Peli's Journey : Chapter 4

Rossa felt uneasy with a legendary Relic in hand. It was surreal, holding something so precious in her hands. Relics like these, she thought, should only belong to the rich and powerful; people with certain stature and position in the Society. Somehow she felt unfitted to hold the Lamp of Lambrahsia.

On the other hand, there was a sense of excitement. It felt like she stood at the edge of the cliff, and there was nothing between her and the world of greatness; an interesting mix of fear and anticipation.

It was thus akin to a dull thud to the solid earth when she realized that the Lamp does nothing, as far as showing her direction goes.

It was the first night out of the city of Yan when she took out the Lamp, with great reverence, and… well, she didn’t know what to do with it, so she just held it in her hand. How could a lamp show direction? Maybe it would shoot out a light beam and point at the general direction? Rossa carefully placed the Lamp on top of her palm. Maybe the Lamp would rotate and point at the correct direction like a compass. Or maybe there was some kind of secret map engraved on the body of the Lamp. Rossa tried everything she could with the Lamp. Shaking it, rubbing it, staring at it, talking to it, every possible action one could take with a living or non-living object.

Nothing really came.

When she lay exhausted in the back of the cart, the holy Lamp discarded aside out of frustration, she was confronted with an overwhelming sense of loss and fear.

What would happen if the Lamp could not show her the direction? How would she carry on? She had no idea what’s the world out of Yan looked like, she had no idea where to go. And of all her preparation, she did not bring a map. She just assumed that the Lamp will lead her to where she wanted to go!

She had to come up with something. Those two young men would soon come to her for directions, and somehow, she must have a direction to give when the inevitable question come.

XXX

The road leading out of the City of Yan was a wide and well maintained dirt-packed thoroughfare. The cart could travel fast and steady on it. However, it soon came to an abrupt end. It almost looked like the road was chopped off by a sharp cleaver: the end of the road hung alone among muddy low-grassland. A small, shabby guard post stood alone at the end of the path.

Rossa stepped down from the cart and approached the guard post.

<>

An old man emerged from the guard post and greeted Rossa with a warm smile.

“Where are you and your friends going, M’lady?”

“We are leaving for Elyia.”

“Ah, but there is nothing from here on!” The old guard cackled wildly, “This is the end of the world!”

“Huh?” All three travellers were caught off guard by that remark.

“I mean, there is nothing out here except endless grassland.” The old guard waved his hands in wide arch, indicating the surrounding marshland. “No one who ventured forth ever came back.”

“But we know people who came from Elyia!” Peli exclaimed with great indignant.

“Hehe, Elyia is just a fictional name used to cheat innocent kids into leaving their comfortable home! It’s all a big lie” The old man had a wild look in his eyes.

“But… but…” Peli stammered.

“Look, have you ever been to Elyia?”

“Well, no, but we are heading there…”

“How many people that you know have been to Elyia? Have you seen maps or books about it?”

“Uh…”

“My Lady, with all due respect, you came from the city of Yan, has anyone talked about it except as a subject in the Collegia?”

“I am not aware if there’s any source other than the Collegia.” Rossa replied coldly. Inside, she was shaken.

“See, it’s all just fables!” the old man grin widely and showed his yellow, dirty teeth. “And my job here is actually to tell lost kids like you to go back home and stop pursuing groundless dreams!”

The three young travellers looked at each other, lost for words.

“You are not getting anywhere. Look, there’s nowhere to go except back!”

Looking around, Peli could tell it was true, at least as it appears. There was not a visible path continuing from here, and everything was just hidden.

“We will go ahead.” Rossa said with a stone face.

After discovering that the Relic had no magical property, and that it might be possible that she could go nowhere, and that she did not know the way, she however could not imagine returning to her city and her home in disgrace. After all, there were another two young men here on their way to Elyia, and that she just might reach there tagging along.

“Haha, but where would you go?” The old man smirked, eyes twinkling with mischievous glint. “Where could you go? You cart can’t even get past this point!”

“We don’t need the cart.” Han’li said without much emotion. He was surveying the grassland and realized he could survive on this grassland. It wasn’t something he was familiar, to be sure, but he noticed movement and disturbance among the low shrubs and bushes that suggested life. And he believed that anywhere he could see life, he could survive.

“I am quite sure how to live on this plain. We can figure out the way later. But we are leaving the cart behind.” Han’li said with distracted authority.

“There must be something we have to bring along.” Rossa said, desperately clutching to her Lamp.

“Well, each of us can carry a sack of whatever the person can carry, but that’s all. We need some food stuff and water, but that’s all I really recommend.”

At this point, the old man interjected.

“Hold, hold, ye all. So you are determined to go?”

