At first he didn’t catch what she was saying since he was deep in thought, but then what she had asked penetrated and he began to laugh. “I would think, since somewhere in a future time that these journals will be read, by other than you or I, the former would be what is important. From what I’ve learned about you females – such a discussion between mates is fine, but it is not for public consumption.”
“While you males like to talk about your conquests,” She shot back.
“Now, now, now that’s not always true. In fact, yes there are a number of males that brag all the time about such things. But I suspect that quite the opposite is true.”
“Opposite, how so?”
“In my humble opinion, the ones that are bragging are probably not getting any. It seems to be an axiom that if one is physically involved that one doesn’t hear much about it, but if they aren’t, then the mouth runs over.”
“Well, I wouldn’t know. It’s not that way with us females, I can say that for sure.”
“It could be, since I really only know one female intimately …”
She looked up at him once again with that innocent look, and asked. “And who would that be?”
* * *
With frustration in his voice Kal said, “These maps are next to useless. Yeah they show many of the villages, but the lay of the land is only general at the best, and even that isn’t very good. Heck it’s almost impossible to even pinpoint exactly where we are on these things. I really thought that they would help. I’m no cartographer or artist so I can’t add a darn thing to them.” They were standing on the rise that was behind their camp as they watched the suns rise out of the east. Even the stream that they had camped close by wasn’t accurately represented. In fact it was depicted as having ended further east than their present location. “I wonder how much of what is here is as inaccurate as what we are seeing now.”
She couldn’t disagree with him. She was becoming as frustrated with these things as he was. When they had brought them along forsaking something else, it was with the understanding that these things would help. Well, they hadn’t. “I guess if someone isn’t living in the area then it might as well say, ‘here the land belongs to our mythological gods, and we will only mark it as such’. Yeah, I was really hoping that they would help. But probably the best use we could find for these things is kindling to start our fire. What a waste of finances to have even purchased them. Well, I guess if this is the only disappointment we have in life, then we can count ourselves lucky.”
Breathing out heavily he replied, “Yeah, I guess so. Still it would have been nice …” Both of them jumped when another asked, “Nice, what would have been nice?” Both sort of recognized the voice, but couldn’t immediately place it. Turning around rapidly they both saw that individual who had stopped by their camp that cold rainy night.
“Where’d you come from?” They asked in unison.
He gave them a funny look and said, “From right down there, isn’t it obvious?” He looked at them and said, “Oh, it’s you two … Been a while. So you out looking for those ancient places again?”
Answering back in the same way Kal said, “Yes, isn’t it obvious?”
“Well, one never knows what one will find out here. So from where I was I seen your camp, not very well hidden. In the old days would have been a target, that’s for sure. So again I was curious.”
They smiled and Jura said, “Yes, and it was a puzzle as to who was out and about, and you like puzzles.”
This brought laughter from him. “Remember she does, yup, remembered. True, true, and there was something familiar about the camp, but I couldn’t figure it out, so decided I would come closer. Now I know why. It is your camp. While most camps are put together much the same, there is always differences.” He tapped his forehead and said, “An’ I remember differences.” He saw the large paper in their hands and asked, “So what’s that?”
Kal replied saying, “Something worthless. It’s supposed to be a map of the area out here, but it’s next to useless. Nothing on it is right.” Pointing over at the stream that they could plainly see below them he said, “See even that is wrong. By this thing it ended quite a distance to the east of here, yet here it is.”
He glanced at it and said, “Don’t use those things, have no need, already know what’s there and what’s not. Waste of space, waste of time.” Then looking at the two of them he asked, “So what puzzle you solving this time, what place are you looking to find?” Again he laughed a little. “I may have been there, might give you a hint, but not give it away. Let you solve the puzzle –it’s so much more fun that way – makes one think, makes one grow.”
The two of them again looked at each other and back at him. With what little they knew of this person he could have been to where they were searching, but how far could they trust him? Yet, they had been unsuccessful all of last season, and this one was getting late. So any help, any help at all would be appreciated. So with a silent agreement between them Kal said, “We are looking for the hunting camp that K’jor and his clan used. From what we could discern, they used the same camp every hunting season. And while locating the clan home was important, it is what happed after that that changed us, changed our history. So we want to find that place where it truly began.”
He was silent for a while. It was obvious that he was thinking. “Hmmm, good puzzle, interesting, out in the open, but at the same time hidden. Not like you – easy to see, easy to find. I’ll think about this, but you must remember that there were so many others who also had their camps, who also returned season after season. So to find only one … yes, a good puzzle.” It was obvious that he was deep in thought and actually appeared to have forgotten that the two of them were there. Looking up he seemed surprised to see them, and then he smiled. “Will let you know, but not today. But will say this, while the herds are no longer large and they originally ranged all the way to the Sacred Mountains, most of the tribes and clans hunted to the south of here. In places where it became green earlier in the season to give the beasts time to put on meat. Others waited until the migrations took the beasts north, but most did not.” Then apparently tired of company, and of talking he just walked off the hill down to his beast and then disappeared behind a small hill and again like when he had left their previous camp it was like he had never been there.
