Amara and I floated up onto our backs, and kicked our feet rapidly under the water, swimming together in the same direction while holding onto the side of the canoe. We were quickly out of range, and the arrows stopped. The Umbunti did not waste their arrows.
We rested as we grasped the canoe, still in the water. The river current was enough to carry us downstream. We needed to conserve our energy.
I heard some bird calls which came from the shore. I remembered how skilled Mar was at making bird calls. In situations of battle he sounded the bird calls to alert his fellow warriors to guide their movements.
“I think there is something going on over there,” I advised Amara.
“I agree, Saline. Keep your eyes open!”
Amara pulled a flint skinning knife from a sheath belted to her waist. She was as well-equipped as any warrior. She pulled out a second smaller knife and handed it to me.
I found myself wishing that I could be as brave as Amara in this situation. She looked very calm. My heart pounded in my chest and I felt dizzy. I could not control fear as well as Amara could. I remembered back to the ancestral caves when we went on our quest to consult with Bone Woman. Amara had been terror stricken then, she screamed while I was the brave one. Now I was the one trembling in fear.
The cold water was beginning to drain my energy. If we remained in the river too much longer this would be a problem. We needed to get to shore to dry off and get into the warm sun.
I heard a splashing sound in the water nearby. It happened so quickly that I barely had time to react. There was more splashing.
We were surrounded by three Umbunti warriors. Tam-Rue was there too, and he reached out and grabbed my hair.
“So, you thought that you could get away from us, little vermin?”
He let out a venomous laugh. He moved in closer and attempted to pull me away from the canoe.
I raised my knife out of the water. Tam-Rue looked shocked. I stabbed him in his shoulder. Blood rushed out of the wound. I tried to stab him again in the chest, but he grabbed my wrists.
I heard the other warriors scream in agony. They quickly called off the attack and withdrew. Tam-Rue winced in pain and he released his grip on my arms. Amara surfaced next to him, her hand dripping in blood. She had gone underwater and repeatedly stabbed all our attackers.
Tam-Rue retreated. He and the others were bleeding badly. They needed assistance to make it back to shore. Amara and I watched from the trailing edge of the canoe. About ten Umbunti ran from the woods and into the river to get the wounded men. It would be days before any of those injured would be strong enough to fight again.
Amara and I pushed the canoe further down the river. We headed for a shallow lake where there was a sandbar. We waded over to it and pulled the canoe out of the river.
The sun was above the tree tops now, and its glowing warmth brought comfort to us. We were both shivering from the cold water. This was a nice place to dry out; but it was best not to stay here too long. We were in the open air and exposed to attack. But for now, it appeared that the Umbunti had withdrawn from this area.
I was still upset about the attack, and my encounter with Tam-Rue. It took a while for the nausea to go away. I sat on a rock and tried to calm myself and catch my breath.
The forest was alive with many birds in flight. Red fox and herds of deer came down to the river to drink. There were many fish swimming in the shallow lagoon, snapping up insects close to the surface. The water was high from the spring rains. There were many types of flowers growing along the banks of the stream. The serenity of the forest helped to calm me down.
Amara and I inspected the canoe. It had a few gashes in the bottom but no gaping holes. The bottom withstood the arrows with its hard, yet pliable construction.
Amara pulled the remaining food from her pouch and set it out to dry. There was some smoked fish, and dried fruit. It made a good satisfying quick meal for our breakfast.
We seated ourselves back into the canoe in the same position, Amara in front. She pushed the paddle off the shallow bottom, guiding the canoe back into the main river channel. We scanned both sides of the river for the Umbunti. There were gone.
Amara paddled the canoe as straight as an arrow down the middle of the river. She was very experienced with canoes. This was the way her people travelled in the river trade. Amara had led many of these expeditions. She always was in the front of the lead canoe. Her navigation skills were unsurpassed. I had always envied her and had wanted to get on one of the trading expeditions.
I took a deep breath and shut my eyes, pretending that we were on a trading mission. I imagined our canoe heaped with trading goods; bags of salt, gem stones, and crafted items. We approach a village on the trade route.
I opened my eyes. We were moving rapidly downstream. If only we were on an adventure, something exciting, like a trading expedition.
“I have always wanted to ride in your canoe, Amara, ever since I was little. I remember that you gave me a short ride on the river near your village once. I wanted to go on a trading voyage, too.”
Amara continued to paddle swiftly as she spoke. “My people do thrive on the river trade. We link many other villages on the Great River. I worry now that the Umbunti have interrupted our trade routes. Many villages are now threatened. We keep all our canoes well hidden. Perhaps someday, when all this is over, you can come with me on a trading expedition, Saline.”
“How many expeditions have you taken down the Great River?” I asked.
“Too many to count.” Amara replied. “I have been going for more than seven of our fall harvests.”
“Have you ever been attacked as we were today?”
“Yes. Our trading party has been attacked on several occasions. The Umbunti and the Merat. There is always danger on the river.”
