The Yarnsworld Collection: A fantasy boxset

by Benedict Patrick

  The troupe disembarked with little conversation. Tension still lingered from the events of the previous day. They were also anticipating the importance of this performance.

  Kaimana almost understood why they had attacked her. That did not make things any easier. They had all, one by one, approached Kaimana to mumble their small apologies. All, that is, except Eloni. Kaimana caught a glimpse of the older woman’s face when Poli came to speak with Kaimana, and Eloni was clearly smirking at her. Kaimana had gripped her ocarina in anger, and was worried that the strength of her rage might crack it.

  Just wait, Eloni. My spark will return, and then it’ll be my turn to smile again.

  Nakoa’s warriors barked a short welcome to Aka at the end of the pier, and then turned to lead the troupe up into the hills. Despite their muscles, the men did not offer to carry any of the heavy equipment the troupe had with them. These men had been given their strength for battle, not to haul other people’s burdens around.

  The walk took about half an hour, and it was steep going. Kaimana was thankful for her small ocarina, but also offered to carry some sacks for Poli and Tokoni, aware they had the largest amount of equipment. Tokoni passed some of his marionettes over to her, and she saw he was unable to look her in the eye.

  When they finally arrived at the temple, Kaimana was not disappointed with the sight of it. It was easily the largest building she had ever seen, about ten times as wide as the largest hut on Pukotala, and more than three times as tall. Thin red flags flew from poles attached to the top of it, much like the streamers that had decorated the pier. As the group walked into the building, the entrance hallway led them to an open-air courtyard, the paved floor of which was busy with the war god’s warriors. Kaimana was intimidated to see so many bare chested men together, especially as they were all making so much noise. Some were lifting weights, others wrestling, others fighting each other with clubs and swords. Those who were not taking part in these activities were cheering loudly.

  Kaimana noticed many of the men leering at the troupe as they entered, particularly at the trio of dancing girls. The girls, humble and devoted to Laka as they were, appeared not to notice, but Eloni certainly did. Kaimana rolled her eyes at how the older woman’s hips began to sway more expressively, how her head darted around, doing her best to make eye contact with as many men as possible.

  Many of the men ogled Eloni, but just as many pointed and laughed at Poli and her turtle face.

  Kaimana’s eyes narrowed. I do not like them, these brave men.

  Aka, with old Rawiri as his second, was brought before a muscular man whose entire body appeared to have been tattooed in honour of his god. Nakoa himself was nowhere to be seen, and Kaimana was thankful. She had enough to deal with at the moment without seeing a god for the first time.

  After a brief exchange, Aka motioned for the troupe to head back outside. They carted their belongings out of the temple and placed them at a campsite some distance away.

  “We are not permitted to spend any more time than we have to inside the temple grounds,” Aka explained.

  “Unless any of you are willing to fight,” Rawiri added, jokingly.

  There were no takers, and handsome Tokoni paled noticeably at the suggestion.

  It was no surprise that the troupe had been asked to leave the temple. Priests tended to hate travelling performers. Not for the frivolity and mirth that they often inspired, but because performing troupes threatened to infringe upon the services that priests served to their people. They both shared stories, the history of the islands. Most priesthoods felt that this was an honour best left in their pious hands. However, nobody ever wanted a priest to lead an important celebration, to inspire fun. On those occasions priests stepped aside and argued as little as possible about performers being called to practice their arts.

  This did not mean the priests enjoyed the experience, however. This was not the first time Kaimana had experienced a cold shoulder, and she and the others prepared themselves for a night sleeping under the stars.

  As they all prepared to settle down, Aka gathered the troupe together around a small campfire.

  He looked at them all seriously. “About what happened yesterday,” he said in measured, nervous tones. “We all made mistakes. We thought it was the end. We have to move past it.” He lowered his head, as if he was struggling to decide what to say next.