“There’s one quiet, sneaky person. We never heard him approach and we just watched him disappear in broad daylight. If I believed in sorcerers and magicians I’d swear he is one.” Kal turned back to her and shrugged. “I guess we can guarantee one thing.”
“And what would that be?”
“Oh, now that he’s found us again that he’ll be showing up now and again and asking more questions.”
“Yeah, that’s probably very true. At least he gave us a direction to look. By what he told us we are still too far north. I guess it’s still early enough in this day that we can break camp and head further south, and set up again before dark.”
“Guess so. It’s obvious that he knows more than he’s saying, but at least he pointed us in a new direction. I really didn’t think that they could have gone any further south. We are a few days out of the clan home. But that is the way we reckon it. We really have no idea how much ground they could cover in a day, and from the records they were three days away from the clan.”
“The land is quite open here,” Jura said as she looked around again, “and we have had it proved that we definitely set our camp in a place where it was easily spotted, as he just showed us. Darn he makes me jumpy when he does that.” She paused a moment before continuing, “Yeah, I didn’t think that they could have gone too much further south, but he could be right. Still the only way we’re going to know is to head that way, and standing here isn’t getting us moving, so shall we?”
It was mid-morning by the time they were packed and headed south, leaning a little west. Using the suns to mark their direction, with the surrounding landscape being similar th
ere was nothing to mark, as a distant point, to keep them on the line that they planned. In truth, since there was not true destination, in the end, it probably didn’t matter. They were searching for signs of ancient occupation, and not a particular place. Water wouldn’t necessarily be an issue as small streams crossed these grasslands creating islands of trees that hugged the banks or at times grew in the shallow waters redirecting the water around them, and eventually changing the course of the water’s flow and direction. As the day progressed the winds picked up and it grew warm. They knew that as they continued their general and slow movement to the west that the grasses would become sparse and the heat would increase as the desolation became a stronger influence. Since this was something that never had been studied that they knew of, it was unknown as to whether the desolation was growing or remaining the same.
There were some theories as to why the desolation existed at all, since the storms that provided the moisture for the grasslands, came up from the south where the grasslands bordered the sea. It was just north of that point that the hills on the west began to influence and to funnel the storms away from the coast and up through those grasslands, denying rain and water to that strip. As the storms would move north, the lands slowly rose in altitude until they struck the Sacred Mountains, which pushed the storms higher into the air changing it from heavy rain to snow and ice. And now that there had been some exploration beyond those mountains here was a place of permanent ice and snow – very inhospitable to life in general. It had created another one of those historical mysteries that someday they hoped to solve, as they were attempting to unravel the surviving ancient writings they were using as a guide. That other mystery had to do with a clan only known as the travelers who consistently, over the generations talked about their home being north of the Sacred Mountains, but nothing had been found to indicate that such a clan had ever existed, further strengthening the myth theory.
They broke for a midday meal and watched as thunderheads began to develop over the eastern foothills. It was travel rations since they wanted to be moving as quickly as possible. “He said that many of those hunting camps were set up further south, but that doesn’t mean that any of those could be tied to our clan. It’d put us at least five days out of where they lived, and the writings specifically state that this camp was only three days out.” Kal just shook his head, it didn’t make sense. But where they had been searching further north there was nothing.
“True”, Jura said, “but we are looking at this from what we can cover. We still don’t have a clue as to how far warriors could travel in a day. I suspect that physically all of them were in better shape than we are now. Even though I suspect that our health is better …” She paused and shuddered as she thought about this. “So dirty and unhealthy the way they lived. I’m really surprised that any survived long enough so that we can now look back on that time.”
“Yeah, but it must have worked because we are here, and you’re right we really have no idea. To cover this much distance in three days would have meant that they probably jogged the whole distance, and that would have included the females that went with them. Those were some tough people. If that idea is true I probably would have been beat up by any of those females and they wouldn’t have raised a sweat, and the warriors would have probably just shrugged it off as they would a crawler.”
She smiled and said, “I beat you, and not once but several times, and I suspect that I still can.”
“Well, true. But you know what I mean. That had to be such a hard life no matter which sex you were. I think I prefer now to then.”
“Yeah, me too. But I wonder …”
“Wonder? Wonder what?”
“What you would have been, oh mighty baker that you are. Would you have become a warrior, a priest, or just one of the workers who remained with the clan to handle the slaves and other such stuff?”
“I really don’t know, but we know where you’d been stuck, and you’ve already given me your opinion on that.” Standing up and stretching he said, “I guess we better continue on. We have half a day to travel yet, and still need to find a campsite for tonight.”