Amara continued. “Usually we have to return to our village and resupply after such an attack. We lost all our goods to our enemy not long ago. The Umbunti and Merat are becoming more aggressive. Now they come and destroy our homes and steal our food.”
Amara sounded very angry as she said this. I understood her anger. I wanted to fight the Umbunti with my bare hands. But for now, I had the feeling of elation in having beaten Tam-Rue and his Umbunti allies.
“I hope that the warning has reached my people and they can stop the Umbunti,” I said.
Amara turned and looked at me. “Keno, my brother, is an excellent messenger. He knows this forest well, and there’s no stopping him. I think that your people have been warned by now.”
Amara’s words were comforting. However, I was fearful that in such an attack on the cliff village, my father would be called upon to fight.
There was a gentle bend in the river. Amara began to steer the canoe towards the outer banks, and soon we made landing in an area of thick reeds which grew in the shallow water. We got out of the canoe and waded to a steep, gravel strewn bank. We pulled the canoe from the water and carried it above our heads through a dense, fern foliated forest. Amara was in front, guiding our way.
There were some bird calls coming from high in the trees from several directions. Amara stopped. A warrior was approaching directly in front of us. As he drew closer I recognized him as the young warrior we had met earlier in the dark forest, Amara’s brother.
“Amara, Saline,” he said, holding his right hand forward, palm up, in a welcome sign. “We are pleased that you have arrived.”
Amara and Keno embraced.
“How did you arrive before us?” Amara asked.
“I know many short cuts through the forest,” Keno replied with a grin.
Behind us three other warriors were covering up our tracks. As we walked toward the camp, Keno and Amara discussed the situation.
The Umbunti continued to be a threat on both sides of the river. Amara told him of the attack at the river. He was very impressed with how we had fought them off and defeated Tam-Rue.
“Have you sent a warning to my people, Keno?” I said
in a sense of urgency.
Keno looked at me and nodded with a smile. “I sent the warning through our messenger stations across the forest to your village, Saline. They have been warned of the possibility of an attack. They will be ready, you can be sure. I know that your people are putting more warriors in key positions to defend the entire cliff area.”
“Thank you for this help, Keno. I feel reassured.”
“Your information has helped us, Saline. We will not be taken by surprise again, we will be ready for them.”
My information had helped to expose Umbunti movements. I hoped that this would make all the difference in the battle yet to come.
We entered the camp. The ferns and low foliage gave way to a wide-open area between the tall trees. A very long structure had been assembled here, made of long poles covered by woven mats. There were three other similar structures nearby.
“How were you able to make these houses in only a few days?” I asked Amara.
Amara laughed. “This was an outlying village. It was abandoned long ago, but we have kept it as a hunting station and training area. Now it serves us as an emergency shelter.”
“I never knew about this place,” I replied.
“We keep it well hidden,” Amara explained.
We entered through a wide door located in the center of the nearest long house. The inside was very large. A lot of light entered the huge room from high windows near the roof. The floor was made of flat rocks set in clay. In the center, there were wooden tables and benches, and a round fire pit.
There were more refugees from the River Village here than there were at the cliffs. There were many women, young children and elderly.
Some women were cooking at the fire pit. I could smell a savory pot roast. One of the women looked up and smiled at us.
“Amara, Saline!” She cried.
She came over and hugged us both. There were tears in her eyes. “I am happy to see that you have both arrived safely.”
“Your cooking smells delicious, Mother,” Amara said with a grin.
“You are here just in time, Amara. We will eat soon. You must both be very hungry.”
The coals on the fire were red hot. It was necessary to cook with low smoke. The large earthen pot was brimming with a boiling broth and huge chunks of meat.
“I have not eaten a good meal like this in a while. Are you cooking a pot roast?” I asked.
“Yes, it is, Saline. You have a good nose. It is beef with vegetables,” Amara’s mother said. “We have some pasture nearby with animals – pigs, chickens, cattle. We have been able to keep the Umbunti away from this area. There have been some surprise attacks at night, however. But we have been safe here and able to hold our own.”
“I was held captive by the Umbunti in one of their camps where they have been plotting more attacks into our lands. I was terribly mistreated there. Amara saved me from captivity. If not for her bravery, I would still be there.”
Amara’s mother nodded. “Amara is my brave one. I worry about her as any mother would. She has abilities that are a match for any of our greatest warriors. She is certainly a born leader.”
Amara smiled at her. “I am fortunate that you never held me back and always allowed me to develop my skills.”
I remembered that Amara’s mothers’ name was Atarena. Three harvest seasons ago we had met when I stayed over at their house in the River Village. Atarena raised Amara and her brother Keno alone; their father had been a warrior. He died many harvests past on a trading expedition to the flint mines. The loss of their father had been a terrible blow to the family. Amara admired her father; he had taught his children all the skills of the hunter warrior. He wanted his son and daughter to be strong and wise, and imparted to them the survival skills needed to make it in a hostile world. Now they both would need those skills to fight and defend our way of life.
