The Gorge (The Others Book 1)

by Joe Zeigler

  “You mean you raid because attacking people, stealing, and such keep you too busy to hunt? That is a silly, circular argument.”

  “No, Micaela, you miss the whole point of the raids. God calls men to have multiple wives. The worthiest are required to have at least four and to treat each equally. As you might imagine, and by no fault of ours, there is a constant shortage of women. We raid other people to capture their females, young girls, to fulfill God’s commandment. Remember? That’s how you came to us. And me, too.”

  “So it’s all about the women?”

  “Yes, yes…without the raids, we would be unable to do His bidding. His will be done.” Lofn made a motion in the air that Micaela did not quite catch.

  Rejected

  The forest ended at the bottom of the slope, and Danijel walked out on the high, flat desert with the river two miles ahead and the mouth of the gorge to the south. He saw the camp of the Raiders ahead, by the river, and knew immediately they were too many. And there was no cover to facilitate a stealthy approach. It would be a slow charge over two open miles of desert, with not enough men. He estimated the Raiders’ group at over two hundred, one hundred of which would be men able to fight. He could not get this done with twenty men. He saw three choices: wait until the Raiders moved camp and then follow them, hoping for an opportunity along the trail or an easier place to assault them; try to infiltrate at night using the dark for cover, or send for reinforcements.

  He decided on the latter. “Glooscap, return to camp and gather the rest of the men. Leave ten to defend the camp. If hunting parties are still out, leave instructions for them to follow. That will bring us to forty, and I, with confidence, will pit forty of our men against one hundred of theirs. Tell the People not to worry. Our force will be between our people and the Raiders. I’ll stay here with the men to take advantage of any opportunity that presents itself. Go now, and hurry. I’ll expect you back in three days.”

  Danijel pulled his men back a half a mile into the woods and posted sentries to watch the Raiders’ camp. Then he sent two men back up the trail with instructions to bring back meat. He had done everything he could think to do. Now came the wait.

  ***

  Wenerdu awakened Micaela early. “Come with me, child. Come and meet my sister wives.”

  Micaela jumped to her feet and followed Wenerdu to her large shelter at the center of the camp. Wenerdu pushed aside the skin covering the entrance and motioned Micaela to enter. Micaela had never seen anything like it. She could stand inside—ten people could stand at once inside this shelter! A fire in the center warmed it, and a hole in the top let out the smoke. Seated on the far side were three women—a young one, a middle-aged one, and another, relatively old. Wenerdu filled in the gap between the middle-aged woman and the elder. These were the Prophet’s wives.

  “Sisters, this is Micaela, whom I have told you about. She is very competent in many areas. She is the one who wove the basket I showed you, and she cooks well. Though she has been with us only a very short time, I believe she is ready to be joined to one worthy.”

  “She is a beauty,” commented the middle wife.

  “Has she accepted us, our God, and her place?” asked the oldest.

  “She has,” Wenerdu answered. “She was already of the Sun when captured. She has integrated very nicely with the other women and is happy doing whatever work I give her.”

  “Take off your clothes, child,” the middle wife instructed.

  “My clothes?”

  “Yes, dear, we must examine you carefully before we recommend you to the Prophet.”

  Reluctantly, Micaela removed her coverings until she stood naked before them.

  “You see she is completely symmetrical and has a pleasing body,” Wenerdu said.

  “Yes, the teats are very adequate. I think she could feed three. And her hips are wide. She could pass a smart one,” the old lady commented as she smiled.

  Micaela smiled as well. After the initial shock, the idea of sister wives was no longer so appalling. It was even a little appealing, considering her lack of options among her own people, and she imagined the other wives might offer some protection.

  The youngest one rose and cocked her head, staring at Micaela. “Turn around slowly,” she ordered.

  As Micaela completed the three-sixty, the young wife approached and placed her hand on Micaela’s slightly swollen belly. “You have a beautiful body,” she said, “but what is this? You are very thin except here.”

