There And Back Again

When he had finally reached his wagon he had dropped to the furs without even undressing. Laying there with one arm shielding his eyes he could not remember ever being this exhausted before in his life. He was to the point that he was too tired to sleep.



His thoughts ranged over the past few hands as he carefully searched and mapped a route for them back to the southern grounds. He had taken an Or of his men and had ridden vask in search of their usual path, which bore no resemblance to what it had looked like at one time. Some of the changes were subtle and might not have to come to the attention of a casual traveler, but to one that has traveled this route season after season, even the small changes stood out.



They continued on route right up to the point that they encountered the chasm that had opened in the lands on the trip north. There was no ice bridge to aid them in crossing it now, and he stood on the edge of it looking first across it before he finally allowed his gaze travel to travel down the far side of it to look into the depths of the abyss. It seemed almost bottomless, but he knew that was just an illusion. There was a bottom there, but it might have just kept going until the reached the core, as far as he and his people were concerned. There was no use to tarry here, they had to move on.



For a time they rode along the edge of it, hoping against hope to find a way to cross, but there was none. Finally he turned his kaiila back to the var and back tracked for the rest of the afternoon. That night, as with most nights, they camped out under a canopy of stars, building on the most meager of fires to eat their meat of dried meat by. He sat there for a long time, studying the sky, the placement of the moons and the stars to get his bearings. Taking out a rolled hide he made notes on it, drawing a rudimentary map of sorts. In the morning, they would bear towards the klim to see what that might tell him.



There were three main concerns. The first, was a route around the newly formed chasms and canyons, the second, a route that would provide game and grasses for the herds, and most importantly, water. They would need water in abundance. A point would come when their barrels would be empty, and without a stream, or a river, of a hard fall of rains, the going would get more difficult.



Each night, he sat, went over with his men the ground that they had covered on that day, and which way to turn next. Finally, after over a hand, he sent one of his swiftest riders back to report to Ba'atar that when the wagons began to move, to keep them moving to the cart until he heard back from him, and in no circumstances was he to travel due vask from where they would begin.



Two days later, they came upon a herd of tabuk. He ordered his men to only take down on large animal, that would have to feed them for the next few days. He did not want to decimate that small herd. Unless they were in migration, they should be in the same general area when the wagons came through, and his people could take down all they wanted. He had also noticed that the grasses began to grow thicker, higher, which was good, but there was still no sign of any appreciable water. Notes on this were made on the skin that night as he ate his share of the roasted tabuk, then finally lay out his ground sheet, propped his head on his saddle and tried to sleep.



The next day, he made the decision to turn back to the vask and continue his search. Late in the afternoon they were rewarded. He smelled it before he actually saw it. That sweet smell of water, or to him it was sweet. The kaiila began to pull at their reins, also catching the smell. They can go for many a day without food and water, but even they have their limits. They topped a small rise and there it was down below them. A small, serpentine river that flowed to the vask, They were almost like children as they rode into the water, laughing, splashing each other and drinking their fill of the sweetness of it. It was cool on the tongue, not one side of brackishness which led him to thing this was a good thing.



They camped there that night, and he made the decision to split his men. He gave Astin four of his remaining men, charging them to follow the river to see where it went, then to come back here and wait on him to return with the wagons. They would report to him, then he and Ba'atar would be able to plan their next move. He would take the rest and return in the direction that he hoped the wagons would be and would guide them to this place.



When they parted the next morning, long before the Central Fire was fully up over the horizon, there was much teasing, laughing, thumping of backs. With raiders from the other tribes, outlaws, wild sleens and larls, there were no assurances that they would ever see each other again, but that was the way of life on the plains. When they rode off, he did not even look back. For what use would it be?



He pushed his men and the kaiila hard, stopping only occasionally to eat and to rest the animals. He needed to get back and report. He needed to make sure his people were headed in the right direction. He needed to be home. This was a new feeling for him, the connection with people. For so long he had spent an almost hermit-like existence on the outskirts of the tribe, that this sudden desire to be among his people was a new experience to him. One that he found puzzling on one hand, but almost instinctual on the other.



Just like the water, he smelled them long before he came into sight of the fires. That unmistakable, musky smell of the bosk, that low roar of them moving around, milling against one another, doing what bosk do. Then there was the sound of outriders on patrol. Some sang to calm the animals, others shouted back and forth between themselves. They were all comforting sounds. Sounds of home.



As he approached, he was filled with pride when an Or of outriders rode out to challenge him, to find out what he was doing on Tuchuk lands. They were good men. Eventually he was allowed to pass and rode towards the circled wagons.


Home. Home with his people. It was a good thing.