A Big Shiny Blue Marble Ch. 55

When he rejoined them, they led him off to a different chamber a distance away from the hot spring. "We will spend the night here, since we know it to be fairly safe," the elf said, "We have slept here before and we can light a fire using some roots to burn. We still must be a little quiet. If you have been here for a long time as you say, you know that it is best to be as still as possible."

He nodded and when they got settled in the chamber, they started a small fire in little time and decided on a simple watch rotation. There were several ways into the large cavern, but only one of them was large enough to allow anything near to the size of one of them to pass through, so it was easy enough to guard against the sort of creatures which had attacked them earlier. One of them would always be a little distance off as overwatch while the others either ate and talked in very hushed tones if the third one was not asleep. Darji asked about water and they told him where there was a clean spring not far away.

He produced a pot and after filling his bottles, he pulled out some meat and cut it up after washing it as they stared. He threw it in the pot and carefully braised it. He tried not to laugh as they gaped when he added some water and then he took a plastic bag (which amazed them) and removed some dried vegetable pieces to toss them in as well. His companions looked at the pot, at him, and then at each other.

Finally, he carefully opened a little cardboard box and withdrew a cube of foil. Opening it with a flourish, since he liked the way that they seemed mesmerized by his actions, he crushed it and added the powder.

"What is that?" Bryth asked and he told her to sniff the pot, "It's called beef boullion. It's used for flavoring. The meat is what I have left from one of those lumbering rat things that I killed two days ago. With some time and maybe luck, it'll smell and taste like beef stew -- I hope."

They wrinkled their noses at it and Shey Lann announced that she wouldn't eat meat like that. Darji just shrugged, "More for me then."

But their noses and their hunger got the best of them in the end and they all pronounced it tasty when they'd tried a little. "I will take a little if you leave us some," Bryth said, "and Theyl says that it smells very good."

"I never thought to eat one of those creatures," Shey Lann said quietly.

"Well if you get hungry enough, you'll find that you can eat most anything," Darji said. "Since you guys all have some kind of bows, I'd suggest that you shoot them either in the inner corner of their left eye or behind and under either ear. You hit them there and they drop down dead right away without a sound. Hit them anywhere else and they shriek the place down before they die."

"But your weapons are so loud," the elf commented and he nodded a little sadly.

"I do it the hard way and I have to get really close to stick them with a blade in the ear."

When he had the chance of it, Darji paid attention and guessed that he understood Shey Lann's concern over food. He had far more than they did, so he made certain that he was free with it, getting up and walking to where Bryth and Theyl stood watch to give them the warm food that he'd planned to eat himself. They were both appreciative and he saw that they'd gone without a good meal for a while. He was hungry, but he thought that they likely felt it a bit more, but wouldn't have spoken of it to a newcomer.

"Have you not eaten?" Bryth asked, "We have not been guarding here long enough for you to have eaten much of anything and no matter what is said, we do not have enough between the three of us to make up a large meal for even one." She looked up at him then, "This was to be yours, was it not? Why give your food to us?"

He smiled a little, "Maybe I think that it's better used by you guys. I have some hardtack biscuits left. I'll gnaw on those and a little gravy."

She held up the plate that he'd brought her. "Please eat with us if you would. This is no palace. We want to share it with you. Shey Lann was right. You need more than us."

She stepped closer and before he could shake his head, she smiled, "I know what you would say. We will eat your magical food Darji, and we are thankful. But let us feel better by sharing at least a little."

He looked over at that point, "Magical food?"

"Yes," she smiled, "We did not think that you could make something so good to eat here where we are."

She backed up carefully then so that her back was to a wall. That was so no one could come at her from that direction. Once there, she beckoned to him and they stood together as she ate and he allowed her to offer him a spoonful now and then. After a couple of minutes, she made a clicking sound with her tongue and switched places with Theyl, who looked friendly but a little uncomfortable right next to Darji.

