The duelist 7, p.23
The Duelist 7, page 23
At this, the elderly woman hopped off her stool again and limped her way to the door. She opened it, and I could faintly hear a hushed conversation from the other side of the door, but I couldn’t make out any words. If I had to guess, I would say it was something along the lines of telling my sometimes overly excited son to make sure to tone it down a bit.
Finally, prepared by the stern bat-woman, Rylan was allowed to come in.
“Hey, Ry,” I said with a smile when he just stood near the door with wide eyes and a pale face, and he shuffled on his feet in a nervous habit I hadn’t seen from him since he first came to stay with us and thought every little misstep would send him back out the door. “You can come closer, I’m not going to bite.”
“Are you really okay now?” he asked, and his eyes slid over to Madam Morta for confirmation like he’d asked her this question on several occasions.
“I’m not dead,” I said sarcastically and waved him over. “Now, get over here so I can do the ‘Dad Thing’ and make sure you’re alright.”
“Me?” he gasped in mock-outrage but walked over with a small grin anyway. “According to Madam Morta, you lost a lot of blood. Like a lot, a lot.”
“Tis true,” the bat-woman elder said as her ears swiveled in opposite directions. “I am still trying to figure out how you survived long enough to kill a herald demon.”
“Oh, I almost forgot,” I said and then cast my gaze around the room for the few personal effects I had on me.
“I’m afraid your clothes were totally ruined after everything,” Rylan began to explain as he dug around in his pockets for a few things. “But I managed to save the few things you had on you aside from the Stone around your neck.”
I was thrilled, of course, to see my responsible son taking it upon himself to guard the topaz-like herald core and, oddly, that silver bell from Vela. But the other object of importance Rylan took upon himself to safeguard was the calcified circlet I’d kept from my battle against one of the most fierce creatures on Terr Isle: the wirm.
After I battled the Graboid-looking motherfucker, I kicked it in the face and accidentally dislodged this circular ring of tough cartilage that had grown around one of the beast’s many eyes.
Because Amaya had gifted me her trinket-- which actually saved my life later-- I’d been on the lookout for something similar to give her ever since.
“Excellent work, Ry,” I said and then grinned up at him. “Hold on to those for now until I get some proper pants, but thanks for saving what you could. And Madam Morta, I’ll tell you my secret if you can tell me one thing.”
“You may ask, but I cannot guarantee an answer,” she said in her wily mysterious way.
“Do you think one of the Omish craftspeople could do something with this material?” I asked as I held up the calcified ring, and the strange pattern flashed under the orange glow stones similar to a tiger’s eye crystal.
The bat-woman squinted at the object in my hand, and given the confused expression on her face, I could tell this was not the question she’d been anticipating.
“You are a strange one, Alex Brightwood,” Morta said through a rusty chuckle. “And, of course, there are people in this village who could transform even the plainest materials into the most eye-catching works of art.”
“Can they make it useful as well as beautiful?” I asked as I slowly levered myself up with the help of Rylan.
“I’m sure that can be arranged,” she said. “Now, tell me how you cheated death with nearly all the blood on the outside of your body?”
“The secret is something called a goba nut, and I’m not exactly sure where to get more of them,” I revealed. “My lover was the one who gave it to me for emergencies, and it’s high time I paid her back with a trinket of her own. I’m guessing since I’m not getting out of here any time quickly, I might as well see what this place has to offer. Also, since I messed up the water collection, I would like to pay you back in tithes, if you have a tithe pool.”
“Let’s wait until you are fully replenished,” Morta said and hobbled to an armchair in the center of the room. She then grabbed the twisted branch leaning up against the armchair and used it as a sturdy cane as she thumped back to the door. She paused with her hand on the handle, and she glanced at me over her shoulder like the enigma she was. “For now, I must take you to the Okoba Leader. He has been wanting to meet you for some time.”
She then flung the double doors open, and I gasped at the dazzling sight that greeted me.
Chapter 19
“Woah,” I said from where I was sitting on the edge of my narrow sick bed.
Across from me, the two doors of my room were flung completely wide open until it looked like I was staring past a proscenium into outer space.
Since we were apparently inside a giant tree, the sudden image of glittering diamonds of all types of hue was not something I was expecting to see.
“You’ve got to check this place out, Dad,” Rylan said as he sat on the edge of the mattress next to me. Then he tugged my arm over the tops of his shoulders so he could help me stand, and together, we got to our feet.
It was a good thing he did this, too, because my strength wasn’t completely back yet, and my limbs felt a little stiff.
“Well, show me,” I instructed and pointed toward the open door.
“It seems as if the village is about to turn in for the night,” Madam Morta observed. “The evening is fast approaching, so we must go now if we want to catch the village leader.”
Without any further ado, the three of us made our way out into the corridor, and I got my first glimpse of how Arvid’s people lived their lives inside the trunks of these massive trees. I was a little uncomfortable in my partially-unclothed state, but no one seemed to bat an eye, and I soon lost any self-consciousness as I marveled at the sights around me.
