“I probably would have been but Fellax and Teda came into the trading area. They started pointing at me and talking about ‘cast outs’. I’m sure the rest of the Aldans must be here somewhere and I think they are going to be big trouble for us. We should do our trading as soon as possible and get out of here!”
Pell and Tando brought Donte up to date on the events at the campsite. “Tonday came up to me on one of the side paths. She brought me up to date on the gossip in the Aldans. Denit killed a boy from another tribe after some minor insult. She says the boy was much smaller than Denit. Oh, spirits, he’s such an evil abombination! I’m sure he really did intend to kill you. And for what? Just… I don’t know. Why would he do these things?” Donte finished with a sob.
Despairingly, they agreed that they needed to get out of the River Fork area. The problem was that their spirit meat would not have much value until morning because its “preserving magic” would be unproven. They made plans to trade as much as they could in the early morning and then leave. In case something bad happened and they had to leave before morning, Donte took all of her salt and headed back to the trading area, intent on trading what she could before dark.
When Donte returned just before dark she reported threatening glances from other members of the Aldans that she had encountered at the market. Even her old friends had not really met her eyes when she had spoken to them. The three discussed these ominous signs through a tasteless meal of smoked meat and tubers, which they simply unpacked and ate without any attempt at special preparations. They continued verbally mulling their predicament with a general sense of futility until they fell asleep. From what had been said, or in some cases left unsaid, Donte suspected that Pont was blaming them for everything that went wrong in the Aldans. From bad luck to ill health, the three of them would somehow be the scapegoats or the root cause. They had all seen the healer do it before and therefore no one doubted that it was happening once Donte suggested it. Pell suspected that Pont’s habitual blame of the weak and the absent for any ill fortune served to keep anyone from blaming the healer himself. Whatever the cause, to have their old tribe in the area, so obviously meaning them ill will, comprised a serious misfortune. They were only three, after all, and if the Aldans had a mind to cause them trouble, a mere three would have little capacity to resist. They again resolved to do whatever trading they could for their spirit meat early in the morning, even if it meant trading before the best of the traders appeared and settling for poor bargains. But, by trading early perhaps they could get their trading done before many Aldans showed up in the trading area. Then they might get out of the area before a real conflict arose.
Then next morning Pell’s back was very sore from the wound that Denit had inflicted. Nonetheless, he and Tando headed for the trading area at first light while Donte, having finished trading her salt the day before, stayed behind to pack up and protect their little camp. They were disappointed but not surprised to find that no one was ready to trade that early. They sat down against the bole of one of the massive trees to wait, discussing their trade priorities in quiet voices.
The crippled flintworker was the first to arrive and begin setting up his wares. He looked up as they approached and said, “I’m not ready to begin trading yet.”
“We just want to look at your tools as you set them out.”
The cripple said nothing, getting out his wares and laying them out on the buffalo hide which served as his display area. The woman with the clothing arrived next but Tando and Pell had discussed the fact that they could not wait for her to make anything for them. Nonetheless, in order to keep the flintworker from guessing the intensity of their interest in his tools they went over to look at her display. Again, they endeavored not to evince much interest in her work.
The old hag arrived and Pell, hoping the girl would appear soon, went over to watch her set up while Tando went back to the flintworker’s area. The hag looked sharply at Pell, “You’re the one with the funny meat aren’t you?”
“Yes,” Pell said nervously, worrying that something had gone wrong. Had the meat spoiled or something?
“What spell do you use to make it keep like that?”
These words had an enormously calming effect on Pell. “Preparing the ‘spirit meat’ requires the help of the Spirit of the Spring,” he said, internally somewhat surprised that his voice came out without a tremor. The three of them had agreed the night before that their smoked meat magic should be attributed to something in their own area so that others would not be so likely to think that they could simply smoke meat for themselves. Pell had briefly argued that they should not try to keep such a secret, because the knowledge might help others to live through harsh winters. He had been persuaded finally by Tando’s constant reminders of just how badly their little tribe of three needed some strong trades on this day just to get themselves through the winter to come. Tando had argued that the others would probably figure out the secret for themselves soon enough from the meat’s smoky taste. In any case Tando pointed out that even Pell didn’t know if smoking worked if it wasn’t done in the “cave” at Cold Springs Ravine or, for that matter, without Pell and his “powers” nearby.
