Nigma (The Waifs of Duldred Book 3) Page 4

  ‘Yes, let’s.’

  Gertie fetched the ink and paper. Gertie was on her third page when she stopped. ‘You know we’re going to have to cut this down. Bagla won’t be able to close her beak.’

  ‘I know,’ said Linnet, ‘but it’s the next best thing to talking to ’em ain’t it?’

  A day passed and Bagla hardly moved. Emberd was worried. He sent for Ede. Ede made a nest for Bagla in Emberd’s office. They carried her in and settled her in the circle of hay.

  ‘There’s restoring herbs in it,’ said Ede. ‘The trip has tired her but it’s the old problem that drains her. She attacks herself inside. I don’t know why.’

  ‘When will she be ready to fly out again?’ asked Gertie.

  Ede stroked the cool curve of a wing. ‘Her life force is folded in. It will come back. Give her time.’

  While Gertie waited for Bagla to recover she read the Arcannie like a caterpillar eats a crop.

  Yehvo visited again and Gertie told her what she had learned. Five days later Yehvo was back. Gertie hadn’t finished the book but it didn’t matter. She had found what Yehvo wanted, a section on the Carnoffel dam.

  ‘It’s all balanced so the force of cohesion is greater than the force of water,’ said Gertie.

  Yehvo grew intent. ‘That means?

  ‘It means the force that holds it together is bigger than the force that would break it apart.’

  ‘Alright. Can we change that around?’

  ‘So the water force is greatest?’

  Yehvo nodded.

  ‘Actually, yes.’ Gertie opened the book at a marked page. ‘See all these symbols, they show how to do just that. I don’t know why the Arcann would explain that but they have. I’ve done what it says and if I fit my grid over the drawing the weak point is there.’ Gertie pointed to a cross on the diagram. ‘Yehvo?’

  Yehvo looked stunned as though Gertie were clashing cymbals against her ears. She put her hand on the picture and squeezed her crinkly old eyes tight shut. Out of her dryness tears came leaking, like the first breach of a dam.

  5 Into the Valley

  The day after losing Rigaw the waifs reached mountain country. Lil found a craic before dark. She tried it for size and was so pleased with it that she did not come out again.

  Alas wasn’t ready to stop. He complained about Lil’s selfishness, not caring if she heard him.

  ‘She must be very tired,’ said Oy. ‘She hardly sleeps out in the open.’

  ‘It’s a waste of daylight,’ said Alas. ‘I suppose we’d better look for somewhere to bed down ourselves.’

  Gritty found a cave nearby and one by one they moved from warmth to chill, sun to stone-dank shade. Their voices were like dead voices coming up from the grave. They waited for their eyes to catch up. Alas held up a fire stick. It showed a wide shallow space. To the rear the ceiling sloped into darkness. The floor was covered in debris, mostly bones.

  ‘Looks like a bear cave,’ said Alas. ‘It will do for tonight. Clear a bit of floor for yourselves and we’ll fetch some firewood.’

  They slept well. In the morning the ashes were still warm and the sun was shining into the cave. They ate and drank and prepared to leave. As Alas bent over his bag, he picked up a bone.

  ‘Would you look at that.’ His eyes scanned the floor sharply and he grinned the widest grin. He held the bone for all of them to see. ‘We’ve been sleeping on money. We take this back to Affland, we can sell it in the markets.’

  ‘You sure it ain’t some common goat bone?’ said Gritty.

  ‘Look,’ said Alas. ‘Now that is pretty even to my eye and I never could understand this picking through graves and dust. See how the end makes a perfect ball.’

  ‘It shades to purple,’ said Oy. ‘Linnet would like it.’

  ‘What about this?’ Gertie stooped. ‘It’s a spine with scallops sticking up. Must be that bump-backed thing we saw a way back.’

  They all began to search. ‘Pick out whatever takes your eye,’ said Alas. ‘Only take what you can easily carry.’ He held a skull with oval slots directly above the eye sockets. ‘Now what were they for? Horns or an extra pair of eyes?’

  Out in the daylight they stood in a circle looking at their finds spread out on the rocks.

  ‘You sure you want to take all these coloured bits, Oy?’ said Alas. ‘The big ones might fetch more.’

