The smell of earthy decay increased as we left Bramble Watch behind. A few swirls of snow also floated through the air but they were picked up from the drifts clinging to the bulbous pines’ branches rather than an indication that a storm was on the way. The sky was mostly clear and I held in a sigh of relief. Even with the branches all around and the narrow walkway, it was infinitely better than dealing with the outpost’s confining walls. Still, something about my demeanor must have given me away because Kaylan glanced back with an intrigued look.
The whisper woman refrained from commenting on whatever she noticed. Instead, she idly commented, “Did you know the people here have a saying? They say, ‘Only one will stand in the end’. I always found it a bit silly since the fish swim more often than not, but I suppose the sentiment stands for itself.”
I mulled it over as we walked. Kaylan might like to be physically lazy whenever the chance presented itself, but the more I recalled the things she had told me while we were stuck in the lookout post on the root wall, the more I realized there had been a purpose behind her words. She was like Esie in that regard. The obvious reason for something was rarely their only motivation. She had been the one to tell me about the Thousand Cut Witch, indirectly giving me more information about my patron when everyone else had been close lipped.
The obvious connection for the saying was the one Kaylan had already pointed out: the fight against the horde. One way or another the fight in the delta would eventually come to an end with a victor. Depending on how well we were able to counteract the horde’s new tactics that ending could come this cold season or happen years or decades from now. The Swirling Waters tribe clearly wanted to instill the belief that they would be the ones standing in victory, but there could be other ways to take the saying.
For example, rather than one side winning it could also mean only one person would survive in the end. A single survivor that could either inspire pride with their tenacity or despair that for all the battles fought and blood lost they were all that remained. I made a mental note to listen for the phrase or other ones that might reference it. Doing so would hopefully help me understand how else it might be used and even give insight into the tribe’s morale.
“How do you know so much about the people here? I thought you came from a tribe in the eastern part of the goddess’s forest.”
Kaylan glanced back at me again, surprised. “You have a good memory.” She faced forward and ducked under a branch at the last moment. “I’ve always liked to collect stories and, with my ears, I’ve had the opportunity to listen to a lot of them.”
I walked under the branch she had ducked and the annoyance that I didn’t have to move my head in the slightest to avoid it helped me quell the sudden burst of questions that wanted to jump off my tongue. I wanted to ask which ones were her favorite, if she knew the more obscure ones I did, what method she used to help remember them all…none of which was information that really mattered at the moment, so I kept the questions to myself.
Still, I knew that at some point I’d likely try to get the information out of her, see if she had more myths that I could add to my own collection. Everyone knew the most common tales of their region, but it was rare to find someone else whose interest went beyond what they heard during their childhood. If Kaylan had collected as many as she implied there were probably at least a handful I hadn’t heard before or that different from the versions I knew.
I was forced out of my contemplation as the sound of fighting suddenly increased. It was loud, nearby, and I reached for my spear on instinct.
Kaylan held up a staying hand. “Best not interfere unless the situation is truly dire. An unknown fighter could cause confusion and do more harm than good.”
I let go of my spear. Another thing to consider. I knew that the Tribe Master had been reluctant to accept fighters from the whisper women, but I hadn’t thought that out as throughly as I should have. It wasn’t just that she hadn’t they would give the boost needed to drive off the fish, but also she didn’t want to spend the resources making sure the tribesfolk and the whisper women were ready to fight together. To make sure that they knew each other’s tactics and didn’t get in each other’s way by surprising or confusing each other. As it was, I could help fight but if I leapt into a battle without thinking I could disrupt the tribesfolk’s plan or simply cause enough of a disturbance that the fish could take advantage of the distraction.
“We can still watch from a distance. Try to keep yourself hidden.”
Kaylan led me forward around several bends as I tried to make myself as small and quiet as possible. I wasn’t a master at stealth, but I could remember my lessons from Rawley and, with the various bits of practice I had over the years, I could move with some skill. A field of crackly dried leaves and twigs might be beyond me, but on a steady walkway, clear of most debris, shadowed, and against a group who had other things on their mind I could easily sneak up unnoticed.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
A group of twenty or so tribesfolk were facing down a group of fish at least twice their size. Four different walkways ringed a small killing field while a waterway ran along its right side. Six of the tribesfolk were hauling on ropes hoisted over several sturdy branches and as they pulled down a net was pulled up from the waterway, spilling fish into the killing field while the rest of the group rained down coordinated attacks with their slings and thrown spears. Another net had already been raised, blocking of the fishes’ access to continue up the river. The river churned at its base, likely from other fish trying to cut through the net or otherwise break it.