  Kaimana felt the eyes of the troupe on her now, their collective gaze bringing back the sting of her loss. She clutched her ocarina tightly again, wishing her anger away. Kaimana did her best to keep her eyes locked with Aka, and nodded to show she agreed with what he was saying.

  That’s what he needs from me now, she thought, although her heart ached at the pity that many of the troupe regarded her with. They can’t imagine how it feels, to have lost what I have lost.

  “Tomorrow is the most important day in this troupe’s life, most important since Laka left us, anyway. This is it, performing for a god. We can’t look back, we have to give it our all. We need a good rest.” His eyes fixed with Kaimana as he said this, the seriousness of his tone making it clear that this was a command, much like the one she had ignored on Pukotala.

  As night fell most chose to settle down and get to sleep. Kaimana was surprised yet pleased to see Tokoni and Poli sharing a blanket together, huddling in the warm night. She was certain there was no passion in their embrace, that they were turning to the person they trusted the most in a time of great stress.

  Who knows what might blossom from that closeness.

  She tried not to envy the contentedness she could see on their faces.

  Eloni, however, chose not to rest. There were new men for her to attract, and as soon as curious eyes emerged from the temple, she went up to them. Kaimana knew Eloni would not settle for just anyone - she would be looking for an island chief or an underling that might be poised to soon rise to a new position. This is what she had tried on previous islands.

  Kaimana watched the older woman as she flirted with three young men, all tattooed and muscular. Then, to her horror, Kaimana saw Eloni indicate in her direction. Kaimana stood open-eyed as the three men broke away from Eloni and made towards her. Eloni followed after them, displeased.

  “She says you speak to a taniwha,” the largest of the warriors said, upon reaching Kaimana.

  Looking at them now, Kaimana realised these were not much more than boys, but boys that had probably been trained since birth to inherit the warrior’s Knack. She knew herself that she was older than all three of them, and she was not long past her twentieth year.

  “Not so much,” Kaimana replied. “I’ve seen one. Three times now,” she lied, not wanting to let anyone know about that final, intimate encounter she had had with the beast.

  Another of the warriors poked at her. “You see it again, tell it Akahata is looking for it.” At this, the boy turned to the other two warriors and they all gave a chuckle.

  Eloni arrived, flustered and unamused. “What’s going on? What are you laughing about?”

  “Your friend has found me a monster to hunt,” one of them said, catching the eyes of his peers as he jested. “Going to make me famous in the eyes of Nakoa.”

  The trio laughed together again and wandered off back to the temple, Eloni trailing at their heels.

  Kaimana stood in puzzlement.

  They want to meet a taniwha? Of course they would, these warriors. She knew from the stories of Nakoa and those he had inspired that warrior Knacks wanted nothing more than to prove themselves in battle, or to die trying. What better prize could one of these younglings lie at the feet of their god than the head of a monster?

  Kaimana glanced around the clearing, an unexplainable fear settling over her. The taniwha had followed them in the water from Pukotala. Would it follow them onto Nakoa’s island as well? It was impossibly large, and clearly very strong, but Kaimana doubted that even a taniwha of that size could stand up to the war god’s armies.

  If the taniw
ha follows me here, it will not live for long. There must be hundreds of young warriors like Akahata who would give their lives for the chance to win the war god’s favour. Only one of them needs to succeed and the taniwha will be dead.

  Is my only chance of getting my spark back in danger?

  For a brief span of time, Kaimana tried to follow Aka’s orders, tried to go to sleep, but she knew it was no use. Now that she was worried about the monster following her onto the island, she would find no rest until she had confirmed her fears.

  Quietly, not wanting to attract the attention of the rest of the troupe, she slipped into the trees. It had seemed like a long climb up to the temple, but travelling back down the hillside unencumbered by any equipment was not a difficult journey.

  A quick peek at the canoe in the water, a check of the beach for any tracks, that’s all I need to calm my mind.

  She hurriedly stumbled through the trees, moving between patches of moonlight to help her find her footing.

