The Ice Fortress

by Hannah Ross

  Nothing, however, could equal the reaction of Dawson and Barnes when more people started coming out of the stone huts to peek curiously at the visitors – men, women and children, all attired in the traditional sealskin tunics of the Anai. The two young men from Wellington had received an earlier briefing, and were warned not to stare or jab fingers in an impolite way, but it was clear they were riveted and just itched to get into one of the local dwellings and examine it up close.

  Scott wasn’t really in the mood to serve as a tour guide at the moment, and was relieved when Omrek approached them, put aside the grass-woven fishing net he was carrying, and came closer to shake hands. “Nice to see you again, Annette,” he said. “Are these your colleagues?”

  Chris and Adam gaped. “I didn’t realize your… your people speak English so well,” Adam said in a faltering voice.

  Scott grinned. “Not everybody is as fluent as my brother-in-law.”

  “Your..?”

  “Why don’t you come in and sit with us for a while?” Omrek said, steering the scientists in the direction of his house. “If you haven’t seen the inside of an Anai house yet, I’m sure it will be interesting.”

  “Oh, yes,” Chris nodded gratefully. “Thank you very much.”

  “I hope it won’t give Manari too much trouble,” Scott said. “She might be too busy for visitors.”

  “No trouble at all. We still get plenty of help with the new baby.”

  “Thanks, Omrek. In that case, I’ll go home. I’ll catch up with you guys later,” he told Annette, who suddenly looked lost. She had never spent time at the valley except right at Scott’s elbow before.

  “Wait a moment, Scott…”

  “Don’t worry, you’re in good hands,” he told her, and walked away before anyone could stop him. He longed for the privacy of his home, and needed to talk to his wife.

  Tahan threw her arms around him, and Egan danced around them, clamoring for attention. “I knew you’ll be back soon!” he said triumphantly. “I told Mother it’d be sooner than she thinks.”

  “Is everything well? Have you noticed anything unusual?” Scott asked in a low voice, taking Niri out of Tahan’s arms.

  “Thank the Spirits, nothing of the beasts was seen. We have been more vigilant than ever before. I’m glad you’ve come back, Scott.”

  He put his arm around her shoulders. “I’m not planning to go to McMurdo again anytime soon,” he said. “I don’t want to leave you here alone at this time.”

  She gave him a wry smile. “I’m a chieftainness, Scott. I can hold my ground with spear and bow. It’s you I’ve been worried about. What if anything happened to you on the way there or back?”

  “We can’t be afraid of every coming and going,” Scott said gently. “But Tahan… I want to ask you something. Apart from the beasts, have you seen anything… unusual while I was gone? Any – any strangers in the valley?”

  She looked startled. “Strangers? How could there be any strangers? All the foreigners we have ever met came from your station. What aren’t you telling me, Scott?”

  He looked straight at her. “I found some tracks at the AN-85 base, and I know that whoever came there was not from McMurdo.”

  “The base? You mean that place up above where the flying machines land? But who could have come? As far as I know, nobody here has seen any strangers. I’m pretty sure nobody descended into the valley. Unless… unless they didn’t want to be seen.” She frowned. “Strange things are happening, Scott.”

  “Yes, and I don’t like it at all. Have you given any thought to fortifying the settlement?”

  “I have, but what good would it do if the ice monsters attack from up above? Our best chance is to make more weapons, and to have guards at all times. Ne Tarveg has helped in setting up turns for guards. All men above the age of fifteen are taking part.”

  “In that case, I had better go and tell him I want to do guard duty as well,” Scott said, getting up from his sitting cushion.

  “I’m coming too! I want to be a guard too!” Egan said, thrusting his hand into Scott’s.

  “I’m sure no enemy would dare to come near with you on watch, young fellow,” Scott said, mussing his stepson’s hair. Tahan smiled.

  “Has Annette Geels come with you again?” she asked.

  “Yes, and two young men with her. They hope to see the winged lizards – pterosaurs, they call them.”

