Callaway Village DANGER! (Unedited)

The waves crashed up on the beach of Boneyard Bay. Forgotten and lost bones from somewhere in the ocean litter the beach. The breeze blew cool and crisp off the water. Roland's shoulder length curly brown hair and curly beard danced lightheartedly on the salty wind.  I love it outdoors and today is no exception. 

He and I happily hopped over bones exploring.

It's an enigma how so many bones get washed up on this beach. Where do they all come from? Roland wanted to collect some for crafting and I wanted to take another look at this incredible ghostly beach. Everything feels dead here. No plants grow out of the sand. Not even a blade of grass.

Garban and Mafic (our rock monsters) wait a ways down the beach on a huge bone. I wonder what Rockies talk about when they're alone together? Do they talk about their bonded humans? They seem well into conversation while they dutifully wait for Roland and I to do whatever we want. They never get impatient. They never ask if we are almost done. They are just content to serve. I be so grateful for Garban. He is the most loyal best friend I have ever had. I am delighted to spend the rest of my days with him as my closest companion. 

Classes are cancelled at school for five days and we are taking advantage. Roland and I want to explore the compound more. The compound goes from the Blue Mountains all the way down the the southern shore. Both of us are fairly new here. Except for the three day adventure hunt, we have limited experience in the area.  Yesterday Roland, Feale and I retrieved the Ram's skull from Speckled Peak. The day before we discovered Ailbe inside Black Bane Mountain. Ailbe is a fish man that was asleep in a cave inside the mountain for a long long time waitin fer... me. He didn't specify exactly how long. I still can't understand that. I can't understand all this talk of little me being so special. I am small fer my age of 12 seasons. Which means everyone towers over me. (To read about these events, go back in the blog. They're a few blog posts back.)

Where I come from, I'm the outcast that nobody wanted. The kids in my clan picked on me somethin fierce. Every time I turned around there they were taunting me and beatin on me. I'm just not used to being told I'm important. 

Roland is the closest friend I've had since coming here. He's more than twenty seasons my elder but we get along very well. He was lonely because he lost his wife just before coming here and I was lonely as well. I didn't have a close friend. Oh sure, there's Scoria (a nice girl I met at the school) and Joktan (a Folksy or small person who attends the school). They have been very kind to me but we're not close like Roland and me. He and I have been almost inseparable since the Adventure Hunt. We have been enjoying camping and exploring the compound together. I helped him when he hurt his ankle and we haven't been apart since.  We are in the freshman class while Scoria and Joktan are in their third and fourth year.

After Roland filled his pack with several bones we decided to go further south to Callaway Village. We have never been there before. Many small villages occupy the compound, but Callaway is the largest. Roland said he'll buy me a hot meal. I would love a hot meal since the crisp autumn air be chillin my bones a bit.  

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Apprehension suddenly filled me as we walked. I thought of the time I spent in Vigilo. I had a bad experience. Garban felt my hesitance but it was actually obvious because Roland did too. I had begun to walk slower as  I remembered the horrible days in a dungeon deep down in the earth. I had been kidnapped!

I stopped in my tracks.

The others in the party stopped as well. Roland asked what was wrong. I stood there trembling as I remembered.  I did NOT want to go to Callaway Village. My only experience with a large village had turned out horribly and I felt scared. I didn't often get scared, but just the thought of a large village with many people made me feel like I couldn't breathe.  My stomach got tight. Roland's and Mafic's and Graban's concern grew for me as they watched my face. Graban knew the experience I had in Vigilo, he was there while Uncail searched for me for days. He knew exactly what was wrong. 

Roland and Mafic's concern grew as my feet stayed planted.  Graban waited patiently for me to decide what to do. It was up to me. Finally, after Roland pleaded with me I told the story of how I was kidnapped and tortured by a Vicor. He chained me to a pole in a cave. I was beaten and endured phsycological torture. I had never actually told anyone before what had happened. Roland listened intently to my story. Compassion filled his face as I told him everything. It actually felt kind of good to tell, even though the feelings were surfacing. I didn't realize how much I missed having someone to confide in. Uncail was always the person I went to and he wasn't here at the school. I had built some trust with Roland and felt safe telling him. 

After the story was out, He said that I couldn't let the past dictate my future. He said that this fear I was feeling over going to a large village had to be overcome. How do you overcome a fear? He said you face it head on and crush it. Now he wasn't going to let me turn around and go back to the school to hide away in my room. No, he was intent on taking me to Callaway Village more than ever. My feet stayed firmly planted on the ground. I couldn't seem to move them. Then some words came back to me that I heard Uncail tell me before my journey to the school began. Fear grips a man tight. So tight he cannot breathe. I must take the fear and purge it from me. Graban waited patiently as all this ran through my head. He could feel what I felt. He could hear my thoughts. He just waited for me to sort it out. He didn't need to say anything because Roland was. He was echoing my Uncails words right now. Telling me verbally almost what Uncail had told me. Now I knew. I knew I had to go the Callaway Village and face my fear. 

I forced my feet to move. We walked slowly. I set the pace.

When we arrived at the village there were many rock and mortar homes built around two large buildings. They had thatch roofs. My village had many homes set around a large building called a Longhouse. This was a place where the people gathered together for many occasions. Ours was built out of stone. Fortified for a giant or Skylark attack just in case. In the event of an attack, the people would gather in the longhouse and stay safe while the Rockies fought. 

