End of the Voyage

 An elbow from Alpen urged Fallon to move through the sharp pain of the blinding daylight. Alpen on the

left, Fallon on the right, they trusted that Alithea and Bebe could hear the cadence that Alpen and Fallon

sounded out as they took the stairs.

From the right of the stairway, legs tried to take purchase on the steps. Fallon chopped down and the body fell back. Alpen jabbed with his left elbow and a head flew back. Matching their arm movements on the inside, they formed a threshing machine. Forward, forward, chop, chop, and they must never lose the feel of the playpen at their backs.

When Fallon felt a hand thrust at his gut, he chopped down hard and felt the crunch of bone. Forward, forward, chop, chop and they were at the top of the stairs. Fallon stumbled as he cleared the deck, but Fallon helped him regain his balance. They almost took out the Cawthingi at the edge of the hold.

The uproar from the hold was deafening. Looking over his shoulder, Fallon saw Bebe pulled back into the hold by a hand, then a stick split the outstretched arm. Another Cawthingi guard. They were ruthless in their discipline. He looked in the eyes of the Cawthingi at the front of him and repeated the crude voicing of Surrender to the guard. Surprised, he swept his arm to usher them away from the hold. 

//////////////

Fallon and Alpen were accustomed to the uproar of battle but the deafening noise thoroughly terrified Bebe, Alithea and the young ones. Erthen lay on his side on top of the playpen, his eyes squeezed shut and his face contorted against the uproar as those in the hold erupted out of the darkness below.

Fallon looked to Alithea and saw a sadness and longing in her eyes that made him ache. He picked up Erthen and cuddled the boy close to his chest, then turned to face what lay ahead of them. Two guards directed them to a ramp that led to the dock alongside the boat. Fallon wanted to pause and survey the area but didn't dare taunt the guards. Show subservience, he reminded himself and called out the word to the others. Passive compliance. No threat. 

He turned left and felt the spring of the ramp under his weight. He looked right as he descended the ramp with Erthen and was overwhelmed by the sight of a village so large that he could not see its end. Great walls taller than a hill rose up to the sky. Something in his gut cowered in response and he hugged his son closer.

/////////////////

"What is this place?" Alpen growled. "Hang in there, buddy." He put his hand on Erthen's head as he crouched in Fallon's arms and Alpen realized felt the boy's shaking.

"Head down," Fallon said. "Surrender. They are calling us Bonitas." Bonita was a bug that carried pieces of Ibik feces. Fallon looked back at the playpen that Alithea and Bebe carried. He could see that the babes were upset.

Cawthingi guards herded them from the dock and onto the smooth cobblestones. Ahead of them Fae riders on Sprints stood on either side of an open route to a wall several warriors high. As they strode forward, Fallon looked left through the legs of the Sprints toward the ocean. In the distance he saw creatures like themselves carrying rocks. He understood now. Under his breath, he muttered "Left" and Alpen did so. "Bonitas," Fallon repeated. Alpen kept his head down and nodded.

Ocean Voyage

 

Circling around to the north of the beach they had visited earlier the entire group came up a gentle rise of tall grass and dunes. As they cleared the crest, they saw the great ocean spread before them. Some distance from the shore was a large boat. The lead Sprint descended the sloping dune and the group of captives stayed within the circle of Sprints. As they neared the water's edge, the large ship approached the shore. It was as tall above the water as two warriors, as broad as four warriors, and as long as eight warriors. Four Fae riders rode atop large fish whose heads rose and fell as they pulled the boat through the water.

A smaller boat separated from the ship and came toward them. The larger ship circled in deeper water. Two familiar figures dipped flat pieces of wood into the water as the boat approached. Fallon recognized the clothing of Cawthingi. One of them said something and the lead Sprint walked forward into the water and lowered the playpen to the boat.

The Cawthingi said something to the group. Alpen looked to Fallon to interpret, but Fallon played dumb. "Little knife," he reminded Alpen. He signaled to the Cawthingi, asking if they should walk in the water to the boat. The Cawthingi nodded and swept his arm to motion them forward.

Fallon looked behind him to Alithea and Bebe, signaling to go forward. Sitting on his dad's shoulders, Erthen was scared quiet, a contrast to the joy they had experienced earlier in the water. Fallon came alongside the boat, then set the boy in the boat near the playpen. He waved the others forward.

