European Elk, Near Extinction and Disappeared from Much of Europe

Tor brought fresh fish to the party that ensued. Dupree and Conie had cleaned up the lodge quite well and had provided a well-prepared bedsite for Tor's return. They had been gathering medicines, herbs, spices, nuts and ripe fruit of all kinds with the help of the children. Some were drying. Some were being ground and separated from shaft and shells. A busy time of harvest.

By firelight, Conie had been teaching Cloe sewing skills and Dupree had been teaching the boys how to maintain hunting and harvesting tools that they would need to put in enough food for the winter. They kept their fires small because they needed to bring in a great deal of firewood for the winter months to come.

The loss of Cloe to that mysterious wasting disease she had caused them to cease their preparations for a day while they prepared her well and set her on a makeshift raft of what was left of boats and then on to her afterlife floating down the river. Dupree said what incantations he knew, but also knew that so much of their heritage was lost with the elders. He hoped it was enough for her to escape the wrath of the gods.

But all that was set aside as around the fire they ate well and Tor told of his solo trek all the way to the ocean and what he found, and sadly, didn't find. Dupree was especially full of questions. Many that Tor couldn't answer, except the other settlement that he found had also been destroyed and that the ravenous marauders had taken their boats to the other side of the river, apparently, to abandon them.

Dupree asked, "Do you think they are coming here?" Fear shown in his eyes.

"We will have to be ever watchful… Especially when down by the water… For they may be coming up on the other side of the river and see us on this bank from there or our fires burning. Letting them know that we are here before they pass."

"What can we do?" Dupree's eyes narrowed and darted back and forth in his fearful remembering.

"We must all have escape routes out of here and deep into the surrounding forest. I will show you and the children where you should run as soon as you see any of them before they see you. There are hiding places I can show you. We can put caches of food and bedding in those places. They will give up looking for us if they can't find us. I can divert them to follow me on Tsen. And then, I can easily outrun them, wear them out and possibly separate them. I'm not afraid to kill." The anger growing on his face in the firelight assured them all he would.

Thinking on it later, Tor had trouble falling asleep. Wishing that he had Cloe to distract him from those evil images that occasionally came back to haunt him. His ribs and leg hurt. They were nearly healed by now, but still itched mightily at times.

The morning dawned clear and bright, very warm for summer turning into fall. Right after a welcome gruel breakfast served by Conie, everyone was off to various duties with Tor taking the kids with him to the remaining wheat and wild oats. He showed them how to cut sheafs of the tall, golden grass, now laden with seedpods about to burst. Taking the handfuls and piling them into pyramid shaped stacks to dry in the hot sun.

And hot it was. By noon, they had cut most of what was growing fallow with no one to plant or till it like Tor had done with his mother in years past. But there was more than enough to carry them through the winter now that there were so few to feed. After eating some smoked fish at midday, Tor took the boys on an afternoon excursion.

"Come," Tor encouraged, "Thad and Alve, let me show you some escape routes out of here. And, by midafternoon I can show you two or three places where you can hide. As well as a treat that I'm not telling you about what it is until we get there."

Knowing that the boys would be on foot escaping, Tor led the two boys out of camp and into the forest that was recovering very quickly from all of the wood gathering over many notches of his youth before. The low brush that was growing was excellent cover for an escape of small people like small animals  thriving in the tangled shadows.

But the giant trees remained uncut and provided many places where the rotting holes and fallen timbers created hiding places where a small person could be completely out of sight. But Tor dared not have them use the ones too close to the encampment except in a dire situation where they couldn't run further.

There was a salt lick within walking distance of the encampment. Tor led the boys there because there was a hiding place there that also provided an opportunity for game because many animals were attracted to the salt that came naturally out of the ground from some mysterious source deep underground that they thanked the gods for.

Salt was good  for saving meat and flavoring all kinds of foods. This place served three purposes: hunting, hiding and food preservation and taste. Elders told them they needed salt because it came out of their bodies when they sweat. Salt needed to be restored. Salt was valuable for trading for other food and goods.

Before they left, Tor told Dupree they would not return that night, but would spend it out in the woods and would hopefully bring back salt and a kill or two the next day. Thad and Alve were excited about the hunt, but they didn't know what Tor also had in store for him.

Along the trail leading to and close to the salt lick, there was a jumble of ancient tree limbs and moss that had been felled by some ancient storm. Within, there was an ideal hiding place. Its entrance covered by bushes of a spiny type that discouraged entry. But in time of stress could be tolerated. Once inside, Thad yelled out, "Hey there is stuff inside here!"

"I know. That's why I brought you here. This place can be the den of bears during winter, and has been. But my clan has always stored implements, furs and other useful tools and weapons in the case of having to hide. Do you see any evidence that the cache has been disturbed?" He was just crawling into the small hole that led into the larger area underneath that could provide hiding for five people.

