They were making good time and Tor sensed that they were close to Dupree's abandoned encampment. He didn't expect any of the marauders to have stayed around, so he didn't expect to find them.
But on the second day out, he spotted something in the water that he had to investigate. It was in an eddy and up against the bank, easy to reach. A beautifully crafted boat that had probably floated down in the stormy waters earlier. Tor steered Tsen off the trail and down to it.
The boat was empty but looked very river worthy. He thought a moment and then thought that perhaps, he could make better time on the water. And, give Tsen a break, a time to be wild once again. Tor's mind made up, he dismounted with a groan.
It didn't take him long to fashion a paddle of sorts from a willow growing nearby. Tor unloaded Tsen and placed the load in the boat in the middle front to offset his weight in the rear. Shin had been wandering around, looking for frogs and watching birds flying up and down the river. As soon as the boat was loaded, Tor called him and he immediately knew what to do and jumped into the front of the boat like an old sailor.
They were off. The river current being what it was carried them swiftly and soon they were making very good time with Tsen keeping up with them along the bank on the trail. Whenever the trail deviated and access to the river disappeared, Tor did not worry because as soon as the trail came back in view, so did Tsen. Always keeping an eye out for them and knowing them by their smell.
And as for smell, a little after the sun was past its zenith, the smell of death rose up to greet them. Gaggingly so. Tor knew he was approaching the encampment of Dupree and the other refugees. There had been just enough time for the bodies to start to reek.
Soon, a well-worn entry to the water appeared. Signaling where the Danis had kept their boats for fishing. None were there. Probably all taken by the marauders. Tor thought. He turned his thinking to the difficult task of surveying the encampment.
Climbing the bank he immediately saw bodies. They were everywhere, young and old. Flies flew up in whirlwinds from each body. Tor had never seen so many flies nor smelled anything like that. He fought throwing up and was glad that he hadn't eaten anything since leaving in the morning.
The destruction was complete. And it was obvious that if anyone else survived, they wouldn't be here. He called out loudly to see if anyone would answer, but all he heard was the groking ravens in the trees and twittering of other birds, waiting for him to leave so they could get back to the feast. Eyeballs first. Worms in stomach contents next.
Disgusted, first his people, and now those of DuPree, Tor vowed that if he ever found them, he would find a way to pick them off one by one. Or, if they were sleeping, kill as many as he could while they were. But if they left suns before, he doubted if he would ever catch up, unless they turned around and returned. Came back his way.
He found nothing worth taking back to Dupree. Perhaps he would find something returning in a year. Tor couldn't imagine rebuilding his clan without finding others. He decided it was time to do that and very soon got back in the boat heading downstream.
The river spread out into endless marsh lands. Tsen was soon swimming constantly to keep up, stopping only briefly on islands to grab a little grass before keeping Tor in sight. Finding an island with massive trees and higher ground, Tor stopped for the night. At one end of the island there was a rookery of storks. They camped on the other. Still the noise before they settled down made it difficult to sleep.
Before long the water became brackish, it tasted salty. Tor could only drink what fell in the boat when it rained or on the larger islands. There were strange fish… Very large strange fish in these waters. Especially on the bottom. Strange shaped shellfish and weird looking brightly colored plant life he didn't recognize. The largest fish were as long as his boat with glassy eyes that looked menacing like their teeth, meant for ripping flesh. Maybe these were some of the monsters that the elder spoke of. Swimming with them may be dangerous. He didn't try.
But Tor could see that living here could provide much food. The crabs were much larger and in different varieties. Other strange creatures and the many shellfish caught his eye. When it was really shallow, he grabbed some from the bottom. Tasting them that night over the campfire, he was very pleased with how they tasted. Better than fish. He caught some large flat fish with eyes only on one side easily by spearing them and began to smoke some to take back with him. But he had a long journey back and couldn't take all that he could easily catch.
Finally, ahead, all he could see was an endless water with white topped waves beyond. Even Tsen couldn't swim there with no place to rest and no grass to eat even if it grew well along the sandy shores. Tor had heard of that place, the sea, and wished that he could explore it more. But he heard the elders tell of monsters there. Storms, yet no water to drink. He may come back again someday, but instead, he started to paddle back upstream against the current with his load of dried fish. Shin was eager too, having lost sight of Tsen.
Tor was able to paddle the late summer calm waters of the delta and leave there with Tsen relocating them and following to each nightly camp. Days when the wind was favorable, he erected a crossbar of poles with a deerskin as a sail like he had seen the white skinned people use. Paddling with the wind pulling on those days, he made very good time. Before long, he saw on the other side of the river, many boats and paddled over to investigate.
The marauders had left the boats there and, once again, traveled up river in their killing and pillaging ways. Tor thought about following them, but he had to get back home for winter and he knew that following them would lead to a confrontation that he was unprepared to engage with those people back home depending upon him. What if they crossed again? He hoped not. They had left their boats.
There came a time when the current was too strong for him to paddle against it except in backwater eddies and Tor could no longer make time. He was getting close to the other destroyed encampment again anyway and thought that he would swing back through there one more time to see if he could find anything to take back to Dupree and the others.
Tor pulled the boat up on the bank one more time. This time, he dragged it for what he thought would be above the flood line and then pulled it back in some bushes so that it was not only out of sight, but would be hard to dislodge if there was a flood. Turned over and covered with moss, the boat nearly disappeared to the point where only he would be able to find it by familiar landmarks on the trail. He was thinking ahead. Never knew when he would be back and need a boat here again.
Just after they started on the trail again, Shin alerted to something and Tor thought he saw some unnatural color move in the brush. The leaves were just starting to turn, more dry than colored, and this color looked out of place.
As they approached closer, the brush wiggled more and Shin had a fun chase on his plate. Tor's leg nearly healed, he still used Tsen to chase creatures in the brush. These zigged and zagged like wild boar but were not as fast. Shin had one up against a tree and Tor soon had the other one caught in a thicket unable to run any farther panting and in great distress, crying.
It was two little girls about 9 and 10. They both were wailing and crying thinking they were going to die. With soft tones in his voice and using what he knew of the Danis dialect, Tor treated them to dried meat as they shivered and huddled, now together, in great fright.
The girls gladly took the meat. It was very obvious that they needed food and were starving. They were in worse shape than the others had been. Tor soon found out what their names were: Zan and Kyth. And that they were on the downriver side of camp when it was invaded, running away downriver while the others ran back in the brush and then headed upstream.
Near starvation from only eating some berries, mushrooms and nuts, Tor kept them in camp for two suns well beyond the smell and sight of the bodies until they regained their strength-- quickly, as little children are wont to do.
Zan was first to be charmed by Tsen. So she was first to ride on him. But not long after, Kyth cried out, "I want to, too!" Motioning that she wanted to join her friend, riding with no effort along the trail.
With his leg nearly mended and the girls riding on Tsen, it was only a few more suns before they saw the smoke from the lodge of Tor's family. They rush into camp and were greeted by Dupree and the others with great joy, clouded by the loss of Cloe. Dupree explained. "She grew sicker day by day. There was nothing we could do to make her feel better. The gods ordained it!" Cursed under his breath for fear of upsetting them on her course to the underworld.
Tor grieved, too, knowing that both the Thal and the Danis clans were worse for her loss. These girls were too young to know yet their part in replenishing both clans. If Dupree asked, he would not touch them.
Copyright 2020 © Ronald W.Hull
10/26/20
