I walked into the main hall, where the elders were already gathered. The chieftain turned to me, “It’s good that you’ve made it. We were just getting started.” I looked at the Priest but besides the frown, it seemed like he didn’t have the time to ridicule me. That made me nervous.
I sat down at my seat, “What did I miss so far?”
“You haven’t missed anything much, just the retelling from the new family. They said much the same. Although this family did mention that they were already living on the land before the plague arrived. They noticed the animals and bugs acting wild before the plants had time to even wither. Instead of being out of sight, they were extremely active, and some even tried attacking their tribespeople, most unsuccessful. Particularly the smaller animal creatures like rabbits and insects.”
I frowned at the news. Now the animals had rabies? This plague made less and less sense the more I knew about it. “And Ning didn’t mention this because?”
The chieftain shrugged. “We don’t know. Perhaps most of the animals were already gone or dead when they arrived at their location. Or perhaps they forgot to mention it. Either way, it’s too late since they have already left.”
“When did they leave?” I asked. The chieftain replied, “A few days after they first arrived. They’ve been gone for three days already.”
That sucked, but I guess there was nothing we could do about it now. The Priest spoke up, “You were wrong, Sage. The plague is very much a reality. Do you have anything to say for yourself?”
My knee-jerk reaction was to verbally attack him back, but I decided that wasn’t the smart move, let alone the Sage move. “I never claimed that I am all knowledgeable. I simply know a lot more than you people. The plague follows none of the rules I am aware of, but that doesn’t mean my knowledge is infallible and that the plague isn’t real. Simply that without further evidence of its existence, it wasn’t real in my eyes. Now, with further proof, I no longer doubt its existence, I doubt its grand power. And again, time will tell if I am wrong to do so.”
Weirdly enough, the Priest took that as an answer and instead turned to the rest of the council, “The plague is real, and I have no knowledge of the plague. The goddess has remained quiet about it, and I fear that her power may not be able to stave off the plague.” There were gasps at the revelation, and my eyes widened in surprise. Why did he say that? Wouldn’t it be better if he bluffed until it was too late? “I request that we make a big sacrifice to the goddess so that I can commune with her and request her aid in the upcoming future.”
Ah, that was his angle. There were discussions amongst the elders. There was more divisiveness than I expected.
“We should keep as much food as we can for the upcoming tribulation.”
“But isn’t now the best time to offer a sacrifice? We must show our trust in the goddess now more than ever.”
“What if the goddess decides to ignore the request? Or worse, unable to do anything.”
“How dare you accuse our goddess of being weak!”
“How about we ask the Sage what he thinks?”
I blank as I realize I am in the middle of the argument. I was tempted to agree with the young elder, but as I looked at the Priest, I was surprised. Instead of seeing hostility in his eyes. I saw him look at me with tired and anxious eyes. I didn’t know what made him look at me like that. Perhaps he truly did fear the plague, and however he contacted the goddess wasn’t working.
“I prefer to overcome tribulations with my power alone,” The elder that put me on the spot triumphantly smiled, before quickly turning it upside down, “but I think right now, there is nothing worse than quibbling together like children. I see no point in not offering the goddess her fair share.”
The Priest looked at me in surprise. You’re lucky that I fear the plague more than I hate you, I monologue internally before continuing, “What we need right now is to send some scouts up north to see how fast the plague is moving, as well as to see if any plants survived. It seems there is some time that you can survive in the plague without falling ill, as long as you don’t prolong your stay. I request we send a team to investigate, time the plague, and bring back any plants that have survived.”
The chieftain frowned at that. “What is the purpose of the plants? Why should we risk our men for them?”
I easily reply. “Any plants that survive might have some property that we can use to fight against the plague. And I worry about the food supply.” Realization dawns on the chieftain as he realizes the real threat. Starvation. If the plague kills plants in its embrace, it will likely kill our farm.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
“If we can harvest anything edible that survives, we can farm that if the plague hits us.” Everyone nods at that, but I continue, “But… I suggest the best course of action is to move.” Silence fell upon the gathering.
“What do you mean, we have to move? Why should we leave the cradle that our ancestors have left us? It would bring dishonor!” Yún speaks up in outrage.
“Wouldn’t it bring more dishonor to die against something you have no hope of fighting back?” If a human could look like he was bristling, it was Yún.
