Kinderling 41

  In case you are interested in starting this story at the beginning, Kinderling 1 can be found here:

The Tricycle of Thought: Kinderling 1

Please don't judge the story or the writing too harshly, this story is written with little to no editing.  It is just meant to get me writing regularly for practice.  

Now back to our story, already in progress..

We were all finally ready to leave the mushroom farm after more discussion and unneeded excitement.  The former Gorf soldiers ended up mostly being from three distinct tribes as far as I could tell, which was extra fun because two of those tribes must have been life-long enemies.  I was impressed by Flower, tiny by comparison, stepping between the two groups and telling them both off, diverting a fight we all could ill afford.  Once that was settled, all three groups decided to go their separate ways.  I was sad to see them go, I had a feeling we could use their strength, but I wasn't going to try to force them.  They had enough being forced to do what they didn't want to do.

The race of Man decided to stick together and make their own way back to Dorinth.  The Woman, who's name was Iowne, promised to talk to her father about re-opening the trade road.  It seems that Kinderlings and Kinderling Silver are nearly as much a myth in Dorinth as the race of Man was to me.  

The two Kinderling traders decided to try to catch up to the Dwarves after learning just how precarious the situation was in the village.  They didn't want to get involved in a fight that wasn't their own.  Dobbo discussed going with them, but they refused to take him.

"So, trying to run away Dobbo?"  I asked him.

"No, I guess not."  He answered,  "I don't have a side Tandy.  Baot would never take me back.  He would probably kill me on site if he found me.  Your people aren't going to accept me.  I'm not sure if your parents will remember me or not, but that doesn't matter.  They'll know I was once Baot's Lieutenant.  If you don't tell them, I'll tell them myself.  I have had a lot of time in chains here.  So long I lost track of the years, it must be five or six.  Maybe more."

"If you left when I was a wee-baby, it'll be more than ten."  I reminded him.

 He visibly deflated.  "So many years.  I was to be married, I my family has probably forgotten me."  I didn't want to tell him, there was no telling what side his family was on, or if they even lived.  I found myself feeling sorry for Dobbo until I remembered that he came to this sorry place by working for Baot.  I had to remind myself not to trust him.

When we finally left the mushroom farm, we were back down to two Kinderlings, me and Dobbo, along with Flower and her tribe, plus a couple former soldiers who were pushed away from all the other Gorf groups that were escaping.  Why were they pushed away?  I have no idea.  I could tell that Flower and her tribe weren't thrilled about having them along either, but until I found a way to communicate with Flower beyond meaningful stares and - I'm afraid often misunderstood - facial expressions and body language, there was no way to know.  What was clear was that Flower wasn't letting the two of them out of her sight, and oddly, the two Gorfs seemed to be in awe of Flower and those of her tribe that had the trait of being "touched by Gorphom", having two thumbs and three fingers on each hand.  The few tribe members who didn't share that trait were all but ignored by those two.

I followed Flower when we left the mushroom cavern.  I didn't know where we were going, and she wasn't able to tell me, but she sure seemed to know.  She lead us further away from the Mountain Gorf fortress gates, and on down the road, apparently discussing our path with one of the women of her tribe.  The woman looked older, but I didn't know if that was from age or from her time in chains.  She sure seemed to know where she was going though.  The road started to slope downwards not far from the mushroom farm, and it wasn't long before we made it back down to the tree line.

It was like a breath of fresh air getting back among the trees.  The area was still pretty rocky, but at least there were trees.  Soon after, we left the road.  I guessed that Flower and her companion were following their noses, because they had their noses in the air and there was a lot of sniff sniffing going on.

In my experience, forest Gorfs don't make roads - the roads around the village were made by Kinderlings - so it didn't surprise me when Flower lead us away from the road.  When - not if - the Mountain Gorfs found their overseers murdered and slaves missing, they would surely send soldiers after us.  Being small, I was easily able to pass through the forest without leaving a trail, but even then any Gorf worth his nose would be able to follow us.  

I guess I didn't need to be too concerned though, because I soon found out what all the sniffing was about.  We soon came across a wide, shallow, swift moving stream.  To my surprise, Flower lead everyone out to the middle of the stream and started walking downstream, pointing, grumbling, and sniffing the whole way to make sure everyone stayed in the middle and away from the edges.  I worried about trouble from the two former Gorf soldiers, but when I looked for them, they were nodding in what seemed to be approval.

