Chapter 68

I spoke to the Horse People that afternoon. I told them the truth, and I gave them their options of either staying and joining my tribe, or leaving and trying to make it on their own. I had already told this to Cadar, Kogar, Heget, and all the other hunters in the tribe. That afternoon I was speaking to the women and children in the tribe, and the few horse herd handlers that were left serving the community. I wanted them to hear the facts from my mouth, and to know they did have an option if they wanted to take it. I had no real desire to destroy them as a people, but the fact was that they were a dying people. With strong leadership they might survive and they might even recover over a number of generations, but they didn’t have strong leadership as they had three men who were afraid to lead. They’d been handed the opportunity when Gogra had killed Mondo, and each had refused the leadership of the tribe. They could have united together to lead the Horse People, but they hadn’t. They had instead first begged and then they had cajoled Gogra, telling him that he must lead. That single act had told me that if the Horse People were left to their own devices that they would cease to exist as a people. The merger of our tribe was my way of trying to save them. While Cadar, Kogar, and Heget didn’t appreciate my honesty, they didn’t protest the truth. The people of the tribe heard my words and when I was done, they chose. They chose life over the alternative. I was grateful for that as too many had died already and I didn’t want to witness more deaths, if I could possibly help it.

That night I sat in my normal spot at the communal hearth, with my people. I didn’t speak to them, but I did listen. They were talking about going home and seeing their families, and about returning to the settlement to start preparing for the next winter. I smiled at that. As I listened, I worked. I was back to whittling figurines.

“What are you carving, Jake,” Ruba asked as she sat down a few spots away from me on the left, squeezing her way in between Carmen and Nola.

“An elk,” I told Ruba, giving her a warm smile as I looked up from what I was doing and met her questioning gaze. “Just like the elk you have tattooed on your arm.”

Ruba smiled at that and glanced automatically towards the tattoo that was on her left upper arm. It was what she had chosen to represent her people when Maia had tattooed her, marking her once to the Plains People, and now of the Bear Tribe.

“It doesn’t look like an elk to me,” Burton muttered from where he was sitting next to me. “It looks like a bear.”

“It’s both,” I told him and the others who were listening in. “The figure will be both. Just wait and see.”

“But why are you carving both?” Ozmat asked hesitantly, joining in as the conversation lolled. “Is there a special reason, or are you just keeping busy?”

I smiled over at the young man, holding his gaze for a moment. He’d grown a lot in the brief time that I’d known him. The first time I’d meet him he’d been a boy trying to be a man, and now he was one. God, how quickly time flies?

“It’s a surprise,” I said in reply, turning my attention back to what I was working upon. “I’ll tell you when I’m done,” I added in a calm and friendly manner.

That seemed to satisfy Ozmat, and it seemed to satisfy the others around me. The conversation shifted. People asked Gort and the other two, Geeta and Sygor, about the Hilltop People and their new village and what life was like there. Gort answered what he could, with the help of Geeta. Sygor pitched in with a comment here and there, from time to time, and then the conversation shifted once again. It shifted to tomorrow and the hunt.

Everyone wanted to go, but as usual, not everyone could. People had to draw straws. In a way it made everything fair, although not everyone saw it that way, particularly since everyone knew I was going to make exceptions. My exceptions were Burton, Gort, and Tikál. I wanted Burton along to cover my back since part of the hunting party was going to be made up of hunters from the Horse People; and, if they accepted, hunters from the Hilltop tribe. I also wanted to give him a chance to cut loose and have some fun. The last few weeks had been hard on him as it had been hard on me, and he needed this outing just as much as I did. As for Gort, he was one of my best scouts and he had been born in this valley. I figured he deserved to come along with me and to have some fun too. I asked Tikál to join us to help him bond with the rest of my group. I’d already decided that the young hunter was coming to live at our settlement. In a manner of speaking, I saw potential in Tikál and I hoped that by showing the young man a little respect and favour, he’d make the transition to our way of doing things a lot easier than what I expected to happen with many of the other new members of our tribe. Only time would prove me right or wrong, but for now I figured I had nothing to lose by inviting him along.

