The Legend of Ataneq Nanuq

by Jack Dey

Dysart’s eyes were huge, staring at the contents. “I want to be part of the power broking associated with the gem, too!” she insisted.

  Another stern faced foreigner emptied his vitriol into the tense atmosphere. “Miss Dysart, do you have any idea what you are asking?!”

  The noise of a classified file slapped the table and brought the negotiating to a standstill.

  “Here is the offer, Miss Dysart. If your information adds to the information we already have and secures the whereabouts of the gem, then we will bow to your request. If not, you will leave your information behind; resign your senate seat; and move out of the U.S.”

  Dysart stared at the owner of the voice. The stakes just got higher and more personal. If Parlo’s information, combined with the photocopied military file she had were flawed, she knew these people were powerful enough to make her disappear, even if she didn’t want to.

  “Make up your mind, Miss Dysart; what will it be?”

  Dysart stared at the faces, individually, then back at the briefcase filled with money. She had backed herself into a corner and figured life was soon to change for her, no matter what she did.

  Placing her briefcase on the table, she was about to find out how powerful these individuals were and the effect they could have if she didn’t come up with the information.

  *~*~*~*

  Parlo peered around the grimy hotel room with contempt clearly demonstrated on his face. His plane left at 4pm and he was eager to carry the new information back to the council, finally uncovering the location of the Greenland emerald once and for all and restoring his former glory. He pulled out a wobbly chair from behind a scratched desk and gently placed the file down with great reverence.

  Considering the personal cost of obtaining the file from Dysart, he opened the military folder and perused it carefully and with great interest. As he read further into the document, he became more disturbed and it soon became evident that pages containing significant data had been removed.

  With a disgusted swat, the file and the pages flew across the room and fluttered down into a tangled heap, leaving Parlo fuming. He paced around the room, berating himself.

  Was this Dysart’s work of deception or had someone else beaten them both to the starting line, but how? It needs my information and the file to work out the location.

  Parlo panicked: the council was expecting him to front up and report the good news first thing in the morning.

  His thoughts were in turmoil and he had to devise a plan. He grabbed for his satellite phone and punched in a number, hoping his operative may have had better luck. The phone connected, then rang out and in a frustrated huff, he tried again, checking each digit carefully, but returning the same result.

  He couldn’t understand the negative response from Galina. Operatives were required to carry their sat-phones with them at all times.

  *~*~*~*

  Chapter 46

  Bjarni stirred and in the half light, gazed around the inside of the igloo. Anunya was still fast asleep, but the dogs were whimpering, looking for their breakfast. He shook off the muskox pelt, rose to his feet and quietly stepped over the small form, then bent to his hands and knees to crawl through the insignificant hole in the ice structure that acted as a door. The opening was just large enough for an average sized man to enter with some difficulty, while keeping hungry nanuq and their massive size outside.

  Bjarni stiffly raised himself to his feet again and peered across the flat landscape in the direction of the frozen Fonfjord. The early winter sun contentedly languished behind the distant mountains, too lazy to rise any higher until the day matured some, while the bitter wind was satisfied to follow in its example and keep it company. The sun’s pink early morning hue, shaded and coloured by the dark looming clouds, painted the distant pre-dawn mountain backdrop with a lilac tinge.

  The air was still and bitterly cold outside the igloo, a sure thirty degrees colder than inside and the dogs huddled together from the chill, burning up calories and keen to eat. Bjarni knew their food situation was becoming dire; replenishing stocks was in the forefront of his mind as the last of the dried salmon was quickly devoured by the hungry dogs. Once they had filled their stomachs with sustenance and regained their strength, they were eager and ready for another day pulling the sled, letting Bjarni know of their desires with animated barking.

  The sudden calamity had woken Anunya and she sleepily poked her head outside the igloo and searched around the area, looking for Bjarni and the reason for the disturbance.

  “Good to see you have finally arisen; the day is half over and we have a lot of work to do.”

  Anunya groaned. “It’s still dark. Can’t I sleep for another hour or two?”