Following Bebe and Alithea, a Fae rider on a Sprint held the caged bandit. Both women looked nervously behind them at the snarling of the creature. They meant to set the bandit in the boat with them. Fallon pronounced the word "surrender" in the Cawthingi language. He deliberately altered the pronunciation so that the Cawthingi would not think that he knew their language and would take him as a Jade warrior who had learned the one word. The Cawthingi squinted at him, then turned to the Fae rider and waved off the caged bandit. The Fae rider hesitated. Fallon muttered under his breath to Alpen and they both adopted the bowed posture of a warrior who admits defeat. That seemed to convince the Cawthingi and the captors.

They had to sit slightly apart from each other on the bench seats. Alithea gripped the edge of the wooden seat. Fallon watched the muscles of her jaw clench as the boat moved through the water. After a few minutes, the boat pulled alongside the great ship. Each of the four fish pulling the ship was longer than a warrior, muscled like an adult Ibik with sleek smooth skin that glistened wet in the sunlight. On the back of each animal, a Fae rider sat straddled, its mind tendrils stuck into tiny ear openings on the side of the fish's head. Was there any animal that a Fae could not control?

/////////////

The playpen was hoisted up onto the deck by two Cawthingi. Fallon tried not to think of the terror the babes must feel, hoping they would not remember the experience. A plank was lowered. Fallon heard the lead Cawthingi tell the other that they were done for the day. Fallon carried Erthen close to his chest and waited for Alithea to climb the plank.

When they were all on board, a Cawthingi pointed first to Alithea, and then the playpen set next to an opening leading to a hold below decks. Alithea looked to Fallon, then Bebe came alongside and together they carried the playpen down the stairs. Carrying Erthen down the stairs, Fallon's nostrils were assaulted by the foul smell. The boy squirmed in his arms as though to get away from the smell. Fallon shushed him in a calming voice. On the stairs behind him, Alpen swore at the smell.

Pressed against each other in the darkness, Alithea's voice trembled. "I'm afraid we will crush the babes." Fallon set Erthen on the top of the playpen, then they elbowed their way to face each other in a circle and held the playpen.

"I'm so scared," Bebe said. Each of them had to push against the other bodies to keep the circle of safety around the playpen. They stood on planks laid over the bottom of the boat. The darkness was kind in a way. The smell coming from below their feet was putrid with bodily fluids.

Fallon choked back the meat they had eaten earlier, but he felt Alithea retch up some of her food. "I'll take it," he told her and grabbed a corner of the playpen so she could wipe her mouth. Then he felt the boy throw up and held him away from his chest. In the darkness, the boy's whimpers tore at his heart. Alithea cooed soothing words to the boy to reassure him.

Adding to the mayhem in Fallon's mind, the sound of different languages chattered in his head. He tried to shut them out, but he could feel his mind chasing after word phrases swirling among the cries and whispers. He thought he heard the Jade language, their tongue. Were there others of the tribe here?

//////////////////

The ship shuddered to a halt and the throng of passengers in the hold swayed against each other. Fallon heard Alpen voice in the darkness, "Forked Wedge." It was smart thinking. They were near the stairway and there was every likelihood that there would be a stampede when the hatchway opening was removed at the top of the stairs.

Fallon nudged Alithea and translated the warrior talk. "Wing attack formation," he said in a command voice. Surely, she must have seen it. Two warriors formed a wedge with their shields, hiding a third warrior between them who burst forth to attack the enemy's line. In this case the hidden warrior would be Bebe and Alithea with the playpen.

"I know what a 'forked wedge' is," she said. Her voice was slightly ragged, but the tone of impatience reassured him. She and Alpen negotiated the close quarters until Alpen was alongside Fallon.

"We turn and block as we go up the stairs," Alpen said. "Alithea and Bebe, honey, you have the babes?" Both women acknowledged.

They stood ready to engage their plan and waited. They heard the dull sound as the hull banged against something outside. They heard thuds and footfalls on the deck above. They heard all these noises because most everyone down in the hold with them had gone silent except for a few whimpers, retches and moans.

The light from above blinded them into a paralysis. 

Trapped

 

Alpen turned to Fallon. “Why don’t they attack?”

“They don’t need to. We’re trapped.”

Alithea held Erthen close to her chest. “They must want us alive.”

That thought had not occurred to either warrior. They were accustomed to the slash of sword and spear.

The Sprint closest to the edge turned slightly, then a cage came into view. Inside the cage a bandit turned then snarled as it used its sharp claws to tear at the web of the cage walls.

Alpen looked back past Fallon to Bebe and Alithea crouched in the cave. Alpen could kill the bandit but not before the quick vicious animal caused a lot of damage and pain. He looked with resignation at Fallon who concurred. Alpen laid his sword on the cave floor and took a step back. When the lithe Fae rider waved her arm, Alpen kicked the sword over the edge. Fallon stood ready to throw embers at the bandit in case they opened the cage.

