The days in the forest went forwards. The weary wanderers slept furthermore outdoors, eating and drinking what nature had to provide. Buzz' nervousness had grown to excess measures. For his team members, he was occasionally a true annoyance. His pride was gushed, because he could not bring the mission to a good end. Star Command… his work needed him. The universe needed him elsewhere, not here in the bushes.
In any case, the team looked like tramps from the gully. Their suits were intact, but messy with mire. Buzz had a black stubble coating his jaws, in places where the normally tidily shaped beard did not extend. Zarah and Booster had been suffering from the allergies plentifully, so their noses were still stuffed-up. Anywhere they went, at the roots of the trees were peeking those nasty brackens. In addition, what came to the females… no beauty queen contests could be gone through with shaggy, oily locks.
The travel followed furthermore the river. In places the trees were brown, telling that the frost fell more and more briskly over the landscape at nights. The temperature variations were high. Burning in the daytime, freezing at nights. The depressing detail was, that no sign of intelligent life was seen anywhere. No cottages, huts, houses, even lodges were in sight. The fear grew, and with that the nervousness. How could anyone find their routes out of here? Who would ever find the lost?
The next day had opened. It was a near midday, and the firkin had sat down to have meals. After the scarce, toilsomely gathered lunch was eaten, the wanderers woke up to the nasty silence. The thick forest seemed to have curdled in its own inanimaty. The air had been warm all the light hours, but now it felt almost tacky, as no whisper of wind buzzed among the trees. Every rustle had ceased.
"It's too quiet here", Mira glanced half-nervously around. Buzz wiped his mouth to his jumpsuit sleeve, agreeing that it was strange that even the autumn birds, or whatever they were, had quit their previously rather joyous play with notes.
"Seriously, I don't like this. It's always a bad sign, if the atmosphere starts resembling a graveyard."
"Hmm… good point. Maybe we should get our lazy limbs up and continue our aimless rambling", Buzz grunted, standing up.
"So, are we following the river furthermore?" Zarah asked.
"Sure. That'll most possibly lead us to the habitats of intelligent life forms, if they do exist in this pla…"
An ear-piercing screech stopped his babbling. Everyone sprung up like strained springs. Above the wind was heard a long howl, like a call of someone lonely and evil. It rose and fell, and soon received an answer, a hollo similar to that. As bloodcurdlingly this second screech sang, becoming evidently nearer and nearer with the first one.
"Oh, c-craters…" Buzz held his throat, where he could feel his fearful heart pumping. "We get ourselves away from here, and now!"
"W-what i-is t-th-that…?" Booster's teeth clattered together.
"I don't know. But it doesn't sound friendly! And it's coming this way."
The men and women threw hastily their belongings into a big mess inside their knapsacks. Yet, the wails were now staunched. Albeit that, the course was decided, and the pedestrians began a gallop among the exuberant underbrush.
"Blast, let's hope I don't ever have to see, what on Rhizome causes such a squall! In any case, we better hurry away, I have a bad sense that there are some kind of forest beasts on our trails", Lightyear panted, while the rushing had achieved a good speed.
"We would need to find a firm tree to climb up or some kind of cliff…" Nova measured the environment with her eyes.
"Yeah, but there's only these rather thin birkwood or whatever near…"
Another moan incised everyone's spines.
"Oh no…" came an utter, before the bushes crackled, and a huge, hairy creature hopped forth. Rising on its hind legs, the appeared bear-like monster revealed its sharp teeth, and flashed its long, pointed nails of its forepaws. It let a growl, and a piercing scream. Buzz in a reflex aimed the creature with his unworkable laser. The monochromatic light emitter kept only some hissing and sparkling, but did not fulfill its important task.
"Booster! Your laser works! Shoot it!" the Princess yelped. But for everyone's sad misfortune the red fatty had begun sneezing again. The ground was green of those ill ferns that had already caused too much trouble. The poor Jo-Adian fumbled half-blindly his laser, his eyes full of secretion and water.