Just as I was worried that the tribesfolk would let them attack the net uncontested, a group of the tribesfolk lined up over the river and thrust down spears into the water. Each spear had a rope knotted around it and the defenders used the rope to haul their spear back up before attacking again. Better that then losing spear after spear to the water, I guessed.
Eventually, the river was tinged yellow and ceased churning. Either all the fish were dead or had fled. One of the defense force barked out orders to check and reset traps, pile up the dead fish, and watch for any new attacks. The tribesfolk worked fast. Quick but efficient, so they decreased the amount of time with were vulnerable.
Kaylan and I waited until they were no longer on high alert and liable to attack at the slightest disturbance. Neither of us knew what signals they used to let each other know they were safe and if we wanted to keep going forward we had to pass by their checkpoint. In the end Kaylan decided to just call out to them and make some noise as we stepped into view. “Just passing through!”
Several spears swung to point in our direction, but the group’s leader made a gesture and the spears pulled back into a resting position. The leader inclined her head to us as soon as her gaze fixed on our black lips. “Forgive my fighters. We weren’t told whisper women would be passing through.”
Kaylan smiled back at her and kept her posture loose, open. “This more of an impromptu trip. Wasn’t time to send out a warning. Anything we can do to make sure we don’t catch the next group by surprise?”
The corner of the leader’s mouth twitched but she was too controlled to fully frown. “If there’s fighting we would appreciate it if you could wait for it to pass. We can handle distraction, but less is always better. Otherwise, you can whistle.” She demonstrated a whistle that started low and rose in pitch before going low again with a half a second pause in the middle. “The fish have yet to replicate those.”
The implications of that shocked me and I couldn’t help but ask, “What have they replicated?”
“Claps, clicks, that sort of thing. If they have a conch commander directing them they can be smarter about it.” She cleared her throat. “Do you need directions to find your way?”
That was as close to a dismissal as she could come without being out right being rude. Clearly, she wanted us to stop being an inconvenient distraction, but part of me was still surprised that she dared even that much. No one from the Gabbler Shore tribe would even thought to try to gently shoo a whisper woman on her way.
Kaylan started forward again. “We’ll be visiting the Den. If there’s anyone we might surprise on the way, a runner wouldn’t be amiss.”
The leader’s mouth twitched into another almost frown, but she gestured again to one of the tribesfolk and the man started sprinting. It wasn’t something I had noted fully at first since I had gotten used to firestarters fighting along whisper woman, but the Swirling Waters tribe had men and women fighting among their ranks, though there seemed to still be some differences between them. For one, I saw the men manning the nets and set as lookouts while the women seemed to be the ones mainly fighting with spear and sling. I was sure the men could still fight if needed, but they weren’t Creed who was much a part of Mishtaw’s squad as his wife.
We passed two other outposts as we made our way to the Den. Only one of them had a killing field attached, however. The other one was situated over a wide, but shallow portion of a waterway. The fish tried to use it as a resting place since the river’s flow slowed there, but the defenders often turned it into a trap instead. I didn’t get to learn more because it was clear that the tribesfolk didn’t want us to linger and Kaylan also seemed keen on reaching our destination.
The Den looked like ever other bit of waterlogged, half frozen bit of forested delta we had passed through. The trees’ roots knotted through water and murky ground, dangerous, thick shrubbery enveloped the ground, and snow clung where it could. At first, I didn’t understand why we had stopped. Then Kaylan jumped over the railing and onto a curiously thick bit of snow. She didn’t sink into it and quickly disappeared from sight as branches covered my view. I weighed my options before hurrying after her.
When I stepped onto the wide patch of white my foot didn’t sink in, either. Instead, it felt hard and smooth, like wood or bone. I reached down to touch whatever it was I was standing on, but the surface didn’t change. My stomach sank but it was too late to call Kaylan back. I doubted we were supposed to be casually walking on what I was realizing this could be, but I wasn’t ready to turn around and miss out on whatever Kaylan wanted to show me, so I started to weave through the branches after her.
I found her on a ridge of rounded white that broke above the tree line. She seemed impressed as she gestured to the area around us.
“Take a look.”
A wide line of white wove through the trees in the area with one end turning into a snake head, four fronds trailing back from its cheeks and forehead, mouth open to display fangs as long as my arm.
We were standing on the Water Frond Snake and if it had a living snake it could have swallowed me whole with ease. It was even longer than the water snake I had faced on the shore. I wasn’t sure how its size helped with all the varying sizes of the waterways in the delta, but looking at it, standing on it, it was enough take my breath away.