by Garry Ocean
“I hope you did not lose the mycelium?” Ron asked toughly but without the anger he had before. “The widows of the fallen heroes deserve a good compensation. And I am going to make the city folks pay for it in full.”
“It’s right here,” Valu mumbled taking his shoulder bag off his shoulders. “Whole and intact, to hell with it! I haven’t run like this in a long time, even my butt stopped hurting!”
Sith smiled at these words, remembering Valu’s swollen behind that seemed even bigger at that moment.
Goby started to giggle first, and then Valu caught on his laughter, slightly grimacing from the pain. Ron looked at them at first not understanding, but then broke into loud and contagious laughter. Sith was trying to contain his smile, but in a second all of them were laughing hard, wiping off tears in the corners of their eyes and unable to stop.
“Ron, my old friend,” Valu said, after a good long laugh, “How did you think of running under the very nose of the Lake?”
“We wouldn’t have made it to the bushes, even if we had run straight. And this way…” his face became grave again, “As children, Rigo and I used to bet on this, if we could make it out alive.”
Everyone was silent for some time. It was getting darker. Sith got up.
“I’ll go get some wood,” he said, and at that very moment some giant bubble burst in the air right above their heads.
They all jumped up immediately, instinctively grabbing their weapons.
“It’s right there, look!” Goby yelled, pointing his spear into the sky. But everyone already saw everything.
High above the ground in the sky, from the Forest side, there appeared a flaming dot that at first seemed to slowly float, and then started to glide, as if from a high water slide, leaving a long flaming tail. It was already dark and the sky was almost black, and this is why the people thought someone was cutting the sky in half with a giant flaming knife. Meanwhile, the dot turned into a sphere, and the quiet whistle it made while moving turned into a powerful roar. The hunters froze. They realized that something was falling from the sky to the ground at enormous speed. Suddenly the sphere got swollen and burst in different directions in a flaming splash. In a second the ground shook, and the hunters were swept in a wave of wind and roar.
Sith tightly closed his eyes from the bright light and when he regained the ability to see again, the sky was as black as before.
“What was that? The Departed save us!” was the only thing Ron could say.
“I have loud ringing in my ears,” Goby complained. “As if a whole herd of stinkhs blew their horns in them.”
The Dominia appeared from behind a cloud. The meadow was lit with its emerald light.
“Sometimes, rocks can fall from the sky,” Sith said quietly. “Whisperer told me so.”
“Where would rocks come from in the sky?” Goby smirked. “Unless Whisperer throws them up there.”
“The Elders say that these are the remnants of stars that fall,” Valu stood up for Sith.
“The Elders!” Goby said mockingly. “Take my Skady’s mother, for example. As long as I remember myself, she is waiting for the Departed to return. She has a lot of useless keepsakes in her trunk, various cubes and stuff. She wouldn’t go to bed at night without talking to them.”
The hunters laughed. Everyone in the village knew Goby’s crazy mother-in-law.
“All right, let’s prepare for the night while the Dominia has not hidden behind the clouds,” Ron said, opening his bag. “Sith, weren’t you going to pick up some wood?”
The night was indeed cloudy. The clouds closed the All-Seeing Eye more often than not, and it immediately became dark. This part of the Forest had no fireflies in it, and only the trees emitted a little light, reflecting the Orphius’ rays they collected during the day.
“The Departed Gods!” Valu suddenly shrieked, looking up. A giant shadow moved across the meadow, and Sith looked up to see something dark flying above the trees. It looked like a giant mushroom head of the smokester, to which some giant joker tied some ropes, having tied them together below. The hunters, in complete stupor, followed it with their eyes until the mushroom head, making a rustling sound, was hidden behind the treetops.
Everyone looked at Ron. They could tell he was in doubt. They needed rest. Despite the fact that the team had covered a lot of distance running away from the Forest, it was not safe to cross the savannah at night. And if you take into account that two of them would have to carry the stretcher, not the spears, it doubled up in danger. On the other hand, to sleep so close to an unknown threat was not something they wanted to do either.
