She told them of theattack by the cats and the Thunder Lizard and apologized for nothaving been able to stop it. She told them she had been forced toflee and had returned, and it was she that had moved the dead tothe funeral pyres. She apologized for touching their relative’sbodies in her effort to honour them, as there had appeared to be noone left alive. They thanked her for her kindness and invited herto stay and grieve with them. They found and offered her theceremonial loincloth, and apologized for not singing the welcomesong. She told them she understood.
As sunset approached, adozen terrified Barra women and children cautiously crept back intothe village, and a few more canoes with hunters returned to jointhe sorrowful assembly. The group of seven that she had saved byattacking the cat which had blocked their escape returned,recognized and thanked her profusely. She again apologized for nothaving been able to help, as she had been one against so many. Theyunderstood. No single person could have withstood the attack of aThunder Lizard, let alone one assisted by several cats.
Miranda helped thedistraught Barra people where she could and then later, sat down byherself near the edge of the river in the dark thinking about thetragedy. All the Barra elders, the shaman and his assistant hadbeen killed. The remainder, after some discussion, had elected oneof the older hunters to be their new leader, but they still lackeda shaman, which was so very important in their society. He was thesong leader who controlled their strange form of magic. Without himthey would be at a great disadvantage, having no magicalprotections and may not be able to send off the spirits of theirdead in the traditional way.
The new headman gave aloud and emotional eulogy to the dead, and then instructed thepyres to be lit. As the fires began to burn, two of the men startedbeating drums that continued on into the night. As the shaman andhis assistant had also been killed, one of the older females begansinging a sad song that was soon taken up by those present, as theystood watching the flames and contemplated their losses and thefuture. When the fires died down they began a dance around theashes of the pyres, keeping in time with the drumbeat and singingloudly.
Miranda was invited tojoin in, and did so willingly, dancing to the drumbeat and singingsad songs she didn’t know. Periodically, someone would leave thedance and take over the drumming so the previous drummers couldjoin in the dance. Sometime after midnight she was feeling tootired to continue, and decided to leave the dancers for a rest. Noone appeared concerned, so she walked down to the edge of the riverand sat resting against a tree, looking out over the water.
The night was hot andstill and would normally be filled with the noises of insects,frogs and a variety of other nocturnal creatures. However, thecontinual drumming had exerted a dampening effect on the creaturesin the surrounding jungle, making it unusually quiet. All seemed toshare the Barra peoples’ sorrow.
She was pondering theday’s events when a strange sight greeted her. A boat in full sailwith strong lights directed from the bow and sides came speeding upthe river at an unnatural pace, making little noise other than thewater spraying off the bow. As it approached the village, the winddriving it seemed to die and it started to slow as it was steeredtoward where she sat.
She had heard of peopleusing magic wind to drive craft but never seen it done before. Shestood back ten paces from the water’s edge as the boat slowed downand eventually ran aground on the muddy bank. The lights on thecraft were fitted with reflectors that projected the light forward,but it was hard to see who was on the boat. She hoped that theywere friendly, as it wasn’t an occasion for another fight. A momentlater she was hailed by a gruff voice with a flurry ofquestions.
‘Ye there. What onMudrun’s going on here? Where be the Barra people? Where be theheadman? What be all that drumming?’
There was a series ofsplashes as three men jumped out of the boat and fanned out alongthe water’s edge with weapons and lanterns in hand. A fourth, ashort robust male, the person asking the questions, then jumped outand walked up to her.
‘A bloody druid, Imight have guessed. What are yer doing here? Upsetting me Barrafriends with yer witchcraft no doubt.’
Miranda was quiteinsulted.
‘How dare you speak toa druid in that tone of voice! Who are you to be asking questionsand calling a druid a witch? I am the law here!’ she said defiantlywith her hands on her hips.
Belloe looked at herand realized that perhaps he had been a bit rude. He had heard thedrums beating for the last hour and was worried and apprehensiveabout what was happening. He’d been in the jungle a lot andexperience had told him that this continual drumbeat meant troubleand death. ‘Another bloody nuisance woman,’ he thought, but changedhis manner to be considerably more conciliatory.
‘Me name is Belloe. I’min charge of this expedition in search of medicinal plants. We arehere to visit me old friend, Bintil, the headman of this village toseek his help. Can yer please tell me what has happened here,Milady?’
‘That’s a bit better,’said Miranda still annoyed at Belloe’s tone
‘The village wasattacked today and more than eighty Barra people were killed. Theyare currently having a ritual dance for their dead. The headmanthat you knew is dead, as is the shaman. I suggest that you campuntil morning and then talk to the new headman, although I wouldn’tcount on any help from them.’
‘The bastards!’exclaimed Belloe. ‘I’m sorry, Milady. That’s not good news at all.Do yer know who attacked the village? Were it poachers?’
‘It’s possible, but itwas a most unusual attack like none I’ve seen before,’ she said.‘It was a group of seven or eight jungle cats and a ThunderLizard.’
‘Yer got to bejesting!’ said Belloe.