  ‘You’re thinking of Linnet, aren’t you?’ said Gritty. ‘Those are all the ones she would pick.’

  Oy nodded.

  ‘How much do you think this lot’s worth, Alas?’ said Gritty.

  Alas rubbed his jaw. ‘I reckon, even if we don’t find work, we can live off the proceeds for a while.’

  She ran her hands up and down her arms. ‘Never thought I’d have that sort of money.’

  ‘Only if we get back to Affland,’ said Oy. ‘Here, all we got is bones.’

  Lil came to look. She was well rested, almost cheerful. She thought they were foolish weighing themselves down with bones, as if their own weren’t heavy enough, and later as the climbs grew steeper and the day hotter they were inclined to agree. They had finished the last of the Nondul biscuits. Before they climbed any higher they would need to find food. Over the next few days Oy and Lil found all the plants that were edible. The prize was a sugary purple root but there was little of it. The trees were stunted in the high, dry places. They tried to tap them but the trees had no moisture to spare. Oy took some sustenance from the air and Lil filled herself with lichen and grit, but Alas and Gritty were weak with hunger.

  In the valley below them they could see two villages. Even from a distance it was clear they were poor broken down places but it was decided that Gritty would go down in the morning and trade for food with the beads and dyes they had brought from Nondula. There was no point in going further that evening so they made camp for the night.

  The ravines darkened and one sight after another faded away. Lil leaned her back against the cliff face and relaxed.

  ‘The night suits you don’t it?’ said Gritty.

  ‘The day pesters; the night leaves you alone,’ said Lil. ‘When your eyes rest there’s more space for your ears.’

  ‘There’s not a lot to listen to,’ said Gritty.

  ‘Wait and listen,’ said Lil.

  The silence of the mountains was profound but now and again they heard creaking sounds.

  ‘That’s a song I’ve missed,’ said Lil. ‘The song of hot stone turning cold. It’s the mountain sighing and settling to sleep.’

  ‘Your outsides get small at night,’ said Oy, ‘and your insides get big.’

  Oy and Lil exchanged a look of understanding.

  In the morning Gritty put on her Chee dress and went down into the gorge.

  Feil was the first village she came to. At first she thought it was deserted then she saw the babies. The tiny scraps crawled around in the dust seemingly alone. They put stones in their mouths and dribbled them out again. An old woman, like a lifeless Yehvo, was sitting in the shade of a hut. Gritty showed her the Nondul beads and asked for food. The woman roused. She held a bead to the light and marvelled at it. ‘It’s yours for a crust,’ said Gritty. The woman spoke an old Chee dialect. Gritty struggled to understand her. ‘You want more. More beads. How many?’ The woman held up her fingers. ‘Five. Alright. Where’s the bread?’ The woman looked around her shack hopelessly. There was a wooden bowl on a shelf. Inside it were shrivelled black things with tiny pairs of lips. ‘Good,’ said the woman. ‘Try.’

  ‘What are they?’ Gritty asked.

  ‘Leesh,’ said the woman.

  ‘Leeches?’ said Gritty.

  ‘Hot,’ said the woman. She put a finger under her nose. ‘Like pepper.’

  ‘Never mind,’ said Gritty. ‘You keep them. Which of these beads do you like the best? Hard to choose ain’t it? Here, I don’t want anything for them. Perhaps you can use them to buy some bread for yourself and the babies.’

  The woman folded her ha
nd around the beads and held them to her chest. ‘I give you water,’ she said.

  ‘That’s helpful,’ said Gritty.

  When Gritty had filled her flask the woman pointed down the track, ‘Dysma,’ she said. ‘Food.’

  ‘Felluns?’ Gritty asked.

  ‘No Felluns,’ said the woman.

  Gritty headed towards the larger village hoping desperately for something more than peppered leeches. Though the woman had said no Felluns, Gritty followed Alas’s advice. She climbed to a viewpoint above the village and watched.

