T Southwell - Children of Another God

"Well, I doubt he'll stay now that you have all of us around you."

Talsy doubted it too, and experienced a pang of sadness. Chanter returned, clad in his new clothes, and stayed in the camp until dark, when Talsy was installed in her shack. He paced around the cramped interior before settling by the door when she lay down on the mattress.

Talsy woke alone, but, as she sat down to breakfast with Sheera and Kieran, Chanter returned in the shape of an eagle and transformed. He consumed the humble porridge hungrily, then took her arm and led her away from the camp. In the forest's quiet, he perched on a log and looked up at her.

"You have a job to do."

Talsy settled on the ground at his feet. "I do?"

He nodded. "You must tell these people to find, or build a ship in which to travel to the western continent."

"Why?"

"We have to get to the gathering."

"What's that?"

"You'll see,” Chanter said. “We'll need a big ship to carry a hundred and fifty people, although by the time we leave, there may be more or less."

"Why are you being so mysterious?"

He smiled. "I don't have all the answers; I just know we must go."

Talsy toyed with a leaf skeleton. "To build a ship, we'll need wood, and that means felling trees. Also, it will take time."

"I know. Last night I went to the harbour up the coast, but there are no big ships there. I'll search further afield, but I'll be gone awhile. If we have to build one, I'll speak to the Kuran of this forest, and she will give me trees."

She glanced around at the sun-dappled forest. "There's a Kuran here?"

"Yes, but she's not angry like the one near Jishan. Truemen have only taken a few of her trees."

"How long will you be gone?"

"A few days," he said. "You'll be safe with these people. They have no reason to harm you."

"So what must I tell them?"

"That they must gather the things they'll need to build a ship, other than wood. Canvas, rope, whatever. It will be needed to repair any ship I find, anyway."

He rose to his feet, and impulsively she hugged him. He patted her back until she released him and stepped back to gaze into his eyes.

"Don't be long."

Chanter smiled and walked away to spring into the air. With a rush of wind he vanished, and a daltar eagle rose into the sky on powerful wing strokes.

When Talsy told Sheera of Chanter's plans, she called a meeting of her peers, and the word soon spread. Talsy missed Chanter, and several times caught Kieran’s dark gaze upon her, which she found unnerving. The following day, a party of men went to the ruined town up the coast and returned with rope and canvas, copper nails and tar.

Nobody objected to the Mujar's plans, and the chosen set to work making sails and rigging. Kieran went hunting and brought Sheera a buck for her stew pot, then vanished the next day. The old seeress told Talsy that he had gone to find his sword. She was glad to escape his eyes, which seemed to dwell on her far too often, and spent her time making sails with the other women.

Talsy glanced up from the sail she sewed as Kieran sauntered into the camp with a long sword strapped to his hip. It complemented his black shirt, over which he now wore a sturdy leather jacket armoured with strips and studs of metal and lined with fur. Studded wristbands encircled his arms, and oddments of armour were tied here and there with leather thongs, each guarding a vulnerable spot.

His leather trousers were scuffed at the knees and seat, and a short cloak of strong black material, lined with crimson silk, hung from his broad shoulders. The outfit looked like it might have once been a soldier’s uniform that had been patched and added to over the years. He walked with more confidence, but his guilt at his failure to protect his people haunted his eyes afresh. Four days had passed since he had left to search for his weapon, and he looked tired, which made her think that the battleground must be quite far away. He went straight to Sheera's hut for a plate of stew, then vanished inside, presumably to sleep.

Two days later, six brawny men wandered into the camp. Although welcomed as chosen, they looked like a rough lot to Talsy, unshaven and dirty, carrying rusty swords and knives. They pitched ragged tents on the camp's outskirts and settled in, watching the young girls with lustful leers and the occasional coarse remark. Talsy sensed trouble brewing when they took wine skins from their packs.

As the strangers drank, they grew more sullen and beady-eyed, their coarse remarks becoming offensive. In response, the chosen found tasks that took them well away from the noisome group and their obnoxious comments. Talsy retreated to the beach with most of the women to aid with the sail making. Late in the afternoon, while she sat with several women and cursed Kieran scrutiny, which lingered upon her every so often, a piercing scream shattered the camp's peace.

Talsy leapt up and raced towards the sound, drawing her knife. The scream came from the outsiders' camp, where three of the men toyed with a young girl, laughing as they pulled at her clothes. Talsy attacked the nearest man, slicing his arm. He roared and turned on her, his grimy face mottled with rage. A backhand blow sent her sprawling with a surprised grunt, and he came after her, his expression murderous. A black sword blade brought him up short, and he stumbled back, his incredulous gaze meeting Kieran’s lofty glower. The girl still struggled with the other two louts, and Talsy went after them.

Her knife gashed one man's chest, forcing him to release the girl, who wrenched free of the last thug and fled. Talsy brandished the knife at them.

"You're not chosen. You're imposters! Get out of our camp, right now!"

"We just wanted a bit of fun," one man said. "We meant no harm."

"You're scum!" Talsy shouted. "Mujar haters!"

The larger man's eyes glittered as he stepped forward. "What if we are? Who's gonna to make us leave, huh? You?" He sniggered. "Even the big fellow can't handle six of us."

Talsy glanced around. Kieran stood a few feet behind her, his sword dangling, his frosty gaze fixed on the ruffians. Beyond him, the camp's few mature men looked scared and irresolute, not an iota of courage or fighting skill between them. She faced the brigands, who smirked, clearly expecting to have fun once they had despatched the only warrior who stood between them and their prizes.

She also doubted Kieran’s ability to win against all of them, and said, "We're protected by a Mujar. Leave now, or he'll send you screaming with your clothes on fire."

The men glanced around and hefted their weapons. The other three joined them, and they conferred in hushed tones. Talsy marched towards them and flourished her knife, desperate to drive them away before they called her bluff.

"Go! Get out of here, you bastards!" she shouted.

Two men retreated towards their tents, casting many dark looks over their shoulders. Three remained, their sullen uncertainty swimming in wine. Its fumes had apparently reduced their brains to useless mush, rendering them incapable of rational thought. Egged on by the nudging and muttered insults of his comrades, one drew his sword.

"I'm going to gut you, Mujar bitch!" He advanced with staggering strides.

Something flashed past her, and a sword cut the air with a deadly swish. Blood pumped from the brigand's severed neck as his head went spinning. It bounced and rolled to her feet, and she stepped back from its eyes' glazed stare as the corpse collapsed, twitching and jerking. The two remaining ruffians tried to draw their swords, but Kieran sent one howling with a slashed arm and punched the other.

Footsteps made Talsy spin around as the fourth man lunged at her, his sword outstretched. She swayed aside, but the blade sliced into her flank. Kieran leapt at the thug and rammed his sword hilt-deep into the man's gut, the bloody blade emerging from his back. Kieran yanked it out, allowing the man to topple forward, then glared at the other two. They ran to join their companions, tearing down their tents and stuffing them willy-nilly into bags as they beat a hasty retreat. Talsy's legs turned to rubber, and she sank down in a heap. She crawled away from the dead man, shaking with shock. Kieran took her arm and pulled her to her feet, but she jerked free.