As for the other hunters in our group, I ended up with Bogdi, Ozmat, Ohba, and Zahta. It was an interesting mix.

The next morning we rose with the dawn and prepared to ride out, while the central hearth was rekindled and a quick breakfast was made for us to eat. Once it was eaten, we mounted up, and after a brief word with Dunbar and Gogra who were staying behind to look after things, we departed.

We rode to the ford first and crossed it. Then we rode to the Horse People encampment. I’d sent word the night before to be prepared to ride just after dawn. To my grateful surprise I found that Cadar, and the others going with us, had heeded my word. Just as with my people, I had limited who would be hunting with us today. I had even made Cadar, Kogar, and Heget draw straws. I had no desire to have all three men bending my ear while I was actually out trying to forget that I was now leading a community that numbered over six hundred. Cadar had obviously won the draw.

Three other hunters from the encampment were coming along on the hunt, of which one of them was of interest to me. He was the young man that Tonko had intercepted on the path leading up to the top of the overhang. I’d spoken to Tonko about that as I’d noticed the restraint that he had used in stopping the young hunter from attacking me, and I had wondered why. I’d asked him that night over supper, and Tonko had admitted that he had once been friends with the rider. In fact, with much embarrassment, Tonko admitted that Rokat was mated to Tonko’s younger sister. He had gone out of the way in handling Rokat to ensure that his sister didn’t become a widow. Then Tonko had apologized for not acting more aggressively.

In turn, I had ended up reassuring Tonko that I wasn’t dissatisfied by how he’d responded during the incident. I had even told him that I was pleased that he’d found a way to stop Rokat without resulting in the young rider’s death. Gogra stepped in once I was finished speaking, as did both Burton and Dunbar, all three reassuring Tonko that he had acted honourably and certainly correctly as far as they were concerned. That had put an end to the discussion, and it had eased Tonko’s concerns. Now, two days later, it was just interesting to meet the young man who’d recently tried to kill me.

Rokat was a short, wiry youth who looked in some ways to be a boy. I knew he wasn’t, and that he was a mated sixteen year old, but when I saw him standing next to Gort who was taller than him, and more heavily built, the impression was there. Out of courtesy, I introduced myself to him. I even mentioned that I knew he was mated to Tonko’s sister which embarrassed the young man. Even so, when I offered the youth my forearm, he took it.

We rode east from the encampment. It was still early in the day, but because we had to travel far, I pushed everyone. We rode at a canter until we reached the upper ford, and then we crossed the water at a walk. The water was deep and I had to lift my feet to keep them from getting wet, and as promised by Gort and others who’d recently used the ford, the bed was solid and the horses had no problem crossing it. Once our party was across the water, Gort took up the lead, guiding us away from the ford and towards the southeast. He led us off the valley floor and into the tree-covered slopes that lined it. Within half an hour, riding at a trot, we rode into the new village of the Hilltop People. Zedak met us at the gate.

We didn’t stay very long in the village. Golan and Bolo came out to greet us, once word had been sent to them that we were there. We clasped forearms in friendship, and then Golan offered us the hospitality of his hearth. I told him that I would sit and sip tea with him for a few minutes, but that my intent was to go hunting that morning, and that my people were waiting upon me. It was a bit rude and I knew it, but I’d gotten to the point that I found myself not caring. I knew I should, but I just wanted to head off and enjoy myself that day, without having to listen once more to why moving south wasn’t a good idea. To my surprise, it didn’t happen. Once I was seated at Golan’s fire, and a drink had been handed to me, Golan quickly came to the point. He had spoken to his people yesterday upon his return. He had told them everything that I had told him, including the need to move south. He then told me the outcome of that conversation which as it turned out, his people were in agreement, and they all wished to join my tribe.