Without turning Alpen asked Fallon, “Can you understand them?”

“I’m trying.”

“Tell them to withdraw the bandit cage.”

A moment’s thought. “No.”

Putting a lot of anger in his voice, Alpen snarled, “No?” He had agreed to vote but not in battle.

“A warrior keeps his small knife hidden.”

Alpen had not thought of language as a weapon and grunted his assent.

/////////////////////

The Fae rider wanted them to push the playpen to the front edge of the cave but Bebe would not release it until they withdrew the caged bandit. Fallon listened carefully as the Fae discussed the issue among themselves. He expected the Fae to all speak the same language, but these riders used an entirely different set of words than the Fae allies of the Glade warriors. He learned to let the strange words tumble around in his head, allowing them to self-assemble their meaning. As he looked at the movement of a Fae's mouth, a key in his mind clicked and he could understand them. He signaled the others to stay quiet.

The closest Sprint picked up the caged bandit and lowered the twisting, spitting creature below the ledge and out of sight. Fallon waved Bebe to come forward with the playpen. When she hesitated, he reassured her. "They think the babes are a prize." She looked at him with doubt but pushed the playpen forward to the edge.

When the Sprint picked up the playpen, they all held their breath. Suspended off the cave floor, the Fae rider motioned to Alpen and Fallon to come forward. The two came to the edge and scrambled down the rock to the ground, careful to avoid the barbs of the Sprint's legs. Alpen lowered his head slightly as he looked at Fallon, the signal for no sudden movements. Alithea appeared above the cave edge and passed Erthen down to Fallon. Finally, Bebe and Alithea scrambled down the face edge. When the Sprint turned with the playpen above them, Bebe instinctively reached up. Alpen reached to her with a calming gesture.

As the Sprint moved away with the playpen, a Fae rider behind the group flicked out a tendril to indicate that they follow the lead Sprint. The others looked to Fallon, who stepped forward. "Make sure you stay ahead of the Sprints behind us," he cautioned. They could hear the whipping of the creatures' raspy leg barbs following behind them. Hoisting Erthen on his shoulders, Fallon hummed and kissed the boy's legs to help quiet his fears. They set off west through a sandy savannah marked with trees, returning to the ocean by a different route.  

The Shelter of the Cave

 

The smell of salt accompanied them even as they followed the path through the trees to the cave. Smelling the fat smoking in the fire, Alpen worried that the smell would attract larger animals.

Fallon argued that larger animals could not easily scramble up the rock to the floor of the cave. Crouching slightly, he practiced a spear throwing motion. "This is a good hunting platform. Let them come."

“I worry that Erthen might fall down the rock face,” Alithea argued. “It’s hard to relax.”

“I wish you could be content with good enough,” Fallon complained and looked to Bebe for support, but she shrugged.

“It would be nice if we could have a ledge or some kind of barrier,” Bebe said. “We could let the babes run free in the cave.”

The meat was fatty but delicious. Fallon convinced Alithea to let the babes eat a little bit. Feeling engorged, they fell asleep. Alpen shook Fallon awake and made the warrior’s battle sign for silence. Outside the cave, Fallon could see that the light was still bright.  The rustling sound outside the cave was familiar and Fallon made the gesture of questioning. Alpen nodded but signed that he could not identify it.

Taking one step closer to the edge of the cave floor, Alpen readied his sword. They had left the travois on the ground just below the cave, so Fallon had no weapon. He glanced at the embers. He might burn his hands, but he planned to throw a handful of the embers at the animal when it showed its head above the lower edge of the cave.

Both were surprised when a Fae rider appeared on the left side of the opening. Slashing with his sword, Alpen stepped toward  the edge of the cave but the Fae rider sat atop a Sprint out of reach. Fallon stooped to grab some embers, but his reason fought his instinct. He looked back to Erthen, Alithea and Bebe. Erthen had jumped into Alithea’s arms. Bebe shielded the playpen with her body and looked with terror at the horrid sight outside the cave. Another Sprint and rider came into view, then two more behind them.

The Way of Water

 

Erthen was so upset that Fallon took him into the trees and away from the beach, hoping that he could distract the boy. The word they used for the pup was like that of a pet that Erthen played with in the home they had left behind. He thought his mother was cutting up his pet.

 When Alpen arrived back with the group, Bebe warned him not to use that word. They had agreed to call it a fish. Alpen pulled some large leaves from the trees, then washed them in the ocean. Using the leaves as wrappers, he folded the meat inside each one and set it aside just out of reach of the water.

