by Inmon, Shawn
He watched, fascinated, as the warriors reached long poles up and hooked the lower rope of the bridge. One after the other, they grabbed the rope and propelled themselves into the middle of the water. The current tried to move them downstream, but one hook held them in place while the other moved the pole farther along the rope. It was a slow but sure method to cross the mighty Kranda-ah.
Just as he had on the other side, the first warrior jumped out of the boat when the water was chest high, grabbed the prow of the boat and pulled it up onto the shore.
Alex turned and waved at the friends he had left behind, uncertain if they would be able to see him in the growing darkness.
The warriors set a double-time march back to the village and after a few days on horseback, it felt good for Alex to stretch his muscles again.
Rinta-ah was not a large village, but it was well-situated. It was built into a natural amphitheater, which gave it natural protection on three sides. Even on the open fourth side, anyone or anything that wanted to attack would have been forced to do so uphill. The villagers had dug into the hillside so that each building was level and it gave the whole place a solid, planned out feeling.
The first time Alex had seen it, his hands had been tied behind his back and he had been force-marched by a giant man he was destined to face in a fight to the death. This reception was much warmer.
Torches lit the path up to Rinta-ah, and there was a gathering of villagers, including the young chieftain, waiting to greet them.
“Manda-ak!” Rinta-ah said.
Alex smiled to himself. Two years earlier, Rinka-ak had been a boy in every way. He had grown, filled out, and his voice had changed in the two years since then.
“How was your quest to find your Chosen One?” Rinka-ak asked.
“Long, bloody, and ultimately successful.”
“So, not unlike your brief stay here in Rinta-ah.”
Alex could not disagree with him. He held up the leather bag and said, “I come bearing gifts.”
The young boy bowed his head slightly and Alex again thought how perfect he was going to be as chief of the tribe. Being trained by his father from the time he could crawl, he showed every natural aptitude of leadership, and he seemed to be growing into his position.
Alex reached the boy, who was now taller than Alex himself, and laid a hand on his shoulder in greeting.
“One of your warriors said you are having some trouble. I am sorry,” Alex said.
A solemn expression found a home on Rinka-ak’s face. “We have had many sorrows since the last solstice. Come and sit down with us and I will tell you.”
The people who prepared the karak-ta egg for consumption in Winten-ah had given Alex specific instructions on how to prepare it properly. He had memorized these instructions and passed both the egg and the recipe on to Rinka-ak’s cook, who hurried away.
“I have heard of the magic qualities of the karak-ta egg, but we have never known where to find them. You do us great honor by bringing it to us.”
“We hope it will be the beginning of a great trade partnership between our village and yours.”
Rinka-ak led Alex and Monda-ak into the largest building in the village—the hall where he had gifted them with the crude map of Kragdon-ah on their last visit. They sat in low chairs around a fire pit that vented into a chimney above. As they sat and talked, more and more of the villagers poured into the hall until it was full to overflowing.
“Now, tell me of your troubles. Perhaps I can help.”
Rinka-ak put his hand to his throat, which was the Kragdon-ah version of shaking his head. “I don’t think there is any hope for help on this front. I am afraid we are cursed.”
That word—cursed—brought the word prophecy to Alex’s mind. The people of Kragdon-ah were so practical in so many things, but they adopted some strange beliefs and could not let them go.
“What is the curse?”
“We are a small village. There are less than two hundred of us here. Still, at any moment, there will be five or six of our women who are with child. It is the only way to keep Rinta-ah healthy and growing.”
“Of course,” Alex agreed.
“Since the winter solstice, we have had five women give birth. The children—three girls and a boy—are all doing fine. But all five women died in the moment of childbirth. Now, everyone is afraid that if they become heavy with child, the same thing will happen to them. If we stop having children, or if every mother dies giving birth, we will not last.”
Alex sat silently, running that information through his twenty-first century brain.
Of course mothers die giving birth in Kragdon-ah. There is only the most rudimentary medical care here. A difficult delivery will happen from time to time. But five times in a row? Healthy children and a dead mother. That’s too much to be a coincidence.
“I am sorry to hear that. I don’t have any idea what would cause it. Were the women sick before the birth?”
“No. All five of them developed a rash that covered their chest and back, but it didn’t appear serious and went away well before the birth.”
“I wish I had an idea to share with you, but I am as stumped as you are.”
“You are a great warrior, not a healer. I did not expect you to solve this problem for us. It is simply good to talk it out, hoping that something will become clear that I have missed before.” He paused and looked into the fire, suddenly appearing far older than his years. Then he brightened a bit. “I’ll bet you have come to find out where the danta is.”
“Yes. It will make it easier for us to prepare meat for the winter. It is generous of you to share the location with us.”
“You might not be so happy when I tell you what has happened in the place where the danta is.”
Alex’s heart sank a bit, but he kept his face as neutral as possible. “Is it still there?”
“Oh, yes, the danta is still there, but we haven’t been able to get any of it for many moon cycles.”
“Why? Is something keeping you away from it?”
“Several somethings are keeping us away. Godat-ta and wasta-ta.”
