The Start of Time

by Marilyn Foxworthy

  She said, “Let me go talk to Sarton alone for a minute. You go to Narhu and Oshen and make arrangements and then come to Sarton’s shop. Give me ten minutes and then meet me there as soon as you can.”

  She kissed me on the cheek and then scampered off. The girls turned toward Narhu’s shop.

  I said, “Who is Sarton?”

  Alexia answered, but in her old emotionless voice, “He is Sarton.”

  I said, “Yes, but why are we going to see him?”

  She said, “Because he has your gift.”

  I asked, “But who is he?”

  She answered, “He is the one who has your gift. What don’t you understand?”

  The girls laughed and so did Alexia. I could tell that the emotionless voice was an act.

  Then she said in the same voice, “Sarton’s work must not be spoken of in the street.”

  I fell right into her trap and whispered, “Why?”

  She looked at me and said, “Because it’s more mysterious that way.” She squeezed my arm and smiled and hurried us along.

  At Narhu’s, we greeted one another and I explained that we planned to be away for a while. Narhu said that it was just as well because that would give him a freer hand with the remodeling if it wasn’t necessary to keep the house livable for a time. He agreed that he had all the help from Alexia that he needed and that his workers could handle everything from here on. We agreed to be gone for at least 20 days and he said that it would be plenty.

  Next we quickly visited Oshen. He said, “Friend Mark, you have taken a very special girl from me. I can’t blame you for an instant. When you come back, she’ll have a fine shop to work in. Alexia my dear, there’s a change in you.”

  Alexia had not spoken since we entered the shop. I don’t think that Oshen had expected her to.

  He said, “I can see it in your eyes even if you don’t speak. You will come back to us a different woman. I can sense it. Best wishes for you on your travels.”

  We said goodbye and hurried along to Sarton’s: the one who must not be spoken of, because it would be more mysterious that way. Oh, how I loved Alexia!

  We opened the door to Sarton’s shop and there was Aeyli and the weapon maker that I had met a few days before at the first council meeting. They stood in front of a table in the center of the room. The table obviously had things on it, but they were covered with a black cloth.

  Alexia whispered, “Oh, isn’t this mysterious?”

  Sarton came forward and clasped my arm and said, “Friend Mark, I’m glad to meet you more closely. Welcome to my shop. Aeyli asked me to make something for you and I hope that I’ve done well.”

  He pulled back the cloth on the table a little bit and took a black wooden sword, or Bokken, from the table. He held it out to me and I took it from him and held it in both hands.

  Aeyli said, “It’s my gift.”

  I examined the sword carefully. The handle was carved for a very good grip and the blade was polished beautifully. Inlaid in the handle was a small white round piece of wood and seven reddish ones. I tried the weight and balance of it, taking a few practice strokes and then went through a short exercise of several moves.

  I said, “Sarton, this is wonderful. The weight and balance are perfect. In fact, it’s heavier than the one I made, but it fits my muscles extremely well.”

  Sarton said, “Aeyli told me that you are very strong and suggested that I make this one heavier than I would have otherwise. The weight’s good for you?”

  I said, “It’s superb! And the feel of it! It’s a masterpiece.”

  He said, “The wood is much harder as well. What you had is a very hard wood, but this is the hardest on Barsoom. If you were to strike the one you made with this one, if you can strike hard enough, the first one would shatter and this one would be untouched.”

  I said, “It’s marvelous. Thank you. And thank you, Aeyli. I love it. A perfect gift!”

  She smiled and blushed slightly saying, “I’m glad. There’s a little more, but not for you.”

  Sarton pulled back the cloth and revealed several more of the Bokken, but in a different wood.

  He said, “These are a gift from me to your house. If you will let me, I will size one for each of your princesses. The wood is similar to the hard wood that you used for the ones that you made.”

  I looked them over. Beautifully polished and carved and where mine had a white spot and seven red, these had a just single red spot and one white.

