5. Others
She looks up at the sheer cliff face in anticipation. This is going to be a difficult one, she thinks, but she never was one to shirk a challenge. She dips her hands into a small bag strapped around her waist, and they emerge covered in a white, chalky powder. She gently claps them together a few times to get rid of the excess, and takes a deep breath.
She approaches the rough wall of solid rock, and strategically begins to find handholds, and footholds, and slowly starts to ascend, frequently pausing to assess where the next likely supportive candidates are located slightly further up. She continues this way for what feels like a relatively short amount of time, but then glances down and is surprised at how much progress she has already made.
Others think she is insane for not using ropes and other equipment when attempting such difficult ascents, but for her, it’s the ultimate accolade (and thrill), to achieve victory over nature like this without relying on safety equipment. She has never lost her grip to date, and if she had, well then, that would be that, the end of the game.
She works in the city, doing a job which holds no interest for her, as an assistant to a spoiled, rich nobleman who treats everyone around him like inferior beings, including her. Especially her. She just gets on with things though, patiently waiting for precious time off, and her next big climb. She has no family, and few friends to speak of, and all of her pursuits outside of work are solitary, and that’s just the way she likes it. Having few attachments, she has considered moving somewhere new, but the formations here are among the best, and not very far from the city, so she weathers her tiresome employer, and simply gets away every chance she can get. All the wrong people rise to the top in this miserable world, she always thought, so she has discovered her own way to rise to the top. Quite literally.
She continues on up the rock-face, stopping for a short while and resting a bit on a stony perch which is deep enough to plant her feet comfortably. She doesn’t rest for long, however, and continues up the steep incline, her wiry arms and legs working fluently and in harmony, her fingers and toes confidently and accurately finding new solutions with which to defy gravity. She knows that the summit can’t be that far off, and is glad of that, because the inevitable build up of lactic acid is beginning to wear on her.
Directly above her head, is an opening in the rock-face, a miniature cave of sorts, so she grabs its lower ledge with both hands and pulls herself up and plants her toes firmly onto what previously served as handholds. She peers inside, then listens intently, because she imagines that she can hear a buzzing noise, many buzzing noises in fact, but by the time she realises what the source of this might be, it is too late.
A swarm of angry insects race out from within the recess directly towards her head. She tries to wave them off with one hand, but they begin to sting her face, and she cries out in pain, then suddenly loses her grip with her other hand, and topples backwards. She falls down the cliff-side, arms and legs flailing wildly, it looks like the game is finally over.
But as she plummets past the passing rock-face, which was a fast-moving blur, it begins to slow down, as if her descent is somehow being arrested. She then simply stops falling altogether, and hovers there in the air, as if floating on her back in water. She is naturally extremely puzzled by all this, but at the same time wonders if she can somehow make her way back to the rock face, although she has nothing to brace herself against to actually achieve this.
But then she begins to fall again, at an increasing rate. She is once again falling too fast to survive the inevitable impact with the ground below, so she shuts her eyes tight and waits for the life to be slammed out of her. Before that happens though, about twenty feet above the inevitable solid earth, she suddenly vanishes into thin air.
A dog-like creature with no visible ears but many forward-facing eyes, and which witnessed the whole thing from the bushes nearby at ground level, sniffs the air, then runs off in the opposite direction of the cliff, whining loudly.
Foon closely followed the contour of the mountainside, all the way back along the plain, but not a single cave entrance was to be found, anywhere along it.
He could see places in the rocky slope of the mountain that had been used as temporary quarries, and a few layers of stone had been removed, presumably to provide a valuable building material and pave streets.
He felt a bit disappointed, but also annoyed. He could have been using his precious dry-day more wisely, by further exploring the village, or heading further up the slope past his hut, or trying harder to find those stone steps which possibly led down to the endless forest. It hadn’t all worked out too badly though, he had met the Elder, which was certainly an experience to remember, and he had successfully used the scope, and even spotted another mountain off in the distance. Now all there was left to do was to get something to eat, and attend the gathering that the Elder spoke of, and perhaps listen to some stories and learn new things.
Foon approached the Longhouse. He was of course, hungry again, so he very much looked forward to finding out what was on the menu today. Upon opening the door and stepping inside however, he was surprised to find the place completely empty. The chairs were neatly arranged. The stove was dormant, and the pots resting upon it all had lids on, and no steam rose from any of them. Lora and Kira were nowhere to be seen. He found the whole thing deeply unsettling. Where was everybody? Then realisation dawned, the gathering! They must all have gone there, but where was it? He felt like he could find his way around the village quite well (although he wasn’t entirely sure why, having forgotten most other things), but he simply couldn’t think where the gathering might be held.