Alex was more than familiar with Godat-ta. He and his army had met the gigantic bear on the path to Denta-ah two summers before. Even with an army of hundreds, the bear had run through them with ease, tossing soldiers aside like they were toys. If Senta-eh hadn’t loosed one magnificent shot that hit godat-ta in the eye, it might have killed them all.
“What is wasta-ta?”
“Do you not know them?” Rinka-ak asked. He held his hands close to his sides and waved them like wings while making a noise that sounded like “bzzzzzzz.”
Bees. Would bees really keep an entire village away from their salt?
“How big are the wasta-ta?” Alex asked, holding his fingers a hopeful inch apart.
Rinka-ak laughed, then reached out and pushed Alex’s fingers as far apart as they would go.
Alex gaped at his own hand, trying to envision a swarm of bees that were four or five inches wide.
“Do they have a barbed stinger?”
“Oh, yes. Each sting has a bit of poison in it. A full-grown warrior can withstand a few stings. Some even a few more. But if you get stung a dozen times or more, it paralyzes you. You will drop to the ground and be nothing more than a snack for any passing predator.”
“And both the wasta-ta and godat-ta are there?”
“The wasta-ta make a delicious amber food. Godat-ta loves it, so he hasn’t left the place where the danta is since he found it. He seems to like the danta, too. He might wander away for a few hours to grab some krista-ta out of the great river, but he always heads back immediately.”
“If I can find a way to kill the godat-ta and make him leave, and manage to get rid of the wasta-ta, I will. But, I have a favor to ask.”
“If you can do those things, I will grant you any favor it is in my power to give.”
Chapter Five
Godat-ta
The egg c
eremony in Rinta-ah was both informative and amusing to Alex. He elected not to participate, but instead wanted to guide the tribal members through the experience like an experienced LSD user making sure a novice didn’t have a bad trip.
After the worry and sadness of the previous months, the tribe took to the escape easily. Each one took a small bite of the egg and let it slide down their throats as Alex indicated. The effects were immediate and nearly overpowering. One by one, the Rinta-ah swallowed, closed their eyes, and a blissful smile came over them. They slowly slid from their chairs until they were prone on the ground.
There were no bad trips, but the Rinta-ah version of “Oh, wow” was echoed again and again.
After an hour, Alex and the few members who were left to watch over the others were the only people standing.
A few people came to a few hours later, but most were out until first light showed in the east.
Rinka-ak had grown, and though he was still not a full-grown adult, he had taken the same size bite as anyone else. He was among the last to awaken.
Finally, he sat up, a dazed expression on his face, and said, “When can we get another karak-ta egg?”
Alex smiled and said, “We have to be careful not to hunt them into extinction, but I will send a runner with an egg when we have them.”
“I saw beyond this world,” Rinka-ak said. “I never knew all that existed.”
Alex thought back on his own experiences with the psychotropic egg and agreed. “It can expand your mind.”
The boy chieftain sighed, let himself come fully back to earth, and said, “I am sure you want to get started on your new adventure. I’ll get four of my best men to take you across the Kranda-ah and to the danta.”
Rinka-ak struggled a little to rise and Alex reached toward him and offered a hand, steadying him until he had his legs under him. Once he did, he raised his hand and called for the same man who had led the expedition to retrieve Alex the day before.
Before the sun was fully above the horizon, the Rinta-ah warriors and Alex were double-timing it back to the boat.
When they reached the opposite shore, Alex felt sure he had the motions and control of the hooks they used to cross the river set in his mind. He knew he would be awkward when he first tried to use the hooks, but he was confident he would at least be able to maneuver the boat across.
Before they reached the other side, Monda-ak jumped from the boat and swam ashore, getting swept downstream a bit before he found land. He did not seem concerned.
Harta-ak stood at the front of their welcoming committee, a question obvious on his face.
“Good news and bad news,” Alex answered the unasked question. “The danta is still there, and the boy chief still lives and will give us access.”
“I can’t imagine what the bad news is, then,” Versa-eh said.
“How about this? There is a godat-ta and a hive of wasta-ta there and the tribe have not been able to get into the area for a long time.”
“Godat-ta,” Harta-ak said, whistling long and low. “They can run faster than us, swim faster than us, and climb trees faster than us. How can we beat one of them?”
“That is an excellent question,” Alex agreed.
“What are the wasta-ta?”
Alex described the giant bees and the paralyzing properties their stings had on human beings.
Harta-ak’s shoulders slumped. “I don’t see how so few of us can defeat what an entire tribe has failed to conquer.”
“That’s because you didn’t see us defeat the dandra-tas in Matori-ah,” Senta-eh said. “They had sent twenty-two men to kill the beasts and had been killed themselves. We killed both of them with only four of us. Now we have five. I know Manta-ak will come up with an idea.”
I wish I had as much faith in me as you do.
“He is the legendary Manta-ak,” Versa-eh whispered into Harta-ak’s ear, which made him smile.
“All right, legendary Manta-ak, let’s go see what we’re up against,” Harta-ak said with a grin of his own.
