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Saille Tales - the writing of Richard Sutton
Category:
Historical Fiction
Publisher: Smashwords for Saille Tales
ISBN-10: 1480271497
Type: Fiction
Pages: 155
Copyright: October 9, 2012
ISBN-13: 9781480271494
Price: $2.99 (eBook)
Troll tells the age-old story of where our fear of the others came from
At what point did humanity learn to fear each other? To hate? Paleo-Anthropologist Ariel Connor thinks she knows. She just can't prove it yet, but her newest find, high in a Norwegian Valley, may give her the proof she needs. Those scary stories we've told our children to keep them from roaming too far outside the gleam of the porch light may have come from real incidents, many, many years ago. While Dr. Connor's excavation continues, the story of what happened is slowly being revealed.
Two clans are converging on the remaining game lands. One will have to leave their homes, one will tell stories and sing songs of their own bravery. One people will disappear while another will bring their history into the modern world. One way of life will be lost, but does the better way endure? What have we learned from the ancients that would have been better forgotten?
Excerpt
It had been a long, difficult excavation. The removal of the rubble blocking the entrance had progressed much too slowly; and without any real value to what they had found inside, so far, many were losing their faith that their time had not been wasted. When Jen’s team had sent word that they had found something they couldn’t explain, it sparked hope again.
The last of the dusty excavation assistants squeezed into the narrow space remaining within the inner cave. The motion sent another blast of sooty smoke swirling among the already gathered group. Their sense of anxious anticipation was as pervasive as the sting of the smoke and the musty air. Their dig leader pushed into the waiting crowd.
“It’s the smoke from the torches – it’s making my eyes water… gimme a minute.”
“The electrics are getting pretty dim. Sorry about the smoke.”
Dr. Ariel Connor wrung the sweat from the bandana that had been keeping her hair off her forehead and wiped her face, then her eyes, gently, to remove some of the grime. She was running out of steam. She crawled up closer to where the light was throwing shadows on the stone wall. A protruding rock, jutting from the cave floor poked her shin as she settled down on her hands and knees.
“Shit! OK, Jens – I can see now. What did you find back here?”
Jens Eriksson, the excavation manager held his torch up to shine as much light as he could on the cleft in the cave’s face. Two burly, dig assistants from the University were sweeping away grime and dirt with short brushes. “Ariel, can you see that, alright?”
“Yes. It’s…” she hesitated, then reached out to lightly touch the dressed stone surface that extended out from the narrow fissure. “It’s carved, not a natural formation. There is… color beneath the carbonate crust, along with tool markings.”
“That’s what I got, too. Do you agree about it being pigmented – painted?”
“She brought her own torch closer to the surface. “Yes, a red pigment. It follows down the fissure, here.” She motioned for Jens’ torch to be brought lower as well. When it was descending towards the cleft, she raised her hand.
“Look – it’s darker at the bottom of the cleft.”
“Yes. I see that. It’s a pretty good likeness, isn’t it?”
Ariel, now on her hands and knees next to the rock wall, grinned. She moved back for a better view of the surface carving.
“Amazing.” She nodded her head, adding “It really confirms some of what I’ve been thinking, you know?” She motioned again for the light and pointed to the widest spot in the fissure, where the black depths within swallowed the light the torch could provide. “…but we’ll know more once we get inside.”
Jens agreed, but rubbing his chin replied, “That’s sure, but who could possibly fit?”
Ariel stood, brushing off her khakis. “A child will fit. How appropriate, don’t you think?”
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