I looked around the long house at all the people – young women with babies, old men and women, many families in flight from the Umbunti. They had lost everything. These were not the happy carefree villagers I once knew. I could sense the fear and sadness in their eyes. That horrible feeling that evil had consumed their energy.
I also sensed their strength and determination to stand up against evil, to fight for everything dear to their hearts; home, community, tradition.
Atarena continued to stir the pot slowly. “Some of our people are at your village, mostly people from down river. The Umbunti cut us off from them when they invaded our village.”
“Yes, I have spoken to some of them,” I replied. “The children are playing games and are getting proper care.”
Atarena looked up from her stirring. “I am glad that they are happy and safe. I have some close friends there and I dearly miss them.”
She looked at me, then at Amara. “You both look very tired. You need to eat and get some rest.”
Amara’s mother filled some bowls with the vegetable pot roast. While Amara and I ate she fixed some bed mats for us in a far corner of the long house. Amara and I were very tired, we had not slept all night. However, the lack of sleep did not take away our appetites, we enjoyed the roast.
We finished our meal and laid down on the soft, down filled mats. They were very comfortable. I put a lamb’s wool blanket over me and I fell asleep quickly. I slept until the next day.
Chapter Ten
The Mission
I was at the cliff falls, watching the stream roar down from the high rock ledges above. There was a slight breeze and I could smell sweet pine resin.
I heard voices. Umbunti warriors emerged from the woods, all fully armed. I immediately ran up the cliff trail to warn my people. Several of the warriors pursued me. I stumbled on some rocks in the trail and fell face down. I hurt my leg. The warriors grabbed me as I cried out in agony. Blood rushed out of a large gash in my shin. I was lifted back to my feet by the warriors. There was Tam-Rue and Bordith standing down the trail, laughing at me. All the warriors laughed.
Then there was a more laughter. I opened my eyes and saw children playing a game of tag across from me on the other side of the long house.
I got up and folded my blanket and rolled up the mat. Despite the bad dream I felt rested.
Amara came over from the tables. She had been up and already eaten breakfast. “Good morning, Saline. How are you today?”
“I had a bad dream, but now feel much better,” I said. “I need to cleanse myself.”
Amara showed me to the outhouses, located away from the other buildings for privacy. I went into the women’s enclosure. There were water jugs and large bowls for washing on a table, and three large clay pots at the side. I went into the clay pots and cleansed myself. I also washed my long hair and used a wood comb. I placed my clothing on a line and cleaned it with a hard bristle brush. Then I rubbed some scented oils all over and got dressed.
I made my way back to the long house. Amara and her mother were sitting at a table near the fire pit. Amara motioned me to come join them.
Everyone had finished breakfast, and I gave apologies for having slept so late.
Atarena just looked at me and smiled. “Come and sit, Saline. I will get you some hot breakfast.”
She picked up an earthenware bowl and put some oil inside. Then she added ham chunks and an egg. It fried up rapidly over the red-hot coals. She placed the food into a smaller bowl and set it in front of me.
I picked up a wood spoon and began to eat very slowly. Amara gave me some flat bread and some sweet goats’ milk. Everything tasted delicious.
I scrapped my bowl with my wood spoon, finishing up the last few bites of egg and ham, then swallowed one more gulp of goat’s milk.
“I will rub some soothing salve on your wounds after you eat,” Atarena said. “Are you in pain?”
“It is better, Atarena. It may take a while to heal. I am glad to be away from that place”
I described my ordeal in detail, from the moment I had been captured at the wood pile at the cliffs
to Amara’s daring rescue. Atarena shook her head when I spoke about Bordith and the terrible treatment he had inflicted on me. I told about all my bad experiences with him and Tam-Rue, from the challenge with Mar to the river attack.
I had attracted an audience; everyone in the house had gathered around to hear my experiences. They cheered when they learned about how Amara and I had stabbed Tam-Rue and his companions in the river ambush.
Amara had already been a hero among her people. Now I was also being hailed as a hero. It was a glorious feeling to be admired and applauded like this.
When I finished speaking many villagers started conversations about their own experiences with the Umbunti. They had been victims of a surprise attack in the early morning before sunrise. Their defenses had been overwhelmed by a two-pronged assault across the wide-open grasslands. Villagers were forced to flee with only a bag or two on their backs. They had been terrified as they ran for their lives.
The Umbunti successfully cut off the retreat to the long houses. Warriors from my village came and joined forces in the fight. The remaining villagers cut off from the retreat to the long houses were taken to the cliffs.
I listened to their accounts, and I learned that some of the River Village people had not made it out. They had been taken captive. The call for a rescue was adamant. One rescue attempt had already failed. It was reported that they were being held in a camp down the river.
Amara looked concerned. “We need to send out another search party now, before it’s too late! These are defenseless women and children and we need to help them.”
Orisa, a tribal elder, immediately spoke up about Amara’s proposal. “We have not many warriors to spare. Most have gone to fight alongside the Cliff Village warriors; the rest are stationed around our area for our protection.”
The Wings of Creation Page 6
