SETISIA |
Chapter 5
Telli and Brakis were leaving their hut the following evening as the last of the daylight faded when they heard a long horn-blast, which they knew to be the signal for their work team to assemble. As they made their way to the meeting place, Telli felt a nervous anticipation at the prospect of his first night as a slave-worker for the Khrelling. On arrival, they were approached by Anolph, whom they had not seen since the afternoon of their arrival in the camp two days before. In his dour manner, he stated that he was the foreman of the team, and called over two other men whom he introduced.
"This is Brent who is in charge of the mining team on which you, Brakis, will work for the moment; and this is Harren who leads the smith's shop where Telli will learn his trade, being apprenticed to Seth whom you have already met. You will go with them into the caves, and they will show you your work places." With this he left them to join an equally grim looking pair of men who appeared to be counting the workers as they arrived.
Telli noticed several men looking up at the darkening sky above them, and following their gaze, let out a gasp of surprise. Flying from west to east was a flock of creatures he soon identified as bats; but bats far larger than any he had seen before, and flying in a constant stream in the same direction, rather than hunting moths alone as they did on the banks of the Elne. Their bodies were so heavy that they dipped up and down with each slow flap of the wings, and Telli could see the outline of a pointed nose and large ears on the heads of the lowest, not more than fifty feet above him.
"Flying rats, we call them. They eat our fruit if we let them."
Telli turned at the familiar voice to see Seth.
"They come out of the caves as we must go in. Come Tellimakis, apprentice, it is time to start with your new trade." The big man walked off behind Harren, and Telli followed.
At the entrance to the caves were several well-armed Khrelling, who seemed to be counting the workers as they entered. Anolph walked at the head of the team of about one hundred men, and led them down the tunnel, keeping to the right hand side. The men of the afternoon shift passed to their left on the way out, and some from the two teams exchanged greetings. After a few minutes, Harren turned off down a tunnel to the right with Seth, Telli, and about twenty others following him.
They reached the smithy, a large cavern with a number of furnaces cut out of stone around its walls. There were shafts in the ceiling to let out the smoke, and Telli noticed with interest that he could see starlight at the top of one as he passed under it. The men took off their goatskin jackets against the heat, and went to their work places. Harren, a tall wiry man in his forties, came to Telli to explain the work to him.
"Here we make all the tools and weapons for the Khrelling, and also the tools we need ourselves for our farming, and the building of our homes. You will work with Seth, whom you know, and with Stellakis, who has just moved from apprentice to smith." Harren pointed out a young man, who grinned at Telli, and told him to call him "Stell" as everyone else did. Telli liked the look of him, and felt that even though a slave, he appeared to be lucky in having two friendly work-mates. Harren continued.
"Your job is to keep the two furnaces they are working on fed with wood and blackstone. Come with me." He led the way to one end of the cavern, where there was a huge pile of wood and beside it a pile of shiny black stones.
"Have you seen these before?" he asked, indicating the stones.
When Telli replied that he had not, Harren explained that this was a type of stone that burned, and which the Khrelling used for fire and light.
"Most men coming from outside think it a miracle to burn stone," he said, "but it burns more slowly than wood, and with greater heat. The wood you use only when the fires are low, and you need to increase the heat quickly." After pointing out a small wooden handcart, which was used to carry the fuel to the furnaces, and a shovel with which to fill it, Harren led Telli back to where Seth was standing. The big smith was beating out a length of hot iron with a large hammer. Harren left them after giving a few more instructions, and saying that Seth and Stell would be able to tell him anything else he needed to know.
So Telli settled into his first night of work. He wheeled the black stones, wood, and sometimes other stones containing iron ore, from the storage piles to the furnaces, fuelling them to the instructions of the two smiths. When he was ahead on this work, he helped the pair in any way they needed. Seth sometimes found time to explain to him various aspects of the smiths' skills. Telli also took away the finished tools made by the pair, storing them in a chamber adjoining the smithy. The hardest thing for him was becoming accustomed to the heat and noise of the work place. At least one of the fifteen or so smiths would be hammering on metal at any given moment, making a clamour such as he had never heard before. He tried not to think too much of his previous way of living, hunting freely in the beautiful and tranquil Elneside forest.
