Chapter 3: The drunken Aurochs

It was before dawn the time Maheegun and Jargo set off from the camp by the stream. The last specks of darkness took refuge under the trees, where it was then called shade. And as the two of them journeyed up the ridge, They noticed that the drums had seized and there was silence. Pure silence. It reminded them of the time of the treacherous fog that imprisoned them up by Thunder Falls, and how it drowned out all noises – and made them lose valuable time. Even Jargo couldn't hear anything, which confused him greatly.

Still it was dark, and the mischievous two decided to pay a visit to the sleeping Auroch Clan they were. Stealthily they crawled across the camp and slipped into the storage shelter, taking anything that looked and smelled good or useful. Maheegun took an axe, a new jerkin, some salmon cakes, a knife, a sleeping sack, a water skin, and a questionable fruit. Jargo on the other hand didn't save anything but gobbled everything up straight away. Putting everything in his pack, Maheegun made his way to Oktla's shelter leaving Jargo behind to eat everything , and left a short message carved into an Auroch bone.

' Jargo! Hurry! We need to get out of here!', Maheegun said in the quietest voice that he could do.

' But I'm not finished! Just a moment…', Jargo stuffed his head in a rawhide bag to reach the raw meat. '…there – wait a moment! That's new!', he was gnawing at a lace holding hanging fowl. It was a trap, and Maheegun noticed it just in time.

' No, No! Jargo! Over here, brother….', He tried to throw his voice without awaking any aurochs, and was frantically waving his arms, seeking attention from his pack-brother, thrusting his weight from one leg to the other. ' …Jargo!!!'.

And it worked, but barely. Jargo had stopped gnawing at the lace and turned around. He weaved around the sleeping bodies, desperately trying not to disturb them. He bumped into a man, he yawned and rolled over. Dawn's rays were now shining upon them, and the hunting dogs awoke. Barking and howling they had clearly sensed something had disturbed the camp in the night. When they woke, they had woken their masters, they searched around the camp to find anything missing, and all their storage was gone, so a hunting party was unleashed.

Maheegun and Jargo were a fair distance away from the camp, but they could still hear the intimidating calls of the hunters. Confident that they will make it out alive, they set out traps and false trails – and stayed in the streams whenever the could. Finally, guilt struck and Maheegun was ashamed of what he had done. He thought of ways he could make it up to them, so he slowly put down the knife he stole and the questionable fruit. He already had a knife and didn't understand why he had taken another.

The Auroch hunters were catching up to them, and they finally came across the sack of equipment Maheegun had taken. Belktru picked up the sack and emptied it on the ground. One knife and a fruit, and a few rocks to make the sack seem heavier.

' They think they are smart, eh?', said Belktru, he put his hand in the mud, and slowly brought it back up, and weighed it. ' we do not take in thieves and trespassers kindly, do we, Aklof?'

' No', said Aklof – Belktru's best friend and advisor. 'We don't, so they better watch out'

' Exactly. And the clan mage told me that I am unstoppable. Will these thieves get out of hand?' Belktru's hand was covered in mud, and was slowly drying out.

' Of course not, you are the greatest tracker in the Deep Forest, you will crush them while they are sleeping.' Aklof was lying, Beltru's greatest talent was strength and weakest was tracking, he didn't have very good sight and was too impatient. He couldn't even see a fire in the forest.

'Well then…..', his had clenched into a fist, ' ….as you say, I will crush them in their sleep!!', He wondered why Aklof said ' while they were asleep' – why couldn't he kill them while they were awake? He shrugged the thought off and resumed with his 'tough guy' act. His fist tightened and the mud inside squirted out with enormous force. ' Will you join me?'

' Of course, I want to see it as much as you!', he was laughing in his head.

' Then it is settled…..' , Belktru smirked.