For one, it seemed as if the current tree I found myself in was something of a modern marvel of architecture. I didn’t know if all of the trees were naturally hollow, or if it took the Omites time to carve out each painstaking tier, but whatever the case, they’d transformed the inside to resemble something more like a mini city inside of a tower.
Across from me was a wooden railing, and I walked right up to it so I could look over the side. Below me it was clear there were several levels, but when I looked up, I noticed there were even more above me.
The level we were currently on was almost at the halfway point of this giant tree, but I could see all the way down to the ground where a giant bonfire was blazing away. The fire, along with more of the rounded glow stones mounted all over the walls, gave the inside of the windowless tree the perpetual atmosphere of twilight, and some of the colors, though not as bright, flashed in their near glow-in-the-dark hue.
It reminded me a lot of the Lower Echelon of Terr where we were mostly traipsing through dense forests decorated with their bioluminescent patterns winking and blinking all around.
“Come,” the bat-woman ordered, and Rylan and I followed her surprisingly fast clip as she turned and started walking up the gentle slope. The incline wasn’t too steep, but within moments the elderly woman was already breathing hard.
“All of the levels are connected by this giant ramp,” Rylan said almost like a little tour guide as we trekked our way uphill.
“And how many times have you been up and down this thing in the past four days, hm?” I asked as I ruffled his disaster mop of hair. “And when was the last time you utilized a brush?”
“I’ve been all the way to the top and bottom twice!” he said, and it didn’t escape my notice that he conveniently chose not to answer my other question about the brush. “Did you know they keep that fire burning all the time?”
“I do now,” I commented, and I let my mind wander amidst his pleasant and factual chattering.
The ambient glow of the stones combined with the orange bonfire illuminating most of the tree reminded me that I still had no basis of time because the tree didn’t have any windows on the inside.
“Madam Morta,” I began as I took up stride next to the hobbling woman. “How can you even tell time without any windows?”
“I ask myself this multiple times a day,” she said and snagged a handful of something that looked like dates from a modest vendor along the way. “You would think, after all these seasons I’ve lived here, I would grow an internal timekeeper like they do, but alas, that has never been my fortune. But to answer your question, I at least know it should be early enough in the evening to be able to catch the sunset.”
“Is that where we’re headed now?” I asked her as we continued to spiral upward. “Somewhere outside where we can see the sun?”
According to her, I’d been cooped up in here for four and a half long days, and even though I was mostly incoherent and unconscious, my body could feel the effects of having to stay put in that small room. I felt restless, and even though the tree was huge, the lack of windows made me feel a little claustrophobic.
“We are indeed,” she replied and popped a date into her mouth. “Leader Elmer is often up near the canopy to greet every morning sunrise and every evening sunset. I figured you would like to see where you crash-landed while there’s still daylight left.”
“Oh, cool,” Rylan said in a tone that sounded vaguely nonchalant, but it sounded way too casual to be from my enthusiastic kid, so I glanced at him sideways. “That’s the one place I have yet to go, so it should be quite a sight.”
“That’s the ‘one’ place you haven’t gone yet?” I repeated his words, and I hoped my deadpan expression told him how unamused I was at his poking around. “We’ve got to work on your nosiness, especially when we’re considered guests. We are still considered guests, right? You’re not just leading us to your leader so he can throw us in jail?”
These last questions were directed toward the bat-woman, and she waddled to a stop for a moment and then turned to observe me from head to toe.
“Now who’s being suspicious?” She smirked.
“Honestly, if you knew the places I ended up getting into trouble, you would not be surprised at my suspicion,” I told her with a chuckle. “Besides, if you would have met the guy I did when I first got here, you would be just slightly concerned as well.”
“Leader Elmer and Ozrid are two very different men, and trust me when I say you have little to fear from either of them,” Morta said as she continued on.
I took her word for it after that and spent the rest of the walk silently admiring everything my eyes came in contact with.
After I shook off the claustrophobic feeling, I was able to properly soak in the marvel of architecture. There really was a whole bustling city on the inside of this tree, and I wondered if there were more tribes like this living in other trees.
When we all reached the top of the spiraling ramp, we were met with a series of staircases that branched off into several other staircases, which gave a good impression of that crazy mathematician MC Escher.
“The good news is all of those stairs lead outside, so you really cannot go wrong,” the bat-woman said as both Rylan and I craned our heads back to try and see the ends of some of the bigger staircases.
The stairs ascended toward the natural light pouring in through the big gaps between leaves that looked more like cellophane than they did any leaves I was used to.
“We could totally have a race to see whose staircase makes it to the top first,” Rylan said, and at Madam Morta’s stern look, I shook my head at him.
But when her back was turned again, I nudged Rylan playfully in the ribs.
“Later,” I whispered, and he grinned his megawatt smile.
“You will both do no such thing while I am on these stairs,” she called back to us without actually looking over her shoulder.
We shot each other panicked looks, and I’d momentarily forgotten the bat-woman’s large ears were for more than just show, so Rylan and I decided not to talk and save our breaths for the climb.