* * *
It was dusk when they found their next camp, and this time they had studied it from their new found way of looking for a campsite. One that offered defense, provided water, and fuel for their fires, and still allowed them the ability to observe what was happening around them. Here, as they had approached this area, they began to see the first signs of ancient campsites and ancient fires. So that, well, they still didn’t know what to call him, since he refused to give them a name, still insisting that when he was in the wilds that he as the beasts required none. Anyway the information that he had passed on to them seemed to be accurate. What else did he know and wasn’t willing to pass on, or maybe didn’t know he knew, and it was only when they met and they passed on what they were trying to do that it would remind him. He surely didn’t appear to be hiding anything and had been forthwith the information that they received from him so far.
As night closed in around them it gave the appearance that they were the only two that existed in this whole world. There were the sounds of night, and the coolness that slowly increased as the time moved by them. “I wonder”, Jura asked, “how it was before the clans and tribes, when there were only small groups of us around. How lonely it must have been. How scary knowing that the creatures out there could be your meal or you could be theirs. Now slowly we are taming this world, but there are still a lot of dangers. Yet, to do what we are doing without a large group around us would have been unheard of – not that people don’t just disappear out here, because they do. Still, to be here back at the beginning of our people when it could have gone either way …”
“Yeah, that would have been an interesting time … time before any history that we know. And no, I wouldn’t have been interested in living then either. Death had to be very high, and I’m sure that there were many groups that were wiped out, from who knows what. Disease, attacks by the beasts or rival groups, floods, landslides, and so many other traps that I can’t think of right this moment. Not a time to relax at all, no time to think about what might be, just a struggle to make sure you lived to face another day, and with no guarantee that when you made it to that day that you would be around to finish it.” He laughed, “Enough on that depressing subject. It’s part of our distant past and as far as I’m concerned it can stay there. We have enough mystery with what we are trying to solve, thank you.”
They both lay back and stared up into the night sky watching the stars, and then every once in a while something would streak across the sky in a blaze of light and be gone. “I wonder what those things are?” Jura asked.
“Don’t really know, but that reminds me of that really large one we saw back at that ancient site. The one that came out of the north appeared to be right over the Sacred Mountains – never seen something so big or bright like that at night, other than our moons.”
“Yeah, that was pretty spectacular, that’s for sure. Well, whatever they are, they can stay up there. Think I’ll turn in, lying here I’m finding that I’m falling to sleep anyway … New areas to look at tomorrow … g‘night.” With that she slowly got up and headed inside the portable shelter leaving Kal alone. He felt tired himself, but at this moment couldn’t get up the energy to move from his comfortable position, and continued to stare at the night sky, only waking later realizing that he had fallen asleep. The fire had burned down to just glowing coals, so he threw a large piece of wood on the coals figuring that it would last until morning, and headed to his sleep sack, morning couldn’t be too far off.
* * *
Through the next couple of 9-days they searched and continued moving south until just before the zenith they came upon an ancient isolated camp. Looking at their notes and at the surrounding landscape this came close to matching. They were approximately six days away from the clan home – six days! Yet the words within the text spoke of the distances bei
ng only an easy three days away. Was it deliberately misrepresented, or could their ancestors actually cover this much distance in the time stated? Yet, everything that had been confirmed within that text has proved to be accurate, so why would they misrepresent the distance here? Still the texts never mentioned the return times only what it took to reach this location.
Yes the site showed changes since the time that the clan used this as their hunting camp. The stream was no more and the trees that had provided shade during the heat were just snags. Sometime in the past the stream either dried up or changed course isolating this location, leaving the trees without a ready source of water. And if they were to stay here they too would have to find a new source of water. Still when looking over the descriptions given, the directions given to any who sought this camp and comparing this to the actual lay of the land there could be no doubt. Highly defendable, easy to see any enemies approaching, and close to where the vast herds once roamed, with the desolation not too far to the west of them – in sight really, but probably at least a half day away. And they began to really appreciate the location as it was virtually invisible until you almost walked into the camp. In fact that is exactly what had happened to them as they continued their searching. When looking from the outside of this location it could have been any of the thousands of ravines, or small depressions, never giving a hint to the large area that was here or how uninviting it appeared from the outside.
As they had noticed once inside, it was easy to defend. Any place an enemy would approach they would have to expose themselves to the sky, to highlight themselves, making them an easy target. While the ones inside of this location would be difficult to locate, and with water readily available, plus and since this was a hunting camp, food would be of no issue, so the idea of a siege became no option either. It would take an overwhelming force to rout and kill the ones within this camp, and since the main purpose was to hunt for all, there truly would be no reason to attack. Again, from the writings, it stated that attacks did happen, but of these, most were from opportunities presented or a particular tribe or clan had become troublesome to all. And this would be those rare times when a couple of the tribes or clans would ally and attack. Yet all of this during this time of the cycle of seasons happened very rarely – so much so that it happened less than once a generation.
A Taste of History Past Page 26