The group spent the next day along the river. Many of them were grateful to be able to bathe. Some, like Jal, pulled out their fishing poles when they were done. After a big meal of fresh fish, they set to work making rafts that would get them across the water. The first raft tested fit two people. They landed some distance downstream on the other side without much effort. They had attached ropes to the raft. Once the two were off the raft, some of the others pulled it back to the other side, where they reloaded it.
Eventually, two more rafts were finished. These were bigger and held four people. Again, the rafts were pulled by hand back across the river. It was late afternoon when the last group landed on the west side.
People had been searching for edible plants and scouting for animals and were sorely disappointed when they couldn’t find any. That night, they dug into the dehydrated foods that they had filled their backpacks with when supplies had been transported in.
The group spent the rest of the week crossing the last three mountains that led toward a wide savannah. When the last person came down the steep rocky incline, there was a great cheer that went up from the group. There were shouts of surprise as small groups prepared to hunt for food.
A small band of people appeared in the east. Their red hats were prominent on their short, stout bodies. Jal and Dr. Gyasi knew immediately who they were and quickly reminded their friends what the Menapii woman had told them. They needed to leave as quickly as possible.
The Genomos people became excited when they saw the group. They hurried toward it. “Welcome! Welcome!”
Their enthusiasm was infectious. “Hello!” someone in the group responded.
“We didn’t know there were travelers in the area.”
Dr. Gyasi and Jal made their way to the front of the crowd. “I’m Dr. Yaaba Gyasi and this is Jal Jomari. Our group has come through the mountains.”
“The mountains? You’re from the east side of the mountains?” They clearly didn’t believe what he was saying.
“We’re from another continent.”
“Continent.” The red-capped Genomos looked at one another. “What is this word? Continent.”
“Many of us live across the water.”
“Across the water. Oh, yes! Across the water!” This seemed to make perfect sense to them.
The person who was apparently a leader beckoned them. “Come, stay with us tonight. Share our fire and a meal.”
A murmur went through the hikers. “These people are supposed to be dangerous? They seem friendly.”
Sage Elvan, Luk and Morti whispered reminders of what Dr. Gyasi had just told them. Alerveco Nacu began to argue with several people, “They’re so little. They can’t possibly hurt us.”
The two groups looked one another over. The Genomos were definitely short; their heads weren’t past anyone’s waist. They didn’t appear to be armed, since each one had a bucket of water in each hand.
Dr. Gyasi and Jal held a hurried conversation with Luk, Sage Elvan, and the Luminary. The consensus was that they could join their hosts for an evening meal and would set up their tents away from their homes. This way they could carry on with their research, hunting, and daily activities.
The larger group formed into the smaller task cliques and put their packs down in groupings. Many of them pulled out their wands and waved them over the packs. “Veilig beezit!” Now no one could move them or take anything from them.
A young woman joined the Genomos, who stood waiting for their guests. “We’re gathering for a meal. Let’s go this way.” She led the way to an open area where a great number of people had gathered.
The leader pushed his way to the front. “I’m Denis. This is my wife, Josi. Please take some food and come sit with us.” He led Jal to a long table. One end was filled with bowls and kettles of food. Josi and other women pushed a plate into each person’s hands and others piled the plates high with the various selections. Jal stood waiting while Denis and Josi filled their plates, then followed them to a bench by the table. The visitors followed their hosts’ lead and used the utensils that had been given to them. The assemblage ate in silence, gobbling down huge portions. When Denis was done, he stood, looked down the table, then stepped over the bench. He was gone only a minute before returning with a plateful of food.
As Jal ate, it watched as one after another, the people returned to the assortment of food and refilled their plates. Jal, sensing that it was customary to have more food, made comments to the people around it, and followed suit. It was surprised to see that none of the kettles and bowls were empty. It watched as Denis ate his last bite, put his napkin over the plate and took it off. The plate was now clean and shiny, as if it hadn’t been used. When Jal was finished, it didn’t know what to do. Denis spread his napkin over Jal’s plate, took it off, and carried away the clean plate.
“Thank you!” Jal called to him. He smiled and waved.