This turned out to be a good decision because it wasn’t just the Madam and her crooked gait that needed some help. I was also not wanting to push the fact I was actually up and walking on two feet instead of bedridden like I probably should be after crash-landing on this island with nothing to show for it.
Already my thighs and calves were burning as we ascended stair by stair, and I knew it would be another day or two before I felt fully back to normal. So, for now, I matched my pace with the elder of our group, and Rylan even offered to carry her piggyback-style when she started to fall behind.
She refused, of course, and it didn’t surprise me that she refused to sacrifice her pride just for a little help up the last twenty stairs or so. I hadn’t known her for very long, but it seemed pretty on par for the course.
When we all finally made it out onto one of the large branches at the top, I took a moment to draw as much fresh air into my lungs as I could.
The air was clean and fresh like right after a big rainstorm, and I blinked rapidly when a drop of water splashed onto the tip of my nose.
“Is it raining?” Rylan asked as he held his hand palm up. A few more little splashes hit his palm, and he looked up.
“It is the condensation that collects on the Okoba leaves from the evaporating mist,” Morta said, and then she led us to one of many interconnected rope bridges that spanned between the branches. “Come now, it seems as if Elmer has finished his meditation.”
I didn’t know what she was talking about at first, and it didn’t really help when she attempted to point out the mysterious Elmer, because all I saw was a tangle of more rope bridges.
It wasn’t until we were practically on top of it that I noticed there was a small colorful tent propped up on a branch close to the base of the trunk. Both flaps of the door were pinned so the entrance of the tent was open, and a dull red light was pouring out. This must have been a signal of some sort, because Madam Morta had no compunction about waltzing right in without knocking.
“When in Om,” I muttered under my breath, but I was too nervous to really appreciate the pun.
No matter what the bat-woman said about Arvid’s species, I still entered the tent with what I thought was a healthy dose of caution and tucked Rylan behind me. I’d seen first-hand and up close what the sloth-men were capable of, and the last thing I wanted to do was be caught even more unprepared than I already felt.
I’d maybe overworked my imagination just a tad prior, because when I finally did enter the tent, and my eyes adjusted to the sudden dimness, I was able to make out the old sloth-leader himself.
And old was an understatement. This guy looked like his birthday was the same date as dirt’s.
“Um, hello there, Leader Elmer,” I said with a little awkward bow to the shriveled man sitting in something that looked like a beanbag chair covered with a Turkish rug. “My name is Alex Brightwood, and I first wanted to say thank you for your unwarranted hospitality. I know caring for us was not something you could have anticipated, or were even obligated to do, and yet you and your people have done so anyway. You helped me save my son, and I am eternally grateful.”
The leader continued to smile, and he did a complex hand gesture directed at Madam Morta.
“Elmer would like me to translate for him because he knows your time works against you sometimes,” she said with a slight frown on her face that told me, despite her translation, the elder’s words didn’t make as much sense as she’d hoped.
“I’m willing to listen in any manner,” I clarified just in case these guys thought I had anywhere else to be currently.
I was just happy I was out of my sick room.
Elmer nodded again in that easygoing way that reminded me of Arvid, and I wondered how much of his traits were part of his subspecies and just a part of what made him Arvid. Either way, it was nice to see the similarity, even though it made me want to rush out of this epic treehouse in a bid to hasten my return to the airship.
The sloth-leader then moved his hands again in a way I recognized as some sort of shorthand combined with sign language, and I waited patiently for Morta to translate.
“There has been much talk of you, Ambassador Brightwood,” she said in lieu of him speaking with his own voice. “Are you aware your reputation precedes you?”
“From the moment I got to Aventoll, it has been a universal constant that news spreads quickly on the islands, and now apparently between the islands,” I said to him.
“Oh, yes, it is true, people will constantly surprise you at how predictable they are,” Elmer said through Morta. “But you are an individual who refuses to be anticipated or pinned down. Isn’t that right?”
“I suppose,” I said as I rubbed the back of my neck. “I’ve always been told I have issues with authority, and I’m the type who likes to play Devil’s Advocate just to be contrary. Is that what you mean?”
The sloth-man took a moment to chuckle in a slow rolling manner as he stuck his tall staff into the ground in front of him. He then got to his three-toed feet and hobbled closer to me.
Time apparently worked her magic even on a strong and hearty species such as the Okoba people and had worn down this man until he was reduced from what had to be an impressive height, all the way down to my size.
The severe curvature of his spine gave him a stooped over posture that was rounded and smooth almost like a river rock, but when I looked into Elmer’s face, his eyes seemed to hold a sharpness and wit usually common with youth.
“There is no knowing what I mean until you have discovered what I meant,” Elmer replied through Morta. “But don’t worry about that. It is clear you have more to concern yourself with than the ramblings of a much too old man. So, go ahead, my boy, ask me your first question even though it is not the question you really want to ask me.”
I blinked at the eccentric elder with a puzzled frown. He seemed just on the verge of senile when he spoke like that, but I kept returning to the sharpness I saw in the depths of his gaze that reminded me of his true intelligence.
