The Search For Drindl

 

They filtered the sand from the water and boiled it before setting off toward the forest. Alpen and Fallon each pulled a travois, but the legs dug into the sand and slowed their progress. The heat waves coming off the dunes distorted their vision as Bebe and Alithea scanned the horizon for some sign of Drindl. Erthen was upset and the babes had to be cooled off. "I never realized how much Drindl helped out with the young ones when he wasn't pulling the travois," Bebe said.

Alithea gave her a weary look as Erthen squirmed on her shoulders. "How many days have we been gone? I swear this boy has doubled in size since we left." Her hooves sank into the sand under the weight of the boy and she had to stop more frequently in the midday heat. At each stop, Bebe scanned the landscape for signs of Drindl, then fanned the babes in their covered playpen. Fallon and Alpen forged on at a slow but steady pace that made progress with the least amount of sweat.

In the late afternoon they stopped to feed the last of their vegetable lizard paste to the babes and Erthen. "The ground is changing. Can you feel it?" Bebe asked.

"I thought I was getting stronger," Alpen said.

"No, the sand layer is less deep and there is more moisture in the grains." She let a handful of sand fall from her hand in the afternoon breeze. She looked west, then scanned north and south. "We could make it out of this sandscape by tonight." The others looked to her with hope. "We'll make better time on the harder ground."

"We'll need to make some dinner before sunset," Alithea said. "We have nothing left after feeding the young ones." She looked to Fallon and Alpen. "I worry about leg cramps if you continue to push yourselves without food. Bebe and I will look for plants as we go."

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"Reeds!" Bebe pointed. Alpen and Fallon were at the point of exhaustion but paused and looked up from the tall sand grass at their feet. Alpen looked to Fallon and shrugged. He thought she had said "trees." He looked back at Bebe and Alithea and tried to say something but realized that his throat was too dry. "There might be water! Drindl might be here."

He turned to look again and saw that the land was changing ahead of them. He had forgotten about Drindl. There was only the next step and the numbing ache in his legs and his back. He was afraid to stop and felt the pull of the travois harness as he stepped forward. Bebe ran around in front of him. "Stop. Drink." She blocked his path forward as she held out the water skin to him.

He reached forward to take the skin from her and his shoulder muscles quivered. Bebe helped him as he drank, then brought the skin to Fallon. "What are…" Alpen's voice failed, then he tried again. "What are reeds?"

"Like what you found earlier, only thicker," Bebe said. She looked to Alithea. "Let us pull for a bit. You and Fallon need to rest."

Alithea set Erthen down on the travois and came forward.  She helped lift the harness off Fallon and touched him gently on the cheek. He reached up and grazed the back of her hand with his finger. She felt the tremors in his hand. "Tie Erthen to the sled. Don't try to carry him," she said. She held his gaze. "Promise me. You need to rest."

In an hour they reached the reeds. Bebe stood by a small creek and shielded her eyes against the sun. "I can see the forest. A few more hours. We'll stop here for the night." She looked to Alpen who was too tired to have an opinion.