Halfway up one of the walls of the cavern was an opening with a stone balcony in front of it. From time to time, one or two Khrelling would arrive in the balcony from a passage behind, and look down on them. This was their only regular supervision, and the practical running of the workshop seemed to be left largely to Harren. Telli made a rough count of his work-mates, reckoning there were fifteen smiths, and six or seven young apprentices like him. They all seemed to work steadily, for the most part in silence. Stell was an exception. Although he worked with great energy at his furnace, he was anything but silent, taking every opportunity to talk and joke with those near him, and singing as he beat his iron tools into shape. His behaviour brought an occasional word of warning from Harren, after which he usually remained silent for a few minutes, before starting up with a new song, or a shouted conversation with another smith.
The workers stopped only once, briefly, to eat the food they had brought with them. Seth advised Telli to fuel the fires well before this break, so that he would not have to rush at his work after eating, as he must not let the fires cool too much at any time. The same went for the end of the night's work, when he must pile enough of the blackstone on the fires to ensure that the smiths on the morning shift could start work immediately on their arrival.
When this time came, and a horn-blast announced the sunrise outside and the end of their shift, Telli, now tired and bleary eyed from the smoke of the forge, was led out of the caves with the others. He found Brakis, looking soiled and weary, and they walked to their hut together, comparing notes on their respective jobs. On arrival, they found that the fire had been lit, and food was cooking over it. Brakis was accustomed to catering for himself, and explained to Telli that, although he greatly appreciated the efforts of the women, he was uneasy with the system.
"Because we slave for the Krelling, then the women are also slaves in that they must make up for the work men would do in the normal course of things. One of my work-mates told me that most men find some time when they can help in the fields. If we cannot escape this place immediately, then I think that we should do the same."
Telli agreed. He thought his job seemed tolerable, at least for a short while, and wanted to know the details of his friend's mining work, and whether he felt the same way about it. Brakis described his experience as they ate.
"We were led some distance into the caves to a site where they mine the black burning stone you use in the forge. Then we were set to work as a team of eight men, four chipping at the rock face, and four carting the blackstone away. We would change jobs every half-hour, the carting of the stone being a welcome rest from the work with pickaxe and shovel. I am fit, and will not have too many problems with this kind of work when I become accustomed to it. However, it is not something to be done for a long time. Some of the older men have painful joints, from too much of the same repeated actions, and some have coughs in their lungs from the dust created when the blackstone is broken. It is not natural for men to work in this way. I am glad Seth arranged for you to work with him in the forge, although it may not be much better."
Exhausted, the Elnesiders lay down on their cots soon after they had finished their meal, and after some more discussion of the night's experiences, both fell soundly asleep.
*
The next night at work passed more easily for Telli and Brakis, and certainly for their fellow slaves. While this was only the second shift for the Elnesiders, the others were on their seventh consecutive night. However, the knowledge that they would all have two days' rest to look forward to on its completion made this in many ways the easiest of the seven. The atmosphere in the forge was clearly different, with Stell singing more loudly than the night before, others joining in at times, and Harren largely ignoring them.
Telli learnt a little more about his job, and increased his acquaintance with some of the other workers, particularly the apprentices with whom he would meet and exchange a few words when they arrived at the fuel piles at the same time as he did. They talked much of the following night when, free from work, they intended to drink vast quantities of the apple wine Telli had tasted on his first night in the camp. One of them, a lad of about his own age called Beyorn (a name familiar to Telli, as were some others amongst the slaves), invited the newcomer to come fishing with him the following afternoon, an invitation he gratefully accepted. The apprentices were understandably eager to talk with someone who had experienced another world outside the camp.
When the time came to finish work, the smiths joined the stream of slaves leaving the caves, most now smiling and laughing, a contrast to the generally subdued and depressed behaviour in the camp experienced by the Elnesiders up to this time. Beyorn said that he knew where Telli's hut was, and would call for him in the late afternoon, when they were rested from the work. Seth said he would come to the hut at sundown to show the newcomers the way to the meeting house, where many gathered to celebrate the break from work.
