Chapter 6

Fifty-eight days after tossing the clay ball to Atartl, the slow-witted River People's hunter, Rod waited on the North side of what he was calling Mount Meeting. He didn't think he would be ambushed, but why take a chance. Once he had the high ground, he could take down a fair size group before they could get to him. Otatl was watching from the other side of the summit; their wives except for Travlo, were hiding here around Rob. Two people were always on watch, including Elalo and Otatl's second wife, Teplo.

They had all been on the mountain - really a large hill - for 5 days. They were bored and Rod thought of a simple solution to pass the time. Trelo was not in the mood.

"Pregnant women can't fuck as much as other women," she said.

"Oh bull-shit," Rod exclaimed. "My second wife wanted me to fuck her when she was in labor. She said it helped with the cramps."

"Your second wife?" Trelo asked.

Oh fuck. "Ah ... yeah ... ah ... before I came to this land I was married," he said.

"How many times?" she asked.

"Twice?" he winced as he said it.

"So you have four wives and you didn't tell me?" she asked in a reasonable voice.

"No. No. No. I only have two wives. You and Trelo," he gave her a big smile.

"What did you do with the other wives," Travlo asked. By now Elalo and Teplo were listening intently.

"We got divorced?" Rod meant it as a statement but sometimes Travlo put him in full retreat.

"What does 'divorced' mean?" her voice was low and menacing.

"On my world, sometimes, when two people, that is when a woman is cruel, a man can ask for a divorce. The man and the woman each take half of their possessions - like that bitch left me half - and are no longer married." Oh fuck, Elalo and Teplo heard that 'my world' crap. It doesn't matter. I'll be telling every fucking body soon.

"So you might divorce ME?" Travlo asked. Rod's focus shifted back to the present.

"No. No. No. I would never divorce you or Trelo," Rod was quick to say. And then he added, "You're both skanky bitches. I love you too much."

"What exactly does 'skanky bitch' mean?" she asked.

It means that you are too damn smart for me. "It is a term of endearment and shows how much I love you," Rod said. It shows how desperately I want to get off this topic.

"How long were you married to your second wife?" Travlo asked, somewhat mollified.

"Six months?" I am a fucking coward.

"Your first marriage?"

"Two months," he said like a man.

"Trelo and I will talk about this later."

Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

As darkness fell that night, Rod and Elalo moved around the hill to take over for Otatl and Trelo. Otatl had a self satisfied look on his face; Trelo was bouncing around like a pinball. They had seen movement in the fields below. Four people were approaching from the Southwest. Using the scope before dark, Otatl could tell that it was two men and two women. If they kept moving as they had today, they would reach the foot of the mountain tomorrow. From there they could reach the top by mid afternoon.

"Great news!" Rod said. "It is very unlikely that this is a trap but let's make sure. I'll stay up tonight. The rest of you, move our belongings to the crest. Sleep tonight and then watch all sides tomorrow. I will sleep in the morning. If it is just two men, I'll go meet them before they reach the top."

"If it is a trap; I'll kill as many as possible before I have to come up to the top. Try to dodge their spears. Otatl, stand behind me and protect my back. Knock me down if you have to."

"I think that Atema will meet us here," Rod said. "I think that in 2 or 3 years there will be only People; not River People, Lake People, and Southern People. I hope the River People's food is better than the Southern People."

"Southern food tastes like fucking Melk shit," Trelo said.

Rod hugged Trelo and kissed the nape of her neck. He whispered into her ear, "Good job. You know you're my skanky bitch, don't you?"

"Yes and you're my fucking husband," she answered.

The sky was just beginning to lighten when Elalo relieved Rod. He had made several circuits of the peak during the night and had not seen any fires. Otatl was watching the North side of the Mountain. There was a low ridge that ran to another peak. It was not a good route up Mount Meeting but it was the best there was. An ambush would most likely come from that direction. A good approach against spears but the rifle would devastate any enemies coming across the ridge. It was a killing ground.

The only movement that day was the four people moving from the Southwest. They were nearly at the base of the mountain and surely would start to climb tomorrow. Rod decided to give them extra incentive to climb. He lit a fire 30 meters down the slope where it would be visible to the four people below.

In the morning light, Rod was pretty sure that he recognized Atema climbing up. The others in Atema's party stayed at the base of the mountain. No movement was visible anywhere else around the mountain. When Atema was within 100 meters, Rod stood.

"Atema," he yelled.

"I am here," Atema answered.

"Come to the top," Rod said. "I have friends for you to meet."

Rod turned and jogged to the top. Atema followed.

"Put down your weapons," Rod said to Otatl when he reached the crest. Rod turned towards Atema, holding his spear with both hands, his hands dividing the spear into three equal parts. As Atema closed the distance to 30 meters, Rod held the spear over his head and spoke.

"Atema. I'm here in peace. I want to talk to you. I don't want to fight you." Rod used the English word for peace. There was no equivalent word in the People's language.

"I am here," Atema said. "I came to see what you wanted to say. I don't want to fight you." He held his spear horizontally over his head.

"We should sit and talk. Will your friends worry if you stay here for the night?" Rod asked.

"No. I told them that I would return in the morning."

"Good. I'll have the women set camp. You look good, you've grown since the last time I saw you," Rod said.

"I was a scared boy the last time you saw me," Atema said with a rueful smile. "Now I am a man. Gratl, the hunter you left the magic ball with said that you were crazy."

