Treasure Hunt

Even before I opened my eyes I could feel the gaze boring down into me. As I lay there, I realized it was not one set but several. The count unknown at first just a bit daunting to know that I was being watched while I slept. Willing them away to return to the more peacefulness of a dream had no effect.

Me too's enthusiasm to start the day early roused me to prepare jerky and botas for what felt like half the tribe's youth. It was more like five in truth but the energy they could put off magnified head counts. It was my own fault. I'd told them the tale of Merlin the haruspex of the great Ubar Authur and now they were pinging off the wagon walls getting ready for treasure hunting. It wasn't a sword set in stone they were after but magic bones. The kind that can bring the dead back to life or at least prolong it a little longer. Not exactly the moral of the story I had hoped but it was better than the last time they went on an archaeological dig and wound up filling buckets underneath the wagon with broken pottery, worms and baby snakes.

It is impossible to go back to sleep after having experienced the ripple effect of an expedition with this magnitude. The few extra ahns before I had to begin my chores could be spent working the leather of the halter. The cold water of the stream would shrink it so that the weave of the braiding held stronger.

When I arrived, the healer was already there sifting through the myriad of stones in the stream for ones that could be heated and used for healing compresses. I forgot all about the halter for a while to help find just the perfect size, shape and dimensions she needed.

Spending time with Falon is always enjoyable. The exchange of small looks and shared conspiracies came natural now, always resulting in a mirrored grin. I explained that the search for power and magic wasn't to turn siblings into urts and other critters but a way to keep fireflies alive longer so they could go fishing. It was a guy thing, that one track purpose only they had logic for. I had tried to tell them to put more holes in the top of the jar but believing this was an ancient pyre site that held mystical wonders they could unearth was more fun.

A query about how her grandfather was doing reminded me of what Fonce had said. They were grown men capable of taking care of themselves but concern was something that seemed inherent within me. Would I always worry? Was it so wrong to feel this of those that mattered most to me? It wasn't that I didn't think they were made of the finest steel. Even the sharpest quiva is sheathed in leather to keep it sharp and clean.

Falon's stories always fascinated me and I listened to them with a childlike thirst for bedtime tales. Her family is such a wealth of histories woven together. They have been so many places, done so many things. It was always like opening a collection of short stories to talk with any one of them. She spoke of a place I'd never heard of .. Schendi where vines grew strong enough, long enough and high enough to be part of Jack's epoch with the giant. There were caves and secret pools of water hidden in that place that let my imagination run vivid. It was a place I had never been on any world. Didn't I sound like a universal carpet bagger? It had been an altogether different search for power that had sent the Noir children to such an exotic place. Safety, protection from someone with a design to use them to cause harm to her grandfather. It all stroked a far fiercer response from me. I knew I could strangle the life force from any who tried to hurt anyone of my tribe with my bare hands. There were more poignant moments within her recanting while she spoke of the closeness they shared, she and her parents, her brother and sister, touching the longings I had inside.

There was a promise that if the boys found a chest of jewels I would see she got her share. After all she had been the one to inspire the venture Me too was off on. They wanted to know how fish remained afloat and thus the reason to go fishing unveiled itself. I'd told them that Falon more than likely could explain the inner workings of anatomy even in aquatic creatures and that was when they somehow got the bright idea to find a way to keep the fireflies alive. Tah dah, now you know the rest of the story.

It was hard not to notice when Cana approached. One, she is such a dynamic woman that you naturally look for her addition in touching moments, two she was leading a gleaming roan foal. Now there is an awe inspiring vision. She'd heard tidbits of the conversation and immediately wanted to know what kind of treasure we were hunting for. You have to understand that these two women tend to provoke an excitedness in me when I get around them both so my answer came in one long winded run on sentence that by now they were accustomed to. I lumped it altogether ... stones, crowns, jewels, magic bones and family. We were all in agreement the last one was by far the greatest and most priceless of them all.

In the midst of telling me she had a chore for me, Cana did put the heart of the matter of the fish into perfect Tuchuk logic ... they float because it is their nature. Now why didn't I think to tell the boys that. I think I tried that but got that endless series of 'whys' and decided to let them find out on their own. Cana said filling their bellies created a brief stay of those but rest assured they will come right back to the beginning.

But back to the chore she had for me. Motioning to the young colt, she said I was to choose a name for him. I didn't know it but she had been on her own treasure hunt.