[Bêthberry]

Settlers -- Calumdril

Perched on a large branch of the pine tree with the gnarled, rough bark pressing sorely against an old bruise, Calumdril felt around his armpit, winced, and then grunted with dissatisfaction. He had developed a large boil where the leather strap of the bow had grated against his skin and he couldn't get rid of it no matter lancing it twice now. He likely ought to see the healer Collothion but he was loathe to.

The man had reacted poorly when Borgand had taken Calumdril off tree felling duty, as had many of the settlers. Hard labour was making them cranky and they had objected to losing a strong pair of hands with so much work around. Collothion had pointed out that he was plenty busy with dysentery, fevers, cuts, strains, even a limb broken by a poorly planned falling tree and yet he wasn't exempted. Borgand had responded by relieving Collothion of tree felling duties, which everyone accepted, but he had had his hands full at that meeting explaining just why Calumdril was needed elsewhere. And so far, Calumdril had not produced the needed food.

The hot sun baked the pine tree. The sap, which a chickadee had been pecking at earlier, was oozing and, on impulse, Calumdil scooped some up in his fingers and sniffed it, rubbing it back and forth between thumb and forefinger, and then gingerishly tasting it. It was pungent but not unpleasant and he took more into his mouth, chewing it. At least it seemed to cleanse the stale feeling in his mouth, so he dug more out and packed it away in his small canteen. The sharp needles of this tree stung, tipped almost like porcupine quills. Their strong and unfamiliar scent was beginning to bother him but he did pack some of them away also, an offering to Collothion who would be looking to learn about the new vegetation here.

Calumdril hadn't expected the northern sun to be so hot. And he hadn't expected these swarms of black biting flies either, his neck and throat and any exposed skin covered with tiny bleeding bites. He wanted to eat, not be eaten. Seeing no herd of deer from his vantage point, nor any sign of the tribesmen who called this place home, he decided to climb down and do some tracking by the river bed where perhaps animals would have gathered to drink.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It was a little cooler but more humid by the river, and there were different insects buzzing around the shoreline and skipping over the river. Thankfully, these ones didn't seem to bite. Calumdril splashed water over his head and neck, rinsing away the blood from the bites, and then filled his flask. He heard only the drones and buzzes of birds and insects, wind blowing through trees, grasses and sedges. Not even squirrels were scurrying around. Far off in the distance he could catch the yelling of voices, the ringing of hammer and axe. He would have to track farther away if he hoped to catch any game.

Something had been here! Calumdril was excited at first, but then confused. It wasn't an animal, he decided, with more than a little disappointment. But it was not a track he could clearly identify. Someone, something, had been dragging a foot it seemed, and sometimes fallen, yet the footprints might have been human, five-toed, no claws. But the heel and outside of the right foot made a deeper impression in the sand than a normal print would. From the smudged drag on the left side, he could not tell how many toes that foot held. Calumdril was confused, disturbed, wary.

Whatever it was, Calumdril felt his anger rise. He wanted to question Thorgil about it. They should have been told about strange creatures here! The rangers were being entirely too close lipped. He was tired of their supercilious attitude, their lack of coooperation. He was going to challenge them, rangers against the settlers, in a hunting match, that's what he'd do. Maybe that way the settlers could win some respect from the rangers. And find some food. They didn't want to have to slaughter their cattle. Not yet.

Calumdril sighed, wondering just how many surprises this place held and how many enemies. And how many challenges.