  “You can sleep, but you will want to eat soon and there aren’t any shops out here,” Bjarni teased.

  Anunya sighed, crawled through the opening in the shelter and stood to her feet, swiping her long, jet black hair from her eyes. She stood mesmerised for a few moments, staring around at the magnificence of the landscape.

  “It’s so beautiful out here.”

  “It’s easy to see you are a daughter of Greenland. Only a child with rich Inuit blood running through her veins could see the harshness of the tundra and call it beautiful.”

  “What of you then, Mr Bjarni? You love Greenland just as much as any Inuit and most probably know more of its facets than any of my people,” she replied, a look of awe shining in her dark eyes.

  “I was taught by your people, Anunya, and the wilderness has protected and fed me for many years, that’s all. She has a lot to teach and if you have a heart to listen, you too will survive here.”

  Bjarni loaded the sled and hitched the dogs as Anunya stretched and yawned, watching the old man’s efficient skill in handling the huskies.

  “Today we are going to do some ice fishing,” he offered, packing specific items and leaving others behind.

  A quizzical gaze crossed Anunya’s face and the expression brought a tickle of humour to the old man and he erupted in laughter.

  “What’s so funny?” Anunya pouted.

  “Nothing; come on, jump on the sled and let’s get to work.”

  The sled bumped and jostled as the dogs barked in excitement, speeding it across the frozen landscape and kicking up broken fragments of ice and snow from the sled’s wooden frame. In a matter of half an hour, the landscape had changed from slightly undulating to dead flat, signifying they were well out on Fonfjord. Bjarni whistled and then pulled on the reigns, bringing the sled to a gradual stop while the dogs stood panting and sniffing the surrounds. Reaching behind Anunya, he grasped the seal harpoon and started stabbing the icy ground.

  “Bit late to be checking the ice for thickness when we are already on top of it,” Anunya announced, ending her profound statement with a youthful yawn.

  “You are so right, but I’m just looking for some thinner ice so you don’t have to dig too far to break through into the seawater below.”

  “Me?!”

  Bjarni kept stabbing at the ground. “Take a look around, Anunya, and tell me where you think we should dig.”

  Anunya peered around the flat bed of ice in all directions, holding her hand to her eyes to shelter them from the morning glare and then she excitedly recognised a small mound and light green coloured ice.

  “Over there!” she pointed and then dropped her head, rubbing her eyes and blinking. “Wow, even in this light the glare is really hurting my eyes!”

  Bjarni saw the direction she’d pointed and also the reaction to the glare. “We need to introduce you to another one of your people’s inventions to stop you damaging your young eyes from snow blindness.”

  “Huh? What invention?”

  “Let’s get the holes dug in the ice first and then I’ll make them for you tonight. Just for now, pull your scarf over your face and use the grainy holes in the material to block the glare.”

  They untied the dogs and left them with the sled, then walked
over to the spot Anunya had chosen and began to dig through the ice with the seal harpoon. After nearly two hours excavating and a metre of ice, Bjarni broke into seawater and watched it quickly flow into the hole. He scooped out the broken ice floating in the water, giving a clear view to the deep water below. Anunya peered down into the hole, another question forming in her mind.

  “Is there really fish down there...? How are we going to catch them?”

  Bjarni smiled at his student’s inquisitiveness. “Watch and see.”

  He reached for a piece of white, shiny narwhal tusk tied to a length of string and the other end fastened to a thirty centimetre length of wood that fitted comfortably into his palm. Then with the other hand, he grasped a fishing-pole-sized piece of timber with three large prongs curving towards each other like giant fish hooks, secured by rope to the end, each prong sharpened to a fine point.

  Bjarni could see the questions coming and he spoke first. “Just watch.”

  The old man knelt on the edge of the hole and dangled the piece of narwhal tusk into the water and began to jiggle it up and down, then with the other hand, he rested the pole with the three prongs just below the waterline and waited. Soon, a big salmon followed the jiggling narwhal tusk close to the surface and Bjarni struck it with the pronged pole, trapping the fish securely in between its prongs. Pulling the pole to the surface, Bjarni forced open the prongs with a swift movement of his hand and the salmon flapped helplessly on the snow for a moment, until it finally stopped its commotion and froze solid on the icy ground.

