With both of them hurting, they once again trudged along the trail along the river with bad thoughts of what the gods had done running through their minds. Tor had to do something. Thought he would tell her about what was ahead. Maybe, cheer her up.
"Soon, we will be coming to a gorge. There are people there who speak the language of the Po. They are fierce and resourceful, like your people."
"How is that?" Shea was in no mood to talk but she humored him reluctantly.
"They have depleted hunting and the terrain makes it difficult. They rely on fish from the river, like your people, but they do something more."
"What's that?"
"They make people, like us, who pass through, pay a toll."
"What's that?"
"If we don't have something to give them, they will threaten to kill us and then, take everything we have."
"These aren't very nice people. And what do we have to give them?"
"Oh, they are very nice people. But you have to get to know them. They mostly need food, meat. We will supply them from the good hunting just ahead."
"You are very good at hunting. But not as good as me." She finally started to smile.
He was going to tell her more, but thought better of it, remembering… This is where I got Shin. Maybe I can get another pup. Surprise her.
At their next camp, they stopped early, because there was a stream coming down from the cliffs far above on the left and Tor knew of the place. Following the stream to where it came off the cliff above in a waterfall, there was a beautiful lagoon directly below that immediately reminded Shea of her home. She started to cry.
Tor put his finger to his lips in the universal sign to be quiet, and he let Tsen go forward into the open area where he could drink from the water and graze in the meadow.
The evening sun was slanting in on the scene, butterflies were floating in the air, along with many insects that were smaller but were lit up when the sun touched them. It was a magical place just to sit and watch.
What Tor expected started to happen almost as soon as they settled in behind some bushes, hugging one another and waiting. Small creatures and birds from the forest came to the water to drink and play in the last sunset rays before dark and they would have to return to their hideouts from the predators of the night.
Soon, deer arrived. But, as Tor remembered, it was something bigger he was hoping for. They waited longer.
Patience was the hallmark of good hunting. And then it happened, there was a movement in the trees, and a bull elk in velvet emerged to the waters edge where he took a drink and then began grazing along with Tsen. It was a long way until rut, so his mood was docile. He probably thought of Tsen as just another elk.
When he grazed within range, both Tor and Shea let two arrows each fly in rapid succession. The great beast stumbled a bit, wondering what was happening and why he was hurt, and then started off towards the trees again, but fell down to his knees before he got there. Tor rushed there and cut his throat before he could get up and go again. They held a drinking skin under the blood gushing out and filled it.
Having their fill of blood, they needed the energy for the work they needed to do. There wasn't much time until dark, so they gutted the beast and took the best from its insides, the heart, the liver and other prized items like the contents of its stomach. Once that was done, Tor tied a rope around the elk's neck and horns. And then, using a rock tied to the rope, threw it up over a very strong limb from a mighty tree.
Tying the end of the rope to Tsen, the mighty horse pulled the animal high above the ground, out of the reach of bears and wolves. They retreated along the stream back to the river and camped there for the night. During the night they heard animals pass through and even the call of some wolves. But when the morning came and they snuck back to where they had tied off the elk, it still hung there, untouched.
They packed up, and by midday, they arrived at the canyon people cliff caves. Immediately, they were recognized and the youngsters, having heard of Tsen, came running to greet him laughing and shouting as they came.
Up ahead, waving from a ledge, Tor spotted Herod, and quickly climbed up to greet him with Shea right behind.
"I said that I would come back. This time I have my wife, Shea, with me." Tor’s mood changed quickly when he saw someone coming their way that he'd forgotten to tell her about.
"It's so good to see you. And what's this? The heart of an elk you're holding up to me, Shea? What a lovely treat. Where's the beast?"
"We have it hanging back along the trail. Much too heavy even with Tsen. We can take you to it at first light."
"And where is Shin? Why isn't he with you? Did that rascal run off?"
"No, Shin was the best dog I have ever known. Kept me out of a lot of trouble with his sharp nose and alertness. But, just back two cycles of the sun and the moon, where the trail gets narrow. You may know of it, we met a mother bear and he came too close to her. With one swipe of her claws, she opened his neck and he died in my arms." Tor choked up before he finished, trying to be manly about it rather than whimpering like a child.
"I'm sad to hear that. I so hoped to see what kind of dog he had become. But dog’s lives are short."
"We honored him with a funeral pyre of rocks a short distance down from that place by the trail. You can easily find it there." Tor had regained his composure, but another concern loomed.
Gretch came up behind her father carrying a baby at her breast and another naked boy who just started walking with her free hand. Childbearing had not made her beautiful. Tor had to say something.
"Gretch, so good to see you again. This is Shea, my wife. Are any of those little ones mine?"
"No, I prayed to the gods after you left. And I thought I was barren, until my husband Daren married me with dad's blessing. As you can see, we have two healthy children, a boy and a girl."
Tor was both disappointed and relieved. He reached out to the little boy and picked him up. But he kept his mouth shut. For now.
Once again, a celebration began and Shea shared with Gretch the last of their food from the sea. Some smoked octopus whose suction cups scared Gretch at first, but everyone enjoyed the strange taste and rubbery flesh of this "monster" from the sea. Particularly when Tor told the story about creatures like this that were large enough to cause huge round scars on great whales. Having a hard time convincing those listening the size of the whales that Shea and he had seen from their bones and tasting their meat, not fishy at all.
Trading went on until late and then, Herod, once again, gave Shea and Tor the same small shelter to sleep in for the night. When Gretch offered to join them, Shea could not refuse. Daren was considerably better looking than she. But she was the chief's daughter, and Shea understood what that meant.
At first light, a squadron of about 10 young men and women from the gorge people followed Shea and Tor back to where the elk was hanging. It didn't take long for the animal to be cut up into pieces that could be carried. The heavier ones tied to poles carried between two people. They made it back, just in time, to start another celebration cooking the meat on one hand and curing it on the other.
That next morning, Shea was sick. It wasn't from the celebration. She knew what it was. She confided in Tor, patting her taut stomach. Whispering in his ear so that Gretch would not hear…
"I think I'm going to have another baby."
Tor felt proud, but knew that he couldn't tell anyone. Eventually, she would show and everyone would know. He didn't want Gretch getting upset. It was obvious that the woman was madly in love with him, but she was married with children and would be, in the long run, happy with that.
As they got ready to leave, Herod came to send them off with a bag around his shoulder. When he got to them he reached into the bag and pulled out a puppy that started wiggling and trying to get out of his grasp.
"I know you have lost Shin, but perhaps you will take this boy puppy that I think might be the best of the litter as a replacement. What should we call him?"
Thinking about what he had called Shin, Tor thought for a moment and blurted, "Let's call him, Thin. He is certainly scrawnier than his ancestor." Everyone laughed.
Tor waited until they were out of sight of the camp so that Thin wouldn’t want to run back to his mother, and then he put him down to walk with them. It wasn't long before the little tyke got really tired, so Shea picked him up, found a little place in her pack to place him, and they were on their way again with only a mountain shortcut ahead before reaching the valley of the Po again.
Copyright 2021 © Ronald W. Hull
8/10/21