"Aatch---oo!" He sputtered and fired to east and west, missing the brute completely. The others had run behind him to protect themselves, but quite much in vain. Another yellow-haired bruin came brawling from behind them, as big as a tank. This was obviously the one that had so kindly responded to the call of the first one.
Yet the wild animals had not fully attacked. They in a way prowled now, little by little closing a ring around Team Lightyear. Loud, fearful yells about required action echoed in the stale weather, in addition to the sibilant whizzes of laser rays that hit trees and other less meaningful objects.
"Booster! You have to…"
"Booster, shoot!"
"Atchoo! Achoo! Sneef!"
"HELP! SOMEONE HELP!"
The circle grew tinier and tinier. Saliva dripped from the maws of the bears, as they with greedy, soulless gazes already gorged their dinners. Tonight their table would be fruitful of fresh meat, if their appetite would be indulged. If the rain of sudden luck had not pattered upon the preys, they would have sunken to the cold swamp of death. Munchapper was so much in panic added to his sickness that he would have needed to gun at least half an hour before striking anything.
The loud breathes and drools of the animals were blended to a third, strange outcry.
"Ayayayayayayyyy-ayayayayayayyyyyaaaayyyy!" a long war-whoop chimed in the trees, and something whizzed over the scrubs in a somersault. A strong hand drew tight a bow, making the first bear look like a pincushion in a few seconds. Zip, zip, zip. Slender arrows flew here and there, barely avoiding hitting the terrified crash-landers. Backs against each other, eyes wide as garage doors, they watched as the predators turned to besiege the interrupter. Blood painted their straw-colored furs maroon, as new and new darts were stung into their bodies. Soon, slumping lifelessly down on the grass, there was nothing else left from the behemoths but their dead carcasses.
The wind stagnated doggo. Buzz and his company shook all over, aiming their horror-struck gapes towards the corpses. The haze of fright was gradually blown away, and they could distinguish a svelte, tall figure wiggling from behind the morbid pile. It had arms high in the air, and a crossbow with five arrows still targeted forwards. As it met the trembling group, it slowly put down its efficient weapon, raising a hand to scratch its hair in wonder.
"Keitaes kummia te olette?" it expressed a question of amazement in an alto voice.
Buzz noticed staring up at a young human-looking woman, who was several inches taller than he. Big, grey irises goggled back, below them curving a longish aquiline nose, and further below thick lips a bit open after the spoken sentence. The female had darkish, tanned skin, and her slim body was dressed up with somewhat peculiar garments. Clips and buckles were keeping together something that looked like a long, sleeveless shirt that continued almost until her knees. Under there were long, fringy suede trousers. From the colorful, wide belt were hanging a knife, a flagon, and some little implements. Her otherwise bare arms were covered with long, gravure-decorated gauntlets made of some flexible metal. They started from her shoulders and ended up to hide even some fingers under them. Around her long neck she had several necklaces, with seashells, glossy stones, and animal teeth as pendants. The black hair of this foreign was tightly gathered up to several little braids, which were again in a compact ponytail behind her head. Although her shape was lanky, her limbs were dainty, ending up to narrowish shoulders. Slowly she set the bolts back to her quiver, preserving her astonished essence. She seemed to hesitate a lot, and especially Mira and Booster were under her puzzled glance.
"Oemh… siis… te ette taida olla taekaelaeisiae?"
Nova knocked the nonplussed Captain's arm, whispering, "I think… that girl is trying to ask you something?"
Thus he took a half-official pose, raising his hand up to a salutation, "Greetings! Thank you, ma-am, for your cooperative help. I am Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, Universe Protection Unit. I come in peace. My ship has crash-landed here by mistake."
But the female only twisted her face, raising her brow, "Mitae? Mitae ihmeen mongerrusta tuo on?"
"She doesn't understand you", Zarah commented, abruptly remembering something, "Mira, didn't some parts of your wrist communicator work? How about the Babelfish translator?"
"Hey, good idea! It won't cost anything to try it out!"