  “Most likely the baby,” Micaela replied, smiling.

  Wenerdu blanched. After a moment of complete silence, she said softly, “Micaela, cover yourself and go back to work. I will talk to you later.”

  Not understanding the sudden change in the wives, Micaela’s first reaction was to cover herself. Something was wrong; the atmosphere had changed. The women’s welcoming aspect had reversed. They were tense, and they avoided her gaze. It felt like the rejection at the feast. Micaela was upset. Then she was concerned that she was upset. These people are my enemy, she thought. Why does it matter how they feel about me? But it did, and she was desperate to repair the damage. Everyone can’t hate me, can they? A small smile appeared on her lips. Apparently, they can.

  She clutched her garments around her, and her proud exit devolved into a disorganized scamper as she fought back tears.

  “I didn’t know, of course,” Wenerdu said. “She never said anything, and she shows only a little. But I know this will not do.”

  “We could abort her,” the youngest suggested. “No one need ever know. It’s not as if there’s an overabundance of virgins over the age of twelve.”

  “No!” the old woman almost shouted. “Abortion is a sin! The Prophet has spoken many times, forbidding the taking of an unborn life. This we cannot do. You must kill the captive as the Prophet would wish, and be done. There is nothing else for it.”

  The other two nodded sadly in agreement, as Wenerdu stood horrified but resigned to the Prophet’s will, which was Sun’s will.

  “I will take care of it tomorrow before we leave.”

  Micaela’s Murder

  By the end of the day, Danijel had circumnavigated the Raiders’ camp, crossing the river twice, and found no better place to launch an attack. The only new idea that came to him was to move the men upstream and then have them float down the river into the midst of the Raider camp. Something to consider but still risky with only twenty men. He returned to his camp, far enough from the Raiders to have a fire to roast the pronghorn they had killed and to warm the chilly night.

  In the morning, Danijel walked to the edge of the woods. He was dismayed to see the Raiders on the move. They were busy launching what appeared to be twenty or more large rafts, loading their people and cargo aboard, and pushing them out into the river current. They were leaving and moving downstream. The river, considered by Danijel’s people to be impassable, joined the stream that fell from the drop right there—right where Danijel’s people were currently camped. Danijel’s forces would no longer be between the Raiders and his people. And he had just depleted the last of the manpower from the main encampment.

  About to rush to his camp to get the men moving to protect the main camp, Danijel saw what appeared to be a naked woman being marched away from the activity around the Raiders’ camp. Was it Micaela? Two miles was a long way to be sure, though the figure did have Micaela’s upright bearing. The girl looked as if she was being prodded by the woman behind her.

  And, indeed, she was. Micaela had again been awakened early and ordered to strip.

  “Why, Wenerdu…what’s wrong? What have I done wrong?”

  “Take off your clothing. We cannot promise you to an elder if you are with child. For the binding, it is not required for you to be a virgin, but it is necessary that you be able to pretend. No man here will take you if you carry some other man’s child.”

  Micaela sobbed, as even the new perverted hope she had come to accept was ripped from her. “Why do y
ou take my coverings?” she asked.

  “We have no use for you, so we will discard you as we leave this place. We do have uses for your skins and coverings. Now, move away from the river.” She prodded Micaela with the stout stick she carried.

  They walked directly toward Danijel, Micaela shivering in the cold of the morning, a mile away from the river where the Raiders were occupied with loading the rafts. He could see clearly now—it was Micaela, naked, being prodded along by a woman with a club. Perhaps if he ran out, he could rescue Micaela. It would take some time for the Raiders to organize an attack, and then they would have to come to Danijel and his men in the woods. The Raiders could not be sure of the number, and Danijel would have the option of retreating.

  He could see it in his mind. Whack the woman, grab Micaela, and retreat to his men waiting in the woods. The Raiders would take a precious few minutes or more to organize, and then he would have the advantage of ambush among the trees. He would send Micaela ahead with two trusted men, do some severe damage to the Raiders, and then retreat himself. On the way down the trail, he would collect those coming to reinforce him, and they would return to protect his people at the base of the cliff before the Raiders could get there.

