“Then worship one who doesn’t require people to be killed,” Jok admonished.
“Before we can save Cam,” Zen contemplated, “we have to find a way to get to the other side of this village without being seen. When we rescue Cam, we’ll outrun these people on our horses, and then we’ll ride in the direction of Lalock. But first we’ve got to teach Nadd to ride a horse. Then he and I will go into the village, rescue Cam, and meet the rest of you at our new location. You’ll have to be ready to ride away fast when we return.” To Lela, he said, “Bring one of the horses for Nadd. We’ll teach him to ride.”
Lela led one of the mares to where the men were talking.
Nadd was frightened. “I can’t get on that animal. He might bite me.”
“It’s not a he; it’s a she,” Lela said, “and she won’t bite you. Here, let me show you. I’ll get on her back and show you how to guide her. If I’m not afraid, why should you be?”
With a little coaxing, she got Nadd on the horse and led them around until Nadd felt comfortable, gave him the reins and showed him how to get the horse to go where he wanted her to go. After a time, Nadd was riding well enough to go with Zen to the village to rescue Cam.
Ador and Lela rode double on one of the horses until they were deep into the forest at the base of the mountain. By the time the sun reached its highest point, they were on the north side of the village. They found a place where they could keep the horses concealed.
Nadd shuddered. “I don’t want to go back into that village. If they catch us, they’ll burn us inside their mountain for sure. You should have heard Den screaming last night when they threw him into the burning mountain.”
“Did he scream any louder than the girls scream when they are being sacrificed to your Fire God?” There was real anger in Zen’s voice when he asked that question.
Nadd knew he had better not refuse to help Zen rescue his friend. He knew that Zen didn’t have to go into the town, but he was going anyway.
“Zen, let me go,” Jok said. “Cam is my friend. You stay here with the girls.”
“Thank you, Jok, but it’s better that I go. I’m counting on the cliff dwellers being frightened at seeing the horses. I’m hoping they’ll leave Cam unguarded long enough for us to ride in, grab him, and get out of there. You just have everything ready when we get back. We’ll all ride away fast, and be gone before they know what happened. Let’s go, Nadd. We’ve got to get this done and get out of here before it gets dark. You lead the way, but stop when we are close enough to see where they are holding Cam.”
Nadd led Zen about three stones’ throw from the cliffs, stopped and said, “They’re holding Cam at the base of that cliff.”
“Yes, I see him; he’s tied. When I yell, ride in fast. I’ll get off my horse, cut his bonds, and put him behind you on your horse. Tell him to hold on to you while you ride back to the others as fast as you can. I’ll be right behind you. Are you ready?” asked Zen.
“No, but if we’re going, we’d better go before I lose my nerve,” Nadd answered.
Zen and Nadd let out a blood-curdling yell and went riding in at a full run. The startled guards looked up and began racing as fast as they could up the vine ladders. Zen jumped off his horse and quickly cut the bindings holding Cam. Cam’s eyes were wide with fright, but then he saw Nadd and realized he was being rescued.
Zen got him on the horse behind Nadd, who whispered, “Hold on tight, Cam; we’re going to ride out of here!”
Cam was so surprised, he didn’t know whether to be frightened or happy, but he hung on as tightly as he could.
The men on the cliff threw spears at Zen, who grabbed his bow and arrows and quickly shot two men. They fell to the bottom, screaming, and the others withdrew. This gave Zen time to mount his horse and ride after Nadd and Cam. The cliff dwellers were stunned and didn’t know what to do. Zen’s plan had worked.
***
Chapter 17
The Return
When the rescuers returned to the camp, the others were waiting. They all galloped away into the forest, leaving a surprised and confused village. They rode without stopping until the sun was almost down, and then set up camp for the night at a secluded spot that would be easy to defend.
Zen remembered that they had surprised the raiders who had kidnapped the Zorian women, and he didn’t want to be surprised in the same way, so he posted two well-hidden guards. Fortunately, no one had followed them.
They slept a nervous sleep, and the next morning, as soon as it was light, they mounted the horses and were on their way. After traveling east for days, both Zen and Jok began to recognize the landscape.
Zen called a halt to the ride.
“Let’s set up camp early; we don’t want to be seen by hunters. They might tell the priests that we’re here.”
“I know a hidden cove from which we can ride to Lalock in half a day; it would be a good place to set up a temporary camp. We can stay there until we contact our parents and let them know that we have returned.”
“Cam,” Zen said, “I think I can trust you, so I want you to know what we’re doing and why. We need your help.”
“You saved me from being sacrificed to the fire mountain,” Cam said. “I’ll help you, no matter what I have to do. I would be dead if you had not risked your lives to save me.”
“Cam! What about our God?” Nadd asked, shocked to hear Cam’s response.
“Nadd,” Cam replied calmly, “I was almost sacrificed to a God last night, and I think I will reconsider what kind of God I worship from now on. Hearing Den scream while he was burning made a lasting impression on me. The Creator of all things would not do such a terrible thing to one of his creations. Why would He? Nadd, if you even attempt to inform the priests, I personally will see to it that you will be the one the priests burn.” He asked, “Zen, my friends and I will help. Now, what would you have me do?”