The expedition members went back for seconds, and even third portions. They could not believe how much food was available on such short notice. As the group finished eating, they chatted amongst themselves.
The women collected the plates, draped a napkin over each one, and removed it. The plates appeared shiny and clean, as if they were unused.
Jal followed Denis to a wide area. It wasn’t long before several young men joined them. As the dishes and food were put away, the men brought wood and built a good-sized fire.
Denis introduced them as his sons, Alek, Adam, and Digi. Jal studied their height, faces, and clothing. They looked like triplets. “What kind of work do you do?”
“We're shepherds,” they said in unison. “We work with many others to tend a large herd of mountain sheep. What do you do?”
“I’m a potter.”
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“A potter came from the other side of the water?” They scratched their heads, puzzled.
“That’s right.”
“Have you been in the mountains?”
“Oh, yes. We climbed many of them on the way here.”
The Genomos were puzzled. “You live on the other side of the river and you climb the mountains? Who is your master?”
“We don’t have a master. Who needs a master?” Alerveco said loudly.
“You must have a master. All of the people along here have masters. The master protects us.”
“From who?” Dr. Gyasi asked calmly. “What kind of enemies do you have?”
“Each other. The master protects us from the others who raid us. They try to take our ore.”
Jal and the scientist looked at each other. “What do the others look like?” Jal asked.
“They look like us, of course!”
“Tell us what they are like,” Sage Elvan invited. “We’d like to know more about these enemies of yours. We don’t need enemies.”
Denis explained that each village had a master. The villagers worked for the master, mining ore from the territory claimed by the master. They would mine and process it, turning it into various things that could be sold to the other villages. Each village had a specialty. One village made houses. Another made fences. They made a wide variety of goods from farm implements to chairs. In this particular village, the people made dishes and housewares. Each village also made its own weapons, which were highly specialized.
The master protected the villagers from other Genomos whose master had sent them to raid neighboring mines. The villagers gave the master the ore that was stolen in exchange. They also captured other masters’ slaves and brought them back. The masters would keep them in the mines and force them to work.
As Denis spoke, two of his sons walked away and whispered to one another about the strangers. They were some distance away when Jal heard Alek tell Adam that the strangers would make great slaves for the master. “Yes, then our friends wouldn’t have to work so hard!”
Adam agreed. “We’ve done this before. You know what to do. The master will like our gifts to him.”
As they talked, the crowd around Jal began to chatter. “They’re not from around here. They’re trying to learn how things work. Maybe they will trade with us.” They began to speak in small groups about what wares and knowledge they would share.
On the far side of the plaza, musicians began to tune their instruments. They began a song and the people around them dispersed. Many went to the center of the open area and began to dance. The musicians played several tunes before taking a break.
When the music began again, Denis and Josi asked Jal and its friends to join them, saying they would teach everyone the steps. It wasn’t long before many of the visitors were stepping and turning like the others. The group danced for a few hours before stopping.
Denis handed Jal a mug and a plate of sweet dessert, and women circulated amongst their guests offering big mugs to each of them. Many members of the expedition didn’t hesitate to drink from the mugs that were offered. At the first sip, Jal recognized the taste of alcohol. It finished the dessert and had a few swallows of the brew before stopping.
Josi noticed right away that Jal wasn’t drinking his brew. “Don’t you like it? Maybe I should bring you something else?”
“Water would be a good idea,” Jal responded. She took its mug and came back with another. Jal took a taste. It was sweet and fruity. It was also alcoholic, Jal realized.
The congregated mass of people danced and drank into the night. The women filled mug after mug as their visitors drank freely and danced to the hypnotic music that was being played.
Thunder began to rumble in the distance and the sweets were cleared from the table.
“We should sleep,” Jal said to its friends, and then to his hosts.
“Soon. First, we dance in the rain.” Again, the music started up. Jal danced in the rain with the others and was careful how much it drank. Soon, the rain began to fall, and the dancers kept going. It rained for nearly an hour and the Genomos danced the entire time.