*
Beyorn arrived at the Elnesiders' hut in mid-afternoon, accompanied by Stell who proved to be his cousin. They were equipped with rods and nets, and when Telli introduced Brakis, insisted that he also should join them at the river. The pair were good company, especially Stell, one of those people who seemed to exist for the sole purpose of making others laugh. Beyorn led them to a site on the far bank, which he insisted was the best place to be sure of a good catch. However, they were unlucky there, and in the end it was only Brakis, choosing his own place a little further upstream, who landed a fish of a size worth eating. Fishing was to become his main pastime in the camp, where he could not hunt, and he soon gained a reputation as a provider of fish to his neighbours, this contribution saving him much of the obligation he had felt to help the women and children in the fields.
The afternoon ended with Stell falling in the river as he tried to net a fish. Once there, he decided to stay for a while, fully clothed, shouting to the others that it was warm, and that they still smelled of the week's work and needed a good bath. They forgot their fishing, stripping off to join the young smith in the water. Refreshed and hungry, the four made their way back to the village.
Telli and Brakis were questioned thoroughly by their new friends about their life in Elneside, and their capture by the Khrelling. They answered all they could, only misleading the others as to the whereabouts of their home and the size of the settlement, now having agreed with each other on stories that were consistent in case they were questioned separately. Brakis did mention the Khrelling skull in the pool while describing their journey towards the mountains, and Stell confirmed his guess that the creatures buried their dead in water.
"They eat mainly fish, and believe that they must return their own flesh to the fish of the caves on dying," he explained. "The caves are rich in fish, most of them blind as they have no use for eyes."
"He knows so much about Khrelling that we think he will become one," said Beyorn.
"This young fool says that because I speak the tongue of the cave maggots better than almost all in the camp," said Stell, flicking his wet shirt at his cousin. "But I am no fool. There are few of us able to communicate between man and Khrelling, and the masters can ill afford to harm those who can."
They had reached the village, and the Elnesiders bade their new friends goodbye, and made their way to the hut to eat, and to await Seth.
*
The meeting house was a long wooden shed with stone fireplaces at each end and rough wooden tables and chairs set around the walls. When Telli and Brakis arrived with Seth, there were already over a hundred people present, both men and women. This was the night for all to relax as there would be no work done in the caves until the morning team started at dawn on the day after next. Although it was clear to Telli that the slaves were happy that night to have a rest from the grind of their work, the atmosphere of the gathering held undercurrents he had never experienced at an Elneside party or feast. The apple wine flowed freely, as did other strong drinks, but many of those present seemed to be drinking to forget their situation, rather than to celebrate.
People were eager to meet the newcomers to the community, and Beyorn, who arrived shortly after the Elnesiders, took an obvious pride in already having met them. He introduced Telli to many others of his own age, too many for him to remember most of their names. One name he did remember was that of Nina, a pretty girl with long black hair, and large, dark brown eyes through which she gazed at him with a shy curiosity. Telli managed to talk with her a little, while Beyorn went to fill their cups with wine. She stated that she could not stay too late at the gathering as she must rise in the morning to pick some fruit that was too ripe to leave even though it was a rest day. Telli found himself volunteering to help in the orchards, much to the amusement of Brakis, who was standing nearby.
The night wore on, and the Elnesiders enjoyed themselves well enough. It was the first party they had ever attended where they were meeting people whom they had not known for all of their lives. It was this novelty, something only people from the most isolated human communities would be able to comprehend, which made the first few days of their experience as slaves not only bearable, but almost enjoyable.
*
The rest period passed all too quickly. Telli helped out in the orchards on the morning after the gathering in the meeting-house, and managed to get to know Nina a little better. She seemed at home in the fields, and lost some of the shyness of the night before, plying him with questions about Elneside, and answering his own about life in the camp and work in the fields. Telli found himself the victim of strange emotions. While unworried for the time being about his own situation as a slave, he found the idea of Nina being condemned to know nothing other than life in the camp almost unbearable. Remembering Seth's show of feeling when he talked of his dream that the whole community might find freedom, Telli now realised that he was already thinking in the same way. If he found a way to escape himself, he would not be able to rest until he had also found a means to free the other captives.
