“I can’t imagine what the bad news is, then,” Versa-eh said.
“How about this? There is a godat-ta and a hive of wasta-ta there and the tribe have not been able to get into the area for a long time.”
“Godat-ta,” Harta-ak said, whistling long and low. “They can run faster than us, swim faster than us, and climb trees faster than us. How can we beat one of them?”
“That is an excellent question,” Alex agreed.
“What are the wasta-ta?”
Alex described the giant bees and the paralyzing properties their stings had on human beings.
Harta-ak’s shoulders slumped. “I don’t see how so few of us can defeat what an entire tribe has failed to conquer.”
“That’s because you didn’t see us defeat the dandra-tas in Matori-ah,” Senta-eh said. “They had sent twenty-two men to kill the beasts and had been killed themselves. We killed both of them with only four of us. Now we have five. I know Manta-ak will come up with an idea.”
I wish I had as much faith in me as you do.
“He is the legendary Manta-ak,” Versa-eh whispered into Harta-ak’s ear, which made him smile.
“All right, legendary Manta-ak, let’s go see what we’re up against,” Harta-ak said with a grin of his own.
The four Rinta-ah warriors led them back down the trail in the direction they had come. Alex and company led their horses instead of riding. After a few miles, there was a small trail that branched off to the south and east. It was so innocuous that Alex had passed by it twice without even noticing it.
After a quarter mile, the trail widened and climbed slightly in elevation. Soon, they crested a hill and looked down into what looked like a natural bowl. Alex could see that there had once been a lake of some sort here, but it was gone.
Maybe when the Pacific came inland, it made it this far and filled this natural bowl with sea water. When it receded and the water evaporated, the salt was all left behind.
Alex could see why Rinka-ak was not concerned about running out of salt. The bowl was immense—at least half a mile across. Everywhere, though particularly at the edges, there were whitish crystals that Alex knew would form salt when they were broken down.
There was a sheer cliff that dropped from where they were standing down into the bowl. Alex turned to the warriors.
“Even the godat-ta wouldn’t be able to climb up and down this cliff face.”
“Yes. That is why we brought you this way.” He pointed a finger off to their left. They all leaned out over the cliff and craned their necks to the left. There was an opening in the surrounding hills that led directly into the salt deposit.
Sure enough, napping comfortably right in the middle of the entrance was an immense godat-ta. Of course, that is like saying, “an immense mountain.” All mountains are huge, it’s just that some are even larger than others. Gazing down at the massive heap of brown fur snoozing in the midday sun, it was obvious that this was an exceptionally large mountain.
Alex drew a deep breath and let it whistle out between his teeth.
How are we supposed to kill or run off a beast like that? All five of us together wouldn’t be anything more than a nice snack to that monster. I don’t think I even want to ask, but...
“And where are the wasta-ta?”
The Rinta-ah warrior moved his arm a few degrees to the right and pointed at what appeared to be a hollowed-out maple tree standing at the edge of the salt deposit. Even from that distance, Alex could see the bees flying lazily in and out of the hollow trunk.
“They’ve used the tree to build their hive inside.” Alex closed one eye and tried to imagine the height and circumference of the colossal tree. He didn’t like the answer he came up with. Even with bees of incredible size, there was enough room in the tree to make a hive for tens of thousands of them.
The Rinta-ah warrior smiled at Alex, as if to say, But you are the legendary Manta-ak. You can handle this, right?
“Do you think we could build a rope ladder, climb down, get some of the danta, and climb back up before he noticed us?”
“Maybe you could. But you won’t be able to carry very much, and if godat-ta sees you, it will be the last mistake you make.”
An image flashed through Alex’s mind—him trying to scramble up a rope ladder hanging on the sheer cliff and the godat-ta climbing after him. He took that possibility off the table.
“You’re right. We’ve got to draw him away somehow.”
The warrior said, “We have done that. We used fish and other treats to draw him away. We lost two warriors who tried it. He ate the fish, killed the warriors, and went right back there.”
Is there anything you guys haven’t tried yet?
Alex tore his eyes away from the scene that stretched out below him and took a better look at their immediate surroundings.
“Is there a water source near here?”
The warrior said, “Yes, a few hundred paces in that direction.” He pointed west. “There is a game trail there that leads to a stream. You’ll want to stay aware, though. There are other predators beside godat-ta near the stream.”
“Of course there are. Nothing could ever be easy, right?” Alex looked at his companions. “Let’s do this. We’ll camp here.” He pointed to a grassy area at the bottom of the small hill they stood on. “It’s not secure, so we’ll take turns at guard duty. We can stay here for as long as we need to and watch what’s going on. I’m sure I can figure something out.”
The four Rinta-ah warriors gave a wave and left for home. The four humans and Monda-ak found themselves in a mostly pleasant situation. No one
