The Egg Game

Alpen set the water containers down next to the travois. "What's going on?"

"We were talking about last evening," Fallon said. "Did you know that Altiss' had closed the visiting tent?"

"Yeah. I asked Altiss if someone would share egg caretaking last night. She said the tent was closed to all visitors. You were helping Drindl at the time. I waited and watched. There were no women in the tent."

Both Fallon and Bebe showed their surprise. "They are not in the village," Bebe said. "We are the surgeons. Who will repair the warriors wounds? Where are they?"

"They weren't there," Alpen said. "I thought that was strange but I had other concerns. When Drindl awoke me in the middle of the night and he showed me the energy the warriors had taken, I knew this was bad."

"I could never have come out of a dead sleep with two eggs and figure all that out," Fallon said appreciably.

Bebe patted the eggs in her pouch. "He's got brains enough for two eggs."

"We need to go," Alpen urged and looked at the sky. "By now, Sarten will have realized we are gone. Altiss will send faeries out to look for us."

Fallon covered the Faerie cage then secured it to the travois. Drindl took the lead with Fallon's travois. 

As the sun neared the western hills, Alpen suggested that they camp away from the river. "The wolfbear comes to the river to drink. If there are no Ibik herds, we might be its next meal."

They built a fire and roasted the Ibik meat they had brought from their underground cache at the village. "We'll take turns hunting tomorrow," Fallon suggested. As a campfire activity, he asked Alpen, "The egg game? Has Drindl played?" Alpen and Drindl shook their heads. Drindl had never heard of it.

Bebe went first. "Alithea and I are doctors. You are warriors. The egg game is about choices under pressure." Drindl nodded. "You are taking care of your own egg. Your child. An Ibik herd is coming and will trample three eggs of your fellow warriors that are ten paces away. If you run out and wave away the Ibik herd, you will save the three eggs from being trampled, but the herd will trample your egg. What do you do?"

"Why can't I carry my egg with one hand and wave at the herd with the other?" Drindl asked. "That way I would protect all the eggs." The others laughed. Alpen stamped his foot in the dirt. Drindl looked around the fire in dismay. "What did I say?"

Bebe smiled. "We all do that the first time we play. We want an alternative where we don't have to make an awful choice. Let's say that you can't do that. There's isn't enough time. It's either the life of your egg or the life of three other eggs. What do you do?" The others waited. The fire popped and Erthen woke up from his slumber in Fallon's arms.

"I know we owe allegiance to our fellow warriors and to the tribe," Drindl said and paused. "I would save my own egg. Is that the right answer?"

Again they laughed. Alpen joined in, "This game has no right answers, Drindl. To sharpen a blade, a warrior follows instructions. To fight in battle or repair those wounded in battle like Bebe and Alithea do, you must be aware of your instincts."

"But what if my instinct is to run away in fear?" Drindl asked.

"I said be aware of your instinct," Alpen said. He looked to Fallon for confirmation that he was making himself clear as they had been taught. Fallon nodded and Alpen continued, "I didn't say that you had to follow it. You must become aware in order to manage your instincts."

Alithea spoke. "When they bring in several wounded warriors, my instinct might be to help the most skilled warrior or the one that I know. But I manage that and attend to the warrior that needs my skills most urgently."

"So I shouldn't save my own egg?" Drindl asked and looked confused.

Alpen shushed their laughter. "Tonight, you saved your egg. What choice will you make when you play next time? We'll see." He turned to Fallon. "You want to go next?"

Fallon said, "OK. Let's all take a turn at this one. There are no eggs, only me and three, no five warriors. I can attract the Ibik herds to me and they will trample me to death, but I will save five warriors from being trampled to death. What say you?"

The Journey Begins

While Alpen was pulling the second travois, he could not nurse an egg and Bebe had to tend to both eggs, a difficult task. They faced the sun as they journeyed south, so she kept the eggs in the pouch behind her. She had to stop frequently to rotate the eggs and this slowed the progress of the whole group. Drindl helped out by pulling the travois more and Bebe and Alpen shared egg caretaking.

They stopped at midday. Alpen and Drindl went to the river to fill up their water containers while Bebe settled in the shade. "Glad we only have our one egg," Alithea said to Fallon as she drew him aside near the travois. "Drindl's in musth."

Fallon gave her a doubting look as he untied Erthen. "He's not acting aggressive. Has he done anything with you or Bebe?"