  When she was sure it was safe she went down. The shacks in Dysma were grouped around a central building. It was open on two sides. The roof rested on props. Gritty looked inside. It was a weaving shed, but it was nothing like the ones in Nondula with their fine cloths, delicate colours and peaceful silence. The Chee shed was filled with a racket of voices. The women worked coarse dull fibres into coarse dull garments. Gritty went in and showed them her dyes. The women crowded around with craving eyes. They wanted to know where the powders were from and how to make them. Gritty said they had come into Offel on a meat boat. The blues and yellows were no good to the Felluns who couldn’t see them. Some of the women went away. They came back with crickets, a pot of oil and a flat disc of bread. The bread was dust-coloured and Gritty guessed it was the lowest grade of makeweight, but she could see it was all they had. She gave them three pots of dye and went out to look for others who might trade. On the far side of the square in the shadow of a crag were caves. A canvas awning shaded one black mouth. Someone had made it their home. As Gritty walked towards the cave she could see chaotic shapes in the shadows. Something moved inside. Whatever it was gave her a bad feeling. She draped her shawl around her head and backed away.

  Gritty came panting up the hillside. Oy and Alas ran to meet her. She showed them the food. ‘It ain’t much but it’s the best I could do,’ she said. ‘I turned down leeches but the rest of it don’t look too bad. I’m too starved to be picky.’

  ‘You done well,’ said Alas. ‘I ain’t been this empty since Duldred.’ He tried a cricket. ‘Not bad,’ he said. ‘Nutty.’

  Gritty took one. She stopped before it reached her mouth. ‘It’s all knees and elbows and it’s got a face.’

  ‘Close your eyes then,’ said Alas. ‘We won’t get where we’re going if we don’t eat.’

  Gritty closed her eyes and put the insect in her mouth. She munched quickly and swallowed. ‘Fishy,’ she said. ‘Not bad really.’ She ran her tongue around her gums and ate another one.

  Oy said the bread was enough for him. Lil refused to listen to the crunching of crickets. She took some bread and walked away.

  Gritty told them about the cave under the crag and how it had made her afraid. Alas respected such feelings, but the shortcut through the village was tempting. It was decided they should pass through Dysma by night as quickly and quietly as they could.

  When they entered the village the moon was high and bright. They walked between the hovels along the village’s main street. All they could hear was their own tread on the stones, a far-off hoot and a nearby snore.

  Alas stopped. He peered into the darkness. For once Lil did not press him to go on. Her ears spread like noon flowers. She tilted her head one way and another. She aligned with the crag and winced. ‘That can stop right now,’ she said, and marched off into the blackness.

  ‘Here we go,’ said Alas. ‘Hang back a bit.’ Before long they heard an ugly voice speaking ugly words. It was not Lil. The words got louder. A figure came out of the shadows and barred the way. The waifs were ready to run.

  Lil looked down her nose calmly. ‘Evil stands there,’ she said.

  Eye to eye with Lil, Fettapigi chewed and spat dirty saliva. ‘Hareboy and friends,’ she said. ‘Am I right?’

  ‘None of your business,’ said Lil. ‘Back away before I snap your limbs, fold you up and post you through your own mouth.’

  ‘Hah! You? A Dresh with nothing but a bent fork.’

  Lil’s hand swung like a paddle at Fettapigi’s head. Fettapigi blocked. Her arm was solid as a carving. The two women clashed again with the knock of wood on wood.

  ‘Lil!’ Alas tried to separate the women. An elbow in the eye stopped him.

  Fettapigi began to curse. Oy and Gritty bent over holding their throats. They stumbled aside choking.

  ‘Anyone can curse,’ said Lil. She towered and cursed.

  Fettapigi cursed and spat. The villagers woke and came out to see. They plugged their ears and hugged their heads.

  Alas shouted. ‘Lil! Stop before the world wakes.’

  But neither woman was done cursing, not till they had no spit and no voices left.

  When Lil drew breath the villagers pressed inward shouting questions.

  ‘Run!’ said Alas.

  They ran. Some of the Chee children chased after them. Lil turned on them, then they ran just as fast the other way.

  When they were clear of the village they slowed down. ‘That’s done it,’ said Alas. ‘How long do you think before it gets back to Rigaw?’

  ‘The way the Chee talk he’ll know by morning,’ said Gritty.

  They climbed for much of the night only resting for a short time before sunrise.

  In the morning they pressed on to the top of the ridge. Next day they topped the second ridge. They ate and drank far less than they wanted. Lil could hear water but it was some way off and would add a tiring loop to their journey. The crickets were almost gone. The waifs began to have visions of food just as they had in Duldred. The ranks of peaks around them were beautiful but barren, yet they dared not go down.

