Chapter Six | Island Spirits Welcome page | Chapter Eight
Nork was getting so close to finishing his life-long goal of becoming a master angler. All he needed to do was collect some more types of fish to be considered a true master. He's heard all the stories about where to find these fish, and one morning, he decided it was past time to start hunting them down. Packing some food - mostly herbs and spices to cook whatever fish he caught, and a small package in case of.. well, whatever might happen.. Nork waved goodbye to a bewildered Utel and headed off.
Much of the journey was one he'd already undertaken, so he remembered the way and where to stop for food and rest. Granted, he was going the opposite way, but at least it was mostly familiar territory.
Finally, he returned to the land of his birth. The hot, dusty, inhospitable desert Utel and he had come from. He briefly considered going back to their old settlement area, but decided against it. Who knew what had ultimately happened, and seeing the bones of the ruined settlement didn't sound like something he really wanted to do.
Passing the oasis he and Utel had stopped at, Nork picked up his pace. The thought of the cool, dark cavern he was supposedly going to find at the top of the dusty hills past the tiny waterfall was exciting after all this trudging through the sand and dirt and grit.
Following the directions he had been given exactly, he topped the rise, and before him lay exactly what he was looking for - a cave, reinforced with some crude timbers by earlier fishermen.
Cautiously, Nork bent over and tiptoed in. He'd never been all that fond of caves. They creeped him out, and gave him dreams of getting lost and never seeing the sun again. Taking a deep breath, Nork set forth away from the mouth of the cave, one halting step after the other.
The directions he'd been given, and the description of the mysterious lights in the cave were uncannily accurate. Before long, he was striding along confidently, following the sound of water he could hear ahead of him. Sure enough, around the next bend, Nork found the water. A deep, cool pool of water with the sound of the unknown fish jumping and playing in the shallows.
With a hopeful sigh, Nork baited his pole and started fishing. It was obviously too much to hope for that this would be easy, however. Time after time, he kept snagging his hook on the weeds at the bottom of the pool. He pulled out clump after clump of weeds, a few pieces of driftwood, and some minnows (which he re-used as bait)... but nothing that looked like the fish he'd been told of.
Exhausted, Nork didn't even bother to leave the cave, and pulled out his roll of furs for bed, and curled up. He was asleep in moments, and dreamed of weird fish with teeth like the saber lions he had heard tell of as a boy that lived deep in the pool by his feet.
The next day proved more fruitful, however, and Nork was able to find some dark wriggly fish that he couldn't readily identify, but were just as easy to salt and preserve as the regular fish he knew all too well. He made sure to pack the fish carefully, so he could show his catch to the clan fishermen back at home. Musing to himself how easy it had become to call the new lands "home", it finally occurred to him that he and Utel should have had an issue with communication with the new clan.... but they hadn't. This caused him a moment of consternation.. until he remembered the spirits at the temple who had clearly welcomed him. Perhaps it was the spirits' doing...?
Just then, he got a bite on his line, and that topic of thought was easily shoved down deep so he wouldn't think of it again... while he fought with the fish that wriggled at the end of his line. Flabbergasted, he pulled out a strange bat-like fish... and stared at it for a long moment. He was loath to preserve this one, it looked so evil.. but then he remembered his quest, and set to work.
Over the days Nork was there, he had plenty of time to explore the reaches of the immense cavern he found himself in... and (without really considering how out of character it was for him), he carefully picked and saved any strange fruit or fauna he found. The frogs, well, those were obviously bait. But the plants - perhaps they were tasty.. or useful in some way to Utel.
Day after day passed, and still the toothy nightmare he'd been told of eluded him. Finally, he took to praying to the island spirits for guidance.. hoping beyond hope that they would answer his prayers. They came to him in a dream, and gifted him with a firey potion that reinvigorated him and took away all his doubts. The next day, his second cast proved fruitful. The monster of a fish clung to his line much like the weeds, and gave him a lengthy, exhausting fight... but he finally caught it.
Back at home, Utel was baffled. How long was Nork planning to be gone? All for some fish?? He barely even ate them anymore! Frustrated, lonely, and uncomfortable, Utel passed day after day taking care of the two children, and her growing belly.. as well as the garden, and the monster plant. Luckily, Nork seemed to have arranged delivery of a fish each day for the plant, or she was sure it would have rebelled and eaten one of her children.
Then, in the middle of the night, she was awoken by a familiar pain deep in her belly. And there was no one around to go for help should she need it. Gritting her teeth, Utel did the only thing she could - she went with the pain, and pushed when instinct told her the baby was ready. Finally, a little girl slid out onto the dirt floor. Exhausted, Utel knew she couldn't relax, and immediately got up to clean the babe and make sure it was okay. The youngster certainly had a set of lungs on her, because now the other two were wide awake, and came in with curiosity. Saazul helped pick out the babe's name, and she became known as Nirraa. Then.. to Utel's relief, Saazul managed to get young Gnaar back to bed on her own, and climb back into her own furs for some much needed rest.
Utel wrapped the babe in furs and cuddled her close long enough to make sure she was hale, healthy, and well-fed, then she put it in the nearby place for her, and fell into a deep sleep.
Saazul, however, didn't sleep nearly as well. The tentacles came out from under her furs again... and, steeling herself, she sat down and tried to explain that she couldn't go to Utel for help this night. Utel had had a hard enough night. Reasoning with the monster seemed foolish.. but somehow it worked. The tentacles slid back under the bed, and Saazul was filled with a rush of energy. Unable to sleep, she went to check on her brother and sister. Nirraa was waking, and needed a change, so she expertly took care of it, then shook Utel awake so she could feed the babe while she lay in bed, exhausted. Once Nirraa was full, Utel slipped easily back into a deep sleep, and Saazul carefully rocked the babe back to sleep.. and finally headed back to her furs just as the sun started to come over the horizon.
A few days later, Nork finally arrived home. He came with a great many plants (which Utel had certainly not expected!), and a good collection of strange and exotic fish.
Finally, they were able to eat as a family again. Nork barely managed to hide his disgust at the fact that the new baby was, again, a girl, but he hide his grimace at just the right moment for Utel to not see it.
Determined, Nork spent that afternoon flirting with other village women until he finally found one receptive to his many charms.
Basae was older, but still lithe and fertile, and already had a young boy at her side, so Nork was sure he could provide her with another one.
Obviously, he was going to have to wait to see if his seed bore fruit, but he wasn't opposed to trying again if it hadn't worked. Basae was sweet and responsive, and seemed more than happy to keep him company in whatever way he wanted. Later, he happily strode towards home, humming to himself. He still had more fish to hunt for, but he was making good progress on his goals... and he couldn't help but smiling at the news of another babe with his reddish locks that had recently been born in the village.
Chapter Six | Island Spirits Welcome page | Chapter Eight