"No, I don't think he would be interested in us like that. We are both tending eggs. But I can smell it on him as he sweats."

Fallon shrugged. "I just smell sweat from working hard when I'm near him."

"We pay attention to that kind of thing," Alithea said. "Maybe you or Alpen could talk to him."

"That's Alpen's place. He's Drindl's warrior mentor," Fallon said and added, "A warrior in full musth is fearful in battle, but doesn't think very well. Drindl will work off some of that energy pulling the travois. I'll tell Alpen tonight."
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Bebe brought some berries to Fallon. "For the Faerie," she said. "His cage needs to be protected from the sun."

"Is it a he?" Fallon asked. "I can't tell one Faerie from another."

Bebe put a few berries in the cage and the Faerie ate. "The males have more pointed ears," she said. "You can move his cage to our travois. There is more room." The Faerie squeaked. "More energy, you little piglet Faerie?" Bebe asked with a laugh.

"He says the berries aren't quite ripe yet," Fallon answered. "The kettle berries are good at this time of year."

Bebe held her egg pouch as she bowed to the Faerie. "Your majesty." She turned to Fallon. "There are some kettle bushes toward the river. I will pick those and you tie up the cage. Alpen is almost done."

As she turned to leave, Fallon asked, "Do you think Drindl is in musth? Alithea says she smells it." He wanted Bebe to tell Alpen.

Bebe nodded. "It's early yet. He's at that age. Didn't he visit the medical tent?"

"No, Altiss closed…" Fallon paused. It was so obvious now. "Altiss' tent was closed the night before the battle to keep the younger warriors primed. But it was closed the following night after negotiations began. Sarten had already planned the slaughter. Warriors in musth and an extra dose of energy."

Leaving

"My brood brother, Mellen, went south," Alpen replied to Alithea's question. Bebe nodded. "I have not seen or heard from him in ten years when he parted. Perhaps we can join their village. I want to find out what is happening in the south. Where are the Ibik herds?"

Bebe asked, "The mountains to the south. What about the wolfbear?"

Alpen looked to Fallon Neither of them knew the habits of the wolfbear, only that it was territorial. He turned back to Bebe. "We'll be fine, hon. The three of us. We have weapons." He gave her a reassuring hug, and Fallon nodded in confirmation.

Each family placed their belongings on a travois that was usually used to transport Ibik meat and injured warriors. Alithea directed Fallon to pack her grandmother's bridal quilt and the nesting crib that they would need in a few weeks for the new baby, but there was so much she had to leave behind. Fallon's priority was weapons and tools. Alithea paused at the door as they were ready to leave. Had she forgotten anything? Suddenly, she let out a wail that bounced off the walls and out into the crisp morning air. The sound upset Erthen, who reached up to her for reassurance. She gathered him in her arms and followed Fallon out to their travois.

They went to visit their loved ones in the graveyard at the southern end of the village. Bebe and Alpen had also buried a young one there. "My soul is here," Bebe cried as she knelt on the damp grass. Drindl stood in front of his mother's grave, then reached down to pluck a spring flower from the site.

Fallon touched the headstone over his folk's grave. He and Alpen had found the large rock on the cliffs of an ancient volcano to the north. One side had a smooth glassy surface of burgundy streaked with silver and aquamarine that captured the evening sun's fire. They had both hurt for days after. Alpen had joked that the rock was the bravest warrior he had ever fought. Fallon knelt at the stone and kissed the swirl of cool color. The full impact of leaving their home hit him.
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Alpen touched his shoulder. "You gave your folks the evening sun for the rest of eternity."

Fallon needed to hear that. He stood, then turned to the squeak of the Faerie as it stirred from its stupor. "No, you've had enough. You're not going to die," Fallon answered, then remembered that he had forgotten the faerie cage. Alpen had not brought one either. Drindl ran back to Fallon's house and retrieved the faerie cage. The two of them transferred the Faerie to the cage and left the skull on the ground.

As the sun climbed above the horizon, Alpen urged them to leave. They stood facing the village, pausing for one last look at their home, their refuge in the world. Alithea set Erthen on the travois, covered him and secured him to the sled. Next to him, Fallon tied the faerie cage to the sled. "Maybe Erthen will learn Faerie talk just like his father," Alithea joked.

