The Tribes of K'haren - Completed

Chapter 13.1

Together, Bay, Luthi, Raf'ney-krush, Tarlequin, Kran and Nume travelled on for two more days. Nothing really happened, Raf'ney-krush soon went back to being cold and distant, Tarlequin on the other hand was warming up. He even dared to stroke Bay at some point. To Kran's concern, the goat-man spent every break and every meal talking to Nume, talking and laughing. Kran had to admit to himself that he was a little jealous for the goat-man never even tried to integrate him into the conversation. But since Nume seemed to be so happy, Kran kept quiet and therefore talked the more while they were flying on Luthi's back.

On the second evening, Nume noticed that Luthi's gear was becoming tighter. They had stolen a normal one, designed for female gseirut. Since Luthi had been so small when they first ran away, it had been just perfect, but now even the widest setting didn't really suffice anymore. Raf had a look at it, saw that, at one small spot under his neck, Luthi was even sore. Then he announced that they, phraio, gseirut and faun, by which he meant Tarlequin, should stay behind and wait while he'd go look for a tribe.

Raf decided to leave immediately, Bay wasn't tired at all because she never got to run at full speed with the others having to keep up. And Raf wasn't used to sleeping every day anyway. So he packed some things into his backpack that usually lay on Luthi's back and left within minutes.

'So,' Kran said, not yet knowing what he actually wanted to say. He thought for a moment, then he added: 'Tarlequin, now that he's out of earshot for once, don't you want to tell us where exactly we are going?'

The goat-man gave him a peculiar look. 'Why would I want to do that? You might just be careless later on and let him know that I've told you and that would put me in danger...'

Kran hadn't expected anything else. He climbed back onto Luthi, fetched a bundle of firewood and soon started a fire. Meanwhile, Nume was trying her best to change Tarlequin's mind.

'But Tarlequin!' she purred. The tone made Kran want to laugh out loud but he was too scared to lose his head if he did. Thinking about it, he realised how many times Nume had used that tone on him whenever she wanted him to come along on some insane adventure of hers... They usually ended up looking up at their parents' disappointed faces with huge innocent eyes.

'I'm sure he's told you where we're going. I mean, you wouldn't waste your time with us if it weren't for some purpose, right?' Nume continued. Of course it was for a purpose, Kran thought. They were about to fulfil some prophecy so it would better be on purpose...

'And we really are doing our very best not to bother dear Raf too much, we need him, after all.' She purred on. Kran pretended to still be busy with the fire.

'So if you told us where we're going next, we wouldn't have to ask him tomorrow and then we'd all be happier.' She tried to sound convincing but even to Kran it wasn't clear in what way telling them would profit Tarlequin at all. Actually, it would maybe even take something away from him: Nume's attention.

She kept trying for a while but at some point, Kran was just too bored by it so he suggested for her to go on a walk with him. She looked rather surprised but since the sun had not yet set, Nume didn't mind. At first, Tarlequin wanted to come, too, but Kran casually thanked him for looking over their dinner cooking on the fire. It was a simple way to clarify that he didn't want him to come.

Luckily, the goat-man stayed behind with a grim expression on his face. Like so often when he was thinking about something, he stroke that small beard of his Kran envied so badly. Of course he wouldn't admit it. Usually, phraio men could grow beards but in his bloodline, the last bearded Leader had been several generations ago.

'What's wrong?' Nume asked.

'Oh, nothing.' Kran said. She accepted the answer for a moment, supposing he'd continue. When he didn't, she asked again, this time emphatically.

'Listen,' he started, not daring to look at her. 'I think Tarlequin is up to something. I mean, he's not like Raf, he doesn't have a reason to be so... mean.'

'He isn't mean!' Nume insisted.

'He isn't to you.'

'Oh.' Nume said, slowly realising what she had failed to notice. Before she could come up with another excuse, Kran interrupted her thoughts.

'I mean, I don't mind you getting along so well with him, just, be careful, alright? It's find if he doesn't like me... nor does Raf... and that's fine. Really. It's better than people constantly pretending to like you when they don't, just because you happen to be somebody's grandson...' He muttered.

Nume didn't know what to say. She would have said that it wasn't true, that some people did like him back in their tribe, but both of them knew that that was a lie. Kran had just spent too much time with Nume, become too much of a rebel for them to like him. And she had always felt somewhat guilty for that. But it wasn't worth giving up on their friendship.

'Just,' Kran started again after a break. He sighed before he added: 'don't let him hurt you. I think he's just hear so he can later tell the story of how we did it... And that means he has to survive at all cost.'

'He can't hurt me so long as I don't trust him.' Nume said.

'And you don't?'

'No. But I know how to make him believe I did, and I know how to use his trust once I get it. He'll be much easier to manipulate than Raf. And with him on our side, we might actually be able to have some influence on that stubborn horned man!' For a moment, Kran wasn't sure which of the two she now meant, after all, they both had horns. But it made more sense for her to mean Raf.

But despite Nume sounding very convincing, he still wasn't sure whether she really was fully in control of the situation. After all, whenever Tarlequin played on his flute, even Raf became willing to listen and Kran felt how he trusted Tarlequin more and more. Could Nume really resist his influence just like that?

Not willing to continue this conversation, Nume changed the subject and started talking about the tribe. Kran had to force himself to sound halfway cheerful. He missed his family very much and he knew that Nume missed hers, too. But they managed to have a light conversation all the way back to their camp, not paying any attention to the scarce and yet beautiful landscape around them.

By the time they were back, their food was long finished and Tarlequin had already eaten. Therefore he talked all the time while they were having dinner and told them legendary stories neither of the two phraio had ever heard before. They told of heroic dretho, thievish frago, furious Harpies and deadly dwarves. In no story did Tarlequin ever mention any phraio. When Nume asked him about this, he simply explained that the phraio hadn't done any deeds worth any praise.

'But surely you must have heard of Drenor the Dragonslayer!' Kran insisted. He was referring to the story of how their tribe was formed by one of his ancestors.

'Murder doesn't deserve being sung about!' Tarlequin hissed back. 'He killed a young father who would have become a mighty leader, bringing peace to the dragons. Instead, they had to flee the lands wherefore the poor dwarves were kicked out of their homes, having to give up the mountains as shelter for the few surviving dragons!'

'But dragons are cruel and bloodthirsty creatures! They have killed so many phraio...' Kran started again, but he was interrupted.

'And you have killed even more of them! Before you came and took their lands, they lived among all of us, spread far and wide in all of K'haren, they protected us and only took what they needed.' Tarlequin explained, trying to remain calm.

'So the dwarves didn't always life in snail shells then?' Nume asked in a weak attempt to change the topic.

'No.' was all Tarlequin replied, then he went silent.

They didn't talk anymore for the rest of the night.

// Some more story telling time, I'll be sure to speed up the pace a little in tomorrow's chapter :)