He left the Longhouse, and looked toward the village. He could just make out Simon emerging from what he now thought of as ‘barrel street’, again carrying a large load over one shoulder. Simon was walking towards him and the Longhouse, but Foon started off in his direction to close the gap. As the two got closer, Foon could see that Simon was carrying a very large finely netted orange sack over his shoulder, which was stuffed as full as was surely possible, with logs and thick branches. Similar to the last time he saw Simon carrying something which looked extremely heavy, he seemed completely untroubled by it. He stopped and smiled warmly.
“Nothing going at the Longhouse today Foon. There’ll be food at the gathering though, and it’s all stuff that villagers have prepared themselves, sometimes the tastes are fantastic, sometimes.. unusual, but I love it all! Aren’t you heading there?” His look indicated that he was waiting for a response.
Foon shrugged his shoulders and raised his palms to indicate that he didn’t know where it was. This was a new gesture for him, and when Simon nodded in understanding, he felt like he had really achieved something.
“Come on. Let’s walk together.”
Foon and Simon set off together, now heading towards the fence. They hadn’t walked for long before Foon noticed there was a gathering of people ahead in the distance. They were arranged in separate groups, sometimes comprised of many, sometimes only two or three.
He noticed that it was quite hard to copy Simon’s stride. He tried matching speed with him, but his own legs seemed to be doing a fair bit more work than his companion’s. He looked over at Simon, who had an eager smile on his face and his bright green eyes look intently towards their destination. He seemed to be happily anticipating the gathering, perhaps due to the wide selection of foodstuffs as he had previously mentioned.
As they got closer, some people turned to watch them approach, and many gave then a smile, which made Foon feel very welcome. Now he was really looking forward to this as well. He could see there was an area of bare stone in the ground which was otherwise populated by tufts of hardy looking grass. In the centre of this area, was a shallow bowl shaped indentation, perfectly round, and which had a blackened metal grid inlaid into the bottom of it which followed its curved form. A few people were adding what looked like kindling to the pit, dried moss and feathered twigs and branches.
Simon placed his sack on the ground near to the pit, and went off to chat with a few nearby attendees, hugging them individually before enthusiastically telling some story which caused them to laugh. Several people started removing the fuel from the sack and placing it carefully on top of the kindling, they continued to do this until the fire-pit had been constructed.
One of those people was Kira, Foon was pleased to see. After the job was finished, she walked over towards him, and gave him one of her entrancing smiles, her eyes sparkling like stars. She gently placed her hand on his upper arm before turning and walking over to join a group which Lora was a part of. Foon felt like he was under a spell, and a warm rush travelled up his spine. When Lora saw Kira approach, she smiled and briefly put her arm around her and leaned her head towards Kira’s own.
Then Simon lifted an item that Foon hadn’t noticed, one that was hanging from his waist by a thin strap. It was a thin metal tube, and he placed it to his lips and blew gently. A sound reverberated, a low whistle, and upon hearing this, people moved away from the pit in an expanding circle. Where the bare rock became grass, individual round cylinders began to rise from the ground and continued to do so until they reached knee height, now forming short pillars which surrounded the stony area, evenly spaced and collectively forming a circle around it. Each pillar was cushioned by grass which grew on top of it.
Foon stared entranced, what mechanism had enabled this to happen? How was it activated? Was it the whistle that Simon had blown into? He really wished he could just ask, so he decided to do just that. He approached Simon, and standing next to him, pointed to the stone pillars, which were now obviously seating that surrounded where the fire would be.
“Ah, the bleachers. You would have to ask Lawrence about that. I believe they’re somehow powered by the Jellyfish, but I’m afraid I know very little of such things.”
Jellyfish? What was the Jellyfish? It seemed that every answer spawned several more questions. Foon looked around for Lawrence, he hadn’t spotted him yet. Simon seemed to intuitively know who he was searching for.
“You won’t find Lawrence here this evening Foon,” he explained, “when he’s not at the Fabrik, he lies to stay at home with his family. Many people do, you won’t see the whole village here tonight, only the people who want to attend.”
“Je-fis?” Foon managed to enquire.
Simon looked briefly surprised by this, but his face relaxed into a smile and he pointed up toward the peak of the mountain which towered over them. Foon peered up that way, and noticed that just visible, was the very top of a white dome with the very tip a small spire protruding from the centre. It looked just like the one that he had seen over on top of the other mountain! Once again, one answer, many more questions.
“Don’t ask me about that either,” Simon laughed, “once again, Lawrence is your man. Or Arkit I guess, but that might be the more rocky road to understanding in this instance.”
Foon smiled in appreciation and Simon nodded and smiled back, then turned and joined in the conversation with the other people that he seemed to know very well.
Two men passed them carrying a square glossy flat panel. They walked fence-wards for a short distance then turned slightly and faced each other and slowly tugged each end of the panel. It inexplicably expanded, becoming elongated between the men as they reversed away from each other. Once the panel had reached a certain length, just over that of the height of two people, legs automatically dropped from beneath it and they placed it on the flat patch of ground they had chosen.