A young girl began to fuss and cry. She was clearly tired. After some time, her mother tired of her crying. She put the toddler down on a bench. “Just sit there a bit. We’ll go inside when it’s done raining.” The whimpering stopped, and her mother danced with the others while the girl sat motionless through several tunes.
Jal, tired of dancing, picked up its mug and looked for a place to sit. Many seats were taken by the older adults. It sat down by the little girl, who had taken her hat off. She didn’t move during the storm. After some time, the rain stopped. The little girl's mother put her hat back on and she began to fuss again. Jal searched through the crowd for Denis.
“Thank you for the night of fun and drinks,” Jal said to him.
“Sleep well,” Dennis said.
At dawn, Jal roused Dr. Gyasi, the five fighters and the two magicians and had a conference. “I believe that these people are generally friendly. However, I overheard a conversation that leads me to believe that somehow we will be overpowered and made to work in the villagers’ mine. If our group members go off to do different things, I want you each to attach yourself to a group. You’ve been hired to ensure their safety. Carry your weapons, and if someone asks why you are doing so, just tell them that you’re doing your job.” Each of them nodded.
After a shared meal, a group of Gonomos asked the expedition members to join them as they went to work in the mine. They promised to show Jal the fine ores that they extracted and said they would introduce their visitors to their master. Jal responded that the group members were not interested in the mine, and that it was best for everyone to stay out of it. “We’d like to focus on the animals, habitat, and learning about your customs.”
At this suggestion, the group split into sections. Mila, Sage Elvan, Pira Pibull and Lallo Turay, a wizard, stayed in the village. Most of them observed the various tasks of cleaning the sheep wool and spinning it into yarn. Others dyed it, and some wove it together. Lallo asked the Gonomos whether they used healing medicines when people were injured or ill, and an elderly woman began to discuss the plants she used to treat various injuries. Mink Faber and Verle Dilas wandered aimlessly between the buildings as they kept their eyes open for trouble.
The Gonomos shepherds led Pari, Cirus, Andi, Maya, Zalim, the Luminary, Morti, and Badas to the hills where the sheep were grazing and looked them over. While the shepherds discussed the habits of sheep, Lalo and the elderly woman wandered through the fields looking for plants that might be used in making healing potions and elixirs. Tomau Lop and Elodi Aleris, who had gone along as guards for the group, stood watching from a distance.
They moved some sheep to different hills, then showed Jal where the crops were growing that would be fed to the sheep during the winter.
As the afternoon slipped away, Jal realized that it might be best if they stayed near the Gonomos another night. Food was brought to the tables and the people ate together. They danced, sang, and told stories. They filled each mug repeatedly and teased Jal when they found it wasn’t drinking whole-heartedly. Again, it rained, and the people danced.
The expedition members wandered back to their tents with the aid of flashlights. Many of them crawled into their sleeping bags without even cleaning their teeth. An hour later, Zalim stood outside Jal’s tent. “Kees didn’t come in to bed, Jal. Have you seen him?”
“Or Diya?” Pira Pibul asked.
At the same time, Maya and Kir were talking to Dr. Gyasi. “Alerveco didn’t come in. I can’t imagine where he might be,” Maya said.
“Nehee’s not been in either,” Kir said.
Only minutes later a small group gathered in the middle of the camp. “Four people are missing?” Jal said. “Or are there more?” Jal and Dr. Gyasi went from tent to tent to see if everyone was in their tents. They returned to where Zalim, Pira, Maya and Kir were. “Lalo says that Tira hasn’t come in. Where could they be?”
“Tira wasn’t at dinner.”
“Neither was Nehee.”
After some discussion, they decided that when the large group had separated, everyone had been there. Jal roused the guards and questioned them. The missing people had not been with either group. “Maybe they went out with the scouts,” Jal suggested to Dr. Gyasi. Dr. Gyasi and Jal sent Zalim, Pira, Maya and Kir to bed.
The two leaders gathered Golsho, Ladi, Sidi, Chetan, Luk, and Zamani. Everyone but Luk was half-drunk and became angry when they were awakened. None of them had seen any of the missing people the entire afternoon or evening. Jal sent them back to bed.
“Would they have gone off together?” Dr. Gyasi said to Jal.
“I have no idea.”