For his part, Darji tried to look as though he was trying to encourage Theyl so that shyness was not an issue. He sensed a little of it in the two fauns and though he liked the way that they looked like that, he didn't want it to get in the way. Theyl ate with him for a little while and then bowed a little before he brought Bryth back with the same sort of sound.

"Why doesn't Theyl speak? Can't he speak English?"

"He comes from far to the south and has not been here long. Until now, he had no need to learn your speech. You are the first human that he has been close to. He is from another Faun tribe and there are no humans there."

"I wanted to ask you something," Darji said, wondering just how to frame the question. When she nodded in encouragement, he was careful about it. "Why are you wearing that leather over the top half of you and yet there's really very little lower down? Are you missing the pieces, or ..."

She shook her head with a shy smile, "This is how it is to be worn by us. It covers me, but this piece, this ... "

"Strap," he volunteered with a smile and she nodded.

"This is narrow and can be opened right at the bottom as you have seen." She shrugged, "I am a female. To wear something like Shey Lann would mean that I would have trouble in a fight. See Theyl there," she pointed at her companion, "His is the same, but the strap is a little rounded to hold him better."

Darji didn't get it and she saw it in his face.

"Look at our feet," she said, "We can kick, you see?"

He got it then and nodded. She thanked him for the thought of the food and he went back to the fire where the elf was muttering to herself a little as she tried to scrub some dried blood from her long knife. When she looked up and saw his face, she shrugged, "I forgot to clean this when I bathed. Now I want the blood off the blade and I want the blade to eat with. I do not usually forget."

Darji reached into his pack and produced a couple of items that he'd retrieved from the body of an unfortunate along the way some months before. "Here, "he said, holding one of them up, "Use this."

He flipped off the retainer and with a few deft motions and a little clicking, he saw Shey Lann's eyes widen as he flipped open the knife. He handed it to her, "This is clean, except for maybe a bit of dust from being in my pack. You can have it. I found four in the pack of a man a while ago." He handed her another pair of them, "Please give these to Theyl and Bryth for me when you go there."

Shey Lann took the things with a little awe and she stared at the articles. Setting two down on her thigh, she swivelled the third open and closed, "What is this for?"

"Well if you were up a tree and you needed to cut something, but needed one hand to hold on, you could use this. It's not very long when it's folded and with a little practice, you can get to where you can open that up and use it all with one hand. I know them by three names, but I guess the best one is a balisong. It's also known as a butterfly knife."

"What is a butterfly?" She asked.

After hearing his explanation, she nodded, "We have them -- outside, but we use another name. My thanks for the gift."

"Don't expect too much from it, Shey Lann," he said cautiously, "I'm afraid these aren't of the best quality. I got them from a corpse and I couldn't even argue with him over it."

She asked him to show her how to open and close it with one hand, flinging it the way that he did. He showed her several times -- slowly, but she failed at it utterly.

He smiled, "You have the motions, but you're too fast. Remember that it was made for a human. I think that at our fastest, we're slower than you."

When she thought about it like that, she met with more success, almost getting it down, but it would still take her time to master the technique and be fluid at it. She stood up and went to give the other ones to Bryth and Theyl.

The fauns were very pleased and watched carefully as Shey Lann went through the wrist motions with exaggerated slowness. Bryth laughed a little and nodded when she saw how it was to be done. With her own lightning-fast motions, she opened and then closed the knife seemingly without effort. Theyl got it on his very first try and looked at her curiously. The elf stared and then strode away.

"Bah!" she muttered.

She sat with Darji working the knife slowly, "Why are you here?"

He shrugged, "I came to kill someone, because what she did -- and I don't know what it was exactly -- caused the death of my mother. I came for her and she admitted what she'd done, but never said just what it was. She seemed to have a lot of attitude for somebody facing the son of somebody that she'd harmed, so I listened to her and then I killed her. Anyway, I found out that the people all around there were terrified of all of the witches in those parts and they offered me a lot of money to kill the other ones, so I began to do that. But the witches led me down here and left me once I'd gotten lost.