Callaway was different. I didn't see what I recognized as a Longhouse. The two buildings didn't look like a Longhouse at all. They were circular in shape. Roland led me to the one closest to the water. It overlooked the harbor where many ships littered the harbor. Two were in the port while men bustled around. Loading and unloading supplies, boxes of wood. Roland said it odd that so many ships were in the harbor. I looked at him with question. I counted 8 in the harbor and 2 in port. He told me that he used to work at the harbor back in his village in the Haltampti Nation. He comes from the people that are our neighbors in the east back home. The Haltampti people are our friends.

 Anyway, Roldand used to work in the harbor unloading supplies from far off lands. He said there were never more than one ship in the harbor at a time and even then, it was weeks in between arrivals. He commented that this must be a point of big trade. I just felt uncomfortable. 

The Rockies waited around the back of the building as we went inside. I stopped at the door, not wanting to go in. Wood beams lined the cieling. The floor was reddish cobblestone. Twelve or so tables filled the room. A bar was on the left wall with a gruff looking man tending to it and 5 or so people sitting there drinking. The noise was overwhelming. Roland said he was right there and it would be ok. The smell of hot food wafted out of the building assaulting my nostrils. It smelled so good. My stomach led me in.

I hadn't had a home cooked meal in awhile. I thought of my Aintin Tabika and her soup. It always warmed my bones and made me feel better. Mayhap a bowl of soup would make me feel better. So we went in. Inside a woman was serving them drinks and food. Roland directed me to a far table against the wall away from most tables. There was only one near it. That looked safe enough. We passed the tables to get to it. Three men sat at the table near ours talking loudly and didn't noticed us pass by. 

The server woman noticed us though. She came over and asked what we wanted. I said soup. She listed four soups to me that were avialable. Potato/Onion, Turnip/Noodle, Tomato and Chicken and Dumplings. I said the chicken and dumplings sounded good. Roland ordered a steak with vegetables and bread on the side. The woman said bread would be coming. It's complimentary. She asked what we wanted to drink. She listed Goat Milk, Water, Melifluous Water, and Ale. I had no taste for Ale but the Melifluous water sounded mighty fine. Many streams of the water fill the land. It makes a tinkling bell sound that you can hear from a distance. The sweet/honey water fills your body with strength and energy. Uncail Anwan and Aintin Tabika live near one of these streams. Aintin makes soup with hers and it fills yer body with energy when you eat it.

The men at the table next to us continued to talk loudly as did all the people. I didn't like the extra noise. I didn't like all the people. the conversations were many. They blended into each other. I could make out tidbits from each and they didn't make sense. But I could hear the men at the table next to us. Something one of them said caught my ear. 

"That School is and abomination." The others agreed. My ears perked up. Were they talking about my school? It was the only one around. Callan School owned all the property south of the Blue Mountains. I didn't expect them to be talking badly about it. I guess each man is allowed his own opinion. Roland and I looked at each other and listened to them down talk or school. Roland had a look of disgust on his face. I probably did too. I know that not everybody thinks the guardians are good. Not everybody in the AnnClan back home did either. When we would go to AnnClan Gatherings in the highlands I would often her people talking about the guardians as if they didn't like them. Some seemed jealous. About half the people in the AnnClan were bonded to Rock Monsters. Something I thought strange since that's all I knew. All the people of my small Clan were bonded. We had our own family Rock Monster growing up. His name was Shist. He's bonded to me Da. I don't understand why others would not like them. Rockies have always shown us kindness and been most loyal.

Our food arrived and I sipped the hot liquid heartily. I enjoyed the Melifluous Water's honey taste and the surge of energy it brought. I hadn't tasted this water in quite some time. The chicken and dumpling soup was very good. It warmed my bones and made my insides feel yummy. Then Garban said inside my head, we need to get out of here. We need to go. Roland looked at me at exactly the same moment. A look of urgency in his face. Mafic must have said the same thing to him in his head. I felt than Graban was anxious. Roland and I got up to leave immediately. He left  a bone handled flint knife on the table as payment for the meal. Hurriedly we got up.

Outside behind the building we met up with our Rockies and left the village immediately. No words need be exchanged. Once outside we stopped to talk. Roland was filled in just as I was by our Rockies in our heads. They had overheard some people talking that they were planning an attack on the school. Why would anyone want to attack our fine school? But I knew that not everyone liked the guardians. The men at the table next to us shared a disgust for the school. They must be in on the attack plans. Roland and Mafic overheard people talking. Ships had been arriving in the harbor for weeks bringing fighting men. We had to get back to the school and warn them! We were not prepared! Oh the Magistrates chose a bad time to go to a summit. They were gone and the school was without their leadership! Plus, we are 8 rockies short as they took their Rockies with them! We don't travel without our Rockies. The attack was planned for in the morning.

We mounted our Rockies and were off. Rockies run so fast it feels like flying when I ride on Graban. They run so fast they get there in a third of the time it would take a human to run. We were back at the school in two sunpeg changes. I guess it was about Ru Peg when we arrived. Still early, before Nun. It would have taken six sunpeg changes for us humans to run that distance at full speed. Our bodies would require rest partway, but not Rockies. Traveling by Rocky is very efficient. 

When we arrived back at school we left the Rockies outside with the others, down at the base of the mountain. I was worried to see how little there were. Because of the break, a lot of people were gone. Rock Monsters are our protection and it looked to me there was half as many as there should be. Our Rockies would fill the them in and put them on alert. We needed to get inside the school for safety. I wanted to see something that I had been thinking about on the way back. Electricity filled my veins with the thought. At the top of the mountain there are some windows. You can see far and wide from the vantage point. I had a nagging feeling inside my gut.  I needed to see if there mayhap be other people coming from the other direction, from the North.

 I wanted to see if we were surrounded.

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Come back tomorrow (New Years Day) to read the conclusion.

#Beach #Bones #Adventure #Danger #Village