  Bjarni gazed at Anunya’s shocked features and then handed her the equipment. “Have a go.”

  Anunya screwed up her face as she took the implements from his hands, peering sideways at the frozen fish, now lying lifeless beside them.

  It wasn’t long before another inquisitive salmon came past and she lunged at it and missed. Anunya had a look of defeat in her eyes until Bjarni did some readjustments to her stance and the grip on the pole. Then without blinking, Anunya thrust the pole at another would-be inquisitor and a large salmon was dragged to its fate. Seeing the large fish flapping on the ice, her face beamed with pride as she mastered another lesson. She jumped up and down and squealed in excitement until Bjarni hushed her.

  “Ssshhh, you’ll scare off the fish.”

  Anunya calmed down and quieted at Bjarni’s plea. “Can I catch some more?”

  By the time the fish had had enough of Anunya’s trickery and moved to another part of their under-ice domain, she had caught four big salmon, enough for a meal for the dogs and food for themselves.

  “How did I go, Bjarni?” Anunya was sure he would be pleased.

  “You did just fine, but tomorrow we will have to catch a lot more and I will also teach you how to catch seal.”

  *~*~*~*

  The lazy winter sun had set by 3pm and it was getting dark. His impudent friend, the wind, however, was in the mood to play and he came sweeping down from the mountains bringing an icy blanket that dropped the outside temperature and deposited snow drifts against the frozen walls of the igloo. The dogs curled in the snow against the protection of the structure, their thick fur insulating them against the extreme cold and shielding them from the mischievous, howling wind.

  After a satisfying meal of fresh frozen raw salmon, Anunya eyed her bed and listened to the sound of the cacophony outside. In the light of their kudlik–a small Inuit fire designed for igloos and fuelled by seal blubber–she gazed at Bjarni, busy carving something with his knife but she was too tired to engage him and asked if he minded if she went to bed.

  Bjarni smiled at his star student. “Night, Anunya; you did well today.”

  Anunya smiled and climbed, exhausted, into her thick bearskin and then pulled the heavy fur over her as Bjarni kept carving a piece of wood he had found.

  “Bjarni...?” Anunya’s sleepy voice punctuated the quiet and ended with a gasping yawn.

  “Mmm, yes, Anunya?”

  “What’s the Greenlandic word for father?”

  Bjarni stopped carving for a moment and started to think. “Um... ataata... I think. Why?”

  “Oh... I just wanted to know... goodnight.”

  An hour went by as Bjarni continued to work on his carving and then when he was satisfied with the result, he placed it in front of Anunya’s sleeping form and then climbed into his bearskin and drifted off to sleep.

  *~*~*~*

  Chapter 47

  During the night the playful wind tired of its impassioned song, serenading the small camp site with a fervent lullaby and left the campers to sleep, blanketed in the deep tundra night. The cascading aurora lights, punctuated by a mirage of stars, had already started to fade into dawn’s first murmurs and the dogs began to stir, hoping the old man may bring them another meal to satisfy their mounting hunger. Akiak had left a small morsel for the morning and when Shtiya gave an innocent sniff towards her prize, she responded with a belly rumbling growl, leaving him with no doubt of her intentions.

  Bjarni stiffly exited the igloo crawl space and faced the purple sky of a new tundra morning. He was met by the dogs, eagerly licking at his gloved hands looking for a food handout but there wasn’t anything to give.

  The old man quickly organised the dog team and tethered them to the sled, then checked the equipment needed for the day’s hunt. He attached a barb made of narwhal tusk to the seal harpoon, and then threaded a small rope through an opening carved into the barb; now the harpoon was ready to hunt seal. Next he checked his rifle carefully, but he doubted there would be a need for it to be present this morning, however, out here anything could happen. Then with great care and reverence, he placed the gun under the muskox pelt covering the sled cargo well. The salmon fishing gear was next: he re-tensioned the rope holding the three prongs together on the snare and then checked the narwhal tusk, brightly polished to entice the salmon to the surface. All was ready and all he needed was a sleepy student to arise and enter the day.