Serves me right, I guess. I should have just called it done when I'd killed the one that I'd come for and gone home. Now I don't know where I am or how to get out."

"Do you hate these witches?" She asked, "Elves possess at least a little magic and almost all fauns have it as well."

Darji shook his head, "No, not really. I was just mad and upset over my mother's death. I don't know why it was done, other than maybe bad feelings over a love affair, I think. I just know what was used. What are you three doing here?"

"We are searching for something," Shey Lann said, "It is something that is needed by the Chancellor where we came from. I think that we are only chasing a legend. I do not think that it has been seen by anyone for more than a few hundred years."

"My mother was an archeologist, "Darji said, "and I used to help her a lot. Tell me about it. Maybe I know a little."

"You must ask Bryth," the elf said, "She knows what it is that we must seek. I am only here so that she did not go alone with her betrothed. They only met a very short time before we were sent. What is an ... archy-?"

He grinned, "Archeologists are people who study old things from long ago. My mother would have been in her glory to see this place -- whatever it is."

"Whatever this is," Shey Lann said with a bit of distaste, "it is a place of sudden death to most travelers."

"So those two are going to be married?" he asked.

Shey Lann shrugged, "How to explain something like this to --" she looked at him and then she smiled, "a human man?"

Her smile turned into a small grin when she saw Darji's smile.

"It is mostly politics," Shey Lann began, "Theyl is the youngest son of a Faun king far away. The match was made not long after Theyl was born and Bryth was only small, being a year or so older. It was done as a pledge of peace and aid, should a time and a need arise. It was also a way for a Faun king to be rid of the expense of having to keep a son fed who would never rule."

"What does Bryth have to do with it?" he asked and Shey Lann smiled.

"Bryth is the youngest daughter of the king of her tribe of course and as such, will never rule either, it is thought. They are not wed yet and try hard to learn of each other. At first, they did not like each other at all. He was from a less wild place and to the Faun here, he was only a weakling, whereas Bryth needed no guards wherever she went, loving adventure as she does.

Theyl came with two guards and he only knew the kind of fighting ability that is taught to princes who will never need to know how to fight. But after his protectors left to return home, he saw the worthlessness of his poor skills in an instant and has sought to learn things of value, so we both teach him. The only thing that he was good at when he came was the use of that small crossbow of his and with that, he is deadly. But he had no real ability beyond genteel sport with a blade, yet that is changing. Just traveling together and facing what we have faced here has made him into a more formidable fighter, though he still learns. Now, I can say that they like each other very much, but it is only the beginning of love for them. Also, there are other issues."

She rolled her eyes at the cavern ceiling above, "And those ones, I have no idea how to explain." She looked at Darji and saw that he was clearly fascinated and he said so, explaining that other than stories, there was no knowledge of either elves or fauns to humans where he was from.

"I risk my life to tell of this, "she said shaking her head, "but it is clear to me that you are not like most men that I have ever met." She drew a deep breath and let it out.

"Fine. Fauns might be said to be somewhat like goats." She looked at him closely for a moment, "There are goats known to humans where you are from, are there not?"

When he nodded, she went on, "I say somewhat, but they are also people, being bright and having hearts, after all. But to say that they are just like goats would be wrong. In some ways they are much more like urials or mouflons or, better still, a little like mountain sheep. In fact, their names for males and females are the same as would be used for sheep by them. There are ewes and rams. Their horns are roughly similar to mountain sheep, but there is no real connection between the two, even though fauns oftentimes keep urials and mouflons for their wool and sometimes for a bit of meat. That is another difference," Shey Lann said, "Sheep, goats and urials do not ever eat meat, while fauns can and do, having teeth like you or I and guts which can digest it just as we do.

Like elves -- and humans, "she looked over a little uncertainly then, but Darji nodded and gestured for her to continue, saying that she wasn't saying the word with distaste anymore so it didn't bother him now.

