They emerged into bright sunlight, pausing for a moment as the warriors filed out on either side of them. The Dwarf King stepped across to Tohil.
“We have word that the tribes are assembling. There will be conflict. Remember, they too have their own astronomers, magicians and priests. They will be ready. These warriors will do what they can to protect you, but you must remain safe. Protect yourself as well, Tohil.”
Curious onlookers had started to gather around the square, heads together, discussing the sight of the king and his office holders, the gathering of warriors. The Dwarf King lifted a hand and the entire procession started down the stairs into the square. Tohil could see above at the top of the stairs on both temples, a gathering of priests, watching from their high vantage point.
They crossed the square, the warriors keeping pace on either side flanking the central group and wheeled, heading for the broad paved avenue that would take them down to the docks. As they passed, shops, dwellings, merchants, upscale hostelries, heads appeared, people emerged from doorways. They lined the streets. He could hear snatches of conversations along the way. It was clear that such a spectacle was not usual. Tohil, carrying his gilded staff in one hand, his hooded cape of feathers, felt conspicuous, ill at ease, but he bit his lip and continued on. He had a job to do, though he had only the vaguest conception yet of what that job really was. The Dwarf King strode on with his abbreviated gait, his eyes fixed on their destination. There was no more conversation now. The bright sun shone down, warming him, the scent of food, other things, the fragrances of life were all about him, but all he could think of was dark red and blackness, flickering with fire and then the journey ahead. If the tribes were gathering, the warriors, the Skulls, the Bird People, would these warriors be enough? He looked along the lines, at their weapons and the numbers of elite fighters. He didn’t know, couldn’t know. All he had ever seen were small skirmishes. Yes, they were battles, but they were only small in comparison to what might be to come. He tried to push those thoughts away, concentrate on the street ahead, but it was hard. On either side, people had started to trail along beside their procession, following them down towards the docks. All the way, he felt like he was on display. Xquic, walking beside him, clearly had seen his discomfort, because she reached up and gently held his arm. He glanced and she gave him a look of reassurance, closing her eyes as a sign of acknowledgement, then turned back to watch the way ahead. He was grateful for her touch, for that small moment of understanding that passed between them and it gave him more comfort to know that those moments were becoming easier and easier.
At long last—it had seemed like forever—they reached the dockside. Xquic let go of his arm. In front of them were a total of fifteen canoes, long, broad. Some of them had supplies tacked within them, riding lower in the water. As the party drew up along the dock, the officials started running around issuing orders. The Dwarf King watched the proceeding benignly for a few minutes and then beckoned Tohil closer.
“This man is Tzacol,” he said. “He will accompany you on your journey. He is an astronomer and he will help you interpret what you see. It is important that you understand the calendar, the nuances of it, so that you will be able to do what must be done.”
Tohil looked at the man. He was tall, decked out in robes, with a thin lined face and he looked none too happy with his assigned task, his lips bearing a sour expression. He nodded briefly at Tohil and then looked away. He carried a leather pack, and within it, Tohil presumed, he bore the instruments of his trade.
They all stood watching as the warriors started boarding canoes. Very soon, most of the vessels were lying low in the water, carrying the weight of the warriors, their weapons, various supplies distributed amongst the craft.
“You will ride in the lead canoe, together. You will be accompanied by a group of Jaguars with specific instructions to keep you safe. They will be with you all through the journey and will not leave your side. Tzacol will travel with you too. He is to be with you at all times as well. If you dream, speak to him about the dream. Try to remember as many details as possible.”
Tohil glanced at the sour looking astronomer. He didn’t relish the prospect of having to spend their journey bonded to this man. He was grateful for the Jaguars, but again, he wasn’t eager to have his every move shadowed. He looked at Xquic and Tepeu and raised an eyebrow. The Dwarf King apparently caught it.
“You have to understand this is necessary, Tohil. What you have to do is too important. We cannot allow anything to happen to you now.”
Finally, it was there turn to board. The Jaguars climbed in to the canoe first, eight in all and took up positions along the length. Tohil, Xquic and Tepeu climbed in next. Finding spots in the middle. Lastly, and taking his own good time about it, Tzacol, balancing himself precariously clambered aboard, immediately heading for the very front of the canoe, claiming that position as his own. Tohil looked up at the Dwarf King standing there up on the dock. There was no amusement on the little man’s face now.
“May the gods watch over you and protect you,” he said down to them.
He lifted a hand, and all along the line, people took up paddles, and one by one, the canoes started back away from the docks, heading out into the gently surging water. All along the dock, crowds of people stood watching the spectacle. Tohil could still here the buzz of voices over the noise of the paddles splashing through water, propelling them ever backwards. The small figure of the Dwarf King stood in the same position, one arm raised, whether in farewell or as some sort of final blessing, he didn’t know. One by one, the canoes turned, avoiding each other, and then lined up, five groups of three heading out towards open water. Their canoe, in the lead was flanked on either side by another carrying a mixture of Jaguars and Eagles. And so they left the Great City as they had arrived, on water. Xquic was looking around interestedly, Tepeu simply clutching himself and looking less than comfortable. The astronomer now stood in the front of their vessel, just as the Assessor who had brought them here.