The four Rinta-ah warriors led them back down the trail in the direction they had come. Alex and company led their horses instead of riding. After a few miles, there was a small trail that branched off to the south and east. It was so innocuous that Alex had passed by it twice without even noticing it.
After a quarter mile, the trail widened and climbed slightly in elevation. Soon, they crested a hill and looked down into what looked like a natural bowl. Alex could see that there had once been a lake of some sort here, but it was gone.
Maybe when the Pacific came inland, it made it this far and filled this natural bowl with sea water. When it receded and the water evaporated, the salt was all left behind.
Alex could see why Rinka-ak was not concerned about running out of salt. The bowl was immense—at least half a mile across. Everywhere, though particularly at the edges, there were whitish crystals that Alex knew would form salt when they were broken down.
There was a sheer cliff that dropped from where they were standing down into the bowl. Alex turned to the warriors.
“Even the godat-ta wouldn’t be able to climb up and down this cliff face.”
“Yes. That is why we brought you this way.” He pointed a finger off to their left. They all leaned out over the cliff and craned their necks to the left. There was an opening in the surrounding hills that led directly into the salt deposit.
Sure enough, napping comfortably right in the middle of the entrance was an immense godat-ta. Of course, that is like saying, “an immense mountain.” All mountains are huge, it’s just that some are even larger than others. Gazing down at the massive heap of brown fur snoozing in the midday sun, it was obvious that this was an exceptionally large mountain.
Alex drew a deep breath and let it whistle out between his teeth.
How are we supposed to kill or run off a beast like that? All five of us together wouldn’t be anything more than a nice snack to that monster. I don’t think I even want to ask, but...
“And where are the wasta-ta?”
The Rinta-ah warrior moved his arm a few degrees to the right and pointed at what appeared to be a hollowed-out maple tree standing at the edge of the salt deposit. Even from that distance, Alex could see the bees flying lazily in and out of the hollow trunk.
“They’ve used the tree to build their hive inside.” Alex closed one eye and tried to imagine the height and circumference of the colossal tree. He didn’t like the answer he came up with. Even with bees of incredible size, there was enough room in the tree to make a hive for tens of thousands of them.
The Rinta-ah warrior smiled at Alex, as if to say, But you are the legendary Manta-ak. You can handle this, right?
“Do you think we could build a rope ladder, climb down, get some of the danta, and climb back up before he noticed us?”
“Maybe you could. But you won’t be able to carry very much, and if godat-ta sees you, it will be the last mistake you make.”
An image flashed through Alex’s mind—him trying to scramble up a rope ladder hanging on the sheer cliff and the godat-ta climbing after him. He took that possibility off the table.
“You’re right. We’ve got to draw him away somehow.”
The warrior said, “We have done that. We used fish and other treats to draw him away. We lost two warriors who tried it. He ate the fish, killed the warriors, and went right back there.”
Is there anything you guys haven’t tried yet?
Alex tore his eyes away from the scene that stretched out below him and took a better look at their immediate surroundings.
“Is there a water source near here?”
The warrior said, “Yes, a few hundred paces in that direction.” He pointed west. “There is a game trail there that leads to a stream. You’ll want to stay aware, though. There are other predators beside godat-ta near the stream.”
“Of course there are. Nothing could ever be easy, right?” Alex looked at his companions. “Let’s do this.
We’ll camp here.” He pointed to a grassy area at the bottom of the small hill they stood on. “It’s not secure, so we’ll take turns at guard duty. We can stay here for as long as we need to and watch what’s going on. I’m sure I can figure something out.”
The four Rinta-ah warriors gave a wave and left for home. The four humans and Monda-ak found themselves in a mostly pleasant situation. No one was trying to kill them—yet. The area they had chosen to camp was pleasant, a small grassy meadow with trees meeting overhead that gave them ample shade from either the sun or rain. Senta-eh was a good enough hunter that she would be able to keep them in food. Harta-ak and Versa-eh were happy just being near each other.
All Alex needed was another idea to achieve the impossible.
Chapter Six
The Plan
The four humans spent most of the next four days observing godat-ta and the wasta-ta.
Around the campfire the first night, Harta-ak said, “This seems like an impossible task. Nothing can make the godat-ta go away.”
Senta-eh didn’t often disagree with Alex, but she chimed in and said, “Our tribe has survived a long time without the danta. We can keep doing it just the same. Maybe we should just go back to Winten-ah and leave the godat-ta to live as he pleases.”
“I haven’t told you why we are doing this, so I understand why you want to give up.” Alex held up two fingers, then pushed the first one down. “First, the danta will be more helpful than you can imagine. All animals and humans need danta. It serves a valuable purpose in our bodies. Plus, it will make storing our winter’s meat easier. But, that’s not why I want to do this.”
“Why then?” Versa-eh asked.
Alex pushed the second finger down. “The second reason is much more important to me.” He looked back and forth between Harta-ak and Versa-eh. “When we came stumbling out of Lasta-ah, we had not accomplished our mission. We had Lanta-eh, but we were injured, Monda-ak could barely walk, and we were on foot. I had planned the attack well, but our escape poorly.”