  “Lie down on that stone,” Wenerdu ordered, pointing the club to a large, rectangular rock the size of a coffin.

  “What are you going to do?” Micaela asked as she complied.

  “You lie there on your stomach and close your eyes.”

  Tears leaked out of Micaela’s closed eyes, and she fought to be brave and not to show her fear. “You’re going to kill me,” she murmured.

  Wenerdu raised the club above her head, and Danijel, watching, realized he had hesitated too long. She swung the club down, causing Danijel to gasp. The blow struck the stone not an inch from Micaela’s head. Quickly, Wenerdu raised her leg, put her foot on Micaela’s hip, and pushed her body off the rock, onto the side away from the Raiders’ camp. “Now be still, girl!” she commanded. “You are dead! Stay that way until the last of us leave.”

  Wenerdu turned and walked back toward the river as Danijel ran toward Micaela with little expectation of her well-being. It will be all right, Danijel said to himself. I’ll take her up as soon as I can get her body into the woods. It’s not too late. Expecting a corpse with its head caved in, Danijel was shocked to find Micaela huddled against the side of the rock, shivering from the cold but showing no other damage.

  “Micaela,” he exclaimed, “are you all right?”

  Hearing a familiar voice, she turned her head away from the stone and saw Danijel leaning over her. “Danijel…Yes, I’m OK…cold.” Naked and shamed, she thought as she tried to cover herself.

  Danijel quickly shrugged out of his fur cloak, wrapped it around her, picked her up, and headed back to the forest. He glanced toward the river and saw that the woman had not turned. She showed no awareness that something was going on behind her. She continued walking toward the river where the Raiders were rapidly departing, a slight smile on her lips.

  Hardly slowed by his burden, Danijel ran upslope into the forest to join his men.

  “Quickly,” he commanded, “we’re moving back to the main camp. The Raiders have left and are going downstream on rafts. They may be trying to get to our camp before we can get back.”

  Actually, he doubted that, as it was unlikely the Raiders knew he and his men were there. Or, for that matter, where his people were camped. He suspected it was all unfortunate coincidence. Still, it was best to get back to his people.

  “You two,” he continued, “take Micaela, clothe her, and do what’s necessary to keep her with us.”

  In mere minutes, the entire corps was marching rapidly upslope to join the trail south to the cliff.

  At the same time, Glooscap, unaware that the Raiders were heading south, was gathering the rest of the men and organizing them for the journey north to reinforce Danijel. His effort meant emptying the main camp of all but a few old men. Even Ohad was accompanying the party, which was unusual. Glooscap resolved not to let Ohad slow them down.

  I will leave him behind if necessary.

  Flanked

  Wenerdu boarded the last raft to leave and settled in for the trip downstream, which would take most of the day. They planned to land the rafts just before the river and stream joined, south of the great drop. A series of rapids blocked navigation beyond that point, and the now significantly sized river flowed through the narrow gorge.

  ***

  Micaela clothed and fed, recovered quickly and was soon trotting lightly beside the men. All were anxious about the fate of their people in the main camp. They had no scouts or pickets out as the group was traveling as fast as possible, too fast for a scout to get out ahead. A sense of desperation drove them on as Danijel lamented his strategic error. But once they were back on the trail, it was downhill. They were making impressive progress, and Danijel estimated they would be back before darkness. He was already out front, and he further increased his speed, inspiring the others to keep up.

  ***

  Unfortunately, the Raiders’ trip downriver was fast and uneventful. They entered the last bend of their journey, and the gorge opened up to form a beach. Wenerdu could see that most of the rafts were there, and more than half were already unloaded. It was just past noon. The Prophet was standing on the beach, Caddarak beside him, talking with a group of men engaged in animated conversation.

  “Danijel’s people are camped just over there,” a scout stated. “We were watching the village when all the young men suddenly left, heading up the cliff face. We followed them to the top to confirm they continued north.”