I was relieved to hear it. I thanked Golan for his fine effort on behalf of his people and mine, and reassured him that I was happy with his work. I even praised Bolo for ensuring that the spirits looked favourably on the union of our two tribes. I then suggested that Golan join us on the hunt. I also invited Zedak, Yolan, and finally Golan’s son, Bolan. The lad was thirteen years old and on the verge of manhood according to his culture. Gort had mentioned him to me as a possible addition to our settlement, and taking that as a hint to check the lad out, I included him in my choice of hunters. It certainly earned me brownie points with Golan, and possibly some forgiveness for being brusque with him earlier. My suggestion was quickly taken up, and the four Hilltop hunters were ready to go not too long after that.

The presence of Golan and his people did cause some concern. They didn’t ride and we still had some distance to travel to where I wanted to hunt. Fortunately we’d brought extra mounts with us to use as packhorses when the hunt was completed and we needed to drag back our kills. I suggested the men sit on the horses and hold on, while the riders leading the animals led them along behind us. With some reservation, it was agreed.

Our trek took us east for another five miles. We first rode back down into the valley and then headed along the southern shore of the lake. Once we hit the midway point of the lake, we turned inland again, and headed uphill and south. Eventually we reached that flat piece of land that we’d hunted upon once before, when we’d first lived in the valley. At this point we dismounted.

“All right people,” I called out once everyone had dismounted, and they’d all had a chance to stretch their legs. “It’s time for us to form up into hunting parties, so gather around and I’ll pick the hunting leaders. Once they’ve been picked, we’ll pick who will be going with them.”

There were no complaints, and in no time I had my hunt leaders picked out and people assigned to each man. My hunt leaders were Burton, Zedak, and myself.

I made certain that each hunting party included a mix of each tribe with someone in each group who could speak enough of the other hunters’ language to act as a translator. I ended up taking Cadar, Bolan, Tikál, and Rokat with me, in addition to Ozmat.

Our prey for the day was bear. I was hoping to bag at least one, if not one per hunting party, in an effort to cement in the minds of our ‘new’ members that the spirits favoured the merging of the three tribes. That was why we were where we were. My people knew this area because we’d hunted bear here before.

I led my party off along a forest shrouded track headed towards the southeast. I had my bow and quiver of arrows with me, and walked with an arrow nocked. I was also packing one of the .338 calibre hunting rifles, slung across my back. I’d prefer to kill our prey with a bow, but if the situation proved too dangerous, I’d fall back on the rifle. As for the others with me, they were armed with hunting spears and lances. The only one who wasn’t was Ozmat, who was armed with a bow like mine.

It didn’t take us long to find bear sign. There was plenty of it in the vicinity of the track we were following, although much of it was days old. That didn’t matter though. In fact, I found it encouraging. There was fresh mixed in with the old, and that implied that the track we were moving along was frequently used by at least one bear, if not more, as some of the sign suggested. It also meant that sooner or later we’d stumble across sign that was fresher than what we’d so far found and once we did, we’d track the brute to wherever it was hiding. Then we would bring the animal down.

The track we followed led us uphill for a while, towards the distant peaks that formed the backbone of the valley. The track broke out of the woods and dropped into a broad hollow. We entered it without reservation, although we all kept an eye out as we moved along, just in case a bear was hidden in the woods on the other side of the hollow. At the bottom of the depression we crossed a narrow stream, then paused to take a breath and to cast about for more sign. It was while standing there glancing about that I spotted fresh sign just upstream from where we were standing. It was a paw print in the muddy bank of the stream and it was a big one.

Embolden by our find we moved on, although at a slower pace so we could cast about looking for more sign, and so that we wouldn’t accidentally stumble on the bear without seeing it first. Our new path now took us upstream, along the flowing water, through the wide hollow towards a slight rise and then back into the forest. It took us only five minutes to reach the trees and once we had, we found more sign to follow.