“Thank you, Cam. We need to let our parents know that we’re here, and that we have come to rescue them,” Zen replied. “Tell them we’re building a new village beyond the Valley of Mist.”
“It’s a much better place, and they can live free,” Jok added.
As they sat around the fire, Jok told Cam and Nadd about their harrowing experiences of going through the Valley of Mist, about the Village by the Sea, and all the wonderful things they had learned. He then told about the village they were going to build beside the river with clear water, and that they had already built their first home there. Zen showed them the firestones and the blankets made from wool.
“I can see the horses,” Cam said. “I see the knives and the bows and arrows. I have seen what you can do with these weapons. I’d like to bring my family and go with you. I want to help you build a better village and a better life. May we join you?”
“We would be pleased, Cam. You and your family would have a better life, and we need all the help we can get. Nadd, how about you? Will you join us?” Zen asked.
“It sounds wonderful, but I don’t know. I’ll have to think about it. You’re asking me to give up my God, and that’s asking a lot.”
“You don’t have to give up your God, Nadd, but you must stop the killing of people in the name of your God. You must let others worship whatever God they want to worship, so that you might have the same right.”
“If God does not make the rules, then who does?” Nadd asked.
“God does not make the rules you live by now,” Zen answered. “The priests make those rules. The priests tell you that the Fire God makes the rules, and you believe them because you are afraid not to. They control you, and if you don’t follow their rules, they say you are defying God, and that gives them the right to punish you by throwing you into the sacrificial fire. It isn’t God who takes your life—the priests take your life. You believe God is doing the taking because you are afraid not to believe.”
“In our new village,” Lela added, “you’ll make your own decisions and your own rules. The only rule you must follow i
s the rule that no one may do anything that will harm anyone else.”
“You mean I can still have my God and worship Him any way I want to, but I don’t have to follow the rules set up by the priests?” Nadd asked.
“That is correct,” Lela nodded.
“That sounds good,” Nadd said. “I’ll join you if you’ll have me.”
Zen answered, “We’ll be glad to have you and your family if you want to bring them along, but no one must say anything to anyone who might reveal our plans to the priests. We don’t want to harm anyone, but we will kill anyone who tries to stop us. We don’t have a choice. If we don’t kill them, they’ll kill us.”
“Why don’t we have secret meetings?” Cam suggested. “If we can get enough people, we could overthrow the priests, and if we eliminate the priests, we could have a happy village right here in Lalock. Many people would like to be out from under the thumbs of the priests. Almost every family has had someone sacrificed to the Fire God. I think many will want to join us to get even with the priests.”
“A secret society is a good idea,” Zen said, “but we’ll have to start with the ones we know we can trust. We’ll start with our families, and they’ll know others they can trust. In time, we’ll have enough people to overthrow the priests and maybe no one will have to get hurt. Tomorrow, when you and Nadd go back to the village, you can tell them about your experience with the people of the burning mountain. Tell them that Den was sacrificed, but you escaped and made it back. They’ll be glad to see you. Then, when no one is listening, tell our parents where we are, and what we’re doing. Tell them to let us know where to meet them. We’re eager to see them, and we have many stories to tell.”
“I know a cave where you can stay that is closer to the village,” Cam said. “It will be easier for your parents to get to, and easier for the people of the village to walk to. I think most of them will want to talk to you before they make up their minds about joining you.”
“I think I know that old cave,” Zen said. “We played there when we were children. There’s a back entrance, isn’t there?”
“Yes, that’s the one,” replied Cam. “But what will you do with the horses? Lions will eat them if you keep them tied. Will they run away if you turn them loose?”
“No, the horses are tame,” Zen commented. “We can just turn them loose. They can outrun the lions, and we have trained them to come when we call. If anyone sees them, they’ll think they are wild horses. No one will know that we ride the horses unless we tell them. We can store our supplies in the cave. I want to teach everyone how to use the new weapons. Now, let’s go to the cave.”
They reached the meeting place just before dark. Cam and Nadd continued on to the village while Jok, Zen, and the girls stored the supplies and prepared their beds. After removing the backpacks, they turned the horses loose to graze.
A short time later, their families began arriving. Ador’s mother and father were the first. They ran to Ador, wrapped her in their arms and wept. They had expected never to see her again. Ador’s father was so happy to see them all that he embraced everyone. Since he was a medicine man, his first concern was for their health, and he wanted to know if everyone was well.
Soon, all of their parents were in the cave. Everyone was so excited, they were all talking at the same time.
Zarko, Zen’s father, held up his hands and said, “Please, everyone, be quiet. Let the young people tell us their story.”
“Zen, you tell them,” Jok said.
And so Zen began. “Father and I built the raft and hid it, but the priests found out and chased us. We barely escaped by floating into the Valley of Mist. It is appropriately called the Valley of Death. A mist fills the valley because boiling pots of mud and water emit a foul-smelling gas and steam. The mud is very hot, and a high ridge of mountains surrounds the valley, preventing wind from blowing the steam away. We think the mud is hot because a river of fire flows into the valley from a mountain many days’ ride west of here. A river of fire pours from the top of the mountain and flows into the valley. We’ll tell you about the smoking mountain later, but for now, I’ll tell the events of our journey as they happened.