  “How many were in the group?” the Prophet asked.

  “Nineteen.”

  “That is less than half of their men. Where are the others?”

  “Perhaps they went ahead to hunt and prepare the next camp.”

  “Did you see them leave? Did they move south?”

  “No, they were gone when we arrived this morning. But where else would they go?”

  “The men moving north must be pursuing us,” Caddarak said. “They think we are still north and seek to recover the goods and the girl. This may be an opportunity, Prophet.”

  The Prophet turned toward the river, and Wenerdu, her raft now near the beach, could see his eyes close and his brow creased in thought. As she watched, she wondered if he was receiving a revelation. Then his eyes snapped open, his brow relaxed, and his lips formed a small smile.

  “What an opportunity! Take fifty men and pursue them. You will outnumber them over two to one and have surprise to your further advantage. Let them get to our old camp. Once they see it empty, they will start back. Attack them as they enter the forest at the base of the slope. Bring the survivors back as slaves. The rest of us will await you here, prepare for the journey, and ambush the hunting party if they return before you do. Now hurry. Do not concern yourselves with your share. We will wait until you return to pillage the camp and divide the women.”

  ***

  After six hours, Danijel and his men were still moving fast when he saw a movement in the trees ahead, then another. A large group of men appeared below, headed toward them. Attack or defend…either way, Danijel knew he had the advantage of the high ground. His first thought was to run right through them, doing extreme damage to them without slowing down. Getting to the camp was imperative.

  “Defend,” he shouted, realizing the only men expected to be on this trail heading north were Glooscap’s, moving to reinforce him.

  The men stopped in their tracks and then moved into a defensive line of battle with practiced ease. They took cover and readied their weapons. At Danijel’s wave, Micaela moved to the rear of the group, which was now spread out perpendicular to the trail and on both sides, with the center of their line on the trail. Danijel could see the men below deploying in a similar manner. Too similar. It has to be the reinforcements, he thought.

  “Glooscap,” he shouted, taking no risk
, as the men below were obviously aware of his corps’s presence.

  Most likely employing the same logic, Glooscap shouted, “Danijel.”

  “Yes, we’re coming down.” Danijel extended both arms and moved them in a circular motion instantly understood by his men, even though this civilization had not developed the wheel. They recognized this sign and moved forward, re-forming with Danijel at their head.

  Seeking out Glooscap, Danijel said, “Turn your men around and form up with us. The Raiders are behind you and may already be in our village.”

  Glooscap’s face fell, and his eyes grew large. “How is this possible?”

  “They went down the river by raft, flanking our lines. There is no time…move!”

  Glooscap raised his right arm, then pointed at Danijel. Raising it again, he moved his hand in a circle and then pointed downhill. Danijel, with Glooscap close behind, started rapidly down the slope, with their men mixing and falling into a column behind them. It was now late afternoon, but if they kept the pace, they would arrive at the camp before total darkness. Maybe in time.

  Less than two hours later, Danijel once again saw movement in front of him. This time, he knew it wasn’t Glooscap. He picked up speed, stretched out both arms to his sides, and motioned forward violently with his hands. As he moved forward and unsheathed his club, his men picked up speed and deployed to both sides in battle line as they prepared their weapons.

  In what seemed an instant, they were in a wedge-shaped line cutting into the Raiders, with clubs swinging. The Raiders, taken by surprise, had not even drawn their weapons. Outnumbered, they were decimated as Danijel’s men moved through them. The downhill charge became a raid—a hit and run—with the attackers doing as much damage as possible as they moved through the enemy without slowing down.

  The Raiders were so unprepared and out of position that the center of Danijel’s line slowed down, and the wings closed in on the piled-up column from both sides, with clubs swinging. The bowmen, who had hung back, were picking off men who attempted to extend to the sides of the trail. It would have been a rout if the panicked Raiders had had anywhere to go. But the wings of Danijel’s line closed in on both sides, surrounding the entire company.