He tried to converse with the stoic man.
“Good morning. I am Sam.” He pointed toward his own chest. “Sam.”
The man looked at him, his face expressionless.
He tried again. “You are Rindu?” He pointed to the man. “Rindu?”
“Rindu,” the man confirmed.
Pointing to the hapaki, Sam said: “This is Skitter. Skitter.”
“Skeetah,” the man said. For a moment, the man’s mouth twisted as if tasting something foul. “Skeetah, Samg,” he forced the unfamiliar words out, pointing toward each in turn.
Sam smiled. “Yes, yes. Great! Maybe you can teach me some of your language. How do you say this? Fire? Pot?”
The man looked unimpressed, but he said the words and Sam repeated them. By the time Dr. Walt came out of his tent and Nalia came in from a nearby stand of trees, Sam had learned a dozen words. He would have to make an effort to learn to communicate with these people so he wouldn’t need Dr. Walt to translate all the time.
With everyone accounted for, the small party sat down and ate the thick liquid Rindu was cooking. It had a sweet, spicy taste and the consistency of over-cooked stew, mushy with chunks in it. Sam was not able to identify what exactly the chunks were. For Skitter, Dr. Walt produced some strange vegetables—or were they fruit?—that Skitter hungrily devoured. The hapaki seemed to be feeling more comfortable with Dr. Walt. He still gave the other two a wide berth, though, Sam noticed.
After breakfast, they broke camp, packed all their belongings into backpacks, and started off toward the West. There was an animal trail of some kind through the vegetation, so they made good time, considering how dense the surrounding foliage was.
As they walked, Sam tried to learn more of the language for this world. Kasmali, Dr. Walt had called it. Rindu was patient and would tell him what things were called, but when Sam asked Nalia, she just stared at him with that blank mask until he looked away. Dr. Walt, of course, would answer any of his questions, but seemed preoccupied with asking Sam about home. And about Skitter, who had decided to accompany Sam “just to make sure the pup did not endanger itself.”
After two uneventful days, they arrived at Dr. Walt’s compound. As they crested a hillock, Sam got his first look at the place his companions called home. The land sloped gently down on all sides into a dell which, although wooded, was not a true forest. Through the haphazardly spaced trees, Sam caught the glint of metal and the dull, squat shapes of structures made from other materials as well.
“Home sweet home,” Dr. Walt said cheerily. “Come, let’s get settled in and we can figure out what to do next.”
As they got closer, Sam scanned the area, eyes wide. The compound looked to be the illegitimate child of crude civilization and modern technology. One large building sat squat and wide in the middle of a clearing that was partially surrounded by trees. It glinted softly in the afternoon sun. It looked to be made of metal panels of some kind, though how that would be possible in this primitive world Sam could not understand.
At odd intervals around the large building were smaller buildings, some made from logs in the manner of log homes Sam was accustomed to seeing on his world and others with stranger construction. At least one building seemed to be built with planks and had a roof made of sod. Further out, he saw what looked like a rigid wooden teepee. Bordering the edge of the compound, he saw another structure that looked like a solid stone square, though as he got closer he saw that it was made of smaller stones painstakingly fitted together to create the building’s walls.
Sam noticed other things as well. Some type of contraption was pumping water from a nearby river and circulating it toward the center of the compound where several people were dipping buckets and carrying them to other areas. It looked suspiciously like a self-powered Archimedes screw type of device.
The hodgepodge of technology he was familiar with mingled with crude implements or structures surprised Sam for just a moment. Then he nodded to himself. Of course. Dr. Walt would implement technology he knew from Telani, but knowing how something worked in general principle and creating it from scratch without modern tools were two different things. He would have to look at all these things more closely later. Maybe he could help. He was handy with tools and had always been fascinated by primitive tradecraft.