“I do not mean that we should move right now,” I add, trying to placate the elder, “but we should be ready to move if we find no way of surviving the plague. If the herbs cannot stop its progress in our people and if we cannot grow food, there would be no point in staying only to get sick and starve.”
There were plenty of upset elders, but some were thoughtful. It was the younger ones who seemed to find reason in my words, while the graying elders found them to be a disrespect to their ancestors.
The chieftain finally stepped in. “We should hold off on talking about moving. Right now we should focus on preventing and surviving the plague,” I thought about just giving it to him but decided against it. I wasn’t sinking with the ship since I held no loyalty to this place. “I am sorry, but right now is the best time to discuss potentially running away. While we still have a choice. We need to send scouts south, east, and west to see where we can run in case of the worst-case scenario.”
He frowned deeply at my request, almost a scowl, which surprised me. Why would he be upset about that? I thought he wanted to ensure the future generation. Wouldn’t having an option to run be the best move?
“... Fine, we will send scouts to the north to see how long it will take to arrive here and look for anything that survives. We will also send scouts in the other cardinal directions so that we may be prepared to move. We will also give the Priest access to animal sacrifice so that he can commune with the goddess. Any objections?” As no one spoke up, he nodded, “Good, for now we will continue the farming, so that we can stockpile food. Do not allow a word of this to spread for now.”
Everyone nodded and dispersed at the clear dismissal. I quickly make my way towards the chieftain. “I want to be on the expedition North.”
“You will not.” He easily denied me, without even thinking.
“But I will be able to prepare for the plague better if I see it in person.” I tried arguing reason.
“You are the only Sage I’ve heard of in recent history, I cannot in good faith send you to a place where you can get sick. We need you here to ensure that the farming runs smoothly and that the domestication thing of yours can get up and running.”
Defeated, I reluctantly agreed. “I… I understand Chieftain. I will go and ensure everything is in order.”
* * *
It has been a month since the last meeting, and everything was running in order. We decided to start planting earlier in the month, even though the channels weren’t done. We started planting closest to the river since those plants would be in the best soil, and close enough where watering wasn’t as much of a worry. All we’d have to worry about is the pests, as always.
“Sage Jié Míns, everything is going smoothly. Plants have been planted, and we are almost done with all the channels. We are struggling with the bugs, but I have assigned more people to work on that, with your blessing?” Shan asks me.
I nodded, “That is the right move, although did you ensure that everyone isn’t bending with their back but with their feet?”
“Of course, there was some grumbling as always, but most have seen your wisdom and follow your teaching.” He replies. It felt a little weird since I was in charge of the farms. I became the de facto elder of agriculture and had amassed a small following amongst the farmers. It felt weird to be borderline worshiped, but dissuading them didn’t work, and instead they took that as a sign of humbleness.
“Since everything seems to be in order here, I’ll head to my garden to see its progress,” I said as I turned around.
“Of course, may your walk be pleasant,” He replied, with a small bow.
Walking on the dirt path, I considered the benefit a stone road would be, but quickly shook it off. We were too busy to invest in luxury. I chuckled at the thought of stone roads being a luxury, but it was the truth. Most of our workforce was put into the fields to build up a stockpile of food for both the winter and the plague. Maybe once everything blew over, I would put together a small task force for the roads, but for now, dirt roads worked fine.
I approached my land and looked at the scaffolding put in place to create shade for my herbs. I walked amongst the herbs that I had already planted, seeing how they were reacting to their new environment. For the most part, they seemed to be acclimating well enough. With only a few withering, whether it be due to humidity issues or soil issues, I didn’t know, but there was little I could do for them.
I approached the abode, which was almost done. It looked nice, better than most of the buildings in the city. All I needed to do was to furnish the place and I would have a better house than even the elders, with maybe the exception of the priest. Since technically the town hall was also a temple, hence his house as well.
It had a nice rustic cabin look. There was some mud in the cracks, but the seams were much smaller and less noticeable, so I wouldn’t complain. I would need to request a bed to be made, along with a dining table and other pieces of furniture. I missed the capitalistic times when I could simply buy a table from the store, instead of placing an order through an elder and waiting for a custom piece. Although I would admit, the furniture was much better crafted than the mass-produced stuff we had, so there were some trade-offs.
There was an increasing number of refugees from the north, but nothing too worrying so far. There was no doubt a meeting in the near future about what we should do with them going forward. As I walked out of the building, a man jogged over. I internally sighed at the sight.
I jinxed myself.