  Tahan bit her lip. “I hope they won’t get to see any. Not anywhere near here, anyway. Have you spoken to Anders about the peril to our people if these beasts come to the valley, Scott?”

  “I have, but I’m afraid the people at the station don’t realize just how dangerous this can be.”

  Tahan nodded. “So we are on our own. I didn’t expect anything different.”

  Scott kissed her cheek and passed the baby back to her. “It will be fine, Tahan. I’ll go and see Ne Tarveg now.”

  Chapter 6

  A group of hunters was planning to go on a trip to the bay the following day – or rather, as the season now melted into one long day, shortly after the village awoke.

  “Excellent,” said Annette. “We can join your party and look for signs of the pterosaurs. It’s much better than going without a guide.”

  “Um, yes,” said Scott. “But, you know… it’s a hunting trip.”

  “Yes, I know. So what?”

  “It might make you… uncomfortable.” Annette Geels was yet to touch any of the Anai food, and Scott could just imagine how she would react if a penguin were speared before her eyes.

  “We’re not planning to stick to the hunters. Once we reach the bay, Chris, Adam and I plan to trek a little beyond – in the direction you told me the pterosaur had disappeared. It’s going to be perfectly alright.”

  Scott doubted that, but he knew that arguing with Annette was futile. And so on the appointed hour the party started on its way, the kiwi researchers looking very conspicuous in their orange parkas and overalls next to the Anai clad in sealskins.

  “Do you really feel comfortable wearing this, Scott?” Annette asked, eyeing him critically. Except for letting his hair grow out, Scott now looked every inch an Anai hunter.

  “You should try it. These clothes are light, warm, and virtually waterproof. No one knows how to work sealskins better than Tahan.”

  “Hmm. Well, I’m sure of it,” she shrugged, sounding unconvinced.

  The rigorous pace of the hunters could tire out any inexperienced trekker, but to give credit where it’s due, Annette, Chris and Adam did not complain and did all they could to keep up with the others. They looked up from time to time, as if hoping to see the form of a giant winged reptile, but to the relief of the Anai men, they arrived at the bay without any threat in sight.

  As soon as the bay came within view, they spotted a small group of seals not far off. “Be very quiet,” Omrek whispered, and they began creeping closer. The researchers from McMurdo fell back, frozen in place and watching as if mesmerized. With a fluid grace of movement, Omrek raised his bow and shot, and even as his arrow sped through the air, it was followed by others, Scott’s among them. The arrows found their target. Two seals fell down upon the ice, thrashing and calling out in agony, while the others jumped into the safety of the water. Ne Tarveg ran over and finished the animals off with mercifully quick blows to the head. The others moved forward to help with the skinning and butchering. Soon, the ice was crimson with blood.

  “I think you’ve hit one this time, Scott,” Omrek said. “This looks like one of your arrows.”

  Scott made a noncommittal sound. Hunting would never become a favored pastime of his, and he would have preferred to stay behind and do guard duty, but there were enough guards and not enough hunters. He didn’t look to see whether the arrow was really his.

  He heard a muffled sob behind him and turned around. Annette was crying into the sleeve of Chris Dawson’s parka, and the young man was patting her awkwardly on the back, looking horrified. Adam Barnes was d
oubled up, retching. Scott walked over to the researchers.

  “I told you it might not be very pleasant,” he said sheepishly.

  Annette let go of Chris’s sleeve. Her face was glazed with tears. “That’s… that’s so cruel,” she gasped. “The poor creatures – all this blood –“

  “Chicken and beef aren’t born in plastic wrap either, you know,” Scott pointed out. “And farm animals live in far worse conditions than seals in Antarctica.”

  “Yes, but… but there are modern, humane methods – the animals are electrocuted so that they lose consciousness… but like this, with harpoons, like three hundred years ago, I… I wish I hadn’t seen this. I don’t want to hate these people, but I… I don’t understand how you can live like one of them.” Annette’s eyes looked straight at him, wet, red-rimmed and accusing.