“Yes, sir, I guess we are.” Peli said politely.

“Well then, can’t stop fools from chasing after gold. Haha. Here’s what I’ll offer you. Leave all the stuff you can’t bring along with me, I’ll provide u with all the food and water you need.”

<>

The rest of the day was spent sorting out and packing things to bring along. Rossa couldn't carry much weight, if at all. She was so used to having servant to help her with her burden that the sole idea of carrying her own sack repulsed her. However, she was told by Han'li in no uncertain term that if she didn't carry her own share of food, she might not live.

What was interesting was that she did not think of turning back, even when confronted with the possibility of losing her way and dying in the grassland. Challenge from Han'li only made her more determined than ever to prove that she could undertake the journey.

An old saying goes, “we were all once immortal at the age of 20”. For Rossa, it definitely felt that way. Intellectually she knew the possibilities of death, but the concept of death seemed so far away and surreal, that she might as well had been an immortal.

With the cart parked nicely beside the old shabby guard post, the troupe of three left to walk through the grassland with nothing but their respective provisions on their shoulders.

Han'li took the lead. He felt invigorated by the presence of nature. The man-made structures of the City of Yan stifled him, while the vastness of nature released him. Every senses became acute, the movement among the shrubs, the distant noise made by unknown animals, the mixed scent of various animals and plants carried by the wind, all made him very aware of his surrounding.

The grassland seemed peaceful, but his experience told him that there might be hidden danger, which might also mean there might be opportunities for new discovery. The combination of both excited Han'li.

<>

There were path hidden under the low grass, animal trails which led towards water source, and for Han'li the first order of the day was to find a safe place to make an encampment, only then can the next step be planned.

The other two of the troupe followed silently, each buried deep in his or her own thoughts.

Peli was beginning to doubt whether he could ever reach his destination. For him, the arriving and leaving had become his life. He could no longer stopped at a place for long, unless he reached Elyia. Even then, he was beginning to realize maybe it wasn't the end of the journey.

Rossa, on the other hand, was determined to make it to Elyia and back to Yan, so that she could prove to her parents, the collegia, and perhaps the whole city, that she was better than all of them. Or maybe she just wanted to prove to herself that she was good enough. She didn't know which, but she kept telling herself she would not turn back until her goals were accomplished, and she kept telling herself that she would never regret her decision.

Han'li soon realized that the low grassland was dotted with pockets of quicksands, and it would be hard to find clean water source. And rare water source would be visited by many animals, which no doubt included predatory animals which could threatened the life of the three travellers. They would need weapon, but beside some small knifes primarily used for cutting, Han'li had not prepared any weapon. In the forest, the hardwood used to provide the perfect material for wooden spears, but the soft and tender branches of the low shrubs probably could not make a convincing and effective weapon.

He had to improvised and adapted his hunting skills to the new condition of the grassland.

That particular question was soon rendered irrelevant. Or rather, it was to be made into another problem when they stumbled upon the lake hidden amongst the long grass.

The Lake was surrounded by low shrubs and various form of low vegetations, which sort of hid it from the view of the travellers. Once they had gotten pass the curtains of vegetation, however, the Lake that presented itself was majestic.

It filled the view of the travellers, extending to as far as the eye could see, and seemingly blended into the far sky. Han'li squated down and tasted the water.

“It was clean and safe to drink.” He said, indicating the surrounding with a swipe of his right hand. “We need to look for a place to camp. A higher ground, perhaps.”

While they were busy surveying the ground, Peli suddenly heard a strange hissing sound. He quickly alerted his party:

“Han, you heard anything strange?”

At this point, Han'li had realized something was wrong, but before he could do anything, a grassrope lasso flew out of nowhere and trapped him. And like a well rehearsed dance, the second and third lasso flew out of the shrubs surrounding the swamps and trapped Rossa and Peli respectively.

It was too late to struggle but to prepare to meet their captor. They were not kept waiting for long; lizard-like folks, with the height of half a matured man's body, emerged from the surrounding shrubs. They were dressed in simple clothing made of leaves and grass, and wielded primitive weapons made by sharpened bones. There were about 10 or them and they approached the three trapped human tentatively, their scaly snout twitched nervously, and their yellow eyes flickered with something akin to doubt.

Rossa was scared, and when she was afraid, she usually started talking. Even though she wasn't sure whether the lizard folks could understand what she was saying.

“Hey, please, we are just travellers going to Elyia. We mean no harm and we just want to get through in peace! You can have anything you want as long as you let us lived!”

She talked desperately, staring at these strange creatures pleadingly. On the other hand, the lizard folks stopped advancing and glanced at each other, obviously puzzled by the strange sound made by the female human.