  Kaimana walked onto the beach just as the taniwha was emerging from the water.

  She caught her breath at the sight of the monster. This was the first time seeing it in all of its glory, not hidden in a dark cave or under the sea. The beast was three times as long as the overlarge troupe canoe, and almost three times Kaimana’s height. It was dripping with water, much of it draining from the greenery that clung to the nooks and crannies on the beast’s hide. The creature’s eyes continued to glow green, illuminating the intricate markings that appeared to be some kind of godlike sketches all over its body. She realised now these markings extended much further than the taniwha’s face.

  The monster stopped as soon as it caught sight of Kaimana.

  She was not as frightened as she had been at the sight of the creature on the previous night. If it was interested in eating her, it would have done before then. Instead, Kaimana’s intense curiosity took over. She had so many questions to ask of this creature, so much that she wanted to find out.

  But this was not the place.

  “You must leave here, it’s not safe,” she said.

  The beast cocked its head at her, questioningly.

  “There are warriors here. They want to kill you.”

  The taniwha paused for a moment, and then made a sound that Kaimana first thought was the monster coughing. She quickly realised however, the taniwha was laughing.

  Not able to help herself, she also smiled at the idea. Now that the monster was standing in front of her, the sheer size and power of the creature made the idea of the three young warriors posing a threat totally laughable.

  “I know, it seems silly, I know. But there are many of them. I have heard of armies taking down a taniwha, and I don’t want to see it happen to you. There is a god here also, and I think he would mean you harm as well.”

  The monster stopped its laugh at the mention of a god. Kaimana did not get the impression from the creature’s demeanor that it was particularly concerned, but she had certainly got its attention.

  “I think,” Kaimana continued, motioning towards the water, “it’d probably be safer for you to return to the sea.”

  The taniwha took a brief glance at the ocean behind it, undulating calmly in the moonlight, but then gave a grunt and turned back to Kaimana, moving towards her, further inland.

  Kaimana’s brow creased and her heart began to beat faster, becoming more panicked. Does it not understand me? How can I get something that size to do what I want?

  She ran forward to stand in front of the beast. “What do you think you’re doing? There are men up there that want to kill you. Hide away, for now.”

  It shook its head, almost shrugging, and then continued to amble into the forest, moving in the direction of the temple and the pig god.

  Stupid animal. I’m not going to lose you just after finding you, not before you inspire me again.

  Kaimana had no doubt the combined forces of Nakoa’s armies would be sufficient to kill the taniwha, but how could she stop the monster from moving towards them?

  A sudden burst of inspiration hit her.

  “Don’t you want to come with me?”

  The taniwha turned its head and cocked it again, looking at her curiously. She was pleased to see it was not laughing, and a surge of nervous joy swelled deep in Kaimana’s heart. Since their close encounter last night, Kaimana had suspected - hoped - it was not the troupe the taniwha was following, but her.

  “I was thinking of going for a walk along the beach. Maybe doing some fishing. Wouldn’t you like to come?”

  The taniwha continued to look at her, otherwise unmoving.

  Unsure about how next to proceed, Kaimana decided to start walking away.

  “It’s such a lovely night,” she shouted, turning her head away as she spoke, “I just wanted to see the moonlight over Leinani’s island.”

  Kaimana walked a few more steps, heart pounding. Is this going to work, or is the monster going to walk towards his own death?

  Her silent question was answered by a soft rumbling from behind. She gave a start, and turned to see the taniwha bounding over to her, a much more animated movement than she had expected from the large monster. She paused for a brief moment out of sheer terror. Then she remembered her intention, and continued to walk along the beach, drawing the taniwha away from the temple.

  “It seems lonely, don’t you think?” Kaimana indicated the distant volcano as she spoke.

  Really? I’ve got the experience of a lifetime, the chance to speak with a real taniwha, straight from the stories, and this is what I choose to talk about?