The trail we followed was easy to spot even in the gloom of the heavily canopied forest. It followed the course of the stream uphill. We kept to it, as the undergrowth near it was almost absent, and travel was easy. Eventually the tracks we were following entered a broad, low ravine, through which the stream coursed. When we hit the ravine, I called a halt. For me it was a bit of a déjà vous.

I’d done this once before when I’d killed my first bear in the here and now, and had no intention of repeating it. It had been a narrow escape for me then, and I had no desire in exposing my companions to the same kind of excitement that I’d experienced then. I simply put my hand up halting everyone in their tracks and then pointed to Ozmat. I called him forward.

“I want you on the right side, leading Tikál and Bolan,” I told the young hunter. “I’ll take the left side with Cadar and Rokat. It’s a bit higher and I hope to be able to spot the bear first. Move slowly and keep your eyes open, and whatever you do, don’t go into the ravine. Trust me on that as it could prove deadly.”

I didn’t have to explain things twice to Ozmat. He grinned knowingly in response to my warning, and I knew that he had heard of my first bear hunt and how dangerous it had been. However, I did have to caution our other hunters and explain to them what we were going to do. Once I had, we moved off again.

We heard the bear before seeing it. The beast bellowed with indignation! To be truthful, I almost pissed myself in response. I know that Cadar did. I just pretended that I hadn’t noticed.

I couldn’t blame the man. We were stalking along the left side of the ravine, casting about for sign and keeping an eye out for any sudden movement. We were tense, on edge, and then suddenly, a bear bellowed at the top of its lungs. The first thought in my mind was where the fuck was the animal coming from, expecting to see it charging one of my people. It didn’t happen, but I’m sure every one of my party thought the same thing.

The bear bellowed a second time. That gave us direction, and once I was certain that everyone in my party was okay, we moved towards the sound. It didn’t take us long to find the beast and learn what the animal was bellowing about.

The ravine tapered off at the top of the rise we’d been climbing. When it did, we found ourselves standing on flat ground once more and staring out into an open glade, through which the stream that had formed the ravine, and which we had been following, flowed. In the centre of that glade was a pond, and beside that pond stood the bear. God it was a brute, and to be honest, it was a pissed off brute at that.

It was pissed off, because its midday meal had been disturbed. The bear was standing on its hind legs; snapping its jaws, snorting in annoyance, and every once in a while bellowing. It was standing over the remains of a deer that it had been feeding on, and it was guarding the dead animal against the intrusion of a second bear. The second bear was just as big, just as noisy, and it was clear that the animal wasn’t going to back off. It wanted the remains of the deer for itself.

The opportunity was too great not to snatch it up. I signalled to Ozmat over my throat mic. Thankfully, Burton had insisted we bring radios along with us. I told the young man to take his party along the right side of the glade, sticking to the tree-line, while I took my party to the left. We’d both focus on the defending bear first, attempting to drop it, before focusing on the other animal. He acknowledged that he understood, and then moved out.

I did the same, after pausing only long enough to explain to Cadar and Rokat what my plan was, and what I wanted them to do. They were to hang back and not get into the way as both men were only armed with hunting lances and for now my bow was the better weapon. If all went well with the first bear, I would let them try for the second. They acknowledged they understood, and then we were off.

It took only a minute or two to move into position. By then the second bear had moved closer to the first bear, and both animals were letting each other know just how they felt about each other. Once I was in place I let Ozmat know I was there. When he acknowledged that he was in position and ready as well; I rose up, took aim, and fired. A second later Ozmat did the same.

Both arrows struck home with mine hitting the bear in the chest, in line with the animal’s left lung. Ozmat’s arrow sank in from the right, striking the animal below the right forepaw and a bit back, but basically in line with the creature’s other lung. Both arrows pissed the animal off. It howled in indignation and then dropped to all fours so that it could glance about and see just where the new threat to it was hiding.

