Chapter 32 The Trap
The Jeti village waslocated in a saddle in the foothills to the north of the continentand rested in a pass between jungle to the south and the edge ofthe sea a league to the north. It was roughly circular, andprotected on the east and west by steep ground. The north and southwere walled off with thorn bush a three pace thick, and highimpenetrable hedge-like bush covered with long sharp spikes. In themiddle of each of the thorn bush barriers was a three pace widegap, guarded on either side by a pole bearing a carved wooden cat’shead painted black with long white bared fangs and fiery eyes.
On the jungle side theground dropped away in a steep slope and had been cleared andcovered with a coarse grass for about two hundred paces from thethorn bush barrier to the edge of the jungle, giving goodvisibility down the hill. A zigzag shaped path wound down thehillside to the edge of the jungle. Anyone attacking the villagewould have to mount their assault up a steep hillside, most likelyalong the zigzag pathway, and be subject to missile fire fromabove. The northern side was just as steep, but much narrower, andwas half taken up by the fast moving stream that flowed down thewestern side.
The Council of War washeld in the centre of the village. The chief, the elders, Kami,Aquitain, Miranda and Zephira sat in a circle facing each otherwhile behind them sat the rest of the villagers. Aquitain’s hugebulk alone took up about a quarter of the circle. He noticed thatall the children and many of the females had disappeared. The chiefstood up and walked around in the centre of the circle and toldthem that, while they were unused to fighting, he expected that ifthey all fought courageously they would win, and then handed thecentre over to Kami.
Kami explained thatJacintra’s Image had escaped the custody of the Jeti people on thecoast and was causing problems. It had attacked a large big peoplevillage on the east coast, killing many, and two days ago had usedcats to attack the Barra people on the river in order to falselyblame the Jeti people. At this there was an outcry from many of thevillagers. He told them that the spirits had warned the bear thatthe mischievous mask was intending to visit them and causeproblems. It was their duty to stop it and restore order. Theyagreed unanimously.
There began muchtalking and confidence boosting, then they sang a song of courageand strength. When it was time to discuss fighting tactics theyasked the bear to comment. Surprisingly he declined, but suggestedthat Zephira discuss how she thought the mask would attack. Hismind was elsewhere. It was something that Zephira had said to himafter inspecting the village’s excellent defences. She had said itdidn’t make sense that the village was located here. They must beprotecting something.
He did what he shouldhave done when he first came here. He used his eyes and examinedthe little people. The large majority of the Jeti people weredifferent to the majority of the Barra people. The Jeti were alittle shorter and more robust. They also had purple scales ontheir bodies rather than the green of the Barra people. Among thevillagers here were a few with the blue-greenish scales, and a fewthat had more reddish purple scales, which he concluded mightbelong to another tribe.
Each villager wore adisc shaped polished black stone amulet with the face of a catcarved into its surface. The chief wore a black rock carved in theshape of a cat’s face, and the shaman a four finger wide discsimilar to those of the villagers, but with a Jeti claw on eitherside made of black rock. The black rock was the common theme. Itbegan to make sense. He guessed that they lived here to protect theblack rock mine. That’s where the missing children and women wouldbe. He would have to have a closer look at the black rock when hehad a chance. He would bet that it had some magical property.
He then thought aboutthe Jeti in the coastal village, killed in the Cat Lord’s shrine.They had been predominantly red with a few green-scaled onesamongst them. What was the significance of that? What was thesignificance of the coloured scales? How many tribes where there?He would have to find out more about the little people. If they hadsurvived the Great Storm, then their ancestors had been around whenthe Founts were here. Somewhere amongst their customs, songs andstories would be a clue to where the Founts had gone.
‘Aquitain, Aquitain.Wake up!’ said Zephira. ‘You’ve been in some sort of trance andmissed half of what’s happened. Miranda is going to call in thebats to help find out where the mask is.’
Aquitain quickly movedoff with Zephira to the jungle end of the village and saw Mirandathere just outside the village entrance singing a druid song.Swirling around her were hundreds of fruit bats. He looked aroundfor Kami, and without asking for permission mindlinked with the oldshaman.
‘Ahh. You are comingback to the land of the living,’ said Kami. ‘You were being lost tous for most of the Council of War. I have been telling them thatyou were communicating with the dead.’
‘Kami, most of thewomen and children are gone from the village. I assume that theyhave been sent to some safe place, like a cave or a mine. Is thisnormal with a threat to the village?’
‘You would be assumingcorrectly,’ said the shaman.
‘Why are they saferthere than here?’
‘It is being saferbecause only our people know where they are. It is also being verydifficult territory to move around on the northern side of thevillage.’
‘But the mask was inthis village for a long time. Perhaps it knows your secret hidingplace,’