  Sarton said, “Aeyli asked me to make a few more of these for your house as well, but I have workers making many more of a simpler unadorned design, of course, for use at the academy when you return to teach. The ones for you and Aeyli I copied from the ones that you made, but for these others, I need you to show me how to size them. I suppose that I should keep the others until…later?”

  I showed him how mine lined up with my arm and leg and how I held the handle. Then I showed him how Aeyli’s sword was fitted to her. I pointed out the sizing of the grip, even though he had mine correct and had copied Aeyli’s for the other girls. I showed him how to measure the length of the handle more accurately as well.

  He said, “That all makes perfect sense. What a brilliant design. Ladies, may I measure your length?”

  He measured the proper length against the arm and hip of each girl and then said, “Give me an hour. I will have four of my workers cut and polish the ends. I have loops to attach them to your belts as well.”

  Alexia said, “Sarton, would you allow me to stay and see the work?”

  He said, “Oh yes! Please do!”

  Then, turning to me he said, “Mark, I have one more thing that I think will be a good idea for you. You see, in some places, well, anywhere on the planet really, the knife that you wear will draw attention that you may not always want. If you would allow me, I’ve made a cover for both the handle and the sheath that can be used to disguise it. I hope you don’t mind me advising you to use it.”

  I said, “Not at all. I value your advice and will gladly follow it. Show me what to do.”

  Sarton pulled the covers over the handle and sheath for me and said that he approved of the look and the fit.

  Aeyli and I left our Bokken with him and said that we would return in an hour or so. I kissed Alexia on the cheek and we left she and the weapon maker to finish the work.

  Outside I said, “Aeyli, what a wonderful gift! I love it. Thank you!”

  She said, “Oh, I’m glad that you like it. I’m so glad. Here’s what we need to do next. First, I think that you should give me the money and stones that you carry. I’ll take them to Tronuck and he will give me enough for our journey; a few coins should be more than we need since there’s nowhere to spend them where we’re going. He’ll keep the rest safe for us.”

  I handed her my pouch. She pulled out some of the coins and held one out to Rani.

  She said, “Rani, take this and go buy us a Calot and cart, with the agreement that if we return it in good condition that the stable will buy it back from us for 80 percent. Wait for us at the gate.”

  She took another few coins and handed them to Sashar. She said, “Sashar, take Mark and go to the market and buy what you think we should have for food. Mark, you go with her to carry what she buys. Belle, you buy packs and lanterns and other things that you think we might need. Fill water bags at the fountain. Take all of it to Rani at the gate and load it into the cart.”

  Belle said, “I think we should bring hammocks and a few very light furs. Also a net and a light ax.”

  I said, “What does a Calot like to eat? Not just to live on, but as a special treat?”

  The girls looked at each other and then said, “We don’t know.”

  I said, “Rani, ask at the stable. If it’s possible, buy a good amount of it. Not enough for meals, but enough for snacks.”

  Rani said, “Snacks for a Calot? Do you know what a Calot is? It’s a big animal with a lot of teeth and sharp claws that pulls a cart. They d
on’t sit at the table with us.”

  I said, “Perhaps not, but get the snacks anyway. They will come in handy, I promise you.”

  She said, “OK, but a Calot is an angry thing. It will do as we say, but only if we insist.”

  I said, “That’s why we need snacks.”

  She asked, “Mark, why?”

  I said, “We need snacks because they taste good.”

  She said, “Oh, my mistake, I thought that I was talking to Mark, but it sounds like Alexia now! I better hurry…because it’s faster! I love you because I do! I should take you to the furs right away because I want to!”

  We laughed and sent her off to negotiate for the animal. Aeyli took the pouch and headed for Tronuck’s house saying “I’ll meet you at Sarton’s in an hour.”

  Belle, Sashar, and I headed to the market.

  At the market, first we went to buy packs from a leather working stall. We bought three light weight furs from the same vendor. Belle kept one of the packs and I took four and Sashar and I went to buy food while Belle shopped for the other things that she thought would be helpful. Sashar took one of the packs from me and told me to look around for a few minutes while she went to find her friend to take over her fruit stand while we were gone and to tell a few people why she wouldn’t be around for a little while.

