The creature suddenly became still, its raised tail still stuck along the chalky rock. Miri bent down while taking out the flint knife from her left boot. She quickly turned the creature on its belly and cut through where the base of the tail was. Sure enough, the poison sac was there as it pulsed a few drops of toxin that seeped out from the creature’s stinger and down the canyon wall. Using the sharp edges of her knife, Miri deftly cut away the surrounding tissue until she could pull out the slimy cyst using her free hand. As she clutched at the sac, her fingers located the vein that attached it to the rest of the monster’s circulatory system. Miri pulled it out, then she twisted the thin, ropy tube so the liquid inside it would not seep out. With the poison sac now safely separated from the other organs, she used her knife to slice the vesicle out and threw it onto the ground.
Miri then started using her knife to separate the upper and lower carapaces, being careful not to slice too deep into the chitin. Within a few minutes, she had a bulbous, slimy bag of assorted viscera, the warm liquid that sloshed inside ought to be enough to save their lives.
After squeezing the last of the fluids into her waterskin, Miri noticed that the boy had begun to stir. Dawn would breaking soon, and they would need to move down into the canyon for some shade. She walked over and sat down beside him. The boy slowly opened his eyes while she cradled his head and placed the leather bladder to his lips.
Rion tried to twist his head away. “I do not want any more, the taste is foul.”
“I am aware that this liquid is not the best for drinking, but you need a few more sips or else you will stay weak,” she said softly.
Rion grimaced as he took a few more sips. The boy looked like he was going to vomit, but he drew a deep breath and gulped a mouthful down. He let out a soft groan as the liquid began to settle in his stomach. “It is the vilest thing I have ever drunk.”
Miri smiled a little. “You should be thanking Duun for saving your life. If it were not for that giant norpion, we would all be dead by now.”
The boy drew in some deep breaths. While burping, his breath had a fetid smell and it disgusted him. “Please do not make me drink that anymore.”
“Not for now,” Miri said. “Though you will need to drink a little more of it later.”
Rion growled.
Despite her fatigue and slight injuries, Miri giggled a little. She couldn’t believe just how lucky they were. No one in the history of the tribe had made it this far out into the wastelands. The fact that they were all still alive was a miracle on its own. Rion closed his eyes once again and Miri placed his head on a folded cloak so the boy could rest a little more. A groan behind her made her turn around and she noticed that Nyx had sat up and was awake.
Miri held out the waterskin so the other girl could take it. “Would you like some more norpion juice?”
Nyx scowled while shaking her head. “No, thank you. Where are the others?”
Miri pointed down to the canyon below. “Jinn and Devos are exploring this place. They left but a few moments ago.”
Nyx nodded. “I could have stayed up watch. After that hunt, you could use the rest more than myself.”
Miri smiled as she placed the bladder on the ground beside her. “I am afraid that the moment I lay my head down, then I will not wake up for a whole cycle. There is a sandstorm in my head, but other than that, I feel fine.”
“You surprised me when you woke me up earlier,” Nyx said. “A part of me had thought that we were about to die. I must thank you again.”
“For what?”
“I do not think we could have made it this far without you,” Nyx said. “Just after we departed from the well at the land’s end, a part of me had thought about returning to the settlement to face judgment. I was so fearful that we were going to die out here. I never bothered to tell you because I did not want you to look down on me. But now that we are on this place, I feel as though we will most certainly find this last city.”
Miri looked away into the distance. “We are not out of this yet. What makes you so sure we would succeed?”
“I did not want to speak to you about this at first, though now I feel that I must,” Nyx said. “You see, every time we lay in the shade and rested, I started having these strange dreams. I thought they were just jumbles of memories from a distant past at first, but I soon realized that I was envisioning things that I had never encountered before, and it made me feel strange.”
Miri was intrigued, for she had similar dreams of her own. “These visions that you dreamt of, could you describe them for me?”
“Yes, in one dream, I was surrounded by the dunes, but instead of these hills being made of sand, they were made of water,” Nyx said softly. “Never in my life had I ever had such a sight. It was as if the whole land around me was constantly shifting like the wind, only everything was made of transparent crystal that reflected the light all around me. I had never dreamed that such a place existed other than in the stories of our teller.”
Miri placed a hand over her own mouth to stifle a gasp. She had dreamt of the very same thing, but she hadn’t told them, for she was afraid of panic setting in amongst the group. Devos had told them about the stories of thoughts being transmitted into the air, where they would travel via the winds until they settled unto the minds of those that were sensitive enough to pick them up. Could someone out there be sending them messages through their dreams?
Nyx noticed her mentor’s brooding silence. “Miri, are you alright?”
Miri looked away. This was all so troubling to her. “Yes. Was that splendid vision the only thing you remember?”
“There was one other dream that keeps returning to me,” Nyx said. “I was standing alone in the middle of a flat desert. The sands beneath my feet were cracked and baked raw, revealing puddles of endless blood underneath. There was a stranger wearing a red robe and he stood near me. I called out to him but he did not answer. I tried to move, but my feet were stuck and I was suddenly being drawn into the bloody sand. Within moments I had sunk down to my chest. I cried out and held my hands out so that the stranger could save me and pull me out, but he barely moved. The last thing I saw before I was swallowed up by the blood red sand was when he started to pull down the hood over his robe. Just before I saw what his face looked like, the dream suddenly ended and I woke up. Then the next time I fell asleep, the same dream played out once again. Now I am actually reluctant to rest, for I fear I may end up dreaming the same thing once more.”