  “It isn’t as bad as it looks. The animals are dispatched quickly. The traditional Anai method…”

  “I’m sorry, but with all due respect for tradition, some things are more important. As compassionate, thinking beings, we can’t –“

  Their exchange was cut off by people’s urgent cries. A shadow fell down upon them, though the sky was cloudless. With a mounting sense of dread, Scott looked up and saw not one, but two winged reptiles – a larger and a smaller one – circling up above. Annette gave a smothered cry of excitement.

  “There they are! There they are! Chris, Adam, do you see them? Take some photos, quick!”

  The researchers seemed to be quite oblivious of the danger, and struggled as Scott ushered them towards the cave where they had found shelter last time. “Annette, you don’t want to be out in the open,” he coaxed. “You can watch from here, Annette, quick…”

  With shining eyes, enraptured, Annette observed the two pterosaurs from the mouth of the cave. Chris was taking photo after photo, while Adam was recording the encounter on video. The Anai hunters hissed and cursed as the beasts, drawn by the smell of blood, started to feast on the freshly killed seals.

  “They’re taking our kill,” Ne Tarveg whispered furiously, coiling his fists. “The dirty thieves!”

  The two seals were stripped to the bone in a remarkably short time, and the pterosaurs flew off. Nothing could be salvaged, and it wasn’t safe to stay. “Another fruitless journey,” Omrek said gloomily. “I suppose we might as well head back.”

  “We can wait a while longer,” Ne Tarveg suggested. “They aren’t hungry now. It will take some time until they get out to feed again.”

  “But it will take time for the game to appear again, too.”

  Ne Tarveg scowled. “You’re right. I just hate being at the mercy of that punishment from the Evil Spirit.”

  “What are they saying?” Annette asked Scott nervously.

  “We are going back.”

  “But wait, we were going to follow the route of the pterosaurs –“

  “You may have been going to do that. You’ll be hard pressed to find assistance here, Dr. Geels. And if I may add, it would be extremely foolhardy to try and follow those beasts without a helicopter at your disposal.”

  Annette bit her lip. “Yes, I suppose so. We’ll have to come back with a larger group. And we’ll need to get permits for everyone to pass through the valley, unless there’s another route…”

  “You’ll have time to plan all that later.”

  It was a dejected party that started on its way back. The hunters felt worse than useless, and there was little meat left in storage at the valley. Of course, the Anai could hold on for a while with freshwater fish and clams from the river, with the domesticated fowls and grass berries and grain, but they always heavily relied on seal, whale and penguin meat, and they needed whale oil for lighting and cooking, and sealskins for clothes. Nothing could replace those.

  “We have to find a way to solve this,” Omrek said quietly, shaking his head.

  “There is none,” Ne Tarveg said curtly. “None except go to war against those beasts. If the First Anai could do that, so can we.”

  Annette shot Scott a questioning glance, but he wisely refrained from telling her what the Anai men were saying.

  The trek was long, and the whole party was exhausted by the time they approached the river and caught the first glimpse of the settlement. It was then that it happened. A sharp call pierced the sky, accompanied by a rush of wings. Even before they looked up, they knew they were being followed. Without a word, they began to run.

  The sure-footed hunters easily ran over the stepping-stones of the river, but Annette and Chris stumbled into the icy water. Ne Tarveg caught Annette mid-splash and pulled her up as easily as if she had been a doll, but Chris was submerged completely and came up choking and spluttering. Adam and Scott heaved him up and the whole group kept running helter-skelter toward the village and its stone shelters.

  “Guards!” Scott bellowed. “Guards, take up your weapons! Attack!”

  There were warning shouts, and men began to dart out. Scott hazarded a look up, at the creature that was circling overhead. It was hard to tell at the moment, but he was almost ready to wager this was a different pterosaur, not one of those they had seen before. How many of them are there? It was hovering above with the unmistakable air of a predator selecting its prey from the puny men running below, completely exposed.

  In a sudden stroke, with folded wings, the beast dived down. Omrek was quicker – his arrow strummed through the air and grazed the pterosaur’s wing.

  “No, no! Don’t hurt it!” Annette cried out, but nobody listened.