  I looked around the market and greeted people for about 15 minutes. Sashar called out to me and handed me a pack full of fruit and we went to buy vegetables and some dried meat. It didn’t take long.

  All in all, we didn’t need much. We couldn’t take enough food and water for the entire time that we were planning to be gone, so we would find both while we were out. A two to three day supply was plenty and we could do very well on just six pieces of fruit each per day. Because of the incredible properties of the honey flavored milk, I could easily go without the fruit if necessary and would probably only take three pieces a day anyway.

  There were no tents or canopies, no stoves or fuel, and no ice chests or sodas. There were the knives on our belts, about a hundred pieces of fruit, the strips of dried meat, two dozen small bags of water, and three portable versions of the mineral lamps that were used for lighting all over Barsoom.

  Sashar and I finished buying the food. Belle had finished her shopping and had caught up with us. I took all of the heavier packs and we headed toward the gate to meet up with Rani and the cart that she had gone to get for us.

  When we got to the gate, Rani stood beside a very large dog, like a Newfoundland or Saint Bernard, but even larger. It was harnessed to a two wheeled cart about three feet wide, six feet long, and two and a half feet deep.

  I asked Rani about the animal, “Rani, I thought that you were going to get a Calot? What’s this?”

  She looked puzzled and said, “This is a Calot. What did you expect?”

  From the stories of John Carter that I had read as a boy, I expected something very different. I had expected something like a dog, if your dog has eight short legs, a broad head with multiple rows of teeth like a shark, and is about ten feet long and stands relatively low to the ground with his shoulder about 30 inches high!

  I said, “This is a Calot?”

  She said, “Yes? This is a Calot.”

  I asked, “Rani, what is a Banth?”

  She said, “A Banth is like a giant cat. About twice as large as the Calot.”

  I said, “But how many legs does it have?”

  She laughed and said, “What are you talking about? It has four legs. Calots have four legs, Banth have four legs, you have two arms and two legs, spiders have eight legs, snakes have no legs and they say that fish have no legs either. Tell you what, when we stop for the night, I’ll teach you all about it, using my legs! Two legs, two arms, two boobs, six lips, one pussy, four cheeks. Um, any more questions?”

  I thought, so Calots were big dogs and Banth were lions with four legs, not ten. I guessed that I was going to have to add those facts to the things that got fictionalized in the books. Wait, now that I thought about it, how many limbs did the Great White Ape that I killed have? I had thought that it was six, but that is what I expected to see. Now that I thought about it, the carcass did have just four limbs.

  I said, “No, not right now. Oh, wait, yes! You said that the Calot was ‘an angry thing’?”

  She laughed again, “If something tries to come into our camp, you’ll see. But this big guy is sweet and furry and a great big loyal friend. Aren’t you? Yes you are!”

  A large bag of ‘snacks’ for the animal was already in the cart. We loaded the rest of our supplies and tied one of the light furs over the top of the bundle. Before we tied everything down, I filled one of the small bags on my belt with the treats for our animal.

  While the Sashar and Belle finished securing the cart, I had Rani introduce me to our new Calot companion.

  I said, “Rani, show me how we handle him.”

  She said, “We command him as with anything. They understand the meaning of many things that we say to them.”

  In actuality, it was more accurate to say that the animal understood the telepathic component of what we said, and if we told it to follow us, it understood the sense of the request, not the words themselves.

  She continued, “When it is happy, you can touch it on the shoulder or head or neck, but be careful. It won’t bite your arm off, like it would if you were an enemy, but it may bump you hard with its snout if you irritate it, even a little. I like them, but they can be difficult.”

  I approached the beast, and standing several feet from its face, I took a treat from my bag and held it on my palm at let the thing get a whiff of it. It did not move toward me, but it was interested. I tossed the morsel toward it and the big dog snapped it out of the air. I repeated this several more times and each time, the animal seemed to be put more at ease. Within a few minutes, I was standing directly in front of it with my hand on its head, feeding it from my hand.

