Return to Eden

With his own death-stick held ready he ran back along the track to the sammad. Nadris was prodding a large, still form with his foot, the marag that they called spike-back.
    "What happened?" Herilak called out.
    "This thing came out of the trees, started towards the mastodons. I had to kill it."
    The tiny eyes were glazed in death. It was covered with armored plates and had rows of spikes down its sides and all along the length of its tail. It had been a good shot, the poisoned dart striking the creature on its mouth.
    "They are good to eat," Nadris said.
    "But hard to butcher," Herilak said. "If we turn it over we can take off the rear legs. But we will have to stop for the night soon so you don't have much time. Stay here and get started—I'll send Newasfar to help.
    Use his mastodon to carry the meat and be sure to leave before dark."
    They started forward, the mastodons rolling their eyes and trumpeting with fear when they passed the immense corpse. Herilak went ahead again, looking for a clearing where they could stop and build their fire. They would need dry wood, a lot of it, to cook all of the meat. It would spoil in the heat if they didn't, a waste.
    An animal trail crossed the larger track, angling off into the forest. He stopped to see if the trees were thinner here and something caught his attention; he bent and looked closer. It was a blaze on the treetrunk, a mark where a section of bark had been peeled away. Though it was partly grown over it had been done this season. And there, higher up, was a branch that had been broken and left to hang. This trail had been marked by Tanu.
    Merrith was leading her mastodon, the others following in line behind it, when she saw Herilak waiting on the track ahead. When she came close she saw that he was smiling, pointing into the forest towards the east.
    "I've found something, a marked path leading towards the shore. Marked more than once."
    "Could it be Kerrick?"
    "I don't know, but it is something, another sammad perhaps. If he is not there they may know of him.
    We'll stop here. You tell the others—I want to see where this trail goes."
    It was almost dark when Herilak came to the water and looked across at the island. Too dark to go on. He sniffed the air. Was there a trace of woodsmoke? He could not be sure. He would find out in the morning.
    They ate well that night, gorged themselves because there was far more meat here than they could possibly eat or preserve. Only old Fraken complained at the toughness of the meat, but this was because he had very few teeth left. The boy-without-a-name had to cut Fraken's food into small pieces for the old man, was ordered to do this before he ate himself. Though he did stick some of the pieces into his mouth when Fraken looked away. Herilak chewed the meat without thinking about it, wondering what he would find on the island in the morning. He lay awake a long time that night, slept restlessly, then awoke while there were still stars in the sky. He took some cold meat from the ashes of the fire and bit oft a piece, went to wake Hanath.
    "I want you to come with me. I'll need help crossing to the island."
    Morgil awoke when Herilak spoke. "What about me?" he asked.
    "Stay with the sammad. Smoke as much of the meat as you can. We'll be back as soon as we see if there are Tanu out there. If there is a sammad Hanath will come and tell you."
    It was a cool morning and they moved swiftly down the trail to the water's edge. Hanath lifted his head and sniffed the air.
    "Smoke," he said, pointing at the island. "Coming from over there."
    "I thought I smelled it last night—and look here, these marks. A raft or a boat has been pulled up onto the mud. There is someone on the island, there has to be."
    "How do we get across?"
    "The same way…"
    "See—something is moving over there, under the trees."
    Both hunters stood motionless and silent, peering at the shadows under the distant trees. A bough was pushed aside and someone emerged into the sunlight, then another.
    "A hunter and a boy," Hanath said.
    "Two boys, one big enough to be a hunter."
    Herilak cupped his hands before his mouth and called out an ululating cry. Both boys stopped and turned—then waved when they saw the hunters. Then they turned and disappeared back under the trees.
    Kerrick looked at them when the boys came running down the slope, shouting, so out of breath they could barely gasp out the words.
    "Hunters, two of them, over the water."
    "Were they Tanu?"