Chapter 8: In the Longhouse of Nannakussi

Assateague is a long length of island that spans the coasts of both Maryland and Virginia in my reality stream, and Agus and Gallia Occidentia in Nevy’s. It’s about a foot above sea level in most places, and it’s distinguished by a herd of wild ponies inhabiting it and neighboring Chincoteague Island, to its south. In my reality stream the ponies have been running around loose since the 1600s. I didn’t know when they’d been isolated in this stream.

Nannakussi’s longhouse was on the northern edge of the island, far enough in not to get flooded at high tide, close enough for convenient fishing, crabbing, and clamming. The traditional Lenape, as opposed to the assimilated farming Lenape, ate a lot of seafood during the summer. They spent the winter hunting on the mainland, which abounded in deer and lesser edible mammals.

We were met when we landed by the sachem. He and Nannakussi shared the same title; Nannakussi was the war chief, and Okanikkon was the Elder, the wise man. He was a little taller than Nevy, with a dark, strong featured face. He reminded me of pictures I’d seen of Jim Thorpe, only older. I was six or seven inches taller than he was, but I’d not have wanted to fight him. He wore his hair in a long scalp lock, after the manner of the Lenape, adorned by porcupine quills. He had a bunch of tattoos that I couldn’t decipher.

The sachem was distressed over the loss of most of the men in his village, which had had a population of about fifty, half of them kids. Nannakussi was a loss as well, since he was now my servus. His wife and daughter were mine as well. We’d be leaving the band with a population of about thirty five, which included eight widows who’d need cared for and I’m not sure how many kids, all of them theoretically also my slaves. I manumitted them on the spot, since I had no way to care for them. That could be done, since all were widows and orphans. I had Nevy and her mother explain that once we had met with Palégos and reasoned with him Nannakussi and his family were free to return. The sachem was a sensible man; he was more of the opinion that we’d all be dead. Okanikkon wasn’t sure if he was convinced that I was a demon, at least not a big league demon like Asmodeus. I had to agree with him; I’d never claimed to be.

Nannakussi’s wife was named Winke-lìntà-mëwakàn, which meant “Happiness.” She was a placid-looking young woman, maybe twenty one, maybe five-one, if that. Her dark hair was parted in the middle and worn in a single braid. She was already getting a little broad in the hips and belly, from a high carbohydrate diet of beans, corn, and squash, which was what the Lenape mostly lived on. I’m not real big on seven syllable names, so I called her Winky. Their little girl was named Chulëntët, which meant Little Bird. She had enormous black eyes and a mischievous baby-toothed smile, at least once she was convinced I wasn’t a demon. I called her Sweetheart, because that’s what she was.

Nevy told Winky we’d be traveling light. She and her Mom and Blæda helped her get ready to travel, which consisted of giving away most of her worldly possessions, mostly to the widows and orphans we’d created. Little Bird pitched in and helped like the champ she was, giving away such toys as she owned. Generosity is an honored trait among the Lenape.

We smoked, passing the pipe among the men. Afterward we had a ceremonial meal. The whole village ate together, and we were the guests of honor. Nannakussi served me, looking dignified as he did it, and Winky served both Nevianne and Leofgif; Nevy was my woman and it was nobody’s business whether it was consummated or not. Leofgif was her mother, which gave her an extra fifty points in a matriarchal culture. Nannakussi, his face solemn, told the story of what had happened at the crossroads in service of the Wizard Palégos. The next time I heard it, I barely recognized it. I’d grown claws a foot long and I snorted fire. I was also a foot taller. Nannakussi and I had wrestled for two suns and a moon before I’d managed to overcome him. There was blood everywhere. At least that part was true, The poor guy had bled like a pig. He was starting to think that his headache was terminal.

It would do no good to tell the villagers not to pass on our plans to Palégos, since the wizard Saw All and Knew All. Besides, I was a demon, so I should be able to take care of myself. On top of which, they had no idea where we were going, only that we were.

Neither did we know where we were going.

Okanikkon said a prayer to Nanapush, not to watch over us, which he wasn’t expected to do, but to touch base. Lenape gods would punish infractions, but no one had ever heard of them actually helping someone. Nanapush was in the Lenape gods’ hierarchy about where Asmodeus was in the demon hierarchy, so I guess it was appropriate to pay our respects. Then one of the remaining men and a really strong woman in her forties rowed us across to the marshy edge of the mainland in two big fishing canoes.

That left us the entire Eastern Shore of Maryland to tromp across. The Agus capital was across South River and a little south of where Annapolis was in my reality stream, a city stretching from Selby-on-the-Bay to Beverly Beach. It wasn’t as good a harbor as Annapolis would have been, but it was good enough after about a thousand years of work, except during a bad hurricane season.

We had about 125 or 130 miles to walk, unless we could come up with something to trade for horses. Or we could steal them. I thought about that seriously. Cavalry occasionally patrolled the roads to keep people honest. Banditry wasn’t much of a problem, nor was rebellion. This end of the Empire was pretty placid. The natives were mostly integrated – they’d long since been extended Roman citizenship. The current trouble and the best legions were on the other side of the world, in Central Asia, coincidentally, on the far side of Persia. The patrols on our end were there to keep things quiet. Troops tend to relax when everything’s routine garrison duty.

There was a main road running from Apollonia Minor, which was a fishing town located about where the Ocean City municipal airport would be in my reality stream, to the west. We spent most of the day hiking there. We’d head out on the road in the morning, probably making twenty or thirty miles a day on a good day, maybe a five day tramp. We didn’t have any money among us, and such weapons as we had weren’t much.

“Two days’ march from here there is a crossroads,” Nevy told me. “We can get a wagon and a horse there.”

“How?” I asked.

“There is a crossroads,” she told me, taking me by the hand and leading me away from the others. “We are witches.”

Nevianne