Fallon protested, "I'm not making this up!"  He slid into the harness of the travois and took the lead. He followed the bare outline of a path beaten down by the hooves of last year's Ibik migration. The warmth of the sun was welcome in the early spring morning.

As Fallon strode forward, he thought. Turning back to Drindl, he motioned for the young warrior to come alongside him. "Did you have any energy last night?" Drindl shook his head no. "You gave some to Erthen and I gave some to the Faerie. Did Alpen take any?" Again, Drindl shook his head. "Show me the energy," he asked and Drindl fished out the energy. "There is still a good deal left. All the warriors took that much energy?" Drindl nodded. Sarten had given them a strong enough dose to overcome any reluctance as he led them to slaughter. They would share Sarten's murderous spirit and act without question. Where did he get that much energy, Fallon wondered. "I'm glad you did not join them," he said as he reached out to Drindl. "We are brothers now. Brothers of the heart and brothers of the sword."

The Village

When Fallon rejoined the others he showed them the Faerie. "I can understand it's language somehow," he said. "That Listener in the Glade camp did something in my ear."

Alithea looked up from the skull with a skeptical expression. She reached up and flicked his cheek with her tongue, then looked down at the egg at her waist. "Your daddy hears faeries," she said. Alpen scoffed, then urged them on.

They followed Alpen's fast pace. When Bebe called after Alpen, he turned back to her, pointed at the sky and made the signal to keep silent. Fallon glanced through the trees at the sky but could not see any other faeries. Finally, they came to the outskirts of their village.

There were some forty houses, a great meeting hall and some other common buildings. The walls of the houses were large cobble and stones joined together with clay found near the mouth of the river. They paused and Bebe said, "I can't wait to lie down. A nap will be welcome."

"We will have to bring what we can and go south," Alpen said.

"Have you gone mad?! Alpen, we are not leaving our home!" Bebe insisted and stomped her hoof in the dirt.  
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Fallon stepped in front of Alpen's path and faced him in the pre-dawn light. They heard a sound and turned to watch fire licking at the night sky. They turned back to Alpen. "I've given you a warrior's respect, my friend," Fallon said. "Bebe's right. This is crazy. Explain."

"Drindl woke me. He was one of thirty or forty warriors that Sarten assembled in the middle of the night," Alpen explained. "The warriors took energy. There is only one reason. To attack in the darkness of night." Fallon nodded. "Only warriors with no eggs to care for. Sarten recognized Drindl and told him to leave." Alpen turned to Drindl. "Sarten said they would rid themselves of the Glades and their eggs." Drindl nodded in confirmation and Fallon's eyes went wide.

"No warrior – no honorable warrior," Fallon corrected himself, "kills innocent eggs."

"This is just the beginning," Alpen warned.

"But why should we leave our village?" Bebe asked in an insistent voice.

"No matter what the final outcome, there will be a bloodbath. In a few weeks, the Cawthingi will arrive from the coast to trade fish with the Glade tribe for Ibik meat. What will they find? If the Glades are destroyed, will the Cawthingi attack our people to gain access to the spring and summer herds? They certainly will. Why trade if you can take?" 
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Alithea grabbed Fallon's arm for comfort as the words spilled from Alpen. "What about the eggs in our camp?" It was a question that none of them wanted to ponder. Erthen stirred and Alithea reached for him. "I'm surprised that our boy has slept through this journey."

Drindl started to explain but Fallon made a slight shake of his head and Drindl shook off the papoose. Alithea calmed the waking boy and Drindl helped her strap the papoose to her back.

Fallon kissed the youngster, then said, "Well, that is not a reason to abandon our village, our people." The others nodded in agreement.

"Don't you see?" Alpen asked. "This land is changing and there will be continual fighting. Each year the herds grow thinner and thinner. My father's father spoke of the spring thunder, he called it, when the Ibik herds would cross into the valley and darken the plains. To the west the water now eats the land. The land of our fathers is disappearing!"

Drindl stretched to the sky and said, "The Morela fox. They arrive a few weeks before the Ibik herds. I have not seen one fox this year. Have any of you seen the fox?"

Alpen gestured to Drindl. "You see?" He looked to Fallon.

"Where should we go?" asked Alithea. She flexed under the weight of the boy who opened his eyes.  

Fallon brushed the long black hair growing from Erthen's head. The boy babbled baby talk and Fallon said, "In just a few minutes we'll be home."