Yet, the head-tilting tall girl had already walked to her. Even more confused she eyed at the Tangean. "Sininen?" Nova did not much like the nuance of the glare. It felt as if someone had examined her as a rare zoo animal. The blue one pressed the buttons of her com device, probing the functions of the digital interpreting software.
"Now if we get her saying something else, the software could possible recognize the dialect she speaks." So she addressed a few words to the unknown one, getting the brown-skinned to express even more baffled miens.
Buzz came to the middle, presenting formally, "This is Team Lightyear. As I said, I am Buzz Lightyear and I come in peace."
"Eihaen tuosta ota kahelikaan selkoa." The woman began to be rather irritated. And, now Mira's device started wheezing. The half-wreck widget did somehow live, and translated the not-so-nice sentence to clear English.
"Not even a moron will understand that jibberish", a metallic sonus sniveled. Strangely, it had identified the lingua. The screen showed to Nova that the software had dug itself to the nanodatabase of officially dead languages. Sivakka, the parent language of Suksi (that later was developed to Suopa), was the match.
"Alright, she's probably on a bit, bit bad mood because she won't deal with our culture yet. Let's try if this thing can reversely chat to her", the Princess sighed. A yelp fled her lips, as she felt a forceful hold gripping her left arm. The unknown woman had snatched it up, inspecting and sniffing the wrist communicator.
"Hey, hey, let go!" Mira barked, and got the thingamabob to rattle the sentence with the other language. Abruptly she let go, goggling then a bit scared at the Tangean. In this case, someone more faint-hearted might have dashed away, but obviously there was courage enough in this female, if not to mention how she had slaughtered the two wild beasts a bit earlier.
A small discussion was stretched out. The stranger won her little discomfiture, and with the aid of the communicator, it was slightly easy to present some thoughts. Every one of the ramblers introduced him- or herself, and how they had got lost in the woods. At the point when Buzz began narrating about his broken space ship and asking for repair help, the foreigner drew her brows up, cutting short the whole causerie.
"You seriously do not claim you came down from the sky?"
"Well… that's what it is. And we'd need a working radio phone or relevant, so we could contact Star Command." Lightyear dryly presented his axioms. He was somewhat goaded that the discussion did go nowhere, and very much keen on getting away from this backwoods after one and half week's futile strolling.
"Star Command? Radio phone? Star Cruiser? You do have definitely fine-sounding words, but I have no idea what you are talking about. And maybe I am little by little starting to believe that you really have been dropped down from the sky, because you look so strange. Yes, well… our legends tell that thousands of years ago there came visitors from the clouds to greet our People, but that is just a story." She fingered her chin, her other hand on her hip.
Confusion struck Team Lightyear. This girl did not know about Star Command?
"Excuse me, but where are we actually? What is this place? Who are you?" Mira put a finger on her lower lip.
"I am Yoka-hanen, the daughter of the honorable Vainamoinen. This is the surroundings of my village, Kaleva. It is near there, ashore the Great River Plutinaklutina-Noro." She whisked informally her fingers to some indefinite direction.
"Kaleva? And that is… where? We'd need some coordinates of this planet and solar system, so that we could initialize our station." Buzz folded his arms over his chest.
"Planet? Solar system?" the interpreter software whirred.
A bad feeling crept in Team Lightyear. They had found civilization, but… what kind of civilization? Nova took a new view at the tall girl, checking out more her outfit and gear. No electric devices present, her hunting weapon was a basic wooden bow with some metal reinforcements.
"Umh… Buzz? I think she… doesn't quite understand what you are inquiring", the Tangean whispered to the Captain, who was more and more jumpy.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that…" And after she had ended her assumptions, his cheeks blanched. It had not been taken in consideration that maybe this planet was not on the top of engineering. Lightyear had of course relied on that they could just easily dial Commander Nebula's comlink code, and soon chitchat cheerily with him.
A few more questions, and it was evident that Yoka-hanen was a membrum of a primitive culture. That came clear at least, when she amusedly asked, how Nova got her wrist talk like that. She had been searching for some small hunt for tomorrow's meal, when the squeals and alarmed shouts of the trapped had reached her ears. But, keeping the wanderers now as some other-village jugglers and ventriloquists, she had not the slightest fear towards them any longer. The Captain and his companion sensed her blatant skepticism, but did not want to heckle her any more. Adequate answers were not achieved.