It eventually occurred to me that walking in the water like this would wash away any scent we were leaving, and as an added bonus we were traveling further down the mountain and away from the Gorf Mountain Kingdom with every step.  I got a bit of a fright when the water started getting a little too deep and swift for me.  The Gorfs were all fine, but Dobbo and I started having trouble keeping our feet.  Then SWOOP, a large hand scooped me up and I was sat upon a rather large Gorf shoulder.  I noticed that Dobbo was likewise picked up.  He wasn't as lovingly and carefully carried as I was, basically being carried under the arm of one of the former Gorf soldiers, but at least it beat the alternative of getting washed down stream.

That night we slept in a Gorf cave.  The previous inhabitants were gone, and by the looks of things when we arrived, it wasn't by choice.  The whole thing made me nervous.  Before I went to try to get some sleep, I told Flower to tell everyone not to stray outside the cave and I hung my no-see-me at the cave entrance, and hoped for the best.

At first I had an awful time trying to get to sleep.  Sure I had my pack, which meant I at least had a blanket when nobody else did.  I thought I should feel guilty, but remembered that I had never seen a Gorf use a blanket, so the only one suffering was poor Dobbo.  After a short time, I couldn't take his teeth chattering as he shivered any longer and just gave him the blanket.  As I walked back towards the spot I had claimed as my sleeping place, I'm ashamed to say I regretted the kindness.  The night was truly getting cold, and no I had no blanket.

I curled up in the smallest little ball that I could manage to try to preserve some warmth and berated myself some more as now I was the one shivering with chattering teeth.  Then a large form wrapped itself around me.  It was the Gorf female who carried me all day.  She patted me with her large, two thumbed hand, and pulled me in close.  Not close like I felt trapped or squished or anything, but close like I felt protected and cared for.

I wished Watcher was there so he could tell me her name.

The next few days we traveled carefully.  I hadn't noticed that first day, but Flower and her companion?  Friend?  Worked the tribe as a team, sending out flankers to watch our back trail and scouts to rove ahead.  The tribe was constantly moving.  The smaller, less physically capable formed the core group.  As flankers and scouts came back to report, often they would bring back reeds, vines, branches, and other materials, and the core group were industrious as they walked, weaving baskets or bundling up the branches into easier to carry bundles.  I was amazed.  I had never seen this side of Gorfs, which confused me, because I had actively watched the Gorfs from around the village.  This wasn't how they acted.

After that first day of walking down the stream, we left the waterway behind and traveled through the forest.  It was plain to see that this is where these Gorfs were most at home.  I walked some, but a lot of the time, the pace was too fast and I had trouble keeping up, so a lot of the time I was carried by that same Gorf who carried me that first day.  She was one of the larger of Flower's tribe, although not nearly as large as the Gorf soldiers or Mouse.  I got the impression that she was relatively young, and I noticed that she was very deferential to Flower and her companion.  Because I needed some kind of name for her, I started thinking of her as Daisy.  I don't know why, it just seemed to fit.  

Not long after we set out on the morning of the third day, one of the scouts came back carrying something and acting all excited.  The tribe gathered around, and Daisy sat me on her shoulder again so I could see.  I noticed that Dobbo and the two former Gorf soldiers were, not rudely but firmly, excluded.  At first I was confused.  They were all reverently looking at a stick, or perhaps tree branch or the trunk of a small tree.  Then Flower pulled out her knife and handed it to her companion, who started expertly carving the ragged end into a nice rounded shape.  She then handed stick and knife to Flower who carved some, and in turn handed the stick to another tribe member.  By the time it got around to Daisy, it was looking similar, but not identical to the tribe-stick that I traded to Mouse what seemed like forever ago for Father, Uncle Zon, and my passage from the cave with the lake.

To my utter amazement, after she was done, Daisy handed the stick and the knife to me.  I had been watching carefully, trying to discern the idea behind what they were carving, so I think I understood how the pattern should continue, but I have to say I was more than a little nervous, feeling like I was being given a great honor and I didn't want to mess it up.