Bebe looked at Fallon. "What part of that made any sense to you?"

Fallon shrugged. "He says he's hungry. He wants to know when we'll be home."

Alithea turned to face Fallon. "Faerie talk. Now babble talk? Come on, I'll feed the boy while you gather up our stuff."

Escape

Alpen made the hand signal to his throat, the one they had all learned as young children. Mortal and imminent danger. Be quiet. Even Fallon was frightened by the primitive warning gesture. They stayed close to the river where the vegetation afforded some cover. After turning a bend in the river, Alpen turned to his left, toward the treeline and in the direction of their home.

In the far distance, they heard the clamor of fighting, then the piercing scream of a Sprint split the night air and caused Fallon's skin to shiver. They looked to Alpen. "Hurry!" he urged. He looked skyward and Fallon followed his gaze. A lone Faerie flew above the treetop. Alpen turned to Fallon. "Drindl has some energy. Try to trap the Faerie so it cannot report us to Altiss."

Fallon was surprised but Alpen gave him the signal. No explanations. Fallon came alongside Drindl who still carried the sleeping Erthen in a papoose on his back. Fallon put his hand on the boy's head. Now he knew how Erthen had remained asleep during all this commotion. A small amount of energy made a young one sleepy. "Don't tell anyone you gave Erthen some energy," he said as they walked along. At Drindl's look of surprise, Fallon said, "I understand. You did what you thought was best in battle mode. Alithea mustn't find out." Drindl nodded. "Can I get the energy? We need to lure the Faerie down." Drindl reached to his side, undid the pouch and handed it to Fallon.
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Fallon drifted away from the group, circling wide into the clearing. From this short distance, he could see the weariness in the gait of the others. Even Drindl's supple form was bent forward under Erthen's weight. Alithea's anxiety showed as she carried their egg pouch and tried to keep up with Alpen and not stumble.

Fallon paused, casually reached into the pouch and withdrew the white piece of energy that Drindl had wrapped in a leaf. He held it to his mouth as though he were nibbling. He casually tilted his head and glanced skyward while he kept his cloak at the ready, draped over his other arm. The light was dim and he could not see the Faerie. He heard the rapid beat of the Faerie's wings above him as it swooped to steal the energy from his grasp. As the wings brushed against his forehead, he fell back and swept his cloak over the surprised Faerie and let it fall to the ground. Trapped between the cloak and the grass, the Faerie tried to escape but Fallon kept it pinned. It made a bunch of squeaking sounds below the coat as Fallon gathered it into the center. He stood up with his coat gathered into a sack. The Faerie stopped thrashing in the pocket of darkness.

"Energy, give me," is what Fallon thought he heard the Faerie say. Impossible, he thought, then he heard the words repeated. He could not speak Faerie. Even Altiss struggled with that. They did not have a faerie cage. What was he going to do with the little creature? It was bad luck to intentionally kill a Faerie, even a snooping Faerie.
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He would need to run to catch up with the others. Suddenly he saw the bleached white form of an Ibik skull on the ground. He turned it over to make sure there were no bitey stingies living in the skull. It was quite small, a yearling Ibik who had not completed the migration route with its herd. Struck with a solution to his problems, Fallon set his cloak down on the ground, keeping it closed and the Faerie trapped. He took a bit of energy and placed it in the top of the skull, then carefully moved the skull inside the sac he had created with the jacket. He felt the Faerie move into the skull to get the energy. He withdrew the cloak, being careful to use his coat to block the opening at the base of the skull. In one hand he held the skull with the Faerie and held the coat with the other. The Faerie was too large to get out the openings in front of the small skull but the coat was an awkward solution.

Fallon watched the Faerie as it feasted on the small morsel of energy. He put the energy back in the pouch, then used it to block the opening in the skull. Already the Faerie was getting relaxed as the energy took effect on the little creature. Fallon tied the pouch strings around the skull and set off to find the others.

"I won't tell sis-ah if you give me more energy," the Faerie said. Sis-ah was the name the faeries called Altiss. What a lying faerie glutton, Fallon thought. He made the sound of an Alsace bird and it echoed in the skull. The predator sound silenced the Faerie.

Between the Shadows

When Fallon got back to the tent, he realized that he still held the energy in his hand. He stored it safely in his pouch. He ducked inside the tent and roused Alpen from a deep slumber. After a moment, Alpen signaled that he was awake. After checking on Fallon's boy, they stood outside the tent in tree shadow.