*
The Elnesiders decided to settle into their pattern of work for at least another two nine-day periods before any serious consideration of escape. They did not feel that they were in any danger, as long as they managed to obey the rules laid down by the Khrelling, and it would clearly be unwise to attempt anything without a much better knowledge of their surrounds. Brakis spoke at length on this subject during the morning following their first two rest days while they waited in their hut for the horn-blast to signal the gathering of their first afternoon shift.
"There is a danger less obvious here than death at the hands of the Khrelling," he said at one point. "Many here have died in part of their minds. It is not only the barrier that keeps the slaves here, and it is not only the attachment to family and friends, which most in the camp certainly have. If a man can tolerate the work here, then all else is easy for him. He does not lack food, or clothing, or anything else he needs in life. To ask why some might like to stay in this place is then a bit like asking why we two are the only ones who have chosen to leave Elneside in our times. Like our people, they want for nothing that is essential to them. Although they do not have the freedom, so valuable to you and me, to roam at will in the forest, and they do not rule themselves, few of them have experience of these things."
"I do not think that either of us will fall into the trap of comfort here," said Telli. "If we were in danger of doing that, we would not be here in the first place, but in Elneside, where folks are clearly more content with their lot than are those we see around us now. Did you not feel the atmosphere in the meeting-house?"
"Yes, and elsewhere. However, the others here know nothing of Elneside. Their origins are to the east of the mountains. We must remember the stories of war, plague and famine told by our forefathers, as well as the tales of the great wonders of their world. Then, perhaps, it would not seem such a bad lot in life to be a slave here. Speaking of the meeting-house, how is young Nina? Could not such a person become a 'trap of comfort' for a young man in a few years time, or even now?" Brakis's voice was teasing, and his eyes smiling. The horn sounded for their shift, sparing Telli's blushes, and the two made their way to work.
*
Three nine-day periods passed quickly for the Elnesiders, with much to learn, and many new acquaintances to be made. They became more accustomed to the Khrelling, who frequently toured the work places in groups, usually accompanied by a human translator. Brakis hated the creatures, understandably, but Telli's dislike for his masters was tempered by interest in them and their ways. He asked Stell to teach him some of their language, which the young smith tried to do. The pair made Seth laugh as they attempted to set aside days in which Allenth could not be spoken, and the business of the forge must be conducted in the hisses and clicks of Khrelling. Telli became teacher as well as pupil, attempting to teach Seth's family (adults as well as children) their letters, with some success.
While resigning themselves to life as slaves for a while, both Telli and Brakis were on a constant lookout for a means of escape, and it was not surprising that Telli was the first to identify a possible route for himself, considering his ability to 'fly'. It was towards the end of their second complete 'period' of work, the first on a morning shift, that he decided to explain his idea to Brakis, whom he had joined for an afternoon's fishing. They sat lazily on the riverbank, their rods propped against a rock, watching the lines dangling in the stream below for signs of movement that would indicate a catch. Midsummer was approaching, the days reaching their longest, and the hidden valley was truly beautiful under the afternoon sun. The irony of discussing escape on such a day as this was not lost on Telli, as he looked up at the high mountains surrounding them, and broached the subject on his mind.
"There seems no need for haste in escaping the camp for the time being, but it is certainly about the easiest time to do so," he began.
"In what way?" asked Brakis, adjusting the angle of his rod with a foot, and lying back against a convenient rock, eyes closed.
"We passed under the highest of the mountains when we were taken through the caves, but the peaks to the east are still high. The way over them will be free of snow for another two months, maybe three. Even though it may well be possible to pass them after the first snows, the choice of ways would be limited. I fear that the easiest passes may be well watched by the Khrelling, not only in the event of a slave escaping, but also to ensure that there is not a chance discovery of the camp by men from the Kingdom to the east."
"True, too true," Brakis murmured drowsily.
"I think I may have found a way out," said Telli, as he looked around to make sure that the pair were alone. Brakis sat up, suddenly wide awake, and looked around also.
" Where's that?"