  When the time came, it was decided that Rani and Belle would stay with the cart while Sashar and I went back to Sarton’s shop to meet Alexia and Aeyli.

  Chapter 29 Shall we Hunt Demons?

  At the shop, we were greeted warmly and Sarton showed us the final products. They were sized and polished perfectly. Alexia, Aeyli, Sashar and I fastened ours to our belts and took the two for Rani and Belle, plus the originals that Aeyli and I had made. Sarton had shaped and polished our originals for a finer finish for us as well.

  He said, “I would suggest one more thing. A good knife is essential. Mark, yours has no equal in this part of the world, but the ones that the girls carry are not the finest. I don’t want to make a profit by saying this, but you really should consider something better. Here, look at these.”

  He showed us a set of five good quality knives, ranging from 8 to 14 inches long, that he had chosen from his stock.

  I said, “Sarton, my friend, let me buy these at full price. In addition to the swords that you have made for us. You have workers to feed and I appreciate fine craftsmanship.”

  I didn’t want to go through a lot of discussion about anyone wanting to give us gifts or anything like that this morning. Sarton understood my meaning exactly and didn’t try to talk me out of it, not because he wasn’t generous, but because it was clear that this was what I wanted to do.

  What I wanted right now was to get on the road. Well, on the moss, anyway. We said our goodbyes and wished each other the best until we met again, and left the shop.

  Outside I asked, “Well, are we ready? Is there anything else that we need to do? Can we leave right now?”

  Aeyli said, “I think we’re ready. Are you eager to get going?”

  I said, “I am. When the decision to do something has been made, I want to get it done. My heart is outside the gate and it calls for me to catch up.”

  We laughed and said, “Well, let’s go catch up!”

  Alexia said with a smile, “We should hurry!”

  We did hurry. When we got to the gate, I
didn’t even stop. I said to the Calot, “Come on,” and just kept walking. Rani and Belle jumped up from where they had been leaning against the cart as the big beast rushed to follow me. We passed through the gate of Tranna and into the vast wilderness of Barsoom.

  It felt good. Aeyli walked on my left and Alexia walked on my right. Sashar walked beside Aeyli, and Rani and Belle walked just behind us with the cart.

  We left the gate about four hours after sun up. It was still early in the morning and we had plenty of time…and then it occurred to me to wonder where we were going.

  I said, “Um, so, where are we going?”

  Alexia said, “Into the wilderness. There’s no need to hurry.”

  I reached behind her and squeezed her butt playfully.

  Aeyli said, “I don’t know. We need to walk straight ahead until we’re quite a way out from the village. I guess we don’t really have to. It’s what we have always done. The only reason that we leave the village is to go to the shrine. The location was always kept secret, so we always left in a different direction instead of heading straight for it.”

  I said, “So, where should we go? Is one direction as good as another?”

  Aeyli thought for a moment and then said, “We should go where we’ll find food and water. You know the spring that we went to where you wanted to build a castle in the sky? There’s a place like it with a ruins nearby it, at the edge of the village itself.”

  Alexia said, “Aeyli, no! We don’t have to go there. Pick somewhere else.”

  Aeyli said, “Alexia, it might be good.”

  The tall girl said, “But there are demons there! Do you really want to go there?”

  Aeyli said, “Do you? Tell me how you feel.”

  Alexia said, “I worry about how you will feel. It has been a long time, but pain is pain. If we need to go there, I will go. I think that I’ll be OK, but, you had the greater loss.”

  Aeyli said, “Mark, when I was young, when Alexia and I were children, our families traveled from Tranna to a village a few days away. We stayed there for a few weeks. Alexia and I became really good friends. It was a fun place. When we headed back to Tranna, a Great White Ape tracked us. When it caught us, 5 of the 21 people with us were killed. My parents and Alexia’s father were some of those it took before it was killed itself. I have never been back there. And Alexia has never left the village until today.”