As they finished up, Alpen looked back to Bebe and the travois. Fallon was still off in the trees with Erthen. He told Alithea about the Sprints.

Looking out over the endless expanse of water, she set the knife down and washed her hands. “Alpen, you did what you thought was right and we followed your lead.” She looked back at Bebe and the few meager belongings on the two travois. “We have nothing but each other now. You and Bebe are senior but I think we should vote on our next course of action. North to Cawthingi territory, return home or continue south and hope that the tribes are friendly.” 

With his finger, Alpen traced the 3 toed imprint of an Alsace bird in the sand. “I don’t think returning home is an option. Not while Sarten is chief.”

Alithea reached out to Alpen’s arm. “We can decide together.”

To Alpen voting was a lack of command. Shall we attack the enemy? Let’s take a vote. Of course not. He traced a triangle in the sand, then drew lines from each corner to the midpoint of the opposite side. Focusing on the point where the three lines intersected, he went through the sand to the hard rock certainty that lay deep beneath the earth. “We should go north.” He drew a circle connecting all three points of the triangle, then looked at Alithea.

Leaning forward, she drew a square that enclosed his outer circle.”We are four, like the four corners of a square. If we die, and our children, we should not curse you with our last breath. It will be our decision.”

“And what if we find Drindl? Will we have another vote?"

Connecting a triangle to the top of the square to make a pentagram like shape, she said, “We act as one family.” Again, she reached out to him. “We  will live and die together like warriors but vote like women in the bargaining tent. The best of both ways.” She clenched her hands together as she searched his eyes.

“Both ways.” Alpen looked again at the diagram in the sand as a tongue of water licked at the thin furrows. As it receded, tiny channels of water remained. “This is the way of water. It carves new paths. We will be like water.”

The Beachcombers

 

Alpen retraced his tracks along the edge of the trees. He stopped where they had first halted and looked around for the blowfi. Looking toward the beach, he was surprised to see that the herd of animals had resettled. He stayed low but did not crawl toward the boulder where they had first hid. There it was! It had come out of his pouch as he slithered along the sand.

Putting the blowfi in his pouch, he glanced at the trail that the pup's body made in the sand. As he turned toward the trees, he saw something between the boulders that made his heart jump. He crouched in instinctual caution, then crawled to the next boulder. Glancing around it, he saw the hated form of a Sprint! Atop the nasty creature sat a Fae rider. Alpen ducked his head back behind the large boulder, then glanced back to the north, assuring himself that Bebe, Fallon and Alithea were out of sight around the curve of beach.

He glanced at the trail of the seal pup's body. If the Fae rider saw it, she would follow it, find Fallon's deep footprints in the sand and follow the track. He dared not venture out to cover the pup's track. He wasn't sure if the Fae rider could see over the boulder. He heard the grunt of the animal herd as the Sprint approached from the south. A few animals slipped into the water and the Sprint paused, then turned away from the herd and back south.

Alpen let out his breath in relief then sucked it in again when he saw another Sprint joining the first. The Fae were mercenaries for hire to the highest bidder, but which tribe? He waited several minutes until both Sprints turned away to the south. Satisfied that they were gone, he found a broken branch and used it to hide some of the pup's trail without getting too close to the herd. Finally, he scratched out his and Fallon's tracks toward the water, pleased that the ocean had erased the rest of their tracks.

A Dropped Call

 

Alithea knelt beside the body and opened one eyelid. "It's just gas escaping from the body."

"It was feeding on its mother." Fallon tried to catch his breath between words.

Alithea looked at him, then turned back to the body of the pup. She opened its mouth, ran a finger into an opening on the side of its head, then ran her hands along the skin and probed the fatty body. "It has legs and arms just like we do." She reached between the flippers at the end of its body, then rubbed her fingers together and inspected her fingers. Finally, she held her fingers to her nose. "No worms or parasites that I can feel. Smells healthy." She stood up and went to the water to clean her hands.

Fallon looked at Alpen with an "I told you" expression. Alpen looked to Alithea. "Can we butcher it?"

She nodded. "I wouldn't eat it raw. Let's cook some and see how we react. If we are ok, we could feed some to the babes tomorrow morning." 

Bebe turned to Alpen. "Why didn't you call us?"

"I forgot." He fumbled inside his hunting pouch, then looked at Fallon. "Did I give it to you?" Fallon looked at him with a questioning glance. "The blowfi." Fallon shook his head. Alpen swore and turned to Bebe. "I must have dropped it. I'll run back and get it while Alithea guts the animal."