"From the forge. There are shafts cut in the roof of the cave to let out the smoke. Looking up two of these, I can see the light of day. But these two are in the centre of the ceiling, and are too high for me to fly up to even if I could do so without being seen. One of the others, however, would be possible for me to enter, although far from easy. The opening is as high as the others, but it is in a corner of the forge, and there are uneven patches on the walls where I can find a grip, and so rest on the way up. Most important, this opening is not in the line of sight of the other workers when at their usual places, nor of the Khrelling should they arrive on the lookout balcony, unless they have a particular reason to look in that direction. I cannot see daylight at the top of this shaft, but in the dim light, it appears to be crossed by another passage, perhaps twenty feet above the forge's ceiling. Smoke from our furnaces drifts slowly into the entrance, which means it must surely lead to an exit from the mountain somewhere, whether directly or indirectly. I think I should try it." Telli looked at his friend, not knowing if he should expect encouragement in this course, or warning of the obvious dangers. Attempts at escape were punishable by death.
Brakis looked thoughtful.
"Assuming you make it into this chimney, or whatever it is, what happens if the way out is blocked, or guarded, or if there is no way out at all?" he said, slowly.
"Then I shall return to the forge as quickly as possible, hoping that I have not been missed. The timing will be important. I have already tried piling up the fuel on the fires I tend, then leaving for the fuel piles, and staying away for ten minutes, or slightly more. As long as the fires are burning well, no one takes notice. Remember that we are locked into the forge by an iron gate when we enter. The only open exit from it is halfway up the wall behind the balcony on which the Khrelling guards arrive from time to time to observe us, hardly a likely escape route. That is to say, the only exit apart from the chimney shafts, and one other hole, which is important to my plan — look, look at your line." Telli interrupted himself to point out the twitching of Brakis's fishing line, indicating a catch.
Brakis pulled in the line carefully, and landed a large fish, nearly the length of his forearm. He looked at it carefully, not recognising the type, then held it out for Telli to see.
"Look at the head," he said. "This is Khrelling food."
Telli saw that the fish had no eyes, only markings on its scales, like scars, as if they had once been there.
"The river must flow in or out from the mountains, perhaps both," said Brakis. "There seem to be many entrances to the caves. That is of interest to you if you intend to go wandering in them." He threw the fish into a catch net, adding:
"It may be good eating for the cave worms, but I shall have to check with Seth whether it is good for us. What were you saying about another hole in the forge?"
"There's a hole in the floor where we piss."
Brakis laughed, despite the seriousness of the subject.
"You're not planning to dive out down a piss-hole if you cannot fly out of your damned chimney!"
"No. The hole may be just about big enough for someone my size to squeeze through, but I am sure it would be suicide to do so. I can hear fast running water down below, and anyone trying that way out would surely drown, or be bruised and crushed to death against the rocks. This is why it is left open."
"Then what part can it play in your plans?"
"It can give me more time. I want the Khrelling and our fellow slaves to think I have gone this way, and hopefully to assume my death."
Brakis looked closely at his young friend, beginning to sense that the boy might have a well thought out plan that actually did have a chance of leading to escape.
"Go on. Tell me how you intend to make them think that," he said slowly, his brow creased in concentration as he tried to picture the layout of the forge, which he had never seen.
"My goatskin coat will be found by the piss-hole. I will have mentioned to Seth, Stell, and others my desperation to escape, that I feel so strongly as to take suicidal risks, and, in a manner half joking, that I have even dreamt of diving down that stinking hole. Then I disappear, my coat is found, and of course it is not possible for a slave to leave the forge by any other way, not unless he could fly, and we all know that no man can do that! Therefore I must be dead, and with luck the Khrelling will not search too hard for my remains; and most important, they will not see a reason to blame Harren, Seth, or even you, as my friend, for my foolish suicide."
Brakis was impressed with the plan, but cautious, and reluctant to let Telli take the risks involved even though he would certainly have taken them himself, given the chance.
"You must not rush into this, however good your plan may be. With your talents, an easier way may present itself, and as you say, there is no immediate pressure to escape."
Telli agreed, saying that he still had much preparation to do, even if he did decide to attempt a bid for freedom from inside the caves. However, as the pair picked up their rods and their catch, and headed towards the village, he was almost sure that he would soon be either free of the camp, or facing the consequences of failure.