Footsteps led away and down a hill to a figure that could only be Oh’Dar. He had marked it with his thumbprint on the lower corner.

  Adia covered her face with her hands, unable to stop the tears. It was clearly a goodbye note. He wanted them to know he had left of his own accord.

  But why? She knew he had been struggling again, but for it to come to this? And where did he go?

  Acaraho handed the paper to Nadiwani and put his arms around Adia. She buried her face in his chest and let herself sob. Why had she not paid more attention to his moods? But she had never thought he would leave.

  “Is’Taqa?” She looked up at Acaraho.

  “I will go and find out, Adia, but it is not likely. I am sure if he had shown up there, they would have sent word back through one of the watchers.”

  “We do not know how long he has been gone.” She started counting the days on her fingers to when she last remembered seeing him.

  “Five days! He could have left five days ago!” Adia turned around and sat down on a pile of hides, tears running down her face.

  Nadiwani ran over and kneeled in front of her, taking Adia’s hands in hers. “You know he is alright. You know if something had happened to him, you would have felt it,” she said reassuringly.

  “Would I? I am not so sure. My eldest offspring has been gone for five days, and I did not even realize it!” Filled with self-recrimination, she could only shake her head.

  “He planned this for some time,” Acaraho said quietly. He walked over to Adia and placed his hands on her shoulders.

  “Do you not remember how he stayed away longer and longer?” he continued. “Sleeping overnight? He wanted to get us used to his absence, so we would not realize he was gone. He wanted a head-start. Nootau, you have been here more than any of us. Look around. See if anything is missing.”

  Nootau walked around the room slowly, looking at Oh’Dar’s tools lined neatly on the stone worktable. He touched the hides that hung from the stretchers. He took his time, wanting to be of some help. Lastly,
he went over to inspect Kweeuu’s food bowls.

  “Kweeuu’s food and water bowls are empty. Other than that, I do not see anything out of place,” he said.

  Adia suddenly remembered the locket and blue blanket she had given Oh’Dar for his safekeeping. She remembered that he kept them in the storage basket in the corner, the same one against which he had propped the birch bark note.

  She let go of Nadiwani’s hands, grabbed the basket, and opened it. Inside, there were packages neatly wrapped and tied up with green willow branches. On the first was a likeness of Adia. The next had a drawing that was clearly Nadiwani. Then Nootau, Acaraho, and there were even packages for Is’Taqa, Honovi, and their children.

  Acaraho is right; he planned this for some time.

  She was looking for the blanket and locket that held the likeness of his mother and father. Her heart pounded as she searched through the basket. They were gone, but his toy bear was there. She grabbed it and clutched it to her. Closing her eyes, she breathed in its scent and let out a heavy sigh before dropping back down onto the pile of hides.

  “I know where he has gone. He went to find his Waschini family,” she said blankly.

  Acaraho was at her side in one step.

  “How do you know?” He kneeled so they were at eye level and grabbed her hands in his own.

  “The locket is gone. The one that you gave to Is’Taqa the night you came and rescued me. The one he returned not long after. It has the likeness of his Waschini parents in it. And the blanket that I found with him—they are both missing.”

  “I will take some of the guards, and we will set out after him,” Acaraho announced.

  Adia thought for a moment. “No. Wait. Look at the picture he left. It is clear this is what he wants. He made sure to leave it so we would know he left on purpose, that we would not think he had gotten lost, or was hurt outside somewhere. He wants us to let him go.” She stared into nothingness as she spoke.

  Acaraho understood what Adia was saying, but he could not accept it. Not wanting to upset her further, he signaled to Nadiwani to prepare something to help Adia relax. He had never seen her in a state like this.

  “Come. You go back to your quarters for a while.” He handed her over to Nootau, who took his mother’s hand and led her back to the Healer’s Quarters. Acaraho took one more look around the room before closing what was left of the wooden door, making a note to have it replaced.

  While the others were on their way back to the Healer’s Quarters, Acaraho found Awan and asked him to post someone outside Oh’Dar’s workshop, instructing him that no one was to go into the room until further notice, except himself or Adia. He did not want anything disturbed in case there might be another clue they had not yet noticed.

  Nootau led his mother to her sleeping mat, then sat down next to her as Nadiwani placed some cool, damp Catalpa leaves across Adia’s forehead.

  Nootau took one of her hands in his and held it in his lap. He laid the other gently on the top of her head, soothing her as she had in the past done so many times for him.

  “Please do not blame yourself, Mama. I should have noticed too. Kweeuu was pacing the last few days, carrying around the skin toy Oh’Dar made for him. Every time I took him outside, he kept trying to run away. It was all I could do to make him come back inside,” said Nootau.

  By now, Acaraho had returned. He came over and sat down beside Adia.

  “It is no one’s fault. Oh’Dar had this planned for some time. But I do not understand why. Maybe Is’Taqa can shed some light on it. I will visit him and Honovi and be back as soon as I can.”

  Acaraho brought Adia’s free hand to his lips, kissed it, and hurriedly left her quarters.

  The High Protector was at the Brothers’ village before the end of the morning. He had not had time to send word he was coming, so as he entered the village, several of the young warriors jumped up in alarm. The two remaining wolf cubs, also almost fully grown, came over to inspect Acaraho, heads tentatively lowered. He crouched down and petted each of them on the chest, reassuring them that he meant no harm. Satisfied, they turned and wandered away.