But on her behalf, the savior noticed how exhausted and tired the bear-fighting oddities were. Buffoons or not, maybe they needed shelter. So waving her fingers, she called for them to follow her. According to the Kalevan, there were not many miles to walk, and she could possibly arrange them food and accommodation for the night. And gladly Team Lightyear with Zarah wended their fatigued way towards the warmness.
The orange light breach on the hazy sky was already low upon the zenith. Amidst the meager, white-baulk leafwood shimmered hemisphere-like cottages clustered at the foreland of the agile river. Beside the dwellings on the left, on a links field, surrounded by a fence, were strolling some kind of domestic animals and steeds. Leaded by the hunter, the gang descended a grassy hillside, entering a sandy path.
Slowly the quintet entered a vivid little local road. Women carried water and fuel wood, some had fresh hunt hanging from their loads. Young men blustered here and there, but not as multiple as the feminine Kalevans. Amazingly tall people they were, only Booster did not need to stretch his neck up. Buzz could have sworn that some of the peculiarly dressed men were a bit over eight feet tall. Yoka-hanen seemed to be rather short compared to some women, which reached seven feet in height. But in overall every one had the same specific physique. They were lanky, slim, and narrow-shouldered. Hardly anyone of this race could have dreamed of such thoraxes that for example Warp Darkmatter or Buzz himself owned.
The sandy path meandered gradually towards the tents that looked now gigantic compared to the view from the bank. They were put up from pelts, canvasses and their bases were made stout with wood and shale. Obviously several families fit to reside one of those round huts, so much there was space. Smoke was whirling from the flues they had in their roofs, telling that there waited warmth and roasted food. Further there, by the shoals of Plutinaklutina-Noro, twinkled even larger abodes. The girl explained them being the council- and common tents of viisaat. According to her, they were honored men, a sort of philosophers that studied different kinds of sciences.
"Our wisdom is very old, but unfortunately not the same, as in the days before the great Purkaus. But I do not know, I do not quite trust the legends. But like the Song of Iku-Turso versifiers, they obviously could glide across the skies like birds", she lashed the air with her hand. "But that is for tales. I will take you to see the honorable Vainamoinen, and he will decide what to do for you."
The fatigued hikers had on the background kept on their own think-over. Definitely, here they hardly could find a working vidphone. The settlement smelled even more backward they had feared. Chiefly those tall, colorfully costumed walkers on the trail brought Indians in their minds. Plumes, fangs and refined wee stones solemnized everyone's leather- or linen attires. Everyone's facial profile curved to a hooknose, while the skin color varied from lighter brown to reddish. No cars, or carriages. Shaggy draught animals waddled forwards with the more burdensome loads, and the lighter ones were dragged humanly on the backs. Yet, as the hunter had initially mentioned a familiarish name, Team Lightyear's attention was drawn back to her.
"Vainamoinen? Excuse me, but didn't you say you…" Zarah began.
Yoka raised a brow to her. It talked normally? It was too short to be a proper ihmo. What was that, the circus company's midget? In any case, this squad was already too peculiar, so maybe she could expect anything. They listened to her babble about the legends like they had never heard about those. Viisaat was an unknown definition for them. "Yes, I did say he is my honorable father. The village chief, that is. In case you do not know, he leads the viisaat, and is a very noble old ihmo. You must remember to act moderate and properly in front of him, wherever you do come from then."
In Mira and Zarah's minds, a quick question rose up at the same time. Their savior was not really the lowest in rank in this settlement. What did the daughter of the chief do in the forest?
Yoka-hanen considered this inquire quite abnormal. Why wouldn't she be hunting, doing the housework? How could it be anyhow else? "Why? You do ask why? Women are the hunters, women do the work. Why would there be any difference? I do not see that. My honorable emo is dead, and I need to do her part in the house."