Han'li quickly noticed that their communication was a series of hisses and clackers, and apparently they did not understand any human language. He also noticed that some of the lizard folks carried a sort of primitive blowpipe. From his own experience, these blowpipes were usually paired with poisonous darts. He used these blowpipe usually against bigger predators. That made him realized that these lizard folks were also hunters living on a harshland.

He started to survey the lasso that trapped them. It was made of three intertwined vines, and it seemed only half processed, as there was still some leaves left on the vines. Vines which were not cured could be easily broken as long as he had some time.

Rossa, and now Peli, had put up a credible effort to stalled the lizard folks, realizing that human language didn't work, Rossa and Peli contented themselves with making pleading sounds and gestures, whatever limited gesture they could make. The lizard folks seemed more hesitant, and the attention was diverted away from Han'li.

Han'li tried to hide behind the other two and inconspicuously attempted to loosen the lasso. Throughout the years he had developed a certain technique of flexing his muscles so that he could get out of tight spot, and if he could just loosen the vine ropes enough that it slipped to his wrist level, he was pretty sure he could break the vine ropes with sheer strength.

However, time wasn't always enough, and something else interjected and changed the scenario again. The new agent came in the form of a ferocious, and hungry tiger.

The tiger jumped out from a nearby shrubs, and neither party was aware of its presence because they were focusing on each other. Immediately one of the lizard folks were caught under the massive claws of the tiger while the rest scattered in all directions.

Rossa and Peli stared in horror and as Rossa let out a loud scream which startled the tiger, Han'li had successfully broken the vine ropes and freed himself. In hurry, some of the blowpipes were left on the ground. And Han'li quickly took up one of the blowpipes and immediately blow a dart at the tiger. That seemed to antagonize the tiger and the tiger switched its attention from the trapped, fainted lizard folks to Han'li. However, it also seemed to remind the rest of the lizard folks of their blowpipes, soon, several darts shoot out from the shrubs and stung the massive feline, anger it further. It tried to jump at Han'li, but Han'li evaded with great agility, at the same time he pushed his two companions who were still trapped to another shrubs to the side. He took out a short knife he kept closed to his inner thigh and prepared to fight the tiger. He knew if he ran, he might not be able to outstrip the tiger. Several more darts flew out from the shrubs and landed on the tiger. Some slipped off hitting the thick fur, a few stuck into the tender buttock.

Whatever the lizard folks coated on the dart, it surely took its time to show effect. Soon, the tiger seemed to wobble, and it tried to get away. However, it could no longer moved with great speed and after taking a few steps, it crumbled to the ground, either unconscious or dead.

Han'li did not take time to find out. Immediately he used his short knife to release the two trapped companions and pulled them running. It appeared the lizard folks had exhausted their darts, as the three companions ran away, no darts trailed their footsteps.

Rossa ran like there would be no tomorrow. It was the first time in her life she ran like a madwoman, not knowing where to go, not knowing where to stop. A tiny voice in her mind said to her, “This is crazy!” while her whole body knew if she stopped running she might not be able to run again.

Han'li, on the other hand, ran with a purpose. He was looking out for a safe place to hide, and just as they were about to run out of breath, he noticed a cavern hidden beneath large shrubs. It seemed like a sort of winter hideout of big animals like bear or wolves, but it didn't look occupied.

Han'li pulled the other two into the cave and three of them immediately slumped to the ground, panting, trying to recover from the run for their life.

Han'li's instinct was proven correct. There were dried bones scattered around, but there doesn't seemed to be any activities in the recent days.

It was a rather good hideout, as it was deep. And even though it was below ground level, it was still pretty dry. There was only a narrow entrance, which made for perfect night watch position. And being hidden under large shrubs meant that they would be well camouflage, and not easily spotted.

There would be plenty of space and time to recover and plan for the next step, as soon as they solved the issue of food, since all provisions were lost during the escape.

XXX

Fortunately Han'li and Peli were both rather experience hunters. Peli wasn't accustomed to facing off big predatory animals, but when it comes to finding food in the wild, he was pretty resourceful. Soon the two men gathered enough food for a few days just by surveying the surrounding shrubs. Han'li realized the grassland had an abundance of small animals like rabbits, bull frogs, snakes and various birds. Even edible fruits were easily found in the surrounding. That removed one of his worries.

Rossa was miserable. She was totally unaccustomed to the new situation. She was doubly glad that she was in the companionship of the two young “brutes”, as she realized she might just lose her life, stranded in this wild land with no skill whatsoever to speak of.

The sun began to sink in the west, and a small fire was started to roast the hunt of the day. The three ate their meals in silent, lost in the reverence of being alive.