“Let’s do this,” Ron finally decided. “Goby, Valu and Rigo will stay here,” he stressed Rigo’s name as if showing that he still considers him a capable member of the team. “Do not burn the fire. Sith and I will go check out what that was. I hope those are not the flyers. If we do not come back by dawn, don’t wait for us and go to the village immediately. Valu, you are in charge. You must bring Rigo back home under any conditions.”
Ron waited for Valu to nod in silence and then finished, “And you know what to do with the mycelium.”
With a quick glance at Sith, he grabbed his spear and dove into the high grass without looking back. Sith silently followed him.
They got to the grove in front of the Forest quickly. Ron was contemplating if they should go around it, but then decided not to waste time. The grove’s trees grew sparingly and even in weak lighting it could be seen through. They walked easily and felt safe. Only when they were leaving the grove, when the trees became even fewer and far between, they started to move with caution.
The ground felt wetter, and the light haze in front signaled that they were approaching the swamp. Ron silently stretched his arm out to show Sith where to go. When the gust of wind blew off the white haze, Sith saw a small mound. Stepping carefully, they moved toward it. Probing the ground with their spears, the hunters got to the mound with no obstacles. Now they tried to blend with its shape and crawled ahead, slowly getting up. When the top of the hill was close, they heard a strange sound. The hunters froze, listening carefully. The noise was coming from the other side of the hill. It was a slurping sound, as if someone heavy was trying to roll over in the swamp. Sith’s hair raised. He clearly imagined that the head of the giant smokester is turning into a humongous shape-shifter. He even heard that the slippery monster is slowly crawling down the hill. Had it not been for Ron, the boy would have turned and ran away a long time ago.
Suddenly, something slurped again and they heard some human yelling. The man was yelling and cursing for a long time, obviously not worried about attracting anyone’s unwanted attention. It took Sith some time to realize that he does not understand a single word of what he heard. And Ron’s puzzled face showed that he didn’t understand anything either.
Not able to resist his urge, Sith picked from underneath the hill and looked down. About a hundred feet away from him, a man stood with his back to them. He was covered with the swamp slime head to toe. He was holding ropes in his hands that were stretching from him into the swamp, where parts of some cloth were seen, reminding of the yellowbelly in color. The stranger seemed to have been trying to pull the cloth out. Judging by the result, he was not succeeding. The man suddenly turned around sharply and met Sith’s eyes.
They looked at each other for some time, without moving. Then the stranger gave him a broad grin, Sith could see his large white teeth even in the dusk, and raised his arm, slowly waving. Sith was thinking quickly about what to do next. To win some time, he waved back at the stranger. Ron was still frozen. “That’s right, let him think I am alone,” Sith thought. “But what should I do next?” Sith would never have dreamed about meeting a lonely man in this neck of the woods. His thoughts were racing in his mind, one faster than the other. “Perhaps, this is a cold-hater? But no, he doesn’t look like one. I would have felt the cold-hater for sure. This is a man. But who is he? Where from? A southerner?”
&
nbsp; Meanwhile, the stranger made a step toward him and waved again. Sith already realized that there was no giant mushroom, not to mention a shape-shifter, down there, and there never had been. This all was somehow connected with the stranger, but how? This was what he needed to find out. Because this is exactly why they came here. He did not want to come down the hill. However, the stranger, by making a step toward him, was obviously inviting him to make a contact. He was holding his hands so that Sith could see them. If he had any weapons, they were hidden underneath his clothes. “Although in clothes like this, a man can’t even hide a knife,” Sith thought quickly. “These are strange-looking clothes, I’ve never seen anything like this.”
Tactically, it was better for Sith to come down than to let the stranger come up to them. If anything, it would be easier for Ron to give him assistance from above. Sith touched his friend’s shoulder lightly. Ron nodded in agreement. Then Sith got up slowly and, with a spear in his hand, started coming down the hill. The man also made several steps toward him. “What’s with this permanent grin on his face?” Sith thought, carefully stepping on the slippery ground. His heightened senses were registering the smallest movements around. The swamp was quiet. Only far away in the Forest, a bear was hooting. When there was no more than twenty feet to the stranger, a wet hillock betrayed Sith under his feet, he fell and slid down to the swamp. Sith was already mentally prepared to end up in the swamp slime, but a steady and strong arm caught him and, hanging him in the air for awhile, put him on the ground.