"Well, like us, fauns are social creatures and prefer to live together in groups, but they do not flock as sheep do. They live in dwellings and they tend to value their families and as one looks from the lowest to the highest among them, one can see that the families among the higher ones are called houses. Bryth comes from the highest house which rules the land around her settlement. She and I are close; both being females of the same house. We met while journeying and it is through her that I came to live among the Faun people."

Before Darji could ask, she saw the expression on his face and said only, "I am accepted by them for my skills at scouting and fighting and even better, I am liked -- which is something that I have never had. Bryth and I were almost related by my upcoming marriage into her family. I love her very much and owe her everything.

Much of the Faun social order is determined by the seasons of the ewes. Faun ewes come into season twice a year for about fifteen days each; once in the spring and once in the fall, almost all of them at once. They go by their hearts very much. A ewe who has no mate can become rather nasty to be around when she is in season, for she will take no mate at all then. I cannot say why, but if they have no mate by the start of their season, they seem to want to be alone and miserable then."

"What happens if a ewe like that is found by a ram who likes her?" Darji asked.

"Then he must surely be a fool, for to come near to her would be to ask to have his teeth kicked from his head. I understand your thinking, Darji, but remember that they are not like goats or sheep in this way. To rut with a ewe in season will almost surely produce a kid -- who was conceived in a moment of weakness in a ewe who will then have the burden of raising it alone. Ewes go by their hearts and the kid would be loved - possibly to starve along with its mother who would work herself to death trying to support her little family all alone. A ewe would prefer to be alone and miserable than to go through that.

A ewe who has a mate when she comes into season becomes very affectionate -- even more than usual toward her ram. During this time when all of the ewes are in season, there is no other mating going on in the whole settlement other than the rutting between pairs. There are no feasts until the ewes are out of season. A ewe who comes out of her season late will hide herself away until it is past and not attend any feast or High Days at all. A pair who can produce kids must decide if it is wanted then and if not, then the ram does anything to please his ewe but rut into her- if that is what was decided, and as hard as that can be for them to avoid doing anyway. Fauns love to rut. I do not know if this is in your legends and stories at all."

He shrugged, wishing now that he'd read more about fauns while he'd had the chance.

"Once the rut is past, ewes mate freely and often just as the rams do," the elf said, "but other than at feasts and celebrations, all fauns rut with their mates only. Remember what was said about their hearts." Shey Lann smiled a little then, "I suppose that it is the same with all females of all kinds," she smiled with a shrug, "once we have given our hearts ...

During the rest of the year, there are feasts fairly often -- and that is another thing that fauns love to do."

She grinned a little sheepishly, "And not only them. Such food and drink! More to eat and more wine to drink than you have ever seen in one place. Fauns might be in love with their mates very deeply, but when it is a High Day and the feasting begins, there is rutting going on for a long time after and they choose their partners on little more than desire and even a whim, though it is acceptable that anyone can refuse the advances of any other. No kids will come of these matings and it is seen as a way to enjoy others while not threatening what one has. Many couples use this to heighten their love, rutting like fiends with many partners until it is time to go home. Then one can appreciate what one has and even if it is not the best, you have had your fun before you went home and it is never long before the next feast.

Oh, and I should say that during the High feasts, many fauns can take partners of either sex. Most like or prefer the opposite kind and some prefer the same as they are for the quieter times of the year. During the many feasts, they can enjoy whatever they wish, though some do not take part at all and they are free to do so."

She looked at Darji, who appeared to be struggling a little with it.

"I don't mean to pry, Shey Lann," Darji said very cautiously, "and it's none of my business, but how does that fit with an elf? I thought that elves found their mates and stayed with them forever."

"You must have read of the high elves," she said, "There are many kinds and each is different. Most pair for life and some are a little looser, like some of your kind, I think. For me, I am the child of a male wood elf and a high elf maiden who let her guard down and drank too much. That is where all of my troubles came from, but that was not your question. Elf-girls are like human ones in their seasons. It comes to us often as it does for your women. If a feast falls at a time when I am not very fertile, I may take part. I usually do not."