‘I have made up a little collection of things which I think will be of help to you on your journey of discovery, and you should take great care of them, for once lost, they can’t be replaced. Do not be afraid to try out new ideas, but be careful, and observe all the effects caused by trying out something new, for from such things new ideas are born.’
Mec passed around the bowl of food things, giving the two listeners a chance to digest a little of what he had said.
While they were eating, Mec went into one of his smaller rooms, returning with armfuls of equipment he had collected and made, and laid them down on the floor of the main cave.
‘I have made new belts for you to hang your equipment on, and now I’ll go through the items I have collected for you, explaining what they are for.
‘First, you have the new Greater Cutting Knives, these are very sharp and should last you a lifetime if taken care of. Next there is the light making thing. All you have to do is add a little of each powder to the water in the container, and stir it up. When the light fades a little, just stir it again and it will brighten. Only use it when really necessary as there is no way the powders can be replaced, unless you come back here!’ The two lads looked at each other, the idea of not returning hadn’t occurred to them.
‘There is a good supply of the black berries which swell up when placed in water. Only use them when you can find no other food to eat, and then only one, or two at the most, at any one time. I have tried your suggestion of making a transparent cover for the direction indicating bowl, and it works very well. There is only one of these, so take very good care of it, as it is the only means you have of knowing that you are travelling in a straight line. A small selection of Lesser Cutting Blades without their handles are included for you to make your own weapons should you need to.’
Reaching down to the pile of artefacts Mec withdrew a wrinkled skin-like thing, and held it up.
‘This is made from the skin of one of the creatures from the levels above us, and is intended to be filled with water if you think you may have to go through an area where there is none, and I suspect you may. All you do is open this end.’
With a twist and some effort he pulled a small well fitting wooden plug out of the neck-like end of the bag.
‘And then push the whole thing into the water, keeping the opening near the surface. It will fill up with water and then you push the wooden plug back in. When not in use, it folds up quite small and goes into this little pouch on your belt. You may never need it, but I have tried to think of everything which might come in useful, based on what I know of the legends.
You will, of course, have the blade tipped staves, and should you break or lose them, you can make more from the spare blades in this pocket,’ He indicated a bulging little bag attached to the belt.
‘How long it will take you to find the edge of the forest, that’s if there is an edge, and go into other lands, I don’t know. But if you can return here one day and relate your adventures, it will greatly help me to bring some of the old stories up to date and make them a little more accurate for the future.’
Kel and Moss were quite overcome by all the attention which Mec had paid to their survival equipment, and didn’t quite know what to say for a moment.
‘Of course we will come back to tell you how we got on, and of any discoveries we make, that’s if we survive the journey in the first place.’ Kel said at last.
‘There are two other things on your survival belt, as I now like to think of it. One is a small bag containing several smaller bags made from the thin skins of snapper bags, which may come in useful if you have to collect things. The other is a bag containing lots of little odds and ends, the sort of things I would like to have with me if I was going on such a journey. They may be helpful to you, and as they take up so little room, I would suggest that you accept them.’
‘Do you have one more spare bag I could have, Mec?’ asked Kel, and then proceeded to tell him of the ‘Tinkle Stones’ he had made and what they were for.
‘I’m sure I have, where did you get them?’
‘I twisted the fibrous threads from a plant stem, letting it dry in the sun so that it kept the twist in, and then hung from it at intervals, using the fluid from the Stave Plant, pairs of little stones and shells. The shells I found in the bottom of one of the larger Water Plants. They belong to a little creature which crawls about at the bottom of the pool, and some must have died or been eaten, for I found the shells empty. I don’t know where the stones came from originally, I found them in a hollow recess in a tree near our group. No one seemed to know who they belonged to, so I took them.’
Mec stroked his chin thoughtfully, as if trying
