Walkabout

The hunjay came to me one day as a way ot test the bond between cat and Feliter.  It was supposed to test the limits of the bond.  It has since come to be a sort of unofficial patrol of the Plains.  Lyndasty and Feran are sent on an epic hunjay to the volcano at the center of the plains.  There they meet legends.

Walkabout


by Clay Moore

Lyndasty felt Seskel’s approach more than heard him. She had been told to pack for a journey of many days. She was finishing packing the second of her saddle bags. She took many water bags, but little meat other than a few pounds of the jerked meat she made from her last few kills. She would be taking her horse, an animal she won from a Feliter who thought that Feran was too small bring down a Highland Buffalo. She suspected that it was really a gift from Seskel who couched it in a wager using the other feliter. She formed this opinion when she won and the feliter did not feel all that much like a loser. The other things she packed were extra undergarments. She was due to have her moon-time. Then there was a special toy for Feran. He was only a year old and there was still the cub in him. For that matter she was only sixteen herself.
“So, Lyndy are you ready?”
The ritual instensity of his words pricked her ears. She stood and turned to her once trainer. “I am ready.”
“Good, how is Feran today?”
“I think he knew that we were going on a journey today. He’s sunning himself on King rock.”
Seskel turned toward the prominent rock and saw the large Greatcat sunning himself. Feran won that spot from the Den Leader’s Greatcat. It was not that much of a fight. Feran walked over to the rock pushed the elder Greatcat off and then plopped down. The other Greatcat did not fuss. Rather he pointedly took the second spot from the former number two, and so it went down the pecking order. It was as if the others knew that Lyndasty and Feran were not to remain in the Dens continually. Rather the pair was going to do errantry, but first they had to pass the Hunjay.
“This trip is no overnighter. This is the hunjay, the ordeal.”
Lyndasty had seen the older fellows of her class go out into the wilds alone. Some came back a week later tired, and different. Some never came back. The hunjay was meant to test your knowledge, skill, and the bond with your Greatcat. The other factor about the hunjay was that it was tailored to what Seskel thought would test your limits and go just beyond it. If you were sent on an epic hunjay, you would have great status with Dens.
“In fact this is the epic hunjay. You are never required to perform the epic hunjay. You can refuse if you wish.” He paused for her response. He heard none, and relaxed a little. “The Epic hunjay requires you to go to the dormant volcano in the center of the plains and return. You must bring something from the volcano, something that will remind you where you were. We will know if you actually went to the volcano.”
“How far?”
“Six days if you use route marching, ten if you make a vacation of it.”
“Then I should get going.”
She sent a call to Feran. The Greatcat got up from his position on king rock. He dropped down to the ground with effortless grace. At a trot he made his way to his partner. He butted his head against her thigh. She chuckled but kept up the setting of her packs on her horse.
We are going then? He asked her.
Yes, dear heart.
Where to?
There’s a mountain in the middle of the plains. We are to retrieve something from that mountain.
What thing, Lyndy?
Anything that proves we’ve been there.
How far?
Six days hard travel, ten normal patrol.
Will we hunt?
Lyndasty chuckled. Of course, we’ll hunt, dear heart.
No one is coming with us?
No, we are to do this by ourselves.
Then let’s go! He said imperatively, striding northwards.
Southwest, dear heart, southwest.
I knew that. He switched to the correct direction.
Lyndasty swung up on her horse. She set it to canter to catch up with her Greatcat.
That first day they made good distance. They were strong and well fed, but Lyndasty knew that they would not remain strong if they did not hunt. About an hour after noon, Lyndasty began to think about camping for the night. She also wanted fresh meat to keep up their strength and their morale. A line of trees marked the course of a stream or river. She did not know which it was. She was further from the Dens than she had ever been. Then her eyes saw a small herd of antelope.
Antelope! Feran fairly yelled into her mind.
I see them.
From months of long practice the pair moved toward the herd. Lyndasty discovered that being on horseback removed her as a human from the minds of the herds animals. Feran could not be disguised so easily. He went downwind of the herd and used his tawny coloration to blend into the plains grasses. Lyndasty let her horse amble toward the herd. The horse was just as practiced as the two carnivores in her association. When she was close enough, Lyndasty drew out her bow, nocked and arrow, and drew back the bow. She left fly when she knew she had the mark.
She caught the buck just behind his front left leg. He quivered when the arrow struck him, and then a tawny rush of power and fury was upon him making sure of the kill. Most of their hunts ended this way. This is what ensured the pair’s survival in the plains. Close coordination between hunter and Greatcat kept them both fed.
Feran released the buck and allowed Lyndasty to take charge of the kill. She wanted the skin mostly for her tanning. She did slice off a chunk of meat for her to prepare for roasting. The rest she tossed to Feran who began to devour the antelope. She made camp under the trees, building a fire and roasting her meat. She did preliminary preparation to the hide for later tanning.