“After we entered the valley, it got really dark because the sunlight couldn’t penetrate the mist. We could see only a short distance. It was frightening. We could hear animals that we couldn’t see. The river was dark and just beneath the surface, large fish and reptiles were waiting to gobble up anything that fell into it. Once, a centipede tried to crawl up my leg and Lela killed it; the carcass slithered into the water, only to be swallowed up immediately by something frightful. Large trees with many trunks and vines grew along the riverbanks. Big saber-toothed cats lived under the trees; monkeys, colorful birds, and reptiles lived in the trees, and on the ground were bears, lions, wolves, and many other animals so strange that we didn’t know what to call them. They were all just waiting to pounce on us. We had to fight them and run for our lives many times. Every moment of every day and night, we were in danger.
“Mother, Father, Lela and I joined as one. Jok and Ador did also, and we asked for God’s blessings.”
He smiled as their parents nodded their approval.
Zen continued. “We had just about given up hope of ever getting to the other side when the river began flowing faster and faster until we were riding down rapids so violent that it destroyed our raft. We almost lost Ador when she fell into the raging river and hit her head on a rock. She almost drowned. We found her and revived her, but then a lion attacked and almost killed Lela. We saved her by fighting the lion after she jumped into the river. Since our raft was destroyed in the rapids, we had to walk. We found a spot high on a ledge where we spent the first night after reaching the other side of the valley.
“Father, we found the snow-capped mountains. Our new village will be beside the river that flows at the base of those mountains. It’s a beautiful place with plenty of grazing animals to provide food. The river is clean, with lots of colorful fish.”
The parents all listened intently and looked at the young people’s faces as Zen spoke of each of them and hugged them. The parents couldn’t hold back their tears of joy.
“We’ve come back to take you there with us,” Lela said, also dabbing at her eyes. “We’ve already started the village and built one house, and we can build all we need so that each family can have a home. We are determined to build a village free from the influence of the wicked priests. Will you come with us?”
Dar, Lela’s father, said, “Your mother and I will go with you. Many of our friends will want to go, too. Only a few days ago, the priests sacrificed a girl who went through the rite of womanhood without becoming pregnant. The girl’s mother complained, and the priests burned both the mother and the father to death because they had defied the Fire God. They used the old excuse that if they were not guilty, Fire would not harm them. Of course, Fire didn’t spare them; it has never spared anyone. The Lalocks are ready to rebel. If we give them an alternative and give them hope, many will want to join us. We will talk to them.”
Ador’s father Berk said, “Show us how to use these new weapons, and we’ll help you train the rest of the men. When we’re ready, we’ll overthrow the priests and return peace and happiness to this village. The people who do not want to come with us can stay here and rebuild this village. This would be a good village if we could overcome the priests and stop the cruelties they administer in the name of God. They have gotten too powerful and too cruel. They must be taken down.”
“That is a wonderful thing to hear,” Zen said. “We have many things to show you, but the first is how to use the bows and arrows.”
Zen demonstrated the bow by shooting an arrow into the trunk of a tree a hundred paces away. The fathers were astonished and immediately saw the advantages of being able to kill an animal from so far away.
Jok joined in, “After we have taught you to use the bows and arrows, we’ll teach you to ride horses. We rode horses to get here.�
�
“Ride horses!” Berk exclaimed. “This is unbelievable!”
“Yes, we ride on the backs of horses. We can travel great distances in a short time. When we’re riding, we have an advantage over our enemies. There are many wild horses here. We’ll catch them and train them. It will take time, but we can do it.”
Jok’s father, Gordo, said, “You show us how, and we’ll learn. Then we’ll bring people to you, one by one, until we have enough to stand against the priests.”
Zen's father, Zarko, stood up and said, “I think we’d better get back to our caves before we are missed. Tomorrow, we’ll come back to begin our training. It’s so wonderful to see you young people. We have lived in constant dread that we would never see you again. You have done a brave and wonderful thing, and we’re proud of you. Now it is time for the sons to teach the fathers. We are not too old to learn, and I want to help raise my grandchildren.” He hugged each of the couples again.
“The priests have their spies everywhere,” Gordo said. “We must work in secrecy. Each man must be sworn to secrecy before we allow them to know what we’re doing. We fathers will take care of that, but we must go back to our caves. Tomorrow we will return.”
***
The young people were so excited at seeing their parents that they were unable to sleep. They built a fire farther back in the cave, making sure that no one on the outside could see the light, and then sat by the fire and talked about what they had to do.
They had to catch wild horses and train them, and make more bows and arrows for the men who would join them. All of the men would need weapons. They didn’t have enough knives to give one to each man, so they would give knives only to the strongest men.
“My father is the best stone knapper in the village,” Jok said. “He can make extra arrowheads. We brought along a good supply, but we may not have enough.”
“Let Ador and me gentle the wild horses,” Lela said. “They’ll respond to us better than they will to you. You can train them to allow us to feed them. They’ll be much easier to handle after they get used to being around people.”
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