  Annoyed more than harmed, the creature gave a snarl of fury and rose up again, but continued to circle above the village. The hunters, together with the researchers, moved into the center of the settlement now, bows poised and ready. All around, people kept sounding the alert. Man after man, and some brave women as well, ran out of the houses with bows or throwing spears, ready to defend their home. Tahan came rushing out of her brother’s house, bow in hand, her long hair hastily tied up.

  “Tahan, no! Go back inside!” Scott shouted, beside himself with fear. “Stay with the children!”

  “The children are fine, they are with Manari,” she panted, readying an arrow. “We should all shoot at once… at once, men, do you hear me?” she raised her voice, and her command was repeated all around. The flying monster gave another snarl.

  “Tell them to hide, Scott, hide!” Annette called out desperately. “It will go away – there is no need to kill –“

  “It has come to get us!” Old Ne Riorag cried out, brandishing his throw spear. “It is a punishment – a punishment from the hand of the Great Spirit! O Great Spirit, let us know why we deserve such a plague!”

  The pterosaur lowered itself even further, circling dangerously close. Ne Riorag threw his spear, which fell short, but was followed at once by a shower of arrows that sang viciously as they shot up, some of them catching the beast in its webbed wings. Drops of blood fell like red rain, heavy and warm. The pterosaur gave an ear-splitting shriek and, in its fury, dived down like a falling stone, only to fly up again lightning-fast. For a split second, Scott was relieved at its being driven away, but then he heard a terrifying sound – a sound made by a human – borne up above with the errant wing strokes of the injured monster.

  “NOOOOOOOOOO!” One of the defenders cried. It was Ne Tarveg. “Noooooooooooooo, you filthy beast, you creature of Darkness! No!”

  He shot arrow after arrow, but it was no good. The creature wasn’t hurt badly enough to be stopped. It flew up and away, its helpless prey held firmly in its jaws, struggling no longer. Within a few seconds, it was gone from sight.

  Ne Tarveg sank down to the ground, his head in his hands, his bow and arrows discarded. The man taken by the monster was his father, Ne Riorag.

  “We must – we must go after it – must try –“ he began, but choke and fell silent. He knew nothing could be done for his father. The people all around were deathly quiet, still clutching their weapons, frozen in horror at what just h
appened right before their eyes. Tahan, tears spilling down her cheeks, came closer and placed a cautious hand on Ne Tarveg’s shoulder.

  “Come, Ne Tarveg. The Council must talk,” she said, desperately trying to keep her voice steady. “I want you to take your… your father’s place.”

  Ne Tarveg gave her a quick, hard look. His eyes were dry, but the shock and grief made him look ten years older. “I am not fit to take my father’s place,” he said. “No one is fit for that, Ki Tahan. How will the Council go on?”

  Tahan hung her head. Ne Riorag had been the most respected of the elders, the wisest keeper of the Written Tablets, and the one whose authority usually tipped the scale in any controversial matter. The Council of Elders would not be the same without him.

  “I don’t know,” she honestly said, “but we must try. He… Ne Riorag would have wanted us to go on. To keep our people safe. We must try to do what he would have done.”

  Ne Tarveg nodded. “I will join the Council – just this once, because I have something to say, and I want the elders to hear it. And these – the foreigners had better come as well,” he added, glancing in the direction of Annette, Chris and Adam, who were still shaking with fear.

  “Oh?” Tahan looked surprised. “You would have foreigners on a council of our people? I did not expect this, Ne Tarveg.”

  His eyes hardened. “They had better hear what I have to say, too.”

  “In that case, Scott, you had better come and help us interpret,” Tahan said. The Council was usually confined to the elders and the chieftain or chieftainness alone, but nobody would dare to argue with Ne Tarveg at this time of grief.

  They sat in a circle in the stone house that Ne Tarveg had shared with his father. It was clean and tidy, but the belongings were sparse, and it was evident no woman’s hand had tended the hearth for many years. Ne Tarveg’s mother had died young, and his father never took another woman.