They worked like this for five days. On the sixth day they could see the mountain, though it was still far away. From this point the mountain looked like a sharp stick with sides that were nearly vertical. It did not look like a natural mountain. As they came close to it, she noticed that the grasses gave over to bare rock with stubby scrub trying to live in the cracks of the rock. On the eighth day they found no more game. Feran complained about walking on the rocky land.
On the ninth day something happened that changed the world forever. Lyndasty thought she could have taken some rock and said that she had been to the mountain some days ago, but she was drawn to the mountain. She knew that something had shaped this mountain that was not natural. She had to see what it was. That meant she had to go up and into the mountain. Going closer o the mountain increased their feeling of dread. Something was here. This was no ordinary volcano.
With no vegetation around them and little pools of water, it should not have been possible for something to surprise her, but a creature popped up from the ground as she road toward the mountain. The horse reared throwing Lyndasty off. She hit the ground hard with a whuff from her lungs. Momentarily stunned all she heard was the screaming challenge from Feran. Finally she gathered herself and stood up.
Feran and the thing were standing each grasping the other around the chest. The thing was a little taller than a man. It has a greenish tinge to its skin. It looked vaguely like a human. Its face was flattened with a broad nose. It had tusks more than teeth. It manage to throw off Feran. Then it grabbed a sword from its belt. Lyndasty could not let her partner be run through by the thing. She drew her scimitar and went to her partner’s aid.
She caught the thing’s sword with her scimitar. It turned toward her momentarily forgetting the Greatcat. It raised its sword. Lyndasty wondered about the weapon. The things armor was well built with artfully done figures of things in agony. The sword was single edged, more of a long axe than a sword. She had seen nothing like this before, but something niggled in the back of her mind. This thing was not quite that unfamiliar. She parried the thing’s blow.
It had no swordsmanship. It was focused on chopping with its weapon. Considering the force of the blow transferred to her scimitar, it did not need that much swordsmanship. The thing must be nearly all muscle. It moved quickly and decisively. It said nothing during the battle. Lyndasty tried a riposte to the next blow. It was able to recover quickly and block her slash. They traded blows and blocks three times. Lyndasty knew that she could not win this battle. She lacked the sheer strength it would take to overpower this thing.
Are you okay, Feran? She asked her Greatcat.
Just recovering.
Good. It seems to be focused on me. Could you hit it from behind.
Done.
The Greatcat pounced from behind. The sudden attack from behind surprised the thing and drove it to the ground. Lyndasty took the moment to drive the point of her scimitar between the plates of the helmet and pauldon. She pushed it in as far as she could hoping to hit something vital. It must have worked for the thing went suddenly limp and black blood gushed from the wound. She pulled out her scimitar which allowed more of the black blood to pour out on the ground.
She took the thing’s neckcloth that it wore to prevent chafing from the plate armor. She wiped her blade off using that cloth. With her blade back to pristine condition, she took a closer look at the thing. She had to turn the body over which Feran helped her with. She looked closer at the face.
You know this looks like an Ithgar.
What’s that.
A monster from children’s tales.
It looks real enough.
I know. The tales from elder times hints that the Feliter and Feliteras were placed in the plains for a purpose. We were to be guardians, but of what or against what it never said. The children’s tales told to the young in the den are not the same stories told in the bordering towns or villages.
It this thing then what our purpose was to be?
Perhaps. I think I have our souvenir of our trip.
She stood up and drew her scimitar. She cut off the head. Then she wrapped it up in a leather sheet.
Let’s get back to the Den. If the thing that we were to look for has come they will want to know.
She pressed the pace on the way back home. They hunted, but not as much or as long. By the time they were back at the Den they had both lost a little weight.
Alerted by her farcast about what she found at the mountain. Seskel had sent for the King’s Wizard, Almady. He arrived the day before Lyndasty’s return. Seskel said nothing to the Den. He allowed the watch to announce her return. Then he went with the Wizard to watch Lyndasty return from her hunjay.
She looked haggard from her trip. Feran went straight to his spot of King rock. Seskel had to observe the forms.
“Have you returned from your hunjay with victory?”
“I have, master.”
“What is your report?”
“I believe that our ancient enemy, the Ithgar, have returned.”
“What token have you of this?”
She took her improvised bag and tossed it to him. He caught the leather bag and undid the knot holding it closed. When he opened it he saw the face of his nightmare.
“Ithgar” hissed Almady.
“Aye, our ancient enemy has returned. Our world is about to change once more.” said Seskel.