Chapter Forty Three
The sun dropped and we walked on through the night until we arrived at our camp. We spoke briefly with the guards, and then were able to sleep for only a short time until everyone rose at the break of day. When the sun came over the horizon we were on our way.
We still had plenty of food in our packs since we had never given any to the tribe, and there was abundant water to fill our skins before we crossed the grasslands. It would be difficult, but I saw no reason why we would not be able to make it safely back to the river.
We set guards around us, but we saw no signs of pursuit. Given the women and children that traveled with us we were not able to make very good time, but we moved steadily, with my men carrying the small children as much as possible.
We were never followed, though I twice saw individuals’ moving across the grassland far in the distance. As we got further from the village the people began to feel more secure, and they slowly became comfortable as the days went by. Gradually, with pain visible on their faces when they spoke, the story of the eastern tribe emerged.
They had no memory of their origins. Though they had a vague idea that people outside their tribe existed in the world, they had no history of ever living among them. For all they knew, they had always lived in the hills on that side of the grasslands. The history of their tribe started only one generation earlier, and I found it incredible to think that no one had ever questioned this.
They told us it was always a violent tribe, with the leader being whoever was the strongest and most ruthless. If the leader decided that someone should no longer remain in the tribe, they were sent away with nothing but the clothes on their back. Expulsion from the tribe was normally done only to men, since they needed the women to do the work in the village.
The stakes posted around the village were topped with the heads of men that had committed crimes requiring more serious punishment than expulsion. This included men that after expulsion had been caught trying to take away their wives and children, men that had committed acts so vile that they were forbidden even to these corrupt people, and any competitors to the leader. The leaders changed frequently over the years, as would be expected in so violent a society.
In their stories the tribe had once been very large, but over the years it had gotten smaller and smaller as people had been sent from the village or executed, or in a few cases, escaped into the night. It seemed that there were now quite a few people, both individuals and families, which lived in the hills alongside the grassland, far from the village. Whether these people were better than those that lived in the village was impossible to know.
Thirteen women and twelve children had joined us, along with the three men that had been allowed to come. Over the course of our journey I watched them closely, and I came to believe that every one of these people were essentially good. It was possible that other good people had remained behind, too fearful to join us, but there was nothing I could do for them anymore. Everyone in that village had been given the freedom to make their own decision about their life. With the freedom to choose comes responsibility for your decisions and your future.
As we travelled I saw that these people as a group had some bad habits, and they exhibited behavior that was not acceptable in our tribe. They were greedy and wanted to hoard their food. They tended to shout at the least provocation, and overreacted very quickly to trivial slights. Worst of all, they had almost no trust in each other or in us. But I believed this behavior had been required to survive in the harsh environment of their village, and I had faith that through training and example this learned behavior could be eliminated.
We made the journey back to the river in twenty days, traveling steadily from sunup to sundown. These people were tough, and it was obvious they were used to hardship. They never complained, not even the youngest of them. Though we had to ration our water, we were able to provide plenty of food. This gave them the strength they needed to walk all day, and they managed to eat an amazing amount. After a few days we had to teach them to stop gorging themselves. This became easier as they began to have faith that they would get more food the following day.
They were openly apprehensive about their future, but we did our best to assuage their fears. We described our city and our lifestyle, and tried to explain to them in ways they could understand how they would live in the future. As one would expect they found it hard to believe us, since what we told them was so very different from anything they had ever known.
When we reached the river we had problems. The easterners had never seen a body of water anything like this, and the size and power of the river filled them with dread. The thought of crossing the river on rafts terrified them, and they absolutely refused to consider getting on them.
My men had been frightened when we crossed, but because of the trust we had developed over the years they had faith when I told them it was safe. These people had not developed this level of trust in me or my men, and they were petrified.
They argued with me that it was impossible for them to cross, so I had to lay out their options very bluntly. I told them they could go with us and I promised to get them safely to the far side, or they could stay on this side and either return to their old village or start a new village of their own. I made sure they understood that it was completely their choice; that they had the freedom to choose what they wanted to do with their lives.
I said this very simply in a way they could understand, but I made sure they knew the consequences. If they didn’t come with us now, we would not come back for them.
They had seen we were good people, and they had heard enough about life in our city to know they wanted to be a part of it. They decided to cross, but they were still very frightened and asked if they could see some of us do it first. I thought this was a good idea, but told them we would still need to bring some of them with us on the first trip.
We dragged the rafts a little way up the river to account for the current, and one raft made the first crossing. I and three of my men were on it to paddle, and along with us came one family consisting of a father, mother and two children, as well as two single women. They huddled in the middle of the raft, clutching each other in fear with their eyes squeezed shut against their terror.
The raft was stable and safe, and they were in no real danger. We made it across with no problems, and once we had safely deposited our passengers on the far shore, my men and I paddled back across the river as everyone anxiously watched our return.
When we arrived I said, “See, you just need to have faith, and you need to trust us. We will not let you get hurt. Don’t worry, we will get every one of you safely across.”
And we did, though it took the better part of that day. First we loaded up the rafts with as many of the mothers and children as we could fit. That trip was accompanied by more wailing and crying than I could ever have imagined was possible.
After this we still had one final trip. We got the rest of the people and our almost-empty packs centered on the rafts, and we pushed off from the eastern shore. A sense of relief washed over me as I realized I was finished with that land, and I would never have to return.
By now even I was exhausted; our arms were not used to so much paddling. We were overjoyed when we finally got that last raft pulled up on our own shore. We set up camp, and even though it was barely dusk, after a quick meal everyone but me collapsed into sleep, physically and emotionally spent. I could really have used the rest, but someone had to stand guard, since you never know if a predator is lurking in the dark, hoping to pluck a meal from an unwary camp.
In the morning we dismantled the rafts before we started the final leg of our journey home. I did not want anyone crossing that river unless it was done with my knowledge, and I didn't want those rafts sitting there to tempt any of my people into trying to cross. Even more importantly, I didn't want those rafts ever getting to the other side, and somehow allowing those evil people to return to our shore.
I
sent my two fastest men ahead to let the city know of our safe return. They would send other men back to meet us and bring more food. I expected it would take about five days to get to the city with this group, and our food was starting to get quite low.
On our fourth day I finally saw them on the horizon, travelling fast. Even from a distance I could tell there were a lot of people, and as they came closer I could see Kalou leading the procession. I was so happy to see her that I left my group behind and ran like the wind. Kalou also ran, and we met in the middle for a prolonged embrace.
“It’s so good to see you. I missed you so much,” was all I could manage.
We held each other tight, and after a long time she finally pulled away.
Looking up at me, she stared straight into my eyes and asked without even a hint of a smile, “So, are you finally done building your kingdom? Are you ready to stay at home with your family and take care of us now?”
I was not sure if she was joking, but out of pure joy I laughed anyway.
“Yes, I’m done. After that village, I never want to see another new tribe. Now it’s time for me to stay home and be with you!”
Part V – The Awakening