I didn’t bother giving the animal a chance to find out. Even as my first arrow sped away, I pulled another from my quiver and readied it for use. The moment the animal dropped to all fours, I drew back, aimed, and the second it glanced in my direction, I fired. This time my second arrow struck the beast in the head.

That was the kill shot as far as that bear was concerned. Ozmat put a second arrow into the animal’s right side, close to his first arrow. All three lung shots would have brought down the beast eventually. It would have either bled out, or drowned in its own blood, depending on the internal damage, but the arrow in the skull had put the bear’s lights out. It grunted in response, both to my strike and Ozmat’s and then it collapsed. At that point I turned my attention to the other bear.

That bear hadn’t ignored us. It had in fact paused in its progress, and like the first bear, it had rose up on its hind legs in an attempt to see over the brush lining the edges of the clearing, and most likely to intimidate whatever threat it perceived being there. It made itself into a perfect target.

“You first Cadar,” I told the man as I nocked another arrow to my bow string. “Take your best shot.”

The man hesitated for a second, flicking a quizzical glance in my direction, and then he moved. He quickly stepped out into the open of the glade, hefting his hunting lance as he did. The lance was more of a throwing weapon than a jabbing weapon. It was meant to be tossed at a fleeing prey from the back of a horse as it was light enough to be thrown like a javelin. The distance between us and the second bear wasn’t that much; fifty feet at best. Cadar threw and missed. I cursed softly under my breath and then told Rokat to do the same. As the young hunter stepped forward, the bear having spotted us, dropped to all fours.

That was when it was hit from the right. Tikál took his opportunity as the animal dropped to charge us. He stepped out into the open and threw his lance. It struck the bear in the side, sinking deep into the animal’s flesh. Then Bolan came out of the tree-line and did the same with his spear hitting the bear in the shoulder. Now that really pissed the brute off. It also distracted him. That allowed Rokat to throw as well.

The young man had a good arm. His lance struck the bear from the other side, sinking into the animal’s neck. The bear jerked with surprise at that, and then snorted with rage. It turned its head towards the far side of the glade, and then it glanced back towards where Cadar and Rokat were standing, both readying their second hunting lance to toss. In outrage, the bear rose up on its hind legs once again. At that I ordered Cadar and Rokat to attack once again.

This time Cadar struck the bear hitting it in the chest. Rokat and Tikál did the same. Bolan struck more to the side once again which didn’t really matter. By then the beast was dying and all that was needed was a single killing blow to finish it off. I told Ozmat to take the shot which he did. Putting his arrow into the bear’s heart.

That was it. The bear teetered for a moment and then it collapsed. Luckily the big animal crumpled towards its off side, instead of simply pitching forward. It spared everyone’s weapons, saving them for another day. We hadn’t been as lucky with the other bear as I’d lost another arrow.

“Okay,” I called out, glancing about as I did, taking in the two bears, and the fact that everyone in my party was still alive. “It’s time we collected our weapons, and then go get ourselves some horses. We’ve got a lot of meat here to process.”

I smiled at that, grinning with satisfaction at what we’d done. The men with me smiled back. Then we all got to work. While Ozmat and I went to the first bear to try and retrieve our arrows, the other four went to the second animal and they started claiming their weapons. I left them to it.

“A good hunt, Jake,” Ozmat declared happily as he worked at digging out his arrows. “Lots of meat to feast on and lots of claws to hand out.”

I agreed with the young man. We’d done well, and yes, we now had a lot of claws to hand out, although not nearly enough. I’d have to speak to Rolf if I ever got back to the settlement. While my people loved the symbolism of the bear claw, given when newcomers are welcomed into the tribe, there was no way I was going to kill enough bears to hand out claws to every new member of the tribe. Maybe Rolf could come up with a bronze substitute. We’d have to see. For the moment, my focus was on dealing with our kill.