When they awoke the morning sun lit up the other side of the lake, where they were, still shadowed for nearly half a day with the mountains behind them. During a welcome bath after the ordeal in the mountains, Tor caught a large trout with his hands for their morning meal.

But first, they found the cache and stored what was left of the warm, but bloody and tattered, furs there. Not knowing if they would need to be used again. Certainly not a Thal raiding party, Tor thought sadly as he replaced the rocks carefully.

While they were eating the fish, Tor felt that he needed to tell Shea what was coming ahead. He pointed across Lake Geneve.

"Directly across the lake, can you see that spot where there are fewer trees? I think I see smoke. That is a clan of strange people. They are from clans deep in the mountains and around the lake, but had been shunned for being strange and therefore evil spirits of the gods."

"What do you mean by strange?"

"Some of them have very light skin, white hair and pink eyes. You would think they were evil sprites of the gods, but they are really beautiful, kind people. Albinos, they call themselves. And there are the small people. Very resourceful but very short. And the disfigured ones that are hard to look at, but are people, too. Some cannot hear. Some cannot see. Some cannot walk, crawl instead."

"I have seen these people at our clan. Our elders would always banish them for fear that the gods had sent them as evil to enter and destroy us. They would not tolerate them, even though some were beautiful babies. But when evil came, it was not from those strange ones…" Shea sighed, remembering the way her clan at the source of the Rine really was.

"Two very short brothers, the Bandors, paddled me across the lake to here. But Tsen almost didn't make it. He is much stronger and a better swimmer now, but I don't think he will want to cross with us if we make a raft and try to sail across. There is no wind today. So we would have to paddle."

"Is there another way?"

"We can follow this trail around the end of the lake and then back down the other side. My father always took us that way and we avoided altogether the clan of the strange people. Maybe he was afraid. I recall we sacrificed some. But they were babies."

"Let's go that way. No use endangering Tsen. He's had enough danger for one trip already." She found herself laughing at what had been misfortune.

"It will take two cycles of the sun and it is late already today. Let's get packed and on the way."

This uninhabited part of the lake was filled with wildlife. They saw waterfowl as well as birds of the forest. Many small animals in the forest and some larger ones sleeping back in the trees before coming out to feed in the evening.

Midway to their destination, the sun finally reached them over the trees above their heads and the going got hot. It was much welcome after the mountains. Just when it was getting oppressively so and the sun was low in the sky they arrived at the end of the lake and a familiar campsite. One Tor's father had them stop where the view made it seem like the lake was endless to the east. Mountains on either side.

After they made shelter and got a fire going, Tor and Shea waited by a game trail and when a young, inexperienced boar came down to the lake to drink, they both sent their arrows into it and they had their first taste of pork and its belly fat for some time.

Sleeping even better with full bellies and more meat cut up to carry on their trek to the strange people, they once again awoke rather late. First, they had to cross a small stream. But an ancient tree had fallen across that stream and it made it easy for them to cross like the Thals always did. The memory lingered, melancholy, for a moment and then dissipated with thoughts of what was ahead. Silva, he thought. Should I tell her?

There was plenty of time, so when he felt it was right as they were walking along, he started to tell her.

"Up ahead, among the strange people, is a girl named Silva. She is one of the albinos. When I first saw her, I was enthralled with her strange beauty. And when I got to know her, I found her to be even more beautiful as a person."

"So, you are telling me this she because you miss her?"

"No, I told her that I was coming back like I told everyone when I left. She will expect me to be alone."

"I can see your problem. I will try to be nice to her."

"You always are. You are wonderful that way. Why I love you so much. But I'm afraid she's been carrying a love for me all this time that will make her jealous."

"Yes, it is a bad behavior, gods forbid."

They spoke no more of it and had to pick up the pace because they wanted to be in the strange people encampment before dark. But a chance encounter slowed them a bit. Up ahead, a red deer buck in velvet was drinking in the lake.

Tor immediately grabbed Shin and kept him from running ahead. He signaled to Shea to take the buck. She immediately grabbed her bow from her back, placed an arrow from her quiver in it and snuck along the shadows until she was close enough to shoot.

A well-placed arrow struck the deer in the sweet spot and a second arrow into its neck as he spun around and ran down the trail ahead of them. It wasn't very far before they found him, crumpled over and bleeding out.

They had little time, so they gutted him, took the best parts from the innards, the delicacies like the stomach contents, and then dragged him up over the top of Tsen, who gladly carried the weight for his master.

To lighten his load, quarters from the boar were tied to their packs and they once again hurried along the trail, glad that they had something to offer to the people they were going to soon see, even if it meant by moonlight.

Fortunately, before long, they smelled smoke from the campfires, Shin got excited from familiar smells, and they came into the camp virtually unannounced. But as soon as the strange people saw Tsen, there was a lot of joyous yelling and everyone came running out to welcome them like they were coming home.

Copyright 2021 © Ronald W. Hull

8/3/21