Both Tor and Shea were up before dawn and preparing their boat for launch. Shin was more excited than they were to get going. And even Tsen seemed eager to be underway, feeling the weight of the pack being placed on his back again. But Tia arrived much later than some of the others helping.

"I don't know if I want to go…" She declared upon arrival.

"What do you mean? Are you going or not?" Tor inquired.

"I love you two, and I love adventuring with you. You rescued me and you taught me so much that you're like my mother and father. But…"

"But what? Why don't you want to go with us and help me find my mother?"

"… Because… Because there are some men here that I've become fond of these last few days, changing my mind about things… And, you are coming back this fall, aren't you?"

"Yes, but we never know. The gods don't tell me what I will find. Are you talking about those boys you’ve been flirting with?"

"Yes, and they're not boys. They have been through a lot like you and I. I guess I'll stay then, if it's all right with Shea and you." Still hedging a bit.

"It's okay with me." Shea said pleasantly but thought, She's getting to be competition, especially since I may be infertile. Good riddance. Disguising her thoughts well with a happy smile.

With mixed feelings about losing his adopted daughter as his first child for such short duration, Tor was happy that Tia was happy here in this growing and prosperous, without him, clan. He had seen how some of the young men had been flirting with her. He would have liked to have some say in who she chose, but knew that it was really up to her and not to him, surrogate father, potential lover. It's best this way. He told himself in resignation.

The Rine had slowed a bit since they arrived, so the two of them paddling across, arrived at the north shoreline quite soon after leaving to an uproarious shouting sendoff from the congregation that had gathered on the south shoreline to wish them well on their journey.

There was no need to look around to see if Tsen was following. Smart horse that he was, he had entered the water as they launched and was outpacing them to reach the other side. Once there, he shook off the water like a dog and then began trotting along the trail there to keep up with them. When they stopped to get out of the midday sun for a while, eat and drink water, he was there to greet them and settled in, grazing.

The first two suns breadth were uneventful and they arrived at the first large tributary from the north at the end of the day. Following that, rather short, river upstream, they encountered a lot of game, fish and fowl. There was obviously no one hunting that region. Before long, they drifted back downstream and on the Rine, again.

On the fourth sun of their journey they came upon an abandoned campsite. It was all too familiar. Burned and ransacked so that there was nothing of value there anymore. They moved on quickly for three more suns that were blocked by clouds and rain, sometimes so heavy Tor could not bail out the boat quick enough and they had to pull up on shore to keep from sinking. But the maneuver was rather routine having done it before.

And there was the lightning that struck the water sometimes, killing fish or striking tall trees on the bank. During those times both of them were shouting incantations to the gods to stop the lightning from hitting them. With the gods grace they were not. But one night while in a camp, lightning struck the tree above them and it caught fire. 

Tor felt a powerful surge run through his body. His ears rang like a copper gong for sometime after, but he was unhurt.  Shea said she felt it, too.

And the wind, depending upon which way the wind was blowing, sometimes made it difficult to paddle, even though, for the most part, the current was stronger, enabling them to move quickly. Two more small tributaries and they reached the delta where they decided to take the rightmost branch to the sea Tor could already smell in the air and spot white seabirds in the sky, in the trees and on the river.

"Shea! Be on the lookout! Soon you'll be seeing strange creatures that you have never seen before. Do not fear them, for most are harmless. I know most of them from my trip here before, but I don't know them all. You can name them if you wish!"

"I will dear… So looking forward to it and to the sea that you have described so many times. Are there sea serpents that I hear about?"

"I didn't see any, but maybe we will. No one knows the secrets of the ocean that goes on forever. It's too dangerous to travel there. The gods forbid it… monsters!"

The first thing that Shea saw was not a creature from the sea, but smoke from a camp on their right bank ahead. They were approaching so fast and silently that no one there saw them, busily doing work around the camp. They looked peaceful enough, although Shin was starting to whimper and whine in nervous excitement.

"Shea, cover the bear skull on the bow. We don't want to alarm them. We are outnumbered. We should stay in the river and pass them by if they look dangerous. I'm sure that Tsen will disorient them if he goes galloping through."

Shea persuaded Shin to step down from his perch and placed the skin she had used to keep the sun off her on the skull and tied it down. But they were approaching fast and she had to get back to her bow and arrows as well as her paddle.

They both started waving and yelling greetings of hello in the Danis language they had picked up for just this purpose. The people in the encampment took notice of them and came down to the river bank where there were many boats and, much closer now, their huts were raised high off the ground as if to give them protection from intruders by having the height at their advantage.

But once again, there was no threat from the people on the bank. Instead, they were waving back and calling out in a language similar to those of the Danis but not quite the same. There was a good place to land by the other boats. Tor steered them directly to the shore where those on the sandy bank were all still waving, calling out and smiling. A very good sign.

Shin jumped off the boat while some of the men on the shore grabbed the front of the boat and pulled it up on the bank out of the water.

"I am Tor!” He both spoke loudly and motioned. His hand to his chest. “And this is my wife, Shea. We bring treasure and trade. Are you Danis?”

A tall, baldheaded man with a long white beard answered. "No, we are Belg. But we trade with them and know their language. They are many here on the delta. Who are you?"

By that time both of them were stepping out on the sandy bank and Shin was mingling among the crowd, eagerly sniffing and being petted. And there was a shriek of surprise and shock as Tsen came trotting into the crowd.

Alarmed, Tor waved his hands back-and-forth up high and yelled, in Thal, "Don't worry, he's my horse! He won't hurt anyone. Do you see my pack on his back that he's carrying for us?"

He ran through the crowd to Tsen, grabbing him around the head and putting his cheek close to Tsen's eye while patting him on his neck that was quivering under his touch. Tsen's tail was switching back-and-forth, glad to greet his master's embrace once again.

Like before, it was the young children who came forward first to touch Tsen's legs, and then, start petting him like a dog. Friends already.

Tor stepped away and approached the bald man again with his hand out. The bald man, likewise, reached out to Tor.

Speaking Danis again, he patted his chest and said, "I am a Thal, one of the last of my kind. I am seeking my mother who may have come this way. Her name is Nila. Do you know her?"

The man patted his chest in response while all around watched. "I am Borg, leader of the Belg. You are welcome in our camp for as long as you wish to stay."

Tor asked again, fearing he was misunderstood. "Do you know my mother, Nila?" He made a motion showing hair down his back to his waist with his own, dirty blonde, long hair."

"I know not of this Nila of whom you speak. Come let me show you around our camp. We can then sit down and see what you have to trade with us. I will order a celebration for later. You are indeed very welcome here. We love to trade and learn from people from far away." He chuckled as if knowing he would hear tall tales.

Tor went to the front of their boat and pulled off the skin over the great bear skull. There was a collective gasp from the audience. They knew they would hear great stories that night. Likewise, Tor was hoping that he would hear tales of sea serpents and other creatures that lived by the sea.

By that time, Shea was mingling with the women and had already started pulling some of the wares they brought with them from the boat for trading.

Copyright 2021 © Ronald W. Hull

6/29/21