"Emo?" Buzz scratched his hair. "Ranger Nova, what's wrong with that wrist communicator? It lets unknown words through."
"I don't know", she annoyed pressed some buttons of the device; "There must be some defections in it. It won't translate everything."
"Emo? You do not know what is emo?" Yoka laughed back amused. "The one, who gave me birth, was she. But a sickness took her, and left my honorable father alone."
"Oh, oh… we're sorry", the team stammered. They had all thought the Kalevan was talking about some servant. But, now everyone grasped, what kind of society this was. Women were obviously below the men, forced to follow their every whim. They toiled, and what did the males do? According to Yoka, they were either warriors, craftsmen, or could become a part of viisaat. So, their part was to think. This commentary did not much please Mira, but Zarah understood it better, since in xaretša, she had accustomed herself to be Warp's submissive, his property. But their union was governed by strict laws, so that the Master was not allowed to maltreat his Lady, but had to provide her everything with gentle and care. However, the conversation went on calmly, as the hunter rustled along the footpath, towards the core of the village.
The travelers soon found out they had a big fan club following behind them. Already on the outskirts, wondering gazes were directed towards them. Now some local children had taken Mira as their target of marvel, trying to take her hands, shouting "Sininen, Sininen!" Booster had twice as more court, and he had taken some of the smaller kids to ride piggyback. Merry yelps echoed here and there. Visitors were coming! Emot, come out and see, Kaleva has visitors!
----------------
Team Lightyear with Zarah felt quite odd and uncertain in the gigantic council tent. Along the walls, older and younger men sat on weaved carpets. Some of them were playing instruments and singing silently some epical songs. Some studied vellum-looking scrolls, obviously deeply focusing on sciences and mathematics. Some just lay on their places, scrutinizing the incomers with sharp looks. Braziers sizzled here and there, and dozens of little wooden lanterns with candles in them clung from the ceiling's framework. The atmosphere was dreamlike. A colossal, aflaming fireplace brought sweet warmth on the middle floor, its reek disappearing to the skies through the fume channel in the roof. This space of wisdom and arts was somehow isolated from the normal village life. The men were wearing white linen togas instead of suede and ruffles. Rather light everyone's costumes looked like to fit to the autumn evening, but the people were obviously inured to cold. These were the viisaat, forming some sort of courtiers around the highest head.
At the very rear end of the council tent, in a brightly illuminated spot, was sitting the village chief in a wooden throne. He was obviously near one hundred years in age, a stooped, white-haired man with a big Roman nose and piercing blue eyes. He had obviously become a father very late, since Yoka-hanen did not seem to be more than thirty years old. A huge headdress with blue and green feathers was resting above his brows. As regalia, he was carrying heavy, silver-blue-shining metal plates around his neck, arms and ankles. The earrings were similar to his daughter's ones, a square disc, and a round one with oval pendants.
The girl stood her head bowed in front of the austere ruler, and so tried Team Lightyear to imitate her manners to be polite. She had told about her extraordinary hunting-trip, and presenting the foreigners as some kind of lost other-villagers. But Vainamoinen did not quite agree with her.
"Do you not see, Yoka-hanen, who you have brought with you? You are partly creating a new legend, I assume. These people are not from our Maa, but from the skies, from the clouds they have dived down. As did our ancestors live together with the men from other worlds, so have we been granted with such an encounter. Cannot you see, you skeptical child, who you have brought to our village? This is a grand day, grand day in the history of Kaleva!"
"But honorable father, I do not see, why…" she a bit stubbornly disagreed. For her, a down-to-earth, bullheaded person, was somewhat difficult to harp on 'fairy tales'.
"Do not disagree with me. I will ask myself who these strangers are. Step forth, unknown!"
Mira's wrist translator became the object of astonishment even now. Without it, every syllable Yoka-hanen or anyone else had produced, would have sounded like incomprehensible alien slur. And so Buzz summarized once more his odyssey. And the chief smirked, he had been right.