Dr. Walt was calling to a man who was coming out of one of the smaller buildings, speaking rapidly in Kasmali. Turning to Sam, he spoke in English. “I asked him to prepare that cabin over there,” he said pointing to a small sturdy looking cabin made of logs to the rear and approximately fifty yards from the large metal building. “I’m assuming Skitter will let you know what he requires so we can accommodate him as well. Excuse me, but I must take care of some things. Make yourself at home. We will speak at dinner time.”
With that, he hurried off, calling to another man, who joined him as he was walking. The two chatted with each other in their strange, foreign tongue until Sam could no longer see or hear them.
Checking with Skitter—the hapaki sent that he would stay with him for now—Sam followed the man to the cabin Dr. Walt had pointed out. It was small, but well built. It had a cot inside made from lumber with wood slats as a mattress support. The mattress, a surprise to Sam, was the same rough cloth he had seen elsewhere in the compound, and stuffed with some sort of dried grass. Lying down on it, he felt a few of the grass blades poke through at him, but it was relatively comfortable. Tired from two days of hiking at a fast pace, he dozed.
He woke to a sending from Skitter: They come. Hungry. When…eat?
Sam had no time to answer before one of the men, the one who showed him to his cabin, he thought, arrived and pointed toward the large metal building. He made motions like he was eating something, and started walking, pausing to make sure Sam was following him. Sam did so, Skitter trailing.
Inside the metal building, several rooms were partitioned out. Through the doorway of one, he could see a room containing what appeared to be ancient books, scrolls, and stone fragments.
Several other rooms radiated out from the central hub, which held a large table, several other smaller tables, and many chairs. Seated around the main table were Dr. Walt, Rindu, Nalia, three other men, and two women. There was food in the center of the table, and several of the seated people were spooning it onto their plates. Rindu was sitting with his head down, shoveling food into his mouth as if he was in a race to finish. Nalia looked up at him as he entered, though said nothing and betrayed no emotion. Not a hard thing when her face was completely covered by the mask.
“Ah, my boy,” Dr. Walt said, standing to receive Sam and shake his hand. “Got a bit of a nap, I hear. Good, good. We have a lot to talk about, so it is good that you are rested. First, though, dig in.”
Dr. Walt turned to Skitter. “And as for you, my hapaki friend, I have had the men search up something I think you will like.” He held out a plate with several long, greenish brown objects on it. “It is called onekai and I have found records that the hapaki enjoy eating them. It is a fibrous vegetable that grows abundantly in some places, if you know where to look.”
Skitter could hardly contain himself. Sam felt the feelings of anxiety melt away and feelings of excitement, hunger, and pleasure replace them. Nearly tripping in his haste to get to the food, he stopped short of the doctor and gingerly reached up with his thin, dexterous paws, taking the plate from the man’s hand.
Waddling back toward Sam with his treasure, Skitter sat on his haunches and looked up at him. This…best…food, he sent to Sam. Like Dr. Walt. He...friend. Then, he sat and waited patiently for everyone else to start eating, glancing from his food to the others with hunger in those big, green eyes. Sam chuckled to himself. His furry friend was nothing if not polite.
Oh, thought Sam, if only all things were that easy. “He says thank you,” he told the doctor. “He says you are his friend.”
“Good, good. That makes me happy.” Dr. Walt beamed.
Sam spooned up som
e food and began to eat, noticing that Skitter waited politely until he did so before the hapaki reverently took one of the onekai in his paws and began to nibble it. A look of ecstasy came over his face and his eyes glazed over. Soon everyone else was absorbed in eating as well.
As he stole glances at the others, Sam noticed that Nalia somehow was able to eat, not by lifting her mask up, not by taking it off, but by eating through the mask itself. She lifted the spoonful of food to her mouth and it simply melted through the mask. When she pulled the spoon out again, it was clean. Well, that’s a nice way to keep from ever having to worry about chewing with your mouth open.
“Ok, Sam,” Dr. Walt started. “We have a problem here. I have collected quite a few types of written records in the years I’ve been here, trying to piece together anything that might help me to get home, all of it to no avail. Without the technology I left on Telani, I simply have not been able to find a way to return there.
