Kel and Moss got up to leave, clutching the newly acquired knife scabbards tightly to them, but Mec held out his hands with a smile and said, ‘You have to earn these first, and they certainly can’t be shown to the groups, it would cause too many enquiries as to where they came from.’
When the two were outside the cave again and about to go their separate ways, Moss turned back towards Kel and said,
‘I can see his point, but those knives are ours, one way or another. See you in the morning, Kel. Oh, and I’m very pleased to have met you. Between us, we should be able to sort out that creature, whatever it is.’ and with that he was gone, a fleeting shadow among the other shadows, dancing along a main branch and then flickering out of sight.
Kel returned to his group, carefully going around the marked area on the main branch homewards where the creature lay hidden, and wondering just how they were going to deal with this new threat to their survival.
The man who had lost some of his chest hair in the stave collecting escapade was still wittering on about his misfortune and looking generally miserable. Kel examined the wound which was already beginning to heal over, and told him to keep the moss damp.
There was no sign of the dreaded fungus infection and Kel tried to cheer him up by saying a full recovery was most likely, but it made little difference to his general demeanour, and Kel began to lose patience, telling him he was lucky to be alive. All he got for his trouble was a long face and a parting scowl as he left.
They all settled down for the night, Kel setting up his ring of ‘Tinkle stones’ as usual, and wondering why no one else had ever asked him why he did it, or even what they were for. Yes, he would be glad to leave this dumb bunch of idiots. The more he thought about it, the more he warmed towards his new companion, Moss. He at least had a spark of life in him, and could no doubt be relied upon in a crisis, and there were likely to be quite a few of them.
It had rained hard in the night, and they were all wet and looking fed up next morning, except Kel who had the foresight to curl up under an overhanging branch and was warm and dry when he went out to look for his first meal of the new day.
The Greater Sun had only just broken through the higher levels and spilled a little dim light onto Kel’s group when he set about selecting one of their number to join him on the creature clearing exercise. No one seemed very interested in the project, although he had explained it in detail and told them what would most likely happen if they did nothing. In the end, one of the older members said he would join Kel, but if this was for the greater good of the group or just to appease Kel, he had no idea.
The pair set off armed with their staves, and Kel pointed out the danger area as they approached it. The older man didn’t seem to be the least perturbed at the possibility of being devoured by the hidden creature, and Kel wondered if he was just wasting his time.
When they finally reached Mec’s tree cave, Moss and his chosen companion were already there, and while they exchanged greetings between them in the traditional manner, Kel couldn’t help but notice that Moss was certainly a lot more lively and brighter than the member of his group he had chosen to bring along.
Mec came out to greet them all and explained in great detail the possible dangers of the expedition, and the need to clear the forest in their area of the new threat. Five new staves were produced from the tree cave, and Mec explained that these were a little different in that they had a small Lesser Cutting Knife set in the end, and great care would be needed if no one was to be cut while they climbed up into the higher levels.
‘There is a thong attached on the butt end of each stave so that it can be attached to your carrying belt, and the sharp end will then dangle well below you as you climb, but the climber below will have to be aware of getting his head cut open if he isn’t careful and doesn’t keep his distance from the one above.’
The party set off, climbing up a series of steps cut into the main trunk until the smaller side branches above were reached, augmented by a convenient dangling of vines to give the necessary handholds.
At one point Mec called a halt to the climbing, and they all gathered together in the crotch of a main branch and the massive towering trunk. He had cocked his head on one side, and was listening intently for something.
‘Can you hear that faint buzzing sound?’ he asked. Moss said he could but the others all shook their heads.
‘That is the sound of a nest of Stinger Flies, about the size of your clenched fist, and if they attack us we will all be dead in a few moments. The noise is caused by some of the larger ones at the entrance to their hollowed out home in the trunk, blowing air into it for the others to breathe. So far none have come out this early, so I’ll climb up a little to see if I can find their entrance hole. You had better stay down here, and if I am attacked, get down to the lower levels as quick as you can.’
Mec carefully made his way up to the next branch, stopped and craning his head