  6 Confession

  Gertie had run out of excuses. The next time Emberd asked her about the tree cache she confessed.

  ‘The oldest book from the cache, the one I was to take special care of, something ate it. It was my fault. I left it out. I should have used a proper drying box.’

  Emberd puffed with alarm and slumped with disappointment. Then he did it again.

  ‘Oh don’t,’ said Gertie. ‘I know you take more care of books than your own body.’

  ‘And I shouldn’t,’ said Emberd. ‘The Nonduls would say it’s an illness.’ He put his hand on his stomach and breathed into it. ‘I’m alright now. Show me the book.’

  He examined it sadly. ‘A mouse has taken it for nesting,’ he said. ‘Don’t blame yourself.’

  ‘I do though.’

  ‘I should have warned you. They like the smell of this old paper.’ Emberd sighed. ‘It may be that there was nothing of importance in it.’

  ‘I read most of it before it got shredded. I’ve writ all I can remember, even scraps of verses.’

  ‘Well then. It isn’t entirely lost.’

  ‘No, but we’ll never know how it ended and all that poetising is gone.’

  ‘If it was simply a story the Nonduls won’t regard it as a loss.’

  ‘You do. I can see by your face that you do. You ain’t never going to trust me again, are you?’

  Emberd was slow to answer. ‘It is a lesson,’ he said. He touched the tattered edges, then he felt along the edge of the back cover. ‘A fold out. See how thin and flat the paper is. It’s a map on traveller’s paper, which suggests to me that this book told of a real journey.’

  The map showed the track of the hero and his companions as a red line which disappeared under a stain. Rusty soil had leached into the paper. Emberd fetched his restorer’s kit. The box held brushes, puffed wool and solutions. He rubbed the stains gently and blotted them with the wool. The wool turned orange and the lettering on the map began to show. Across the yellow rocks were the letters C and R, and further on AZY. ‘Crazy,’ said Gertie. ‘That’s Cracnazy with the middle missing. And that must be the Blusters, the line of rocks Lil talked about. Remember? She didn’t know if they were built or natural.’

  Emberd continued dabbing along the map’s edge till they could see the shapes of clouds. The clouds had faces and vicio
us eyes and puffed cheeks. ‘The storm wall,’ said Emberd. He used his eye glass to examine the map more closely. He handed the glass to Gertie. ‘What do you see in front of the keyhole-shaped rock?’ he asked.

  ‘A dotted line with some tiny writing,’ said Gertie. ‘Portyr Sumpt.’

  ‘Nondulan. It doesn’t translate. It means something like dive deep with trust, which makes sense if it is...’

  ‘The passage under the storm wall. Do you think it is?’

  ‘It might well be.’

  ‘And you’re sure it’s a proper map, not a story picture?’

  ‘Most likely.’

  ‘If only we’d found it sooner. Bagla needs to get this to Alas.’

  Emberd looked doubtful. ‘Bagla is all used up. I think it would be too much for her.’

  ‘Let’s see what Ede says,’ said Gertie.

  Ede was called. She said that Bagla was not fit for a long journey. Her life heat was too low.

  Emberd asked Ede if she could train another bird.

  Bagla opened all her eyelids, stared at Ede and raised herself on the pedestal. She spread her wings to their full span. She looked majestic.

  ‘Her heat is rising,’ said Ede. ‘She’s speaking to me. She wants to go. Listen, Bagla, if you go now you will be flying into the wind. Eat and rest all you can. If, when the wind turns, you feel strong enough then you can go.’

  Bagla nudged Ede in agreement.

  7 Companions Three

  Yehvo returned to Nondula. Gertie showed her the library. Yehvo shook her head. ‘In my childhood I saw just one book. In my life I have seen six or seven more.’ She looked at the arondahs rising in tiers, all of them crammed with books. ‘I never guessed at this. You get to my age and you think you know it all. I know nothing.’

  They walked through the archives to Gertie’s reading loft. ‘The ones we need are here,’ said Gertie, seating herself among yet more books. ‘This is what they call the Arcannie. It’s everything you could ever want to know about building.’