Drindl told him about the gathered warriors and the energy. Alpen silenced him with a gesture of his hand, then looked up at the tree canopy and listened. He heard the quiet rustle of the warrior's hooves as they prepared for battle. "When did they take the energy?" Alpen asked with an insistent voice. When Drindl told him, Alpen paused to calculate, then said, "We don't have much time."
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Fallon was so tired when Alpen shook him awake. "It's time already?" he mumbled. Something in Alpen's tone of voice jerked him awake and he sat up in his bedroll.

"Sarten's planning something," Alpen whispered. Fallon wanted to ask what and how he knew but Alpen gave him the battle sign. No explanations.

Fallon turned toward Drindl's bedroll. "My son," he said with concern. Alpen whispered that he was OK, then gave the battle sign again for silence. The three gathered their bedrolls and pouches. Drindl carried Erthen who slept peacefully.

They walked with the gait of warrior ghosts, making little sound. They circled at the edge of the clearing and the trees and made their way to the river. Now that they were out of their bedrolls, they had to turn their eggs frequently to ward off the cool night air.

"Bebe and Alithea? Do you know where they are in the tent?"Alpen asked. Fallon nodded and held up his hand to signal a few moments. Alpen and Drindl crouched in the tall reeds as Fallon retraced his steps to the tent and listened for the sound of any guard patrol. He jerked the rawhide string several times before he got a response from Alithea. He tapped out the most urgent code before his message, "Now. Leave. You. Bebe. Now. Leave. You. Bebe." With a stick, he propped up the tent wall to make a small opening above the ground. Bebe rolled out first, then Alithea. Fallon signaled silence and they followed him to the river. They saw Alpen and Drindl crouched in a circle. 

An Evening's Pause

He was distracted by a touch on his arm – Alithea. She showed him the corner of the tent where she would be sleeping. She held out a string made from Ibik hide. "I will tie this around my hoof after we eat. I will leave a piece of string under the tent wall. Before the sun goes down, tap out that Erthen is all right. I will sleep better."

Fallon was not a first time dad and was patient. He was used to her rythms and familiar with her anxiety just before the birth of their baby. The women prepared a light meal and Altiss ushered him out of the tent. He didn't see the faerie.

He rejoined Drindl and Alpen. Both of them assured Fallon that the egg was fine. Fallon felt more confident taking the egg pouch for the overnight vigil. Freed of the pouch, Drindl took Erthen to a nearby hill to watch the sunset.

As the rim of the sun sank below the hills, Fallon left the tent. Staying low as he moved through the reeds near the river, Fallon approached the big tent in the dim light. He found the Ibik string and pulled. He felt Alithea's hoof move, then the string grew taut. He tapped out that Erthen was happy and their egg was warm and goodnight. She acknowledged with a tapping of affection. Fallon circled away from the tent, careful to stay out of sight of the guards.
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Drindl was stirred from his slumber. He disentangled his arm from Erthen's sleeping frame and stood, then followed the whisper outside the tent. "Sarten wants all the warriors without eggs," the voice said. The moonlight filtered through the half-naked trees as they walked toward the rear of the camp. Drindl saw a few warriors outside a large tent in a clearing between the trees. He was led to a tent where there were thirty to forty warriors packed tightly together. Someone handed him some energy. He was confused and surprised that there was any left. He turned abruptly as Sarten entered the large tent and walked to the table.

Sarten held a piece of energy into his mouth and surveyed the warriors. "Eat and let us be done with these bothersome Glades and their foul eggs." Sarten put the energy his mouth and the warriors followed suit. Drindl was so alarmed that his mouth was dry and he couldn't swallow. He looked around and saw a small urn being passed. He held up his arm to signal the warrior that he needed a drink when Sarten saw him and called out to him. Drindl ejected the energy in his hand and answered, "Sir! Drindl, your faithful warrior here." He had never been spoken to directly by the leader.

"You shake like a child at the sight of Sprints," Sarten taunted and looked to the others. Drindl blushed with shame. "Tonight is not a night for children," Sarten said. "Go back to sleep in your tent and dream of little Faeries." The other warriors laughed. As Drindl shuffled past his companions on his way to the exit, he was poked and pushed. He was relieved to make it out of the big tent.