"No, everything looks great and covered over with a really nice elk fur. I could sleep on it!"

"You will tonight, we won't have time to make camp."

"Goody!" Alve squealed. He liked the idea of spending the night in this musty ancient rotting wood place out of any rain and wind. And a kid's adventure, to boot. Only they wouldn't be able to see the night sky.

"But we must move on. We'll come back tonight. Do not trample the bushes coming out. They must remain unspoiled not to reveal the entry. You may need it while I am gone." He didn't say it, but thought, my mother didn't hide here. No one did. He had hoped some had.

A little while later, they came to a high cliff coming down to the forest floor. Where the heavily traveled trail came out into an opening and the ground was white where water was bubbling out. The water had a pungent, salty taste. With knife or axe they could chip off the white crystal substance that tasted good.

They all set to work in the late afternoon on one of the hottest days they had experienced. It was interesting when the boys discovered that the salt they were chipping out tasted just like their sweat. They knew intuitively that their body needed it. "But not too much!" Tor cautioned them not to suck on too many pieces or they would have a very dry mouth and be very sick to their stomachs. "The sea, where I was, is all saltwater. You can't drink it."

When Tor felt they had gathered enough salt, it was time to show the boys something else. He took them along the cliff face. Two or three places there were crevices that led back in out of sight. These places, too, could be used for hiding. He told them that it was best, sometimes, to split up when being chased and hide in different places like this. "One of the best places, is just to climb an old tree high up into it where someone on the ground can't see you. Some spreading branches you can even sleep on."

The sun at that time of the day, setting with all of its heat against the rock face of the cliff was unbearable except in those cool clefts in the rock. Tor motioned for them to return to the salt lick where they would hunt before returning to their hidden cache where they would spend the night.

They returned to the salt lick cautiously, but there were no animals there. Instead, the bright blue sky above met rolling dark clouds coming rapidly over the cliff edge and darkening their world to nearly night. Why there were no animals? They were already hiding. Shin whimpered. Felt it, too. So did Tsen, his nostrils flaring, eyes twitching.

While they had heard some rumbling earlier, they made no mind of it. Now, the wind came up in whirlwinds with broken branches and leaves filtering down through the canopy where they were. Lightning streaked across the sky everywhere and lit up the darkened forest followed closely by sharp cracks of thunder splitting the sky and breaking off limbs of the old trees with ease. The gods were angry. Everyone ran for cover.

There was the sound of a missile cutting down through the limbs and the leaves leaving a trail of them fluttering down whipped by the wind. When that missile landed nearby it looked like a piece of salt but wasn't. It was ice and it was hail, something that they were unfamiliar with because it happened so infrequently. Was it the ice god of winter death arriving early?

That first missile was soon followed by hundreds and then thousands. Their size grew to the size of goose eggs and were starting to hurt with every hit. Tor encouraged the boys to run faster. Tsen's withers shook with every hit and he was obviously hurt as he whinnied and ran for cover, too.

Thad, running ahead of Tor, was suddenly hit in the head and he fell down. Tor scooped him up, threw him over his shoulder and ran on down the trail pelted heavily to the hiding spot where they all crawled in with Shin whimpering from the hits that he took in his attempt to guard the others of his pack.

After the hail covered the ground like snow in winter, it rained a heavy deluge. The wind, rain and lightning continued for some time with branches and even whole trees coming down to match those already there since ancient times in life's continual cycle of growth, death and decay. Fortunately, in their hideaway the foursome were safely dry in this natural enclosure of musty old decaying wood.

For all its violence, the storm did not last long. The warmth of evening crept back in and they were able to start a fire to cook their evening food before crawling back in, now mindless of covering the entry once more to sleep.

With the storm removing their scent, Tor aroused the two boys at first light and they snuck out to the salt lick to see what might be there. Happily, there was a huge male elk, unaware of their coming upon him welcoming Tsen, no threat until the coming rut. Tor quieted Shin and motioned for the boys to ready their bows and arrows.

It took seven arrows to bring the beast down. Tor fired three and each of the boys, two. He knew that he sent the heart shot that killed him, but he told Alve that he was the one that brought the beast down. The small boy swelled with pride. He would never forget his first kill. Tor knew that.

It took all morning for the three of them to carve up the mighty animal. The hide alone was a heavy load for Tsen to carry, so Tor stretched it out in the sun between two trees to dry. They would come back for it later.

By early afternoon, they gathered up some of the food and medicines they had foraged, the salt, left in disarray during the storm, some of the meat with Tsen carrying most of it, and headed back with their bounty to see how the encampment faired in the storm.

Copyright 2020 © Ronald W. Hull

11/10/20