“Which Spring’s Spirit is this?” The hag accepted his claim, apparently without question.
“We live at Cold Spring Ravine and call on the Spirit of the Spring, who lives there, to bless our ‘spirit meat.’”
“Humph, well, I will trade you for some more. How much do you have and what medicines would you like in exchange?”
They settled down to haggling. The hag was getting the best of him, partly from her years of experience in bargaining and partly because of Pell’s mounting disorientation when the beautiful young girl arrived in the trading area. Looking over to where she was speaking to one of the other traders, Pell began to stutter and, try to control himself as he might, became unable to concentrate on his bargaining. The old woman smiled slyly when she recognized his distraction and more when she divined its source. She began driving her bargain even harder. This became even worse when the girl saw him bargaining with the old woman and came over to ask occasional questions about Pell’s “bonesetting.” As she helped the old woman wrap up powdered herb packets in broad flat leaves and tie them with thongs she asked him how many bones he had set and on what parts of the body. As he tried to explain that he considered the bonesettings to be merely a few lucky events, he stumbled over his wording and began to blush. Despite his tendency to minimize his accomplishments, she expressed admiration of his skill. Her compliments only resulted in Pell’s thoughts whirling further out of control. He tried to explain his trick for performing setting bones and how he thought it worked from his examinations of the rabbit’s broken leg but made a hash of the explanation. During his intermittent stammered attempts to explain, the two women nearly cleaned him out of spirit meat by convincing him to purchase several herbs he had had no thought of needing. Though the hag seemed amused by the entire episode she waxed enthusiastic about her new trove of preserved meat.
Pell, for his part, left wishing that he had a need for some more medications, and the spare spirit meat to trade for it, anything to stay near that girl longer.
When Pell finally wandered away from the medicine women’s area he traded much of the rest of his spirit meat for some of the braided leather ropes he had admired the day before. He found Tando haggling the last of his spirit meat for a fine spear point. Pell added the last few remnants of his own spirit meat to Tando’s to take the bargain over the top and they packed up to leave.
When they turned to go they found Pont standing in the path back to their campsite!
As they approached, the healer drew himself up to his full height, which, Pell was surprised to realize, was considerably less than Pell’s own height now. He began to mumble the incantations that he had always used to drive away evil. Pell and Tando skirted him and continued down the path, Pell’s ears flushing red and a spot itching between his shoulder blades.
Pont finished his chant with some shouted words about their “not being welcome” and “fleeing the area.”
Tando was angry. “How dare he state that ‘we aren’t welcome’? This isn’t his area to command! The trading area is supposed to open to all tribes.” At one point Tando stopped in the middle of the path, determined to go back to the market area and expound upon this concept to all who would listen. Pell talked him out of it; concerned that they should get away from the area before they had a more disastrous encounter than the one he had had with Denit the prior day.
However, when they arrived back at their little camp, they found Donte extremely agitated. She had one arm around Ginja, which was unusual enough for someone who had always feared the young wolf. It took a while to get her calmed down enough to explain what had happened but eventually she gasped out that Denit and Exen had come while they were gone. At first tentative and sullenly angry about his injured arm, Denit had gradually worked himself up to an enraged state. He began stomping about the campsite, claiming that he “was going to kill Pell,” making rude, suggestive remarks about Donte and gradually becoming more and more threatening. Exen, as before, had merely stood by, not egging him on, but not trying to talk sense into him either. As Denit became more and more agitated, he began to kick their gear around, spilling open some of their bundles. Donte fell to her knees, trying to salvage some herbs spilled out of one pack, and Denit had dropped down behind her, grasping her hips and rubbing obscenely against her buttocks. Donte had struggled to get away and succeeded once when his injured arm gave way but then Denit had overpowered her and wrestled her to the ground. Just when Donte had been sure he was going to succeed in raping her, Ginja had stalked out of the forest, bristling and snarling.