  A small, raspy female voice coming from the vicinity of the igloo opening startled the old man. “Wow, these are cool!” Anunya’s excited voice met Bjarni.

  Anunya was wearing a pair of wooden glasses with a long slit cut across the wooden lenses, allowing just enough light to her eyes to see where she was going but offsetting the debilitating effects of snow blindness.

  “Inuit sunglasses,” Bjarni offered. “Your people are clever when it comes to necessity.”

  Anunya crawled out of the igloo wearing her new glasses and bounded over to Bjarni and hugged him. “Thank you; they are so special and I will always treasure them!”

  The old man, unaccustomed to emotional displays, patted her back as she hugged him and then broke from her embrace. “Come on, we have a lot to do today.”

  Anunya climbed aboard the sled side saddle, and before long they were speeding towards the Fonfjord again to their previous day’s fishing spot. She turned the wooden glasses over and over in her hands, examining every aspect of the expertly carved wooden device then she stared up at the craftsman. An adoring smile lit her lips and her dark eyes twinkled in appreciation.

  Her attention soon diverted to the tundra surrounds as Bjarni’s whistle slowed the sled to a stop close to a mound in the ice; her fishing spot. She recognised the small opening in the frozen terrain accompanied by a green tinge in the sea ice, but Anunya sighed when she examined the hole. It had refrozen during the night and would take some effort to dig it out again.

  Anunya went about her task without any guidance from Bjarni, removing the solid covering from her fishing spot in a matter of fifteen minutes while Bjarni released the dogs from the sled and spent time examining the ice shelf surrounding them in great detail. Anunya glanced up from her finished task and watched Bjarni’s strange behaviour. With a head full of questions she wandered over to him and startled him from his task, interrupting his concentration.

  “What are you looking for?”

  “Ssshhh...! He’ll hear you.”
/>   Anunya was unperturbed and tried again in a whisper, “Who will hear me?”

  “The seal,” Bjarni whispered back.

  Anunya searched around the terrain looking for anything out of place and came up empty, then back at the old man, still checking the ice shelf like a crazy man. She was becoming disturbed at his actions, thinking he had spent too much time carving her sunglasses, when he beckoned her with a hand gesture. He pointed to a small opening in the ice, not much bigger than Anunya‘s hand.

  “That’s the seal’s air breathing hole.”

  Her incredulous expression asked another round of questions but she didn’t know which one to give voice to first.

  Bjarni saw the doubt in her eyes and then explained, “The seals are air breathing mammals that can swim for long periods under the thick sea ice in search of food. But they need to take a breath every fifteen to twenty-five minutes, depending on their body size. In an area where they like to hunt, these air holes are excavated in the ice and if you look around carefully, you will find them all around here.”

  Anunya peered at the small hole, completely transfixed by the story Bjarni was telling her.

  “How can you tell if this particular hole is being used by a seal?” he questioned her.

  Anunya peered into her mentor’s cloudy eyes, trying to think what sign a seal would leave behind to indicate he was using the breathing hole. She shrugged finally, beaten by his question.

  “Bend down and take a good whiff of the opening,” Bjarni instructed.

  A cautious smile curled across her lips, wondering whether he was playing a trick on her, then with a sceptical expression, she knelt on the ice and put her nose to the air vent.

  “Urgh, phew,” she whispered, disgusted. “It smells like rotten fish!”

  “Then a seal has used this hole recently and all we have to do is remain quiet and still, and wait for him to come up for a breath.”

  “Then what?” she asked, concerned she knew the answer.

  “We harpoon him and hold him at the surface with the rope until we can dig him out.”

  Anunya squirmed, thinking about the poor seal and then glanced over at the salmon hole. “I think I will leave the seal hunting to you, Bjarni.” Salmon fishing was as far as her resolve would stretch.