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Copyright © 2004, S. Y. Affolee 16 River Fork The river had turned into a frothing mass of rapids that looked ready to drown anything that stepped foot into its waters. The bank itself had risen accordingly although it was still comfortably wide enough for a hundred member caravan to pass through. A few hundred yards past the rapids, the river branched into two. They had come up from one of the minor branches and the other branch appeared to be going southwest. The source river continued to the north. At the crux of the three streams of water, the canyon opened up so they could see in the two new directions. Perhaps not to their surprise, there was finally a stone bridge here at the bottom of the canyon spanning the section where the main river branched into two. There was a wooden stump next to their edge of the bridge, and indication, perhaps, that there used to be a sign. On the other side of the canyon of the second branched river were curious carvings in the wall—it was as if someone had carved shelters into the sandstone complete with windows and doors. A zigzagging stair snaked up the side of the shelters, branching off to landings to the next story of apartments and eventually going up to the top of the canyon. Quickly, the travelers crossed the stone bridge in single file and stopped at the strange canyon dwellings. Did someone or something live in them, or like the town before, was it abandoned? They decided it didn’t matter, they might as well get out of the canyon now that they had the chance. Again in single file, they started up the stairs that ran along the dwellings, this time dismounted and leading their own horses carefully up the steps. They were concentrating so closely that it was with surprise that they realized that it was starting to rain. Accustomed to staring mostly at the canyon walls, they had not noticed that storm clouds had moved in again. Ficket had been leading and he yelled down to his companions, pointing to the next ledge up that led to some cliff dwellings. Slowly, they moved onto the ledge, careful to keep the horses’ heads pointed away from the steep drop and maneuvered into a rather spacious sandstone apartment that felt remarkably cool and dry. It appeared to be empty except for some shelves that were carved into the wall containing what looked like shards of ancient pottery. There were three windows overlooking the canyon. Dash looked out and it was definitely darker than what a normal afternoon would be. Rain dropped straight down in slick, heavy sheets. “You think it’ll let up any time soon?” the round man queried his companions. “This kind of rain probably won’t let up until the next day,” replied the wilderness guide. “I suggest we make use of this shelter while we have the chance. Although it is too bad we can’t build a fire in here. I don’t think it’ll get too cold, though.” Dash leaned against the edge of the window and looked into the interior. It was dark and gloomy. He could hardly make out the faces of his companions. “I wonder who did all of this. It’s quite impressive. The same people who made that town?” “Possibly,” said Altner, “Although I have the feeling that these are much older.” Prudence went to one of the other windows and looked out. If only there was more light or that they could build a fire, she mused. So many things could hide in the darkness. She too was amazed at these strange cliff dwellings. What sorts of people were ingenious enough to build these? Why were they no longer around? But whatever the case, she found herself uneasy about the lack of pane in the window. Sure, the glass would not have survived after hundreds, even thousands, of years, but even that would have been some sort of barrier. There was an animal shriek outside and she saw the shadow of a predatory bird swoop down from the cliff side. She reached out with her right palm to where the glass pane would have been and said a silent word. The air hardened, almost imperceptibly, around her hand. She walked to the other window which Dash was not looking through and repeated the same thing. It appeared that the men did not notice her small brief ritual. She did the door as well; the barrier would slow down anything the Others might try to whip up although it posed no resistance to her or her traveling companions. She approached the window that Dash was looking out of. He didn’t look at her. “That was a good precaution,” he said. “Don’t worry about this one. I took care of it.” “Thanks.” She looked outside. Did he see something that she didn’t? “So you think all this trouble is worth it?” “Hmm?” “Treasure hunting,” she clarified. “Do you think this is worth it? We’re going to have to come back whether or not it exists.” “Are you having second thoughts?” he asked instead. “I wanted adventure.” She crossed her arms. “I’m beginning to think that maybe that was just a substitute for another wish I knew I couldn’t have.” “What wish?” His lowered eyelashes were still shielding his gaze, but she had the distinct impression that his attention was now entirely focused on her. Perhaps she had admitted a little too much to him, even to herself. Instead, she ignored the question. “Of course, if we do find the treasure and manage to come back without getting ourselves killed, it would be all worth it.” “Yes, there’s that. We wouldn’t have to work for farmers and ranchers again.” Prudence smiled at that. “Yes, the lazy life of the rich. Maybe I’ll become a teacher for people like us. At least Redding seemed to make it look so easy.” “He did, didn’t he? But why would you want to become a teacher? I thought a lot of women dreamed of roping in a man and having a couple of kids. You know, the usual matron kind of thing.” She let out a snort of laughter. “Do I look like the matron type?” His lips twisted upward. “You did consider marrying that banker boy a while back. Certainly you were thinking along those lines, were you not?” “You got me there.” She was still smiling but her eyes were sober and almost cold. “But sometimes I think, considering who I am, that it would be next to impossible trying to fit myself into that kind of mold.” “Then why do so? Just be yourself.” “Easy for you to say. Men do whatever the hell they want and no one could care less.” “That’s not strictly true. That’s what laws are for.” “But we’re outside of law now.” “Yes.” Another bird of prey flew through the rain, shrieking. And then another. What were they doing? Birds usually stayed huddled in their nests during storms, didn’t they? The shrieking was closer now and suddenly a dark flapping form crashed into the window that the two trouvers were looking through. They jumped back, startled, with their hearts beating quickly. For a moment, the bird creature was suspended in the middle of the window in a mangle of wings and feet and feathers before it slid off into the nether regions of the canyon. “What was that?” exclaimed Ficket who rushed to the window to look down. Another bird came out of nowhere shrieking. The round man screamed and covered his face. That bird too met the resistance of the bespelled window and fell. Altner remained in the back of the canyon dwelling. “Action at a distance,” he said. “I would have guessed that after our second encounter with the Authority’s agents, they would have come after us themselves.” Ficket sobbed and watched in horror as more and more birds tried to come through the window and doors by failing. “You mean they’re using those now to come after us? We’re going to be trapped here indefinitely!” “It’s the rain,” said Dash. “The clouds let them spread their powers. But by using birds, they’ve also severely exposed their hand. Their power is quite weak here.” “You call that weak?” gestured Ficket. “He’s right,” Prudence added. “If they had their way, they would have come themselves. Or at least sent an army of wolf walkers. The birds are all they can do for now. And the rain and clouds aren’t exactly subject to their whim—surely the weather is even beyond their capabilities. Once we get out of the canyons, I don’t think we’ll have to worry about them—until we get back that is.” The wilderness guide stroked his beard. “But the birds—not only does that tell us that Their powers are sufficiently weakened at this point and that They can’t cross the canyon, but they are quite determined to get us.” The round man visibly shivered. “Well, at least this little apartment has the same strange barrier like the abandoned town before, eh?” The two trouvers glanced at each other and mutually decided not to correct him.  |