“Your situation, though, poses a new problem, along with new possibilities. You were able to transport not only yourself, but your entire house to this world, and you did so without any technology at all. You only used what seems to me to be skills with vibrational energy.
“I have spoken to Rindu at length. The Zouyim are vibratory mages, harnessing the energy we have been talking so much about, but he doesn’t know how to do what you have done either.”
He shook his grizzled head and sighed. “The simple fact is, I don’t know what to do. I plan on spending quite a bit of time, starting tonight, researching through my materials to see if anything helps. I am hoping we might be able to puzzle it out.”
Sam waited patiently for the doctor to take a breath, then he interjected, “But Dr. Walt, I must get home. I’ve already been gone several days and people will be worried. It will be even worse if my home disappeared with me. I’m the only one my mother has. She cut ties with all her friends and relatives when my father died and we moved to the other side of the country. I have to get back. I have to!”
Putting a hand on Sam’s shoulder, Dr. Walt directed a sincere look at the younger man. “I know, Sam, I know. We’ll figure something out. I may find something in all my research materials. I’ll do my best.
“There is one other thing I think I should tell you, a slim chance that I have been pondering since I met you. Besides you and me, there is another person in this world that came from ours, another person somehow transported from Telani. From Earth.”
“That’s great!” Sam exclaimed, standing up suddenly. “Why didn’t you tell me? Why did you scare me like that? Let’s talk with him and the three of us can figure something out.”
“That may not be so easy,” the doctor answered him. “You see, the other person who is rumored to have come from our world is the Gray Man, the man who killed Nalia’s mother, Rindu’s wife. The one who single-handedly all but destroyed the Zouyim temple and the Sapsyra Shin Elah.”
Chapter 10
Nalia watched this “Sam” carefully, without making it look like she was watching him. She had watched him for the two days of their journey to the compound, but had seen nothing suspicious. Yet. That mattered little, though. He would eventually make a mistake, and when he did, she would be ready. She would not be fooled again. Not like last time.
As the furry creature, the hapaki, daintily ate his vegetables, Nalia began eating as well. She saw Sam’s eyes widen when she phased the mask in front of her mouth so that she could push food through it. It was a simple thing, something a child disciple could do in the Zouyim temple, but it seemed to amaze him. It was just a matter of adjusting the vibration of the small piece of mask in front of her mouth. There were advantages to having a mother who was a Sapsyr and a father who was a Zouyim mage.
She did not know what Dr. Walt was telling Sam, but she could probably figure it out. Did they never think of schooling their faces so they did not announce to all what they thought? Their facial gestures and body language made it clear what they were discussing. For her, one who was accustomed to reading the slightest body position change during combat to discern the next strike and target, it was child’s play to read the two men as they spoke.
It was obvious that Sam was whining about going home. Did he have no shame, no self-respect? Small children did not mewl as loudly as he was now. He was upset about being stuck here, a place he did not know and one that he knew would kill him. He was too weak to survive here. He would be dead already if it was not for finding her father, Dr. Walt, and her.
Wait. Dr. Walt was presenting a new idea to him. He looked at Sam with sincerity; he felt bad for the newcomer. He was like that, always picking up strays and trying to help. He was a good man, but he was definitely not a warrior. But that was acceptable, she reasoned. He had his own code of honor and Nalia respected him. Besides, she and her father had decided to follow him, so they were honor bound to do as he asked.
Narrowing her eyes, she studied Dr. Walt as he explained his idea to Sam. It was inconvenient that they were speaking that crude language from the other place. The only word she recognized was “Telani.” No, it could not be! She fervently hoped that Dr. Walt was not suggesting what she thought he might be suggesting.
Turning to Nalia and her father, who was still shoveling food into his mouth—how did he still eat like that at his age?—Dr. Walt spoke: “Rindu, Nalia, I have a favor to ask.” No, please. By my mother’s grave, please do not ask.