Miri looked down unto the ground. “I… must tell you something.”
Nyx leaned forward. “Yes?”
Suddenly, they both heard a bit of giggling and laughter coming from the gorge just below them. As both women turned, they saw that Devos had climbed back up to where they were, with a healthy boost from Jinn. After a few minutes, both men stood beside them, their smiling faces evident as the sunrise dawned over the horizon.
Miri momentarily forgot her worries as she looked up at the both of them. “Care to share with us why are you both so merry?”
Devos grinned and pointed to a pathway down the gulley. “We found something that shall give you joy.”
Nyx’s own curiosity made her forget about her nightmares as well. She looked up at her own brother. “Must you keep us waiting like this? Tell us!”
Jinn silently looked at Devos, who grinned. Then the old man held out his hand while looking down at Miri. “I think it is better if you see it for yourself.”
Miri stood up on her own, without any assistance. “Rion is asleep, and I do not want to wake him unless it is of vital importance. Can you not just tell us what you found?”
Jinn sat down beside his sister, he was trying his best not to break out in laughter. “Perhaps it is better if you show the protector what it is, Elder Devos. I shall sit here with my sister and just tell it to her.”
Nyx quickly stood up with a snort. “Let the gods take my life if I do not see what it is with my own eyes,” she said, before pointing
an accusing finger at her brother. “If this is but a trick, I shall run my spear through you.”
Jinn shook his head, while he lay down flat on the ground. “Then the rest of you can go have a look and I shall watch over the boy. I need to rest now anyway.”
Miri sighed. “Alright, let’s get this over with.”
It was a long walk that took many moments. By this time the sun was now suspended just above the horizon, indicating early morning. Devos led the way as the three of them trudged along the sandy bottom of the canyon. When they rounded the last bend, Miri and Nyx gasped at what they saw lying at the end of the passage. Embedded along the side of the rock wall was a chest-high stone of black carved onyx. There was a symbol of a grinning face with bulging eyes on it, the unmistakable emblem of the ancient Gorgons. Strange, unknown glyphs covered the menhir’s marbled surface.
“The stories were indeed true after all,” Devos said. “This black boulder and the white walls of this place affirm that we are indeed standing in the Valley of Stone.”
Chapter 14
Krag adjusted his cloak so there was a gap between the outer lining and his bare shoulders. He had been sitting on the boulder since dawn and the leather was practically burning to the touch by now. The currents of heated air streaming across the sands made it look like the dunes beyond were floating on top of a silvery, bluish sky. It was a mirage that played tricks with his eyes, but he was used to it. The chief hunter sighed while adjusting his sitting position. By early afternoon, he would be relieved by the next sentry, and he would get some sleep at last.
The night before, his wife had finally complained about his near constant sulking. Krag had been feeling uneasy ever since the old protector had fought and killed that Magus. He had spoken to Miri a few hours after the battle, and he was convinced she had done the right thing, even though he felt it was a violation of the oath of peace. When the assembly began and the elders commanded her to bring the boy back to the Magi, he hadn’t protested, for he had felt that they were doing the right things as well. Less than half a moon ago, Miri had taken the boy and had gone in the middle of the night. The fact that nobody witnessed her leave meant that she had defied the elders, but they could see no proof of it, nor did they know where she had gone to. The very next day, one of his own had also disappeared and left behind a hysterical bride to be. So in the end, Krag realized that Jinn had known about Miri’s flight, and he could have joined up with her in order to reunite with his sister, Nyx. Even the tribe’s teller, Elder Devos, was no longer to be found either. The other elders were greatly concerned, but they publicly stated to the great assembly that they themselves had ordered Nyx and Devos to accompany Miri to return the boy, and that they would be coming back soon. Only a select few outside of the elder council knew the real truth, and all had promised not to tell anyone else.
Krag frowned as he continued his lonely vigil. It was hot, uncomfortable days like this that made one think too much. He was already losing faith with the elders, even though he realized that they didn’t have much of a choice. Could someone make the right decision, yet in the end it would prove to be wrong anyway? He surmised that the alternatives weren’t any better. If the elders had decreed they would protect the child by keeping him in the tribe, then they would face future retribution if the Magi were to find out, so they forfeited their responsibilities. Had the elders known that Miri would betray their express command, would they have chosen him, the chief hunter, to lead the expedition to bring the boy back to the Magi instead? And if they had done that, would he have accepted the task?
The chief hunter shook his head as he tried to banish those dark thoughts from his mind. It was pointless to speculate any further. The deed had been done and both their most capable Strigas were gone, along with the boy in question. This meant that the tribe’s greatest fears may very well come true nonetheless. The day after Jinn’s disappearance, the elders summoned him for a secret meeting. As Krag sat back and listened, they told him that if the Magi were to come, he must act as the protector of the tribe. He could see the fear in most of their eyes. They told him to tell the Magi that the boy was being returned to them but had lost his life out in the wastes, along with the one who murdered their agent. So they were really telling him to lie in order to save the tribe. Even though he was told that the Magi could not read minds unlike the Strigas, would they still believe a far-fetched story like that?