  One of the young warriors ran off and came back within a few minutes with Is’Taqa following close behind him.

  They came to a stop in front of Acaraho, flinging dust and stones in front of them.

  “What’s wrong?” Is’Taqa gasped to catch his breath.

  Acaraho was not expecting to learn anything there, but he wanted to do whatever he could to reassure Adia that they had left no stone unturned.

  “Oh’Dar has left Kthama. We were wondering if he came to you.”

  “Acaraho, no, he did not. I would have sent word if that had been the case,” Is’Taqa exclaimed.

  “Yes, I know.” Acaraho rubbed the back of his neck, trying to relieve the tension in his shoulders.

  Is’Taqa turned and told the warrior to find Honovi. The man returned in just a few minutes, Honovi trotting behind him as fast as her buckskin skirts would let her.

  “I am so sorry, Acaraho. Adia must be beside herself. How long has he been gone?” Her face was pinched with concern.

  “About five days. Did he say anything to either of you about wanting to return to the Waschini?”

  Both Is’Taqa and Honovi answered with a resounding no. They knew he had been struggling with not fitting in, but they had never heard him say anything like that.

  “We can send a party of braves out on horseback to look for him if you wish.”

  “Thank you, Is’Taqa. I will let you know. Adia and I both thank you.”

  As Acaraho was leaving, Honovi called out after him. “Wait! Please! I must go with you. I need to see Adia; she must be beside herself!”

  Acaraho waited for her to gather some things, and they both set out for Kthama.

  As he pushed the saplings and undergrowth aside, Acaraho tried to remember anything he might have overlooked at Kthama. He was convinced something must have caused Oh’Dar to leave. Something must have triggered such a drastic measure.

  Not sure why it had not come to him earlier, Acaraho suddenly knew where Oh’Dar had gone.

  He must be following the trail of the two Waschini riders from last spring. And I even marked the trail for him with the tree breaks.

  Acaraho figured that Oh’Dar was about seven days into his journey—if they were correct about when he must have left. Accounting for slower travel, he will have crossed the open field by now. He still probably has a good thirty days of hiking before he will come to the Waschini settlement.

  Acaraho knew he had taught the boy well and that Oh’Dar would have taken enough supplies to make a trip twice as far. He could follow the tree breaks, and Acaraho had taught him to keep his bearings using the night sky.

  Adia had only told Acaraho not to bring Oh’Dar back. There was nothing stopping someone from following his trail to make sure he was indeed managing.

  By now, word had traveled through the community that Oh’Dar had left. Mapiya and Haiwee visited Adia, and the Healer was also grateful that her friend Honovi had returned with Acaraho.

  Though certain where Oh’Dar had gone, Acaraho sent both guards and watchers out to search a wide area nonetheless. Reports came back that he was nowhere to be found, easing Acaraho’s mind that Oh’Dar was not lying somewhere hurt or trapped while they assumed he was heading for the Waschini settlement.

  At the same time, Acaraho sent two of his watchers to follow the trail, making sure the boy did not see them when they reached him. If something had happened, serious enough that Oh’Dar could not be carried back, one of them would stay with him, and the other would return for help.

  Adia thought of Urilla Wuti and kicked herself for not thinking to have the Healer make a one-way Connection with Oh’Dar. At least she would then know he was alright. However, she did not have a bad feeling about anything, and no alarms were going off that would indicate he was hurt, or ill, or in trouble. Nadiwani reported feeling the same, as did Mapiya, Haiwe
e, and Honovi.

  Kweeuu, along with the hide toy Oh’Dar had made for him, had taken up residence in the Healer’s Quarters. He stayed at Adia’s side and lay next to her sleeping mat at night. She often fell asleep with her hand resting on his head.

  Honovi stayed for a few days as company for Adia. Eventually, she had to return to her own family, but Adia was thankful that she had come.

  Days turned into weeks. Acaraho figured that within another week or so, Oh’Dar would be close to the Waschini village. The watchers should have caught up with him by now.

  Adia was seated at the worktable with Nootau, Kweeuu lying wrapped around her feet. Acaraho made his presence known before entering. He walked over and laid an arm across her shoulders.

  “It has been some time now. Do you want me to send someone to bring Oh’Dar back? I am certain I know where he is heading, and there is still time to stop him if you want.”

  “You think as I do, that he is headed to the Waschini settlement.” She said it as a statement of fact, not a question.

  “Yes.”

  “I have gone over it and over it and over it. I do not know why he would leave. Why now? Oh’Dar loved his workshop. He even told me some of his ideas for new designs. You know better than anyone how many hides and furs he has in there to work on. He was not planning on leaving when he had you bring all of those back to Kthama,” Adia said, turning to face Acaraho.

  “I will do whatever you want. Just tell me,” he said softly.

  Adia looked up at the ceiling as if the answer was there. She suddenly realized she had been so busy being a worried mother, to the point of forgetting who she was. Instead of worrying, what she needed to do was spend some time with the Great Mother.

  She leaned back against Acaraho.

  “I need to spend some time in meditation. I will let you know if I come to a decision not to let things continue as they are.”