Standing in front of the stranger face-to-face, Sith instinctively took several steps back. From the top of the hill, the man did not seem so large as he was now. He had broad shoulders, and was as tall as the big Valu. Meanwhile, the stranger was pointing at himself and at the boy in turns, still with a grin on his face and showing all his straight white teeth. It took Sith a moment to realize that he was all covered in wet clay now too, just like the stranger. Once he understood it, he smiled unexpectedly even for himself. Then the stranger pointed at his own chest and said, “Nick.”
“Nick,” Sith repeated after him, and when the latter started to nod vigorously, said, pointing at himself, “Sith.”
Something seemed very funny to the stranger. He started to laugh, pointing in turns at himself and Sith and repeating, “Sith, Nick, Sith, Nick.”
“Perhaps, he is from the rejected ones?” Sith thought. As a child he heard that somewhere faraway at the border with the steppe dwellers there were villages where only freaks lived. With two heads or eight paws, just like the yellowbellies. Sith believed that it was something the adults made up to scare misbehaving children. “But perhaps there was some truth to it? It seems logical. Such a big man, but laughs like a baby. He is saying something, but nothing can be made out from his speech. He must be wrong in his head. It’s surprising that he is still alive and no one ate him. And what do we do with him now?” Sith thought.
Suddenly he heard Ron’s voice, “Sith, come up here, leave him!” Ron was observing from above and must have come to the same conclusion. “Don’t forget to pick up your spear,” he said in a teasing tone.
Sith was embarrassed. Not only he was awkward enough to have slid himself to the stranger’s feet, he also let go of his spear. It was a strange feeling, but the big man did not cause him to be on guard. Nonetheless, he quickly picked up his spear that was on the ground nearby. Then, with no hope that the stranger would understand him, he said, “Wait here” and quickly climbed up.
“What are we going to do with him?” he asked Ron, a little out of his breath.
“We’ll leave him here,” the latter answered without thinking. “I don’t need a burden of a crazy person dragging behind.”
“He won’t last here even through the night. Do you hear how the warthogs got excited?”
“Don’t forget that we still have two full days of walking back to the village. And with Rigo perhaps even three. No, this is out of the question!”
Sith understood that Ron was right. They didn’t know what to expect from a retarded person. Of course, Savannah was no Forest, but even it had enough danger. But he couldn’t leave the man behind just like that either.
“Wait, Ron, at least I’ll give him some water,” Sith mumbled and, paying no attention to his reproachful glance, went down to the stranger. He was still standing where Sith left him.
“Stop grinning,” Sith said peacefully, taking his bag off his back. “Here, take some, this is water,” he stretched a leather bag to the stranger.
The latter took it and started to look at it with interest. Then Sith took it back with a deep sigh. He untied the lace on the bottleneck, took a good gulp and gave the bag back to him, “Water. To drink.”
“Water. To drink. Water. To drink. To drink. Water,” the stranger was firing rapidly. Then he took it to his lips, drank a little water and handed it back to Sith.
“This is for you. Take it!” Sith took a flat bread out of his bag, split it into two parts and put it into the stranger’s free hand. Then he turned away and ran up the hill.
“For you. Take it. Take it. For you,” he heard behind his back.
Already at the top of the hill he looked down. The stranger still stood at the same place and looked at him. He had the leather water bag in one hand, flat bread in the other. Nodding to him for a good-bye, Sith ran to catch up with Ron.
They were already waiting for them at the camp. Valu had brought some wood and built the fire, but did not start it, waiting for their return. Goby was dozing off, but when he heard their steps coming closer, he got up quickly. While Sith was tending to Rigo, Ron told them briefly about the strange encounter. Everyone was so tired that they didn’t want to discuss a connection between the mysterious events that had happened to them and the stranger. Ron volunteered to guard the camp first, and everyone else fell asleep quickly.
