The Meadow Dwellers cleared a path for the sunflower warriors to haul Krissa at the feet of the wicker man. The king strode behind with the long knife in hand and his withered flower cape dragging behind him. Krissa began chanting Wukiki’s protection incantation. The other Ibexes pleaded for her life. The sunflower warriors whacked the shouting prisoners with their stalk clubs.

Through all the noise, Yuliko was again certain that she heard a woman in pain in the distance.

Faydayo headbutted the warrior in front of him in the gut, giving him time to jump to his feet and shout, “I invoke the traveler’s right to combat!”

The one-armed translator shared Faydayo’s words to King Leandrus. The sunflower king shouted for the warrior’s carrying Krissa to stop. And the whole area fell to silence, except Krissa, who was still chanting to herself.

Yuliko then clearly heard a woman yelling in what sounded like labor pains farther into the gorge. However, the Meadow Dwellers were all focused on their king and the captives. All except the translator, who looked back in the direction of the woman’s voice with worry on his face.

King Leandrus spun around and walked back towards Faydayo. He gave the traveler’s sign for accepting the duel. Then, speaking in his own tongue, he spoke to the one-armed translator who reluctantly returned his attention to the situation at hand and said, “You be a bold intruder, to invoke traveler rights.”

“We’re only passing through,” Faydayo said.

The king looked Faydayo over, and then shrugged. Then he held out the large stone knife to be taken by a servant and it was replaced by one of the flexible clubs made from the sunflower stalks. The stool was brought over to him and Leandrus sat. He spoke a long string of foreign words as two servant girls began untying his cape and taking off his flower crown.

“King Leandrus say yes combat,” the translator said. “Fight him flower way. You win, you walk. You lose, all you die.”

“What is the flower way?” Faydayo asked. Then his hands were unbound and a stalk club was shoved into his fingers.

The one-armed man pointed upwards to the top of the gorge’s rock wall where tall sunflowers were growing right at the edge. “Flower way,” he repeated

#

Faydayo was escorted by two of the masked warriors and the king back up out of the gorge and to the top of the rockwall overhanging the main Meadow Dweller campsite, above where the wicker man had been built.

Yuliko and the rest of the Ibexes remained at the bottom of the gorge, craning their necks upward, watching in terror as Faydayo was forced to climb his way on top of a giant sunflower growing right at the edge of the gorge, along with King Leandrus. Each of them was armed with a stalk club.

During the time it took for them to trek out the gorge, the interpreter, who named himself as Jogen, told the other prisoners that he traded with Black Glass People and the Quegu Tribe when was younger, and had learned some of both their languages. He explained that the objective of the fight was not necessarily to kill their opponent, but to knock them off of the flower heads. Being knocked off the sunflower heads up there just happened to be a fall to certain death.

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“But Faydayo could fall back into the meadow, not over the cliff, and be alright, right?” Krissa asked Jogen.

“He lose, all you die,” he said.

As the two fighters took their position, Yuliko again heard the cries of the pained woman. But the sound was washed out by the crowd cheering on their king.

“Jogen, who is the woman crying?” Yuliko asked. “Is she in labor?”

He took a moment to consider her words then said, “Yes. Woman baby labor. My son’s wife. Baby hurting her.”

Above, Faydayo and the king began circling each other on the flower head. Their view from down below in the gorge wasn’t very good, and they could only really see their upper torsos moving about. The lower halves obscured by petals. After a moment of circling, Faydayo lunged at his opponent, but the king took advantage of the sunflower’s springy quality, and bounced upward, doing a flip over Faydayo, at whacking him in the back with his club when he landed.

“We have a talented healer with us,” Yuliko told Jogen. She pointed out Minty. “She could see your son’s wife and maybe help.”

Jogen’s eyes widened. He looked at Minty, then back in the direction of the crying woman, then he looked up where his king was dueling. Leandrus was repeatedly bouncing and flipping over and around Faydayo, clearly playing with him.

Jogen shook his head. “King Leandrus want you all die. Healer already see son’s wife. No help.”

On the giant sunflower head, the king was now pushing Faydayo around with the springy stalk club, forcing him closer to the edge of the disc. Though Faydayo was able to move nimbly and dive back into the center of the disc. He even got one good wallop on the king with his club.

“Yes, we can help,” Yuliko said to Jogen. “Our healer is very good.” She pointed to the blue and purple toadskin bag in the pile of their things. “That’s her healer bag. She can help.”

Jogen limped over to the toadskin bag and opened it up with his one arm. He saw its contents of healer tools, pots of clay, and pouches of herbs. A glimmer of hope flickered across his face. “Healer help,” he repeated.

“Yes, she will help. Right, Minty?” Yuliko said.

“Yes. I’ll do my best,” Minty said.

The interpreter looked back up to the fight. The king was wrangling Faydayo back towards the ledge. Leandrus must now be aware of how quick Faydayo could be, and wasn’t giving any opportunities for him to escape. Then to everyone’s surprise, Faydayo dashed to the side and lept over to the nearby flower head. Everyone in the crowd gasped. Leandrus jumped right after him, but now Faydayo took control of the platform. Now that Faydayo was actually proving a challenge, the kings stopped playing around, and assailed his opponent with wild strikes, bouncing lithely as he attacked.

“Please, stop the fight and we’ll help your son’s wife,” Yuliko said.

Jogen frowned. It was obviously not socially acceptable for him to counter the king’s decisions, but the one-armed man had to know this may be the last chance to save the laboring woman, maybe the baby too. “Abboo na callum!” Jogen shouted up at his king.

He was unheard over the other cheering Meadow Dwellers, and the king’s attention was squarely on the fight. “Abboo na callum!” Jogen shouted again. Then he tapped the clanspeople beside him and repeated the phrase. His companions joined him in chanting the phrase. “Abboo na callum!” a growing group of Meadow Dwellers chanted.

The king was furiously whipping his club down upon Faydayo, who was only managing to block every other blow, being pushed back towards the disc edge.

“Abboo na cullum!” the clanspeople shouted.

King Leandrus froze mid-strike, perhaps at the final blow that would have sent Faydayo tumbling down the gorge. Jogen shouted up something else in their own language. He pointed to Minty, then urgently pointed towards the hut with his son’s wife.

“Dundu,” the king said, and lowered his war club.

Relief and renewed energy showed through Jogen’s face. “Please, follow,” he said to the girls, handing Minty her toadskin medicine bag. And then he showed them the way to the patient.