  The creature did not seem to mind. It paid little heed to the volcano, but appeared to be content to plod alongside Kaimana, taking time every now and again to sniff at pieces of driftwood.

  “My name’s Kaimana,” she said after a while, thinking of nothing else worthy of conversation with the monster.

  The taniwha turned and gave a sniff from his great nostrils, as if in acknowledgement of her name.

  Kaimana smiled. “I don’t suppose you can tell me your name? Probably don’t even have one. Can’t imagine you call yourself ‘taniwha’ in your own head though.”

  They walked silently for a while, now well away from the inhabited part of the island. “My people have different names for different types of taniwha. You seem to have been made from wood, or have wood on your skin or something.”

  While saying this, Kaimana made to reach out and touch the taniwha’s rough hide, but thought better of it.

  “Apparently some taniwha take the form of enchanted logs. Maybe that’s what you are? We call them rakau tipua. I guess... I could call you Rakau? Until something better comes along, at least.”

  The taniwha stopped and gave its snorting laugh again. Then it turned its great head towards Kaimana and knocked her to the ground.

  Kaimana was stunned. The blow was powerful, but Kaimana was more shocked at how unexpected the attack was. In the short space of time she had spent with the taniwha, with Rakau, she had convinced herself she was safe from it.

  Clearly, I was wrong.

  Kaimana groaned as she picked herself up. Rakau had moved away from her, running a few of his great strides down the beach, but was now looking at her in the same manner she had seen a cat regard a shrew before snapping its neck.

  As soon as Kaimana stood up, Rakau came bounding over and knocked her to the ground again, making her land badly on her arm, spraining her wrist. He leapt away, giving his snorting laugh once more.

  He’s playing with me, Kaimana thought, and then gave a groan of pain as she tried to pick herself up.

  At this, Rakau stopped his laughter and crept towards Kaimana, as much as a creature his size was capable of any type of stealth. As Rakau bent his head towards Kaimana, she could swear he was frowning.

  Do you look… concerned?

  She took a gamble again. “You have to be careful, I’m not as tough as you.”

  Rakau gave a low, deep noise, a moan of sadnes
s.

  “But I’ll still play, if you want,” Kaimana added quickly, not wanting to lose the moment with Rakau now. She picked herself off the beach, trying not to complain about her new aches, looking around for something she and Rakau could do together.

  “You like to swim, don’t you?” she said, flashing Rakau a cheeky, challenging smile.

  In return the taniwha growled, but Kaimana realised - or at least hoped she did - that this was his way of accepting her challenge. Without waiting for further motions from Rakau, Kaimana took off at a sprint towards the water, her feet soon dancing in the surf. She turned around to look at the taniwha and caught a glimpse of him readying to pounce, just before he leapt straight over her head, landing in the water behind her.

  It was an awesome sight, this great animal, pushing itself impossibly off the ground and high into the air in an almighty bound. As it landed with a splash, Kaimana realised she was cheering.

  Not thinking for a moment, not pondering the potential pitfalls of night swimming on a reef that was unfamiliar to her, let alone swimming with a man-eating monster, Kaimana dived into the waters, doing her best to follow Rakau.

  Kaimana’s Knack was not for fishing, and neither was it for swimming. However, she had spent a good deal of her life in the company of others who did have these gifts. Kaimana’s childhood companions - she was never close enough to them to truly call them friends - had all been destined to follow in their parents’ footsteps, and so they excelled underwater, even before their Knacks had appeared. Thus, Kaimana had a lifetime’s experience of doing her best to keep up with strong swimmers.

  Keeping up with those children was nothing compared with trying to keep up with Rakau.

  She could see well under the water. It was a clear night, the moon was full, and the crystal water of the reef was undisturbed by any nearby rivers. The moonlight painted the rocks and coral of the reef a pale blue, and this was strongly contrasted by the powerful green of Rakau’s eyes, which illuminated the sea bed and even tinted the water in front of him.