"So where did your ferry of the air land? Our warriors could go and see, and affirm your legend", Vainamoinen rasped. Lightyear described the place as much as he remembered, and the old man kept nodding self-confident.
"Yes, yes… those are the meadows of Pellervoinen. They are good hunting lands, when the thaw winds of summer blow above the grass. But, will you, who come with the wings of Kokkolintu, present your company for me? Who is Sininen, and who are the others?"
"Uhh… your honor? Sininen?"
"Sininen, the ihmo with the speaking wrist."
"Oh, oh, yes, you mean Mira? Ah, yes, she is Mira Nova, a Princess from Tangea. My team member. And this is Booster Munchapper, Jo-Adian, also a fellow space ranger."
Vainamoinen was not interested in the big, rotund alien. He looked like some family pet in his eyes.
"One of our crew is broken. XR is a robot ranger." More babble that was without content for the ruler. "…and this young civilian lady is Zarah Darkmatter, an energy economics engineer."
Obviously a sort of discrimination had laid its robes already on the foreigners. Vainamoinen had real respect only on Buzz and Mira. Zarah and the rest were only lower minions, maybe servants or something. That short wide-chest man with the black beard was obviously a majestic leader from his worlds, whereas Nova (now called Sininen) was maybe a virtuoso of wisdom and unknown technology. Maybe she was a suuremo, or relevant. Suuremot were honored, old women in Kalevan culture, usually the eldest females in grand families. Opposite to normal housewives, they could read and master legends, some of them even mathematics. But of course they were nothing compared with viisaat, who were the most savant of all.
In any case, Lightyear and his crew were warmly welcomed to the plains of Kaleva. Vainamoinen ordered to put up two large tents for them, and prepare the baths and food. Well, the wanderers did look quite much like beggars from gutters. Buzz' shaped beard had turned to a tangled half-stubble. Mira and Zarah's hairs were shaggy, greasy, and looked like pre-Rastafarian coiffures. Everyone had less or more dust graying their faces, and the outfits were dirty. As they were leaded out from the council tent, a group of village women was waiting for them outside. Amazingly fast young men were putting new teepees up, for the Captain a whole own one, and a second, common one for Mira and Zarah. Unfortunately, as Booster was considered as some kind of 'dog', he was accommodated to suuremo Louhi's family hut.
The warm baths were provided in large, wooden basins. At that moment no one thought about the amount of work the preparing of those had required. The water was carried from the river, boiled in cauldrons, and kept warm with fire. But for the tired ramblers, it was heavenly to sink in the caress of the steaming tubs, and let every aching muscle relax. The sweat, the grease, the mud was rubbed away with balmy soap. The bathwater was sweetishly odorous of herbs. And soft linen and suede clothes waited on benches, wherever the bathers then stepped out of the vats.
The bears that Yoka-hanen had killed, could not be served so fast as food. A few men had hauled them from the forest, and they would be prepared for further days, for the grand welcome feast. Team Lightyear and Zarah enjoyed still square meals for supper, so they did not need to descend in the beds famished. However, this night, after all the strolling and surprises, the sleep dust fell upon them fast. Sweet drowsiness filled their inners. Buzz was directed to his private tent, which was put up almost beside Vainamoinen's family abode. A round hall it was, full of bestowed practical objects: little furniture, jugs, pots, mattresses, tapestries, tools, and such. This was the village's gift for the man from the skies. A soft mattress on the floor with pelts and thick, decorated fabrics as bed sheets awaited him. And there he soon lulled, and did not startle awake before tomorrow's bright sunbeams.
As mentioned, Mira and Zarah had to share the same tent. It was smaller than Buzz', but very much space it provided for the two women. And as for Mrs. Darkmatter's wish, the broken android was brought to huddle lifelessly in a random corner. For Choi was regarded as a servant maid, her sleeping post was arranged quite much inferior to Sininen's. But Mira lend her a pile of extra pelts. Hence neither one of them had to feel uncomfortable. Booster, sleeping in the lobby of Louhi's hearty family, did not complain at all. The best was that his stomach was full of good food, and he could cover himself until his ears with a thick blanket.