Krag took out a waterskin from underneath his cloak and tilted his head upwards while he took a long draught. Curse all the things that had happened. He wished that the elders should have chosen someone else, for he hated politics. The only things that ever interested him were going out into the wastes to hunt down some beasts in order to feed the tribe. Now he had been entrusted with the people’s very survival, and he feared that he was ill-equipped to deal with it. The settlement’s protector had traditionally been a Striga, for it was they who had the power to fight against other men, notably Magi. All he had was his spear and little else. Krag thought of himself as a hunter of animals, not of men.
While strapping the waterskin back over his shoulder, he noticed something out in the distance. It seemed to be nothing more than a dark, greenish speck at first, then it quickly became bigger. The object was larger than the sand dargon they had hunted a few moons ago, and it was moving rapidly towards the perimeter. It looked like a vessel of some sort, with a set of gigantic leather sheets suspended on a long metal pole that jutted from the top of its hull to capture the winds and propel it forward. Along its bottom where what looked like enormous potter’s wheels, only they had been laid onto their sides and were rolling along the sands. He could see men wearing black riding on its top, as they continually adjusted the tarpaulin in order to angle the wind in their favor. The men seemed to control the ship by leaning out along its sides while holding onto ropes when a turn was needed. For a long while, Krag just stared blankly in astonishment as it rumbled ever closer.
He was quickly brought back to reality when a young hunter came running up to him. “Krag! What is that thing?”
Letting out a deep breath, Krag knew that the time had come. “Alert the entire village. Tell them the Magi have arrived. And get me that bone sword.”
The young man’s name was Hrust, and he had been recently married, with a child on the way. “Do you mean the sword that was taken from the dead Magus?”
Krag leapt off the boulder as he checked the tip of his spear. The steel head might have to be used today. “Yes, that one. It is in the possession of Elder Pir. If he protests, tell him it could mean the difference between our survival, or our destruction.”
Hrust nodded nervously before turning around and running back into the settlement. Krag removed his pouch along with the waterskin and placed them onto the ground beside him. In less than a minute, three more hunters came running over to him. The vessel had closed the distance and was now just moments away from reaching the perimeter. Just days before, he instructed all of the hunters to make sure that their spearheads were either metal or tipped with dargonteeth, for their flint heads would easily snap during a battle. He had also planned to hold a group drill to instruct them in the use of the war shield, but now it was too late. As he picked up the leather and bone shield by the base of the boulder and hefted it, another twenty-two men arrived, along with Elders Brar and Pir. They were carrying assorted weapons, from bone axes to daggers. A few carried war shields, but it was clear they weren’t sure on how to use them. The remaining men in the village had been instructed ahead of time to herd the women and children into the assembly hall and guard them there.
Pir walked up to Krag. He carried the bone sword, its blade still wrapped in a fur scabbard. “The defense of this settlement is now in your hands,” he said while giving the weapon to Krag. “As of now, you will be addressed as Protector Krag.”
Krag took the sword while walking up to one of the other hunters. “Burd,” he said, handing his own spear to the bigger man. “You are th
e best with the spear. Use mine, for it has a metal tip.”
Burd nodded as he gripped Krag’s spear. “You honor me.”
Elder Brar had once been formidable in his youth, now he was paunchy and slow, but he still knew a few tricks in his sleeve. His most prized possession was his father’s bronze dagger, and he kept it hidden beneath his tunic. “I will do the talking for the settlement,” he said aloud, so that everyone could hear. “Nobody is to draw their weapons. Keep your spears pointed up.”
The vessel began to slow the moment it reached the perimeter wall. Krag could see that there were four men that leapt down from the ship, all wearing black cloaks and armor. The smallest of them seemed to be the leader, since the three other men flanked him as they approached the anxious crowd. Krag kept the sword pointed downwards while hiding it underneath his cloak. Brar stepped forward from the crowd and held out his hand in the gesture of peace.
The smallish young man held out his hand in return before making a slight bow. “Greetings. I am Lord Slane, executor to his highness, the Grand Magus of the Order of Magi.”
Brar bowed in return. “Greetings and welcome, Lord. I am Brar, chief elder of the Arum Navar tribe. I would like to welcome you to our humble settlement, it has been a long time since we have been honored by a Magi patrol. In fact, the last time this event occurred, I was but a young man myself.”
Slane looked bored as he waved his gauntleted hand. “Yes, yes. The Magi have stopped their patrols, that is true.”
Brar grinned. He needed to keep the conversation lively, and full of mirth. “That ship of yours, I have never yet seen such a wondrous machine. What do you call it?”
Slane’s eyes kept darting around as he scanned the crowd of tribesmen. “It is called a sand sail, we use it to travel across the wastes. Much easier than just moving on foot, you see. It allows us to rapidly catch up with our prey.”
Lands of Dust (The Dying World Book 1) Page 17