Tohil turned to look at the retreating city, the buildings and the crowds lining the dockside, the small familiar figure of the Dwarf King still standing there, growing ever smaller as they moved away. And then, almost indistinguishable, he was a mere dot on a line of colour splitting the blue sky from the blue green water. Now there was only water ahead, and he turned away from the Great City. Probably for the last time, he thought.
“It is not good that it be so, when man does not yet live here on earth. Therefore, we shall try to shoot him with our blowgun when he is eating. We shall shoot him and make him sicken, and then that will be the end of his riches, his green stones, his precious metals, his emeralds, his jewels of which he is so proud.”
— Popol Vuh, Part I, Chapter 5
TWENTY-FIVE
Their flotilla of canoes shadowed the coast for about an hour, shoreline rising and falling, sometimes covered in vegetation, sometimes the edge of open fields. Beaches slipped past and rocky promontories. On the other side, they passed a couple of small islands. The day grew warmer, but not unpleasantly so, as a gentle breeze full of the scent of salt water wafted gently across them. The rhythm of the paddles splashing through the sea, the sound of water slipping beneath the hull became a soothing repetitive rhythm that lulled him into a state of drifting, thinking about nothing in particular, which came as a welcome relief. He was still troubled, but it didn’t seem to matter so much right now.
Soon, they could see the wide mouth of the river that would lead them inland, broad alluvial sandbanks stretching out in a fan. The water was slightly yellow, changing the sea to a paler green. Their canoe started to change direction, heading towards the river. Though it was not particularly hot, Tohil was starting to feel uncomfortably warm and he wiped at small beads of sweat starting to form on his forehead. Perhaps it was the unfamiliar robes, but he didn’t think so. His eyes were feeling gritty, and he rubbed at them, blinking a few times to try and clear the discomfort. They were starti
ng to navigate the shallows at the river mouth now, but he couldn’t pay it much attention; the sunlight glancing off the water was starting to hurt his eyes, and a feeling like a tight band was growing steadily at his temples. Before long, it had started to turn into a steady pounding at the front of his skull. He saw Xquic watching him with concern.
“Are you all right?”
“I-I’m not sure,” he said. There was definitely something not right. He was no longer sweating and his mouth was parched. Xquic reached across and felt him.
“You’re really very hot,” she said.
His head was pounding like a hammer. The slight rocking of the canoe was working deep in his guts.
“Some water,” he said.
Xquic searched around, found a water gourd, held it to his lips. He sucked at it, getting at least some moisture back in his throat. Still the deep throb in his head went on. Even sitting up now, he felt unsteady. There was nothing that would cause him to become ill. There was only one conclusion. What had bitten him back in the palace had poisoned him, just as he had feared. The Seelee were going to kill him, but in a way, he had not expected. His breath was coming in short shallow gasps now.
“I have to lie down,” he said, teetering in his seat.
They were into the river proper now, pushing against the current, but he paid it no attention. Xquic helped ease him down into the canoe’s bottom. He curled on his side and closed his eyes, the motion of the canoe making him feel as if he was adrift, falling through an endless black well.
“Tohil, talk to me.” It was Xquic’s voice, but he couldn’t respond, he couldn’t move, and then all the noises around him faded away.
oOo
He stood in a broad white space, the floor and ceiling glowing with light. It had to be a room, but it stretched on and on. No walls were visible, if they existed at all. In front of him stood a calendar stone, but it was larger, taller than any had seen. He could barely see the top as it reached as high as his shoulders. It was perfectly cylindrical, the sides smooth. He turned slowly.
“Open,” said a voice. It came from all around him and inside his head. He knew that it was a word he didn’t know, but he understood its meaning.
One by one, flickering pictures appeared in the air above the table and then steadied. There were maps, or what looked like maps. There were figures and symbols on others. There was writing. He peered up at one of them, studying it. It shimmered in his vision, the figures wavering in his sight. He tried focussing, honing in his attention and the figures stabilised, became clearer. They were in no script he had ever seen. He had been taught to read back in the village, taught the skills of numbers, but there was nothing familiar about these shapes and forms. And then there was. He realised he could read and understand them though he couldn’t fathom what they meant.
“Instruction,” said the voice from all around him.
He had no idea what that meant. He stood there looking at the various images, trying to absorb them. There were just too many of them.
“Instruction,” said the voice again.
Then he remembered the word that the Dwarf King had told him, only this time he knew precisely how to pronounce it and what it meant.
“Close,” he said. He wasn’t quite sure if he had said it out loud or merely inside his head.
In a sequence, the images winked out of existence. The calendar stone in front of him started to crumble, and then as the pieces fell, they became mist and drifted away. All around him, the whiteness started to break apart, turning into drifting clouds, and then tendrils of vapour, leaving him standing in the midst of blackness, floating, drifting far, far away. Gradually, he fell apart and turned to mist.