I carefully checked and re-checked the pattern, and then made my cuts.  The knife was too big for me, and it was pretty dull, but I think I did well enough.  My section was more neatly done than some of the previous ones.  When I was done, I looked around for who to give it to next.  Daisy helped me out by suggesting, using a tilt of her head and meaningful look, one of the former soldiers.  As Daisy put me down and I made my way over to him, he fell down on his knees and wept openly as he carefully took the knife and stick and added his markings.  Then he grumbled something to Daisy, who had come with me, and she nodded.  He then turned to the other former soldier.  They had a short grumbling and sniffing conversation, after which he also went to his knees and accepted the staff and knife.  I have no idea what that all meant.  Deep inside I feel like he was asking, "After all I've done, do I deserve this?  Do I deserve to be accepted among these people?"  The answer he received was yes.

As a funny side note.  The second former Gorf soldier started to turn towards Dobbo when he was done, but was quickly and neatly intercepted by Flower, who returned the stick to her companion.  Poor Dobbo was decidedly not going to be a member of the tribe.  Maybe it's just my mean or selfish side, but I was glad that I didn't have to share that honor with Dobbo.  Don't get me wrong, he actually seems like a decent person till I remember he was once a member of Baot's crew, and in a way as I get to know him, how could I not since we were the only two Kinderlings traveling with a group of Gorfs, so he was the only person I could talk to and hope to get an answer back.

As we traveled, I noticed that there was a pecking order among the Gorf tribe.  I didn't pick up on it at first, but it was definitely there.  I don't know how, but I felt like I was able to intuit what the order was.  Interestingly, it didn't follow any pattern that I could define.  It wasn't the order that the tribe members carved the tribe-stick in.  Daisy was near the top of the pecking order, behind only Flower and her companion - between whom I couldn't decide who was on top - and Daisy was near the last of the people to carve, ahead of only me and the former soldiers.  It also didn't seem to come down to size, strength, or age.  If I was reading things right, the tribe member right after Daisy was a short, older male who often had to be helped when the terrain got rough.  The Gorf behind him was practically a child, too young to be a scout or a flanker and not skilled enough to be much help crafting.

After a few more days of walking through the forest, I was amazed when we broke cover and found a road.  THE road.  The Kinderling road, South of the village that the Kinderling militia used for patrolling.  I could tell that most of the tribe members were intimidated by the road, but Flower grumbled at them and the settled down.

Flower brought Dobbo and me forward as if to talk to us.  I didn't think it would work, but was curious enough to go along.  Flower indicated with her hand towards Dobbo, then indicated the direction of the village.  She repeated this a few times.  Then she indicated Dobbo, then me, then indicated the general direction that I knew the Garrison at Outcropping to be.  Again doing so a few times to get her point across.

"Dobbo, she's asking if you want to go to the village, or if you want to go with me to where my people are."  I told him.

"You understood all that?"  He asked.

"Yea, Flower and I talk all the time."  I answered.  Of course it wasn't strictly true, but Dobbo didn't need to know that.

"So, I get to decide if I want to go crawling back to Baot, and hope he doesn't put me in chains or just kill me on the spot.  Or go with you and be flayed alive by that mother of yours."  

"Mama's not like that!"  It was more of an outburst than I intended, and even to my own ears I sounded like a petulant child, but he shouldn't say such things about Mama.

"I am sorry, I was just being playful.  Of course your mother isn't like that."  he explained.  "I should have been more respectful."

I could tell he was worried about his future, and I could see his point.  Yes, for all I knew of Baot, if Dobbo went to the village I didn't like his chances of survival.  And to be honest, with how Mama is seen by people, it isn't out of the question that Dobbo might actually believe Mama would gut him like a fish and leave him for dead if she thought he was a danger.  People didn't tend to understand Mama very well.

"Aw, come on.  I'll pwotect woo fwom my scawwe Mama"  I baby talked to him.  Yes, I was being condescending, but it was an attempt to lighten up the mood, so it was for a good cause.  A guy could do something stupid and get himself killed if he was all up tight and worried about things like Doggo was.

"Fine, I'll go with you.  Maybe I can get to your father first and beg for mercy.  She has to listen to him, right?"  Dobbo said.  Man does he not understand the dynamics between Father and Mama, but I didn't want to be the one to tell him.  With what he seems to think of Mama, he would die of fright before we even got back to the garrison.