People started to walk over to what was now a table, and went on to place items upon it which they removed from sacks strapped around their waists. They were obviously items of food, some wrapped in parcels of thin pastry, some in pots like Lora administered, but smaller and lidded, some looking like elongated loaves of bread or cake formed into circular shapes. Some appeared to be vegetables of some description, long and thin, short and squat and everything in between. As the table filled, a large variety of delicacies populated it, all looking very intriguing indeed to Foon.
Nearby, Kira reached into a sack, a white one this time, and removed a stack of bowls and placed them onto the table. She repeated this three times. She then returned to the sack and removed a large bundle of spoons, which was tied together using twine. It looked like the food was almost ready to sample. Foon’s stomach, which always seemed to have fully independent awareness of its surroundings, rumbled in anticipation.
He felt a very slight heat against the side of his face and noticed in the failing light that the environment had become brighter and warmer. Looking over towards the fire-pit, he could see that the fire had now been started, and danced merry and low, tightly embracing the logs which it now fed upon. People now began to approach the strange table, and each took a bowl and a spoon before selecting various items from the table.
Foon waited for a while until there was sufficient room for him there, and then did the same, taking a bowl and spoon and filling the bowl with various items. He had literally no idea what any of them were, so he just chose what looked appealing, and even a few items that looked less appealing but interesting nonetheless.
People were starting to seat themselves on the bleachers, so he walked over and did the same, choosing one that faced the village, and which wasn’t occupied with immediate neighbours. It was comfortable, and felt strangely warm underneath his hind-quarters. Lora, who had an empty seat beside her gestured to Kira, who had just turned from the table after filling a bowl for herself. Kira smiled, but pointed to the seat next to Foon, and came over and sat down next to him, looking over to him and smiling as she sat down. Lora nodded and smiled at Kira, and then looked towards Foon.
The smile was no longer on her face, it was replaced by that inquisitive look that seemed particular to him, not necessarily disapproving, but perhaps cautious and thoughtful. It was as if her smile had never been there in the first place, and she had presented her current expression the whole time. She regarded him as if she was trying to maybe work out exactly what he was, and exactly what he was thinking.
Foon looked away, finding the experience slightly uncomfortable, and looked down to his bowl. There was a slightly curled and twisted purple root vegetable in there, so he picked it up and gave it a tentative nibble. It tasted quite sharp, and left a lingering flavour which evolved into something that spread across his entire mouth, awakening every taste bud at once. His eyes opened wide and his mouth pursed, he coughed a single time.
Kira looked towards him and giggled softly, she gently took the root from his hand and dipped it into a thick yellow sauce which was carefully positioned at one side of her own bowl. He hadn’t noticed this sauce on the table himself. She then handed back the sauce covered root to Foon and nodded at him with bright eyes. He took another taste, this time taking a bite of both root and sauce at the same time. The experience was completely different, the sharp taste of the root now tempered by the cool creamy sauce, it was like the two were made for each other. Foon nodded and smiled, food was easily his favourite pastime, and sitting with Kira was also quickly becoming a firm favourite.
He went on to sample the rest of the bowl, eating some kind of soft grain with his spoon, it tasted slightly bland, but was by no means unpleasant, and felt quite filling. He also tried a small log shaped morsel which was wrapped in a sand coloured edible covering. It was truly amazing, the taste was savoury and very moreish. He wished it was larger or that he had selected several more of them.
People were emptying bowls all around him, chatting and smiling, everyone seemed happy, as if it wasn’t possible to be here at the gathering and feel sad. The fire now burned more brightly, the logs now glowing and becoming dark on their undersides. He looked around at the other faces, and laid eyes upon the tall girl who had mocked him in the alleyway. She glanced up from her bowl towards him, but looked slightly embarrassed and looked away again and concentrated on her food. The large young man with the broken tooth sat beside her, but avoided Foon’s gaze altogether, and looked around as if he wasn’t there at all.
Foon tried to lay eyes on others he might know. He scanned the many people around him, but there was no Arkit, no Lawrence of course, he was home with his family, the couple from outside the barrel-house were also nowhere to be seen. The Elder was not there either, but he had mentioned he didn’t get out much, so it wasn’t surprising. He had no idea what the beekeeper looked like, but strongly suspected she wouldn’t be present either. He did spot someone else he recognised though, the old woman who had directed him to the Elder. She was sitting many seats away from him, almost across from him, and she was flanked by two other older ladies. They were engaged in conversation, occasionally laughing heartily and patting one another on the back. She looked over towards Foon, perhaps aware of his gaze, and gave him a broad smile and a cheerful wave. He smiled and waved back, she seemed like a cheerful soul, and if there was any badness in her, she hid it extremely well.
