Chapter 11: The arrival of the Aurochs, let the plan unfold…..
It was nearly noon by the time Maheegun and Jargo were nearing the south-western ridge. The sun beat down heavily on them and they were soon exhausted. It was just the two of them now. Rika had left, and Maheegun didn't know how long it would be like that. When they came to the ridge walls, he made false tracks around some of the tunnels and intentionally scratched his jerkin and pack on the wall, so that the Aurochs would follow the tunnel and become lost. Further down the winding passage, Maheegun planted sharpened sticks (which he had used to make his cooking tripod when he last stayed) in the dirt, sticking toward the entrance and smeared ochre on the walls, he did this on each passage, each identical – to confuse the hunters and drive them out and go to a different entrance. Maheegun and Jargo knew by this point that the Aurochs, and Belktru their leader, were not entirely stupid. And they knew that they shouldn't treat them like they were.
It was late afternoon, and Maheegun played watch-out for the hunters. He also hoped that he could play watch-out for Rika, to see her shadowed figure pop up from behind the trees. He heard the rattle of bows knocking on bones, the hunters running. Maheegun didn't know what to do. He had no plan, not that he needed one. He had a sharp mind. He could feel the wind whispering the hunters whereabouts to him….they were here…
Maheegun ran as fast as he could to the top edge of his cave, trying not to fall off in the process. He jumped off the ledge and caught on to the rock, and swinging into the cave. There he alerted Jargo and the 'Be quick' plan was ready to take place. They both split up and traveled into different tunnels. Jargo knew his way because of the smell, and Maheegun knew it because he used to play in them at the clan meeting by the Deep Forest. The bag of rocks he collected earlier would take part in this – he could throw them in different tunnels to signify movement, thus leading to the hunters following the noise. Jargo and Maheegun would never be more than ten paces apart, and when the time was right he would signal for the attack.
Maheegun could hear footsteps treading into the caves, he also heard the voices of the Aurochs.
'Which way?', one asked
'This way!', another replied
'Which way?', the first one said again
'THIS WAY!!! LEFT!!!', she yelled him saying the direction was to Maheegun's advantage.
Maheegun threw a small rock into the right tunnel. He heard the hunters bunch together and then follow the noise. Just like his plan, but things don't always go that way. Then he heard the voice of Belktru, his voice was different to the others, his was deeper and louder and sounded sturdy – like an Auroch.
He said, 'Be careful. These thieves are not as stupid as they may seem. Look for them carefully.'. Maheegun heard him walk to his tunnel and he quickly threw a rock in the dark. Belktru slid his feet to the other direction and walked quickly to the left tunnel. 'Move out of the way!', his voice echoed through the dark winding caverns of the south-western ridge. Maheegun then heard the rattle of bows clinking on bones, and then heard the bang of a stick being thrown to the ground. They had found the leading cavern.
Maheegun made a series of high barks and blew on a grouse bone whistle that Jargo seemed to react to. This would signal Jargo to get out of there. He could barely see in the dark – his natural night vision hadn't kicked in yet. Jargo quickly crawled on his stomach over to him, there they both waited until the hunters came back their way.
'Aklof. Search that tunnel there. You – Thresha, stand outside until I give the signal.
Thresha had walked out of the caverns. There were only six of them now, and Maheegun wanted them to bunch together and head for the right tunnel – all together. What signal – what for? Maheegun thought.
'Belktru, it is a trick – surely.', the man gave a sigh. ' I don't want to risk my life anymore for your silly hunts..', Maheegun heard the footsteps of the man circle round and round.
' They are young. It should not be a problem!', the leader replied.
'Exactly! They are only young! Why bother? Why must we hunt down a couple younglings, Belktru? To serve your pride, so that our people will think you are strong? By killing children?!', Maheegun knew that the man who meant those words would be a great leader, that man should be the next Auroch chief.
'Yes! I am the chief! I want to stay chief! I don't want things to change, ok?! I do not want to be thrown out by my own people. The only way is to seek revenge on those who terrorize my people.', he banged the wall.
'Terrorize? They stole a couple salmon cakes, Belktru!', he sighed again and stepped away, saying, '…terrorize…!'
'Aklof! They stole our entire winter savings. How can I not seek revenge on that? Our people may be dying!', he looked for every excuse he had, trying to preserve his pride.
'You should have come on the hunt, if not, then you should have helped gather berries and took to the forest to gather medicinal goods, who's fault was that, hmmm? Who's fault was that?, Aklof finally left. Maheegun heard Belktru pick up a stick and throw in against the other wall, killing someone slowly, Maheegun recognized this man, it was Itah – whom he could just about see in the dark. It had stabbed him in the throat, he could see him grabbing it and yanking the stick out. He reached up and touched the wolf fur on his over-jerkin. It would cleanse him from the bad spirits that crowded him.
Belktru fell to his knees, and so did Itah the runner who slowly died, he coughed up blood which splattered across the tunnel floor. Belktru took no notice of this, he was busy sobbing with guilt and grief. Loads of men gathered around Itah, and Aklof kneeled before him and quickly put on the soul marks.
'Fool! Have you not shed enough blood?', Aklof turned back to Itah and backed everyone away. ' Get no nearer to him. Let his souls rest in peace…', he pushed the last person away who was still looking at the dead one. It was D'hrun, Itah's foster brother.
'It hurts not being able to shout his name. He was so talented, a true gift from the World Spirit.', he said softly, '….what am I to do without him? He was the last of my family!'.
'Do not worry D'hrun. Where he is going he will not need a family.', his words didn't please D'hrun, as he was alone. Aklof placed his hand on his shoulder, but D'hrun shrugged it off, he was clearly thinking about something horrible, the expression on his face was both sad and terrified.
'I can't do anything without him now. He is my family!', Aklof restrained him from going toward the dead body. 'Get off! I said Get off!!!', D'hrun beat Aklof's arms away. 'Itah! Itah! Oh, Itah!', he cried, and as he cried he took out Itah's knife from it's sheath. Maheegun was watching all the way through, he just could not look away. H was watching the most gruesome, gory thing he had every seen. D'hrun brought the knife out and looked at it.
'D'hrun! No! D'hrun!!!!!', Aklof tried to pull him back, but he could not. 'D'hrun! No!!!', D'hrun plunged the knife into his heart and died. He fell on top of Itah and stayed there, his souls would be free in the cave, angry. No one could touch him, it was his wish, his decision, there was no point in making sure his souls lay to rest, as he wanted to kill himself.
Maheegun's eyes still stared at the two corpses, piled on top of each other. He had brought this on and caused terror, or he had made it better. But how could he have made it any better by three of them dying? Or was it the Auroch leader's fault? Maheegun was terrified and confused. He would never forget that moment, it would always haunt him. Forever.
Maheegun and Jargo were still in the tunnel and still waiting for the hunters to crowd. The chances were now slim as between them were the dead bodies. They had to get out, and trap Belktru in, and Belktru only. The rest were good men, who deserved their ranks and roles in life, they deserved love from their people and families. Belktru didn't even want any of that, he wanted power, he had a hunger for power and possession. He was one of the seven evils, he was a Soul Eater………..