Then there was nothing.
oOo
What followed were several periods of blankness, interspersed with dreams. In each one, he saw a little more, heard more words, started to understand the way the calendar table worked. The word ‘instruction’ meant that he would ask for something. He still didn’t understand all the numbers and figures, but he knew that some of them stood for time. After the last dream had faded away, he slowly became aware of voices around him, of the sound of water beneath him, of a gently motion. Slowly, slowly, he dragged himself to consciousness and opened his eyes a crack. The brightness was intense and he squinted against it.
“Tohil! You’re awake!” Xquic was leaning over him, a worried expression on her face.
“Here, help me sit up,” he mumbled.
She reached for one of his hands and helped him pull himself upright. At least the pounding in his head had gone and the feeling of queasiness, but he felt weak, and had a raging thirst.
“Some water,” he croaked.
Tepeu fetched it this time and handed him the gourd. Tohil gulped greedily.
“Slowly,” Xquic admonished.
After he had drunk his fill, Tohil managed to open his eyes wider and try and take in their surrounds. The river stretched widely to either side of them. They were travelling through a deeply forested section, trees right up to the water on both banks. The water was brown and muddy here. The cries of birds, monkeys, other creatures drifted across the water along with the smell of earth and old damp vegetation. The river had a smell too, but one that he could not quite define.
“How long was I like that?”
“A day and a half,” said Tepeu. “We already stopped once. Xquic stayed in the boat with you.”
“We were worried,” she said.
Tohil nodded. “So was I. I thought I was going to die.”
“Well you didn’t,” said Tepeu. “That astronomer kept on coming back and looking at you. He wouldn’t talk to us.”
Tohil looked up to the canoe’s front, where their astronomer still stood, watching the way ahead.
“I suppose I will have to talk to him,” he said with a sigh. “But not just yet.”
“So, what was it?” asked Xquic.
“I don’t know, but…I think it was as the Dwarf King said. That calendar table in the palace did something to me. You remember all that talk about pyrite and gold and rocks and blood? Well, ever since I want to sleep— “
“You didn’t go to sleep,” said Xquic.
“Ever since I became unconscious,” Tohil allowed. “I’ve been dreaming. There were periods of nothingness and in between there were dreams. I might as well have been asleep, but I wasn’t. Whatever that thing put inside me, it’s been working in me, doing things. I understand and I know things now that I didn’t before. It’s weird. It is like something is teaching me, showing me things.”
“How can that be?” asked Xquic.
“Magic,” said Tepeu simply.
Tohil looked at him, considering. “Maybe. Or maybe something else. It may as well be magic for all I know….”
He looked thoughtfully off into the surrounding forest. He worked his mouth, trying to regain some more moisture, rubbed at his eyes. His vision was still not completely clear.
“Do you know how much further we have to travel on the river?”
“Too far,” said Tepeu abruptly.
Tohil suddenly found himself wishing that he had the simple map the Haracan had given him. He tried to visualise it in his head, and then, just as suddenly realised that he didn’t need to. He had a picture of where they were relative to the Great City and relative to their home and the temple. He could envision it clearly in his head. He frowned, not sure if he was just remembering the floating map from the palace or whether it was something else.
Just then, Tzacol turned and noticed that Tohil was awake and sitting up, and he quickly worked his way down the length of the canoe. He stood over them, precariously maintaining his balance, peering down at Tohil.
“We must talk,” he said.
“Yes, we must,” said Tohil, “but not yet. I need to eat something first.” He had suddenly realised that he was ravenous. “I will come and see you when I’m done.”
The astronomer humphed, about faced and walked ba
ck up to the vessel’s front.
“I do not like him,” said Xquic.
“No. I know what you mean,” Tohil told her. And in the next breath, “Is there any food around here?”
“Let me find something for you. You stay where you are.”
She returned mere moments later carrying some dried meat and some flat bread. He thanked her and set to it, munching away eagerly until he felt he’d had enough. No, with something in his belly, he was starting to feel reasonably human again, although he wondered at that thought. With this thing, whatever it was, inside him, was he turning into a Seelee? The thought filled him with a momentary dread. Carefully he placed down the remaining food and cautiously got to his feet.
“I suppose I should go and talk to our friend before he breaks his jaw,” he said.
“Are you sure? Why don’t you wait here for a while first?”
“No, I’m all right, really. Besides, I would rather do it while things are still somewhat fresh in my mind.”
Both of them watched his progress up towards the front. He sat down once he got there and motioned for Tzacol to sit as well, and then he proceeded to describe each of the dream sequences as he remembered them. The astronomer had relatively few questions, but for the most part, merely sat there absorbing what he was told. Eventually, Tohil ran out of things to tell him. For once, the astronomer looked almost content.
“That is very good,” he said. “I need to think on these for a while. If I have any more questions I will come and ask.” He turned back to face the water ahead. To Tohil it seemed awfully like a dismissal. With a sigh, he stood once more and made his way back to his friends. Stroke by stroke, the canoe moved forward up the river, the others in their flotilla keeping pace.
The Serpent Road: A Science Fiction Novel Page 24