People were now placing their bowls down at their feet, the gourmet experience had reached its conclusion. Simon had been absolutely right, some of it had been absolutely fantastic, and he really wanted to try it again sometime. Some of it had been perfectly acceptable, and he could happily eat it again, also. Some of it had been, well, interesting to say the least, and he really wasn’t sure at all, but was glad of the experience nevertheless.
The conversation around him lowered to a murmur. The people stayed relatively silent for a while, most looking around in anticipation. Then Simon broke the silence.
“All creatures are precious,” he said quietly, “no matter how big or small. Nothing that lives is insignificant. Life is everything, and without it nothing else truly exists.”
Some nodded softly at this, some murmured quiet thoughts of their own. There seemed to be general agreement among the assembly. Foon had a feeling that Simon had voiced this before, and it was common knowledge. People began to fall silent again, and the silence persisted for a time while most stared at the fire.
“Togetherness keeps us all strong,” said Lora, “by helping your neighbours, you help yourself. We’re a community, and that is much more than individuals, it is something much larger and more precious. If you find yourself in opposition to your neighbour, you are to present yourselves to me at the Longhouse, and together we will solve the dispute. Don’t make me hear of it second-hand and have to come looking for you, I don’t have time for such things. You can also talk to the Elder, who can also assist in these matters.”
There was a murmur of agreement from the crowd, louder this time, this also seemed to be something that had been voiced before, perhaps many times and was simply not up for dispute. Foon wondered what use the Elder would be in such situations however, but at the same time, he hardly knew him. Maybe he had other talents he wasn’t aware of.
The crowd fell silent again. Suddenly, a woman shrieked. She was pointing and looking over towards the table, which a familiar creature had hopped onto. It was the blue animal from the alleyway! It darted along the table and grabbed what looked like the biggest morsel it could find, before dropping down and simply disappearing again. It all happened extremely fast and was incredibly easy to miss.
Simon laughed, pointing to the table, his shoulders bouncing up and down with the merriment. The others didn’t look quite so amused, some were shaking their heads, some even had scowls on their faces, many were exclaiming their disapproval to others seated nearby. Foon glanced over at Lora, she looked quite angry, and as if she was struggling to control that anger. Eventually the commotion died down and the gathering fell silent once again.
“If you stand close to the fence at night, you can hear wild sounds coming from the endless forest,” said a man with a serious face which was lined with care and all the signs of an eventful life. “There are strange creatures in there which I for one, certainly do not want to encounter.”
A murmur again, some people looked visibly uncomfortable at hearing this, and repositioned themselves in their seats.
“Lawrence can fix anything, my wet-cabin wasn’t working right and it took him no time at all to sort it out!” a younger attractive woman said, she then blushed and looked towards the ground, some people giggled at this, but others nodded and murmured in agreement.
There was a further period of silence, before an older man stood up, grunting as he did so.
“This isn’t the only place you know!” he exclaimed to the crowd, wide-eyed. “We’re all trapped here! It might not be the worst place to be, but I know that I knew of other places besides this sometime long ago!”
People didn’t respond to this. Many of them stared down at the ground, sometimes glancing up to see if the man had sat down again. He shook his head, then sat back down slowly, once again grunting with effort. Foon remembered what the Elder had said, about everyone here coming from somewhere else, maybe this old man knew something about that too..
A tidy, well groomed looking man began to speak “Perhaps there are other mountains and villages out there somewhere, far out in the forest. We might not be the only ones who have such a place as this to live, maybe there’s something more besides endless trees?”
Foon stared intently at the man, trying to acutely remember his face for later reference, but he was unfortunately quite ordinary looking. Maybe he knew something about the other mountain Foon had spotted only just today? For some reason Foon then looked over to Lora, who was staring right at him. This wasn’t her usual inquisitive expression. Her face was completely devoid of emotion, she simply stared straight at him, and he felt like his mind was somehow being violated.
Lora broke her gaze again and looked over to the man who had spoken “Perhaps you should go and ask the man under the mountain about that? You can both discuss your fantasies over a nice cup of tea?”
A ripple of gentle laughter swept across the crowd, and people started talking among themselves. Simon stood up and said “Thank you, everyone. The gathering has concluded. Please help to tidy up before you leave, and we can look forward to the next dry-day when we will all meet again.”
People began to stand up. Some approached the table and gathered what foodstuffs remained upon it. When it was cleared, the same two men lifted the table from either end and the legs folded themselves up and they squeezed it together again into a neat square. When the seats were all clear, Simon blew gently on the whistle again, and the bleachers slowly lowered themselves into the ground, reaching it and merging with the surrounding grass, now looking like they had never been there at all. Kira had seemingly disappeared, as had Lora, and the man who mentioned other mountains was nowhere to be seen.
Foon headed back to the slope and started up the path, heading home with very much to think about. Very much indeed.