To Donte’s amazement and relief, Denit had bolted to his feet in terror. He and Exen had scuttled from the camp in full retreat. Ginja had sniffed around the camp and then come over to Donte, still emitting a low rumbling growl. Donte had lain fearfully as the wolf came closer and closer, then reached out to lick Donte’s face. Once Donte had regained control of her careening emotions she had hastily repacked. Since then, she had sat with her arms around her new friend the wolf, anxiously waiting for Tando and Pell to return so that she could get out of the area.
Tando flew into a rage and immediately set out to find Denit. For his part Pell’s emotions surged from furious to fearful and back. Denit, the pile of auroch’s scat, his life spared by Pell only yesterday, tries to rape Pell’s own mother today?! On the other hand, the Aldans could certainly destroy his entire little tribe of three if it wanted. Roley would surely want to annihilate them if Tando brought serious harm to Denit. Donte feared Roley’s wrath as well. She pled with Tando’s back as he stalked away and then turned her efforts to convincing Pell to stop Tando. She didn’t want to go after Tando herself. She didn’t want to leave Ginja.
Pell watched Tando’s retreating back disappear out of sight and then, finally spurred to action by Donte’s pleading, set out after Tando. Rather than running in his hunter’s lope, Tando stalked along in a towering rage, so that Pell caught up with him readily.
“Tando, come on back. Let’s get out of here before something even worse happens.”
“What, are you still afraid of that turd?”
“No, but I am afraid of what Roley and the whole tribe of Aldans will do to all three of us if you kill Denit!” Pell managed to make this statement without admitting, even to himself, that he actually feared Denit.
“I’m not going to kill Denit. I’m just going to teach him a lesson,” Tando said through clenched teeth. He did slow his pace a little though.
“Denit is afraid of the wolf. Tando, he won’t bother us any more.” Somehow, even as he spoke these words, Pell had a premonition that they were untrue. Nonetheless, Tando slowed even further and after a little more cajoling, Pell turned him about and got him headed back to where Donte waited.
Already nearly packed for travel, they quickly finished loading up and set out. Ginja trotted out of her usual hiding site in the bushes and soon was ranging cheerfully out in front of them as she usually did when Pell walked his snare lines. Pell meditated on the bizarre conjunction between this day with a brilliant blue sky and his own emotions, which raged in turmoil like a thunderstorm. His thoughts bounced about:
-from his own encounter with Denit,
-to Donte’s;
-from his confused but elated state around the medicine girl,
-to his daily trepidation that they might not survive the winter;
-from his newfound height,
-to Denit’s implacable strength;
-from his near death,
-to his friend Ginja who ranged happily ahead.
As the day passed peacefully, the tension slowly drained out of the three of them. Walking through mottled sunshine under the broken canopy of the forest amidst wispy swirls of breeze cheered them up. A few idle comments built up slowly into animated chatter about their dealings at the market. They excitedly discussed the items they had traded for and their desire to try them out.
Tando and Donte laughed at Pell when he described his trading venture with the old medicine hag. Tando immediately guessed the source of the distraction that had kept him from bargaining more successfully. He ventured that he found the beautiful young woman somewhat distracting himself, though “not enough to completely lose my head.” He chuckled some more.
Donte felt a little shiver on finding out that her son was excited about a girl at all. She wondered how much longer it might be before he found a mate. Overall, the three were quite pleased with the value they had gotten for their smoked meat and salt, especially in view of the rush they had been in to trade and get away from River Fork. They were sure they could have done better with more time to dicker and yet felt that they had achieved quite a high a rate of exchange. Certainly as high as they could have hoped for under the circumstances. Unless other tribes rapidly discovered the secret of smoked meat, this trip bade well for future trading trips.