Right, you're a man. You must be 14 or 15 years old by now. "Do you think I'm crazy?"

"I don't know," Atema answered. "I do know that you are confusing and that Gratl is as smart as a blade of grass. What do you really want?"

"I want to spend a year with your People," Rod said. "I also want my friend to join me, and our wives."

"Why?

"It's very confusing," Rod said with a laugh. "It has to do with peace but it will take months to explain it. Will your chief let us stay in your camp?"

"He will," Atema said. "But he will give you a test because you have killed 5 of the people."

"The people tried to kill me."

"And you didn't kill me when you could," said Atema. "And you didn't kill Gratl when you could. That's why he will give you a test instead of killing you."

"I will not fight the Southern People or the Lake People," Rod stated.

"I don't think your test will be fighting people," Atema said. "That is all I know."

Rod introduced Otatl, and the men greeted each other in the normal way of the people. Rod named the wives to Atema then told Travlo to start a fire and Otatl told Elalo to cook a meal. After eating, the men sat around the fire. The women sat close enough to hear what was said.

"Does it feel strange to share a meal with two people who were once your enemies?" Rod asked Atema.

"Yes," both Atema and Otatl answered at the same time.

"Otatl!" Rod cajoled. "You should be used to me by now."

"I am used to you," he answered. "But sitting with you and Atema away from my tribe brings back the feelings of that first day when we fought."

"He beat you," Atema said to Otatl. "Didn't he?"

"Yes."

"I saw him take down five warriors in almost a heart beat," Atema said. "How did you learn to use a spear like that? I've never seen that before."

"Let me ask you a question Atema," Rod said. "Most of the time, when your People fight another People, how many people get hurt?"

"It depends, if it is a large group against a small group, the small group will often get killed," Atema said. "If the groups are about the same size, very few get hurt. Brave warriors run forward and throw their spears. They are vulnerable when they throw their spears, but they show that they are brave."

"If there were 4 hands of warriors on one side and 6 hands of warriors on the other side?" Rod asked. "Would they just throw spears at each other?"

Atema said, "Yes." Otatl nodded his head.

"Where I learned to fight," Rod said. "What your large groups of warriors do is called a sport. People can get injured or even killed, but there are unwritten rules. I was taught war. In war there are no rules."

"Long ago there were tribes in a land whose fights were sports like yours. Almost all the spears that were thrown were blocked by shields, large pieces of wood and hide. An innovative warrior named Shaka Zulu changed all that. Instead of throwing a spear from far away, he made a short spear. After his opponent's spear was thrown and block, Shaka Zulu ran up to him and stabbed him. He changed the rules. He made war."

"Atema, when I fought against your tribe, I used the spear as if it were designed to fight people, not to hunt animals," Rod said. "I made war. I wouldn't try to sneak-up on a pronghorn and swing a spear, I would throw the spear at the pronghorn."

Otatl laughed.

"All of your people threw spears at us but only one hit his target, but I can hit people with a swing."

"Atema," Otatl said with a laugh. "Williams is the worst spear thrower I have ever seen. That explains why he swings it. What none of my tribe understands is how he killed the Flat-headed Bear."

"I have my secrets," Rod said smugly. Flat-headed Bear, that does sound better than Fuck Face. After a pause he asked Atema, "Is it safe for us to go to your village? If they attack us I will be able to kill 4 or 5 hands of people before they kill me. Is it safe for your village and for us?"

"Yes. I have the word of Dartl and Aartl. Dartl is our chief and Aartl is our spirit leader," Atema said. "Also, something odd has happened. Two times in the last year, our People's hunters have been seen by larger groups of Southern People's hunters. Both times our hunters dropped their kill and the Southern People didn't follow them. Dartl wants to talk to you about this. If you can't pass the test, all of you will be guided to either the Southern People or the Lake People."

"Thank you," Rod said. "We will leave with you in the morning. We have a small tent you can use tonight. Please don't tell others about it. Sometimes even good people will steal from a rich stranger. We have furs for you to use tonight."

As he settled down for the night, Rod spoke to Travlo, "Well what do you think?"

"I hope he isn't lying."

"Why do you say that?" Rod asked.

"Because if he is, he is a very good liar," she said. "I don't want to be married to someone who can lie that well."

"Travlo," Rod said stoically.

She giggled and said, "I think we are safe. We'll be careful. Keep your rifle with you. The chief may want you to hunt a bear. You certainly won't kill a bear with spear or even with little rifle. I'll learn much more when I meet the wives."

The next afternoon, Rod and his group met Atema's group. Atema was traveling with his only wife Kaylo, a young man called Ltlala, and Ltlala's only wife Marlo. Ltlala was not from Atema's village but he had asked to travel with Atema to meet Rod.

"Why did you want to meet us here?" Rod asked Ltlala.

"I want to learn about the other people," he answered. "About the Lake People and the Southern People."

"Couldn't you wait until we got to Atema's village?"

"Atema needed someone to go with him," Ltlala replied reasonably.

"Well thank you for coming."

The men discussed little things during the afternoon and evening. Ltlala was a flint knapper and Rod was still mesmerized with the intricate process that turned a rock into a tool. Mostly Rod and Otatl kept the other two men busy so Travlo could talk to the young girls. The two couldn't be over 14. Trelo looked older. Thank God. Although I should still feel guilty about that and about having two wives. At least I'm following the script. One way to spot a false prophet is to look for polygamy.