Richard Tuttle - Web of Deceit

The shaman scratched his neck and paced around the room for some moments before returning to Bakhai.

“People do not learn to speak to animals just by being around them, Bakhai,” the shaman declared. “To be a talker is a gift, a talent that must be discovered and developed. It is only carried in certain bloodlines and all of those bloodlines are Qubari.”

“That can’t be so,” argued Bakhai. “I am not Qubari and have never been here in my life, yet I can talk to the animals. It must be something I learned from growing up with them.”

“Really?” queried Yltar. “Would you be surprised to know that the tyrik understood you? A species you have never see before in your life. The tyrik was about to cut you loose. The Qubari that were there had to rescind your request, because the tyrik would probably have killed you in the process of freeing you. Tyriks are not particularly gentle when they pry things off their web.”

“Why did they save us?” asked Bakhai. “From what you have told me, you are not going to let us go anyway. Wouldn’t it have been easier for them to just let us die there?”

“Very much so,” Yltar said. “Except they recognized you as a talker. They could not allow a talker to die, as all talkers are Qubari.”

“I am confused,” admitted Bakhai.

“I understand your confusion,” smiled Yltar. “You parents, Bakhai, were Qubari. What happened to them, I do not know, but I can guess that they died in those mountains you call home, and you didn’t die. Even more interesting is your development of the talent. Here talkers must undergo a ceremony to unlock their talent. Only the most talented have ever talked before the ceremony. You are a rare individual Bakhai. Welcome home.”

“You mean I am not to die?” asked Bakhai.

“You still must go before the council for judgment,” declared the shaman, “but I am sure you will be fine. There are some here who will greatly welcome your coming home.”

“What of my friends?” questioned Bakhai. “Mistake and Rejji are dear to me. Will they be allowed to go free?”

“That is for the council to decide,” replied Yltar. “I would not get your hopes up for your friends. Trespassing is the most serious of offenses. Get some rest so you are refreshed when you are brought before the council.”

Bakhai waited for the shaman to leave and then reclined and closed his eyes. The shaman’s revelations whirled through his mind, but exhaustion claimed him quickly and he fell asleep.

Noise awakened Bakhai and he bolted upright.

“I am sorry to disturb your rest,” smiled Mobi, “but the council awaits you. Make yourself ready and I will return shortly.”

Bakhai nodded and stretched. He washed in the basin and looked out the window. He shook his head as he saw the first rays of the sun shining around the pyramid. The door opened and Mobi walked in.

“How can the sun be rising?” Bakhai asked. “It was higher in the sky when I went to sleep.”

“You and you friends have slept all day and all night,” grinned Mobi. “You because of your treatment for the paran poison and your friends because of the lygrim fruit they required to reach here. You should be well rested. Come, the council waits.”

Mobi led Bakhai through the building to an open courtyard in its center. At one end of the courtyard was a long table and four elderly men sat behind it. Bakhai recognized Yltar as one of the men. In front of the table were three chairs. Rejji and Mistake sat in two of the chairs and Bakhai was instructed to sit in the third. As soon as Bakhai sat, the man sitting next to the shaman stood.

“I am Dumo, chief of the Qubari,” he announced. “The other council members are Pulom, Yltar, and Anderal. You are here because you have trespassed upon sacred grounds. The penalty for this trespass is death. What do you have to say for yourselves?”

Dumo sat and looked at the Fakarans. Rejji looked at his two friends and stood. “Chief Dumo, council members,” nodded Rejji. “I am not familiar with your laws, but I can assure this council that we have no ill intent in visiting your lands. Our purpose for being here is to safely complete a journey to the Bone Mountains in search of the Sage of the Mountain. We would have preferred not to enter the jungle at all, but our lives were at stake. The Jiadin seek to murder us for reasons unknown to us. They were nearly upon us when we entered the jungle. Still our intent at that point was to hug the edge of the jungle until we could safely exit it again. I fear we got lost in that attempt.”

Rejji waited for some reaction to his statements, but saw none forthcoming so he continued, “As for trespassing on your lands, I must say that I have never heard of the Qubari before, and certainly not your laws that forbid trespass. Now that I am aware of you and your laws, I beg your forgiveness and ask permission to complete our journey.”

There was still no response and Rejji sat down. The council members looked at each of the Fakarans in turn and appeared to waiting for something to happen. Finally, Chief Dumo rose again.

“I have heard the statement of the one called Rejji,” he declared. “What of the others? Have you nothing to say?”

Yltar was staring at Bakhai, but Bakhai sat with his head down and said nothing. Rejji nudged Mistake and finally she rose.

“I am Mistake,” she began nervously. “What Rejji says is all true. We are not interested in being here and don’t want anything from you. We just want to continue our journey.”

Mistake sat back down and Rejji nudged Bakhai who just shook his head and refused to stand. Rejji nudged him again and finally Bakhai stood and looked Yltar in the eye.

“I am Bakhai,” he declared. “I agree with what my friends have said and ask permission to complete our journey.”

Bakhai sat down and whispers began flowing among the council members. Finally, Chief Dumo stood again.

“Bakhai,” he asked, “do you not remember the conversation you had with our head shaman?”

Bakhai just nodded and Rejji saw the displeasure on the chief’s face so he elbowed Bakhai. Bakhai grudgingly stood and faced the chief.

“I do remember the conversation very well,” Bakhai stated. “I understand the possible results of this council’s actions, both on me and on my friends. I am being put in the position of seeking gain for myself at the expense of my friends. I cannot and will not accept that. I know these two people very well and count myself lucky to have such friends. I have never had such friends before in my life. If you are wishing for me to beg for my life while you kill Rejji and Mistake, then you are wasting your time. If you are to set them free, I intend to go with them. If you kill them, I expect to die with them, because I would not want to be a part of a civilization that would end the lives of such fine people.”

Bakhai sat and Rejji cringed when he saw the expressions of the council members. They clearly were not happy with Bakhai’s speech. Dumo, in particular, was angry. Rejji could see the fury in the old man’s face.

“You think our civilization horrid, do you?” bellowed the chief. “At least we have law and order here. Less can be said of the civilization you have just come from. It is ruled by bandits who are the spawn of murderous invaders. They kill for sport and take what they want. Well they have tried to take what is in our care before and they have failed. They failed because we do not allow invaders to remain alive in our jungle. You act as if your lives are more important than our laws and I cannot allow that attitude to go unpunished. If that means that Bakhai must die with the rest then so be it.”

While Chief Dumo’s face burned with rage as he delivered his speech, Yltar’s face was one of profound sadness. Mistake rose so swiftly that the guards lowered their spears to protect the council, but she made no move towards the table.