They did more planning for their future. Further modifications of the cave were discussed as they walked, almost jauntily now, despite their burdens. Furs needed to be sewn together to make winter leggings, hats and cloaks. After trading away some smoked meat at River Fork, they needed to build back up their stock of smoked meat for winter. Also, they needed to find more grains and roots to store for winter. If Donte’s idea of drying fruit was successful in preserving it, it might help with some of the “meat only” sickness of late winter. It would be a huge advantage if they could discover ways to preserve all of the different varieties of foods from summer’s bounty ‘til winter’s dearth.
As they approached the Cold Springs campsite, they looked about for new gatherables that had ripened since they left. Not necessarily to gather now, as they were loaded from their trading, but to get on a return trip. They found a small meadow with several patches of ripening grain. They did stop to eat and collect some blueberries that had just begun to ripen. They carefully noted the locations of the lowbush berries and grain so that they could make a return visit.
Arriving back at the cave with bellies pleasantly full of sweet, tart, berries, they were pleased to see that the walls they had built to close off the cave were undisturbed. The entire structure fairly reeked of smoke, which probably accounted for the lack of animal intrusion as much as the strength of the barrier. They opened the smoke hole and the door then cleaned out the carnivore scat that they had scattered about. Despite the cleaning it stank so badly from the combination that they slept outside the first night. Fortunately, nature provided a beautiful, cloudless summer night for it.
The next day they spent cleaning up their campsite, gathering fresh bedding grasses and weaving storage baskets in which to organize their new supplies. Tando and Pell made an early morning run to set out fresh traplines and came back with some blackberries. Donte excitedly showed them some of the fruit she had set out to dry before they left. She had placed
it on the cliffside rocks above the cave, in the sun but under a loosely woven basket to keep the birds from getting to it. Berries had dried into small tough chewy objects that packed a lot of flavor. Bigger fruits had still tended to rot except where she had sliced them thinly like the spirit meat. Then the slices had frequently dried into leathery, but still edible, objects. Though difficult to chew, they were tangy and flavorful! Their excitement over the dried fruit was intense. Of course, doubt remained about whether the dried fruit would keep for months or not, but there was no doubt that they would now gather as much as they could, while the gathering was easy, and dry all that they couldn’t eat.
The next weeks passed in a blur, as it was the height of the best gathering time. They almost completely stopped trapping, putting out a few snares to keep them in fresh meat, but not smoking any except when the snares were unusually productive. They figured that they would be able to trap for a long time after the fruit stopped bearing. They spent the greater part of their days searching out the ripening fruit and grain and trying to harvest it before the birds did. In the evenings, they made loosely woven baskets and in the mornings set the fruit out to dry under loose baskets held down with rocks. After talking about “dried fruit” for days, Pell remembered how deep baskets full of grain had rotted over the winter. As he remembered it, the rot occurred in the middle and toward the bottom of the baskets. When asked, Donte confirmed this recollection. Pell remembered that the rotten grain had seemed wet and, with their new discovery that drying preserved food, suggested that wetness might be the culprit in rotting. After discussing the idea with growing excitement, they began making shallow, slightly loose baskets to store their dried fruit and grain in, hoping that the foodstuffs would stay drier and therefore last longer.
They didn’t fill the baskets completely and then stacked them in such a way that there would be spaces for air circulation between the shallow baskets. They couldn’t stack the shallow baskets very high and so were having difficulty storing the quantities of grain that they needed. They spoke of further enlarging their cave but then Tando dragged a broken treetop back to the cave. At first Pell and Donte couldn’t understand his idea but he simply demonstrated, using branches of the treetop that he had laid on its side, to hold a large basket. This large basket formed a sort of shelf on which more baskets could then be stacked. They opened their doorway somewhat larger and dragged the treetop inside. They chivvied and prodded it into place against the back wall, far from the fire, and trimmed the smaller branches to leave large ones in good locations. Then they stacked “basket shelves” up on it to great heights. They also found that if they left roots on their tubers and tied the roots of a group of them together with a thong, they could hang them in bunches from some of the smaller branches.
Bonesetter Page 14