“Perhaps, everything will work out just fine?” already falling asleep, Sith thought about the stranger they found. He didn’t have time to think about what exactly would work out.
********
The Orphius’s rays were warming his face. Sith was sitting, rubbing his eyes to see better. His body was aching horribly after yesterday’s adventures. The fire was long burnt out. “Why didn’t they wake me up?” he thought. He was supposed to guard the camp the last. Sith looked around quickly. “Glory to the Departed!” everything seemed to be just like it was supposed to. The hunters were sleeping peacefully, and Valu was snoring loudly as usual. Goby must have fallen asleep while staying on guard. There he was, sleeping in a sitting position, with his spear in his lap. “He’ll get his share of scolding from Ron,” Sith thought lazily. “Last night obviously has taken its toll on everyone.” Suddenly, Sith felt a glance on himself. He found his spear next to him and turned around sharply. Yesterday’s stranger was sitting at the next tree, looking at him. When he saw Sith looking at him, he grinned exposing his teeth and started to fire rapidly again, “Nick, Sith, water, to drink!” with these words he jumped up and, having reached the boy in one move, stretched his arm with Sith’s leather water bag to give it back to him.
Sith took a sip in confusion, chocked himself on cold water and started to cough. The next moment, everything started to move. Goby jumped to his feet, Valu, half-asleep, was standing on one knee, moving his huge spear from one side to the other. Ron stood, propped up against a tree. Everyone was looking intensely at the stranger. The latter, as if not noticing the ruckus he caused, repeated, “Nick, Sith, water, to drink.” Then he turned to Valu, pointed his fingers to his own chest and repeated, “Nick.”
He did the same thing to everyone. To Ron, he also added a hand wave. Perhaps, he recognized him? Although he couldn’t have remembered him from yesterday. Silence fell on the camp. To break it, Sith introduced the hunters, pointing at everyone one by one, “Valu, Goby, Ron.”
“Lightening, strike me immediately! What’s going on?” Goby shouted.
“This is what I wanted to ask you!”
Ron told him off sharply.
“Is that the fool from the swamp?” Valu guessed?
“Valu fool, fool Valu,” the stranger was grinning widely.
“Is he a fool or making fun of me?” Valu roared.
“A fool, a fool,” Sith tried to interrupt.
“A fo-o-ol, a fo-o-ol…” as if tasting the words, Nick confirmed.
Then he suddenly dropped to his knees, grabbed a broken tree branch, took the fire remnants to the side and started to draw something. The hunters were looking at this silently. At first, he drew a wheel, but without the rods inside. Then he drew on top of it four men with sticks in their arms, and next to them – a fifth one, but lying down. He named every man by his name, “Sith, Valu, Ron, Goby.” Then he pointed at the fifth one and waved his hands, puzzled.
The hunters were silent, no one understood anything. Then Nick got up from his knees, and, showing at everyone with his finger, said, “Sith, Valu, Ron, Goby.” Then he ran to Rigo who was wounded and on a stretcher and waved his arms again.
“Rigo,” Sith guessed first.
“Rigo, Rigo!” the stranger seemed to be pleased. He sat on his knees again and pointed his finger into the drawn wheel. Then he waved his arms again.
“He is clearly stupid,” Valu said. “He must be definitely from those, the rejected.”
“This is a wheel,” Sith suggested.
“A wheel, a wheel,” it seemed the stranger calling himself Nick was about to start dancing right now. He shuffled the woods again and a little lower drew something resembling a spearhead. And waved his arms again.
“He is playing with us, isn’t he?” Goby asked, surprised.
“All right, it’s time! Pack up and let’s move!” Ron kicked the drawings with his foot. “The Orphius is already high up and I want to get to the Bony Chain before it gets dark.”
Sith came up to Rigo and kneeled in front of him. The dying man’s face was already becoming greenish-brown. “One day,” Sith thought, “Two max. If we manage to bring him in this time to the village, he has a chance to survive. Whisperer had various antidotes in stock for cases like this. He could help, perhaps. Ron is right, we need to hurry.”