“I would like you two to help Sam here in two things.” He is actually going to ask. Why? Why does he hate me so?
“First, I would like for you to help him learn Kasmali. It would be better if he could speak to us in this world’s tongue.” He did. He asked. How can I endure it?
“Second, I would like for you to train him to defend himself. I don’t know how long it will take me to find the answer we seek, but if we have to go looking elsewhere, he will need to have some self-defense skills.” No! Does he want it to happen again? Does he want us to train our own killer?
“I know it’s a difficult task I have asked you to take on,” Dr. Walt said, “but I think he may have some natural skill in vibrational energy. As for physical combat, well, that will be good for him to learn, too.” He obviously does NOT have natural talent in that. He is a clumsy oaf.
Her father looked at her with those all-knowing eyes. Even through the mask, he could always read her, always knew what she was thinking. He stared at her for a moment and then moved his head slightly in an imperceptible nod. Imperceptible, that is, to anyone but her.
She shook her head in the same imperceptible manner, one he was well-accustomed to. His gaze intensified, looking right into her eyes, though her eyes were not visible to him through the mask. How did he do that? After all these years, he still surprised her in what he could do.
“We must Iba, my heart. We are honor bound to do as Dr. Walt says. Also, there is something about this one. Perhaps he will help us as we help him. I feel in him some ability with the rohw. I would like to see if this is so. You will train him in physical combat and I will try to train him in the use of energy. We will both do our best to teach him our language.”
Nalia raised her chin defiantly, but when she spoke, it was soft and respectful. “Yes, father. I will act honorably. I think it is a mistake, though. Do neither of you remember the last time we trained a stranger?”
“I remember,” her father said. “However, just because we bite into one rotten kimatar fruit does not mean that we should never again enjoy eating the fruit for fear of repeating the experience. We must do what honor requires and then we shall see. Without our honor, we are little better than mindless beasts.”
“I will do so, but I remain suspicious. If there is any deception, I will detect it and my reaction will be swift and decisive. I have lost too much to allow some outlander to take more from me.”
While the exchange was happening, Nalia was watching Sam. He paid close attention and seemed distressed that they were discussing it. When she f
orgot herself and moved her head to glance at him instead of just moving her eyes, he averted his to look at her. Dr. Walt turned to Sam and spoke to him again in their strange language and he sighed.
He spoke again briefly to Dr. Walt and the doctor answered. Then, turning to Nalia and her father, he said in broken Kasmali: “Thank you.” With that, he turned and walked outside.
Nalia looked at her father and his intense eyes. Why did she feel bad? This oaf could not possibly have figured out what they were saying, that she did not trust him. He could not know that she suspected him, could he? How elaborate would a ruse have to be for him to learn Dr. Walt’s language fluently to pass himself off as a stranger?
All she knew was that she would have to deal with him. She would not make it easy for him to betray her and her father, though. She would not! He would find her a difficult teacher. By her mother, he would.
Chapter 11
Sam’s face itched. In the two weeks since he had been stranded in Gythe, he had not shaved and his rapidly thickening beard was irritating him. He had gone a few days without shaving in the past, but in general, he was not a fan of facial hair. As he he started to try to shave using his knife, Dr. Walt chanced to be walking by and stopped to chat.
“Is that a steel knife, Sam?”
Focused on his face in the little signal mirror he carried in his backpack emergency kit, he jumped a little when Dr. Walt spoke, almost cutting himself. “Yes, it’s a survival knife I always bring when I go hiking. It’s sharp, but shaving with a blade rather than with a razor cartridge or electric razor is something new to me. I’m hoping I don’t cut my own throat.”
Dr. Walt laughed. “You know, steel is very rare on Gythe. That blade you hold in your hand could be sold for enough money to buy a large house and still have enough left over to live comfortably in a city for many years.”
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