As they were finishing the food, Peli started to speak distractedly.

“Somehow we must get through the grassland. Elyia was on the other side.”

“But how?” Rossa said in frustration.

“Well, you still had the lamp, u would know which way to go, won't you?” Peli said with a sudden renewed enthusiasm, realizing that Rossa had tied the lamp on to her belt all the while.

“Uh... it doesn't really show the direction.” Rossa threw her hands in the air. “I tried everything, it just did nothing!”

“Oh...” Peli was surprised, “But Sir Maheuw said...”

“He obviously knew nothing about it.” Rossa raised her voice.

“Well there was one way it can show the way.” Hanli interjected. “Throw it in the air and we'll go whichever way it points to.”

“Haha, you are so funny.” Rossa cackle drily. “If the situation wasn't so dire I might have enjoyed your humor.”

“I wasn't joking. It is one way we can use the lamp to decide a direction.” Han'li shrugged. “As long as we have a direction, we can just go.”

“Wait, how about we ask the lizard folks!” Peli exclaimed.

Rossa and Han'li looked at him like he had lost his mind.

“I know they don't understand our language, but they are not animals either! As long as they have intelligence, we can try to communicate! Right?”

“Erm... they tried to capture us if you can remember.” Han'li said, patting Peli's head with worry.

“Well, that maybe because they thought we were dangerous. Maybe that can change!”

“I seriously don't see how can you do it, but I guess it's no worse than using the holy Lamp as a coin toss.” Rossa commented with great irony.

“We'll figure something out, I believe. Let's just rest and tomorrow, we shall start our journey again.”

xxx

Peli and Han'li splitted the nightwatch duty among the two of them, Rossa having no experience living in the wild, and physically drained out.

The moon had just passed the middle of the sky when Peli woke Han'li up to change the shift.

<>

The vast grassland under the canopy of the peaceful night sky looked like a majestic ocean, which belied the danger hidden within. Peli wasn't sleepy when he woke Han'li up, so he decided to stay with Han'li for a while. The surrounding reminded him of the countless nights in the forest, when life was simply a concern of food and safety.

“Do you miss your life in the forest, Han?”

“No, not really.” Han'li replied without hesitation.

“You could have a peaceful and happy life in the forest, had I not dragged you into this foolish journey of mine.” Peli smiled, staring at Han'li.

“I wanted to come. After you arrived into the forest, I have realized it wasn't enough to simply live in my world. I want to share my life with someone else now.”

“Anyone?”

“I don't know. I have only really known you so far.”

“How about Rossa? What do you think of her?”

“I don't understand her. I think she needs to learn how to live on her own first.”

“I was reminded of myself when I first left my village when I saw her. We were so alike, helpless outside of the places and people we were used to.”

“You were willing to learn! She wasn't...”

“I almost died, remember? Could be a strong motivation to learn about surviving.”

Han'li laughed about it as he recalled the first time he saw Peli, half-dead in the forest. He still remembered clearly that was the first time he approached someone else.

Suddenly, Han'li heard a dull thud which stood out in the silent night. He stood up and looked around. Some distance away, the several lizard folks stood with the corpse of a tiger, apparently the same one who tried to eat them earlier in the day. The lizard folks appeared unarmed, but Han'li noticed subtle movement beneath the surrounding bushes.

Peli stood up and saw the same scene. He was excited.

“Do you think they are trying to show us something? Perhaps a truce of peace?”

“I can't tell.”

Han'li examined the lizard folks carefully. The few that showed themselves appeared nervous, their scaly tails and snouts twitching occasionally. But they seemed determined. They simply stood besides the corpse and did nothing.

“I can't tell whether it's a trap.”

“I don't think they need a trap if they mean any harm. They obviously had found us quite some time, and with their poisonous blow pipe they could easily have caught us.”

“Maybe they want us alive?”

“Maybe, but that will mean we have no immediate life danger!”

“So what do you suggest?”

“Let me go over and try to figure out something.” Peli said. “If anything isn't right, at least you can get away with Rossa and try to rescue me later.”

Han'li tried to object, but Peli had already started moving towards the small gathering of the lizard folks.

Truth be told, Peli wasn't so much afraid as thrilled. For some unknown reason, he did not feel threatened by the lizard folks. Perhaps it was in the nervous twitching of tails, but he realized he could trust them.

He probably wasn't realizing it but as he was walking towards the lizard folks, he was smiling, and when he stood by the corpse, he felt no danger. Somehow he could tell the lizard folks were smiling back at him.

He stuck out a hand, open palm, and waited. The lizard folks looked at each other, and finally one of them put out a claw.

The claw and the the hand clasped, and a truce had been reached.

The key to the grass plain had been found.